There's plenty more to talk about this week as we count down to our imaginary holiday party: we've already filled you in about the goodness that is Heligoats {and Chris Otepka's previous incarnation, Troubled Hubble}, and our most recent addition to the line up, Sean Nelson and Kyle O'Quin's Temp Score. We'll have a little more on Mal de Mer for you before Friday, of course, along with some of our favorite John Roderick photos from years past to get your holiday backend ready for his lap — but this morning, we just needed to gush a little bit about Eef.

Eef Barzelay {and the wide world of Clem Snide} has a rich, multi-layered catalog of studio work, to say nothing of crazy cover projects, various musical sidebars and brave creative endeavors. However, one of our absolute favorite media-marrying results were the contributions Eef made to the score of Rocket Science, a perfectly heartbreaking little indie film that you should absolutely go pick up / queue up this instant / rent on the way home from work today. Here's a little more about Eef's role in the process:

Jeffrey Blitz wanted the film's music to be "sweet and a touch melancholy and just a step out of rhythm", demonstrating Hal's sense of himself in the world, and to express his teenage angst while "maintain[ing] an underlying sweetness". While writing the Rocket Science script, Blitz had been listening to indie rock band Clem Snide's music and suggested the use of their music on the soundtrack to the HBO executive producers. He contacted Clem Snide's lead singer Eef Barzelay to use some of the band's songs, but Barzelay says "it just made more sense for me to write original instrumental music", and composed the incidental score himself. When choosing instruments, he tried to create sounds that would match Hal's awkwardness. "I had this little ukulele that I never played … And Jeffrey [Blitz] had gotten a little bee in his bonnet about the accordion … and then at one point I started using a kazoo." One of his original songs, "I Love the Unknown", was chosen from the 1999 album Your Favorite Music.

Blisfully sweet, melancholy and a step out of rhythm indeed — we can't think of anyone better suited. And on that note, we give you the movie-version of the video, embedded above— fingers and toes crossed that we get to hear this Friday night!

{Advance prices are still available for Friday's show — only eleven dollars!! — over at Brown Paper Tickets.}