For me, the big news out of last weekend wasn’t the Saints’ victory over the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, but that Dear John somehow toppled Avatar as king of the box office tally. While I have only the slimmest desire to see Dear John (it involves the delicious Channing Tatum hosting a private showing), the film’s trailer did introduce me to a song I’d somehow overlooked twice.

“Set The Fire To The Third Bar” first appeared on Snow Patrol‘s Eyes Open, the 2006 album that spawned the monster hit “Chasing Cars.” Last November, “Set The Fire To The Third Bar” also made the cut for the UK alt-rock group’s career compilation, Up To Now. Though I own both releases, it’s now obvious that I hadn’t given either a thorough spin through my iPod. Because when the commercial for Dear John first came on, I stopped whatever I was doing at the time and took note of the moving melody coming out of my TV set, only to soon discover that the song I was now swooning over was nearly four years old.

What really makes “Set The Fire To The Third Bar” stand out is the striking vocal assist from Martha Wainwright, sister of Rufus. Her performance on the track is nearly angelic, somehow fragile and yet entirely comforting. Now thanks to the attention the song’s enjoyed through its association with Dear John, “Set The Fire To The Third Bar” is climbing the Billboard Hot 100, sitting at #64 this week. Hear here:

Purchase Snow Patrol featuring Martha Wainwright – “Set The Fire To The Third Bar” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.

Several Saturdays ago, I stumbled upon another song buried beneath the years, “Back Where I Belong” by Dumptruck. Kirk Swan and Seth Tiven were briefly darlings of college-rock radio in the mid-Eighties, before personal disagreements and troubles with their record label soon took their toll on the Massachusetts duo.

Don Dixon, who co-produced R.E.M.’s debut, Murmur, and its follow-up, Reckoning, with Mitch Easter, handled duties on Dumptruck’s sophomore LP, 1986’s Positively Dumptruck. Dixon’s involvement goes a long way toward explaining why “Back Where I Belong,” the album’s lead track, sounds an awful lot like R.E.M., but with a hefty dose of feedback. Still, how does a song that’s actually 24-years old sound so up to date (pardoning the less than ideal audio quality of the clip below). Perhaps we’ve come full musical circle in the intervening years, with the past now the present and the future. In that case, come back, Dumptruck — your time is now! Hear here:

Purchase Dumptruck – “Back Where I Belong” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.