The Stanley Blacks are a no-gimmicks indie rock band from the UK. Fitting into such a category is presently a tricky maneuver, as many of their counterparts are shrugged off in favor of over-produced, industrial sounds. But the four-piece have stayed true to the purest of music, even if their new album - which is [...]
Hey, everyone! Happy New Year! I hope that you have a good one, and that you're surrounded by good food, friends, and music. It's been a long year over here (the epic dissertation struggle continues), and I haven't always been the most attentive (you're top of the list of New Year's Resolutions!)... but I wanted to thank everyone for all their love and support. I've been positively blown away by the amount of excellent music that has been sent my way, and the... well, legitimacy, I seem to have stumbled into. So, in 2011, I'll be stepping up [...]
As 2010 draws to a close, let's channel John Cusack in High Fidelity and ask what were the top 5 albums of the year and the top 5 tracks? Here are my thoughts. Top 5 Tracks 5. "Tangerine "- Big Boi, T.I. & Khujo Goodie ( Sir Lucious Left Foot... The Son of Chico Dusty ). I've often thought very seriously that my love of ass (© chick) and very open e-talk shares a very serious symbiosis with the rap community. This track, in particular, represents this connection [...]
Welcome to the first Top List for It's Time to Play B-Sides . I've considered doing one of these lists every year since 2006, but never before have I had a year filled with as many really great albums that have compelled me to compile a year-end list. 2010 has been a pretty busy year for me as far as music has been concerned. Some fantastic concerts and events and some really interesting local (Eastern Iowa) releases have come out. This list represents releases that spent the most time on my playlist- in some cases I have had direct [...]
Click image to download full album Song: Lissie - Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover) "Lissie - Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover)" What's so good? Lissie is everything you want a strong up-and-coming female vocalist to be: she comes from humble beginnings (born and raised in Rock Island, IL), has already been remixed by some great artists ( Deadmau5 ), and has a bad ass voice that can fluctuate from pop to folk in about two seconds. [...]
Well, it is now December... the year is coming to an end so I thought it fitting to start posting some end-of-the-year-lists here on TheFrontloader.com, starting with our Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2010. The thing to keep in mind with this list is that it in no way implies that these are the "best" albums of 2010. These are merely my favorite ones... the ones that I found myself playing over and over again because they possessed something that made me want more. It was a good year for music, that's for sure. I look [...]
You won't find the slightest trace of indie tricks — no fuzzy reverb, glitchy beats or laptop wizardry — on "I Want Us to Be Remembered," the first EP from Los Angeles quartet A House for Lions . "That's not who we are," singer-songwriter Daniel Norman says. "It would come off as false." Instead, Norman's partnership with guitarist Mike Nissen, keyboardist/bassist Eric McCann and drummer Felipe Ceballos favors classic songwriting, with the frontman's crystalline vocals prevailing sweetly over arrangements bearing a faint hint of Southern-fried pop. Think Ryan Adams meets Snow Patrol. [...]
Click image to download full album Sounds like: José Gonzalez, Volcano Choir, Tired Pony "Junip - Always" What's so good? With the release of their new album Fields , Junip announced to the world that they are a solid three-piece band, not a trio who happens to have José Gonzalez as their singer. Laying low for the last few years as Gonzalez gained worldwide fame with his two solo albums, Junip began releasing EPs and [...]
Editor's Note: RFC had it's first guest blogger in Abby Holmes but guess what? She became a regular contributor! So now, please welcome our (next) first guest blogger, Mike Roeder of Play B-Sides ! To say we're happy to have the talented writer and photog is an understatement. The great music finds for me are the ones that take me completely by surprise- a "nugget" that managed to evade my ever scanning doppler radar for music. The Place We Ran From ( Mom [...]
Sorry I've been on hiatus as of late. Had some family stuff come up. Followed by the Giants unbelievably making it to the World Series...and winning. A work crisis. And finally topped it off with some good old fashioned stomach flu. There's one thing I realized while having my untimely bought with the stomach flu...there's a band, an album, or a song for every situation. As I slowly
. . . If Tired Pony doesn't ring a bell then perhaps Snow Patrol, REM, and Belle & Sebastian do? Yes? I thought so! Well, Tired Pony is the new supergroup from Gary Lightbody, Peter Buck, and Richard Coburn (respectively) as well as acclaimed producer Jacknife Lee. Their debut album The Place We Ran From is out now and features guest vocals from M. Ward as well as his cohort Zooey Deshcanel. See the video for that track here ! The real reason you [...]
MOG Music Network and Obscure Sound have teamed up to offer a Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Deluxe, a beautiful guitar made even better by Tired Pony. The supergroup - which includes Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody and R.E.M. guitarist Mike Mills - autographed the guitar! Anyone can enter to win, simply by answering a question in the comments.
So, I think it's fair to say that I have been pretty lax when it has come to the monthly roundups but seeing that we had such a bumper month of over 40 postings, I thought it would be as well to include a new roundup of what I have been chattering about for you.... Some of the highlights from the blog this month include tracks from, Duck Sauce, Deerhunter, The Vaccines, Frankie Rose & The Outs and The Corin Tucker Band ... [...]
Tired Pony is the side project from Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody, who gathered the band's extended musical family and invited Belle & Sebastian drummer Richard Colburn and REM's Peter Buck to flush out a collection of Americana-inspired songs. Today's Top Tune is sung by Iain Archer, it's "I Am A Landslide."
![The Universal Heart [Tired Pony's 'The Place We Ran From']](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2900633_lg.jpg)
I think that Gary Lightbody , leader singer/songwriter/guitarist for Snow Patrol , and I share the same heart. Music is a tie that binds us all together. It is, indeed, universal. We hear a song and we think about a person or a memory. As Pete often says on here "An album or song takes hold" and then it won't let go. The Snow Patrol catalog is filled with songs that instantly generate this feeling. "An Olive Grove Facing The Tree" or "Chocolate" are examples of this. Then we have songs like "Crack The [...]
I've been obsessed with this song for the past 24 hours. Tired Pony's "Get on the Road" does just what I need a song to do for me right now… it takes me from an inner cage to a raging chaos… and in that chaos, there's the promise of a restoration of order… at least the possibility is there. One thing about singer Gary Lightbody and Iain Archer's songwriting is that they seem to love repetition. "Get on the Road" is a great example of this exercise. The opening verses are contain the [...]
Click image to download full album Sounds like: Snow Patrol, Keane, Coldplay "Tired Pony - Point Me At Lost Islands" What's so good? For his new project called Tired Pony, Snow Patrol's frontman Gary Lightbody put together the makings for quite a hardy stew. Main ingredients are as follows: Peter Buck (R.E.M.'s guitarist), Richard Colburn ( Belle & Sebastian 's drummer), Scott McCaughey (R.E.M.), Iain Archer (Snow Patrol) and Jacknife Lee, who produced the whole thing. Adding spikes [...]
![[Review] Tired Pony: The Place We Ran From](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2876016_lg.jpg)
There was a time when I did not understand the label of "supergroup." These groups were those that included members from other, already successful bands… which is a big deal, I guess. But to me, a "supergroup" is just like any other, made up of people who love music and want to play music. Everybody has an itch to scratch, and everybody finds a connection with a number of people, not just one… so "supergroups" always made sense to me. The problem with the label is that it immediately set the bar higher for these bands. It [...]
Artist: Tired Pony Label: Fiction Records Website : Myspace Official Site Tired Pony are the offshoot of three super huge bands. It comprises Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol and Peter Buck of REM and Richard Colburn (he's from Belle and Sebastian , in [...]
Tonight's top 3 shows that don't involve hitting one of the very good October residency kickoffs: ☛ I don't usually post amateur live video, but I'll make an exception for the clip above from Guided by Voices' Sunday night show at Matador at 21. It's nice to see that a guy in my age bracket still has hops, as Mr. Pollard displays at 0:46. GBV, tonight, at the Wiltern. ☛ Tired Pony - the supergroup featuring Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol), Peter Buck (R.E.M.) and [...]
Obscure Sound
Shh, Listen...
IckMusic![Big Boi - Tangerine (feat. T.I.) [Free Download]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/lfZXscRI6Xs_130.jpg)
Time to play b-sides
indie shuffle
TheFrontloader.com
Buzz Bands
Radio Free Chicago
The Good, The Bad, and The Unknown
The Burning Ear
The Sound of the Overground
Today's Top Tune from KCRW
Sleigh Bells - Demons (Official Music Video)
The Rains of Castamere by The National
A-Trak & Dillon Francis - "Money Makin'" (Official Video)
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Nas - Daughters
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Bison - Quill
American Idol Finalists: where are they now?
SABRINA JOHNSTON + TIEFSCHWARTZ
