After four years of quiet (during which, I've been getting a wee bit desperate), Belle and Sebastian are releasing a new album, Write About Love, on October 12. The band has put up a promotional video, and are releasing the title track for free download tomorrow. Find out how to get the track . (I may add it to the post tomorrow.) The video's a little bit on the long side, so some advice: there's a clip of Belle and Sebastian playing a new song off the new album about 1 min, 30 seconds in; and another [...]
John Doe, better known as the frontman of X , is putting out an album of covers of classic country songs . Am I excited??? YES. Fox News' comedian/writer (?) Steven Crowder conflates hipsters with elitists with marxists with dirty, non-showering hippies . Sounds like he would hate my ** alma mater . Mr. Toad (of Song, By Toad ) wrote a blog post last week on the demise of CDs and the rise of mp3s and vinyl that I love love love. [...]
Is/Is is a three-piece from Minneapolis, and while their sound reminds me just a little bit of the recent onslaught of sun-tinged, slightly noisy pop (think: Vivian Girls, Dum Dum Girls), it has much more of a noise-rock edge. As per the press release, there's definitely a strong Black Tambourine resemblance, and I'm a sucker for the early twee/shoegaze sound. Is/Is' debut EP, This Happening , is being released September 11 (why the date, I wonder?) on Guilt Ridden Pop. Is/Is - So Long [...]
Kanye West, August 27th: Me and jay bout to drop a 5 song album called 'Watch The Throne . ( Source ) Kanye West + Jay-Z on an album together = HIP-HOP GOLD, right? Unfortunately, Kanye West is the weakest link in this track, which features Jay-Z (duh), along with Bon Iver, Rick Ross, and Nicki Minaj. Jay-Z's contribution is solid, Nicki Minaj is fantastic , and Rick Ross is alright, but Kanye has lost his game. Bon Iver doesn't do a lot for the song either and, frankly, [...]
Dupont Circle, Washington, DC, 1966 August is, by far, my least favorite month of the year. Congress is on recess, DC is dead, and the heat is unbearable. Tell me it's over already? Oh wait - it is! To celebrate, here's a mix: Field Mice - September's Not So Far Away Yo La Tengo - Deeper Into Movies Tom Waits - Looks Like I'm Up Shit Creek Again [...]
TGH has moved to a lovely new Wordpress Home. However, the url is basically still the same... Pay us a visit!
Dreamend is Ryan Graveface, who seems to be a sideman for a number of indie acts including Kid Dakota, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and the Octopus Project. The sound is a little indie-folk precious, a little psychedelic, a little ambiguous in an enjoyable sort of way. So I Ate Myself, Bite By Bite , dropped on August 10, and I'm on the verge of spending the $8 to have it all to myself. Dreamend - Magnesium Light [ alt link ] Buy So [...]
TGH is being reincarnated , with the hopes of semi-regular updates and new music to boot. I'm well aware I have several years worth of slacker-dom to make up for (admittedly, college is a pretty good excuse). We'll see how it goes...
To whom it may concern, The Glorious Hum is in the process of relocating to WordPress, where its proprietor hopes to return it to its former glory and update it regularly.
The Vaselines, one of my all-time favorite twee pop bands, have been more-or-less permanently broken up since the late '80s and early '90s. So I was shocked to find out a couple of weeks ago that they're releasing a new album, Sex With An X , this September. They've released the title track as a promo, so here it is: The Vaselines - Sex with an X Much older: The Vaselines - Son of a Gun The Vaselines' website / [...]
As is to be expected, I'm behind the curb on pretty much everything; in fact, I wrote this post in May, but never got around to actually... posting it. Not too late, though. I'm pretty psyched up for SSLYBY's upcoming album Let it Sway , to be released on August 17. After their debut album Broom , their second and most recent album Perishing (released in 2008) was not quite what I hoped for, and "Sink/Let It Swim" gives me hope that Let it Sway will be true pop gem. [...]
Is this the reincarnation of James Brown? Probably. Janelle Monae's website
Strayfolk - What Wouldn't I Do ( alt link ) Okay, so I've been listening to a lot of Woody Guthrie lately, and even more Bob-Dylan-trying-to-be-Woody-G uthrie (though this is to be expected). Strayfolk pays obvious homage to the folk legend in this song; the recording is so pleasantly lo-fi that I suspect if Strayfolk were to do a higher-quality re-recording of the song, some of the appeal would be lost. Enjoy. Strayfolk's website / myspace While I'm at it: Woody Guthrie - Hard Ain't [...]
While I'm waiting for May 11... Stream High Violet at NPR The National - Afraid of Everyone [highly rec'd!]
I don't think I've ever confessed to my shameful R. Kelly obsession on here before. Oh well, now I have.
To any readers still out there: I apologize for the lack of updates since last August, but I hope that in my post-college life I'll have some more time to get the blog going again.
While I've been moving into my new house this week, I've been listening to a lot of '70s music ... mostly because it's what's on. Nonetheless, the Phenomenal Handclap Band, with its modest name, pays homage to motown, soul, and disco in a way that's not exactly new, but definitely enjoyable. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - 15 to 20 The Phenomenal Handclap Band - Give it a Rest Buy The Phenomenal Handclap Band from amazon.com The Phenomenal Handclap Band's myspace [...]
( credit : from The Guardian online) Fanfarlo - The Walls Are Coming Down [ highly rec'd! ] Pre-order Reservoir from the band's website Fanfarlo's website / myspace
I saw these kids opening for M. Ward a couple of weeks ago, and found their anti-folk Dead Milkmen-like humor entirely endearing. "Deathbed Confession," in particular, is an excellent song. Chain & The Gang - Deathbed Confession [ download or die Chain & The Gang - Unpronounceable Name Buy Down With Liberty...Up With Chains! from K Records Chain & The Gang's myspace
The Glorious Hum
![Janelle Monae "Tightrope" Ft. Big Boi [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/pwnefUaKCbc_130.jpg)
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Mr Fogg - Eleven
Crocodiles - Endless Flowers
