Passion Pit: "Sleepyhead"

Juke Box Hero pits Passion Pit against MGMT. Catch the former on Friday of Lolla at 6 p.m. on the Bud Light stage.

If someone took Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon aside and gave him a handful of happy pills, he’d come out sounding like Michael Angelakos and band Passion Pit. This guy is about as straight-up bubble gum techno power pop as you can get. It’s infectiously danceable, it’s soulful, it’s creative without being a chore to listen to – it’s pretty easy on the ears.

Angelakos started composing just three years ago at what has become the instrument of choice among Generation Y’ers: his laptop computer, using multi-layered tracks to bring the orchestral cacophony in his head out into the aural world. From the comfy bubble of his college dorm room, naturally.

Though he writes for just himself, Passion Pit’s live shows typically feature a full compliment of other humanoids, each manning one of the tracks separated from his initial compound. Which I’m sure helps add energy to the music – both for creative flourish and performance vigor. Which they need in order to keep up with these guys:

I hear a number of similarities between P-squared and MGMT. You’ve got your catchy synth hooks, your impromptu dance party beats, your borderline-annoying falsetto male vocals… But here’s the thing: I think MGMT just does it all better. Maybe it’s that they’ve been around longer – could be more musically mature. It’s a shame they’re not all playing the same festival so we could just bounce around like ecstatic five-year-olds to scientifically determine which group’s better at helping us reimagine our childhoods through LSD-tinted glasses…

Jus+ice: "D.A.N.C.E."

Juke Box Hero ends the week with a short rant and two videos from French electronica duo Jus+ice. If you'd rather dance than rock out to Jack White on Sunday night of Lolla, these are your guys.

Before I get into this nuts French electronic duo, allow me to start by ranting briefly about how hard it was to find this nice HQ video of them performing live. The pile of hand-shot garbage I had to painstakingly sift through was just maddening. It’s not enough that the quote-unquote fans shooting these block everyone’s view with their smartphones or cameras thrust in the air, but they’re subsequently gumming up YouTube with their shaky, distorted smut and making it more difficult to unearth quality reproduction. Snap a few photos if you need a visual memento from the concert (I’m guilty as any), but be discrete and then stow the device. And anyway, I don’t see how people can enjoy a show while constantly re-framing their phone’s viewfinder. Perplexing, annoying, unnecessary, unwanted. Rant over.

So Jus+ice. (The upper-case cross features prominently in the band's visual branding, though they don’t otherwise have an explicit religious persona or message.) The Paris-based pair of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay – kickass names, right? – concoct a Pink Floyd-on-Red Bull blend of electro house infused with epic rock hooks, heavy dance beats and the occasional funky children’s choir. Like School House Rock in da Club.

The boys are well-established in their own right after getting their start by creating wicked remixes, such as this tasty rendition of MGMT’s "Electric Feel":

For obvious reasons, they eventually caught the attention of Daft Punk manager and fellow Frenchman DJ Pedro Winter (aka Busy P) at Ed Banger records. You can’t ask for a much better launch pad than that.

These guys hit the major Euro festival circuit after breaking through with a few pieces of MTV and Grammy bling under their heavily studded belts. Augé and de Rosnay cut their live-gig teeth on massive stages -- you might have also seen them at Lolla 2011 -- and they should return to Chicago with a full head of steam after releasing their second full-length studio album, "Audio, Video, Disco," last fall.

The tragedy here is scheduling. The boys happen to have the same slot as Mr. White when they visit The City of Big Shoulders, performing on the Bud Light stage at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 5. (Jack White is on the Red Bull Soundstage at 8:15 p.m. the same day.) What is a conflicted festivalgoer to do? From the Third Man’s inevitably seething stage, I’m sure you’ll catch a couple of bass pulses from the Frenchies’ set, but if dancing is what you’re in the mood for, seek Justice rather than Jack. I’m sure he’ll understand.

Weezer: "Kids / Poker Face"

I love covers. They give artists a chance to play around with music, and it gives listeners a chance to gauge the performance compared to something they're already familiar with. In this video, Weezer covers MGMT's "Kids" and Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." Even though the original versions of both songs have been completely exhausted by radio play, Weezer's cover feels fresh and light-hearted, especially as they blend the two songs together.

And I want to know where Rivers Cuomo buys his pants.

Enjoy.

"Kids" and "Poker Face," performed by Weezer
"Kids" originally on MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular" (2008)
"Poker Face" originally on Lady Gaga's "Fame" (2008)