Blog: Page 300

Oh Canada

Apr 3, 2011, 5:00pm Page 300

I think I've always had a big of a soft spot for the Great White North. It was the first foreign country I ever visited. Over the years a lot of my favorites bands have been from there. And because I grew up just an hour and a half drive up I-5 from the border, I'm very familiar with their currency. As a kid it seemed cool to have money from another country, until the first time you hit up a vending machine only to find you can't get that candy bar you wanted because one of your quarters turned [...]

MORE »

Collapse Into Now

Mar 26, 2011, 3:02pm Page 300

R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now The pre-release hype trumpeted that R.E.M.'s fifteenth studio album was a return to their classic sound. If you're a fan, my advice to you is to ignore that suggestion. Unless you consider Automatic for the People as classic Stipe and company, you're setting yourself up for a letdown. There are a lot more acoustic oriented numbers, and Peter Buck's mandolin makes a return appearance. But apart [...]

MORE »

Maggie May

Mar 17, 2011, 8:40am Page 300

One of the great things about being married is that the quality of my birthdays has increased exponentially. To put it mildly, my wife spoils me rotten. Among the incredible haul I received on my last placenta emergence anniversary was The Pogues box set, Just Look Them Straight in the Eye & Say Poguemahone! With five CDs of demos, b-sides, outtakes, alternate versions, rehearsals, and live cuts, it was an awesome enough gift in itself, but it was made [...]

• The Pogues - Maggie May

MORE »

Artist:	The Pogues
Title:	Maggie May
Link Text:	The Pogues - "Maggie May"
File Name:	1-09 Maggie May.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps
Genre:	Folk
Year:	1987

Thoughts on The Suburbs

Feb 19, 2011, 9:39pm Page 300

So with Arcade Fire shocking pretty much everyone by winning album of the year at the Grammys Sunday night, I figured it be a good opportunity to weigh in on The Suburbs , especially considering that I didn't include it on my 2010 Albums of The Year list. So why didn't I? Well, the easy answer is that there were five albums I liked better. If I had done an "honorable mention" category [...]

MORE »

Future Past Perfect

Feb 10, 2011, 10:23pm Page 300

The Church have always been an incredibly active band. When they haven't been touring or recording albums as a collective whole (something they're now in their fourth decade of doing), they have kept busy with so many solo projects, collaborations, and guest appearances that it takes an entire website to keep track of it all. So it's not surprising that they've decided that one tour isn't enough to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Last spring they toured the country for An Intimate Space, an acoustic tour [...]

• Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy - The Other Place (Fraze Tempest Remix)
• The Church - Mistress
• The Church - North, South, East And West

MORE »

Artist:	Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy
Title:	The Other Place (Fraze Tempest Remix)
Link Text:	Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy - "The Other Place (Fraze Tempest Remix)"
File Name:	The_Other_Place_(Fraze_Tempest _Remix).mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps
Year:	2011

Artist:	The Church
Title:	Mistress
Link Text:	The Church - "Mistress"
File Name:	07-Mistress.mp3
Bitrate:	320 kbps
Year:	1992

Artist:	The Church
Title:	North, South, East And West
Link Text:	The Church - "North, South, East, West"
File Name:	05-North-South-East-And-West.m p3
Bitrate:	320 kbps
Year:	1988

Catching A Tiger

Feb 2, 2011, 10:37pm Page 300

Lissie - Catching a Tiger I gotta admit that I didn't know quite how to react when I first listened to this album. Lissie's debut EP, Why You Runnin' , was a much more rootsy affair. Catching A Tiger is definitely a bit shinier, a bit funkier, a little livelier and a lot more varied. It was kind of like hearing Norah [...]

• Lissie - Bully

MORE »

Artist:	Lissie
Title:	Bully
Link Text:	Lissie - "Bully"
File Name:	04_Bully.mp3
Bitrate:	256 kbps
Year:	2010

Albums Of The Year 2010

Jan 28, 2011, 10:23pm Page 300

1. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul After being held up in legal limbo for over a year, 2010 finally saw the release of the soundtrack to the multi-media collaboration between Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse, and David Lynch. And for those who never got around to obtaining through alternate means (I'm probably in the minority of that category), it was worth the wait. Albums with multiple guest singers are usually a mixed bag, but there is remarkable continuity on this album. The [...]

• Superchunk - Digging For Something

MORE »

Artist:	Superchunk
Title:	Digging For Something
Link Text:	Superchunk - "Digging For Something"
File Name:	DiggingForSomething.mp3
Genre:	20
Year:	2010

Knock Out Punches For The Freaks

Jan 19, 2011, 11:48pm Page 300

Guided By Voices w/ New Times Viking Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN Friday, January 14, 2011 The very first time I was introduced to Guided By Voices , it was by a voice other than Robert Pollard's. One night after a show, a couple of friends and I ended up back at the apartment of Shazam frontman Hans Rotenberry. After spending a couple of hours drinking beer and listening to records, a guitar ended up getting passed around, and Hans [...]

• Guided By Voices - Game Of Pricks (Live)

MORE »

Artist:	Guided By Voices
Title:	Game Of Pricks (Live)
Link Text:	Guided By Voices - "Game Of Pricks (Live)"
File Name:	14 Game Of Pricks (Live).mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps

Christmas with The Killers

Dec 19, 2010, 8:03pm Page 300

The Killers released this song in 2006. I kinda dug it, and it was a charity single, and I love Christmas songs, so I happily threw a buck towards iTunes for the cause. The other day I was surfing through the on demand videos that our cable company offers, and discovered "Don't Shoot Me Santa." It's a kinda bizarre video, but fun. But since I had no idea that The Killers had released other Christmas songs, it sent [...]

MORE »

Deadman's Hand

Nov 3, 2010, 11:00pm Page 300

The Church - Deadman's Hand EP As part of the Church 's 30th anniversary tour, they released a CD that was given to each ticket holder. The Deadman's Hand EP has now been made available to the public, and if you didn't attend one of their shows this past summer, it's worth picking up. The title track comes from their most recent album, Untitled #23 [...]

• The Church - Deadman's Hand

MORE »

Artist:	The Church
Title:	Deadman's Hand
Link Text:	The Church - "Deadman's Hand"
File Name:	01-Deadmans-Hand.mp3
Bitrate:	320 kbps
Year:	2010

World (Cup) In Motion

Jun 28, 2010, 7:16pm Page 300

Ah, the World Cup... that other sporting event that brings the entire world together every four years. There are a ton of traditions that happen with the event. The exchange of jerseys, the chants, the drinking. We Americans have a tradition too. Every four years we pretend to care about soccer. Oh, I know, everyone was jacked up about Landon Donovan's goal last week. And you can't turn on a sports radio station without hearing someone say it could be a turning point for soccer in America, but that's wishful thinking. Don't get me wrong, I like soccer. [...]

• New Order - "World In Motion (The B-Side... » World In Motion [The B-Side].mp3

MORE »

Link Text:	New Order - "World In Motion (The B-Side)"
File Name:	World In Motion [The B-Side].mp3

Together

Jun 16, 2010, 6:45pm Page 300

The New Pornographers - Together If I had written about Together when it first came out a month ago, this would have been a much different review. My first impression after a couple of listens was that it was merely OK, and it didn't seem as catchy as their previous efforts. But after a week or so I started noticing how many of the songs were playing in my head at odd times... and not the obvious [...]

• The New Pornographers - Your Hands (Together)

MORE »

Artist:	The New Pornographers
Title:	Your Hands (Together)
Link Text:	The New Pornographers - "Your Hands (Together)"
File Name:	Your Hands (Together).mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps
Year:	2010

You Won't See Me

Jun 7, 2010, 11:17pm Page 300

I got all excited when I heard that Paul McCartney was coming to town. Sure he's put out some pretty mediocre music in the last thirty years since Wings broke up, but there have also been a few gems in there ("My Brave Face" ranks up there with the best of his 70's solo stuff). Plus, you know, he was in that Beatle group. And then I went and forgot that tickets went on sale this morning. And while the show is not yet sold out, the cheapest remaining ticket is $277 a pop, which puts it firmly [...]

MORE »

Beyond The Lighted Stage

Apr 29, 2010, 11:46pm Page 300

I am totally going to to go see this, like in a theater and everything. Although after my last experience watching Rush on the big screen, I might have a hard time convincing the wife to go with me.

MORE »

Record Store Day 2010

Apr 15, 2010, 10:52pm Page 300

So here I was, about to make my first post of married life by previewing Record Store Day 2010 in Nashville, and holy shit.... Emmylou Harris is playing at The Groove! The rest of their lineup is pretty sweet too, but let me repeat that... Emmylou Harris is playing at The Groove! As in the little neighborhood record store five minutes from our new house. Hell to the yes. You can bet your ass you know where I will be at 2:45 this Saturday. Of course [...]

MORE »

RIP Alex Chilton

Mar 19, 2010, 8:00am Page 300

Two of my last three posts have been obituaries. As the guy I eulogized on here last week once sang, "I'm so sick of goodbyes." I was just coming home from a night of St. Patrick's Day revelry with the missus when I got a text from a friend that Alex Chilton had died. It's not at all the way I was looking to end the night. Just about everyone has heard Chilton's music, even if they don't know it. If you've ever spent any time listening to [...]

MORE »

Pants Soup

Mar 17, 2010, 8:13am Page 300

Anyone who's visited this blog more than a couple of times knows I am a huge Frank Sinatra fan. Much to my chagrin, my fiance prefers Bing Crosby. I guess nobody's perfect. If anyone has ever been in the market for any Crosby CDs, you tend to find that the only ones that are generally available are either Christmas CDs or compilations that mostly repackage the same dozen songs over and over. In an effort to expand our collection of Der Bingle, I visited one of our local used music emporiums the other day, where I found [...]

• Bing Crosby - Who Threw The Overalls In Mrs. Murphy's Chowder?

MORE »

Artist:	Bing Crosby
Title:	Who Threw The Overalls In Mrs. Murphy's Chowder?
Link Text:	Bing Crosby - "Who Threw The Overalls In Mrs. Murphy's Chowder?"
File Name:	Who Threw The Overalls In Mrs. Murph.mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps
Year:	1945

RIP Mark Linkous

Mar 7, 2010, 10:05pm Page 300

I remember the first time I heard Sparklehorse like it was yesterday. I was driving home on a Sunday night, listening to Jason Moon Wilkins show on Lightning 100, and he played "Someday I Will Treat You Good." It was one of those musical "oh shit" moments where you are just absolutely blown away. I'm pretty sure I went out and bought Vivadixiesubmarinetransmission plot the next day. It was absolutely brilliant. Somehow he managed to [...]

• Sparklehorse - Happy Man [Memphis Version]

MORE »

Artist:	Sparklehorse
Title:	Happy Man [Memphis Version]
Link Text:	Sparklehorse - "Happy Man (Memphis Version)"
File Name:	Happy Man [Memphis Version].mp3
Bitrate:	128 kbps
Year:	2000

Vampire Weekend Revisited

Feb 26, 2010, 1:34pm Page 300

Vampire Weekend - Contra I like to think I'm an open minded person, and that I don't let preconceived notions get the best of me. But I'm also human, and I realize that despite my best intentions, sometimes prejudice colors my judgement. Such was the case two years ago when Vampire Weekend broke out. I decided that a bunch of trust fund kids ripping off Paul Simon's Graceland didn't sound like my cup [...]

• Vampire Weekend - Horchata

MORE »

Artist:	Vampire Weekend
Title:	Horchata
Link Text:	Vampire Weekend - "Horchata"
File Name:	Horchata.mp3
Year:	2010

It Came From New York

Feb 22, 2010, 11:22am Page 300

Lately it seems like my email inbox has been filling up with bands from New York City. I guess it shouldn't be that surprising... New York is a big city, and there are a lot of bands there. But for the past couple weeks every other email has been from another Gotham group. So as a way to play catch up, here's a couple of the better submissions I've received recently from Manhattan and beyond... The Canon Logic singer Tim Kiely sounds so much like Brandon Flowers [...]

• The Canon Logic - "Avenue Of Criminals" » Avenue of Criminals.mp3
• Adam Green - What Makes Him Act So Bad
• Some Awful Bridge - my wish, the bone

MORE »

Link Text:	The Canon Logic - "Avenue Of Criminals"
File Name:	Avenue of Criminals.mp3

Artist:	Adam Green
Title:	What Makes Him Act So Bad
Link Text:	Adam Green - "What Makes Him Act So Bad"
File Name:	06_What_Makes_Him_Act_So_Bad.m p3
Bitrate:	256 kbps
Year:	2009

Artist:	Some Awful Bridge
Title:	my wish, the bone
Link Text:	Some Awful Bridge - "My Wish, The Bone"
File Name:	my wish, the bone.mp3
Bitrate:	192 kbps
Year:	2010