To win yourself a copy of Giant Hand's Coming Home please see the contest details at the end of this post. Kirk Ramsay has certainly had one heck of a whirl wind year. As the only man behind the moniker Giant Hand , he's got a lot to handle on his own. So far, so great. As 2009 ramps up to an end, there will certainly be more than a few year-end lists featuring Coming Home , Giant Hand's debut. Before things get really hectic for Ramsay (he's [...]
I know I promised the Notcraigcast last week, but it didn't happen I'm afraid. After last week's amazing Craigcast Neil and I were intending to introduce Craig to all sorts of modern music which we thought continued some of the traditions of the blues music he was describing to us, but circumstances have rather conspired against us unfortunately. Neil is off on tour with Meursault playing his songs, and Craig is off on tour with his liver, taking it around the watering holes of Edinburgh and giving it a good, hard kicking in each one. Consequently [...]
Taxi, Taxi! - Belle Erik Levander - Sekund Samamidon - Saro The Last Dinosaur - Gusts of Wind Blowing in Different Directions Arcade Fire - Accidents Blue Roses - I Am Leaving Auld Lang Syne - Where My Fortune Lies Some of my favourite songs for my favourite season. 'Gusts of Wind...' is taken from The Last Dinosaur's debut, which I am enjoying at the moment, and on which I have more to say. 'I Am Leaving' [...]
{best animal ever} Samamidon - Head over Heels (Tears for Fears) There's a certain mood that this song helps make. Like a weird sense of wonder, and dazed detachment. An odd amusement at your own odd self, kind of like suddenly realising you had misjudged the time, and there are far more hours left in your day than you'd thought, or that you'd taken more pills than you meant to. It's a little feeling of retreat, [...]
[This week's Sunday Supplement has been very kindly written by perhaps my oldest (and oldest) reader, Campfires & Battlefields. C&B has emailed me more good music suggestions than pretty much anyone, being the first to alert me to Samamidon, O'Death, Fleet Foxes (okay, we'll forgive him that one) The Felice Brothers and quite a few more, so hopefully we can persuade him to do a monthly column - sort of a Letter From America sort of thing. Thanks C&B.] A few weeks back these hallowed pages were given over to iniquity in [...]
[This week's Sunday Supplement has been very kindly written by perhaps my oldest (and oldest) reader, Campfires & Battlefields. C&B has emailed me more good music suggestions than pretty much anyone, being the first to alert me to Samamidon, O'Death, Fleet Foxes (okay, we'll forgive him that one) The Felice Brothers and quite a few more, so hopefully we can persuade him to do a monthly column - sort of a Letter From America sort of thing. Thanks C&B.] I am enjoying this record way more than I should. What we have here is a "concept" [...]
DO NOT WORRY! This is not a podcast stuffed full of tedious moralising and empty pontificating and generally depressing garbage about a subject far too weighty and philosophical for this sort of half-arsed internet enterprise. In fact, towards the end it really gets quite chipper. Basically, there are so many extraordinarily good murder ballads that that particular aspect could so easily have entirely overtaken a podcast ostensibly about prison, crime and criminal justice. This week, however, I have still managed to marginalise the role of the murder ballad, because the concept of death incorporates so many [...]
Illustrator Drew Millward took some time out to talk to us here at The405 about his art work. Check it out! When did you first realize that illustrating could become a full time career for yourself? Was your choice to become an artist something that was regularly embraced; given your talents, during your youth or was it something often frowned upon by your parents and teachers who told you being an artist wasn't a "real" job. It really wasn't all that long ago to be honest. I did [...]
Thomas Bartlett has been a busy guy lately working with such artists as The National, Bon Iver, Nico Muhly and David Byrne. Aside from lending out his musical skills, Bartlett also has his own project in the works...the yet to be titled Doveman album that was produced by Patrick Dillett. New York's Doveman is: Thomas Bartlett- Plays with Antony and The Johnsons, David Byrne, The National, Elysian Fields, The Frames, Bebel Gilberto & Miho Hatori Sam Amidon - Plays with Samamidon, Stars Like Fleas, Tall Firs, The Amidon Family & [...]
Well, after a bit of a lull last week there's all sorts of crap going on in and around Edinburgh this week, so choose wisely because trying to attend everything could just be the end of you. As well as the usual recommendations there are a couple of half-recommendations this week; gigs I feel I should want to go to, but am actually not that fussed about. Crystal Antlers (I mean, come on, they have Crystal in their name, they have to be good, almost as guaranteed as having Fuck in your name last year, or Bear the [...]
die stille im rund ist beängstigend. füllen wir sie mit musik an. zunächst der hinweis auf zwei damen, die seit einigen jahren gemeinsam musizieren, die ganz einfachen dinge auf den punkt gebracht, in diesem jahr mit "pink white blue green" (kommt im mai), auszüge aus der discography des folkrock duos: starnes & shah - teeth (2009) starnes & shah - romance the throne (2009) starnes & shah - wilt (2007) starnes & shah - [...]
in anticipation of a week of work (!) I'm laying around today listening to music purely for the pleasure of listening to music, no hidden agendas, no posts in mind, just letting my ears take me where I will.... it's been a long time. Some Kind of Death mp3 Cardboard Wings Birdlips ..... buy it Well mp3 Bitter Honey Eef Barzelay ..... buy it Half The Lies I Tell Aint True mp3 Above The Below Tragic [...]
Campfires and Battlefields, apart from being pretty much the only commenter on this site who isn't an out-of-control internet freak , is one of my most consistent musical scouts. I don't get an awful lot of emails from him recommending bands, but they are always, without fail, worth paying attention to (Samantha Crain, Samamidon, Felice Brothers - actually, reading that, what the fuck am I doing writing this? I feel shamed). Anyway, he recently put me onto a band called the Mimicking Birds, who are creating something of a fuss around the Blogosphere at the moment, [...]
via www.xlr8r.com Meanest Man Contest might be known for making hip-hop and leftfield electronic music, but when we approached the duo and asked them to curate the next installment of the XLR8R Podcast, they gave us a pleasantly surprising mix that goes above and beyond the word "eclectic." How eclectic? Well, there's one of the duo's own tracks, remixed by producer Touane. Then comes leftfield hip-hop from DOOM and Boom Bip, old-school rock tunes from cult bands like The Idle Race and The Wirtschaftswunder, lots of soul from [...]
Samamidon is opening for Anathallo on Sunday night at New Brookland Tavern. I'll likely sneak in for Sam and leave before Anathallo. I tried listening to three Anathallo albums this morning, and ended up making it through only one complete song. I saw Samamidon play last year with Nat Baldwin at Hampshire. He's an interesting character, and his last album, All Is Well , is high quality. Below is a video of him performing "Wedding Dress" with some folks in Iceland. Bonus: Samamidon -- [...]
Should you be in Dublin on this day, I recommend you go - and this fantastic song is reason enough, I'm sure you'll agree: Frightened Rabbit - Keep Yourself Warm And relatedly, their new live record is rather good as well. --- Elsewhere, you can now buy Pity Dance , DM Stith's lead single from his fine new album. It comes with a very pretty cover too. Sadly however, he seems to have gone insane. The last post on his blog features [...]
It doesn't exactly sound anything much like a rock opera, this album, but in some ways it rather inexplicably feels that way to me. Equally inexplicably, although the sound is cohesive and quite unified, it still seems like a somewhat sprawling album veering wildly from one style to another. This is probably why it has taken me so long to write my review. His background is in avant garde composition and free jazz saxophone, so I suppose the fact that the record retains some of this blood is no surprise. It is still basically an album of songs, [...]
It's all going to be underground this week, with most happeny things happening at the Bowery, aided and abetted by Sneaky Pete's on the Cowgate. Ben Folds Five - Underground (Live at Ziggy's) This weekend has been nice, actually. Getting the Samamidon session posted took me all the way through Friday night without any sleep, and all I managed was a couple of hours' nap before the Meursault in-store at Avalanche, and then then off to have a couple of bevvies with Broken Records to celebrate their signing to 4AD. [...]
The day after his amazing live set at the Bowery , Sam Amidon came round to the house to record a Toad Session. He didn't have all that much time, and I don't think he quite knew what he'd let himself in for either, so this one is pretty brief. Still, between this and the footage from the live show I think we have a really nice portrait of the guy, who is so different in person from his recordings. Whilst the latter may be beautiful, and whilst All Is Well is an amazingly lovely album, his personality dominates [...]
Yes, that is the new Toad t-shirt, which can be purchased here , and bears the inspiring and uplifting slogan 'Up yours, Eagletits.' Well there's been some good live music recently, and last night was another excellent Limbo night. All three bands were really good and even though it was a late one, there wasn't an excessive amount of drunkenness, so apart from being rather tired I actually feel pretty reasonable this morning. Quick question for you all, in advance of the Friday Fives - even though it's now woefully late, would you appreciate a live review [...]
WKND PLYLST!! This has nothing to do with NEW MOON!
new music from vampire weekend – cousins + music video
Vampire Weekend - Cousins
The Beach House Theory of 2k10.
HOT CHIP TAKE another crack at IT and I’m IN
