Click here to view the embedded video. This revised version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," was recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station. It is unbelievably good, and should be watched as a video whenever possible. For emergency listening situations, here's the MP3. Chris Hadfield- Space Oddity (mp3) Pop Dust did a good job comparing the lyrics between the original and Hadfield's version.
It's that time of the year again. Leaves are falling. Days are getting shorter. And once again I find myself going back to the same handful of albums that I listen to during this annual transition. One of those albums is Sparklehorse's 2006 release, Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain. I never actively seek out this album during this time of year. It just kind of naturally happens. I guess that makes sense given that the first track on the album is titled, "Don't Take My Sunshine Away." The album has a unique, blend [...]
Hezekiah Jones has been on my list of favorite artists for a couple years and consistently puts out fun, catchy albums that I find myself going back to on a regular basis. If you've been on the prowl for a new folk album, I highly recommend checking out their latest release, Have You Seen Our New Fort? . You don't have to listen long to discover that the band plays an insane number of lovable instruments, including piano, wurlitzer, glockenspiel, waterboards, trombone, flugelhorn, saxophone, and clarinet. I've long held the belief that every album out there would benefit from [...]
If you're a fan of Fleet Foxes, Devendra Banhart, or Velvet Underground, I highly recommend checking out Gold Leaves. It's a new project of Grant Olsen's, who is best known as one half of the Seattle band, Arthur & Yu. The lo-fi layering of instruments and lush vocals on Gold Leaves debut, The Ornament , blend together a new age folk sound with 60s era pop. It has a reflective quality that's perfect music for this fall/winter transition. A few of my favorite songs on the 9 track album include, "Cruel & Kind,""Futures,""Endless Dope," and "The Ornament." Olson [...]
Community is really important to us at IndieMuse, and I wanted to take a minute to feature one of our favorite websites that does a stellar job bringing together music lovers and keeping the independent community strong: Daytrotter.com . For those of you who aren’t familiar, Daytrotter is a recording studio/website run out of a small midwest town, along the Illinois/Iowa border, called Rock Island. Most local residents there are unaware that Daytrotter exists, and have absolutely no idea that amazing bands from around the world go out of their way to visit their small town to [...]
If you’re a fan of Midlake, Bishop Allen, or any band with that similar indie/folk sound, you're going to love the Brooklyn band, Common Prayer. I've had two songs from their debut album, There Is A Mountain, on my computer for a while, but didn't listen to the whole thing until recently. If I had, I most likely would have placed this on my Top 10 albums list last year. Common Prayer was started by the former basist of Mercury Rev and founder of the band Hopewell, Jason Sebastian Russo. The band is a pretty [...]
Last week, I saw members of the Elephant 6 collective play a show at Lincoln Hall in Chicago as part of their Surprise Holiday tour. For those who aren’t familiar with Elephant 6, it’s basically a collective/label that formed in the 90s that includes bands such as The Apple in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, and… too many to list here . I’m a big fan of most of the bands who are part of E6, so seeing some of them live was kind of a dream come true. The Surprise Holiday tour basically consists [...]
I’m a big fan of the Baltimore based band, The Eureka Birds. They have this really cool lo-fi, pop sound, and their piano and string arrangements bring to mind some of my favorite aspects of The Beatles’ music (gasp!). Their lead singer, Justin Levy, is also a real scientist, which adds that much more street cred to their music. Up to date they have released one album, which I featured here , and just recently released a new fantastic EP called, Eureka! EP . A few of the tracks I’m really digging on the 6 track EP [...]
As a Chicago based music blog, we feel it's important to celebrate Casimir Pulaski Day - a holiday that mostly only Illinois residents (and really thorough Sufjan Stevens fans) know. Most people here actually have no idea who Pulaski was-and Sufjan's song hardly addresses the issue, so we thought we would share these 5 fun facts from AOL News . Now if you're ever on Jeopardy against Watson, and one of these comes up, you can totally kick its ass! Happy Casimir Pulaski Day, everyone!! Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day (mp3) 5 [...]
Last night Iron & Wine played to a packed crowd at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago. The show ended up being quite good, despite one potentially devastating setback: lead singer Sam Beam was battling what appeared to be a mild case of laryngitis. At first many people in the crowd were noticeably worried that this was going to compromise the show, which is so dependent on Beam's vocals. However, after a few soundboard adjustments, and him putting in everything he had, most people quickly realized they were still in for a great show. Members from local band, Califone, backed him on [...]
The Portland band Derby just released a new EP yesterday, called Madeline . I've been a fan of the band's indie pop for years, and am enjoying these new tracks. On this EP the band is experimenting with a new sound that is slightly more raw than their past albums (which are summed up perfectly by Northwest Music Blog , as an "infectious, melodic bundle of sugary pop goodness"). The new sound actually brings to mind the Raconteurs quite a bit, especial on "Madeline" and "Creeping Climbing." The EP is available for digital download and as a limited [...]
I never properly introduced Colin Coulfield, who goes by the moniker Young Man, on IndieMuse. Given I put his EP, Boy , on my Top 10 albums list last year, this seems like as good a time as any to feature him on the site. I highly recommend his music, especially if you are a fan of Iron and Wine, Avi Buffalo, or Animal Collective. Colin does an amazing job mixing together folk, lo-fi, and indie pop to make Boy one gem of an EP. I get completely absorbed by the memorizing melodies [...]
If you're a fan of Andrew Bird, Yann Tiersen, or Cat Power I highly recommend checking out multi-instrumental artist, Sydney Wayser. I've been listening to her beautiful 2009 release, The Colorful , non-stop this week. With all the hand claps, banjo picking, whistling, and glockenspiel goodness the album offers, we once again see that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs hits it right on the mark. Nice work, Maslow. A few of my favorite tracks on The Colorful include, "Lullaby," "Banjo Bayou," "La Di Da," and "Oh The Places You'll Go." As a fan of [...]
If you've been following IndieMuse for any period of time you'll probably know that I am a big fan of John Vanderslice. With the release of his new album today, White Wilderness , it seems like a good time for another feature. If you're not familiar with any of John Vanderslice's music, I recommend checking out some of his older albums first, such as Pixel Revolt or Cellar Door . What makes this current release interesting is that it it's completely experimental for Vanderslice. He partnered up with the Magik*Magik Orchestra to make the [...]
photo by sarah mulligan Yellow Ostrich's release, The Mistress , is among my favorite albums from 2010. Alex Schaaf, the main guy behind Yellow Ostrich, is a treat to listen to for several reasons. First, he makes fantastic music - some have even started comparing his unique style to a modern day Neutral Milk Hotel. And second, he is the rare musician who has a true sense of what music is all about. Instead of hiding in the crevasses, attempting to create a masterpiece for years (and promoting it for even more years), Schaaf has been completely [...]
As of today, you can grab a copy of Spencer Berger's great debut album, Be Brave . Last year I featured Spencer on IndieMuse when he was recording under the name Field; however, because of the surprising number of bands with a similar name, he decided to switch the name over to Auditorium. Berger's voice makes Be Brave one of the most unique albums I've heard in the past few years. In my mind, I place his style somewhere between David Bowie and Flight of the Conchords. A few of my favorite tracks [...]
Hey everyone, 2010 has been a crazy year for us at IndieMuse. We've been working non-stop on another passion project of ours, called MusicFloss , and it's made it difficult to share as much music on here as we'd like to. The good news is that great music continues to be made all the time, and we want to keep up the tradition of sharing our favorite albums from the year. We'll be seeing you in January with a slew of new posts! Thanks for sticking with us. David & The IndieMuse team [...]
If you're a fan of The Avett Brothers or Iron and Wine, I highly recommend checking out Steve Marino's music. He records independently under the name Moor Hound, and his folksy music is some of the best stuff I've heard this year. It all has a really genuine vibe, and if you were bummed after realizing Sufjan's new album contains exactly zero songs with banjos in it, you're in luck. Moor Hound's debut album, Love In My Jaws , released this month, and you can grab a free copy on MusicFloss or Bandcamp. A few of [...]
photo^: girl talk What they said: http://sorry.coryarcangel.com/ ...more music features coming soon :) Also, a new Girl Talk album, All Day , released for free download today... if you're into that kinda stuff. Girl Talk - Oh No (mp3) Site | or grab from Mediafire Or if you're not into that "Oh No," the one from Noble Beast is always great. Andrew Bird - Oh [...]
Hey everyone! Over the last few years we've been working our asses off on a new passion project, called MusicFloss , to help give artists and fans an independent platform where music is cheaper (or free) and artists earn 100% of the proceeds from sales. This project is still a work in progress, but with your help, we'll be able to continue building the "most powerful, DIY artist-fan friendly community music store" EVER- -it'll be awesome and unlike anything out there. Since this is a completely independent project- we're really going to need help from [...]
Indie Muse
Boards of Canada - Reach for the Dead (from Tomorrow's Harvest)
Julia Holter - World (Official Video)
Washed Out - Paracosm (Official Album Trailer)
She & Him- I Could've Been Your Girl
Action Bronson - "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" (Official Video)
Watch Sigur Rós perform “Kveikur” on Leno
Old Photos of Football Fans from 1900–1940
HAERTS: “All The Days”
Today I Feel I’ve Sprung A Leak
