Tonight in Music: Esperanza Spalding, Craft Spells, and Fred Thomas
Aug 23, 2011, 5:35pm
End Hits
End Hits
Artist: Fred Thomas
Found 23 posts matching Fred Thomas:
ESPERANZA SPALDING ( Gerding Theater at the Armory , 128 NW 11th) Despite the shrill cries and tear-streaked cheeks of Bieberites the world over, the great Esperanza Spalding took home the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2010. Once a fledging musical prodigy in Noise for Pretend, Spalding has become one of the biggest names in jazz and can count the president of the United States as one of her biggest fans. Not bad for a kid from Northeast Portland. EZRA ACE CARAEFF CRAFT [...]
Fred Thomas has a thing about the season. While in garage-pop torchbearers Saturday Looks Good to Me, he titled an album All Your Summer Songs , after all. The prolific Michigan musician's latest project, Swimsuit, yearns as usual for warm weather and sandy shores, giving his latest songs the sort of urgency that California kings of the beach may never understand. The band's self-titled new album is full of sweet melodies turned bitter by ragged vocals and major chords and surf guitar leads played a touch too fast. In that sense, it's a darker effort than last year's largely [...]
De zomer lijkt in ons land maar niet los te willen barsten. Misschien stijgen de temperaturen als we allemaal het Swimsuit album gaan draaien. Swimsuit maakt heerlijk zomerse surf- pop. Op het debuut van Swimsuit hoor je tien heerlijke songs die geïnspireerd zijn door 60's pop, surf en rock'n'roll. Een groot deel van het album is instrumentaal, maar regelmatig duiken Dina Bankole, Amber Fellowsen Shelly Salant op voor de vocalen. Het debuut van Swimsuit kun je beluisteren en bestellen via Bandcamp . Het genie achter Swimsuit is Fred Thomas. Thomas is de man van [...]
City Center — Teardrop Children I've been keeping it neatly under wraps, but City Center 's Redeemer (out now on K Records ) has been slowly and methodically killin' me these last few days. These guys have never gotten a fair shake when it comes to critical lauds, but not for lack of quality material; their self-titled debut on Type was a palatable (if uneven) blend of hazy pop fragments, and [...]
I'm a few months late to this party, but apparently Fred Thomas—the creative mind behind the excellent Saturday Looks Good To Me —released a record with singer Betty Marie Barnes as the Mighty Clouds . The duo's self-titled LP is out now on Polyvinyl and contains Thomas's unabashedly poppy approach to songwriting along with an assortment of 60s-tinged vocal melodies, which Barnes fills out beautifully with her bright tone. If Thomas's songs are the mashed potatoes, Barnes' voice is the gravy on top that enriches everything below. Grab the album digitally via Bandcamp or on vinyl [...]
Mighty Clouds' 2010 self-titled debut, which one again teamed Saturday Looks Good To Me's Fred Thomas and Betty Marie Barnes, continues to rise unbidden to the top of my iPod. It's an utterly lovable collection of mid-fi pop crafted by one of the genre's most underrated teams. If you missed it last year, the band will be repressing the vinyl for Record Store Day on April 16 - and in even better news, a number of rare/out-of-print Thomas-related albums have just been made available digitally . I suggest starting with Thomas' solo set Everything is Pretty Much Totally [...]
Hoe zou het toch zijn met Saturday Looks Good To Me , vroeg ik me laatst af. Tja, met dat soort vragen komen wel 'ns bij mij op. Fill Up The Room, het meest recente album van de band, is alweer drie jaar oud. Fred Thomas, de man achter SLGTM, houdt ook een weblog bij en daar lees ik dat de band min of meer uit elkaar is. Jammer. Thomas is een man die niet stil kan zitten en hij bracht sinds 2007 een aardige hoeveelheid materiaal uit, waaronder wat solowerk. Onlangs bracht hij samen met [...]
Tonight is a big day for music here in Brooklyn, and even though I haven't had great internet access over the past couple weeks I still need to let you know what is going on! Death By Audio has a killer show happening with two of my favorite up and coming acts. First is Swimsuit , a new band that features the one and only Fred Thomas and friends, making sweet surf pop. Their debut cassette was pressed in an edition of 100 [...]
In the day of digital photography concert reviews, and photos typically come the next day, but over here at the Great Pumpkin I move at a slower pace...and it's not because I'm lazy, but more due to the fact that my pictures come from a film canister. City Center played the first show of their US tour on March 29th at Death By Audio ( Love of Everything was there too, and there will be photos and video of them to come), and while this was only my third [...]
City Center is a band that I have been a fan of almost since they began. I've been following this project of Fred Thomas and Ryan Howard pretty closely not only because of their past projects, but more the fact that they have been posting free mp3s, live sets, and more on their blog non-stop since they started. As City Center they have released a handful of 73s, an LP, at least one tape, and now this beautiful 123 on Quite Scientific Records . This is one of the most [...]
Here in New York all we are getting is snow, but it seems like it's summertime in Michigan, or at least people are wearing their swimsuits. Fred Thomas, of City Center , has teamed up with his friends Shelley, Dina (who also plays in Secret Twins, among others) and Amber (formerly of Dos Hermanos, among others) h to form Swimsuit . The first thing I read about Swimsuit was: "Did you ever watch that show Kids In The Hall? Remember the theme song? All of our songs sound like that. [...]
Fred Thomas does a lot of rad things. He was in Saturday Looks Good To Me. He is currently in City Center. He produced Silk Flowers and has released dozens of CD-Rs, cassettes and 7"s. Fred just got a little radder with the release of a digital download titled Night Times . On the City Center blog , Fred apologized for the lack of solo material. He and Ryan Howard, the second half of City Center, have been hard at work completi...
![Fred Thomas: Flood [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1953709_lg.jpg)
Directly upon the heels of two stellar releases, Every Scene Needs A Center by Tullycraft and Daughters And Suns by The Owls, Magic Marker Records treats us to a bit of a surprise. Where the label's typical release is inundated with pop and twee, Fred Thomas ' Flood can almost be considered experimental folk, or even freak folk. Learning Thomas' history in pop will help the listener understand this release and its home on Magic Marker. [...]
I was a little embarrassed to review this record a little late in the game (by music blog terms). Fred Thomas' solo project City Center has been long-championed by music blogs I trust, such as Raven Sings the Blues and Forest Gospel . Shit, I even like his other band, the retro kitsch Saturday Looks Good to Me. So I have no excuse, other than being a mediocre blogger. My life is average. City Center is a sample-based, blissed-out psychedelic entity - much like, well, Panda Bear and Lotus Plaza. While the aforementioned [...]
Ladies and gentlerawkers, unlike Lil Wayne, I am not ballin' through the recession. Despite the ad (and I use that term loosely these days) at the top of this site, we're at best breaking even on hosting and associated costs this year. With that in mind, I'm going to once again respectfully beg you for a bail-out, but I'm not asking for a freebie: For a suggested donation of $ 5 , you'll get a personal e-mail from yours truly thanking you for your patronage and initiating the beginning of a beautiful friendship. For a suggested [...]
Calvin Johnson, former Beat Happening front man and K Records head honcho, is going on tour with his brand new band, The Hive Dwellers. The tour will kick off on April 14 with K newbies Chain and the Gang, featuring Ian Svenious (Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, etc.) Interestingly, aside from the front men, the two groups will consist of the same members — Bret Lyman (Bad Thoughts), Brian Weber (Dub Narcotic Sound System), Sarah Pedal, and Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, City Center). - Jon Lorenz [...]
Fred Thomas has been busy plodding along, working on his latest project City Center alongside collaborator Ryan Howard. In the process, he is taking a step away from the sound of his pop-rock days with Saturday Looks Good to Me and creating a new, more ambient sound full of tornado-like loops and airy vocals. They've deemed themselves as healing and easy-listening on their MySpace and if you are into the sound of Grizzly Bear you might just find the low [...]
[Local! Music! Friday!] Tell me...what is this Local Music Fridays? Fred Thomas is super nice, super talented and super prolific. I have a great memory of the first time I met him in Encore. I traded him a Bob Dylan pin for a Flashpapr record. Good times. Fred also used to work at the best store in Ann Arbor circa 2001 and that store was Boss Guitars. Remember? Fred has lots of other projects, including City Center and [...]
Review: Swimsuit – 'Swimsuit'
Jul 20, 2011, 11:00am
The Rawking Refuses To Stop!
The Rawking Refuses To Stop!
Fred Thomas has a thing about the season. While in garage-pop torchbearers Saturday Looks Good to Me, he titled an album All Your Summer Songs , after all. The prolific Michigan musician's latest project, Swimsuit, yearns as usual for warm weather and sandy shores, giving his latest songs the sort of urgency that California kings of the beach may never understand. The band's self-titled new album is full of sweet melodies turned bitter by ragged vocals and major chords and surf guitar leads played a touch too fast. In that sense, it's a darker effort than last year's largely [...]
Artist: Swimsuit Title: Sunlight Link Text: mp3 File Name: Swimsuit-Sunlight.mp3
Met Swimsuit kan de zomer echt beginnen.
Jul 8, 2011, 5:58pm
Ketelmuziek
Ketelmuziek
De zomer lijkt in ons land maar niet los te willen barsten. Misschien stijgen de temperaturen als we allemaal het Swimsuit album gaan draaien. Swimsuit maakt heerlijk zomerse surf- pop. Op het debuut van Swimsuit hoor je tien heerlijke songs die geïnspireerd zijn door 60's pop, surf en rock'n'roll. Een groot deel van het album is instrumentaal, maar regelmatig duiken Dina Bankole, Amber Fellowsen Shelly Salant op voor de vocalen. Het debuut van Swimsuit kun je beluisteren en bestellen via Bandcamp . Het genie achter Swimsuit is Fred Thomas. Thomas is de man van [...]
Artist: Swimsuit Title: Sunlight Link Text: Swimsuit - Sunlight File Name: Swimsuit-Sunlight.mp3 Bitrate: 320 kbps Genre: Pop Year: 2011
City Center — Teardrop Children
May 19, 2011, 11:06pm
Boy Attractions
Boy Attractions
City Center — Teardrop Children I've been keeping it neatly under wraps, but City Center 's Redeemer (out now on K Records ) has been slowly and methodically killin' me these last few days. These guys have never gotten a fair shake when it comes to critical lauds, but not for lack of quality material; their self-titled debut on Type was a palatable (if uneven) blend of hazy pop fragments, and [...]
Artist: City Center Title: Teardrop Children Link Text: mp3 File Name: 6lufzmjd8l.mp3 Genre: Rock Year: 2011
Mighty Clouds - "Spell It Out"
Mar 18, 2011, 2:45pm
Everybody Taste
Everybody Taste
I'm a few months late to this party, but apparently Fred Thomas—the creative mind behind the excellent Saturday Looks Good To Me —released a record with singer Betty Marie Barnes as the Mighty Clouds . The duo's self-titled LP is out now on Polyvinyl and contains Thomas's unabashedly poppy approach to songwriting along with an assortment of 60s-tinged vocal melodies, which Barnes fills out beautifully with her bright tone. If Thomas's songs are the mashed potatoes, Barnes' voice is the gravy on top that enriches everything below. Grab the album digitally via Bandcamp or on vinyl [...]
Artist: Mighty Clouds Title: Spell It Out Link Text: "Spell It Out" File Name: 6zyhs1rdzg.mp3
Mighty Clouds prepping Record Store Day, back catalog reissues
Feb 8, 2011, 1:30pm The Rawking Refuses To Stop!
The Rawking Refuses To Stop!
Mighty Clouds' 2010 self-titled debut, which one again teamed Saturday Looks Good To Me's Fred Thomas and Betty Marie Barnes, continues to rise unbidden to the top of my iPod. It's an utterly lovable collection of mid-fi pop crafted by one of the genre's most underrated teams. If you missed it last year, the band will be repressing the vinyl for Record Store Day on April 16 - and in even better news, a number of rare/out-of-print Thomas-related albums have just been made available digitally . I suggest starting with Thomas' solo set Everything is Pretty Much Totally [...]
Artist: Mighty Clouds Title: Stay Single Link Text: mp3 File Name: Mighty_Clouds-Stay_Single.mp3 Bitrate: 320 kbps Year: 2010
Fred Thomas doet het weer met Betty Marie Barnes.
Nov 18, 2010, 3:48pm Ketelmuziek
Ketelmuziek
Hoe zou het toch zijn met Saturday Looks Good To Me , vroeg ik me laatst af. Tja, met dat soort vragen komen wel 'ns bij mij op. Fill Up The Room, het meest recente album van de band, is alweer drie jaar oud. Fred Thomas, de man achter SLGTM, houdt ook een weblog bij en daar lees ik dat de band min of meer uit elkaar is. Jammer. Thomas is een man die niet stil kan zitten en hij bracht sinds 2007 een aardige hoeveelheid materiaal uit, waaronder wat solowerk. Onlangs bracht hij samen met [...]
Artist: Mighty Clouds Title: Past Lives Link Text: Mighty Clouds - Past Lives File Name: MightyClouds-PastLives.mp3 Bitrate: 320 kbps Year: 2010
evaporation
Jul 30, 2010, 8:21am
the great pumpkin
the great pumpkin
Tonight is a big day for music here in Brooklyn, and even though I haven't had great internet access over the past couple weeks I still need to let you know what is going on! Death By Audio has a killer show happening with two of my favorite up and coming acts. First is Swimsuit , a new band that features the one and only Fred Thomas and friends, making sweet surf pop. Their debut cassette was pressed in an edition of 100 [...]
Artist: Ducktails Title: MIRROR IMAGE Link Text: Ducktails- Mirror Image File Name: ducktails.MIRRORIMAGE.mp3 Bitrate: 160 kbps
Artist: Julian Lynch Title: Time After Time mp3 Link Text: Julian Lynch- Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper Cover) File Name: JulianLynch-TimeAfterTime.mp3 Bitrate: 160 kbps Year: 2009
Artist: Swimsuit Link Text: Swimsuit- Evaporation File Name: Swimsuit-Evaporation.mp3
in the heart of the city (city center live at death by audio)
Apr 22, 2010, 1:26pm the great pumpkin
the great pumpkin
In the day of digital photography concert reviews, and photos typically come the next day, but over here at the Great Pumpkin I move at a slower pace...and it's not because I'm lazy, but more due to the fact that my pictures come from a film canister. City Center played the first show of their US tour on March 29th at Death By Audio ( Love of Everything was there too, and there will be photos and video of them to come), and while this was only my third [...]
- Obvious
- City Center - Daniel (Bat For Lashes cover)
- City Center - Girlfriend In A Coma
- City Center - This Is How We See In The Dark (First Version)
- City Center - Whitey Hands (High Places Remix)
Title: Obvious Link Text: City Center- Obvious File Name: CC-Obvious.mp3
Artist: City Center Title: Daniel (Bat For Lashes cover) Link Text: City Center- Daniel (Bat For Lashes cover) File Name: CC-Daniel.mp3 Bitrate: 160 kbps
Artist: City Center Title: Girlfriend In A Coma Link Text: City Center- Girlfriend in a Coma (Smiths cover) File Name: CC-GirlfriendInAComa.mp3
Artist: City Center Title: This Is How We See In The Dark (First Version) Link Text: City Center- This Is How We See& (1st Version) File Name: CC-ThisIsHow.mp3
Artist: City Center Title: Whitey Hands (High Places Remix) Link Text: City Center- Whitey Hands (High Places Remix) File Name: CC-WhiteyHands.mp3 Bitrate: 192 kbps
spring street // love of everything
Mar 29, 2010, 8:50am the great pumpkin
the great pumpkin
City Center is a band that I have been a fan of almost since they began. I've been following this project of Fred Thomas and Ryan Howard pretty closely not only because of their past projects, but more the fact that they have been posting free mp3s, live sets, and more on their blog non-stop since they started. As City Center they have released a handful of 73s, an LP, at least one tape, and now this beautiful 123 on Quite Scientific Records . This is one of the most [...]
Artist: City Center Title: Spring St. Link Text: City Center- Spring St. File Name: CityCenter-SpringSt.mp3
Artist: The Love of Everything Title: Proud By Looking Around Link Text: Love of Everything- Proud By Looking Around File Name: LoE-Proud.mp3 Bitrate: 160 kbps Year: 2005
swimsuit
Feb 26, 2010, 8:45am the great pumpkin
the great pumpkin
Here in New York all we are getting is snow, but it seems like it's summertime in Michigan, or at least people are wearing their swimsuits. Fred Thomas, of City Center , has teamed up with his friends Shelley, Dina (who also plays in Secret Twins, among others) and Amber (formerly of Dos Hermanos, among others) h to form Swimsuit . The first thing I read about Swimsuit was: "Did you ever watch that show Kids In The Hall? Remember the theme song? All of our songs sound like that. [...]
Artist: Swimsuit Title: Untitled New Jam Link Text: Swimsuit- Untitled New Jam (live in Ann Arbor) File Name: swimsuit-new-jam.mp3 Bitrate: 192 kbps Year: 2010
Fred Thomas,
Jan 12, 2010, 12:00am
Impose Magazine: Bytes
Impose Magazine: Bytes
Fred Thomas does a lot of rad things. He was in Saturday Looks Good To Me. He is currently in City Center. He produced Silk Flowers and has released dozens of CD-Rs, cassettes and 7"s. Fred just got a little radder with the release of a digital download titled Night Times . On the City Center blog , Fred apologized for the lack of solo material. He and Ryan Howard, the second half of City Center, have been hard at work completi...
Link Text: Fred Thomas, "Skeletons Join Hands" File Name: Fred-Thomas_Skeletons-Join-Han ds.mp3
Artist: Fred Thomas Title: Anything Link Text: Fred Thomas, "Anything" File Name: Fred-Thomas_Anything.mp3 Bitrate: 160 kbps Year: 2010
Fred Thomas: Flood [Album Review]
Aug 29, 2009, 11:00am
Fensepost
Fensepost
Directly upon the heels of two stellar releases, Every Scene Needs A Center by Tullycraft and Daughters And Suns by The Owls, Magic Marker Records treats us to a bit of a surprise. Where the label's typical release is inundated with pop and twee, Fred Thomas ' Flood can almost be considered experimental folk, or even freak folk. Learning Thomas' history in pop will help the listener understand this release and its home on Magic Marker. [...]
Artist: Fred Thomas Title: Last One Link Text: Fred Thomas: Last One [mp3] File Name: 090829-fred_thomas-last_one.mp 3 Bitrate: 128 kbps Year: 2007
City Center - Bleed Blood
Jul 28, 2009, 9:49am
See What You Hear.com
See What You Hear.comCity Center - Bleed Blood City Center - Summer School This one could be a special find. City Center is Ryan Howard and Fred Thomas (ex-Saturday Looks Good to Me), two prolific sound architects comparable to a quieter, more intricate Panda Bear. They have a slew of releases on CD-R, cassette and vinyl - many of which are out of print, but some are still available - and a great blog where they regularly post up tracks, photos and mixtapes. Both of these songs [...]
City Center – S/T
Jul 14, 2009, 1:15pm
The Decibel Tolls
The Decibel Tolls
I was a little embarrassed to review this record a little late in the game (by music blog terms). Fred Thomas' solo project City Center has been long-championed by music blogs I trust, such as Raven Sings the Blues and Forest Gospel . Shit, I even like his other band, the retro kitsch Saturday Looks Good to Me. So I have no excuse, other than being a mediocre blogger. My life is average. City Center is a sample-based, blissed-out psychedelic entity - much like, well, Panda Bear and Lotus Plaza. While the aforementioned [...]
Artist: City Center Title: Bleed Blood Link Text: City Center - Bleed Blood File Name: City_Center_-_Bleed_Blood.mp3 Bitrate: 255 kbps Year: 2009
Artist: City Center Title: Summer School Link Text: City Center - Summer School File Name: City_Center_-_Summer_School.mp 3 Bitrate: 266 kbps Year: 2009
Rawkblog Pledge Week '09: It's Very Stimulating
Jun 22, 2009, 11:00am The Rawking Refuses To Stop!
The Rawking Refuses To Stop!
Ladies and gentlerawkers, unlike Lil Wayne, I am not ballin' through the recession. Despite the ad (and I use that term loosely these days) at the top of this site, we're at best breaking even on hosting and associated costs this year. With that in mind, I'm going to once again respectfully beg you for a bail-out, but I'm not asking for a freebie: For a suggested donation of $ 5 , you'll get a personal e-mail from yours truly thanking you for your patronage and initiating the beginning of a beautiful friendship. For a suggested [...]
Artist: Fred Thomas Title: No Money Link Text: mp3 File Name: fred-nomoney.mp3 Bitrate: 181 kbps Year: 2007
Artist: Re-Up Gang (Clipse) Title: 20k Money Making Brothers on the Corner Link Text: mp3 File Name: clipse-20k.mp3 Bitrate: 192 kbps Year: 2008
More Cowbell presents…The Hive Dwellers, Chain & The Gang, Vampire Hands, Lucy Michelle, Mystery Palace @ Eclipse Records
Apr 29, 2009, 1:54pm
More Cowbell
More Cowbell
Calvin Johnson, former Beat Happening front man and K Records head honcho, is going on tour with his brand new band, The Hive Dwellers. The tour will kick off on April 14 with K newbies Chain and the Gang, featuring Ian Svenious (Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, etc.) Interestingly, aside from the front men, the two groups will consist of the same members — Bret Lyman (Bad Thoughts), Brian Weber (Dub Narcotic Sound System), Sarah Pedal, and Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, City Center). - Jon Lorenz [...]
City Center - "Young Diamond"
Apr 27, 2009, 2:04pm
The Tripwire
The Tripwire
Fred Thomas has been busy plodding along, working on his latest project City Center alongside collaborator Ryan Howard. In the process, he is taking a step away from the sound of his pop-rock days with Saturday Looks Good to Me and creating a new, more ambient sound full of tornado-like loops and airy vocals. They've deemed themselves as healing and easy-listening on their MySpace and if you are into the sound of Grizzly Bear you might just find the low [...]
The Singles Collection - Teenage Lovers, City Center, Jeffrey Novak
Apr 8, 2009, 12:55pm The Tripwire
The TripwireThe Singles Collection is contributor Jason Jackowiak's weekly column focusing on rare and essential 7″ releases. We gladly accept all types of 7″ for consideration. It's Easter week and we're back to business as usual 'round here at The Singles Collection. Hopefully you enjoyed last week's video sojourn into the realm of Sacred Bones , one of our favorite labels, but it's back to doing what we love around here, mainly, giving you the scoop on 45's that are currently rocking our world (and that we think will rock yours). [...]
Fred Thomas//Holland Tunnel
Oct 3, 2008, 4:57pm
One Sweet Song
One Sweet Song
[Local! Music! Friday!] Tell me...what is this Local Music Fridays? Fred Thomas is super nice, super talented and super prolific. I have a great memory of the first time I met him in Encore. I traded him a Bob Dylan pin for a Flashpapr record. Good times. Fred also used to work at the best store in Ann Arbor circa 2001 and that store was Boss Guitars. Remember? Fred has lots of other projects, including City Center and [...]
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