THE GHOST OF ELECTRICITY

R.I.P. Chris Feinstein [Ryan Adams & the Cardinals bassist aka Spacewolf]

2009-12-16T15:11:00.001-05:00

I really don't know what to say. From all accounts, Chris was an amazing artist and will be sorely sorely missed. Details are still sketchy. Check in with Jambase for more info and links.

http://www.jambands.com/news/2009/12/16/ryan-adams-the-cardinals-bassist-chris-feinstein-passes-away

Happy Birthday, Spacewolf [Cardinals, live in Washington, DC, 2007]

Neutral Milk Hotel - LIVE - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA - Apr 12, 1998

2009-11-24T15:09:00.002-05:00

Since Merge Records was nice enough to uncover some vintage Neutral Milk Hotel video this week, I thought it would be fitting to dust off an old favorite of mine from the same time period.

I think it's safe to say that without Neutral Milk Hotel existing (albeit for a short time....), our musical world would be a different, less exciting place. Jeff Mangum and the Elephant 6 Collective left an indelible footprint on the ass of independent music. This performance is nothing short of an example of that footprint. If Natalie Portman were here, she would probably tell you... "they'll change your life, I swear"

Neutral Milk Hotel
April 12, 1998
Bottom of the Hill
San Francisco, CA

1. Sailing Through>Two Headed Boy Pt. 2
2. Holland 1945
3. Gardenhead>Leave Me Alone
4. Worms > King of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2 & 3
5. Song Against Sex
6. Rubby Bulbs>Snow Song Pt. 1
7. Naomi
8. I Will Bury You in Time
9. Ghost>Untitled
10. Oh Comely
11. King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1
12. Two Headed Boy

Download the whole set

from:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ygjzdzjyzzk

New Neutral Milk Hotel footage sees light of day

2009-11-24T14:53:00.002-05:00

Neutral Milk Hotel burned quick and bright. After making a few albums in the mid-Nineties, including the now-legendary In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Jeff Mangum and the band decided to walk away from it all. Well, what happens when you make an album like ITAOTS and then promptly drop off the face of the earth? People like me try and scavenge what we can of the material that's been left behind. This week, Merge Records made us all warm inside by unleashing a handful of videos of Jeff Mangum performing at the Knitting Factory in Philadelphia in early 1998. They are just too good NOT to post here. And if you so desire, Merge has released the videos to coincided with issuing Neutral Milk Hotel's albums on 180gm vinyl for the first time ever. Check them out.

Happy B-day to Pearl Jam's ridiculous 11/06/2000 Seattle Show

2009-11-06T12:41:00.003-05:00

"It's hard to have anything but a love/hate relationship with, like, ...rich people. I mean, compared to those guys, I've got a little bit of money, and even THAT just makes me HATE myself." - E.Vedder (end of "Alive")

Nine years ago, Pearl Jam decided to throw a big-old cog in the concert bootleggers gears by putting their concerts in the open hands of the masses. Every show the band performed in the summer and fall of 2000 (72 of them!) was released as quickly and economically as possible in record stores across the country, directly combating the illegal bootlegging trade that was costly to the hard-working consumer, often times made the band look and sound like complete shit. These rough and tumble, warts-and-all recordings were heralded as an innovation in the industry, and became highly sought after by fans of the band and collectors alike. The band released seventy-two such live albums in 2000 and 2001, and set a record for most albums to debut in the Billboard 200 at the same time. I can speak for myself when I say that these authorized bootlegs were responsible for reintroducing me to a band that I loved, but had drifted away from in the late nineties. Being in college at the time, I was absorbing every Grateful Dead, and every Phish related bootleg I could find. Seeing that PJ were diving into the bootleg scene provoked my interest, and to this day, I'm still listening. More than ever actually.

So let's set the scene. 2000. This year had seen them release their studio album, Binaural, described as a dark, slightly somber sonic departure from the "grunge" kings of earlier in the last decade. On tour, tragedy struck. The tour ended in tragedy on June 30, with an accident at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. Nine fans were crushed underfoot and suffocated to death as the crowd rushed to the front. The band canceled the remaining European dates, and returned to the States, with the deaths weighing heavily on their conscience. After some thought, the band chose to continue with the North American tour. It's Nov. 6th, 2000 And Pearl Jam are wrapping up their world tour in their hometown of Seattle, Washington.

Pearl Jam
11/06/2000
Key Arena
Seattle, WA.

Official Bootleg #72

Source: Official Bootleg > EAC > WAV > FLAC

Disc 1
1. Release
2. Corduroy
3. Grievance
4. Rvm
5. Hail, Hail
6. Evacuation
7. Dissident
8. Nothing As It Seems
9. In Hiding
10. Leatherman
11. Betterman
12. Nothingman

Disc 2
1. Even Flow
2. Jeremy
3. Lukin
4. Not For You
5. Daughter/(Androgynous Mind)
6. Encore Break
7. Off He Goes
8. Light Years
9. Parting Ways
10. Go
11. Once

Disc 3
1. Crazy Mary
2. Immortality
3. Alive
4. Soon Forget
5. The Kids Are Alright
6. Baba O Riley
7. Yellow Ledbetter

Normally, I'd post the whole show, but since this is/was commercially available, I won't be able to. I'm sure it's out there, but I have too much respect for this release. I hope you don't mind! Thanks. Enjoy!

Brown Bird prepare album, release party, and a new promo video

2009-11-06T09:52:00.002-05:00

I've been writing often about the Providence-based band Brown Bird. From what we've seen and heard of them lately, David Lamb and company are going to drop a great album next week [The Devil Dancing, out 11/10 on Peapod Recordings]. From the tracks that they've made available to us, it's undeniable that the new album will be an event worth hearing. Any true music lover with a penchant for Sam Beam or Will Oldham will find a new respite in Brown Bird.

The Devil Dancing gets it's release party this Sunday in Providence RI, at Firehouse XIII. $7 gets you in. The Wrong Reasons and Alec K. Redfearn support.

The band has released a promo for the album, via Facebook, courtesy of [dog] + [pony]. Check it out.

Poised for a groundswell? Providence's Brown Bird prep new album [mp3]

2009-10-27T11:23:00.003-04:00

A few things have gone well for David Lamb recently. His Providence-by-way-of-Maine-by-way-of-Seattle pet project Brown Bird seems to be hitting a lot of right notes of late. After releasing an impressive album last year (2008's The Bottom Of The Sea), Brown Bird have been playing and touring relentlessly and solidifying their sound, developing into a miniature orchestra of harmonized voices and instruments. In a music industry where americana music is groundswelling, Brown Bird might be poising themselves for a breakthrough. If timing and location have anything to do with it, then it appears that this might be a banner year for the group.

You see, 2009 has been a big year for Providence, RI. Fellow Providence-based band The Low Anthem came out of the ether with a smoky, gutteral and downright beautiful album that gained instant praise and worldwide attention. Add to that the success of John McCauley's Deer Tick, who scorched audiences across the country in 2009 with a fresh, aggressive bar-blues-and-whiskey sound and a monster new album. And in this climate, with Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Phosporescent, Bowerbirds, Blind Pilot, Lucero, The Avetts, and The Felice Brothers all having big years, I can't help but wonder, might it be Brown Bird's time?

The new Brown Bird album is set to be released on CD and LP in November. "The Devil Dancing" is Brown Bird's second full-length album on Peapod Recordings. It was recorded in two separate multi day sessions. The first session took place at Hogfarm Studios in Biddeford, ME and included the upright bass work of Micah Blue Smaldone (Death Vessel, Fire on Fire). The second session took place at the Peapod Recording Studio in Portland, ME.

Brown Bird - Danger and Dread [from the forthcoming LP, The Devil Dancing]

Brown Bird - Down To The River [from the forthcoming LP, The Devil Dancing]

Brown Bird - By The Reins [from the forthcoming LP, The Devil Dancing]

Band members:

David Lamb: vocals, guitar, banjo, percussion
MorganEve Swain: vocals, violin, viola, cello, ukelele
Mike Samos: dobro, lap steel, elec. guitar
Jeremy Robinson: vocals, accordion, banjo
Jerusha Robinson: vocals, cello

Previously on Ghost: Brown Bird [live in Session @ AngiplastyMedia]

Buy their music, and see them live. Support local music. Support GOOD music.

MYSPACE / FACEBOOK / iTunes / Emusic / Peapod Recordings

Bill Murray lounges in Santa Monica

2009-10-23T11:08:00.004-04:00

So I was visiting my friend out in Santa Monica for the day. She works the reception desk at this pretty upscale hotel and she’s always telling me stories about which B-list celebrity is there that week. Anyway, she was on break and we were sitting down having dinner together in the bar when fuckin’ BILL MURRAY walks up, leans over and picks a piece of potato off my plate with his bare fingers and just pops it in his mouth. I just sort of stare at him and he’s looking me right in the eye and smiling as he chews and swallows.
“And you know what the best part is?” he finally says. “No one will ever believe you.”
And he walks away.

Bill Murray will deny all these stories....

My Body Is, Indeed, A Zombie For You. Just thought I'd tell you that...

2009-10-22T10:18:00.001-04:00

Now here's something borderline kitchy that I can wrap my head around this time of year. I'd advise that you grab the nearest Butterfinger or "fun size" Snickers**, sit back and enjoy the show....

Everything I imagine writing further about Dead Man's Bones can be said a bit more eloquently by Heather Phares @ Allmusic.com

It's a blessing and a curse that one half of Dead Man's Bones is Academy Award-nominated actor Ryan Gosling. It's a blessing because Gosling and his partner, Zach Shields, undoubtedly got more attention for their self-titled debut album than they would have otherwise, and something of a curse because it may not be seen for as genuine a project as it is. Shields and Gosling originally conceived of Dead Man's Bones as a horror-themed musical, but kept the songs they had written when they realized putting on a stage production would be too expensive. Despite the high concept, Dead Man's Bones are pretty far from a vanity project -- if anything, they're the opposite, with Gosling and Shields stretching far from their comfort zones at almost every turn. They played instruments they'd never touched before making the album, and brought in the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children's Choir to add young voices to their virtually untrained ones. They also set rules for themselves while recording: no electric guitars or click tracks were allowed, and they could only do three takes for any given part. All of this gives Dead Man's Bones the feeling -- in the best possible way -- of a bootleg recording of an elaborate grade-school Halloween pageant. By embracing their amateurism so completely, Gosling and Shields turn any weaknesses into strengths, and while influences ranging from the Arcade Fire and Beirut to Roy Orbison to the Langley Schools Music Project to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride can be heard, the way Dead Man's Bones combine them is unique. Over the course of the album, the duo covers an array of moods and sounds that more experienced musicians would be glad to express. These songs range from gentle ("Dead Hearts"' spectral folk) to dark and driving ("Lose Your Soul") to fiery (the Nick Cave-esque "Dead Man's Bones"), and sometimes all at once. Some of the most striking tracks mix jubilant music with images of death -- or undeath, in the case of "My Body's a Zombie for You," where the kids can't help but shout out the chorus as Gosling croons like a zombie-fied '50s teen idol. Dead Man's Bones also do a fine job of balancing the campy and spiritual aspects of a concept album about love, death, and undeath. "In the Room Where You Sleep" is gleefully terrifying; "Young & Tragic," the only song the Silverlake Conservatory kids sing on their own, uses their delicate, flawed voices to express something deeper. Throughout it all, there is a "hey, kids, let's put on a show!" exuberance that makes the album all the more winning. Dead Man's Bones isn't perfect, but it's often fascinating and nearly always charming -- and Shields and Gosling wouldn't have it any other way.

At any rate, I need to "embrace" my "amateurism" more and do something besides blogging around here! Check out a couple of my favorites from Dead Man's Bones here:

My Body's A Zombie For You

Lose Your Soul

** what the hell is so "fun" about a fun size Snickers bar? I mean really... it's fucking smaller than a regular one. Not very fun, people. Not very at all.

Why I love The Cleveland Show....

2009-10-19T23:12:00.001-04:00

Annie and The Beekeepers - Again and Again (Live, In Session) [vid]

2009-10-17T10:03:00.001-04:00

I saw Annie in Providence a couple of months ago. Her set blew me away. There's not much more I can say about that. OK, there is. I have a crush on her and her band. There I said it. This vid is from a recording done during the Americana Music Festival, and a cameo is had by a lone PBR, sittin pretty in the corner. Hope you enjoy.

{now with added goodness, "Dirty Laundry" from the same session]

http://www.myspace.com/annielynch

Thanks to A Truer Sound and The Music Fog for the video!

Annie and the Beekeepers' Tourdates:
Oct 20 2009 3:00P
Rockwood Music Hall - CMJ Party New York, New York
Oct 22 2009 9:00P
The Living Room - CMJ: Official Showcase New York City, New York
Oct 23 2009 4:45P
The Living Room - CMJ: Paste Magazine Party New York City, New York
Oct 24 2009 3:30P
The Delancey - Upstairs - CMJ: TheYoungandHungry.com - Deli Party New York, New York
Nov 2 2009 8:00P
Rockwood Music Hall - November Residency New York, New York
Nov 9 2009 8:00P
Rockwood Music Hall - November Residency New York, New York
Nov 16 2009 8:00P
Rockwood Music Hall - November Residency New York, New York
Nov 23 2009 8:00P
Rockwood Music Hall - November Residency New York, New York

TooDrunkToDream's Top Ten...wait... Top Thirty of 2008

2008-12-21T15:54:00.006-05:00

It's about time this list came out. I know that alot of lists have already seen daylight, and I've certainly been teasing for a while, but the truth is, I've discovered so much music this year. Particularly, in the last two months. If I had already written my list, then I probably would have changed my mind 15 times already!

So without further ado:

TOODRUNKTODREAM'S Top 30 of 2008

Best Of 2008
From the top, I give you:

#01 Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ FlightImage via Wikipedia

Instantly memorable and entirely unforgettable, Scotland's Frightened Rabbit create the album of the year for 2008. Midnight Organ Fight displays a young band in full flight, creating layers upon layers of sound, building in each song from sparse until dense.

Standouts:
The Modern Leper
Old Old Fashioned
The Twist
Good Arms vs Bad Arms

#02 Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Ok, technically a 2007 release, but this gem saw it's proper release in the winter of 2008. Justin Vernon's wintry solo debut, created in the wilderness of Wisconsin, stunned the blogosphere in 2007 and just exploded in '08, with due cause. There's no argument that Bon Iver has created a creative, mood-filled debut album for the ages.

Standouts:
Re: Stacks
Flume
Skinny Love
For Emma

#03 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

A CSNY album for the naughties. With hollow, hauntingly beautiful vocals that sound like they were recorded in a tabernacle, the Fleet Foxes are yet another band to land their debut full-length on the best-of 2008 radar.

From Mojo: The sense of wonder in Fleet Foxes' songs is matched only by the discipline and talent that created this adventurous, evocative record. One which is already shaping up as an album of the year. [July 2008, p.98]

Standouts:
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
White Winter Hymnal
Sun It Rises
Blue Ridge Mountains

#04 The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

"Me and my friends are like
the drums on "Lust for Life.”
We pound it out on floor toms.
Our psalms are sing-along songs."

Anthemic, energetic, straight-up rock and roll.... words that will ALWAYS describe The Hold Steady, regardless of the album. 2008's Stay Positive proves that Craig Finn and the boys can continue to bring the substance back to Indie music. This band can't be marketed, they can't be sold. Their audience is the disaffected, their selling point is their realism. That will always trump money, advertising and glitz....and that is why I will forever be a devotee to their music.

Standouts:
Constructive Summer
Stay Positive
Lord, I'm Discouraged
Sequestered In Memphis

#05 Santogold - Santogold

A late-bloomer for me this year. Brooklynite Santi White exhibits pop sensibility beyond her years and releases an incredible album full of intelligent, concise electro pop. Drawing comparisons to M.I.A., Santogold blows away 2007's Kala in inventiveness, hook, and delivery. For further display of her star power, go out and find the Santogold and Diplo mix-tape, Top Ranking, which reimagines her music alongside classics from Aretha, Devo, the B52's, and Panda Bear.

Standouts:
L.E.S. Artistes
Creator
Unstoppable
Lights Out
Shove It

#06 Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins

The 'sequel' to 2007's The Stage Names (my #1 of 2007), The Stand-Ins exists in it's own right. With epic lyrics and whimsical pop music in tune with it's subject, Will Scheff creates an entire underworld of creatures and characters in his albums. The album always leaves me dying to hear what's next from Okkervil River, as they move into a new era without bandmate Jonathan Meiburg, who left the band to concentrate on his project, Shearwater.

From "Lost Coastlines":

And see how that light you love now just won't shine
There might just be another star that's high and far in some other sky
We sing, "Is that marionette real enough yet
To step off of that set to decide what her hands might be doing?
Ruining the play, to end the ensuing melee escape."

Standouts:
Lost Coastlines
Singer-Songwriter
Pop Lie
Calling and Not Calling My Ex
Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed On The Roof Of The Chelsea Hotel, 1979

#07 Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cardinology

With his continued sobriety comes greater focus. I'm not gonna talk
about Ryan's ability to write and record 3 albums in a year. It's clear
that he can succeed in writing that quantity of above-average material in that amount of
time, regardless of mental or physical health. It's possible that it is in the
execution of this material where some of wheels have come off in the
past. With Ryan figuring himself out, and dealing face to face with
issues that, a few short years ago he would have confronted with a
barrage of alcohol and pills, the music has finally met the lyrics. And
with the partnership that Ryan has fostered with his bandmates, the
music that is being produced is intelligently written, beautifully
sung, even-keeled, and, as a result, definitely holds far fewer surprises than most of Ryan's past output. Neal Casal, Jon Graboff, Brad Pemberton, and
Chris Feinstein are all at the wheel, providing Adams with a new sense
of direction.

The Cardinals have created a Ryan Adams album that is best played, not after a trip to the bar, but after a long road of realized self-destruction and regret.

full Ghost of Electricity review

Standouts:

Crossed-Out Name
Let Us Down Easy
Natural Ghost
Fix It
Majick
Cobwebs

#08 Dr Dog - Fate

Wow, what's to say about this album. It's so easy to listen to. Low-fi songs played simply. Shaggy-beard inducing music with a sense of ease and honesty not found in a lot of music. There's no pretention here, and in many ways, that's pervasive of my entire list. I think we see that in Frightened Rabbit, Bon Iver, and Fleet Foxes as well. At times, the music's influence comes pouring out of its songs, by way of John and Paul, or Rick Danko and The Band. As lead singer, Scott "Taxi" McMicken, writes in "The Old Days":

Let go of the old ones
We've got some new ones
Hold on to the good stuff
And let go and get real tough

Standouts:

The Old Days
100 Years
Hang On

#09 Girl Talk - Feed The Animals

Who needs a DJ when we have chop-shop artist Greg Gillis, a/k/a Girl Talk? Greg creatively used 300 samples to reimagine over a dozen songs, mixing 80's, 90's and 00's hip hop, rap, and grunge rock into something so imaginitively unique you'll have to dissect it for yourself. Here's your chance. Find "Here's The Thing" in the IMeem playlist and follow along. Try not to incite a party. I dare you.

Here's the Thing:

0:01 Chicago - Saturday in the Park
0:01 Quad City DJs - C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)
0:29 The Bucketheads - The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)
0:36 ? and the Mysterians - 96 Tears
1:05 Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone
1:16 Nine Inch Nails - Wish
1:45 MC Hammer - Too Legit to Quit
2:08 Blur - Song 2
2:13 V.I.C. - Get Silly
2:13 George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You
2:19 Elvis Costello - Pump It Up
2:20 Shawty Lo - Dey Know
2:34 Rogue Traders - Voodoo Child
3:01 Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks
3:13 The Prodigy - Firestarter (which samples “Close (To The Edit)” by Art of Noise)
3:14 Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl
3:21 Chris Brown featuring T-Pain - Kiss Kiss
3:21 James Nasty - You So Hawt
3:47 Veruca Salt - Seether
3:52 Nelly Furtado - Maneater
3:52 Three Six Mafia - I'd Rather
4:12 Looking Glass - Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)
4:35 Dude N' Nem - Watch My Feet

Standouts: Play track one....keep listening. repeat.

#10 The Black Keys - Attack & Release

Pitchfork mentioned that after 4 full length albums, The Black Keys were destined to live in the shadow of The White Stripes. Of course, that description is immediately flawed and unfair (as Pitchfork noted....), but when it seemed that Pat Carney and Dan Auerbach were facing a creative brick wall (after several great but similar albums), along came Dangermouse. Better known for his hip-hop collaborations and as one-half of strange-hop Gnarls Barkley, Dangermouse lends a heavy hand in steering the production of Attack & Release into uncharted territories for the band. The name of the record is brilliant. It describes the ebb and flow of song production here. We have vintage, assaulting Keys ("Strange Times") surrounded by slower tracks ("All I Ever Wanted") that allow for the absorption of the music, all exhibiting a breath of fresh air from a band that will NOT go down while lurking in the wake of The White Stripes. No, this band has emerged from the hallows and has yet to hit it's full peak.

Standouts:

All I Ever Wanted
Strange Times

#11 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Infectious, Intelligent, and FUN! I didn't WANT to like this album...it came SO naturally...

Standouts:

Kids
Time To Pretend
Electric Feel

#12 Old Crow Medicine Show - The Tennessee Pusher

The album of their lives. This is their breakout, and it's nearly flawless. They've proven that the bluegrass moniker isn't one to be typecast... just listen to the Exile On Main Street influence dripping out of "Highway Halo". And "Caroline"...what can i say about the sesibilities of that song....short, succinct, country-blues backporch genius. I wish Gram Parsons were alive to hear what OCMS have created in 2008.

Standouts:

Caroline
Highway Halo

#13 She and Him - Vol. 1

M. Ward plus Zooey Deschanel equals an album that hasn't left my cd player for months. "She" is always there to offer comfort simply by opening her mouth and "Him" gives me chills with his wise-beyond-his-years guitar work. I can't wait for Vol. 2. Please hurry, I need my Zooey.

Standouts:

Change Is Hard
Sentimental Heart

#14 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Successfully merging african poly-rhythms with the NYC indie music scene? Successfully done and Fun, Fun, Fun. Who gives a fuck about the Oxford Comma? I do.....I DO, SIR!

Standouts:

Oxford Comma
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

#15 MY Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

Here's the thing...this would have been in the top ten if it weren't for a few tracks. I've got a bone to pick with the (mostly) excellent Evil Urges. The second half (let's say 2/3's) of this album plays out like a dream.... somnabulent and lilting, absolutely beautiful. Nice light touches in the guitar sections and the drums are often genius. Nothing is overbearing here and each track feels like it's been tailored to be an "anti-Z" or at least a departure from MMJ's monster of a last album. The vision here defies the convention that seems to hang over the band's heads, that expectation that Jim James and Co. will produce the next huge rock album. And I praise them for not making that album. But the handful of tracks that are front and center on this album are diametrically opposed to the rest of the album, destroying any sort of ebb and flow on Evil Urges. Take those away and what we have here is a nice departure for MMJ, a quiet album that went in the opposite direction from which the band was expected to go. I can't wait to hear them back on track.

Standouts:

Aluminum Park
Sec Walkin
Smokin From Shootin
I'm Amazed

And.....the rest (sort-of in order):

16 The Avett Brothers - The Second Gleam
17 Jenny Lewis - Acid Tounge
18 Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part 1 (Fourth World War)
19 Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
20 Black Mountain - In The Future
21 The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
22 Ron Sexsmith - Exit Strategy For the Soul
23 Lucinda Williams - Little Honey
24 Beach House - Devotion
25 Shearwater - Rook
26 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
27 Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop and Roll
28 Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
29 Blitzen Trapper - Furr
30 Mudcrutch - Mudcrutch

MOST DISAPPOINTING ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2008 (according to me)

1) TV on the Radio - Dear Science: 1st track is great, and the rest of them.....not so much at all.

2) of Montreal - Skeletal lamping : I don't know.... I just felt it was a hot mess of an album.

3) Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash : Meh. LOVED the first three albums and this one had NO hook whatsoever.

4) Times New Viking - Rip It Off : I got through about 3 songs. I need some bass. WAAAAy too much treble going on. If I wanted to listen to a vacuum cleaner....I'd vacuum.

5) Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty : Sophomore slump. Get back in the studio guys and gimme something with as much passion and feeling as your first album.

Frightened Rabbit - Live DailySessions (video)

2009-02-22T14:17:00.004-05:00

Here's the lead track off of my #1 Album of 2008, by the band Frightened Rabbit. The song is "The Modern Leper" off of The Midnight Organ Fight, and this acoustic Live Daily Session just goes to prove that the music from FR can transcend it's setting, translating so amazingly well into another climate. Here's to hoping the plan on an acoustic album real soon.

[EDIT/UPDATE]
from the band's MySpace page:

Quietly Now!
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music
Scott's thoughts on the new live acoustic album:

The album was essentially a wee event in a tiny place in Glasgow, that we wanted to become available for anyone to hear. The main idea for me was to play the album start to finish in the city that it was written, to a bunch of people who loved the record and had supported the band since the first album. I hope the specialness of the night comes across on the recording because it definitely felt that way at the time. I am glad it exists so that I can cast my mind back to the show, and have a souvenir from last year, which was such a wonderful twelve months for Frightened Rabbit.

Scott (FR)

Quietly Now ! - Midnight Organ Fight Live And Acoustic At The Captain's Rest - UK and European release date is 30/03/09

Frightened Rabbit - Swim Until You Can't See Land [video]

2009-10-14T22:04:00.002-04:00

Glascow, Scotland's Frightened Rabbit have announced plans for the 11/16 release of a new 7" entitled "Swim Until You Can't See Land". The band (one of my absolute fav's of late) played for the Scottish Royal Variety Show last week, and performed the new song. Check it out.

Elisapie Isaac - Why Would I Cry?

2009-10-14T15:11:00.001-04:00

I've stumbled upon a song, and an artist, that just intrigues me. I can't forget this. Her voice is delicate, the music even more so. It's slow and sultry, the beat falling so far behind that it's almost lost. I love that. Here's a Ghost of Electricity debut for Miss Elisapie Issac.

Elisapie Isaac - Why Would I Cry? (from her debut full length There Will Be Stars)

http://www.myspace.com/elisapieisaac

About Elisapie Isaac (from her myspace page)

“There will be Stars” is the new work of Inuk singer, composer, filmmaker Elisapie Isaac. This, her first solo recording, is the much anticipated follow up to the internationally acclaimed, award winning duo Taima which she co-founded with guitarist / composer Alain Auger in 2001.
“There will be Stars” is not so much an album as a seduction from somewhere distant, somewhere other worldly. Sometimes full of joy, sometimes lined with melancholy, at times pop, at times folk, at times sung poems from the north - is it Polar pop? Arctic Electric? New cool? Elisapie Isaac was born of an Inuk mother and a Newfoundland father. She was adopted at birth by an Inuit family and was raised in the isolated community Salluit, Nunavik - the Great North.

For Elisapie, the north is not at the top of the world, it’s at the center of her world. “My grandfather used to say that to avoid getting lost”, Isaac says, “you always have to look where you’ve come from.” “There Will be Stars” is a record that looks to where this artist has come from…here and now.

It has been said that the great singers are first and foremost great communicators. Elisapie Isaac’s life’s work has been communicating, first on radio, then on tv and then on film with her award winning National Film Board documentary “If the Weather Permits”.

She continues that tradition with “There Will be Stars”. A few listens in and you will start to realize that Isaac has a deep respect for both the profound and the party.

There Will Be Stars…the new record by Elisapie Isaac…a constellation of music from her universe.

Sufjan Stevens - Live at the Triple Door - Seattle 2005

2009-10-14T13:20:00.001-04:00

Sufjan Steven has been busy lately. Not so much with his 50 albums for 50 states project, but with two new projects.

The first of which is The BQE: A mixed-medium artistic exploration of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The project originally manifested in the form of a live show, performed Nov. 1-3, 2007. The show consisted of an original film, directed and written by Stevens, accompanied by an orchestra performing a live soundtrack. The CD/DVD will be released on October 20, 2009. It will consist of a CD of the show's soundtrack, a DVD of Brooklyn-Queen Expressway footage that accompanied the original performance (not a film of the performance itself), a 40-page booklet with liner notes and photos, and a stereoscopic 3D View-Master reel.

The second project is RUN RABBIT RUN. It is a re-working of his 2001 instrumental album Enjoy Your Rabbit. The songs, originally performed with electronic instruments, have been re-arranged by New York composers Michael Atkinson, Olivier Manchon, Maxim Moston, Nico Muhly, and Gabriel Kahane and are performed by the Osso String Quartet. All of the original sounds—glitches, white noise, etc.—will be reproduced by these string instruments. That album is out this week.

What I'm waiting for (besides an album about Rhode Island, we're a small state but our illustrious/shady history could fill a box set) is a return to the delicate sounds of 2005's Illinoise. Here's a session from that era.

Sufjan Stevens
The Triple Door
Seattle, Washington
July 23rd, 2005

As broadcast on KEXP

01 Casimir Pulaski Day
02 The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders
03 Prairie Fire That Wanders About
04 Jacksonville
05 The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!
06 Chicago
07 The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
08 John Wayne Gacy, Jr.

Download the whole set
from:

http://drop.io/soofyan

I've never heard of drop.io. What the hell is drop.io?
Drop.io is a free, easy and private file sharing service. Learn how to maximize it HERE

Fanfarlo cover one of Bonnie Prince Billy's finest [video]

2009-10-08T18:27:00.001-04:00

[Vid] Always Remember, Guys Go For Looks, But.....

2009-09-24T17:48:00.001-04:00

Girls Go For Status.....

A bunch of new Hold Steady videos up on the Youtube page (including this one, "Girls Like Status"), from the 2009 Rockpalast broadcast.

Oh Foggy, you're back. Thank heavens.

2009-09-09T20:45:00.000-04:00

ryanada.ms

Ryan Adams and Neal Casal - Live/Acoustic from St. James Church

2008-04-11T16:46:00.006-04:00

You all must know by now the unhealthy obsession I have with Ryan Adams. It's not that I don't listen to other artists, in fact MOST of my time is dedicated to just that. It's just that I find myself just being spoken to by his music. I can't help but think that the very purpose of music is to touch one's soul, and on many days, Ryan's does.... (I think Bon Iver's "To Emma, Forever Ago" works on all other days). Anyhoo, I came across a rip of Ryan's televised performance at the St. James Church in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland. What an unfortunate name for a town. I bet it's beautiful, though. come to think of it, serve me a couple pints of fresh Irish Guinness and I'll tell you that any place (or female, fwiw) is beautiful. Hell, I've thought that Fall River, Mass was a beautiful place after a few (6) pints.... Anyway, I edited the video, chopped it up and threw them up on Youtube. Check them out.

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Wild Flowers

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Let It Ride

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Cher's Ass In That Video

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Two

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When The Stars Go Blue

Phosphorescent - Reasons To Quit (Willie Nelson)

2009-09-04T12:39:00.003-04:00

from his 2009 album To Willie, an homage to country-western troubadour Willie Nelson. Go grab the album, it's intense. I love it.

Phosphorescent - Reasons To Quit (Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard)

Modest Mouse debut new song 'Satellite Skin' on Letterman

2009-03-19T15:34:00.003-04:00

Friday movie link-fest: Wild Things, Coens, Alice, Patton and more

2009-08-07T12:14:00.008-04:00

Here are a few things, on this lovely Friday afternoon, that I am overly excited for:

Trailer for Where The Wild Things Are, featuring some Arcade Fire, and some of the most imaginative CGI I've ever seen.

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The HD trailer for Alice in Wonderland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjMkNrX60mA

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Patton Oswalt in a very un-funny role as a football-obsessed everyman in Big Fan. I cannot wait to see this in theaters August 28th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wybmI_ezdAQ

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Couples Retreat

Release Date: 9 October 2009 Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Ken Jeong, Kristen Bell, Jason Bateman, Sex and the City Woman. Director: Peter Billingsley Writers: Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIZhr6r-YcQ

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The Fantastic Mr. Fox Directed by Wes Anderson, the craziest s.o.b. making movies since Stanley Kubrick. It's an adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic, and features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Brian Cox, Michael Gambon, and even Wes Anderson himself (as the Weasel)

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A Serious Man brought to us by the illustrious Coen Brothers. Do these guys ever take a friggin break? Didn't Burn After Reading come out 6 months ago? Well, if this trailer is any indication, the boys have put their time in on this one. It looks vintage Coen, and well worth my time.

As always, enjoy!

Suddenly it's 1991 again, Master Bate-man.

2009-09-02T18:04:00.000-04:00

My youth just came back to me in one big, obnoxious flash. Suddenly, it's 1991 again, and I'm giggling at the screen. Beavis and Butthead have returned, via the promo for Mike Judge's new film, Extract

@ Yahoo! Video

[Vid] If you bring the water, I'll bring the matches.....

2009-09-01T17:56:00.001-04:00

Video for Band of Skulls - 'Fires'

http://www.myspace.com/bandofskulls
Dot Com

[Vid] Chriss Sutherland blows my slowcoustic mind

2009-09-01T10:00:00.002-04:00

I could listen to this all day. I caught up with Chriss a couple of months ago, in Providence. The first thing he told the crowd was that it was nice to be home, and, of course, he was full of shit. And of course, I found that out AFTER asking him about it... Anyway, he stole the show. You'll see why. Below.

Chriss Sutherland, solo artist and member of Portland, ME's Fire On Fire, and Cerberus Shoal, performs a solo acoustic ditty for Angioplasty Media, in Burlington VT. Song's called "Grumblin'"

http://www.myspace.com/chrisssutherland

Pick up his 2009 release 'Worried Love'. You WILL NOT be disappointed.

And:

New friends AngioplastyMedia : find them and all of their videos, on YouTube.

And another vid :