(image: Tara Smith) Early last week, when it came to my attention that I'd soon be reaching Quick Before it Melts ' 800th post, I got to thinking about the past three years and what it's all amounted to. Judging from the posts I've logged on an (almost) daily basis it seems that I have an awful lot to say about, but oddly enough, faced with this milestone, I find myself oddly at a loss for words. I've said it before, and I've said it this week already, that I love writing this [...]
artist - song - album :: extra info This is Ivy League - You And Me And The Moon :: Magnetic Fields Cover ( website | myspace ) Ra Ra Riot - Ghost Under Rocks ( Passion Pit Remix) ( website | myspace | @ YouTube | Ghost Under Rocks video ) Immaculate Machine - Sound The Alarms - High on Jackson Hill :: out April 21 ( website | [...]
This is becoming a habit, this weekend round-up post of odds and ends from the previous week (in this case the previous two weeks), but there's so much I want to pass along to you that if I left it all for individual posts, it would all be old news by the time you read it. Enough with the preamble, let's dive into the inbox, shall we? Conor Oberst fans are getting a second slice of delight in 2009, as he and The Mystic Valley Band [...]
Ye olde oddes & endes. 01. Eleni Mandell - I liked everything I heard from Mandell. "Artificial Fire" (the song) has this gorgeous guitar work on it, and though I'm not sure what she means by artificial fire, it's no weirder than pretty much every New Pornographers song ever. There's a strong jazz influence on the music, with extra brass, which is awesome. Mandell is apparently a Silver Lake fixture if you know that scene, so hop over to her site and preview some tracks. You can pick up "Artificial Fire" (the album) [...]
The Online Romance is een sextet uit Portland, Oregon. Muziek voor liefhebbers van bands als The Beach Boys , Belle and Sebastian en The New Pornographers . De groep werkt op dit moment aan een twaalf nummers tellend album. Een van de songs daarop is Ladybug Don't Smile. Op de MySpace-pagina van de band staan nog drie nieuwe nummers. The Online Romance zoekt nog een label dat het album wil uitbrengen. MP3: The Online Romance - Ladybug Don't Smile [...]
I'd like to start doing this every Wednesday, if there's enough support for it. Actually, I'll probably continue to do it either way. We used to do something similar on Rock Sellout, but it was called 'Smash or Trash'. I often thought that sounded too negative, so I'm sticking with 'Roundup'. The basic idea here is to try to play a little catchup with my inbox. If you've been blogging for a while, you'll know that in a short period of time you can suffer from a serious pileup in there. You [...]
I saw their name on some of the blogs I pass by every now and again, and suddenly I found them in my mailbox : what a coincidence ! And I must say that their music stands out from most music I get sent. The Phantom Band , who have just released debut album "Checkmate savage", sound like a Scottish Nick Cave meets Vangelis playing a folk festival, but if you feel that doesn't sound to promissing, you might want to take a listen yourself and discover a touch of 80s [...]
Growing up I was always infatuated with 60's girl groups and music from that era. I think it was really the Wall of Sound that was so captivating to me. Now, bands with a similar sound are called "Twee" or "Chamber Pop." Of that sound it had mostly been dominated by European bands like Belle & Sabastian and Camera Obscura. Now you can add a Portland, OR band to that list: The Online Romance . Not only is their name effin sweet, but so is their sound. Their Spectorian [...]
The Online Romance are a six piece pop band from Portland, Oregon. Their music is a blend of baroque melody, girl group inspired harmonies and folk storytelling. They harmonize and all members take turns singing. If you had to compare them to other bands Belle & Sebastian seem to be your best bet. They are currently working on an album and trying to find a label to release it on. They gave me a free mp3 of one of the songs that will most likely be on the album titled "Ladybug, Don't Smile" It is very good. I have high [...]
Bless these souls, what wonderful Beach Boys inspired beauty, far ahead of their season time - certainly in London right now. Currently sitting in warmer climates with hopefully slightly less identical clothing in Oregan, Portland! It feels like Arcarde Fire (in terms of the instrumentation and sense of adventure) got stuck in a room with some hazy 60's hazy pop. Love it myspace / virb / last.fm / fb / online 1. We are a six-piece, three gals and three guys. 2. Our [...]
Για πόσα άραγε από τα συγκροτήματα της δεκαετίας του '90 μπορεί να πει κανείς ότι δημιούργησαν δική τους σχολή? Σίγουρα, όχι για πολλά.. Οι Σκωτσέζοι Belle and Sebastian είναι αναμφίβολα ένα από αυτά. Ακούγοντας τους The Online Romance από το Portland του Oregon καταλαβαίνεις το γιατί.. Υπέροχη pop δωματίου, υπέροχο γαλάζιο φόντο στο myspace.. Σκοπός τους είναι : "to create perfect pop songs, an equal mixture of baroque melodies, girl group harmonies and folk storytelling". Ακούστε το καταπληκτικό ladybug, don't smile με τους θαυμάσιους στίχους και συγκρατήστε το όνομά τους, [...]
I generally like my pop songs short and sweet. That's not to say everything I listen to adheres to the 3-minute rule, but when you are overwhelmed with so much music there's nothing better than a simple, killer pop song. When you've got a good melody and a bouncy tune, why ruin it by running the same chord progression into the ground? I bring this up because, despite of—and maybe because of—its five minute run-time, the Online Romance's "Ladybug, Don't Smile" is my favorite song of the day. And that's because "Ladybug" never overstays its welcome. Instead [...]
Tengo el ordenador hecho un desastre, la conexión a Internet falla constantemente... En estas condiciones me está resultando bastante difícil actualizar el blog en estos días y me es imposible realizar el programa de radio esta semana. Aprovecho una pequeña tregua para postear sobre este nuevo e interesante sexteto de pop de cámara llamado precisamente The Online Romance . Provienen de Portland (Oregon) y sus componentes son Becky Brosnan (guitarra eléctrica), Lauren Carter (piano), Kirsty Hall (órgano y percusión), Mike Larson (bajo), Nick Lawrence (batería) y Jack Saturn (guitarra acústica). Tras algunas grabaciones más o menos caseras se encuentran [...]
That old mailbox problem persists, so here are 4 of the better tracks recently found in the mailbox. + Murder Mystery – The World This is another one of those charming indie pop tunes that's absolutely impossible to resist. + The Online Romance – Ladybug, Don't Smile Dreamy folk-pop tune with lovely harmonies. + Kaka – What a [...]
Not really much of a write up for you today, but I do have some songs to share. And news on some of the entertainment in store for President Obama's Inauguration. Sources told the Post's Lena Sun that Bruce Springsteen will perform at Barack Obama's inauguration week welcome event January 18, 2008 on the National Mall. The event will be on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and open to the public for free. The Boss has been a bigtime Obama backer and they campaigned together in Cleveland during the general election. Now for some tunes: Au Revoir [...]
Not really much of a write up for you today, but I do have some songs to share. And news on some of the entertainment in store for President Obama's Inauguration. Sources told the Post's Lena Sun that Bruce Springsteen will perform at Barack Obama's inauguration week welcome event January 18, 2008 on the National Mall. The event will be on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and open to the public for free. The Boss has been a bigtime Obama backer and they campaigned together in Cleveland during the general election. Now for some tunes: Au Revoir [...]
I remember a conversation with a friend of mine a while back discussing our ideal places to live; at one point she mentioned Portland as a desired location, and I kinda of took a step back muttering to myself, "Huh? What's in Portland?" I didn't bother to ask why and just continued on with the conversation (and my ignorance), but as of late i'm starting to realize why she chose that city. I guess it's no surprise to many, as Portland has emerged as fertile ground for a an emerging music scene. One of what i'm sure is [...]
The Online Romance is a harmony-filled chamber-pop orchestra from Portland, Oregon. All the six members contribute on vocals in some capacity, and they also share the main vocal duty. The songs I've heard so far are warm and light pop songs that are easy for the ear, and the arrangements often makes me think "aha, that was clever". Really nice songs! I have only heard a few of their songs, and an album full of pop songs like these would be great! The band has previously released some of their music on the [...]
Today we have a band from my favorite city in the whole world, Portland Oregon. They're a six piece band consisting of three girls and three guys. The band is finishing off the last bits of their album that they hope will be released here in the new ...
The Online Romance is the next gem to emerge from the bustling Portland music scene. They are a six-piece group whose sound would be welcoming to any fans of Belle & Sebastian or Peter Bjorn & John . They're offering up a preview of their upcoming (and still in progress) 12-song record with the free and legal download of "Ladybug Don't Smile" below. Follow through to their myspace for my favorite track, "Twitch." Myspace: The Online Romance MP3: The [...]
August Mixtape
The SWAG Report 022
A NEW CONTEST INSPIRED BY @WELISTENFORYOU & a whoooole bunch o’ tsuruloosies!!! WHEEE!
