![The <span style="color: #384E60; background-color:#84CCF2">Western</span> <span style="color: #384E60; background-color:#84CCF2">States</span> <span style="color: #384E60; background-color:#84CCF2">Motel</span>: The Cliff [mp3]](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/2296378_lg.jpg)
Carl Jordan has THAT voice. You know, the one that sounds like Gavin Rosdale after he's taken 40 No-Doz. It's that raspy yet emotionally pleasing tone you might recognize with the likes of Pete Droge or Eels, the former heavyweight champions of obscurity-laced pop. But, it's time to step aside Mr. E. The Western States Motel is here to bring oddball power pop back in a big way with their ultra catchy track "The Cliff". This song is that love lost, [...]
Last year , EAR FARM featured 43 bands in our Band of the Week feature... ranging from relative unknowns (such as The Laughing and Bombadil ) to interviews with indie-rock legends (see The Wedding Present and Silver Jews ) to everything else in between. In 2009 we set out to one-up ourselves, and as it turns out we've done just that. This year EAR FARM featured 45 bands as Band of the Week, again flexing our genre chops across the entire spectrum of what we consider to be the best music being [...]
Last year , EAR FARM featured 43 bands in our Band of the Week feature... ranging from relative unknowns (such as The Laughing and Bombadil ) to interviews with indie-rock legends (see The Wedding Present and Silver Jews ) to everything else in between. In 2009 we set out to one-up ourselves, and as it turns out we've done just that. This year EAR FARM featured 45 bands as Band of the Week, again flexing our genre chops across the entire spectrum of what we consider to be the best music being [...]
There's something to be said for a song that ends decisively: The Western States Motel: Oh World.mp3 The Western States Motel recently performed at CMJ and have a new single called 'The Cliff' coming soon. In this older interview , lead singer Carl Jordan talks about his love for the desert, which most Californians develop after a while (we all think we're Stevie Nicks), and a [...]
Last night was kind of a bust for me CMJ -wise, (well I didn't go out, so it wasn't like I went out and was disappointed or anything), but tonight should prove to be a different story. It looks I'll be dividing my time between the Mercury Lounge (early/late), Bowery Ballroom , Arlene's Grocery (M for Montreal), and perhaps a late night visit to the Cake Shop ( After the Jump Late Night Party ) or the Bell House . Here are some of my Wednesday night picks: [...]
You can view my full CMJ 2009 over here (though its so crazy and conflicted, it's not really of that much use). The "CMJ Flickr Flyer Set" is now well over a hundred items, you can check the whole thing out over here . Here are some of my top CMJ picks for Tuesday night (Oct 20): Beat Radio - Glasslands Gallery Care Bears On Fire - Bowery Ballroom Black Swan Green - Delancey Surfer Blood - Santos Party [...]
So, I don't know if I've already mentioned this enough already, but I'm going to NEW YORK on Sunday for a week of tomfoolery and Big Apple based fun. We've also chosen this week in particular to head across the sea as it's CMJ Music Marathon and there are some pretty fucking cool bands playing. A fair few that we've featured on this here blog in fact. Hooray for us and coolness! But, my problem is I just can't process this list of bands who are playing. There are too many for my [...]
CMJ released the band schedule for its 2009 Music Marathon & Film Festival yesterday, which is about as good a sign of fall hitting New York as the return of apple cider at Greenmarket. The festival runs from Oct. 20 - Oct. 24 and includes various venues throughout the city, and the list of featured artists would probably take all four days to read through. But skimming the selection reveals a fairly equal distribution of well-known acts like Atlas Sound and Deer Tick , anonymous locals (including krautrock-y Jeff Buckley-channelers Pocketknife), twenty-two bands who [...]
The press release below doesn't actually list all the acts performing at CMJ this year, so you're probably better off checking out cmj.sched.org to get a true idea of what's happening during this year's marathon. Of course, sched.org is a little confusing too and it doesn't list unofficial events and day parties (as far as I know), so you'll have to wait a little bit longer for info to trickle out from the blogs and other unofficial sources. Lastly, even though the press release says the schedule is "final", you can pretty much bet that things will shift [...]
An appreciation for film is arguably the most common first step in uncovering and eventually admiring the arts. Contrary to the conventional uses of music, photography, or painting, children are exposed to both educational and entertaining films at an early age in order to maximize their general perception of morals, social interaction, and social norms. At this early age, art is hardly an afterthought. Guardians use film to make their children more socially aware, and mainly to safely occupy them without putting much effort forth. The same could be said for something like finger-painting or children's music, but kid-centric films [...]
I am celebrating the Fourth with a photo of my beautiful state flower, the golden poppy. These are from earlier this spring, but I still have a few hanging on against the summer heat. While I picked these bands for the word "states" in their name, they are all U.S. artists, and each of these albums deserves its own review because the songs are so good. This is a beautiful album from Los Angeles' State Shirt. Give your ears a special present and listen to more of the songs. You will want [...]
Hello hello - welcome to the first installment of (what I hope will be) a new weekly column on Guilt Free Pleasures... LA Love! With the exception of 4 years of college I've lived in LA all my life. I played music in a little indie rock outfit for the last year or so, and when we started doing more shows around the city I discovered all these great local bands. And now I want to share them
Hope you weren't waiting for this. I'll go in and add more information if I get the chance.... Monday 3/23/09 [Pick of the Night] PJ Harvey and John Parish / Howie Gelb @ El Rey (Sold Out) – Tried to get in to see them at SXSW, but PJ didn't text our guy back…. Dark Meat / Long Legged Woman / In Retrograde @ the Smell ($5) Bishop Allen / Miniature Tigers / Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band / Singsing [...]
[Happy 60th (!) to Ric Ocasek, as we begin the week in L.A. with some fine fare ...] Some pretty good post-South by Southwest shows hit town tonight: PJ Harvey and John Parish , who wowed 'em Saturday night at Stubb's in Austin, play a sold-out El Rey Theatre; buzzy Australian the Temper Trap play Spaceland as part of the Nico Stai residency; and Bishop Allen leads the way on a great bill at the Troubadour. ... Also: Asa at the Hotel Cafe; [...]
The music festival portion of SXSW kicks off today! The festival features more than 1,800 musical acts from all over the world on over 80 stages in downtown Austin, Texas. Here's a list of Nettwerk Music Group's artist appearances for 2009: Angus and Julia Stone http://www.myspace.com/angusan djuliastone Wednesday 3/18 @ Buffalo Billiards (KCRW Official SXSW Showcase) - 11 PM Datarock [...]
As the names keep piling up for South by Southwest 2009 ( Decemberists at Stubbs ! Grizzy Bear! Devo!!), a more subtle development has caught our attention that - while less impressive than this year's roster of names - will no doubt prove far more useful to those intrepid souls heading down to Austin next month. Similar to the customizable schedule-maker that CMJ unveiled for last year's Music Marathon, mySXSW.com is a new platform unveiled on the SXSW site earlier this week that allows users to manage their own personal itineraries throughout the four-day event. [...]
This month's compilation actually serves as a fusion of December and January. My primary focus in December was the Best Albums of 2008 feature, so there were not enough featured artists to suffice for an entire compilation. With that being said, the interval of time between the last feature of December and first feature of January allowed me to efficiently find some fantastic new artists. Whether you fancy icy electro-pop, bluesy indie-rock, or Japanese post-rock, there should be something for everyone in here. Stylistic variety has always been an aspect of music that I have striven to feature, and I [...]
South By Southwest ( SXSW ) organizers have confirmed a whole bunch of new artists for the forthcoming weeklong event. SXSW is set to take place March 18-22 at the Austin Convention Center and at various venues throughout the city. Among the artists confirmed are Barcelona , Andrew Bird , Ra Ra Riot , and The Little Ones . For more information go to Sxsw.com . [...]
With acoustic, electric, and slide guitars, analogue keyboards, and warm live drumming, Painted Birds Flying in the Orange Mirror Sun is at times reminiscent of Beck and at other times recalls the lazy day near the ocean sound of the Beach Boys. read more
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