http://hearsay.alphaquam.com don't you think that if we knew how we would have already? Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:06:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I was really disappointed to hear last night that Mark Linkous, the man behind Sparklehorse took his life yesterday. Although it was always the band name I was always least proud to mention that I was a fan of, his music was diverse and engaging, often delicate but not depressing. Sparklehorse easily eclipsed their start as a Cracker offshoot, and It's A Wonderful Life is a perfect album that I could listen to for days on end. Oh, I also learned the word "fecund" from one of his lyrics.]]> http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2010/03/07/shit/ I'm not sure exactly what's going on in this mix... that it starts off with electronica, get's kinda folksy before finishing on some southern soul. Washed Out makes a second appearance in a row, this month for their remix of Small Black, a band that had just hit my radar a couple months back on a completely different level. They're on tour together and I suspect this remix speaks to what a good pairing the two will be. I guess I'm dyslexic because I almost accidentally went to a Wavves show last week before realizing that I had their names mixed up. I'm excited for the March 26th Washed Out/Small Black show in L.A.]]> http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2010/03/01/march-2010-mix/ Pete & The Pirates, Tommy Sanders’ other outlet when he isn't Tap Tap, just released a couple of live Take Away Show-style performances from Austria for They Shoot Music Don't They. They do 2 songs, "Blood Gets Thin," a haunting b-side from a 2009 single, and "Mr. Understanding," from their full-length, Little Death. I was excited to see these because I really had very little hint at what the band looked like from liner notes and their lack of U.S. touring, but through the magic of youtube related videos, I'm now looking and realizing that they have a whole bunch of videos online for me to go through. I'm on it.]]> http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2010/02/28/from-the-vault/ "Read the shirt: pro-motor." Marv Won released his debut, Wayne Fontes Music last month, which finally makes available hearsay favorite "Stomp." "Totally Awesome" is the latest video from the album, and is named after the gem of a Tracy Morgan sample from a movie of the same name that kicks off the track. Rio Data and Marv Won pepper the song with wit to rival Ricky Gervais at a Palin family gathering. And the cartoonish antics of Nathaniel Hall and Che Patterson's video play off the insanity of Big Tone's beat. It may have been straight-to-video, but being a Tracy Morgan and Half-Baked fan, Totally Awesome went straight to the top of my rental list.]]> http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2010/02/14/totally-awesome/ What a good month for new releases January was, and at the top of my list are Beach House's Teen Dream and Laura Veirs' July Flame, both of which are included on this mix. I'm glad the Beach House album has gotten such a good response, I think it is entirely well deserved and no song depicts how amazing it is better than album closer, "Take Care." The song is simultaneously simple and complex, layered with orchestration in a way that simultaneously recalls the 50s and 80s while feeling out-of-place enough that it is very 'now.' As always, I am constantly thrown off by Victoria Legrand's sultry but detached voice, which reaches maybe an album-wide apex as she sings, "I'll take care of you / If you ask me to / In a year or two."]]> http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2010/02/01/february-2010-mix/ I'm excited for a new year, and I'll let my anticipated list speak for itself in terms of my optimism for the year. This month starts of with post-Ima Robot band, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, who made it onto my best of the year list as well. "40 Day Dream" has probably the most Ima Robot feel of any of the tracks from their debut, Up From Below, which is probably why it is, nostalgically, one of my favorites. Surfer Blood was another 2009 favorite that never made it onto a mix until this one. Beach House sounds amazing, and I'm glad that I only have a few more weeks here to wait for the album.]]> http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2010/01/03/january-2010-mix/ http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2010/01/01/most-anticipated-2010/ http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2009/12/31/favorite-albums-2009/ http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2009/12/30/favorite-songs-2009/ http://hearsay.alphaquam.com/2009/12/29/favorite-videos-2009/