MP3s Archives
Page 1 of 3 »I received an embarrassment of great mp3's delivered to my inbox yesterday.
Could I be more excited about The Peth finally releasing their debut album? Of course not! The Peth include actor (and former member of Super Furry Animals) Rhys Ifans on vocals and my good friend Daf Ieuan (I can spell his name without looking it up and he has beaten me at FIFA on the Playstation, so I am allowed to call him good friend) who mans the drum kit for the Super Furries for his day job. Here's the first single, the appropriately named "Let's Go Fucking Mental." Sounds like an energetic slice of Fuzzy Logic. Yes please.
[mp3] The Peth | Lets Go Fucking Mental
If you go sign up for it on their site, you can get a free Chemical Brothers, "Hey Boy Hey Girl (Soulwax 2ManyDJ's Remix)." Or you could look for it other places on the interwebs.
Another record I am excited for is Sam Champion's Heavenly Bender. You can buy it at Amie Street right now for just $3! Here is a track off the record.
[mp3] Sam Champion | Be Mine Everyone
Lastly, Ra Ra Riot are doing the "Let's Give A Group of Bloggers Exclusive Video" thing. Watch:
"Dying Is Fine (Attic Session)" on P4K
"Too Too Too Fast (Attic Session)" on Stereogum
"Ghosts Under Rocks (Attic Session)" on Brooklyn Vegan
"Oh La (Attic Session)" on My Old Kentucky Blog
A few days ago I started receiving a few hits here and there from a blog called Gotham Acme. I clicked through to check it out and see that it is written by someone named Howard Wolfson. I immediately start wondering if it was that Howard Wolfson.
Well, turns out it is (thanks for clearing that up Jason). And he reads the leafblower! Sweetness. Fitting, I guess, as I voted for Hillary in the primary.
And for all of you clicking through from the HuffPo or Gotham Acme and looking for some indie-rock recommendations, I heartily endorse The Rhumb Line, from Ra Ra Riot, out this week on Barsuk Records. Perhaps my favorite album of the year, at least until October 7th.
Here is a little taste:
[mp3] Ra Ra Riot | Dying Is Fine
Also Ra Ra Riot is playing the Black Cat on October 12th. You'd be a fool not to attend.
Everyone else seems to be leaving town this weekend, but not me. Tonight is the Julie Ocean / Half Japanese show at the Rock n Roll Hotel. I've been meaning to catch Julie Ocean for a while now but my schedule and theirs never seemed to match up. No longer!
I've been streaming their songs over on their MySpace all week and they are brilliant. Here is my current favorite song ever:
Julie Ocean - Here Comes Danny
So excited to hear this tonight. You can grab the Julie Ocean album, Long Gone and Nearly There, on eMusic or Amazon. Do it now. But don't take my word for it.
Saturday night is the Superliga match between D.C. United and CD Guadalajara. Should be fun!
Yesterday a co-worker of mine was shocked, shocked I tell you, that I have 151 feeds in my Bloglines RSS reader. What can I say, I like to read the interweb. One blog I am really enjoying is the WaPo's Post Rock Blog, written by David Malitz and J. Freedom du Lac. Good blogs over at The Post aren't exactly anything new (Wizards Insider and Soccer Insider are daily reads of mine) but it's nice to see the Post's music staff throw their hat in the ring as well. The reason I bring this up is they are in the process of putting together a summer mix tape, and today my favorite "summer" song came on my iPod and I had to give my two cents.
The songs, "23 Minutes in Brussels" by Luna, isn't a summer song by name, mostly by vibe and the memories I associate with the song. It just makes me want to chill out, have fun and drink a cold beverage in hot weather. It's also a staple of any road trip mix tape/playlist I make, and has been since 1995. Sonically, it's total perfection, from the tom-tom intro to the opening riff to the crack of the first snare hit 27 seconds in. After that, we are off to the races, only at Luna's leisurely pace. Having Tom Verlaine laying down some serious guitar leads certainly doesn't hurt either.
I absolutely adore this song. I'm guessing I've listened to it a few hundred times, and that's being a bit conservative. It's very easy on the ears and imminently repeatable. The guitars leap out of the speakers, the drums make your head nod and Dean's singing keeps everything chugging along. After the savage beating he's received in the press over the three R.E.M. albums he worked on, let's give a hat tip to producer Pat McCarthy. For my money, Penthouse is his finest work.
[mp3] Luna | 23 Minutes in Brussels
[mp3] Luna | 23 Minutes in Brussels (live at the Hultsfed Festival 6.12.99)
I also bring this up because I read Black Postcards on the plane ride back from San Fransisco and enjoyed it immensely. Definitely worth the purchase if you are on the fence.
If you're not familiar with Luna's recorded output, Captain's Dead has a good primer, but you should cop some of those albums, son.
Watch the live version of the song from the Tell Me Do You Miss Me DVD after the jump.
I need four day weekends more often. Yes, unlike most people, I got Thursday off too. I spent most of my weekend playing and watching tennis, with some dinner and drinks with friends thrown in for good measure.
Without a doubt, my favorite July 4th tradition is watching Wimbledon. Oh how I wish I still had my VCR tape of the 1989 semi-final between John McEnroe and Stefan Edberg. A total classic. Thank the lord for Youtube. The 2000 semi between Agassi and Pat Rafter was also an epic.
How about this year's Men's final, eh? Johnny Mac says it was the best evah(here are ESPN's top five). He would know. He was so excited he gave Roger Federer a hug after the match even though he lost.
I was totally pumped to watch the final on Sunday, but I didn't expect it to last until 4 p.m. The Future Mrs. Leaf and I went to go play tennis ourselves during the third and fourth sets and got home in time to watch the fifth. Bonus.
I found an indoor tennis club out in Fairfax and joined so now I can play whenever I want. I rented a ball machine on Saturday and spent an hour or so taking my hacks, which I hadn't done since I was in high school. Good times. I'm demoing racquets right now and am going to buy one in the next week or so. Time to retire my old Dunlop Max 200G. I bought it used somewhere in Vermont about eight years ago for $20. It has served me well, but it's time for an upgrade.
We did try and see some fireworks on the Fourth, but the Waterfront in Old Town is not the spot to go. Too far away and too many trees. So we left early and headed to the bar. We also saw Wall-E and had nothing but good things to say about it.
Got a few shows and sporting events coming up this week. The City Veins are at Fort Reno tonight (weather permitting), Julie Ocean at the RnR Hotel on Friday and SuperLiga action on Saturday as D.C. United hosts Mexico's CD Guadalajara.
Apropos of absolutely nothing, here are some My Morning Jacket covers from their recent Bonnarroo set.
[mp3] My Morning Jacket | Hot Fun In The Summertime
[mp3] My Morning jacket | Get Down On It
Go get the entire set over at You Ain't No Picasso.
What the Wind Will Never Tell, the new album by D.C.'s own Nethers, is out digitally on iTunes and eMusic. Go get that shit! The physical release comes later this month.
Stream the new My Morning Jacket album Evil Urges. It's out 6/10. MMJ also did their own Black Cab Session.
[mp3] The Futureheads | Broke Up The Time
Now album This Is Not The World out now.
New tour dates for Dizzee Rascal:
July 18 NEW YORK, NY Highline Ballroom
July 19 CHICAGO, IL Pitchfork
July 20 TORONTO, ON Rogers Picnic
July 21 AUSTIN, TX Emo's
July 22 DENVER, CO Cervante's
July 24 LOS ANGELES, CA Echoplex
July 25 SAN FRANCISCO, CA Mezzanine
[mp3] Dizzee Rascal | Where Da G's At?
[mp3] The Stills | Being Here
[mp3] The Stills | Rooibos / Palm Wine Drinkard
New album Oceans Will Rise out in August.
Rob Dickinson, former lead singer of the Catherine Wheel, is re-releasing his album Fresh Wine For The Horses with a bonus disc of re-recorded Catherine Wheel tunes.
Here are some tourdates. Buffalo but not DC? Seriously?
June 10 – Los Angeles, CA The Viper Room
June 17 – London, ONT Call The Office
June 18 – Toronto, ONT The Mod Club
June 20 – Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place
June 22 – Cambridge, MA T.T. The Bears
June 23 – New York, NY Mercury Lounge
[mp3] Rob Dickinson | End of the World
[mp3] Ratatat | Mirando
New album due out July 8th on XL Recordings.
I've been pumping this Future Islands track off of their MySpace page for the last week or so. I can't get enough of the ramshackle exuberance. And that keyboard melody! It's like Jack Black making The D into a Rentals cover band.
[mp3] Future Islands | Nu Autobahn
Since it's listed on their MySpace, I am pretty sure Future Islands will be playing Whartscape again this year, even though they were not in the first round of artists announced yesterday. I covered the event last year for Pitchfork and even though I was dreading having to drive back and forth to Baltimore that entire weekend, I really enjoyed it. The lineup was made up entirely of bands that I had never heard of (aside from Dan Deacon) and they were all pretty incredible. Dirty Projectors were there, as were High Places and Double Dagger. I don't think they were on many people's radar back then. So yeah, I'm looking forward to the whole thing again this year.
Just the other day I was thinking to myself, "Anyone can write a Christmas song. When is someone going to honor Mother's Day with a song?" And just like a song from local faves Middle Distance Runner, recorded especially for Mother's Day, magically appeared. And it has rapping!
[mp3] Middle Distance Runner | Momma
MDR was assisted by the following on this track:
Jason "Raw Poetic" Moore (hip hop stylings, of Panacea and RPM)
Tony "Tailbone" Acampora (bass, of Greenland)
Aaron "The Bronx Bull" Gause (trumpet, of Panacea and RPM)
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