Chris has already posted on these five gentlemen but it was our first post ever . So even if you've been with us since the very beginning (for which we thank you), explored our past posts, or are hearing about them from us for the first time, it's about time to talk about The National again. I finally got a hold of Alligator , The National's previous album to last years Boxer . My love affair with The National is renewed. I now understand why the music community was worried if The National [...]
Per the suggestion of a friend of mine who happens to have great musical taste, I picked up These United States ' debut album, A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden . I had heard the somewhat dreamy and endlessly pleasant First Sight already, and decided to take the chance. As it turns out, the entire album is about as starkly laid out as its cover art, but beneath the quiet instrumentation and hushed lyrics is a beautifully textured musical landscape that opens up more and more upon [...]
I've been on a horse once in my entire life and it was not pleasant. Something about sitting on a 1200 lb animal that I had no control over and could kill me with a kick to the head. I imagined it would be like driving a car, but with the fun sound of two coconut shells hitting together. Not so. Just painful. (Do saddles really make a difference?) But I love Band of Horses . So in review: Individual horses: Not a fan. A Band of Horses: Big fan. [...]
Weezer was one of my very favorite bands as a kid - one that I could always come back to. The Blue Album is a staple for many of my generation, and if you ask just about any American twenty-something around they could probably sing you the lyrics to the Sweater song or Say it Ain't So, and probably have some fond memories of the video for Buddy Holly. The album seemed to be kind of a beacon on the radio amidst all the grunge and hip-hop of the mid-nineties. Next came Pinkerton, a beautifully bizarre record that was [...]
It's summer. A change of seasons, a change of pace, and a change of mind. Also, a new Tristan Prettyman album. We don't think this is a coincidence. Tristan makes music that heralds back to a warmer time. And as a special treat to celebrate her new album, Hello , we're giving away a very special lady's tanktop that Tristan designed for Elwood Clothing , perfect for summertime wearing (click on the image for a closer look). All you need to do to enter to win this [...]
Two posts in one day!? I know what you're probably thinking, and yes, I might be trying to avoid what I'm really supposed be doing. Or I might be so excited that I just couldn't wait. Here's the video for the first song from Mates of State's new album, Re-Arrange Us . The song is called "Get Better" and it made me kind of cry. It's that good. [...]
Finals are almost over, and that means that in just a few days I am going to feel about 100% better than I do today. Not that I'll really have any time off, as the end of this semester just brings the beginning of the dental school application process for me. Just moving from one phase to the next, once again. I know many of you might be facing some pretty big events in the coming days and months, whether it's tossing a graduation cap, tossing a bouquet, starting to get serious, [...]
This isn't our usual kind of post - but its musical and pretty stinking awesome. Wait until the 47 second mark for a very (at least for me) unexpected surprise. You'll be so glad you did. Gnarls Barkley - Surprise from the album The Odd Couple ( Amazon / iTunes )
I'm going to be honest, I'm a little crazy about the husband/wife duo of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel that is Mates of State . It's hard to explain. I just love them. Do I really have to explain any more than that? So it's understandable when I get so excited about any information regarding their new album that will be hitting our eardrums May 20th. Like when we find out that it's called Re-Arrange Us. Or when we find out that there [...]
As Chris said, it's the end of the semester and that means finals. And unless someone wants to write a paper for me on determining the vegetation health of reclaimed mining operations outside of Terra Haute, IN using unsupervised classification algorithms, well then this is gonna be short. (You're impressed aren't you? Don't lie.) Quite frankly, Kings of Leon rock. Thats what they are, they're a rock band (with whisperings of Lynyrd Skynyrd) and you should love good rock music. And Ragoo is a rock song and I've been loving it when my 'Finals playlist' cycles [...]
Sorry it's been a few days since posting - the semester's been wrapping up and things are just kinda crazy. You know how it is. Modest Mouse is a funny band for me. I was introduced to them in eighth grade by a good friend of mine who let me borrow This is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about, and I liked it just okay . How un-indie of me, right? Since then, I've seen them perform twice, but only accidentally - the first time because [...]
Consider this my second post inspired by my recent trip to Boise. Rule #1 in attempting to drive through southern Idaho: Bring great music. Rule #2 in attempting to drive through southern Idaho: Bring a friend who appreciates good music. I really can't stress these rules enough. Fortunately I had both. My friend is absolutely in love with Animal Liberation Orchestra . So they held a significant amount of our attention during our journey and I walked away from this trip loving ALO that much more. ALO's latest album is a definite throwback to the [...]
I woke up this morning a little anxious for the next few days, which will bring exams in chemistry, biology, and exercise physiology. However, the music fates decided to smile down on me, and brought this great news... the first taste off of Mason Jenning's forth-coming album, In the Ever ! So here it is. The song is a fleshed out version of what you might have already heard on the If You Need a Reason EP from a few year's back. It's [...]
It was a couple of years ago that a good friend of mine introduced me to the Mountain Goats (the recording/performing pseudonym for John Darnielle) - and when she explained them to me I'll admit that I was skeptical. A guy with a kind of nasally voice, singing emotionally driven songs over vigorously strum palm-muted acoustic guitar? Sounded like a recipe for disaster to me. Well, she let me borrow 2005's The Sunset Tree and said "here, you'll love them". And as it turns out, I did. The music was actually even [...]
I've avoided this post for so long. But after this weekend I just can't get Josh Ritter out of my head. This is where it all begins and ends. My musical Alpha and Omega. This past weekend I was in Boise at the lovely local independent music store, The Record Exchange, and reminisced about when a group of us made a pilgrimage to this very store to see Josh in concert. (Which was actually only the first of the two that day.) I won't go into details concerning the performances, or when we got to personally [...]
I've wanted to post about Jens Lekman for a while, but just haven't ever gotten around to it. Which is kind of funny - because no-one has been playing as consistently in my car and on my iPod as Jens over the last couple of months... But anyways, here he is. Jens Lekman . The Swedish singer who's mastered the ironic-storytelling-put-to-sam pled-beats-and-string- sections category of music today. All of his stuff has a kind of retro feel to it, like it's been salvaged from some old phonograph and made relevant again through [...]
I'm sitting down right now to try and write a review of what I witnessed Monday night in Salt Lake. And to be completely honest, I'm having a pretty hard time with it. Most simply, I saw four Texans who call themselves Explosions in the Sky perform at In the Venue. For those of you who might be unfamiliar, Explosions in the Sky is a band that writes beautiful, sweeping instrumental post-rock music - who have also been able to carve out a following outside that particular niche - in large part due to their cinematic and [...]
As you know, Tobler and I are both currently college students, and although I don't speak for him, I can honestly say that I've reached that point in the semester where I'm ready to renounce an education and just go hitch hike from national park to national park for the rest of my life. The life of a drifter is looking pretty appealing right now. And if I could only take a limited amount of music with me, The Dears Gang of Losers would be there in my knapsack (along with a hearty supply of granola [...]
As if I didn't have a million reasons to love Ben Gibbard and Death Cab for Cutie anyway - they go and release an 8+ minute song for the first single from their new record, Narrow Stairs (out May 13th on Atlantic). Yeah, I know - pretty awesome. So the song opens with a four and a half minute long ambient noise/bass and drum jam thing before we ever even hear Ben's voice. It's all expertly rendered by Mr. Walla's superb production, and the [...]
Bishop Allen's album, Bishop Allen & The Broken String, has been on heavy rotation for me lately. Made up originally of just two friends, Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, the band draws its name from Bishop Allen Drive in Cambridge, Mass. - where the two lived together after college. And their music seems to reflect just that kind of friendly familiarity - the kind that makes you feel comfortable, like you just want to sit back and stay awhile. The album [...]
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.
