Way back in 2008 (wow that seems like a lifetime ago) I fell in love with a little band from Kansas City. The Republic Tigers first EP entranced me with their almost surreal take on electro-folk. The album that followed, No Color , quickly became one of my favorites and found itself perched quite high on my year-end list. Now in 2011 we're finally getting some new Republic Tigers material and just in time for Record Store Day. No Lands Man is a four-song EP being released April 16th (alongside a nifty 73 [...]
Last Friday night we made it down to Bloomington for the first time in far too long to see Lia Ices and The Cave Singers at Russian Recording. Before I get into the show itself, I need to mention that Russian Recording might just be my new favorite venue in Indiana – it's a recording studio they set up to serve as a club, and holy cow! It's so great! It's intimate, cozy, and of course, sounds amazing. After a particularly soaring coda to one of her beautiful songs, Lia Ices looked especially startled and pleased, saying something [...]
*Ok, not quite. But this is still pretty great. Sterogum has compiled a HUGE list of Ben Gibbard covers. You'll find Ben in all his various incarnations: DCFC, solo, Postal Service, and even duets with his wife Zooey Deschanel. (awww...cute.) I haven't listened to all of them yet, its a pretty daunting list, but I've listened to quite a few. There are some fantastic songs but most seem to be just ok. There are a few that aren't any good. Don't ask me to list which are which. I'd rather you explore and find [...]
My first introduction to Cataldo was the brilliant "Black and Milds", a song so good that I purchased the rest of the album, Signal Flare , without ever having heard more than just that one track. I was pleased to find that "Black and Milds" was not a fluke. Signal Flare is a beautiful synthesis of folk, rock, and pop. (Which is actually how I would define the increasingly useless and vague term "indie music")(That discussion is for another time though) But all of that was back in 2009 for me. And besides [...]
Its Spring Break. This might mean parties, beaches, and drinking to some people, but to me its just a vacation from my computer, writing, and the seemingly endless editing process. (Although I have been to a beach this week, so I consider this Spring Break seized.) But I just can't ignore writing about Broken Bell's new EP, Meyrin Fields . Too often you encounter an EP that is merely the scraps of an album. Alternate takes, acoustic versions, live recordings, and unreleased tracks that just didn't seem to cut it. Sometimes EPs can [...]
We really love The Head and the Heart around here. We also really love Heather Browne and her fantastic blog, I Am Fuel/You Are Friends . Now take those two things and add them together, and you've got a fantastic recording of 4 new Head and the Heart songs. Yes! link: Fuel/Friends Chapel Sessions: The Head and The Heart mp3: The Head and The Heart - No One To Let You Down from the [...]
I'm currently in 'finals week isolation' so this needs to be quick. Record Store Day is fast approaching and we've finally received a full list of what will be available. It is no exaggeration to say that last year, Record Store Day was really one of the best days of my life. So in between the endless writing/editing process I'll be pouring over this list, slowly winnowing my list down to a financially feasible reality. Meaning two or three items...*sigh* pdf: Record Store Day [...]
Sadly, I don't have a used record store nearby. So instead I rely on what the wonderful residents of Redlands donate to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. As a whole my neighbors seem to love old gospel music and Christmas albums, both of which, judging by the vacuous faces smiling back at me from the album covers, were recorded by cultists. Really, that is about 99% of the records and CDs at the thrift store. Not ideal. That was until last week when I found The Rural Alberta Advantage's latest album Departing sandwiched between [...]
I'm completely adoring the new Cut Copy record. I wrote awhile ago about how much I love "Where I'm Going", but there are so many other highlights – like the Men At Work-winking "Take Me Over", the twinkling "Pharaohs and Pyramids", and the 15-minute-long closing epic "Sun God". My favorite song though, is still the mind-blowing opener "Need You Now". Whenever I listen to it I feel like I could conquer the world or win an Olympic medal or something equally incredible – so its video, directed by Keith Schofield and released a few weeks ago, [...]
Since I'm still a Twitter hold-out I was a little behind on this, but have you heard of the twitter-feed Discographies ?? He reduces entire musical careers to 140 characters or less, and he's kind of amazing at it. Here's some favorites: The Decemberists: 1-3 "Wand'ring wide, we sailed our tales..." 4-5 "...o'er the topographic ocean." 6 "Safely home, we commenced to jangle." Kanye West: 1-3 "I was a good student." 4 "But after graduation, I got depressed." 5 "All I did was surf the web and listen to Meat Loaf." [...]
It's no secret how much we love Josh Ritter around here – in fact, I can't think of any other artist we plug more often or more emphatically than him. His record, So Runs The World Away, made the No. 2 spot in our Favorite Albums of 2010 , and if we'd been writing this blog back in 2007, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter would have topped that year's list as well. On top of all that, his 2005 masterpiece The Animal Years continues to be one of my all-time [...]
This is neat! Yesterday Robin Pecknold (of Fleet Foxes ) quietly released three new songs via his twitter (because it's 2011 and why not release music via twitter?). In the past Mr. Pecknold's released solo material under the White Antelope moniker, but these are just plain ol' Robin Pecknold songs - all except for the first one, which is a plain ol' Robin Pecknold song + a pinch of Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste, and yes it's as pretty as you'd expect. Take a listen below, or download all three HERE [...]
It doesn't feel that long ago when hardly a week went by on this blog that we didn't mention folk-rocker Joshua James . We love him here. And by my count its been a few months since last we saw Joshua grace our blog with his bittersweet voice. So he's due. Well the best I can offer you (and its actually pretty good) is a cover of Herman's Hermits "No Milk Today." The song is from a TV show called Sons of Anarchy ...a show I've never actually seen...but its rated TV-MA, so my delicate disposition [...]
I love this song by MNDR (aka Amanda Warner), the dance pop diva from New York who's poised to blow up any day now. (That is, if doing a song with Mark Ronson and Q-Tip isn't blown up enough already.) Her four-song EP released last year was pretty great, a short and sweet introduction to a significant talent, full of danceable beats and swelling sing-along refrains. "Cut Me Out" continues to build on that, boasting more twitchy beats and sparkling synths topped off with her catchiest chorus yet. Suggested listening place: in your car, with the windows down, [...]
Wow everyone. It is busy around here. Between writing an endless stream of papers and staying on top of the latest Charlie Sheen news, I just don't seem to have a spare minute. But long ago, I promised High School Logan that no matter what else was happening in my life, I would always make time for Cat Stevens . I really can't get enough of Cat Stevens (or Yusuf, as he now likes to be known). I've said it before, but it bears repeating, his voice is as strong and magical as it ever was. He [...]
My wife has written a post on her infatuation with Elvis as a little girl. It's called "I was ten, and there was no Bieber", and you should probably read it.
I've been listening to The King of Limbs, Radiohead 's latest record, for a little over a week now, and I really like it. While the internet has some pretty strong feelings about it, both positive and negative, I'm mostly just enjoying it – it's not Radiohead's best work, but it's nowhere near disappointing (or maybe it is, if you're expecting these guys to break down sonic barriers on every single release, but in that case, I mean, c'mon ). Overall, The King of Limbs is pretty, challenging, and continues to develop [...]
I'm kind of ridiculously anxious for The Mountain Goats forth-coming record, All Eternals Deck (out March 29th on Merge Records ). I'm not the biggest MG's fan in the world (it'd be a full-time job to be a fanboy for someone this prolific ), but every few years one of John Darnielle's records just hits exactly the right chord for me - The Sunset Tree did it in 2005, and Heretic Pride did it again in 2008. Those records were just exactly what I needed right then and I played [...]
I have been completely smitten with Lia Ices for the last couple weeks, even though I've only heard these two songs. But listen to them yourself and just try to tell me my smitten-ness is misguided... Her debut record was released in January on Jagjaguwar , and I'm still yet to hear all of it, but if these charming and understated tracks are any indication of what it contains, I really have no excuse to grab this album. And neither do you! Oh, and those harmonies on the end of "Daphne"? Those are courtesy of [...]
Whale in a Cubicle
Avicii – Two Million
Yellow Magic Orchestra edit from Chrome Canyon
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
H&M Lookbook Mujer y Hombre Otoño 2012.
