I first wrote about Loyal Divide upon FBF's recommendation back in April. I had their MySpace up and listened through the afternoon, but it wasn't until I trekked up to Boston for the wedding weekend that I was able to really dive into their self-titled EP on both legs of my drive. The EP begins with "Backes", a slightly more boisterous song than I'd grown to envision from the band. This style reappears on "Tulips" later in the album. "The Tease" immediately pulled me into the album and [...]
This is a post for Tom, who loves the Verve, and insists that I keep him up on all things Verve related. Their new album comes out August 19th and The Music Slut posted the trac k listing earlier today. I'm still not sure how I feel about the sampling on Love is Noise, but check out the video for it, which I was calling Love is Pain, that I recorded at their NYC show in April and I put a few live songs from the show below, too. [...]
"Right, I forgot, here in the States, you call it a sausage in the mouth." "We just call it a sausage." Dear God- Please let there be an Arrested Development movie. If you just give us that, Michael Cera could finally be free to not bring George Michael to the big screen in every role he plays...not that we're really upset about that one, anyway. [...]
My last day in Austin turned into a successful one. I roamed the campus and the drag, made it back to my hotel for some quality time at the pool and even managed to develop a tan. Can I just say that I like myself so much more when there's a little bronze on me? After the sweaty afternoon at the pool, I got showered up and headed down sixth street for the Islands performance. Along my way, I spotted a sign for happy hour and knew I'd be back..and I came back for [...]
Even if my fate handed me some shitty music days to check out Austin, I was able to see Islands play yesterday at Waterloo Records. I had planned to go to Emo's to see them that evening if there was any chance of me staying awake. While I stayed awake, I was a bit distracted the rest of the evening. The band was ready to go ten minutes before 5, except the sound system wasn't always agreeing with them during sound check and the singer had a bit of anxiety about his [...]
Austin is my sort of Texas. I got in yesterday afternoon and visited the capital, roamed 6th Street, put in a little time at the pool, then trekked down Congress for some quality Mexican at El Gallo. (Note to all you Tarantino fans, a good portion of Grindhouse was filmed there.) I might have slightly spoiled my appetite when I stopped for dessert before dinner, but it was an airstream trailer with a big cupcake atop it--I had to stop! Ironically, there was a Magnolia Cafe across the street, invoking images of the Magnolia Bakery. [...]
Sudol, Nicole, Weir & I at the River Walk on Friday night. The Bobcats rolled into San Antonio on Friday for the Woody wedding extravaganza. While it lacked the scandals of the wedding we do not discuss three years ago (Happy Anniversary Pacinis!), it was a weekend that would make Doc K and the rest of the OU crew proud. We developed an unhealthy obsession with Pappasitos , endured a horrific cab ride on the way to see Woody, roamed the river walk [...]
R.E.M. took the stage and played a 27 song set for the crowd at MSG last night, keeping the energy level high and the sold-out crowd dancing. The band's videographer, Blue Leach, has put together an amazing video show for the tour and last night they debuted the new video for MLK tribute song, "Man-sized Wreath." Even from my seats at the back of the floor, I couldn't help but continue to take photos as the visuals changed with each song. [...]
Our crew on the first Woody Shuffle in Athens, Ohio I've landed in San Antonio and half of my Bobcats are already in town for the Woody wedding celebration! We did an Alamo drive-by on the way to the hotel and have had some burritos and margaritas. Now it's off to the pool, then we're hitting the river walk for another Sheriff Woody Shuffle. Recap of last night's concert will be coming at some point, but head to the youtube to check out some [...]
It's almost 4 am and I can't figure out this Redlasso and how to meld the two clips together. At least the networks haven't shut down the service :) I'm heading to the airport in an hour, so I'll just have to figure it out later and this will have to do for now. The painting from the performance will be auctioned on eBay starting this Saturday. If you don't win the painting, be sure to support the band in other ways--buy their cds and see them on tour if they [...]
The National at BAM in February We're really excited, because tonight is The National, Modest Mouse & R.E.M. at Madison Square Garden . This will be my third time seeing Matt Berninge r & the boys, but my first chance to see Modest Mouse, who I've been wanting to see since discovering Good News in grad school (I'm such an elitist) and as often as I've watched those awful Knicks, I have yet to see a show in MSG. I remember the days when my [...]
Luke Russert's appearance on TODAY with Matt Lauer was so touching Monday morning. I'm amazed by his composure, but it's obvious how well the Russerts have raised him and it at least warms my heart that father and son were able to have such a loving and close relationship, even during their abbreviated time together. The video gave me goosebumps numerous times during the 15 minutes. On Saturday Bruce Springsteen dedicated Thunder Road to Russert, a huge Boss fan, during his concert in the UK. Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road (live) [...]
Scott tunes up at Pianos last month . I was checking out Frightened Rabbit 's tour schedule the other day and was quite excited to see they'll be back in New York in a few weeks. I quickly headed to Southpaw and bought my ticket for the 7/2 show, where they'll be playing with Brooklyn band, Oxford Collapse . Their show at Pianos in May is in my top 3 shows of the year [...]
I haven't been able to get MGMT out of my head all weekend. I haven't had it this bad for the band since March, but Friday was definitely an Electric Feel evening. Oracular Spectacular is an On playlist all it's own. I'm hoping that there will be some videos online from Bonnaroo, but until then, we have the crazy energy of their "Kids" performance at SXSW, which is an absolute favorite of mine, plus there's always their new video for " Electric Feel " in hi-def. [...]
After a late night in the city and even later phone calls, I grabbed an hour or so of sleep, before heading to Boston for the Hammer wedding. I was still a little bummed that I couldn't head to India and support Neelay during his wedding services (and how fun would I have been in a sari in a foreign country). Luckily, the wedding went well beyond my expectations. It was a mini-manager reunion with Ned, Chrissy, Kelly, Molly, Toby and my lovely date, Ellen, making the trek to witness the Hammer wedding. A few spouses and significant others contributed to the [...]
Daddy Lauer & I last fa ll Without a doubt, my Dad deserves all the credit for getting this girl off to a solid musical start. When I first started this blog, there was something in the About Me section about being raised on a healthy diet of classic rock, early country and the blues. Daddy Lauer is the one who's solely responsible for that-- my mom can only name 7 songs that she likes . Here's a musical Father's Day Tribute to my Dad for raising me well--in music [...]
Last Friday I ventured back to the Bowery for the first time since Cloud Cult for the Pela concert and was pleasantly surprised by both opening acts. Caithlin De Marrais is a singer-songwriter with a beautiful voice (that's saying a lot, as I'm usually not into female singers) and a talented backing band, led by her best friend and producer, Josh. (They're so [...]
. I'm taking a moment for Tim Russert, who passed away this afternoon . I've always enjoyed his coverage and haven't been this sad about a celebrity since Ed Bradley died . I kept his 60 minutes tribute on my DVR for months after his death. Election coverage won't be the same without Russert around. What can I say, the only celebrities that I really like are the intellectuals.
We'll be updating this post all weekend and sending it to the top of the page, whenever we hear from The Jody on her blog-sponsored (but not funded) trip to Bonnaroo. Friday Morning: I returned to the office and a stack of voicemails, but the one from Jody made my morning. She has arrived in Tennessee, pitched her tent and slept for 23 minutes, as it was too hot to sleep any longer. Contrary to her pre-trip weather reports, it's 95 degrees in Manchester, but there is [...]
Happy Friday the 13th! The Boston Globe is telling stories in the form of a dozen photos each day. Alan Taylor is in charge of the The Big Pictur e photo blog which focuses on a different global story each day, although the frequency of posts will be slowing down to 2 o 3 a week. I've been loving it, so I'm not just sending you to the post, but also promoting the RSS Feed . [...]
j e s s i s m u s i c
No Church In The Wild
CHROMATICS "THESE STREETS WILL NEVER LOOK THE SAME"
Nas - Daughters
The Rains of Castamere by The National
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
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.
