Though I'm quite fond of the Decemberists, I'm not really a fan of Colin Meloy's cover albums. Nonetheless, after the disappointing cancellation of the Decemberists' fall 2007 date in New York, I bought tickets to see Colin solo. This show was at the tail end of a very hectic week of concertgoing that opened with Spoon at Terminal 5 , which was followed by a lovely show by the Weakerthans at the MHOW . My worst concert experience was also during that week - Rogue Wave at the Fillmore - which was undoubtedly a waste of time, money [...]
The next in my series of backposts from the 2007-2008 concert season: Back in the fall of 2007, I played a few Voxtrot tracks for my roommate, Suzanne, and convinced her to accompany me to Williamsburg to see Voxtrot and the Little Ones. We first encountered Pratique, an opening band about whom I have nothing good to say. But then - the Little Ones! The cuteness! The infectious handclaps! The dancing! The maracas! The sugary sweetness! The constant rotatation of instruments by the band members! Each of the Little Ones was beaming throughout their entire set, [...]
Last fall, I skipped a class to go see the Shins at Terminal 5, even though I'd heard that the Shins' live show was absolutely terrible. It turned out that the Shins, despite the thousands of people packed into the airplane hangar-sized cavern, put on a decent show. Terminal 5, on the other hand, quickly became my least favorite venue in the city, in large part because the crowds are always terrible. This show was my first at Terminal 5, and I remember being constantly jostled during the show, beginning during Vetiver's opening set. Strangely enough, I haven't [...]
These photos and this concert backpost from November 2007 seem positively ancient, especially because Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band formed in the interim (and because I went to one of their shows last November ). I first saw Bright Eyes at Radio City Music Hall in November of 2007. One of Thurston Moore's bands opened, and I'm sorry to say that I can't remember if I caught more than a couple songs from that set. I was very far away from the stage in the orchestra pit, and I only managed [...]
The Decemberists' next LP, The Hazards of Love (really, Colin Meloy, really?), won't be out until March 24. Luckily, the band has decided to share a free mp3 of "The Rake's Song." Get it from the Decemberists' official website - you have to submit your e-mail address, and then you'll receive an e-mail with a link to download the song. My initial thoughts: "The Rake's Song" is vintage Decemberists, heavier on the folk and lighter on the prog-rock. Go for it.
The Guardian (UK): Franz Ferdinand drum with human bones . No, seriously. The New York Times: Andrew Bird started whistling because he had no backing band and doesn't want to act like a rock star. New York Magazine: Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard and She & Him's Zooey Deschanel are engaged , and no one wants to hear about it anymore.
Now that 2009 is upon us, it's time to take a look at some of the most promising upcoming new releases: Noble Beast by Andrew Bird (January 20, Fat Possum) Andrew Bird's music is always a lovely combination of whistling, violin and voice. The unmistakable influence of Chicago leaves a distinct impression on his music as much as it does on Wilco's or Sufjan Stevens' music (in different ways, of course). "Oh No," which you can hear on Andrew's Myspace , is superb. Pre-order it on [...]
Here are a dozen outtakes from my recap of 2008 , in no particular order. Some of the albums herein are promising debuts from new bands or lovely follow-ups from old ones, and others are disappointments from bands that I'm fond of. First Frost by the Lucksmiths (November 4, Matinee) The first Lucksmiths song that I ever heard was "From Macaulay Station," and it inspired me to write a short story (at this time I was a writer and not a mere music blogger). Just saying that kind of [...]
2008 was a very eventful year for indie rock. If you're reluctant to read through the archives of TRUST ME ON THIS, this year-end retrospective is a crash course in some of my favorite bands. I'll take you month by month through twelve stellar releases in 2008 by bands both new and old, along with some highlights from my concert photography adventures in the last year: janvier: Field Manual by Chris Walla (January 29, Barsuk) (download "Sing Again" ) [...]
My good friend Julie and I have twin, long-standing crushes on Sufjan Stevens. Reasons abound: he's brilliant, he's a wonderful writer and songwriter, he plays about two dozen instruments, he has a beautiful voice that sounds like it might shatter, he's two states into writing a full-length record for every state in the U.S., and he composed a musical and videographic musical suite about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and managed to incorporate hula-hooping. One more thing - he loves Christmas. A couple years ago, Sufjan released a box set of five Christmas EPs , which comes with [...]
Last April, when I still lived just above City Hall downtown, I took a late-night walk to the Bowery Ballroom for the Tokyo Police Club show. Some hours later, as I returned to my apartment, I found myself wondering why I was walking down the deserted Bowery alone in the dead of night - and here is the long answer. Back in 2006, I started hearing about an EP called A Lesson in Crime by a postpunk band named Tokyo Police Club. I don't remember ever hearing any stories about the origins of the band's name, [...]
On the heels of my review of the LP They Will Say I've Been Trying Too Hard by Chris and the Other Girls , here is my assessment of the Let Go EP. I came across Chris and the Other Girls in a very singular manner. Back in 2006, one of the music blogs which I read regularly recommended the song "Let Go" by a band that I had never heard of before: Chris and the Other Girls. So I listened to "Let Go," and I loved the song - hardly surprising or [...]
Franz Ferdinand fans can download a live cut of "What She Came For" (track eight on the new album) for free through NME.com/franzferdinand . You'll have to complete the one-step e-mail registration process before you can gain access to the mp3, but it only takes a moment. I've been eagerly anticipating FF's third full-length, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand , ever since I first heard the track "Lucid Dreams" earlier this fall. I wasn't sure what to make of the chopped-up versions of "Ulysses" that surfaced in the blogosphere recently, but the newest track available from Tonight: [...]
Some months ago, I wrote a somewhat-rambling post on the lovely Austrian band Chris and the Other Girls. Some weeks later, Chris and the Other Girls' Christian Pitschl got in touch with me and very generously offered to send me their 2007 LP, They Will Say I've Been Trying Too Hard , as well as their EP, Let Go . Once I found those records in my mailbox, I hastened to listen through the LP. Despite the onset of my final exams as well as trip to Boston this weekend, I ended up writing this review [...]
One year ago today, I wrote the first post of TRUST ME ON THIS, on Margot & the Nuclear So & So's (since then, I have seen them twice and written extensively about them). Though I averaged about one blog entry every two months in the first seven months, TRUST ME ON THIS has really picked up since July. As I've written more and recommended more bands in the last year, I've come to realize that there is still so much left to be said. Moreover, I've come to see that there are so many bands that I [...]
I've been having a rough month, though things did improve immediately prior to Thanksgiving. When I was sixteen, I had a very brutal year (at the risk of quoting a cancer survivor irreverently - Andrew McMahon of Jack's Mannequin, in "The Lights and the Buzz": "I'm coming home on my hardest year"). I used to come home from school, completely drained, and I would lie on the floor of my room and stare at the ceiling and listen to Emblems by matt pond PA until the sunlight waned into the night. There is so much else [...]
As promised, here are some highlights from my photos from Bishop Allen's Saturday night show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. View the full photo set here . View the companion concert recap to this photo post . Drink Up, Buttercup amidst the crowd for their final song: Bishop Allen:
Last night I went to see Bishop Allen at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. My spirits have been seriously flagging after a bit of a rough week (preceded by a rough month, and a rough semester in general), but Justin, Christian and company did not fail to cheer me up, at least for the night. Here is a recap for now - photos will be up ASAP. I missed the first opening band, Electric Owls, and caught about half of Drink Up, Buttercup. For the last song of their set, the members of Drink Up, Buttercup hopped down [...]
I was fourteen when I first heard "My Favourite Chords" by the Weakerthans. I can't remember how I came across them, but I don't believe that anyone recommended them to me, and I don't think that any of my friends or acquaintances have heard of them. This is not to say that they're the most obscure band that I could dig up - quite the opposite. The Weakerthans have won been critically acclaimed, mostly in their native Canada, and most recently won the Echo Prize and a handful of Western Canadian Music Awards in 2008. "Civil Twilight" from Reunion [...]
I went to the sold-out Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band show on Saturday night at Terminal 5. Conor & the MVB (and Ben Kweller and Rig 1) will be at Terminal 5 again tonight (Sunday). Now, there are a lot of reasons that I hate Terminal 5. It's too crowded, it's too big, it reeks, it's too crowded, it's in [...]
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Princesse - Tell Me | MP3
Prince – Controversy (Mighty Mouse Re-Edit)
Beck - 'I Just Started Hating Some People Today' [Listen]
[LISTEN] Gotye (Passion Pit Remix)
Azealia Banks – ’1991′ & ‘Van Vouge’
