Mike Grubbs has undertaken a lot of styles, bands, genres, and challenges in his release of ten cover songs over the span of what has pushed over three months now. He started it as a way to promote the release of his first album {which was recorded live and is for sale over at his website } but I feel as if now he's continuing the series as a way to give us all the gift of his incredible talent. Wakey!Wakey! posseses this intangible quality to take any song, as popular or obscure as it could be, [...]
Welcome to a new section. Each week I'm going to pick out a few tracks that have been hitting the head phones and tell you about them. Then you can listen and make your own decisions about them. Tell me how you like it... The Good: Antarctica Takes It! - "Circuits"; To me an exclamation point in a band name usually indicates twee music, and here that pretty much rings true. A quirky, romantic
December hasn't produced many albums this year, but there are a few worth noting. On the big name front, Wu Tang Clan finally released 8 Diagrams and members of Weezer and Radiohead released solo albums. On the more underground side of things, there were some good releases from The Dimes , Wakey ! Wakey ! , and DC's Meredith Bragg . Meredith Bragg Silver Sonya - " [...]
Wakey! Wakey! at the Mercury Lounge (12/12/07) Though I almost didn't make it, I'm happy to report that I had a great time last night (Dec 12) at the Wakey!Wakey! CD release party. Frontman Michael Grubbs and his band of 15 supporting musicians definitely showed off their 'A' game to the capacity crowd at the Mercury Lounge . The new record, (which was mostly recorded live at Pianos back in April of this year), is called Silent As a Movie [...]
Not enough good things can be said about Wakey!Wakey! This recent series of covers have been mind boggling amazing. The more I listen to these reworkings, of mostly well known songs, the more Wakey!Wakey! begins to steal the song for his own. His voice on these recordings reminds me a lot of Ben Gibbard. Now hear me out before you dismiss this upon first listen. I draw the parallel in that they both seem to have an amazing purity to their style of singing. Granted, I wouldn't say Mike Grubbs and Ben Gibbard are imitations of each other, but there [...]
I suppose its time I let you guys in on the information you have all been waiting for. No, not my top album of the year that's coming next week guys! Instead I'm gonna tell you who is my super secret headliner for Sunday's Christmas show. This guy really needs no introduction on this here blog, mostly because I've already written more words about him then I ever thought I could. That said, I'm
I've always been an Animal Collective fan. Yes, I was born one, alright? No, actually I don't remember exactly when I became one, or how I found out about them, but I'm sure it had to do something with Pitchfork or a blog. And then an old roommate [you know who you are] bought me Feels on vinyl for my birthday [because I'm sometimes a jerk, she thought I didn't appreciate it very much but I really did]. Anyway, this year's Strawberry Jam has, as recently reported, become one of my favorites of the [...]
Free Shows: (once again the best price) Monday 12/3; Cheeseburger @ The Knitting Factory [info] Cheeseburger - "Tiger" Thursday 12/6; El-P @ Studio B [info] El-P - "Smithereens" Cheap Shows: ($10 or less) Saturday 12/1; Ra Ra Riot + Jukebox the Ghost @ Union Hall [tix] Ra Ra Riot - "Suspended In Gaffa" (via Daytrotter) Jukebox the Ghost - "Good Day" Friday 12/7 ; Coyote @ Cake Shop [info]
One more post before I get on the road. I don't have a lot of time today to upload the next big band from {insert your neck of the woods here}. Instead I'm giving you the latest in a string of covers put out by New York's brilliant Wakey!Wakey! Although this cover of a Beach Boys classic isn't my favorite of the covers he's done, I still think it's quality. And really, if it's on a blog you might as well download it and check it out. mp3 : Wakey!Wakey! - California Girls [...]
On Friday night Mike, the brains and voice behind Wakey! Wakey!, stopped by my birthday bash on Staten Island to sing me "Happy Birthday" and hand me a "hush, hush" burned copy of his soon to be released debut Silent as a Movie. I have to say the album is spectacular, but I'm going to talk about that more in a couple of days. For now I'm here to introduce us to the latest in the series of Wakey!
Have you ever wondered what The Demberists would sound like if they were covered by Ben Folds, or what Karen O's voice would sound like if it was drained of her odd gusto and draped instead over a beautiful piano arrangement? Or perhaps you thought to yourself, late one night after the children had gone to sleep, "I wonder what Neutral Milk Hotel would sound like if their song Two Headed Boy was a piano anthem?" I don't know if these are questions you've asked yourself recently, but I know they've been floating around my subconscious for quite [...]
This past weekend we didn't have the opportunity to post our Weekly Top 5 Songs because we simply did not have the time. Last Saturday we went to check out Artscape 2007 @ MOCA and we went to The Cedar Lee to see Control . While we were at Artscape 2007 we both were reminded of a similiar event we went to last winter @ the 1300 gallery (RIP) called Bazaar Bizarre . We had been wondering whether they were going to have that event again this [...]
If you haven't heard the sound of Wakey!Wakey! yet I suggest you get out of the cave you live in and read a few blogs now and then. I even dropped some WW knowledge awhile back when I posted the Cross Pollination Mixtape . For those of you dear readers who are knew to the Wakey!Wakey! scene the band is made up of Mr. Mike Grubbs and his catchy sound is quickly gaining the devout ears of many music snobs. There seems to be an innate kinsmanship between boys who play the keys and it [...]
Wakey! Wakey! - Say It Ain't So An undeniably genius Weezer cover. Learn more about Wakey! Wakey! here. Photo courtesy of Nicole Polec. MP3: Wakey! Wakey! - Say It Ain't So
Over the hump and down the home stretch... Wakey! Wakey! cover Weezer Last week we were happy to bring you a cover from Wakey! Wakey!, and this week is no different. This week Wakey! Wakey! is coving Weezer's "Say It Ain't So." You can check it out below, courtesy of CMJ . Wakey! Wakey! - "Say It Ain't So" Make sure to stop by their Myspace page to learn [...]
In order to get us all fully stoke for his debut album, Wakey! Wakey! has been giving us a brand new cover song each Wednesday leading up to the release. It has been dubbed Wakey! Wednesdays! and I think that's pretty good for folks that like this stuff which would certainly include me. Last week Mike gave us a cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two-Headed Boy Part 1" which I didn't post because I
Tonight is another round of indie at the abbey at The Abbey Bar in Harrisburg. It also happens to be my birthday show and one of my favorite bills to date. NYC indie pop is all the rage tonight, as the evening features Wakey!Wakey! and Brooklyn's The Epochs . The show starts at 9, admission is just $2 and there are $2 off Belgians all evening long. You can even register to win a free tattoo. A friend turned me on to The [...]
I opened my inbox the other day and I stumbled upon this little slice of heaven. In their own words " Mixtape Vol. 1, was compiled to celebrate Cross-Pollination, a weekly NYC concert series that brings together some of the most incredibly, and at times, undiscovered raw talent from across the country. Giving musicians the opportunity to stretch creatively with other like-minds, the premise of Cross-Pollination is simple. Every Tuesday evening at Pianos (158 Ludlow Street, NYC) two artists are invited to play together. Both of them play a solo 40-minute set followed by a 3 [...]
The World Forgot
Pop Tarts Suck Toasted
Instrumental Analysis
Bumpershine.com
Oh, Warfair & Therapy
Sensory Overload
the music slut
Veritas Lux Mea
TWENTYSEVEN VIEWS
The World Forgot
MOKB Premiere : Hacienda : Don’t Keep Me Waiting
Listen: The Vaccines – No Hope
the Weekender ::: New music from Catcall // the National // Summer Camp
Introducing… Brothertiger
