Jim James is down with Gnarls Barkley and . . . Boston's the Slip?!

Doesn't is just break your heart when some out of town indie superstar comes town, borrows the Pops, and then writes in both Rolling Stone and the New York Times about how one of his favorite new bands is . . . the local jam-band laughingstock? Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh. What's next? Aerosmith tells the Times their favorite Boston band is Jiggle the Handle?

From this week's Times "Playlist" column:

The Slip is a rock trio from Boston with tons of live releases. I had heard from friends I would like them. Then finally I had the chance to see them play, and seeing them live was amazing. I've seen so many thousands of bands; most times I see a band I'll give them one or two songs, but I instantly felt a bond with these three guys with very weird brains doing some weird music. They can build a good song and take it somewhere. "Children of December" is the song on their Web site (theslip.com) that hit me hardest. It's going to be released in a new form. I've heard it, but it's not out yet. The way the guitar and the melody interlace, it's incredible. You see so many tired, boring rock acts doing the same thing over and over, but these guys are reaching out. They have creative drumbeats, weird liquid bass lines. It's like a big pool of lyrics; it's really rhythmical. It could even appeal to some kid who really likes punk rock. It's really challenging. They're taking what we know of music and trying to take it and twist it to a different place.

From Rolling Stone:

I usually don't like bands when I see them live for the first time. But this trio of Berklee College of Music dropouts blew my mind at the recent Mountain Jam in Hunter, New York. At a show like that, you expect to hear a dude wail over a blues scale for half an hour, but the Slip are creative and weird: The drummer shakes it down with a hip-hop backbeat, the bassist plays a baritone guitar and the guitarist plays lots of crazy solos without losing the tight pop melody. Most things that are widely accepted suck, but hopefully these guys will be semi-widely accepted -- because it's really beautiful stuff.

The worst part? The fucking song he's talking about is actually pretty good. Note to every indie-rock band in town: you're about to get your clock punched by a bunch of hippies. Hope that day job's working out.

DOWNLOAD: The Slip, "Children of December" (mp3)