Misc. Music Archives
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See pics from Tuesday's bluestate here.
Ruh roh. Tony Allen wanted for questioning regarding a shooting in his hometown of Chicago.
Off to North Cackalack. Everyone be safe this weekend.
I finally got through some of the promo CD's people have been sending me this weekend.
Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love
This CD really surprised me. It sounds (roughly) like a live mix of Mylo and recent New Order stuff. TimeOut NY thinks they are the Postal Service crossed with Daft Punk. Either way, it's dancey, house pop with an 80's vibe. It's already been added to the tracklisting of Podcast #4 (hopefully due later this week) and I'm definitely rocking this at the next few Bluestate's. Recommended. They're opening some upcoming dates for Franz Ferdinand (go here for tour dates), so if you're going, be sure to get there early and let me know how they are live. Unfortunately, the only Washington they are going to is Seattle. Here's some goodies for you:
Future (Chromeo Mix) (MP3)
Video for the track "Saturdays"
Levy - Rotten Love
New release from One Little Indian Records. Sounds like Snow Patrol Jr. If you can't wait for their next release, you could do worse than picking this CD up. Brooklyn Vegan saw them over the weekend and compared them to Coldplay, except, you know, they don't suck.
Nouvelle Vague - Self Titled
Not exactly a novel idea; bossanova versions of alt "classics" by the Cure, The Clash, Depeche Mode and the um, the Dead Kennedys. I liked this CD alot more than i thought I would. It has a fun vibe and great musicianship. The kitsch factor is kinda high but if you can get past that, you'll dig it.
The Washington Post had a decent take on comparing the different online music stores over the weekend. They also lamented the loss of Tuesday as album release day and had a nice comparison on Sirius and XM satellite radio.
So in the interests of synergy, here are my thoughts on eMusic. First the obvious. 50 free downloads for signing up. 40 downloads a month for $10. Downloads are in MP3 format and compatible with pretty much anything that plays an MP3. That's hard to beat.
The selection skews decidedly indie and while I'm not floored by the overall selection, there's enough newer stuff and back catalog to at least keep me subscribing for a few more months. Basically I plan on using this as a source to get all the records the cool kids are talking about that Tower wants $14.99 for.
Now then...the bad. First of all, the navigation is atrocious. Unless you do a direct search for a band, browsing by links is very hit or miss and seemingly completely arbitrary. Available downloads are broken down into categories. For example, the main category of Alternative/Punk is broken down into the following subcategories: Alt/Punk Ska, Alternative, Alternative Experimental, Alternative Hard Rock, Brit Pop, Emo, Garage Rock, Goth, Hardcore, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Industrial, Live Alt/Punk, Math Rock, New Wave, Post-Punk, Psych and Punk. Now if someone can just explain the difference between Alternative, Emo, Garage Rock, Indie Rock, and Math Rock I might be able to make some headway. I don't even know what Psyche is.
Users are labeled on the site with names like "EMUSIC-0082973D". Ooooohkay. Would it have been so hard to let people chose their own log ins or go with something a tad less generic? I can't see me wanting to download something I've never heard of just because EMUSIC-00439277F likes it.
A potentially great search feature is the ability to seek out music by label, but this is hampered by poor organization. When you click through to a label, the homepage lists top songs by that label, not top artists. You can also search for albums by release years, in decades, but again, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the order of the results once you click through. Basically be ready to spend some time clicking around to find something.
That being said, eMusic definitely has merits. I've been pleased with it so far. I spent my 50 free downloads on The Streets Original Pirate Material, Echo & The Bunnymen Live in Liverpool, The Wedding Present's Take Fountain and Fosbury by Tahiti 80. They also have albums by Spoon, Arcade Fire, Nuetral Milk Hotel, The National and others. So I would recommend signing up, if only for the freebies.
Apparently Elbow rocked Reading over the weekend. Setlist here. Drool.
Captain Jack Sparrow to interview the Mozzer for a BBC documentary on James Dean.
Johnny Marr working with Humble Rodent? Marr/Brock doesn't have the same ring to it, now does it?
Some people have way too much time on their hands. Others are pissed at Flickr for getting in bed with Yahoo.
Two and a half years after the music business lined up behind the chief executive of Apple, Steven P. Jobs, and hailed him and his iTunes music service for breathing life into music sales, the industry's allegiance to Mr. Jobs has eroded sharply. Because the higher ups at the labels just can't help but bite the hand that feeds them.
Editor's Note: I wrote this entry Wednesday night but forgot to save it (D'oh!), hence no post yesterday.)
I was tagged yesterday by the Upstate Life, so below is my list of 10 songs I'm rocking out to at the moment. Yes, I'm aware there's not much "new" music on it. That's because I currently have 21 23 CD's in my "to listen" pile, hence I'm somewhat behind on that "new" stuff. I'm also in one of those phases I get into where I would rather go back in time and search for music as opposed to troll MP3 blogs for the latest thing. *shrug* Click on the song title to download.
1) ...Trail Of Dead - "Let It Drive"
Trying desperately to like their latest record but it's just not clicking. This song came on the iPod the other day and I was digging it, so it's been in heavy rotation lately.
2) The Ravonettes - "You Say You Lie" (MP3)
Best guitar riff the Bunnymen never wrote.
3) Stevie Nicks - "Stand Back"
The night I got home from seeing Mac Attack, I downloaded a ton of Mac/Nicks. This song has been on repeat ever since. Love it.
4) The Cloud Room - "Waterfall" (MP3)
This is the only one of the NYC blog buzz bands that I've thought was anything special (Yes, I'm looking at you CYHSY). But I've only heard this one song from TCR so take that with a grain of salt.
5) Kaiser Chiefs - "I Predict A Riot"
I finally succumbed to this song. The verses are still complete and utter shite, but when they kick in with the chorus, it goes to 11. Not unlike old Supergrass actually. A great chorus in search of a decent verse. The "la la la's" don't hurt either.
6) Super Furry Animals - "Frequency"
Off of their new record. This track has gotten mentioned exactly once in all the reviews I posted for Love Kraft and that was in passing. It's my favorite song on the record, and for once it's not the most complex to play, so maybe I'll get to hear it played live.
7) Steve Winwood - "Valerie" (MP3)
Gl*mrocker is obsessed with this song and so was I after I downloaded the track and heard that opening synth riff. Fucking classic. "Come and seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee me." Why hasn't some cooler-than-you indie band co-opted a cover of this as their set closer? It would bring down the house!
8) Spoon - "Was It You" (MP3)
OK, I'll admit I bit at the whole play the Spoon record backward hoax. But when I tried it out (yes, I like it better backwards, I think the album opens with more energy that way), this track really stood out. You have to spend time with Spoon records, otherwise you'll miss gems like these buried in side two. I asked this way back in my first post ever (cringe), but why isn't Spoon the biggest band in the world?
9) Soul Coughing - "City of Motors"
I pulled out Irresistible Bliss earlier this week since I have an upcoming interview with Mike Doughty for DCist. And then yesterday I saw this picture I kept singing "Manuela said she saw the brakes fail" in my head.
10) The Supremes - "You Can't Hurry Love" (MP3)
Straight fucking butta. Obvs.
I'm supposed to pass this on to other bloggers, but since I'm already on the back end of this thing, if anyone else wants to do it, leave me a url in the comments as I'll update this post with links next week.
Some other things of interest:
Moz back in the studio next week!
This might only appeal to the 14% of my readers that live in the UK, but if you visit this site, you can order the Elbow record I keep raving about and get the album (in either MP3 or CD format) up to a week earlier than the 9/12 release date.
Arcade Fire to open for u2 in Montreal.
Brilliant. Why didn't someone come up with that idea earlier? We need to call Ladbrokes and see if we can get some odds down.
The Foo's cover Lyla at their Reading warm up gig. I have an MP3 of it but forgot to upload it. Next week.
Did you know the universe was really created by a flying spaghetti monster?
Wired on Google Talk. So far, so good for me. But I'm just happy to finally have IM at work.
Echo & The Bunnymen @ Black Cat
Friday November 18th
Holy Fucking Shit.
First night of the tour.
Thanks Frank.
What a show last night. I almost didn't go because I was out LATE the night before, but it was well worth it. And I scored the setlist, so my streak of getting a TFC setlist on every tour I've ever seen them on is still alive. And in case you were wondering, yes, I am a huge dork.
I went a little overboard on the pictures. I took 79 overall and totally drained my camera's battery. My faves are here, here and here. Peep the full set. My review for DCist is here and pretty much covers everything. I had to go by myself since someone bailed on me, but it was still alot of fun. I probably would have stayed home myself had it been anyone other than Teenage Fanclub.
I have to leave work early today to go and sign the lease for my new place. Very excited. I'm equally excited to go home and sit on my ass all night, staying out late the last few nights has taken it's toll. It's tough being the people's champion.
Everybody else is doing it, yada yada yada. Although for the record, I wrote this entry on Friday. Here are the five albums I've been digging the most this year.
1) Mylo - Destroy Rock N' Roll
Record of the year, no doubt (keep in mind I'm saying this with a Super Furry release on the horizon). Dance music for people that don't really like dance music. I listen to exactly two "dance records" on a semi-regular basis (Exit Planet Dust and Everything, Everything), this will be the third. I got this record back in February and I haven't stopped listening to it since. They need to hurry up and release this domestically before I've made copies for all my friends and they have no reason to go out and buy it.
Download: Mylo v. Tegan & Sara - Walking With a Ghost In Paris (mp3)
2) Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
I absolutely hated this record the first two times I listened to it. The singer's pronounced Southern accent really turned me off, but their fantastic guitar playing kept drawing me back in. These guys out-stroke The Strokes in that department. Their axes don't exactly shred, but they fit together perfectly and they have some killer riffage, dude. Part of me wishes I was still in NC, because this is probably one band I could turn all of my DMB listening college friends on to no problem. I can't recommend this record enough. I also like that the longest song on the entire CD is exactly four minutes long.
Download:King Of The Rodeo (mp3)
3) Spoon - Gimme Fiction
Not as immediately attention grabbing (at least to me) as their last two records, but Gimme Fiction still wormed it's way into my brain after a few listens. This is the sound of Spoon going for it, but Britt never strays far from his tried and true "less is more" formula. The record has a bigger sound than any of his past work, but that's mostly because of the production. There are some killer songs on here, and best of all, it's good entry point for anyone wanting to give the band a try.
Download: The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentin (mp3)
4) Feist - Let It Die
Yes, there's alot of covers on here, but when I first listened to this record, I had no idea they were other people songs. Feist steps in and out of genre's like she owns them. This is another record I've turned alot of people on to since I heard it. And every one of them has liked it.
Download: Secret Heart (mp3)
5) Futureheads - self titled
Technically this record came out in October of last year, but I didn't hear it until this year. When I saw them earlier in the year, I described them as "Teenage Fanclub if they started a Jam cover band and dressed in business casual wear from J Crew," and I'm sticking to it. The four part harmonies on this record are great, but what really gets you is the energy in the songs. It's really infectious. I can't listen to this CD on the metro because I start playing air guitar and dancing around and everyone starts inching away from me.
Download: First Day (mp3)
Some media links I've been meaning to run for a while now:
The Fader is running a contest for some MIA vinyl.
Watch the new Kasabian video for "L.S.F." in Real Media or Quicktime.
Watch the new video for Louis XIV's "God Killed The Queen" in Windoze Media.
Stream the new Jonathan Rice track "So Sweet" in Quicktime.
New Doves video for Snowden in Quicktime or Real Media.
Win you some Ren & Stimpy DVD's, all free like.
w00t! Billy Bragg reissues on Yep Roc.
How was everyone's weekend? Mine was v. relaxing. I watched a bunch of movies (again with the movies!), went to Kanishka and Martin's cookout on Sunday, started preparing my setlist for this Saturday and then watched the (quite underwhelming) DC fireworks display last night. I got home too late to post any pics, but I did snap this one yesterday during my practice time on the 1's and 2's:
Tour dates! Come to DC dammit!
June 28 New York Hiro Ballroom
June 29 New York Scenic
June 30 Chicago Sonotheque
July 1 San Francisco Mighty
July 2 Los Angeles tbc
July 3 Los Angeles Standard Downtown Rooftop
July 5 Los Angeles Cinespace
The live show will consist of Annie singing with Timo Kaukolampi on
turntables and electronics.
Check out the first single, Heartbeat:
Windoze
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