Des Moines, Iowa is ostensibly one of those cities caught in the long shadow of another, in this case, Chicago, to the extent that a lot of people in Iowa are devout Cubs fans. But, thanks to a lot of grassroots things going on in Des Moines, that's changing rather rapidly for a city of their size (about 580,000). Thanks to festivals like 80/35 - named for the intersecting Interstates I-80 and I-35 - and organizations like the Des Moines Music Coalition, more artists and bands are stopping to play shows in Des Moines instead of speeding along to [...]

It's hard to imagine that just a few short months ago we were enjoying sunny summer days. 2011 was my best year yet, having achieved a few milestones: four and a half years running FensePost, riding my bike from Seattle to Portland and logging over 1,000 total on those two wheels between January and December, enjoying life with the love of my life (Andi), and a few defining mindset changes that put the two of us on a path to minimalism and frugality. All of this has led to happiness. That the [...]

It's hard to imagine that just a few short months ago we were enjoying sunny summer days. 2011 was my best year yet, having achieved a few milestones: four and a half years running FensePost, riding my bike from Seattle to Portland and logging over 1,000 total on those two wheels between January and December, enjoying life with the love of my life (Andi), and a few defining mindset changes that put the two of us on a path to minimalism and frugality. All of this has led to happiness. That the [...]
If the name Brent Green and the Wex sound familiar in the same sentence , it's because you probably followed my advice and went to see "Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then" last August. This charmingly awkward and ominously tragic film is based on the life of Leonard Wood, a Louisville hardware store clerk who renovates his house into what he believes to be a "healing machine" to keep his terminally ill wife alive. It is Green's first venture into the full-length feature world (an impressive one at that) AND he built a full-sized replica of this [...]

I don't remember how I stumbled across heycoolkid! but I'm sure glad it happened. It might not be the most visibly mind-blowing music blog on the interweb but the content is great and the music tastes are eerily similar to mine. The theme over there seems to be about pounding the readers with lots of tunes on well-crafted playlists...two things I am quite a large fan of. Make sure to head over to heycoolkid! and throw a bookmark on your web browser. Below is the latest playlist from him/her/them(?). 1. Jhameel [...]
. . .What a great week it's been for music in Indy. Bright Eyes on Thursday, the Head and the heart on Friday (both in-store at Luna and then an impromptu show at The Earth House after the decemberists cancelled) and then My Morning Jacked at white river on sunday. Unfortunately, my card reader has [...]

Words by Jim I didn't know it could get this hot in Pennsylvania. The past couple weeks have been brutal and we've all come to terms that every waking moment outside of air conditioning will leave us feeling disgusting and disturbingly fragrant. That's gross, but them's the breaks. When it's too hot too move, I find myself looking for something jangly and upbeat, but not to dance around to because that would be unsafe in this heat! More so to meditate on the rhythm and beats, hoping to transport myself away from these [...]
Des Moines indie folksters Parlours were recently in Chicago and stopped by the Threadless warehouse to perform a beautiful rendition of their song, "I Don't Mind". How do I know? Because there's awesome HD video of it, silly! Anyway, check it out as the band softly serenades the Threadless staff who seem to be in the middle of fulfilling orders:

Happy Friday!! I've been missing here for a bit, my apologies! I'll be back proper on Monday but just wanted to pop on and share some goodness I found. Perhaps it'll bring you some weekend wonderfulness!! Go out and have a blast!! pretty cool weirdo folk duo from Edmonton: the AwesomeHots e.p. by the AwesomeHots my new music obsession...chap hop: because this is just awesome: the type of music [...]

Key Track: So Still (A Kings of A&R favorite) Placements: Fox's Chicago Code and upcoming indie film "Sassy Pants" Press includes the Chicago tribune and a mention in Glamour magazine. For fans of The Shins, Arcade Fire, etc. Performances: Upcoming show date on July 3rd in Des Moines with Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. Contact: brandonwclark@gmail.com

Another month, another mix. A collection of twenty or so of the best tunes we posted in April plus a couple of tasty new ones. Download, hit play, relax. Download Ha Ha Tonka – Usual Suspects mp3 (from Death Of A Decade) Soulful, catchy, country rock. Download Sweet Lights – The Shortest Man On Earth mp3 (from Digital Single) Beautifully judged excursion into the world of classic sunshine and psych rock. Download Races – Big Broom mp3 (from Big Broom 7″) Lush, [...]

We were sent this track randomly from someone saying they thought we'd like it. And like it we did. It is by a band called Parlours and while there isn't a great deal of information available about them, we did find this on their website. Hailing from the heart of the midwest, Parlours is one of the only female-fronted acts presently in Des Moines. Parlours' themes embrace a contemplative and reflective nature while remaining playful, rooted in Dana Halferty's journal-like song writing that began in a dormitory parlor at Iowa State. When [...]

El pasado año, gracias a Lito Music , conocíamos a estos cinco chicos de Iowa, que se hacen llamar Parlours que hacen un pop-folk melódico de corte clásico, caracterizado por preciosos juegos vocales chico-chica, y una instrumentación que añade calidez y emoción a partes iguales. Acaban de editar hace tan sólo unas semanas su Ep de debut en el sello Aquí Estamos Records ; un trabajo de cinco temas que no tienen desperdicio y que además se puede conseguir a un excelente precio, [...]
Perdonarme que me repita, pero es que no puedo dejar de escuchar a esta deliciosa banda, cuyo Ep de debut ya se puede adquirir a muy buen precio desde la página oficial del sello discográfico, no lo dejéis pasar. Website MySpace

Filed under: Free MP3 Download of the Day Artist: Parlour Hail From: Louisville, Ky. Song: 'Simulacrenfield' Album: 'Simulacrenfield' [ iTunes ] Sound Like : Explosions in the Sky , The Flaming Lips In Their Words: "The title of 'Simulacrenfield' was inspired from a discussion I had with a friend on 'Simulacra and Simulation,' a philosophical treatise by Jean Baudrillard [...]
Our society is not a community, but merely a collection of isolated family units. Desperately insecure, fearing his woman will leave him if she is exposed to other men or to anything resembling life, the male seeks to isolate her from other men and from what little civilization there is, so he moves her out [...]

Ya nos fijamos en esta banda de Iowa hace cosa de un año, cuando hablábamos de General Sherman , de cuyas cenizas surgió este nuevo proyecto musical llamado Parlours. Al igual que ocurriera entonces, la sensación que nos han causado sus canciones ha sido de lo más gratificante, gracias a su sonido folk pop melódico. Discográficamente, y dejando al margen maquetas y alguna que otra pieza más o menos artesanal, tan sólo podemos reseñar un Ep homónimo compuesto por un total de 5 canciones, el cual verá la luz el próximo [...]

Il ritorno, per Temporary Residence , di una delle storiche band louisvilliane . Roba grossa. MP3 Parlour - Simulacrenfield MySpace : Parlour WebSite : Parlour

Nowadays, I feel like it's easy to label any instrumental band as "post-rock." That's certainly happened in the case of Kentucky's Parlour, but I guess there are worse things to be called. However, if the shoe does in fact fit, Parlour's take on post-rock is well-aged, working with riffs and experimental song structures similar to Slint or Fridge. Parlour has existed in one form or another since the 80s, and they haven't released anything formally since a 2005 EP on Temporary Residence Limited . Their latest album is [...]
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Cropped Out steers the ship onward Saturday, October 2 kicking off just before 2 p.m. at the American Turners Club (3125 Upper River Road – map that shizz ) at Thurman Hutchins Park, easily accessible via I-71 and just minutes from downtown Louisville. Advanced tickets are available online at Ticketfly , or you can grip collectible screen printed tickets by Kin Ship Press at three convenient Louisville locations – ear X-tacy , Underground Sounds , and Wild & Wooly . Also just announced, if you buy an album [...]