Stage Hymns

Back to the Beginning: Creep

2006-08-08T00:21:00.000-05:00

Today's post is quite lame, actually, because I've just moved back to school, and I'm going through RA training right now, which is incredibly rigorous. If my writing quality has diminished, please forgive me. It should be back to normal when I am more rested.

I was thinking just now how I first got into Radiohead, consistently my favorite band so far. It's funny, cause I was actually looking for a little number by The Stone Temple Pilots called "Creep", and I downloaded all the resulting MP3s. Now, keep in mind, this is before p2p file sharing and such, so there weren't really that many songs to look through. Of course, I wound up downloading Radiohead's "Creep" and I couldn't get over the way Johnny Greenwood rips that guitar leadind into the chorus. It's funny, because I completely abandoned my search for the STP song until much later, since I was distracted by Radiohead's music.

At any rate, STP's song is definitely up there in my favorite's, even though I don't care for all that much of their work. So today I'd like to share their song with you in case you didn't pick up on it back when it was a radio hit. I've also included Damien Rice's version of Radiohead's song. It seems appropriate that he sing it because his debut album O had plenty of songs with the same tone and theme as "Creep".

EDIT: I posted Damien's cover as "Radiohead - Creep (Radiohead Cover).mp3" cause it was late. I don't know what I was thinking. At any rate, it's fixed now.

Download:
Stone Temple Pilots - Creep.mp3
Damien Rice - Creep (Radiohead Cover).mp3

+joe

An Interview With Ingrid Michaelson

2006-08-07T01:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I've posted enough about her, so it's about time I did an interview with the fantastic Ingrid Michaelson. Here it is folks, I hope you enjoy it!

On your second album, "Girls and Boys" you dwell a good deal on a few central themes, including childhood, growing up, relationships, imperfection, trust, heartache, and acceptance. Universality aside,were these some of the central themes of your life while you werewriting the album?

The word "theme" kind of frightens me...I definitley did not write this album with any theme in mind. I named it Girls and Boys because all the songs were about relationships, some mine, some others, some made up. It kind of just ended up that way.

In the song "Die Alone" the premiss is that you've found someone who gives you hope for a future with someone. Have you truly had a struggle with the fear of dying alone, or is that song sung somewhat tongue-in-cheek to over-emphasize the point?

Of course I have had times where I felt that i would not have anyone to grow old with, but doesn't everyone?? I mean, it doesn't consume my days, but I have had moments where I thought my selfish ways would lead me to the life of lonliless, sure!

What thoughts do you have about your career after putting out 2 full albums?

This album (in my opinion) is much better, cleaner, it makes more sense. I feel that I am finally making music that is my own, not whatis expected of me. So I feel that i am starting over in a way. I feel alright about my...um...career. (I don't like that word) I thinkthe record is slowly gaining momentum.

What are some of your musical influences, and do you hear them coming out a bit in some of your songs?

Death Cab for Cutie, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor to name a few. Yes, I hear aspects of their music in mine. I don't ever want to replicate, I just get inspired to push myself past my comfort zone...and that always makes for better music.

You've expressed a desire to get your album out there into people's hands. What does it mean to you to have someone listening to your music, half a world away, enjoying it?

Yeah!! Myspace (I had to bring it up) is so incredible!! People in Sweden are reviewing my cd!! weird...but so cool. Every time someone says they like my music, it's like the first time all over. It is really surreal to know that people, complete strangers, are listening my voice and words...and that they like it!!!

How accessable do you think your music is from a listener's standpoint?

Pretty accessable. My words are very straight forward and my melodies (I have been told) are "deceptively simple" and catchy...there are some songs where you will listen over and over and still not know what the hell it is about. if you listen to one of my songs once, you'll get it.

How do you describe your music to people when they ask you about it?

I think every one who plays music hates that question. Ummm, indie /pop...Fiona [Apple] meets Death Cab [For Cutie].

What does the song writing process look like for you?

I come up with the chords, then the melody, then the lyrics.usually, i finish a song in under and hour. then there are timeswhere i'll struggle and struggle with a chorus for days, and neverfinish it. the best songs are the ones that come tumbling out!

And now the obligatory interview question: Do you prefer playing live or writing?

Writing.

How would you describe your voice as a songwriter?

Arg...again with the self describing??? Clear and soft, with a lot of control...all those years of classical training paid off.

Could you name a few musical acts that interest you today?

Well, the three I mentioned earlier, The Magnetic Fields, The Shins, Ben Folds, Bjork, Imogen Heap, Laura Viers, Nada Surf, Weezer.

You're currently (at the time of this interview) a finalist in The Mountain Stage Newsong Festival. How did you come to be involved in that? What else can you tell us about that contest?

Sonicbids baby! Whoever said you don't get gigs from sonicbids didn't know what they were talking about. I really don't know too much except that i get to play at the south street seaport here in NYC!!! woohoo!! Plus, my picture was in the daily news!

What is so beautiful, special, unique about the dynamic between Girls and Boys?

We will never understand eachother, and that is why we want each other so much. the constant struggle feeds us, at least me!!

What is your greatest aspiration as a musician?

To have a loyal fan base and be able to make music and make enough money that I never have to do anything besides music for the rest of my days. And to get my songs on Grey's Anatomy!!Seriously, I am obsessed.

In my experience, some of the people who create music tend to see themselves as primarily singers, musicians (instrumentalists), or songwriters, but rarely as all three. I'm not entirely sure why that is. Does that ring true for you, or do you consider yourself all three?

I think I am a singer/songwriter. i am a decent piano player and ok on the guitar, but I am most comfortable when I am simply singing.

If someone were to ask you to name something you would die for, whatwould be the first thing that came to mind?

At this point, i do not think there is anything I would die for, realistically speaking. I don't know though. You never know the answer to questions like that until you are really faced with a situation that demands an answer.

How do you get inspired to write? Do you seek inspiration? Does it come to you?

Most of the time, it is not my own experiences that inspire me, but other music and musicians. I don't really seek it out though.

You end your album, Girls and Boys, with an uplifting, carefree sounding song. I wonder, was that a conscious decision? How did you select your track order?

I liked that song ("Far Away") but it did not fit in with the rest of the songs, so i made it the hidden track, but not the "last track". The order just came to me...there was no real concious effort except thinking which song would flow into the next. I suppose if you listen to the words, one could draw some conclusion on why we ordered it like that...

What was different in your experience making your second album in comparison to making your first album?

A lot more time and effort was put in this time around. we all loved these songs so much, we wanted the very best for them!!

What plans for the future have you been able to make at this point?

To keep giging, do a college tour, get my music "out there"....just keep on plugging...what else can you do? the battle is half the fun anyway!

+joe

Summerbirds in the Cellar

2006-08-02T04:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought I'd let you all know--the rumors...they're TRUE. I'm sorry, but there's another blog in my life. Don't worry baby! You know you're my only true love! This other blog is just a temporary thing. I'm posting for a few days over at Great Body of Water while Alex is out of town.

Earlier today, on GBOW, I posted about an incredible band that I have yet to share with you all, Summerbirds in the Cellar. They're affectionately known as "1/2 of Now It's Overhead. I was handed a copy of this amazing side-project's album, With The Hands Of The Hunter It All Becomes Dead, at the Now It's Overhead concert I last attended (Read the Review), and I've been listening to it quite a bit since then.

It's that perfect blend of dreamrock, pink floyd, and electronic ambience. I would be remiss to try and pinpoint any real influences from listening to the entire album. This is not, however, the typical inoffensive rock side-project that you might be expecting. No, this is quality music. Does is challenge my tastes? No. Does is play right to them? Yes. Do I mind that? Not on your life. The instrumentals are flawless, compelling, and shiny. The vocals are decent on most tracks, and even rise to a level we can call "good" on certain tracks. This is an extremely cohesive album, and you've got to give it a listen. Even if it isn't going to bring the revolution to your backyard, it can still make you tap your toes like the best of them.

Downloads:
Summerbirds in the Cellar - Behold the Wolf.mp3
Summerbirds in the Cellar - Beware Of False Prophets.mp3

Links:
Clever Titles Are So Last Summer's Post on the Summerbirds
My Old Kentucky Blog's Post on the Summerbirds

+joe

The Banjo Consorsium

2006-08-01T03:21:00.000-05:00

There comes a time when we have to reach way back to the first few weeks of this blog's existence and mention old loves. One of my favorite instrumental acts, The Banjo Consorsium, has informed the public that he has a new project in the works with the ever talented Savery. The best way to describe TBC is "folktronic". After I first heard this guy back in January, I did some searching for other good "folktronic" acts. There really aren't many. A few you may have heard of are Tunng, The Books, and Caribou. It's almost the sound of industrious nature. It's surprisingly organic sounding. I would almost call it the "soundtrack to growth". On one of Jacques' (TBC) songs, "My. Sugar Melted" from le debut, you can almost picture an ant colony hard at work. On "une soirée kebekoise" I feel as though I'm flashing through vignettes of plants growing. Considering how many electronic noises are involved, it's incredible that it sounds so natural. This is some of the most uplifting and calming music around.

The Banjo Consorium has a new album set to arrive in September with 9 brand new songs! A video for "My.Sugar Melted" from le debut will also be coming out around that time. As if that wasn't enough to keep Jacques busy, he's also preparing a show with 5 other artists that will be on in September. He's promised me a few more details as these projects approach.

Downloads:
The Banjo Consorsium - My.Sugar Melted.mp3
The Banjo Consorsium - Une Soirée Kebekoise.mp3
The Banjo Consorsium - Tuesday Craker.mp3*

(*very highly recommended)

OR Download the entire album, le debut, for free (zip): HERE!

Links:
The Banjo Consorsium on MySpace
Savery on MySpace
Seedsound (TBC's label)

+joe

A Mish Mash Sort of Day

2006-07-31T03:15:00.000-05:00

Today is a mishmash. I've been working on a special project with the Bully of Culture himself, Chris, for a while now, and I just haven't had the time to dig for that next new artist. So I thought I'd resort to something more expected, I suppose. Today I'm serving up a mini-list, with a couple of mind blowing tracks.

Downloads:

Herbie Hancock - Don't Explain (Featuring Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan).mp3
Starting off, we've got Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan's vocals joining Herbie Hancock's mastery of the ivory keys on "Don't Explain". This track features one of Damien's and Lisa's best performances ever. I don't think I have to tell you that Herbie's on top of him game, too. Do I?

Quentin Grey - Growing Agression.mp3
Here we have an incredible electro-rock song called "Growing Agression" done for an online comic book ("Broken Saints") done by Quentin Grey. It's got an amazing heart pounding chorus. You wont be able to stop playing air guitar after hearing this! It totally belongs in an action movie.

Mice Parade - And Still It Sits In Front of You.mp3
Finally, we have a really nice track by Mice Parade. I haven't been able to get into their music as much as I'd like to, but this song is definitely reason to. I actually came across it playing in the background on someone's blog many months ago. If you're not familiar with Mice Parade you really should be. This song is off their album Obrigado Saudade. If you know MPs music well, I'd love to have some songs reccommended to me!

Well, that's all for today my dear friends!

+joe

William Fitzsimmons

2006-07-27T04:22:00.000-05:00

One of the great things about encountering new musicians is encountering their friends, who are often also great musicians. I can't tell you how many bands I have posted about here that I have come across through links from musicians I was already enjoying. It says a lot to me when a musician that I love gives an endorsement to another musician. Such is the case with the subject of today's post: William Fitzsimmons. His musical friend Ingrid Michaelson has "long" been a favorite of mine (okay, so maybe not as long as I'd like to pretend), and her MySpace page referred me to him.

My bro William is a folk artist of the non-garden variety. If you're already seeing flags because he's another folk musician (I know I'm on a roll), then please bear with me for just one more! William's music definitely has a DIY quality that can be decieving at moments, because an honest listen to any song will show you just how professional he is, all the while making you feel like you must be sitting outside in a cirlce listening to one of your extremely talented friends. Intimate. Though it's a word that others may overuse, I challenge you to find more than one or two instances of me ever using it. I don't use it lightly or flippantly. It's very accessable music, at it's heart, which is very important in the folk genre.

After grabbing the free download below, head over to William's MySpace page to hear 4 more songs you're sure to enjoy just as much. I've thrown in a live track from Sia, singing "Breathe" on KCRW, which is probably the best version of the song you can hope to find, ever! It's been in my head for a while, so I had to share.

Downloads:
William Fitzsimmons - Shattered.mp3
Sia - Breathe (Live on KCRW).mp3

Links:
Download William's CD, Until We Are Ghosts
William Fitzsimmons' MySpace Page

+joe

Possible Favorites: The Possible Selves

2006-07-26T16:32:00.000-05:00

I don't think I've been shy about the fact that I use MySpace as a vehicle for exploring usigned and small-time bands. Often, these explorations are rewarded, as in the case of my most recent findig: Possible Selves. The Selves are really just Neal Williams, with a backing band, playing Psychedelic Folk/Country music, as it were. Now, 'Psychedelic Folk/Country' music isn't usually my cup of tea, but you gotta make that jump sometimes, you know? At any rate, I've really enjoyed what I've heard of his so far, and what kind of person would I be to keep this a secret from you?

So how does he sound? Well, he sounds like the type of guy who would just as easily write a song about the end of the world as he would about the pattern of your fingerprints. Does that make any sense? There is equal wonder and understanding in his music. It's quietly stirring, and subtley playful, as though Neal were playing on strings of glass, and feared that they might break. Because of this I would say it makes for very good late-evening music, although, honestly it might be just as beautiful on an autumn afternoon. "Welcome Home" reminds me of old school southern folk, with a twist. The plucking banjo on that track, though, makes it my personal favorite of his. Definitely check that mp3 and 2 others in the download section below, then hit up the Possible Selves MySpace page for another download.

Oh, and be sure to watch for an interview with this talented artist in the near future, as well as an interview with a Stage Hymns favorite, Ingrid Michaelson (which will happen just as soon as I get her some decent questions), and a feature on a friend of hers, William Fitzsimmons. Sorry about the infrequency of posts. Trust me, I know it's frustrating. I'm trying to batten down the hatches on 2 websites right now, as well as getting ready to move back to school for RA training. It's all happening very fast.

Downloads:
Possible Selves - Welcome Home.mp3
Possible Selves - Future Plans.mp3
Possible Selves - Three Birds.mp3

Links:
Possible Selves Official Website
Possible Selves on MySpace

+joe

Along Came A Spider: An Interview With Jane Herships

2006-07-26T15:57:00.000-05:00

Spider is the best thing to happen to folk music since Joanna Newsom, and maybe even longer than that. Spider is New York singer-songwriter Jane Herships, and whether you've heard of her or not she's been sweeping the internet's music elite with her self-released album, The Way To Bitter Lake. As I've listened to the album, I can't help but ask myself why more music doesn't sound like this. Shouldn't music always be beautiful like this? All I know is that this album is the only thing I've listened to in the past few months that's made me bleary eyed.

Jane Herships isn't exactly sure of everything she does. She's not acting too sure anyway. But that's okay, because that's why I'm here!...to tell you she's a sure thing. As sure as they come. This artist is one of the most tender and gentle souls I've ever spoken with, but she insists she loves "to rock". How charming is that? I've had this interview for a month now, but I kept poor Jane on the phone for over a half an hour, and that makes for one long interview to transcribe. I did it for you, though, folks. I asked every question I could possibly think of, and I think you'll find that by the time you're done reading this interview you will know Jane very well, and you'll see just how well her music echoes of her personality.

If you're unfamiliar with Spider's songs, you'll find 2 juicy downloads at the end of the interview, and a bunch of links to other blog posts about her.

How are you today, Jane?

I’m fine, thanks. Where exactly am I calling to?

You’re calling to Omaha Nebraska...

Oh...nice.

...yeah...

Is it nice there?

Sure...I guess. I’ve lived in Chicago, L.A., and San Francisco as well. I guess it’s small by comparison, but...

Wow.

Yeah. I’ve got some questions here, and you’re going to have to correct me if any of them seem misinformed cause I researched as best I could but...

There’s not a lot of information. It’s ok. I’m looking at these plants in my garden, and there covered with these crazy...things!

Don’t you live in the city [NYC]?

I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. So I have a little back garden.

Gotcha.

It’s like an overgrown mini-jungle.

I would think that would be much better than just having everything look urban and "city-like" all over the place.

Yeah. I prefer it this way. Absolutely.

[A helicopter flies loudly in the background]

Can you hear me okay?

Yeah, I can hear you just fine. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you grew up listening to bands like The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and other rock bands.

Yeah, total classic rock. I think the first introduction to music I had was some Beatles tapes that my dad gave me when I was about twelve. Beatles 1967-70. I think I listened to it for a year straight because it was the only tape I had.

When did you start listening to this very beautiful, hushed, strummed music that you now play? Cause it’s very different, to an extent, than those bands you listened to growing up.

I should say Joni Mitchell is another musician I’ve listened to, but I was introduced to Indie Rock in college. I’m not a music nerd at all. Actually, I’m probably the opposite. I didn’t listen to music for a very long time. I just listened to things like NPR, and a lot of classical music–though I don’t even know the names of a lot of composers. I like Chopin a lot. I listen to Court and Spark [a Joni Mitchell album].

That’s an amazing album.

Yeah, I listened to that about nine-thousand times cause I got into Belle & Sebastian, (That probably had a big influence on me), Cat Power...You know, your typical, more mainstream Indie Rock.

So you’re not necessarily listening to Iron & Wine, Diane Cluck, and other comparable artists?

I definitely do now. I guess I was thinking back to my more formative years, and what amounted to my first knowledge of music. It was all that classic rock stuff. I didn’t even know about that other stuff, because we didn’t have the internet like we have today, and I was super-young still. So the way to delve into more unknown music was to go to the record store with my friends and find older stuff. Psychedelic Rock and all that stuff. We tried to find things we’d never heard of, so we had to go to the mall.

Okay then. Here’s a hypothetical question that might go more into that. If you were eighteen years old today, moving into your college dorm room, what bands' posters would you hang on the walls?

From today, Joanna Newsom, definitely. She's a big favorite of mine. I do like Iron & Wine. Nico, not Neko Case (I haven't had time to listen to her new album), but the other Nico...um...

...I've got a list here of supposed influences that other people have mentioned. Would you like to hear some of those?

Yeah, sure.

Vashti Bunyan...

Vashti Bunyan? You know I've honestly never heard her before, and I get a lot of comparisons to her.

Diane Cluck...

Um...I've seen her play. I think her music is beautiful. I've definitely listened to her before. I don't know if I'd call her an influence. Maybe, an inspiration. I've only been doing this [playing professionally] for about a year and a half. I saw her perform at a show right around the time when I was beginning to do this. To see a woman stand up and play these quiet songs in front of a really nice, polite, respectful audience was really inspiring. You know, she has a lot of passion when she plays, and that's really great.

You've been playing publicly rather extensively for the past year and a half, correct?

I played my first show ever, by myself, with these songs in December of 2004 at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York. So I'd really never done anything other than playing at a coffee shop in college a few times. Aside from that, years had gone by and I'd never done stuff like that before [December 2004]. One of the reasons I've been playing so much is to get used to it...to learn how to do it.

What did you go to college for? You had a band or two before college, right?

I played in a band in college for three months [laughs]. We had one show. [laughs more] We were called The Irl. Then I began playing with a band about three years ago in New York, called Numb Numbers. We were a practicing band. We practiced and practiced until we got really tight. Then we played out [in public] for about three months, and we broke up. [laughs] Then I had another band, and we did about five shows. It was a girl rock duo called The Burners. It's hard to find time, so we haven't played in a while. That's the extent of my musical history.

You're doing a publicity campaign through email, sending out info to several different people. What made you decide to go that route now, and to "push it" at this point?

I don't really know. I guess I see other people doing this for a living. It seems like a wonderful thing, to be able to do this for a living, be able to do something that you love. I have no idea what it takes to do this, but I know a lot of people have teams of people working with them, all kinds of stuff. [laughs] I'm kind of just pluggin' along blindly, [laughs] going on suggestions of friends. Basically, why not?

Well, you're doing a wonderful job. I bought the album off of iTunes a while ago... [planes fly overhead very loudly]

Wait. There's a plane...there's actually a lot of very loud planes going by. Ok...what was the last thing you said?

I guess I was just saying I bought the album a while ago off of iTunes and it kind of shot up to the top of my "Most Played" list pretty quickly.

Oh, thank you.

Yes it's wonderful. Would you be offended to hear that your album is really to listen to while doing lots of different things, as ambient music for unwinding...to listen to or just to play in the background to set a nice mood? Because it's very somber. Is that something you're okay hearing?

Absolutely. I set out to write songs that definitely mean something to me, to write evocative music, but I equally wanted to write accessable music. I want to write interesting music that people will respect, and hopefully I've pulled that off. I always wanted to write satisfying songs.

Where does the moniker 'Spider' come from exactly?

A friend of mine, who I was playing with and had approached with the songs I had already written (his name is Steven, and he's played drums on a couple of songs on my record) had suggested it as a name for his dog. Or, if he had a son, he would name him Spider. We'd really been changing the name, playing out a lot, changing the band's name. This was last spring. We'd been changing the band's name every week or so. So it seems like as good a name as any, and it's kinda stuck. I actually had a horrible phobia of spiders. So when it became the name it began to mean something to me because I think I had a horrible phobia of playing music for a really long time. I don't know if I should go deep about it, but we thought it was a cool name, and we were starting to play some rock songs.

If there's something so deep about that you don't want to say, that's fine...

No, it's actually simple. It's a "facing your fears" thing. After a while it took on the meaning for me that you can't be afraid of things. I think for a long time I was really afraid to play music, even though it was something that I’d really always loved. I kind of shied away from it for a really long time. It’s not like I love spiders now, or anything., [laughs] but I’ve actually gotten over my fear of spiders a lot.

It would be lazy of me to categorize your music with terms that might get thrown around (especially in New York) like ‘Anti-Folk’ or ‘New Weird America’ unless I knew that you identified with terms like that. But do you ascribe any genre or subgenre name with your music? Are you comfortable doing that?

I have no idea. The guy I used to play with in Numb Numbers said we played ‘Modern Rock’. Maybe ‘Soft Rock’? [laughs] I listen to Lite FM [a NYC radio station] a lot, though. I usually just tell people it’s ‘Indie Folk’ for lack of a better genre.

[At this point, my recorder was running out of room, so I asked to stop it for a second so I could delete some files from it before we continued through the questions. Unfortunately I forgot to hit ‘record’ again until a few minutes later. So I don’t have the exact transcript of those few moments, but I believe I asked Jane who she would want to have a tea party with if she could pick anyone alive or dead. She answered Eleanor Roosevelt, which is where we pick up…]

…you know, there’s something very honest about her.

You released ‘The Way To Bitter Lake’ independently, right?

Oh Yeah!

What made you decide to release it independently? And are you looking into any labels at the moment?

Well…I don’t even know how to begin a conversation with a label. I think for my next album, which I’ll start to record soon, there are some labels I’d like to contact. It would be wonderful to have a label and tour, have tour support and everything. I think that would be a great help and opportunity. But I kind of had this thing [the album], and when I was done with it I wanted to…[laughs] I think with the internet and the way things are today it just seemed so feasible.

I see. So do you have any offline distribution set up at the moment? Can people buy your music at a certain store?

I am selling at about ten independent record stores right now, but it’s been growing. When I go to cities I try to visit record shops, definitely. I’ll probably be doing more of that soon.

Towards the end of ‘Maggie’s Song For Alice’ you have this ‘Melt-your-face-off’ guitar solo come in, which is in total striking contrast to the rest of the album (albeit a wonderful and, possibly vital contrast). What made you decide to change things up in that way, at that point on the album?

Well, it just kind of came out that way. In the band I had played with, Numb Numbers, I was the lead guitar player. I didn’t sing, and I didn’t really write the songs, but I got to shred. And with the other band, The Burners, it was totally a girl rock-duo. Actually on the next album there’s going to be a couple of rock songs on it. I love…to…rock! [laughs] I know that sounds silly. The latter songs didn’t really fit in on that last record, except in that one element.

What was it like for you to play at this years South by Southwest Festival? How did that opportunity come your way? What were some memorable experiences from that?

That was a blast. I had never been before, but I heard it was different from previous years. Now it seems that everyone and their mother who has a garage can have a party. Basically some friends of mine were having some parties, and Peter and the Wolf (with Whiskey & Apple Records)…um, I got to play on his bill with another amazing artist, St. Vincent. I am really glad I got to see her.

South By Southwest has really opened up some opportunities for non-label people and independent artists. The amazing thing is that you pretty much just go to shows all week, and everywhere you go there are people there. Even if it was in the smallest "Tacoria" [taco joint].

Did you get a pretty good response from the people that heard you play?

Yeah, I had a really nice response. Everyone was really warm, and the parties themselves were just great. I got to play with Brightback Morning Light, which was really wonderful. That was just a completely outside party that they were nice enough to come to. You know, they had just come from playing to open for Belle and Sebastian, earlier that day. [laughs] Then there in some, you know, random girl’s back yard.

Almost every major music blog that I can think of has posted about you recently. None of them seem to have said anything that wasn’t really good about you. Have you noticed any recent surge in publicity? Do you get more emails from people visiting the site recently because of that?

I’ve definitely noticed a small, steady climb in all that. Yes.

A year from now, where would you like to be professionally?

I would just like to always be playing music. I would love to have a band. I would actually really love to collaborate with other people. I’ve been working on my own project now for about a year and a half, and I really miss playing in somebody else’s band. [laughs]

Do you enjoy writing as much as you enjoy playing?

Absolutely, yes.

So, in the future, with these collaborations you'd like to have a hand in the writing aspect?

Yeah. I think that comes naturally, but I guess what I miss about playingwith somebody else is...and maybe it's just the mood of what I've been writing, but I feel like I've been focusing on the guitar. Acting as a guitar player with someone else is really interesting. I really never thought of myself as a guitar player. I thought of myself as somebody who knew how to play guitar and liked to sing. Being in a band where we practiced three times a week, and having never used a guitar pedal before--using pedals for all sorts of things--I really grew as a musician. I remember one day I realized, "I'm a guitar player!" [laughs] It's a really good feeling. You know, I really like that.

Am I correct in thinking that you picked up guitar at the age of fourteen, after going to band camp? Is that right?

No, I went to a YMCA camp in the Poconos [laughs]. My best friend at the time was going there, and there were always cute boys playing guitar while sitting around the fire. [laughs]

[laughs] Well, that's perfectly understandable. It's surprising though, because there are many girls who own acoustic guitars because they know boys who can play them, but they don't necessarily know how to play them. So it's interesting that you could start that way and wind up being an awesome guitar player.

It was a struggle. It was hard because I came home from camp, and I was like, "Mom! Dad! I want a guitar!" And they said, "...no." We had already tried with piano and violin, and band class, and everything else. And they were not into it. It wasn't until about six months later, when one of my mom's friends said, "Hey, we have an old guitar in the basement, and Jane can use that one." I got myself one of those little books, The Beatles: Learn to Play Guitar. Then I worked at it.

What is the name of the album, The Way To Bitter Lake, about?

Well, I had bought my friend a preasent. I had gone to a kind of 'junk shop' up in New Hampshire, and I bought her an old journal because she loves old books. Written in the back of it, probably one-hundred years old, was, "What is the way to Bitter Lake?" or something like that. It just really struck me as a beautifully suggestive place. It seems to fit with a lot of my songs. There not all about actual people-- a lot of the ideas have happened to me--but there a little bit more ethereal now, I guess.

So what does the writing process look like for you?

I usually play into a little tape recorder that I have, and then I listen to it play back. Sometimes I'm walking around the city and some little melody will strike me. I write in a journal, separately.

And final announcements, words?

I'm going to be recording soon. I'll record over the summer and hopefully have some things for late fall.

Awesome! Thanks very much.

Downloads (MP3s):
Spider - The Bitter One.mp3
Spider - Maggie's Song For Alice.mp3

Links:
The Official Spider Site
Spider on MySpace
GorillaVsBear's Post on Spider
*Sixeyes's Post on Spider
Cable and Tweed's Post on Spider
Yeti Don't Dance's Post on Spider
Rbally's Post on Spider
Palebare's Post on Spider
CYSTSFTS's Post on Spider
Sweetheart of the Radio's Post on Spider
Village Indian's Post on Spider
A Robot Commeth's Post on Spider

+joe

An Interview With Office's Scott Masson

2006-07-18T17:43:00.000-05:00

There has been one band out of Chicago in recent memory that makes me a bit sad that I left Chicago some years ago. That band is Office. They have had the unique effect of appearing equally genuine and contrived at the very same time to the skeptic in me. Songs so earnest are rarely found in the "pop" vein. Call me what you will, but how could it be that these folks making pop music could really love music? I don't know, to be honest. But they are, and you can tell.

You might find it funny that my first introduction to Office was through a free download of their song "Wound Up" on iTunes several months back. I know what some of you are thinking, and yes, usually iTunes can't recommend bands I haven't heard of. But lo...there was Office. A short while ago I sent some questions to the band's frontman, Scott Masson, through the band's publicist, and today I got my answers! The band is currently unsugned, but in this interview Scott hints at how that might change in the future. So the question you have to ask yourself is this: When Office comes and takes over your world, will you be ready?

In as many words as you would care to use, how did this awesome band come to be?

Office formed because it made sense at the time. We all love each other very much, and there are some things we have to get off our chests. Gravity is a strange phenomenon, and nobody will ever be able to predict when it will bring people together. The word "office" is superfluous in the end. It's not a concept band, contrary to what a few people think. Every band makes decisions and delegates responsibilities. With a little bit of luck, we'll write some good songs that people will put on 15 years down the road.

Describe, if you could, each member's background in music or art before joining the group.

Tom Smith (guitar, voice) is a brilliant artist. His guitar playing is painterly, unique, and the work of a genius. He sings with a lot of wit and sardonic humor, which works well for us. He's been playing the guitar and singing since he was a young lad, and did a lot of time in punk rock prison. Tom studied print-making in Baltimore, and had some bands out there before he moved back to his hometown of Oak Park, IL. He's the youngest in the group, and definitely the most romantic.

Alissa Noonan (bass) is a closet vocalist. Since she's incredibly shy, I only hear her sing every once in awhile. She's got a beautiful voice, and I can't wait until we start working with it in the studio. Her background is mostly in art, particularly photography, but she takes a very serious approach towards music. Almost scientific. There have been shows where Tom, Erica, and I are extremely spent, but Alissa will carry us through the entire set because she is so solid and consistent. Alissa, who grew up in Chicago, is a very strong and opinionated lady, which is always refreshing to be around
.
Born and raised in Rockford, IL, Erica Corniel (drums, voice) is not only a fantastic drummer, but her voice has a lot of love in it too. She is a natural entertainer, and a hilarious person offstage. She keeps us loose, and helps me out with the administrative duties for the band. Her background is mostly in electronic music and DJ culture, as well as MCing on various hip hop tracks with underground Chicago-area producers. Erica has a keen understanding of dance music, and hits the drums way harder than most male drummers. She doesn't believe in unnecessary drum fills either, and plays only what is best for the song. This approach towards beat-making is almost impossible to find these days, so it's a kind of a gift when you do.

Jessica Gonyea (voice, percussion) is a new addition to the group, and she helps us keep our energy elevated. She's from Grand Rapids, MI, and moved to Chicago around the same time I moved here. She's got a really sweet voice, and plays a mean cowbell and tambourine. Her background is in painting, design, and fashion. She'll be doing some keyboard work with us pretty soon as well. We just started to work with her, so we're still learning more about her as we go. Again, Jessica is one of those people who keeps you laughing through the stressful moments of being in a band.

My name is Scott Masson (guitar, vocals, piano), and I'm from a little town in the suburbs of Detroit called Milford, MI. When I was a kid, I would listen to records, and pick out the individual vocal harmonies, and practice them over and over for about 8 hours every day. I applied this same strategy to drums, bass, and guitar. To this day, I don't know how to read music, because my education was through listening. I was a hired musician by the age of 13, and was making a lot of money playing in wedding bands, country bands, pit orchestra bands, and as a session player, etc. I gave up that whole scene around 15 years old, when I discovered punk rock. Later on during art school, I was very much inspired by Jake and Dinos Chapman, Christo, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Modigliani, and Barbara Krueger....among others (old and contemporary). All of these people completely blew my mind, and forced me to think about music in a different light. Office was born around that same moment I was studying these visual artists. It was never supposed to be a rock and roll band. That was an accident.

Has the band come anywhere close to signing with a label that meets the band's needs/requirements?

We are in discussion with a few labels as we speak. Our requirements are very simple: let us produce our own records, write our own songs, and create our own visual design aesthetic.

What is the song-writing process like for Office?

I write the songs, and we orchestrate them together as a collective. It's way more enjoyable for a band to work together, rather than having the "front man" spoil the show with one singular vision.

Production is where each composition is fine-tuned and sculpted. All of those notes and parts that work well during band practice or onstage, may not work during the recording phase. Most of the time, production is simplifying parts......if not completely subtracting them altogether. This tends to be my area of dominance, since I write the songs, and have made so many albums throughout my life. I'm always open to new ideas though, as long as they fit the song. I'm discovering that the band is fully capable of making these songs better than I can. This is a new sensation for me, especially since I have been working alone for the last several years.
Writing songs and producing records is usually a pain in the ass, and it's never a relaxing experience. The fun is when you can sit back, have a couple drinks, and listen to what you've accomplished with your friends. In our Office world, the song is only "complete" when there is a recorded, mixed, and mastered version on the table. Composing is only 50 percent of the game. Until the recording is finished, there is no satisfaction in life....only heartaches, clenched teeth, bitching and moaning, and a total lack of sleep. The process of giving birth is always painful, if you really love what you're doing.

I've been wondering something for a while, since your songs are somewhat lyrically subtle or inferential. What's the story behind "Wound Up"?

Nobody has ever asked us that question, so I appreciate it. "Wound Up" is a song about not being afraid to leave your house during a full moon, when all the freaks are out on the town. It's about embracing that wonderful city chaos, and going with the flow. I used to have this friend who never wanted to leave her house during a full moon, because she was afraid she'd lose her mind, or get murdered in the process. Forget drinking a bottle of wine, for she would surely lose all bodily control! Basically, it was much easier for her to stay at home, and sit in front of the TV, where she could wait out the night. Oddly enough, I'm sure she ended up even more wound up than I was, despite that fact that she stayed inside during such peculiar evenings.
This song was my way of calling her out for being afraid of the unknown.

The production of "Wound Up" took 11 months of composing, editing, drafting, demoing, and revising. It's by far the most epic pop song I've ever been a part of, and a lot of time and love went into it. Erica and Tom's vocals were great. I'm very proud of the song, and the production. It's ironic that the song comes across as "light-hearted" and "care free" as it does, because the lyrical mood is somewhat dark. There's a homeless guy offering up a joke for my pocket change, cars colliding, black cats, alley rats, drunk, patriotic tourists, social awkwardness, blue skies turning black, and people coming and going in and out of our lives.

The concept of "fear" was really in style the year "Wound Up" was written (2004). It's interesting to see all of that changing now. It feels as though people are less afraid this year. Maybe I'm wrong though. Who knows?

Here on this site I do my best to avoid describing bands in terms of other bands, opting to use music-specific terminology instead of band-specific terminology. Taking that somewhat into account, how would you folks describe your music?

It's folk music to my ears, but that concept seems to only bring up images of people on haystacks and wagons, playing acoustic guitars. That's not how I see us though. Our music is basically inspired by our environments, experiences, difficulties, domestic culture, friends, families, and lovers (oh my!). It's complex song-writing under a facade of simplicity. We like this idea of people dancing and enjoying themselves while they digest certain classic thematic concerns with us. There's a story being told within these songs, and that is the most important part of what we do. The best pop music is usually subversive. We're not singing to select groups of cool underground people, nor do I see us performing at the Super Bowl either. Office is intended for people from all sorts of age, race, economic, and social brackets, and we are very unapologetic about this. It's our goal, however, to do this thing called "pop" with some intelligence, craft, and honesty. Real pop music is always folk music, because it's communicating something in a very believable and truthful way.

If you folks could pick any band you all wanted to, can you think of who you'd like to tour with?

We'd like to tour with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

What does the band's prospective schedule for writing and recording look like for this next year? Are you folks excited for the upcoming tour and recording?

We're wrapping up the writing portion of our new LP, and then immediately jumping into the studio to record. It's all up in the air right now, since we're about to sign with a label (TBA soon!).

Could you explain the concept behind the double EP you have planned for fall release?

Well.....we still haven't decided if it's going to be a double EP, or another full-length LP. I will tell you that the mood is going to be different on this next recording. The lyrics are not as easy to digest, and it's going to be a bit rawer than our previous installment. I can't wait to start working on it, especially since it's going to be recorded on 2-inch tape. We want to re-create a good studio version of our live show. It's something we've never done before. The last 3 Office LPs have had drum machines and synths, and I guess we're all ready to make music that's more organic and human this next time around.

Are there still times when it feels odd to be professional musicians, or has the musician frame of mind taken hold rather thoroughly?

Interesting question. It's always odd to be a professional musician. The public tends to be a lot more critical of musicians than they are of visual artists, actors, and writers. The pubic also tends to hold musicians on a higher pedestal, which is really weird, since most musicians are freaks.

Musicians are dealing directly with the people on a daily basis.....face-to-face.....ear-to-ear. Other creative people can do their work, and not have to show up in person to promote it as much. I'm always amazed at the things I experience before or after we play a show. People tend to treat you differently than the other people in the room, just because you were onstage. That's very bizarre to me.

As a side note, I'm very intrigued by band rivalry, industry politics, legal affairs, and the stalkers that this job brings. Never a dull moment these days. You can't take any of it seriously either, or you'll wind up with a broken heart, and become a bitter and jaded individual. I'm definitely still working on this aspect of the job. For example, we're in the middle of some legal stuff right now, because we were burned by somebody we trusted. Now, this person wants to take a giant sum of money away from us, which we don't even have in the first place. The funniest part about the whole situation is that it's for work he didn't even do! Absurd. Sad. Sometimes this business can drive you to tears because you work so hard, and some people will just take advantage of your trust. I have broken down on numerous occasions in the last few months, but I try and remind myself that not everybody in this business is evil. We have some amazing people working with us to counter-attack all the bullshit.

Every day is a lesson in who to work with, and who to stay away from. At the end of the day, you just need to laugh it off because it\'s just politics. Music is the only thing that matters, especially when you\'re in love with it like we are.

Do any members of the band hold regular jobs? Does any one of you actually work in an office at the moment in addition to your musical obligations?

Erica owns her own dog-walking company, while Jessica is a free-lancer in Chicago. Tom works at a letterpress company, and Alissa is a stylist for a professional photography company. I am the only member in the band who works full-time on Office, doing administrative stuff, mailing CDs, conducting interviews, phone conversations, and tending to our other business affairs. That has become a 9-5 job in itself, which I simply cannot complain about. It's the best job I've ever had!

How did the idea for the band's..."costumes" come about, and how did that concept involve into how the band dresses now?

Our onstage attire has nothing to do with our band name. We hold the belief that if you're getting up in front of people to spout off a bunch of information, then you should look your best in the process. It just so happens that men and women working within Western civilization wear suits, ties, slacks, dresses, skirts, blouses, and power suits to their formal occasions. Anybody who thinks it's a "schtick" has obviously never been to a serious job interview before. Every show we play is a job interview.

Are there any musical acts out there right now that really inspire you guys who you would care to recommend?

All of the following artists are doing beautiful things in Detroit and Chicago. Our friends inspire us on a daily basis: Devin Davis, Mannequin Men, Freer, 800Beloved, The 1900s, Crap Engine, Velvetron, Crush Kill Destroy, The Modern Temper, Star, My Were They, The Changes, The Fake Fictions, and Roommate. I know I\'m probably leaving a few people out though. My apologies to them.....

Thank you for this wonderful interview.
Scott Masson

Here's a couple of songs from Office's album, Q & A...

Download:
Office - Wound Up.mp3
Office - Possibilities.mp3

Links:
Office's Official Website
Office on MySpace
Stage Hymns' Previous Post on Office

+joe

Radiohead: Rare Songs

2006-07-17T01:29:00.000-05:00

I decided that it had been a while since I put up any Radiohead b-sides, remixes, demos, etc. So when I went into my iTunes to select from my catalogue I was surprised to see that I have nearly 800 songs concerning Radiohead (including popular covers, live performances, b-sides, proper remixes, and album tracks. After seeing that, I decided to just start at the beginning. So here I've got an unreleased Radiohead song, a fairly rare B-side, and 3 demos from On A Friday (What Radiohead was originally named). You'll notice that the unreleased song, "Permanent Daylight", was actually made into a string quartet version on Enigmatic: The String Quartet Tribute to Radiohead, which you may have already heard.

It's a lot of fun to listen to the demos, because it helps you see the evolution of this great band. On these particular demos I've selected you'll notice just how trendy sounding they were for the time. What a change they've made! Honestly, though, they're all really good songs, and it's easy to understand why they would write them. They certainly would make it hard to refrain from offering these boys a record deal.

Downloads:
Radiohead - Bishop's Robes (B Side).mp3
Radiohead - Permanent Daylight (Unreleased).mp3
Radiohead - Everybody Lies Through Their Teeth (On A Friday demo).mp3
Radiohead - Give It Up (On A Friday demo).mp3
Radiohead - Keep Strong (On A Friday demo).mp3

Links:
Radiohead's Official Page
Buy Radiohead Stuff

+joe

Band of Horses "Funeral" on Letterman 7-13-06

2006-07-14T01:20:00.000-05:00

Hey there folks. I've got a quick download for you. It's Band of Horses performing "Funeral" this evening on Letterman. I recorded it myself, but I'm new to this, so it's a bit off with the bass when the song picks up. Sorry for that. Otherwise it's very clear, though.

Download:
Band of Horses - Funeral (Live on Letterman 7-13-06).mp3

+joe

Upcoming Album: Now It's Overhead "Dark Light Daybreak"

2006-07-13T17:57:00.000-05:00

As a band, Now It's Overhead doesn't need much of an introduction in the world of independent music, but they've had a suprisingly small presence in press on this here intershizzle. They must be stuck in one of the "tubes" the internet is apparently made of. Now It's Overhead (NIO from here on out) is currently touring the US with Tilly and the Wall (another Saddle Creek band) and they will be stopping by Saddle Creek home base (Omaha, Nebraska) next Tuesday. I will be in attendence, so I thought it would be fitting for me to post my review of their upcoming album, Dark Light Daybreak, which hits stores September 12th.

The first thing I need to mention about approaching NIO's newest album is that if you like music from the '90s, then you will like Dark Light Daybreak, which has been infused with a lot of '90s sentiments.

"Well, how do you figure, Joe?" you ask.

I'll tell you what I hear in this album. I hear the Smashing Pumpkins (or maybe Zwan, but don't be afraid), I hear the lead singer of Train, and then I hear a bunch of the electronic instrumentation and beats that Saddle Creek artists are notorious for. That warehouse reverb on all the instruments and vocals...The prominent multi-layer harmonies...Just the notes that singer Andy LeMaster chooses, and how they differ from singing the melody, it really reminds me of '90s music. Maybe that's all a bit vague, but nevermind cause we're moving on to more concrete material now...

The album opens with "Let the Sirens Rest", which will undoubtedly be a single from the album, and for good reason. It has the makings of a radio-friendly pop-rock song, with a catchy chorus I can just imagine people singing along to while driving their cars listening to Lite 95 FM, or whatever their area's equivalent is. If you here this song before you hear the rest of the album, rest assured that this is both a good and poor representation of the rest of this very accessable album.

There's a lot of building up in many of the songs, giving off an urgent and dramatic tone. Many of the songs have multiple points where they swell to climactic highs. It's all very compelling to say the least. Stand-out tracks also include "Believe What They Decide", "Night Vision", and the title track "Dark Light Daybreak". I could hear any one of these songs on the soundtrack for a dramatic thrill movie (or even in it's compelling trailer). It's a very cohesive album, with each song clearly tied together in some way (be it sonically or thematically).

I really love this album, and I highly recommend it to all of you. Oh! Did I mention that Stage Hymns favorites Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink (both members of Azure Ray, as well as solo artists) are members of the band? Be sure to check back after Tuesday for a review of their show Tuesday night at the infamous Sokol Underground. Here's a couple of songs off the upcoming album, Dark Light Daybreak.

Download:
Now It's Overhead - Believe What They Decide.mp3
Now It's Overhead - Dark Light Daybreak.mp3

Also:
Ingrid Michaelson's First CD, Slow the Rain, is finally available on iTunes!

+joe

Canadian Hip-Hop: Pocket Dwellers

2006-07-13T00:08:00.000-05:00

With this post I decided to do something unprecedented here at Stage Hymns. I would like to present my first ever Hip-Hop artist feature! Aren't you proud of me?! I'm growing so much!

But seriously, the band that warrants such an event must be a great one. I actually like the sound of bands like The Black-Eyed Peas, but I find most of their songs laughable and stupid because nobody in that group is interested in doing something mature or...well...non-sexual with music. It's music for hormonal teenagers if you ask me, which is a shame since they have an interesting sound.

What I have found in the Pocket Dwellers is that same off-the-wall energy and some very similar drum 'n bass, pop, and rock influences--with intelligent lyrics and messages actually worth writing music for. My good friends over at ThisCityRocks.com did an amazing interview/video podcast on these guys last week, and so I had to hit up their website for more info and tunes. They've even got a really cool music video for their "hit" song "Trust Us", which is the most catchy song off their most recent album, PD-Atrics. They've also got their own blog and a number of video blog entries available through their official site's video player.

Check them out for yourself!

Download:
Pocket Dwellers - Trust Us.mp3
Pocket Dwellers - Play This Music!.mp3

+joe

A New Mars Volta Song!

2006-07-11T17:44:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of progressive rock. Really, I am! But there aren't many musical acts today who do it in the spirit which it began with. One group that has done an outstanding job of carrying the torch is The Mars Volta. This incredible duo knows how to make music without limits. Whether it's an 11 minute song or a sonic-assault-electro-blip solo in the middle of a song--these guys know that if it's good...people will listen.

The band just threw up a new song on their MySpace page (here) from their upcoming album, Amputechture, which comes out August 22nd on GSL/Strummer/Universal Records. You can head over to their MySpace page to stream the song in two parts, but I've got this MP3 of both parts together which makes listening much less distracting in my opinion.

The new song is called "Viscera Eyes", and it shows no lacking of the ultimate Mars Volta stylings. It appears as track number 6 on the upcoming album, leading this reviewer to believe that it probably makes for a good sample of what's to come. Yes, it definitely sounds like a Mars Volta song, but do you really think you're brain could take anything more progressive anyway?

Download:
The Mars Volta - Viscera Eyes

+joe

Jim Noir Remixes Sebastien Tellier

2006-07-10T16:15:00.000-05:00

French electro-ish musician, Sebastien Tellier, has been making music for several years, and has enjoyed a fair amount of success with outstanding reviews from the likes of NME and other--as well as with the appearance of his song "Fantino" in the movie Lost in Translation. I just recieved a copy of his single "La Ritournelle" remixed by the one and only Jim Noir in my mail this morning, and I simply had to share it with you. It's an instrumental version of the song, but it's simply gorgeous. Jim Noir has added that "fog" that seems to move across his recordings to this remix, and really brought out the beat. I also figured that many of you might have no frame of reference for this song, so I've included the original edit and a couple other versions of it. If you enjoy it be sure to head over to Sebastien's label, Record Makers, to order yourself a copy of the single's remix cd. It can also be found on iTunes and Napster.

Download:
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Jim Noir mix).mp3
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Original Edit).mp3
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Piano Studio Session).mp3
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Mr Dan's Magic Wand mix).mp3

Also, be sure to head over to Culture Bully today where my good friend Chris has posted a recording of Thom Yorke performing "The Clock", from his solo CD: The Eraser, on The Henry Rollins Show which is set to air next week on the Independent Film Channel. That's right, you get to hear it before anyone else!

+joe

Lindsay Rae Spurlock

2006-07-08T05:25:00.000-05:00

When I was doing the rounds in the wee hours of the morning over at Cable & Tweed I stumbled across someone in The C&T Mix Tape Project, Vol. V: Atlanta Pop/Singer-Songwriter. Her name is Lindsay Rae Spurlock, and she has some talent that the world should not miss! I love the singer-songwriter genre in general--being so pleased with many recent acts that fall into that category. As a matter of fact, if you read this blog on a regular basis you'll notice that my posts seem to bounce around between Electronic, "Experimental", Power-pop, and Singer-Songwriter types-- with heavy emphasis on the last. I have no idea why that happens since I like such a broad variety of music. Anyway, Lindsay has a very good voice, and can write some wonderfully plaintive songs. Definitely piano-driven. Definitely nice.

Downloads:
Lindsay Rae Spurlock - November.mp3
Lindsay Rae Spurlock - Let It Go.mp3
Lindsay Rae Spurlock - Time's Up.mp3

Check out her MySpace page here for another download, but be sure to mind her official website is a bit rough at the moment.

+joe

My Brightest CD Review

2006-07-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

One of the most anticipated released so far this year is My Brightest Diamond's Bring Me The Workhorse. For those who may not know, My Brightest Diamond is mainly singer Shara Worden, although she does have a band backing her. It's sort of ambiguous who is "the band" and who is not--kind of like Bright Eyes isn't really just Conor Oberst. You may have heard Shara on background vocals for Sufjan Stevens' Come on Feel the Illinois. Anyway, I am one such person who has awaited his own copy of the album, and my wishes were granted a couple of weeks ago. I've been a fan of the group ever since "Riding Horses" appeared on the Asthmatic Kitty compilation, Mews Too. Since that time several of the albums songs have been leaked by blogs (and one by Asthmatic Kitty). I must tell you now that those singles give no justice to the experience had by listening to the entire album.

Those who have made a point of the operatic tones of the band (mostly in Shara Worden's vocals) are dead on. It's like a modern opera! I don't think I've heard such a justifiably dramatic album since Radiohead's Hail to the Thief, no joke! When I say "justifiably dramatic" I mean that it never feels melodramatic or like it's taking itself too seriously. It's just a serious album. Beautiful, but serious. "Disappear", a track which has been circling the internet, is the most light-hearted song on the album--and if you're familiar with the song you know it's a stretch to call it light-hearted. It rings a lot like Damien Rice's O album, equal in beauty and equal in seriousness. Obviously, the sound is much larger than that on anything Damien has done, with a full band of instruments backing Shara. Her voice reminds me of cross between an Opera singer's and Mia Doi Todd, perhaps. She just has a really strong female voice, and it's totally entrancing.

It's a terrific album, with as much beauty as a Grimm fairytale, and as much honesty as Shara's own diary might have. You simply must pick up a copy when it comes out on August 22nd.

Also, I should mention that MBD's violist, Marla Hansen, has a few original songs for download on MySpace herself. They are more than worthy of a check out, so I have provided some those for your listening pleasure as well. Marla can also be heard with Shara on Sufjan's Illinois album, and has toured with him as well. Head over to her MySpace page: here.

Downloads:
My Brightest Diamond - Riding Horses.mp3
My Brightest Diamond - Golden Star.mp3
Marla Hansen - Lighten Up.mp3
Marla Hansen - Wedding Day.mp3

+joe

Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye Preview/Review

2006-07-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

The more of these promotional copies I get the more I realize that a year is a long time, and I think how foolish I have been to have thought that so many of the year's best albums have already been released. Have some of those "Best Of 2006ers" come out yet?...Yep. Will there be more albums released this year that will also join, and maybe top such a list?...Yep.

So This Is Goodbye, the upcoming release from The Junior Boys, is just such an album. There are few electronic acts out there that can impress me, but these guys are right up there with Thievery Corporation, Boards of Canada, Four Tet, et al. Not that they sound anything like those other acts: In fact, they sound more like a perfected vision of 80s British synth-pop, but they have done nothing short of astounding me with their next album. Their arrangements are so tight you could set your metronome to them. And what hooks! If like me, you find Thom Yorke's The Eraser somewhere short of amazing, then maybe this is the electronic album you've been waiting for. There's no excess activity on their tracks, but they're nowhere near "barren" or empty sounding. The Junior Boys have infused the perfect number of elements into each of the album's tracks to provide a wonderful variety stretching from dance-floor superbeats to rainy day window-watching soundscapes.

If you're the type of person with an aversion to "squeaky-clean" production, don't be afraid. So This Is Goodbye has enough charm, honesty and vulnerability to help even the "indiest" kid get past the amazing technical quality the album has. It's really a lyric-listener, as well. While you can dance to it, you wont find any clichéd or trite phrases on this one. So what do you call an album that has incredibly catchy songs, visceral technical qualities and wears its heart on its sleave?...Perfect. That's what! And it almost would be perfect were it not for the two songs that this reviewer found somewhat lackluster. No, I wont tell you which ones I feel that way about. I'll let you decide for youself, and hopefully you'll like all 10 tracks on the album. So, it's near perfect. Very near indeed. For me, the "quanitifiable" rating I give So This Is Goodbye would have to be a 9.6/10. I know I shouldn't be giving out ratings like that this early in the year, but I'm totally confident that this album will remain in the upper ranks by year's end.

Be sure and pick up your copy of So This Is Goodbye when it hits stores in August. Domino Records must be pleased as punch to have signed these boys back in May, cause this is one heck of an album.

Downloads:
Junior Boys - In The Morning.mp3
Junior Boys - Double Shadow.mp3
Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Junior Boys Remix).mp3

+joe

Tapes 'N Tapes Contest Winner and EP MP3s

2006-07-03T05:18:00.000-05:00

Well, folks. Sorry it's been a few days. I'm somewhat bogged down with some design work in "real life". So here's the update you've been pining after. The winner of the Signed, Limited Edition 7" "Insistor" Single from Tapes 'N Tapes is...Mike Roeder for his suggestion that Tapes 'N Tapes cover Television's late-70s hit "Marquee Moon", which is an amazing song, and an obvious precursor to much of the music that influenced Tapes 'N Tapes. It's an epic song, lasting over 10 minutes on the album version and over 14 minutes on the live recording. I'll be posting the song (possibly 2 versions of it) in the next few days, so you can all share in it and see for yourself why this was such a good selection. Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest.

Also, Mike from the UK asked if I could post "Moldy Bread" and "My Name is Not Horatio" from Tapes 'N Tapes' EP. So here I have 4 songs from said EP, including the requested tracks.

Download:
Tapes 'N Tapes - Moldy Bread.mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - My Name Is Not Horatio.mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - The Lion.mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - 8 Or Ate.mp3

Again, be sure to check back this week for reviews on the upcoming CDs from My Brightest Diamond, Now It's Overhead, and The Junior Boys, as well as interviews of mine with John Roderick of The Long Winters, Jane Herships aka Spider, and Chicago-based band Office.

+joe

The Long Winters - Putting the Days to Bed Review

2006-06-30T04:09:00.000-05:00

I recieved a promotional copy of the upcoming album from The Long Winters entitled Putting the Days to Bed (Barsuk) a few weeks ago, and I've just been loving it. MammothPress.com will be running a promotional campaign with the band all through July, where you will be able to stream the entire album off of the site before it comes out on July 25th. The promotion will also feature an interview of MINE with John Roderick, the band's founder and principle song-writer, as well as the following review I wrote for the album. Be warned, this review contains plenty of spoilers:

The Long Winter’s are an interesting band, with an ever evolving line-up and a corresponding sound. On the band’s two previous albums, principle song-writer John Roderick has co-produced, working with some great producers to achieve a truly unique sound. But on Putting the Days to Bed John has finally taken the reigns completely. He produced this album himself in order to achieve a sound that was more loyal to his singular vision. Is anyone reminded of Billy Corgan? Well you shouldn’t be because John’s bandmates are all too happy to follow his vision, and it shows. The result is one of the most cohesive album’s ever produced by a small-label band, and one of my favorite albums of the year.

The album kicks off with "Pushover": a tender examination of the loving dynamic between a man and a woman. Complete with acoustic intro and mid-song guitar solo, it’s a truly revelatory song, and an inspired way to start the album. There are some terrific harmonies in this song, making it one of the more light-hearted songs on Putting the Days to Bed.

Next comes "Fire Island, AK", which is an intensely guitar-driven song. John’s vocals become a bit more biting on this track, expressing a rare range of personality which is totally infused into the song. It’s one of the more "rawking" songs on the album.

"Teaspoon" features a great horn section, which complements the guitar in a way that doesn’t turn the song into anything like Ska, but still adds a lot of fun.

"Hindsight" is a slower, more sweeping song that’s all about just what it seems it would be, a relationship from the tail-end perspective. Something about the slower pace, and the large, built-up atmosphere of the music fit the feeling of the lyrics perfectly.

"The Sky Is Open" opens with a groovy bass line over what sounds to be a drum machine. This track features more electronic elements than any other song on the album, but almost doesn’t sound like it. The great bass line and the angel-chorus-like background vocals keep it far from electro-territory. It may prove to be the most...dare I say..."radio friendly" song on the album in this writer’s opinion.

"Honest" is my favorite song on Putting the Days to Bed, hands down. It opens with a powerful bass line and delicate acoustic strumming, meshing contrasting sounds in true Long Winter’s fashion. From there it goes on to detail a conversation between a daughter who’s in love with a singer in a band and her mother who’s been there before, sixteen years before. It’s difficult for me to tell for sure if the song is inferring that the daughter is the product of her mother’s short-lived love with a singer sixteen years before, but I like to think of it that way. This song boasts one of John Roderick’s best vocal performances.

On "Clouds" the beat plods like a steady train; just one of the ways the song channels an alt-country train ride feeling. This is also noticeable in the echo delay on the electric guitar and the close harmonies on the vocals. It’s a fitting mood for a song about adventure, dreams, lofty goals, and...a relationship.

The biting vocals come back in on "Rich Wife" were the singer addresses a woman who’s in love with a man she "doesn’t like". The unsympathetic singer lays into her for her discontentedness and indiscretions, with harshly delivered lines and a sarcastic sounding chorus that’s carries all the "snarkiness" that John Roderick is unashamedly known for.

"Ultimatum" comes next, but it’s not the arrangement you’ve heard on the Ultimatum EP. No, it’s a much grander arrangement, with more of a start/stop rhythm than the EP version. It really communicates the conflicted feeling the singer has about his love. Is it a better arrangement? That’s hard for me to say, so I listen to them both!

"(It’s A) Departure" is the hardest rocking song on the album, with a punchy beat, and ripping guitars. There’s even a moment where a legion of voices join John’s in a line of lyric that make it sound like a number from a musical being performed in a pub.

"Seven", the final song on the album, is definitely the "prettiest". It’s a song about missing someone, and couldn’t be more sentimental if "Dear John" letters and baby tears rained down on you when you listened to it. It’s a fitting end to the album, leaving the journey open to begin again, like any great album does.

This album is like one of those movies that just screams "sequel", which is not to say that it doesn’t leave you completely satisfied in the performance of the band. It simply leaves you wanting more because it’s so good. But let’s give The Long Winters a rest. If I had just finished an album this personal and amazing I wouldn’t be knocking down the door to get back into the studio right away.

Downloads:
The Long Winters - Ultimatum (EP Version)
The Long Winters - Blue Diamonds
The Long Winters - The Commander Thinks Aloud

+joe

Under the Covers with YouTube 2

2006-06-28T23:38:00.000-05:00

Well, I had really hoped to have my review done for The Long Winter's upcoming album, "Putting the Days to Bed", but I'm not quite done with it yet. So I decided to give this YouTube cover thing another try. I'll tell you what, though. It's dang hard finding people on YouTube that can both sing and play well. Still, I've got a few pretty good ones here, but just for good measure I'll throw in some non-YouTube stuff. If you recall, I posted about the ironically named "The Males" a short while back, and now I've got the song to that video I posted, "Slit Wrist Teen Queen". Definitely check that out. You may also recall that I have posted about and interviewed Marybell Katastrophy of Tiger Tunes fame. Well, the rest of her band mates contacted me about their own band called Beta Satan. Yeah, I don't get it either, but they make some catchy music, so check out "Q's Wasted Dreams".

Downloads:
Gamatasu007 - Yellow (Coldplay cover).mp3
Miyavi - Blew (Nirvana cover).mp3 *
Beta Satan - Q's Wasted Dreams.mp3
The Black Keys - Act Nice and Gentle.mp3
The Males - Slit Wrist Teen Queen.mp3 (awesome brand-new track)

*This guy is an amazing guitarist

So I promise that very soon I will have reviews for the upcoming Long Winter's Album, My Brightest Diamond Album, Now It's Overhead Album, and Junior Boys Album--so stay tuned!

+joe

Ingrid Michaelson, In the Corner of Your Heart

2006-06-28T00:40:00.000-05:00

I finally ponied up and bought Ingrid Michaelson's masterpiece "Girls and Boys" instead of wasting away my life on her MySpace page with the built in player. I've been listening to the CD for a while now and I can't express just how amazing it is to hear an entire album of great songs for the first time in so long. I think the last time I was this happy with an album was with Azure Ray's "Hold On Love" which I got a year ago! There is no more perfect album to describe the dynamic between girls and boys than her album "Girls and Boys".

Ingrid has a latent ability to transport you back to your childhood through her lyrics, which happens to be where a good little bit of her songs take place (mentally, as it were). She uses some of the most effective and unobvious (Can I say that? Is that a word?) images to connect you to her situation and her message. If you're a fan of the stylings of Regina Spektor or Fiona Apple, you'll definitely find a gem in Ingrid Michaelson. She can hold her own with them musically and vocally, and she surpasses them lyrically. She's the type of musician that makes you smack your forehead because you don't live anywhere near her (at least I don't, you lucky bandersnatches in New York!). She's got herself an awesome following in NYC, and is a regular performer at several of the city's music clubs.

If Radiohead's "OK Computer" is a 10 out of 10, and The Spice Girls are somewhere around a 2 out of 10, then Ingrid's album is a 9.5 out of 10.

So here's a couple of downloads that you should all be pouncing on before you promptly head over to her MySpace page or Official Website and buy your own copy of "Girls and Boys" from iTunes or CD Baby:

Downloads:
Ingrid Michaelson - Breakable.mp3 (full song) *
Ingrid Michaelson - Die Alone.mp3 (sample song) *
Ingrid Michaelson - Masochist.mp3 (sample song)
Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am.mp3 (sample song)
Ingrid Michaelson - Corner of Your Heart.mp3 (sample song) *

*personal favorites

And out of respect for Sleater-Kinney (RIP):
Sleater-Kinney - One Song For You.mp3
Sleater-Kinney - Get Up.mp3

+joe

My Interview With Tapes 'N Tapes

2006-06-26T18:26:00.000-05:00

Here's the interview I did for MammothPress.com:

Some bands have all the fun, and Tapes ‘N Tapes is most certainly one such band. Through their incredible grassroots following and plenty of internet-related attention "The Brothers Tapes" have risen up from obscurity to become one of the most blogged about (and subsequently talked about) bands of the year. Connecting to their audiences with their quirky, anthemic songs, Tapes ‘N Tapes has been touring the country and selling out nearly half of their shows on their most recent tour. Stylistically, it’s impossible not to mention Pavement as a clear influence, but these boys have their own characteristics to bring to the table. With the occasional appearance of keyboards and horns, they bring a sound that’s all their own.

I sat down on the phone the other day with Matt Kretzman, the band’s keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist, to discuss the formation of the band, the "hype" that’s encircled them, the backlash to that "hype", their recent signing with XL Recordings, their hometown (Minneapolis), and their most recent tour with the Cold War Kids and Figurines.

Hey Matt. How’re you doing?

Good. How are you, Joe?

Doing alright. Are you guys on the road at the moment?

We’re actually in Seattle. Were just finishing up lunch, having a little sushi here. We’ve got a driving day, a couple days to get to Salt Lake [City]. So we’re enjoying the city a little bit.

You play keyboards, percussion, do some vocals and stuff like that for the band, but you didn’t always do that, right? I mean, you kind of switched around what you’ve played as the band changed its lineup, right?

Yeah. Initially, at the start of the band, Josh and his room mate Steve were both guitar players. I’ve played horn, basically my whole life–trombone, euphonium, and stuff. They were like, ‘Oh...You can play bass.’ So, to start the band we kind of scrounged up a bass, and they taught me how to play bass. I played along with...like Doolittle and stuff like that. That was kind of the initial incarnation of the band. It was us three and a CD player with drum tracks on it that Josh would make. Obviously that wasn’t the...uh [laughs]...the hottest rock line up. Eventually Steve went off to grad school, and we got a real drummer. Then I would kind of do bass and some keyboards. So it was a three piece for a while. Then I took a year and actually lived here in Seattle. Then it kind of made sense...I moved back in the late summer, a few months before the record came out. I always wanted to be there, you know. It was tough for me to move out here, but I just kind of needed a break for other reasons. So it just kind of made sense for me to rejoin the band and play keyboards, cause I was an adequate bass player, but not good, you know? [laughs] It made sense to just play the keys and do this other stuff because it enables us to really reproduce the records in the live setting a lot more faithfully than as a three-piece. In the three-piece we were always scrambling trying to figure out how to flush the songs out right. I think the band just works better as a four-piece for me too because I don’t have the responsibility of playing bass [laughs].

That’s good. I’ve played bass for nine years, and I’m not any better than when I started so I understand. At this point, though, am I right to say that there is only one song in the set that you guys actually need to use a CD player or pre-recorded track for, and that’s "Omaha"?

Yeah. We do it on an iPod now because we would run into problems occasionally with the CD player skipping. It was a really sh*tty little CD player. So we thought, ‘Well, that’s kind of stupid. Why don’t we just put it on the iPod?’ So we put the Omaha sample on the iPod. It kind of works out.

I know you don’t write the lyrics, Josh does, and I know that you guys don’t even know half the time why he writes what does. But I’m talking to you from Omaha so I have to ask, do you have any idea what the song "Omaha" is about?

Yeah. It’s a funny story actually. It was a couple of years ago Josh and the early drummer Carl were at a Yeah Yeah Yeahs show at First Ave. [a venue] in Minneapolis. I think it was an "all ages" show or something like that. There were these couple of kids there talking to each other and they were like, ‘Yeah...’ It was a couple of years ago when Bright Eyes and Saddle Creek were like the hot thing. You know Omaha was like on the map of indie rock, and these kids were like, ‘Oh Yeah Yeah Yeahs are from Omaha, and Bright Eyes...’ and then they basically listed off the entire Saddle Creek roster whether or not the bands were from Omaha or not. Josh and Carl thought it was really funny. So there is kind of an ironic story behind it.

I totally understand. There’s a lot of kids here that are into that. Speaking of which, what kind of audiences do you guys get at your shows? I mean, you’ve been a really big buzz band for a while now, and lot of people who tend to focus on buzz bands are the "cooler than thou" type. Have you encountered quite a lot of fans who are genuinely into your music on the tour?

Definitely. I’m sure there are people who just really read the blogs or something, or maybe there are critics and people who just want to see what its about. But we do genuinely have fans now. Especially like playing here in Seattle on KEXP has been really supportive. They play the record a lot, you know. And we sold out The Crocodile last night. People are into the band. I don’t think it’s a fad. It’s been a great tour. We’ve probably sold out like...half our shows.

Yeah, I’ve noticed!

There’s been no "stinker" in the bunch. It’s definitely something we’re cognizant of. The reason we tour is because we want to put the live show out there, and cultivate fans. You know? I think our live show is like the record and more because we’ve been playing the songs for a year now. A lot of them are way better, I think, now. Some of them were pretty fresh when the recording process was going on. There’s a little bit more to it now. It’s fun.

You guys have been writing some material along the road, maybe in between shows, right? That is...since you’ve cut the record, has there been any writing going on?

Yeah, there’s been a little bit. We’ve been so swamped with touring. We were in the UK for two weeks and then we went home for three days. That’s not really any time to go, "Hey let’s go write before we go tour for another three and a half weeks!" I think we’re realistic about it, but there’s definitely stuff we work on. Sometimes with sound checks we have time we can play around and stuff. But mostly I think we’re kind of setting our sights on...You know we’re going to tour, we’re going to have a couple weeks in July to work on some stuff, and hopefully when we go out with the Futureheads, and play some of these festivals later in the summer we’ll have a couple of new ones [songs] to try out. It is fun to test your new material a little bit and play with it a bit before you sit down to record it. It’s hard to write on the road, though. I mean, we tour in a small van, you know, and if anyone wanted to pull out an acoustic guitar [to write] I think they would get shot down pretty fast.

With the sheer amount of touring you guys are doing, like with playing so many shows all together at South by Southwest, do you attribute a lot of your success not so much to hype, but to hard work? Cause you guys are clearly one of the more hard-working bands out there touring right now.

That’s definitely been our philosophy. It’s a job, you know? I mean obviously it’s more than a job, but I mean we take it very seriously. We’re serious about music. With the "hype" thing it’s been kind of funny because up until a few weeks a go when we signed with XL we didn’t have a publicist or anything like that. Every single article or major indie "props" was all them asking us to do stuff, all the way from Rolling Stone all the way down to "x-blog". We’ve gotten a couple reviews lately that have been like, "They’re over-hyped," or whatever, and it’s kind of a weird thing for us [laughs] to get ragged on for, you know?

You don’t contribute to it at all.

All we wanna do is go out and play shows and do our thing.

You seem to take all that rather light-heartedly. Are there days when it’s frustrating to read in like, the New York Sun, that you’re not all your hyped up to be or is it pretty easy to brush off?

Well, it’s just not in our control. I mean, people are going to say whatever they want, and to some extent we expect some sort of backlash because we have gotten so much good press. It happens to any band, unless you’re like Radiohead or Wilco or something like that. [Laughs] Deservingly so they don’t get any bad press, period. Especially for a new band with a lot of good press it’s just going to happen. I’ve kind of stopped trying to read...I mean, we don’t have time to read them anyways. We’re on the road. We don’t scour the internet. It stings a little bit sometimes.

Your humility as a band seems pretty consistent in everything from how you guys write your songs to how you perform to how you guys do interviews and press stuff. Is that something that you guys focus on because you’re aware that you’re coming out as a new band and you’re not going to be all arrogant, or is that just who you guys are naturally?

Yeah, that’s just who we are. I guess we’re just typically Midwestern. Well, Josh is from Oregon, but it’s kind of an ethic. I think we would just be uncomfortable if we started to get fresh haircuts and buy really expensive fancy things...leather jackets, things like that, you know?

Speaking of all that you just described....Has the deal you guys just made with XL enabled you, at least in idea, to move away from having to work normal jobs at home? Or have you already started moving away from that? And I mean, you guys tour so much, has it been hard to keep the jobs you have back home?

Yeah it was hard for many months-many, many months! Actually, I had to resign. It was like a voluntary resignation thing, mutual I guess. I was doing housing development project management stuff for an affordable-housing developer in Minneapolis. Before we went to the UK I was like, "Here’s what the next...indefinitely looks like." They were like, "You should just do that." Cause it just doesn’t work to be gone for long periods of time and come back to just have no idea what’s going on. Josh is keeping his job. He has been at his company for a few years and has a really good relationship, and they’re okay with it. It’s funny when the band stuff is going really well, and they see how well the band is doing, you almost get a "carte blanche"-"This is cool to have someone working here." But when he’s home in between tours I think he’s going to try and get some work done. Eric’s pretty much been doing music almost full time with some part time jobs. Jeremy’s pretty much the same, you know. He’s off of school doing some part time work. That’s what most of us are doing.

What made you guys pick XL? You kind of had a cornucopia of labels you could pick from. What did they offer you guys that sweetened the deal over other labels?

I think it’s total artistic freedom. If you look at their roster, it’s such a diverse roster. Every artist is pretty unique or different from each other. So that was kind of the feeling for us. We knew we weren’t ready for a major label. We just thought, for development, it would be great to go with an indie label. And it’s worked out really well.

Eventually you’ll be done with all this touring, and you’ll get to go home and have a rest for a while before you go in to record. Do you guys have any anxieties about going through the recording process now that you’re signed to XL?

At least right now I don’t think there’s any anxiety about that. We’re just going to hunker down in my basement during the winter and just try to work on new stuff. I don’t know. You know Josh comes up with ideas and structures. Usually it’s pretty loose, and generally writing is a pretty organic process. I have full confidence that we will be able to come up with good stuff. We’re definitely looking forward to it, for sure.

What do you guys listen to in the van when you drive around?

We try to mix it up. It’s usually whatever is n the iPod. Sometimes we do "shuffle" or whatever. We’ll listen to full records on the iPod and try not to repeat things the whole time. I really like that new "Destroyer" record. I think that’s great. I like Animal Collective. They’re not really new, but I like them. We listen to those Wire re-issues that just came out. "Chair Missing", Josh has been a fan of that for a long time, and I’m a fan of "Pink Flag". But I hadn’t heard "Chair Missing" and I was pretty blown away by that. Jeremy will get the iPod and do the whole 80s mix thing. Space Jams, or some [Uncle] Tupelo, or Wilco (obviously we like a lot) and Radiohead. So it’s all over the place.

You’ve just said you tastes are pretty "all over the place", but do you have a lot of artists that you can all agree on?

I think there’s definitely a mutual appreciation of each others taste.

Does everybody in the band like Pavement?

We have a running joke with the iPod, because every article is like, "Pixies or Pavement-esque". So whenever we get into the car we’re like, "Ok, so are we going to listen to Pixies or Pavement right now? Which one? Which one?" [Laughs] We all love those bands. There’s no major dissent I guess.

Well, I could just see if somebody loved rap and country and everybody else hated it.

Jeremy likes "Rush" and Josh hates "Rush". So that’s one. Phil Collins? [Laughs]

Hey! Hey! I’m a big Phil Collins fan.

[Laughs]

It seemed like you guys were saying for a while that Minneapolis wasn’t responding the same way a place like, say, New York would to your music. Has that started to lift at all, or have I misinterpreted that? Obviously there were people that liked you, but haven’t you said it’s not the same as when you went and sold out the Bowery Ballroom [a venue in New York]?

I think it’s just a case of being one of many local bands in a city. I think it’s definitely turning. We’ve got a great right-up from a critic after our last local show at Seventh Street Entry. I guess the true test will be when we’re playing the main room at First Avenue in July with Plastic Consolations. We were actually just talking about this over lunch. It’s like 1600 people. So we’re going to find out what we’re made of in town, [Laughs] you know? But we just haven’t been in town either in the last six months or so. I mean, our CD release party in November was pretty packed. It’s not like people hate us. It’s just kind of like we’re one of many. The other thing is the band has just gotten a lot better. We’ve developed a lot, and we do kind of stand out now.

What are some of your band’s favorite Minneapolis bands?

Currently?

Well, currently or of all time. Whichever comes to mind. I’m just thinking, there are several different areas of the country at the moment that have a lot of really decent artists coming out of them, and Minneapolis is one of them.

There’s this band called Duplomacy. Their record should be coming out some time soon. It’s take forever to get it out, but I think they’re going to do really well. I mean, people are going to like it. It’s definitely more mellow, but it’s just great, great pop songs. It’ll go over really well. Of course, Plastic Consolations are a phenomenal live show. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a chance to see them, but they’re amazing.

I haven’t, but I’m writing it down.

Yeah, like ridiculous guitar air-play...I’m trying to think...I’m a little out of touch myself.

It’s okay, don’t worry about it. What are your band’s favorite songs to perform? Are there times when you’re approaching a song on a given night, and suddenly the band is like, "Oh yes! We get to play this song," and everybody kind of loves it? Or is it just kind of all over the place whether somebody is really feeling that song or not at a given moment?

It’s still really fun even though we’ve been playing "The Loon" for quite a while now. It actually still feels like it’s really fresh. So playing it for new people keeps it interesting for us. I don’t know about the other guys. Personally, "Jakov’s" ["Jakov’s Suite"] is always fun to play. We usually play it towards the end of the set, and it’s like an ultimate release song. That one get’s pretty huge live. I would say that one especially.

The current tour you guys are on seems to be doing really well, with Cold War Kids and Figurines. What is this touring experience like? Is it what you were expecting it to be from a certain perspective or does it go beyond your expectations as far as turnout and everything else?

It’s been really awesome. I think it’s the Figurines first major U.S. tour. I think they were at South By Southwest this year, and came up the west coast a little bit. We’ve played with Cold War Kids at a couple shows in L.A. after South by Southwest. So we kind of knew those guys, but it’s been great. We’re all buddies now, and there’s a great mutual respect for each other musically. I think we’re all different enough. The crowds have been really receptive to all the bands, which is kind of all you can ask for, you know.

Who are your audiences? From what you can see up on the stage does there seem to be a certain age range, or a couple that have a strong presence?

I would say it’s probably the 20 to 30 range. Last night was all ages, so there were probably some younger folks there. There’ll be some "silver foxes" in the crowd every now and then. It’s a mix, but it goes above the 20-30 for sure. Primarily, though, it’s 20-30, for sure.

Thanks very much Matt.

You’re welcome.
-----------------------------------
After the interview, I had the pleasure of attending the final show of the Tapes ‘N Tapes/Cold War Kids/Figurines tour here in Omaha, Nebraska. All three bands surpassed my expectations, and Tapes ‘N Tapes proved to this fan that they can live up to the hype. Be sure to catch them, if you can, on their upcoming tour with the Futureheads. Head over to TapesNTapes.com for show dates and locations.

Don't forget the contest we have running here to win a free signed 7" limited edition vinyl of the Tapes 'N Tapes Single "Insistor": click here to check it out.

Unrelated Downloads:
Radiohead vs Coldplay - High & Dry/The Scientist.mp3
Radiohead - How I Made My Millions.mp3
Radiohead - Killer Cars.mp3
Radiohead - How Can You Be Sure?.mp3
Radiohead - Maquiladora.mp3

+joe

Jim Noir's "Tower of Love" CD Review/Preview

2006-06-25T16:05:00.000-05:00

A week or so ago I recieved a copy of Jim Noir's upcoming LP "Tower of Love" from Barsuk in the mail with my promo copy of The Long Winters' highly anticipated upcoming album "Putting the Days to Bed". Needless to say I hadn't given it much of a listen since I dove straight in to The Long Winters' album first thing. When I finally did get around to it I realized what a mistake it was to brush this release off without any thought.

What I found in "Tower of Love" is an imaginative take on 1950s & 1960s British pop-rock. Jim's voice is incredibly beautiful and plaintive, and his music is no different. At times, sounding like the soundtrack to Edward Scissorhands ("Turbulent Weather") and at other times like The White Stripes ("My Patch"). It's hard to describe Jim in any other way than as this incredible blend of sounds. Though I hate to describe one band in terms of others, it just seems appropriate in Jim Noir's case because he really draws from a plethora of distinct sounds and pushes them together. Sometimes it sounds kitschy, but if you give it a good listen you begin to see that Jim is more of a bridge to yesterday than a copycat. As you move through the CD you can almost hear the evolution of pop-rock music from the mid-twentieth century up to today. It's really interesting from that perspective.

It becomes difficult to pull any tracks out as better than the rest since the CD works in that linear fashion, but some of the ones I find myself listening to the most are as follows (with downloads):

Jim Noir - My Patch.mp3
Jim Noir - Computer Song.mp3

Yeah, only two for download, since I really don't want to get in trouble or hurt sales for this guy by spreading too many tracks. Just take my word for it that if the description sounds good it's a sure thing so go buy it when it comes out on August 8th. I expect to see more of these tracks ("Key of C") as background music in more commercials anyway, so you've just got to own it!

EDIT: REPOST>> Sigmatropic & Cat Power - Haiku Ten.mp3

+joe

Tapes 'N Tapes Contest and Show Review

2006-06-24T01:49:00.000-05:00

Hey there! You look sad! Would a signed copy (by all 4 members) of Tapes 'N Tapes single "Insistor" (with "Crazy Eights" on it as well) on limited edition 7" vinyl do the trick? It would!? Wonderful! The Brothers Tapes were kind enough to sign this copy for me, and I have nothing to play vinyl on! Anyway, here's how this contest works. You come up with the most original idea for a cover song you would like to hear Tapes 'N Tapes do at a show and I'll pick the one I like the most to win this awesome record! Pull out all the stops on this one people. I don't want to see stuff like "Freebird" or "Bird on a Wire" or something that gets covered all the time like that. Post your idea in the comments section of this post. I'll pick a winner next Friday night/Saturday morning so have yours in by then. Only one entry per person, so give it some thought. oh, and if you suggest Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" I'll tell you that you've won and get your address and send you a bomb instead of the record, okay? Okay.

EDIT: Please include your contact info. If you've already posted without your contact just shoot me an email (jszczepaniak@gmail.com) with your contact info in it. Thanks!

So the show tonight was amazing. It was the final night of the Cold War Kids/Figurines/Tapes 'N Tapes Summer Tour, and you can be sure that the bands made it worthwhile. Cold War Kids opened up with an amazing set. They move around so much on stage and bump into each other on purpose, so it was a lot of fun to watch. I was surprised at how good their backup vocals (from the guitarist) were. The band was totally on top of their game, and played my favorite two songs during the set: "Hang Me Up To Dry" and "Hospital Beds". They were really stand-up guys when I met them after the show, too. Josh from Tapes 'N Tapes joined them on a song to play the tamborine and cause good-natured trouble on stage. An incredibly electric performance!

Figurines were the "tightest" band (in an instrumental sense) all night, but their singer was a bit tired looking, and was a bit flat most of the time despite having some really smooth pipes. They got a pretty poor response from the audience, which was not deserved, but, oh well.

Tapes 'N Tapes were everything they said they would be. They pulled out all the stops and went nuts on stage. The do an amazing job of translating their songs for the stage. They played a good many songs including "Manitoba", "Omaha" (my favorite), "In Houston", "Insistor", "Cowbell", "Crazy Eights" and others. I can't remember if they ran through the entire CD or not, but they must've gotten close. They finished off by having nearly every member of the other two bands come up for their last song. There were 4 percussionists, 4 guitarists, 1 bassist, and Matt on keys and tamborine. It was amazing! Tapes came out for an encore as well, and played 2 songs which makes me think they must've played the whole CD. Again, though, I can't remember.

All in all, it was a great show. Was it the most amazing experience of my life? No. Was it the best experience of my summer so far? Definitely. Make sure you head over to their official site and see if they're coming anywhere near you on their coming tour with The Futureheads.

Downloads:
Tapes 'N Tapes - Frankfurt (Awesome Remix).mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - 50s Parking.mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - Crazy Eights.mp3
Cold War Kids - Hang Me Out to Dry.mp3

Links:
Tapes 'N Tapes' Official Website
Cold War Kids' Official Website
Figurines' Official Website

+joe

Go on...Take One For the Team!

2006-06-21T20:06:00.000-05:00

One of the principle reasons that I stay away from most "powerpop" bands is because they have a tendency to make mundane things sound epic. In general, I like my coffee black, and I like my mundane to be mudane and my epic to be epic. One For the Team, a Minneapolis powerpop sextet, has stolen my heart, alas. They make epic songs sound even more epic and dramatic. I'm not sure how anyone else came across them, but I found them surfing MySpace looking for upcoming gigs in Omaha. These guys will apparently be playing at the Manhattan Club on Aug 17 at 8pm! If you like good rock and roll, good pop, or ride the fence a bit like me--there's a pretty good chance you're going to enjoy these good folks. They've got 4 songs on their MySpace you can listen to, but I have found it can be much easier to just buy the album and quit kidding yourself. You can buy the album, "Good Boys Don't Make Noise", from a link on their MySpace page or from their record company, Afternoon Records.

The whole album is pretty awesome, but the song that impressed me most was "Tame the Beast". At 2 minutes and 13 seconds into the song begins some of the most solid yet simple guitar work I've heard in a while, and you can really begin to bang you head a bit at that point. So here it is for your downloading pleasure:

Download:
One For the Team - Tame the Beast.mp3

Go on, it wont bite...hard!

+joe

Maria Taylor Performs Xanax Video

2006-06-21T10:25:00.000-05:00

Maria Taylor is one of the most talented voices in the music industry today, and her songwriting is incredible on top of that. Her song "Xanax" was the first song to ever shoot to the top of my most played list. Usually I vary it up a but, but when I first got Xanax I didn't stop listening for 68 hours straight. It's still one of my favorites, and so I had to share this with you all. ScheduleTwo.com is a website that features high-quality videos and MP3s from some of the best independent artists around (Voxtrot, Akron/Family, Maria Taylor, Tapes 'N Tapes, Mates of State coming soon, and more). S.T. has 3 other videos (4 total) of Maria Taylor's set from the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, MN on April 5th 2006. I'm a huge fan of Maria's, whether she's performing solo or with the wonderful Orenda Fink in Azure Ray (or even in Now It's Overhead). If you're a fan at all you'll be missing out if you don't go check these videos out. While you're there look around the site for a while. It's an awesome place!

Now, I know it's a re-post, but that was long ago, so here's an MP3 of the album version:
Download>>Maria Taylor - Xanax.mp3

Links:
ScheduleTwo.com
Saddle Creek Records
Azure Ray's Official Website

+joe

MP3s of My Favorite Cover Songs from YouTube.com

2006-06-19T23:45:00.000-05:00

Most everyone these days knows what YouTube is. And most everyone knows that people like to post videos of themselves playing their favorite songs, and singing along. More than not, these performances are "lackluster" to say the least. However, there are a number of performers that do decent service to the artists they are covering. There are some people who've just got the talent. I scoured aroudn today looking for the best covers of some of my favorite songs and made MP3 versions of the songs for your listening enjoyment:

From a user named Cougarman7:
*Doron Diamond - For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti (Sufjan Stevens cover).mp3
*Doron Diamond & Sarah Dyer- For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti (duet Sufjan Stevens cover).mp3

From a user named moremidnight:
*Paul (moremidnight) - First Day of My Life (Bright Eyes cover).mp3

From a user named Flash06:
*Flash06 - Delicate (Damien Rice cover).mp3
*Flash06 - Amie (Damien Rice cover).mp3

Enjoy those folks. Hopefully I'll be able to make a post once a week featuring the best of YouTube covers, but it remains to be seen if there is enough good material out there.

+joe

A Groovy Entry in the Pom Pom Diary

2006-06-19T16:20:00.000-05:00

Allow me to introduce you to Pom Pom Diary, an awesome Indie New Wave/Electronica band hailing from California. The duo is comprised of Paul Finch, a talented DJ, and Paul Fontanas, an experienced rock musician. As if yet the band is unsigned, and I'm currently trying to convince them to sign with Saddle Creek Records (which is located here in my hometown--Omaha, Nebraska). If you like 80s retro-synth and catchy hooks you'll have fun letting loose to these guys. They remind me of The Faint and Ladytron. Head over to their MySpace page or their official website to hear some of their awesome tracks. Below is the music video for their song "Thursday", which you should enjoy promptly!

Thursday
By Pom Pom Diary
BestVideoCodes.com

EDIT* Just a note, Stage Hymns favorite Kid Harpoon will be releasing his single "Riverside" next week, June 26th. You can pre-order the single now from the following two websites on both 7" Vinyl & Enhanced CD:

www.hmv.co.uk
www.puregroove.co.uk

+joe

Bright Eyes plays a free hometown show

2006-06-17T16:54:00.000-05:00

I will be the first to admit that I've always had a conflicted opinion of Conor Oberst's music. I've got the entire "Bright Eyes" music catalogue, but I am known to question his opinion of his hometown, and his political views. Tonight he played a free show here in Omaha, Nebraska. I knew it was going to be interesting to see him come play in his hometown for all these people that he's written songs about.

After playing at Bonnaroo just yesterday, I assume he flew in to play today. That's a pretty busy weekend, no? Opening for Oberst were Neva Dinova and Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals. We missed Neva, and we came in just in time to see Gruff Rhys. The park was full of people when we got there (yes, I took the lady along). Gruff was hysterical! He was so self-effacing and witty. If you ever get the chance you must go see him play. He'd say things like, "That song was about snakes...and sh*t...yeah." or "This next song is actually exactly like the last song." and "This song was inspired by a visit to a pirate ship...in a mall...in Canada. Yeaaarrrrr. It's about pirates!" At one point he hit the "demo" button on a cheap kids synthesizer and smoked a cigarette for a while. Riotous!

So, anyway it started to rain just as Bright Eyes was getting ready. It only drizzled for the first few songs. Me an my girlfriend tried to stay. We hid under a tree just out of view of the stage for about 15 minutes. I actually stood there with the lawnchair folded up over her head to keep her dry the whole time, and was consequently soaking wet. We left after about 7 songs just as "Lover I Don't Have to Love" came on. I was so miffed that we were leaving as soon as I heard the intro. But you don't want to hear about me! You want to hear about Conor!!

So he plays a pretty darn good show. Even though he acknowledged that the city mayor was in the crowd he still swore and cursed as loud as he could when the song called for it. The band was in fine form, as well. It's nice how well the recordings translated to a live performance. His voice is really getting better. It's much stronger now. Our little indie-rock-boy is becoming a man! He still seems so lonely, though! Since it was raining he played a lot of songs that mentioned rain, appropriately. Highlights included "Lover I Don't Have to Love", "Poison Oak", "Ship in a Bottle", "Bowl of Oranges", and "First Day of My Life". So here they are for your downloading pleasure:

Download:
Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life.mp3
Bright Eyes - Lover I Don't Have to Love.mp3
Bright Eyes - Poison Oak.mp3
Bright Eyes - Ship in a Bottle.mp3
Bright Eyes - Bowl of Oranges.mp3

Links:
Bright Eyes on Myspace
Bright Eyes on Saddle Creek's Website

+joe

7 Beck B-Sides & Obscurities

2006-06-16T23:57:00.000-05:00

Well, Bright Eyes will be in town today (Saturday), playing for free just a few miles from my house in Memorial Park. I really have to wonder what type of crowd there will be, though. We've got a lot of "Emo" kids here in Omaha, but also plenty of people who go to anything free, especially adults. I can just see Connor performing "Lover I don't Have To Love" or "The City Has Sex" in front of 200 families with their children...yikes! I mean, how "indie" can it be when the city Mayor personally invites you to play a free show in a park? I don't know. Anyway, so maybe some Bright Eyes songs will be up in the next post, but this one's all about Beck. Why? Because I love him, and because I love you, and because you love him. So I went digging for some b-sides and stuff from his more obscure albums. Enjoy:

Downloads:
Beck - Halo of Gold.mp3 (an old favorite--Beck belches at 3:06 in the song)
Beck - Brother.mp3
Beck - Feather in Your Cap.mp3
Beck - O Maria.mp3 (another favorite, you must download this one)
Beck - Mixed Business (Cornelius Remix).mp3
Beck - Nobody's Fault but My Own.mp3
Beck - Mango (Vader Rocks!).mp3

Now, be afraid...be very afraid!

+joe

Don't miss the Boat! New CD and Tour Info!!

2006-06-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

Boat is a whimsical trio that's just waiting for you to pick them up and hold them. We've all heard some quirky indie rock, and we've all heard some light-hearted indie rock. While bands of this sort abound, it can be rather difficult to find talent among their ranks, since most such bands seem to be composed of people who aren't very serious at all about music. If I had to describe their sound in terms of other bands I would say that they tend to sound somewhat like The Shins with more background vocals all played through that distortion filter the Snow Patrol guy uses on his voice for all his songs...Oh, and with a bit extra reverb.

Well, if you haven't heard of Boat, they are a quirky band, and their sound is undoubtedly light-hearted, but they definitely know how to make serious music. Strange for a band that has the sillyness to name Diet Pepsi as their official drink. Boat's whimical nature doesn't end there, though. They've got an EP with full album art of which there are only 7 copies in existence! Several of their album covers and bindings appear to be entirely hand-made. That really should give you some idea of what this band is like. They work very hard, and have a lot of fun.

If I'm not mistaken they have 2 EPs and 3 LPs (or 3 EPs and 2 LPs?) out right now, with a fourth(?) LP about to drop August 5th on Magic Marker Records. They have some tour dates from July 5th to August 5th to support their album release. The dates are listed below. If you head over to their site you can download a CD's worth of songs for free, but I highly recommend the following tracks:

Downloads:
Boat - Holding All The Globes.mp3 (my personal favorite)
Boat - Return of the Rainbow Shoelace.mp3
Boat - Lanterns and Laughing Ladies.mp3
Boat - The Bar is to Low to Fail.mp3

Links:
Official Boat Website
Boat on MySpace
Boat on PureVolume
Magic Marker Records

Tour Dates:
Jul 05 2006 - 8:00P - The Green Monkey Room, Bellingham, WA
Jul 06 2006 - 9:00P - The Towne Lounge, Portland, OR
Jul 07 2006 - 9:00P - The Hideout, Redding, CA
Jul 08 2006 - 9:00P - The Owl Club, Roseville, CA
Jul 10 2006 - 9:00P - Club Pow/The Press Club, Sacramento, CA
Jul 11 2006 - 6:00P - Buffalo Records (In-store), Ventura, CA
Jul 11 2006 - 8:00P - The Hard To Find Showspace, Goleta, CA
Jul 12 2006 - 8:00P - The Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, CA
Jul 13 2006 - 9:00P - TBA, Chico, CA
Jul 14 2006 - 9:00P - House Show TBA, Portland, OR
Aug 5 2006 - 9:00P - The Sunset Tavern (Record Release), Seattle, WA

+joe

The Second Post of The Day

2006-06-15T15:16:00.000-05:00

So, I've already made a post with some downloadable-comestibles or "downlestibles", but I need to make mention of something else. So when you're done reading this scroll down a few inches and read the regular post. Anyway, ThisCityRocks.com has just released Episode 2 of their awesome show. This week they feature a spacey-sounding band from the Vancouver area called Windows '78. If you're a fan of the stylings of OK Comp-era Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, or any other quirky semi-electro-minded bands you'll probably dig them. So get over there and let the beautiful Megan Cole introduce you to Windows '78.

"Elsewhere:"
What the heck is wrong with you people? What's so enthralling about kicking a ball with people from a different country? I'll never understand why a music blog, even ones that I love, would switch from music coverage to soccer coverage. It's just one of those things where you seem to be the only sane person, so you know you must actually be the only insane person.

+joe

Cover Songs: Radiohead, R.E.M., Leonard Cohen, The Guess Who

2006-06-15T03:14:00.000-05:00

Ok, folks. This is gonna be short and sweet. You, me, and four cover songs. Can you handle it?

Downloads:
Treas in Season - Street Spirit (Radiohead Cover).mp3
Butthole Surfers - The One I Love (R.E.M. Cover).mp3
Butthole Surfers - American Woman (The Guess Who Cover).mp3
Rogue Wave - Bird on a Wire (Leonard Cohen Cover).mp3

+joe

Two New Videos and a Download

2006-06-14T00:12:00.000-05:00

Okay folks, I've got two videos and a download for you today, so forgive me if I don't seem focused right now.

Kid Harpoon, my favorite swashbuckling englishman, has just released a video for his recent single "Riverside". The video is awesome, and you can watch it right here! If you like what he's doing you definitely should go buy the single and support an awesome musician.

I'm not sure where I found this next video, suffice to say it was one of the many blogs I read everyday. Let me introduce you to The Males, an all-girl British pseudo-glam-punk band. They're not big yet, but with an awesome song like this and the accompanying video they sure will be at some point. The video is poor quality, so forgive me, but the sound is good. Also, I can't find them on the internet, so help me out if you know their website/myspace page. Oh, and I'm sorry to say, but the sound is not quite lined up with the video. I don't know what happened there.

And finally, I've got a download for you-straight from Tegan and Sara. It's a remix of their song "Walking with a Ghost" done by The Rentals. It doesn't sound all that different from the original ar first, but if you pay attention you'll notice that they have added in a repeating sample from another part of the song (or so it sounds) that goes all throughout. This version has a lot more sonic depth to it than the original.

Download: Tegan and Sara - Walking With a Ghost (The Rentals Remix).mp3

+joe

An Interview with Triggerbox

2006-06-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

A while back I came across a UK-based band on MySpace called Triggerbox (F-Slip Records). They make incredibly catchy, sample-infused music. They have a rather unique sound, sounding at times like many distinct bands arranged together in some highly effective manner.. So I asked them to answer some questions, and they told me that they'd oblige. Well...things happened and they got busy, but eventually they sent me the answers, which was wonderful of them. It's a great little interview, with lots of good information from the band. The only problem is that my questions were so basic. Just keep in mind that the questions I asked were so basic because I was just getting started with this whole thing.

Now, without further ado, may I present the interview (with a couple of downloads at the end):

What does it take to "go back to your roots"?

Well.. we all started out loving loads of rock bands and all played in bands from really early on. JQ and Jake got into Jazz though and actually spent about 5 years diggin into that stuff, bebop, 4 years at Royal Academy, blah, blah. Then [we] realized the jazz life/form wasn't for us and soon found ourselves reunited with our original music roots, albeit from a different perspective.

How do you guys write music? Does everyone contribute to the writing?

The songs are written by JQ, but arranged by way of heated democracy.

What makes your songs so catchy? Does that happen naturally for you, or do you really work to refine songs into something catchy?

What makes our songs so catchy? You tell us :) No seriously, at the end of the day, even though we are a very loud band and like to rock out, some of our influences are quite poppy. Our melodies and such usually come quite naturally, it's more the actual arrangements that can take time.. but the aim of arranging is not necessarily to make it as catchy as poss [possible], going somewhere cool sonically is more exciting really..

How have you guys grown since being a 2-piece band? Initially you liked being a 2-piece band awhile ago, so why the change?

We did actually start as a 4-piece, then decided on quality over quantity and cut it to a 2-piece. We then got some free studio time with a production team and they suggested that we try out the songs with a bass player... hmf!! Basically, although it was really good fun playing as a 2-piece (we've known each other for a very long time), the type of music we make kinda does want a bigger band, harmonies, loads of vocals going on etc.. and yeah, we basically bumped into the best rock bass player we'd ever heard around that same time (Mitts), got tight with him and then decided to go all the way and invited Si onboard too..

How do the members of the band differ with their musical backgrounds? After all, two of you went to music academy, but not all of you...

Well, yeah it's nice to know that should we ever need a string arrangement or a choir or whatever, we can make it ourselves he he.. but at the end of the day, we're just 4 guys getting together to make music that we all like playing, and though we've all got quite a lot of experience already, one's gotta always be open for the real fun to happen...

Where do you guys see your band in 6 months, how about a year from now?

This time next year we're def [definitely] hoping to have our first full-length album out. And we'd REALLY like to be doing some more festivals next summer. WE LOVE PLAYIN LIVE!!!!

What's the most important thing about music to your band?

That it [music] matters to ourselves and other people

How do you guys translate your "sample-infused" songs for live stage performances? Do you hope to do it differently in the future?

Not much difference between recording and live versions really, we've always insisted on playing our samples live on this little Octapad, which we actually call the Triggerbox. (To the confusion of many a sound engineer, thinking 'what do you MEAN, 'turn up the triggerbox?'').. we'd like to get more samplers to play with at some point, but are pretty happy with how it's being done now I guess..

What is the strangest gig you guys have ever played, and what made it so strange?

Amongst us, we've played some proper crazy shows!!! But the one that springs to mind is def [definitely] our first show at some private party in Bethnal Green in this crappy, super moist music studio, with a really low ceiling that meant that if you were taller than 5ft 8in you were gonna bang your head into things...constantly. 'Twas mad, no stage, loads of people, moist drippin' all over the place, Mitts played the whole gig on his knees (!!!), tired from involuntary headbangin'. But the ladies loved it and we had an awesome night :)

Downloads:
Triggerbox - Technoboy.mp3
Triggerbox - New Mind.mp3
Triggerbox - Morning After.mp3

Links:
Triggerbox's Official Website
Triggerbox on MySpace

+joe

Rose Polenzani: An Interview Face to Face

2006-06-12T00:45:00.000-05:00

Well, it finally happened. I was able to sit down and have a face-to-face interview with artist Rose Polenzani and her awesome guitarist Austin Nevins. before and during a recent show of hers here in Omaha, Nebraska. I recorded the entire interview, and had to listen to it in order to make this transcript. After hearing myself I have to wonder how they didn't laugh me out of the venue. I was so nervous, though, so I just said the stupidest things I think I've ever said in my life. You know how it is when you meet someone with so many expectations and they really seem to go above and beyond all of them? Anyway, here is the interview, and a couple more downloads of her songs at the end of the post.

She played an amazing set, with some of my favorites of hers. She played a few cover songs, including her amazing versions of DCFC's "Soul Meets Body" and Leonard Cohen's "Bird on the Wire". Unfortunately I had to miss her second set, but what I did see (and heard) was beautiful. I couldn't believe we were in some bar in Nebraska listening to this amazing music being made.

You guys seem a little wiped. In general, has the tour been a draining experience?

Rose: I think any tour would be up and down. You know, there have been days on the tour so far I kind of buoyed, and other days when I was like, "I can't believe this is going on." But I feel like... driving hasn't actually been that bad. I haven't ever arrived in a town yet, and been like, "Oh, my god! I can't believe I have to play." I mean, we may have seemed tired.

Austin: I think, like, [it's been] rough sleep for me, I don't know about you [looks at Rose].

Rose: Every night in a different bed...

Austin: It's pretty rare that I get a full night of sleep, which I would normally get at home, but we've had plety of time to do things, so it's our own fault.

Rose: Being on the road is mostly great cause you meet new people all the time, and that's really inspiring. It's a boost.

Austin: It's easy to get lulled into the situation we have back at home where it's a great music community, and we have all our friends that we play with. We're pretty isolated up there, and so this sort of makes us realize that there's a whole world outside of our community.

At home, do you have more of what you might call a following?

Rose: Yeah, and actually, there are other towns that we've gone to more often than Omaha. And we have a good following on the east coast. To some extent we have a good following in the Midwest, like in Chicago, and in Madison...I'd say my following in Chicago and Madison is comparable to my following in Boston. If I could describe it without sounding really full of myself, it would be ardent but modest. They're really good fans, but it's not a huge crowd.

What do you guys listen to in the car, and have you gotten sick of it?

Rose: What I'm sick of is myself. We've been listening mostly to other things, but we'll get some CDs from live shows, and I'll put them in, and within two songs I'm like, "I'm taking it out." But we do have some things we're dying over in the car. Right now I think, Neko Case, the new CD we just got in Austin, but we've listened to it everyday. I'm crazy about Ron Sexsmith, and I have a "Best of" that I made which we listen to a lot. I'm also crazy about Ana Egge, who we just played with...

Austin: We'd like some books on tape, but we don't have any of those.

Rose: We forgot to bring any. NPR just fades out so fast, you know, they have weak signals. We heard some nice NPR today in Iowa.

Austin: This might be in answer to the previous question, when we were talking about fans. Rose has one particular fan that did something to himself. [looking at Rose] I don't know if you want to share that...

Rose: In Atlanta, there's a guy named Mikey R--, and I met him when he was living in Pittsburgh. He came to a show, and after the show he asked me to sign a CD, and then he said, "I have this other question. Would you mind signing my a**?" And I was like, "Sure." Cause how often does that happen...So I signed it, and then I left town. And the next time I came to town he came up to me, and he said, "I hope you're not going to be mad, but the next day I went and I had it [the signature] tattooed."

I have to ask..You see, I am in love with steak. I have a love affair with beef. But I don't think that people who are vegetarian are crazy or anything, I can really appreciate it...I was just going to ask why are you guys vegetarian?

Rose: My vegetarianism has changed so much over the years, as what I eat and what I don't eat, and I'm not vegetarian anymore. I eat vegan at home, but when I'm out I'll eat fish, when I'm at somebody's house and they serve me chicken I'll eat chicken. I never eat dairy, cause I've found out that I'm allergic to it. But when I first started to be a vegetarian it was because of River Phoenix, because I was obsessed with him, and he was vegetarian. He was vegan...I researched it a little bit, but not much. So then I was a vegetarian for a couple of years, and then I became a vegan when I was eighteen. A week later I had so much energy, and I realized that I must've been allergic to something, and through process of elimination--I brought eggs back into my diet, and then fish, and the only thing that was left was dairy.

Austin: I remember when I was sixteen and it was Thanksgiving, and I thought it was kind of strange that in celebration of this holiday that all these Turkey's are dying. That was the thought when I was sixteen. So I think I became vegetarian the next day. Of course I ate turkey that day. It's easy to be vegetarian now cause there's a lot of different options. I would kill the animal if I needed to, and so the biggest problem that I have is the disconnect for people who just go into the store, and just grab a package of meat, and the don't really see where that came from. If I was raised, maybe as a Native American where they use everything, I could see doing it, but since where we are it's so easy to be a vegetarian I went down that path.

Rose:...we were thinking of opening one [a vegetarian restaurant] since I love to cook and Austin loves to...

Austin: I love to eat!

I read somewhere that you've recorded with a four-track that you got from someone in your family, and you just taught yourself to use it. Have you had any training musically, or have you taught yourself to sing and play like you did with the recording process?

Rose: I've never had any training in an instrument except for piano, which I barely ever use.

Austin: I went to Berkeley College of Music out of High School. I sort of graduated as fast as could. I feel like that's not really where we all [referring to their circle of musician friends in Boston] learned to play, but I met great people there. It was a great experience, but I think you don't really learn to play there, necessarily, but I still have friends that I met there. In Boston you don't actually want to say that you went to Berkeley, yet everyone at one point has, save for Rose, but most people there [in Boston] have. There's a negative connotation that if you've gone to music school then you're going to play a certain way, but it's just information and people are going to do different things with it.

What hopes do you guys have for the music industry? What do you want to see happen in it?

Rose: We have one idea that we just came up with today. Should we lay it on him?

Austin: I'm blanking on what it is, but yeah...

Rose: It's so silly, but I think on our next record we're going to start a trend...You know when the record ends in the car, it starts again, then we hit eject. It almost feels like the first song came on during the credits. Wouldn't be cool on this next record if the first song came on again, but softer, and a voice would come on and say, "On track one, this person played this, and this person played that." Since everything is going digital now, you don't get to see the credits on the record.

Austin: That's very specific, Rose...I think he's looking for a more general idea.

Rose: I know, I know. What I always say is that I just can't wait to see what will happen. It's going to be so different, and I feel like independent labels are so much more important than they ever were before. Major labels are so much less important than they ever were before, and they're losing money like crazy. They're starting to make ridiculous deals with people with all kinds of ways to make money off of people. And it's becoming so funny.

Austin: And everyone can record at home and it sounds beautiful, so the need for the record companies is becoming much less.

Rose: What I want to see is more grants being given to the arts.

Austin: We want to be Canada!

Rose: We want to be Canada. I feel the biggest thing that's lacking for us right now is tour support. I think grants would fill in that hole.

So what comes after the tour for both of you? What will you guys do next?

Rose: Well, I've got a couple of projects that have to do with my music. I'm finishing a record that I collaborated with a band called Session Americana on, all live in the studio. They're starting to branch out. Then I want to make my solo record. I think I'm leaning towards doing that again, and recording alone.

Austin: I am probably just going to go back home and be finishing an album that I'm recording. I'm working on a few other albums coming up. That's about it. I teach guitar as well...Nothing too, extraordinary. That's all. Probably be sleeping well, for once in my life.

Downloads:
Rose Polenzani - How Shall I Love Thee?
Rose Polenzani - This Bitter Heart

Be her friend on MySpace!

+joe

Sorry for the silence...

2006-06-11T05:49:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone or anyone. I must apologize for the silence over the past three days. I did get to go and see Rose Polenzani on Thursday night, and she was amazing. Her and Austin, her guitarist, blew me away with their awesome performance, as well as with their enthusiasm to be interviewed. It was a great experience for my first face-to-face interview. I'll have the results of that posted later on today (Sunday).

Speaking of interviews, though, I've got a few really good ones in the works. Chicago-based Office will be answering some questions of mine sometime in the near future, and I've been told that I'll be doing a phone-interview with Barsuk's The Long Winters before their album is released next month. The Long Winters interview is the first assignment I've been given from Mammoth Press, for whom I am officially beginning to write for. I will, of course, be keeping pace here at Stage Hymns, my first love. I think that it's going to be an amazing experience, though, and will definitely help me raise the bar of excellence for this here blog.

So look out later today for that interview with Rose Polenzani, as well as some nice downloads from her and some other tantalizing tracks!

Oh! And before I forget, My Brightest Diamond has signed to Asthmatic Kitty! But you probably knew that already you savvy hipster.

+joe

Excited about an Office?

2006-06-08T01:52:00.000-05:00

Well if you aren't then you haven't heard of Chicago-based wünderkind Office. Their name may have seemingly boring connotations, but their music will make you smile and dance. That's right...smile...and dance. Although they seem to have escape some well-desrved buzz for quite a while, now they've gone and gotten themselves a spot as the iTunes featured download of the week with their toe-tapping single, "Wound Up". Their album "Q&A" is really something special. It's well produced, well written, and well performed feel-good music. The good people at Shake Your Fist got an interview with the band last month that was very insightful, showing the band to be a class-act with humility. Check out the interview, and then hit up their MySpace page and make nice by buying their album (push the paypal button). If you have a copy of the iTunes software, then hit the Music Store and download "Wound Up".

I like how Connor calls them the "one that pitchfork missed".

Downloads:
Office - Q&A.mp3
Office - Possibilities.mp3

+joe

GvB on Blogger Radio/Upcoming Regina Spektor

2006-06-07T21:37:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

I'm sitting in my favorite coffee shop listening to Chris from GorillaVsBear.net on Sirius Blog Radio. He's doing a mad awesome job, and I had to jump on here an recommend the two exclusive tracks he's played tonight. The first is "Paris is Burning" by St. Vincent. The second is a remix of Midlake's "Young Bride" by Cassettes Won't Listen. Both songs are phenomenal, so be sure to hit up the Hype Machine later in case someone has taken the opportunity to record them. If there's anything good in the world they will both be up within a few days.

I've also got a snippet of news from Regina Spektor. Many of you may know already, but she will be playing live at Tower Records. Here is her official post:

Come down to Tower Records (4th & Broadway) beginning at 9am on Tuesday, June 13th and be one of the first to buy Regina's new album and get a wristband for this exclusive performance and signing.

Man, you people in NYC get all the good shows guarenteed!

+joe

Chris Garneau Video and a Motorhead Cover

2006-06-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

If any of you keep up with us here you know that Chris Garneau is a favorite of mine, and that he's got an awesome CD coming out soon that he's recording with fellow New Jersian, Duncan Sheik (THAT Duncan Sheik, yes) entitled "Music For Tourists". Yesterday he posted a music video for what I assume will be his first single, "Relief", which I've posted for download here a while ago. The song recording isn't the same as the one I had posted, so it sounds quite a bit different, but it's still great nonetheless. Also, just so you've got something to download, try on this punk-ish cover of Motorhead's "The Ace of Spades" by French electro-punk duo Pravda :: Check them out on MySpace, too.

Pravda - The Ace of Spades (Motorhead cover).mp3

+joe

Unnoticed Genius: Ingrid Michaelson!

2006-06-07T02:05:00.000-05:00

Ingrid Michaelson is amazing, and (unless you're a New Yorker) you've never heard of her! How can you sleep at night? When you've heard some of her music you'll ask yourself the same thing. I would say she's tows a line between Regina Spektor, Chris Garneau, and maybe Coldplay. She's got an amazing voice, which she uses interestingly, with a lot of subtle dynamics. My sister, a senior vocal performance major, says she loves Ingrid. So she's got to be good, right? If you like the piano + ensemble thing you'll love her. She writes such catchy, simple, and touching songs.

You can buy her second full-length album "Boys and Girls" at the EL Train Store here, and I urge you to do so, because you'll feel better about yourself after supporting such a talented artist. I have stopped listening to everything else for the past 24 hours. Do you understand???

Here are a couple of songs from her album, which you can hear on her MySpace page.

Downloads:

Ingrid Michaelson - Breakable.mp3 :: My favorite track of hers, one of the top 5 songs I've heard all year, hands down. It's catchy as all get-out, and at its climax it swells to an all-encompassing emotional roar.

Ingrid Michaelson - Die Alone.mp3 (sample) :: Another great track, but with somewhat more of a satirical viewpoint. In it she muses that after meeting someone, maybe she wont have to die alone.

+joe

What the World Needs Now...

2006-06-06T04:19:00.000-05:00

...is a live version of Coldplay attempting to sing "What the World Needs Now" before giving up rather quickly. But where do we search for this? How about at the end of this post!?

So, there's this kid at school who just graduated, and he was always really quiet in the computer lab, but he shared all his music on iTunes, and one day I went and burned a dvd with a bunch of his mp3s on it. I now have every song Beck has ever recorded (properly) which encompasses some crazy stuff. Anyway, amongst the Beck are some random things like this Coldplay song. It's barely over a minute long, but you've got to love it. Anyway, to make up for the short song I'll also be posting a ridiculous Beck song called "The Aphid Maure Heist Part III". Oh yeah! Have fun with that crap... Tomorrow I really hope to have an interview ready for you all, though, so be patient.

Also, coming up on the 22nd the Fiery Furnaces will be in town, and on the 23rd Tapes 'n Tapes will be playing with the Cold War Kids a few miles from my house, so I'll definitely be attending that. Anyway, maybe I'll score some nice shots or something interesting, like bandmember underpants.

Anyway, sorry for the wierd post, but it's too late, and I feel odd.

Coldplay - What the World Needs Now (live at the Commodore 2001).mp3
Beck - Aphid Manure Hiest Part III.mp3

+joe

A Rose in April is still a Rose in June

2006-06-05T02:43:00.000-05:00

I am so excited today. Back in April I made this post about 3 ladies, one of whom is Rose Polenzani (Daemon Records). Well, I was checking through her tour dates and saw that she's playing here in Omaha on Thursday! So I shot her an email and asked if she'd have time to do an interview before or after the show, which she agreed to! Rose is an extremely gifted (that's right, not just talented, but gifted) songwriter and singer. It's hard to not feel a good amount of emotion when listening to her music, whether it be melancholy, happiness, anger, humorousness, or any other.

So I knew I was going to have to do my research for this one, and in doing so I found that the openness and honesty so palpable in her songs is the very way she lives her life. She's posted frequently over the years on her website about her dreams, her musings, silly observations and a million other little things that are so enchanting. If you want a musician you can fall in love with don't look any further. She's been slowly rising through the "ranks" over the years since she began playing and writing. I'm not going to provide some fact-based bio on her any time soon (at least I don't think so), but I can't stress enough that you can know her through her music.

In celebration and anticipation of the awesome show and interview here are some amazing tracks from her (not a dud in the whole bunch, either):

Rose Polenzani - No One Knows.mp3
Rose Polenzani - I Have Seen a Light.mp3
Rose Polenzani - Soft Parts (live).mp3

Be her friend on MySpace, while you're at it! >> Rose's MySpace Page

Also, you absolutely need to check out this new indie-music video magazine/podcast thing called "This City Rocks". We all know that Canada has put out a good amount of great bands, and this particular site focuses on the music scene of Vancouver and the surrounding region. They've got an awesome host, Mc MC (Megan Cole), and just launched their first episode. So get over their before you look like a jerk when everyone else is watching this on their video ipods and you're not!

+joe

Have you Heard of Mara Carlyle?

2006-06-04T00:47:00.000-05:00

Mara Carlyle is a softly-singing nightengale, who will perch on your shoulder and sing to you in the moonlight if you let her. This UK-resident's music has all the stylistic qualities of post-civil-war southern folk from the US (think "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?") but her voice is almost smokey-jazz-lounge-eqsue (think 1930's New York). She's on Accidental Records, but it's no accident that I post about her today. This is great summer-evening music (at a party or by your lonesome). Mara employs several off-beat istruments including a ukulele and a saw, yes, a saw. Give her a listen and I'm sure you'll agree that she's a rare gem. Go on...download the free songs. They wont bite...

Mara Carlyle - Game For Fools.mp3
Mara Carlyle - I Blame You Not.mp3
Mara Carlyle - Baby Bloodheart.mp3

Then head over to her MySpace page for another song, "Saw Song":
& be her friend on MySpace, too!

+joe

...Said the Shark to the Boy

2006-06-03T03:18:00.000-05:00

Said the Shark is a talented Danish band that's got an album waiting to be released. We found each other through MySpace, and I knew right away that I had to do a post on these guys to introduce you all to them.

I don't want to go making any comparisons because they never do as much good as they do harm. So I'll just say that they have an incredibly settling and ambient feel to their music. The group is made up of only two members: Maya Saxell, and a boy named Kim Oxlund. Maya's voice could put your mother's lullabies to shame! If you like electronically infused (this is not electronically dominated) down-tempo music than you'll most likely be up for this. The band is obsessed with flying animal drawings and other silly imagery, so check out their site, SaidTheShark.com, cause it's a real visual treat. They say that their album is almost out, apparently working some bugs out of the whole thing. Be sure to watch for them. You'll be sure to know when their album arrives if you become their friends on their MySpace page and subscribe to their blog.

While you wait for their album, check out these downloads, which I lifted from MySpace since I'd be willing to bet that more of you will download them from here than would go to their MySpace page. Oh ye apathetic generation!

Downloads>>

Said the Shark - Runaround.mp3
Said the Shark - No Getting Over.mp3
Said the Shark - All You Want.mp3

+joe

Omaha, Somewhere in Middle America...

2006-06-02T01:34:00.000-05:00

Omaha, my hometown. It's where I write to you from this very moment. It's a great city. Every city has its problems, and we are no exception. But there is a peace about this city you just can't find in any other city of this size. A number of great musical acts have started here, and many others that formed nearby enough to think fondly of Omaha. Some don't though. Take Connor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Desaperacidos, and formerly drummer of Cursive and other bands) for example. He hates this place. He's got more songs about how crummy Omaha is than I've got fingers.

So when I hear a song that shows Omaha in a good light, I pretty much love it. Now, the whole world is capital-C Crazy for Tapes 'N Tapes. I hate listening to brand new buzz bands, though. It makes me physically ill. So I naturally avoided the Tapes 'N Tapes thing, not listening to anything of theirs. But I finally let myself listen to their song "Omaha". It's great! So sue me. But I'm not listening to anything else of theirs until you've all sufficiently forgotten about them. Anyway, here's a couple of Omaha songs that I've been known to listen to:

Downloads>>

Tapes 'N Tapes - Omaha.mp3
Counting Crows - Omaha.mp3
Groucho Marx - Omaha, Nebraska.mp3

+joe

An Interview with Page France!

2006-05-31T18:47:00.000-05:00

If you don't know about the band Page France, you may not be living under a rock, but you're missing out on something amazing. For those of you who do know the band, you are aware of just how rereshing their music, and more importantly, their lyrics can be. Mike Nau, the band's lead singer and principal writer has penned some of the most exciting metaphors and allegories I've ever heard in music. Matt, from YANP, did an interview with Mike Nau a while ago that was just great, which you should definitely check out. The band's answers to Matt's questions raised new questions in my mind, though, and I had to ask them of the band.

So, when they got home from their most recent tour, Mike sat his weary self down and kindly answered some questions that I had emailed him. I really tried to focus on asking questions that other interviews hadn't answered already, so they might seem kind of odd, but oh well...

First, since you're just coming off of a tour, I've got to ask this--Do you find that your perspective, or your voice with each song that you perform changes or evolves when you're on tour, performing it in front of people for the first time? Is there something inside you that's like, "Well, when I wrote this I was thinking...but with all these people here, I feel...about it now." ?

Yeah, I think so. Certain songs really come to life when we're playing them in front of people for the first time. I often get bored with songs - you know, the redundancy that goes hand-in-hand with touring, and playing the same batch of songs each night, so it is always very encouraging to look out, and realize that those same songs are actually fresh to everyone there. Sometimes it's easy to forget that.

In your interview with Matt over at You Aint No Picasso, you made an interesting statement in the last question he asked you. You said that you would be fulfilled as a musician if you were able to make a lot of albums and have good attendence at your shows. Every artist I've encountered has a goal, but few of them talk of being fulfilled. How might you explain this fulfillment, as opposed to meeting goals or reaching milestones?

Well, I believe that we're already fulfilled. I've never set any goals or milestones...this whole things just sort of snuck up on me, without any planning. I enjoy making records, and to be able to make a record that somebody on the other half of the Country enjoys listening to is just strange to me. It's overwhelming, and difficult to explain.

How much do you consider "the fans" when making songs, both lyrically and musically?

There's always a sense of wonder in the back of my head... you know, "what will people think of this?". However, I think that it's important to not get too caught up in it. I would never be able to complete a record if I wasn't doing it selfishly. I went through a phase where I worried so much about those things, and all that I ever got out of it became a few inches too close to a nervous breakdown. I just want to make records that I think are interesting...and hopefully listeners will find them positively stimulating in some way.

When writing lyrics you use a fair amount of metaphors. Lines like "A saw a flower on the doorstep makinglove with the sun, and it turned into a garden when they were done," really draw beautiful comparisons/metaphors, that sound too good to have come to you by accident. Where do you look, or how do you look to draw these metaphors and comparisons?

Most of the songs that I am most proud of do come spontaneously. I would like to say that I can sit down and make a flood come out of a rock, but it just doesn't work that way for me.

In researching for this interview, I have come across several reviews of your albums that express some amount of disconnection with your music's "world-view"; with you expressing a certain amount of child-like innocence. Do you feel that the world-view presented by your songs is "unrealistic" or do you feel that it is parallel to your own? For that matter, what's wrong with us "becoming like a child"?

I think that the records are very light-hearted, in a way. I write songs when I am in a particular state. I like the thought of having a featherchest. Of course, not everyone will agree and relate...sometimes, I don't even believe what I write, but I would like to.

When you finish recording an album's songs, what is it that you're feeling at that time?

"Is it really finished?"

Musically, does Page France, as a band, move in context with the music world, or does it evolve solely with themembers of the band?

I would like to believe that it evolves with the members of the band...and I think that it does, in most ways.

How do you approach as your band is now joining Suicide Squeeze, a label with so many innovative artists on its roster?

We are very excited to be a part of the roster. We'll approach things the way that we have in the past.

As someone who is able to appreciate the spiritual language you use to convey certain messages, I wonder what role does spiritual uncertainty play in your lyric writing? In regards to the curiosity and uncertainty in your songs, do you feel it is necessary to hold this tentative position to maintain the mood of the song?

Spirituality and faith, to me, is uncertainty. I write from a tentative position, because my head doesn't operate in terms of fact much of the time. I write without agenda, and feel most comfortable writing about my uncertainties.

There are many good bands in the world today, many without labels or albums to speak of. As I constantly search for great bands, I like to ask bands what other bands they listen to, whether for inspiration or just for enjoyment. Whoare you listening to currently? What bands are some of the staples of your music collection?

A few of my current favorite records are : Margo Guryan - Take a Picture, Dylan - New Morning The Upsetters - SuperApe

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Check the downloads>>

Page France - Bridge.mp3
Page France - We Remain As Two.mp3
Page France - So Sweetly Around Me.mp3

+joe

My Broken Frame, an Interview...

2006-05-29T16:22:00.000-05:00

When I first heard "I Was There" by French songwriter My Broken Frame (Guillaume Léglise) I felt like I should've heard his music long ago. In some sense, though, I have. Guillame channels the character of Nick Drake's vocals, and the mood of some of Tim Buckley's songs ("Once I Was"), and fits them into a compelling arrangement that just feels so relevent, and moving. Plenty of bands can put together a song that sounds like however they want to sound, but doesn't match the mood to the lyrics so much. Guillame's songs have the thought put into them that makes every song a completed moment, with the full range of feelings that can be felt in such a moment. Guillame obliged me, recently with some answers to a few questions that I had for this mostly unknown songwriter.

You've said that you started writing music six years ago. When did you realize that you wanted to write music?

Maybe when I heard for the first time "What would the community think" LP by Cat Power... That was 10 years ago. I was 16.At this time, my Mum had bought me a guitar for Christmas.When I was 6, I asked my parents to buy a piano. But I didn't realize I would actually have to take lessons to be able to play...and I hated taking lessons...but I was dreaming I could write songs, just like that, sitting at piano and looking at the keys!...and I finally ended up composing my first song with a guitar, 10 years later.

Obviously, both are very important, but now that you've done some touring, do you prefer writing music or touring?

I think that from now on, I prefer touring. But maybe one day it could be different. I've got a dream : live in a house near the sea where I could record my music.

What are your favorite bands?

Anthony and the Johnsons, Belle and Sebastian, Young Marble Giants,The Zombies, Camera Obscura, Suzanne Vega, Nick Drake, Tim Buckley, Death Cab For Cutie, Diane Cluck, Herman Düne, Elliot Smith, Sun Kill Moon/ Red House Painters, Mojave 3, Julie Doiron, Jeff Buckley, Paloma, Gastr del Sol, Jim O'rourke, Ron Sexsmith, The Smiths, Sophie Moleta, Spirtiualized, Songs Ohia, The Magnetic Fields, The Dream Syndicate, The Sundays, Sufjan Stevens, Stereolab, Pavement, Talk Talk.

What bands have influenced your music?

Tom Waits, Red House Painters, Nick Drake, John Coltrane, Songs Ohia, Young Marble Giants, Yo La Tengo, Anthony and the Johnsons, Julie Doiron, David Sylvian.

How do you describe your music to people?

"Folk dreamy pop"... For nostalgic girls and boys....

How do you get inspiration to write a song, and what does the song writing process look like for you?

Usually my inspiration comes from strong moments of my life, be they happy or sad. I get inspired by the people that surround me, the relations I have with my friends and my family, the feelings I have for them and memories I share with them.

But sometimes, I write a song when I watch a good movie. The pictures inspire me...I write the music at the beginning. I write the entire song with one instrument, piano or guitar. I find the melody really soon. Then I write the lyrics. Then I take other instruments...

Which of your songs is your favorite, right now?

It's always the last I wrote...

What is the name "My Broken Frame" about? Why did you pick that name?

It's a tribute to the New Wave. An LP of Depeche Mode is called "A broken frame". It's a really old one. I'm 26, and I feel like a son of the new wave. That was a real liberation for music and creativity.But it also refers to As for the title of the album, "Chapel Hill", it's a city where my mother worked for a few months when I was 9, and I spent one month holiday with her there.

What has the response to your LP, Chapel Hill, been? How do you feel about the response?

Today Chapel Hill is just a CDR. But we'll publish it, here in France, next September. I'm looking for a licence and distributors in the US and in UK....MySpace is a great way to promote my music around the world and reach people I would have never been able to reach otherwise. I get mails from Australia, Italy, Canada, USA, UK...without being released there. Some radios in the US and in Canada also played my tunes.

How do you feel about having played with Final Fantasy?

Actually I just had a gig with him in Paris. That was really cool. And few days ago I also played with Wedding Present, an old and really good noisy pop band from UK.

What band would be your favorite to tour with?

Maybe with my friends Herman Düne because they are so cool and friendly. They've got some amazing songs.Maybe with Josh Ritter or Ron Sexsmith. I admire them.

What is the purpose of music to you?

To be free, open my soul and meet people and musicians, travel all over the world....

Be sure to pick up a copy of My Broken Frame's LP, Chapel Hill, when it comes out in September. Check out his MySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/mybrokenframe, to keep updated about the LP's release, and to download/listen to some of his songs.

Edit: Check these MP3's from My Broken Frame as well...

My Broken Frame - Something You Really Need.mp3
My Broken Frame - Willy's Story.mp3

As a small way to take part in Memorial Day, I've got a good War-related song for you...

Download>>Zoe Keating - Legions (War).mp3

As a note, Zoe Keating is a member of Rasputina who, as a solo artist, has opened for Imogen Heap (Frou Frou) several times. She uses only a cello and creates her own samples which she lays as a background, then layers her cello in over that. Check her out on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/zoecello!

+joe

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Be in the video!

2006-05-28T01:13:00.000-05:00

Check it out!

http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/cheatedhearts/rules.html

+joe

Interviews come in all different Shapes and Sizes...

2006-05-25T01:13:00.000-05:00

Shapes and Sizes, a band on the Asthmatic Kitty label, is an exciting and slightly whimsical band that's been catching a fair amount of attention, but not nearly enough considering just how relevent their music is in today's polarized music scene. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking, "But Joe! There are a bazillion different new genres recently!" Well, friends, in that you have a point. But what of bands that don't fit into genres...not even their own?

Here you have a band that can really react to its own leadings and ideas. Whatever extra work they have to put in to batton down the hatches on their sound really pays off.

I jumped for the opportunity, recently, to commune with Nathan from the Shapes, to discuss their upcoming album, as well as some deeper issues regarding their music...or something like that.

Could you give us some preview , in your own words, of your upcoming 10-track album coming out July 11th?

The records actually pretty old for us now... we recorded it in late 2004 and early 2005, so it's been finished for well over a year now. When we're touring, we mostly play newer songs. That being said, we're really happy with this album, and we're really happy that it's getting out there.

In what principal way is your band do differently from other bands?

I guess one way that our band's different than other bands is that there's three people writing songs for the band. I think that it makes the band's sound a little harder to pin down than some. I guess the challenges for the band might be different. When some bands are trying hard to make the songs sound varied from each other, we're often trying to make the songs sound more cohesive.

What are your very favorite things about music?

What a question... I can't speak for the band on this, and I can't really answer that in any complete way... but, some of my favorite moments listening to music is when a song explores (and introduces me to) a feeling or emotion that I've never experienced before.

What are your favorite bands? What bands are doing things that excite you right now?

Deerhoof!, Fiery Furnaces, Danielson, there's a band from Austin called the Weird Weeds that we love!... the self titled Akron Family cd is great... there's way too many, but that's a few.

How do other people describe your music?

Reviewers are generally pretty quick (often too quick) to compare bands to other bands. We've just started to have our cd reviewed, but we've already been compared a lot... usually to other Canadian bands. One reviewer compared us to Broken Social Scene. I don't have anything against them, but I don't think we sound like them.

How has the response to your music been so far?

We just came off a two month tour through the states. It was too long, but it was good. We played a lot of sets for just a few people, but there were always people who were really into it, which was really encouraging. We're really excited about the next tour (probably August)... the record will be out, and we have no idea what to expect.

How do you get inspiration to write a song, and what does the song writing/recording process look like for your band?

I always find it funny thinking about "inspiration" in the context of writing songs, it makes it sound so easy. I usually just sit down to write, it's usually way harder and more frustrating than you want it to be, a couple times it's been easy... I write a lot on the computer, basically using it as an 8 track. I generally bring in a song with all the parts done, and the band will just learn the parts. I'm trying to bring the songs in less completed lately, though, so that the band can work with it. Caila and Rory write with just a guitar or keyboard and they bring songs in less complete.

Do you guys spend time together as a band when you're not writing or recording?

Yeah we do. We're all pretty good friends.

////END INTERVIEW////

Well, there you have it. Be sure to check out the band's self-titled, upcoming album on Asthmatic Kitty July 11th. In the mean, be sure and grab these tracks, which give you a great sense of this band's fun and focused musical demeanor. By the way, the song "Wilderness" has a great line in it; "Kisses are our friends, my friend. And I know a lot about them." How cool is that?

Download>> Shapes and Sizes - Wilderness.mp3
Download>> Shapes and Sizes - Island's Gone Bad.mp3

Shapes and Sizes on Myspace: HERE!

Cheerio!

+joe

An Interview with Kid Harpoon, plus a download...

2006-05-23T17:06:00.000-05:00

Kid Harpoon has quickly become one of my favorite guitar acts, and not only for his musicianship, but for his honesty which comes out through his lyrics and in his live performances. Recently, I asked him to answer some questions in order to get a deeper insight into his life and creative process. Check it out:

What is your very favorite thing about music?

Its quite hard for me to pick one thing about music that I like. It is infinitely great on a number of levels. On a personal level, as a listener it influences my moods or ideas and has had a profound impact on my way of life. As an artist it acts as a way for me to express myself on a public level, and also to excercise myself spiritually. On a grand level, it has the power to lead the voice of political activists, and to embrace and unite cultures. I can't really say I think about this a lot when I play my guitar and sing though, it's just what I do. Bob Marley summed it up better when he said that "the one good thing about music is when it hits you, you feel no pain."

What are your favorite bands? What bands are doing things that excite you right now?

I think these are two quite different questions. I'm not really surehow to answer either. I listen to a lot of music and it would be a huge and boring list of names for me to write and probably for you to read. Here are a few things I can remember listening to today (22/05/06) though: "Solomon Song" Kurt Weill (performed by Marianne Faithfull), "Paranoid Android" Radiohead, "Say it ain't so" Weezer,"Piano Phase" Steve Reich, "Cold Brains" Beck, "Money for Nothing"Dire Straits.

What are some of the major themes that emerge in your music and lyric writing?

There are themes within my music, and a number of different styles which I hop amongst. Subconciously, I think I have a sense of how I want chords to change and melodies to work, I generally try to either work with or against this. Sometimes a song may need to take a necessary direction or maybe it just needs to get lost for a while. I guess that's part of trying to understand my own style though, which is the spiritual side to music.

Lyrically, this is similar and the themes are much more noticeable. Usally other people spot them better than me. I personally like to play with imagery a lot, I think it's amazing that words can make you see things. The natural world really fascinates me. Colours, Water, Animals and Relationships. Things that we see everyday which are so intense to think about.

Are your lyrics more personal or imaginative?

A bit of both really. I think they can work well together, which is what fashion is about I suppose. It's a way of being imaginative with your public personality. I think the same applies to music and words.

You seem to have an awful lot of fun performing, and your lyrics convey a serious attempt at having fun with words and ideas. Would you say this is true?

"A serious attempt at having fun with words and ideas". That's the best thing anyone's ever said about me. I hope it is true. I talk to my Mum a lot about writing and she always says that the only way to get on with writing is to play with the words. Otherwise they won't play with you.

How do you describe your music to people? How do other people describe your music?

I'm really bad with this question. I'd probably just hand them a flyer for a gig and hope for the best. If people try and describe it to me I usually just nod and agree.

What do you feel are the key elements of a good or great song, at least for yourself?

I guess there's no manual to it, but a good friend said to me recently that he gets on well with music that has personality. Whether that's within a warm pop song or an obscure classical piece I don't think it matters as long as it works.

How do you see your own music progressing or evolving?

I think only time can tell. I've been playing guitar and singing since I can remember and I won't ever stop. That's about all I know for sure. I don't think I'm fit to do anything else properly, and don't really want to. As for where the journey will take me I don't know, I think that's the best thing about it.

How do you get inspiration to write a song, and what does the songwriting/recording process look like for you?

For the last four months I've been writing daily and have around 100 songs written and recorded on my laptop. All of varying quality and stages of development. I think inspiration is almost like a moment of enlightenment, and I like to write a lot so that when it happens I can maximize the experience.

Do you prefer performing/touring or writing/recording?

Both are really hard work and yet amazing when they happen. I couldn't just hide away and write all the time without sharing with anyone, butI couldn't be a touring monkey either. I couldn't think of one without the other.

What is the purpose of music to you?

This interview has been intense and it's been a pleasure to answer these questions. I'm proud that someone thinks I'm fit to put forward answers. I don't really understand the higher power of music any more than the next person though, and I use music in all the good and bad ways it is and has always been used. To get laid, get paid, and explore my soul.

I'm a pretty huge fan of breakfast. I think eating is a great way to start the day, and I'm very thankful that I can...so what is the ultimate breakfast food for you?

Anything at the moment as I've only got 4p to my name. However, full fat fry-up is standard.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Yeah, I'd love to give some shout outs to Tom the Man, Larrikin Love, Statik, Mystery Jets, Fearney C, Brik a Brak, Nambucca, and FROG. They've all got MySpace sites and are all doing amazing things. Check'em all out. Thanks for the questions Joe, it's been a pleasure. See you at a gig soon.

Harps
x
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Be sure to check out Kid Harpoon's upcoming single release, "Riverside", on June 26th!
Until then, here is a demo track of his that's got a phenomenal sound to it:

Download>>Kid Harpoon - Running Through Tunnels (Bayston Rd).mp3

Check out Kid Harpoon's Website and MySpace page, as well.

+joe

Don Peris CD Release - Quick Post

2006-05-23T16:13:00.000-05:00

Hey there. This is just a quick post for the mid-day crowd. If you haven't checked out the "official" post (w/ Ladytron, etc) for today, just scroll down a bit. Don Peris, guitarist of The Innocence Mission, has released his newest album, "Go When The Morning Shineth", today! It's a mostly instrumental album, so you can really focus on Don's incredible guitar playing skills. There are a number of free downloads available on his website or over at DonPeris.com or TheInnocenceMission.com, so get to it! This music is perfect for relfecting at the end of the day, maybe reading a book outside or whatever situation you're most contemplative and relaxed in. My personal favorite song is "Firefly", so...

Download>>Don Peris - Firefly.mp3

You can buy the album,"Go When The Morning Shineth", now on iTunes>>Here

Ladytron Live, The Lisps, and Chris Garneau

2006-05-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

Ladytron is easily one of today's foremost electroclash ensembles, and for very good reason. These Liverpoolians (?) really know how to give an atmosphere to their music, and they put on one heck of a live show. Today I'll be serving up a live track from KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic series with Ladytron performing "Destroy Everything You Touch" back on May 4th. This puppy reached #42 on the British charts last year, but is certainly more deserving than that. It's an awesome song from the band's most recent endeavor, Witching Hour (which you can buy at their store). You can check out the stream at www.kcrw.com. Check out the video for "Destroy Everything You Touch" here, and then head over to their MySpace page and be their friend!

Download>>Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch (live on KCRW).mp3

Good news for those of you who live in the New York area. Chris Garneau, one of Stage Hymn's heroes will be performing this coming Friday night (May 26th) in The Listening Room at Bruckner Bar in the Bronx. The show starts at 8pm, and also features the talents of The Lisps, Most Other People Do the Killing!, and the debut of Dave Lerner's (of Pharmacists) new band Spectacular Birds. Head over to TheLisps.com for directions.

Want to know the best part? Oh! You already guessed it? The show is completely free! How can you beat that? You can't! So stop trying already!!! You should check out The Lisps' MySpace page and give "Pepper Spray" a listen. It's one spectacular song!

Tomorrow, hopefully an interview. Until then, my lovelies...

+joe

Mia Doi Todd & a Radiohead cover

2006-05-22T00:23:00.000-05:00

The man is back! Hot dang, and just in time...I have no excuse, but I promise a ton of updates in the very near future. I've got 3 artists on board for interviews right now, and more on the way! Today we've got some downloads! How exciting.

So what do I have for you today? Well a while ago I posted on Mia Doi Todd , and had a couple of downloads available for her. You called me a fake, a ruse for posting some one you had never heard of before. But now you are back, and so am I, and so is she, and so...am...I. She has one of the most gorgeous voices that I have ever heard. SO I was digging through some re-hashed CDs at my local purveyor of pawned music, when I found a Mia Doi Todd (Plug Reserach Label ) CD! Goldenstate is its name, and it's spectacular. It arrived in 2002 with a fairly high level of critical acclaim, garnering Mia comparisons to "a modern Yeats" (No, you silly schoolgirl, he's a poet!). So, since I had previously overlooked this album, I thought it necessary to share some of it with you. These tracks are my absolute favorites on the album, but you really should get the whole thing, because the tracks fit so seemlessly together. While you're at it, pick up her latest release, "La Ninja".

Downloads>>
Mia Doi Todd - The Way.mp3 (repost)
Mia Doi Todd - Autumn.mp3
Mia Doi Todd - Merry Me.mp3
Mia Doi Todd - Growing Pains.mp3
Mia Doi Todd - 88 Ways.mp3

And just for the heck of it (translation: because I could use some excitement) I'll throw out a Radiohead track that you may not already have. It's the Tears for Fears cover of Creep. Tears for Fears and Radiohead were on tour together at the time. It is known that Thom and the boys thought that TFF made it sound so haughty and pompous. If you listen to the words, you'll hear that instead of singing "I want a perfect body/I want a perfect soul." he sings "I've got a perfect body, now I want a perfect soul." It totally changes the mood of the song. Suddenly its the drunken captain of the football team singing tongue-in-cheek because the girl he wants to lay finds him disgusting. But, hey! Here it is!

Radiohead let the boys of TFF keep playing it though, because they had to pay Radiohead every time that they did. Zing!

Download>>
Tears for Fears - Creep (live Radiohead cover).mp3

+joe

Marybell Katastrophy, An Interview...

2006-05-15T16:49:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

Talk about lame! I haven't posted for over a week! So, I hope to make up for it with this awesome interview with Marybell Katastrophy, of Tiger Tunes notoriety.

>>>>>>>>
1)What is your very favorite thing to do?
-Definitely to spend time with the ones I love!

2)If you could say one thing to the whole world, and have everyone on earth hear you, what would you say?
-supercallifragilisticexpialidocious.

3)What kind of books do you like to read?
-Right now books about making audio for computergames.

4)What was the last CD your bought or downloaded?
-I just bought The Knife: Silent Shout

5)What are your favorite bands?
-these days its mostly Of Montreal, Arcade Fire, Neil Young, Antony And The Johnsons, Sufjan Stevens, Cocorosie and The Knife

6)What bands have influenced your music?
-Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Björk, The Knife, Beach Boys, Cocorosie, Monotekktoni, Speaker Bite Me, a lot of classical stufflike Chopin.

7)When did you start writing music and singing?
-I always played piano and we always sang a lot in my family. I started writing music when I was around 15 years old, but only for myselfBut when I joined my first REAL rockband Baton Rouge (now www.tonekontroll.dk), it got serious. After that I joined different bands, including Tiger Tunes, but now I decided to go back to the root and be myself and the music all alone.

8)How do you describe your music to people?
-I try to avoid itI mostly get people to hear it, instead of describing it in words.

9)Which of your songs is your favorite, right now?
-Allways the newest one, this time its a song thats really rockI don´t know what to call it yetbut maybe Slabiak. I did the vocals last Sunday with a very hung-over voice.

10)What is the name "Marybell Katastrophy" about? Why did you pick that name?
-My little sister helped me in that process, she is really good with words. She came up with this very self contradicting name. Marybell is the sweet innocent little girl, but if you look (Mary Bell) up you will find a very Katastrophical (I know its really spelled with a C!) story about a little girl that became a killer. Anyway I think it stems from the fact that my music and myself and everybody else, contains both good and bad, loud and silentcontradictions.

11)What has the response to your solo music been in Denmark and in the rest of the world?
-Surprisingly, overwhelming response, but off cause you only hear from people who likes your musicthanks god!

12)What made you decide to release a solo album?
-I didnt really! I just made a demo, and is finishing one more right now, hopefully it will end up as my solo album. And I didnt really decided to do it eitherit was things around me that did that I suddenly had time to finish the songs I had started years ago.

13)How is this new album different from working with Tiger Tunes? Do you write "without restrictions"?
Everything is different! In Tiger Tunes we never had any restrictions, and I dont have any with my own music either. But the biggest difference off course is that in Tiger Tunes we are 5 people to decide, now its only me. But I also miss the social aspect of being a real band! Its really like a family for me.

14)What is the purpose of music to you?
I can only speak for myselfbut music means everything to me. Its really a cliché, but music is like a very expensive and over educated psychiatrist to me, just better! And therefore my biggest dream is to touch others with my own music, like others touch me with theyre music. Its because its my language, and I want to tell everybody my version of the world.
>>>>>>>>

Well...go check her out at Marybell.dk! Hurry up!

+joe

Mirah and her Garden...

2006-05-08T13:51:00.000-05:00

So, in recent weeks plenty of people have stumbled across Mirah's solo work, but no one that I have seen has posted what I feel is her catchiest song yet, "The Garden". It draws a lot from her Jewish roots and the avant-garde as well. It's got a bone-grinding beat with a Bar-Mitzvah dance feel to it. You'll love it, I'm sure! And if you know of someone else who's posted it already, oh well, welcome to my life.

ENjoy the other downloads from Mirah as well:

Download>> Mirah - The Garden.mp3
Download>> Mirah - Recommendation.mp3
Download>> Mirah - Make It Hot.mp3

Links:
Mirah on MySpace
Mirah on K Records

Chris Garneau, an Interview...

2006-05-06T20:56:00.000-05:00

Sorry this post is so slapped together, but I couldn't hold this in any longer, and I can't get to my computer right now, so this will have to do...

I sent Chris Garneau an email the other day and he promptly obliged me with the answers to my questions. You may remember (or not) that I posted just a short while ago about Chris Garneau, the singer/songwriter extraordinaire. If you haven't downloaded it already, check out the MP3 of his song "Relief" that I posted just a bit ago. Click HERE to head over to that post (or just scroll down).

Now, without further ado, may I present a short Q & A with Chris Garneau:

What are your favorite bands?
Velvet Underground + Nico, Yo La Tengo, Blonderedhead, Nina Simone, Elliott Smith, Sister Act Soundtrack, Chilli Gonzalez, Nick Drake. That's what is happening to me today.

What bands have influenced your music?
Those people i just named all have, as well as Judy Garland, Jeff Buckley, Johnny Cash, Malvina Reynolds, Prince, Paula Abdul, and dogs and cats, and my friends, and my family.

When did you start writing music and singing?
I was 5 I started playing piano. I was 12 when I started singing, and I started writing bad stuff when I was 8 and started writing even worse stuff just last year.

How do you describe your music to people?
I just say, "You will really love it." No I just say stupid things like: "Indie, acoustic, pop, anti-folk, folk, singer songwriter, mellow, depressing rock".

What direction do you see music going in right now, at least, the music that interests you?
I think right now is a good time for music that I like, including my own. With internet times and with people getting smarter, really good and independent music travels quickly. And it gets into the hands and ears of people who may not generally have access togood music. I think the industry is improving, and the more independent labels that continue to grow, the better.

Is there anything else you would like to share?
Jameson. And food. And please listen to Sunset Rubdown's record called 'Shut Up I Am Dreaming'.

love,
chris

Sounds like an interesting guy, no? I promise a real post for tomorrow, I really do. Finals kicked my butt this year. I know, it's a weak and all too common blogger excuse, but what are you gonna do?

+joe

Gridlove and the Midday Post

2006-05-01T15:11:00.000-05:00

Ah, the midday post...indicative of a blogger who fears his nightly post will probably be lacking in some way, he we attemots to curb the negative reaction by throwing quanity of content at the problem.

Anyway, you guys have got to check out Gridlove.com! You're going to be addicted to it in 2 or 3 months time snayway, so why not be one of the first to know? Gridlove is something like an interactive flickr.com. I can't really describe it, so I wont. Benjamin over at my favorite design/fashion blog "The Brilliance" describes it like this:

"Anson from Gridlove hit us up about his new product, Gridlove...but it’s a beautiful example of creativity and new technology smashed together. Anson likens it to a game of Dominos…users are collaboratively placing images next to other images that have some inherent commonality. It’s one of those things one the web that can become highly addictive. I see it applying to a bunch of pictures all your friends took at a party last night, to a modeling agency using it to organically find similarities in pictures while viewing them all at once…or, honestly, whatever the end user can come up with. This is one of those open ended web-things that kind of takes a life of its own…wild stuff...Web 2.0 at it’s finest."

Head on over and check it out, already!

About tonight's post, I can't decide if I need to get to searching for someone new, or if I should just post some frickin sweet Radiohead covers. You see my dillemma I'm sure. I just posted a ton of Radiohead stuff, and I don't want to beat them into your brains, but what can a blogger do?

+joe

Chris Garneau & some Cat Power...

2006-04-29T04:31:00.000-05:00

Well, after the past several posts, I feel like it's time I get back to business, spreading the word about "unknown" bands/artists. So I went digging around in all of your friends lists on MySpace to see what I could find. Well, I found much more than "just some band". I found a real winner, and he doesn't even have his first full LP out yet! Fresh meat, boys and girls...fresh meat. At least for the "Elbo.ws/Hype Machine" crowd (you know who you are). He's actually been touring with some great success for a while now. I just wish he would seee fit to stop by Nebraska (I can dream, can't I?). What I'm saying is that he's up and coming, but he's also arrived to some extent.

His name is Chris Garneau, and he and his band are amazing!

Now, indie music has a pretty wide variety of artists, but it can be polarized into several different categories. Feel free to categorize as you see fit. I, myself, would like to classify this artist as being somewhere amid "acoustic-singer/songwriter", "pensive/low-fi", and "playful/silly-folk". OK...I'm just going to say what I've been trying to avoid saying...He's kind of got a Sufjan Stevens/Fiona Apple/Damien Rice thing going on. I'm sure those of your more heavily steeped in "indie only" music will have other wonderful comparisons, and may I direct you to the comments section of this post. At any rate, I love what I've heard of him. He's got a great feeling going on, if only a bit melodramatic at times. Vocally, though I hate to say it, he's got Fiona and Damien beat in my very humble opinion. I know I'm hyping him so much, but I can't imagine how you would be disappointed. Be his friend at MySpace!

Enjoy:

Download>>Chris Garneau - Relief.mp3
I can't stop ;istening to this song! This song is actually a live recording, but you wont believe it is until the applause at the end. It's such a flawless performance and the recording is perfect! This comes from a label compilation (Artist Den Records) called "The Artists Den, Vol. 1" (iTunes link). The record also features Duncan Sheik, who has always had very high praise for Chris, and such artists as Ed Harcourt, David Poe, and Tracy Bonham. Look out for Chris' album that's coming out soon. If you like this song, go buy it off of iTunes, and support a great artist. You can hear more of his work on his MySpace profile.

Download>>SIgmatropic & Cat Power - Haiku Ten.mp3
Everybody loves Cat Power! I couldn't resist posting this, since I just converted it to an mp3 after buying it on iTunes many weeks ago. This is off of a SIgmatropic project to make 16 english-language interpretations of some haikus written by the poet George Seferis. The album, "16 Haiku & Other Stories", features a rathertalented list of contributors, though this is the best song on the album. Check it out!

+joe

Final Radiohead Post...For a while

2006-04-28T20:19:00.000-05:00

Ok boys and girls. Her is my final post of Radiohead b-sides for a while. I know I said I was going to post all of my b-sides, but I still have over 30 to post. That would take forever! I can't commit the next 5-10 posts to just one band! After all, the fun of all this is to find new and interesting music. So, here are my final selections from my library:

Download>> Radiohead - Wonderwol (Oasis cover).mp3
This has got to be one of the worst covers ever done, but they do it on purpose, and it's hysterical. Yes, I like Oasis too, but they take themselves so seriously, so it's good to see Radiohead poking some fun at them. After all, Radiohead is a way better band!

Download>>Radiohead - Gagging Order.mp3
This sucker is from the US Single for "Go to Sleep", and it's definitely good. It's got much more of a traditional folk-rock or even singer/songwriter sound to it. It's definitely got that melancholy sound Radiohead has perfected, but it's not a dreary or depressing song, by any means. It's very catchy, and almost uplifting to some extent (or at least coming from Radiohead it is).

Download>>Radiohead - The Trickster.mp3
This one almost sounds like it was made for an old James Bond movie. It's really nice, but very different from what you will be used to Radiohead sounding like. It's an edgy rock song, thatcould hold some comparisons to some of The Beatles'edgier work.

Download>> Radiohead - How Can You Be Sure?.mp3
"How Can You Be Sure" is a B-Side from "The Bends", but it was on the Japanese release of teh album, oddly enough. That's where I got this copy from, anyway. A good friend of mine who lives down teh hall shares a love for Radiohead, and he's from Japan, so that's how I got this, anyway.

Download>> Radiohead - Polyethylene, Pts. 1 & 2.mp3
This is an older sounding song from the "airbag/How's My Driving?" US EP, which came out about this time 8 years ago (April 21st, 1998). It's probable that it didn't make the OK Computer LP because it still sounds like "The Bends" (although it does begin to progress to OK Computer). Anyway, it's a very good song, with Great, strong vocals from Thom, and an energetic performance from the band.

Download>>Drugstore (featuring Thom Yorke) - El President.mp3
This is a song off of "WHite Magic is For Lovers" that Thom sang a duet with Drugstore's lead singer on. It's got something of a fitting title considering how much Thom dislikes George W. Bush, don't you think?
Download>>Radiohead - How Can You Be Sure?.mp3

And there you have it, no more Radiohead for a while (at least unti the tour gets exciting for me...). I would post "A Reminder" but the Blog called "A Reminder" posted it a while back here, and you can still find it if you look back a post or two.

Be sure to check out Graham's blog, the bands on-stage sound guy, by checking the RSS ticker underneath the Elbo.ws chart on the right of this post. Thanks again, everybody!

+joe

Yet again with the Radiohead b-sides and remixes...

2006-04-28T18:31:00.000-05:00

Radiohead continues to release non-album material, and I continue to snatch it up. Here are a couple of B-Sides and some remixes, which are pretty good.

Download>> Radiohead - Cuttooth.mp3
This B-Side is from the "Knives Out" UK Single #2. It has a somewhat weak intro, but that can mainly be attributed to being abandoned before it was mastered completely. It's a semi-rollicking jam-out with some interesting blends betwixed the piano and guitars. It's the first time we hear Thom Yorke use the words "I don't know why I feel so skinned alive." The next time her used these words was in the song "Myxamatosis" on the album "Hail to the Thief". It's a very interesting sound for Radiohead. I feel like it's a miture between Pablo Honey, The Bends, and Hail to the Thief, with very little OK Computer, Amnesiac or Kid A in it.

Download>> Radiohead - Arpeggi (Ether Festival 05).mp3
You'll find this song like something of an astral adventure. It's very light and airy. It's almost like teh whole song is a refrain. Interesting strings with Johnny on cello as well as others. Thom's voice is pretty spot on. This is pretty much the best recording of it available. The slightly poor quality is due to the acoustics in the room and the sound equipment.

Download>> Radiohead - We Suck Young Blood (Solcofn mix).mp3
This remix reminds me of Massive Attack's work a lot. It's very dark and ominous (as the songs title would make one think). It's got this creeping darkness thing working pretty well. This remix actually samples the original song more than it uses it as a base soundtrack, but it's good nonetheless. Fans of Massive Attack and maybe even Portishead will appreciate this one the most.

Download>> Radiohead - I WIll (Matelic Mix).mp3
A strange electro-remix. It mostly keeps the slower pace of the original song (from Hail to the Thief), but certainly makes it sound like a totally different song. It sort of sounds like it was made for a videogame or a driving in the rain scene in a movie. I don't care for it so much, but I needed to have it. Maybe you will like it!

+joe

More Radiohead B-sides and Cover

2006-04-27T16:53:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Radiohead's last day of studio session rehearsals before they take the world by storm with their first group live performance in exactly 2 years. In celebration and anticipation, I will be posting all of my unposted radiohead b-sides for the next several days. Some are live, and some are studio, but they are all my precious babies. They have taken very logn to assemble, and I don't even have them all. That's just what I get for not using p2p software. Anyway, here's today's installments:

Download>> Radiohead - I Am A WIcked Child.mp3

A groovy,bluesy, western jam off of the American single for "Go To Sleep". A must have.

Download>> Radiohead - Fog (Again) - Live.mp3

Now, here's a classic b-side. This track is so good, that I am sure the only reason it's a b-side is because it's just Thom on piano, without anyone else in the group. Thom generally likes to practice piano 5+ hours a day before recording when the band is in the studio, so it's only natural that songs like this come up. It's a beautiful and pensive song. Very Thom, though not necessarily very Radiohead. It comes off of the UK single for "Go To Sleep". That's right, I imported the CD single myself.

Download>> John Mayer - Kid A (acoustic Radiohead cover).mp3

Believe it or not, this is a great cover. John's guitar skills are impeccable, and he doesn't try to change the song at all. It really shows how talented he is, and how good he could sound if he stayed away from writing songs that just get him laid.

Download>> Blur - Cowboy Song.mp3

This song has long been remoured to have been done by Blur and Radiohead. This rumor is very false, but the song actually sounds like it could be real. It's got some very cool electronic stuff that's passable as Radiohead. This one is from the "Dead Man on Campus" soundtrack. Enjoy it, my friends.

+joe

Mia Doi Todd

2006-04-25T23:53:00.000-05:00

Mia Doi Todd is quite possibly the best hidden gem of a musician that I have ever stumbled upon. In fact, she's so graceful, and I stumbled upon her so clumsily, that I feel completely unworthy of knowing of her. As a way to atone, I will share of her with anyone I can, including you! I realize that many other blogs have posted on her, including the ever-popular MOKB. Nonetheless...

Mia is on the Plug Research Label, which we like so very much. Her voice sounds like the gal from "My Brightest Diamond" (aka Head Illinoisemaker) but her music is even more pensive than that bands. Her music is so fragile, like gossamer in flight down from the ceiling. If you think you've heard her voice before, you may be correct. She's sang for other groups including Dntel. She's released some 5 or 6 albums now, and one is a fabulous remix album. Dntel contributes to it among many others.

She has been named one of the KCRW Tunes of the Day, so I'm not alone in my appreciation. You simply must give her a listen! Head on over to her website's video section and check out the video for "My Room is White". She's enchanting like a siren. All I've got of "My Room is White" here on the site is the remix, so watch the video so you know how it originally sounded (which is great to begin with).

Download>>Mia Doi Todd - My Room is White (Flying Lotus Remix).mp3
Download>>Mia Doi Todd - The Way.mp3
Download>>Mia Doi Todd - Planting (New Version).mp3
Download>>Mia Doi Todd - What if We Do? (Nobody Remix).mp3

+joe

Radiohead and MySpace, Together At Last...

2006-04-25T03:02:00.000-05:00

The Boys from Britain are back in rehearsal, and we've got an inside look! Not just us, though...everyone! That's right. The man who is responsible for the sound system on the band's end (monitors, in-ear monitors, etc.) has been posting the bands activity in the rehearsal studio. His name is Graham Lee. He's a music-techie. He's 49, a swinger, and available ladies...um. Anyway, Graham's got a MySpace blog, which is completely hideous to the eye, but ripe with juicy morsels about the band's day-to-day. As they prepare for their coming tour, the band has been practicing both new material and old songs from other bands to cover. Apparently they practice 10 of these songs each day before moving on to their own material.

If you want the rest of the details (right down to when they break for tea) head over to Graham's Blog: Click Here!

You may notice that I've added a news ticker from his blog's RSS feed just underneath the Elbo.ws Top 10 on the right of the screen. Each item is a post. I mostly added this for myself as a quick way to check for updates (since I'm always using my page as a jump-off into the internet anyway), but you can share with me. Right?

The following are my favorite Radiohead B-Sides of all time. I have every Radiohead B-Side except for 4 or 5, so I would say that these are pretty much the cream of the crop. I would have posted Big Boots (Man-O-War) but I only have a couple crummy live versions.

EXPIRED!!!>> Radiohead - How I Made My Millions.mp3*
EXPIRED!!!>> Radiohead - Kinetic.mp3*
EXPIRED!!!>> Radiohead - The Amazing Sounds of Orgy.mp3
EXPIRED!!!>> Radiohead - Paperbag Writer.mp3*
EXPIRED!!!>> Radiohead - Banana CO.mp3*
EXPIRED!!!>> Radiohead - India Rubber.mp3

*solid gold goodness

+joe

Don Peris

2006-04-23T03:03:00.000-05:00

Don Peris, an artist on Badman Recording's "mostly intrumental" label Jemez Mountain, has semi-recently released his newest album "Go When the Morning Shineth" on Badman's website. You can buy the album on the website for now, or wait until May16th when the album will be available in stores. If you head over to DonPeris.com you can score a free download of the video for "Delaware" off of the upcoming album.

Don's music brings to mind Ye Olde Nick Drake, early Paul Simon, and maybe even the instrumentals on Beck's "Sea Change".

Don's played on albums from Natalie Merchant, Denison Whitmer, and as the guitarist of the Innocence Mission. "Go..." will be his own second album, following "Ten Silver Slide Trombones", which was received with a number of 4/5 star reviews. Don Peris will be touring the east coast and the midwest this summer with Denison Whitmer.

EXPIRED!!!>>Don Peris - Day Trip.mp3
EXPIRED!!! >Don Peris - Flyer.mp3
EXPIRED!!! >>Don Peris - Firefly.mp3
EXPIRED!!! >>Don Peris - Ribbon of Highway.mp3

Cursive

2006-04-22T14:13:00.000-05:00

Cursive, the dissonant Omaha band, has just finished recording their upcoming album, "Happy Hollow". No tracklist has been released yet. In fact, you can scarecely find any indication of the albums completion in the interenet. But rest assured, the band's website will son post the announcment. The band started recording back in mid-February and had hoped to have it finished by mid-April. Making good on their expectations, the expected release date of the album is August 22nd, and will release on Saddle Creek Records. They're planning a few dates in July, and expect to go on their US tour in September.

EXPIRED!!!>>Cursive - Driftwood, A Fairy Tale.mp3

+joe

James Figurine

2006-04-22T13:45:00.000-05:00

James Figurine, one of Jimmy Tamborello's (Postal Service/Dntel) projects has announced that recording has just wrapped up on their next album, "Mistake Mistake Mistake". The album will be released in the US on July 11th on Plug Research.

The tracklist for the upcoming album was also posted on Dntel's MySpace page, and is as follows:

JAMES FIGURINE – MISTAKE MISTAKE MISTAKE MISTAKE
1. 55566688833
2. Leftovers
3. Ruining the Sundays
4. Pretend It's A Race and I'm On Your Side
5. You Again6. Apologies
7. One More Regret
8. White Ducks
9. All The Way To China
10. Stop

Music For Robot's has an excellent review of Track 1 ("55566688833"), which I thought everyone should read. He's also posted a download for the track. So if you haven't already, go on over and check that out, right away.

EXPIRED!!!>>James Figurine - Apologies.mp3

+joe

The Rapture and Ray LaMontagne

2006-04-21T09:33:00.000-05:00

THE RAPTURE has been all over the music blogosphere as of recent, with leaked songs from their upcoming album being posted. The band has asked for people to take down any links to these leaked songs. It's strange how some of this works out. I would think twice about posting leaked material, though. Especially after the recent Gnarls Barkley incident. Coincidently, Danger Mouse, the man behind Gnarls Barkley, has worked with The Rapture on their upcoming album. If I had to guess I would say that he might have a very strong opinion on the mp3 blog issue. Anyway, the lesson is this: Don't post leaked songs unless you want trouble.

Honestly, I don't see what the hype was about, anyway. I've listened to a godd number of their tracks now, and it just sounds like noise to me. Their singers voice is not something I could dance to, but they're considered dance rock!? Anyways...

RAY LAMONTAGNE's been in the elbo.ws "chart" for a while. I've been a fan of this guy for about a year and a half now, since my sister introduced me to "Trouble", his amazing LP. Well, if you're like me you can't wait 'til the next album comes out. The good folks over at I am Fuel, You Are Friends have come up with something to help us bide our time. They've posted a nice collection of unreleased tracks (most likely ones that didn't make it onto "Trouble"). You can download the songs individually or all together in a zip file! Check it out here.

Downloads>>

EXPIRED!!! Ray LaMontagne - All the Wild Horses.mp3
EXPIRED!!! Josh Rouse - EL Otro Lado.mp3
EXPIRED!!! Brett Dennen - Desert Sunrise.mp3

+joe

Rose Catastrophe

2006-04-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

Rose Kemp has stolen my heart. Now, bloggers have given her a nod, but none that I have read seem to fully appreciate what she's doing, or they're keeping her all to themselves. Now, Rose doesn't have a full LP out yet, only an EP, which may be why I haven't been able to find very much mention of her. Her website used to have downloads to all her songs, but the links seems to be broken now. At any rate, below I've provided you with a song that is exquisite. "Fire in the Garden" has an almost acapella war-time 40s lounge sound.

Look for her upcoming single, "Violence". "Violence" is a rocking, poppy radio-ready single. It's got a really solid structure, if you appreciate that kind of thing.

EXPIRED!!!>>Rose Kemp - Fire in the Garden.mp3

Marybell Katastrophy is an up and coming Danish talent. Don't worry, the songs I have heard of hers are in English! A smooth indie-prime voice set to beguiling electronic/mixed playfullness. I'm sure that she'll get picked up in Europe pretty soon, and hopefully it wont be long after 'til the States get their act together and follow suit. Her song "Hey Frank" seems to be getting the most attention in the blogosphere. It reminds me of the Japanese-choir-music soundtrack of the anime "Ghost in the Shell" during the chorus, and of some slow club music during the verses. I don't know, see what you think...

EXPIRED!!!>>Marybell Katastrophy - Hey Frank.mp3

Rose Polenzani is a gifted folk songstress who's been picking up some much deserved attention, but I just felt the need to put her name in here if I possibly could. There's a tangeable innocence in her voice that very much reminds me of Brett Dennen. Of what I have heard, she seems to play very calm but emotive acoustic tracks. She may not grab you by the throat with a melody, but her songs have a way of carrying you away with subtlety. "Blue Angel" is my favorite song of hers, and "Abalin" is a great track featuring Andrew Byrd.

EXPIRED!!!>>Rose Polenzani - Blue Angel.mp3
EXPIRED!!!>>Rose Polenzani ft. Andrew Byrd - Abalin.mp3

+joe

Bright Eyes and Thievery Corporation

2006-04-19T23:42:00.000-05:00

MUSIC NEWS

I know that either you like his voice or you hate it, but BRIGHT EYES' Connor Oberst has announced that he'll be playing a free show in his (and my own) hometown Omaha, NE on June 17th. Every year the city has some good or decent group come and play at Memorial Park on Dodge Street. Last year they had 311, also Omaha natives, and the Mayor of Omaha said that this "inspired" him to have Bright Eyes at this year's event. Usually they have seriously old bands like the Beach Boys or Three Dog Night (both of which I like, but come on!). The strange thing is that Bright Eyes is also playing Bonnaroo Festival from June 16th-18th. It remains to be seen how the two shows will be reconciled. Anyway, if you live in the area I hope to see you there. It's known that Bright Eyes is working on another album, so maybe you'll get the chance to hear some brand new stuff. Honestly, how does this guy right so much music. I know I don't have all his songs but I've got 106 tracks from him. We can all argue that half o them are just sketches, but still!

EXPIRED!!!>> Bright Eyes - We Are Nowhere And It's Now.mp3

Thievery Corporation is now taking pre-orders for their upcoming remix album, "Versions" which is due out May 16th. You can grab your copy for only $13.98! The album will feature quite a mixture of sampling, dub, and remix. The track list looks pretty interesting, though Amazon.com hasn't given them a very good review. Everyone knows that these guys are masters, though. The Amazon review use terms like "wasted opportunity" which never usually refers to TC. I've always been a fan, no matter what direction they take it or don't take it in. TC's music oozes style and quiet confidence. I'm sure I'll be happy. Check out the track list:

1. Tarana/Ustad Sultan Khan
2. Habanos Days/Damien
3. This is not a Love Song/Nouvelle Vague
4. Beloved/Anoushka Shankar
5. Who Needs Forever/Astrud Gilberto
6. Desert/Emilie Simon
7. Lemon Tree/Herb Alpert
8. Originality/Thievery Corporation Featuring Sister Nancy
9. In Love/Fear Of Pop
10. The Girl’s Insane/The Januaries
11. Strange Days/The Doors
12. Revolution Solution(TC Remix)/Thievery Corporation
13. Shiva (TC Remix)/Thievery Corporation
14. Khalghi stomp/Transglobal Underground
15. Angels/Wax Poetic Featuring Norah Jones
16. Nothing To Lose/Isabelle Antena
17. Cada Beijo/Bebel Gilberto
18. Dirty LIttle Secret/Sarah McLachlan

Here are some of my favorite TC tracks in celebration.

EXPIRED!!!>> Thievery Corporation - From Creation.mp3
EXPIRED!!!>> Thievery Corporation - The Richest Man in Babylon.mp3
EXPIRED!!!>> Thievery Corporation - The State of the Union.mp3

+joe