Friday, June 30, 2006

jenny lewis & the watson twins

I'll probably post again on this topic, because her recent album is pretty much goodness, but I found this and I had to share. Also, I wanted to test this whole "embedded YouTube" bit. So yeah, here's a video to one of my favorite songs on the album. Notice the cameo by Sarah Silverman and that dude from Postal Service/Dntel/Other-Indie-Outfits-DuJour-No-Doubt.

And is it just me, or do the Watson Twins look creepy as fuck? Like The Shining meets HeeHaw?

mashups

Okay, I've always been a reluctant listener to this "mashup" business. You know, the practice of playing two really different (usually) songs on top of each other, more or less, and fiddling a little with the timing. It may be the snob in me, but it seems a little adolescent. Or at least that's what I say in places like a music blog.

Secretly, I think I enjoy the shit out of a good "mashup". It's some meme-like attraction. Anyway, go HERE and listen to Overnight Star. I'm not kidding when I say it is Kanye West + Sigur Ros.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

jammin' at work

Streaming from archive.org, naturally...

Spoon, live at the Coney Island Siren Festival, 07/16/2005

Love it :-)

the national

The National is a pretty awesome band. I'm reminded very much of Nick Cave by the lead singer. Musically, they're somewhere between alt-country and shoegazer. Yeah, I know. Crazy...

I went hog-wild on eMusic and downloaded a bunch of their stuff. Check them out (free songs on their website). To get you started, here's one that I like:

The National - Wasp Nest

Monday, June 26, 2006

sources, part 1(a)

I shared one source with my Jon Brion post earlier, so I figured that'd be a great way to start off something I've been meaning to do: share with you, gentle readers, some of my favorite music blogs on the web. These come in no particular order, and be aware a creative blogger can win me over with just a couple of awesome posts. In any event, DoCopenhagen finds some great tunes and videos. No pretense, no nonsense. Just fun to check out out now and again...

And, and a postscript: The "Tiger" portion of the "TigerPooh" blog promises to start the process of beginning to think about the process of thinking about setting up an account to learn how to post on this mess, so stay tuned for his more reflective and thoughtful brand of music exegesis.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

a post for jpr

Just because I think you're tops.

I share a source. Oh, it's Jon Brion, by the way ;-)

Ha!

Okay, I really hate to do this, but I haven't yet managed to get file hosting arranged. It's okay: should be by the end of the week. But I can't pass this up:

YouAintNoPicasso has posted a cover of Sigur Ros' Hoppipolla by none other than We Are Scientists. Make no mistake, I feel they should be beaten for even attempting to cover the greatness of Sigur Ros. But I give them props for trying. And for not making some parody out of it (intentionally)... WAS are known for their jokes.

Okay, so apologies to YANP for the theft. I'll fix it ASAP. Besides, I don't get any traffic here anyway...

UPDATE: Link now points to my own EZArchive...no longer am I a bandwidth bandit. Hark!

Saturday, June 24, 2006

röyksopp

Röyksopp, this Norwegian trip-hop number, makes catchy music. But they also make f'ing awesome videos. Check this one out. (Sims, anyone?)

My favorite song is probably Melody A.M.'s "Eple". They have a clip available on their website, which you hear* if you click the title above.

The music, which I've enjoyed now for a couple of years I guess (JPR should recognize "Eple" from a mixed CD a while back) is pretty light-hearted. But it's the product of pretty impressive talent.

Perhaps I'll post another selection more closely approximating my mood in a bit.

*Yes, it's in Real Audio format, but you needn't install that wretched player. I use Media Player Classic to play all my "really aggravating format" media... It's free and OpenSource.

UPDATE: Now the link above will bring you the MP3. Go ahead and get MPC, though, for those other aggravating RealMedia streams that'll no doubt pop up...

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Ehhhhh....?

Is it just me, or is Jose Gonzalez quite possibly Air...just really, really unplugged? (Especially here.)

Brookville on KCRW

If you're not familiar with Morning Becomes Eclectic, you should probably...I don't know...get the fuck off my blog. This is a fantastic show, wherein Nic Harcourt plays the American-imported, posthumous John Peel. I highly recommend that you subscribe to the podcast, visit the web site regularly, dream about it at night...whatever does your trick*. And yeah, you don't have to get the fuck off the blog. I kid, I kid.

I bring this up in order to announce - for JPR - the recent appearance of Brookville on the show. While it is particularly thrilling to watch or listen live, they do keep an archive of both the programs and the in-studio webcam feeds. I love these people. Seriously.

If you don't know of Brookville, it's really the side project of Andy Chase from Ivy, though I imagine most of us know more about Brookville than Ivy... Very chill, mildly funky, maybe tweedy, jazz. Belle & Sebastian for people without something to prove... Well, without Isobell Campbell, but who's counting...

Anyway, check them out, watch this show and the very many awesome other ones.



*Thank me in the comments ;-)

Saturday, June 17, 2006

b-side folk union

So I have this habit of browsing the "Now Even Cheaper" used CD bins whenever I'm in a music store. There's nothing quite so satisfying as finding a little gem for $2.00 or something. I picked up an album some time ago that I got around to listening to yesterday on my drive across this absurdly large state.

B-Side Folk Union: The Simply Things

Sorry about the link - it's the only one I can find for the band at all. There are plenty of mentions of their live show schedule (they're from Arkansas) but it seems that the several domains they've gone through for their band website are all being parked by enterprising registrars. (A loathsome practice...)

Well, I was impressed by B-Side Folk Union, for the most part. Instrumentally, they sound exactly like (dare I say it?) Dave Matthews Band*. Really. No, I mean really. It's like they took Under The Table and Dreaming and replaced the vocalist. There's the rub, though. The vocals, while good in probably several other contexts, don't fit the music very well. Although it could just be that I'm expecting to hear Dave singing Dave. I'll post a track or two for your commentary once I'm home and have a satisfactory arrangement with these EZArchive people. Who ever thought about charging for services on the web??


*Admit it, you like DMB. No, you like them. All of us who don't like them don't like them for reasons beyond their music. Say, their fans... But you secretly enjoy listening to their (once-original) jazzy folk sound and playful instrumentation. Don't bother denying it, because I know better.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

gypsy for you, gypsy for me

I have a certain love of good Gypsy music and so you'll see a post here occasionally highlighting some good stuff. I have several in mind. Right now, I'm going to post the link to a concert by the Goran Ivanovic Group. Setting aside the fact their hair-do's could use not-a-little work, they do a pretty good job in a pinch of Giving Good Gypsy. You jazz folk (JPR) in the audience may appreciate the more "complex" (rolleyes) rhythms that represent a periodic departure from the Roma classic style.

Or maybe the drummer got distracted.

Look, I'm just saying...

ane brun

Three posts in one day. Love me.

Okay, so there's something about Scandinavian folk artists that gets it right... I recently learned of this Norwegian chica. She reminds me in turns of Emmy Lou Harris and Fiona Apple (with guitar). I'm obviously missing something. But I think she's great. If you can give me a better comparison, please feel free...

Oh, by the way: I got an EZArchive account, so I'll post some sample songs for your listening pleasure from time to time. Like now.

...
{20 minutes of frustration}

...

Okay, not quite yet. Apparently my service level isn't high enough to give you good people a stinking URL. I'll revisit this...

...
{2 weeks later}

...

Ane Brun - My Lover Will Go

Ane Brun (with Teitur) - Rubber and Soul

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

big head todd & the monsters

Big Head Todd & The Monsters rock. Shut up about it. Unfortunately, I have bum friends who refused to attend their concert with me in Austin a few months past, and I'm not yet ready to charge off on my own. Call me co-dependent if you will. (I'll surely call you something back...)

Anyway, the awesomeness that is archive.org has the concert posted and available for download. I recommend streaming it at VBR while doing whatever it is you're doing right now...

It is here.

catching up, part one: jeff hanson

I plan to devote some posts to catching up with things I really should've blogged about, if I weren't such a shitty blogger. Consider , then, this blog to be the same as replying to e-mails or voice messages...that way I'm only an asshole once. Falling under the "communicating failures" heading.

There, my conscience is a little bit cleaner. On to the music...

So, Jeff Hanson. Some of you may have heard me talk about him before. He's great, chill, and possessing of an impressive falsetto. He has a couple of songs and a video available on his website, though there are no tracks from his self-titled second album, which I consider to be triumphant. Welcome Here, a track from that album, is definitely my favorite. (The bold will become a link as soon as I've taken the time to find an account on EZArchive or RapidShare or something...)

Another product, by the way, of the always-amazing Kill Rock Stars stable...

Check him out and comment!

UPDATE: Download that track now :-) Do it. Now.