Will you be attending the BIG QUEER ROCK SHOW on March 2nd? This is the part of the post where you turn to me and say, "Yes, I'm all about supporting local Boston musicians, whilst simultaneously benefiting a unique organization that works with LGBT youth. Also, I've really been looking for an opportunity to get rocked so hard that my face melts off!" Good to hear! Alas, you might be a little curious about who will be rocking your face off. [...]
Elle Varner - So Fly Elle Varner - WTF Elle Varner - Go Compare and contrast: TLC 's "Unpretty" . Madonna 's "Human Nature" . Ani DiFranco 's "Not A Pretty Girl" . Salt-n-Pepa 's "None of Your Business" . Pink 's "Don't Let Me Get Me" . India Arie 's "Video" . Tori Amos ' "Cornflake Girl" . No Doubt 's "Just A Girl" . Destiny's Child 's "Independent Women" . [...]
Heart-Sick Groans - If The Canary Stops Singing When I tweeted Heart-Sick Groans that I couldn't wait to hear their new single, I didn't think they'd take me literally. The song, like magic, found its way into my inbox within the next ten minutes. It was almost as if they were legitimately worried they'd be held liable, were I to have died from a startling and outright debilitating case of impatience. This is why I love Heart-Sick Groans. Despite their bragging rights as [...]
Sick Friend - Cottages Think Matt & Kim without all the cutesy bullshit. That's what you'll be getting on Sick Friend 's "Cottages", the opening track from their debut album The Draft Dodger . Take a listen above. If you like it, download it and cherish it deeply for all of time! If you love it, maybe you should marry it... Or pick up Sick Friend's debut album The Draft Dodger [...]
Annie Williams - Nevermind Midnight Window came out back in November, as a double release with Annie Williams ' other EP This Mountain . It's taken me this long to write about it, because I am a terrible person. Just kidding! I was moving into a new house and stuff and... Also, um, I sort of forgot about it? Oh no! That was a harsh way of putting it. Let's just say, it took a while for the music to [...]
Woodpigeon - For Paolo "For Woodpigeon songwriter Mark Andrew Hamilton, For Paolo was inspired by his parents, the cassette tapes they played on long, family drives across the prairies of Canada." This is such a beautiful concept to build an EP around. As common as it is for musicians to refer to their parents' old records as inspiration, there's something refreshing about building a project around the music you were forced to listen to, whether you enjoyed it or not. Most folks within my [...]
Swiftumz - More Than Sleep Swiftumz - 4EVA A month ago, our neighbors invited us over to decorate cookies. This is the type of invitation you can't turn down during the holiday season. It should go on the record, however, that I never once considered turning down said invitation. Our neighbors are quite lovely people, and… Well, tastiness! Gingerbread all UP in my face. You know the drill. As the story goes, a few last-minute errands resulted in my frantic (yet fashionably) late arrival. I stumbled over to their doorway [...]
"You left without leaving. Your ghost is still here. Don't let go." This line from Australian duo Garçon Garçon 's "Save Our Souls", at the risk of sounding corny, has an exceptionally haunting effect. Part of it is the context. The song was written about a friend of lead vocalist Nathan Mahon , who took his life in late 2011. I was admittedly a bit hesitant to tackle the track from a writer's perspective, given the sensitive (and extremely personal) subject matter. So without further ado, I'll step aside and let [...]
Rochelle Jordan - _Shot Rochelle Jordan - King A (Aaliyah Tribute) I'm not gonna lie. It feels kind of tacky to post an Aaliyah cover on the late singer's birthday (and Martin Luther King Jr. Day to boot). Yet, if you'd believe it or not, I had planned on writing about Rochelle Jordan before I discovered the existence of her "King A" tribute. Afterwards, it just seemed silly to not include it in this entry. "King A" works because there's already such a [...]
Cheerleader - Do What You Want Approximately six or seven years ago, my friend and I got into an argument over which version of MGMT 's "Kids" was superior. My ears were trained to prefer the "Afterschool Dance Megamix" , a six-minute masterpiece that provided the soundtrack for many drunken nights at Wesleyan University. However, he preferred the version on the Time To Pretend EP, citing that it sounded like the band were "going places". So what does this story [...]
Dolly Parton - The Bridge Oh No Oh My - So I Took You I don't regret seeing Joyful Noise . It was essentially a very long episode of Glee , except with enough Dolly Parton , Queen Latifah and inspirational gospel breakdowns to make it significantly less awful than any episode of Glee . The script was packed with moments that were emotional (Asperger's!), hilarious (Flying dinner rolls!), and oddly uncomfortable (Death by sex!), [...]
Diana Vickers - Music To Make The Boys Cry Most pop music bloggers have already dismissed Diana Vickers "Music To Make The Boys Cry" (the title song from her upcoming sophomore LP) in favor of the menacing buzz track "Kiss of A Bullet" . This development has left me particularly confused, considering I haven't been able to stop listening to "Boys" from the moment it hit my ears. Seriously. Just hit the play button and take this one for a spin! It's essentially what would happen if a modern-day [...]
Cool Rainbows - Tidal Wave This is one of those instances where the B-side is (arguably) more promising than the intended single. Last month, Djeisan Suskov of Cool Rainbows unveiled "Southern Summer Sun" , the first release from his band's debut project Whale Rocket . It was alright! In fact, it was more than alright! A bit too laid-back for my personal tastes, but one has to appreciate all the hard work and "sonic noodling" that went into crafting the song. [...]
Magnetic Poetry - With You Magnetic Poetry - All I Want The opening synth line of Magnetic Poetry 's "With You" calls to mind Katy Perry 's "Hot N Cold" or Paris Hilton 's criminally-underrated dance jam "Nothing In This World" . Alas, once you hit the twelve-second mark, it becomes blatantly clear that Russian duo Magnetic Poetry are not a pop band. At this point, you're thrown into a swirling 1980s middle school dance groove, shortly followed [...]
Emeli Sandé - Daddy (Pedestrian Remix) I've listened to Pedestrian 's remix of Emeli Sandé 's "Daddy" approximately nineteen more times than the original version . That isn't to say that I don't enjoy Sandé or what she has to offer to the current crop of up-and-coming songstresses. Between the gospel-infused "Heaven" and the White Town -sampling "Never Be Your Woman" , my ears are perked up for her 2012 debut Our Version of Events [...]
Azealia Banks - Liquorice "Liquorice is a song about interracial dating, but it's more importantly a celebration of self. A celebration of the confidence, beauty, intellect, and influence of black women." Azealia Banks is a rapper who wrote a song called "Liquorice", but she's more importantly the best thing that's happened to my ears in all of 2011. I've had to stop myself, on more than one occasion, from feeling personally insulted when people say they don't "get" her. I don't know why I [...]
The Honey Pies - Girl The Honey Pies - Henny Penny "Henny Penny" is nowhere near as great as this classic episode of Golden Girls , but I have to at least give The Honey Pies credit for trying. These four Australian lads will be releasing their sophomore album Carpe Carp later this month, and it's highly recommended for people who like guitars and bands who actually play instruments. Pre-order it now ! If you do, they'll hook you [...]
The Eversons - Creepy The Eversons - Hyacinth Girl File this under "Bands I Should Have Written About In 2011 If I Weren't Such A Lazy Butt-Face". The Eversons are a lovely foursome based in Wellington equipped with guitars and a healthy dose of humor. Their debut EP -which is available for free or a million dollars depending on how much you like it-came out back in April, when I was too busy working on this to hoot and shout about it. [...]
Perfume - Spice Spice - Fun (featuring Missy Elliot) A song called "Spice", and a song by an artist called Spice . It's a strange coincidence that two of my favorite pop jams of 2011 share this common theme of spiciness, considering I'm probably one of the least spicy people on the planet. Nevertheless, that's just the way things worked out! As someone who's not familiar with the J-pop scene, the production on Perfume 's "Spice" sounds thoroughly bonkers. It's unlike anything you'd hear on mainstream [...]
Cheerleader - New Daze Cheerleader - Dreamer One could say I'm only writing about Cheerleader in order to post this awesome still of Solange Knowles , delivering a breakthrough performance in the 2006 direct-to-DVD masterpiece Bring It On: All or Nothing . One might be correct about this, if it weren't for the fact that I've been looping the band's two tracks over and over again for the past few months. Here's how the story goes! The [...]
IT'S THE MONEY SHOT
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
Mr Fogg - Eleven
