Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good

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2006-10-09T15:56:00.000-05:00

This blog has moved. If you haven't already been redirected to the new site click here. Update your links and bookmarks.

Viva Voce, Silversun Pickups, and Headlights (blogger fantasy tour #48) played at the Courtyard Cafe a couple of nights ago and I had a great time. I noticed that each of the band’s each have a really attractive female in their band which is probably what subconciously attracts me to them. Nah, it’s the music. I had a great interview with Headlights which I’ll put up in a couple of days, here is a show review I did about them a while back.

Silversun Pickups are still awesome if you needed reminding. The blogosphere collectively went nuts over their debut album, Carnavas, this Spring and you probably haven’t heard much from them since then. The band covered pretty much all of my favorite songs (Lazy Eye, Melatoin, Well Thought Out Twinkles, Kissing Families) and inbetween had some pretty interesting crowd banter. Brian, the lead singer said, “I’m officially preaching to counterculture here, right” after he discovered that no one cared about the University of Illinois game. He later had an argument with a crowd member over Jack Daniels saying it was the “McDonalds of Whiskey”.

The band was really fun to watch, the drummer for the band had a really cool setup. One of his cymbals was set up extremely high and the drummer had to do reach up and over his head to reach it, while still managing to maintain his furious beat. Brian, really tore through his riffs on the guitar and as you can see from the above picture explored the stage. Nicki meanwhile seemed to have most of the guys entranced with her pounding bass lines. The highlight was definitely the closer “Lazy Eye” which was absolutely rocking live, and featured a huge extended outro.

MP3 Lazy Eye
MP3 Well Thought Out Twinkles

Thanks everyone who emailed in for the contest. I have a ton of great submissions already. Remember to visit Pictures for Kids Who Can’t Read Good for all your concert picture needs.

Marie Antoinette Soundtrack/Poster/Lipstick Contest!

2006-10-06T12:14:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already heard, Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good has moved.

I'm only going to to update this location for a couple more days, so update your bookmarks while there's still time!

Marie Antoinette is one of the most anticipated films for me this year. I love Sophia Coppola’s work as a director (this, of course, excludes Godfather III), “Lost In Translation” is obviously a favorite but I also enjoyed what she did with “The Virgin Suicides” and am thrilled that she’s working with Kirsten Dunst again. Also, the casting of Jason Schwartzman (aka Max Fischer) is one I’m excited about.

One of the best parts, for some maybe the best, of a Sophia Coppola film is the Soundtrack, and while Lost In Translation explored Noise Pop and Shoegazing, this soundtrack is a brilliant mix of Post Punk, New Wave and Gothic Rock. It also has an Instrumental song by Air, who’s been featured in every Coppola film. It comes out on October 10th and you can win it as well as a prize package with some really cool stuff (wish I could win it, but I can’t). Here’s the rundown:

The Prize:

Marie Antoinette Official Soundtrack, Movie Poster, a Pin, and lipstick that might or might not have been used by the real Mary Antoinette.

The Rules:

Take a historical figure and pick out a New Wave/Goth Rock/Post-Punk song that you would put on the trailer for their film. You can explain your choice if you think that will help your chances.

Either email it to me at musicforant@mac.com or leave your answer (with an email address) in the comments. The one I like best wins all that stuff! You have till October 20th.

The Examples:

New Order - Age of Consent (Marie Antoinette) <--Watch the trailer
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Stargazer (Galileo)
The Cure - Jumping Someone Else’s Train (Jesse James)

Here’s a song from the MA soundtrack and an Arcade Fire cover of the song from the MA trailer:

MP3 The Cure - Plainsong
MP3 Arcade Fire - Age of Consent ( New Order Cover)

DISC 1
01. “Hong Kong Garden” - Siouxsie & The Banshees
02. “Aphrodisiac” - Bow Wow Wow
03. “What Ever Happened” - The Strokes
04. “Pulling Our Weight” - The Radio Dept.
05. “Ceremony” - New Order
06. “Natural’s Not In It” - Gang of Four
07. “I Want Candy (Kevin Shields Remix)” - Bow Wow Wow
08. “Kings Of The Wild Frontier” - Adam & The Ants
09. “Concerto in G” * - Antonio Vivaldi / Reitzell
10. “The Melody Of A Fallen Tree” - Windsor For The Derby
11. “I Don’t Like It Like This” - The Radio Dept.
12. “Plainsong” - The Cure

DISC 2
01. “Intro Versailles”* - Reitzell / Beggs
02. “Jynweythek Ylow” - Aphex Twin
03. “Opus 17″ - Dustin O’Halloran
04. “Il Secondo Giorno (Instrumental)” - Air
05. “Keen On Boys” - The Radio Dept.
06. “Opus 23″ *- Dustin O’Halloran
07. “Les Baricades Misterieuses”* - Francois Couperin / Reitzell
08. “Fools Rush In (Kevin Shields Remix)” - Bow Wow Wow
09. “Avril 14th” - Aphex Twin
10. “K. 213″ * - Domenico Scarlatti / Reitzell
11. “Tommib Help Buss” - Squarepusher
12. “Tristes Apprets..” - Jean Philippe Rameau / W. Christie
13. “Opus 36″*- Dustin O’Halloran
14. “All Cat’s Are Grey” - The Cure

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Architecture In Helsinki - Live at Vic Theatre

2006-10-05T12:34:00.000-05:00

A real conversation overheard today on the streets of Prague (translated to English):

Person 1: Hey, did you hear Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good moved to a new URL and it's better than ever.

Person 2: No, not yet, but I will update my bookmarks today

Person 3: I updated my bookmarks and it was the best decision I ever made.

Person 2: Thank you for enlightening me in this manner

(http://musicforants.com/blog)

There’s two reasons to see a Clap Your Hands Say Yea, Architecture in Helsinki show: First is to check out all the hipsters in the crowd and second is to dance your fanny off. Needless to say, both were done last monday night.

We got there just as AIH were starting their second song, and it happened to be The CemeE2��Yellow Country Teeth”. The light show was pretty impressive and the disco multi-colored disco lights that filled the room occasionally really added to their set (and the quality of my pictures). This was far from the best show I’ve seen all year, but I have to say AIH lived up to expectations and if you’re an indie kid you probably already have tickets to this show anway. I’ll have all the pics up at Pictures For Kids Who Can’t Read Good soon.

MP3 Architecture in Helsinki - Wishbone
MP3 Clap Your Hands Say Yea - The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth

Portastatic - And I Was A Boy From School (Hot Chip Cover)

2006-10-04T13:48:00.000-05:00

Why are you still here?

Ha, Just kidding, but seriously - the blog has moved (Click anywhere on this link to go the new site)

Also, Update your bookmarks!

Thank you to Derek from Good Weather For Airstrikes for pointing me in the direction of this track. It’s from Portastatic’s Sour Shores EP and it is an acoustic cover of one of my favorite tracks from this year, Hot Chip’s “Boy From School”. Nothing can beat the groovy laid back electro-awesomeness of the original but the quality of Hot Chip’s rhythm and melody still shine through on this stripped down
cover.

MP3 Portastatic - And I Was A Boy From School

The Original:

MP3 Hot Chip - And I Was A Boy From School

Also, Portastic is coming out with a new album in a week called Be Still Please. Here’s the title track from the Sour Shores EP which will also be on the new record:

MP3 Sour Shores

Any more feedback about the new site? Give me a comments…

World of Jeremy Enigk

2006-10-03T14:00:00.001-05:00

This blog has moved - Update Your Bookmarks and Links.

It's been ten years since Jeremy Enigk released his first solo album, "Return of the Frog Queen", so to say among fans of Enigk that the release of "World Waits" in two weeks is highly anticipated would be an understatement. The album has been gaining some very positive buzz due to the quality of the released tracks and the some great early reviews, but it seems that the album still has a biggest significance to long time fans of Enigk (who are used to waiting).

Before you go out and buy "World Waits" (which I hope everyone does), I think you should familiarize yourself with the Enigk's work (Sunny Day Real Estate, Return of the Frog Queen, The Fire Theft). This post is for the casual Jeremy Enigk/SDRE fan or someone who's not familiar with his work at all and would like to know the history of one of the greatest musical geniuses of our generation. Chad from Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands, who grew up in Seattle and has followed Jeremy Enigk every step of his career, has added a short statement about Suny Day Real Estate and their albums and we selected together one track that we think sums up the album musically.

Sunny Day Real Estate : Most young people go through phases in their musical interests. Bands come and go, CD's once played endlessly eventually find themselves confined to the back of the shelf. This was as true of me as of any one else, with one very notable exception: Sunny Day Real Estate. As an impressionable teenager, SDRE made its mark on me in a most powerful way, forming musical tastes that never really went away. Sunny Day, cliched as it sounds, helped me through a lot of hard times; more than 12 years since they first emerged with Diary, their music continues to impress, inspire, and move me. - Chad

Diary (1994, Buy here)
Simply put, Diary is what great, pure music is all about. Jeremy Enigk's enigmatic, beautiful lyrics and strained vocals, Dan Hoerner's amazing and complex guitar work, Nate Mendel's melodic bass lines, and William Goldsmith's overwhelming drum skills come together to form an album both rich and textured; an open journal of exposed feeling, raw emotion, and unrequited love. That the band was so young when such an incredible record was made (Enigk was 17 when most of the songs were written, 18 by the time they were recorded) only adds to the awe. - Chad

Diary is the album that changed my perspective on music, simple as that. It's still one of my favorites and the fact that music still stands up is a testament to how amazing it really is - Taylor

MP3 Song About An Angel

LP2 ("The Pink Record") (1995, Buy here)
This is the one they released after they had broken up, splintered apart by Enigk's breakdown and subsequent conversion to Christianity. LP2 sounds much different than Diary - more intricate and less "rock" - but like Diary, it's the kind of record that all but requires you to listen to it as a whole, each song strengthened by the one before it. - Chad

MP3 Red Elephant

How It Feels To Be Something On (1998, Buy here)

There were a lot of expectations surrounding the release of HIFTBSO. Having broken up rather suddenly in 1995, few people ever really expected SDRE to get back together, but they surprised nearly everyone by reforming (minus Nate Mendel, who was a full-time member of the Foo Fighters by that point) and annoucing plans to release a third record.

Thankfully, though, Sunny Day was smart enough to not try and remake either of their first two records with HIFTBSO. The songs were varied and often wonderful, but they certainly weren't rehashing "In Circles" or "Seven" with the more ominous and heavy rock of "Pillars", the full-on groove and subsequent freak-out of "The Prophet", the acoustic balladry of "Every Shining Time You Arrive" or the mellow, reflective beauty of "Days Were Golden". This is, for lack of a better term, a more "mature" record than the previous two; Enigk's vocals have more weight and less scream to them and the music surrounding him is definitely more full. As the band took the stage for their first show back together (in Seattle), I was standing in the crowd with a big ol' smile on my face. They had reformed, and they didn't suck. - Chad

MP3 Pillars

The Rising Tide (2000, Buy Here)
The Rising Tide was a very different album for Sunny Day Real Estate and it's perhaps the least accepted by fans. The sound is much more expansive and full and the songs are heavily produced to includ complex string and keyboard arrangements (much different from the raw nature of Diary). The melodies are much more direct and accessible on this album especially in tunes like "Television" or the pretty piano ballad "Rain Song". The title track of the album is perhaps the most anthemic song the band ever produced. To me it was a fitting way to the end the band's career. - Taylor

MP3 The Rising Tide

Return of the Frog Queen: After the band split up, bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith ran off to join the Foo Fighters, Dan Hoerner went back to his farm in Eastern Washington and Enigk began a solo career. In 1996, he released an absolutely gorgeous record, Return of the Frog Queen, on Subpop. It was a sharp turn away from SDRE musically, filled with acoustic guitar, orchestra strings, and Beatlesque flourishes that showcased Enigk's remarkable ability to craft solid pieces of music around his uniquely passionate and unmistakable voice. A short (only 29 minutes!) but wonderful record kept afloat by standout tracks like "Explain", "Lewis Hollow", and "Shade and the Black Hat". - Chad

MP3 Shade and the Black Hat

Buy here

The Fire Theft: The Fire Theft was formed in 2002 by Jeremy Enigk with Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith. They released a self-titled album in 2003 that focused primarilly on classic rock influences like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd but also channeled the raw passion of Sunny Day Real Estate with tracks like "Heaven" and "It's Over." - Taylor

MP3 It's Over

Buy here

Download two songs from Enigk's upcoming "World Waits" (preorder here)

MP3 Been Here Before
MP3 River To Sea

Also make sure to visit the AOL Interface to listen to Jeremy Enigk's set. He recorded it a couple weeks ago and he played a couple new songs, as well as two from Return of the Frog Queen, and a Sunny Day tune.

A Fitter, Happier, Healthier, More Productive Website

2006-10-02T12:19:00.000-05:00

I've been toiling away all weekend on this wordpress thing, and I think I actually got the new site at a point where I'm ready to share it with you. I think it's a massive improvement. If the new banner doesn't bring a tear to your eye, I'll personally buy you a orange mocha frappachino. Are the birds too cheesy? I don't think so. Are they messing up your browser? Get Flash.

Click the new banner to check out the site and make sure to tell me your thoughts. I know not everything is perfect yet, so tell me if something is messing up on you!

MP3 Radiohead - Fitter Happier
MP3 David Bowie - Changes
MP3 The Mountain Goats - Woke Up New

The new site URL: http://musicforants.com/blog

I'll still update this site for the next week or so with strong Update Your Bookmarks encouragement. (I'm having trouble posting Youtube videos on the new site, if someone is or thinks they are an expert in CSS and embedding stuff, email me)

Joseph Arthur / Ben Kweller

2006-10-02T09:11:00.000-05:00

Joseph Arthur and Ben Kweller are both singer-songwriter type, folk-influenced artists that have had CD's come out in the last couple weeks. I've been enjoying both of their albums a lot and since time is limited I'm covering both of them in one fowl swoop.

Out of the two, Joseph Arthur delivers a much darker and moody album. You'd expect that from an album called Nuclear Daydream, and Mr. Arthur does it well. The album is much more psychedelic based then I would have expected, but it really works well as does the intertwining of acoutic and jangly guitar sounds. "Enough to Get Away" is a stand-out track for me, music-wise it's very dense and layered, making great use of multiple loops and electronic tracks. There's a rambling quality to the verses that I like and the chorus makes a great use of a backing chorus to emphasize the title line in the song.

MP3 Enough to Get Away
MP3 Black Lexus

Ben Kweller, on the other hand, produces a much more pop-centric album and one that is ultimately more enjoyable for me front to back. It's amazing to me that Kweller not only wrote twelve beautifully constructed songs but did all the instrumentation on this album as well (the man has talent). "Penny on the Train Track" is one of the best songs I've heard this year. I've listened to it dozens of times in the last week and I still am finding new things about it I like. It's quite amazing how he takes a simple piano tune with a guitar riff and finds so many places to go with it. "Nothing Happening" is another stand-out, the piano parts are a highlight of this song, and to me they recall some of Elton John's songs.

MP3 Penny on the Train Track
MP3 Nothing Happening

Buy Ben Kweller
Buy Nuclear Daydream

Thought of the day: Who would win in a brawl between Joseph Arthur and Ben Kweller? Will Kweller's nose-bleeding be a disadvantage?

Pygmalion Fest: Of Montreal

2006-10-01T11:49:00.000-05:00

Outback Steakhouse's latest ad musicians showed up in Urbana, IL to headline the much-hyped 10th Anniversary Polyvinyl Party. Althought the crowd was full of diehards, I'm not sure anyone expected Music Man covers, onstage theatrics involving a handcuffs, a whip, and Saran wrap, and a complete disreguard for simple things like... clothing. The band brought out all the stops for the college town crowd and moreso than any other indie band I've seen, they were treated like rock stars (you wouldn't expect girls in the front to scream and constantly try to touch the lead singer at a Tapes n' Tapes show)

I was really impressed with the setlist at this show, it actually seems like it was constructed for a fan just like me who loves their newer albums, but is only familiar with a few "classics" on the older ones. The best part really was seeing leaked songs like "She's A Rejector" and "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" being played and people actually knowing all the words. "Till There Was You" (Music Man), "Bat Macumba" (Os Mutantes) and "**** The Pain Away" (Peaches) were all covered by the band.

Kevin Barnes clothing progression:
puffy red blouse, skirt, and big red boots --> mini skirt, flowing half-shirt --> mini-skirt (no top)--> daisy duke jean shorts, signature red jacket --> daisy dukes (no top)

I posted a video of Requiem for O.M.M. 2 a while back and here's another video from the night. It's called "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" which is my new favorite Of Montreal tune and probably the song that makes me want dance more than any other song in the world. I still haven't figured out how to pronounce the name so I just call it "Chemicals!". Here's the video (sorry it's short) and MP3:

MP3 Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse

Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good is in the midst of a change of epic porportions. Get ready to update your bookmarks!

Pygmalion Fest: Headlights

2006-09-29T11:58:00.000-05:00

I don't want to oversaturate you with too much from one band, especially since I've already done a concert review (read here) and have an interview with Headlights scheduled in about a week, but I do want to share this awesome video I shot of them playing TV at the Pygmalion Fest. The Of Montreal review is coming soon!

MP3 TV

Headlights @ Pictures For Kids Who Can't Read Good

Middle Distance Runner

2006-09-28T12:36:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I got an awesome pacakge from up-and-coming band D.C. band Middle Distance Runner. Not only did they send me their CD, and a hilarious personalized note, but also a slightly used pack of Dentyne Ice Arctic Chill (because in their words, "Apparantly nothing is colder then ice, dentyne ice"). As it turns out, I found both the gum and the album to be extrememly fresh and satisfying.

The album starts off with the wonderfully catchy "Naturally", and the handclaps draw you right into the album. Garage-rock "Man of the People" is the next track that caught my attention and it has a pretty rockin' riff that would make Jet jealous. They also manage to fit in some handclaps into this song (is that the MDR trademark?). "Out of Here" is an atmospheric rock song that may draw a few Radiohead comparisons, the guitar solo at the end really wowed me here. But all of those were just preparing you for the best song on the album, "That's A Lie" which builds up to a triumphant "wall-of-sound" finish. It's the perfect song to end the album.

Middle Distant Runner's album "Planes In Flames" is an extremely impressive debut. They're looking for a record deal, and I know that if I had a label I'd sign them right away. If not for the music, but for all the free Dentyne Ice that I would expect from them. These songs are all personally recommended by me. Don't leave without listening to them!

MP3 Naturally (left-click to download)
MP3 That's A Lie (left-click to download)
MP3 Man of the People
MP3 Out of Here

Buy the album!
Myspace them!

The Cars Unlocked!

2006-09-27T12:55:00.000-05:00

I got the The Cars Unlocked DVD/CD set in the mail today after watching the DVD, I've come to a few conclusions. First and foremost, Greg Hawkes is by the far the most awesome keyboardist of the 80's. He's absolutely hilarious in every scene that he's in. (I guess I should explain that as well as having 14 live performances there's a freakin' ton of backstage footage on this DVD, and most of it is surprisingly good). In one very memorable scene, Greg is explaining the different food groups that are provided backstage and while he's doing it he begins throwing the food all over the place and shouting things in a Italian (see pic above). That's what I call rock n' roll. In another scene Greg and guitarist Elliot Easton torture a interviewer from the Denver Post until breaking point. Very funny stuff and something I'm sure Cars fans will want to see.

The live shows are nice to have even though, from technical standpoint they're pretty poor quality. But since these were ripped from 80's videotape recordings you don't expect the picture quality or sound to be perfect, and it gives you a sense of 80's nostalgia in the same way that watching VH1 Classic all the time does. The song selection on the DVD covers everything that I'd want to see from the band besides maybe "Hello, Again". It's interesting to note the different hair styles that the band goes through from 1978-1987 and the range on the DVD of the band playing at small clubs to stadums to huge outdoor festivals. If you're a Cars fan or just enjoy old 80's concert footage go to Docurama to buy the album. The DVD can be summed up with a quote from Elliot Easton - "The kids were great, they were funny, they threw glass at us, they spit, they puked, I'm glad!"

MP3 Just What I Needed
MP3 Shake It Up

Official Site
Trailer: Quicktime / Windows Media

Pygmalion Fest: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

2006-09-26T14:45:00.000-05:00

Boris Yeltsin was the president of Russia between 1991-1999. In fact, he was the first president of Russia. He also holds the Guinness Record for being the most hospitilized world leader. For some reason, a few college students decided to give the man some love and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin was formed. The band released their debut album, Broom, in 2005 and through a rollercoaster ride of blog mentions and a O.C. music appearance the band landed on Polyvinyl Records this year.

They opened up the Poyvinyl 10th Anniversary Party, and they rocked the house with a variety of songs from their debut and new unreleased songs. Other than a wierd statement that they would kick Sufjan's ass if he wrote a song about Missouri, their set came off very well and they seemed to have a lot of fun onstage. If you haven't heard the band yet, give these songs a try and I guarantee that you too will proclaiming your love for Boris Yeltsin.

MP3 Oregon Girl
MP3 Yr Broom

Myspace

Video - Of Montreal / The Deadly Syndrome

2006-09-25T13:22:00.001-05:00

Saturday's Somebody Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin/Headlights/Of Montreal show was insane. I took a bunch of video and pictures and I'm prepping a review of all three acts that played. Here's a preview of the Of Montreal show. The song they're playing is one of their self-proclaimed "Solid Gold Hits" - Requiem for O.M.M. 2.

The Deadly Syndrome

The Deadly Syndrome are a very new band (they just started playing shows last month) from the L.A. music scene. Somehow they must have gotten my address because they sent me their demo last week, and it's really good. Lots of different styles are represented between the four songs, "The ship that shot itself" is an acoustic folk song with a nice little melody progression. "I hope I become a ghost" is a jazzy Spoon-like piano rock song with a really interesting tempo change in the middle of the song. "Emily Paints" is a dance electronica song that shares some characteristics with New York scene bands like Clap your Hands Say Yeah. "Eucalyptus" is also a bit dancey, but I'd compare it more to Seattle bands like Wolf Parade.

The band covers a lot of genres/music scenes in one short demo (as the cliche goes "there's something for everyone"), it'll be interesting to see where the band goes from here, as it seems like they have a lot of options for which direction they want to take their music. Here's all four tracks (as provided by the band):

MP3 the ship that shot itself
MP3 i hope i become a ghost
MP3 emily paints
MP3 eucalyptus

Website
Myspace

Pygmalion Fest: Murder By Death

2006-09-24T13:08:00.000-05:00

Murder By Death is a band that I just recently got into and I was only really familiar with the material from their latest album, In Bocca al Lupo. Basically, I didn't know what to expect when the band hit the stage, but from the murmurings from the crowd you could sense the anticipation and excitement for the show, especially with it being the last show on Murder By Death's tour. The band immediately tore into some of their older material, which was obviously favored by a crowd made up of mostly die-hard fans. Whereas during Margot and the Nuclear So and So's set, the percussionist was the funnest member to watch, during this set it was easily the celloist who caught most of my attention. Whether she was fiercly playing the cello or banging on the piano she never lost her intensity during the set.

At one point, Murder By Death's lead singer, Adam, asked the audience if for the next song, he should play a regular guitar solo or a wanky, horrible sounding guitar solo. The crowd all yelled "wanky" and the band went into "Brother", which was probably my favorite song on their set (the guitar solo was pretty wanky). During "Boy Decide" the bass player layed out on the ground while Adam stood over him shredding his guitar and yelling to the ceiling (see picture above). The set was full of moments like these. For the encore the band played a few requests from the crowd, the one I remember most being "Intergalatic Menopause". If you're a hardcore fan of Murder By Death, you've probably seen them live a dozen times and know how great they are. If you aren't, maybe it's time for you to join the ranks.

MP3 Brother
MP3 Intergalactic Menopause

View the rest of my pictures from this show at Pictures For Kids Who Can't Read Good.

Pygmalion Fest: Margot & The Nuclear So and So's

2006-09-23T16:07:00.000-05:00

Margot & The Nuclear So and So's was the first band that I saw at the Pygmalion Fest for which I had a lot of built-up excitement. Their live show has been much hyped on blogs, so I went in with high expectations and they were not only met but exceeded. As much as I love the warm folk-pop of "The Dust of Our Retreat" in a live setting their songs rocked at least three times harder, and i made the show that much better. The band was short one member (the celloist), but I didn't think it made too much of a difference, especially when there was none-too-small seven people on stage. What had everybody after the show talking was the energy of the band, and especially of Casey the ancillary percussionist. Best dance moves I've seen at an indie show since Belle & Sebastian came around earlier in the year. Due to this and Casey's occasional primal screams at the audience (see pic on right), the crowd totally got into the performance.

The songs I were looking forward to the most were "Skeleton Key", "Vampires in Blue Dresses", and "Quiet as a Mouse" and each of them were performed extremely well. What really stood out though was the incredible ending song, "Barfight Revolution, Power Violence", which had members of the crowd running on stage and grabbing random instruments to play. Whatever you do, don't pass up a chance to see Margot... play live, it's a wonderful concert experience and one I won't soon forget.

MP3 Skeleton Key
MP3 Quiet As A Mouse

Got to Pictures For Kids Who Can't Read Good to see all my concert pictures.

Grey's Anatomy and Sleeping At Last

2006-09-21T13:34:00.000-05:00

While I've never seen a full episode of Grey's Anatomy (I get all the drama I need from Project Runway), I do know that they have great music on the show. A number of artists that I've featured or talked about on this site have made it onto the show's soundtrack and like "The O.C." even though the show might be unbearable to some at times, the music picks are pretty consistently good. For these reasons, I was really excited when I heard that a song from Sleeping At Last's new CD, Keep No Score, was going to be featured on the season premiere.

The song that will be played is "Quicksand" which is a song that start's brilliantly with a minor chords played on a piano and Ryan's haunting voice and then grows into a triumphant strings-filled ballad. During the last minute of the song, the song takes an interesting turn as the piano again takes center stage the drums take a marching beat. Here's an MP3 of the song:

MP3 Sleeping At Last - Quicksand

Here's a few more songs that I like that have been featured on Grey's Anatomy. After you watch the premiere of The Office tonight, make sure to tune into the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy at 9/8 central. You can buy Sleeping At Last's album on the iTunes Store (link).

MP3 The Chalets - Sexy Mistake
MP3 Inara George - Fools In Love
MP3 Wilco - Hummingbird
MP3 The Weepies - World Spins Madly Around
MP3 Maria Taylor - Song Beneath The Song

I'm going to be at Pygmalion Festival starting today. I'll have a update for you from the fest on Saturday.

Anni Rossi

2006-09-20T15:27:00.000-05:00

In the Shearwater interview that I posted a couple days ago the band's drummer mentioned that an artist he was listening to named Anni Ross from Chicago, who "plays viola and sings these strange sort of fragile songs". I was intrigued so I visited her myspace and downloaded a few of her songs. One thing I noticed right away was the similarities in voice and performance who's recently captured the hearts of nearly every blogger and indie kid out there (including myself), Joanna Newsom. Replace the harp with a viola, and you're getting an idea of what she sounds like.

There's a number of lo-fi folk pop songs that Anni Rossi has been rotating on her myspace and I've enjoyed all of them. The songs feature some interesting tempo changes, lyrics like "swinging crazily like the stock exchange", and they are like Thor said, both strange and fragile. Although, I like all her original complositions ("Machine" is especially good), the song that I've listened to the most is her cover of Radiohead's "Creep." Her voice is a perfect fit for this song - Shaky, delicate, and sometimes just eerie. The best part of the song is at the 1:50 mark, where she goes from soft viola-plucking to complete viola freakout mode. A very interesting and unique take on a classic song. Here's a few of my favorite songs of hers:

MP3 Creep (Radiohead Cover)
MP3 Machine
MP3 In The Flatlands (left-click to download)
MP3 Pondsnakes (left-click download)

Listen to a couple more at Anni's Rossi's myspace.

Now It's Overhead

2006-09-19T14:49:00.000-05:00

Now It's Overhead has alot going for them in my book. First, they're from Athens, Georgia, a town that literally breeds good music. The Athens scene brought us In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Widespread Panic , Automatic for the People, 1/2 of Gnarls Barkley, and "Rock Lobster". Secondobly, the band just was signed to Saddle Creek Records who have put out some of my favorite music in the last decade. Thirdly, the members of Azure Ray (Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink) significantly contributed to this album, singing back vocals as well as collaborating with the band on the album's compositions. Now It's Overhead lives up to it's potential here with the satisfying and well-constructed album, Dark Light Daybreak.

The album starts off with "Let The Sirens Rest" which features some washy electric guitars and a nice consistent beat throughout the song that builds to include a sea of background voices near the end of the song. The songs explore a lot of interesting chord progressions and focus on minor chords much more than you'd expect in an pop-oriented record. The acoustic guitars on this album have a very nice sound (or timber if you want to get technical) which you can hear throught the album but takes center stage in the songs "Meaning to Stay" and "Let Up". Dark Light Daybreak is a good listen and one that I'll probably go back to multiple times.

MP3 Let The Sirens RestMP3 Let Up
MP3 Walls

Bonus: songs from the band's previous album (courtesy of Saddle Creek):
MP3 Wonderful Scar
MP3 Hold Your Spin

Buy the album
Myspace

Dinner and an Interview with Shearwater

2006-09-18T09:24:00.000-05:00

Last week, I went to see Shearwater in concert (read review here) but I also got the chance to sit down with them before the show and have a casual interview/conversation with the band. We went to one of my favorite deli's in the area called Potbelly and talked about things like tour experiences, SXSW, Arrested Development, caterpillars, the future of the band, Lou Reed, and the infamous AMG review. Click here to read the whole interview.

Here's the band members listed from left to right in accordance to the picture above (taken by me at the U of Ill. Courtyard):
Howard (keyboard, guitar)
Thor (drummer)
Jonathon (vocals, guitar)
Kim (upright bass)

What music is in heavy rotation for you right now?

J: Ali Farka Roure’s new record is amazing. African guitarist, He actually died a couple of months ago.
T: Anni Rossi, she plays viola and sings these strange sort of fragile songs, beautiful and a really good instrumentalist, she actually plays in Carla Bozulich’s band, the chick from the Geraldine Fibbers. We just recorded with that band Smog, we like them.
K: We started the tour with Charlotte Gainsbourg, we love her.
H: There’s this guy named Larry Mullins
Me: You mean the drummer from U2?
J: That’s Larry Mullen
H: I think this Larry Mullins is cooler because he played for Iggy Pop for like nine years.
T: Iggy Pop is cooler than U2.
J: I like U2 though.
T: Me too, but Iggy Pop is cooler

Have any interesting tour stories?

H: The stampede of cheerleaders that almost ran us over. There was an all metal bathroom in the club we were at last night because after 20 years all the punk shows there had been destroying it… that was weird.
K: I have a personal story, we got to a club in Toronto, and the headstock snapped off the top of my bass, so it was basically broken in half. I had never played the electric bass in my life, so I ran into the Green Room for 45 minutes and learned how to play it.
Me: I think I read a review where it said you were playing an electric bass, was that in Chicago?
K: it happened in Toronto, but then we were touring with The Mountain Goats so I toured with the electric all year.
T: We borrowed one in Chicago

Shearwater’s obviously gone through some major changes in line-up and focus since it’s beginning. How do you think the music progressed from when you first started to right now?

J: When we first started we were a little egg, then we hatched out of that egg and we were this little larva kindof wandering around and knawing on things. Then we became a caterpillar and we got some decoration, but we were still earthbound and chewing on stuff. About the time Thieves EP came out we built this chrysalis around ourselves and then while we were in there we made this new record and we came out and flew away.

How does your biology background and bird watching affect the music?

J: Looking at birds makes you look real closely at a world that you otherwise don’t pay attention to. That focus is very similar to the focus that you have when you’re making music or when your writing music. But also I just love the natural world and it’s nice to watch something that doesn’t really care at all about you.

What was that like touring with the Mountain Goats? They’re one of my favorite bands.

T: Awesome, Totally Great.
K: They were great guys.
H: I thought it was really interesting to be in the middle of the set and Jonathon was giving everything and I looked over to the side and there’s kindof this window and I could see into Darnielle’s dressing room. And he’s in there twirling, his arms were up and he’s mouthing the exact same lyrics, belting them out.
Me: I saw him at Pitchfork Fest and I noticed him backstage watching a few of the other bands playing.
T: He’s really well-versed in his death metal.
K: They’re also really good about picking out cool bands and taking them on tour with them.

So, I read a review that was attached to your album on emusic…

J: Was it by All Music Guide
(I answer yes)
J: Hate that review.
Me: It said pretty blatantly that you got the inspiration from Jeff Buckley, and a commenter mentioned that you that you made response against it the on your website.
J: I just don’t feel like our music resembles him other than I sing high notes some time, but he didn’t patent that
H: That’s the tragic thing the guy made a call, he made an information-based call that I think you like this.
J: Even if he compared me to Jeff Buckley that would of annoyed me but it wouldn’t have gotten me worked up. He said that my inspiration was clearly Jeff Buckley, and I’ve never listened to an entire Jeff Buckley record.
H: I actually grew up liking Jeff Buckley, but it’s completely different.
J: It was a lazy review
T: Dude where does he live, let’s go kick his ass. Just write that Thor the drummer is so ready to kick that guy’s ass and say we know where he lives... even though we don’t even know what city.
(Everyone laughs)

What is the relationship now does Will Sheff have with Shearwater and similarly how involved are you with Okervill River.

J: I don’t know Will what do you think
T: (Imitating Will) Well, Shearwater is a better band, but we’re famous, so we pay Jonathon’s bills.
J: No, Will even on this last record where you don’t hear him has definitely helped us out on the record, he sequenced the record. When Will and I started Shearwater things were very different, they were going at the same time and I was in Shearwater before I was in Okkervil.
Me: Oh really, so Okkervil for you is a side project to Shearwater.
J: Yea, but we were working on the records at the same time, there’s sortof this misconception that Shearwater is the little baby band of Okkervil River.
Me: I think your Wikipedia page, which is the source of all knowledge of course, says that Shearwater started as the softer songs of Okkervil River.
T: We can edit that
J: Will had some songs that Okkervil wasn’t playing and I was in a different band, and so he said we should do a project together and some of them were quieter in general but the idea wasn’t to make it the quiet boring version of Okkervil River.
Me: How did you feel about the Okkervil River shout-out at the VMAs
J: We knew that he liked the band, and it’s exciting, but at the same time the main excitement was that he even knew about the band had already happened a couple months back.

I’m going to ask you a question about Austin because it’s one of my favorite cities. How do you think it’s benefited your career to be from a town with such a great music atmosphere and music scene?

T: There’s so many people to work with. Good studios and so many good people to bring in to work on our records, that’s a huge great thing about making music in Austin. Like you think, who can we get to play (unrecognizable instrument), you can think of five people. You can we get to play violin, there’s 25 people we can think of.
K: In terms of playing SXSW we’ve done it every year for the last six years, and the first time we were in an outdoor restaurant on a concert stage with a moat in between us and the audience. It’s been nice to go from that to the venue to progressively better spots.
J: Each time’s been better than the last.
K: And we’ve played each one better.
J: Austin’s just a really friendly place to be.

I’ve noticed that the album has been critically acclaimed in many places as one of the best indie rock albums of 2006, but at the same time it’s also been called one of the most overlooked albums of the year by Pitchfork and some others. Why do you think that is?

H: I think you just put stuff out there and you don’t have control over some things, but you can’t really expect anything in particular.
J: We’re just going to keep on going and hope that the audience catches up with the critics.
T: It might lie in something as simple as taste, but it also lies in promotion and how much we’ve been able to tour.
J: This is a small operation, the promotion budgets we have aren’t very huge.
H: A lot of my favorite records never were sellers out of the gates, people couldn’t care less about Nick Drake when he was playing coffee shops and look at Pink Moon now.
J: But he had to die, we don’t want to die
Me: Or you have a case like Arrested Development
K: I was completely thinking that, it’s extremely critically acclaimed and it’s the smartest TV show I’ve ever seen and it keeps getting canceled and repicked up
Me: I think it’s canceled for good now (I explain how AD was going to Showtime and then Mitch backed out)
H: If I had a really good thing going and I could tell it was going to slip then I would shoot it in the head.
J: But I don’t feel like shooting you in the head?
H: Then I guess I’m not done yet.

What do you guys think of the music blog scene and how has it affected Shearwater?

J: It’s interesting how it’s grown so much over the last two years
H: It’s fun to watch people have that control away from paid promotions and media and stuff, but at the same time it’s a reflecting pool that can be dangerous, it’s inevitable you’re going to get reviews that don’t like your stuff.
T: It’s an inspiration though, that it exists now.
H: There’s an X Times article that he’s saying that blogs couldn’t have an impact and he couldn’t have been more wrong.
J: Long live the blogs.

What does the future hold for Shearwater?

J: Different from this last record, every record has been pretty different than the one before and we want to continue to do that.
Me: Do you know in what ways you want it to be different?
T: Maybe not in a way we know yet.
J: Yea, we may not know entirely, we’ve got some new ideas and it’s sortof like dragging things off the bottom of the lake and washing them off and seeing what they are.
T: And some kids don’t look like their parents.
K: In the same token though, I feel like in the last couple of tours we’ve sortof learned to play with each other as a band and I feel like that sort of community has helped each other out.
T: When the band started it was like two really good song writers with some nice instrumentation, but now it’s more like a band for better or worse, because I still think the first record is great.
J: I love the progressional organic sound of the new record. All the pieces feel really put together.
Me: And with you as the only singer, it has to feel more unified.
J: I think mostly that’s been good, I love a lot of the songs that Will wrote and put together but at the same time this record all these songs seemed right.

How’d you enjoy Potbelly?

J: We thought it was great, perfect.
T: It kicked ass.

MP3 Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five
MP3 Hail Mary

Read the rest of the interview...

Goldenboy

2006-09-17T14:36:00.000-05:00

Goldenboy is a garage indie pop band started by Shon Sullivan who are releasing their sophomore album, Underneath the Radio, this year. Sullivan was formerly a member of the band Spain and has collaborated with both Elliot Smith and Neil Finn in his career. As an artist, his songwriting skills reflect much of Smith's work and also is reminscent of The Velvet Underground's more contemplative songs (See "Pale Blue Eyes").

That's not to say the album is completely depressing, there's songs like "Second Day of the Year" which could have pulled off of one of Belle & Sebastian's albums. In the song "Motorbike", the lyrics talk about finding yourself on rainy afternoons and I think if you ever find yourself doing that, this music could be the soundtrack. Just let the sounds of acoustic struming with jangly guitar interludes wash over you.

MP3 Motorbike
MP3 Second Day of the Year

Myspace

Kunek

2006-09-14T14:53:00.001-05:00

"Comfortable Baroque pop" is a phrase used by a reviewer to describe the Oklahoma band Kunek and it's one that I think describes them quite well. Baroque music, as I learned in my music history class, was very elaborate, ornate, and melodramatic which would all describe Kunek. The cover image on Kunek's album, Flight of the Flynns, is of a dandelion with it's seeds floating away and the music has a similar effect of floating. It's a very comfortable and mellowed out feeling, listening to the album. Sometimes there is a sense of urgency in the music, but the dreamy nature of the vocals in the song and the lovely piano and strings arrangements keep it you from ehereal place.

"Coma" is probably what many would agree to be the most memorable song on the album, the chamber filling piano in the song isn't something you can easily forget. There's also a folksy aspect to the music and instruments like acoustic guitar and harmonica are added during songs like "All Together" to bring this feeling to the front. Overall, I think this band shows a great amount of potential. Here's the two forementioned tracks from Flight of the Flynns which was released this week:

MP3 Coma
MP3 All Together

Buy the album
Myspace

Gawker started a music blog apparently to make fun of other music blogs. Huh? I don't know whether to be mad or be impressed...

"We'll cover the people who are manufacturing the latest band buzz, whether it's an old-guard standby (Rolling Stone), an absurdly powerful new-media turk (Pitchfork), or an agenda-pimping blogger (take your pick)."

Shearwater - Live @ Courtyard Cafe

2006-09-13T16:56:00.000-05:00

The Courtyard Cafe is becoming one of my favorite venues in the central Illinois for many reasons. The location (center of U of I campus), the price (usually about 7 dollars), and the variety of bands playing are always great. Such was the case last weekend when I saw Shearwater play. The band had all the lights in the room turned off and played under two extremely harsh spot lights that cast large shadows onto the stage and added to the haunting feel of the set.

The band opened with the beautiful tradional celtic song, "Mountain Laurel" which is one of favorite's of theirs. All the rest of the songs were from Shearwater's newest album, Palo Santo, and they came off wonderfully. The band played two of the more fast paced tracks "Red Sea, Black Sea" and "Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five" at the beginning of the set and then moved into some of the more transcendent pieces. Johnathon's vocals came alive during the tracks "White Waves" and "Le Dame et La Licorne" which left me with shivers and from looking around had similar effect on the rest of the crowd. The mood wasn't broken throughout the whole set and the last song "Hail Mary" (which was described as a creepy painting of the Virgin Mary being carried to heaven on a cloud of babies) was the sight of every member of the band lost in their element.

MP3 Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five
MP3 Hail Mary

The "iTunes Coverflow + Album Art = Sexy" Mix

2006-09-13T13:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday brought us a dizzying amount of media products out of the Apple's Special Event, including new iPods, movies in iTunes Store (only disney-owned, but still), and a preview of "iTV" which links the media on your computer to your TV. What I'm most excited for right now though, is the sexy new views in iTunes 7. (If Steve Jobs can call them sexy, I can). I have a music collection of over 10,000 songs and in a perfect world all of these would be linked to high-res album art. Apple just made that world a little more perfect by automatically downloading high-res album art for free from the Store when you add the songs. Sweet!

But that's not even coolest part. Now you can browse your playlists by album art with a view called Coverflow (see it in action). The effect is something that really has to be seen but the incredibly fluid motion, the beautiful mirror reflections, and the scrolling three-dimensional nature of the art makes this feature the best, I think, ever added to the Music Player. Coverflow had me up for hours last night browsing my collection and if you're a music and album art freak like me you might feel the same.

I made a mix of songs from this year with what I think is really really sexy album art. The high-res album cover is attached to the MP3 file so you can add it to a playlist and play them in Coverflow view. If you haven't gotten iTunes 7 yet, it's free and you can get it here. Tell me what some of your favorite artwork from 2006 is in the comments.

MP3 Eagles of Death Metal - I Want You So Hard
MP3 Hot Chip - So Glad To See You
MP3 Page France - Junkyard
MP3 Chad Vangaalen - Flower Gardens
MP3 The Grates - Science is Golden
MP3 Asobi Seksu - Thursday
MP3 Jeremy Enigk - Been Here Before

By the way, Page France's album, Hello, Dear Wind, is being rereleased this week on Suicide Squeeze. It's still amazing and if you haven't done so already, go buy it.

Murder By Death

2006-09-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

One of the most dynamic albums that I've heard recently is In Bocca al Lupo by Murder By Death. The packaging of the album, which includes mysterious album art of a tree who's roots seem to reach all the way to hell, and the album title (which comes from the Italian phrase "In the mouth of the wolf") both help set a rough and gritty mood that continues through the whole album. Murder By Death, lyric-wise create dark-themed storylines, and music-wise, it contrasts sweeping rock tunes ("Boy Decide", "Brother") with slow ballads that build into heavily orchestrated and highly dramatic compositions ("The Big Sleep" / "The Devil Drives").

The highlight of the album is Adam Turla's vocals of which the gruffiness can only be compared to classic singers, Johnny Cash or Tom Waits. This style fits the themes of the album, which are sin, punishment, devils, angels, and redemption perfectly. These are all told over a bottle of whiskey in a setting that seems to be a drafty western bar where spanish trumpets, cellos, and organs fill the room. In Bocca al Lupo is a record that appeals to the darker side of individuals and it brings you on a dirt road journey that you don't want to pass by. Very highly recommended.

MP3 Brother
MP3 The Big Sleep

Buy the album
Visit their myspace

Arrah and the Ferns Live!

2006-09-11T13:39:00.000-05:00

When I arrived at the Shearwater show on Saturday, Arrah and the Ferns were probably the last band I expected to open. I had downloaded a couple songs from them at Skatterbrain which I had casually enjoyed but after seeing the band play, I can tell you they are definitely a band to take note of. There were a group of U of Illinois students there that looked like they came off the set of Footloose (or Step Up) which raised the enjoyability factor up considerably.

The three-piece band were also dancing inbetween playing a miniature banjo and telling jokes like "How much does a polar bear weigh... Enough to break the ice!" On one of the slower songs some of the students started ballroom dancing which I'd never think I would see at an indie concert. The music stylings of the band ranged from twee to folk to alt-country, all encompassed in what could be called midwestern indie pop. On the last song two of the members jumped off the stage to dance with audience. If you live in the midwestern area make sure to catch this band on one of their upcoming dates. And bring your dancing shoes.

MP3 Emo Phillips
MP3 Apple for Evan

Myspace
Buy their debut album: Evan is a Vegan

Beck - Elevator Music

2006-09-09T16:39:00.000-05:00

Today, I finally sat down and listened to the new Beck songs and I'm really liking them in a big way. "Elevator Music" so far is my favorite, and I've had it on repeat for most of the day. It's everything I expect in a Beck song: inventive, funky, and psychedelic, plus it's smoother than anything that I've heard from him in the last couple of years. Guerowas good and all but I was a bit bored with Beck after listening to it for a good chunk of last year. Hopefully, The Information will have enough lasting power that I'll still want to listen to it at this time next year. If "Elevator Music" is any indication, it just might be.

MP3 Beck - Elevator Music

Feeling' like some kinky Spanish electronica?

2006-09-08T12:32:00.000-05:00

If you answered yes to the above question, you've come to the right place. The band is Kinky (no really, that's their name) and the album is Reina, which roughly translates to "It Reigns!" (or queen). Kinky is from Monterrey, Mexico and they are bringing the fiesta back the only way they know how--by getting you on the dance floor and laying down the beats. Bailamos!

The band spices up the tracks with a buzzy electronic bass line--if you're a fan of Cansei Der Sexy then you already know and probably love this sound. Reina is also Tropicalia inspired, which begs the question, what would CSS and OS Mutantes sound like, if they played on the same stage at this year's Pitchfork Fest? My guess is they'd probably sound like Kinky. One of the best songs is "Leon" which sounds like a sped up version of a Ratatat song (Panther sounds and all). Bonus points for having a song called "Sister Twisted" and one of the guys from Men At Work sing on the album. 80's Flashback!

MP3 Sister Twisted
MP3 Again and So On
MP3 Leon*

Buy the album
Myspace

*Fixed

The New-Facebook-Is-Creepy Mix!

2006-09-06T13:21:00.000-05:00

As any college student has probably heard, there's a new facebook in town and it's the kind that wants to know every thing your doing at all times and broadcast it to everyone on your friends list. It all started yesterday morning and it's resulted with a huge student and major media reaction of the massively popular social website being "stalkerish". There's dozens of online groups against the Facebook facelift and one of them already has more than 300,000 members. Campusprogress.org sums up many of our frustrations:

"Now, every time you do anything on Facebook, you issue a bulletin for all of your friends. Now no one will miss the fact that you think you look horrible in a picture, or that you didn’t accept an invitation to someone’s event....Indeed, a wall post or a photo comment used to be under the radar—a technically public but still quiet act akin to putting a note on someone’s dorm-room door.....Now, a wall post is more of a bulletin, a public declaration for all to see—something like nailing it to the door of the dining hall."

The Facebook guy has responded but I'm sure he's going to have to do a little more than sit idly by if he wants to save his precious product. Personally, I think it's hilarious how everyone I walk by in school is talking about Facebook News Feed as if it's the most important issue currently (forget Crocodile Hunter and Pluto). Anyway, in a feeble attempt to capitalize on this event, I'm making a mix about it.

MP3 Burkward Dallwitz - It's A Life (Theme to Truman Show)
One of my friends made a wall post comparing the new Facebook to a real life Truman Show, I know this because the post was broadcasted to me and everyone else on her list.

MP3 Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me
Now somebody probably is always watching you...

MP3 Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth
This is being called by many the first large-scale student protest since the 1960s. Paranoia strikes deep.

MP3 Yo La Tengo - You Tore Me Down
From the album "Fakebook", ha, that kindof sounds like Facebook.

MP3 David Bowie - Big Brother
Big Brother (and your friend's roomate who's not really your friend) is watching...

MP3 Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken
One of the new features is everyone can see the exact second when two people broke off a relationship (not always something you want to broadcast)

MP3 Public Enemy - Fight The Power
Official Boycott Facebook day is September 12th.

See a live counter of "Students against News Feed" here

Stars of Track and Field (are beautiful people)

2006-09-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

Stars of Track and Field have all the right ingredients to become a big band in today's musical climate. It has the U2, Coldplay, Radiohead like sound that everyone's going crazy over and a huge lead-off single in "Movies of Antarctica, but also it has enough quality and variety to separate it from it's peers. They have a sensiblity to their songs that recall early 90's shoegaze bands and many of their vast landscapes come with a electronica backing.

Some stand-out tracks on Centuries Before Love and War include the already-mentioned "Movies of Antartica" which mixes a stadium filling guitars with a drowning vocals that actually fit quite well. "With You" and "Arithmatik" both explore a more electronica sound before shooting into the guitar rock that we've become use to.

MP3 Movies of Antartica
MP3 Arithmatik

Let Me Introduce You To I'm From Barcelona

2006-09-04T13:06:00.000-05:00

Who am I kidding? I'm sure with all the Pitchfork Hullabaloo that you've at least heard of the band that made a hundred bloggers all say "The Swedish Polyphonic Spree" at once. I just got a hold of the I'm From Barcelona's debut CD appropiately titled Let Me Introduce My Friends, and it's pretty spectacular. The song "We're From Barcelona" is the first song you'll want to hear from this band, and you'll probably love it or hate it right from the start. Personally, I love it. It's incredibly uplifting and it begs for you to join in singing (try it, it's therapeutic). The message of the song is that we're ALL from Barcelona which you can either try to take at face value or turn into an anthem for world peace, or something.

Moving on, "Ola Kala" is probably the cheesiest, most bombastic song on the album and since that's really's what the album is all about to me, it works perfectly. The songs starts off with fast paced singing over beatbox drums and then unexpectedly the chorus kicks in with 26+ voices in the background and lines like "Don't be afraid" and "It's going to be OK". Go into this album expecting synths, banjos, choruses, bells, whistles, guitars, and other random orchestration, and add in some extremely fun and memorable lyrics with spirit-rising melodies and you have what might be (according to the song "Rec & Play) your new favorite album. Forget about your problems and stress and put Let Me Introduce My Friends on for full escapism.

MP3 We're From Barcelona
MP3 Ola Kala

Myspace
Buy it.

Pygmaliapalooza! or "Midwest Is The Best"

2006-09-03T00:56:00.000-05:00

Last week the schedule was released for the indiest of all midwestern fests, Pygmalion Music Festival (which I will continue to call Pygmaliapalooza until someone legally tells me to stop). This festival has got two Elephant6 bands signed on (Of Montreal/Elf Power) as well as Danielson, Man Man, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, David Bazan, and the 10th anniversary show of Polyvinal Records. Best Part? Pygmalion is also going down just a couple towns over from my living quarters. I guess that only applies to me but, oh well. Anyone else rocking in the midwest and is planning on going to this?

MP3 Headlights - The Midwest Is The Best

WEDNESDAY
CANOPY CLUB ($10/12)
Elf Power – 12:00am
Geoff Reacher – 11:00pm
Mad Science Fair 10:00pm
Dress Code – 9:00pm

THURSDAY
CANOPY CLUB ($10/$12)
Murder By Death – 12:45am
Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s – 11:50am
Shipwreck – 11:00pm
Low Skies – 10:10pm
Metal Hearts – 9:20pm
Unwed Sailor – 8:30pm

COWBOY MONKEY ($5)
Scurvine – 1:00am
Triple Whip – 12:10pm
Ghost in Light – 11:20
Exit Clov – 10:30pm
CoCo Coca – 9:45pm
Darrin Drda – 9:00pm

FRIDAY
KRANNERT CENTER – EARLY SHOW ($15/18)
Danielson – 8:30pm
David Bazan – 7:30pm

CANOPY CLUB ($10/12)
Man Man – 12:30am
The Life and Times 11:30pm
Canada – 10:40pm
The Living Blue - 9:50pm
Watery Domestic – 9:00pm

MIKE N MOLLY’S ($5)
The Beauty Shop – 12:30am
Brighton, MA – 11:30pm
Caleb Engstrom – 10:30pm
New Ruins– 9:30pm

COWBOY MONKEY ($7)
Howling Hex 1:00am
Elsinore – 12:00am
Gentlemen Auction House – 11:00pm
Darling Disarm – 10:00pm

THE IRON POST ($7)
The City on Film – 12:00am
The Reputation – 11:00pm
Fireflies – 10:15pm
Monte Carlos 9:30pm

SATURDAY
POLYVINYL RECORD Co. 10th Anniversary Party @ CANOPY CLUB ($15/17)
Of Montreal – 12:00am
Headlights – 11:00pm
Owen – 10:00pm
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – 9:00pm

THE HIGHDIVE – EARLY SHOW ($8/10)
Salaryman – 9:15pm
Bailey – 8:30pm

COWBOY MONKEY ($7)
Lorenzo Goetz – 1:00am
Probably Vampires – 12:00am
Weird Weeds – 11:00pm
Pulsar47 – 10:00pm

MIKE N MOLLY’S ($5)
Tractor Kings – 12:20pm
Rusty Pipes – 11:20pm
The Chemicals – 10:20pm
Bellcaster – 9:30pm

THE IRON POST ($5)
The Wandering Sons 12:00am
Elanors – 11:00pm
Judah Johnson10:00pm
Ellestel – 9:00pm

Sound interesting? Buy a ticket.

Headlights - Live Review

2006-08-31T11:27:00.000-05:00

If you've been following this blog, you probably know that one of my recent obsessions have been Champaign, IL's own Headlights. So obviously I wasn't going to miss the CD release show of their fantastic debut, Kill Me With Kindness in their hometown.

There were a couple local bands that played before Headlights went on. The first band was called The Living Blue and I was really impressed with them. They were a bluesy, garage rock kind of band, that probably get compared to The White Stripes but I won't fall into that lazy rock journalism. Decibully was the next band, and I they were a bit hit and miss for me.

Headlights then proceed to fill the room with their brand of dreamy shoegaze indie pop and they started off with two of their best songs "Put Us Back Together" and "Lions". The band managed to replicate all the complex sounds from their CD onto the stage and they were having a great time doing it. Erin had a bubbly stage prescence, her enthusiasm (and dancing) really connected with the audience. Meanwhile Tristan in-between singing vocals took a major role in producing the huge wall of sound with his guitar and a some really cool looking foot pedals.

"TV" was an absolute rush live, it's such a short song that I almost wish they would play it twice. "Tokyo" was also a huge highlight. Other than some minor setlist tweaks ("Words Make Me Tired" is a really odd encore, should have been "Signs Point to Yes") the band's live show is just as dynamic as their album. They're touring all over the place this fall and you'd be crazy to miss them. Check out their tour page for dates.

MP3 TV
MP3 Put Us Back Together

The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" Review

2006-08-30T12:50:00.000-05:00

As you see from the two lists below, what I consider to be the best music from 1966 comes from the Beach Boys (and I'm not just saying that because the reissued album came out yesterday). The Beach Boys Greatest Hits album was the first pop CD that I ever received at the ripe age of 12. From that point on, the Beach Boys were the greatest thing in the world to me. I remember watching countless documentaries and biopics on the band, learning to play the opening to "Good Vibrations" on the piano, phoning into oldies stations to play their music, and even serenading girls in my class with the song, "California Girls".

I eventually outgrew the "surf sound" of the older Beach Boys material but I still found myself going back to two tracks on the Greatest Hits album over and over, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows." When I finally bought the whole Pet Sounds album, I was entranced by the record, and I think nearly every song on it has been my favorite at one point, I even warmed up to "Sloop John B" in time. Currently, I can't get over the opening tympani and warm keyboard sounds in "I'm Waiting For The Day" that are mixed with lyrics of bittersweet optimism.

The ideas in the Pet Sounds are universal, honest, and heartfelt. From "You know it seems the more we talk about it / It only makes it worse to live without it" to "I could try to be big in the eyes of the world / what matters to me is what I could be to just one girl" to "God only knows what I'd be without you", everyone who's been in love knows those feelings. What makes them even more poignant though, is that they are put to melodies that hit you instantly and never leave your ear (like good pop songs should, right). Even listening to the album today, there's something nostalgic and magical about it, even though I was born nearly 20 years after it was released. So hoist up the John B sails and let the Beach Boys take you home.

Buy the remastered, reissued 40th Anniversary Pet Sounds CD+DVD set. Seriously.

The Greatest Songs & Albums of 1966

2006-08-30T08:41:00.000-05:00

It's no exaggeration when I say that 1966 was the best year ever in the history of rock music. The three artists that dominated the sixties (Dylan, Beatles, Beach Boys) each made what is argubly their best album in 1966. Debuts from this year included The Monkees and If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears by The Mamas and The Papas. Many of the most memorable songs of Motown seem to fall around 1966. The Who and Simon and Garfunkle both put out second albums that improved on their firsts this year.

It was an emergence for experimentation, seen in "Tomorrow Never Knows" and the use of sitar in both Revolver and The Rolling Stone's Aftermath. It was also a year for sun-drenched songs of summer like "California Dreamin'", "Red Rubber Ball", and "Good Lovin'". It seems that every week a new single or album was released that is still remembered 40 years later. This was the year that saw last tour of The Beatles and transitioned Brian Wilson into becoming a studio-only artist. It was the first year that Bob Dylan jammed with The Band. 1966 was the year that music became alive. Yes, it's no exaggeration to call this year the greatest for rock music.

I made a couple of lists (who doesn't love lists) to attempt to rank my favorite music from 1966. For the first list I only allowed myslef two songs per artist. See also: Pitchfork's 200 greatest songs of the 60's.

The 20 Greatest songs of 1966.
20. The Supremes - You Keep Me Hanging On
19. The Cyrkle - Red Rubber Ball
18. Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin’
17. ? and the Mysterians - 96 Tears MP3
16. Lovin' Spoonful - Summer in the City
15. The Who - A Quick One While He's Away
14. The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin'
13. The Monkees - Last Train To Clarksville
12. The Rascals - Good Lovin’
11. The Byrds - Eight Miles High
10. Bob Dylan - I Want You MP3
9. The Mamas and the Papas - Monday Monday
8. The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black
7. The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows
6. The Four Tops - Reach Out! I'll Be There MP3
5. Bob Dylan - Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
5. The Who - Substitute
4. The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
3. Simon and Garfunkel - The 59th Street Bridge Song MP3
2. The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby
1. The Beach Boys - God Only Knows MP3

Top 5 Greatest Albums of 1966
5. The Mamas and the Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Your Ears
4. Simon and Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme
3. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
2. The Beatles - Revolver
1. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Agree? Disagree? Discuss your favorite '66 albums and songs in the comments.

Eric Bachmann "To The Races" Review

2006-08-29T11:56:00.000-05:00

I'm the kind of person that loves to listen to folk music in the morning. I have a specific playlist that I put on when my alarm clock rings full of Iron & Wine, Kings of Convenience, and early Bob Dylan. To The Races is the perfect fit for this playlist; it's a fantastic morning album.

It's also deceivingly simple album, most of the songs just include an acoustic guitar and a voice, but it's underlined with a strong sense of melody and a songwriting talent that comes with years of experience. When Bachmann does add other instruments he does it with a sense of subtelity that fits perfectly into the songs. An example is the organ and harmonica in the song "Carrboro Woman" which add to the song without overpowering it. To The Races was released this week on Saddle Creek Records.

MP3 Carrboro Woman
MP3 Liars and Thieves

Myspace
Buy the album

The Like Young - Live Review / Early Retirement?

2006-08-28T13:34:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, I went to see The Like Young and a few other bands at the Courtyard Cafe in Urbana IL and it was easily the oddest show I've ever been too but also one of the most memorable. There were glaring sound problems from the very beginning, in fact before The Like Young started Joe got into a small feud with the sound guy over how loud he wanted to turn his guitar up (apparantly there's sound limitations at this venue). The band started and I was really shocked at how aggressive and loud this seemingly cute couple were (whoever described them as "Mates of State with guitars" was way off). They tore through their setlist and created more sound than two people should ever have the right too.

The odd part was that we couldn't hear the vocals at all. The crowd brought it up in between songs and the band got into another mini-feud with the sound guy which revealed that because the guitar was up so loud the sound guy couldn't turn the vocals on. Any normal band would have turned their guitar down a few notches at this point but, The Like Young, I think actually turned their sound up and ripped through a few more songs, saying "I think it's funny that we actually outrocked the Courtyard Cafe". This really pissed off the sound guy and he told them they only had two more songs left. They argued for a went back and forth for a while on this and then Joe screamed, "We have three songs left and you're going to have to f***'n shoot me to get me off stage." On the last song they let loose on the set, kicking over cymbals, microphones, and amps and then walked off the stage. The audience was speechless after they finished, in awe of what took place in front of them.

The very next day, via their website, The Like Young announced their retirement from the music industry, stating the cold and cynical nature of the music industry as a reason. They obviously had been thinking about this for some time but did the sound guy incident finally push them over the edge? Who can tell, all I know is that The Like Young came to the Courtyard that night to rock, and no one was going to stop them.

MP3 For Money or Love
MP3 Dead Eyes

Myspace
See the band while you can

My One-Year-Aniversary-Post! Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good Supergroups Project

2006-08-24T08:50:00.000-05:00

I started this blog on this week last year. I was a naive kid who had way too much time on his hands and had no idea what he was doing (read for yourself if you must). Eventually, Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good grew into something that I felt proud of creating and I owe any success that I might or might not had to all you readers (unless you're a damn troller in which case, I owe you my bandwith problems). Last May to celebrate my 100th post I did a Covers Project that linked Buddy Holly to Sufjan Stevens. I had so much fun with it that I'm deciding to do it again, except a little different.

The goal of the mix this time was to go from the ultimate classic rock supergroup to (what is in my opinion) the ultimate indie rock supergroup while hitting a bunch of other really awesome supergroups along the way. To do this, I had to link all the artists by various duet performances, assemblages, and collaborations with each other (If you're wondering how they link up read the descriptions below the songs). All this, and still making a satisfying playlist. Sound confusing? Agreed, but I think you'll get the hang of it. Why are you still reading, start downloading some music!

From Wilburys to Pornographers: The Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good Supergroups Project.

MP3 Travelin Wilbury's - Handle With Care

Bob Dylan (credited as Lucky Wilbury) took part in this project that also included Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison. The band released two albums and "Handle With Care" was their most popular single.

MP3 Bob Dylan - Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)

Robbie Robertson peformed on Dylan's Blonde on Blonde back when The Band was called The Hawks. He played Guitar and sang back-up vocals. Robertson also played guitar on some tracks on Eric Clapton's Crossroads, which links him to the next supergroup.

MP3 Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert Band - Presence of the Lord

Pete Townsend put together this band to welcome Eric Clapton back from a two year break from music. It included both Clapton and Townsend as well as Steve Winwood and Ronnie Wood from The Rolling Stones.

MP3 Mick Jagger / David Bowie - Dancin' In The Street

In 1985 as a part of the Live Aid concert, Mick Jagger teamed up with David Bowie to cover Martha & the Vandella's "Dancing In The Street".

MP3 The Arcade Fire feat. David Bowie - Wake Up

David Bowie has always been known to be hip to a younger crowd and it never showed any greater than when he sang lead on The Arcade Fire's Wake Up on September 8th of last year at Fashion Rocks.

MP3 U2 feat. Arcade Fire - Love Will Tear Us Apart

Also in 2005, The Arcade Fire opened for U2 on the Canadien part of their tour. One night, the band joined U2 for a cover of the Joy Division classic "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

MP3 U2 feat. Mary J. Blige - One

For Mary J. Blige's 2005 album, The Breakthrough she recorded a cover of U2's "One". The band performed the song with her at the Hurricaine Katrina benefit as well as the 2006 Grammys.

MP3 The Game feat. Mary J. Blige - Hate it Or Love it ( Official Remix )

One of the great things about Hip Hop is that the artists are constantly collaborating with each other (even though, most of the time it's probably just to sell more records). Mary J. Blige performed with The Game on a number of tracks on their album The Documentary.

MP3 Kayne West feat. The Game - Crack Music

Kayne West featured The Game on this song from his 2005 album, Late Registration.

MP3 Alicia Keys - If I Ain't Got You (Kayne West Remix)

Kanye West produced The Diary of Alicia Keys and remixed a couple of songs on the album. He won two Grammys in 2005 for his contribution on the album.

MP3 Alicia Keys, Alison Krauss, Billie Joe Armstrong, Bono, Brian Wilson, Norah Jones, Steven Tyler, Stevie Wonder, Tim McGraw & Velvet Revolver - Across the Universe

Talking about the 2005 Grammy's, this supergroup was formed to perform the classic Beatles tune and was used to raise money for the victims of the tsunami in Asia. Alicia Keys and Blillie Joe Armstrong performed.

MP3 Green Day - Hitchin' A Ride

This song was in a little different direction for Green Day because it featured a fiddle solo by Petra Hadyn. It's found on 2001's Nimrod.

MP3 The Decemberists / Death Cab for Cutie - Go Your Own Way

Petra Hadyn is a touring member and constant contributor to The Decemberists. This Fleetwood Mac cover was performed at the Summerstage Festival.

MP3 Hot Hot Heat - Get In or Get Out

Chris Walla (guitarist of Death Cab) mixed and engineered Hot Hot Heat's first two albums.

MP3 Wolf Parade - Shine A Light

Dante Decaro, a former member of Hot Hot Heat, is guitarist for the Wolf Parade.

MP3 Swan Lake - All Fires

Swan Lake is the most recent addition to this list, and it easily qualifies as a supergroup. It contains Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade), Casey Mercer (Frog Eyes), and Dan Bejar (Destroyer/New Pornographers)

MP3 New Pornographers - All For Swinging You Around

Finally, with help from Dan Bejar, we've made it to The New Pornographers. Hope you've enjoyed the ride.

Thanks for reading everyone, I'm looking forward to another year of doing whatever stuff I do. If you like the chain leave a comment!

Also, here's a flow chart of the Supergroups Chain (back by popular demand).

George Clooney vs. The Ramones

2006-08-23T13:48:00.000-05:00

As a blogger, one of the things you have to expect is to get alot of email requests asking for you to post various things. Well, one of the ones I get most often is for me to post a cover of "that song that George Clooney sang in O Brother, Where Art Thou."

I've been holding off as long as I possibly can, but I'm finally giving in and I'll post the cover. It's by band called Osaka Popstar & The American Legends of Punk which includes members of the Ramones, Black Flag, and the Misfits. Now stop it with the emails!

MP3 Osaka Popstar & The American Legends of Punk - Man of Constant Sorrow

So who does it better? George Clooney or a band with a guy from the Ramones... or Joan Baez if you don't like either of them?
Note: Sorry for the small, sort-of crappy post today. I'm still working on something awesome for tomorrow. Trust me, it's worth the wait.

Kill Them with Get Lonely Classics and Bring Me The Anti-Anti Happy Hollow, Idlewild.

2006-08-22T11:12:00.001-05:00

Wow, today's a good day for music. One for the history books, and yes I did make a full sentence out of some of today's album releases (bonus points if you can name every band who's album is up there). A couple of these albums I've already given my full review and stamp of approval on, and I'm going to do the same with a couple more of them right now.

The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely (Buy)

It almost feels wrong writing a review for Get Lonely, because I've only had the full album for a couple days and I'm still getting over my awe of the record. This is one that could take a month to fully digest, and after that occurs it will probably be nearing the top of my 2006 list. It doesn't have upbeat tracks like "Dance Music" or "This Year", but instead John Darnielle goes fully into emotional aloneness to produce songs that are beautiful in their solemnity.

MP3 Woke Up New (left-click for download)
MP3 Get Lonely

Cursive -Happy Hollow (Buy)

I never really understood Cursive. I always thought their was music was good and extremely creative, but it was always too dissonate for me. The other factor is that I love The Good Life and probably would just like to think of Tim Casher as the depressed drunk that creates acoustic greatness. I'm really warming up to this latest album of Cursive though. It seems as though they've kept the chaotic nature of their last albums while being catchy enough to keep me interested for a 14 songs.

MP3 Dorothy At Forty
MP3 At Conception

Read my reviews of Snowden and Headlights' latest offerings.

Clawjob - Studying the effects of anti-gravity on snack foods.

2006-08-22T00:15:00.000-05:00

When I first opened up the CD Space Crackers by Clawjob I thought it was a joke. The band name sounds like a really bad metal band, the cover is a fish on a bicycle (?), and the album came with a handwritten letter detailing how the album was a rock opera about the end of the world. Also on the letter was a drawing of a half-elephant half-batman that the band made for me (actually that was pretty awesome). So, I was actually surprised when the album was not only listenable it was actually at times really enjoyable.

The story itself would be enough to peak some people's interests (quoted from Stylus) - "Julian, Madeleine and Greg, are involved in high-level research into the subatomic structure of crackers. So, basically, they soak up a whole lot of time and funding in order to study biscuits. In space." And the music is about what you'd expect, being as epic as possible with huge guitar solos, layered vocals, power chords, and monster ballads. The only modern comparision I can think of to this music is possibly a combination of The Darkness and Man Man's "Hot Bat". No one is really filling that rock opera nitch right now (unless Meatloaf makes a comeback) and if that and 80's guitar rock are your sort of thing, then this could be the perfect band for you.

MP3 Welcome to Space School
MP3 Zero Gravity

Buy Space Crackers
Myspace

Sleeping At Last - Live in Peoria

2006-08-21T12:30:00.000-05:00

Today is my first day at class at Illinois State University and I have two job interviews so I apologize in advance if this concert review lacks in quality. This is the fourth time I've seen Sleeping At Last and they've gotten better each time. Their new CD is much more expansive and that was represented in their live show. In a very Andrew Bird-esque matter the band used with loop pedals to incorporate overlaying guitar and piano parts as well as back-tracks for the strings. Sleeping At Last played songs mostly off their new album, but included a few older songs that the crowd responded really well too ("Currents" / "Ghosts).

The highlights though, were the newer songs which took much more rigor from the band to perform. For example, "Dreamlife" had Ryan playing the piano and singing and then switching to electric guitar mid song while Dan played Bass and two sets of keyboards. The result was a wall of sound and emotion portrayed through the band. "Careful Hands", "Envelopes", and "Umbrellas" all had similar effect. I talked to the band for a while and it's amazing how much they've overcome, especially from their crappy record deal with Interscope, to make Keep No Score (which they self-released). If I could get you to listen to one band this year, I'd say Sleeping At Last is the forerunner. Here's some of their best tracks for download.

MP3 Envelopes
MP3 Night Must End
MP3 Careful Hands

They say it's our birthday:
This is Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good's one year anniversary week(!) We'll have a big celebratory post later on this week (once my schedule slows down a little). I've had this idea for this post in the back of my mind for a while and I'm pretty excited for it.

The Format - Live in Chicago

2006-08-19T11:26:00.000-05:00

The Format concert at The Metro turned out to be a great experience and one of the most memorable concerts that I've ever attended. That's not to say it was a perfect night though, it started off with us getting a late start driving up to Chicago and having to wait through some of the worst traffic I've ever experienced (1.5 hour delay, seriously). Because of this we missed Anathallo and only got to see a couple Rainer Maria songs. It did give me and my girlfriend a chance to listen to some of Chicago's finest spanish radio stations though. Once we got there, We had to wade through hundreds of screaming teenage girls but we ended up getting a pretty decent spot, just in time for The Format to start.

The band kicked off with my favorite Format song, "Dog Problems" featuring a couple Anathallians to fill out the trumpet/trombone parts. It made me wonder how they could possibly sustain the momentum throughout the rest of the show, but those guys have as much energy as a border collie on steroids. They went through some of their back catalogue (much to the delight of the group of females around us) before playing "She Doesn't Get It" and "Snails" which both came off very well. Nate introduced most of the new songs and told a bit what they were about ("This song is about a fake one night stand and Duran Duran"). "Tune Out" was a probably the biggest highlight from their early material and it was perfect for a big all-crowd singalong. The band ended the main set with "The Compromise" which had everyone at the show dancing, including myself.

During the encore, they played three Dog Problems songs which was great to see. "Matches" and "I'm Actual" came first and the gradual crescendo of the songs and the triumphant ending in the last minutes was a huge higlight. Not quite as awesome as their last song, though,"Inches and Falling", which had them bring all of Anathallo out to sing and play with them. What a way to end a concert with the anthemic and optimistic lines "I love love, I love being in love, I don't care what it does to me." Overall, very fun show and I strongly suggest yourself catching them if you can.

After the show, I met up with Matt from Anathallo who I knew from this interview and we chatted for a bit. I was really upset that I had missed their show but he assured me that Anathallo would be back in Chicago soon on a tour that I can't tell any details of but I'm highly anticipating (look for the announcement on Tuesday). We also talked about how the tour was going and the infamous Pitchfork review which actually brought the band more good than bad (take that Clell Tickle).

At one point we were looking for Nate from The Format and trying to be discreet about it and I suggested that we distract them by saying "look it's Ben Gibbard" and he said that with this crowd we should say Chris Carrabba instead. Very funny and super nice guy. I ended up meeting Nate briefly and he said he had heard of my blog, which was pretty flattering. All the pictures I took tonight are viewable here, and if you're wondering Matt began the trend of using the peace symbol in every picture.

MP3 The Format - She Doesn't Get It
MP3 Anathallo - Hanasakajijii (Four: A Great Wind, More Ash)

See all the photos from the show at Picture For Kids Who Can't Read Good .

Snakes on a Plane Review/New Wes Anderson Film!

2006-08-18T13:21:00.000-05:00

Last night, I went to see "Snakes on a Plane"and it was undoubtedly one of the funnest movie experiences I've ever had. We expected the movie to be so bad that it was good, but in honesty, it was actually really good, by anyones movie standards (check out the 81% rating on RT). One of the best parst was that whenever Samuel Jackson would drop the F-bomb, dozens of high school kids would jump out of their seat cheering, but even without that it would have been a fantastic movie.

There were more stereotypes in this movie than all of Adam Sandler's movies combined. Just take the airplane staff, for example. You have the sexist pilot, the slutty stewardess, the flamingly gay flight attendant, the tough chic stewardess that saves the day, and the older stewardess working her last shift before retirement. Now apply that to every person on the plane and throw in tons of snakes, and make a list of the most gruesome body parts for snakes to attack and there's your movie. Also throw gansta video game expert (played by Kenan) that really shines in hilarious finale. Get some friends together and see "Snakes on a Plane" as fast as you possibly can.

MP3 Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

You thought I was done with movie news, well there's more! And this could be the best news for movies ever since Samuel Jackson utterted the line "I've had it with these motherf***n' snakes on this motherf***n' plane. Wes Anderson, who's still in the middle of post-production for his stop-motion animated movie that I'm only partially excited for, has announced a movie that I'm incredibly excited for called "Darjeeling Limited".

As all of you hopefully know, Wes Anderson is the genius behind "Rushmore", "Bottle Rocket", "The Royal Tenebaums", and "The Life Aquatic". Even though very few details have been released about the film, what we do know is that Jason Schwartzmann, Owen Wilson, and Adrien Brody will star as three brothers on a journey through India. Just the thought of Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzmann on the same screen with Wes Anderson directing might bring tears to an indie movie fan's' eyes. Also, since this does take place in India, I think we're almost guaranteed that Kumar will make an appearance.

MP3 The Faces - Ooh La La

Snowden "Anti-Anti" Review

2006-08-17T10:18:00.000-05:00

I've been a fan of Snowden ever since they released the track "Anti-Anti" last spring, and I've been highly anticipating the release of their debut LP by the same name. The band, who would best be described as post-shoegaze, hails from Atlanta, Georgia and is signed to Jade Tree Records. I was hooked by the band from listening to the echoing vocals, rich guitar line and amazing drum work of the song "Anti-Anti", and the rest of the album lives up to the high standard.

Snowden's formula for a song is simple. Wrap it in as much reverb and fuzzy guitar sounds as possible, add some pounding drums, and washed out vocals and play it with as much intensity as humanly possible. It's not something they sway from very often, but luckily for them it works brilliantly. "Black Eyes" is a great track and displays the best guitar work on the album. The soundscapes of "Stop Your Bleeding" recall the Cure for me, it's another major highlight of the album. If fuzzy guitars and shoegaze nostalgia are high on your list of turn-ons then this album is the one for you.

MP3 Snowden - Anti-Anti
MP3 Snowden - Black Eyes
MP3 Snowden - Stop Your Bleeding

Here's two remixes from the album. The Anti-Anti remix is really fun, but I'm not too much a fan of the Black Eyes mix.

MP3 Snowden - Anti-Anti (Jordan’s Stutter Remix)
MP3 Snowden - Black Eyes (Le Castle Vania Disco Remix)

Pre-order the album
Myspace

Indie Goes Gospel!

2006-08-15T15:26:00.000-05:00

Gospel music and indie artists don't seem to go together at all. Nevertheless, a few artists from that scene have digged into the hymnals of yore. David Bazan of Pedro the Lion used to close his shows with a hymn. Anathallo released an EP called Hymns, and Sufjan Stevens recorded three Christmas albums that had it's fair share of gospel songs on it. Recently, Belle & Sebastian released a version of one of the most well-known Advent hymns (aka Christmas Carols). Anyone know of any others?

I think these songs give an interesting viewpoint into the minds of the singers and they're 100x better than those god-awful "Punk goes Pop" compilations. While we're on the subject, didn't The Verve release a CD of hymns also?

MP3 Sufjan Stevens - Come Thou Font of Every Blessing
MP3 Anathallo - What Wondrous Love Is This
MP3 Belle & Sebastian - O Come O Come Emmanuel
MP3 Pedro The Lion - Be Thou My Vision

I'm seeing Anathallo play with The Format and Rainer Maria in a couple of days, and I'm really excited. Get ready for a concert review next week.

Headlights "Kill Me With Kindess" Review

2006-08-13T20:51:00.000-05:00

This Summer, I casually talked about Headlights in this post, but ever since I picked up their debut LP, Kill Me With Kindness, I've been practically obsessive over the band (who I earlier described as "shoegazey dream piano pop rock sound that's full of guy/girl harmonies and multi-layered synths").

The amazing part of Headlights' Kill Me With Kindness is what a full listening experience the album gives you from start to finish. It's one of the few albums this year that I'd prefer to listen to as a whole instead of as individual tracks. For a young band, they really know how to piece an album together.

There's some obvious highlights on the CD, and two of them come early in the CD with "TV" and "Put Us Back Together", both of which have been floating around the internet for some time now. The momentem built with these two songs is tremendous and afterwards the band only let's down slightly. That is, until mid-album when they rip through "Lions", a song that's guitar riff would fit nicely on Cheap Trick's Heaven Tonight. The latter half of the album treats us to an interesting variety of songs like the bouncy "Lullabies" that is premised like many of Spoon's best songs and the Mates of State-ish "Hi-Ya". By the time you get to what is essentially the album's closer, "Signs Point to Yes", you're in shoegaze heaven and all you want to do is put the album in and listen again. Highest Recommendation!

MP3 TV
MP3 Put Us Back Together
MP3 Lions

Buy the album
Myspace

Headlights is performing no less then four times in the upcoming months at various locations in the Champaign/Urbana area (their hometown). This is less than a half hour drive for me and I'm hoping to make it to all of these shows. Go here for their full schedule:

New U2 Songs Surface (Recorded from a beach in France)

2006-08-12T11:26:00.000-05:00

I'm not too indie to admit that U2 is one of my favorite bands, even though most of their latest material doesn't really match up to their music from the mid 80's and early 90's. I had no idea that they were working on a new album so soon (especially since their Vertigo Tour isn't even over), but apparantly some French guys had their hand held recorder out at the right time and recorded some new U2 tunes that were playing out of a stereo at Bono's beach house.

There are four songs which have been numbers by the recorders as well as tentative titles by fans. I would describe them as muffled but still very listenable (there's some background sounds also). After hearing these demos, I can say I'm excited to listen to the real versions; they sound like they could blow the last two albums out of the water.

400/Can't You See has a Beatles-esque sound to it. Full strings orchestra and all, it could turn out to be an epic. 402/I Believe just sounds like it has tons of potential. I've heard it compared to Radiohead and I think that this is a fair observation. The melody and the guitar/drum breakdowns sound fantastic. Thanks to U2Exit for providing these two tracks.

MP3 U2 - 400/Can't You See
MP3 U2 - 402/I Believe

I think since these clips are recorded live and in demo form that they are fair game to post, but if anyone representing the band wants to take these tracks down, email me and I'd be more than happy to obligue.

The Bicycles

2006-08-11T12:40:00.001-05:00

The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddly by The Bicycles is quickly becoming one of the funnest albums for me to listen to in any situation. The songs are extremely short (most fall around 2:00) and they grab your attention right from the beginning.

Many of the songs like "B-B-Bicyles" and "Please Don't Go" seem to reference 60's surf pop, and songs like "Gotta Get Out" with its trumpets, handclaps, and acoustic guitars are very Of Montreal influenced. In short, this band is like musical ritalin for the twee-lovin' crowd. Grab these tracks below then get two more at their music section.

MP3 B-B-Bicycles
MP3 Please Don't Go
MP3 Gotta Get Out

Buy the album.
Myspace

The Oohlas - Best Stop Pop

2006-08-10T09:17:00.000-05:00

While Art Alexakis is debating whether Jerry Falwell is a "nice guy" with Bill O'Reilly, his former Everclear bandmate Greg Eklund is making some great music with a band called The Oohlas. He takes a back seat in the trio to Ollie, who provides the spunk and vocal prowess to lead the band. The band recorded an EP last year that included a few of these songs, but they've improved by leaps and bounds since then.

The first thing you notice when listening to The Oohlas, besides Ollies vocals, is their guitar-heaviness (thats a technical term). That's not to say that Best Stop Pop is full of pop sensibilities, which it is. At times it sounds like what Mates of State might with about three times more guitars (see Small Parts). The shoegaze genre also influences the band in their usage of swirling guitars and hypnotic basslines (see TV Dinner). All together one of the best debut albums I've heard in a while. Look for it come September.

MP3 Small Parts
MP3 TV Dinner

Myspace.

Check out one of my favorite blogs this week, Come Pick Me Up. I'm putting a couple posts up for Lizzy while she's out of town.

The Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good Back-to-School Mix

2006-08-09T13:52:00.000-05:00

School is right around the corner and since we at MFKWCRG are huge on education, I've compiled a list of songs that will help you kids to read good. Personally, I'll be hearding to Illinois State University which is in a town by the name of Normal (thousands of pun possibilities there). Without futher ado:

MP3 Mark Mothersbaugh - Hardest Geometry Problem in the World
"I'm sorry. Did someone say my name?"

MP3 Beach Boys - Be True to Your School
School spirit is so underrated, just because your an indie kid doesn't mean you can't let your colors fly.

MP3 The La's - There She Goes
Don't ask me why, but I think this is a great back to school song. Now that we're in the Facebook era though the song should be more like "There she goes again - Her name is Mandy, she's an elementary ed major and she enjoys Jack Johnson and The Notebook"

MP3 Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater
Not quite autumn yet but this song will prepare you for its inevitable arrival.

MP3 Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
For those of you exploring the college night life but like to take long afternoon naps. Also a good song to put on for spontaneous visits to Starbucks.

MP3 Hot Chip - And I Was A Boy From School
Not only is this song about school but it will impress your hipster friends.

MP3 Paul Simon - Me and Julio Down By The School Yard
The lesson here is if your going to get it on with some guy named Julio by a school yard, make sure your mom isn't around.

MP3 Belle & Sebastian - Wrapped Up In Books
This will describe alot of you guy's college experiences. Luckily, I'm a Mass Comm major, which means minimal book-reading and lots of watching TV (for homework).

MP3 TV Theme - Saved By The Bell
Perhaps the most accurate portrayl of high school/college ever. Oh, the memories.

Feel free to leave in the comments what school you're going to and/or a good back-to-school song.

Silversun Pickups

2006-08-08T13:12:00.001-05:00

I put Silversun Pickups' new album on today while I was filling out job applications (I need work, foo!). I was casually enjoying the CD when I got to Track 7 which blew me away. I quickly rushed to find out that I was listening to the song "Lazy Eye" and began to play the song again. I was reminded of Smashing Pumpkins-style fuzzy guitars pounding bass lines and (more recently) Headlights-style reverb but I liked this more than both. I went back and listened to the rest of the Carnavas and realized that the whole album is quality. If you haven't already bought Carnavas put it on your list of things to do today.

MP3 Lazy Eye
MP3 Dream at Tempo 119

Buy it here
Myspace

Also, there's this new music service out there called MOG. I never got into Last.fm but this does the same stuff plus its a bit more community based and you can make your own blog. Last.fm and Myspace fusion? Maybe. You can click the little widget I put up to the right to check it out.

Ill Lit

2006-08-07T10:06:00.000-05:00

I was never into country growing up. Maybe it was rebelling against my Texas upbringing or maybe I just can't get into those twangy guitars and shaky voices. In the last year though, I discovered Wilco (about 5 years late), and then I started to listen to Neko Case, and Jenny Lewis began leaning towards alt-country also. Basically this is the perfect time for me to get this Ill Lit record, which sounds like all the best of Americana and alt-country put together with a little electronica to back it up. "The Bridge in Tracy" is one of the grandest songs I've heard all year.

MP3 The Bridge in Tracy
MP3 Satan's doing fine without me

Buy Tom Cruise (the album not the person)
Friend Ill LIt

Like A Version - Volume Two

2006-08-06T10:09:00.000-05:00

While I was in Australia, I picked up a couple albums that were exclusive to the Aussies and this was one of them. Like Volume One, this is put on by the amazing Triple J radio station and features mostly-acoustic cover versions of songs by a variety of artists. On this edition, there is alot more familiar indie rock names (Eels, Spoon, Tegan and Sarah, Mountain Goats) as well as 18 tracks from some of the best Australian Indies. If your a fan of covers (who isn't) then you'll want to pay the extra shipping fee to get this over to you. Here's a very generous sampler:

MP3 Spoon - Upwards At 45 Degrees (Julian Cope Cover)
MP3 Eels - I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Prince Cover)
MP3 Sophie Koh - Creep (Radiohead Cover)
MP3 Lior - Needle And The Damage Done (Neil Young Cover)

Buy here. Pricey but satisfying.

Side Note: This is my 250th post!

Jeremy Enigk - New songs from World Waits

2006-08-03T14:16:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure why anyone else is talking about this, but I guess not everyone holds Jeremy Enigk in such high esteem as me and ECEU do. Last week, two new songs were released for Enigk's upcoming follow up to 96's Return of the Frog Queen, and you can bet I'll be the first in line to grab it (especially based on the quality of these two tracks).

If you aren't familiar with Jeremy Enigk, he's the mastermind behind Sunny Day Real Estate and The Fire Theft and he's one of the most important figures of the Seattle music scene. "Been Here Before" and "River to Sea" are both amazing right off the bat, and usually you have to let his music grow on you. Come October, I don't see any reason why I won't be welcoming World Waits into my top ten of the year.

MP3 Been Here Before
MP3 River To Sea

Check out tour dates and latest news at Lewis Hollow Records
Jeremy's Myspace

Pitchfork Fest - Day 2 - The Review

2006-08-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

I've heard so much about the Pitchfork Fest in the last few days that even I'm sick of it. And I freakin' loved it. But if just to complete the long string of posts and get onto doing whatever else music bloggers do - here's the day two review.

The biggest difference from the get-go of the two days is that most of the bands I wanted to see played right at the beginning of Day 2. That meant alot of rushing around for me which made for a fast paced and totally awesome morning. I was a few minutes late for Tapes n' Tapes so I missed Aziz's little intro but I got to catch a couple of my favorite songs from them (Cowbell, Manitoba) and they were pretty rockin'. They one of the most photogenic bands I saw and they seemed really excited to open the festival.

Me, Picasso, and Skatterbrain went over to Danielson and each ate a large 50's style lollypop (thank you Lollapalooza promoters). The band came out in their trademarked nurses outfits complete with large name tags. They started things off right by playing tracks 2-4 on Ships. Daniel seemed a bit crowd shy and I spent most of the time wondering where is voice was coming from, but boy could he play make messed up trumpet sounds and scream "Oh Nooooooo!". Nothing out of this world but they were worth seeing.

Jens Lekmen was the first artist that people were getting real excited to see and we had to push a little to get good spots. We later found out that at least some of the commotion could be attributed to Jens fine-lookin' lady band (or maidens as some called them). Jens started off with "A Sweet Summer's Night On Hammer Hill" and the crowd filled in for the "Bum-buh-Bum-Buh-Bums" and the "Oh no, Oh no, Oh no no no no no"s. Jens was charming and Swedish. One of the most memorable moments of the festival was a song he sang (in complete first person) about a lesbian friend from Berlin that told her parents that her and Jens were engaged. "Black Cab" and "Pocketful of Money" were other songs that came off real well. After the set we argued which maiden was more attractive. Matt Skatterbrain had a thing for the bass player but me and Matt Picasso agreed it was all about the trumpet player. Matt Fluxblog could not be reached for comment.

I took a short break before The National's set to get some pizza while everyone else in the festival went to see CSS. I ended up catching my two favorite National songs "Looking For Astronauts" and "Mr. November" and they blew them out of the park. Made me wish I had stayed for the whole set, even though the violin player kindof freaked me out in a Virginia backwoods kind of way.

I met up with the friends I came with and they said that CSS were killing it so I went over to the Biz3 tent to catch a couple songs. I agreed, the Brazilians were smoking it up but it was impossible to find a place to watch so I headed back. I skipped out on Liars and went to Flatstock which was really cool. Best concert posters go to Nada Surf, Mates of State, Modest Mouse, and Wilco. The coolest part was you could talk to the actual poster artists.

While I was going back to collect our stuff and move into a more shaded region of the park, I ran into John Darnielle who graciously shook my hand as I congratulated him on a great set and for playing a couple of my favorites. Aesop Rock and Mr. Lif started to play on the opposite stage so I ran over there and snapped a couple pictures. They really got the crowd into the performance which made for good all-crowd pictures and I digged Lif's rappin' style. Very smooth. I would have liked to stay more but the mixture of white male sweat and pot smoke in the air encouraged a quick sit down.

I opted out on Mission of Burma and got good spots for highly anticipated Devendra Banhart. I expected him to say crazy things like "sperm in the wetness of life", and to bring people up on the stage, and to throw his hands in the air and dance half naked. This didn't make any of these things less special though, I probably would have been disappointed if he didn't. "Beard of Siobhan" was a fantastic song and my new favorite from Devendra. He also played an awesome Charles Manson cover and "Long Haired Child". I'm going to have to start listening to this guy more.

Spoon was next on the list to see for me and I payed the price of Yo La Tengo to do it. The set started off a little slow but began to pick up steam when a couple songs from Kill The Moonlight were played (Stay Don't Go and Johnathon Fisk). Britt Daniels was working the loop machine on his guitar the whole time which is always fun to watch and judging from the huge grins on the faces of everyone near me, I don't think anyone was disappointed. The highlight of the set was easily "I Summon You". I really wanted to hear "Sister Jack" but I took what I got and was happy with it.

By the time Os Mutantes started it was dark, crowded, and we were exhausted. My friends had been dancing to Diplo all night long so we made a couple of buttons (mine was the phonetic spelling of Sufjan), and we were off like Devendra Banhart's shirt. Great bands, great performances, great crowds (most of the time). Pitchfork will have alot of work on their hands to top this festival in 2007.

Ramona Cordova

2006-08-03T07:22:00.000-05:00

Ramona Cordova is an artist that I've had on my list to write about for a couple weeks, and recent hype from Matt/Matt have made me more excited about the artist. He has an awkward charm about him that is extremely appealing. Take "Giver's Reply" which for the first minute and a half is just an organ and his voice before adding a drum beat that should have nothing to do with the song. It works though, really well actually. "Inside the Gypsy Bar" is more of a clean cut flamenca sounding song but again done really well. His voice adds alot to the song and lets it keep its originality.

MP3 Giver's Reply
MP3 Inside The Gypsy Bar

Buy
Friend

Pitchfork Fest - Day 2 - The Videos

2006-08-02T15:30:00.000-05:00

Danielson - Did You Step On My Trumpet

Jens Lekmen - Black Cab

The National - Mr. November

Devendra Banhart - Long Haired Child

Devendra Banhart - The Beard is for Siobhan

Spoon - I Turn My Camera On

Spoon - My Mathematical Mind

Pitchfork Fest - Day 2 - The Pictures

2006-08-02T15:06:00.000-05:00

You can see the whole set of Pitchfork Fest Pictures browseable by artist at Pictures For Kids Who Can't Read Good. I'm uploading Day 2 videos as well as writing up a review now also.

Click for more Tapes n' Tapes pictures

Click for more Danielson pictures

Click for more Jens Lekmen pictures

Click for more The National pictures

Click for more Aesop Rock pictures

Click for more Devendra Banhart pictures

Click for more Spoon pictures

Ragged Mag and Los Campesinos!

2006-08-02T14:21:00.000-05:00

Filter is putting out a new online mag called Ragged Mag that's pretty good and very free. It has a mix of artist interviews (Phantom Planet talks about the song "California, Morningwood talks their brand of sexuality, Nina Gordon talks about Capt'n Crunch) and articles (Silversun Pickups) that are worth reading. It also has those neat little features where artists talk about their favorite albums. Download here.

I talked about Los Campesinos last month and I got a free copy of their EP out of it. They're still working on album art so it was just a burnt copy but it had a personalized note and the only Los Campesinos song I was missing - Death to Los Campesinos! It's now my second favorite song of theirs.

MP3 Death to Los Campesinos!
MP3 You! Me! Dancing! (My first favorite)

Pitchfork Fest - Day 1 - The Videos

2006-08-01T18:12:00.000-05:00

Band of Horses - The Funeral

The Mountain Goats - Cubs in Five

The Mountain Goats - No Children

Ted Leo - Me and Mia

The Walkmen - The Rat

The Futureheads - Decent Days & Nights

~~Note: I have a video of Me and Mia by Ted Leo but I'm having a little bit of trouble uploading it. I'll see if I can get it up by the end of the day.~~

Yay! Got Ted Leo up. Thank you iSquint.

Pitchfork Fest - Day 1 - The Review

2006-08-01T09:32:00.000-05:00

We arrived in Chicago around 11:45 in time to catch a few songs in Chin Up Chin Up's set. I didn't really like the singer's voice on the album; but in person me and Matty G agreed that it was much stronger (Matty G is a friend of mine and a much better music writer than I am, check out some of his reviews at Tiny Mix Tapes). "Collide the Tide" is a great song and I'm glad that I got to see it live.

Next up was Man Man. They had a fun set and I give them props for great showmanship but I couldn't really get into the songs. My mom would say that it just seems like alot of noise, and my mom is pretty much an expert on indie rock so I'll agree with her. I saw the lead singer guy walking around a few times and I can say that he's really rockin' the mullet.

Band of Horses was the first band I was really excited to see and they didn't disappoint. They started off with "The Great Salt Lake" and then Ben Bridwell asked the crowd if anyone had any weed. You can't really beat that opening. Fittingly, they went into "Weed Party" next. It was blisteringly hot during their set but I don't think anyone minded. "The Funeral", of course, ended their set and it was just as rocking as I expected it to be. I highly recommend seeing them live.

Next up was the band I was most excited about seeing and that was The Mountain Goats. John Darnielle started out with "Jenny", which is a tribute to motorcycles and pirates. The crowd was really into the set and started yelling out song requests after the second song. I was yelling out "Cubs in Five" and to my extreme enjoyment, it was played (with the introduction - "I never play this song anymore because it's too depressing). Darnielle chatted for a couple minutes inbetween each song about his childhood, how he hates when people with an acoustic guitar ask you to sing (which he did twice), and why the piano parts are so simple in "Dance Music" (another highlight). The best part of the set though, was the all-crowd sing-a-long to "No Children". They lyrics were changed at the end to "I hope you die, I hope WE ALL die". Definitely the highlight of the day.

Me and Matty G walked over to Destroyer to watch part of Bejar's set. We were really far out and I ended up talking to Chris and Eric most of the time. It was nice to hear "European Oils" but overall I found it a bit boring. I'd probably rather listen to the album at home then standing out in the hot sun.

Art Brut played next and they started off energetically with "Formed A Band" and "Bang Bang Rock and Roll". It felt good rocking out a little bit and everyone around me was having a great time. Where did Eddie Argos' mustache go? I also caught the end of their set and got to see "Good Weekend" which ended with the Eddie going through every band in the festival and then yelling "Top of the Pops". It made me wonder if the band was ever going to get over not being able to play on the show. Either way, I give Art Brut my seal of approval.

In between watching the previous band, I went and watched a few songs by Spank Rock. I didn't know what to expect but Dodge had nothing but good things to say about them. I really enjoyed the few songs I did see and I heard that they killed it at the end, soaking the crowd with booze and bringing tons of people on stage.

I took a short break to grab a jumbo beef hot dog and some Fuse but was able to catch the end of Ted Leo's set, and I'm glad I did. The guy can play some guitar and I'm really glad I was able to see "Me and Mia". I've heard alot of good things about Ted Leo live and it seems all the good hype was justified.

I was dead tired by the time The Walkmen played and I took most of the time lounging with my friends behind the stage. I got up for a few songs and luckily was able to see them play "The Rat". They weren't playing with their original drummer and while the replacement was obviously really good when I saw them last time the drumming was the highlight so that was a bit of a disappointment. I love the singer's voice though and I really don't have too many bad things to say about the set.

While most of my group went to see A-Track I went to watch The Futureheads. I didn't know what to expect from the band but they opened awesomely with "Decent Days and Nights" and they never let up. I absolutely loved the four part vocals and they had a great stage presence. I was really blown away and I wouldn't pass up a chance to see them again. As I was going to join my friends they started playing "Hounds of Love" and that song was stuck in my head the rest of the night. I give the Futureheads one of my highest recommendations of the day.

We were all really tired and hungry so we skipped out on Silver Jews (which from what I hear was a good idea) and instead went to eat and then back to our hotel. Overall we all had a fantastic day, you could almost call it indie-tastic (but then you might be brought to a back room and shot by Aziz Ansari).

Note: Next up is going to be some really cool Pitchfork Videos from Day 1. Hopefully I can learn how to learn this u-Tube thing. Reviews/Pictures elsewhere - GVB, marathonpacks, iGiF, fluxblog, YANP, goodhodgkins, MOKB

Pitchfork Fest - Day 1 - The Pictures

2006-07-31T17:34:00.000-05:00

I'm separating my Pitchfork Fest recaps into three parts - Pictures/Review/Video. Click the links below to see the rest of the images from each respective artist with nifty slideshow effects, courtesy of Pictures For Kids Who Can't Read Good. Tomorrow I'll give my thoughts on all the bands and the next day I'll be sharing some really cool video clips from some of the artists.

Click for more Man Man pictures

Click for more Band of Horses pictures

Click for more Destroyer pictures

Click for more Mountain Goats pictures

Click for more Art Brut pictures

Click for more Ted Leo pictures

Click for more Spank Rock pictures

Click for more Futureheads pictures

Click for more Walkmen pictures

Disclaimer: There's a time/date stamp on some of these pictures. I didn't realize it was on.

There's no place like Chicago on a hot, summer weekend...

2006-07-29T06:55:00.000-05:00

...At least when you throw something as awesome as Pitchfork Fest in there as well. That's where I'll be today and tomorrow. I'll be taking loads of pics with this camera. I'll also be meeting about every other music blogger in the world which I'm looking forward. The acts I'm anticipating the most (currently) are Mountain Goats, Danielson, Spoon, Yo La Tengo, and Ted Leo.

If John Darnielle pulls out this tune I think I might just die. It would be ultra-appropriate though.

MP3 Cubs In Five

If I can connect to the internet there, I'll update you tomorrow morning, but I'm not making any promises. There's a really good article about the Pitchfork Fest in the Sun-Times (via LHB).

Classic Albums #6 - Psychocandy

2006-07-28T18:36:00.000-05:00

The Jesus and Mary Chain's 1985 album is deserving of "classic status" primarily for creating the genre of noise pop and heavily influencing shoegazing. It's mixture of Velvet Underground-ish feedback and distortion (except added much heavier) with simple pop melodies and harmonies was a breakthrough. Distortion and feedback was a trademark of punk and alternative and had really never been done in a pop context before Psychocandy. The layered guitars and "wall of sound" of Jesus and Mary Chain was a huge influence of shoegazing which is a genre that My Bloody Valentine pioneered in the late 80's.

The song you probably know from Psychocandy is "Just Like Honey" and similarly this is the only song I knew off the album until I got it in the mail this week (it's being reissued). The song, of course, was used very memorably at the last scene of Lost in Translation. Some other highlights of the album are the single "You Trip Me Up", "Never Understand" which sounds like a Beach Boys song with someone destroying a guitar in the background, and "My Little Underground" which is sonically the best on the album.

MP3 Just Like Honey
MP3 My Little Underground

Buy the recently reissued album at Rhino Records (it comes with a DVD of three songs from the album).

Classic Albums #1 - Pet Sounds
Classic Albums #2 - Hunky Dory
Classic Albums #3 - Who's Next
Classic Albums #4 - Bookends
Classic Albums #5 - Disintegration

Modern Love and other Assorted Bowie Covers

2006-07-25T06:08:00.000-05:00

While I was browsing the Loose Records website today I noticed that there was a studio version of Last Town Chorus' cover of David Bowie's classic tune, "Modern Love". I remember hearing the live version last year and being mezmerized by it. "Modern Love" is one of my favorite Bowie songs and dance songs in general. It's also a hilarious song to sing two-part harmonies on.

The cover is turned into a mournful and yearning downer of a song, but it's very well done and the band rips through a feedback heavy guitar solo in the middle of the song. The studio version cleans up the track a bit and puts a slightly better ending on it, but i still prefer the rawness of the live version (if I had to choose). Here's both for comparison (plus the original).

MP3 Last Town Chorus - Modern Love (live)
MP3 Last Town Chorus - Modern Love (studio)
MP3 David Bowie - Modern Love

Here's a few more of my favorite Bowie covers for your enjoyment! BTW, This will be my last post in Australia so I'm on blogger vacation till I get back to the US. Then it's off to pitchfork I go with an overfull of concert reviews and pictures to be expected.

MP3 Seu Jorge - Ziggy Stardust
MP3 Arcade Fire - Five Years (live)
MP3 The Futureheads - Let's Dance
MP3 Belle & Sebastian - Space Oddity (live)

Inara George - All Rise

2006-07-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

"Everybody wants to be a genius" sings Inara George over crunching guitars. For Inara though, musical ingenuity is genetic, being the daughter of guitar legend Lowell George of The Factory, Mothers of Invention, and Little Feat. It also doesn't hurt to be buddy-buddy with Jackson Browne (he wrote a song for her in 1980 called "Of Missing Persons" and guests on her track, "A Day").

Her debut album, "All Rise" is being re-released today on Loose Records and it combines aspects of folk, country, and pop into eleven warm and thoughtful tracks. I caught her on tour opening for Nada Surf and Rogue Wave and her personality is as appealing as her songs. Make sure to check out these songs and follow the links below to purchase the album.

MP3 Genius
MP3 A Day
MP3 Fools Work

Inara's Website
Buy "All Rise"

Kite Flying Society

2006-07-22T11:07:00.000-05:00

Kite Flying Society is probably the best band name out there right now. The only other one that would come close would be a band named Ping Island Lightning Strike Rescue Op, and I've called that one. Rushmore Beekeepers has already been taken - Here's their myspace page. The music isn't that bad but the vocals are nearly unbearable. Here's an example (MP3 here to stay).

But back to Kite Flying Society, I've been enjoying their music for quite some time. "6000 Shipwrecks" and "If I Could Spit" are two of the best songs in the Indie Pop genre that have come out this year and there's many more gems to be had on the CD. Kite Flying Society has created some diehard fans in YANP, ECEU, and C&T but surprisingly they haven't yet caught on full scale on the internet (which might change July 28, when their debut drops). By the way, when you're listening to the song "If I Could Split", do it with headphones on - you'll see why when the song hits :35. Pure Bliss.

MP3 Kite Flying Society - If I Could Split
MP3 Kite Flying Society - 6000 Shipwrecks

Myspace
Preorder the album

Sorry this post is all over the place, my mind is a bit scattered at the moment. I've also just noticed I haven't featured much new music on here in a while so that's about to change. I guess I should start looking through my emails. Also I want to direct to this awesome Feist cover of "Nothin' In The World Can Stop Me Worryin' Bout That Girl" (in keeping with the semi-Wes Anderson theme of this post) at Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands.

Quote of the Day: "Microsoft leaves no doubt what their products are. If they made toilet paper it would be called Butt Wiper." From this article which encourages a switch to Firefox. I wholeheartedly second this endorsement. So does he.

Africa Trip Recap Time

2006-07-21T12:27:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody. I had a wonderful time in Africa, in case you were wondering. It looks like you weren't too bad off without me though (Thanks Liz, Connor, Derek). I have to catch up on a week and a half's worth of music that I've missed, but while I do that take a look at some of these pictures I snapped. There's 14 pictures with a fitting MP3 and short description accompanying each one. If you ever were thinking about visiting Africa hopefully these pictures will help make up your mind. Here's some Toto to start off the mix.

MP3 Toto - Africa

Since the pictures are quite large you'll have to click here if you want to see them all (and the songs to go with them).

This picture is from the Rift Valley, which was used by The Lion King creators as the inspiration for the Pridelands. Needless to say I was singing this song in my head as we drove by.
MP3 Circle of Life

This kid was bringing me a stool in case I wanted to sit. The hospitality there is tremendous even though they have little. You can also see a fire made with corn husks.

MP3 The New Pornographers - Streets of Fire

I saw this man on a lazy mondy afternoon. Riding slow, taking it easy.
MP3 Foghat - Slow Ride

Here's me spreading some Sufjan love to children of Africa.
MP3 The Predatory Wasps of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!

The Naroibi Marketplace. Very fun, If you come prepared to bargain.
MP3 The Clash - Lost In The Supermarket

I taught the men here how to play two-on-two and Knockout. It was like that movie "White Men Can't Jump", except as you see I dissprove that notion.
MP3 Kenny Loggins - Playin' With The Boys

"I want to feel, sunlight on my face / See that dust cloud disappear without a trace... "
"I'll show you a place, high on a desert plane / Where the streets have no name"
MP3 U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name

These were some workers we saw on the road. They asked me to take their pictures and I obligued. That's me in the white t-shirt.
MP3 The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night

Safari Picture - ZebrasMP3 Thunderbirds Are Now! - Better Safe Than Safari

Safari Picture - Monkeys
MP3 The Monkees - (Theme from) The Monkees

The Buffalo is one of the Big Five Animals in Africa as well as the Lion, Leopard, Rhino, and Elephant. It's considered the most dangerous of them all.
MP3 Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldier

The hippos were lazy and didn't seem to have a care in the world. I'm told they can be pretty vicious when protecting their young though.
MP3 Hakuna Matata

The World Famous Carnivore restaurant. On the roast - pork, beef, chicken, camel, crocodile, ostrich, and more...
MP3 Belle & Sebastian - Meat & Potatoes

The slums of Nairobi. "Dignity passes by"
MP3 U2 - Crumbs From Your Table (Live)

Continue Reading this post...

Forever Like Red

2006-07-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

"In the end it's me left here to breakdown..."
Forever Like Red

Taylor is Dubai right now, so I figured he'd be down with me making one more post.
This band is one of my absolute favorites - and I'm more than happy to let you in on them before they take over the world... (starting with the UK). Though the guys currently reside in Los Angeles, they have since been signed over in the UK and plan on relocating for a bit to finish off a couple of more tracks and do some touring. It's a bummer you didn't catch onto them before they head off - you're missing out on a great thing. I'm hoping the recording will be released here in the US soon after, because it's an absolutely phenomenal disc. I've got a few tracks from the band to feature, as well as a couple of demo versions Cameron (frontman) used to give away for free on his website.

Forever Like Red - Breakdown
Forever Like Red - Both Eyes Closed
Cameron Meshell - Forever Like Red
Cameron Meshell - I Want To Know

more info...
Myspace

I'm sure this will be my last post, so visit me over at CPMU!

Derek from Good Weather For Airstrikes

2006-07-18T14:52:00.000-05:00

PREFACE: Hello, all. I'm Derek from Good Weather For Airstrikes, and I'm the asshole that was supposed to post yesterday, but Lizzy couldn't get a hold of me, most likely because I was probably gallavanting around engaging in some form of douchebaggery or another, as I'm wont to do. That aside, below is a feature on my favorite new electronica act, French dancefloor kings Justice.

For those of you who've been crying yourselves to sleep ever since Daft Punk released Human After All, their incredibly lackluster follow-up to 2002's incredibly flawless Discovery, it looks like there may be hope for you yet. Human After All was a crushing dissappointment to those who had fallen in love with Discovery, and while for fans of the French dancetronica kings it may have seemed like there was nothing left to live for, Justice are here to save the day. Incidentally, Justice, which is comprised of Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Auge, is an electronic duo also hailing from France, and to get an idea of what they sound like, try to imagine what Daft Punk might sound like if you drenched their jams in a thick layer of grime and sweat and sex. The perfect example of this sound and the group's best work to date isn't an original production but is actually the duo's incredible remix of S! imian's "Never Be Alone", which despite the fact that it's been floating around European clubs for nearly three years now, has just been re-titled "We Are Your Friends" and released as a single (credited to Justice vs. Simian) on Virgin subsidary Ten Records. However, that's not to say that the duo's original productions are anything short of awesome, either. Justice's debut release, the Waters of Nazareth EP, dropped last year in France and the UK, but has since seen a re-release with bonus remixes (including one by the lately-untouchable Erol Alkan) and the EP finally saw a domestic release last month on VICE Records. The title track is, as expected, the hottest jam on the album, and while I'm at a loss for words as to how to describe it as anything other than sheer, unadultered hotness, it's one of the year's better dance tracks and should definitely please anyone whose been waiting for the next Daft Punk ever since Human After All came out and shat all over fans' hopes for the band.

;

The duo have also been in high demand as remixers, and have remixed tracks for Death From Above 1979, N.E.R.D., Franz Ferdinand, and even Britney, nearly all of which maintain the the high standard set by Justice's other work, and you can get a taste of this below with the duo's excellent remixes of DFA1979's "Blood On Our Hands" and Franz Ferdinand's "The Fallen".

MP3s:

"Waters of Nazareth" - Justice ((highly recommended))

"We Are Your Friends" - Justice vs Simian ((highly highly recommended))

"Blood On Our Hands" (Justice Remix) - Death From Above 1979

"The Fallen" (Ruined by Justice Remix) - Franz Ferdinand

The Working Title

2006-07-17T12:35:00.000-05:00

"He knows they will never know the loss of time and control."
The Working Title

Hey - this is Lizzy again from Come Pick Me Up. Someone else was supposed to be guest posting, but I can't seen to get ahold of him. So, I figured 3 days without a post had been too long, and that I could throw a quick something up.

In honor of their first major label record, about-face, which will be released tomorrow, I've decided to bring to Charleston's the Working Title. They're a really great, young, talented group of guys. I've seen them progress over the last 2 or 3 years, and the stuff that they've come up with for this album is absolutely wonderful.

The Working Title - Weigh Me Down
The Working Title - The Crash

*This post was mirrored from over at my site. However, I've got a contest I'm running in which you can win the band's new disc and a t-shirt. We'll pick 2 winners. I'll be real with you, we usually only get about 20 entrants - your chances are looking great. Also, I was able to sit down and interview the band before one of their shows and snap some live pictures, so head over and check that out if you're so inclined.*

more info...
Official Site
Myspace

Connor from I Guess I'm Floating

2006-07-14T09:22:00.000-05:00

Hah, way to be literal. But seriously, these following two artists are lacking blog coverage when they are completely deserved of immense amounts of it. They're both singer-songwriters, they're both Elliott Smith fans, and they'll both swoon you all with their graceful voices and skillful guitar playing.

Donovan Woods

I love Donovan Woods. I stumbled upon this goldmine on the internet one day and again was surprised how good his FREE 5 song EP ended up being. His lyrics are charming and clever, his voice is as warm and intruiging as Damien Rice's, and each one of his songs will make you cry for more.

MP3 Donovan Woods - I Ain't Saying She's Better Than You
MP3 Donovan Woods - My Cousin Has A Grey Cup Ring
MP3 Donovan Woods - Brand New Gun

Arms and Legs

I know, another "ARMS" band, but this guy's much different than Todd. Arms plays cute, innocent little pop songs on his guitar. He uses layered vocals in the vein of Elliott Smith, and harmonies to boot. He's got a voice on the higher end of things, but that just makes it better, kind of the same kind of "cute" that TBLLT possess. I'm pretty sure you'll all love it:

MP3 Arms and Legs - Bars All Closed
MP3 Arms and Legs - Lye Around
MP3 Arms and Legs - Alice

This concludes my Chancellorship! Gilbert will still be Secretary of War though, as he plans on taking down IGIF. Too bad I know all his strengths and weaknesses, muahaha. Anyway, thanks for listening/reading, let me know what you think! And don't forget to visit I Guess I'm Floating if you haven't already! :-)

Gilbert Gottfried and I own you for 2 days

2006-07-13T06:14:00.000-05:00

Hey all you MFK'ers, this here's Connor from IGIF, and I'm proud to
boast that the leader of the MFK'ers, Taylor, has bestowed upon me the
key to his city for 2 whole days (the 13th and 14th). I think he was
a little hasty in that decision, because I have a knack for
overrunning cities I temporarily rule with prostitution, gang
violence, and DVD copies of Problem Child. On that note, in
fact, I should mention that I've made Gilbert Gottfried my Secretary of War. What now,
MFK'ers?!?

In all seriousness, I'm glad I was asked to guest post. I feel
there's a TON of music that I've featured on IGIF that people seemd to
really like, but there's not a high turnover rate in terms of
post-IGIF bloggage on said music. So for my first official post as
interim Chancellor of all you MFK'ers out there, I've decided to
feature a few bands that I feel deserve about a million times more
attention than they're currently getting.

Arms is essentially the music of
multi-instrumentalist indie rocker Todd Goldstein, who's also
in The Harlem Shakes and the more lo-fi folk-oriented 2-some
The Sea and the Gulls. Arms marked a transition in my blogging
life, as I felt compelled to move from "posting for the sake of
posting" to "posting what I love." I sorta freaked out about a few of
his songs over at IGIF, because in all honesty they were among the
best I've heard all year.

Arms really seems to have its finger on the pulse, so to speak. Their
only release, Shitty Little Disco, a promising 7-song debut EP,
shows absolutely remarkable potential. The songs, for the most part,
gave me the same sensation of suprise and excitement that I felt when
I first listened to Wolf Parade's second EP or even
CYSHY's self-titled debut. You just get the feeling that Todd
knows exactly what he's doing to you at that moment, and you
can't help but to go with it. His music is the type that
simply surprises you as you're listening.

MP3: Arms
- Tiger Tamer
MP3: Arms - Whirring
MP3: Arms
- Jon The Escalator

Second up, we have We Will
Build. These guys won a sort of "best band" contest (for band's
I'd never heard of) back on IGIF a little while ago. I was stunned,
first of all, at how impossibly creative and amazing and fun their
music is, and secondly how little coverage they'd been given in the
blogosphere. Basically, WWB is an electronica duo that create massive
soundscapes of all sorts of synths and bleeps and effects with added
guitar parts and samples. Not quite The Postal Service, but
damn close in terms of talent and complexity.

Seriously, We Will Build deserves your full attention. You can grab
ALL of their songs for FREE from their website here.
Here are my favorites, with added spunk:

MP3: We Will Build - White Furniture (heartwrenching +/-
heartwarming)
MP3: We Will Build - I'm Feeling Very Unsatisfied (epic
Roman rave in 410 A.D.)
MP3: We Will Build - Out These Doors Inside (intense techno-flava)
MP3: We Will Build - 1214 (indie-pop bubblegum sunset)

I'll have two more for you all tomorrow, and maybe something a little
extra for the kids...

Alt-Country Mix Pt. 2

2006-07-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

"Everybody grew up and turned into assholes.""
The Damnwells

I told you I was pulling out the big guns for part 2. Westerberg, Whiskeytown (Mr. Adams is my king of alt-country), and my absolute favorite band - the Damnwells. I tried to throw in a few tracks that hopefully the majority of you haven't yet experienced. Matt Mays has always gotten a great reception on my site, and is apparently huge up in Canada. No reasoning behind the last couple of tracks I haven't mentioned, except that "Heartbreaker" is killer, and you should check it out. Otherwise, my time here is done. Connor from the mega-famous iGIF will be taking over tomorrow followed by a couple of more people.

Whiskeytown - Tilt-A-Whirl
The Damnwells - Assholes (full version)
The Exit - Soldier
Paul Westerberg - Gun Shy
Matt Mays & El Torpedo - The Plan
The Lonely Hearts - Heartbreaker

[Again, be sure to check out Come Pick Me Up if you've been liking the stuff I posted here. I feature a new band just about every other day. Often times, it's going to be someone you've never heard. I like it that way. Does the world really need another Gnarls Barkley or Sufjan post? Right.]

Josh Moore is more rock 'n' roll than you think

2006-07-11T11:13:00.000-05:00

"...I fell so hard for you."
Josh Moore

Josh Moore is more rock 'n' roll than you think. He is a former member of the band Beloved and a current member of rock outfit Classic Case. His solo stuff is so completely different than any of his other projects. They're just demos, but they're incredible. I originally was just going to feature Josh on my site, and I still will, but we all know that Taylor reaches probably 6 times the viewers that I do. "Rush Down My Spine" is far and away one of the best tracks I've heard this year - and I'm not exaggerating. I plan on posting pt. 2 of the alt-country mix tomorrow, and I thought Josh would serve as a nice segue into that last post. Josh sent me these tracks, but as far as I know he doesn't plan on officially releasing them. Leave some love if you like the tracks and maybe we'll get him to change his mind!

Josh Moore - Rush Down My Spine
Josh Moore - After Dark
Josh Moore - Streaked Faces

more info...
Myspace

Check out my stuff and Come Pick Me Up if you're at all interested!

Alt-Country Mix Pt. 1

2006-07-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

"...and don't slow down until you're out of sight."
Spouse

Hey - This is Lizzy from Come Pick Me Up. That wasn't too subtle, was it? While Taylor is off playing Bono in Kenya (I applaud you, buddy), he asked myself and a few others to keep his baby going. Of course, I obliged. Just spreading the love. Anyways, over at my site awhile back I compiled a little alt-country mix and people seemed to really have dug it. So, I figured I'd try my hand at again to see how all you indie rock kids would recieve it. The track list was changed up a bit, but the essence is still there. The first tracks comes with my highest recommendations. It's pretty incredible. However, make sure you stick around the next couple of days - I'm pulling out the big guns for part II.

Spouse - Are You Gonna Kiss Or Wave Goodbye?
High On Stress - You Have Conversations With Jesus
Patrick Park - Honest Skrew
The Annuals - The Devil Said "R.S.V.P."
Deadstring Brothers - Lonely Days
The Brokedown - Dignity

One More Crazy Cover

2006-07-07T23:19:00.000-05:00

I'm an unabashed fan of Mates of State. I enjoy their whole catalogue and their live performance is one of the funnest I've ever been to (see some pictures here). I've heard rumours that they covered "Crazy" which made my pulse jump a bit and You Ain't No Picasso got first dips on it. Good job Matt! Since its such an awesome cover (and since I have hosted every other one out there), I'm going to mirror it here for your enjoyement. Kori's piano really adds a new dimension to the song and the transition from "ah ah ah ah, like u crazy" to "i think ur crazy" is pretty brilliant.

MP3 Like U Crazy / Crazy (Gnarles Barkley Cover)

Here's a couple other Mates of State's songs from Bring It Back, which is one of my favorites of 2006.

MP3 Fraud in the 80'sMP3 Think Long

Music Bloggers are taking over my... music... blog....

2006-07-06T09:31:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be "blessing the rains down in Africa" in a few days (yes, that's a Toto lyric) in a continuation of my summer of continuous world travel. I'll be doing some charity work in Kenya as well as exploring around Nairobi. I might also do some celeb spotting (Brangelina, Bono, Lindsay Lohan, who knows who could pop up?) Anyone have any suggestions of places to go? Make sure to pick up the two Africa-related tunes below.

While I'm gone, 4 of the awesomest bloggers on the web are taking over for me, so expect to have some really good writing on this site for a change, as well as the normal dosage of great music. Here's the current schedule (dates are subject to change):

Lizzy (Come Pick Me Up) - July 10-12
Connor (i guess i'm floating) - July 13-14
Derek (Good Weather For Airstrikes) - July 16-17 (Check out his slick new layout)
Bethanne (Clever Titles Are So Last Summer) - July 18

MP3 Toto - Africa
MP3 U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name - Live In Boston (African Chanting Version)

In other site related news:
I'm picking up tons of new readers this week. I had over 3000 hits yesterday and today I'm well past 4000 today. Hooray for Stereogum, waxy.org, and the delicious popular list!

Internet Explorer is down to 28% usage on my site meter. Hooray for Firefox/Safari!

Triple J Covers CD - "Like A Version"

2006-07-05T08:53:00.000-05:00

Triple J Radio is like the Pitchfork of Australia. It's the definitive source on independent music, and it provides the country with music news, reviews, and live music (without the bias that pitchfork often succumbs to).

One thing that I really enjoy about the station is their mix CD's, and "Like A Version" are my favorite of these. It's a compilation of cover songs recorded live on air by mostly Australian bands. The songs are consistentally good and most of them you'd never be able to tell they were recorded live. The majority of the songs are done acoustically and it gives the CD a more personal feel.

The CD is 23 tracks long and contains covers from David Bowie, The Smiths, Bob Marley, The Pixies, Oasis, The Eagles, and Kelis. Here's two sample MP3's:

MP3 Grinspoon – Drugs Don’t Work (Verve Cover)
MP3 Jebediah – Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (B.J. Thomas Cover)

Go visit USA Today's Pop Candy Blog. Whitney was kind enough to link to me this morning about my Gnarles Barkley post.

The 12 and 1/2 best albums of this year, so far.

2006-07-04T12:56:00.000-05:00

At first I didn't plan on doing a mid-year review list, but then I thought, "what better way to celebrate your July 4th then to read a music list compiled by me". Then, I thought of about a million better ways to celebrate 4th of July, but I'm doing this all the same. Truth be told, this has been a year has been filled with heaps of fantastic releases and even my honorable mention list would give you nearly a year's worth of good music to listen to. But we're only interested in the best here and this is it (according to me):

These albums are listed in chronological order and only include albums released before July 4.

Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
B&S are a veteran band and they prove with “The Life Pursuit” that they are still very much relevant. What cemented this as one of my favorite CD’s though, was their live performance of the songs, which made for the best concert I’ve been to this year (or ever).

MP3 Another Sunny Day

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
I loved this album when it first came out and it gets better with every new listen. Dan Bejar’s melodies seem like their floating on air and lyrics are absolutely poetic.

MP3 European Oils

Mates of State - Bring It Back
Bring It Back is Mates of State’s best CD to date. The album is danceable and joyous but also at times delicate and pretty. Kori and Jason are indie’s most adorable couple and their chemistry on these songs is undeniable.

MP3 Think Long

Band of Horses- Everything All The Time
A breakthrough CD for a Sub Pop newcomers. Probably will be best remembered for the single, The Funeral, which could be the best song of 2006.

MP3 The Funeral

Islands - Return to the Sea
Not many bands can get away with opening a CD with a opus that’s nearly ten minutes in length, but “Swans (Life After Death) is the perfect introduction to the band. The album is inspired by hip-hop, country, synth pop and everything in between, and it makes for a very entertaining listen.

MP3 Rough Gem

Beirut - Gulag Orkestrar
A blogger favorite CD from the beginning, Beirut has drawn well-deserved comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel all across the board and has captivated listeners with its simple but powerful musical numbers featuring the ukulele and the accordion as major players.

MP3 Postcards of Italy

Danielson - Ships
Brother Daniel is a pro at making quirky love-it-or-hate-it CD’s. I choose to love it, and this is his most accessible and complete album to date. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to raise call songs like “Ship The Majestic Suffix” and “Bloodbook On The Half Shell” epic.

MP3 Did I Step On Your Trumpet

Shearwater - Palo Santo
“Palo Santo” is a beautifully constructed southern gothic CD that makes great use of atmosphere and dark melodies. In the past you might have seen Shearwater as a side project to Okkervil River but with this album they’ve become much more.

MP3 Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five

Anathallo - Floating World
It seems like I can’t stop talking about this band. Well, that’s because “Floating World” continues to impress me in every way. The band uses complex compositions and large arsenal of instruments to make arrangements that are both chaotic and beautiful.

MP3Hanasakajijii (Four: A Great Wind, More Ash)

Midlake - The Trials of a Van Occupanther
Midlake’s new CD fills the same whole of organic sounding folk music that Andrew Bird filled last year. Drowned In Sound described them best - “This is pop music for isolated log cabins, distant settlements with their own quasi-religions and individuals roaming with no real direction.”

MP3 Roscoe

Sleeping At Last - Keep No Score
A gorgeous CD from a band that are continuously maturing and finding their sound. Mixes influences like Radiohead, U2, and Sunny Day Real Estate with an array of stringed instruments that would make the toughest of men’s heart melt.

MP3 Careful Hands

The Format - Dog Problems
“Dog Problems” came out of nowhere to be one of my favorite CD’s of the year. It’s too good to be considered a guilty pleasure, the band has come out of their punk-pop shell to produce some fantastic compositions that are still as catchy as anything I’ve heard this year.

MP3 She Doesn't Get It

(Note: Although the official release date for the previous album is in July, the band decided to release it online earlier this month).

The Mountain Goats - Babylon Springs EP
This represents the half of in the number since its only 5 songs, and only released in Australia (my current location). It also represents my excitement in going to see the Mountain Goats in less than a month at the P-fork Fest (and Alibi happens to be one of John Darnielle’s catchiest tunes).
MP3 Alibi

Honorable Mention/Needs More Time:
Aloha, Maritime, Cat Power, Jenny Lewis / Watson Twins, Birdmonster,
SOUND Team, Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s Final Fantasy, The Grates,
Half-Handed cloud, Rainer Maria, Snow Patrol, Cold War Kids, Hot Chip

There you have it. Now grab a cigar (but not till the fat lady sings) and have a wonderful Independence Day.

Los Campesinos! - "Trying to find the perfect match between pretensious and pop"

2006-07-03T03:39:00.000-05:00

This is a band you can't afford to not be listening to right now. They're starting to take the blogosphere by storm and they've got no place to go but up. All you have to do is listen to the first minute of "You!Me!Dancing" to see why. It's probably one of the best buildups to a song I've ever heard, starting with sparse guitar and slowly adding more layers till your literally bombarded with sound. Then the riff kicks and takes you the rest of the way in a journey that includes thick accents and as many hooks as possibly bearable in a song. The song is reminiscent of last year's "It'5" by Architechture in Helsinki, but this is like the more dense, fast-paced version.

"Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks" is another standout song from the band that manages to seemlessly layer a violin over the quirky dance beat. "It Started Out With a Mixx" packs the biggest punch lyrically with the quote, "trying to find the perfect match between pretensious and pop" and a chorus that almost seems like a Killer's shout-out. I recommend this band to fans to everyone but I especially think fans of Architecture in Helsinki and Thunderbirds Are Now! will like them.

(Left-click to download)
MP3 Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!
MP3 Los Campesinos! - Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks
MP3 Los Campesinos! - It Started With A Mixx

Read some other posts about them at:
Nothing But Green Lights
Skatterbrain
The Runout groove
The Heroes of the Revolution
Fake DIY

String Quartet Tribute - Girl Power!

2006-07-02T10:19:00.000-05:00

Some of you might know that I have a soft spot for listening to string quartet versions of popular songs but what you don't know is that I also love 90's-era girl power songs. Whether it be Shania Twain singing "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" or Gwen Stefani singing "Just A Girl", you can't really deny the power of a free-thinking female singer-songwriter behind the microphone. Here's four popular 90's songs from the String Quartet Tribute series sung by female artists. Not all are exactly girl power material (I'm looking at you, Mariah) but they all hopefully bring back memories of simpler times. If only there was a string quartet tribute to the Spice Girls...

MP3 Ironic (Alanis Morisette) Buy!
MP3 Silent All These Years (Tori Amos) Buy!
MP3 Ray of Light (Madonna) Buy!
MP3 Heartbreaker (Mariah Carey) Buy!

The links are back up for those of you wondering.

Man of Steel, Man of Heart

2006-06-30T09:59:00.000-05:00

I saw Superman Returns last night and it was pretty decent. I think the characters were very well acted, but I just don't really see what's exciting about watching a man without any flaws or weaknesses. I'm led to believe that Kryptonite can make Superman die, but without completely spoiling it for you, it really doesn't do much to stop him except for weaken him for a couple minutes. I was also confused at the ending but that's probably because I don't follow the comics. Either way it had some enjoyable visual effects and Kevin Spacey is always fun to watch.

Rhino Records is releasing a compilation of Superman songs (mostly covers) that you might enjoy if your into the mainstream punk/pop scene. I've listened to most of the songs and R.E.M. cover sticks out as a good one, and I'm sure many of you will be interested in The Flaming Lips cover, which is pretty well done. I had high hopes for the Motion City Soundtrack song but unfortunatley it doesn't retain any of the qualities from that I liked from their "I Am The Movie" days. Here's two songs, if you like them go here and order Sounds of Superman:

MP3 Sun/The Academy Is - Superman
MP3 Nightmare of You - Waitin' for Superman

I was suprised that one of my favorite Superman songs, "The Superman" by David Bowie wasn't included. It's one of Bowie's earliest songs and the drumming at the beginning is really unique. I saw the man perform it live and he said something like "I love this song, but I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote the lyrics". Check it out for yourself -

MP3 David Bowie - The Superman

Get The Man Who Sold The World

Asthmatic Kitty Contest: Reshape and Resize

2006-06-29T03:06:00.000-05:00

If you didn't already love Asthmatic Kitty enough, now they're giving you the chance to win 300 dollars, their whole back catalogue, and a t-shirt (not to mention international fame). All you have to do is tinker with the Shapes and Sizes song "Wilderness" in the Audio-Editing software of your choice and then submit it to a judging panel of "elite", "specialy selected" bloggers (of which I somehow am included).

You're allowed to cover, remix, mash-up, and reinterpret the song in any way you like and we're going to be judged based on creativy and intriguing-ness. The international fame part comes when your selection is put on Asthmatic Kitty's website for the whole world to download and critique. You might want to come up with a cool DJ name with your submission also (optional), because that might effect my judging. Visit here for the contest rules. Here's the MP3 for your listening and remixing pleasure:

MP3 Wilderness

Here's another Shapes and Sizes song that I particularly like but that you will get no prizes for remixing:
MP3 Island's Gone Bad

Arrested Development Season Three DVD Specs

The Evolution of "Crazy"

2006-06-28T02:23:00.000-05:00

Origin: You all have heard Gnarles Barkley's "Crazy" (it's pretty much impossible to get away from at this point), but have you heard "Nel Cimitero Di Tucson", which is essentially a raw instrumental form of Crazy. Unless you check alot of random world-music blogs (like me) you probably haven't. It seems that Gnarles Barkley heavily sampled the song, which comes from the soundtrack of the film, Preparati la bara! (IMDB link here).

It's very interesting to listen to the original version and be able to hear the progression to it's current chart-topping form, most noticeably the trumpets from the original were replaced with strings for Gnarles Barkley's version, but the bass line stays the same nearly the whole song though.

MP3 Gianfranco Reverberi - Nel Cimitero Di Tucson

The blogger that found this goes by the name Guuzbourg and he writes for The Spleninda Project. The original post is here. Great find, Guuz!

Covers: You can't mention the song without talking about the covers, three of which feature an acoustic/stripped down version of the song and one (Twilight Singers) which turns it into a soulful piano jam. Time will tell, what Paris Hilton will do with the song when she covers it. Here's all four versions:

MP3 The Kooks - Crazy
MP3 Ray Lamontagne - Crazy
MP3 Nelly Furtado - Crazy
MP3 The Twilight Singers - Crazy
MP3 Mates of State - Like U Crazy / Crazy (Gnarles Barkley Cover) update*

Live: Finally, the live performances of Crazy have all have had variations. The MTV version varies the least, other than some wind effects and added a piano melody on "who do you think you are". The Top of the Pops version slows down the tempo and adds in marching drums, and the Conan version is completely remixed with some funky sound effects at the end. View all three:

Crazy @ MTV Movie Awards - Darth Vader
Crazy @ Top of the Pops - Airplane Pilot
Crazy @ Conan O'Brien - Bathrobe
(courtesy of YouTube)

Overall, I've heard this song more than any other single played this year, and I still enjoy it. Does that me crazy? possibly...

The Format / Anathallo / Ranier Maria Tour Dates!

2006-06-27T03:07:00.000-05:00

What a lineup this is! If you've followed the site you know that I love all three of these bands, and their making 40 stops this July/August all over the U.S. (even Arkansas and Connecticut get in on some of the action) in what's being called the "Dog Days of Summer" Tour. I'm marking my calendar for August 18th in Chicago. Part of the proceeds of this tour is going to charity, so you'll be supporting good music and also the less fortunate.

Here's some music and a brief description of each of the bands. Follow the jump if you just want the dates...

The Format: Undeniably catchy power-pop who have recently majorly expanded their sound.
MP3 She Doesn't Get It
MP3 The Compromise

Ranier Maria: Veteran female-fronted band from the "emo" era. Their latest album is arguably their best and most consistent to date.
MP3 Burn

Anathallo: self-described "intensely celebratory and theatrical marching band gone wild" cursed/blessed with frequent Sufjan comparisons.
MP3 Hoodwink
MP3 Hanasakajijii (Four: A Great Wind, More Ash)
(myspace links - left click to download)

Side note: Street to Nowhere is also playing but I haven't been able to listen to them yet. Any good?

The Dog Days Of Summer Tour Dates:
07/14 - Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theatre
07/15 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
07/16 - Flagstaff, AZ - Orpheum
07/18 - Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room
07/19 - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
07/20 - Houston, TX - Numbers
07/21 - Austin, TX - The Parish
07/22 - Little Rock, AR - Juanita's
07/23 - Nashville, TN - Exit / In
07/25 - St Petersburg, FL - State Theatre
07/26 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - The Culture Room
07/27 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House Of Blues
07/28 - Jacksonville, FL - Fuel Coffeehouse
07/29 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
07/30 - Greenville, NC - Green St. Club
08/01 - Norfolk, VA - NorVa
08/03 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre
08/04 - Buffalo, NY - Buffalo Icon
08/05 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
08/06 - Rochester, NY - Water Street Music Hall
08/08 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
08/09 - Providence, RI - The Living Room
08/10 - Boston, MA - Axis
08/11 - Hartford, CT - The Webster Theatre
08/12 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
08/13 - Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony
08/15 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of Living Arts
08/16 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom
08/17 - Detroit, MI - St Andrews Hall
08/18 - Chicago, IL - Metro
08/19 - St Louis, MO - Mississippi Nights
08/20 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
08/22 - Denver, CO - Cervantes
08/23 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
08/25 - Seattle, WA - Corazon
08/26 - Portland, OR - Loveland
08/27 - Orangevale, CA - Boardwalk
08/28 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
08/29 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
08/31 - Hollywood, CA - Avalon
09/1 - San Diego, CA - Soma
09/2 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues Courtyard
See the tour dates...

The Waifs

2006-06-26T03:04:00.000-05:00

Out of all the songs I've heard recently the one I find myself going to back to with the most frequency is "London Still" (MP3) by Australian folk band, The Waifs. Perhaps it's for sentimental reasons or maybe it's just because I can't get the melody out of my head. The band that sings the song is called The Waifs and they've been around quite a while (long enough to score a tour with Bob Dylan and have a Greatest Hits album). If it weren't for their accents, The band wouldn't feel to out of place in a Nashville bar as country music and blues are strong influences in their music. If you enjoy Neko Case, Bright Eye's last album, or alt-country in general, I'm positive you'll find much to like about this band.

MP3 London Still
MP3 Lighthouse
MP3 Spotlight (live)

Visit The Waif's site and myspace. The first two songs are from this album.

Read Matt and Nathan's Desmonda and Bonnaroo coverage (and look at a ton of sweet pictures on both sites). Kentucky Blogs are so hot right now. Also, Lizzy echoes my sentiments about Sleeping At Last at Come Pick Me Up.

More Desmonda here and here.

Australia's Own - The Cat Empire

2006-06-24T01:17:00.000-05:00

Sucks to be USA right now, but people couldn't be happier here in Australia. Before I watched the soccer game I went through a friend's music collection and ripped everything good I could find onto my computer. Luckily, they had The Cat Empire which is the perfect band for the moment. Celebratory, danceable, Latin/Salsa inspired beats. Here's their myspace-approved description:

"Where the hip-hop community dance to Gypsy, the jazz purists jump to hip-hop, the Latinos bop to reggae, the rastas shake to latin, the elderly sweat to funk, the youth swing to dancehall, and everyone wakes up a little happier."

"Hello" is their funnest song, think Bottle Rocket by The Go! Team redone by a salsa band. I love when they scream out "Pablo, Pablo" in the middle of the song. "How to Explain" isn't far behind on the fun factor with loud trumpets, shifting percussion, and tempo changes all over the place. The Hotel California cover is from a CD series called Like A Version which you'll be seeing much more of.

MP3 Hello
MP3 How to Explain
MP3 Hotel California (Eagles Cover)

Go buy it.
Listen to four more at their myspace.
The Lollapalooza schedule is out! Recent additions have been Cold War Kids, Ranier Maria, Ben Kweller, Violent Femmes, Assassins, Kelly Holtz, and Kill Hannah.

Arizona, here we come.

2006-06-23T21:47:00.000-05:00

Arizona should get more credit. Musically, they're the state that gave us Jimmy Eat World, Linda Ronstadt, Alice Cooper, The Format, Fleetwood Mac, and Linkin Park (ok, its not all good). But now you can bump them up another notch, because they're the namesake for the great upcoming band, Arizona. The band is from New York, but you can't just go around calling a band New York though, can you?

Arizona is much more fitting of their sound, which you'll understand when you hear tracks like "Some Kind of Chill". The falsetoed voice and the folk/country undertones reminds me of After The Gold Rush-era Neil Young, but add that to some wonderful harmonization and a guitar solo that will make you question whether this is really their first album. All together one of the best songs I've heard this year, and if you live in the NY area you can hear it live (dates at their myspace)

Here's the fore-mentioned song plus two more via their myspace page (left-click to download)
MP3 Some Kind of Chill
MP3 Splintering
MP3 Surviving the Savior

Read Connor's much more eloquent review of the band.

The End of The World

2006-06-21T19:32:00.000-05:00

The End of the World are a four-piece band that have been rocking the east coast in preparation for an upcoming full length release with Flameshovel Records (Maritime, Chin Up Chin Up). They've had some great response to their music both in their home at Brooklyn and at SXSW where they played earlier this year.

There's not much info out about the band right now, so I'm going to speculate on their band name, because "The End of the World" garners some questions in my mind. Is the apocalypse a reoccurring theme with their music?, is it a political statement?, are they making a so-obvious-it's-not-obvious R.E.M. reference? Whatever the case, I'm digging their music. Take a listen and buy their debut EP if you like it.

MP3 Last Cast
MP3 This Little Theatre

Listen to one more at their myspace.

Australia's Own- The Grates

2006-06-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of postage, I've been out of it the last couple days (It's all that late night soccer). But part of that time I've been researching new music everywhere from local Perth records shops (78's is really cool) to local shows. Being such, I'm going to be posting a few Australian bands that I think you'll really enjoy (in a series I call "Australia's Own").

I'm starting off with one you all should know, The Grates. The song Sukkafish is especially crave-worthy. It starts off with a shoegazy guitar line and then goes into some Boy Least Likely To banjo and then moves towards a grunge-ish sound for a few seconds before going back to the banjo. Sound interesting? It should. The other song is one I've heard on the radio a couple of times (they have a couple good stations here). It's a jumpy good-for-a-party tune with lyrics like "Shakin’ like you don’t know what your waiting for / Shakin’ like a bacon ice cold it’s floored."

MP3 Sukkafish
MP3 Inside Outside

Listen to more at their (very well designed) myspace.
Stream the CD here
If you live in Toronto, Montreal, New York, San Fransisco, Vancouver, or LA, The Grates are coming your way.

Can anyone think of a better name then Australian's Own for this posting series, I thought of that in two seconds and it seems kindof corporationish. I'll send you a hand carved boomerang if you can think of a better one. (not really)

Review of iTunes Celebrity Playlists - Jack Black

2006-06-17T03:16:00.000-05:00

Reading through Jack Black's playlists made me realize a few things. First off, that Nacho Libre had already opened in theatres (I don't want to read the reviews, but I'm guessing they're horrible. Anyone seen it?). Secondobly, that Jack Black's sister-in-law is the artist I did this post on (He includes a Petra Haden song in the list). I also realized that Jack Black has got very very interesting music taste.

His playlist includes Eagles of Death Metal (which he was in a music video for), Soul Asylum, and Cat Power. He also picks a few songs that are in similar vein to his own band, Tenacious D like Ween and Liam Lynch. Very fun list to listen to, tons of variety, keeps you guessing. The descriptions are often good but I wish he would shown a little more of his personality sometimes. I guess, the song selection speaks for itself. Here's a couple tracks from his playlist which you can check out at the Celebrity Playlists section at the iTunes Music Store.

MP3 Silversun Pickups - Kissing Families (featuring Jack Black's wife on the cello!)
MP3 The Pixies - Crackity Jones

How did I miss this? Danielson and The Walken got added to the Pitchfork Music Festival Roster. Woohoo!

Just in case you forgot: Maritime

2006-06-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

Maritime was a band that I had prepared to post about but before I could about 8 other blogs beat to the punch. I think now's a good time to go back to them in case you either forgot about them or don't read blogs frequently enough to have heard about them. I think We, The Vehicles is one of the easily one of best releases so far this year.

Maritime stems from the band The Promise Ring, which like The Get Up Kids was a favorite of mine in my "pop emo stage". Maritime takes the groundwork that The Promise Ring layed down and improves on it. With the help of of former bandmate Dan Didler and Eric Axleson (The Dismemberment Plan), Davey VonBohlen is making some of the most intelligent Indie Pop I've heard, and they make it seem easy. These songs should be on every summer mix that you make. Buy We, The Vehicles.

MP3 Calm
MP3 Parade of Punk Rock T-Shirts
MP3 Tearing Up The Oxygen

Here's a favorite Promise Ring song of mine to help show the progression of the band:
MP3 Why Did We Ever Meet

Clever Titles Are So Last Summer is having her Birthday Bash this week (and today's post is going to be huge). Go wish her a good one.

Bands with "Lights" in the title

2006-06-14T23:22:00.000-05:00

I've had Hotel Lights and Headlights on my list of bands to write about for way too long now. I've also just encountered a band called The Harbour Lights (thanks to Matt from Skatterbrain) that fits in well with this post.

Headlights
First off I'll talk about local heroes Headlights, who've been getting great blogging press (thanks mainly to Matt from Picasso). It's well worth it though, because their shoegazey dream piano pop rock sound that's full of guy/girl harmonies and multi-layered synths could be one of the best releases this year. I think fans of the lighter side of Bloc Party, the Killers, and Mates of State will really love this band. Here's two tracks that come with my highest recommendation:

MP3 Headlights - Put Us Back Together
MP3 Headlights - Tokyo

Hotel Lights
Hotel Lights is the definition of a rainy-day band, and thats to say that the music is really really mellow. Kindof odd, considering the band is the brainchild of a drummer (formerly of Ben Folds Five). What it lacks in tempo though, it makes up for in its lush soundscapes and velvety instrumentation. Buy here.

MP3 Hotel Lights - A.M. Slow Golder Hit
MP3 Hotel Lights - Let Me Be The One
MP3 Hotel Lights - Talking To Lisa
MP3 Hotel Lights - Another Year

The Harbor Lights
Finally, a band I don't know much about, and actually discovered while researching this post, The Harbor Lights. Like the previous two bands, they're music is pop-orientated and dreamlike, and like Headlights they feature male/female vocals. Unlike the previous two though, they're noticeably inspired by folk music. They've put their whole EP up for download here.

MP3 The Harbor Lights - Summer
MP3 The Harbor Lights - Making Numbers

Myspace Links:
Headlights
Hotel Lights
The Harbour Lights

Blue Man Group

2006-06-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

Homer Simpson: "Have you ever seen that Blue Man Group? Total ripoff of the Smurfs. And the Smurfs, well, they SUCK. "

Tobias (completely covered in blue paint): I have to ask for an audition
Michael: You haven't auditioned yet?
Tobias: Oh, no, no. I’m not in the group yet. No, I’m afraid I just blue myself.
Michael: There's got to be a better way to say that.

The blue man group make for some very humourous situations like the two above. But other than that and performing in TV commercials, they also make music, and sometimes it can be pretty good. I submitted the song "Rods and Cones" to the latest Contrast Podcast, the theme being "I'm the only one that likes this".

I'm sure I'm not the only one who likes them, but I think I'm the only one that I know that actually intentionally listens to them (I have them on my iPod). Is there any other BlueHeads out there? Here's "Rods and Cones" and a bonus track that was used in one of the Intel ads called "Drumbone". Enjoy!

MP3 Rods and Cones
MP3 Drumbone

Learn all about this interesting trio.

Muse Leak Alert + Review!

2006-06-12T02:14:00.000-05:00

I'm sure those who follow music leaks closely have had this a few days now, but with my limited internet access here in Australia, its taken me a little longer to get a hold of Black Holes and Revelations. As for my opinion, I'm loving the album but wouldn't quite place it as high as Absolution or Origin of Symmetry... yet. It definitely has some awesome songs on it, but nothing that immediately blew me away like Hysteria or Stockholm Syndrome did. It also doesn't have the same degree of killer piano rock operas that I love so much like New Born or Butterflies & Hurricaines. In spite of this, I think the album works fabulously.

Muse had played around with the "Spanish guitar" sound, but City of Delusion is the first time Bellamy puts it to real good use and the results are amazing. CoD is also the first time I remember hearing trumpets in a Muse song, and they get repeated in Knights of Cydonia. There's a noticable danceable quality to a few of the songs, which is something that I've found myself enjoying (on Supermassive Black Hole its the most obvious). The individual elements on the CD are strong. The fuzzy bass is in full storm, Matt's voice sounds as good as ever, the drums are out of this world, and the piano parts, although sparse, add a good deal to their songs. The album doesn't have any really weak tracks, and there's some nice variety on songs like Starlight which shows a traces of U2.

Finally, the song Knights of Cydonia is in the running for the most bombastic, pretentious, epic, (pick your adjective), song that Muse has made. It's the kind of song that can only be at the beginning of a CD or the end (Muse chose the latter). It starts out with the sound of horses galloping and lasers shooting off, has some really crazy choral singing/screaming parts, and includes one of the nastiest guitar breakdowns I've heard near the end of the song.

The CD definitley has some shining moments, and it'll definitely be in my top CD's of the year list, but I'll have to listen more to see where it stands with their other albums. Hopefully, Muse will rediscover the piano virtuosos and the massive riffs for the next album, but until then, Black Holes and Revelations more than effectively fills the gap.

MP3 Knights of Cydonia [Link Removed]
MP3 City of Delusion [Link Removed]

Like always, if you like the CD buy/pre-order it. This one is definitely worth it.

String Quartet Tribute - Radiohead

2006-06-11T10:49:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've done one of these, hasn't it? I thought because of all of the Thom Yorke/Radiohead stuff going on recently it would be a perfect chance to revisit the string quartet series and post their covers of two of my favorite Radiohead songs, both from OK Computer.

The songs are haunting, emotional, and otherworldly; everything that Radiohead tribute songs should be. Here they are:

MP3 Paranoid Android
MP3 No Surprises

Purchase the album.

Blanket Music

2006-06-08T22:23:00.000-05:00

Nostalgia is a beautiful thing, and if that's what you crave then Blanket Music provides. When listening to just the first few seconds of their lead-off single "Impossible", my mind jumps to lazy summer nights spent sitting on the dock of a lake watching the time go by. I also am reminded of Beatles, Belle & Sebastian, the Beach Boys and a few other bands that begin with "B". Speaking of, the bass player of this band claims he can name every song the Beatles recorded in chronological order. That, in itself, should give you bragging rights, but they also make great music (especially if your into chilling out). My current obession is their cover of "Red Right Ankle". Take a listen:

MP3 Impossible (Norfolk and Western)
MP3 Red Right Ankle (The Decemberists Cover)

From 2002's Move
MP3 Hips
MP3 Tap the Beat

Buy their latest (Cultural Norms)

In other news:
- iPods are more "in" then beer at college campuses. Don't believe me? go read for yourself.
- Mike of Take Your Medicine, has just moved his focus to this blog (called Nothing but Green Lights). See what he's up to.
- I just bought Muse's Hullabullo yesterday. One side is B-Sides, one side is a live concert, and it's altogether awesome. Can't wait for the new album to come out (or leak at least).

End of Fashion

2006-06-07T22:22:00.000-05:00

While I've been in Perth, Australia, some of my friends have been telling me about which local bands I should listen to (excluding AC/DC, who I already know about). Around the time they were telling me about End of Fashion, I saw a post about them on iGiF which i thought was quite coincidental. Now everytime I open my iTunes Library people say "you listen to End of Fashion; I know them" and so on.

The band's influences ranges from Brendan Benson to The Arcade Fire to Queen and their music makes constant use of synths and happy-go-lucky melodies. They sound somewhat like a NYC rock band (LEVY, for example) would with Australian accents. Whatever the comparison here's a sample tracks for you to munch on. Oh, and by the way vegemite is really bad; it tastes like really salty fish purree.

MP3 Oh Yea

Listen to a bunch more right here at their myspace.
Buy the album

Also, sorry if my server is being crappy right now, everyone seems to be having hosting problems right now.

Six-Six-O-Mix!

2006-06-06T20:16:00.000-05:00

"If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666."
-Revelation 13:18

Today is El Dia de Diablo. If you don't habla espanol that means its the day of the devil, and I have a suitable mix for this most evil day. Everyone grab your pitchforks and put on some Satan horns and boogey down to this devilish mix that includes the most diabolical version of Sympathy for the Devil (who else but Ozzy) and a song that is not only so bad it's evil, but from an album called "To Hell With The Devil".
MP3 Jenny Lewis - Run Devil Run
MP3 Ozzy Osbourne - Sympathy for the Devil
MP3 Beck - Devil's Haircut
MP3 Sufjan Stevens - In the Devil's Territory
MP3 Stryper - Honestly

Oh, and don't go see The Omen. Rent Left Behind instead, it's probably more accurate and at least has some unintentionally funny moments.