This Blog's On Fire

Ew

2008-02-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

Reading everything I wrote it sounded most unlike what I wanted to say. I'm bad at reviewing music. But I hope you got some good songs from this blog atleast. Some people have told me they really like(d) it which means a lot. Thanks for reading, it was good to get out of my system.

Best songs of 07 (Part 2)

2007-12-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

This time the lack of posting was due to me being in Virginia with my family without internet. as opposed to me being lazy. I write this with my grandma snoring across the room and as my little twin cousins are running out the door to go to the water park. I had a good Christmas and I hope you are having a good

Continued. I'm knocking them all out now.

Apostle of Hustle - My Sword Hand's Anger (National Anthem of Nowhere)
I had no clue who these guys were. BSS members? It sounded good to me and this song was awesome. But the rest of the album was super dull. They're pretty ethnic and have lots of songs that never go anywhere. But this song just has one of those hooks that stick with you all day. I listened to this song over and over for awhile.

Architecture in Helsinki - Heart it Races (Places Like This)
I had heard a little about them in the past but hadn't really spent the time to listen to them. A friend was talking about how amazing their live shows are and they were just in town with YACHT so I figured they must be good. I still haven't heard the rest of the new album. sounds like there were mixed responses. This track gets me dancing every time.

Cloud Cult - Pretty Voice (The Meaning of 8)
This album's easy to forget as on 07 release since it came out in early January. I could see people thinking Cloud Cult are a little lame on the albums but their sound definitely translates better live. The first time I saw them I was blown away. This albums really hard to choose on good song off of this album, pretty much ev.ery song is amazing. This song is an easy highlight though. Each harmony that gets added seems to brighten your day that much more

CocoRosie - Werewolf (The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn)
I get tired of reading people trying to describe Cocorosie. Freak-folk or hip-hop or whatever... I just think they're very original and have a very cool sound, I've been a fan for awhile. Their new album was good, and this song's incredible.

Bjork - Declare Independence (Volta)
I was not into Volta much. There are a few cool songs but nothing as overwhelming and powerful as some of my favorite albums of hers. I thought her dueting with Antony had to be amazing regardless, but it was surprisingly mediocre. But when I heard this song... man! It's just so powerful and loud. Those are really the two key words. I get chills.

BOAT - (I'm a) Donkey For Your Love (Let's Drag Our Feet!)
BOAT are the masters of writing the best hooks ever. Every song is undeniably catchy and great this album is now exception. One of my favorite local bands by far.

Devendra Banhart - Seahorse (Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Mountain)
Not that Devendra's newest album was bad, but it really didn't do it for me. I got excited when I heard this song but when I tried to listen to it all the way through I got bored after 2 or three songs every listen. The production just sounds really bad, there's no other way to put it. And most of the time it sounds like Devendra's channeling Jim Morrison, which doesn't really work for him (especially since I'm not a Doors fan). But this song is excellent, don't get me wrong. There are a few tracks which I really like.

Dizzee Rascal - Pussy'ole (Math + English)
Old school. This just makes me want to move, simple as that.

El-P - Tasmanian Pain Coaster (I'll Sleep When You're Dead)
This is the most epic hip-hop track this year, and probably every. The intro gets to so psyched for what's about to come. By the time the chorus drops your head is bobbing without even noticing. And El-P's beats are still noisy and heavy as concrete and cluttered but in the way that makes it interesting, not annoying. Plus he gets credit for getting Chan Marshall and Trent Reznor for his album.

Feral Children - Juandice Giraffe (Second to the Last Frontier)
This song is so dark and so different.Those opening coos really grabbed my attention. It doesn't build too much, it just stays in this really eerie state which haunts you if any of that makes sense. Very cinematic to me.

Fionn Regan - Snowy Atlas Mountains (The End of History)
This record is solid. Folksy with lots of finger picking and very charming. This song gets intense and I like it a lot.

Grayskul - The Office (ft. Aesop Rock and Slug) (Bloody Radio)
4 incredible MC's on one track. Aesop delivers a really great chorus and nothing more which is a nice change of pace for hip-hop cameos. But then Slug gets his own verse, and when I was listening to it I was wondering if it would be all that good, as the beat wasn't really his usual style but his flow sounds as nice as ever. Plus the production and the drums are just vicious. Grayskul are by far my favorite local hip-hop group.

Iron and Wine - Carousel (The Shepard's Dog)
I was so nervous about this album. I love lo-fi and mellow Iron and Wine so much I had a hard time fathoming this heavily produced bunch of tunes, but they're all so great.Completely different, I almost think Sam Beam should have gotten a new band moniker. It was tough to choose a favorite but this one always stands out for me.

Kevin Drew - TBTF (Spirit If...)
I still haven't given this album a proper listen, I haven't gone this long with out craving some BSS, but I'm sure it's as great as everyone says. I know I really like this song though.

Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love - May Fly (Ends of June)
I still don't know too much about these guys, but this song is so good! The first time you hear it it's alright but everything is just so perfect about it. Short and sweet.

Menomena - My My (Friend and Foe)
I think a lot of people know how awesome this record is. It's fun, quirky, odd and this song proves it can be pretty sensitive. Another one that's hard to choose my favorites from.

PWRFL Power - It's Okay (Injured Fruits EP)
This guy popped out of no where into the Seattle music scene and began playing so many shows it made my head spin. I wrote about him awhile back, I think he's a nice breath of fresh air. But definitely an acquired taste.

Rogue Wave - Lake Michigan (Asleep at Heavens Gates)
This record really disappointed me. I got all psyched up with this track and harmonium, I was really craving some new Rogue Wave. But the whole album is really over produced. They just threw as many instruments on a track as they could and it really takes away from each song, except on a few. This is one and it's killer.

Sage Francis - Going Back to Rehab (Human the Death Dance)
Sage Francis can sometimes be really odd in a bad way, but when he gets it right he gets it really right. This track is absolutely breathtaking. Lyrically he is on a whole other level.

Simian Mobile Disco - Love (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release)
What a great fusion of dance and indie pop (at least that's what it sounds like to me). How can you stay still when you listen to this? This record is solid.

Stars - Window Bird (In Our Bedroom After the War)
Despite what some reviews say, In Our Bedroom After the War is in fact incredible! I don't see how people disagree. There are a few weak songs but it more than makes up for it by having incredible songs like this one. The vocals are so sweet and pleasing, the way Amy Milan says 'ferocious' in the chorus. And the end is so dramatic. Stars actually pull off a guitar solo and it couldn't sound any more awesome.

Sunset Rubdown - The Mending of the Gown (Random Spirit Lover)
What an opener! That riff gets drilled into my head. This album grows on you so fast. The songs aren't so accessible at first but once you get to know them a little better they get better with each listen. This song gets me so riled up.

There are still many albums I haven't checked out, either I didn't have the time or I never got a hold of them. I'm still catching up. These are some

Arthur and Yu - In Camera
Battles - Mirrored
Caribou - Andorra
Go! Team - Proof of Youth
Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
Marissa Nadler - Songs III
Minus the Bear - Planet of Ice
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Shape of Broad Minds - Blue Experience
Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
Tiny Vipers - Hands Across the Void
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Is Is
Xiu Xiu - Remixed and Covered

I thought 07 was a great year. But I'm sure everyone's sick of all these o7 recaps. I am. I actually really did not like writing these after a point. I'm pretty sure I'm near the end of this blog. Expect one more post after this.

Oh and don't forget the other ones I posted below.

Best songs of 07 (Part 1)

2007-12-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

All these 07 lists everywhere are really pissing me off. They all look a little something like this. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
M.I.A. - Kala
White Stripes - Icky Thump
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
The National - Boxer
Kanye West - Graduation
Tegan and Sara - The Con
Iron and Wine - The Shepard's Dog
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Justice - †
Feist - The Reminder
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

All the sameness is driving me nuts. Woah, who knew that Spin thought Neon Bible was a good album? Who could have guessed that people like the new Radiohead? I like a good amount of these albums but it just feels so pointless to talk about them, so as a rule for these posts I'm not mentioning any of the afore-mentioned albums. If you want to hear about the, well you could probably find about 2,000 blogs who wrote about them, it's no biggie.

So here are a few to start it off. More posts with more songs are coming

Dntel - To a Fault
Dntel - Natural Resources
Featuring Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear and Fog. Dumb Luck was probably my favorite record of the year. It's ridiculous how little hype it got. There was a little bit of buzz around it upon it's release but it's not even being remembered now, while everyone's making their best of lists. Jimmy Tamborello has mastered his sound. He knows exactly what sounds right when. Every little beep, buzz, or swell sounds perfect. I couldn't just choose one track, but it's hard enough to choose two. I hope you go back and listen to it. In no order whatsoever.

Cave Singers - Seeds of Night
I was sketchy about these guys at first. I didn't think a new band with members from Pretty Girls Make Graves/Murder City Devils and Hint Hint would make for great acoustic music, but they just came outta nowhere with some of the most authentic, new folk music I've heard. I got to catch them live at the KEXP BBQ with Cloud Cult and I was totally won over. Invitation Songs is such a sturdy debut, I hope we see more records from them in the future. It almost makes me not sad about Pretty Girls Make Graves breaking up.

Elliott Smith - New Disaster
I think a lot of people have mixed feelings about calling this a 2007 release, but these songs were all new to me upon it's release so I think it deserves a spot. This was one of the best records of the year to me. I listened to it endlessly. I think it's some of Elliott's finest work and stands up just as well to all his other albums (which is pretty damn impressive). This track is so amazing. The guitar part, the dynamics, the structure, the melodies. There are so many gems like this on this 2-disc set that are big steps outside Elliott's normal sound, and every track works so well.

YACHT - So Post All 'Em
I was introduced to YACHT (Jona Bechtolt) earlier this year when he was onn the bill for a free opening show for Seattle's Vera Project. My friends were there for him, I hadn't heard him or the Blow before. Fuck man! That show was incredible. He had won me over. I went to the table and bought Mega, which is an instrumental glitch album, not really what he played. I think all of his set was from his 07 album, I Believe in You, Your Magic is Real. I can see some people not getting into this record too much without imagining his energy, but for the most part I think it's really impressive and gets me going. Fun, addicting rhythms.

!!! - All My Heroes are Weirdos
I was all over Myth Takes when it came out. I listened to it nonstop. Now that the hype has died a bit I admit it's not as good as it was initially for me but that's not to say it's not a fantastic album. It's the most complete album of theirs and it shows so much growth, and in a way that dedicated fans aren't dissapointed and asking "what happened to !!!?" This songs definitely one of the highlights. It's shorter that most songs on the album but still really fucking loud. Dance your heart out. (Also, in my book this is the best album cover of the year. It even beats Menomena's!!!)

Feist - 1 2 3 4 (Van She Technologic Remix)
OK, I know I put Feist up there on that list, but this isn't really from the reminder. I'm sure we've all got our fill of 1 2 3 4 but this remix kills! It's so damn good I can't believe it. Words can't describe.

Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
I played this song to death. I almost didn't list it cause I overplayed it and now I'm a bit tired of it, but there's no denying how great it is. Many argue but I don't think this year had the best hip-hop releases. This is one of the few that really caught my ear. I was expecting an album that was all in this vein of dark and excellently produced music, but the album's way different. It's his most laid back album yet. It sounds amazing. Aesop Rock's at his best lyrically and blockhead throws down some killer beats. Definitely one of my favorites of the year, no doubt.

Andrew Bird - Plasticities
It took me awhile till I got into Mr. Bird's latest but this song is so addicting. I think it has something to do with only having the chorus twice, and that's the part that sticks in your head so hard. I always listen to this song over and over again. Majestic.

How Chill

2007-12-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

So I realized how annoying it is to read blogger's apologies about not posting. No one wants to read that shit. Not me. So I'll post whenever the hell I want to, so that's that.

For this set of music I was coming home from driver's ed (I did terribly) and I went to the bus stop. It was taking forever. I was feeling very chill and just kept picking songs that sounded fit. It works awesome! So listen to this when you're very chill. yes.

Tarkio - Eva Luna
Radiohead - Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was (Live)
Andrew Bird - Imitosis (Four Tet Remix)
Bjork - Earth Intruders (Spank Rock Remix)
Gorillaz - El Manana (Metronomy Remix)
Zero 7 - Warm Sound
The Notwist - Chemicals
Madvillain - Strange Ways (Koushik Remix)
The Roots - Dynamite!
Gang Starr - Betrayal
Sage Francis - Climb Trees
DJ Shadow - Mutual Slump
TV On the Radio - Modern Romance (Yeah Yeah Yeahs Cover)
Feist - Secret Heart
+/- - Thrown Into the Fire
Giant Drag - Blunt Picket Fence

It really gets good near the end I think.
And no picture! I'm too lazy!

A pleasant surprise

2007-11-27T18:02:00.000-08:00

This sort of caught me off guard. I picked up the Easy All-Star's tribute to Radiohead's OK Computer entitled Radiodread, from the library thinking it would be fun but what totally shocked me was how good it was. Seriously. It brings out a side of all the songs that were there, but now they're totally rocking. I actually am not a big fan of reggae in general but this is really enjoyable and easy to get into. Very much recommended:

Let Down (ft. Toots and the Maytails)
Paranoid Android (Ft. Kristy Rock)
Karma Police (ft. Citizen Cope)

While we're on the subject of surprisingly good covers...
Queens of the Stone Age - Christian Brothers (Elliott Smith Cover)

I thought they'd through on the distortion and turn this song into a real heavy groover that they like to dip into so often but they really just play the song how it was intended. The studio production and extra instruments give the song a new flare and Josh Hommes gets to sing the chorus in that charming but tough falsetto he's so good at.

Dan Rossen (Grizzly Bear) - Too Little, Too Late (JoJo cover)
I hadn't heard the original, so I youtubed it before listening to this. It's a pretty average waterd-down pop song and I didn't think there'd be that much creative room for him to do anything cool, it would probably just end up being another band trying to joke around and try to make a top 40 hit good, but he takes it to new heights, it's really incredible. It was recorded for fellow Grizzly, Ed's birthday. Speaking of Grizzly Bear
here's a remix of Dntel's To a Fault which feature Ed Droste of GB, off the album Dumb Luck (Which is by far one of my number one albums of the year)
Dntel - To a Fault (James Rutledge Remix)

Also, check out these sweet remixes from Amplive of some In Rainbow tracks:
Radiohead - Nude (Amplive Remix)
Radiohead - Weird Fishies (Amplive Remix)

That's all for now, enjoy. More playlists coming soon.

A mix for a friend

2007-11-22T13:39:00.000-08:00

I got to make another mix for a friend of mine and I finished it up last night, here's a part of it.
Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!!! I've never been a huge fan of this holiday (I'm a big picky eater) but it's still sort of fun.

The Prom - Jean Alexander Waltz
Feral Children - Spy/Glass House
Genius/GZA - Liquid Swords
Soul Position - No Gimmicks
Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
De La Soul - The Magic Number
BOAT - Last Cans of Paint
Ben Gibbard - Indian Summer (Beat Happening Cover, from About a Son soundtrack)
Annuals - Brother
Sage Francis - Crack Pipes

It may not look like it would flow too well but believe me, it does.

A dark set of music

2007-11-19T18:49:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite songs from some of my favorite artists... for when you're feeling down and blue. Get deep in your thoughts and get emotional. Good for rainy days and night time walks.

Damien Jurado - Tonight, I will Retire
Sparklehorse - Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd Cover, w/ Thom Yorke)
TV On the Radio - You Could Be Love (Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes b-side)
Antony and the Johnsons - Cripple and the Starfish
Cocorosie - Ohio (Damien Jurado Cover)
Pretty Girls Make Graves - Bullet Charm

I'm changing things up

2007-11-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

So as you've noticed I haven't been posting a lot as of late. Now that i's not summer I just really don't have the motivation to keep writing for so few people, which is why I'm starting this new format.
I think I'm just going to post playlists that I make. Most of the time when I listen to my iPod I try to make everything flow and sound as good as possible when played with all the other songs, and then I make a playlist out of them, so I'm just going to start posting those up. Hopefully you'll download all the songs you don't have and make these playlists and listen to them in that order on your own time, but if not atleast you'll probably get some new tracks. I'll try to incorporate new music and new or hard to find tracks into them.
So here's the first one (and it's a big one!):

PWRFL Power - Let Me Teach You How to Hold Chopsticks
Pavement - Here
The Beatles - I Want to Tell You
The Thermals - Here's Your Future
Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945
Sparklehorse - Sick of Goodbyes
The Gossip - Coal to Diamonds
Modest Mouse - I Came as a Rat
Apparat - Hailin' From the Edge
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Down Boy
Thievery Corporation - Lebanese Blonde
Devendra Banhart - Bad Girl
Sparklehorse - All Night Home
Thom Yorke - Black Swan
LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
Beck - Debra (I suggest skipping over the secret track)
CSS - Let's Make Love and LIsten to Death From Above (Hot Chip Remix)
Simian Mobile Disco - Love
YACHT - Now It's All Over Like the Birds

Tell me what you think.

Cannibal Ox

2007-11-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

The Cold Vein! Man, what an album. I don't thier soud will ever not sound fresh. The talents of Vast Aire and Vordul Mega synchronise perfectly over, arguably, EL-P's best beats to date. Noisy and tight with soulful samples and space-age keys. Vast and Vordul split up their verses in such original and creative ways that bring the song s new life. I really recommend you get this album if you haven't... if this is what you're into. If not, it's what you should be into.

Here are some of the best tracks off the Cold Vein, but I'll leave a few gem's off so you can discover them on your own.
The F-Word
Iron Galaxy
Ridiculoid
Pigeon

UPDATE!

2007-11-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

So this guy Tom asked me to keep posting, so I will. But no one reads this. After 2008 I'm shutting this down (I just want to do my best of 07 post!) so get the best out of this as you can. So here's some more of the stuff I've been listening to (again).

The Blow - Fists Up
I've been coming back to this track for around a month now. It's just so good! Every once in awhile a pop song comes aroud and the melody tickles me just right. Certain notes Khaela hits give me a special feeling... haha. I can't really describe it. I just get so happy when it breaks down in the end.

Neil Young - After the Gold Rush
I'm pretty new to Neil Youg, and I'm sure this is his song that you've heard over and over, but that doesn't make it bad. Rarely can I listen to a song more than 3 times in a day, and in this case I have been for the last few days. Other songs are good to. But just so I'm not posting something you've already heard and have here's Thome Yorke's cover also:
Thom Yorke - After the Gold Rush

The Microphones - I Felt Your Shape
The Glow Pt. 2 is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite albums. It flows so weirdly but perfectly. The lo-fi production works incredibly through out and I just can't resist Phil's voice. Can you? I didn't think so.

Nick Drake - Which Will
Another household name I've been meaning to get into for awhile. This albums so chill. I played this album waking up in the morning before everyone else is up and taking the bus before sunrise, it was perfect.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Hyperballad (Bjork Cover Acoustic)
Why is this cover so good? At first listen the bootleg soud of it sort of takes away from it, but now I think it gives it a real intimate feeling. The words and melodies are tweaked just a bit and the guitar is so simple, but it just clicks. A lot of YYY songs do that. I started getting into Show Your Bones more, I wasn't so big on it when it came out but now I'm really tapping into their more mellow side (if you could call it that).
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fancy

Elliott Smith - Bottle Up and Explode!
I was never as into XO as everyone else I feel like, but now I am. I've listened to it all the way through at least 3 times in the last 3 days now. I don't know if you guys do that often but I don't.

Jose Gonzalez - How Low
Just got this CD from the library. Wasn't sure if I should buy it, I didn't think it would be as good as Veneer, but I think it's up there. Too early for me to tell for sure but he's really grown and his songs are gaining a lot more depth now. Not so stark. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad.

Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love - Mayfly
What a lame band name, but what an incredible song! It's a little cheesy but it's one of those songs where you get into it and the cheesiness seems totally honest and real. It's just so nice, especially in this season.I need to keep an eye out for more of these guys. I think they're one of those it bands that are on the rise (I sure hope so, it'd be nice to see more oft hem).

Oh yeah, and that picture represents me... sort of. It's just hard to get motivated when I feel like I have no readers. Expect posts with more than just songs though, soon. These have been sort of boring to read.

In other news, Ghostface Killah announced some more album details on the Big Doe Rehab, due on the same day as 8 Diagrams (!!). Loks like he's staying the route of many classic hip-hop artists and putting a really terrible cover out. Look:
Not to say it will be bad by any means, so many great albums have some of the worst album covers possible (that might be a fun post!). Fishscale was probably one of the best hip-hop releases of last year. But I just had to note on the cover, and how much these kinds of covers really bug me. But you can now buy a doll of the one and only Killah.

And if you didn't hear about Radiohead's web broadcasting... well too bad I'm not going to retype what everyone's everyone else has already said, but I will re-post that Bjork cover they did. Oooh it's good.
Radiohead - Unravel

And I hate to link to Pitchfork but they have all the videos there. There's lots. Just skip over the annoying pretentious comments.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/forkcast/47014-radiohead-omg-another-webcast

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T15:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big fan of Halloween but this year I've got a killer Flava Flav costume and I couldn't pass up posting songs with this theme. So...

Xiu Xiu - Brian the Vampire
Wolf Parade - Same Ghost Every Night
Cocorosie - Werewolf
Sound Team - Sound Monster
Cursive - Bloody Murderer
Antony and the Johnsons - Frankenstein
the Decemberists - Shankhill Butchers
TV On the Radio - Wolf Like Me (Live at KEXP)

Rid of Me

2007-10-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

This song has been stuck in my head all the time these last few days. But it's OK.
PJ Harvey - Rid of Me

Feral Children

2007-10-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

These guys just popped up on my radar after hearing them a few times on KEXP, and I got a copy of their debut CD which just came out and it's pretty awesome. I've read a lot of reviews that talk about how they sound a lot like Modest Mouse and are constantly compared to them, which kinda makes me mad. They are similar in some ways but I feel these guys are darker and have a more channeled and direct sound that's more well-kept than Modest Mouse. They deserve to be recognized as original artists who have their own sound, not just the next MM. Maybe it's just cause they're also from Seattle. I dunno. But they're noisy and dark and crazy and I really like these two tracks a lot:

Spy/Glass House
Jaundice Giraffe

Check them out on Myspace and buy some songs for sure.

Dance...?

2007-10-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

So I've been kinda swamped this last week, sorry I didn't post. I had a lot of homework, plus I had been recruited to co-DJ our school dance, which took up a lot of time, which was also last night... I feel kinda wierd about it.
DJing is hard!!! People won't let you do your own thing. We got a million requests for stuff we didn't have... we need to burn more CD's, haha.
Also I'm not much of a big dance person (well this dance was tiny actually. My school is small. The room was small and we still didn't fill it up. Maybe under 100). Dancing alone in my room is way different than dancing with and in front of people. I'd be more comfortable if there was a bigger crowd, but I just stayed behind the table the whole time looking awkward and tapping my foot. Not really the first impression I wanted to make at my new school. I don't think I'll do that sort of thing again.
But it was kind funny to watch people grind to Busdriver and Dizzee Rascal (they went over surprisingly well). Things that didn't go over so well: Go! Team, CSS... stuff like that. People kept wanting hip-hop, and we kinda ran out. I thought people would dig the more dancey club music, but everyone just wanted to grind, so we did our best.

Busdriver - Kill Your Employer (Recreational Paranoia is the Sport of Now)
Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up, Look Sharp
Ratatat - Party and Bullshit (Notorious B.I.G.)
Simian Mobile Disco - Love
E-40 - Tell Me When to Go (We ended up playing this twice, due to popular request)
Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Spank Rock - Bump (I Think this was the best all night. Everyone seemed to like it)

Someone you might not know

2007-10-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

While we're in that folky morose vein of music I thought it would be ideal to bring up Bill Patton, a surprisingly unknown Northwest musician.
I was introduced to him by hearing the song Lifelike on KEXP one night, and it was one of those cheesy moments where everything just clicked and I sat down and totally vibed out. I got a few free songs from his myspace but I had forgot about him for a few months. But recently I got a new job at KEXP (I volunteer there for those who don't know. And it's not really a job, but a position cause I'm still going unpayed). I get to review some CD"s so when DJ's pull out the CD they can read a little about their history and what it sounds like and recommended tracks. Pretty big deal right? Right! I think i'ts pretty cool.
Well back on track, I got Bill Patton's "Get's it On" to review and I was really happy to get his full length in my hands It did not disappoint me, I'm amazed he's not better known, at least in his home town. He's played with J Tillman, Band of Horses and tons of other great acts. So here's what I wrote for the review:

"Seattle guitarist Bill Patton’s debut album is packed with beautiful soulful folksy/indie gems throughout the CD. Patton fingerpicks his way gracefully through each wonderfully produced track, including a few very original and unexpected covers including songs by the Beatles, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Prince and the Cars. The instrumentation for songs are often very stark and simplistic, consisting of an acoustic guitar and an occasional drum tap, pedal steel, or vibraphone in the background, which perfectly compliments Patton’s charming and gruff voice. "

I know it's a little cheesy but that's how the other ones look. Anywaysm here are some really good songs you should check out.

Faries Wear Boots (Black Sabbath Cover)
Lifelike
The Devil Went Down to Georgetown
A Crime Fighter who pities Fools
She Loves You (Beatles Cover)

Fall/Rainy

2007-10-18T20:43:00.001-07:00

I'm really excited about this post. This has some really good songs, some of my favorite songs, and this is my favorite time to listen to music. So it's like, my favorite post? Maybe?
Summer's been gone for awhile now, and the rain really just started coming down on Seattle (On and off. It was the windiest ever today!). While it sucks if you're not prepared or if it comes down really hard, but I actually like the rain a lot. I take real nice long walks around my neighborhood with headphones on, and it's really serene and nice, I feel totally at peace. Something about the sky with grey rolling clouds and the wet ground and cold temperature I really like. And the right music really makes a great fall season. Come Fall I really get into quiet sad and moving songs. Lots of acoustic stuff or singer-songwriter. It's actually almost all I listen to in Fall and Winter. So here's some songs/albums I really really like in the fall. You should listen to them when it rains and when orange leaves start falling.

Iron & Wine - Upward Over the Mountain (The Creek Drank the Cradle)
This album really is the key of all fall albums. The songs hit you extra hard and they're almost like a best friend. I really can't describe it, but I'm really attached to this album, and any other time of the year it's way harder to get into it, like Summer (Our Endless Numbered Days is a perfect Summer CD though). I really recommend you take the whole album for a spin in the rain with your headphones on, or go buy it if you don't own it.

Damien Jurado - Ghost of David (Ghost of David)
Just about everything Damien does fits so well with the Fall. All his songs are so moody and fit for walking in the rain. His music is like an escape for me, his lyrics are straight to the point and he tells stories so well. Everything off this album is worth spinning in the rain. Well almost everything he's done is like that.

Sparklehorse - Apple Bed (It's a Wonderful Life)
This album is so depressing, but it's in such a beautiful and good way, it's a bit hard to describe. Awhile ago I wrote about how great it is and if you didn't believe me then and didn't download those tracks or just haven't heard it yet here's your chance.This is one of my favorite songs Mark Linkous has ever written.

The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers - Lisa (Redux EP)
There was a week where I could not get enough of this song. This was initially the reason I made this post. It's so incredible, the way it builds. The lyrics are heartbreaking. It's written about an imaginary friend, but it can be applied to so much more I think.

Death Cab for Cutie - Stability (Stability EP)
This EP is often overlooked I think. 3 incredible songs and this one is quite possibly my favorite Death Cab song ever (that's a big statement!). The chords and dynamics are just so much more interesting and engaging on this version, more so than Stable Song (off Plans). It's way darker and the long instrumental at the end just makes me lose myself in my thoughts. I get into this state without realizing it. When it ends I'm totally at peace, it's really incredible.

Fionn Regan - Snowy Atlas Mountains (The End of History)
Oh man, when the drums kick in on this song. It's produced so perfectly, his voice sounds just right. I've seen him play it live and it doesn't really reach the same level. It really speaks for itself though.

Elliott Smith - Coming Up Roses (Elliott Smith)
Kinda self explanatory. I don't think it's fit to go through Fall without Elliott. I love lo-fi stuff like this album.

These are really good in the winter time also, actually.

Up and Running!

2007-10-17T16:43:00.001-07:00

Hotlinkfiles.com = Back up and running!
I'll get right back on track!
This is a post from about a week ago. Now what I'm listeining to has changed quite a bit (it always changes so quick) but these songs are worth downloading.

Man, I'm sorry for being so slow. I had a great Fall/Rainy post coming with lots of great music for that time, but the rain kinda let up and I've been listening to way more than I usually do during this season. So I'll highlight some stuff on rotation on my busrides to school and back and in my room.

De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising

I loved this album before but it's really sinking in now how phenomenal it really is. This sort of album hasn't been done too much, it's just so happy and silly and fun it's hard not to like. But it's one of those classic albums that gets all this hype from writers and stuff so I won't say much more cause it's a well known fact that this album is considered a hip-hop classic.
De La Soul - Jennifa Taught Me (Darwin's Revenge)
De La Soul - Take it Off
De La Soul - Eye Know
(The song "The Magic Number" got me so hyped on this school house rock sample they use, I had to download the original and it's so good! I have to post it also cause I've been listening to it a lot..)
School House Rock - 3 is the Magic Number

DJ Shadow - Endtroducing...
Another classic album that's pointless to ramble on about. Lately I've been taking walks at like 9 O'clock and this album is the perfect soundtrack. Usually the streets are a little wet and all the lights reflect and this album's so dark and dense, I get into a groove and I'm off in my own world. I think I look kinda weird to the people that drive by in their cars.
DJ Shadow - Mutual Slump
DJ Shadow - The Number Song

Ryan Adams - HeartbreakerI was recommended this by an online pal and so I put it on hold at the library. I totally got into it on first listen, it's really addicting. I'm not usually big on country at all, and I know this isn't real honest country music, but it's got so much of a country overtone it's a big jump for me. So I guess I'm a new Ryan Adams fan now.
Ryan Adams - To Be Young
Ryan Adams - Amy
Ryan Adams - Bartering Lines

I got the Friend EP by Grizzly Bear from someone last night, and I haven't listened to it much but I already really like CSS's cover of Knife.
CSS - Knife

And lots of Hot Chip. Not so much their albums but their remixes and that new Shake a Fist song. That's hot, for sure.Another CSS track, I know, but I love this remix.
CSS - Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above (Hot Chip Remix)
Hot Chip - Shake a Fist

And lots of other random songs like these.
Daedelus - Something Bells (Ft. Pigeon John and Busdriver)
Atmosphere - Between the Lines
Feist - 1234 (Van She Technologic Remix) (I know I posted this already but I really recommend it, I love it)

And I'll spare you from talking about how good In Rainbows is. I'm really really sick of all the blogs giving track by track reviews. But it is good, it's really really good.

I hope that makes up for the lack of blogging.

Uh-oh

2007-10-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

This isn't good. Check out www.hotlinkfiles.com
Could this be the end of my blog? I didn't even get to compile my year wrap-up post with like, best and worst albums of 07 and stuff like that. I'm keeping my eyes open. Maybe I'll switch to megaupload or yousendit. This sucks.

Two things

2007-10-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. That's what I get for being cheap and not buying a server and using hotlinkfiles.com for free. I can't upload stuff for some reason. But I've got good blogs coming

Second thing. I'm getting really fucking tired of hearing about In Rainbows. And it's only been out two days! By no means am I sick of the album itself, but everyone has their own oppinion on this years biggest album, and it's like everywhere I go I hear about it. Everyone is either praising it or complaining about how Radiohead isn't that good and all the die-hard fans freakout on them.
I like the album, but I won't bore you anymore. Stop talking about it please.

Band of Horses secret show.

2007-10-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

The Vera Project was talking about a secret show with a secret headliner this Saturday and they said "if you like indie rock you should go" or something like that. I guess you could say I like "Indie Rock" so I was intrigued. But last Thursday they announced it was Band of Horses. BoH are notorious for their boring live shows but I thought at a really cool and small intimate space like the Vera it might be really cool, which it was.
Tyler Ramsey opened with a really nice set of folksy/rootsy acoustic songs. His fingers are long! Like, really long.
He also played with them, and it turned out it was his first show with them. Honestly I couldn't even really hear what he was doing, he just added extra guitar strumming.
But it was way better than I expected. I've never heard the Vera get sound like that, it sounded almost exactly like the cd.
I tried taking some videos but the sound ain't so hot. Not even good enough for youtube.
But I took some pictures.

I should start taking a real camera to shows instead of digital. I need a flash and a dark room though...
Here's the setlist:
Is There a Ghost
Great Salt Lake
Weed Party
Islands on the Coast
Monsters
First Song
Our Swords
(Some cover song I don't know)
Marry Song
Part One
Lamb on the Lam (In the City)
The Funeral
Ode to LRC
Wicked Gil
No One’s Gonna Love You
Unknown Song (Pretty sure it was a cover)

MP3's from the new CD:
Marry Song
Islands on the Coast
Ode to LRC

PWRFL Power

2007-10-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Last night I was at the Vera Project with some friends seeing Mt. Eerie, the Moools, Oregon Donor and PWRFL Power. Oregon Donor were average, Moools were awesome and Mt. Eerie was enchanting and all that, but I'm blogging about local talent PWRFL Power today.
I saw him at the Capitol Hill Block Party, and you can look at that post for some videos I took from that show, but since then I was so hyped on him I bought his CD and I've been listening to it a lot lately. He put on a great 6 song show last night with his brand new electric guitar which gave him a
really cool sound, I think I may have liked it better. His complicated finger picking patterns sounded strangely fit with the subtle distortion. Sometimes his childish vocals sunk a little low in the mix and you couldn't hear his wonderfully simple lyrics, but besides that it was flawless (oh, it was a litle out of tune at times).

and some MP3's I really recomend
It's Okay
Let Me Teach You How to Hold Chopsticks
Let's Play Drums

www.myspace.com/pwrflpower

And someone asked for this Death Cab track. It's an REM cover
Driver 8
I think it's OK. Nothing special, but worth the listen. It's from some radio session, I forget.

Rainbows

2007-09-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sure this will be in every single blog you read, or already is...
But Radiohead's new album is called Rainbows.
This is the tracklist:
15 STEP
BODYSNATCHERS
NUDE
WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
ALL I NEED
FAUST ARP
RECKONER
HOUSE OF CARDS
JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
VIDEOTAPE

And...
It comes out in 10 days!

but it's wierd....
check it out for yourself
www.radiohead.com

But to get psyched here are the tracks Thom performed solo on a piano for that in the basement thing that will be on the new album.

Videotape
Down is the New Up

But man.... I am so excited.

Did you know Death Cab are recording?

2007-09-28T23:21:00.000-07:00

Cause they are. Back in the studio and all...
Some guy named Tom said I should post about it cause it's newsworthy. And two people also asked for a zip file of that mix I made, which is understandable if you don't want to right click and save each and every song, so here:
22 songs
Again, I recomend you burn it to a CD and listen to it as a whole, that's how I intended it.

And a DCFC b-side:
Rocking Chair
It's a Band cover.

And I recently got turned down by HypeMachine. Lame. I think it's cause I use hotlinkfiles.com and that's not compatible. Whatever...

Do you know how awesome this song is?

2007-09-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man

Seriously. Everytime it ends I hear my brain scream "Fuck Yeah!"
I'm normally not into solo's but goddamn! Every single instrument solos at the same time pretty much and it doesn't sound pretentious or annoying.
Plus the album cover is really awesome.
Buy the record

Super Mix

2007-09-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

So my friend asked me to make her a mix, and I happily agreed because I love making mixes, expecially when they're for people. I think I may have made one of my best mixes yet. It flows so smoothly from front to back. I was so psyched about it I thought I'd make a post. Every song!!! That means you should download them all and burn a CD of it and play it front to back, cause it sounds great like that. I promise.

1. Microphones - Headless Horseman (Buy The Glow Pt. II)
2. Dntel - The Distance (Buy Dumb Luck)
3. Feist - 1 2 3 4 (Van She Technology Remix)
4. Grizzly Bear - Alligator (Choir Version with Beirut and Dirty Projectors)
5. Islands - Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone (Buy Return to the Sea)
6. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass (Buy None Shall Pass)
7. Dizzee Rascal - Pussy 'ole (Buy Math and English)
8. Natalie Portmans Shaved Head - Sophisticated Side Ponytail (Demo)
9. Yacht - See a Penny (Pick it Up) (Architecture in Helsinki Remix)
10. Walter Meego - Through a Keyhole
11. Cocorosie - Rainbowarriors (Buy The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn)
12. Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning (Buy Velvet Underground & Nico)
13. Sparklehorse - Box of Stars (Part One) (Buy Goodmorning Spider)
14. Stars - Window Bird (Buy In Our Bedroom After the War)
15. Tarkio - Weight of the World (Buy Omnibus)
16. Kind of Like Spitting - Scene (Buy One Hundered Dollar Room)
17. Pedro the Lion - Slow and Steady Wins the Race (Buy Winners Never Quit)
18. Wolf Parade - I'll Believe in Anything (Buy Apologies to the Queen Mary)
19. Xiu Xiu - Clowne Towne (Buy Fabulous Muscles)
20. Devendra Banhart - This is the Way (Buy Rejoicing in Hands)
21. American Analog Set - Choir Vandals (Buy Know By Heart)
22. Antony and the Johnsons - Bird Gehrl (Buy I Am Bird Now)

Blam! That's a lot of music.

I'm starting driver's ed.

2007-09-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

uuuuuuugh. It's kind of like having another class. Atleast I'm getting it done and not waiting until I'm almost done with highschool (like my brother).

Cloud Cult - Car Crash (Buy Advice From the Happy Hippopotomous)
Blood Brothers - Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck (Buy Crimes)
Xiu Xiu - Fast Car (Tracy Chapman Cover) (Buy A Promise)
Radiohead - Killer Cars (Acoustic)
Violent Femmes - Gimme the Car (Buy Violent Femmes)
M83 - Car Chase Terror (Buy Before the Dawn Heals Us)
Ben Gibbard - Two Cars (Acoustic Performance)
Mogwai - Travel is Dangerous (Buy Mr. Beast)

man this list could go on and on....

Hoo Doggie!

2007-09-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Days like today make it apparent why I read Pitchfork (not for their review but the news. I really hate them but they report the news I want).
So the Cure were coming to Seattle at the Key Arena and it would have been really cool to see them but I wouldn't want a shitty seat at the Key Arena (it's just terrible for concerts) but I wouldn't want to wait in line with tons of hardcore Cure fans seeing as I'm not really hardcore about them at all, so I just wasn't going to put down that 50 dollars. But they cancelled their tour for some reason and now they've resheduled it for later... much later. Like nextMay and June. it looks like their playing next year's Sasquatch Festival.
WOO HOO! That gets me excited. That'll be incredible.
The Cure - Hello I Love You (Doors Cover)
The Cure - Friday I'm in Love (Acoustic)

Buy The Cure Records

And then I found out M.I.A. is coming to Seattle November 16th! I was really bummed when she cancelled this year's Sasquatch performance, she was basically the main reason I was going, but now it looks like I'll see her yet! I hope... there's still a posibility that it will be 21 and over. It's at this new Showbox venue they just opened in the Sodo district. It's kinda wierd that they have two venues... And the downside of this is Stars is the same night at the main venue. Well sorry Stars, M.I.A. wins this battle.
M.I.A. - What I got (Kala B-Side)
M.I.A. - Galang (Hot Chip Remix)

Buy Kala

And some more things:

New Grizzly Bear with Dirty Projectors and Beirut re-doing Alligator:
Alligator (Choir Version)

Devendra Banhart on Cribs!!!

This is wierd. I wish they did more episodes like this instead of cruising around and checking out everyone's cars and bland rooms with unnecessary things luxuries and things so expensive you've never heard of them.
There's nothing I would like more than to stay a night or two at Devendra's hosue and jam with his buddies and make jewelry.

Also, have you seen this commercial?

I haven't seen it on TV et. I kinda love it cause it's funny but I hate it at the same time because it's such a dumb ad. What do you think?

That picture is by Simen Johan

Running Dry

2007-09-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

I don't think I'll be posting so frequently or often for a little bit. I know that's what I've been doing, but you know... unispired posts are the worst. Plus I've been reading some other blog's and those dudes are way more knowledgable than I am and are doing a way better job, it makes this blog feel pretty insignificant.
But I'll come back, and I'll come back hard! (to my 12 readers)
Doesn't mean to say I'll stop posting, but I just can't think of anything real special to post. Here are two remixes that I think are really awesome:
Bjork - All Is Full of Love (PLAID Remix)
Wu Tang Clan - Wu-tang Clan Ain't Nutin to Fuck it (Bird Peterson Remix)

The Dirty Projectors (and YACHT)

2007-09-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, I'm still working on getting those other Bumbershoot posts out. I know I'm slow, but atleast I'm posting other stuff and not putting it all off.
So last night I was at the Vera Project seeing YACHT, The Dirty Projectors and White Rainbow (those pictures from above are what I took last night). I was super pumped for YACHT but I've already raved about him in another post, so I'll just tell you it was awesome (but suprisingly short). But I had not really heard the Dirty Projectors too much before tonight.
They put on quite the show. They sound so clean, but all over the place and sloppy at the same time. I think it has something to do with the really intricate drums and incredible harmonies matched with that dirty messy sounding guitar parts that harmonize so well. But seriously, their vocal harmonies they come up with are just amazing. The two girls in the band just carry the show to new heights. I got the CD after the show and I must admit, right now I'm not liking it as much. Maybe it will grow on me, but the mixing and recording of the songs sound a bit wierd. Also live the gutiar was way more... I dunno. They were a little out of tune and it gave a really cool raw sound that doesn't come across on the recording. Live it was definitely way more raw, but the CD isn't bad by any means. I think I've got to listen to it more and more and I'll appreciate it the same way. It's interesting though, the newest album that I got is a recreation of Black Flag's Damaged. While I'm not that familiar with Black Flag, I'll admit, I know one or two, and it's pretty wild what they come up with.
But if this tour is coming your way, I really recomend you go!
Dirty Ps/YACHT:
09-08 Portland, OR - Satyricon ^
09-11 Sacramento, CA - Fools Foundation ^
09-12 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill ^
09-13 Visalia, CA - Howie & Sons ^
09-14 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo ^

^ with White Rainbow

YACHT:

09-15 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Monolith Festival)
09-22 Melbourne, Australia - Parklife Festival
09-30 Sydney, Australia - Parklife Festival

Dirty Projectors:

09-16 San Diego, CA - The Casbah *
09-19 Austin, TX - Emo's ^
09-20 Houston, TX - Rudyards ^
09-21 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon ^
09-22 Tallahassee, FL - Club Down Under ^
09-24 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn ^
09-25 Durham, NC - Duke Coffeehouse ^
09-26 Washington, DC - Black Cat ^
09-27 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's ^
09-28 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge ^

* with White Rainbow
^ with Ecstatic Sunshine

MP3's:
Dirty Projectors - Depression
Dirty Projectors - Gimme Gimme Gimme
YACHT - Summer Song
YACHT - So Post All 'em

Buy Rise Above
Buy Your Magic is Real. I Believe in You.

Bumbershoot: Day 1

2007-09-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

Want to know how Bumbershoot was? Well here we go, I'll try to get through this as quick as possible, giving you pictures and videos of the highlights from each set.

We'll start day by day.
First up...

Saturday:
First things first there's a mainstage show with Crowded House and the Shins.
Crowded House:
Plain and simple, this was not a good show. I was bored, and I hadn't heard them before. I was hoping they';d be OK but I guess I should have known that a one-hit-wonder band from the 80's might deliver a live show of this caliber. The songs were just plain old rock ballads that all sounded the same. Sorry if I offended any fans. Interesting fact though, Eddie Vedder came onstage. It was just kinda like, "oh hey, that's Eddie Vedder". To be honest I'm not a huge Pearl Jam fan. I used to be but it seems every day I like them less and less. Here's a picture (or the best one I could get)

The Shins:
They started pretty strong with Sleeping Lessons. That's just such a stellar opening track. But the whole time James Mercer just looked a little tired and like he didn't really want to be playing that show. They just kinda went through the motions, you could tell that they'd been touring that set for awhile. That plus the sun directly overhead us made the show a little bit of a slow start. But morning gigs on that huge mainstage is just a shit gig in general. I could see the Shins doing a really good show some other time, when the mood was just right. I really wanted to hear their cover of Breathe by Pink Floyd but it was taking awhile and they weren't playing it, so we left a bit early, and then as we were leaving I them strike the song up. Damn, I missed out. Oh well. But as we were leaving we heard someone mutter "they're song stealers!" which made my laugh.

I took a little break and met up with tons of people I didn't want to see. Soaked in the festivites and food and made my way over to my friend's neighbor's band...

Lillydale:
These guys are alright. But it turned out this was their last show ever. I don't think they had a very long run. But they're kinda fun live. Their music is a bit mediocre but they've got a nice vibe going on. But man, the skychurch's background animations kept distracting me. There was this one pattern I just couldn't figure out what was happening. It was some sort of thing spinning but there was like 100 things going on at once. I love that venue though. I saw Cloud Cult there last year and that was one of the best show's I think I've ever seen.

Next we dashed over to the KEXP stage for

Menomena:
!!!!!!!
I was most excited for them today. I forgot they were bringing their choir. Turns out it was only their second show with the choir. Man was it stellar. The choir came on in sweet outfits singing Rotten Hell (or what sounded like it), and then they tore into The Pelican. I only know the material from Friend & Foe so I didn't recognize every song, but I enjoyed every one. The choir really brought the songs to new heights, especially on My, My and the epic closer of Rotten Hell. Man are they cool.

(Youtube's not liking my videos right now, I'll put these up soon)

Afterwards, our next few shows were at the same stage with 30 minute gaps between each set so we got to relax in the grass and rest our backs and feet. Next on our list was....

Aqueduct:
To be honest I wasn't expecting it to be all that great, I was sort of into his music and I had a CD but I got tired of it quick. Something about their live show really gets me into their music. Now I've had Or Give me Death on my speakers constantly this last week. The crowd was so psyced for them, the energy was great. The highlight was their cover of R. Kelly's I'm a Flirt. They said they learned it on their van ride to Lollapalooza but now they've mastered it, so I think it was one of the first times they played it live. They finished their set early so they were just pulling songs out of thin air I think for the last few. And another bonus: I think this was the only time I've ever seen a band play a song requested from the audience (they played Heart Design). Unfortunately I did not get some of the best moments on video but these should suffice:

So after that we took a longer break. We tried to peak in to see Rodriga Y Gabriella but it was packed to the limit, I couldn't see anything. So we sat in the food court for awhile and saw some friends and talked. But before we knew it Devotchka was starting!

Devotchka:
I honestly did not know what to expect, I hadn't heard much before. But man, oh man, they blew me away! Serious theremin playing and whistling from the lead guy, and when the time came his fingers flew across the strings. And the violinist played like nothing I'd heard before. The only part I didn't like is the tuba. Tuba's sound terrible, I don't think I'd enjoy any tuba part in a song. But it just played the bass part which blended in easily, and the other 3 memebers attracted enough attention to themselves. It was epic and danceable at the same time. I think they did an encore but we had to leave a bit early, when their first set ended. I couldn't get any video or pictures from where I was, but here's a great one of "How It Ends" I found.

My Many Moods

2007-08-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

I just got M.I.A.'s new album, and it's pretty fucking fantastic. It's going on my best of 07 list for sure. I do this a lot, where I go into one mood for part of the day, and then I'm listening to the exact oposite. After I wear myself out by dancing in my room to Kala, I've been getting into Sparklehorse and Damien Jurado again. Especially the Ghost of David by Damien Jurado. That album used to be overlooked by me, for some strange reason. I always listened to it at the wrong times, like when I was reading something I would put a song on in the background and get bored, but when I sat down and actually listened to it with my full attention I got it. It's a really great album, front to back. It's one of the more personal sounding records he's down,, in my oppinion, probably just because it sounds pretty lo-fi. I'm convinced this man can do no wrog. Every album of his is excellent, and every time I listen to him my admiration just grows.
Here are my favorites from Ghost of David:
Desert
Great Today
Parking Lot

Buy The Ghost of David

Now about Kala. I know all the blogs are raving about it and M.I.A. is hot on the town right now, but sometimes you've just gotta forget about all the buzz and really pay the music some attention (I'm not saying that you don't... that's just a bad habit of mine, I get sick of hearing about things so I don't pay it attention). I shrugged it off at first after hearing Boyz and Hit That. I thought Bird Flu was great, but then those two tracks just annoyed me. But Hit That's not even on the album, and Boyz is the only track I don't like. It sounds like a more advanced Arular, there's more depth, but at the same time it's more fun and less serious. This is how sophomore albums should be done.
$20
Bamboo Banger
Hussel

Buy Kala

In other news...
If you read any other music blogs or have a myspace (which qualifies everyone reading this blog I bet) you've got the new Band of Horses track. I think it's really really good. That's pretty much all I can think of to say about it. It's good, and louder and faster than normal BoH. But not by much. Download it at their myspace.

Also, Sage Francis is having a remix contest, if you'd like to take a crack at Hoove Tracks in the Sand. Check it out here.

I bought Know By Heart by the Amaerican Analog Set, and I'm really loving it. I had a few tracks before but I knew i needed to buy some albums, and I don't regret it at all.
Million Young
Aaron & Maria

And I've been listening to lots of Kind of Like Spitting. Expect a blog feature about them soon!

----

And I thought I should let you know I won't be blogging for another little while, Bumbershoot is this weekend!!! And this time i will give a full recap of it, with pictures and videos, but as a result it will probably take me aa little while also because school is starting on Wednsday for me. I'm pretty pumped. Hope this post will hold you over.

What's the hap's with DOOM???

2007-08-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

After MF DOOM cancelled his Seattle date I poked back into the forums to try and dig up an answer. Apparently DOOM's been cancelling tons of dates last minute, and when he does show up he only played for like 20 minutes and then dashed back offstage while a song was still playing. And there are lots of accusations of there being a DOOM imposter at shows just lip syncing along at Rock the Bells. I dunno, you be the judge. Just compare these two live videos:

Man... that seems shifty. There are rumour's that he's being hospitalized or is seriously sick to the point where he can't perform. But wouldn't it be nice to hear from him about all these cancelations? Atleast an explination.

But there is good news!!! Check out this little hidden link at Stones Throw. New DOOM? Whatever DOOM's mash revenge is... I'm sure we can be excited. That looks like Peanut Butter Wolf in the driver's seat maybe.
And.....
http://www.stonesthrow.com/messageboard/index.php?showtopic=4859
SHAZAM!
From Mr. Peanut Butter Wolf himself. Madvillainy II is on!!! Just to know that it's getting worked on makes me so happy. I hope it doesn't take too long... But knowing DOOM, it probably will.
So here are some tracks if you need to be reminded why DOOM's one of the best MC's out there:

Shape of Broad Minds ft. MF DOOM - Let's Go

Danger Doom - Korn Dogs

MF DOOM - Elite Scooby Doo Shit
*Word is that this is a pretty rare track. Gorilla V.S. Bear posted it awhile back. It's some unreleased demo if I remember straight. Oh, here's the post. I'll check out that blog they name dropped... Konstant Kontact.

Ghostface and MF DOOM - Angeles
I'm still waiting to hear about this Ghostdoom project...

Support DOOM

I'm back... again

2007-08-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I should have said I was leaving for a trip for like 2-3 daysfor Lopez Island, in Washington. It was fun, my freind's mom let us use their cabin, and I won monopoly. That was a blast (as you can see by the picture).
Hmm... what to post? This blog is slowly turning into a "what-I'm-listening-to" blog, which is OK I guess. If anything, I think it's pretty cool. Sometimes I'll throw out playlists with themes or lists with MP3's, but trying to run news isn't the best thing for me, cause I just get everything from other blog's, that you probably read also.

So... Here's what I've been listening to:

Pigeon John - Do the Pigeon
At Lopez me and my friend played a ton of hip-hop. This tune was on constant rotation with us. It's so happy and easy going. This album's alright, sometimes it's great, but sometimes it's terrible actually. But seriously, I don't think you can be sad when you listen to this.
Buy The Summertime Pool Party

Dntel - Rock My Boat
This is going high on my best of '07 list for sure. This album is so good track by track. I'ts all real mellow and the electronics on it are genius. Way more adventerous than his last album or his work with Postal Service. This song's one of my favorites, it's got some dark sounding chords at the beginning that make it sound out of place, but definitely in a good way. Then in the chorus the guitar comes in and adds a whole new level to the song. I love it.
Buy Dumb Luck

Sparklehorse - It's Not so Hard
I got back into this album on the car ride back from Lopez. I almost forgot about it for awhile. It was deifnitely my favorite album of last year. It's Sparklehorse at it's happiest and poppiest. There are a few moments where it gets pretty loud, like this song, and I just love that. And the tracks that Danger Mouse produce are amazing.
Buy Dreamt For Lightyears in the Belly of a Mountain

DJ Shadow - Stem/Long Stem
On the drive up, I was tired so I just closed my eyes and listened to Endtroducing andlots of Dntel, which was perfect. Ambient, but lots of little things to peak your interest. I don't really need tot talk about this album a lot, it's already been hailed by so many other blogs probably. It is a classic. But this song especially. It's so epic and huge and different. I really really really recomend you listen if you're not already into this song. It's headphone music.
Buy Endtroducing...

Gorillaz - All Alone
As I got further into Rise of the Ogre, I got into the part about Demon Days, which got me more into the album. It's really cool and progressive. It flows way better than the first album, and it's way more polished. And the guest stars are even better. Roots Manuva just tears through this track and brings it to life.
Buy Demon Days

I'm back

2007-08-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Not really like I was gone. 2-3 days break, I dunno.
One thing I need to say though.

The day of the show MF DOOM called in and said he couldn't make it and cancelled. You have no idea how infuriated I was. DOOM apparently has this kind of reputation though, but it makes me lose a lot of respect for him as a person. So instead they got Redman to do the show, but who would want to see Redman??? I didn't, so hopefully my ticket will be refunded (my friend's mom is working on it).

I'll do a small recap of the KEXP BBQ pretty soon. It was very very good though. But the videos I took this time didn't come out as well... Bummer.

This post will be just a lot of collected things, like random songs and links, no real theme.

Here's a pitchfork interview with Aesop Rock. I don't like Pitchfork Media really (can anybody like their writers???) but I still read it cause they have a lot of important news and sometimes an interview like this comes up and it's really good.

I've been going in and out of music moods really rapidly lately. I get really into lots of acoustic folky stuff and then within an hour I'm listening to the Downward Spiral in it's entirety. So I'm going to try and sum up what I've been doing with my iTunes and iPod these last few days.

Enya - Only Time
Seriously, this song is amazing. I know a lot of people might laugh or scoff, but when you tap into it, it's totally soothing and you can just release everything. That's what Enya's good at, helping you release stuff. I've been checing her out more because of this track and some is pretty good (but some isn't so much).

Nine Inch Nails - Mr. Self Destruct
I said I was really getting into the Downward Spiral, and I really am. It's an amazing album, from front to back. It's so dark and loud, but it has these great really soothing parts that give you a break so it's not all one thing the whole time, and every track's really different. I can confidently say I like every single track, especially the instrumental ones, which NIN fans and reviewrs seem to not like as much.

Feist - I Feel it All
I wasn't so big on the Reminder, but there are a few tracks that I really like, such as this one. One thing I like about this album is her voice is even more luscious and sultry than her past effort's, which seems hard to do. (damn! She totally should have made my vocalist list. I messed that up). My favorite part of this song is the "oh oh oh oh" part. I think you know what I mean.

Cave Singers - Seeds of the Night
They were really great at the BBQ. I've been playing this song all the time lately, and it's the only track of theirs I have. This is what made me dig through iTunes looking for good folky acoustic music stuff. Maybe some Dylan or Elliott Smith or Iron and Wine. I can't wait for the debut. September 25th (I think). Get it!

Johnette Napolitano - Suicide Note
So tragic and heart wrenching. This song just cuts to the core of sadness. I love the drum sounds on here, and the sparse piano is just enough.

Xiu Xiu - Vulture Piano
Also for when I'm feeling dark. Sometime I'll make a post about how much I love Xiu Xiu, because I can't just write about one song, the whole catalouge is amazing.

Cannibal Ox - Pigeon
Lyrically, Vast Aire is unbelievable on this track. It took me awhile to figure out the metephor in the lyrics (I won't give it away, try to figure it out yourself). Plus the beat is flat-out ridiculous.

Hot Chip - The Warning
This whole album is so fresh and amazing. The programming just makes me go crazy, and the vocals are so laid back and easy sounding. Funky and addicting all around. It seems like I've been listening to this CD a lot this whole summer.

And I'm still playing Gorillaz and the new Stars album a ton, but I've posted enough track from those.

On another note, I just found this great blog, Music is Art. The layout and the content is just really cool and original. The writing just comes from the heart it seems, the person's not some indie hipster trying to boost their indie cred by tearing down some bands, they just write about what they really love and as a result you get a really honest blog.

Remember Gorillaz???

2007-08-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

I guess it wasn't that long ago, but for me it was. When their first album came out I was pretty young. I think back then I was listening to Sister Hazel, Presidents of the United States of America, Savage Garden and Barenaked Ladies. I dunno, I listened to those bands scattered throughout my childhood, it's hard to remember when. But I do remember I got really into hat Ed Case remix of clint Eastwood when I was little. And my dad burned me the CD cause he was doing a lot of file sharing then. But that stories kinda boring, all that happens is I get into that album as a little kid, which is pretty wierd for me back then, cause it's an amazing album.
The thing I admire most about it is how ecelcic and different it is. Every son is way different than the one's before it. One vibe that kind of stays persistant in almost every track on the first album is there's lots of dub, which isn't there on Demon Days. I'm not a big fan of dub, I think it all starts to sound the same, but Gorillaz really harness it well and make a very different sound every time. The bass is thick and groovey and the keyboards are so catchy and Damon Albarn's voice, or should I say 2D's, sounds wonderful.
And the guestlist is way cooler than I remember. There's Dan the Automator, Kid Koala, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Miho Hatori, Ibrahim Ferrer (of Talking Heads fame), Ibrahim Ferrer, and Junior Dan.
I've been reading that 'Rise of the Ogre' coffee table styl book which is basically the complete story of Gorillaz from beginning to end, and that' what sparked up my interest again. It's very interesting and amazinly drawn. The character's are great, I almost wished they were real, but the idea of a cartoon and is just so cool. Thumbs up Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett!

Gorillaz - Sound Check (Gravity)
Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood (Ed Case Remix)
Gorillaz - M1A1
Gorillaz - Re-Hash
Gorillaz - Punk

Buy Gorillaz

Alright guys, tonight I'm seeing MF DOOM!
And then tomorrow's the KEXP BBQ!
My weekend is looking great. I'll check in with you sometime after Sunday.

Wednsday Rarities

2007-08-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

That's a picture I found on google. These are some more MP3's for you.

The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Health (Ratatat Remix)

Broken Social Scene - Puff the Magic Dragon

M.I.A. - Galang (Hot Chip Remix)

PJ Harvey - When Under Ether (Live)
This tracks going to be on White Chalk, out September 25th.

Postal Service - We Will Become Sillouhettes (Matthew Dear's Not Scared Mix)

My Favorite Voices

2007-08-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I've been lagging, I think my post quality will increase if I stop trying to post daily. Sorry everyone, but I think it's for the best. Really! Now I'll actually post when I have something to say, instead of trying to find something to say for every post
I felt like highlighting some of my favorite singing voices around in this post. It's pretty fun to go through your music and think about who's voice you really like. Without further ado, my top 10 (I couldn't order them though, that's way too hard and it would be innacurate).

Sia Furler (Zero 7, Sia)
She is definitely my number one voice ever. Her voice could impress anyone with any standards. She could go on American Idol and totally dominate, but luckily she decided to put sing and write good songs. I can't say I listen to her solo work all that much, I appreciate it, but Zero 7 is really her best. She can sing in barely a whisper, or she can belt it out, any way she sings, it's terrific. Even though Zero 7 is my favorite thing she's done, a song that really showcases her voice (IMO) is this one, off her solo album "the Colour and the Shape".
Sia - Numb

Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie, Postal Service, All-Time Quarterback)
Where do I begin with Ben Gibbard. Death Cab are probably my favorite band (I can't officially say that cause that's a huge title, but when it comes down to it they most likely are). They basically were the beginning of my introduction to a lot of the music I listen to now. His voice is very stand-out, which appeals to me. Pretty much all of these vocalists, I don't like because of their technical skills but their originality and different sound. The way he pronounces his words is very defined. I don't know why I like it so much, trying to describe why is hard and what I'm saying just sounds dumb. Just appreciate his voice with me.
Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (DJ Downfall Mix)

Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu, Ten in the Swear Jar, IBPOA)
I love Xiu Xiu so much because they're so one of a kind. That's not the only reason, but the thing is when you get in that mood where you want to listen to Xiu Xiu you can only listen to them, anything else I know doesn't really fit in too well. Jamie's voice is so dark and interesting. When he mutters and sings so quiet it's interesting and captivating, and when he yells and shouts it's liberating just to listen to. His dark lyrics really give him his voice, but he definitely would not be able to deliver those lyrics without his unique voice.
Xiu Xiu - Crank Heart

Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse)
I'm a sucker for the really quiet voices. Mark's voice is really almost a whisper. And he knows what sounds good, he has a mic he likes to use live that gives it a great fuzzed out and distorted sound that works like magic! *sigh* I'm getting burned out on giving so much praise and analyzing all these voices so close, just listen.
Sparklehorse - Homecoming Queen

Elliott Smith
This one's kind of obvious. Who can't love Elliott's voice? His backing harmonies always amaze me. He really knew his stuff about music and theory.
Elliott Smith - I Didn't Understand

Craig Minnowa (Cloud Cult)
His range rests so naturally higher than most singers, yet it sounds strained at the same time. That sort of voice makes Craig's yells and hollers sound way more heartfelt. He has a really charming but wierd kind of accent that is only more prominant when he sings. It makes him seem like a bit of an underdog, trying to do the best he can, especially in songs like Washed Your Car or Breakfast with My Shadow. I have a hard time not falling in love with every song they do, and Craig's voice is definitely one of the biggest reasons.
Cloud Cult - Breakfast With My Shadow

Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle)
But y'all wouldn't have guessed I like Tool or A Perfect Circle, well guess what... I love both! But I'm not here to argue with haters or talk about a whole indie cred thing, I want to show you how much I love Maynard's voice. It's aggressive, but piercingly melodic. Some might say it's a bit over worked, but I personally love it. It doesn't take a lot of listening to hear that he does have quite an impressive voice, and his range is quite exceptional. This Joni Mitchell cover shows what amazing things he can do with his voice. The harmonies are beautiful
A Perfect Circle - The Fiddle and the Drum

Sam Beam (Iron & Wine)
Like Elliott, I always am in awe of the backing vocals and harmonies in almot every song of his. Just by listening you can hear that he knows a thing or two about music and isn't just singing another melody he made up over the top of the main vocal track, he plans it out, and it sounds amazing. It's so calm and soothing, I think it loses a bit of it's charm when it stands against loud music, he projects that quiet voice well but it just doesn't sound the same. But when it's soft and low, it's unbelievable soothing, as most of you are probably aware of.
Iron and Wine - Promising Light

Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse, Ugly Cassanova)
Listening to Modest Mouse's later stuff, you can hear lots of layering that wasn't in their earlier CD's. On songs like Tiny Cities Made of Ashes it sounds like each vocal track is sung by a different person. It's just so odd and unique, I can't help but love it.
Modest Mouse - Bukowski

Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
I must admit, I'm not big on the Bends, or atleast I'm not as big on their poppier stuff as most people. I think their experimental albums and songs are their best because I feel they really make a new niche for Radiohead and I think those are way more influential than the Bends or Pablo Honey. As Yorke's career went on you can hear he started singing in a way more haunting and soft manner than on Radiohead's earlier stuff, which I think sounds way better and fitting.
Radiohead - I Will

Runner Ups:
Bjork, Andrew Kenny (American Analog Set), David Bazan (Pedro the Lion, Headphones), Andrea Zollo (Pretty Girls Make Graves), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake, Frog Eyes), Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), Karin Dreijer (The Knife)

New Jose Gonzalez

2007-08-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

Jose Gonzalez's new video for Down the Line is pretty dark. even though I don't really get it I really like it. It's directed by Andreas Nillson, who's also behind many of the Kinfe's wierd videos. From the two songs I've heard it sounds way darker and a bit louder than Veneer was. I'm sure a lot of people were expecting another version of Veneer, but I'm really happy he's growing musically and making tracks like this.
Too bad I can't find out how to attach the video to this post do go here.

And here's the MP3 plus another new song.
Down the Line
Killing for Love
In Our Nature comes out September 25th.

And this recording isn't on the record but there is a cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" on there, and here's a bootleg of a performance he did of the song. I can't wait to hear a good recording of this track.
Teardrop (live)

I'm taking tomorrow off.

2007-08-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry if you were looking forward to it. But I don't have too much sympathy cause I think this is a well deserved break, considering I've only missed my daily post once.

But on another note, I'm putting up a poll, but it's not really a poll. I'd like every single person who reads this to vote, because it's to give me an idea of how many readers I have. If you read this and don't vote... well I won't like that too much.

I'm feeling acoustic

2007-08-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

I've been digging lots of indie and folky songs as of late. Small, minimal, acoustic. Or actually, I guess indie more sums it up, because Stars and Death Cab aren't always really acoustic or minimal at all. Not much else to say, here are the songs I like a lot now.

Death Cab For Cutie - Expo' 86
Off of one of my favorite albums ever, it flows front to back so well, each song makes the next song better just by being next to each other. This is one of the more average songs on the album, but it's melodies and hooks are so hard not to love.
Buy Transatlanticsm

Stars - Window Bird
I've really been liking this album a lot. The bass and drums are so tight and... groovey(?). It's really mellow and Amy's and Torquil's voices work extra nice on al these tracks.
Pre-Order In Our Bedroom After the War

Fionn Regan - Snowy Atlas Mountains
I was thinking about buying this album just based on this and another song I have, bought I have it on hold at the library instead (I know, I'm cheap). But this song is so damn pretty. When the drums and strings kick in, I get suckered in every time.
Buy The End of History

American Analog Set - The Kindness of Strangers
I only have about 10 tracks of theirs, but now I'm going to buy Know By heart for sure. Once you get into one song a lot, you get into all their songs a lot. Sometimes it's good have a very one sound kind of thing when your sound is this good. And I just absolutely love this song.
Buy Know By Heart

Joni Mitchell - California
I actually just got into Joni Mitchell really recently. As a kid you shrug off all your parent's music and think they can't like anything cool or good, but recently I started looking at my parent's records more and listened to some of the stuff that drove me nuts as a kid and it's actually sort of cool. But Jony Mitchell especially, and my mom's super psyched that I'm listening to her now.
Buy Blue

Kind of Like Spitting - 26 is Too Soon
I think this song totally speaks for itself. Absolutely beautiful.
Buy One Hundred Dollar Room

Album Feature: And Now That I'm in Your Shadow

2007-08-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

Pretty much assume when I do an Album Feature I'm just going to rant about it for the whole time, because it's such a good album. This is such a good album. Personally I think it's Damien Jurado's best, and I can't think of any other artist who's latest work is my favorite.
By the opening track, Hoqiuam, it starts strong with that beautiful cello that perfectly compliments the songs on almost every track. The recording and production on this record is so lush and quiet, but the emotion is so strong the songs are almost overwhelming. A song that really showcases this is the title track, which is definitely qualifiable as one of my favorite songs ever made. is the title track, which is definitely qualified for one of my favorite songs ever made. I'm really struggling for words to describe the song, it's just so powerful. The strings and the drums definitely drive the track. It manages to be quiet but booming at the same time and every word that Damien almost whispers sounds tragic and captivating.
The album keeps the same mood practically throughout the whole 12 songs for the most part, and while some songs start to blend together (like I am Still Here and Shannon Rhodes) I find that's OK because I usually end up wanting to play some songs over, but it leaves you with a really complete feeling when the album finishes (even the artwork captures the same mood). And the lyrics separate each song from the rest. Damien Jurado has a great narrative voice in his songs. I wonder how much of his songs are real stories or if he imagines these sort of things playing out in his head. Either way, it's incredible and it paints such an amazing picture in your head. He barely has to say two sentences and you already get a sense of what's happening in the song. The songs I mentioned earlier, I Am Still Here and Shannon Rhodes really prove these songwriting skills. And I had No Intentions is probably the saddest song I've ever heard, every time I hear it I can't help but feel the tragedy depicted.
I'm a huge fan of pretty much everything Damien's done (that I know of) but I always end up listening to this album the most, and I usually get hooked and end up listening to it all the way through. Here are a few of my favorite tracks:

Hoqiuam
Denton, TX
I had No Intentions
And Now That I'm in Your Shadow
I am Still Here

Seriously, you should own this album. Buy it Here.

And he's working on a new album too, I'm really looking forward to that. I don't know what to expect.

Try to catch Damien Jurado on tour, opening for Okkervil River:

Sep 3 2007

9:00P

Casbah w/ Okkervil River

San Diego, California

Sep 4 2007

9:00P

Troubadour w/ Okkervil River

Los Angeles, California

Sep 5 2007

9:00P

Independent w/ Okkervil River

San Francisco, California

Sep 7 2007

8:00P

WOW Hall w/ Okkervil River

Eugene, Oregon

Sep 8 2007

9:00P

Berbatis Pan (MusicFest NW) w/ Okkervil River

Portland, Oregon

Sep 9 2007

9:00P

Richards on Richards w/ Okkervil River

Vancouver, British Columbia

Sep 10 2007

9:00P

Neumos w/ Okkervil River

Seattle, Washington

Sep 12 2007

8:00P

Kilby Court w/ Okkervil River

Salt Lake City, Utah

Sep 13 2007

9:00P

Marquis Theatre w/ Okkervil River

Denver, Colorado

Sep 14 2007

9:00P

Waiting Room w/ Okkervil River

Omaha, Nebraska

Sep 15 2007

9:00P

Picador w/ Okkervil River

Iowa City, Iowa

Sep 17 2007

9:00P

Pabst Theater w/ Okkervil River

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Sep 18 2007

9:00P

Logan Square Auditorium w/ Okkervil River

Chicago, Illinois

Sep 19 2007

9:00P

The Canopy Club (Pygmalion Festival) w/ Okkervil River

Urbana, Illinois

Sep 21 2007

9:00P

Lees Palace w/ Okkervil River

Toronto, Ontario

Sep 22 2007

9:00P

Pepper Jacks Cafe w/ Okkervil River

Hamilton, Ontario -

Sep 23 2007

9:00P

La Sala Rossa w/ Okkervil River

Montreal, Quebec -

Sep 24 2007

9:00P

Higher Ground w/ Okkervil River

Burlington, Vermont

Sep 25 2007

9:00P

Middle East w/ Okkervil River

Boston, Massachusetts

Sep 26 2007

9:00P

Iron Horse w/ Okkervil River

Northampton, Massachusetts

Sep 28 2007

9:00P

Webster Hall w/ Okkervil River

New York, New York

Sep 29 2007

9:00P

Johnny Brendas w/ Okkervil River

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sep 30 2007

9:00P

Rock and Roll Hotel w/ Okkervil River

Washington, Washington DC

Oct 2 2007

9:00P

Cats Cradle w/ Okkervil River

Carrboro, North Carolina

Oct 3 2007

9:00P

Athens, GA - 40 Watt w/ Okkervil River

Athens, Georgia

Oct 4 2007

9:00P

Club Downunder @ FSU w/ Okkervil River

Tallahassee, Florida

Oct 5 2007

8:00P

House of Blues w/ Okkervil River

New Orleans, Louisiana

Oct 6 2007

9:00P

Walters on Washington w/ Okkervil River

Houston, Texas

woah look at that, it copies the HTML from Myspace. That's pretty cool.

Wednsday Rarities

2007-08-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

I don't like the name of this day anymore. Whatever, here are some not-so-common songs.

Wolf Parade - Claxxon's Lament
A cover of a Blackout Beach song. Blackout Beach is just Cary Mercer's side project from Frog Eyes, it gets mislabled as a Frog Eyes cover frequently. But it's really good. Wold Parade don't usually get this quiet.

Thom Yorke - Analyse (Live)
This is really wonderful. A really great stripped down perfeormance of the song, just Thom on the piano. It's not the best he could have done I feel but it still sounds pretty great.

Ratatat - The Mule remix (Z-ro, Devin the Dude and Juvenile)
Not really rare, but I just had to post one of these remixes. I've been listening to them a lot lately, they're just so cool. It's wierd how good this is and how terrible the originals are.

Quannum MC's Meet Jurassic 5 - Concentration
I found this track this year and I was so wowed. It's got so many of my favorite MC's and producers. Here's the list: Chali 2na, Zaakir, Akil, Marc Se7en, Gift of Gab, Lateef the Truth Speaker, Lyrics Born, Chief Xcel, DJ Nu-Mark, Cut Chemist, and DJ Shadow. All on one track!!! Jesus Christ. Don't worry, it does not dissapoint.

CSS - Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above (Hot Chip Remix)
I like CSS. I like Hot Chip. But the math doesn't always add up well, sometimes Hot Chip's remixes aren't so good (like their !!! one). Sometimes they're amazing, but sometimes... I get nervous they won't work. This one starts slow but luckily it's long and it eventually builds up and breaks into this really sweet groove by the end. And strangely it's less of a party song now, the vibe totally gets switched up.

Sleep

2007-08-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

I really really like falling asleep to music. I love the feeling of being half awake and half asleep and being aware of what's happening but it feels like reality is a little distorted. And when you wake up you can remember the last song you heard and look on iTunes at what order the songs were played and figure out what time you went to sleep. Awhile ago I crafted one of the best sleep playlists I've ever made, seriously. I can't post the whole 32 song long thing but I'll type it all up and post a few tracks.
It's mostly acoustic type stuff from singer-songwriters, but when I'm in that right moodit feels awesome and I go to sleep like that *snaps fingers*. Hopefully you'll get to sleep just like that dog in that picture. Get ready for lush slow and sleepy acoustic beautiful goodness!

(meant to be played on shuffle)
American Analog Set - Born on the Cusp
Beck - Already Dead
Ben Gibbard - I Was a Kaliedescope (Acoustic Live at KEXP)
Chris Walla - Sing Again (Acoustic, Live)
Cloud Cult - The Deaf Girl's Song
Cocorosie - Not for Sale
Damien Jurado - Gas Station
Dave Matthews - Some Devil
David Bazan - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)
Decemberists - I Don't Mind
Eels - It's a Motherfucker
Elliott Smith - A Fond Farewell
Grizzly Bear - Deep Blue Sea (Dan Rossen Solo)
Harvey Danger - Diminishing Returns
Iron and Wine - Waitin' For a Superman
Kind of Like Spitting - Passing Through
Lisa Germano - Too Much Space
Marissa Nadler - Clowne Towne (Xiu Xiu Cover)
Onelinedrawing - Your Letter
Pedro the Lion - Winners Never Quit
Pinback - Penelope
Radiohead - High and Dry (Acoustic)
Rocky Votolato - Portland is Leaving
Rogue Wave - Endgame
Secret Stars - Shoe In
Sera Cahoone - Last Time
The Shins - Harvest (Neil Young Cover, James Mercer Solo)
Sia - Paranoid Android
Silversun Pickups - Creation Lake
Sparklehorse - Maria's Little Elbows
Tiny Vipers - They Might Follow You
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Turn Into (Acoustic iTunes Exclusive)

mmm... just typing it makes me want to crawl into my bed. 17 out of 33 songs I think is pretty good. Take advantage of this excessive amount of music and download all these songs! They're really good!

Thanks to
www.thepunkguy.com
www.underratedmagazine.com
http://radiokgb.blogspot.com/
Young God Records
http://thecanals.blogspot.com
for some of these MP3's

Songs right now

2007-08-05T23:54:00.000-07:00

These are songs I've been listening to a lot lately. I'm going to talk about them and recomend them to you. Seriously download all of these if you don't have them already. And that's that.

Shout Out Louds - Very Loud
I was bouncing aroud my bedroom last night, getting into this song. It's got so much energy. These guys aren't really special but they're real easy to like and the guy's voice is so cool. The chorus hook gets me everytime, it's just such a sweet melody.

Aesop Rock - Daylight
Ever since the Block Party this songs been on heavy rotation with me. I like to think this is one of the Aesop Rock songs I can understand the lyrics meanings. Again, the chorus is enough to get you. "All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day, put the pieces back together my way."

Sleater-Kinney - Jumpers
I'm pretty new to Sleater-Kinney, I've just been really digging this song as of late, and this album for that matter. The melody in the chrous moves mountains! It's so powerful and huge sounding. I just love when they get loud and start yelling.

Caribou - Melody Day
I'm a sucker for hooks and choruses, all these songs have been like that so far, and especially this one. I like when singers can pull off falsetto's without it sounding cheesy. Plus I really like the video.

Honeyroot - Nobody Loves You (The Way I Do)
Thank you so much to Alex at Be Kind & Remind for recomending this to me cause I've been listening to it a ton for the last month or so. I don't know why I like it so much, just the melody and the way it builds. It's super simple but it's got an awesome groove and it's really easy to tap into.

Cannibal Ox - Iron Galaxy
Vast Aire's verse in this song is amazing. I need to buy this CD soon, it's so good. And the intro, I'm extra fond of that.

Devendra Banhart - Long Haired Child
I've been listening Cripple Crow a lot lately, so I just had to choose one of my favorite cuts from that album, and this is it. It's got Devendra's witty humour all over the lyrics, which I love.

Antony and the Johnsons - Fistful of Love
Another album I've been getting into a lot lately. It's so beautiful, words can't describe. When you really get into these songs it takes a bit out of you emotionally cause it's so powerful and emotional. This track, not so much, but it is the song I've been listening to the most lately. Despite the lyrics, it's an incredibly uplifting song. It starts out with just that steady groove that's really mellow and it slowly builds into the soulful ending that always gets me super pumped for the day.

My concert calendar for awhile

2007-08-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

Whoopy! There are some really stellar shows coming up for the remainder of the year in Seattle, and I'm going to cut to the chase and just tell you what they are, and if you live elsewhere I'll post some links for some bands tour dates so you can see if they're coming to you. Oh yeah, plus mp3's.

August 17th - MF DOOM!
Shit boi! Doom's a comin. He has some dates on his myspace, but keep your ears open for more dates cause Seattle's not listed there, but the Showbox has confirmed he is in fact playing, and I have my ticket!
See two posts ago for some Doom Mp3's.
Buy Doom's stuff.

August 18th - KEXP BBQ
Awesome lineup. Pela, the Blakes, The Cave Singers, Blue Scholars and Cloud Cult. I'm most pumped for Cloud Cult even though I've seen them twice before, they're absolutely stunning live. The Cave Singers should be really good also and Blue Scholars have their whole 9 piece backing band which should be interesting.
Cloud Cult - Mr. Tambourine Man
from Live at KEXP Vol. 3
Cloud Cult Tour Dates

Labor Day weekend (Sept 1-3) - Bumbershoot
Oh man. Just check out that line-up. Devendra Banhart, Andrew Bird, Lyrics Born, Menomena, the Shins, and WU-TANG! This is a huge highlight of my year, every year.
Andrew Bird - Heretics

September 7th - Yacht and the Dirty Projectors
Yacht's awesome. If you didn't know that then...
Buy Yacht's stuff and Tour Dates.
Yacht - The Magic Beat

October 2nd - Mt Eerie and PWRFL Power
I saw Phil Elvrum awhile ago, before I knew who he was, and I don't even remember it, like at all, so I'm excited now that I'm listening to more Microphones. And I think PWRFL Power's really cool. I really recomend you check him out.
PWRFL Power - Let Me Teach You How to Hold Chopsticks

October 15th - the GO! Team
Tour
Pre-Order Proof of Youth
Go! Team - Grip Like a Vice

October 16th - Rogue Wave
I'm so pumped for this new record of theirs.
Tour
Buy Descended Like Vultures
Rogue Wave - Sightlines

November 16th - Stars
the new album is awesome, I've been listening to it a lot, but I've just got to find a friend to go with. This tracks my favorite off the new one I think.
Tour
Stars - Take me to the Riot

December 3rd - Tegan and Sara
I probably won't end up going to this, but it'd be cool if I did. I just don't think I have any friends who are into them. That's a problem I run into a lot. But I've been enjoying the Con a lot actually. It's nice and fun and poppy.
Tour
Tegan and Sara - the Con

So I've got quite a bit on my plate. All that makes me totally forget about not being able to see Wolf Parade and Jose Gonzalez (kinda)(damn you 21 and over). And I'm sure there'll be more. Hoo Doggie.

My Bicycle! / Devendra Banhart's new stuff

2007-08-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

So I volunteer at KEXP. One thing I do is wake up at 3:45 AM and bike downtown to the station on Thursdays to assist John with his Morning Show. I bike because the busses don't run that early, but it's good for me so whatever. Plus it's pretty cool biking through streets with like 0 cars.
Anyways, not this Thursday but the one before it, I came outside and my bike was gone. It looked like it was never there at all. The dumpster was where my bike was (which was really wierd). So I went back inside to John and Mel and was like "umm... I don't really know who to talk to about this but I think my bike was stolen." They were up in arms (I think that's the right phrase to use) and got Cyrus, who knew how to work the security camera computer thing. We sat and watched the screen, fast forwarding through the tape looking for strange activity. I came and parked right outside of the camera's view, and then John arrived and parked in a spot that further distorted our vision of my bike. But then at about 5:45 AM some guy walks in and starts messing with my bike. Grr... Everytime someone walks by he looks all unsuspicious and pretends he's hanging out. It takes about 29 minutes to get through my lock (WHICH I still don't know how he did) and then we see him ride off with my bike. Damn. You can't really see his face, it's impossible to see what he looks like.
So we called the cops, and they sent down someone who asked me to describe my bike and show them the tape. We went through the standard procedure, I knew it wasn't going to get found, whatever.
So that night, I was checking my e-mail, and was looking at John's daily playlist where I saw what he had written this:

"So on Thursday we have this great intern, he's a good kid. 15 and rides his bike here at 5 in the morning. Always does a good job and helps out a ton. He was leaving the station today and noticed his bike was gone. We checked our video camera and we see at about 5:40am some scumbag walking past my car and over to his bike and gets around the lock and rides away. Made me sick to my stomach to see that. Couldn't see enough to id him either. So I write an email to the staff letting them know and to watch out for your bikes. Within 2 minutes of that email, people starting walking into my office and handing me 20's. Within the hour, almost 300 bucks in the bike fund. I went from that "I hate people" feeling to "man, I love people" and I also love the people here at KEXP. I thought you should all know that. Know that you listen to and support a station with GREAT people behind it. I couldn't be more proud....and now Morgan will get a bike so he can keep helping you and I out and get around this town."

Oh man. Did not see that coming. I felt very wierd taking the $313, but I am very thankful. Jesus those people are so nice. And someone offered to let me borrow one of their bikes until I got a new one. So now I'm scoping out new bikes. I think I found a pretty sweet one, but I'm not sure if I'll get it. I'm going for a road bike this time, I'm pretty sure.
Anyways, here are some songs related to bikes and stealing and strangers and nice people. Pretty loose theme, I think.

Decemberists - Apology Song
American Analog Set - Kindness of Strangers (I guess that's kind of ironic)
TV On the Radio - Bicycles are Red Hot
So Many Dynamos - This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
+/- - This is All (I Have Left)
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead - When We Begin to Steal

Some of those are pretty loosely themed on that situation, oh well, it's harder then you think! oh and that's not my bike in that picture...... yup.

------------

I'd also like to re-direct you to Gorilla v.s. Bear for some new Devendra Banhart. If you haven't heard his first two songs he put on his myspace from the new record I'd check them out. I think the new record is looking pretty stellar. The new thing I'm talking about though is a "promo" video. I dunno though, I think it could be a music video.

I would so love to crash at his house for a little while. All those guys with long hair and beards really make me want some facial hair.
The songs really good also. It builds really well and I love the groove.
I can't wait to see him at Bumbershoot. I've been listening to Criple Crow constantly with excitement.

Oh yeah! Here are the new Devendra songs in MP3 form:
Rosa
Tonada Yanomaninista

And here's the album cover.

Artist Feature: MF Doom

2007-08-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

Oh shit! MF Doom is coming to Seattle!!! I cannot wait. He's just about my favorite MC ever. I don't care if his live shows aren't really all that great, I'll be thrilled just to be in the same room as him.And the show has like, a skate demo, a dunksxchange (like... you buy and sell shoes? it's kind of wierd) and live painting. Sounds prett interesting.
So to get extra hyped about this show I'm going to take you through some of my favorite tracks from the masked villain.

Madvillain - Accordian
Man, this is just an essential. The beat is just so great, Madlib is such a genius. It's actually a Daedelus sample! Madvillainy is definitely my favorite hip-hop album of all time. It's fresh and new and completely original and it's so progressive and there's so many tracks. The album flows like... water(?). Every track is incredible.

De La Soul ft. MF Doom - Rock.Co.Kane Flow
While it's not really the era or style De La I like best, this track just clicks. There's one line that I always rewind to hear over, even though it's not Doom.
"They say the good die young so I added some
bad ass to my flavor to prolong my life over the drum." - Plug One

Vast Aire ft. MF Doom - Super Friendz (Edan Remix)
I already posted this song. I really don't have to explain why it's awesome. I only know Vast AIre from Cannibal Ox but every single verse I've heard of his is stellar. And Doom's laid back flow fits perfectly. Makes me really want to check out Edan, and also hear the original to see if it's any good.

Danger Doom - Crosshairs
Danger Mouse, with me, either hits or misses with his beats and in this case it's a home run. When I hear that baseline I get the shivers (or a cabby). I need to hear the original sample. And when Doom comes in with the string section, aaahh!!! It's just so good. When Doom gets the right kind of groove that works with his voice it's just unstopable.

Madvillain - Great Day (Four Tet Remix)
The original is OK, one of the few songs on Madvillainy that kind of blend together for me, but this remix takes it to new heights. Four Tet does some of the best remixes around. And check this line from Doom "Last wish, I wish I had two more wishes
And I wish they fix the door to the Matrix, its mad glitches
Spit so many verses sometime my jaw twitches
One thing this party could use is more *ahem*
Booze."

Viktor Vaughn - Raedawn
Something about this album I don't like as much as his others but this song really stands out to me. I think it's just the beat. I heard someone say Doom's sick but his beats are shit, which I totally disagree with, as demonstrated by this next song

MF Doom - Deep Fried Frenz
I know what he's talking about. I've got my pals.What a feel good summer joint.

Support Doom
Buy some of his albums

The Capitol Hill Block Party Post: DAY 2

2007-08-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

fuck it. whatever. the stranger basically summed the whole thing up in a way more interesting thing than I could. Plus they've got sweet video. All I'll say is Aesop Rock and PWRFL Power stole the show. Oh! And during John Vanderslice, backstage we spotted John Roderick, the Long Winters Bassist, David Bazan, Jason McGerr, and Ben Gibbard!! Pretty cool.
www.thestranger.com/blockparty
here are some video I took.
PWRFL Power:

Mirah:

Aesop Rock:

BOAT:

Spoon:

oh and check out these sweet pictures I got of Aesop!

He's looking right in the camera on the first one!
Grayskul came out!

Alright, I'll continue my normal blogging schedule as of tomorrow. Sorry that was so lame.

My Bad

2007-08-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

I know I need to get around to that CHBP blog for Saturday, it will be way better than the Friday blog, but I'm feeling not so hot and lazy (actually it's pretty hot right now, I have the fan on). What I'm trying to get at is I really don't feel like writing much today and I thought I should check in cause I haven't in awhile.
But I've got some really great blogs coming up. One about MF Doom, (because he's coming to Seattle!!!)
Also I've got an interesting story about my bike getting stolen, which was not so cool, but there's a twist (kind of. I wouldn't call it a twist). Either way, keep reading my blog! I won't post daily for the next week I think, but I'll keep checking in. I think it's pretty cool that I've been posting pretty much daily for about my first month(?). Now I'm giving you music:

Aesop Rock - Coffee (featuring John Darnielle from the Mountain Goats)
Kind of Like Spitting - Title Track (Death Cab cover)
Fionn Regan - Snowy Atlas Mountains
Sera Cahoone - Last Time

Aesop Rock's a little out of place there... Oh and that picture is some art from Andy Goldsworthy, who is fantastic if you don't know about him.
Now I'm going to read some Harry Potter (I'm a slow and steady reader, I'm onlny about half way through. Don't you dare give anything away).

The Capitol Hill Block Party Post: DAY 1

2007-07-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

Mhmm... pretty good. I write this Saturday night at midnight. I wish I was at the after party with the good men of Spank Rock but if it were an all-ages thing I'm sure there would be way too many annoying people still and I totally understand...
But let's get started! I'm here to tell you how my two days were blow by blow with pictures and videos and MP3's! Pretty great, right?

Friday:
I already expected this day to be a warm-up day but it was still a blast. I went in with one of my closest redhead friends, Fiona. We expected to meet up with more people, we kinda did, but it was very much just our thing that day. Her dad's super cool, he gave me six dollars which bought us pretzels! We browsed some booths (got free Sno Con shirts!!! and way too many freebies then we could deal with.) and waited for Natalie Portman's Shaved Head to start up. We met up with our friend who also volunteers at KEXP with me, Justina and headed over to the Vera stage for some fun.
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head:
What else did I expect? They put on a great show like they always do. For those unfamiliar, they're a great local dancey pop... I can't really pin down their sound. It's fun and magical, I guess that's how they'd describe it. There were some annoying people that thought it was appropriate to try and mosh (people like this popped up all over the place. With some acts it's understandable but at a show like this it gets really annoying). They just returned from a trip to L.A. to record a debut full-length which is really exciting. David has some keyboard problems and Commander Slam Dunk came out and busted a move with Shaun. Good fun. Unfortunately this was the time I realized I had brought my camera but had left the battery at home! My brother took a few pictures today though, so I'll post them up. MP3's:
Sophisticated Side Ponytail (demo)
Beard Lust (Demo)

Next up was...
Matt and Kim:
We ran over immediately after NPSH cause they had already started. We caught the end of Yea Yeah which was really the only song I knew. I didn't think their sound varied too much and it was pretty fun. I liked watching Kim play the drums, she looks so focused and happy and she has a really straight-forward and interesting style that I really dug. And Matt's pretty funny. He talked to the crowd without seeming pretentious or annoying. They seemed like they were just happy to be there and their basic keyboard/drums pop went perfectly with my mood. But then he took off his shirt which didn't really fit... Oh well, whatever floats his boat. I think they'd be way better at a house party or something small. Playing on a stage with a barrier didn't really suit them.
Yea Yeah
5k

During Matt and Kim, Justina introduced us to some of her friends and we stayed with them for awhile. We got a pretzel and some water and realized we were reaaaally tired. We leaned against a window in the back and watched...

The Blood Brothers:
To be honest I was not really excited about them. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I just don't really care for that kind of noise, but I was really impressed by their set. I got really into a lot of the songs. It was a different kind of show for me than it was for the people in the pit. I would have liked to go in to the crowd but I was just so tired, so was just about everyone else. I recognized a few songs (very few). Those dual vocals things, man that's a lot of energy going on. I was pretty sure they had more members though... I'll put some more time into listening to them, I don't think I gave them a fair enough chance when I listened to them before.
Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck
Laser Life

Blue Scholars:
Oh boy! I get to see these guys for like the fifth time! Not that they're terrible but they play everywhere in Seattle, it's hard not to see them if you live here. We started making our way up cause I kind of wanted a good spot for Silversun Pickups. It's funny how much taller hip-hop fans are than all the scene kids who were just there for Blood Brothers. As soon as the Blood Brothers ended everyone got about a foot or two taller and made it really difficult to see. More rambling from politicians trying to be cool by introducing bands for the "youngsters" and then Sabzi came out. It bugs me how little he does as a DJ, live. A scratch here and there and then he just stands back and adds backing vocals. There'a a whole lot of equipment onstage that seems really unnecsarry cause all he really needs is a truntable and mixer to scratch and another to push play. It was pretty much like every other time I've seen them. There's a ton of people rapping along with the lyrics and a lot of good energy. It was an OK show, I guess, I'm just a little tired of it. Their new album sounds a lot better, not to say I dislike their other stuff.
sorry... I'm too lazy to find some MP3's or convert the songs I have. go look on Hype Machine if you want them so bad.

Silversun Pickups:
When Blue Scholars ended, Me and Fiona pushed to the front, or as far as we could get but we accidentally forget to tell Justina and co. and I still feel a little bad about that. We got kinda close and I saw my brother. Then we realized we were still tired and we had to wait for the set-up, which was really ugggggh. It smelled like muffins and then it smelled like body odor. When the politician came out he was even more unwelcome than usual. When he said how are you doing tonight some guy behind me shouted "Your Moms!!!" and even though he was drunk, I don't see it making much more sense when your drunk. Then out came SSPU.
I still think it's wierd that they were headlining a day. It would have made much more sense for the Blue Scholars to headline cause people seemed way more amped to see them. They were OK. Pretty good, I guess. They played last year and the sound was terrible and they were just a filler band on the mainstage, so it's funny to see the atmosphere totally change. The lead guy is really the head of the show and is totally comfortable stealing the spotlight from the other members, which is OK cause he's actually kind of funny and really good at talking to crowds. People thought it would be fun to swing waterbottles around and get water on everyone, which might look cool but is really uncomfortable when you get hit with water on a comfortably cool night. A lot of dumb people were doing that moshing and clapping at times when you shouldn't mosh or clap. Is it just me or is the whole mosh pit thing really out of place at shows now? I just feel like a lot of people make a fool of themselves and bump into a ton of people and get on their nerves. Some shows, I guess it fits but it's really starting to get on my nerves when people think moshing is what makes a good show.
But the show was good. They played a lot of standards from Carnavas which was predictable but I really don't like that one as much as their EP, but for the encore they played all songs of the EP which was really great. They did All the Go In-Betweens, Comeback Kid, and Creation Lake which perfectly ended the night.
Kissing Families
Creation lake
Common Reactor

But I was aware how much more Saturday was going to rule, and it did!
But soon... I'll get Saturday's blog up. Way better bands so better MP3's, and also I've got better pictures and videos.

Pre-Block Party post

2007-07-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

Friday and Saturday, I will be at the Capitol Hill Block Party, and I'm supper pumped. I look forward to this every summer. Check out the line-up! So for the next three days I will be taking a break from blogging (actually probably more). But as a result you will get two very very awesome blogs reporting the whole festival almost blow by blow, with pictures and MP3's, so you can practically experience it yourself if you didn't go. So tpday I'll leave you with a few songs I've been digging lately and be off.

Sage Francis w/ Eyedea and Slug - Embarassed
Kind of Like Spitting - Grapes
The Roots - Dynamite!
Walter Meego - Looking Through a Keyhole
Sparklehorse - Cow
Minus the Bear - Throwin Shapes (Off Planet of Ice which isn't out yet!)

Right in your very house

2007-07-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

I love when albums are recorded in a way that makes it feel very personal, like a home recording. The poor quality and clips of dialogue from the band in between tracks makes it feel like you're watching them record it. Some of my favorite albums are like this, and some are my favorite for that very reason. I'm going to post some tracks from my favorite albums with that feel. Some might not really be home recordings, like Death Cab's We have The Facts and We're Voting Yes was recorded in the Hall of Justice, eve if it's Chris Walla's studio, they still had a studio.

Death Cab for Cutie - Title Track
Man this album is so good. It's one of a kind for Death Cab. Slow and ark, way more so then usual. You can really hear how they were influenced by Slint on this record. The dialogue at the beginning kind of sets the mood for the whole album for me, it makes it feel really personal.
Buy We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes

Elliott Smith - Good to Go
My favorite of Eliott's albums is his self titled. The recording has just a little hiss but the guitars sound great. And for the drums it's just a snare and a crash cymbal and it sounds amazing. It' so sparse, it showcases Eliott at his best.
Buy Elliott Smith

The Microphones - The Pull
I don't know why this album has that recorded at home feeling. Maybe it's just cause it was recorded with a ton of friends. I really don't know if it was recorded with studio time or not, but it has a really cool vibe throughout the whole thing. Pretty rough sounding, but also at the same time it's really captivating.
Buy It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water

Modest Mouse - Karma's Payment Plan
I love this EP. I feel it's really overlooked when people talk about their releases. The vibe's pretty much the same as all the other tracks, feels very personal. I especially love all the 30 second-ish tracks of cool noise in between all the tracks. Makes it feel a lot more complete. This is also one of my all time favorite Modest Mouse tracks.
Buy The Fruit that Ate Itself

Cocorosie - Madonna
I can practically see the bathroom where they recorded this with a bathtub full of equipment. Cocorosie always have a really cool sound and this album is the most interesting because it was recorded just by themselves in a bathtub.
Buy La Maison de Mon Rêve

Damien Jurado - Treasures of Gold
I love Damien and this album is so different from his other stuff. It has tracks like this one but then some that are just kind of noisy and he has this yelley type of singing. It was either this album or Ghost of David I had to choose between but I ultimately listen to this one more
Buy Waters Ave. S

Beck - Beercan
Mmm so funky. My favorite cut off of Mellow Gold. That whole album just feels so fun. I have no idea where he lived but by Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997, I get the feeling it was pretty boring and he was just trying to have some fun. Probably the best album Beck put out, just because of it's really cheap feeling.
Buy Mellow Gold

MP3's are up! Hotlinkfiles.com was down for a bit today but have no fear!

I <3 YACHT

2007-07-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

Should I start posts with titles like that? Spelling out I like EYE was kind of lame. Whatever. I do <3 href="http://www.theveraproject.org/">Vera Project held as a grand opening for their new location. On the bill was: Ghost to Falco (surprisingly good, mellow band), Tiny Vipers (Yeah, she's good), Holy Ghost Revival (gross 70's nostalgia), and then YACHT. I didn't know YACHT started in the other room during Holy Ghost Revival's set which bummer me out so we caught him half way through. But man, I was caught off guard. I instantly loved him. All the songs were new to my ears and I remembered each and every one when I Believe in You. Your Magic is Real. came out later. After that show though, I bought his Mega LP which was a little bit different. I didn't know that his previous albums were all instrumental and the songs were usually under 2 minutes. I really didn't like it at first but it got more and more interesting with each listen. Now I really like it. My friends had to leave then so I didn't get to cath Mt. Eerie but oh well (he's playing another vera show in october! i love the vera!). I'm also very excited for Yacht's return to the Vera in September. He came to town with LCD Soundsystem and then with Architecture in Helsinki and did the What the Heck Fest in Anacortes but somehow I missed all those, and I'm especially miffed about the LCD Soundsystem show. I really have no clue why I wasn't there.
If you like YACHT just like I do, then hopefully I'll have some MP3 goodies you didn't have before, and if you're new to YACHT then I've got my personal fav's for you! Enjoy

Totally Stoked (On You) Off of "Mega"
I Love a Computer Off of "Mega"
It's Coming to Get You Off of I Believe in You. Your Magic is Real.
Platinum (Feat. Harvey Birdman) Off of I Believe in You. Your Magic is Real.
See a Penny Pick it Up (Architecture in Helsinki Remix)
Architecture in Helsinki - Heart it Races (Yacht's Should I Coco Mix)
Remember What This Feels Like Off of Super Warren XXXIV

I'm not an Indie Snob!!!/New Sunset Rubdown

2007-07-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

I'm really sorry about yesterday. I was actually out of the hosue doing stuff! This week was really boring so I was really excited about actually doing something this weekend. So sorry I missed my post yesterday, so I'll push two things into one post doay.
I was talking with my friend the other day and he kept asking me about bands, and if I liked them, and I tended to answer that they were OK at first but then they got huge and I got annoyed with them (cause he asked me about bands like Wolfmother and the Arctic Monkeys). He now thinks I only like undergroud music and only listen to stuff no one's ever heard of just to be cool. To be honest that really offends me. Not only that, it's untrue (cause I listen to Coldplay. Come on). I'm going to prove him wrong by posting about bands that everyone likes that I like too, because it's good music! Simple as that. I don't listen to Arctic Monkeys because all their songs are the same, and I got tired of hearing that same song re-done and played everywhere.
OK:

Death Cab for Cutie - Lightness (Demo)
It's safe to say that Death cab are my favorite band. I was into them before Plans came out, and even though Plans may not have been my favorite, I still enjoy it time to time and don't rant and rave about how garbage it is like some snobs who'll drill a death cab fan about stuff like "Well... how long have you known about them? I was into them when the Photo Album came out. Do you even know that album?!" I don't like those kinds of people, and you meet a lot while waiting in line at shows. Anyways this is one of my favorite tracks, partly because the original is off Transatlanticsm, which makes me top all time albums list. The demo's also really good and pretty different.

The White Stripes - Now Mary
Seriously, who doesn't like the White Stripes? I haven't met many people. You know why??? Cause they're good! White Blood Cells is classic, I don't know if they can ever top that, but Icky Thump came pretty darn close, a pretty stellar new album, especially after Get Behind Me Satan. Seriously, everyone everywhere seems to like them.

Coldplay - X&Y
Now I don't get why people hate Coldplay so much. I know the theme of this post is about music that everybody likes, but I guess it's more music that everyone knows. EVeryone knows Coldplay and I get a lot of shit for liking them. People even hate X&Y which I still don't get, I think it's way better than A Rush of Blood to the Head (that album is bleh). But everyone seems to like Parachutes, even if they hate Coldplay. This is my favorite track of X&Y.

Beck - Scarecrow (El-P Remix)
Well this one's easy. He's really popular because he's really good again. He got a little lazy with the Information but all his other albums are really solid and you can hear the hard work that went into them. Totally an innovator. This song is so darn catchy, I get the chorus stuck in my head almost every day.

Led Zeppelin - The Battle of Evermore
I think everyone's noticed the new (not really new actually) trend of old bands like Pink Floyd and Zeppelin by looking at the huge amount of teens wearing "vintage" pre-faded shirts all over the place. I went through Zepplin phase in 7th grade, but I still like them. Seriously just listen to this track. Not only is it huge and epic, it's on a mandolin and it's about Lord of the Rings. Awesome. I get a cabby.

On another note, here's a new Sunset Rubdown song. I got it via P4k, but I have the MP3! Mwa ha ha. Man this is good. It's a little eh at first but around the 2 minute mark it really picks up. Key changes galore, oh my gosh! Spencer Krug is really in a league of his own, I really can't imagine how he sits down and writes a piece like this with his band. Here's the surprisingly un-Sunset Rubdown-ish new album cover for Random Spirit Lover

And here's the song: Up On Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days
And what a song title it is.

Album Feature: It's a Wonderful Life

2007-07-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

SPARKLEHORSE! I love Sparklehorse, and this album was the album sparked my undying love for them. I knew Danger Mouse really liked them, and I had a song I liked by them, and DM was all into this record so I thought I'd check it out from the library. I had no idea I would totally devour the album and hold it so close to my heart as I do now. I didn't get into it right away, which is what normally happens with great albums, I thought it was a bit slow and didn't suit me too well. I really don't know where my change of heart came from. I just remember the perfect rainy Seattle day and sitting in my room as the whole album played through and I just toally vibed out with it. It's one of those albums that really gets in your head and changes your mood. I get a really wierd feeling when I listen this album, almost like depression, but I'm happy. I really can't describe it, but that's how good this album is!
The mix of lo-fi and high quality recording is perfect, Mark Linkous knows what sounds good and how to get that sound. It starts with the self-titled track which can be equally sad as it can be happy (it's funny like that). It's a little funny at first listen, or it was for me. I couldn't really get into it, probably because it was just so different, but now that's the reason I love that song, there's no other song I've ever heard that sounds at all like it. Then it jumps into the most likely single on the album, Gold Days which also has that happy-or-sad thing going on, but way more poppy with a great instrument called the Mellotron, which totally brings many Sparklehorse songs to life. Every song on this album is great, and features great cameos from PJ Harvey (Piano Fire) and Tom Waits (Dog Door, Morning Hollow) and just amazing production.
The funny thing is, I've noticed when people talk about Sparklehorse they usually talk about every album but this one. It's usually about the simple poppy sound on the first record, or the really eclectic sounding Good Morning Spider, or raving about how great the new album is, but no one really gives the album much attention, which is a shame because in my oppinion it's definitely the most beautiful album, and it's the album that flows the best, song to song. Although it's a good amount darker and more depressing than his other albums, I think that's why it's so good, and I think Mark does the best writing sad and dark music.
I'll give you a few songs to sample from the album, but I highly reccomend that you buy it, it's worth it in the long run.

It's a Wonderful Life
Gold Days
Piano Fire
Eyepennies (sorry about the skipping sound)
Dog Door
King of Nails (Video)

Buy It's a Wonderful Life (You can get a used copy for only 4 bucks!)
And here is an awesome Sparklehorse fansite.

Uninspired

2007-07-19T11:49:00.001-07:00

I'm starting to get why it's difficult to post daily, and I understand why a lot more people don't do it. But I'm trucking on with it. Here are some songs I've been enjoying as of late:

Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
Lavender Diamond - Rise in Springtime
Eliott Smith - Christian Brothers
David Bazan - Bands With Managers (Daytrotter Session)
Madvillain - Fancy Clown

Wednsday Rarities

2007-07-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, here are more random songs that aren't really released or are just hard to find or whatever. I'm feeling lazy so I'm not going to write a lot.

Sparklehorse - Return To Me (Live)
I don't know where this was but the qualitiy is really good. They totally re-worked it live. Sounds great.

Built to Spill - Rearrange
It's new. They just released a single, so... yeah, that's what this song is.

Architecture in Helsinki - Heart it Races (YACHT's Should I coo Mix)
I'm not that familiar with them still but I love this song a lot and I love Yacht.

Damien Jurado - Pink Moon (Nick Drake Cover)
mmm... Damien is so good.

Cloud Cult - Mr. Tambourine Man (Live at KEXP)
What an amazing cover. Seriously, if you didn't know you probably couldn't tell it was live. It's on the upcoming Live at KEXP Volume 3 which you should check out here: www.kexp.org. I'm glad this is finally getting released.
Also you should listen to KEXP.

Eye <3 Hip Hop

2007-07-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Time for my lengthy hip-hop post. This is the most I'll have written in a blog I think. For the longest time this year I wasn't really listening to as much Hip-Hop. Nothing grabbed my attention, and I pretended I was still a hip-hop junky by just listening to Atmosphere and MF Doom from time to time (not to say there's anything wrong with listening to them). But just the other night, I put on Danger Mouse and Jemini's Ghetto Pop Life and everything came back. I spent a good few hours in my room digging through my favorite from Wu-Tang, Lyrics Born, Blackalicious and Jurassic 5. I got the soul back! I was so happy, and I still am. I feel like a got a part of me back that was missing awhile.
If you're not really into hip-hop or one of those people who don't listen to it, like at all then I'm aiming to totally change your mind and open your eyes to show you how beautiful it can really be. Sample everything here and listen to it very closely.
I feel a lot of the hip-hop I hear now isn't really hip-hop. It's good but it's strayed away from the real soul of the music is gone. Don't get me wrong, I like Bus Driver and Spank Rock a lot but i feel like they just took parts of hip-hop and pushed it into another subgenre, but I stand behind them 100 percent because artists like them are really pushing music forwards. But I'm here to talk about the real traditional style of MC and DJ Hip-Hop.
I'll start with the first hip-hop album I ever bought, Jurassic 5's "Quality Control". This album changed my life. I heard the Influence and it was something entirely new. Until then all I had heard was Eminem and whatever other shit was playing at the end of the 90's. I was into good hip-hop before I was into good other music. My favorite bands were Linkin Park, Black Eyed Peas (yeah, I loved Elephunk. Wierd.), Jurassic, and Slipknot. I was an odd kid. But that's not the point, the point is Quality Control is still one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever. From front to back the one thing that this album has most is soul and flavor. You can tell by their energy how passionate all members in the group are. The flows are so nice, the 4 MC's compliemnt eachother perfectly and the chemistry is excellent. Here are some of my favorite tracks off that album.
The Influence
Great Expectations
Monkey Bars

Now instead of going on about sperate albums I'm just going to throw down a ton of tracks and talk about those

Lyrics Born - Do That There (Young Einstein Remix)
Oh my lord! Do you hear what he's saying? LB is one of the best MC's of all time, I think. He can sing and rap and he's got some ridiculous lines. This song doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but that doesn't matter. This is him just getting loose and having fun. I recomend you read the lyrics along with the song, it makes it about 10 times more fun. He can cover just about anything, check the Last Trumpet if you don't know already.

Danger Mouse and Jemini - The Only One
This isn't that old, but to me it screams "classic". This kind of song is timeless. That bassline hooks me everytime and then when the verse busts out it gets so live. According to wikipedia they're working on another album which would be great. While Danger Mouse gets around, this is Jemini's only major release, which is a shame because he's got a great style.

Blackalicious - Make You Feel That Way
If this track doesn't make you feel good I don't know what will. For a lot of people I know this is one of the tracks that made them realize hip-hop isn't always as the media portrays it. Plus Gift of Gab is one of my favorite MC's around. To appreciate his raw talent here's a link for the lyrics so you can read a long with the song. Lyrics

Atmosphere - Between the Lines
Atmosphere is also a great gateway drug. They did the Warped Tour and hooked all the angsty teens. Slug's at his best when he's telling stories, which is why this is one of my favorite tracks ever. There's a really powerful theme in the three stories in this song. Plus the beat is nice. Lyrics

The Roots - Act Too (Love of My Life)
Things Fall Apart is the best Roots album in my opinion and this is the best song off that album, so by definition this is my favorite Roots song. Ft. Common. The whole album has a really amazing vibe and groove to it, the production soudns so clean and amazing. I really wish they kept pumping out albums like this.

Well I didn't write as much as I thought I would. I hope you enjoyed this because starting now there's going to be lots more variety in my music posts, and probably more hip-hop.

On another note, I just want to boast about how I will be seeing Wu-Tang Clan at Bumbershoot this year (also Lyrics Born)! I am so excited you don't even know. The whole thing will be a blast, and I will report back with a very long blog recapping the whole three days.

I'm feeling electric!

2007-07-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Today I was going to do a hip-hop related blog, cause I was in my room last night totally digging into Wu-Tang and Lyrics Born, but I find it's easier to blog about what you're listening to at the moment and today I've been really digging electro type grooves and stuff along the lines of Daedelus and J Dilla. Chill out music. Pretty straight forward, I'm just toing to talk about songs I like and why.

J Dilla - Nothing Like This
Jay Dee is one hell of a producer. I can't say I get into all of his stuff, and while his death is tragic I feel he's been overhyped a little. For me each song is hit or miss with him. This song is a huge hit with me. I don't even know where the vocals come from or if they're even sampled but they sound great. One of my favorite things about this track is how it has two vibes going on at once (atleast for me). The pounding drums get me really hyped and vamped up, while the instrumentation in the background is totally soothing. Thank you Stones Throw.
Buy Chrome Children.

Sia - Breathe Me (Ulrich Schnaus Remix)
One of the bonus tracks of Sia's solo album. The originals good but the two remixes I feel are better (the other's a Four Tet remix). Not too much to say here, it's just a cool track. Very cinimatic.
Buy the Colour and the Shape

Madvillain - Great Day (Four Tet Remix)
I've already talked about MF Doom a few times I think. Madvillainy is my favorite hip-hop album ever. This tracks not on there... Whatever. Madvillain's great. THis remix is great. Four Tet is cool. This song has one of my favorite Doom lines ever, just listen for it:
"Last wish, I wish I had two more wishes
And I wish they fix the door to the Matrix, its mad glitches
Spit so many verses sometime my jaw twitches
One thing this party could use is more *ahem*
Booze."
Buy Madvillainy

Daedelus - Something Bells (ft. Pigeon John and Busdriver)
This track is so nuts! I can't stop listening to it. Pigeon John and Busdrivers flows are so different but they work together like lemonade and summer... or other stuff that make the other really good. They go in and out so much you lose track of who's who. And the instrumental, don't even get me started. I have a hard time describing music, and this track's especially hard to capture, but I think that's a good thing. I guess I'd have to call it frantic, but maintained, whatever that means.
Buy Deny the Day's Demise

Caribou - Melody Day
I just heard about Caribou yesterday from my pla Justin, but I've already listened to this track a lot. He was hyped about this song Sunsesame, which I couldn't find, but I got this one and it's pretty great. Apparantly it came out this year... I'll check these guys out more, for sure, especially cause they're coming to town in October.
Buy Andorra

Also, Alex showed me this song by Honeyroot that I've been really getting into lately. Head over to his blog for it, it's really rea: bekindandremind.blogspot.com
That's all for today.

Local Music

2007-07-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

Happy one week anniversary! I made it this far, hopefully we'll be celebrating our annual anniversary. I don't see why not.
Today I was looking back at some of the songs I posted and realized they were all probably from guys you've heard of before. I really hoped I'd venture into unknown musical territories with this blog and introduce you to new music. So I'm going to talk about some music from Seattle that you may not know about. No Built to Spill or Death Cab or any of those big guys. I hope you like.

First up
BOAT: I was going to do this blog today on just BOAT because I love them so much and haven't been able to stop listening to them this past week. I saw them a week ago at the Vera Project for the release of their new CD "Let's Drag Our Feet!" and they were stellar (that's also where the picture at the top came from). Super poppy and catchy with loads of hooks in every song. I'm cathing them again at this years Capitol Hill Block Party (which you can expect a lengthy blog afterwards, on the festival with pictures and MP3's. Oo boy, I'm excited). Without further ado here are some songs:
Greasedip Hairlip
The Fercious Sounds of Lobsters and Snakes
Elephant Ears
Buy Let's Drag Our Feet!

Velella Velella: I saw them live at new years a few years back and downloaded what I could. I'll admit I haven't bought their CD yet. I probably should, cause they're really good. For the most part they're instrumental with dancey and ambient instrumentation and some of the coolest bass licks around. Live they have a gazillion intruments on stage and they're always passing things back and forth. They get some crazy sounds that I really dig.
Hey Cuz
Alex Boom Selector
Do Not Fold/Do Not Bend
Buy Bay of Biscay

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head: These guys have been getting a lot of hype around town for awhile. Another band I'm catching at this year's Capitol hill Block Party, and Bumbershoot for that matter. Goofy and dancey to the max. These guys bring the heat, their live shows are so fun. If you like fun and dancing (and who doesn't?) then you'll love these guys. It's pretty wierd actually, my brother and the guitarist, David Price, were really close friends in elemntary and middle school and we're still really good friends with their family, and I watch their hosue and dogs while the family's out of town. They just recently picked up a record deal and are working on a full length debut. Expect to hear about them soon, they are rising stars.
Unfortunately there's no where to buy their music right now, but here are some MP3's.
Beard Lust (Demo)
Doing Coke (Demo)
Sophisticated Side Ponytail (Demo)

Tiny Vipers: Not that familiar with her still, but I saw her awhile ago, and I'm seeing her again pretty soon. She plays really original music with just an acoustic guitar, but I wouldn't call her Singer-songwriter. Her songs have really big and vague themes that she says aren't personal. I always imagine mythology when I listen to her music, which is probably not what any of the songs are about, but to me that's waht my brain clicks to. Sub Pop just put out her debut which you can buy here. Here's some demos.
Shipwreck
They Might Follow You

On another note, I just got a new sidebar thing up of some of the other blogs that I read. You've probably heard of a few, but I really recomend Be Kind and Remind. It's my pla Alex's and we're both struggling for readers... I bet we have the exact same readers, but whatever. He advertised for me, so I thought I would return the favor. But besides him cool, his blog's really great also.

I hope I give you a cabby.

2007-07-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

What's a cabby? I know you're wondering that. It's a word we were trying to describe the feeling you get when you shiver, but it's a good kind of shiver. The kind of shiver you get after you it's really cold and you get in bed under a blanket and get all toasty, or, I always get babby's from really powerful songs that make me feel good. When people say "this song gives me the shivers" they're talking about a cabby! I hope you understand what I'm talking about.
So to stress my point furhter I'm going to post 6 songs that give me huuuuuge cabby's and explain how I feel when I listen to them so maybe you can come closer to understanding the wonderful feelings that come from cabby's.
Listen to these songs LOUD

Björk - Joga
This song is so huge. Björk probably gave me the most cabby's that I ever got at a show. Even though I was very very far back and couldn't see much the music was just so epic, I just got so many goosebumps. This song is questionably her best in my oppinion.
Buy Homogenic

Wolf Parade - I'll Believe Anything
One of my all time favorite songs. It's so loud and rambunctious, I always crank this song up when I'm alone in my room and march around screaming along to the words. Once the loud part kicks in that's when the cabby comes. When I'm on the bus and listening to my headphones I'm sure I get a few stares when I listen to this song, because it's just about impossible not to move when I listen to this song.
Buy Apologies to the Queen Mary

Pixies - Where is My Mind
I don't love the Pixies as much as a lot of people, but I still think they're pretty gosh darn good. I remember watching that Coachella documentary and when the Pixies stepped on and played this song. Evenn on DVD the effect on me was huge. Seeing a crowd full of people cooing "ooo-ooo". That is probably the greatest cabby I've ever experienced. I lay on my couch just laughing cause it was so good. It lasted almost the whole song! It was amazing.
Buy Surfer Rosa

Vast Aire and MF Doom - Super Friends (Edan Remix)
Oh I love me some Doom. MF Doom is easily one of my favorite MC's, up there with Gift of Gab and Lyrics Born. I actually haven't heard the original of this track, but I don't think it can be better than this remix. Edan's beat is just so great, it sounds a little jazzy but noisy and electronic.

The Cure - Mint Car
This is one of the happiest songs ever. Another song that makes me look wierd when I listen to my headphones because I usually start running and jumping with happiness.
Buy Galore

Zero 7 - Speed Dial no. 2
The melodies on this song are just perfect. I think a lot of people are nervous about Zero 7 because it's too poppy and seems like... I don't know any adult contemporary artists, but whatever, this song is great. as I said in my previous post, this whole album is amazing. Get it.
Buy When It Falls

Are you getting a cabby? Do you even know what I'm talking about anymore? If you have any further questions about cabby's just send me a comment and ask me about it.

July July!

2007-07-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

(Getting tomorrow's post done today)

Oh my gosh, if only you knew how hot it is here in Seattle. I know there are places that get this kind of heat almost every day of the year but for someone who doesn't spend much time in hot places and is used to the rain, this is really unbearable. I'm rolling around in my bed at night in a pool of sweat. Ugh.... But Summer does have it's peaks right? Of course!!! For one I don't have to go to school and I have no obligations (almost). Also I get to make summer playlists for myself and soak up the sun in ways that I see fit like walks to the library or bike rides or staying out until 10 o' clock without the sun setting (I know, that's ridiculous isn't it).

I know my blog's been pretty average and mediocre so far and not too original, I think that has something to do with the summer. Something about the summer makes me listen to lots of, what you call indie music. Normally I'm way more varied in my taste. I loooove hip-hop and I always considered myself pretty varied with my music taste which was the main reason I thought my blog would go over well, it would be a little different. So with this summer playlist I'm going to try and throw in some of my favorite "non-indie" songs (but it's pretty hard for me to make a summer playlist without the Long Winters, or the Decemberists, just cause).

Also I get to use this as a chance to premiere a brand new song by Benjamin Gibbard! It's a Beat Happening cover that was done for a soundtrack for a new Kurt Cobain documentary which you can read about here. It's called Indian Summer, and it just so happens to go perfectly with my playlist.

EDIT: I had to take down the Ben Gibbard track, by label's request.

1. The Long Winters - Pushover
2. The Decemberists - July, July (Live at Soho)
3. Ben Gibbard - Indian Summer
4. G. Love and Special Sauce - Making Amends
5. De La Soul - Eye Know
6. Presidents of the United States of America - Love Delicatessen
7. CSS - Pretend We're Dead (L7 Cover)
8. BOAT - (I'm a) Donkey for Your Love
9. Sparklehorse - Some Sweet Day
10. Antony and the Johnsons - For Today I'm a Boy

Buy BOAT'S cd and support northwest talent.

Man, that just screams summer to me. Now go load these on your iPod and get tan!

Song Feature: Somersault

2007-07-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today I want to share another of my favorite songs ever. I thought this would make a neat feature, every now and again I'll feature an album or a song. Today it's Somersault by Zero 7.
I love When it Falls, it's one of my favorite albums. It establishes such a relaxed mood and really acts as an escape. This song is the big hit from the album, but for good reason.
If you're unfamiliar with Zero 7 or Sia Furler then this is your chance to find out what you're missing. Sia's voiceis so mezmerizingly good and perfect. She knows when to do exactly what. Her solo stuff is pretty good but when backed by Zero 7 she's unstoppable.

I'm going to offer up 4 different versions of the song today. All these different versions make me love the song even more because it feels like the song is endless. Each version is incredibly different and just as good. I hope you enjoy.

(sorry the Danger Mouse remix isn't the best quality. I bought it on iTunes so I can't share without you logging into my account, but it's worth buying so I recomend you do so)

Somersault (Original)

Somersault (Danger Mouse Remix ft. MF Doom)

Somersault (Hot Chip Remix)

Somersault (Acoustic, Live at KEXP)

Wednsday Rarities

2007-07-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not feeling so creative today so I figure I'll start this idea off... I just post not so common songs that I've collected over the years, and I'll do this every Wednsday. Stuff like covers, b-sides, live cuts and bootlegs, whatever I think is really cool and a little hard to find. This week I'll do an easy theme, covers!
Everyone loves covers, atleast I think they do. I do.

David Bazan - Waitin' for a Superman
It's simple and it's great. I've been listening to this a lot lately. Even if it's not the best take, or recording, I think that adds something to it. The way David's whistle sort of dies, and when he messes up the words, it adds a certain likability to the song. Like he's struggling to get through it. This song is great to fall sleep to.

Ben Gibbard - 26 is Too Soon (Kind of Like Spitting)
From a show Gibbard and Barnett did back in 2001. The whole show is great, you could probably find it somewhere online. Check hypemachine, it's worth it. My favorite part about this track is hearing the two at the end talk about the song with that cliche "no your version is much better" "no yours is". I would kill to go to that show, but back in 2001... jeez I don't even know what I was doing.

Flaming Lips and Cat Power - War Pigs (Black Sabbath)
umm... well I think it's pretty obvious why this one's really cool. War Pigs is a rad song, weather you admit it or not. And Cat Power is cool. This is live at Austin City Limits somewhere. You can find it on youtube somewhere if you desire the video.

Cocorosie - Ohio (Damien Jurado)
I love both of these artists to death. I was so excited when I saw this existed, and it's just as awesome as I thought it would be. The two are not exactly similar artists and I wouldn't have guessed Sierra and Bianca were fans of Damien, but they're pretty unpredictable.

Junip - The Ghost of Tom Joad (Bruce Springsteen)
I love Jose Gonzalez, and I haven't heard much of this side project but this track... ugh I'm tired of trying to describe songs. Just take the MP3's and be happy!

Buy Junip's "Black Refuge" EP

Also, I want to thank Dianna for making me a new banner that's way cooler than the one I made. She's quite a cool cat and is pretty good with a camera. Check her out: aphotyx.org

Connect the Dots: Xiu Xiu to Harvey Danger

2007-07-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

So notice anything different? A new banner?
Yes! I made it. Do you like it? I do.
So here's a game I thought I'd try out. I'll connect a band that are considerably different to another band through collaborations, or things along those lines. Like that movie game where you connect actors by films they were in with other actors. I'm sure this has already been done but whatever, I'm giving you MP3's so be quiet.
So we'll start with Xiu Xiu, and end with Harvey Danger. But in the future how about I accept challenges, but it has to be possible. Don't name Beyonce and Yacht cause I'm pretty sure that's impossible. Think one through and send it in the comments and I'll do it next time I do this, with MP3's.
So here's the first one:

Xiu Xiu - Ceremony (New Order Cover)

Sunset Rubdown - Appistat Commander
Appistat Commander is a Xiu Xiu song which Sunset Rubdown played for their cover and remix album, which that New Order cover also appeared on. They also toured together and are kind of friends I think.

Wolf Parade - Disco Sheets
Spencer Krug is in Sunset Rubdown and Wolf Parade.

Hot Hot Heat - Bandages (The only hot hot heat song i like)
Dante DeCaro joined Wolf Parade after quitting the Hot Hot Heat.

Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticsm
Death Cab's Chris Walla produced the Hot Hot Heat's EP Knock Knock Knock

Harvey Danger - This is the Thrilling Conversation You've Been Waiting For
Sean Nelson sings on that Transatlanticsm track, and Ben Gibbard sings on this song.

+
Buy Transatlanticsm, one of my favorite albums of all time.

Wooooooah, 6 degrees of seperation, I didn't even think that out intentionally. OK so new rule, it has to be at most 6 degrees of spereation away.
Send me your ideas, but warning, I'll probably get stumped easily so send me something a little easier.

My hands are blue!

2007-07-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

So the other day I was tie dying with some friends (which is tough! let me tell you.) Well I walked away with blue hands from the dye and it doesn't come off that easy. Also I may have ruined one of my favorite shirts and stained my pants. But whatever cause now I've got a sweet shirt and some ugly orange socks that look more like an out of control foot fungus than tie dye. Without furthur ado, here are some songs that help me cope with this new found blueness.

Alexi Murdoch - Blue Mind

Kind of Like Spiting - Blue Period

White Stripes - Blue Orchid

TV on the Radio - Blues from Down Here (live on KEXP)

There's only so much time you could waste on me.

2007-07-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Howdy! Welcome to the first post on my third blog attempt. This one I'm going to be pretty serious about, I'm pretty sure. It should be great! I've got everything a blog needs (not to toot my own horn). The only reason I didn't do this before was I didn't want to throw down money on file hosting. I think I've found a free solution (hotfilelinks.com (thank you Alex)).
A little about me, so you can get an idea of what'll be here. I live in Seattle.... man this sounds dumb. I'm actually not going to talk about me.
So I can't really tell you what to expect, I'll post songs and talk about music. Shows I go to, interesting stuff that happened... Expect hard work though! Just stay tuned.

Today I'll start with one of my favorite songs ever. My posts in future will be... umm i can't really think of a word for it, except better. This is just me warming up with posting.

Kind of Like Spitting - Birds of a Feather
I heard about them while browsing www.barsuk.com and knew Ben Gibbard was kind of a fan (Turns out a bit more than just a fan but friend and collaborator). Ben Barnett has such a raw style of songwriting it's a bit tough to swallow sometimes. It's the kind of music that needs your full attention (which is my favorite kind). KOLS's guitar licks are so ridiculous, they sound so easy and simple which is incredible because they're complicated and extremely difficult on guitar.
This song especially showcases a lot of my favorite things about KOLS. The guitar, the lyrics, Ben's voice... Solid, rough and beautiful. But not for everyone, I haven't got many friends into them, but I strongly recomend them to you if you like this track. Or if you know them, awesome, you've probably been into them longer than I have.
Unfortunately Ben's no longer music. He also played in the Thermals for awhile and lots of other bands but hasn't made anything since 2006's Thrill of the Hunt. I hope to hear something new soon, or just a reunion show.

Here's a link to buy one of my favorite albums.

For future refernce, comments of any sort are good. If you read I'd love to hear everything or anything you think. Just write me something.