Welcome to day two of my favorite albums of the aughts. I should remind everyone that these are MY favorite albums of the past decade, which coincidentally means they might not be the same as yours. Compiling this list was an arduous task and honestly it could be different every single day depending on my mood. It just so happens that this is the final product of months of work and is what goes out on the internets for everyone to see. Anyways I hope you enjoy and maybe even stumble upon something you haven't heard in awhile. [...]
The Modern Skirts play three shows in our area this week. They'll be at Schubas in Chicago on November 18th , Mad Planet in Milwaukee on November 19th , and the Project Lodge in Madison on November 20th . Please take this chance to catch these guys live if you can. If you have not yet heard their fantastic 2008 release, All of Us in Our Night (that's the awesome album art above), please add it to your collection. You won't be disappointed. Speaking [...]
Over the summer, we revealed the details surrounding Norah Jones' fourth studio album The Fall. For her latest record, Jones has traded the piano for electric guitar - an instrument she's no stranger to having strapped one on for more than one of her many side projects over the past few years. Jones is backed in the studio by an interesting and eclectic batch of musicians that includes Marc Ribot & Smokey Hormel. The album drops tomorrow. In addition to her longtime collaborator [...]
The third installment of A Retrospective, this time the focus is on 2002. The year of rebuilding, so to speak. It was the year I discovered Cider Jack (and did so plentifully) at the local Pullman bar Rico's, and we all would rehearse Bill Brasky skits (from the SNL spots, and made up on the spot) as twenty feet away the university jazz combo performed excellent renditions of Van Morrison's "Moondance" and various Motown favorites. As we see every year, 2002 saw several real great releases. Here are my favorites. [...]
For our second edition of Thursday One-Hitter, we employ the Austin-based indie-rockers Okkervil River . I've been a big fan of theirs since I found 2007's The Stage Names and subsequently discovered the band's earlier material. Last year, Okkervil River released The Stand-Ins, the follow-up and stylistic sequel to their 2007 disc. The final track on The Stage Names made a huge impact on me from the first time I heard it - and more every time since. What begins as a twisted retelling of [...]
Originally, the purpose for The Midnight Rambles at Levon Helm's Woodstock home-recording studio - otherwise referred to as The Barn - was to serve as a way for the legendary drummer of The Band to recoup money from his mounting medical bills after battling and overcoming throat cancer. Helm's iconic and unmistakable voice was down to barely a raspy whisper after radiation treatments which forced him into resting his vocal chords. While he had to rely on his capable band to provide the vocals, Helm was able to return to [...]
Filed under: New Music Norah Jones gets more interesting with every record. Two years ago she released 'Not Too Late,' a sometimes sparse and subtle collection which still sold like the proverbial hotcakes. It included the spine-tingling 'Wish I Could', a song which carried a gothic chill you wouldn't normally associate with Grammy-winning, Amazon-record-setting jazz artists. Well, that was just for starters. Autumn's closing in and Jones' latest, 'The Fall,' comes blowing in on an icy wind. For this, her fourth record, she has decided to make things [...]
With Norah Jones' The Fall , there may be a few more guitars and drums tossed into the mix this time around in the place of her piano, but this is still music that attempts to resonate without ever getting in your face.
Vulture Whale, if you don't know, are an incredible grungy Americana group. They're dirty, obnoxious, loud, and amazingly talented. Their self-titled debut is one of the best albums of the year. And their new EP, Bambou You, is free! That's right, free! Go here to get it. You won't regret it! Plam! I Love You ( alt link) BONUS AMERICANISH COVERS! Hey Hey What Can I Do? (Led Zep cover)-Hold Steady ( alt link ) [...]
This was the greatest decade of music for me as a fan. There were so many incredible albums, almost all by bands I'd never even heard of in 2000, discovered almost entirely through the same musical venue that you are reading write now -- the Internet. At the dawn of the decade, I was approaching a rock fan milestone that presumably signaled the end of my interest in cool new music (I turned 30 in 2001), while at the same time, the rock music industry (ie. whatever they played on the radio) had devolved into a hybrid of cheap rap-rock [...]
Jeremy from Fingertips joins us each month as he scours the betterPropaganda archives, highlighting gems buried a few years back in our database. This week we bring you "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" from Okkervil River . From its wonderful if off-kilter title to its highly disciplined if slightly unglued sense of both song and production, "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" strikes me as pretty brilliant from beginning to end. Front man Wil Sheff is a wordy sort of guy (he's spent some time writing music [...]
I was watchin' M. Ward & Okkervil River on Austin City Limits this morning, and somehow slid over onto the internet, where I discovered that the PBS website is showing the pilot episode of ACL - Willie Nelson in 1974. That's like discovering gold: Willie Nelson on Austin City Limits, 1974 And if you missed this episode (like I did), be sure to catch Andrew Bird & St. Vincent .
Frank Yang When Noah & The Whale made their debut Toronto appearance back in September of last year , I noted how effectively they were able to offset the inherent twee-ness of their debut Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down in a live setting simply by turning up the rock - not only did those songs survive being run through a distortion pedal, they actually benefited from it. That being said, the gig still only rated about an "all right" - they were a band who wrote some [...]
I can't think of a pair complimenting each other as well as Okkervil River and M. Ward . You can check out their session on Austin City Limits , here . Okkervil River-John Allyn Smith Sails (acoustic session) [mp3] M. Ward-Chinese Translation [mp3] Tweet This Post
A missive from Tim over at the Contrast Podcast : November is upon us again, so it's time to think about the Contrast Podcast Festive 50. This year it will be on episodes 194, 195 & 196 from the 15th to the 29th of December. So here is what I need you, your friends, the readers of your blog, your milkman and anyone else you know to do: 1. Choose up to 50 (yes fifty) songs that were released in 2009 that you like. If you can only think of 10 .. don't worry [...]
jandek Hey, Jandek is in town today, playing a show this evening at The Basement . I know nothing about the guy and his music - really, I'm just using the occasion to post these 2 Jandek covers from people whose music I'm more familiar with: Okkervil River - Your Other Man Jeff Tweedy - Crack A Smile One thing I do know about the show is that there's gonna be a hella bunch of babes there. The chicks [...]
We're getting down into it now. Here's # 20-11 of my favorite albums of the decade. Thanks for stopping by, and look for the top ten tomorrow. ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------------------- 20. Let's Get Out Of This Country / Camera Obscura (2006) A nearly flawless gem of a record from the co-ed Scottish group that just gets better with age. The title track, "If Looks Could Kill" and especially the dizzyingly perfect "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" find Tracyanne Campbell [...]
Okkervil River's classic album 'Black Sheep Boy' will be available on vinyl for the very first time, 4 years after its original release. Not only does it contain the lyric that inspired the name of this blog, together with its 'Appendix' EP , it truly is one of the great marvels of the decade - despite the #174 ranking in Pitchfork's 200 top albums list . Jagjaguwar will release it as a double-LP on 8 December, and what a magnificent birthday present that would [...]
Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy - Definitive Edition 2xLP Out 12/8 on Jagjaguwar Okkervil River - "Black" The " Definitive Edition " version of Okkervil River 's 2005 classic Black Sheep Boy , which joined the album together with the 7-song companion Black Sheep Boy Appendix and the song "The Next Four Months" (from the For Real single), was released as a 2xCD in 2007. [...]
As you probably have noticed from our brand new banner on the right (and our post regarding our first playlist a couple of days ago), Athens66 now has its own radio show every Sunday from 20.00 till 22.00 (Athens time of'course) on the coolest webradio station... Poplie Radio . Just tune in and enjoy me and BLR mixing it up and serving our favorite tunes. See ya tomorrow night! Okkervil River - Pop Lie PS. We'll also be awaiting your live feedback [...]
Vampire Weekend - Cousins
‘09 Been Kind
WKND PLYLST!! This has nothing to do with NEW MOON!
