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Archives
Cold War Kids : Mercury Lounge
Posted on Sunday 30 July 2006
Whoops. Despite all the blogging on the Cold War Kids, including this site, I’ve only managed to give them a cursury listen. I guess something sunk in and I decided to check out their live show Friday night at the Mercury Lounge. Um…They were fucking awesome. Every song. They played with amazing energy, and I can’t believe these guys were opening for Sound Team, whose set paled in comparison. If you’ve been as stupid as me and ignored these guys as long as I have, I implore you to buy their ep’s and catch them at a small venue while you still have a chance!
you already know how this will end
Posted on Friday 28 July 2006
This brings me to DeVotchKa, a band that I am late on, and I think its a result of the sort of mentality that Will is getting at. I first heard of DeVotchKa in 2004 around the time that How It Ends was released. I didn’t really pay attention, probably because the Russian word isn’t really that alluring to me outside of A Clockwork Orange. I finally gave them a chance on the KEXP podcast from CMJ last year, mostly because they were piggybacked with Rogue Wave. Again, it didn’t really catch and I again disposed of them. But between them playing “How It Ends” on that and it also being featured in the trailer to Everything Is Illuminated, it started to creep into my subconscious. When the song reappeared in Little Miss Sunshine, I finally gave it its proper due and my full attention.
i’ve been waiting for this moment
Posted on Wednesday 26 July 2006
Now to come clean, I’m relatively new to Los Angeles. I moved here a little over a year ago and the Silversun Pickups will always have a special place in my heart. I guess I make a unique association between the band the city, mostly for the way in which their buzz seemed to blossom in the formative months (isn’t that cute?) of my stay here. They played a residency in August of last year at Spaceland. Now I knew pretty much nothing of them, but a friend of mine was curious about them and Freed had heard of them but not gotten around to checking them out. The band generously offered up spots on their guest list to me for a couple of the shows, and the whole thing just came off as too good to be true.
salud
Posted on Monday 24 July 2006
01 Intro
02 AC Newman – Miracle Drug
03 Ted Leo & the Phramacists – Parallel Or Together
04 Sebadoh – On Fire
05 Dirty On Purpose – Mind Blindness
06 Chin Up Chin Up – Falcons And Vulcans
07 Blonde Redhead – In Particular
08 VHS Or Beta – Alive
09 Les Savy Fav – Asleepers Union
10 The Constantines – Poison
11 Frank Black and the Catholics – Everything Is New
12 Rogue Wave – Every Moment
13 The Hold Steady – Multitude Of Casualties
14 Grand National – Drink To Moving On
15 Felix Da Housecat – Ready To Wear
16 Ambulance Ltd – Anecdote
17 Havergal – Drowned Men
18 Stephen Malkmus – Deado
19 The Natural History – Dance Steps
20 Modest Mouse – Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset
shaking me, i’m shaking too
Posted on Friday 21 July 2006
I remember growing up in New York there was this one weekly music video show on public access, I think it was called Underground Railroad or something to that effect. I don’t know what their connections were that they had access to all these otherwise unseen videos from indie acts, but that was my introduction to a lot of videos I would probably not have seen otherwise. One of my favorites was Portastatic’s tribute to Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime.” If you watch them side by side, give the Talking Heads about a 6 second start.
you slipped into my dream
Posted on Wednesday 19 July 2006
The label just released an album from Tap Tap, which has been similarly plugged, but that has me hooked this time. The opener, “100,000 Thoughts” is the standout. In voice it sounds like “In This Home On Ice” or demos from Alec Ounsworth, but it has a folksyness that reminds me of the recently hyped Beirut, while the pace and use of handclaps is akin to Broken Social Scene‘s “Stars and Sons.” Basically its awesome, and you should listen to it right now.
keep it amazed
Posted on Tuesday 18 July 2006
Right off the bat, Two Thousand grabs you, spotlighting drums over guitar on “So Far We Are.” Its incredibly catchy, and although the stutter-step of the drums during the chorus threw me for a loop at first, it shifts up what would otherwise be probably the most straightforward track on the album. The third track, “Cloche,” is grounded by trademark vocals by Nick Stumpf that would not be out of place on the band’s first album, One Time Bells. But in true form, the French Kicks continue to explore different layouts, instrumentation and themes. Built around a guitar line that sounds like it was culled from the introduction of a traditional Hawaiian song, it comes together as a mature follow up to Trial‘s “Oh Fine.”
just about my favorite thing ever
Posted on Thursday 13 July 2006
Modest Mouse – Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
French Kicks
Posted on Tuesday 11 July 2006
The French Kicks have put up a microsite for their soon to be released 3rd LP “Two Thousand”. Although I didn’t pencil these guys in for my ‘most anticipated’ list this year, after hearing the 3 song teaser they’ve posted, I am very eager to hear the entire record. Since their Young Lawyer ep released way back in 2000, the band has continued to improve and evolve. Their revised bio on the microsite states that they’ve lost original member Matt Stinchcomb and wrote the new album using new songwriting and instrumentation techniques. The result is still undeniably French Kicks, with their complex arrangements and strong sense of melody.
biting our style
Posted on Tuesday 11 July 2006
Yesterday Pitchfork debuted a new “mixtape” section on their website (here), presumably an attempt to continue to grow in an area that music blogs have become popular for. Now I’m joking with the post title; by no means are we original in having mixes on the site; but in honor of the growing culture of mixes (a central focus of this site), I wanted to start posting some throwback mixes. I’ll start with Mick’s hearsay 06, which has so far been one of my favorites.
01 Bill Monroe – Banjo and the Holler
02 Sufjan Stevens – For the Widows of Paradise
03 Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger – City of New Orleans
04 Lester Flatt – Martha White
05 Mojave 3 – Prayer for the Paranoid
06 Damien Jurado – Ohio
07 Willie Nelson – Always on My Mind
08 Glenn Campbell – Gentle on My Mind
09 Iron & Wine – Love Vigilantes
10 John Print & Iris DeMent – In Spite of Ourselves
11 The Magnetic Fields – The One You Really Love
12 Tansfiguration of Vincent – Dead Man
13 Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
14 David Rawlings and Gillian Welch – Miners Prayer
15 The Dillards – Rocky Top Tennessee
16 Woody Guthrie – Talking Fish Blues
17 Sufjan Stevens – Vito’s Ordination Song (acoustic)
18 Calexico and Iron & Wine – Dead Man’s Will
19 Bob Dylan – He Was A Friend of Mine
20 Gillian Welch – I Had a Real Good Mother and Father