September 2005 Archive

FEAR OF COMPARISON


today we have a group of teenagers from manchester who have a band named Fear of Music and who put out an ep on the upstart uk label Blowout back in april. (and if you go to record stores looking for it, they will undoubtedly tell you that you want the mediocre Ben Folds side-project Fear of Pop and of course you don't). it's a bit unpolished, but enjoyably abrasive. many of the reviewers discovering their 6-ong ep here in the states are comparing it to an early Pixes or Sonic Youth. the more i listen to the ep, the more i think these guys need to and will become huge. they remind me of when Ash were mere teenagers themselves, putting out something with a punk-like aesthetic that you could also see one day ending up blaring over the speakers of a large, packed venue.

Fear of Music - "Strange Kind of Terror"

Posted: Thu - September 1, 2005 at 12:25 AM

RECORD HAUL


I'm naming today national- no make that INTERNATIONAL record shopping appreciation day. I just returned from my trip with a short stack myself including the newest albums by Michael Penn, Son and Daughters and I AM KLOOT as well as a wonderful 2000 reissue of Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Sings Newman and Kristen Hersh's Hips and Makers which I wore out on cassette. I admit I don't buy my albums in a store as much as I used to because of Amazon.com but it's hard to say no when ever you see the used bins at Amoeba Records in LA, Berkley and especially San Francisco. Also, the Virgin MegaStore has a great import section and does an admirable job of making the albums of emerging artist affordable. Record shopping in London was a particular joy of mine. there are tons of wonderful used record stores there-I even found a used copy of the original release of Belle and Sebastian's Tigermilk! Then there are the Rough Trade shops which were expensive but a great place to get the pulse of what was good. Anyway, I'll share a helping of what I picked up below.

Record appreciation is also reader appreciation day so please let us know what you just picked up or where you like to find your hidden gems in the comments section below. This website is about sharing what you're digging so spread the love.

I AM KLOOT: "Avenue of Hope "
Kristen Hersh: "Beestung "
OK Go: "The Love Cats " (Cure cover)
Harry Nilsson: "Caroline "

Posted: Fri - September 2, 2005 at 01:34 AM

LIKE A POPCORN MOVIE


i've never been much of a summer person. i love the fall weather and sights. the two things i have enjoyed about summers are movie blockbusters and summer jams. movie season was noticeably weak, thought i did enjoy the new Batman as well as Wedding Crashers. as far as my summer jam...well according to my itunes, the most played song in the last month on my computer doesn't even have competition. then again people from my work could even tell you what it is because they're sick of hearing it. so yeah...alot of people were into that Ted Leo covering Kelly Clarkson tune from several months ago. for me...it's been about this idol-songstress meets American Analog Set mash-up. i hope you all had nice summers or at least a quiet one like me. let us know what your summer jam was.

K. Clarkson vs. American Analog Set - "Since U Been Hard to Find "

Posted: Mon - September 5, 2005 at 03:24 AM

THE ACID HOUSE RULES


one of my all-time favorite pop songs is "Heaven's Just A Kiss Away" from the Acid House Kings and they are the topic of todays post. the secret of Swedish pop music has become far from a secret with indiepop fans that have uncovered the Cardigans, the Concretes, Starlet and AHK "side-projects" Club 8. the Legends, and Red Sleeping Beauty. perhaps it's all those project that provide that the band has only put out three full-lengths since their formation in 1992. the third of those is set for release next week and while i admit that my tastes aren't quite as twee as when i was in college radio, i still love this band and listen to them fairly often. thus my excitement that there's a new album. the first 1000 copies of their new album "Sing Along With..." includes a karaoke dvd. apparently the group is planning some sort of karaoke contest, which would be interesting to hear the result of. i've included a link to their website in case you want to see where that goes. here are two tracks from the new album to compensate for that fact that you will never get to hear my karaoke versions. as for the aforementioned "all-time favorite pop song," the album with that tune was repressed not too too long ago and i'll leave it to you to hunt that down and ensure you that if you love pop music, it's still a must-have album in my book.

Acid House Kings - "Tonight Is Forever "
"This Heart Is A Stone "
http://www.acidhousekings.com/

Posted: Tue - September 6, 2005 at 10:21 PM

HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN


Hey everyone. Hope you had a relaxing Labor Day. As many of you know I was supposed to be heading down to New Orleans at the end of the month and well that simply isn't going to happen now. My eyes have remained glued to CNN for many days now and I can't always seem to summon the words to explain what I am seeing or thinking. Luckily we have some people in this world who are a bit more eloquent than I. Today we have a exclusive track dedicated to the people of the city of New Orleans (as well as those affected everywhere by Hurricane Katrina) sent to us from our friend Mocean Worker, a talented and funny guy with a big heart and a unique view of current events. He explains the inspiration for his track below:

"I was so moved by the pure emotion and anger of Mayor Ray Nagin's words that I was moved to write a track about what's going on down in NEW ORLEANS. Aretha Franklin spelling out r.e.s.p.e.c.t and Mahalia Jackson singing about "her god being real" were a no brainer. The people of New Orleans were just treated with no respect. I hope heads roll in the Bush administration over this , they are slippery folks. We cant let them slink out of this one. be well Mowo."

Check it out:

Mocean Worker: "NO, La, Ain't Right Tonight (Respect) "

P.S. To make donations to the Red Cross click here .

Posted: Tue - September 6, 2005 at 01:17 AM

JOSE CAN YOU HEAR


on the rare occasion deception can be a good thing. take for example José González: while his parents are Argentinean and you may see his name and think that puzzle piece fits, he was in fact born and raised in sweden. now sweden probably has you thinking he makes polished pop music. why just yesterday we had some of that. José González's music is actually a bit more folky in nature with a touch of classical guitar. now you may be thinking "i've never heard of this fellow," he must be fairly unknown. in fact González is a top ten artist in some places in europe, recieving comparisons to Nick Drake in the british press while this album has taken two years to reach the u.s. (despite a wealth of positive reviews). some of you may recall this song featured in the OC last year. you can find a few more mp3s from González's album Veneer on the parasol website as the album is being released here on hidden agenda records.

Jose Gonzales - "Crosses "
http://www.parasol.com

Posted: Wed - September 7, 2005 at 11:20 PM

I HEARD YOU GOT ACTION


I just made this mix for a friend of mine in California but I hope that you might also enjoy it. It's dedicated to everyone out there who can't get a date while their friend keeps telling them all about their string of bad ones! -Josh

01. I Can See For Miles by The Who
02. Born in the '70s by Ed Harcourt
03. Over My Shoulder by I Am Kloot
04. There Is an End by The Greenhornes & Holly Golightly
05. Baby C'mon by Stephen Malkmus
06. Walter Reed by Michael Penn
07. If I Handle You With Care by Trembling Blue Stars
08. Dilaudid by The Mountain Goats
09. Burn That Broken Bed by Iron & Wine and Calexico
10. My Home is the Sea by matt sweeney and bonnie prince billy
11. Iron Woman by Devin Davis
12. Today Has Been Ok by Emiliana Torrini
13. Angle Mort by Les Breastfeeders
14. You Love Me by Kimya Dawson
15. How Can I Tell You (Cat Stevens cover) by Gary Jules
16. To Know That You Need Me by biirdie
17. Dignity and Shame by Crooked Fingers
18. Without You by Archer Prewitt
19. Caroline by Harry Nilsson
20. A Jealous Heart Is A Heavy Heart by Damien Jurado

Posted: Fri - September 9, 2005 at 02:16 AM

BY PROVIDENCE


this one's really from the archives, a 1994 compilation entitled A Bitter Pill To Swallow that features bands performing in providence, ri at that time. a few people may have better luck recalling it's follow-up compilation, Repopulation Program on load records. still there's number of good tracks on here from bands long forgotten even by those who were around to see them. Small Factory and Six Finger Satellite may be the only recognizable names, although i still fondly recall some of the bands including Scarce, Von Ryans Express, Ameobic Ensemble, Ashley Von Hurter and the Haters, and the (Amazing) Royal Crowns.

i chose tracks from Scarce, who had a brief moment in the major label spotlight, though disbanded following a tragic near-fatal brain hemorrhage of it's lead singer Chick Graning and then Pollenate, featuring Jesse Blatz who later formed the pop band The Fly Seville.

Pollenate - "Can't Remember "
Scarce - "Something "

Posted: Mon - September 12, 2005 at 01:10 AM

SENIORS DAY


the new album from Junior Senior has been making the blog scene for several weeks now with the message that the album is good, every much as fun as the previous and apparently there are no definative u.s. release plans yet. i'll further the sentiment and admit i'm a little surprised because i had heard the the duo in commercials and even on video games in the past few years. anyway, here's another song from the new album. perhaps with us blogs out there keeping your best interests in heart, you'll have the whole album in time.

Junior Senior - "Dance Chance Romance "
http://juniorsenior.com/

Posted: Thu - September 15, 2005 at 12:43 PM

LIVE ALOUD


live track tuesdays are fairly random as i have an extensive folder of live stuff and just look for something that makes me go "oh hey, i like that song." in fact you can always feel free to make requests in the comments section. one can never completely guarantee the sound quality as a lot it was recorded by fans. i used to record shows on a pre-ipod era mp3 player myself. i have three different live versions of todays track, probably because it's my favorite Pinback song, and this is the cleanest albeit quietest. the group has a lot of live material available, especially because they'll usually have self-arranged, live eps for sale every tour. they played here back in june, but i was feeling too lazy to drive up to boulder.

Pinback - "Fortress " (live)
http://www.pinback.com/

Posted: Thu - September 15, 2005 at 12:41 PM

ELOHIM IS A HEBREW WORD RELATED TO DEITY, BUT WHOSE EXACT SIGNIFICANCE IS OFTEN DISPUTED*


i've turned on a few of my friends this year onto Real Niggery Vol. 1, a Nick Catchdubs "mixtape" of music by poet/screenwriter/MC Saul Williams, which was available for download in its entirety on a few websites. i had briefly recalled when William's debut was hyped as a sure-fire hit back in 2001 after collaborating with acts such as The Fugees, Erykah Badu, KRS-1 and De La Soul and even saw him on MTV before he sort of just faded...from my eyes at least. well as i was digging through the vaults of my older albums recently, i found this tune on an EP of the same title from 1999 and was like "eh." i have so many albums, sometimes i don't even know what i have. enjoy and have a nice weekend.

Saul Williams - "Elohim (1972)"
http://www.saulwilliams.com/

*

Posted: Fri - September 16, 2005 at 01:02 AM

BETTER LIVING THROUGH MP3


on the screen-saver of my work computer in bright green letters against a mismatched sky-blue background scrawls the words "better can't make your life better." considering the amount of country music and bad eighties tunes that pollute some areas of the office, i would never expect anyone to get the reference. it just seems like an appropriate mantra given my job and finally making decent money affords me a better lifestyle only theory. thus lies the inspiration for todays live tuesday track.

the Lilys - "Better Can't Make Your Life Better "

Posted: Mon - September 19, 2005 at 09:37 PM

FOR ALL THE SCREAMING CHILDREN


Briefly in the midst of all the news coming out of New Orleans, I came across a news clipping that said that Alex Chilton had gone missing in the city during the hurricane and could be presumed dead. It later turned out he had been rescued by a helicopter and that furthermore his old band, Big Star, have a new album coming out for the first time in over, well, a lot of years! Often referred to as the quintessential American power pop band, Big Star flamed out in the late 70's after some inter-band arguing and general frustration with the music industry, but not without inspiring a ton of musicians in their wake, like the Replacements (who famously never travelled far with out a little Big Star).

While looking for news about this new album I ended up at The Posies website. Members of that band have filled out the lineup of this version of Big Star (along with Alex and original Star drummer Jody Stephens) starting with a reunion in 1993 and all appearances subsequently. Chris Bell, one of the members died in a car accident in 1978. They (Ken and Jon of the Posies) have got some fun tracks on their site including a wonderful Hollies cover. Does anyone remember Dream All Day from the Posies? I bet Jay does.

Big Star's In Space hits store shelfs on the 27th of this month. I look forward to hearing it. In the meantime, enjoy these here tracks:

Big Star: Don't Lie To Me
Posies: King Midas In Reverse (acoustic at University Coffee, on 7 January 1988)

http://www.bigstarband.com
http://www.theposies.net

Posted: Mon - September 19, 2005 at 12:04 AM

MATH IS HARD


a track from the more recent vaults while we work past a few computer problems on this end. after going to see the Baxter this week (and renewing my crush on Michelle Williams) it seemed like fine enough timing to break out a tune named "Movie Ending Romance." it is the title track to the second EP released this year by the wonderfully named Math and Physics Club (no relation to the group Math and Science, at least not that i know of). unquestionably one this past summers most enjoyable releases, the Seattle-based group has been given favorable comparisons to the Lucksmiths, Belle and Sebastian and a number of Sarah Records bands. next time i write to you, it will be from a pc. sorry cult of mac, but i tried. for now i guess my powerbook has been relegated to viewings of the Lost dvd on my lunch breaks at work.

Math and Physics Club - "Movie Ending Romance "

Posted: Tue - September 20, 2005 at 10:12 PM

A FAIR AND BALANCED BREAKFAST


the release last month of The Glasgow School by Orange Juice is a bit strange to some because of how long it's taken for someone to reissue some of the bands material considering that their albums have been quite inconsistently in-print throughout the years no matter how many bands in that time cited their influence and greatness. in fact the thought didn't even cross anyones mind when vocalist Edwyn Collins had a minor hit off the Empire Records soundtrack in the mid-nineties. the group's first offering is probably their most beloved, setting the foundation of endearing pop tunes, with a slant towards songs about relationships...songs that would evolve to take on some funk and disco cues before becoming a bit gloomy (and in some critics words, flat) by their third and final album. the group seemingly refused to take on the hookiness of popular bands from the time while trying to align themselves to a post-punk scene some thought the groups songwriting was topically too mainstream for. the ever-changing line-up from album to album, certainly didn't help matters before the group disbanded. curiously, Collins heartfelt song-writing, once deemed too fey and perhaps even campy, was the constant that ensured they would be remembered years later. here's a cut off their debut album.

Orange Juice - "Tender Object "

Posted: Wed - September 21, 2005 at 11:35 PM

IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING


several people have been recommending King of France to me and i finally heard the group last sunday...durning the credits of a movie. i liked it enough to chase down some tracks and enough to wrap up the week with it. the King of France is primary Steve Salad playing tunes with a wit, charm and stype more befitting of being from somewhere overseas rather his new york by way of minneapolis locality. the King of France is on tour with Robbers on High Street. dates are as follows:

9/29/05 – TT the Bears, Boston
10/2/05 – Iota, Arlington, VA
10/4/05 – Mercury Lounge, NYC
10/5/05 – Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY
10/6/05 – North Star Bar, Philadelphia, PA
10/7/05 – Cro’s Nest, New London, CT
10/8/05 – Webster Underground, Hartford, CT
10/11/05 – Ascot Room @ The Quest, Minneapolis, MN
10/12/05 – The Annex, Madison, Wis.
10/13/05 – Mad Planet, Milwaukee
10/14/05 – Schubas, Chicago
10/15/05 – Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland

The King of France - "Mexico "

Posted: Fri - September 23, 2005 at 10:56 AM

THAT'S OUR EXCUSE AND WE'RE STICKING TO IT


i'm scrambling to write something from my work desk as i battle a hangover that should last a few more days as i catch the National tonight and Architecture in Helsinki on tuesday night after a weekend of cocktails that probably still can't compete with my brother's three-day open bar wedding weekend that goes to show that your friends getting married isn't all bad.

Dirty Three once gave one of the the most memorable live performances i've ever seen. playing on the mercury lounge in denver, Warren Ellis decided to climb up into the buildings rafters to play violin for the majority of the set. the aussie three-piece, with a dedicated fanbase seemingly on board for Jim Whites incomparable handling of the drum kit. they have a new album called Cinder and i had this track on all weekend. it seems criminal to recommend a band and then toss you a track featuring another musician, but so it goes.

Dirty Three feat. Chan Marshall - "Great Waves "

Posted: Mon - September 26, 2005 at 11:53 AM

WOAH CANADA


the new, self-titled album from Broken Social Scene is set for release and despite boasting a line-up of most everyone ever involved with BSS and several guests from other bands, i'm afraid to say i find myself agreeing with many people who have heard it and not been as taken with the album as the previous two. the time may have come and gone here. for all the popularity of You Forgot It In People, it's been a few years and the Arcade Fire has since become the new Candian darlings of the indie scene. i'll leave you to develop your own opinions. the group will be on tour in the u.s. beginning late october and despite my initial cynicism with the new material, i'll probably be at the colorado show. be your own judge:


Broken Social Scene - "Major Label Debut "
http://www.arts-crafts.ca

Posted: Wed - September 28, 2005 at 02:10 PM

COMING SOON


We'll have a new track up from Board of Canada later today. First, we must overcome some technical problems. (Josh)

Posted: Fri - September 30, 2005 at 02:22 PM

AMAZING TECHNO DREAMCOAT


there are two reason i really like Boards of Canada and while one reasons is sorta silly, the second reason is even moreso. i am more often than not an unabashed fan of pop music, but Boards of Canada have always made music that at times reminds me of the soundtracks to the numerous sci-fi and space flicks of the sixties and seventies that i like to indulge in. the second reason is because once upon a time when there was still a wax trax in boulder, on the divider card for Boards of Canada it simply said "jason from radio 1190 likes this band" and i loved the idea that i could be used to help sell a record as being good. thankfully, when they closed the boulder store, andy was able to swipe the divider for me. anyway, the group has a new album out in three weeks entitled The Campfire Headphase. it's ever much as enjoyable as the two previous full-lengths. here's your sneak peak.

Boards of Canada - "Chromakey Dreamcoat "

Posted: Fri - September 30, 2005 at 02:29 PM