we're not in the hall of fame, but we covered one of their songs once

i thought i'd briefly touch off on the announced rock and roll hall of fame inductees. call it ignorance, but i've never been into Sabbath, the Sex Pistols or *gasp* the entire genre of jazz let alone Miles Davis. i know, i'm a horrible person. i love me some Blondie though. blame it on the radio. they were just one of those bands that multiple formated radio stations on the east coast just loved to play, fostering a familiarity even though the band had stopped producing noteworthy music by the time i entered kindergartren. the only thing more disappointing than the groups 1999 reunion album may have been 2001's Blondie tribute album. certainly the idea of such a tribute to be released on Sympathy for the Record Industry perked a few ears, but the line-up proved to be weak despite the labels flourishing of talent years prior. but because everyones heard Blondie do Blondie, i dusted off the album for your indulgement. this Come Ons (post Gore Gore Girls project) wasn't all too bad. [Jason]

The Come Ons - "Rip Her to Shreds"

the best of jens

for those not already familiar with Jens Lekman, last weeks release of Oh You're So Silent Jens provides an excellent introductory that collects a number of singles and eps from '03-'04 (and while the eps have been previously released on Secretly Canadian, this collection includes tracks from the swedish releases not on those). i've always described Jens Lekman to people as "a less pretentious Magnetic Fields" in the chamber pop meets indie pop way and i gather i'll still stand by that description. comparatively the fault in the comparison is that Lekmans delivery is charming, but never attempts to be so by being overtly melancholic or ironic. the other thing i want to note is that it's available as a double lp. i loved the idea of the double lp when i used to buy lots of vinyl. truth be told, those days are mostly over as this was only the third ablum i bought this year that will rest on my technics. such has been the impact of digitalizing music and i guess i'm only contributing to that at this point... [Jason]

Jens Lekman - "Black Cab "

proof that Beavis & Butthead were in fact tasteful visionaries of the mid-90's college rock scene

A special Christmas shopping inspired Top 10...

01. King Missile/ "Detachable Penis"
02. Beck/ "Pay No Mind" (Seven mary three, we've got whores in the city", "He's like one of those guys from the gifted class.")
03. MC 900 Ft. Jesus/ "If I Only Had a Brain"
04. Flaming Lips/ "She Don't Use Jelly"
05. Ween/ "Push th' Little Daisies"
06. That Dog/ "Old Timer"
07. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion/ "Dang"
08. Pavement/ "Cut Your Hair"
09. Whale/ "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe"
10. Gary Young/ "Plant Man" (if anyone has this, I've been looking for it forever- the song or the video)

So the other day Jay hits me with THIS LIST. It's a pretty decent collection of almost all of the musicians viewed by those cultural connoisseurs Beavis and Butthead during their remarkable run on MTV (back when they occasionally showed music videos and some fun cartoons). Recently a B&B DVD set surfaced consisting of forty episodes, hand-picked by series creator Mike Judge. It's not too shabby, but with one caveat- most of the music videos are not in the cut. Licensing issues have ruined a lot of TV-related DVD releases, most notably Tour of Duty (maybe this deserves its own list) and was a problem here as well. Anyway, a few remarkably did survive the editing process: Here they are: Matthew Sweet: Superdeformed, Pantera: This Love, Moist: Push, Deus: Suds & Soda, Grim Reaper: Fear No Evil, Monster Magnet: Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Korn: Blind, Catherine Wheel: Waydown, Beastie Boys: Pass the Mic, Wilco: Box Full of Letters, Hum: Stars.

Grim Reaper is to be experienced by the way! [Josh]

turkey in a coma

You didn't think we'd leave you starving on a day like today. Here's Brak, serving up some Mashed Potatoes.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from the two of us.

mad eye'd and moody

today we're looking at a record, entitled Bitter Hands Resign, that i've had since the spring and didn't start listening to until recently. it's been on my playlist nonestop since i invested some time with it. A Northern Chorus are from ontario, canada and would fit right at home with that eighties alternative genre (perhaps too generically called) dream pop. they're on the Sonic Unyon label that i'll always associate with a number of underrated indierock delights from my college days. it's beautifully moody atmospheric rock thats more sigur ros than explosions in the sky, especially given the soft vocals that sound like something you'd expect from overseas rather just north of the states. i can say it's been incredible "can't fall asleep so you turn on the stereo low" music. [Jason]

A Northern Chorus - "Subject Matters"

magic show

while most formal reviews i've read regarding the Magic Numbers have added up to an opinion that suggests mediocrity, i have yet to find a friend who hasn't really been into their album this year. instead of marking it derivative sixties folk pop redux or tame hookless pop (two accusations i read multiple times), it's become the thing of 2005 mix tapes. i've tapped them for todays live track and have gone so far as to pick a track frequently singled out as their self-debut's biggest offender despite being one of my favorites on the album. i laugh at these people calling it too simplistic and thus uninspiring. i hardly think music consumers as a whole have become that snobby that they are requiring something more challenging and intricate than a harmony-driven pop song with lyrics anyone can grasp. there used to be a time where it could be suggested that muscians didn't have an understanding of their audience. well, i believe that role is now held for the music critic. [Jason]

the Magic Numbers - "Love is Just a Game " (live)

yeah, well we are trees

the latest in a line of bands to move to new york only to make it big in the u.k., i present to you We Are Scientists. the group has been on tour with both Editors and Hot Hot Heat this year and such extensive touring has been building up a good deal of attention leading into their debit full-length, which is due out in january (released overseas last month). it should be interesting to see where it goes. they will have the major label backing and they currently have the internet buzz thing going right now. the tunes are catchy as hell. josh was actually able to catch them with Bishop Allen and might be able to toss together a few other observations ["I managed to arrive early enough to hear another band, We Are Scientists, who played some insanely catchy and fast-paced pop-rock. They were an excellent bonus treat. Nice guys too." josh, 12/19/04] the following tune was procurred by josh when the band was still just self recording and distributing eps freely at shows. it's the type of song i can probably guess without looking was an nme single at one point this year. [Jason]

We Are Scientists - "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt "

also, my favorite part of their website

adult video

Adult's Anxiety Always was one of my favorite albums in 2003. the band was hiding in the detroit underground doing a much better job at what the new york music scene seemed to want to be doing that year. being a pop person it's rare that an album like that could win my affections, but the mood that the album captured just worked for me that hectic year. soon after the news got out that the band had signed with thrill jockey, i was a bit surprised. not just because the band was famously diy-minded, running their own label, but the matching conflicted with the fact i was like the only person in college radio not in love with thrill jockey, which i always said was for indierock guys who discovered jazz. further dismay kicked in when i wasn't immediately taken with the EP that marked their first release with label. i knew they were coming through denver in november and wasn't as excited as i once would have been. and then i saw this video for "In My Nerves," which brought me around and in line to pick up the new full length, Gimmie Trouble. the album is not as electronically minded as their previous work and in fact illicits a voiced marriage of punk and paranoia that you wouldn't get from most souless electronic acts. it's grown on me to say the least. you can listen to the new album and search remaining tour dates below after you check out the video. [Jason]

Adult - "In My Nerves " (video)

cobra la

Going back to 1997 when I lived in London, Rough Trade Shops has always been a source for exciting and emerging music. In recent years they've also started releasing some wonderful compilations, some summing up the years best songs and musicians and other more historical sets reflecting on the history of specific genres. Most any of them are worth picking up. Rough Trade's success with these releases has led them to create a wonderful little label with the likes of Adam Green and others. Anyway, I was digitizing their Best of 2004 disc the other day and came across a band called Cobra Killer and liked it a lot. Some research at the always helpful Allmusic.com turned up a bio for me. Seems they were once part of the DHC (Digital Hardcore) scene over in Germany but have now revamped themselves much in the vein of the Cramps. I just picked up the album on iTunes. check it out for yourself: [Josh]

Cobra Killer- "LA Shaker "

live it up

this week saw the release of a live album from Wilco. being a huge fan, in normal circumstances, i'd probably take an extended lunch break to pick it up, but alas i have already found contentment. back in 2001 i got my hands on a rabid fan-worthy bootleg of Wilco live at the Majestic. the setlist is excellent, capturing songs from as far back at AM and previewing tracks from the then forthcoming breakthrough Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. i have pulled together three tracks from that unreleased treasure for you today. i went with what i'll dub the love trilogy. enjoy.

Wilco - "I Am Always in Love " (live), "Should Have Been in Love " (live), "I'm the Man Who Loves You " (live)

at last

welcome back from the longer than expected hiatus begotten by computer problems. i knew all this mac dependability b.s. wasn't for reals. granted i myself had to replace my pc the same week my brothers powerbook went boom. i gather that purchase may limit my record buying for awhile. i can't say there's anything forthcoming and immediately recognizable that excites me anyhow. in fact, today i'm posting tracks from the two remaining artists whose albums i've anticipated in the o-five.

Edith Frost has been on quite a lengthy hiatus (though to her credit, she's been an active blogger, providing a number of downloadable demos to fans). It's A Game is the new album out on Drag City this week. fans, including myself, are quite excited to find that the album is closer to her earlier work. while i was quite taken with the poppier Wonder Wonder some four years ago, it was Calling Over Time and the eps that preceded it that had long ago won me over (in fact i copped a few lines from that album for an creative
writing course in college).

Edith Frost - "Lovin' You Goodbye "

new york's The Mendoza Line will always be a sentimental favorite of mine. i worked on their first several albums and would frequently hear about the personal dramas of the band. hearing those things played out through song really stood as the embodiment of the notion that people sometimes love drama for the sake of drama. i had relocated to brooklyn a few years back, where i was able to see the band live in what locally had been dubbed one the poorer live performances, but with a hefty amount of suspicion as to whether it was intentional. the songwriting would often reflect an over-contemplative look at heartbreak marked by a chorus so overwrought and tongue-in-cheek you had to love it. the Mendoza Line, for me, have been the soundtrack to having good time at fucking up a lot. the new album, out on Misra next week, is Full of Light and Full of Fire. [Jason]

the Mendoza Line - "Catching a Collapsing Star "

i can see for miles

So I totally forgot making this until losing my laptop made me look on some old hard drives I had lying around. enjoy:





(A.T.H.F) Aqua Teen Hunger Force by DangerDoom

all apologies

Hello everyone! It's been a hellish couple of days to say the least. As you may have read in the comments of the last entry, Jason and I lost the Powerbook (mine!) that was used to publish entries to this fine website using a program called iBlog. Unfortunately I did not back up any of the previous entries or the registration codes for the software! For the time being I'm using an intermediary means to get a few posts up in the coming days before what will probably be a complete redesign/overhaul. Please bare with us.

Since we last spoke Jason has enjoyed a weeks longs vacation from writing while doing, well, I'm not quite sure. I attended a few concerts: NIN (ridiculously amusing), QOTSA (made me want to drink beer and eat nachos) and DFA1979 (to be experienced!) at Madison Square Garden as well as Dios (Malos), Miguel Mendez and the superb Say Hi to Your Mom this past Friday night at Mercury Lounge. I was mistaken for the lead singer for Dios Malos (I'm cuter) and got to tell a dead baby joke during SH2YM's set. (Josh)

Here's some music to keep you satiated this week:

Jarvis Cocker "This Is the Night" from forthcoming Harry Potter film (get excited)

Dios (Malos) "You Got Me All Wrong"

Ringside "Struggle" (featuring everyone's favorite Lord of the Flies, Bathazar Getty- I heard it in a car commercial during Alias- so shoot me!)

Tom McRae "A Day Like Today" (since we're into songs from car commercials. also Tom is really good stuff.)