We're just a few short hours away from that big ball dropping in Times Square that will not only put an end to year, but also to the decade as well. We here at Hidden Track want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and we'll be back and better than ever in 2010! Have fun, be safe and cheers!!! I have the distinct honor of bringing you our last link dump of the year and the decade, enjoy... List Time: Best [...]
A Better Son/Daughter can be found on the LA-based indie-rock act Rilo Kiley's 2002 sophomore release The Execution of All Things . The album, which follows-up on the band's debut LP Take Offs and Landings , was released via the Oberst brothers' ( Bright Eyes ) founded label Saddle Creek Records ; the album also features contributed instrumentation/vocals from one half of the the Monsters of Folk ensemble via M. Ward and Conor Oberst . Since "The Execution of All Things" Rilo Kiley, which consists of former child-actors Jenny Lewis [...]
Toodles then awkwardly-monikered 'noughties'. Everyone's giving up blogging as Facebook and Twitter make it easier to tell the world what you found on the way home from work. Air France are mourning losing my twice weekly custom in October after an exhausting year. I now know how to make flatbreads. And, oh, I now properly live in London. Other things happened too. I've not given up blogging and, as well as reposting pictures of LOLcats and ranting at the Church, I've always posted my fave musical choices of the year. It's been a rather good year for music [...]
Hey, she said it. But to be fair to her, Bertie was a tad tired at the time. BUT NOT TOO TIRED TO CHAT TO JANE BRADLEY FOR THIS HERE BLOGAZINESITE. Yes, since I asked "Who is this Bertie Blackman person, then?" a couple of months back after encountering her splendid single "Thump", Jane went along to have a mouthwag and find out 'first-hand'. They talked about Bertie's ARIA-winning album Secrets and Lies (which is vay good), crushes on Fronch pop stars and, um, "nanimals". BEHOLDIFY: [...]
It's a little difficult to believe another whole year has passed since I started this blog - in January, CTRR will hit its second birthday. Once again, I didn't make a weekly mix for every week this year, though I tried to make up for as many as I could. In this part of the series, there are mixes with themes of: lullaby/sleep, Scotland, colours, John Peel, work/unemployment, Valentine's Day, underdogs, cover versions, synthpop, Wales, Ireland, dance, spring, paranoia, and science fiction. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my friend, Roland, who has [...]
A fascination of mine lately has been the process of the artist. I'm not talking about the inspiration because that is very difficult to pin down, but the process, the research, the selection of canvas, the shape, and the actual method of the artist. When I looked at the work of Caleb Morris I knew that there was a process, a collection of images or ideas that his work us built on. The thought always comes to mind when I see portraits. I find myself wondering if this was an actual person or a composite of research and [...]
Kissy Sell Out - "Go Explode" Do you think this guy has actually accidentally lit a few girls' hair on fire while attempting to flirt with them? I really hope this is not a case of "write what you know." Then again, the clumsiness and anxiety in this song is so potent, it can't possibly come from anything but lived experience. The lovely thing about this tune, though, is that he's smiling cheerfully through his ridiculous awkwardness, and there's a genuine optimism about his ability to overcome it, and actually have some sort of moment of triumph, [...]
Kissy Sell Out "Go Explode" Do you think this guy has actually accidentally lit a few girls' hair on fire while attempting to flirt with them? I really hope this is not a case of "write what you know." Then again, the clumsiness and anxiety in this song is so potent, it can't possibly come from anything but lived experience. The lovely thing about this tune, though, is that he's smiling cheerfully through his ridiculous awkwardness, and there's a genuine optimism about his ability to overcome it, and actually have some sort of moment of triumph, [...]
When you decide to go full bore into a city-wide music festival like Music Fest Northwest , you have certain expectations. You want to see your favorites, you want to find a new love, and when it's all said and done, you want to feel like all the sleep deprivation, ringing ears, and time spent waiting in lines led to a fulfilled and happy, music loving heart. With this in mind, I (being a completely primitive being at times) looked at my opening night in a finite set of terms. This had to [...]
Hard to imagine it was 8-years-ago. I just graduated college that spring and had just gotten back from a two-month jaunt in Europe - that sort of carefree living you're expected to do at 21. I was living with my parents to save some money (since I blew it all on drugs and hookers in Amsterdam) and figuring out the next move, looking for a job, etc. The morning in Boston was unusually crisp and bright, fall was definitely beginning to creep in. I plodded downstairs, half asleep, and went about my normal routine at [...]
![CD Review: Antlers – Hospice [Frenchkiss Records, 2009]](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/1937573_lg.jpg)
Way back in March, the Antlers' self-titled, self-released debut album was already making with-it music critics' best-of 2009 lists. Since I'm not with-it and am notably over a week late for even the bandwagon (French Kiss released a "remastered" version to the public last Friday), I hope to make up for it with schmaltziness. I won't lie...I'm in love with this album because it plays to my weaknesses for painful emotions and sad backdrop stories. It's the most cinematic thing I've ever heard a band, let alone a freshman band, produce. Part of the intrigue is [...]
Image From Here I think I am starting to get repetitious with these 'personal' posts. Please bear with me. Things will change quite a bit around here very soon. And I realize that I've said this before and you are probably getting tired of hearing it. But, I really want to start writing again about the music. So, I've put myself on a schedule. Starting August 1st, I will change my style of posting on this here blog. I will probably do a themed 'personal' post once a week and the rest of [...]
I've been spending a lot of time (unfortunately) in the car making my 'johnny-9-to-5' commute to work, and I've needed something to keep me awake, alert, and from having a Marge Simpson-esque freak out on the middle of the highway. My solution has been to dig through some of the old hip-hop mixtapes (actually CDs, I'm not that old) I made at the end of high school/through undergrad (and play them on the drive). I've re-remembered a pile of awesome hip-hop songs, but the Last Emperor 's "Secret Wars" has got to be one of my [...]
Sex Pistols Pretty Vacant (single) 1977 Warner Brothers Records Producer Chris Thomas, Bill Price John Lydon - vocals Steve Jones - guitar Paul Cook - drums Glen Matlock – bass (and feet-washing) 01 Pretty Vacant 02 No Fun In the past couple of years I've written a couple of times about Wayside, and some of the characters I met there. As I was preparing to write this column I found a note pad on my desk (my "desk" is made out of an [...]
Pictured: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart@The Summit Doing stuff and meeting people rules. Life is too short to not make the most of it. Expect the worst, hope for the best and you're never disappointed. I mean basically what I'm saying is cheers to life and OH MAN I SURE DID DO STUFF AND MEET PEOPLE THIS WEEK. I attended that Black Keys mess at Skullys, saw Brainbow at The Treehouse, Franz Ferdinand at The Newport and saw a whole bunch of other dumb hipster bands oh man [...]
Nature is a curse we fight You're awake, and it's the middle of the night. Awake isn't even the right term. Wired. Alert. Restless. Sleepless. It's time to start messing around with GarageBand, Reason, Anvil, FlexiMusic, or whatever your program du jour may be. Perhaps you can get your song on a teen heartthrob television show and tour with Paramore, like the folks at Paper Route. It's true: In essence, this is how the Nashville, Tennessee band got its start. By messing around on [...]
Alert readers may recall that back in January of last year, we sang the praises of the obviously babelonian Linda Laurie , auteur of the novelty hit "Ambrose Pt. 5." "Ambrose," of course, is a haunting tale of the tender love between a boy, a girl and a subway that permanently warped my childhood. At the time, we chatted with the elusive chanteuse, who assured us that she would have an official website up at any moment. Alas, as of this writing, it has not materialized, but in any case, proving once again that YouTube is [...]
For the past two years Peter Silberman and his merry band of Antlers have diligently worked at putting together their latest release, all the while playing a never ending string of shows in and around New York and gaining steam as more and more fans and bloggers took notice of what Peter and The Antlers were doing with their sound. On the band's last release, the epic In the Attic of the Universe , Peter did all the writing, all the recording, and all the playing by himself, crafting a subtle masterpiece in the realm of bedroom pop. As [...]
I would like to welcome everyone to a week of "Bests" from good friends on the old Slowcoustic Blogroll. I am honoured to have all 5 days (Monday through Friday) this week dedicated to what my fellow bloggers think are some of the best things they have found this past year. As previously mentioned the five blogs will each get their own day in the spotlight here on Slowcoustic, and I am extremely excited about it. To not take anything away, let's get on with it and unveil Day 1. The week of [...]
Jeffrey Kuczmarski "The sun was bright and terrible on my face so I took a healthy swig of whisky before I fully opened my eyes." from Max Find (found in Danger City ) From the first line of Jeffrey's hard-boiled short story about a drunken and dangerous detective I was hooked. It has that Maltese Falcon, old fashion sense of romance. No not the man and woman type of romance, the style and era and genre that Jeffrey revels in has this nostalgic charm, but still pushes and explores towards something fresh and [...]
Hot Chip - “One Life Stand” (Astralwerks) *MP3: Hot Chip - “One Life Stand” Stream [...]More about Yeasayer
The title track from Hot Chip’s new album One Life Stand is everything I hoped it would be. Take a listen: Hot Chip [...]More about Hot Chip
Bloggers these days end up receiving more remixes than original music. I’m pretty sure other bloggers can attest to to this fact, but just in case they’re feeling extra private [...]More about Massive Attack
Pairing hip-hop with rock and roll dates as far back at least to Run DMC and Aerosmith’s “Walk this Way” but presently the idea runs the risk of turning [...]More about Vampire Weekend
You guys have waited pretty patiently for me to get off my lazy ass and get my best of 2009 lists out to you. I [...]More about Phoenix
As we previously shared, we are looking forward to a new Beach House album, Jan 26th, Australia Day. From the sound of what we have heard this will [...]More about Beach House
Hey, look at that – we’re still alive! Complete truth: I meant to post this a good week earlier, but was having server troubles. 2009 was a rough year, personally, [...]More about St. Vincent
Producer Dot Da Genius (Day N Nite) put this track up on his site, headbangamuzik.com, recently for download. The track was recorded 3-4 years ago, [...]More about Kid Cudi
[Spoon] "Look out! All I know is all I know. Yes, all I know is all I know." For anyone that's been reading this blog [...]More about Spoon
New Gorillaz! I been waiting to hear some new stuff from these guys. The Gorillaz come out the gate with [...]More about Gorillaz
TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB | UNDERCOVER MARTYN
The Strange Boys - Be Brave
Phonat - "Love Hits The Fan" music video
Die Antwoord - Enter The Ninja (Official)
Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields - Official Trailer
New Releases V2.9
New Nas & Armand Van Helden
This Week's Other Releases
