The Capitol Hill Block Party Post: DAY 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.