Kill Your Co-Workers

There's no need for you to say you're sorry...

2007-01-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

This time around I'll direct your attention to Buddyhead where they've got a Noel Gallagher/Gem show up, which is pretty sweet. First off, it's missing Liam's singing, which is a blessing if you've heard his ragged ass vocals of the past tour or two. God awful. And not only is this Oasis' main man on all things musical/vocal, it's also a sweet selection of song from the Oasis catalog- and a great list of my favorites. Quality's good, too- sound soundboard. Dig it while you can.

Looking back, was it real?

2007-01-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

Well the shuffle on iTunes has brought up some little gems that I'd nearly forgotten about here from the last year or so, and seeing how we're almost halfway through January, I thought it was more than high time to look back a little. And I'll also try to keep this to artists and tunes that I haven't blathered over previously, so don't go looking for Regina Spektor or Liars...

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has those songs that you fall in love with instantly. For this one it's the catchy guitars, that fantastic and somewhat prominent, rolling baseline, and the offbeat title. Of course visiting your national parks makes perfect sense, and perhaps the government should look into using the song to promote them. OK, probably not. What's the song about? Once again, I don't have a damn clue- but it's fantastic still.

Oxford Collapse- Please Visit Your National Parks

We'll have to cheat on this next one as it was released in late 2005 but I didn't hear it until this year, so let's just pretend, eh? I've always been a fan of drum and bass and breakbeat. Which is not to say I'm by any means moderately knowledgeable- just that I really enjoy almost everything I've heard from the genres. The driving beat and bass of this one is undeniable- if I were one to twirl my behind off with glowsticks, this would certainly be one to do it to. I love the way it starts out with a pretty standard hip-hop beat before changing up into hyperdrive. "Tonight... on this small planet... we're going to rock civilization" and BOOM. Nice.

Pendulum- Slam

I've always been just a moderate fan of And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. They weren't even really on my radar until the release of Source Tags & Codes- and more specifically, "Another Morning Stoner." Such a fantastic song, and one that creates such an indescribable mood and time whenever I listen to it. But the last two albums have been much more hit or miss for me, with just a few great tracks among a lot of other mediocrity. Such is the case with "Wasted State Of Mind." Starting off with a galloping beat and piano, the vocals are almost reminiscent to me of Built To Spill. Just as you think the tune is going to die off without going anywhere, the backing vocals kick in to sing along with the chorus. My only complaint is that the tune goes off at least a minute too long- we get it, guys...

Trail of Dead- Wasted State Of Mind

Cex. OK- first off, I hate the name. Apparently going by Rjyan Kidwell just doesn't cut it. Same goes with the album title and cover- but that didn't prevent Actual Fucking from becoming one of my favorite records of the year. And how out of left field- the tracks I'd heard from Cex before this album were more sound experiments than actual songs. But this time around we've definitely got tunes, and good ones at that. I'm not even sure how I'd describe the music, even in comparison to other artists- and believe me, I've tried. The female vocals continually tend to remind me of the style of Beth Gibbons, and the music tends to be dark and rhythmic, sometimes ominous. Great stuff, and the tunes definitely have a tendency to worm their way in your brain and stay there.

Cex- Chicago

We just want to emote 'til we're dead.

2007-01-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

Oh I know that this album will be blogged to utter death in the upcoming months, and probably throughout the year. And I know that a number of the tunes have already been blogged in the last couple of weeks since its leak. But the great thing about Of Montreal's latest is that it's so incredibly difficult to pick the standout tracks because they're all so damned good. One gem after another- and even more so (in my opinion) than on Of Montreal's past releases. So extremely literate and yet fantastically tuneful at the same time, which is a feat that's often difficult to achieve. And yet that's become Of Montreal's calling card in the past with classics like The Gay Parade and Satanic Panic In The Attic.

I've never been one to overly study lyrics but these are so daedal and disjointed at times that they're even more over my head than Of Montreal typically is. And yet that doesn't seem to take away from the songs whatsoever. "Faberge Falls For Shuggie" is a funky groove that brings to mind the style of Prince, Ween, Beck, or even Frank Zappa. The song "The Past Is A Grotesque Animal" is nearly twelve minutes long but is so engaging in it's lyrics and harmonies that it goes by in a fleeting intake. And then there's "She's A Rejector" and I don't even know where to begin on that one. It's almost like front man Kevin Barnes has gone and taken up all the words with Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? And I'll just leave it at that for now.

Official website

Pre-order it here

Of Montreal- Suffer For Fashion

Of Montreal- Gronlandic Edit

He can kiss you where the sun don't shine.

2006-12-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

Well- almost two weeks has gone by and that's just not right in my book. But work's been extremely busy (still is, in fact) so I'll just throw in a quick update here for now.

First off, a new video from Jarvis (The Artist Formally Known As Jarvis Cocker) for his latest single "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time." Good song, great video...

More to come soon, including new Of Montreal...

Year end round-up...

2006-12-15T07:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm looking back on the year in music and decided what the hell- here are some of my favorite songs of the year thus far. To make it easier for folks to randomly sample them on a whim, here are the video clips...

Liars- It Fit When I Was A Kid

Not actually the promo video released by the band, this is pretty interesting nontheless- with footage from a 1930's documentary on Africa. Strangely fitting, I loved this tune from the first moment I heard it, with it's hypnotic, tribal beat and crazy vocals about who knows what. And who needs to know, really?

Ghostigital- Not Clean

Another clip here almost in a similar vein, both in imagery and in sound. Slow the Liars tune down, way down- and maybe add in some squonk and you could get something similar to this song from Ghostigital. With sing-speaking from the former male vocalist of the Sugarcubes, this one also adds in vocals from Mark E. Smith- which it can be scientifically proven is NEVER a bad thing. Both vocals tell some strange ranting tale of fish and chips, and damn if I don't want THE COD. Bizarre greatness.

Regina Spektor- On The Radio

Well of course you know you'll find Miss Regina Spektor in my list of favorite songs of 2006, don't you? I'll go ahead and just put forth that it's at the top. The catchy bum-bum-bums to accentuate the piano, the fantastic melody line, and fanciful lyrics all go together to end up with a gem of a tune I still have yet to tire of one bit- even after listening to the tune literally hundreds of times. Best part is, there's a good handful of songs on Spektor's LP Begin To Hope that are almost just as good.

Sonic Youth- Do You Believe In Rapture?

In the category of "anyone could have done that but Thurston Moore's the only one who did" comes the moment 1:50 into Sonic Youth's "Do You Believe In Rapture?" (:37 in this video of their Bonaroo performance) after a short pause when Thurston briefly breaks down the song to pick a simple chord and it's just crystalline perfect somehow. In non-religious terms, "rapture" is defined as "ecstatic joy or delight" and that sums up well the emotion stirred by that heavenly placed arpeggio.

Machina III- the Machines of False Rumor

2006-12-07T07:14:00.000-08:00

Buzz hit the internet yesterday of leaked Pumpkins demos (or at least rough unfinished work) from work on an upcoming release from Billy Corgan and (non-Iha) company. The four tracks (titled the Baker Demos) were soon readily available from all the usual sources and I'll admit that despite my caring less and less about Corgan's output, I gave them a listen. And it turns out that despite claims of these songs being the work of Billy and crew, they're... definitely not. But heck, go ahead and listen and decide for yourself. If you're fooled, well... shame on you.

This track builds (far too) slowly into an actual song, with guitars that could be heard as in the style of the Pumpkins but the voice isn't really even similar. If I were to try to describe the sound (and I'm still typing, so I will) I'd deign to say "Collapsing Cities" is what Of Montreal would sound like if they were instead a run of the mill alternative band of the early nineties (including production style.) Or something to that effect. The question in the back of my mind is... could these tracks from who knows where/whom end up being sadly better than whatever Corgan releases?

"The Smashing Pumpkins" Collapsing Cities

There is no you left to embrace.

2006-12-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

Well, here's my musical guilty pleasure for the week- in the form of Marit Larsen, formerly one half of the pop duo M2M. She's in her early twenties and plays guitar, keyboards, and harmonica- all complimenting her catchy tunes. I first saw the video for "Don't Save Me" (her first solo single) followed shortly by the song I like even more, "Only A Fool." Her songs are generally acoustic with sweet, adorable, and sometimes even ironic vocals and just a hint of a country-ish tinge. Say what you will about it being incredibly poppy, but what's wrong with that from time to time? Give it a listen/look- I really dig it at the moment.

Marit Larsen- Only A Fool

Live performance- "Only A Fool"

Video- "Don't Save Me"

To the annoyance of my imaginary lover...

2006-11-28T10:55:00.000-08:00

As previously noted here at KYCW, Tom Waits has a new three disc set called Orphans, Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards. That's nearly sixty tracks, y'all. He's definitely as great a storyteller in spoken interviews as he is in his songs, which can be witnessed in his appearance on Letterman here, followed by a live performance with Tom on guitar. Check out an additional Waits interview here from NPR.

Tom Waits- Lord I've Been Changed

Babyshambles has been raved about previously here with the fantastic debut LP Down In Albion (which finally received a domestic release this year in April) and now Mr. Doherty and company follow up with the just as fantastic, albeit shorter, EP The Blinding (out December 5.) It's easy to say if you liked the album that you'll like the EP, but it's just as true. There's not a clunker in the five-song bunch, ranging from the rocking, off-kilter title track to the gentle, moseying "Love You But You're Green" to the weary, bounce-along (?) "I Wish."

Babyshambles- I Wish

You used to hold my hand when the plane took off.

2006-11-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

Here's one for the 'what was I thinking?' file. I was in college at the time that Am I Not Your Girl? came out and bought it soon after its release, having already been a fan of The Lion and the Cobra and I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. Of course I knew going into it that these were not Sinead originals, but an album full of pop standard covers- but being a fan I decided to buy it nonetheless. And give it a handful of listens... and then promptly sell it back at the used CD store. This was also the same album she was promoting when she appeared on Saturday Night Live and controversy erupted when she tore a picture of the Pope in half, but this had nothing to do with my feelings about the album for or against, really.

Interestingly enough, I also bought Universal Mother promptly after its release two years later... and sold it back. Neither of the albums did anything for me, really- but for some reason I've gone back to them in the last month or two and enjoyed them. Maybe it's partly for the fact that although the songs are pop standards, I wasn't familiar with them at the time but now I am. Many critics complained that the tunes were just that- too standard, and that Sinead's renditions did nothing to add to the originals. Perhaps that's true. But I sometimes enjoy the fact that songs can be simply about the songs themselves, and open for greater interpretation without the embellishments that some would give otherwise. And as I'm writing this, I'm thinking maybe I mean exactly the opposite of what I'm saying and I can't really explain. Suffice it to say that I'm glad I went back and gave these another listen.

And here's one of my favorite Sinead songs, and a great rendition of it, too- dig when the full band kicks in...

And finally, Dresden Dolls covering the same tune...

Run on for a long time.

2006-11-16T10:30:00.000-08:00

I'm not the most huge fan of the Shins, really- I do enjoy them for the most part but I found this video to be pretty excellent. Filmed entirely by fans on video cameras and phones (looking for the most part to be at just a couple of seconds in duration each) the results are compiled to make this clip for "Phantom Limb," the first single from the Shins' latest album. Rather neat concept which turned out surprisingly well, as you can tell for yourself from the footage...

"Phantom Limb" - Directed by Douglas Caballero & Alex Simmons

The Shins- Phantom Limb

Say what you want about the American series that Johnny Cash recorded during the last years of his life, some of the music simply can't be denied. Whether you tended to like Johnny's cover versions of the songs of NIN and Depeche Mode or not, he definitely was able to breath new life and his own emotion into many of the songs. One example (as previously posted here at KYCW) is his rendition of Cat Stevens' "Father and Son" which I greatly prefer over the original. Now here is what is essentially a Moby cover, but stripped of its dance and electronica sheen to a more foreboding, acoustic take. The diverse number of guest appearances made in the video are a real testament to the legend that Johnny Cash was and the influence he left behind.

Johnny Cash- God's Gonna Cut You Down

As a side note, if anyone knows where I could acquire an mp3 of the Gruff Rhys (SFA) song "Candylion" I would greatly appreciate the info. Here's the video...

Gruff Rhys and Lisa Jen- Candylion (windows media)

Slap me on the back and say 'now how do you do?'

2006-11-15T07:53:00.000-08:00

I've been a fan of Brakes ever since first hearing "Heard About Your Band" and then later "All Night Disco Party." Sure, they're not the most deep or artsy band in the world- but they're catchy and fun with their own unique sound. Frenetic sounding guitars and a quirky, squelching voice that reminds me a tad of Hefner- and they haven't changed it much at all from their debut album here with their next single "Hold Me In The River." And best part of all (at least in my mind) is that they tend to keep the length of their songs right around the two minute mark- just enough time to pull you into the song and yet still leaving you wanting more. And with this British Sea Power offshoot's second album Beatific Visions, you might just find yourself satisfying that appetite.

And by the way- no, that's not a White Stripes cover.

Brakes- Hold Me In The River (video)

Beatific Visions album review at Drowned In Sound (9/10)

Brakes- Hold Me In The River (mp3)

Brakes- Heard About Your Band (mp3)

Brakes Official Website

Buy it on Amazon

Garbage delivery forthcoming...

2006-11-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

Official announcement has now been made of an upcoming Garbage greatest hits compilation titled Absolute Garbage. No big surprise there, as it's pretty sure they're not working on new material at all- although there will be one new track. And of course we still have yet to find out if this is the end for Garbage or if they're truly just "on hiatus." The latest word as I heard it is that Shirley's currently recording solo...

According to NME:

Garbage are to release a Best Of compilation next year.

'Absolute Garbage' will be out on March 19, and rounds up all the band's big singles, as well as one new track, which is as yet untitled.

The tracklisting is:

'Vow'
'Queer'
'Only Happy When It Rains'
'Stupid Girl'
'Milk'
'#1 Crush'
'Push It'
'I Think I'm Paranoid'
'Special'
'When I Grow Up'
'You Look So Fine'
'The World Is Not Enough'
'Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)'
'Shut Your Mouth'
'Why Do You Love Me'
'Bleed Like Me'
'It's All Over But The Crying'
'New track (untitled)'

The band are still on hiatus following their last tour of the US in 2005.

And here are some of my favorite lesser known Garbage tunes...

Garbage- Kick My Ass

Garbage- Butterfly Collector

Garbage- Candy Says

And just for the sake of that ultra-sexy accent:

You make me see that line between me and time.

2006-11-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for bad ass live rock, look no further than Black Angels. And you can stream (or even download) their November 5th show in Washington DC here. The psychedelic Houston, Texas band sounds fantastic on stage. I'm not particularly enthralled by the Black Keys at all, but their show is also available there.

I'll save my best for last and after that don't even ask.

2006-11-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

So you know what? I'm not a big fan of Beck. Yeah yeah, I know he's still a critical darling and everyone loves him, but after Mellow Gold, I can really take it or leave it. I'm not saying it's bad music or anything, it's just not my thing and I'd rather listen to something other than mumble-mouthed electro-funk jams. Two turntables and a microphone, OK- I don't mind it if it's on but you won't find me turning it on.

That being said, I gave his latest effort a listen all the way through and was (as always) very so-so on it. But... a friend insisted I check out his performance on SNL and I was pretty impressed. While a band at the dinner table playing various forks and plates and dancing marionettes simultaneously reproducing that same scene on stage might seem gimmicky, it's actually a pretty neat idea and it's cool that they chose to do something different than most bands would do for a live national television performance. And heck- they let Borat rock out with them on stage, too! I'll "clap hands" for that one.

Beck- Clap Hands

Beck- Fax Machine Anthem (Dizzee Rascal remix)

Your pretty pretty petticoat.

2006-10-31T11:19:00.000-08:00

No matter how hard I tried to resist, I couldn't help but getting a bit stuck on the tunes of the Kooks. It's almost like they were written just to get stuck in one's head- that's determined catchiness. The voice still brings to mind Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits (but without the cloying nature, don't worry.) Maybe it's in the boyish longing in the singing and the lyrics themselves, but songs like "She Moves In Her Own Way" and "Ooh La" both have the same kind of innocent desire in them that at first turned me off but then ended up working their way onto repeat on i-Tunes.

The Kooks- Ooh La

The Kooks on Myspace

I must admit I'm a sucker for just about anything the Cardigans do, whether it's because of the actual great tunes or the sly coo of Nina's vocals. And they do have a wicked way with a cover, whether it's famously with the tunes of Black Sabbath or REM or in this case, Thin Lizzy. I've heard Belle and Sebastian cover this one live when they were playing Chicago but this version tops even that, giving it a just perfect loungey groove.

The Cardigans- The Boys Are Back In Town

What better way to celebrate Halloween than with a... Christmas tune from Fiona Apple? OK, it makes no sense but I've been enraptured by this short little ditty for a week or two. Just Fiona's delivery is enough for me to love it- normally she's serious and for the large part angry in her tunes but here she's seriously and boisterously full of holiday spirit. How could you resist such a bouncy Christmas tune?

Fiona Apple- Frosty The Snowman

And while we're on the matter of songs that have snuck their way into my brain and stayed there like a catchy musical worm, let's move on to Kamikaze Saucers. I'll admit that I'm a bit partial first because I know the singer, but damn if that riff isn't catchy every time it kicks in. I still don't think I can understand more than about three words of the whole song (of course the intro to the chorus) but no matter. They call themselves "somewhat like a cross between The Pixies, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Talking Heads." Hmmm... I'm not sure about that, but it's awfully addictive either way.

Kamikaze Saucers- Michael Flannery Is A Sexual Tyrannosaurus

Kamikaze Saucers on Myspace

How to make Creep disappear completely...

2006-10-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

While the fans seem to side with Radiohead's "Just" as their favorite track of the band's, Thom Yorke chose "How To Disappear Completely." Describing it simply as "the most beautiful thing we ever did, I think," I might just have to agree with him if it weren't for the existance of a certain work called "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" Read a bit more in the NME story, including details on Thom's next single- "Analyse."

Radiohead- How To Disappear Completely (live soundboard recording)

Radiohead- Street Spirit (Fade Out) (live soundboard recording)

Suffocating without a word.

2006-10-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

I always loved the way Lou Reed's voice gets all choked up when he gets emotional in a song- I put on The Blue Mask (and more specifically "Waves Of Fear") this morning and got goosebumps listening to it... the rasping tone of his vocals make the subject matter in the lyrics all the more poignant. It doesn't get any better than Lou Reed at his best. If you've not already been exposed to the man, and are any kind of fan of rock music- go directly to albums like The Blue Mask, New York, or Magic and Loss.

Lou Reed- Waves of Fear

I've long considered Bowie's Outside to be fairly underrated- if not as an entire piece then certainly for some of the individual tracks on it. There's a concept line running throughout- something about a strange demented future-world- but I've never really understood it. There are a handful of connecting segue tracks that are for the most part Bowie himself with voice pitched up to sound like a young girl's or crazed man. Eno lent his hand in the production of the album, complete with bizarre and macabre artwork. Tales of murder and cyberspace are told with elements of industrial music woven in places throughout...

David Bowie- We Prick You

And while we're speaking of Mr. Brian Eno, why not give a bit of attention to his own work? Certainly one of my favorite producers of all time (along with the likes of Sir George Martin and Nigel Godrich), Eno has had a number of different phases musically. One of the founding members of Roxy Music, Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (whew) has been one of the most important (if not THE most important) figures in ambient music. He's also worked notably with bands including Talking Heads and U2 (producing such classics as the Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.) His solo debut Here Come The Warm Jets is nothing less than a classic- sounding on the verge of maniacal madness in both lyrics and distorted layers of keyboard and guitars. Insane genius.

Brian Eno- Baby's On Fire

I'm gonna lay back down again...

2006-10-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

The Saddle Creek crew

The ever-so-prolific (except when it comes to a second Desaparecidos LP) Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes will be releasing a collection of rarities titled Noise Floor on October 24th. Bright Eyes is one of those few acts that records and releases b-sides and one-off tracks as good as their proper album cuts so it's definitely a worthwhile collection. From Saddle Creek:

Bright Eyes to release rarities collection Noise Floor CD/LP on October 24; CD pre-orders shipping from the online store later this week.

A collection of Bright Eyes rarities recorded 1998-2005 will be released as Noise Floor CD/LP on October 24. The double LP version of this release will include 5 tracks not available on the CD. Orders for the Noise Floor CD will begin shipping on October 13 from the online store, where you can also listen to a stream of the full CD. The LP is a bit delayed and will begin shipping from here as soon as possible, most likely sometime around October 19.

Bright Eyes - Noise Floor
Noise Floor collects selected Bright Eyes singles, one-offs, unreleased tracks, collaborations and covers recorded between 1998 and 2005. Variously recorded to cassette four-track, minidisc, reel-to-reel tape machine, ADAT and computer, these songs trace Bright Eyes' evolution from basement project to band of international repute. Many of these gems previously lost to out-of-print obscurity are hereby resurrected.

Noise Floor Track Listing and Song Origination
01. Mirrors and Fevers (Don't Be Frightened of Turning The Page EP - 2000)
02. I Will Be Grateful for This Day (Sub Pop Singles Club 7" - 2001)
03. Trees Get Wheeled Away (Lost & Found, Volume 1 compilation - 2003)
04. Drunk Kid Catholic (3 Hit Songs From Bright Eyes - UK single - 2003)
05. Spent on Rainy Days (Home Series on Post Parlo Records - 2002)
06. The Vanishing Act (Too Much of a Good Thing 7" - 1999)
07. Soon You Will Be Leaving Your Man (Motion Sickness 7" - 2000)
08. Blue Angels Air Show (DIW Magazine 7" - 2002)
09. Weather Reports (Unreleased 7" with M. Ward)
10. Seashell Tale (Unreleased 7" with M. Ward)
11. Bad Blood (Album Leaf split 7" - 2001)
12. Amy in the White Coat (Vinyl-only B-side on the No Beginning to the Story EP - 2002)
13. Devil Town (The Late Great Daniel Johnston compilation - 2004)
14. I've Been Eating (For You) (3 New Hit Songs From Bright Eyes - UK single - 2001)
15. Happy Birthday to Me (Feb. 15) (3 New Hit Songs From Bright Eyes - UK single - 2001)
16. Motion Sickness (Motion Sickness 7" - 2000)
17. Act of Contrition (Second Thoughts compilation - 2000) *
18. Hungry for a Holiday (Album Leaf split 7" - 2001) *
19. When the Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass Again (Sub Pop singles club 7" - 2001) *
20. Entry Way Song (Amos House Vol. 2 compilation 2002) *
21. It's Cool, We Can Still Be Friends (Transmission One: Tea At The Palaz of Hoon compilation - 2000) *
* included only on vinyl 2xLP

And a couple of tracks to whet appetites:

Bright Eyes- Drunk Kid Catholic

Bright Eyes- Spent On Rainy Days

Also- check out a performance from the always fantastic Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins tonight (October 13) on Late Night with Conan O'Brien...

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins and Jonathon Rice

The Good, the Bad, and the zzzzzz...

2006-10-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

You know what? If you're the singer of a band as famed and great as Blur is/was, your projects really can't be taken too lightly. White label releases and anonymous turns are all well and good, but don't just throw off the cuff tunes out to the public willy-nilly. Sorry, you've got a reputation to uphold if you want to keep your credibility.

It's with this thinking that I listen to the first release and exposure of Damon Albarn's new band The Good, the Bad, and the Queen (along with Paul Simonon, Peter Tong, and Tony Allen- hardly lightweights.) "Herculean" is anything but its namesake. Sounding like it easily could've been a deep album cut from Blur's Think Tank or the either of the Gorillaz LPs, it just stumbles and mosies for four minutes with a meager melody and little progression from start to finish. It'll be released and in turn deleted as a single October 30th. A first glimpse at a new side project for Damon? Lets hope it's not entirely indicative of the album proper...

The Good, the Bad, and the Queen- Herculean

It's Johnny's birthday...

2006-10-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sufjan Stevens- What Goes On

I cannot just give in...

2006-10-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

If you dig shimmery shoegaze guitars and soaring vocals- check out Fell City Girl's "Swim." I can't quite place the similar band that they remind me of, but it's good stuff...

Fell City Girl- Swim (video)

The horns and the voice together both give the Rumble Strips a very retro 80's feel, and who doesn't like a road movie theme done on bumper cars?

The Rumble Strips- Oh Creole! (video)

Here's a zip file of the new Jim Reid (Jesus and Mary Chain) single "Dead End Kids" which I'm digging at the moment...

Jim Reid- Dead End Kids

Everybody's Waitsing for the weekend...

2006-09-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

(Tom pictured with his best friend- under his feet of course)

In the acquired taste category, and exciting news for fans, Tom Waits will soon be releasing a three-disc set of albums called Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards. I know, I know- "is he singing or is he dying?" Waits always seems to be fantastic with writing poignant liner notes and this time around is no different:

"Kathleen and I wanted the record to be like emptying our pockets on the table after an evening of gambling, burglary, and cow tipping. We enjoy strange couplings, that’s how we got together. We wanted Orphans to be like a shortwave radio show where the past is sequenced with the future, consisting of things you find on the ground, in this world and no world, or maybe the next world. Whatever you imagine that to be."

Not only has the news been made of the release of Orphans on November 21st, but three tracks from the set will be made available free, with "Bottom Of The World" already offered here.

And while I'm at it- here's one of my favorite Tom Waits songs just for kicks, off Mule Variations. And yes, I'll admit to being even more of a Lou Reed fan (different song, folks.)

Tom Waits- Coney Island Baby

Updated by witches!

2006-09-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

Reaction to Ryan Adams' new website is probably just about as mixed as it is for people with his music. Hard to navigate, to be true- but Ryan Breaks out the rapping craziness and damn it, I find my self cracking up. "Awwww shit- look who got a website!" Oh yeah, and Pitchfork- please for the love of god STFU.

Check out the video here for Britta Persson's "You Are Not My Boyfriend." It's a nice combination of acoustic guitar and a dancey beat, maybe reminiscent a bit of the style of Beth Orton. I totally dig it. As you might guess from her name, she's Swedish. You can find her official website here although a lot of it is in foreignese.

Britta Persson- You Are Not My Boyfriend

Well it took almost six months but I finally got hooked up with the April 14th Jason Pierce (Spiritualized) show in London. It's a pretty laid-back and somber affair, to say the least. I'm not yet sure what to think of the couple new Spiritualized tunes, but J's voice sounds even more world-weary than it did on Amazing Grace- which is saying quite a lot. It's hard to imagine him belting out the lines from "Electricity" these days but hell, it's still pretty damn good for someone who was at death's door the year previous.

Another album that will almost certainly make my top twenty for the year is the new Lemonheads. OK, so maybe I'm a bit biased being a longtime Lemonheads/Evan Dando fan but they've still got that old sound and it harkens back to the early 90s tunes all over again. I don't know what it is about Dando's voice and the Lemonheads' sound in general but it always clicks with me.

The Lemonheads- Become The Enemy

The Lemonheads- Pittsburgh

The Future is back!

2006-09-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

First off, I must give it up immensely for Bill Nguyen and the people at WOXY.com. It seems hard to believe and too good to be true but the music's coming back. Check out all the crazy details as they are forthcoming .here. BAM!

It's been a nine month wait but Nellie McKay's long-awaited sophomore album will finally see the full-length double-disc light of day October 31st. Just in time to add it to official 2006 best-of lists, too.

Billboard article

Quite soon after the release for How We Operate and non-stop touring of Gomez comes a greatest hits, b-sides and rarities collection Five Men In A Hut. Hard to believe that it's only been six years covered with all the great tunes- with two previously unreleased tracks, too.

Tracklist:

Disc 1
1. Whipping Piccadilly
2. The Best In Town
3. Catch Me Up
4. Pick Up The Pieces *
5. Royalty *
6. We Haven't Turned Around
7. Coltrane
8. ZYX
9. Step Inside
10. 78 Stone Wobble
11. Flight *
12. Champagne For Monkeys
13. Blind *
14. Old School Shirt
15. Sweet Virginia *
16. Air Hostess Song
17. Ping One Down *
18. Old China (previously unreleased)

Disc 2
1. Rhythm and Blues Alibi
2. Silhouettes *
3. Dire Tribe *
4. Bring It On
5. Mississippi Bo Weevil Blues *
6. Butterfly *
7. Silence
8. Pussyfootin’ *
9. Shot Shot *
10. Chickenbones
11. So *
12. Tanglin' *
13. Get Myself Arrested *
14. Sound Of Sounds
15. M57
16. Pop Juice *
17. Big Man
18. Diskoloadout (previously unreleased)

Pre-order it here

I've been enjoying Jade Tree's Snowden lately (in part thanks to Julie and you can listen to them live at bradley's almanac. They're still out on the road so catch them if you can.

It's anthropologically unjust.

2006-09-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Check out Badly Drawn Boy's latest (along with video) "Nothing's Gonna Change Your Mind" here. I have to say I'm pretty undecided on this one. For some reason the whole thing doesn't seem to all mesh together musically and it seems quite rambling and uncertain tune-wise.

Get some live Apples In Stereo tracks and news on the upcoming February 2007 release of their new album New Magnetic Wonder over at you ain't no picasso.

Jarvis Cocker's "Running the World" has been available online for weeks but now you can also check out the accompanying video clip here all karaoke style with an intro from Jarvis himself. "Smash the system" indeed.

If you like Dresden Dolls (with just a slight infusion of Tool, perhaps?) check out Two Ton Boa's "Cash Machine" on Kill Rock Stars. Lead singer Sherry Fraser is in fact the Sherry Fraser of Marcy Playground fame, in fact Fraser co-wrote some of the songs on the Marcy Playground debut album and "Comin' Up From Behind" is a Two Ton Boa tune that Marcy Playground covered for the soundtrack for Cruel Intentions.

Two Ton Boa- Comin' Up From Behind

Two Ton Boa- Cash Machine

Two Ton Boa official website

2006-09-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

Another case of stolen musicians' gear- this time Bobby of the Warlocks...

bobby from the warlocks burglarized

Hi everybody, this is not a joke or anything, I came home today to
find my apartment broken into, burglarized and practically destroyed.
Straight out of stalker film.. All my guitars, gear - stolen, my
modular synthesizers stolen- about 7-10k in stuff

- but no DVDs, Records, CDs, or things like computers, wallet, credit
cards or stuff like that- you know easy things to sell / get cash-.

It was all music gear related and unique, 35 year old Vox guitars (4)
gone, Gretsch (1) keyboards and (1 or 2) master reels are missing
(could be just they grabbed this stuff random)

Also they apparently spent some time in here as all my music notes
(10 years worth!), art, just papers, bills, and stuff (seriously its
this crazy) scattered EVERYWHERE/MISSING/STOLEN went through-as if
somebody was looking for something...

So weird and scary!

The police are dealing with it. But Im reaching out to you for help,
if you know anything or saw anything in the (echo park area) - please
let me know. So the authorities have something more to go on.

But- please just the facts, if you know something, saw something,
heard something factual, let me know ASAP, take care and thanks

BH

Poor Sean Combs has been forced to change his name in the UK and can no longer be called "Diddy" because of Diddy Dearlove who remixed Blondie's "Atomic." Poor poor, Diddy- er... Puffy? Who knows... from NME:

Puff Daddy loses Diddy title in UK
The rapper agrees to name change
Sean Combs has been forced to drop his Diddy title in the UK following a legal dispute.

The rapper has agreed to drop the name as part of an out-of court legal settlement with London based music producer Richard 'Diddy' Dearlove.

Combs, who was previously known as Puff Daddy, had used the name P Diddy since 2001 until he decided to change it to Diddy in 2005.

But following the name change, Dearlove filed a lawsuit for unfair competition, claiming the alteration had caused confusion, reports Billboard.

According to solicitors Jens Hills & Co the rapper has now agreed to "rebrand his commercial activities" in Britain and he will "no longer be able to trade in the UK as Diddy".

Dearlove is best known for his 1990s dance remix of Blondie's 1980 UK Number One 'Atomic'.

As more and more talk of Outkast's latest movie and album entitled Idlewild has repeatedly confused me a bit as I initially think they're talking about the album, it's quite funny to see Roddy's take of the thing on the Idlewild website-

Not sure what's up with this new Outkast album. keep seeing posters for it and thinking I've forgotten about a concert. Not that it's likely Idlewild would play a show with Andre 3000 and Big Boi (what a stupid name). Maybe when our new LP comes out next February some unfamiliars will think we're some sort of Outkast tribute. Could be interesting. Probably won't be.

If you're in the market for thirty thousand dollars worth of one of a kind guitars, why not place a bid on these guitars originally made for the Strawberry Alarm Clock?

Bring back that Electric Mainline...

2006-09-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

The way the guitar overloads and shorts in and out two and a half minutes in and then the vocals kick back in euphorically. The drums come in and it's a rush. Cool waves and a song like a sculpture- perfectly crafted. The "back-up" singers are credited with "slide vocal" and "flow vocal" and it seems entirely appropriate. A perfect way to ease one into an exquisite song. Let it flow...

Spiritualized Electric Mainline- Let It Flow

I'm lookin' past ya...

2006-09-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

(girls talking are not, in fact, Girl Talk)

Here's another one I'll add to the running for Best of 2006- Girl Talk's Night Ripper. This one's been blogged to death but deservedly so and I'll just say yep, that's great stuff. I'm reminded a bit of Prodigy's Dirtchamber Sessions Vol. 1 but with much more of a poppy bent. It boggles my mind to think that this actually got a release what with all the copyright issues (shh- they actually sample the Beatles!) but it's in stores- on the appropriately named Illegal Art.

It's essentially nothing more than an album-long mosaic of mash-ups but somehow it's surpassed that and become it's own. If nothing else, it's entertaining just to identify the samples as they pass... I mean c'mon- "Bounce That" uses Elastica, the Breeders, Stevie Wonder, and Steve Winwood? And it actually works! I'll just overlook the craptacular inclusion of "My Humps" on "Warm It Up." Sheesh. And I just have to throw in "Peak Out" which uses "Silly Love Songs." Good stuff.

Buy it on Amazon

Girl Talk- Bounce That

Girl Talk- Peak Out

Check out Liars performing "Loose Nuts On The Velodrome" (more or less, I think) on Youtube. Kooky stuff, but I still enjoy it. Apparently it's like "bisexuals eating fruit loops on stage. Sure, guys- do drugs much?

The video for the latest offering from Mr. Skinner and the Streets "Pranging Out" can be seen here. As Mike Skinner tends to do, this is a completely different version from the album proper with different vocals. Is he now just trying to promote the guys on his label and become the white Sean Combs? Strange. And for those not in the know when it comes to British slang, "pranging out" is defined as "getting overly agitated" in this case due to the use of cocaine.

I can hear it now- "KYCW is posting freaking JET now?" Fear not- I can explain. The first time I heard their debut album, I thought it was pretty much a slice of poo. Then I heard "Cold Hard Bitch" and "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" ad nauseum on the radio (multiple formats, no less) and I changed my mind. It wasn't a slice of poo at all, but an entire uncut poo. If there's one thing worse than not liking a song, it's hearing that song more times that you can count and be unable to avoid it. That being said, I am now here to say that upon just one listen, I like the new song a bit and think it's incredibly catchy. Not only that, but it's only two and a half minutes long, which means it's pretty much over before you know it. I predict hitsville- duh. And I also predict myself getting incredibly tired of this tune. Give it a week.

Jet- Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

I believe that it's called al fresco...

2006-09-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hoo boy- did you see the VMAs last night on MTV? Yeah, neither did I- but I heard that Jack Black was acting all crazy and stuff and there was some serious lip-synching goin' on. Wait, that might've been last year. Now that's good times.

Can't wait to see the documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon." What a fantastic story- albeit one that was quite the ongoing pain in the ass for John and Yoko. There's previously unseen footage of John that Yoko allowed to be used, too. And how can you beat lines like "Lennon represented life and Mr. Nixon and Mr. Bush represent death?" Apparently it's "coming soon..."

Some really great live musical goodness from the Streets over at work for it. Dig that stuff, I still need to see Mikee Skinner and the guys in concert- sounds like a fantastic show.

You can read a pretty good track by track rundown of the latest Radiohead tracks at Stylus Magazine. And I totally agree on "4 Minute Warning" being one of the best of them... Same goes with "Say what you will about Radiohead’s reach exceeding its grasp, but it’s almost impossible to imagine such naked terror ever being conveyed by Coldplay, Bloc Party, or virtually any other modern British band. "

The Lemonheads are not only planning on releasing a new album, they're also set to tour in November and December. The last time I saw Evan Dando at the Double Door in Chicago it was a solo date, now the rest of the band are joining him- fantastic. Here's the rest of the dates:

Santa Ana Galaxy Theatre (November 18)
Solana Beach Belly Up Tavern (19)
Los Angeles The Troubadour (21/22)
San Francisco The Independent (24/25)
Portland Doug Fir Lounge (27)
Seattle Crocodile Café (28)
Boise The Big Easy Concert Hall (30)
Salt Lake City The Depot (December 1)
Denver Bluebird Theatre (2)
Omaha Sokol Underground (4)
Minneapolis The 400 Bar (5)
Chicago Double Door (7/8)
Cleveland Grog Shop (9)
Detroit Magic Stick (10)
Toronto Lee's Palace (12)
Philadelphia North Star Bar (13)
Washington Black Cat (14)
New York Irving Plaza (15)
Boston Avalon Ballroom (16)

Of course she's now pretty well-known (especially in her native UK and to bloggers) but that's still no reason for me not to mention how much I'm stuck on Lily Allen's latest single "LDN." Such a great little pop tune with a melody that worms its way into your brain and stays there. The little record store intro in the video kinda cracked me up, too (although it seems the broken beats reference would be better made with a tune like "Knock Em Out." Posting Lily Allen- how gauche at this point!

Lily Allen- LDN

By the way, does anyone else notice the similarity between the intro of Lily's "Littlest Things" and Radiohead's "Karma Police?"

As a random side note, if you don't already dig on CAN you should... just 'cause I said so. Check it:

Can- Mushroom

Whither the weather?

2006-08-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

I almost hate to blog about Regina Spektor again for fear of KYCW becoming something of a Regina Spektor shrine, but what the hell. I'm repeatedly blown away not only by her album but also the accompanying videos that I can't resist mentioning it. At my count (which may be off) this is the fourth official video that's been released from Begin To Hope, and deservedly so. There have already been videos for Samson, Better, and On The Radio- this time it's the opening track and one of the album's definite highlights, Fidelity. I love the black and white motif, and Regina is as lovely as ever...

Regina Spektor- Fidelity video

Once again NME is quick to use a tricky headline that gets one's hopes up, only to find it's a bit of an exaggeration. Former Libertines Pete and Carl have "teamed up" recently according to this article but in actuality they only recorded vocals for the same track and weren't even in the same room when doing it. Ah well.

Dinosaur Jr's gear was stolen last night in NYC, which is an even bigger shame considering the guitar greatness that is J Mascis. It always seems ridiculous that these bands' stuff (like Sonic Youth and Raveonettes, to name a couple from the past) isn't better guarded but I can think of a number of shows that I've been to where it certainly wouldn't seem difficult to easily walk off with equipment. Gives a whole new meaning to the title "Get Choppin'." Hopefully they end up getting their stuff back as soon as possible.
Details here.

And for some strange reason the last few weeks I've repeatedly seen or heard people talking about Mew and I continuously and repeatedly think they're talking about Icelandic band Múm. Which is OK, because it just prompted me to dig up their first album again, which I hadn't listened to in forever. If you think that experimental ambient electronica might be up your alley, then check out Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is OK here. And by the way, as an interesting trivia tidbit- the twin sisters from the band are on the cover of Belle & Sebastian's Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like A Peasant.

It's no longer familiar to me- it's become routine...

2006-08-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Dayton's Lab Partners

Great times and great music at Independent Expose at the Southgate House Saturday night. I enjoyed Kamikaze Saucers and the Sights even more than I expected plus the spectacular Kelly of Looking at Them introduced the bands there.

I was also completely blown away by Lab Partner's live set- they reminded me of early Storm In Heaven-era Verve multiple times throughout their show. I even chatted briefly with the keyboardist, although I'm not too sure she appreciated my comparisons to Kate Radley. I blame the rum that was being mixed with my Coca-Cola. If you're a fan of Spiritualized, the Verve, Black Rebel Motorcycle club and the like, definitely give Lab Partners a listen...

Lab Partners- "Love Don't Care" and "Now" at 3hive

Lab Partners- Blood Moon

You can listen to all of Kasabian's new album Empire (which I've been liking quite a lot) at NME's website.

Ah, it makes me so happy that it gives me chills (in my own backbone) to hear a new Lemonheads tune, "No Backbone." Evan Dando's solo album Baby, I'm Bored was a bit underrated, I thought- but it's still much better to hear a more band-styled sound on this track. The familiar guitars and vocals are there and if the rest of the album turns out along the same lines, I'll be ecstatic.

The Lemonheads- No Backbone

Someone's claimed the site www.jamesdeanbradfield.com for themselves and proceeded to use it as a mock website for the lead singer of the Manics. Only slightly funny, though...

"Find your faith in your cocaine! The only God I need is a brain!" what a poet Wire was! This is basically just Stay Beautiful only you get to hear Auld Jimmy shout "Fuck Off!". That said I'd rather have the wanky little guitar bit which covers up the swear. This was when things started looking up for us. The first real spark of the Jim as Axe God!

You can find the real James Dean Bradfield (and ask him a question if you'd like) here...

Check out the video for Robbie Williams latest (and somewhat sub-par) single "Rudebox" here...

And as requested, here's a re-up of a Black Box Recorder tune...

Black Box Recorder- Child Psychology

I love you 'cause you're true blue.

2006-08-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here's another bit of a hodgepodge update- just a handful of songs I've really been digging on lately (and as is generally my way, listening to repetitively...)

Bright Eyes- True Blue (live)

I don't care if it's considered uncool to like Bright Eyes now. Whatever. You can take or leave Conor's singing and style, but I certainly appreciate his songwriting abilities. This one was originally released as a b-side to the also spectacular single "Lua," but this live version is taken from the live album Motion Sickness. You'd probably think that taking a single concept like repeating the phrase and idea "blue" and actually making it into a great song with a story would be impossible but sure enough, it works.

Prince- Willing and Able

Prince, you say? Damn right, Prince. One of the greatest and certainly easily one of the most prolific musicians of our time, I've always followed Prince- occasionally more closely depending on what phase he seems to be in. Purple Rain was an early favorite album of mine as a kid, and I always thought he was one of the coolest cats in the world in the movie. "Willing and Able" is a little overlooked nugget from Diamonds and Pearls and looking back, it seems like what Prince would sound like if he'd written Paul Simon's Graceland. Great little fluid propelling guitar throughout, with Prince's smooth falsetto and backing singer making a perfect little combo. Even that rap that sounds a bit dated (comparisons to MC Skat Cat, anyone?) seems to fit in OK and not detract from the rest of the song...

The Head Set- Enemies

This song has certainly been kicking my behind lately, and in a good way. I hate to make a Strokes comparison because it doesn't fully do these guys justice but I get the same kind of feel from this song. If anything, the vocals are definitely livelier- but at the same time it's got a similar feel as far as the guitars and bass go. Most definitely a solid band from NYC with a great band name to boot, which I've certainly grown to appreciate considering some of the shite musical monikers one can seem to run across lately. If you dig on this tune, check out more free tunes at the Head Set's official website.

The Sights- Circus

The Sights- I never would have originally listened to these guys if it weren't for the fact that they're on the bill at Independent Expose- a benefit for WOXY, which I'll be attending. "Circus" is just a great little straightforward rocker, with great swagger (I've been describing music with that term a lot lately) and a catchy chorus. Should be a smashing time live. If you happen to also head to the Southgate Saturday night, feel free to say hello and buy me a drink- I'll be the guy with hair and a t-shirt on. And be sure to check out Kamikaze Saucers, too- fresh off their appearance at the Midwest Music Festival...

Don't say we're alone...

2006-08-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

In a way I'm a bit surprised that a band with the sound of the Raincoats would come out of England and not from Berlin or New York. Minimal and experimental, the vibe of the Raincoats would probably fit in well with some of the scenes in those two areas, while more straightforward punk seemed to be happening at the same time (the Raincoats recorded from 1978 to 1984) in the UK. In turns they can have elements that sound like the Velvet Underground (in part because of the prominent violin playing) or even the sparseness of Joy Division. Keep in mind this is all with pretty unique female vocals to go along with it. Jagged guitar lines, thick bass lines, violin stabs, and singing from a range that includes ominous half-spoken lyrics to more feminine vocals with prominent British accent all add up to a great, unique sound.

Much like the Vaselines and the Meat Puppets, the Raincoats got a wave of renewed interest in the early Nineties when none other than Kurt Cobain expressed his admiration of the band, even going so far as to describe his meeting of Ana da Silva in the liner notes of Nirvana's album Incesticide. In fact, the Raincoats were even invited by Nirvana to open for the band until those plans were cancelled following Cobain's death. This didn't stop the band from touring again with a lineup that included Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks- in fact the Raincoats have continued to play occasionally at special events and recorded a song for the Monks tribute album Silver Monk Time, which is to be released this fall.

If you have any interest whatsoever in post-punk, give the Raincoats a well-deserved listen...

"I don't know anything about The Raincoats except that they recorded some music that has affected me so much that whenever I hear it I'm reminded of a particular time when I was (shall we say) extremely unhappy, lonely and bored. If it weren't for the luxury of putting on that scratchy copy of The Raincoats' first record, I would have had very few moments of peace. I suppose I could have researched a bit of history about the band but I feel it's more important to delineate the way I feel and how they sound.

When I listen to The Raincoats I feel as if I'm a stowaway in an attic, violating and in the dark. Rather than listening to them I feel like I'm listening in on them. We're together in the same old house and I have to be completely still or they will hear me spying from above and, if I get caught - everything will be ruined because it's their thing. They're playing their music for themselves. It's not as sacred as wire-tapping a buddhist monk's telephone or something because if The Raincoats did catch me, they would probably just ask me if I wanted some tea. I would comply, then they would finish playing their songs and I would say thank you very much for making me feel good."

Kurt Cobain, June 1993.

The official Raincoats site

The Raincoats on Myspace

The Raincoats- And Then It's O.K.

The Raincoats- Shouting Out Loud

A dawn obscured by slight sky raining...

2006-08-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

If you're at all a fan of indie music (or a reader of music blogs at all) I'll assume you know of the Decemberists. Fans of Colin Meloy's music love the storytelling aspects, the whimsical nature of his tales of ships and the sea. And they certainly won't be disappointed with the highly anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed Picaresque. There are more dreamy epic tales of adventure, and more evidence of Meloy's degree in creative writing.

That's not to say that the Decemberists tread water with only old styles this time around- songs like "The Perfect Crime 2" show a sly, ominous groove that hadn't really been heard previously, and it's a welcome new tack for the band. There even seems to be a bit more of a heavier electric guitar leaning in some of the tunes, evident in the riffs of "When The War Came." Meloy's vocals are still perfect for the lyrics and backing music, with a feeling of yearning that seems to always thrill in its reach.

The obvious question will of course pop up- is it better than Picaresque? That's a mighty tall order and will probably only be proven one way or the other upon repeated listens, but with these tunes it certainly doesn't seem impossible...

Official website

Pre-order at Amazon

~~The Decemberists- The Crane Wife 3~~

~~The Decemberists- Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)~~

~~The Decemberists- The Perfect Crime 2~~

Files deleted due to copyright violation

It's not just for breakfast any more...

2006-08-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

New discovery, at least to me. And still another artist that is difficult to google and get more info on because of the name, just like Camille turned out to be- what with the hurricane and Prince alter ego connections. This time around, the culprit is at least one other musician named Bob Evans and of course, that breakfast restaurant favorite. Turns out it's actually a recording pseudonym for Perth native Kevin Mitchell.

This Bob Evans happens to be an Aussie singer-songwriter with a bit of a country bent at times. Partly because of the one-take video for "Don't You Think It's Time" I at first thought I heard a bit of a Michael Penn similarity, but then I decided it's not really there- although I do hear a few hints of it in his tone. Quoting some of his listed influences might help a bit- the Shins, Wilco, the Beatles, John Lennon, Beach Boys... Yet again I find myself with a haunting feeling that I'm reminded a lot of another singer but I just can't quite place it. There are far too many Beatlesque artists these days to narrow it down these days, you know?

Some of the more country-leaning bits of the music of Bob Evans almost give me the feel of a solo Roger McGuinn or Gram Parsons and a few of the tunes would definitely fit in among a good number of other alt-country acts. According to his Myspace page, Evans sounds like an "Indie kid writing pop songs on an acoustic guitar with a country twang" and I'd say that puts it extremely simply but is just about right. This seems to be something of a side project for him, as he's also the frontman for the band Jebadiah, who seem to be pretty popular in their home country. Written more for himself, it was conceived and initially recorded in his own home studio before he moved off to none other than Nashville to create the final record.

"You've Been On My Mind" is apparently the first single from the album, and while it's not nearly as upbeat and catchy as some of his other tunes, it's a simple, pretty tune with a pretty cool video that seems to be done in a single take.

And with that, I'll leave you with a few tunes and close out with a blurb from his bio:

Lyrically, Mitchell transcends the country tinges to focus on homespun intimacies. Big adventures can indeed happen in little worlds and it's in this realm that the personal can evoke the universal.

I wanted to really push the idea and feeling of turning the `Suburban Everyday into something of almost fairytale quality, Mitchell explains. Of romanticism. That magic can happen in the suburbs every single day. Almost like making a record where within the stories it's like everythings happening on Christmas morning. There's that little hint of magic in the air.

Official website

Myspace

"You've Been On My Mind" video

~~Bob Evans- Don't You Think It's Time~~

~~Bob Evans- Friend~~

~~Bob Evans- Nowhere Without You~~

Scavenge.

2006-08-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

Beth Orton has been posted here before but I won't let that stop me from passing along a few live tunes from the Mark Radcliffe show courtesy of to die by your side...

Further ravings on French singer Camille? Well OK, I can't pass up the chance to pass along this amazing live performance of hers on Youtube.

Continuing on the live path, download Pulp's last Peel session from 2001 at the Runout Groove.

There's a heaping helping of live REM circa 1995 at rbally. Apparently the tour was for Monster- which is still one of my favorite REM albums, along with Murmur and Document. Great stuff.

Snatch a couple of live tracks from KYCW favorite Liars over at Kwaya Na Kisser.

There's a remix of the Streets "Pranging Out" over at Psalms Out Sounds, although I'm not sure once again if "remix" is the right word when it seems that any more Streets "remixes" are just the backing track of the original with one of Skinner's pals doing a different rap to the tune.

Modest Marr???

2006-08-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

In lieu of a post proper, here's just a few things we've stumbled upon that seemed worthy of mention...

From out of left field, news comes that apparently Johnny Marr is now a full-fledged member of Modest Mouse. Good things could be abound, folks. This could very well be spectacular...

According to Rolling Stone...

For the sake of radar, here's a couple tracks. The first, while the most popular and well-known Smiths tune, is definitely deserving of it's popularity. And a great showcase for Johnny's genius guitar playing. Not necessarily the most difficult part to play, it certainly has an unbelievably spectacular sound and feel that is the perfect mood-setter for the whole tune. Classic.

~~The Smiths- How Soon Is Now~~

Then along comes what may be my favorite Modest Mouse song. The title alone is great, there's a nice changeup in the song, and as always Isaac comes up with phrases and lyrics that are clever and intriguing without falling into the hokey realm. Great stuff.

~~Modest Mouse- Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset~~

I'm not a big fan of the Raconteurs at all, although I can't quite put my finger on why. The album just didn't really grab me at all and seemed like a pretty weak effort, especially considering the talent behind it. That said, I found the video for their latest single "Hands" by chance and think it's great. Complete with hand signing from the band and a deaf school rockout. Good times.

Raconteurs- "Hands" video (QT)

Thom Yorke recently posted his disapproval of British PM Tony Blair (certainly not for the first time) on the official Radiohead website and then proceeded to remove the comments the very next day. Was he pressured by the government to do so? Did he change his mind and decide that Blair was pretty A-OK after all? Does the world in general care?

NME story

Get yourself some live Camera Obscura over at bradley's almanac

Have a magnificent weekend.

J'aime bien cette fille

2006-07-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit late on this one (in more ways than one, kids) but you know what? It doesn't matter to me. I've been trying harder to become inspired by new music for KYCW as opposed to reviewing older artists and albums but sometimes they don't come so easy. A friend sent a single video my way- Camille's "Ta Douleur," saying that I might like it and if I checked out more of her stuff it might be worthy of a post. And I'll be darned if she wasn't right.

An Amazon review tries to group her in with fellow artists by saying "Feel free to add French chanteuse Camille to that extremely select group of adventurous female singer/songwriters that also includes Bjork, Fiona Apple, Kate Bush and Julieta Venegas." Some of the comparisons in that group might be more warranted than others but Camille definitely seems to share the ability to craft songs that are both experimental in nature to some degree while at the same time being both catchy and accessible. I don't understand any of the words whatsoever in "Ta Douleur" but you know what? I still repeatedly find myself humming the tune and trying to sing along in my own nonsensical mumbo-jumbo speak.

Much along the same lines of Bjork's Medulla, nearly all the sounds on Camille's Le Fil are made with her voice. This ranges from simple humming and singing to more beatbox or scat-singing style percussive sounds, including a steady vocal droning tone (the thread?) that is throughout the entire album. Think Bobby McFerrin but with much more hypnotic and beautiful effect- some of the songs can become nearly operatic and intricate, with different voice parts threading in and out of other vocals. Maybe even a comparison with Petra Hayden would be a bit more appropriate in this case.

I'd enjoyed some of the music of Nouvelle Vague but it wasn't until after the fact that I discovered that Camille had sung vocals there as well. Some of the songs are a bit alike in style but overall, I enjoy Camille's music much more on her own. Already popular in her home country of France, Le Fil is Camille's second album and has only recently gotten its US release in June of this year.

Buy Le Fil on Amazon

Camille Fan Club

Camille- Ta Douleur

Camille- Assisse

Camille- Vous

This town is coming like a ghost town...

2006-07-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of posts, folks. Between a week's vacation and then catching up after that vacation I haven't had a lot of time left over for anything particularly relevant. But don't worry, just when you least expect it...

Give me a day or two.

Not a pregnant girl...

2006-07-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

Oh wait- yes she is. Woulda thunk it- according to Scenestars, and in turn AP, Ani's pregnant.

Hey- am I making any sense at all?

2006-07-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

Boom boom boom, pow pow pow, click click click... It all adds up to !!!. One of the words that seems to go hand in hand with "difficult" music is pretentious. And pretentious is a word that I've seen a number of times from both fans and detractors of NYC band !!!. Taking on a bnnd name like !!! could make a band seem pretentious right from the start, without even listening to their music. Clued in folks know that it's to be pronounced as any three repetitive sounds- most commonly chk-chk-chk.

Do Nic Offer's sneering, half spoken-half sung vocals come across as pretentious, combined with the inanity of the lyrics? I don't think so- but if you're looking for intelligent, insightful music to listen to while studying for an exam or while enjoying a romantic glass of wine by candle lihgt, definitely look elsewhere. This is sly, funky, contemptuous dance-rock to listen to at loud volumes, with groove galore.

!!! has been classified within a number of genres, and their sound and style has developed somewhat to perhaps place them in more than one area. Agitfunk, no-wave, whatever. Offer was quoted as saying “It’s a matter of the eternal quest for the groove. For the funkiest, fattest thing you’ve ever heard.” I'd imagine they're keeping up that goal. Latest news is they were hoping to finish up their third album, the follow-up to Louden Up Now, in June. They're touring Europe now with US dates to follow in the fall. Don't miss it.

Watch and listen to live !!! on BBC

!!! Official Website

~~!!!- Pardon My Freedom (live)~~

~~!!!- Hello, Is This Thing On? (live)~~

~~!!!- Shit Scheisse Merde Pt.2 (live)~~

~~!!!- Dear Can (live)~~

~~!!!- Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard (live)~~

Scattered stones...

2006-07-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Read a pretty hilarious "Pop-Song Correspondence"- Notes on "Sweet Child O' Mine," as Delivered to Axl Rose by His Editor.

Weezer is now "on hiatus" according to Rivers Cuomo. Thank the lord for small favors- if only they had done it immediately after releasing Pinkerton.

Check out the best second albums of all time, at least according to Rolling Stone. Just off the top of my head, my first vote would have to be for Radiohead's the Bends.

There's a pretty wide array of opinions and reviews of the Eraser as shown by Metacritic. According to Prefix:

For an album dominated by computerized beats -- didn't Yorke predict this in some way? -- The Eraser is not a lifeless product. And neither, like the aforementioned example, is it purposely dark. What makes it breathe, what allows it to flourish above its glitchy techno, its processed wizardry -- courtesy of Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and most likely one or more laptop computers -- what untangles it from a mess of circuitry and power strips and anti-virus pop-up warnings, is Yorke's incredible, distinctive voice.

R.I.P. Syd Barrett 1946-2006

2006-07-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were young- you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter, come on you stranger,
you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter,
you piper, you prisoner,and shine!
Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers and I'll be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
And we'll bask in the shadow of yesterday's triumph,
and sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child, you winner and loser,
come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine!

~~Syd Barrett- Terrapin (the Peel Session)~~

~~Syd Barrett- Gigolo Aunt (the Peel Session)~~

~~Syd Barrett- Baby Lemonade (the Peel Session)~~

~~Syd Barrett- Effervescing Elephant (the Peel Session)~~

~~Syd Barrett- Two of a Kind (the Peel Session)~~

Get out miles away from anywhere...

2006-07-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

More Thom Yorke solo goodness here with a live performance of the title track from the Eraser- unbelievably good performance from Thom, and bringing the more complicated studio track to life simply with an acoustic guitar...

Eraser website

On sale at Amazon

By the way- when attempting to visit the website for Thom's solo record, make sure you type "THE Eraser" and not just "Eraser" or you'll instead be taken to the website for these guys. And believe you me, you certainly don't want that.

Experiencing musical difficulties...

2006-07-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

Difficulty #2

The simple fact that the lyrics of a song are in a foreign language can make some music extremely challenging for the majority of listeners. If you can't even pronounce the name of the band (I go with INE-stur-zen-duh NEW-bow-ton) how can you be expected to enjoy their music? EinstÃ¼rzende Neubauten are considered forefathers of industrial music, with a name that translates into English as "Collapsing New Buildings." I'm not exactly sure how, but somehow the meaning seems entirely appropriate. You wanna talk avant garde? How about a band that records in an abandoned warehouse, clanging bars against metal plates for percussion combined with droning guitars?

Some of EinstÃ¼rzende Neubauten's work isn't really that far removed from the sound of or style of Nine Inch Nails. Think of Trent Reznor banging out an alternate version of the Downward Spiral with a rusty bar and a bit of a penchant for tribarhythmsms. The main difference being that the computerized synthesized tones of Nine Inch Nails beats and music tend to have a more cold, exacting feel than the more earthy aspects of EinstÃ¼rzende Neubauten.

Does it make it less challenging or more enjoyable to translate the lyrics and actually understand the intended meaning of a song or to intuitively half-mumble English words that sound similar and come up with your own story from the emotion and feel of the vocals? I've been surprised a number of times by discovering the actual lyrics of an EinstÃ¼rzende Neubauten song and learning what a tune that I'd listened to dozens of times was actually about. But of course that's not to say that their lyrics are solely in German- they've also recorded in English, Spanish, and French.

No matter how many times the tea-kettle whistle vocal screech of Blixa Bargeld unexpectedly appears out of nowhere in a song, it still tends to startle me as much as it did the very first time. Touches like this and the atmospheric layering, no matter how complicated or simple, are what make much of the music of EinstÃ¼rzende Neubauten more of an experience than simple music listening. A good starting point for the curious but unexperienced would be one of their three Strategies Against Architecture compilations or their classic album Haus der Luege.

~~EinstÃ¼rzende Neubauten- Selbstportrait mit Kater~~

~~EinstÃ¼rzende Neubauten- Haus der Luge~~

~~EinstÃ¼rzende Neubauten- Salamandrina~~

Official website

Buy it at Amazon

Are you trying to be difficult?

2006-07-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

#1 in a series of musical difficulties...

What do you consider difficult music? Is it music that's hard to listen to? Music that needs repeated listens before it "clicks?" Maybe it's the opposite of pop music, which is nearly always catchy and easily accepted by the masses.

Either way, I always find it satisfying to finally "get" and enjoy music that didn't at first seem inviting at all. It's like becoming good friends with the antisocial cool rebel kid in high school, I suppose. All the trials and difficulties in finally enjoying a band or artist makes it all the more sweet when it finally hits you.

A good handful of my favorite albums were at first disappointing to me, and seen in a completely different light from the way I've grown to now hear them. Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible and Spiritualized Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space are the first two that immediately come to mind. I would consider the former to be more of an example of "difficult" than the latter, which is less difficult and more of a "grower."

I'll start off with The Holy Bible. Considered by the majority to be their masterwork, Manic Street Preachers released the album in 1994 complete with dark imagery both in lyrics and artwork. The songs are intense and brutal in subject matter- dealing with topics including abortion, anorexia, the death penalty, and concentration camps. Not exactly love songs on a sunny day, and all coming from the mind of Richey Edwards- who disappeared shortly before the tour was to begin to promote the album.

~~Manic Street Preachers- Yes~~

~~Manic Street Preachers- Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart~~

~~Manic Street Preachers- Faster~~

~~Manic Street Preachers- Faster (live acoustic)~~

Buy it on Amazon

Official Manic Street Preachers website

2006-07-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Just a few tidbits here on a Monday...

Surprise news from NME today that Babyshambles are releasing a surprise single called "Beg, Borrow, or Steal." Not for sale though- somewhat reminiscent of the Manics' God Save the Manics EP giveaway, the new Babyshambles will be available only to ticketholders at Get Loaded In The Park, which the band is to headline. Fingers crossed that their appearance actually goes down without a hitch. You can hear the new tune here. Not surprisingly, it's pretty damn good.

Jarvis Cocker has now popped up on MySpace (just like everyone else 'cept your grandma) with a new tune to boot called "Running the World." Jarvis takes just short of five minutes to vent about all the douchebags of the world, and yes- it's quite good as well.

I've got a toll-free number you can ring...

2006-06-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Just some random things today, starting with a stellar live show from the Stone Roses in 1995 via Dancingmokey. Spectacular quality, too:

Welcome To The Resurrection Pt. 1

Welcome To The Resurrection Pt. 2

Axl Rose got arrested in Europe early today in Sweden for allegedly biting the leg of a security guard in a hotel. Proving once again you just can't take the Hoosier hilljack out of a man- keep up the good work, Bill Bailey! Appetite For Dudes is more like it...

In non-douchebag music video stuffin's (pillaged away at Youtube) check out...
Spiritualized- Broken Heart live on Jools Holland

Spiritualized- Run

Spacemen 3- Suicide (live)

Spacemen 3- Big City

Spectrum- How You Satisfy Me

And some tunes to compliment the videos, both from the Stone Roses, Spiritualized, and Spacemen 3...

~~Stone Roses- Mission Impossible~~

~~Stone Roses- I Wanna Be Adored (Garage Flower version)~~

~~Spacemen 3- Walking With Jesus (Live in Europe 1989)~~

~~Spiritualized- Hold On (War Child mix)~~

Dresden Dolls on Jools Holland

2006-06-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

Two great songs from Yes, Virginia... performed on Later with Jools Holland a week ago can now be seen on YouTube...

My Alcoholic Friends

Necessary Evil

Clap your hands if you want some more...

2006-06-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

Check out the Pipette's smashing video for "Pull Shapes." Just when you think they can't get any better...

the Pipettes- Pull Shapes

They've also recorded a cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" which is available over at Skatterbrain...

Skatterbrain

Buy it on Amazon

JJ72 call it quits

2006-06-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

I can still remember the first time I heard JJ72's first hit "Oxygen." Such a simple, anthemic tune- and of course the surprise that followed upon finding out that the singer was in fact male. Great lyrics with vocals that send shivers through the body. It's hard to believe that they were actually together as a band for eleven years, and yet not all that surprising considering the fact that the members were mere teenagers when they started. And don't forget about the beautiful Irish lass bass player in the form of Hilary Woods, who left the band in 2003. Too bad their issues with their record company seemed to be too great for the Dublin band to continue. It's a shame, too- as they certainly still seemed full of promise. According to the band's website:

Reader, we are to let thee know,
JJ72's body only lies below;
For could the grave JJ's soul comprise,
Earth would be richer than the skies.

"JJ72 was born during an Easter many seasons ago; today it dies on the cusp of midsummer eleven years later.
"Mark Greaney, Fergal Matthews & Sarah Fox wish to express their deepest and darkest gratitude to all of those with impeccable taste who helped and supported the band.
"We remember everything, from mechanical birds in Japan to angels in arid Arizona, from broken bones and Berlin birthdays to predatory Portsmouth spiders. For those who disliked and perhaps despised (gasp) JJ72, thank you - how did beautiful photographs exist without a negative?! We crafted two monuments of magnificence for the future aural pleasure and pain of all would be JJ believers and doubters....and for those who care not for the passing of the petulant yet powerful pup....shame on you! Thank you to Hilary Woods for being a dazzling damsel and thank you to all who played music in/with the band. You know who you are."

And yes, their cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" predated that of Giant Drag's...

JJ72 Official Website

JJ72- Wicked Game

JJ72- Take From Me

JJ72- Heat

Don't drink me I'm like turpentine...

2006-06-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Apparently Mr. Ashcroft is trying to help the kids, and he's going about it in all the wrong ways. If only somebody had filmed it- it would've been great to see on YouTube. Probably better off just staying at the residence with Kate, Richard....

According to BBC Radio 6:

Singer nicked at youth club
21 June 06 - Richard Ashcroft was arrested on Monday after bursting into a youthclub and demanding to work with the teenagers inside.

According to today's Sun, the former Verve frontman appeared drunk and when he began swearing and refused to leave, the police were called.

The singer was taken into custody for a couple of hours and given an £80 fixed penalty for disorderly behaviour before he was released.

The incident happened at the Bridge club in Chippenham, Wiltshire near where the parents of Richard's wife Kate live.

His record label Parlophone said they would not be making any comment on the story.

Around 60 youngsters were in the building when the singer - formerly dubbed 'Mad Richard' by the music press - arrived.

In the Sun, an eyewitness is reported as saying: "He was very strung out and close to tears at one point. He kept saying he wanted to work with kids, that he wanted to do 'good things'.

He wasn't aggressive, in fact he was quite charming and friendly. He kept hugging some staff and kids."

The source continues: "He looked like a tramp. He was dishevelled and unshaven with filthy clothes and there was saliva caked around his mouth. He was off his head, although he wasn't slurring his words. One of the staff said: 'You're the spitting image of Richard Ashcroft. And he said that's because I am.'"

The boss got more and more anxious at his erratic behaviour however and rang the police after the singer had slumped on a sofa.

According to Filter the follow-up to Modest Mouse's Good News For People Who Like Bad News will be released early next year. Good news for everyone except those fans who were planning on attending the handful of West Coast live dates in early August that have now been cancelled.

I pity the fool that doesn't like these!

2006-06-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

There's nothing to perk up a dreary Tuesday morning than singing along with the videos to tunes like Adam Ant's "Kings of the Wild Frontier" or Sly Fox "Let's Go All The Way." Godley and Creme's video for "Cry" is notable if nothing else for the fact that it's one of the very first videos I ever remember seeing on MTV.

How about the video for Primal Scream "Gentle Tuesday?" Good lord, I've never seen that one before. Great stuff. A few other great picks- how about the videos for...

Spacemen 3 "Revolution"
Joy Division "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
The Cure "Boys Don't Cry"
Lou Reed "Dirty Boulevard"
Happy Mondays "Hallelujah"
Dresden Dolls "Eisbar"
Morrissey- "Suedehead"
Eric B & Rakim- "Microphone Fiend"
Cocteau Twins- "Carolyn's Fingers"
This Mortal Coil- "Song To The Siren"
The Replacements- "Goddamn Job"
Lightning Seeds- "Pure"
Squeeze- "Hourglass"
Roxy Music- "More Than This"
Ricky Gervais- "Seona Dancing"
Public Enemy- "Don't Believe The Hype"
Nick Cave- "The Mercy Seat"
My Bloody Valentine- "You Made Me Realize"
Lindsey Buckingham- "Trouble" (for Anthony & Kelly if nothing else)

Check these and more out here

It's just a fish in the Atlantic...

2006-06-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

OK, Peaches- are you freaking kidding me here? The honeymoon is almost certainly long over now. "A slippery dick- it's just a fish in the Atlantic?" "Can you cut the mustard to clear the custard?" "Pull back the curtains and feed the clam?" And that's just in a single song, mind you- there's more where that came from. Is this supposed to be so ridiculous that it's now ironic and clever? I'm not seeing it.

The Canadian's (Merrill Nisker's, heh) first release The Teaches of Peaches hit in 2000 and was actually... fun and clever. The simple, spare, electro-beats left the simple, catchy rhymes with an even naughtier, tongue-in-cheek feel. Fatherfucker followed three years later and was, well- more of the same. And as such, the sophomore effort seemed to fall a bit more flat and definitely with less of an impact. Peaches' latest album, titled Impeach My Bush, will be released July 11th- with all the relative shock of Too Live Crew's Banned In The USA. Even guest appearances including Joan Jett, Josh Homme, Samantha Maloney, and Leslie Feist can't save this one.

"You wanna stick it- I wanna stick it... bet you thought I was gonna say 'in.' Well I'm not."

Good lord, Merrill- I feel insulted- seriously. I'll go listen to "Set It Off" now.

Peaches official website

Pre-order at Amazon

~~Peaches- Tent In Your Pants~~

~~Peaches- Give'er~~

In other here and theres...

Check out some great live Beth Orton from 2004 at musicasart.

Thom Yorke explains the title of his upcoming "not solo" album The Eraser: "This is such a dark period in our country's history. There are these huge elephants that we have in the room at the moment, in the West, and people are desperately trying to erase them from public consciousness." Whew- I thought maybe there was some kind of happy-go-lucky theme on this one...

Rolling Stone reviews KYCW fave Regina Spektor:

Regina Spektor Begin To Hope (Sire)

Compare her to other eccentric, female, piano-playing crooners, but New York singer-songwriter Regina Spektor is an oddball unto herself. Less miserable than Fiona Apple, less wacky than Nellie McKay and less hippieish than Tori Amos, Spektor shows off her gorgeous, fluttery voice, her burgeoning writer chops and her God-given quirks on her second disc, Begin to Hope. Her loveliest song is "Samson," where she affects a hushed and honeyed tone that recalls Bjork's quieter moments and makes even strange turns of phrase sound like the words to a lullaby. More upbeat numbers such as "Hotel Song" and "Fidelity" are buffeted by cute claptrap beats that make them as danceable as they are singable. Of course, Spektor may be the only woman in the world who doesn't sound ridiculous singing her lyrics; if you're thinking about chiming in on lines like "Hey, remember that time I found a human tooth down on Delancey?" you might want to wait until you're alone in the car. (JENNY ELISCU)

Let's play Password- disappointing sellout... Nelly Furtado.

As requested...

2006-06-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

The Golden Apples of the Sun- Part 1

The Golden Apples of the Sun- Part 2

Oh it was a funny little thing...

2006-06-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ah, folk music. I think it's a bit of a love/hate relationship for me. I love Bob Dylan from the early '60s to today... but at the same time I greatly prefer his songwriting after he started to stray from the typical folk song structure. I respect Woody Guthrie's work and his great importance as a songwriter, both in the folk music scene and outside it- but at the same time it's not a body of work that I can find myself truly appreciating. Much the same logic stands true for me when considering Springsteen's latest foray into the area, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. I listened to a few of the tunes on the album, thought to myself "yeah, he's definitely on it. I see why he's getting all the raves with this one" and will probably never listen to a bit of it again. But hopefully you're not here in hopes of catching some folky Boss tracks, because that's not what I'm rambling about here.

What is folk? Allmusic defines it as "simple, acoustic-based music that spins everyday events and common people into mythic status." But with so many years passing since the peak of the folk music movement in the '50s and '60s, it seems that more and more musical styles and artists that would not typically be considered of the folk genre could be grouped as such according to this loose definition. Is it an element of political topics that could also be considered important to folk music? This limitation or at least definition makes a lot more sense to me than just putting forth the fact that songs are acoustic-based and of a storytelling nature. Adding to this query, we've also come to determine a seemingly ridiculous segmenting of this individual category- urban folk, progressive folk, folk-pop, and let's not forget "anti-folk." Right.

I recently stumbled upon a compilation album of "underground folk" songs selected by Devendra Banhart (you know, the "folk" artist) and while I've only listened to it passively, it's got some great tunes that are light and lo-fi, but at the same time worthwhile listening. Some of the more well-known artists present include Iron & Wine, Joanna Newsom, CocoRosie, Antony of Antony & the Johnsons, and Devendra himself. Many of the songs have a timeless quality both in their instrumentation and in the vocal styles themselves. The album, The Golden Apples Of The Sun, was released as a 1,000 copy limited edition given away free with Arthur magazine in 2004. If you like songs that can be described with words like "understated, haunting, and sincer" there's a good lot of tunes to be enjoyed here...

And since it is limited edition and out of print, I really don't have a problem with sharing the whole album if anyone's interested. Just leave a comment if you'd like it...

~~Vetiver- Angels' Shame~~

~~Joanna Newsom- Bridges and Balloons~~

~~Six Organs of Admittance- Hazy St.~~

~~Iron and Wine- Fever Dream~~

Not much hair left on his head...

2006-06-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

OK, can I rave any more about Regina Spektor and Begin To Hope? Actually, since EZArchive is being a bit... shall I say sketchy the last few days, yes I can. Every time I listen to this new album I'm amazed even more by how beautiful the songs are. I'm certain Regina's latest will fall in my top ten for the year- and probably in the top five if not at number one. It's certainly going to be evident to anyone who checks me out on last.fm. And (finally) the album will be released this Tuesday, June 13th. Regina will be performing at the New York City Tower Records on 4th and Broadway the same day to mark the release and will appear on Conan the following day.

Check out some live Regina Spektor goodness at ReginaSpektor.net

Watch the video for "Samson" here

Watch them operate...

2006-06-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Check out some great performance video of Gomez along with interview footage with Tom on working with their latest producer and their success as a British band in the US. The band performs:

"How We Operate"
"See The World"
"girlshapedlovedrug"

Gomez on AT&T blue room

In retro music news, Johnny Marr reveals that Morrissey invited McCartney to play piano on "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" from the Smiths classic The Queen Is Dead but McCartney "politely declined." Oh, by the way- that wasn't Macca being requested to tinkle the ivories, but Linda McCartney. Now that's a somewhat interesting tidbit...

NME story

Nothing's gonna change my world...

2006-06-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update today- a lack of which there's been because of a pesky cold and other... ahem- blog-related issues.

Check out the video for Fiona Apple's version of "Across the Universe" which is one of the few Beatles covers that does justice to the original. An older video but still dreamy...

Fiona Apple- Across the Universe

Download a Charlatans concert from last week (their current tour) here...

Charlatans UK: 2006-05-29, Englewood

One little leak becomes a lake...

2006-05-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, folks. The Radiohead frontman's jaunt into the not solo world (as discussed earlier here at KYCW, Thom doesn't cotton to that word.) Strange thing is, nothing here is really surprising. Any of these songs would have fit quite easily into the tracks on Kid A or Amnesiac- skittery beats and softly sung, haunting vocals float throughout the album from start to finish. Wow- it's pretty much exactly what I was expecting. Perhaps on of the most surprising moments is hearing Thom sing what sounds to be a love song with "Skip Divided" containing the lyric "I'm your lapdog- I just got a number and location." "Atoms For Peace" has Thom "wanting to eat your artichoke heart," at least as far as I can tell.

Question is- how would this be judged if it were the new Radiohead album? Hard to tell, but it's definitely easily worthy of release. As much as I hate to say it as it sounds so cliché, these songs don't grab you so much as they slowly and ominously seep their way into your head and stay there. Part of the fun of a record like this is more than just the music- it's the hugely differing opinions from music fans on whether it's good or not. What with it only being leaked for a mere day, I think we've only heard the beginning...

Edit: Links deleted due to copyright violation.

Eraser website

Pre-order the Eraser at Amazon

A modern way of letting go...

2006-05-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

The official Idlewild website reports today that Idlewild lead singer/pretty boy Roddy Woomble is set to release his first solo album, My secret is my silence, on July 24th. What with Tim Burgess, Thom Yorke, James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire all releasing similar side projects, seems there's a bug catching. It'll be interesting to see what Roddy's album turns out like, as I've enjoyed Idlewild throughout, whether they're in their more heavy modern rock phase or the more subdued phase as on their last release Warnings/Promises. If you haven't gotten a taste of the Scottish band Idlewild yet, check out their website or watch their in-studio performance on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Idlewild official website

Idlewild on Morning Becomes Eclectic

It's a Welsh thing...

2006-05-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hi
We are very pleased to bring you details on James Dean Bradfield's debut solo material:

Debut solo single 'That's No Way To Tell A lie' and album 'The Great Western'

James Dean Bradfield releases his hugely anticipated debut solo album ‘The Great Western’ on 24th July, which is preceded with a single ‘That’s No Way To Tell A Lie’ on 10th July.

Recorded in Wales, Berlin and London, James has played most of the instruments himself and written virtually all the lyrics, a task usually left to his band mate Nicky Wire in the Manic Street Preachers. He decided to write on his own after the Manics vowed to take a break after the release of their last album Lifeblood and as he explains “I missed writing songs and I missed performing music and it’s as simple as that. So I thought; perhaps I've just got to garner some self-confidence to write some stuff of my own.”

He cites a wide range of influences including John Cale, Badfinger, Kyffin Williams (the Anglesey-based landscape painter), Steve Miller Band, Todd Rundgren and Rattlesnakes era Lloyd Cole and sought inspiration from the much travelled journey from Cardiff Central to London Paddington during the recording. However the sound he has created is distinctly his own, powerful modern rock with nagging choruses, topped with James unique soulful vocals.

The Manics have already started work on their eight studio album which is going fantastically. James will also be performing live with a full band line up over the summer.

The album covers coming to terms with and moving on with the triumphs and tragedies of his past but while 'The Great Western' is as grown-up and profound as that sounds; it's shot through with the same primal zeal for melody, urge for power chords and lust for life that have kept James Dean Bradfield at the summit of Britrock for 15 years.

‘That’s No Way to Tell a Lie’ is released on 10th July 2006.

'The Great Western’ is released on 24th July 2006.

James Dean Bradfield on MySpace

James has a new MySpace page where he hopes to preview a few album tracks from 'The Great Western' very soon. Go now and sign up to become a 'friend' to James.

CLICK HERE: James Dean Bradfield MySpace page

Official website coming soon

~~James Dean Bradfield- That's No Way To Tell A Lie (recorded from Radio 2)~~

~~James Dean Bradfield & Tom Jones- I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone~~

Yes, we've got a video!

2006-05-18T10:31:00.000-07:00

A handful of them, actually. Some great tunes with great videos to go along with them...

Graham Coxon- You and I

Brakes- All Night Disco Party

The Streets- Never Went To Church

Placebo- Because I Want You

Robbie Williams- Sin Sin Sin

Gomez- girlshapedlovedrug

Regina Spektor- Better

That solo's awful long- but it's a good refrain...

2006-05-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure is probably evident from past posts (and I may have even mentioned it outright) I'm a huge sucker for female singer-songwriters. I'm not talking Alanis Morrisette or Carole King here- I'm talking about Fiona Apple, Nellie McKay, Amanda Palmer, Beth Orton, and... Regina Spektor. It's interesting that I've never really noticed the similarity between the vocal styles of Fiona and Regina. Especially on some of the slower tunes on Regina's upcoming album Begin To Hope, the same sort of lilt and yearning comes out in the melodies. Of course the seemingly random Doctor Robert/Uncle Albert references in "Edit" give a kick to the Macca fan. Although I've only had a chance to give her a new album a few listens thus far, I'm definitely thinking it's as good or even better than her previous releases. Quirky and emotional with an occasional jazzy touch, this one's enchanting from start to finish.

Official website

Buy it June 13th on Amazon

~~Regina Spektor- Samson~~

~~Regina Spektor- On The Radio~~

~~Regina Spektor- Hotel Song~~

Genie let out the bottle- it is now the witching hour...

2006-05-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

And here's a tidbit of news that's totally unexpected...

Thom Yorke has just made a statement revealing the upcoming release of a solo album in July, to be titled The Eraser. Produced (of course) by Nigel Godrich.

The message from W.A.S.T.E.:

this is just a note to say that something has been kicking around in the background that i have not told you about.
its called The Eraser.
nigel produced & arranged it .
i wrote and played it.
the elements have been kicking round now for a few years and needed to be finished & i have been itching to do something like this for ages.
it was fun and quick to do.
inevitably it is more beats & electronics.
but its songs.
stanley did the cover.
yes its a record!
no its not a radiohead record.
as you know the band are now touring and writing new stuff and getting to a good space so i want no crap about me being a traitor or whatever splitting up blah blah...
this was all done with their blessing. and i don't wanna hear that word solo. doesnt sound right.
ok then thats that.

i think its out in july and im pretty certain XL are going to put it out.

love thom

Could this be part of the reason Radiohead won't be releasing an album in 2006? Who knows. Definitely something to look forward to in July...

Tracklist:

01 the eraser
02 analyse
03 the clock
04 black swan
05 skip divided
06 atoms for peace
07 and it rained all night
08 harrowdown hill
09 cymbal rush

Official Radiohead website

The Eraser

Radiohead- 2+2=5 (live on Jonathan Ross '03

Keep on keepin' on...

2006-05-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

So nice on a Friday to stumble upon the upcoming full-length from Primal Scream. As I was expecting, they've totally gone back to a down and dirty, grass-roots kind of sound- not quite the same style as Give Out but similar overall compared to their recent harder abrasive electronic sound. Some of the tunes remind me a bit of early 70's Stones a la Exile On Main Street, which is definitely a good thing. I could definitely see "Boogie Disease" fitting in amongst some of the Stones more gritty, bluesy tracks. At the same time, the intro of "Dolls" brings to mind T. Rex for me. "Sometimes I Feel So Lonely" makes for an exquisite closer to the album. I'll have to see how this one sinks in before I really decide...

Head here to hear for yourself...

Order it at Amazon

Actually, more of a three and a half minute warning if anything...

2006-05-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well, here's the run-down.. and probably not a very good one. Two recent shows from Radiohead in Denmark, and the show from May 6th is all over the internet already- including San Diego Serenade. I haven't had a chance to give the whole show a listen yet, but of course I dug into the new tunes like stink on a stinky thing. My immediate favourite is definitely "4 Minute Warning" which is piano-based and sounds slightly like a good Coldplay tune (notice the two qualifiers there.) Other showcased tunes including Spooks, Bangers and Mash, Open Pick, Bodysnatchers...

With all this upcoming touring of both Europe and the United States, the logical and quick-witted Radiohead fan would obviously deduce to themselves "ah, a new Radiohead album is forthcoming!" Alas- this is not the case, folks. Pitchfork says:

"There are no plans for a Radiohead album release any time in 2006," sayeth the press release."

Well ain't that about a bitch.

Radiohead- 4 Minute Warning

At Ease

Official Radiohead website

You are trapped- don't waste your energy...

2006-05-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

OK- I'm stuck on Welsh bands, folks. I don't know what it is about all the great Welsh bands, but there's something there. Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Mclusky, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci... the list goes on and I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple. And notice I did not include Stereophonics in that list.

And here comes another one that I've recently discovered- People In Planes. Straight out of Cardiff (population just over 300,000) they were inspired to start a band, apparently by listening to the classic Supergrass debut I Should Coco. It certainly seems as good or better an inspiration to get a band together as any to me!

Comparisons for this one to other bands don't pop up right away for me, but their sound and music has been described as lush and ambitious- and I'd say that's about right. Ambitious like British Sea Power, ambitious like Sigur Ros, ambitious like Super Furry Animals... only nearly completely different. Unlike the others, People In Planes seems just a bit less exotic, and more straight-ahead rockwise. But still different nonetheless.

I could almost make a Gomez comparison...

but I won't.

According to Insound:

AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE... is a richly atmospheric, sometimes challenging album that doesn't stint on inviting melody and anthemic choruses. In other words, this five-piece band from Cardiff, Wales traverses the long distance between visionary flights of imagination and simple rock pleasures as easily as, well, people in planes.

Here I am again listening to "Token Trapped Woman" as I type this and thinking to myself- "for crap's sake, what a fantastic tune! It's a bit hard selecting only a few of these tunes from As Far As The Eye Can See, but I'll give it a shot...

~~People In Planes If You Talk To Much (My Head Will Explode)~~

~~People In Planes- Moth~~

~~People In Planes- Token Trapped Woman~~

They're about to kick off a North American tour, with the following dates:

May 6 2006 8:00P
UMB Bank Pavilion Maryland Heights, MO
May 11 2006 8:00P
Mercury Lounge New York, NY
May 24 2006 8:00P
Newport Music Hall Columbus, OH
May 27 2006 8:00P
Raleigh Downtown Live Raleigh, NC
May 28 2006 8:00P
Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia, MD
May 29 2006 8:00P
Chevrolet Amphitheatre Pittsburgh, PA
Jun 1 2006 8:00P
Ramada Theatre Winnipeg
Jun 2 2006 8:00P
U of S - Louies Saskatoon
Jun 3 2006 8:00P
Arlington Red Deer
Jun 6 2006 8:00P
Legends Victoria
Jun 7 2006 8:00P
Commodore Vancouver
Jun 8 2006 8:00P
Element Castlegar
Jun 9 2006 8:00P
MacBallroom Calgary
Jun 10 2006 8:00P
Starlite Edmonton
Jun 13 2006 8:00P
The Townehouse Sudbury
Jun 15 2006 8:00P
Le National Montreal
Jun 16 2006 8:00P
AJ's Hangar Kingston
Jun 17 2006 8:00P
Woodlands Pavilion Houston, TX
Jun 20 2006 8:00P
Bugaboo Creek Fredericton
Jun 22 2006 8:00P
The Manhattan (Oxygen) Moncton
Jun 23 2006 8:00P
The Savoy Glace Bay
Jun 24 2006 8:00P
The Marquee Club Halifax
Jun 27 2006 8:00P
Cowboy's Ranch London
Jun 28 2006 8:00P
Elements Kitchener
Jun 28 2006 8:00P
Koolhaus Toronto

Happy ending or a broken heart?

2006-05-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

So yeah, I missed out or really didn't get that into the whole Bloc Party/Maximo Park/Futureheads shebang from a couple years ago. Sure I kinda dug some of the tunes that I heard but overall it didn't really grab me. I was probably too busy listening to Babyshambles and the like at the time. Even now with Arctic Monkeys, I for the most part just give it a "meh."

And you know what? I like the Clash, but I don't love them and worship them as some kind of Second Coming of rock and roll like a lot of folks would. Why? I don't know- sometimes not tuneful enough for me, I suppose? If I want ragged balls-to-the-wall down and dirty rock, I'll take the Replacements. But again, I'm certainly not knocking on any of those other punk bands, they certainly always have had their place no matter how many next big thing, wave of revivals come along. But anyway, I'm rambling.

I just got a copy of the Futureheads upcoming sophomore record News and Tributes and am really digging it on first listen. A lot of great catchy singalong hooks and smart guitar riffs. Will I still be listening to this in another couple months? I have no clue, but for now it's refreshing to hear.

NME on secret show in London

Pre-order it at Amazon

Futureheads on Myspace

~~The Futureheads- Skip To The End~~

~~The Futureheads- Cope~~

And here's a little something of a bonus track- a great little Arctic Monkeys b-side I've been digging...

~~Arctic Monkeys- Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts~~

Liz Fraser returns to play with Massive Attack

2006-04-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

I can barely even imagine the thrill of seeing Massive Attack live, let alone seeing them with Elizabeth Fraser on vocals. "Teardrop" live? Get outta town!

The Paramount seemed not a theater at all, but a dark shamanistic cave.

Massive Attack in Seattle

What the f*ck was I thinking?

2006-04-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Discovering new artists from Myspace? What is the world coming to, eh? Well it's true. I'd never heard of Jenny Owen Youngs until I stumbled across her picture there and said "what's this?" You can listen to four of her tunes on her Myspace and download the song "Fuck Was I" either here or for free on her official website. I'm not sure how old she is, but I think she's fairly new to the music biz- which hopefully means even bigger and better things in the future. From the looks of her blog and website, she's certainly looking to take on the world in a big way. Another great new prospect in the world of talented female singer-songwriters.

Jenny Owen Youngs Official Website

Myspace page

Jenny Owen Youngs- Fuck Was I

If I was a booger, would you blow your nose?

2006-04-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

(now 66% less Lemony)

I know, I know- it's been a while since I've posted but blogger was giving me the business so I'm only partially to blame. Got it?

Mike Skinner of the Streets is slowing things down for the second single from The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living and releasing "Never Went To Church." I'm guessing it'll be another hit in the UK- now get your arse over this side of the pond, Mikee!

NME story

Manic Street Preachers have a song on the new June Brides tribute album Still Unravished. You can listen to it on Manics' Myspace- it's a pretty decent tune.

Evan Dando is "reuniting the Lemonheads" and recording a new album that's due to be released next spring. Those quotes mean "Evan's the only original member of the Lemonheads and there's two guys from the Descendents playing with him." I'm thinking it's still a good thing though- hopefully Evan will kick it a bit harder than on his solo record Baby I'm Bored, which was good overall but still not up to par with the Lemonheads stuff.

Pitchfork story

I still can't get enough of the new Primal Scream single "Country Girl." Sounds like classic scream and check out that mandolin in there! Definitely a catchy hook and hopefully it's a good indication of the rest of Riot City Blues. You can download the tune at the Daily Growl.

Primal Scream- Country Girl

Take That are reuniting for a tour and according to the group, Robbie will be joining them on a few dates of the tour. They're even apparently using a Robbie hologram on stage- what's up with that? Robbie apparently says they're Tripping. Don't do it Robbie- keep what little self-respect you have!

Yes, I like Robbie Williams- now hush.

NME story

Now here's some Spacemen 3 goodness I've been digging on of late...

Spacemen 3- Come Down Easy (demo)

Spacemen 3- Walking With Jesus (demo)

So much time got lost in my mind...

2006-04-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Part of the reason I love Beth Orton is the way she combines folky, acoustic music with more modern electronic beats and rhythms. The first I ever heard of her was her work with William Orbit on the dance track "Water From A Vine Leaf." At times her voice reminds me a lot of Edie Brickell's- it seems to just lazily circle around the room, lilting at just the perfect times to accentuate a word or phrase. Definitely check out "Concrete Sky" and if you like it, go straight to Amazon and check out her first two albums, Trailer Park and Central Reservation. "This One's Gonna Bruise" is much more melancholy.

Official Website

~~Beth Orton- Worms~~

~~Beth Orton- Shopping Trolley~~

~~Beth Orton- Concrete Sky~~

~~Beth Orton- This One's Gonna Bruise~~

For some odd reason today...

2006-04-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

The words "sickle cell anemia" got stuck in my head and it wasn't until I scoped out the new Primal Scream interview on NME that I realized what it was. What a strange coincidence. I liked XTRMNTR (and saw them live in Chicago that tour) but never quite as much as my favourite Scream album Vanishing Point or Screamadelica. It will be interesting to hear their new album as they've always been a band that can shift musical styles and succeed pretty well. Naysayers will point out give out but don't give up a misstep but I still think it's a pretty solid album of tunes with a few exceptions. Here's a handful of tunes as a teaser for the upcoming album June 5th and single "Country Girl" on May 22nd. Those are UK dates, peedles.

~~Primal Scream- Velocity Girl~~

~~Primal Scream- Movin' On Up~~

~~Primal Scream- Come Together>~~

~~Primal Scream- Jailbird~~

~~Primal Scream- Kowalski~~

NME Article

Doin' the wrong thing...

2006-04-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Buzz and Wee for some of the tunes...

~~XC-NN- Wrong Thing~~

~~Belle & Sebastian- The Boy Done Wrong Again (live at the Barbican)~~

~~Frausdots- Dead Wrong~~

~~Morphine- All Wrong~~

~~Cracker- Mr. Wrong~~

~~The Clash- Wrong 'Em Boyo~~

~~Jesus & Mary Chain- Something's Wrong~~

Lay back in the sun...

2006-03-31T11:55:00.000-08:00

Ah- a sunny day here in the Midwest... and I'm stuck inside working. Might as well waste my time posting some songs here with a sunny theme then, eh? Done and done. Oh, and speaking of work, I really should get some done so I'll let you sort out these solar tunes yourself... don't forget to set your clocks forward, kids.

~~Clem Snide- Moment In The Sun~~

~~George Harrison & Eric Clapton- Here Comes The Sun (Live In Japan)~~

~~Primal Scream- Higher Than The Sun~~

~~Doves- Catch The Sun~~

~~Powderfinger- Waiting For The Sun~~

~~Cats On Fire- Praying On A Sunny Day~~

~~Flaming Lips- Assassination Of The Sun~~

~~Beulah- Burned By The Sun~~

~~Elefant- Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid~~

~~Pretty Things- The Sun~~

~~The Zephyrs- Setting Sun~~

Try to find a boy who's gonna be all the things I ain't...

2006-03-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

Another quickie today- I'll just drop a couple new tunes in here. Yes, I've posted both Morrissey and the Streets recently on KYCW- so sue me. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the b-sides for Morrissey's "You Have Killed Me," particularly "Human Being." It brings to mind the style of another song that I can't quite place, but it's certainly not a bad familiarity. In my eyes it could've easily been worthy of inclusion on the album.

Along with that, the Streets Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living leaked over the weekend (finally!) but I haven't really gotten around to giving it a proper listen. More crazy shenanigans, more loco chorus singing. I'll just throw in the two tracks that caught me on first listen- funny stuff.

~~Morrissey- Human Being~~

~~Morrissey- Good Looking Man About Town~~

~~The Streets- Can't Con An Honest Jon~~

~~The Streets- Hotel Expressionism~~

Some things never change- nothing's gonna change that.

2006-03-23T10:12:00.000-08:00

(check those beards- that's how they grow 'em in Idaho, kids)

Who would have thought that Built To Spill would abruptly change their entire sound and style with their new album You In Reverse? Hopefully no one- 'cause it certainly ain't happening with this one. But that's not disappointing to me at all. Is it wrong to love strange and experimental bands and at the same time be comforted by the familiar standby approach of others?

This album took the band five years, as opposed to their customary one or two. Even before those trademark Doug Martsch vocals kick in, the guitar alone instantly clues you in that you're listening to Built To Spill. If you're a fan of some of the somewhat lengthier jams, they're still in there, too. And a good helping of Doug's customarily clever lyrics are sprinkled in for good measure. Those fans looking for a new sound or direction from Built To Spill should look elsewhere. But if you're looking for another solid album worth of songs from a great band who seldom disappoints, you've found it with this one.

That being said, I must admit that ska-like tail end of "Mess With Time" is a nice little switch-up. And the guitar totally goes off at then end of "Just A Habit..."

Built To Spill- Goin' Against Your Mind

Built To Spill- Traces

Built To Spill- Conventional Wisdom

Built To Spill- Mess With Time

Preorder at Amazon

Oi, oi- c'mere, ya furry geezer!

2006-03-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

Mikee Skinner's been stealing stuffed animals- cause he's hardcore like that.

From NME:

Mike Skinner - tiger thief!
The Streets man comes clean over German big cat
Mike Skinner has apologised for stealing a tiger while in Germany.

The Streets man admitted he had taken the giant stuffed animal on March 10.
"Apologies to the German authorities," he wrote on his band's website The-streets.co.uk. "The tiger was stolen from a motorway service station at approximately 3am the other night between Hamburg and Koln I think, or maybe it was between Hamburg and Berlin. My facts aren't sure."

Skinner then explained that he liberated the furry beast after feeling sorry for it.

"He was looking very lonely on the top shelf next to the porn and engine oil," explained the rapper, adding that he was hoping for some sort of tiger amnesty.

"The guy didn't see him jacked from the store and we understand that he was worth 200 euros," confessed Skinner. "If you get in contact maybe we can return Tony (as we have named him) in exchange for amnesty from deportation and/or criminal charges being pressed."

You could use a change of tune...

2006-03-22T07:23:00.000-08:00

Sometimes my descriptive skills of persuasion in the case of music escapes me. Or is that always? How do you convince someone through words that a band or songs in particular are worth listening to? It's much easier in person- "here, give this a listen and see what you think." In the case of music blogs, I often find myself so overwhelmed by the number of artists that are new to me, and in turn, various downloadable mp3s, that I tend to skim much more than I ought to. Ah well, let's give this one a shot.

The first thing that struck me upon recently giving this album the first listen since the months following it's release were the similarities it had with some of the Decemberists work. First off, the band and various other characters are dressed in old-timey costume; a circus side-show feel runs through the pictures complete with a strong man weight-lifter, crystal ball reader, magician, and dancing girls. A few subjects that would by no means seem out of place in the liner notes of a Decemberists album.

Then we move on to the actual comparisons and musical kinship between Grant Lee Buffalo frontman Grant Lee Phillips and the Decemberists' Colin Meloy. Many of their tunes revolve around evocative lyrics of another century, complete with phrases and descriptions that easily bring the picture and story into your mind.

Of course, neither songwriter ever lets their talent for eloquent and detailed lyrics get in the way of catchy, memorable melodies or great musicianship. Ukeleles, tack pianos, chamberlains (god bless Jon Brion,) sleigh bells- all part of a great mix. And pardon me, but what the crap is a Vibraslap? By the way, that's none other than Robyn Hitchcock on backing vocals and harmonica on "My, My, My."

Grant Lee Buffalo- A.P.B.

Grant Lee Buffalo- Change Your Tune

Grant Lee Buffalo- Fine How'd Ya Do

Grant Lee Buffalo- Everybody Needs A Little Sanctuary

Grant Lee Buffalo- My My My

Get Jubilee for less than ten dollars at Insound

If there was a sequel...

2006-03-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

OK, so I'm still raving about the Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan album- easily one of my favorite albums released so far this year. And that's even before listening to this interview on NPR. Yes, the voice and Scottish accent leaves me struggling to be objective. She's already finished up a short tour of the US but has a few dates in the UK scheduled...

Isobel Campbell's Official Website

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan- Deus Ibi Est

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan- (Do You Wanna) Come Walk With Me?

Speaking of interviews, there's a good one with Amanda Palmer of Dresden Dolls at 411Mania. Their second album Yes Virginia... will be released April 18th.

In unrelated news, can you say "merchandising that never needed to happen?" Yeah, that's The John Lennon Jewelry Collection. That's right- not for charity, folks. How atrocious.

Massive Attack are playing a single show in Gloucestershire on July 30, as part of the Forestry Commission's annual forest shows. I really have no idea what the Forestry Commission does, but I'm guessing it benefits the environment? Massive Attack's upcoming greatest hits collection Collected is out next week, but apparently not here in the US. A new album is in the works, hopefully toward the beginning of 2007.

Some fantastic line-ups at SXSW this year, as expected. Carl Libertine's new band Dirty Pretty Things played a five song show, following a couple of my favorite new UK bands including iForward Russia! and The Rumble Strips. Now they're off for a European tour, the dates of which can nearly be made out here...

And last, there's a review of the Boston Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins show here.

There's a chill in the air- and it's catching!

2006-03-15T14:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I sit here- a new convert to the Fiery Furnaces. Before this new CD Bitter Tea, I must admit that I wasn't at all taken. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to like them. I listened to grandma sing and thought "OK, am I missing something here?" Blueberry Boat? Not so much. And even upon my first listen to Bitter Tea, I had some of the same doubts. Are they trying to be difficult? Avant-garde for the sake of avant-garde usually equals a misstep by my calculations. Backward vocals? Yeah, check that one. Again? Yeah, we get it. Strange half-sung half-spoken vocals? Yep, it's in there. And how many times must I click back to iTunes to figure out if a new song has started or not?

But those were the preliminary complaints. Upon a second, third, fourth listen- I just gave up and took it for what it was. Wait, I still don't know what it is, but I know I like it. Is she giving street addresses? Directions to the local 7-11? I'd be the wrong person to ask, but I know that when that beat kicks in midway through, it's pretty great. Of course, I'm sure they're still playing with my head. It's becoming more and more difficult for me to explain why I like or dislike music, but so far I really don't have a problem with that. I think I don't have "the wrong Eleanor Friedberger" after all... and that tea's only bitter on first taste.

Fiery Furnaces- I'm In No Mood

Fiery Furances- Oh Sweet Woods

Fiery Furnaces- Bitter Tea

Fiery Furnaces Official Website

Pre-order on Amazon

Don't let it fool you like it nearly fooled me...

2006-03-13T13:53:00.000-08:00

I still haven't gotten a chance to come even close to "digesting this one properly" but I hope it will still grow on me some more. Not that it's at all bad, mind you- but upon the first couple of listens I just can't convince myself it's quite up to past Gomez standards. But in the meantime here are a few of the tracks in case you just can't wait and want to decide a bit for yourself...

Gomez- See the World

Gomez- Hamoa Beach

Gomez- Tear Your Love Apart

And just for kicks, here's the two tracks they recorded last year for the Lennon Tribute- good stuff...

Gomez- Hey Bulldog

Gomez- Instant Karma

There is no such thing in life as normal...

2006-03-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

Ah yes- to finally get my hands on both the new Gomez and Morrissey albums within the span of twenty-four hours. At this point, I'm a bit more sold on the Morrissey. The tunes are catchy and have that typical Morrissey wit and flair upon first listen. Tongue in cheek lyrics, still giving the nudge to the States, and still with his unique point of view on life, the universe, and everything. Who would've thought that a children's choir would work so well within a Moz tune? A nice touch added there to "The Youngest Was The Most Loved." I've only given the whole album one proper listen through, but here are my favourites so far...

Morrissey- I Will See You In Far Off Places

Morrissey- The Youngest Was The Most Loved

Morrissey- In The Future When All's Well

Morrissey- I Just Want To See The Boy Happy

I live to fall asleep...

2006-03-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

Hey Manics fans- it's James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers sleeping in the studio- click here!

OK, not so great- but kinda funny.

There's a ton of Manics videos and interviews here.

Manic Street Preachers- A Secret Society

Manic Street Preachers- Bright Eyes (live)

Manic Street Preachers- Motown Junk (acoustic)

I Bet You Ruin This Tune With A Needless Cover

2006-03-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

Hey look kids! It's Sugababes covering Arctic Monkeys- I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor. No offense to Sugababes- as I've liked a few of their tunes here and there, but no thank you!

I am a weapon of mass destruction.

2006-03-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Don't know why, but I've been in a headbangin' sort of mood today. From new Ministry to Mclusky's greatest hits, it's been some more heavy duty stuff today (you know, as compared to your Belle & Sebastian, Nick Drake, Rilo Kiley- that sort of thing.)

I haven't had a chance to give the new Ministry album Rio Grande Blood a proper listen all the way through, but I'm fairly digging on the title track. Sampling Bush- and what would you expect? May not be the best sort of tune to stand the test of time, but it's a bit of a statement on affairs, if nothing else. Bush never rocked this hard.

Ministry- Rio Grande Blood

I first heard Mclusky a couple years back on WOXY (there's another plug- go there and check 'em out and give money if you can.) In fact, Mclusky's "To Hell With Good Intentions" is one of the first tunes that really grabbed me about woxy. There's always been a special place in my heart for rock trios, and the fact that they're Scottish and have some clever lyrics helps, too. They've since debanded, sadly- and never quite got the breakthrough that they deserved. A B-sides collection has followed and the hits compilation Mcluskyism is to be released March 21st. Mcluskyism makes for a perfect little sampling of their albums if you're not quite ready to make the plunge into the raggedy rockin'goodness that is/was Mclusky.

Mclusky- Without MSG I Am Nothing

I completely missed out on Drive Like Jehu during their actual existence as a band (count that as all of two albums in the early '90s.) I always hate to try to define or describe bands like this but I think people might use words like "emo" or "hardcore punk." Maybe it's easier to name bands that Drive Like Jehu might not fit too badly alongside- Jawbox, Hot Snakes, At The Drive-In, These Arms Are Snakes (snakes, snakes, everywhere snakes!) And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, etc. Definitely driving music- and by driving music I mean propulsive, not music you'd listen to on that cross-country trip with Crazy Larry.

Drive Like Jehu- Do You Compute?

Drive Like Jehu- Caress

And just for the heck of it, here's Razorlight covering the Cure...

Razorlight- Boys Don't Cry (live Cure cover)

How many episodes is this again?

2006-03-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

Well, this one struck me a bit by surprise. Last year the word was that Dre was at work on some sort of masterpiece and then scrapped the whole thing. Now here's a new record with three songs, one of them with Dre and Rakim. Sounds like your typical Dre tracks, but that's a good thing, right? He certainly isn't reinventing the wheel with this one, but it's nice to hear new tracks from Dr. Dre...

Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg and Nate Dog- Next Episode 2006

Dr. Dre feat. Rakim- When U Die

Dr. Dre- Smokin' Weed 4 Hours

The Horn of Amalthea.

2006-03-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

Amalthea was the goat that suckled Zeus after his mother had him sent to Crete so his father would not eat him. The goat later broke a horn, and Zeus filled it with the fruits of the harvest. So the Horn of Amalthea became the symbol of plenty, and whoever had it in his or her possession would never starve.

Ain't Greek mythology wacky?

Here are some tunes for that someone who bitched "again with the Liars!" You know who you are...

Regina Spektor- Oedipus

Do I know what this song is about? Of course not. But I've come to really appreciate Regina Spektor's music. I can totally understand how her tunes might be a love/hate kind of thing- she has some strange affectations and is prone to throwing in some scat-singing type of stuff. This one's from her bonus DVD Mary Ann Meets the Gravediggers and Other Short Stories. Long live the king.

Feist- Mushaboom (Postal Service remix)

Here's my confession that I am late to the Feist train. No, it wasn't on my best of 2005 list- because I hadn't really heard a single tune from it until about a month or so ago. And yeah, I heard the Bright Eyes cover of "Mushaboom" before the original. Whatever. I think Rice Krispies should ditch Pop and go with Snap, Crackle, and Mushaboom. Word on the streets is that Pop's developed a bit of a nasty meth habit anyway. Here's the Postal Service remix...

Lederhosen Lucil- The Best Dishwasher I Ever Had

This one's courtesy of the predestined and imminent Queen of the Galaxy Jess McFoxglove. The music? Think Peaches without the vulgarity. Interesting, as Lucil is also Canadian. She was apparently cloned in a genetic mutation lab in 1998. In other words- she's crazy. She does have a Swiss Miss deal going on which is cute... but still crazy. You can check out more on her at her website here.

Photo by Bryan Bruchman at subinev.com

We Are Scientists- Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt

These dudes are a trio out of Brooklyn that first reminded me a bit of !!! for some reason. I haven't really dived into their stuff but this tune has been a favourite of mine for quite a while now. I also heard someone compare We Are Scientists to the Killers and thought that that idea was nearly bitch-slappable on a number of counts. This track's the opener from their debut album released earlier this year- With Love And Squalor.

Ninja High School- All Right To Fight

What the Molson? More Canadians! It's not intentional, I promise you. Pure coincidence, that is. These guys call themselves a "positive hardcore dance-rap band." Which means their hippie hipsters, I'm guessing. They'd probably kick back quite well with Tilly & the Wall or those doofuses (doofi?) LEN from like ten years back. Allegedly the main guy from the band heard a Crazytown song on the radio, thought it sucked balls, and decided that he should start recording music as he could do better. Totally a respectable reasoning in my book. And who can resist the hook "you're going home in a f*cking ambulance?" Compare previous KYCW Auteurs entry. BTW, the official website looks like it was "designed" by a thirteen year old girl. Fix that crap up.

Looper- Burning Flies

Looper began as a side project of Belle & Sebastian bass player Stuart David (yes, the other Stuart.) After B&S finished the album Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, David quit to do Looper full time. Was that a good or bad thing? I'm not quite sure, as the Looper albums tend to be fairly hit or miss. This tunes a definite plus, though. Stuart David's influence was pretty clear in Belle & Sebastian tunes like "A Space Boy Dream" and "A Century Of Elvis." You can also get yourself some free Looper mp3s here.

I jumped the neighbors fence at dawn...

2006-02-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

Is it somehow pretentious to deem an album possibly worthy of the best of the year only two months on? I hope not- as this one will almost certainly be in my top five. I know, I know- it was only two weeks ago that I was raving about it and posting a few tracks. But this is for real, kids. Pitchfork seems to have gone all gaga over it now, with a somewhat fervent review of Drum's Not Dead and an interview that followed shortly after. There's even word that the guys had an early version of the album that they scrapped to create the finished version that's to be released. Fingers crossed that they do end up releasing those tracks as well, because I'm guessing they're worthy of being made public.

Amazon says:

DRUM'S NOT DEAD was partly inspired by the LIARS' relocation to Berlin from NYC after their 2004 album They Were Wrong, So We Drowned. From clanging guitars, martial beats, dense drones and pulverizing rhythms to high dreamy harmonies, off-kilter guitar lines and soothing samples of waves lapping, this is LIARS' finest, fullest and most unexpected album to date. Shredding all past reference points, DRUM'S NOT DEAD sees LIARS taking another seismic step forward, switching continents, seizing new musical territory and expanding their audio-visual ambitions.

I don't have any idea what's in the water over there in Berlin, but I know I could go for some sippins. Take in the album in its full-length glory, and then buy the crap out of it so that they can make another one.

Liars- Drums Not Dead

Password: "theindieconnection"

Preorder at Insound

A heartfelt seduction lasts a lifetime.

2006-02-24T14:03:00.000-08:00

Luke Haines of the Auteurs has already been posted here on KYCW so why not go ahead and give some attention to one of his other projects, Black Box Recorder? Haines collaborated with one-time Jesus & Mary Chain member John Moore and Sarah Nixey on vocals to release their stunning debut album England Made Me in 1998. Sarah Nixey's sweet and seemingly angelic vocals provide a great contrast to the dark and sometimes ominous lyrics, including subjects like British domesticity, troubled childhood, and of course the old favourites of murder and sex.

Nixey's vocals at times sound jaded and weary, at other times knowing and secretive. Their first single "Child Psychology" was banned from radio play in the UK because of the repeated lyric in the chorus "life is unfair- kill yourself or get over it" and only aired on MTV after the band agreed to scramble the offending words. Luke Haines' dark humour and songwriting craftmanship shine throughout all three of Black Box Recorder's first three albums- England Made Me, The Facts Of Life, and Passionoia. And of course, it goes without saying that Ms. Nixey is quite easy on more than just the ears.

Black Box Recorder- Girl Singing In The Wreckage

Black Box Recorder- Child Psychology

Black Box Recorder- New Baby Boom

Black Box Recorder- Start As You Mean To Go

Black Box Recorder- The Art Of Driving

Everything’s going jackanory...

2006-02-24T09:49:00.000-08:00

OK- video time for a Friday. I still remember watching this one for the first time on 120 Minutes. Does it get any better than this? The lads of Blur acting their most goofy Brit-poppish, still keeping with the underlying Great Escape theme of commercialism and the posh life of society's upperclass, not to mention the lovely ladies added in for good measure. And don't forget the seeming spoof of the Bohemian Rhapsody video with the kaleidoscope effect. Along with the clips for Parklife and Girls & Boys, this has to be at the top of my favourite Blur videos- even if it does seem it was done more as a lark at the bidding or the record company and in turn, the video's director (Damien Hirst.)

Watch it here

Spoon in the sugar, knife in the butter- I want you.

2006-02-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

I must admit that most of my knowledge of Gavin Friday's work up until recently involved only his collaborations with U2, Depeche Mode, and Sinead O'Connor. I'd always been curious and interested in his solo work and that with the group Virgin Prunes, mind you- I'd just never gone to the trouble of actually looking him up.

The Irish singer-songwriter seems to keep himself fairly busy, both with his own projects and his work with others that includes soundtracks such as In The Name Of The Father and The Boxer. In fact, it was his work with Bono on the title track from In The Name Of The Father that first got my attention. It wasn't until I listened to the album Shag Tobacco that I came to fully appreciate his voice. Friday seems to shift without the slightest trouble from a high angelic falsetto back down into a full, rich, loungey tone. One of the standout tracks from this album, "Angel" managed to find its way onto the soundtrack for Romeo & Juliet- and quite deservedly so.

First comparisons to pop into my head include Jarvis Cocker (obvious similarities considering his half-spoken half-sung delivery in some of the tunes.) Treading quite precariously between the territories of creepy and sexy, you wouldn't know whether it'd be better to slip into something comfortable or to head for the phone to dial 911. At other times, his dark and sinister understated vocal delivery almost bring to mind the voice of Leonard Cohen. Many of the songs depend as much on the rich atmosphere of synthesizers, bass, and percussion as they do on his vocals and lyrics. And wait- is that Jah Wobble on bass? The cover of the T. Rex tune "Slider" does considerable justice to the late Marc Bolan as well...

Gavin Friday and the Man Seezer- Shag Tobacco

Gavin Friday and the Man Seezer- Little Black Dress

Gavin Friday and the Man Seezer- Slider (T. Rex cover)

No rhyme, no reason.

2006-02-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

Just a handful of tunes that I've really been digging the last couple of days... or months. Or in the case of the GNR, songs I'm still trying to evaluate. If curiosity strikes you, feel free to download any or all of them. I promise they're all worthy. And I also promise that there's absolutely no theme whatsoever.

Mr. Bungle- Ars Moriendi

The Cure- Foxy Lady

Stone Roses- Here It Comes

Guns N' Roses- IRS

Lightning Seeds- Sugar Coated Iceberg

Spiritualized- Sway

Of Montreal- Rain (Beatles cover, live)

Fischerspooner- We Need A War

Pink Nasty- What The F*ck

Eyes betray what your words don't speak...

2006-02-20T08:10:00.000-08:00

I actually had to search back through all the entries on here to find that I hadn't posted Mark Lanegan before. Surprising, as I've been a big fan, especially the last few months upon hearing his album with Isobel Campbell (formerly of Belle & Sebastian.) I think I've gradually come to prefer his solo work over his Screaming Trees output- and that's certainly saying a lot. One of the best bands to come out of the "grunge" era, they never quite got the same fame or success as that of Nirvana or Soundgarden. But Lanegan's songwriting talents were just as good or better than that of any other band of the time.

A good part of the reason I like Lanegan's music so much is its evocativeness. You don't need to listen to more than five seconds of a song before it sets a mood. Twangy guitars with plenty of reverb call to mind a dusty ghost town, with rival gunslingers face to face. Some of the tunes bring to mind a good number of the scenes from Twin Peaks, with a sleazy bar or a dirty deal going down. And Lanegan's voice just adds to the mix- his voice is weary and worn, making every lyric he comes up with believable, no matter how strange.

"Ballad Of Broken Seas" is his latest effort, collaborating with Isobel Campbell. I won't try to hide the fact that I've always been a huge fan of Belle & Sebastian and Isobel's as well. When I first heard that they were working together, it struck me as strange that the two would pair up. But once you hear the album, it instantly makes sense. Lanegan's raspy and eerie voice go right alongside Isobel's airy and innocent vocals to give the perfect contrast within the songs. Lanegan's lyrics and songwriting is as good as it's ever been, and I have a little hope that this isn't just a one-off project and that they'll work together again in the future...

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan- Ramblin' Man

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan- Deus Ibi Est

Mark Lanegan Band- Methamphetamine Blues

Mark Lanegan- Shiloh Town

Mark Lanegan- Little Sadie

Screaming Trees- Dollar Bill

Screaming Trees- Disappearing

GO BUY THAT STUFF ON AMAZON

Isobel on Myspace

It feels just like when you wasn't famous!

2006-02-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm working on posting something today but uploading's become a bit of a pain in the patoot. So in the meantime, I'll point you along this morning to a nice suprise that greeted me over at Fluxblog- a new tune from the Streets. I like on first listen!

Fluxblog

Did you guys use to be in a band together or something?

2006-02-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

Let's talk musical similarities, or as some people like to say- "they ripped that song off!" Pretty simple in this case tune-wise, as the chords are basic and the fact that they sound so similar is that they're both capoed to the same fret (fifth, I believe) and so the sound is the same. What struck me as funny about the whole thing is one song was co-written and probably played on guitar by Harrison and the other (the first single from the album "Off The Ground") written by McCartney. The Wilburys tune was released in 1990 on "Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 3" while Paul's was released in 1992. Doh- points awarded to George. I'm sure it was all a coincidence, but George does of course have his history with being accused of plagiarism (see "My Sweet Lord.")

Traveling Wilburys- New Blue Moon

Paul McCartney- Hope Of Deliverance

Who is this captain and where do his friends live?

2006-02-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

This track (and this band in general) have come to rock my socks off. Pitchfork's review of "We Were Wrong So We Drowned" sums their attitude up pretty well:

Sadistic is the only way to describe it-- a conscious effort toward slapping away all the little hands clamoring for more of They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top's antagonistic punk-funk. After winning enough early praise to make most lesser bands blush and acquiesce to the demands of a fanbase craving more of the same, Liars hinted that they were not in the business of catering to expectations. You want the battery (acid)-powered post-punk that drove all the Williamsburg hipsters wild in 2001? You want the brittle aggression of their debut? Well, you'll get wind-up toy funeral dirges and oblique, numbing sound collages, and you'll like it! ...Or leave it. It seems Liars don't much care either way.

Or for their debut album "They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top..."

These guys eat ground glass. They're that nasty. You may like their music, but don't forget that they hate you. You didn't do anything; they're just sick of your bullshit. And what're you gonna say back? The singer's a towering, lanky Australian named Angus-- that's Scottish for "Bubba"-- and the music's a gray nightmare of art-punk and noisy beats. It's vicious, but you can dance to it!

Definitely for most a "difficult" band to get into, they have an element of tribal music, along with a tendency toward repetitive, often hypnotic chants. Think of a more down-home (and American) alternative to Einstürzende Neubauten (as heard previously here on KYCW.) And they beat even the Hives in lengthy and entertaining song titles like "If You're A Wizard Then Why Do Wear Glasses?" "They Don't Want Your Corn They Want Your Kids," or "Nothing Is Ever Lost Or Can Be Lost My Science Friend."

And Liars certainly haven't lost their penchant for bizarre song titles on their upcoming album "Drums Not Dead," to be released next week. And what's this? Is this some sort of a concept album with a continuing theme? Don't ask me- I've listened to the thing at least half a dozen times and still haven't quite figured it out, although the tracklisting would suggest as much.

1 Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack!
2 Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack
3 A Visit from Drum
4 Drums Gets a Glimpse
5 It Fit When I Was a Kid
6 The Wrong Coat for You Mt. Heart Attack
7 Hold You, Drum
8 Its All Blooming Now Mt. Heart Attack
9 Drum and the Uncomfortable Can
10 You, Drum
11 To Hold You, Drum
12 The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack

Enough of my rambling, though- here's a small sampling of their music for the brave and so-inclined...

Liars- It Fit When I Was A Kid (video)

Liars- It Fit When I Was A Kid

Liars- Loose Nuts On The Veladrome

Liars Official Website

Buy Liars stuff on Insound

Sitting cross-legged on the floor...

2006-02-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

Quickie for the weekend, folks. I've always liked Local H- if you haven't checked out Pack Up The Cats it's a pretty solid straight-ahead rock album from start to finish. But here's the Illinois boys covering an old Chicago classic, and quite well, I might add...

Local H- 25 Or 6 To 4

And I've been on a bit of a Roxy Music kick here lately, so I thought I'd throw in one of my favourite tracks from For Your Pleasure. There are some great solo Bryan Ferry live versions of this tune, too.

Roxy Music- In Every Dream Home A Heartache

There's not enough hours in our day...

2006-02-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

The quite prolific, always terrific, and often underrated Gomez are to release their new album "How We Operate" in May. This will be their fifth proper album and definitely one to look forward to. Their first album "Bring It On" is nothing less than a classic and debut albums don't get much better. Not only are their albums always a great mix of catchy, upbeat pop tunes and slower, more moody songs, but they also seem to be a bunch of totally down-to-earth guys. I'll keep this short and just let the tunes speak for themselves- if you haven't had a chance to check out Gomez before you'll definitely want to give them a listen. And from the sound of the preview track off the upcoming album, we're in for more great music from the guys...

Gomez- Whippin' Picadilly

Gomez- Make No Sound

Gomez- Get Myself Arrested

Preview "See the World"

GO OFF on Amazon