Music From The Pants

Wavves

2009-03-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

Wavves released Wavves last month on Fat Possum Records. Many people might find this low production garage rock not their cup of tea but I greatly enjoy this stuff. It's a one man band, the guys name is Nathan Williams. Spin gave this album 4 out 5 stars and Pitchfork is giving it 8.1 out of 10. Take a listen:

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Love, Hate and then there's you

2009-02-15T05:35:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed the C'mon C'mon which came off Pawn shoppe heart in 2004. It doesn't seem that long ago to me. While the Von Bondies are back with Love, hate and then there's you. The new song is Pale Bride.

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Wikipedia:

The Von Bondies are an American alternative rock band. The current members are Jason Stollsteimer on vocals and lead guitar, Christy Hunt on rhythm guitar, Leann Banks on bass guitar and Don Blum on drums.
The original line-up formed at the 1997 Cramps/Guitar Wolf show by Stollsteimer and Marcie Bolen [1]. They went through a variety of member changes and band names, including The Baby Killers, before settling on The Von Bondies in 2000. Don Blum joined the band around 1999 after attending numerous Baby Killers shows, while Leann Banks was picked via an audition. The Von Bondies got their break by playing a New Year's Eve show in Detroit, MI in 2000. In attendance at the show was Long Gone John, owner of the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. This led to Sympathy releasing the band's debut album Lack Of Communication in 2001.
In 2003, the band released the live Raw and Rare through Dimmak Records, which was followed by their 2004 breakthrough release, Pawn Shoppe Heart, on Sire Records. Met with glowing reviews, Pawn Shoppe was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and co-produced by singer Jason Stollsteimer.
The album reached a peak of #36 in the UK and #8 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and stayed in the chart for eight weeks[2]. The big single from this release was "C'mon C'mon," which reached #25 on the Billboard Singles chart and garnered national radio play for the band.
A shortened version of "C'mon C'mon" is the theme song to the TV series Rescue Me and is performed live by the band in Michael Winterbottom's film 9 Songs.
In 2008, the band signed with indie label Majordomo Records [3], joining label mates The Airborne Toxic Event [4] and Earlimart [5]. Their label debut, Love, Hate And Then There's You, was released in February 2009 featuring the single "Pale Bride." The band supports the release my touring with Myspace Records act Nico Vega.
Known as a touring act, The Von Bondies have headlined tours of the United Kingdom/Europe, Australia, and the United States, taking along supporting bands like The Kills, Kasabian, Franz Ferdinand, Modey Lemon, SSM, The Subways, The Stills and The Donnas [6]. They have also appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, Last Call with Carson Daly and CD:UK[7].
Contents[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Early days
1.2 Lack of Communication (2001-2002)
1.3 Pawn Shoppe Heart (2003-2005)
1.4 Love, Hate And Then There's You (2009)
1.5 Broken ties
1.6 Present
2 Members
2.1 Past members
3 Discography
3.1 Albums
3.2 EP's
3.3 Singles
3.4 Compilations
4 Videography
5 References
6 External links
//

Biography

Early days
In 2000 Jason Stollsteimer attended a concert by Japanese garage punk band Guitar Wolf with Marcie Bolen. At the time, Stollsteimer was working a job as a bowling alley bartender and Marcie as a hair dresser. The performance spurred him to create his own band, The Baby Killers, which toured with fellow Detroit bands The Detroit Cobras, The Go and The White Stripes. After recruiting Lauren Wilcox on bass and Don Blum on drums the band changed their name to the Von Bondies.
While playing a handful of shows in the Detroit area, the quartet recorded singles "It Came From Japan," an ode to Guitar Wolf, and "Nite Train." Jim Diamond produced the Von Bondies' debut album, Lack of Communication, in late 2001.[8] It was recorded in only three days[9].

Lack of Communication (2001-2002)
Lack of Communication is the band's first album, released in 2001 by Sympathy for the Record Industry, and released in the UK by Sweet Nothing Records. Much darker than subsequent directions undertaken by the band, the album was said at the time to have been produced by Jack White of The White Stripes. However, since a highly-publicized altercation between Stollsteimer and White, the band now says that Jim Diamond was the album's producer. In addition to Detroit garage rock, the album also displayed other influences, such as the jazzy showtune-esque song "No Sugar Mama." The tracks "Shallow Grave" and "Nite Train" both display surf rock passages, amidst their heavy pummeling and lyrical morbidity. "Cass and Henry" is a sparse, almost spoken word narrative of a nocturnal encounter with a tall stranger. "In the Act" and "Sound of Terror" contain droning slide guitar and considerably slow tempos. On the last track, after a silence following the song Rock 'n' Roll Nurse, there's a hidden bonus track: a cover of Sam Cooke's Bring It On Home to Me, with Marcie Bolen on lead vocals. The band said this is the least expesive album they made. [10]

Pawn Shoppe Heart (2003-2005)
The group relocated to a San Francisco recording studio in early 2002 with producer Jerry Harrison to begin work on Pawn Shoppe Heart. "We were really insistent about finding our own sound," Jason recounts. "We were never happy with our first record. It's always been a challenge to capture the power of our live show but I think we've come a lot closer this time."[citation needed]

Love, Hate And Then There's You (2009)
The Von Bondies celebrated their 9th year together with the release of their third full length record, Love, Hate And Then There's You. This new record sense includes the first single “Pale Bride” and the anthemic leadoff track “This Is Our Perfect Crime,” plus pounders like “I Don’t Wanna” and “Chancer.” A limited-edition 7-inch single featuring the song “Pale Bride” and the non-album B-side “Falling In Love” was released in advance of the album. Also of note is that this is the first Von Bondies release on which Don Blum co-writes with Stollsteimer. Love, Hate was produced by Jason Stollsteimer, Butch Walker (Hot Hot Heat, The Donnas, All-American Rejects) and Rick Parker (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club).

Broken ties
On the evening of December 13, 2003, an altercation occurred between Stollsteimer and the White Stripes frontman Jack White during the record release party for the band Blanche at The Magic Stick (a Detroit music club.) Stollsteimer was treated for injuries at Detroit Receiving Hospital. On March 9, 2004, White pled guilty to an assault and battery charge, and was required to attend anger management classes and pay a fine.[11]

Present
The Von Bondies have finished recording their new album. It will be called 'Love, Hate and Then There's You' [12]and will be released on February 3, 2009. They are currently touring in anticipation of their album, and in the meantime will release a limited-edition 7-inch single of "Pale Bride" from the forthcoming album, backed with the non-album song "Falling In Love [13]"

Members
Jason Stollsteimer: Vocals and guitar
Leann Banks: Bass guitar and vocals
Christy Hunt: Guitar and vocals
Don Blum: Drums and percussion

[edit] Past members
Lauren Wilcox: Bass guitar (2001)
Carrie Ann Smith: Bass guitar and vocals, (2001-2004)
Yasmine Smith: Bass guitar and vocals, touring member (2004-2006)
Marcie Bolen: Guitar, (2001-2006)
Alicia Gbur: Guitar, keyboards, vocals, touring member (November 2007-March 2008)
Matt Lannoo: Guitar, touring member (November 2007-March 2008)

Discography

[edit] Albums
Lack of Communication (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 2001)
Raw and Rare (Intheact Records/Dim Mak Records, 2003)
Pawn Shoppe Heart (Sire Records, 2004)
Love, Hate and Then There's You (Majordomo Records, 2009)
Year
Album
U.S. Billboard 200
UK Albums Chart [14]
2001
Lack of Communication
-
-
2004
Pawn Shoppe Heart
197
36

EP's
"We Are Kamikazes" (Intheact Records, 2008)

[edit] Singles
"Nite Train 7" (D wreckED hiT Records, 2000)
"It Came From Japan" 7" (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 2001)
"It Came From Japan" CD Single (Sweet Nothing, 2002)
"Tell Me What You See" 7" (Must Destroy Music, 2002)
"C'mon C'mon" 7" (WEA international, 2004)
"C'mon C'mon" CD Single (WEA International, 2004)
"Tell Me What You See" CD Single Part 1 (WEA International, 2004)
"Tell Me What You See" CD Single Part 2 (WEA International, 2004)
"Tell Me What You See" 7" (Sire Records, 2004)
"Pale Bride" 7" (Majordomo Records, 2008)
Year
Song
Chart positions
Album
U.S. Hot 100
U.S. Modern Rock
U.S. Main- stream Rock
UK Singles Chart [14]
2004
"C'mon C'mon"
-
25
-
21
Pawn Shoppe Heart
"Tell Me What You See"
-
-
-
43
Pawn Shoppe Heart

Compilations
Sympathetic Sounds Of Detroit LP/CD (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 2001, SFTRI 623)
X-Mas Surprise Package Volume 4 7" (Flying Bomb Records, 2001, FLB-118)
New Blood - The New Rock N Roll Vol 2 CD (Artrocker, 2002, RRR 33003)
X-Ray CD01 (Swinstead Publishing Limited, 2002, CD01)
Rough Trade Shops Rock And Roll 2xCD (Mute, 2002, CDStumm 212)
The New Rock Revolution CD (NME Magazine, 2002, NME CD 02-?)
Dim Mak 2003 Sampler CD (Dim Mak, 2003, DM 045)
X-Mas Surprise Package (The Collector's Edition) CD (Flying Bomb Records, 2002, FLB-122)
Smash Music Sampler CD (Smash Music, 2004, smash 008)
Sympathy For The Download 00 CD (Record Collection Music, 2004)
House of Wax Soundtrack (Maverick Records, 2005)
Rescue Me Soundtrack (Nettwerk Records, 2006)
Lost Boys: The Tribe Soundtrack (Adrenaline Records, 2008)

Videography
Music Videos:
It Came From Japan
C'mon C'mon
Tell Me What You See
DVDs featuring the Von Bondies:
9 Songs - Features a live performance of "C'mon C'mon" as one of the nine songs. (2004)
In Her Shoes - Features the song "C'mon C'mon" (2005)
Later With Jools Holland - Louder - Features a live performance of "Lack of Communication".

References
^ "How the band started". http://www.laweekly.com/2002-12-12/music/von-bondies-boogie-children.
^ "Top of the charts". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/searchResult.jsp?configType=BBCOM_SIMPLEDEFAULT&pubList=Billboard&an=bbcom&action=Submit&kw=&exposeNavigation=true&keyword=von+bondies&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Submit&searchType=ARTICLE_SEARCH.
^ majordomorecords.com
^ myspace.com/theairbornetoxicevent
^ earlimartmusic.com
^ "Tour with the donnas". http://www.livedaily.com/news/6976.html.
^ "Von Bondies on CD:UK". http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/800347.
^ "Welcome Back". http://www.realdetroitweekly.com/article_4289.shtml.
^ "only 3 days". http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/april_2003/von-bondies.htmll.
^ http://thescenestar.typepad.com/ss/2008/01/interview-jason.html
^ "Jack White Pleads Guilty to Assault Charge". http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1481112/20031215/white_stripes.jhtml?headlines=truehtml.
^ "The Von Bondies Sign To Majordomo". http://www.majordomorecords.com/newsDetails.php?nid=37/.
^ "The Von Bondies Sign To Majordomo". http://www.majordomorecords.com/newsDetails.php?nid=37.
^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 588. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

External links
The Von Bondies Website
The Von Bondies on MySpace.com
Live photos of the Von Bondies
Interview with The Von Bondies, The Scenestar, Jan. 2008
Interview with Jason & Alicia from The Von Bondies, NYC Feb 2008
The Von Bondies article February 2009
Detroit Metromix article
Rockdirt article
Montreal Mirror article
Love Hate And Then Theres You Review

Tobacco

2009-02-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

Tobacco is the frontman for Black Moth Super Rainbow. I've listening to some his solo stuff and have found it interesting.

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Wikipedia

Tobacco (né Tom Fec) is an American electronic musician. He is the frontman of the band Black Moth Super Rainbow, in addition to working as a solo artist; in both settings he works most conspicuously with pre-digital electronic instruments such as analog synthesizers and tape machines.[1] Little is known about Tobacco, as he, along with the rest of Black Moth, is very private and rarely does interviews. It is known that Tobacco grew up in Pennsylvania, and graduated from Hampton High School in 1998 along with fellow bandmate Seth Ciotti.
Tobacco released a solo album entitled Fucked Up Friends on Anticon Records on October 14, 2008.[2] The album was recorded using entirely analog equipment. [3] Rolling Stone said of the album, "one of the year's best stoner-rock records - only it's powered by synths, hip-hop beats and vocoders instead of guitars."[4] Exclaim! called it "worth of obsessive listening."[5] The album featured a guest appearance from Aesop Rock.[6] A DVD of the album had been released more than a year prior, on September 3, 2007, by the 70s Gymnastics Recording Company.[7]

Discography

Tobacco Albums
Year
Name
Format
Label
Catalog
2008
"Fucked Up Friends"
CD
Anticon
0089

References
^ James Christopher Monger, Tobacco, biography at Billboard.com (mirror of Allmusic).
^ Review of Fucked Up Friends. Pitchfork Media
^ Matthew Blackwell, Review of Fucked Up Friends. Prefix Magazine.
^ Kevin O'Donnell, Review of Fucked Up Friends. Rolling Stone, December 11, 2008, p. 98.
^ Josiah Hughes, Review of Fucked Up Friends. Exclaim!, October 2008.
^ Review of Fucked Up Friends. Alternative Press, November, 2008, p. 164.
^ "Hawker Boat"/"Hairy Candy". Pitchfork Media, August 8, 2007.

Ron Asheton

2009-01-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

Ron Asheton has passed, found dead in his home in Ann Arbor Michigan. If you were not familar with his work listen up to the following tunes and check out the Wiki bio:

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Ron Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 1, 2009)[2] was an American guitarist and co-songwriter with Iggy Pop for the rock band The Stooges.
Contents

Biography
Asheton was born in Washington D.C.[3]
He was on the Stooges first two albums, and later appeared as bassist for their third, Raw Power, when he was replaced in both instrument and songwriting prominence by The Stooges' new guitar player, James Williamson. With the Stooges reformed, however, he once again appeared as the band's guitarist.
Apart from The Stooges, Asheton also played in the bands The New Order (not the UK band of the same name), Destroy All Monsters, New Race, and more recently with Mike Watt, J. Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr.), Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Mark Arm of Mudhoney among others (as The Wylde Ratttz), on the soundtrack for the Todd Haynes film Velvet Goldmine, which starred Ewan McGregor and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Asheton also acted, appearing with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre star Gunnar Hansen in Mosquito which came out in 1995 as well as in two other films, Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo and Legion of the Night.
Asheton already had five years practicing the accordion behind him when he began playing guitar while he was ten.
He is ranked as number 29 on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[4]
Asheton was found dead by police at his home in Ann Arbor, Mich. on January 6th, 2009, apparently having died of a heart attack several days earlier. Police were summoned to Asheton's house by his personal assistant, who had been unable to reach him for several days.[5]

Discography
With the Stooges
The Stooges (1969)
Fun House (1970)
Raw Power (1973)
The Weirdness (2007)

With The New Order
New Order (1977)
Victim Of Circumstance (1989)
Declaration of War (1990)

With Destroy All Monsters
November 22nd 1963 (1989)
Bored (1999) - recorded in 1978
With New Race
The First and Last (1982)
The First To Pay (1989)
The Second Wave (1990)

With Dark Carnival
Live - Welcome to Show Business (1990)
Greatest Show in Detroit (1991)
Last Great Ride (1996)

With the Empty Set
Thin, Slim & None/Flunkie (1996)
With The Powertrane
Ann Arbor Revival Meeting (2003)

Other contributions
He is credited for having given a hand in the process of writing of the song "Hit Them Again" on the album Radios Appear (1977) by Radio Birdman
one track that can be heard at the end of the movie Mosquito
some tracks had been recorded for the original score of the movie Velvet Goldmine, but only one song was featured on the soundtrack (1998)
one track on Beyond Cyberpunk (2001)

References
^ http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/01/stooges_guitarist_ron_asheton.html
^ http://www.nme.com/news/the-stooges/41900
^ http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/01/stooges_guitarist_ron_asheton.html
^ 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
^ http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/01/06/the-stooges-guitarist-ron-asheton-found-dead-at-60/&cid=1287493994&usg=AFQjCNEOtyovODI9Ikioskg4ursVNXhTPQ

External links
Ron Asheton discography at Discogs.
Ron Asheton- Stooges Interview with Perfect Sound Forever.
Ron Asheton: Calling From The Funhouse at the i94Bar.
Iggy and the Stooges: An Interview With Ron Asheton at SuicideGirls (2007).
Ron Asheton profile at NNDB.
Obituary in Chicago Tribune
Tribute and Photos Steve Gerrard Photography

NME Top 25

2008-12-31T15:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, I only had enough patients to put together 25 songs out of NME's top 50. So if you feel the need to see the rest of the list I suggest you head directly to the source. I do have one through 25 in descending order below for your listening pleasure. I blogged a few these on the list this year but turned my nose up at quite a few too. As usual listen up and make up your mind.

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Glasvegas

2008-12-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

Glasvegas released Glasvegas September 2007 on BMG. Spin gives it 4 out of 5 stars, NME 9 out of 10. But are they the real thing? NME says: "So believe it: this is the real thing, no-one’s crying wolf, not even Alan McGee. There’s not enough hype in the world for Glasvegas." Here are some songs to make up your own mind.

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Glasvegas are a Scottish rock band who came together in 2003 in Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rab Allan (lead guitar, backing vocals), Paul Donoghue (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Caroline McKay (drums).
Contents

History

Formation and early years (2003–2006)
The band's first came together in late 2003, comprising cousins James and Rab Allan on guitars and vocals, Paul Donoghue on bass guitar, and Ryan Ross on drums. They toured frequently from 2003 to 2005 around Scotland, releasing a limited edition double A-side single, "I'm Gonna Get Stabbed"/"Ina Lvs Rab" on CD in May 2004.[1] Ryan Ross left the group in late 2004 to go to the USA. In July 2007, the band asked Caroline McKay to be their drummer. A notable early supporter of the band was Alan McGee.[2] On 30 October 2006, the band released a self-funded limited edition 7" single, "Go Square Go!".

Glasvegas and A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss) (2007–present)
Following the release of another limited edition 7" single, "Daddy's Gone" on 5 November 2007, Glasvegas found themselves at the centre of a bidding war from several major record labels.[citation needed] "Daddy's Gone" sold out and was voted the number two single of the year by NME magazine.[3] After releasing their third limited edition 7" single, "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry" on 14 February 2008, the band opted to sign to Columbia. They then won the prestigious Philip Hall Radar Award at the NME Awards two weeks later.[4] Glasvegas recorded their eponymous debut album, Glasvegas, at Brooklyn Recording Studios in New York. The album was produced by James Allan and Rich Costey.[5] The album was released on 8 September 2008, and included re-recordings of "Daddy's Gone", "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry" and "I'm Gonna Get Stabbed" (retitled "Stabbed"), the former being the second single from the album, as well as previously unreleased songs "Polmont on My Mind," "Lonesome Swan," "S.A.D. Light" and "Geraldine," which was the first single from the album.[5]
In October 2008, Glasvegas recorded a Christmas-themed mini-album, A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss), over twelve days, two in New York[citation needed] and for ten days in a Transylvanian church in Romania, and was released on 1 December 2008.[6] The band are to headline the 2009 NME Awards Tour in January 2009, following their own UK tour.[7]
Glasvegas received three nominations for the 2008 Swedish Rockbjörnen awards: Best International Act, Best International Album for Glasvegas, and Best International Song for "Geraldine."[8][9]

Discography

Studio albums
Year
Title
Peak chart positions
Certifications(sales thresholds)
UK [10]
DAN [11]
IRE [12]
NOR [13]
SWE [14]
2008
Glasvegas
Released: 8 September 2008
Label: Columbia
Formats: LP, CD, download
2
25
2
23
5
BPI: Gold[15]
A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss)
Released: 1 December 2008
Label: Columbia
Formats: CD, download
—
—
—
—
59

Singles
Year
Title
Peak chart positions
Album
UK [10]
SCO [16][17]
DAN [18]
SWE [14]
2004
"I'm Gonna Get Stabbed"/"Ina Lvs Rab"
—
—
—
—
2006
"Go Square Go!"
—
—
—
—
2007
"Daddy's Gone"
—
—
—
—
2008
"It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry"
—
—
—
—
"Geraldine"
16
1
36
25
Glasvegas
"Daddy's Gone"
12
2
—
—
"Please Come Back Home"
76
—
—
29
A Snowflake Fell(And It Felt Like a Kiss)
"A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss)"
95
—
—
17
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Music videos
Year
Video
2007
"Daddy's Gone"
2008
"Geraldine"
"Daddy's Gone" (Version 2)
"Please Come Back Home"

Awards
2008
Won
NME Awards - Philip Hall Radar Award
Nominated
Rockbjörnen Awards - Best International Act, Best International Album (Glasvegas), Best International Song ("Geraldine")

References
^ "Latest News". Glasvegas.net Web Archive. Retrieved on 29 October 2008.
^ Glasvegas: Rough glamour, video interview with stv.tv/music
^ "Best of 2007: Tracks of the Year". NME (15 December 2007): 37 pp.
^ "Glasvegas: 'We've yet to earn our award'", NME (29 February 2008). Retrieved on 26 June 2008.
^ a b Glasvegas' 12-Hour Sessions to Finish Album. NME. pp. 8.
^ "Glasvegas announce Christmas album details". NME (24 October 2008). Retrieved on 27 October 2008.
^ "Shockwaves NME Awards Tour 2009 line-up revealed". NME. Retrieved on 11 October 2008.
^ "Swedish Awards Nominations". Glasvegas.net (5 December 2008). Retrieved on 12 December 2008.
^ "Rösta på Rockbjörnen här!" (in Swedish). Rockbjörnen. Retrieved on 12 December 2008. NB: Select "Jag vill rösta på:" in "9: Årets utländska grupp", "10: Årets utländska låt" and "11: Årets utländska album"
^ a b "Chart Stats – Glasvegas". ChartStats.com. Retrieved on 4 September 2008.
^ "Discography Glasvegas". Danishcharts.com. Retrieved on 4 September 2008.
^ "Discography Glasvegas". Irishcharts.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2008.
^ "Discography Glasvegas". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2008.
^ a b "Discography Glasvegas". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2008.
^ "Glasvegas certified awards". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 11 November 2008.
^ "Scottish Singles Chart for the week ending 5 July 2008". ChartsPlus (Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd) (358): 1.
^ "Scottish Singles Chart for the week ending 6 September 2008". ChartsPlus (Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd) (367): 1.
^ "Singles Glasvegas". Danishcharts.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2008.

External links
Glasvegas.net, official site
Glasvegas at Allmusic

I'm From Barcelona

2008-12-13T05:31:00.000-08:00

As it turns out they are not in fact from Barcelona. Which may be what I like most about the band. Not that I have anything against Barcelona, Barcelona is great many thanks for the 1992 Olympics and all I just find it interesting they are not from Barcelona. Actually with thirty people in the band you gotta figure someone might actually be from Barcelona so maybe I'm wrong on that. Anyway, they released their album back in September and it's number two on the CMJ charts. I was listning to their song "headphones" and enjoyed it very much. Here is a few songs from the new album.

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Wikipedia:

I'm from Barcelona is a pop group from Jönköping, Sweden, best known for its 30 band members and eclectic mix of instruments such as clarinets, saxophones, flutes, trumpets, banjos, accordions, kazoos, guitars, drums, and keyboards among others. While most band members provide backing vocals on releases and during live performances, Emanuel Lundgren is founder, principal songwriter and lead singer for the group.
In 2006 the band released an EP entitled Don't Give Up on Your Dreams, Buddy! as well as a full length album, Let Me Introduce My Friends - both of which were well-received critically. Their second full-length album, Who Killed Harry Houdini?, was released in October 2008.
Contents

History
Sometime in 2005 Emanuel Lundgren wrote several songs and gathered his friends to record them. Weeks later, a homemade EP was completed and a one-time live show featuring all 29 band members was performed in August 2005.
The end was not near for I'm from Barcelona, however, as the Swedish media and bloggers around the world started buzzing about the band. EMI Sweden signed the band and Dolores Recordings released the EP Don't Give Up On Your Dreams, Buddy! on 15 February 2006 featuring the bands first hit "We’re From Barcelona," named as an homage to Manuel, a character on BBC Television's Fawlty Towers’ (He’s from Barcelona).[1] Their debut full-length, entitled Let Me Introduce My Friends, was released on 26 April 2006 in Sweden, with international releases to follow including an EMI UK release on 11 September 2006.
In July 2008, it was announced that the band would be releasing a new, full-length album in Fall 2008, entitled Who Killed Harry Houdini? The album will feature French singer Soko on the track "Gunhild." The album is due October 14 and they are on tour around the UK finishing at the Scala, London on the 25th November 2008.

Members
Emanuel Lundgren (Founder)
Frida Öhnell
Cornelia Norgren
Philip Erixon
Micke Larsson
Johan Mårtensson
Anna Fröderberg
Johan Aineland
Martin Alfredsson
Erik Ottosson
Tina Gardestrand
David Ljung
Christofer Olofsson
Daniel Lindlöf
Mattias Johansson
Tobias Granstrand
Emma Öhnell
Mathias Alriksson
Jonas Tjäder
David Ottosson
Olof Gardestrand
Marcus Carlholt
Julie Witwicki Carlsson
Rikard Ljung
Henrik Olofsson
Jacob Sollenberg
Fredrik Karp
Johan Viking

Discography
Albums
Let Me Introduce My Friends(April 26, 2006)Dolores Recordings
Who Killed Harry Houdini?(October 14, 2008)Mute Records
EP/Singles
Sing!! - 98B (August 2005)
Don't Give Up on Your Dreams, Buddy! - Dolores Recordings (February 15, 2006)
Collection of Stamps CD Single - EMI Sweden (April 12, 2006)
Treehouse - (August 9, 2006)
Britney CD Single - Dolores Recordings/EMI Sweden (July 16, 2007)

Music Videos
Collection of Stamps By Daniel Eskils & Johan Junker - Stream it
We're From Barcelona By Andreas Nilsson & Rasmus Hägg - Stream it

Collaborations
Adventure Kid Emanuel Lundgren, the creative motor of I'm from Barcelona and the electronica/bitpop artist Kristoffer Ekstrand also known as Adventure Kid shocked the audience by forming a two men strong electronic I'm from Barcelona in fall of 2006. A remix of the band's We're From Barcelona recorded by Adventure Kid has been played at the end of the band's shows during 2006 - [1]
Loney, Dear

Footnotes
^ The Guardian - Stockholm syndrome Retrieved on January 4-2008.

External links
Official site
Official MySpace

Slow Club

2008-12-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

Lookin at NME singles out the week of December 4th and stumbled up the Slow Club. They have a new single out Christmas TV which NME rates an 8 out of 10. Anyway if you've been reading along you know I'm a big Mae Shi fan so when I was listening to a few tunes on Seeqpod I came across their cover of "run to your grave" and was impressed. So here is the Slow Club version and then the original along with a few other Slow Club tunes. Take a listen:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

The Rosebuds

2008-11-29T08:15:00.000-08:00

The Rosebuds released "Life Like back in October of this year on Merge record. CMJ charts have them moving from 10 to 9 this week. While I found the song "Life Like" catchy and entertaining what really caught my attention was a cover of Salt & Peppers "Push it". Here's a video on the making of the song. Apparently it was put together by their dog Jasmine.

Songs From Seeqpod:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia Bio:

The Rosebuds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Rosebuds

Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp
Background information
Origin
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Genre(s)
Indie rock Folk Dance
Years active
2001–present
Label(s)
Merge Records and Pidgeon English Records
Associated acts
Schooner
Website
http://www.therosebuds.com
Members
Ivan HowardKelly Crisp
Former members
Billy AlphinLee Waters
The Rosebuds are an indie rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. (They are not the original vocal group the Rosebuds who recorded for George Goldner's Gee Records in the 1950s.) Its current members are Ivan Howard (vocals/guitar/ drums/ bass/keyboards/programming) and Kelly Crisp (vocals/keyboard/drums/guitar). Billy Alphin had played drums on the album The Rosebuds Make Out and Lee Waters played drums on the record Birds Make Good Neighbors.
Howard and Crisp met while in college in Wilmington, North Carolina. That fall, they moved to nearby Raleigh and joined with drummer Billy Alphin of Schooner to form The Rosebuds. Merge Records discovered their demo in early 2003 and released The Rosebuds Make Out as a full-length debut album that October.
Following that recording, Alphin left the group and was replaced by Jonathan Bass for their 2003 touring schedule. The Rosebuds Unwind, an EP with six songs, was released in April 2005, followed by Birds Make Good Neighbors in September. The Rosebuds are now joined by Giorgio Angelini and Matt McCaughan on drums for shows and tours. In the premiere episode of the series Dirt, in one scene the song "4-Track Love Song" from Birds Make Good Neighbors is played in the background. Their third album, Night of the Furies, was released in April of 2007. A fourth full-length, Life Like, was released in Oct. 2008.
In 2007, The Rosebuds covered the Pixies' "Break My Body" for the American Laundromat Records compilation "Dig for Fire - a tribute to PIXIES". OK Go, They Might Be Giants, and British Sea Power also contributed to the project.
In 2008, the band again covered a song for American Laundromat Records. This time it was the Cure's "The Walk" for "Just Like Heaven - a tribute to The Cure". The Wedding Present, Dean & Britta, The Brunettes, and The Submarines also contributed tracks for the project.
Contents

Discography

[edit] Albums
The Rosebuds Make Out (CD) (Merge Records) (October 7, 2003)
The Rosebuds Make Out (LP) (Pidgeon English Records)
Birds Make Good Neighbors (CD) (Merge Records) (September 13, 2005)
Birds Make Good Neighbors (LP) (Goodnight Records) (September 13, 2005)
Night of the Furies (CD) (Merge Records) (April 10, 2007)
Night of the Furies (LP) (Goodnight Records) (April 10, 2007)
Life Like (CD/LP) (Merge Records) (October 7, 2008)

Singles and EPs
The Rosebuds Unwind (EP) (Merge Records) (April 22, 2005)
The Rosebuds vs. Utah! (split 7") (Pidgeon English Records)
The Rosebuds vs. The Close (split 7") (Goodnight Records)

External links
Official Site
Merge Records' The Rosebuds Bio
Live Video of the Rosebuds at scheduletwo.com
Live show photos of THE ROSEBUDS by Space Monkey Photography
Interview with Ivan Howard by Greg Szeto of Bmore Live
http://www.pidgeonenglish.com/bands.php
Lazy-i Interview: September 2004
The Rosebuds Blog, maintained by the band, with dispatches from tours etc.

Cheeky Cheeky & The Nosebleeds

2008-11-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

So I ran across this song "You Let Me Go" by Cheeky Cheeky & The Nosebleeds and just couldn't get it out of my head. Can't seem to find the song on you tube vidoe or on Seeqpod yet. So go directly to their my space page and take a listen. They released the single Nov 3rd. Back in March they released "Slow Kids" which is catchy but not quite as good as "You Let Me Go".

Here it be:

Link to my space page: Cheeky Cheeky & The Nosebleeds

OF Montreal

2008-11-15T05:46:00.000-08:00

Skeletal Lamping from Of Montreal was released last month on the 21st on Polyvinyl. It shot up the CMJ charts from 115 to number 2. But while the kids are diggin the sounds the album has gotten mixed reviews from the critics. Rolling Stone gave the album a great review and 4.5 out of 5 stars while Spin gave it a ho-hum 3 out 5. The ever critical Pitchfork is less than thrilled and gives the album 5.9 out of 10. We are not thrilled with the album and have to give it a thumbs down. Take a listen and make up your own mind:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Of Montreal (officially typeset "of Montreal"[1]) is an American indie pop band formed in Athens, Georgia. Fronted by Kevin Barnes, it was among the second wave of groups to emerge from The Elephant 6 Recording Company.

History
The band was created by Kevin Barnes and named after a failed romance with a woman from Montreal, though the story changes in various interviews. Barnes was the only member of the "group" prior to his relocation to Athens, Georgia. There, he met Derek Almstead, later of the Circulatory System, M Coast, Elf Power etc., and Bryan Poole, who also performs as The Late B.P. Helium. Together, they recorded their first album, Cherry Peel, as well as The Bird Who Ate the Rabbit's Flower and The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy.
After production on The Gay Parade began in 1998, Poole left the band to focus on his duties with Elf Power, another Elephant Six band from Athens. Barnes then recruited Jamey Huggins and Dottie Alexander, who had been performing together as Lightning Bug vs. Firefly, to play various instruments. Derek moved from drums to bass. The band was joined soon after by Marshmallow Coast's Andy Gonzales.
A number of singles and a re-release of The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower occurred before the advent of the band's third album, The Gay Parade in 1999. With contributions from several members of the Elephant Six collective at the time, it also featured artwork from Kevin's brother David Barnes, who would continue to do artwork for future albums.
Following the release of The Gay Parade, the band signed with Kindercore Records, who would release a number of singles and compilations. It wasn't until 2001 that Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse would be released as a new album with original material. The album again featured contributions from across the Elephant Six spectrum.

Of Montreal front figure Kevin Barnes playing in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2005
In 2002, Aldhils Arboretum was released, with a slightly different sound than its predecessors, as the songs were more directly structured. This album marks the beginning of the change in Of Montreal's sound, with more danceable rhythms than before, particularly on the album's closer "Death Dance Of The Omipapas and Sons For You". A successful tour ensued, including the band's first trip to the UK, along with a tour-only EP.
Kindercore Records would fold shortly after the release of Arboretum, and Of Montreal's status was also threatened. Kevin got married, and Andy and Derek left the band. Barnes, being uncomfortable with the unrest, as well as some divisions within the band, took to writing and performing their 2004 album Satanic Panic in the Attic mostly by himself. Released by Polyvinyl Records, it became one of their more successful efforts to that point. The album marked a shift to an electronic bass, with drum machines and synthesizers featured in singles such as "Disconnect the Dots". The tour for that album also saw The Late B.P. Helium (Bryan Poole) rejoin the band, with some bass played by Kevin's partner Nina.
This style would continue to evolve into 2005's The Sunlandic Twins, which was even more a Barnes solo effort. Recorded in Athens, with the exception of one track recorded in Norway, it was a much more pronounced electronic album. The album became a success, mostly due to the singles "So Begins Our Alabee" and the MTV clip for "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games)".
The band released several collections of singles in early 2006. Barnes recorded most of the band's 2007 release, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, by himself while living in Norway and Athens, Georgia. The switch to autobiographical themes of suicide, depression and isolation of the album was a direct product of his troubled personal life during that period. Barnes also released a companion CD to Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? called Icons, Abstract Thee.[2] In 2007, Kevin Barnes performed five songs nude during a performance in Las Vegas.[3]
Of Montreal's next album, Skeletal Lamping, was released on October 21, 2008. The album was released in ten different formats, including conventional CD and vinyl, as well as t-shirts, button sets, wall decals, tote bags and a paper lantern, the latter formats replete with a digital download code for the album itself[4]. All items for the collection were designed by The Bee With Wheels (David Barnes) and Gemini Tactics (Nina Barnes), a coalition termed the 'Apollinaire Rave Colective'. In an essay addressing the concept behind the album's release, Kevin Barnes stated "We feel that there’s no reason to produce another object that just sits on a shelf. We only want to produce objects that have a function and that can be treasured for their singularness."[5] The album reached number one on emusic's Most Downloaded Albums Chart, as reported in the November 14, 2008 issue of Entertainment Weekly.

Style

Of Montreal performing live at Baltimore in 2007
The group has a style that is typical of many Elephant 6 bands due to its interest in combining musical experimentation and the basic tenets of pop, such as catchy melodies and sing-along choruses. The band's style has been influenced by not only more conventional indie pop and psychedelic music, but also by vaudeville and music hall on their earlier releases and by afrobeat, funk, krautrock and reggae in their more recent releases.
The band's style has been known to change between albums. At first, the band embraced a more simple, quirky, lo-fi indie pop sound, which occasionally bordered on twee pop. Later the band moved to a fuller sound, as seen on the concept albums The Gay Parade, and its follow-up, Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse. These albums contain more narrative lyrics, as opposed to the rather personal lyrical matter of those preceding it, and often imitating the style of old 1950s radio plays.
2004's Satanic Panic in the Attic marked the result of an evolving change in style. The sound shifted to something more electronic with traditional structures, to be further advanced in later albums and new songs. In their most recent releases and concerts, the band has fully embraced a sort of techno-pop glam image, with little of their previous incarnations surfacing.
Lyrically, their style has changed dramatically throughout the years. In the beginning, many songs were narratives of personal or humorous situations, such as "Tim, I Wish You Were Born A Girl", from Cherry Peel. This style, however, changed with The Gay Parade, where many songs involve small narratives surrounding invented characters (in songs such as "Jacques Lamure", "The Autobiographical Grandpa", "Mimi Merlot" and "Rose Robert"). Others act as extracts from fictional conversations ("Advice From a Divorced Gentleman to His Bachelor Friend Considering Marriage" and "Good Morning Mr. Edminton" as examples). With Aldhils Arboretum came a slight return to the previous writing style, except following more poppy, classical lyrical structures (such as the use of choruses, which are generally absent in the Gay Parade/Coquelicot years). This style continued throughout Satanic Panic and The Sunlandic Twins to some extent. On the band's 2007 album Hissing Fauna: Are You the Destroyer?, the lyrics are much more personal than previously used, with songs detailing emotions within the speaker.
Another unique quality of the band is the fusion of ostensibly gloomy lyrics with bouncy, upbeat melodies and hooks. On Aldhils Arboretum, for example, the lyrics for tracks like "Doing Nothing" and "Old People in the Cemetery" focus on apathy, loneliness or death while being contrasted with cheerful instrumentation. Another example of this tendency is shown in their choice of covers; for example, Yoko Ono's "I Felt Like Smashing my Head Through a Clear Glass Window" from The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower.

Side projects
True to the style of most Elephant Six recording artists, Of Montreal's members have been in a variety of side projects and other bands.
The band itself has performed as the backing band for Marshmallow Coast on record and on tour.
My First Keyboard was the pseudonym used by Dottie Alexander to release the song "The You I Created" on the Kindercore singles club. Of Montreal acted as her backing band.
Kevin Barnes did a comedy tour with his wife, Nina, and his brother, David, called "A Pollinaire Rave".
Jamey Huggins released an album under the name "James Husband" which featured a cover of The Beatles' "We Can Work it Out".
Bryan Poole has a solo career as the Late B.P. Helium.
Kevin Barnes has recently been collaborating with Andrew VanWyngarden from MGMT, on a project called Blikk Fang (formerly Ocelot Fang).[1]
Derek Almstead has worked with many artists as a musician and engineer including his collaboration with Andy Gonzales M Coast, Elf Power, Circulatory System, and many more.
Kevin Barnes played keyboard in a song on Bright Eyes' album Letting Off the Happiness.
Ahmed Gallab has a solo career as Sinkane
The song "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)" can be heard on radio and television commercials with words changed for an advertisement for Outback Steakhouse. Similarly, their song "Every Day Feels Like Sunday" was used in television commercials for NASDAQ and Garmin GPS systems.

Discography

Studio albums
1997 Cherry Peel (Bar/None)
1998 The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy (Kindercore)
1999 The Gay Parade (Bar/None)
2001 Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse (Kindercore)
2002 Aldhils Arboretum (Kindercore)
2004 Satanic Panic in the Attic (Polyvinyl)
2005 The Sunlandic Twins (Polyvinyl)
2007 Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl, #72 US)
2008 Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl, #38 US)

Compilations
2000 Horse & Elephant Eatery (No Elephants Allowed): The Singles and Songles Album (CD, Bar/None)
2001 The Early Four Track Recordings (CD/LP, Kindercore)
2001 An Introduction to Of Montreal (LP, Earworm)
2003 If He Is Protecting Our Nation, Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children? (CD, Track & Field)
2003 Ghetto Kitty Island Records Compilation (7", Split with Chicken on a Raft, Bart Davenport, and The Minders, Ghetto Kitty Island Records)
2004 The Gladiator Nightstick Collection (LP, Devil in the Woods)
2006 Satanic Twins (limited edition LP/digital release, Polyvinyl)
2006 Of Montreal Sampler (free promo CD, Polyvinyl)

EPs
1997 The Bird Who Ate the Rabbit's Flower (CD/LP, Kindercore)
1998 The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower (CD/LP, Kindercore)
2006 Deflated Chime, Foals Slightly Flower Sibylline Responses (CD, Polyvinyl)
2007 Icons, Abstract Thee (CD, Polyvinyl)
2007 Sony Connect Set (digital, Sony Connect/Polyvinyl)

Singles
1998 "Nicki Lighthouse" (7", 100 Guitar Mania)
1999 "Happy Happy Birthday To Me Singles Club: November" (7", Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records)
2000 "Archibald of the Balding Sparrows" (7", Kindercore, Split with Marshmallow Coast))
2001 "Kindercore Singles Club: September" (7", Kindercore, Split with Ladybug Transistor))
2001 "Split With the Late B.P. Helium" (7", Jonathan Whiskey)
2003 "Jennifer Louise" (7", Track & Field)
2004 "I Was a Landscape in Your Dream" (7", Harvest Time Recordings)
2006 "Microuniversity" (7", Park the Van)
2006 "Voltaic Crusher"/"Undrum to Muted Da" (7", Suicide Squeeze)
2006 "She's a Rejector" (7", Polyvinyl)
2007 "Suffer For Fashion" (CD, Polyvinyl)
2007 "Gender Mutiny Tour" (7", Polyvinyl)
2008 "Id Engager" (7", Polyvinyl)

Soundtracks
2005 Music from the OC: Mix 5 (Warner Bros./Wea)
2006 Weeds: Music from the Original Series, Volume 2
2008 Cloverfield

External links
Of Montreal's official site
Of Montreal on Elephant6.com
Myspace Page

Interviews
Of Montreal adds swag to its musical swagger Boston Herald
Lazy-i Interview from April 2004
Interview with the Cornell Daily Sun
Interview with Synthesis magazine
Of Montreal interview at exclaim
Of Montreal at rolling stone
Of Montreal concerts and interviews at NPR Music
'Linear Notes' from Kevin Barnes with DIRTY - 20th October, 2008

References
^ The DL: of Montreal Clear Up Capitalization Confusion - Spinner.com
^ Aversion.com: Desperate Measures, by Matt Schild, accessed 29 January 2007
^ Pitchfork: NSFW: Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes NAKED!
^ The Skeletal Lamping Collection
^ 'We Will Only Propagate Exceptional Objects'

Deerhunter

2008-11-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

Deerhunter released Microcastle on Kranky Recods on October 28th. Pitchfork is sticking the album in its best new music catogory and is giving the album a 9.2 out of 10 rating. Its moved up the CMJ charts to number 13. Haven't had time to listen to this one so I have no opinion at the momment. Take a listen and figure it out for yourself.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Deerhunter is an American five-piece group originated from Atlanta, Georgia. The band, comprised of Bradford Cox, Moses Archuleta, Josh Fauver, Whitney Petty, and Lockett Pundt, has described themselves as "ambient punk," though they incorporate a wide range of genres, including noise rock, art rock, ambient, and post-punk.
Contents[hide]

Members
Bradford Cox - vocals, electronics, tapes, drum, acoustic slide guitar, bell set, accordion, electric guitar, piano, bass drum, gong
Moses Archuleta – drums/percussion, synth/pads, electronics, treatments
Josh Fauver - bass, piano, percussion, reverse guitar, vocals
Lockett Pundt - synth bells, guitar, acoustic slide guitar, hammond organ, vocals
Whitney Petty - guitar

History

Formation and "Turn It Up Faggot" (2001-2005)
The band was co-founded in 2001 by vocalist Bradford Cox and drummer/keyboardist Moses Archuleta.[1] The name Deerhunter came from the band's first drummer, Dan Walton, who was asked to leave the band early in its career.[2] The band were joined by Colin Mee, whom Cox met while Mee was living at the Atlanta label Die Slaughterhaus Records with members of Black Lips. In 2004 the group's first bassist, Justin Bosworth, died of head injuries suffered in a skateboarding accident. He appeared on only one Deerhunter release, the Deerhunter/Alphabets Split, issued before their debut album. Joshua Fauver, of Atlanta punk band Electrosleep International, then took up the position as bassist. Bosworth's death influenced the sound of Deerhunter's first album, "Turn It Up Faggot", which was "the result of a lot of negativity".[3] After the band finished the album, in an indication of how difficult it was to record in the wake of his bandmate's death, Cox said "I don't ever want to make this album again".[3] The album's liner notes are dedicated to Bosworth. After the release of "Turn It Up Faggot", Cox asked his best friend from high school, Lockett Pundt, to join the band, thus solidifying the current line up.

Cryptograms and Fluorescent Grey EP (2005 - 2007)
The band, now featuring Pundt's reverb-saturated guitar sound, began to hone their songwriting skills. They went on tour, playing shows with the likes of Lightning Bolt and Gang Gang Dance. This tour culminated in a recording session engineered by acclaimed folk musician Samara Lubleski at Rare Book Room, New York.[4] This session failed to produce anything that could be used, due to Cox’s mental and physical state at the time, as well as disagreements that emerged with Samara Lubleski.[4] Cox has kept a copy of the sessions on "a scratched CD-R under my bed" and has stated that "nobody will ever hear them".[4] (In spite of Cox's claim excerpts from those sessions were later posted as a free download on the band's blog.) The band returned to the same studio where they recorded their first album outside Athens, Georgia and decided to give recording their second album another attempt. This was partly due to advice received from the band Liars, who encouraged them to re-record it.[4]
It took only two days in November 2005 for the band to record their second album, entitled Cryptograms. In 2006, before its release, Pitchfork Media added "Spring Hall Convert", a song from the record, to its "Infinite Mix Tape series". It was the 51st entry.[5] Deerhunter's second album was released by Kranky in January of 2007. The album revealed a more "subdued and introverted"[6] sound for the band. In explaining the ambient sounds on the record Cox has said, "what I needed when we were doing Cryptograms was to be comfortable with these warm, lulling, droning kinds of things. And that's what made me comfortable at that time..."[4] Upon release, their CD garnered the title of "Best New Music" from Pitchfork Media. As with their first album, Cryptograms also had a dedication inside the album's liner notes, this time to a friend of Cox's, Bradley Ira Harris. Harris was a heroin addict who passed away in 2005. Cox identified with Harris, because he too was an "outsider".[4]
On May 8, 2007, the group released the Fluorescent Grey EP, which was recorded in July 2006. This EP also garnered the title of "Best New Music" from Pitchfork Media. In the same month, the band released the Whirlyball 7" single, which was available at only one store in Atlanta, Georgia: Criminal Records. The single also acted as a ticket to a show, which featured the band along with The Carbonas, Selmanaries and The Coathangers. The single was available online for a limited time after the show due to popular demand, but only 200 copies were pressed, with 100 on black vinyl and 100 on clear vinyl.[7]
On the 29th of August 2007, the group became a quartet with the loss of guitarist Colin Mee. Mee departed because he "...couldn't make it to a couple of shows we had booked next weekend and that was unacceptable to certain bandmates".[8] In addition to this reason, Mee felt that the band "were receiving (and creating) too much press that had nothing to do with any new music being created".[9] This comment was in reference to the band's blog, which had been the object of increased media attention due to certain posts, "I don't want to be overexposed. I don't want the world to know what our excrement looks like or what we are selling on eBay or whether we got robbed".[9] He added that "I have nothing against anyone and I'm sure things will work out fine".[8] However, Mee returned to the fold for their autumn 2007 European tour.

Future and Microcastle (2007-present)
Deerhunter made an appearance on Living Bridge, a compilation put together by Rare Book Room Records. The song that appeared on the compilation was entitled "After Class" and was recorded in the same place where they attempted to record their second album, the Rare Book Room studios. It was released in February 2008.
The quartet's third album, slated to come out in 2008, will be titled Microcastle. One of the songs from the record, whose title has been confirmed as "Twilight at Carbon Lake", has been described by Cox as "doo-wop, 50s/early 60s, Everly Brothers".[10] Microcastle leaked on the internet May 31, 2008.
The band added guitarist Whitney Petty, a former cheerleader and high school friend of Cox's, to replace the departing Mee in May 2008.

Influences
Lead singer Bradford Cox has cited many musical influences that contribute to Deerhunter's sound, some of which include The Clean, The Fall, The Flying Lizards, Kompakt records, The Birthday Party, The Bad Seeds, and Liars. However, if their influences had to be "narrowed down",[11] Cox would note their "defining influences" as Echo & The Bunnymen, Brian Eno, David Bowie and My Bloody Valentine.[11]

Discography

Albums
Year
Title
2005:
"Turn It Up Faggot"/Deerhunter
2007:
Cryptograms
2008:
Microcastle
Weird Era Cont.

EPs
Year
Title
2005:
Deerhunter/Alphabets Split
2006:
Deerhunter 7"
2007:
Fluorescent Grey EP
Whirlyball 7"

Singles
Year
Title
2006:
Deerhunter/Hubcap City Split
2008:
"Grayscale"

Compilation appearances
Year
Song
Compilation
2007:
"Hazel St."
The Believer: Cue the Bugle Turbulent
"Spring Break"
Musicfest NW Vol. 2
2008:
"After Class"
Living Bridge
"Like New"
Lights in the Sky: Over North America 2008 Tour Sampler EP

Touring
Deerhunter have garnered a reputation for their intense live shows. Cox has worn sundresses and has performed with fake blood smeared over his face and hands, their live show being "much more savage" than their albums.[12] In his explanation of the sundresses Cox has said, "I don't like the idea of going around stage in just jeans and a t-shirt. It seems anticlimactic."[10]
Deerhunter supported Nine Inch Nails on their 2008 tour on the following dates.
2008 Dates
Location
Venue
Aug 5th 2008
Toronto, Ont
Air Canada Centre
Aug 7th 2008
Uncasville, Ct
Mohegan Sun Arena
Aug 8th 2008
Worcester, Ma
DCU Center
Aug 12th 2008
Knoxville, Tn
Knoxville Civic Collseum
Aug 13th 2008
Duluth, Ga
Gwinnett Arena
Sept 2nd 2008
Morrison, Co
Red Rocks Amphitheater
Sept 3rd 2008
Salt Lake City, Ut
The E Center of West Valley
Sept 5th 2008
Oakland, Ca
Oracle Arena
Sept 6th 2008
Inglewood, Ca
The Forum

Past touring
Deerhunter played with TV on the Radio and Project Pat at the Spring Fling outside Connecticut's Wesleyan University.
They supported the Liars during a portion of their American tour in May 2006, playing in Georgia and a host of other places like California and Texas.
They supported the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on their tour of Georgia. Lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and professed fan, Karen O, has hailed Deerhunter's live shows as a "religious experience".[13]
They were scheduled to support The Smashing Pumpkins for two dates in Asheville, North Carolina, but left after playing only one, due to a confrontation between Cox and Smashing Pumpkins's lead singer Billy Corgan, during which Cox was allegedly manhandled by a stage manager. The Smashing Pumpkin's management apologized, and the issue was resolved.
In July 2007 the band supported The Fiery Furnaces on their tour of Georgia.
They also performed with the reunited Ex-Models at the Bowery Ballroom in July, before making an appearance at the Pitchfork Music Festival.
They supported Battles on part of their American tour.

See also
Atlas Sound

References
^ "Don't Quit Your Day Job". Stereogum. Retrieved on 2007-06-20.
^ "Deerhunter Images". Stereogum. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
^ a b "Youth Gone Wild: Deerhunter's young punks try to fight off adulthood". Creative Loafing. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ a b c d e f "Interview: Deerhunter". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
^ "Infinite Mixtape #51: Deerhunter: "Spring Hall Convert"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-07-10.
^ "Interview: Deerhunter". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
^ "Deerhunter Whirlyball 7" Single". Chunklet. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ a b "stereogum: Colin Mee Leaves Deerhunter". Stereogum. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
^ a b "Guitarist Colin Mee Explains Why He Left Deerhunter". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
^ a b "Deerhunter's Cox Talks LP3, Atlas Sound, Dresses". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ a b "yo yo yo". Deerhunter Blog. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
^ "Hazy Clouds of Sound, Halfway Intelligible Vocals". The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ "Fun Fact". Deerhunter at Eventful. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.

External links
Band Maintained Blog
All Music Guide Profile
Myspace Page
Justin Bosworth Blog Post
Nerve Magazine Article
Guest List at Discollective
Interview at Press Play and Record

Deerhunter

Deerhoof

2008-10-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

Deerhoof released Offend Maggie on the label Kill Rock Stras on October 7th. Rollingstones states:

If Dora the Explorer cut an album with Sonic Youth, it might sound like Deerhoof.

This is funny and entertaining especially if you have children like I do and you have been forced to endure hours of Dora the Explorer. The review rundown goes like this Pitchfork 7.6 out of 10. Spin 3 out of 5 stars and Rolling Stone gives it 3.5 out of 5. The college kids are digging the sound as the album has spiked to number for on the CMJ chart.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Deerhoof is a San Francisco musical group, currently consisting of Satomi Matsuzaki (usually vocals and bass), John Dieterich (usually guitar), Ed Rodriguez (usually guitar as well) and Greg Saunier (usually drums).
Although typically classified as indie rock due to their having been on an indie rock label (Kill Rock Stars) for the entirety of their career, the unconventional nature of Deerhoof's music makes genre identification difficult. But several recurring features can be said to constitute Deerhoof's distinctive sound: unassuming vocal delivery set against hyper-expressive instrumental playing; an elastic approach to group dynamics and rhythm more akin to the rubato of classical music performance practice than rock; odd melodies; harmonic sophistication and dissonance; disjointed, condensed, asymmetrical and otherwise unconventional song structures; raw and at times strident sound surfaces; and improvisation.
Contents[hide]

Origins
In 1991, the classically trained Saunier, directly after graduating from conservatory, moved to San Francisco and joined a short-lived quartet called Nitre Pit, on drums. When this quartet broke up suddenly with shows still booked, Saunier and then-bassist Rob Fisk formed a duo, dubbed Deerhoof by Fisk.[1] They forged a convulsive, improvisatory playing style to make up for their lack of material and stark instrumentation.
One such show where Fisk and Saunier were called upon to substitute for their former band was the 1995 Yo Yo A Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA. The audience was instantly polarized by the jarring ferocity of this unknown duo, but among them was Slim Moon, founder of the independent Olympia record label Kill Rock Stars. Moon signed Deerhoof on for one 7" single. The duo, budgetless, recorded themselves on four-track and released "Return of the Wood M'lady", featuring the drawing of visual artist Fisk.[2] Deerhoof's do-it-yourself ethic turned out to be an appropriate match with Kill Rock Stars, and Deerhoof has remained on this label for the entirety of their career, ultimately becoming the longest-running and best-selling artist on the label's current roster.
The histrionic instrumental style and massive volume of the early duo made vocals difficult to perform, so in 1996 Fisk and Saunier began looking for a singer to join them. In May of that year, through a mutual friend, they met Satomi Matsuzaki, who had just arrived in San Francisco from her native Tokyo in order to study film. Although she had no musical experience, all three quickly agreed that her calm singing style was what had been lacking in Deerhoof's sound. Within one week of her joining, Deerhoof went on their first tour as a trio. In this early incarnation she sang into a strange microphone Fisk had constructed out of papier mache and Walkman headphones.

History

The Man, The King, The Girl—Halfbird
By the time Deerhoof released their self-recorded first album The Man, the King, the Girl in 1997, a vast stylistic difference from the first single was apparent. The album was a mix of swirling noise and facile melody, played in a wild improvisational style, and produced using a wide and bizarre sound palette. Matsuzaki's childlike voice brought an unresolved tension that has remained a hallmark of their style. As on all Deerhoof albums, there were elements of the "concept album" at work. Deerhoof submitted the "completed" album several times before being satisfied with it. The artwork was painted by Fisk.
Matsuzaki began teaching herself to play bass and Deerhoof toured the U.S. several times over the next several years, often leaving audiences confused by the cheerful pop elements that seemed incongruous in a noise rock band.
In 1998, Deerhoof added Kelly Goode on keyboard, and by the release of 1999's Holdypaws, Deerhoof had once again drastically altered their sound, focusing on extremely strict performance of tightly composed songs, completely removing any element of noise, improvisation, or unusual instrumentation. The artwork was once again by Fisk and echoed the newly dark tone of the music. One could say that all of Deerhoof's subsequent albums have fallen between the aesthetic extremes posited by these first two.
Sales were low, band and label were losing money, and Deerhoof seemed destined for obscurity. When both Fisk and Goode quit in fall 1999, they left incomplete a third album, Halfbird, begun before Goode joined. When it was released in 2001, it revealed an increasing compositional sophistication, as well as a more subtle and layered orchestration that belied their modest DIY recording methods. The artwork was by Fisk.

Reveille—The Runners Four
In late 1999 Saunier and Matsuzaki found a replacement in self-taught guitarist John Dieterich, and spent the next two years crafting a new approach to writing, playing, and recording. The result was Reveille, released in 2002. Though still self-produced, it was recorded in a combination of home and studio settings, for certain songs using the engineering aid of Jay Pellicci and Ian Pellicci. As a result, the sound quality was more powerful and more polished than on previous releases. Dieterich's guitar playing added a new element of guitar virtuosity to the band. Matsuzaki's vocals were at once more confident and more minimal, often acting as another instrument in the mix, and often with seemingly meaningless phonemes for lyrics. The stylistic contrasts between and within songs were more unpredictable and daring. The artwork was by Matsuzaki, and had religious connotations and a grandiose tone that was echoed in the lyrics and musical style. It was at this time that Deerhoof first started to receive more serious critical attention.
By the end of the recording process, the band had developed a close relationship with Chris Cohen, then playing in his band The Curtains. Cohen joined Deerhoof, primarily as a second guitarist, Saunier joined The Curtains for several years, and Cohen and Dieterich formed another band called Natural Dreamers. For the next three years Deerhoof toured and recorded as a quartet, slowly building towards the international renown they receive today. The formerly shy Matsuzaki developed into a commanding stage presence. During this time Deerhoof released Apple O' (2003), Milk Man (2004), and The Runners Four (2005) in rapid succession, each receiving more critical attention, sales, and airplay than the previous. Milk Man is notable for being the band's first release to be distributed in Europe by ATP Recordings, who have done the same for all major Deerhoof recordings since that time. A lesser-known EP, Green Cosmos (2005), was also released during this time.
Despite the addition of Cohen, or perhaps as a result, Apple O' strips away the multi-layared and often electronic sounds of Reveille in favor of simple, live-sounding production without overdubs. Most of Apple O' was recorded in one nine-hour session with Jay Pellicci engineering. Exceptions were "Sealed With A Kiss", which was apparently created entirely on home computer using only samples from songs about apples, and the final two tracks which were acoustic and folksong-like. Matsuzaki's role as vocalist was larger than on Reveille, although she still often sounded like another instrument along with the guitars, which sometimes doubled her melodies in unison, a recurring feature of Deerhoof's music. Apple O' focused its artwork (again by Fisk, though he was no longer in the band) and lyrics around mythic themes of love and war, featuring repeated allusions to Adam and Eve, the atom bomb, and extinction.
Around this time, the quartet decided to leave their jobs and tour fulltime. Matsuzaki had been editing a San Francisco Japanese magazine, Dieterich and Saunier had been doing data entry for legal and consulting firms, and Cohen had been a waiter at a Thai restaurant.
Milk Man began as a cartoon character created by Japanese artist Ken Kagami, a longtime friend of the band. Using this drawing as a starting point, they created lyrics and music that told an ambiguous story about an all-white, masked character with fruits stabbed into its body, who takes children on a magical journey during the night. In contrast to the earnest guitar rock that predominated on Apple O', Milk Man featured a broad palette of orchestral colors, echoes of music theater and camp, polished and gaudy arrangements, Stravinskian harmonies, and a more stylized, anonymous playing style resulting partly from recording most of the instruments at separate times rather than playing together as a band. Milk Man's connections to both music theater and to children were embodied later in a theatrical version created by Courtney Naliboff and performed by children of the North Haven Community School in North Haven, Maine in fall 2006. The Milk Man Ballet was later released on DVD.
The EP Green Cosmos was the first Deerhoof release to be sung almost entirely in Matsuzaki's native language of Japanese. Musically Green Cosmos took the aesthetic of Milk Man a step further by combining an even more expansive orchestral sound, some live playing as fierce as anything Deerhoof had recorded, and references to disco that at times completely replaced live drums with programmed beats and samples. Artwork was created from original tarot cards designed by Dawn Garcia.
In the fall, Deerhoof released The Runners Four. Unlike the short albums of Deerhoof's past, The Runners Four was in essence a double album, with 20 songs, the result of several intense months of recording together in their rented practice space in Oakland. The idea was to give each band member equal say in its creation, and to work out arrangements as a live band rather than in the computer. Matsuzaki and Cohen reversed instrumental roles, with Matsuzaki playing guitar and Cohen bass. All four members were featured as vocalists at various points. This was their wordiest release, a contrast to the telegraphic simplicity of Reveille and Apple O'. Lyrics were ambiguous, but certain motifs - time travel, smuggling, allusions to Noah's Ark - recurred throughout. Artwork was by Trevor Shimizu, formerly of The Curtains.
After an extensive world tour, Deerhoof was invited by the San Francisco International Film Festival to perform a live, original score to a silent film of their choosing. They chose Heaven And Earth Magic by Harry Smith, and performed their hour-long soundtrack, largely composed by Dieterich, in spring 2006. This was to be Cohen's last activity with Deerhoof, as he left to pursue The Curtains fulltime.[3] The split was apparently amicable and, to commemorate Cohen, Deerhoof posted one of their occasional free mp3 EPs on their website. The band didn't assign a name to the EP, so reviewers referred to it as Untitled E.P.

Friend Opportunity
Now back to a trio, in summer 2006 they began working with first-time director Justin Theroux on the soundtrack to Dedication, released in fall 2007. (Dedication Film Soundtrack, featuring four tracks by Deerhoof, was also released at this time.)
Using the Heaven And Earth Magic score as a starting place, the trio began recording a new album. In contrast to the raw and at times "retro" guitar rock sound of The Runners Four, Friend Opportunity was marked by the extreme clarity of its dense layering of sounds, both acoustic and electronic, and one could detect a hip hop influence for the first time. Matsuzaki, Saunier, and Dieterich did not divide their contributions according to their onstage roles, and each contributed percussion, guitar, bass, keyboards and production. The stylistic incongruities between songs were large even for Deerhoof. It was mostly recorded in late summer 2006 in Dieterich's Oakland apartment, between two legs of a concert tour opening for Radiohead. Though self-produced as always, some portions were recorded once again by Jay and Ian Pellicci. It was mixed largely while on the road. Lyrically dark, it moves through the promise, development, corruption, and negation of human relationships. Paintings were by well-known Scottish artist David Shrigley, whose compilation Worried Noodles features the Deerhoof song "Kidz Are So Small." On Worried Noodles, the song is entitled "You, Dog (AKA Kidz Are So Small)."
When Friend Opportunity was released in January 2007, Deerhoof began a world tour that continues at present. The album has been their most critically successful and best-selling work. In early February, 2008, guitarist Ed Rodriguez joined the band as a full-time member.

Offend Maggie
On June 3rd 2008 Deerhoof announced details of their new album Offend Maggie. The album was released on October 6th 2008 in the UK on ATP Recordings and October 7th in the USA on Kill Rock Stars.
Six songs from Offend Maggie were performed in a concert given in Prospect Park, Brooklyn on Friday, July 18th, 2008; the songs were "Fresh Born", "Chandelier Searchlight", "Buck and Judy", "Numina", "Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back", and "The Tears and Music of Love". The performance was aired live on WNYC2 and NPR Music with host David Garland. At the show, Deerhoof also gave away an additional song from Offend Maggie, "Fresh Born", in the form of sheet music, with the intention that fans create their own versions of the song. WNYC Culture created the first, in the form of a video. The sheet music was then made available online by Deerhoof and Cash Music.[4]

Discography

Studio albums
Dirt Pirate Creed LP (1996)
The Man, the King, the Girl CD (1997)
Holdypaws CD (1999)
Koalamagic CD (2001)
Halfbird CD (2001)
Reveille CD/LP (2002)
Apple O' CD/LP (2003)
Milk Man CD/LP (2004)
Green Cosmos CD EP(2005)
The Runners Four CD/LP (2005)
Friend Opportunity CD/LP (2007)
Offend Maggie CD/LP (2008)

Compilations
Bibidi Babidi Boo free online only (2004)
Untitled Deerhoof EP free online only (2006)
+81 online retailers only (2006)

Videography
Deerhoof/ XBXRX Home Video (NTSC VHS, directed by Vice Cooler, NFJM, January 2001)
Gore in Rut (directed by Children of Hoof Education Center) on Video Fanzine #1 (NTSC VHS, Kill Rock Stars, April 1999, KRS200) [1]
Wicca Wind (directed by Aida Ruilova) on Video Fanzine #2 (NTSC VHS, Kill Rock Stars, 3 October 2000, KRS300) [2]
Dog on the Sidewalk (live) on Video Fanzine #3 (NTSC DVD, Kill Rock Stars, 12 July 2005, KRS400) [3]
Wrong Time Capsule (directed by Martha Colburn, November 2005) [4]
The Perfect Me (directed by Eric Landmark & Peter Venuto, March 2007) [5]

Chart positions
The Runners Four 2005 #50 Independent Albums, #46 Heatseekers
Friend Opportunity 2007 #3 Heatseekers
Offend Maggie 2008 #150 Billboard 200, #23 Independent Albums, #2 Heatseekers

References
^ http://www.huliq.com/34815/walker-art-center-presents-art-rock-trio-deerhoof
^ http://drownedinsound.com/directory/artists/Deerhoof
^ Azerrad, Michael. "Deerhoof". ATP Recordings. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
^ http://deerhoof.cashmusic.org/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Deerhoof
Deerhoof official website (tourdates, news, blog, contacts, interviews, videos)
Press page
The Milk Man Ballet
Deerhoof at MySpace
Kill Rock Stars
MP3s on ibiblio
Deerhoof concerts on NPR Music
Oct 2008 Interview with L.A. Record
2008 Interview with Greg Saunier

Deerhoof

Cold War Kids

2008-10-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

Cold War Kids released "Loyalty to Loyalty" on Downtown Records September 23rd this year to pretty much poor to average reviews. I featured this band before and was very much into "Hang me up to dry" So I was excited when I heard about the new album. Pitchfork gives the album a 5.1 out of 10 and states:

"But ultimately, Loyalty to Loyalty leaves a weird aftertaste, and it's not just because the penultimate "Relief" tries to prop itself up on Willett's falsetto harangues and stuttering slap-bass, before "Cryptomnesia" ends the record collapsing into a rumpled heap."

NME gives it a 7 out of 10 which seems like a pretty average rating, while SPIN hits them with a 2.5 stars out of 5. The reviews could be better and I gotta says upon first listen, I am not as excited about this album as I was about the last.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Cold War Kids are an indie rock band from Fullerton, California, USA. Band members are Nathan Willett (lead vocals, piano, guitar), Jonnie Russell (guitar, vocals, percussion), Matt Maust (bass guitar), and Matt Aveiro (drums).
Contents

History
The band started in 2004 in historic downtown Fullerton in guitarist/vocalist Jonnie Russell's apartment above the restaurant Mulberry St. Ristorante (their first EP title).[2] The band relocated to Los Angeles and began recording their first demos, and after signing to Monarchy Music, the band released their debut EP Mulberry Street in the spring of 2005. The band toured extensively in 2005-2006, which ultimately created internet buzz amongst the blogging community. While touring, the band released two more EPs, With Our Wallets Full and Up in Rags in 2006. In the summer of 2006, Cold War Kids signed to Downtown Records (home to Gnarls Barkley, Art Brut) and released their debut LP Robbers & Cowards that fall.
In 2007, they contributed to OKX, a tribute to the 10-year-old Radiohead album OK Computer, recording their version of the track "Electioneering." Willett identified Radiohead and the album as a strong influence, saying, "It's the only album that I feel compelled to say way too grandiose things about, that rock journalists have already said plenty: Like that OK Computer is the single most important album to be released during my youth and that it was a rite of passage. But that really is the truth and I have never had an emotional connection with an album quite like I have with this one." He also explained why the band chose to cover "Electioneering" from the album: "I'm not saying 'Electioneering' is the best song on the album, but (still, a big claim!) it's certainly the most badass. It's lyrically everything we want to do - bursts of concrete imagery."[3]
Also in 2007, "We Used to Vacation" was the second track on music magazine Q's Best of 2007 promotional album.
Cold War Kids were long said to be keen backers of organic farming, but this was recently confirmed as nothing more than a bizarre rumour by keyboardist Nathan Willett. They are, however, avid supporters of unsigned talent such as the band Electric Furs. They have toured in support of Two Gallants, Tapes 'n Tapes, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Sound Team, Muse, and The White Stripes. Their music is heavily inspired by artists such as Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, and Johnny Segment. Recently they starred in an MTV2 special titled "Cold War Kids Takeover!" They appeared on Soccer AM and were announced as Norwich City F.C. Fans. They were going to tour with The White Stripes for their Icky Thump tour, but The White Stripes had to cancel. They recently played to a sold out gig at London's Bloomsbury Ballroom on 11th August 2008 and will be returning to UK shores to play the legendary Astoria venue in London on the 7th November 2008.
As of December 2007, Cold War Kids have returned to the studio to work on their second album. In June 2008, the band posted a video on their website containing an in-studio video featuring new song material. Later they put up a free MP3 of a track from their sophomore album, entitled "Something Is Not Right With Me." They also revealed that their new album will be called Loyalty to Loyalty, and it was released on September 23rd, 2008.

Members

Nathan Willettvocals, piano, guitar

Matt Maustbass guitar

Jonnie Russellguitar

Matt Aveirodrums

Discography

Albums
Robbers & Cowards (2006) #173 US, #35 UK
Loyalty to Loyalty (2008) #21 US, #68 UK, #20 AUS

EPs
Mulberry Street (2005)
With Our Wallets Full (2006)
Up in Rags (2006)
We Used to Vacation (2006)
Live from SoHo (2007) (iTunes Exclusive)
Benefit At The District (2007)

Singles
"Hair Down" (2006)
"We Used To Vacation" (2006)
"Hang Me Up to Dry" (2007) UK #57
"Hospital Beds" (2007)
"Hang Me Up to Dry (Re-Release)" (2007) UK #65, #26 US Modern Rock [1]
"Something is Not Right With Me" (2008) #40 US Modern Rock [2]

Appearances in media
"Passing The Hat," from their LP Robbers & Cowards was featured in the episode entitled "The Dream Team" of the HBO TV show Entourage.
"Hang Me Up To Dry," from their LP Robbers & Cowards was featured in the series premier episode entitled "Pilot" of the CW TV show Gossip Girl.
"Saint John," from their LP Robbers & Cowards was featured in the episode entitled "Joan of Arf" of the Comedy Central TV show The Sarah Silverman Program.
"Something Is Not Right With Me," from their LP Loyalty to Loyalty was featured in the episode entitled "Fire Sale" of the HBO TV show Entourage.

References
^ "Cold War Kids". MySpace. Retrieved on March 10, 2007.
^ Band profile: Bonnaroo 2007, bonnaroo.com, retrieved November 27, 2007
^ stereogum presents...OK X: A Tribute to OK Computer

External links
Official Cold War Kids website
Downtown Records
Monarchy Music
Cold War Kids at MySpace
Cold War Kids at Last.fm
Cold War Kids at Amie Street
Cold War Kids Online - A Cold War Kids fansite
Cold War Kids feature on hardrock.com
Free video of entire Amsterdam concert (18-11_2006)
Cold War Kids live on WOXY.com, October 23, 2006
Cold War Kids music downloads from RCRD LBL
Orange County Weekly - Photo Slideshow from March 2008
Podcast of the Cold War Kids live in Paris, 2007

Interviews
Random Rules: Nathan Willett The A.V. Club
Daytrotter Session (Free Songs)
October 2006 Interview with Nathan Willett

Reviews
Silent Uproar review of Robbers and Cowards
Spin Magazine review
Rolling Stone review

Cold War Kids

Kings of Leon

2008-10-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

Kings of Leon released Only By The Night on RCA in the United States on September 23rd. As we ran a post on the prior album I decided to follow up with this one. Looks like most of the critics are giving it more than a passing grade. NME 7 out of 10, rolling stone 3 out of 5 and spin gave it 4 out of 5 and put them on the cover. Pitchfork slams the band with a 3.8 out of 10. The reviewer who slams the album states: "But even the move from "southern Strokes" to "southern U2" is way better in theory than in practice-- these are the same clunky Kings of Leon songs, just now presented in an incredibly weird context." Take a listen for your self these guys seem to be getting alot of press on this one and are attempting to make the move to mainstream.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Kings of Leon is a rock band made up of three brothers and their first cousin from Tennessee, USA. The band performs a mix of southern rock, garage rock, hard rock and blues, and have released four full length albums. The group's name is derived from Nathan, Caleb, and Jared's father and grandfather, both named Leon.[1]

History

Holy Roller Novocaine and Youth and Young Manhood

Kings of Leon's first release, The Holy Roller Novocaine EP came out in 2003. Four of its five songs would later be released on Youth and Young Manhood, with the songs "California Waiting" and "Wasted Time" being remade. The EP also contained the B-side "Wicker Chair". All the songs were co-written by Angelo Petraglia.
Their debut album, Youth and Young Manhood, was a success, particularly outside the United States where they were dubbed one of the driving forces behind the so-called "new rock revolution" by the European press. Their stakes rose when they were chosen by popular rock bands The Strokes and U2 to tour with them. According to Jared, the title of the album was taken from their father's Bible. All songs were again co-written by Petraglia, who also contributed guitar and co-produced the album with Ethan Johns. The songs "Molly's Chambers", "Red Morning Light", and "Holy Roller Novocaine" were used in various video games, movies, and TV advertisements and "Holy Roller Novocaine" was used in the the films Stuck on You [2], and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby [3]. The first single, "Molly's Chambers" became a minor hit overseas.

Aha Shake Heartbreak

Main article: Aha Shake Heartbreak
The band's second album Aha Shake Heartbreak was released in the United Kingdom in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the southern-infused garage rock of their first album, the album broadened the band's domestic and international audience. "The Bucket", "Four Kicks", and "King of the Rodeo" were all released as singles, with the "The Bucket" rising into the Top 20 in Britain. "Taper Jean Girl" was used in the 2007 thriller movie, Disturbia.[citation needed] The band also garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, Bryan Adams, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Kelly Jones of Stereophonics, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Radiohead, and Bob Dylan [4]. The band toured with Pearl Jam and Bob Dylan for much of 2005 and 2006. The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns with Jacquire King handling the recording and mixing duties.[citation needed]

Because of the Times

Main article: Because of the Times
In March 2006 Kings of Leon were back in the studio, working on their third album. Drummer Nathan Followill told NME: "Man, we're sitting on a bunch of songs right now that we wish we could let the world hear!". The band's third album was titled Because of the Times, which may be a reference to a large UPC ministers conference of the same name held in Alexandria, Louisiana that the brothers often attended.[citation needed]
The album was released on April 2, 2007 in the UK, and a day later in the US. NME said that the album "cemented Kings of Leon as one of the great American bands of our time"[citation needed] and Entertainment Weekly called Because of the Times "an epic wide-screen movie of a CD and the band's best to date."[5] Another reviewer described Because of the Times as, "an accomplished album of unbelievable beauty and familiar, loveable grit. Kings of Leon is maturing wonderfully and with patience, not forcing anything musically or lyrically that doesn’t sound natural."[6]
After this album was released, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead admitted he was a fan, adding them to a list of Radiohead's favorite acts. He said, "I don't get jealous when I see other bands, but when I see them I think, 'Man, I'd love to be in that band'. They're young...they remind me of... the Bunnymen or something like that. They're growing, they're evolving... They're amazing players, the drummer, he's amazing. They're all great but he's really special."[7]
The album debuted at #1 in the UK and Ireland and entered the US charts at #25, selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. The album was preceded by the single "On Call", which became a hit in Britain. The album showed a clear evolution from the band's previous work, as the band's trademark dirty, southern-fried swagger was replaced with a more mature, polished sound. Other singles from the album were "Fans" and "Charmer." The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns.[citation needed]

Only by the Night

Main article: Only by the Night
In early 2008, frontman Caleb Followill confirmed to UK magazine NME that the band is working on tracks for the fourth album. In an interview Jared (the band's bassist) said the next album will "rock harder", and that they are "ready to tackle their southern roots...again." Recording began in February 2008, when the band completed its 2007 tour. The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Jacquire King.[citation needed]
In the June 2008 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, Caleb discussed how he believes his pain medication (which he took after a fistfight with brother Nathan) inspired him to write some of the "most beautiful" songs, so much that he's claimed he is "proud track-by-track." Caleb also cited little known Royston Vasie as the next up and comers and most likely to support them on their Australasian tours. The band have already debuted three new songs entitled "Crawl", "Sex on Fire" and "Manhattan", which can all be found on Youtube. Other titles to emerge include "Closer", "Use Somebody", "Revelry", "17", "Notion", "I Want You", "Use Somebody" and "Cold Desert".[citation needed]
They have announced that they will be touring Ireland and Great Britain with their new album material in December 2008. This is following headline sets at T In The Park in Perth and Kinross, Scotland and Oxegen Festival in Co. Kildare Ireland in July, V Festival in mid-August and the set they performed headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2008. In September 2008, they performed on the BBC2 TV show Later with Jools Holland.
The song "Crawl" from this album was released as a free download on the bands website on July 28th. On August 5, 2008 the first single "Sex on Fire", which was written about frontman Caleb contracting a sexually transmitted disease, was being released on their MySpace page and subsequently released to radio.[citation needed] Sex on Fire was then released as a single to download in the UK on the 8th September achieving their first top ten hit and first British number 1.
On September 20, 2008, Kings of Leon performed on Saturday Night Live with James Franco as guest host. They performed two songs from their latest album, "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody". Three nights later they again performed on The Late Show with David Letterman.
On September 28, 2008, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1, with sales of over 220,000 copies. [8]

Background, influences and style

Jared, Nathan and Caleb were born in Tennessee, while Matthew was born in Oklahoma. Matthew is a cousin to Nathan, Caleb and Jared. The brothers spent much of their youth travelling around the South with their father, Leon, a traveling United Pentecostal Church preacher and their mother, who taught them when they were not in school. According to Rolling Stone magazine, "While Leon preached at churches and tent revivals throughout the Deep South, the boys attended and were occasionally enlisted to bang on some drums. They were home-schooled or enrolled in small parochial schools. Except for a five-year stretch when they settled in Jackson, Tennessee, the Followills spent their childhoods driving through the South, camping for a week or two wherever Leon was scheduled to preach."[citation needed]
Although it was rumoured their father was defrocked, in an article for Q Magazine in July 2007 Leon himself stated "I was not defrocked, I was forced to resign."[citation needed] After various jobs, the brothers moved to Nashville in 1998. They formed a band in 2000 with their cousin Matthew. The band claim that their music is influenced equally by their religious upbringing and Jack Daniel's. Brothers Nathan and Caleb originally sang country music and later moved to playing rock and roll. They worked for a brief period of time with label and management group Pistol Creek Productions. They spent their time with this label mainly singing at rodeos. They also were members of the West Tennessee Mass Choir for a short time.[9] Nathan, the eldest of the brothers, graduated from Christian Life Academy (a private school that is now defunct) in Henderson, TN. Caleb dropped out mid-senior year to pursue country music.[citation needed]
They were introduced to Nashville-based, Emmy-nominated singer/songwriter/producer Angelo Petraglia, who had previously worked with artists such as Patty Griffin, Emmy Lou Harris, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Brooks and Dunn, and Be Your Own Pet. Petraglia would prove very important to the band, moving them in a more rock-oriented direction and co-writing many of their songs. Eventually Petraglia and the two Followill brothers went to NYC along with manager Ken Levitan. They played for nine labels in two days, the two brothers singing, accompanied by Petraglia on guitar. Out of the nine auditions they got four offers and ended up signing with RCA records. They returned to Nashville and began writing what would become their first album, Youth and Young Manhood.[citation needed]
In an interview Caleb Followill cited Neil Young and Bob Dylan as some of the band's early influences. Caleb also stated though that "...because of the way we [the band members] grew up, we were really sheltered from music and we didn't know that much...", going on to say that the significant musical influences have only been in very recent years.[citation needed]

Members

Caleb Followill (born Anthony Caleb Followill, January 14, 1982) — (lead singer/rhythm guitar) Brother to Jared and Nathan and cousin to Matthew.
Matthew Followill (born Cameron Matthew Followill, September 10, 1984, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) — (lead guitar/backup vocals) cousin to Caleb, Jared and Nathan.
Jared Followill (born Michael Jared Followill, November 20, 1986, in Memphis, Tennessee) — (bass guitar/backup vocals/synthesizer) Brother to Caleb and Nathan and cousin to Matthew.
Nathan Followill (born Ivan Nathaniel Followill, June 26, 1979 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) — (drums/percussion/backup vocals) Brother to Caleb, Jared and Cousin to Matthew.

Touring

"Nacho" Christopher Mitchell Followill - (keyboards/synth)

Discography
See also: Kings of Leon discography
Youth and Young Manhood (2003)
Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)
Because of the Times (2007)
Only by the Night (2008)

Notes
^ Leahey, Andrew. "Kings of Leon". Allmusic. Retrieved on February 5, 2008.
^ Stuck on You (2003) - Soundtracks
^ [1]". Retrieved on July 01, 2008.
^ Kings of Leon Overwhelmed By Bob Dylan-Starpulse Entertainment News Blog
^ Collis, Clark. "Because of the Times". Entertainment Weekly, March 30, 2007. Retrieved on February 05, 2008.
^ Harper, Alana. "Because of the Times". Okayplayer.com, 2007. Retrieved on February 05, 2008.
^ Radiohead to debut 'In Rainbows' live in the US?". NME, November 19, 2007. Retrieved on February 05, 2008.
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7640893.stm
^ Bao, Amanda. "CD Reviews". Daily Californian, April 02, 2007. Retrieved on February 05, 2008.

External links

This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations.You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (September 2008)
Official website
NME Artist page featuring news, reviews, videos, and photo galleries
Rolling Stone article

Kings of Leon

TV On The Radio

2008-09-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

TV On The RADIO realeased "Dear Science" on Touch and Go records September 16th. The critics are all over this one. Spin gave it 4.5 our of 5 stars, Rolling Stone 4 out of 5 and NME 8 out of 10. Pitchfork who gave the album a 9.2 rating out of 10 says: "Dear Science, TV on the Radio's follow-up to 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain-- a dense and textural album with an optimistic core-- is catchier, but thornier than its predecessor." I have not instantly latched on to any of the songs, I think it may take a few listens for me to catch up to what the critics are seeing in this album. I was a big fan of Cookie Mountain and have concerns I am not going to enjoy this album as much as the last. Here are a few tracks for your ears:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

TV on the Radio (often abbreviated to TVOTR) is a New York City experimental rock band formed in 2001 whose music spans genres as diverse as post-punk, free jazz, a cappella, doo-wop, soul, shoegaze and electro.[citation needed] The group has released several EPs including their debut Young Liars (2003), and three acclaimed albums, 2004's Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, Return to Cookie Mountain (2006), which received wider notice and appeared near the top of several end-of-year lists, and Dear Science (2008). Rolling Stone magazine voted Return to Cookie Mountain the fourth best album of 2006, and Spin voted the band as 2006 Artist of the Year.
TV on the Radio is comprised of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals/loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars/keyboards/loops), Kyp Malone (vocals/guitars/loops) along with Jaleel Bunton (drums) and Gerard Smith (bass). Other contributors include Katrina Ford of the band Celebration (vocals), Kazu Makino of the band Blonde Redhead (vocals), Martin Perna of Antibalas (saxophones, flute), David Bowie (vocals) and Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs (guitar).

History

The first album from TV on the Radio (initially just founding members Adebimpe and Sitek) was the self-released OK Calculator (the title being a reference to Radiohead's album OK Computer), the majority of which is wildly different from their later sound, with elements of electronica, hip hop and turntablism. They were later joined by Kyp Malone, and released the Young Liars EP in 2003 to critical acclaim. This was followed by the full-length debut, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes which earned the band the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. They released a second EP, New Health Rock, later that year.
Their second album, Return to Cookie Mountain, leaked in early 2006 and garnered pre-release praise from such outlets as Pitchfork Media [1] before its official release in July overseas. U.S. and Canadian release was in September on Interscope. The album received critical acclaim after its release from many sources, including Spin Magazine which named Return to Cookie Mountain its Album of the Year for 2006.[2] The album features guest appearances from Celebration, Dragons of Zynth, Martin Perna and Stuart Bogie of Antibalas, Blonde Redhead, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner, and David Bowie.
Founding member David Andrew Sitek has produced records for the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Celebration, Liars and Scarlett Johansson. After founding his own studio (named StayGold), Sitek co-produced the first LP for Dragons of Zynth, and worked with them on a collaboration with Massive Attack for their upcoming Weather Underground album. He has also recently mixed the debut album by The Longcut.
Tunde Adebimpe has also worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, producing and animating their "Pin" video.[3]
It was announced that their newest album, Dear Science, will be released September 23, 2008 on Interscope. The album was made available for streaming on their myspace page and subsequently leaked onto the internet on September 6, 2008.

Discography

Studio albums

Release date
Title
Label
2002
OK Calculator
Self-Released demo
March 9, 2004
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
Touch and Go Records
July 6, 2006 - Worldwide
September 12, 2006 - United States & Canada
Return to Cookie Mountain
Interscope Records / 4AD
September 23, 2008
Dear Science
Interscope / 4AD

EPs

Release date
Title
Label
July 8, 2003
Young Liars
Touch and Go Records
June 25, 2004
"Staring At The Sun"
4AD
2007 - iTunes
Live Sessions
Touch And Go Records
March 27, 2007
Live at Amoeba Music
Interscope

Singles

"Staring at the Sun" [CD & 7"] (2004), 4AD
"New Health Rock" [CD & 7"] (2004), Touch and Go
"Dry Drunk Emperor" (2005) (Free Download)
"Wolf Like Me" [CD & 7"] (2006), 4AD, #37 Hot Modern Rock Tracks) [4]
"Province" [7"] (2007), 4AD
"Golden Age" (2008)

Remixes

Beck "Dark Star (TV on the Radio Remix)" (2007), Interscope Records
Bumblebeez 81 "Pony Ride (TV on the Radio Remix)"
Fischerspooner "Never Win (Dave Sitek Remix)" (2005), FS Studios
The Knife "Marble House (Dave Sitek Remix)" (2007), Brille Records
Nine Inch Nails "Survivalism (Dave Sitek Remix)" (2007), Interscope Records
Lee "Scratch" Perry "Fire In Babylon (Dave Sitek Remix)" (2006), Narnack Records

Videography

Staring at the Sun (March 2004, directed by Elliot Jokelson)
Dreams (May 2004, directed by Elliot Jokelson & UVPhactory)
Wolf Like Me (August 2006, directed by Lee Lennox)
Wolf Like Me (September 2006, directed by Jon Watts)
Province (January 2007, directed by Jeff Scheven)
Me-I (May 2007, directed by Daniel Garcia & Mixtape Club=Chris Smith, Jesse Casey & Michelle Higa, semi-official as it was done to promote a compilation album put together by Adult Swim called "Warm & Scratchy")
Golden Age (September 2008, directed by Petro Papahadjopoulos)

References

^ Dahlen, Chris. "Return to Cookie Mountain". Pitchfork Media, July 5, 2007. Retrieved on June 24, 2007.
^ "The 40 Best Albums of 2006". Spin, December 14, 2006. Retrieved on November 02, 2007.
^ Ashare, Matt. "Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio". The Phoenix , August 11, 2006. Retrieved on November 02, 2007.
^ Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - TV on the Radio

External links

Official Website
TV on the Radio at MySpace
Mesh Interview with Kyp Malone (2006)
Mass Appeal Interview (2006)
Prefix Interview with Dave Sitek (2006)
Interscope Records Profile
TV on the Radio Artist Commentary - Tunde minutely describes the Wolf like Me video (2006) (Flash)
Amoeba Music Instore Performance/Interview Live In store @ Amoeba Music in Hollywood September 22, 2006

TV on the radio

Fujiya & Miyagi

2008-09-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

Fujiya & Miyagi released "Lightbulbs" September 9th on Deaf Dumb & Blind Recordings. Pitchfork is giving the album a 6.6. They were up big on the CMJ radio 200 jumping from 86 to 19. Basically a lot of there stuff sounds the same so if you here one song and you like it you probably will like the rest. I have 3 songs from the album listed below and an older song "Collarbone" which you may know from a few advertising campaigns which got some play.

CMJ has a nice feature when you click on the band you can stream the tracks from the album. If you get a chance visit their site and check it out.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Fujiya & Miyagi are an English band formed in Brighton in 2000. They are currently signed to Tirk Records in the United Kingdom. They are self-described as being heavily influenced by 70's Krautrock bands such as Can and Neu! as well as early-90's electronic music artists like Aphex Twin. The origins of the band's name come from a character in the movie The Karate Kid as well as the brand of a record player [1].
The first several years after the band's formation were spent in relative obscurity; however, they began to see a drastic spike in popularity between 2003 and 2006 thanks in large part to very favorable reviews from prominent music publications such as NME and Pitchfork Media. They were also the subject of an episode of the MTV2 documentary series This Is Our Music in 2006. The song "Collarbone" has been featured in ads for both Jaguar's 2007 "Gorgeous" campaign as well as Miller Lite's "Bar Stool" directed by Tarsem Singh.
The current members of the band are:
Steve Lewis (Fujiya): 2000–present (synths, beats, programming and backing vocals)
David Best (Miyagi): 2000–present (vocals and guitar)
Matt Hainsby (Ampersand): 2005–present (bass guitar and backing vocals)
Lee Adams: 2008–present (drums)[2]
The story of how they met and formed the band variously reports a mutual hero-worship of world heavyweight wrestler Kendo Nagasaki, and a shared interest in krautrock and early-nineties electronica discovered while warming the subs bench during Sunday league football.

Discography
Electro Karaoke in the Negative Style · 2003
Transparent Things · 2006
Lightbulbs · 2008[3] - UK #187[4]

References
^ "Fujiya & Miyagi - Artists Listing" (html). Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
^ "Fujiya & Miyagi Add Member, Play Shows, Work Up LP" (html). Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
^ "Fujiya & Miyagi Turn on Lightbulbs on New Album" (html). Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
^ "The Official Album Chart for the week ending 13 September 2008" . ChartsPlus (368): 5-8. Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd. Retrieved on 2008-09-10.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Fujiya & Miyagi
Official Website
Fujiya & Miyagi at MySpace
Fujiya & Miyagi on Tirk Records
Interview with David Best by Greg Szeto of Bmore Live
Interview with Fujiya & Miyagi on Brightest Young Things
Live from SXSW 2007 on 89.3 The Current

Fujiya & Miyagi

Darker My Love

2008-09-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

Darker My Love released "2" on Dangerbird Record August 5th. They are at number 17 on the CMJ radio chart, up from 21 last week. Pitchfork gave them a 4.4 rating. That's out 10 so they are way down on the record. The review states "Sadly though, most of 2 relies on slow burners and underwhelming soundscapes intended to overwhelm." I've enjoyed the songs I've heard off the record a lot more than Pitchfork. It's getting a thumbs up from the pants. The song to download is "Two Ways Out."

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Darker My Love is an indie psychedelic rock band based in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of 5 members. Tim Presley, a former member of the band The Nerve Agents and also a visual artist responsible for much of the band's imagery, contributes vocals and guitar. Andy Granelli, formerly a member of both The Nerve Agents and The Distillers, plays drums. They are accompanied by Rob Barbato, who plays bass and shares lead vocal duties with Presley, and Jared "The Sandwich" Everett on rhythm guitar. Will Canzoneri joined the band on organ and clavinet in the latter half of 2006. The group's style is often compared to bands such as Can and My Bloody Valentine.
The band has released two EP's and one LP. Recorded in 2005, their debut LP was released on 22 August 2006 on Dangerbird Records. On 28 August 2007, the band released a 12" 45 rpm split record with Denver-based rock group Moccasin. Darker My Love's contribution is a song called "Hair Decisions," which was recorded at San Francisco's Hyde Street Studios in October 2006. The record was the first release on L.A.-based label IHATEROCKNROLL. In Spring 2006, Presley and Barbato became members of the prolific British post-punk group The Fall, and are both featured prominently on The Fall's 2007 album Reformation Post TLC. Their sophomore album, entitled 2, was released on 5 August 2008 on Dangerbird Records.
The band name was derived from a TSOL song of the same name.

Members
Tim Presley - Guitar/Vocals
Rob Barbato - Bass/Vocals
Jared Everett - Guitar
Will Canzoneri - Organ/Clavinet
Andy Granelli - Drums

Discography
(2004) - Darker My Love (EP, Tarantulas Records)
(2005) - Summer Is Here (EP, Tarantulas Records)
(2006) - Darker My Love (Dangerbird Records)
(2007) - Darker My Love/Moccassin (12" Split) (IHATEROCKNROLL)
(2008) - 2 (Dangerbird Records)

See also
The Distillers
The Nerve Agents
The Fall (band)

External Links
August 2008 Interview with L.A. Record

Darker My Love

The Faint

2008-09-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

The Faint released Fasciinatiion on the "blank.wav." label on August 5th of this year. They are a new wave/punk band from Nebraska. I have never been to Nebraska but it seems like an odd place for a new wave/punk band to come from. They jumped from 70 to 18 on the CMJ Independent Only Radio Select Album chart. "The Geeks Were Right" seems to be the the most down loaded song right now on I-tunes. The Pants gives it a thumbs up. While putzing around seeqpod I ran across the bands cover of Sonic Youths "Mote." It was this cover that won me over as a fan.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

The Faint is a dance-punk/new wave band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Jacob Thiele, Dapose, Joel Petersen and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst, of Bright Eyes, with whom the Faint toured in 2005. He quit shortly after the band was formed[1], though the Faint continued to share a spot with Bright Eyes on Saddle Creek Records.
Growing up, Fink, Petersen, and Baechle skateboarded in their free-time until Fink developed knee problems, which shifted their hobbies towards making music[2]. The band originally consisted of Clark Baechle, Todd Fink (formerly Todd Baechle), and Joel Petersen. They signed to Saddle Creek Records and released a few singles, but were unable to establish widespread sales. After adding Matt Bowen, the Faint released Media. While touring, Bowen left and was replaced by Jacob Thiele. The next album, Blank-Wave Arcade, had a more dance and techno influenced sound. The album was an underground hit[3]. Partway through the creation of the Danse Macabre, the Faint added Dapose, a death metal guitarist formerly of LEAD. Their next album, released in 2004, is called Wet from Birth.
In May 2008 The Faint announced that they had split from Saddle Creek and that their fifth studio album would be self released under their own blank.wav imprint. The album, entitled Fasciinatiion was released on August 5th 2008 in the U.S. The first single from the album is The Geeks Were Right.

Band members
Todd Fink — vocals, keyboards (1995 - present)
Jacob Thiele — keyboards, backup vocals (1999 - present)
Dapose (Michael Dappen) — guitars (2001 - present)
Joel Petersen — bass (1995 - present)
Clark Baechle — drums, percussion (1995 - present)

Former members
Conor Oberst - guitars (1995)
Matt Bowen - keyboards (1995 - 1998)

Discography

[edit] Albums
Sine Sierra (Norman Bailer) (1995 · Lumberjack)
Media (1998 · Saddle Creek)
Blank-Wave Arcade (1999 · Saddle Creek)
Blank-Wave Arcade Remixes (2000)
Danse Macabre (2001 · Saddle Creek)
Danse Macabre Remixes (2003 · Astralwerks)
Wet from Birth (2004 · Saddle Creek) #99 US
Fasciinatiion (2008 · blank.wav) #46 US

Singles and EPs
Mote EP (2001 · Gold Standard Laboratories)
Agenda Suicide (2002 · City Slang)
I Disappear (2004 · Saddle Creek)
Desperate Guys (2004 · Saddle Creek)
The Geeks Were Right (2008 · blank.wav)

Splits
Music Me All Over (Split 7") (Norman Bailer) (Rolling Hill Records and Lumberjack Records)
The Faint/Ex-Action Figures (Split 7") (1999 · Saddle Creek)

Remixes
Radio 4 - Dance to the Underground (2002 · City Slang)
Joy Electric - We Are Rock (2002 · BEC Recordings)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Y Control (2004 · Interscope Records / Polydor Records)
Nine Inch Nails - Meet Your Master (2007)

Compilations
Nothing Left Fanzine #8 CD Sampler (1998) (features "Acting; On-Campus TV")
Saddle Creek 50 (2002 · Saddle Creek)
Songs: "Worked Up So Sexual", "Take Me to the Hospital"
Liberation: Songs to Benefit PETA (2003 · Fat Wreck Chords)
Song: "Agenda Suicide"
Lagniappe: A Saddle Creek Benefit for Hurricane Katrina (2005 · Saddle Creek)
Song: "Hypnotised"

See also
Broken Spindles
Vverevvolf Grehv

References
^ The Faint // Profile, The Faint, (2005-01-27). Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
^ The Faint // Youtube Interview, BeatLawrence Interviews the Faint, (2007-10-21). Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
^ Lazy-i // Interview, The Faint: men in black, (2001-08-15). Retrieved on 2008-05-09.

External links
The Faint Official Website
The Faint at MySpace
The Faint on FreeIndie

Interviews
Interview at wenn's rockt! WebTV
Lazy-i Interview: November 1999
Lazy-i Interview: August 2001
Lazy-i Interview: April 2003
Lazy-i.com Column on American Recordings
The Faint beatLawrence.com video interview
Interview with The Faint at Short and Sweet NYC on 8/12/08

Delta Spirit

2008-09-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

Delta Spirit released "Ode To Sunshine" on Rounder Records on August 26th this year. This week they moved from 28 to 17 on the CMJ Radio 200 chart. Spin Magazine has reviewed the new album and given the band 4 out of 5 stars. They are from San Diego and they do the blues thing a little bit. Not full on rock blues like the Black Keys. Bit of a Pavement feel. "Trashcan" is the first single and I heard it on the radio this weekend while I was driving down south this weekend. Here's a few songs from the album so listen up:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Delta Spirit

Pivot

2008-08-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

So I've posted alot of instrumental bands and songs lately and I've got one more for you. The band is Pivot and they do a spacey electronic thing that I think you will find interesting. In The Blood was released in the UK last week. Here is a peak at the video its fairly disturbing:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Pivot

Dave Miller, Richard Pike, Laurence Pike
Background information
Origin
Sydney, Australia
Genre(s)
Electronic, post-rock
Years active
1999 -
Label(s)
Warp Records
Website
http://www.pivotpivot.net/
Members
Richard PikeLaurence PikeDave Miller
Pivot is an instrumental band from Sydney and Perth, Australia on Warp Records
Contents

History

Pivot are a 3 piece band based in Sydney / London / Perth.
Pivot were formed as a 5 piece in Sydney 1999 by brothers Richard Pike, and Laurence Pike with pianist Adrian Klumpes, bassist Neal Sutherland and turntablist Dave Bowman. The band spent the subsequent four years working on their debut, with guitarist Richard Pike producing.
Pivot released their debut album, Make Me Love You, in August 2005. It was well-regarded, receiving widespread radio support on alternative radio and being nominated for a J Award by national youth broadcaster Triple J. In late 2005, the band added Perth (and now London) electronica artist Dave Miller, omitting the old members from their line up.
In 2008, Pivot signed to legendary UK label Warp Records.
Currently, Pivot are preparing for the release of their second album, which was tracked at BJB Studios Sydney, Australia with Scott Horscroft, and mixed with John McEntire (Tortoise/The Sea and Cake), at Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It will also be the bands first album release on Warp Records.[[1]]
The first EP 'In the Blood' was released on May 18th in UK /Europe, and May 24th in Australia in 12" / Digital format. The video was directed by Alexander Orlando Smith (Coldplay, Futureheads).
The first international release O Soundtrack My Heart is due August 18th 2008.

Members

Richard Pike - guitar, bass, keyboards, production
Laurence Pike - drums, keyboards, percussion
Dave Miller - laptop, production
Laurence Pike was also the founder of the now disbanded The Leaf Label group Triosk, and has recorded and performed with Savath and Savalas, Prefuse 73, Qua, Bill Callahan, Jack Ladder, Flanger and jazz veteran Mike Nock, as well a solo drum 10" release under the name Laurenz Pike for Berlin's Monika Enterprise label.
Richard Pike recorded and toured with Flanger on vocals and guitar. He has also produced two records for Triosk, and co-produced tracks with Firekites.
Dave Miller and Laurence Pike have a side-project called Roam the Hello Clouds released on the ~scape label. Dave Miller has released solo records through Background Records (Germany) and others.

Discography

Make Me Love You album (2005)
In the Blood 12" single / EP (2008)

External links

Official website
My Space
In The Blood official video

Articles

The Guardian

Pivot

Albert Hammond Jr.

2008-08-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

Como Te Llama came out in early July to fairly good reviews. NME gave it 8 out of 10 and Spin Magazine gave the album 3.5 of 5 stars. Rolling Stone gave the album only 3 of 5 stars but seems to imply its a solid effort. Many catchy and listenable songs on this album. In fact I like this album more so then most Stokes material. Here take a listen:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Albert Hammond, Jr. (born April 9, 1980, Los Angeles, California) is a musician and member of the garage rock band, The Strokes for which he mostly plays rhythm guitar, but occasionally plays lead as well (eg. in "Last Nite"). He is also a solo musician in his own right, and released his debut album Yours To Keep in 2006 and followed up with ¿Cómo Te Llama? in 2008. The Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, John Lennon, Matthew Sweet, Television and The Velvet Underground are often cited as his major influences.[1][2]
Contents[hide]

[edit] Career
The son of Gibraltarian musician Albert Hammond and Argentinian former model and beauty pageant winner Claudia Fernandez, his mother has Peruvian and Austrian roots. Albert Jr. was sent to the elite boarding school Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland at the age of 13. While there, he met Julian Casablancas, who would go on to be a fellow band member.
In 1998, Hammond met up with Julian Casablancas in New York City and together they formed The Strokes with Casablancas' former schoolmates Nikolai Fraiture, Nick Valensi, and Fabrizio Moretti.
Hammond was once engaged to Catherine Pierce, one-half of the folk singing group The Pierces. He is currently dating super model Agyness Deyn. His trademark is wearing formal three-piece suits, and has been said to be the most influential on the band's style. Albert is usually seen playing a 1970's Olympic White Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul Jr. that is sometimes used by bandmate Nick Valensi. On the majority of The Strokes' songs he plays rhythm guitar, and solos are played by Valensi. The songs in which Hammond does play solos are "Last Nite," "Trying Your Luck," "Take It or Leave It," "Under Control," "The End Has No End," "Ize of the World," and "Vision of Division." His solos tend to focus largely on more emotional, "bluesy"-type melodical work, and the guitar tends to have a cleaner, softer tone in comparison to Valensi's (with a notable exception found in "Vision of Division"). He often holds his guitar in a high horizontal position, similar to Buddy Holly, which he says is so that he can dance better.
Hammond's song "Hard To Live (In The City)" appeared in an episode of teen drama, Gossip Girl.

[edit] Songwriting and solo work
Although vocalist Julian Casablancas is the major contributor to the songwriting process for The Strokes' music, Hammond has been known to write a few pieces of his own. He co-wrote the track "Automatic Stop" with Casablancas for the group's second album, Room on Fire. He has also been credited with writing three mostly instrumental songs ("Swiss Beats", "Holland", and "By The Way") for the band's 2001 tour video entitled "In Transit". These songs were then slightly reworked to appear on his later solo album, under different titles ("Everyone Gets A Star", "Bright Young Thing", and "In Transit", respectively). He had also written a song called "Elephant Song," which Hammond used when he was required to record a song for his Sound 101 class in freshman year, using the school's recording equipment. The song was played at a few shows before the release of their first album. The Strokes later re-recorded the song as a special giveaway for fanclub members.
Hammond released a solo album entitled Yours To Keep in the U.K. through Rough Trade Records on October 9, 2006 and in North America through New Line Records/Scratchie Records on March 6, 2007. Produced by Thin Lizard Dawn vocalist Lattimer and recorded at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the album features several musical guests, such as Sean Lennon, Ben Kweller, The Strokes' manager Ryan Gentles, Jody Porter of Fountains of Wayne, Chris Feinstein, Mikki James, Sammy James Jr. (The Moony Suzuki) and The Strokes' lead singer, Casablancas. Bassist Josh Lattanzi and drummer Matt Romano serve as the backing band, with Hammond on guitar and vocals. The first single taken from the album, "101", was released exclusively through iTunes on 4 September 2006. The music video to "In Transit" was directed by Joaquin Phoenix.
He has said to have been "waiting to make a record like this for years". [3] Early support from his fellow bandmates in the Strokes was only evident after Casablancas' role playing bass and back-up vocals on the track "Scared", though all of the members (with the exclusion of Nick Valensi who was busy taking care of his new-born children) attended his shows in and around New York.
"101" was the follow up single to "Everyone Gets A Star". The music video debuted online in March 2007[4]. This will be available in general music stores, unlike "Everyone Gets A Star" which was only available through UK iTunes Music Store. This was released on 27 November 2006.
In November 2006, Hammond announced to be joining Incubus on tour during their North American tour for their new album Light Grenades.
On 16 March 2007 at the South by Southwest festival, Hammond performed a twelve song set including covers of Frank Black's "Old Black Dawning" and Guided By Voices' "Postal Blowfish".[5]. Hammond also regularly covered The Cars' "Don't Cha Stop" in live performances.
The Yours To Keep album was released in North America on 6 March 2007; he also supported Bloc Party on their world tour before making stops at Montreal's Metropolis and Toronto's Kool Haus. After this, Hammond headlined two North American tours along with a Europe tour. The North American tour featured his friends, The Mooney Suzuki. Hammond has one last tour to finish up in Europe and then he is officially done touring for Yours to Keep.
Hammond announced that "In Transit" will be his next solo single, featuring a cover of Frank Black's "Old Black Dawning" as the b-side. It was recorded live from the Bowery Ballroom.
On 29 August 2007, Hammond announced on MySpace that he is going back into the studio to record his second album in October 2007 for five weeks.
On 20 March 2008, Hammond posted a blog entry on MySpace in which he revealed the title of his second album, ¿Cómo Te Llama?. Furthermore, he wrote that it contained 13 songs with a total length of 46 minutes and 30 seconds. He also said he hoped to be touring with the new album until the end of 2008. The album will be released on July 7, 2008 [6].
Albert has also produced the new track "123 Stop" by New York band The Postelles.
On 27 May 2008, Hammond released "GfC," the first single off his new album "¿Cómo Te Llama?," on iTunes in the US. The song has already been played extensively live on his 2007 tour. A non-album song entitled "& So it Goes" was released as a B-side along with the single.
On 29 May 2008, Hammond was Myspace's featured artist and exclusively premiered his new album "¿Cómo Te Llama?" uploading all the tracks of the album on his Official Myspace page.
On 8 July 2008, Hammond played a small show at the Virgin Megastore, Union Square, in New York City to celebrate the release of his new album. A noted absence from Hammond's band was recording bassist Josh Latzanni. Steve Schiltz of the band Longwave, who toured with Hammond on his first album was also missing. Although Hammond was supposed to play only 2 or 3 songs, he ended up playing almost 10, with a selection that included both new and old tracks.
On 11 July 2008, Hammond began his worldwide tour in support of his sophomore release "¿Cómo Te Llama?" at the landmark and sold-out venue Spaceland in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA with a capacity of only 260 people. This was his only west coast appearance. Opening bands were The Shys and The Parlor Mob.

albert hammond jr

The Black Angels

2008-07-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

The Black Angels released "Directions to See a Ghost" on May 13th on Light in the Attic Records. So the way I see it, My parents got, The Velvet Underground, I got Spacement 3 and this new generation gets "The Black Angels." Same sound new decade.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

The Black Angels are a psychedelic rock band from Austin, Texas,[1] formed in May 2004. Their name derives from the Velvet Underground song "The Black Angel's Death Song".

Friday, August 5th 2007, they played at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Among other venues, they have played at SXSW 2006 & 2008 and All Tomorrow's Parties 2008. Touring partners have included the blues rock band The Black Keys and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

The group's debut LP Passover was generally well received in the underground independent rock community and was noted for its dark tones and lyrical content. A review of the Black Angels album Passover described them as "Walking in the shadows cast by Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized mastermind Jason Pierce" and compared them to The Warlocks and Black Mountain, also invoking "dirges" reminiscent of both The Velvet Underground and the 13th Floor Elevators.[1] The band's icon is a stylized/high-contrast image of Nico.

Passover included a quote in the liner notes from Edvard Munch; "Illness, insanity, and death are the black angels that kept watch over my cradle and accompanied me all my life."

In December 2007, the group announced on their blog that their second album will be released in Spring of 2008. [1]. On May 13th their second album, Directions to See a Ghost was released.

The band was featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 Kevin Bacon movie, Death Sentence.

The Black Angels

Takka Takka

2008-07-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

Takka Takka released Migration on July 29th on Ernest Jenning Record Co. Pitchfork gives it a 7.2 out of 10 while Spin gives it 4.5 out 5. Here is a line from the Spin review: "Crisp guitar melodies weave a delicate latticework with the taut, understated polyrhythms of drummer Conrad Doucette." Alright, I am not exactly high brow like that so this is the deal with Takka Takka as far as I am concerned. It holds my attention and is mellow. It does not rock. The Pants gives it a thumbs up but were not overly excited about the album.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Takka Takka is a band from Brooklyn, New York that has been performing since 2004 and whose members include Gabe Levine, Grady Jurrens, Conrad Doucette and newest members Rene Planchon and Drew Thurlow.

Takka Takka began when Gabe returned from a "near-disastrous" year in Texas. Back in Brooklyn, he began recording demos of new material, and recruited some old friends to help him work out a live set. Takka Takka soon played its first show in a basement in Williamsburg in March of 2004.

Gabe spent the next year rotating members in and out of the lineup, until he finally recruited Conrad to play drums and Damion to play guitar in November of 2005.

In April 2006, the group began recording in the Brooklyn studio Seaside Lounge, resulting in their debut We Feel Safer at Night. The album impressed Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, who then invited the band to tag along on a high-profile U.S. tour in the Fall of 2006. Jones resigned at the end of the tour and was replaced by Damion's brother, Grady.

They travelled to Britain in February 2007 to play their first London gigs, and they headed to Austin for SXSW in March 2007. Shortly after, in May 2007, the band signed to Ernest Jenning Record Co. The label will re-release their debut LP, We Feel Safer At Night as a deluxe edition which will include the three songs from their 2007 EP, Talk Faster. Damion Jurrens left the band in July 2007 and was replaced by two new guitarists, Rene Planchon and Drew Thurlow.

Takka Takka

Cansei de Ser Sexy

2008-07-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

CSS Donkey was released in the states on Sub Pop in late July of this year to mixed reviews. Spin gives it 4 out of 5 stars, Pitchfork gives it a 5.6 out of 10 and rolling stone gives the new album 3 out of 5 stars. My favorite CSS song is a cover of Grizzly Bear's song "knife." I have slipped it on the seeqpod player below with a couple songs from the new album as well as the ever popular "Music is my hot and sexy" and the always entertaining "Meeting Paris Hilton." Ok so I'm mentioning more of their older stuff than talking about the new album. Gives you a pretty good idea where i'm at with this thing. Anyway i'm giving "Rat is Dead" a thumbs off the new album. Here a some songs listen up for yourselfs.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Cansei de Ser Sexy (pronounced [kɐ̃'seɪ dʒɪ ser 'sɛksɪ], literally "I got tired of being sexy" in Brazilian Portuguese), better known as CSS, is a Brazilian band from São Paulo. Their songs have an electro/rock sound, and are sung in both English and Portuguese; their lyrics mostly concern pop culture.

History

CSS formed in September 2003, consisting of a group of friends.[1] Their name was taken from a reported quote by Beyoncé, who allegedly declared that she was "tired of being sexy".[2]

The band first achieved notoriety through the Internet. Some of its members, like Adriano Cintra, had been previously known in São Paulo's underground club scene, but not outside of the local alternative subculture. Others, like Lovefoxxx, were owners of popular fotolog and flickr pages. Their collective band fotolog also gained popularity and their songs were frequently downloaded from Trama Virtual's website (a Brazilian website loosely similar to MySpace Music). Trama Virtual invested heavily in the band, inviting a series of Brazilian and British journalists to report on them. Articles were printed in several Brazilian magazines and the British newspaper The Guardian,[3] whose reporter, Peter Culshaw, was invited to see the band playing just before their signing for the debut, at a club in São Paulo. He predicted that they "could be the biggest band ever to come out of South America".[4] Several songs by CSS were featured in mainstream media: "Meeting Paris Hilton" was featured in the Latin American broadcasting of The Simple Life, "Superafim" was used in the Brazilian version of the Big Brother reality show, and "Computer Heat" was used in the South American version of the game The Sims 2: Nightlife, including a version in Simlish. Still without a record deal, they released two independent EPs in 2004, and played that year at TIM Festival. Their song 'Patins' was written by Lovefoxx and is about her previous relationship with band member Adriano Cintra.

In 2005, they signed with the Trama Virtual label, and in October their first album was released in Brazil, along with an 7-track EP that was sold at concerts. A limited edition version of the album had a CD-R included, so that the buyer could burn a copy of the album onto the CD-R to give away as a gift.[5] In Brazil the album has reportedly sold 5,000 copies to date, but neither the album nor the singles have reached charts. Two music videos were also released: "Off The Hook" and "Alala". "Off the Hook" was directed by guitar player Ana Rezende, and filmed at the home of band members Carolina Parra and Adriano Cintra, where CSS recorded most of their songs.

In the beginning of 2006, CSS signed with Sub Pop to release their international debut album. The first single, released in June 6, was "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above", with an accompanying video directed by Cat Solen. In July, along with DJ Diplo and funk group Bonde do Rolê, they began their first international tour.

CSS sold as many as 60,000 copies in the US and Europe up to February 2007 (according to journalist Lucio Ribeiro in Folha de São Paulo).[6]

They played at various festivals across Europe in the summer of 2007, and were due to play Lollapalooza on 4 August 2007 but they were held behind by United Airlines at New York Airport and missed it.[7] They did arrive in time for their performance at Virgin Festival in Baltimore the next day.

Cansei de Ser Sexy performing at Rock en Seine in August 2007CSS caught an unlikely break when their song "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex" was used in a worldwide television commercial by Apple Inc. for the iPod Touch. An 18-year-old British student, Nick Haley, used the song in a homemade 30-second commercial for the iPod Touch that he created and then posted on the video sharing site YouTube on September 11, 2007.[8] Creative executives from Apple's advertising agency, TBWA\Chiat\Day, saw Haley's creation, contacted him, and enlisted him to remake it as a broadcast version.[9] The spot began airing in the U.S. on October 28, 2007, and later in Japan and Europe. Due to the song's exposure in the US, it hit #63[10][11] on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest charting single by a Brazilian band in the history of the chart. Coincidentally, the same song had been used in a promotion for the competing Zune media player a year prior.[12] In March 2008, the music video for the song amassed over 112 million views on YouTube, making it the most-viewed video on the site, but it has since been removed.

Their singles "Alala" and "Off The Hook" have been featured in the video game Forza Motorsport 2. FIFA 08 also features "Off The Hook".[citation needed]

In April 2008, Iracema Trevisan left the band; Adriano Cintra replaced her on bass guitar. The band is currently working with a session drummer [13], Jon Harper of The Cooper Temple Clause.

As of April 28, 2008, the new single "Rat Is Dead (Rage)" is available as a free download from the CSS website and other sources. It is taken from the band's forthcoming second album Donkey, to be released July 21, 2008.

css

The Notwist

2008-07-20T05:01:00.000-07:00

The Notwist's new album "The Devil, You + Me" was released in Europe back in May. It became available in the States in June on Domino. It caught my attention by jumping into the CMJ charts this week at number 14. After reading about the different musical directions this band has taken it's interesting (especially as someone new to the band) to go back and listen to a few tracks off their first punk/metal album from 1990. The band appears to have found a spot on the indie scene and is headed for success. SPIN's review gave the band 4.5 out 5 stars. The review aptly describes the sound as "atmospheric melancholy."

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikiepedia:

The Notwist (pronounced /ˈnoʊˌtwɪst/[1]) are a German indie rock band[2]. Formed in 1989, the band moved through several musical incarnations despite maintaining a relatively stable lineup. While their early records moved through heavy metal/metal into dark indie rock, their recent efforts for which they've received the most attention have been very strongly influenced by the electronica scene, along with the other groups on the record label Morr Music.

Members

Markus Acher - guitar, vocals
Michael Acher - bass
Andi Haberl - drums
Martin Gretschmann (aka Console) - programming

History

The two Achers and Messerschmid formed the group in 1989 in Weilheim, near Munich. In 1990 they recorded their self-titled debut, a grunge-metal oriented LP. 1992 saw the release of Nook, which has an indie rock sound, while their 1995 album 12 contains their first flirtation with electronics. Martin Gretschmann joined the group in 1997. Shrink, released in 1998, is a jazz-electro-rock album which in some ways anticipates Radiohead's Amnesiac. The album Neon Golden (released in 2002) put them on the map for American listeners, with its heartfelt sentiment and catchy tunes.[citation needed]

The group has been remixed by Four Tet, Caribou, Console, Loopspool, and others. Singer Markus Acher collaborated with anticon. rapper/producer Alias on the song "Unseen Sights," an effort that shows a surprising musical breadth for both artists.

The Notwist recently formed a group with Themselves named 13 & God, whose eponymous debut was released in 2005. Markus Acher, in addition to his work with The Notwist and 13 & God, also works with the band Lali Puna, while Mecki Messerschmidt now also plays drums for the recently reformed Schweisser. Michael Acher composes and programs for Ms. John Soda.

The group has been working on the followup to Neon Golden over the last two years, and the release details were revealed on March 5. The new album is entitled The Devil, You + Me and was released in Europe in May, 2008. On June 17, 2008 the album was released in North America on Domino Records. A free mp3 is up for download on the City Slang website and at the album's official site.

The Notwist

Leila

2008-07-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

Lookin through Spin Magazine and saw the review for Leila and found the music to be very interesting. I have only been able to locate one song currently on Seeqpod but it is my favorite from the new record "Blood Looms and Blooms" released on Warp Records. Leila lives in
England but is originally from Iran. The song we have posted here is Mettle and it's an instrumental. Many of the songs contain guest vocalists. Little Acorn featuring Luca Santucci is probably the most entertaining track on the album. I am uncertain if Luca is speaking in another language or if this is just giberish that's coming out of her mouth but it's good stuff either way. Spin gave the album a lofty 4.5 stars out of 5 and the Pants give the album a thumbs up.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

leila

Wolf Parade

2008-07-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

Wolf Parade released "At Mount Zoomer" on Sub Pop on June 17th 2008. Found a review on Rolling Stone where they gave the band 3.5 out of 5 stars. "Fine Young Cannibals" is a catchy song. The music is described in the wikipedia bio below and the rolling stone review as "Prog Rock". How do feel about marching? Definitly a good album to march too. If you plan to be out and about doing some marching I strongly suggest you down load a few songs.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikiepdia

Wolf Parade is an indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec.

Overview

Wolf Parade began when former Frog Eyes member Spencer Krug was offered a gig by Grenadine Records' Alex Megelas. With only a 3-week deadline to form a band, Krug contacted a fellow Canadian guitarist Dan Boeckner (formerly of British Columbia band Atlas Strategic) and began writing songs in Krug's apartment.[1] Initially using a drum machine for their rhythm section played through computer speakers, Krug later invited Arlen Thompson to the lineup as the drummer;[2] however, the newly formed trio rehearsed as a full band only the day before their first show.[2] During the tour, Wolf Parade recorded and released their self-titled debut EP (referred to as the 4 Song EP) in 2003.
In 2004, Hadji Bakara joined Wolf Parade, contributing his synthesizer and sound manipulation skills to the lineup.[1] Within the year, the band released its second independent, self-titled EP, commonly referred to as the 6 Song EP.
Dante DeCaro (formerly of Hot Hot Heat) joined in 2005 as a second guitarist and percussionist.[1] Wolf Parade was signed to Sub Pop Records by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. On its new record label, the band released its first widely-distributed EP, Wolf Parade, in July 2005.
In September 2005, the band's debut album Apologies to the Queen Mary was released on Sub Pop Records to critical acclaim, earning a 2006 Polaris Music Prize nomination. [3]

2008: At Mount Zoomer
In a March 12, 2007 Pitchfork interview, Dan Boeckner said of the next Wolf Parade album, "If everything goes according to plan... I'd like to be finished with this record by May."[4] In August 2007, the band began playing songs from the upcoming album, speculatively named Pardon My Blues. In advance of the album's release, setlists contained song names such as "Crazy Horse", "Fine Young Cannibals", "Language City", "Chinese Way", "Soldiers", "Stevie", and "Billy J".[5] In a Blender interview, Boeckner stated, "There's a more Marxist collective-style collaboration on Pardon My Blues...the weeks of isolation have made Wolf Parade like a man who lives in a cabin in the woods penning letters to God with dirt and tree sap..."Crazy Horse" is like a 12 minute song that sounds vaguely like Slayer."[6]
In March 2008, the band released a statement to an unofficial fan site: "The record is done and will be officially released in June. It will have 9 songs, some short and some long. Everyone in the band is really happy with it and they will start touring in July."[7]
On March 31, 2008, Pitchfork revealed that the album's title was originally going to be Kissing The Beehive, and that it would be released in North America on June 17, 2008.[8] On April 11, 2008, Billboard magazine reported that the title may be a possible copyright infringement, as it is already the title of a book by author Jonathon Carroll. The following track listing was provided:
"Soldier's Grin"
"Call It a Ritual"
"Language City"
"Bang Your Drum"
"California Dreamer"
"The Grey Estates"
"Fine Young Cannibals"
"An Animal in Your Care"
"Kissing the Beehive"[9]

On April 9, 2008, the album was described on the Sub Pop website: "The legion of bearded, sweater-vested critics will want to file this album under 'Prog Rock' because it doesn’t offer up sugary cast-offs for the short-attention-span set, but no one ever danced to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. It might instead be this generation's Marquee Moon, or an indie rock Chinese Democracy released forty years early and sixty million dollars under budget (and without cornrows, to boot). Better, though, to think of it as the sound of a band edging forward into a wispy darkness, one hand reaching out, the other firmly clutching the past."[10][dead link]
On April 28, 2008, Pitchfork reported that the album's title had been changed to At Mount Zoomer, a reference to Arlen Thompson's recording studio.

wolf parade

The Last Shadow Puppets

2008-06-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

The Puppets have moved from 9 to 6 on the CMJ music charts and NME has given the band a very positive review 8 out of 10. If you are expecting Alex Turner's side project from the Arctic Monkeys to knock you over with the same in your face rock and roll you may be disappointed. When I heard "My Mistakes Were Made For You" I did not make the connection to the Artic Monkeys. The song however quickly became one of my favorites. This is a mellow album with a lounge feel to it. No head banging, no fist pumping but the music is good and I recommend giving it a listen.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

The Last Shadow Puppets is a side project of Alex Turner of Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane of Liverpool band The Rascals.

History

In August 2007 NME reported that Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner and lead singer of then newly formed The Rascals, Miles Kane would be recording an album with James Ford producing and playing drums.[1] Turner & Kane became friends when Kane's previous band The Little Flames played support for Arctic Monkeys on their May/June 2005 UK tour. The Little Flames also supported Arctic Monkeys on their April 2007 UK tour, when Turner and Kane wrote songs together for a collaborative project.[2] Their collaboration extends into Arctic Monkeys material, with Kane playing guitar on "505", the closing track of second Arctic Monkeys album Favourite Worst Nightmare and on "Fluorescent Adolescent" b-sides "The Bakery" and "Plastic Tramp". Kane also guested on "505" or "Plastic Tramp" at several Arctic Monkeys gigs in 2007, including the summer mini-festivals at Lancashire County Cricket Club and Arctic Monkeys' 2007 appearance at Glastonbury.

The initial recording of the record took place in France in late August with additional material added between August and December. In December Owen Pallett was appointed to arrange the strings, brass and percussion for the album with the 22-piece London Metropolitan Orchestra. During the recording of the album Turner and Kane hired a documentary film-making team to capture the story of the project.[3]

On 20 February 2008, the duo revealed they would be known as The Last Shadow Puppets and that their album would be titled The Age of the Understatement and be released on 21 April 2008. The first single, "The Age of the Understatement" would be released the week before on April 14, with new song "Two Hearts in Two Weeks" and covers of Billy Fury's "Wondrous Place" and David Bowie's "In the Heat of the Morning" (a song previously mentioned by Turner as a favourite[4]) as b-sides.[5] The duo have said they took inspiration from Scott Walker and early Bowie.

The band played their first ever show in Brooklyn, New York at Sound Records on 4 March 2008,[6] playing a second gig at the Lower East Side's Cake Shop the following night.[7]

The Last Shadow Puppets played a short two song set on 5 April at the Lock Tavern in Camden, London. They played "Meeting Place" and "Standing Next To Me" in support of Remi Nicole, who organised the party both to celebrate her birthday and to raise money for MS sufferers. The band have also performed on Jools Holland's show Later... with Jools Holland, with producer James Ford on drums and Owen Pallett conducting the string accompaniment. The band will not tour until October 2008, apart from featuring at Reading and Leeds Festival 2008, because of Kane’s commitments to his band The Rascals as they will be touring to promote their debut album, Rascalize.[8] Also Turner has reportedly clashed with the record label over who would pay for the 16 piece orchestra if they were to go on tour. [9]

The next single will be "Standing Next to Me" and will be released on July 7, 2008.[10]

Kane has said in an interview with The Sun that The Last Shadow Puppets will be looking to record new material in 2009.

Here is a accoustic video of "My Mistakes Were Made For You":

the last shadow puppets

Ladytron

2008-06-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

I generally stay away from publishing negative articles about bands but not much has caught my ear that I like this week. I noticed that Ladytron jumped from 99 to 17 on the CMJ charts and felt it was something I should check out. I-tunes has the college kids downloading Tomorrow and Ghost from their new album Velocifero. The music is described as electro-pop and has a slightly dark feel to it. There are two kinds of songs, those which rock and those which do not rock. These songs do not rock. I am a guitar guy but have posted positive things about non-guitar bands in the past. Take a listen for yourself and make up your own mind.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Ladytron is an electronic pop/electroclash[1] band originally based in Liverpool, England, although members originate from Sofia and Glasgow as well as Liverpool itself. The band has been active since 1999, releasing three full-length albums, with a fourth—Velocifero—released in May 2008 through the Nettwerk label. Ladytron tours extensively around the world, both with live shows and DJ sets.

Background

Ladytron formed in the summer of 1999, Wu and Hunt already being friends, and meeting Marnie and Aroyo.

They began recording tracks for their debut album, 604, shortly after. The album was released in early 2001 on the Emperor Norton/Invicta HIFI labels to critical acclaim, by which time their single "Playgirl" was bringing them some national and international attention.

The follow up, Light & Magic, was released in Autumn 2002 to wider exposure, and spawned the underground hits "Seventeen", "Evil", and "Blue Jeans". Following 18 months on tour supporting that album, they recorded their third album, Witching Hour, in early 2004. The album was released in 2005, along with two singles, including "Destroy Everything You Touch".

Ladytron has a cult audience worldwide and toured extensively in support of Witching Hour from mid-2005 to mid-2007. Across Europe, they opened for Nine Inch Nails in early 2007 at the invitation of Trent Reznor.

The band finished work on their fourth studio album, Velocifero, in February 2008.[2] It was released in the US on June 3, and contains 13 tracks. Velocifero was recorded in Paris, with the band handling production duties and some collaboration with Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) and Vicarious Bliss (Justice, DJ Mehdi).[3]

Ladytron and Rob Gutmann have a joint venture of the Korova Bar. [4]

Style

Ladytron makes electronic pop music, using an array of vintage analogue equipment to achieve its distinct sound. Albums so far have focused on a balance between pop structures and digitally edited analogue electronic sound, along with some more experimental leanings. All four members write songs differently, which adds to the eclectic nature of their albums. Their third album, Witching Hour, saw an augmentation of their sound, leading the album to be described by Pitchfork as a "quantum leap record".[2]

Ladytron

Russian Circles

2008-06-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

Station is the second album from Russian Circles. The music is dramatic, similar to Muse without the vocals. Pitchfork gives it a 6.9 out of 10. The reviewer felt that the music “begs for vocals.” I agree but if you’re going to add the traditional screaming metal lead singer I would prefer they not change a thing. Russian Circles in my opinion is metal for those us who don’t enjoy the traditional metal lead singers.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Russian Circles is a three piece instrumental rock/metal band from Chicago. Similar to fellow Chicago residents Pelican, Russian Circles play epic, sprawling music which runs the gamut of heavy discordant metal, to soft delicate passages. They are also known for their energetic live shows, which include tours with Minus the Bear, Chin Up Chin Up, Coheed & Cambria, Mono, and Pelican as well as an appearance at the 2006 SXSW.[1]. They were also the opening band for Tool while playing in the United Kingdom for their 2007 tour.

History

Formed in late 2004 by guitarist Mike Sullivan and bassist Colin DeKuiper (both formerly of another instrumental band Dakota/Dakota) they quickly recruited Dave Turncrantz, formerly of St. Louis band Riddle of Steel.
In the autumn of 2007, it was announced that the band had parted ways with Colin DeKuiper. As a result, the bass tracks on their new album, titled Station, will be handled by ex-Botch/These Arms Are Snakes bass player Brian Cook.[2]

Sound

When performing live, the band is noted for being able to replicate and even expand upon their recorded material through Sullivan and DeKuiper's use of sampling and loop pedals.

Russian Circles

Spiritualized

2008-06-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

May 27th Spiritualized came out with their new album Songs in A & E. After 5 years without new work the album is getting much hype. I have only been able to locate one new song on seeqpod. It is Soul on Fire and the first track in the que below. The Pitchfork review gives the album an 8.4 rating out of 10 which was enough to slot them in their best new music section. The following is a qoute from the Pitchfork review:

"Pierce is again walking mopey, orchestral, minimalist rock out to the margins of taste and messing with your head all over the place. And this time he does it with a shit-ton of sonic subtlety."

NME gives the ablum 8 out of a possible 10, a very similar rating. The review gives very high praise to the album. The comments found by readers indicate a strong disagreement with the 8 rating. They are demanding a perfect 10.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Wikipedia:

Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce (who often goes by the alias J. Spaceman) after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3. The membership of Spiritualized has changed from album to album, with Pierce - who writes, composes and sings all of the band's material - being the only constant member. Spiritualized have released five studio albums. The best known and most critically acclaimed of these was 1997's Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, which NME Magazine made their Album of the Year.

[edit] Biography

Jason Pierce, 1998Following a major breakdown in relations between Spacemen 3 co-frontmen Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, the group's bassist Will Carruthers, drummer Jonny Mattock and guitarist Mark Refoy decided to form a splinter group, before persuading Pierce to join alongside local friend Steve Evans to create Spiritualized. The band took their name from an adaptation of the text on the back label of a bottle of Pernod. Due to formation from a majority of Spacemen 3 members, a technical clause meant that Spiritualized had to maintain the Spacemen 3 recording contract with Dedicated Records.

The first Spiritualized release, in 1990, was a cover of The Troggs' "Anyway That You Want Me"; the record heralded the official split of Spacemen 3 following contractual wrangles over the band's name and its use in Spiritualized-related promotional material (initial copies of "Anyway That You Want Me" came with a Spacemen 3 logo on the sleeve).

Evans was replaced on keyboards by Pierce's then-girlfriend Kate Radley for the follow-up single, "Run"/"I Want You". A number of singles followed, before the band, in early 1992, released their first LP Lazer Guided Melodies, which had been recorded in Rugby over the previous two years. A second album, Pure Phase, was released in 1995, and a third Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space emerged in 1997 to notable critical acclaim and commercial success.

The musical style of Spiritualized relies heavily on sustained 'pedal' notes and drones. Lazer Guided Melodies and Pure Phase incorporate elements of the shoegazing style, drones and tremolo. The landmark Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space saw the influence of African-American gospel and blues beginning to show, while "walls of sound" modelled after the production styles of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson also made their presence felt. Such influences dominated Spiritualized's next album, Let It Come Down which included over 120 musicians. Amazing Grace favoured a more stripped down sound with the gospel, blues, and soul influences even more dominant than before.

After several years of work and a serious illness on Pierce's part in July 2005 [1], the forthcoming Spiritualized album was completed in September 2007 and is scheduled for an early 2008 release. [2] Pierce has also scored Harmony Korine's 2008 film Mister Lonely. ' On 21 February 2008, it was announced that the latest Spiritualized album is to be titled Songs in A&E and will contain 18 tracks. It will be released on May 26, 2008 in the UK, and on May 27, 2008 in the US. The first single from the album will be "Soul On Fire". The release will be backed by an Electric Mainlines UK tour in May.

Pierce is quoted as saying in a 2008 interview that Spiritualized was scheduled to play the CERN collider. "They asked us to do it! We were gonna play in it before they’d thrown the switch. But it was a timing thing—their timings didn’t coincide with ours."[3]

[edit] Band members

Jason Pierce, 1998Only Pierce remains from the original line-up of the band. Will Carruthers left the band in 1992 and now records as a solo project under the name Freelovebabies, Carruthers was replaced by Rugby musician Sean Cook from local band Electrahead. Mark Refoy departed in 1994 to concentrate on his own fronted band Slipstream. He was initially replaced by Kevin Cowen from fellow Rugby band The Darkside, before Cowen himself left to be replaced first by John Coxon (Spring Heel Jack, Betty Boo) and then later on by Julian Cope's former guitarist Michael Mooney (Coxon returned to replace Mooney following his eventual departure). Mattock played in The Breeders for a spell (during a lull in Spiritualized activities in 1991, he appears on the Safari EP) and left Spiritualized later in 1994 following the recording of Pure Phase, working as a session musician before joining Lupine Howl, he was replaced by Damon Reece. Kate Radley appeared for some initial dates promoting Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, before leaving the band in 1997 with a reported unspecified illness. ( Radley had married The Verve's singer Richard Ashcroft in 1995, however after a period apart, she had returned to Ashcroft by the time of her illness). Kate was replaced by Thighpaulsandra from Julian Cope's band Queen Elizabeth. Sax player Ray 'Moonshake' Dickaty was added to the lineup in 1997, and Gregg Hale (guitar) also augmented the band in 1997 and 1998.

Following promotional activity for Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, Sean Cook, Damon Reece and Michael Mooney threatened a strike in protest over low salaries and appearance fees. New contracts of employment were drawn up between Pierce and the musicians, and the same contracts were then used to fire them (to general disbelief by the music press at the time). In response, Messrs Cook, Reece and Mooney formed the ill-starred Lupine Howl. Ray Dickaty departed in 2003, quitting to play in the free-jazz Solar Fire Trio.

Retaining only keyboardist Thighpaulsandra (keyboards), Jason Pierce then debuted a new (and current) line up of Spiritualized, introducing classical percussionist Tom Edwards and former Julian Cope string arranger Martin Schellard on bass guitar. Completing the new Spiritualized line-up were guitarist Doggen of Brain Donor and the Julian Cope band, and drummer Kevin 'Kevlar' Bales, who is also ex-Julian Cope band. This line-up is currently has recently finished recording their newest album Songs In A&E in Nottingham and London.

Spiritualized

Johnny Foreigner

2008-06-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

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Noisey Pop is how Johnny Foreigner describe themselves. I like noisey guitar pop. So does NME. They gave the new album "Waited up 'til it was light" a score of 8 of a possible 10. The album is available today on June 2nd. Johnny Foreigner is a three piece from Birmingham England. The songs our loaded with energy. It's a thumbs up from The Pants

Johnny foreigner

M83

2008-05-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

M83 is not my cup of tea. It's often described as synth shoegazing music while I'm definitely more down with a strong guitar sound in my shoegazing. That said, I am clearly in the minority in my opinion as this band is now at number 2 on the college music charts. Pitchfork has them featured in their best new music sections. Their reviews give them 8.5 out of 10. Spin is not as kind, giving the band 2.5 out of 5 stars. Spin made the following statement which seems to sum up the band in my mind: "M83 needs to step out of the '80s and back into the future."

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Wikipedia:

M83 is an electronic music group consisting of Anthony Gonzalez (and formerly Nicolas Fromageau), and was formed in Antibes, France in 2001. The musical style owes something to the shoegazing genre in its extensive use of reverb effects and lyrics spoken softly over loud instrumentals, though M83's songs employ considerably less guitar than most shoegazing bands such as My Bloody Valentine. All three of their albums were well received, in particular Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, their second album, which allowed them to break through to a larger audience. For the third album released by M83, Before the Dawn Heals Us, Gonzalez decided to part from Fromageau (after an emotionally distressing tour for Dead Cities) and record mainly on his own, with the help of a few other musicians.
M83's song "Unrecorded" from Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts was used in the trailer for the international release of the Russian movie Night Watch, and the track "Teen Angst", taken from Before the Dawn Heals Us, appears on the trailer for the film adaptation of A Scanner Darkly. Some of M83's tracks were featured in several Top Gear episodes, including "Unrecorded" (series 3, episode 2; and series 4, episode 5), "Cyborg" (series 3, episode 5) and most notably, "Moonchild" (series 6, episode 6; series 7, episode 3; and series 7, episode 7). M83's "Don't Save us From the Flames", which, ironically, is about a car crash, was also featured in a Pontiac commercial. Cyann & Ben's cover of "In Church" was featured in the 2006 film Stranger than Fiction.
M83 produced the remix of the track "Pioneers" on British group Bloc Party's 2005 album Silent Alarm Remixed. They have also remixed Placebo's "Protège-Moi", Goldfrapp's "Black Cherry", Depeche Mode's "Suffer Well" and Bumblebeez 81's "Vila Attack". Similarly, M83's songs have been remixed by Gooom labelmates Montag and Cyann & Ben.
In 2005, M83 also reissued their 2001 self-titled album. This was made available in the United States, unlike the 2001 release.
The name M83 is picked from the galaxy of the same name.
In 2006, after the Before the Dawn Heals Us US tour, Anthony Gonzalez continued to explore a musical direction already heard on earlier M83 tracks and began writing and recording a collection of ambient works. The album was recorded primarily at his home studio with the assistance of Antoine Gaillet. The resulting project is called Digital Shades Volume 1 and was released on September 3, 2007. It is intended to be part of an ongoing series of ambient works.
Saturdays = Youth, M83's fifth studio album was released on April 15, 2008 on Mute Records. It was recorded with Ken Thomas (known for his work with Sigur Rós, The Sugarcubes, Boys in a Band, Cocteau Twins and Suede), Ewan Pearson (who has also produced for Tracey Thorn, The Rapture and Ladytron) and Morgan Kibby (of The Romanovs, and Morgan and the Hidden Hands). The album is said to deliver the rich sonic textures for which M83 is well known, but with a more focused approach to song structure and form. "Couleurs" is the first single from the new album, released to digital retailers on February 25, 2008. The album's second single, "Graveyard Girl," was released to digital retailers on April 8, 2008 and comes with an exclusive remix from Yuksek.

m83

Why?

2008-05-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

Why? - Why is that guy in the background of the video pretending to play the crutch? Why are they performing at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum? And why does one person play both the drums and the zylaphone? I can't help you with any of these questions. It's all simply a part of what makes Why? such an interesting band.

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Wikipedia:

Why? is a Berkeley hip hop and indie rock lyricist and musician Jonathan "Yoni" Wolf. The group has since gone on to include Doug McDiarmid, Matt Meldon, and Yoni's brother Josiah Wolf. Why? is one of the founding groups of the anticon. collective of Oakland, California. Current members are the Wolf brothers and Doug McDiarmid. Why? leans more towards folk and indie rock as opposed to the more anti-pop hip-hop styling of their other label mates.

Yoni Wolf was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the summer before his first year at High School, Wolf discovered an old 4-track in his father's synagogue and began to experiment musically. Forays into rapping, drumming, and poetry followed.
In 1997, while attending an "Art of sex" class at the University of Cincinnati, Wolf met fellow student Adam Drucker — better known as Doseone — at the semifinals of the 1997 Scribble Jam. Doseone and Wolf formed the live improvisational group Apogee along with Yoni's older brother Josiah and DJ Mr. Dibbs. The partnership of Wolf and Doseone continued for many years, under many guises including cLOUDDEAD and Greenthink.
In 2005 Why? released Elephant Eyelash, which deviated considerably from their previous full length Oaklandazulasylum, primarily as less of an independent solo-project to the sound of a full indie rock band. To accomplish this sound, Yoni enlisted the help of his brother, Josiah Wolf, on drums, Matt Meldon on guitar and Doug McDiarmid as a random-task member. The group toured much of 2005 in support of the album as a four piece; however, by the time of their May 2006 tour with Islands, the group had become a three piece because Matt Meldon moved to an island off the coast of Seattle to live with his girlfriend.[1]
Why?'s discography consists of three full lengths, four EPs, a number of singles and a handful of limited edition CD-Rs. Further collaborative work has been done with a number of groups: Hymie's Basement, Miss Ohio's Nameless, Object Beings and Reaching Quiet.
For their third LP, Alopecia, Why? asked fans to contribute photographs of their palms (hands) for the album's artwork. The album was released March 11, 2008, to positive reviews. The first single was "The Hollows." Two different European and US versions of the single were released, featuring remixes and covers by Boards of Canada, Xiu Xiu, Dntel, Half-Handed Cloud, Dump and Islands on their respective issues.

Flight of the Conchords

2008-05-11T11:39:00.001-07:00

If you can't laugh and have a good time with this music there is seriously something wrong with you. I have long been a Ween and King Missle fan and can appreciate music which does not take itself too seriously. These guys are lyrical, musical and comedic geniuses. Some good time music dedicated today for all you Mothers out there.

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Wikipedia:

For the HBO series based on the band, see Flight of the Conchords (TV series). For their self-titled second album, see Flight of the Conchords (album).
Flight of the Conchords

Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, from Flight of the Conchords, performing at Gramercy Theatre in New York on June 14, 2007
Background information
Origin
New Zealand
Genre(s)
Rock, Comedy rock, Folk rock
Years active
1998–present
Website
http://www.conchords.co.nz/
Members
Bret McKenzie Jemaine Clement
Flight of the Conchords is a Grammy Award-winning folk, pop, and comedy band composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Billing themselves as "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo"[1] , the group uses a combination of witty observation, characterisation and acoustic folk guitars to work the audience. The duo's comedy and music became first the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007, also called Flight of the Conchords.
Named Best Alternative Comedy Act at the 2005 US Comedy Arts Festival, Best Newcomer at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, and receiving a nomination for the Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2003, the duo's live performances have gained them a worldwide cult following.[2]

Links:

Flight of the Conchords' official site
Flight of the Conchords at MySpace
Flight of the Conchords' Social Network

Flight of the conchords

No Age

2008-05-06T16:24:00.001-07:00

First thing I read about these guys was a review on itunes where someone called them "my generation's Sonic Youth." That made me feel old because my generation's "Sonic Youth" was in fact "Sonic Youth." I am beginning to have nightmares that it will not be long before I find myself listening to "TeenAge Riot" on the classic rock radio stations while my teenage children mock my musical taste.

Anyway, No Age released "Nouns" today on Sub Pop Records and there is already quite a buzz about the band. Spin gives the album 4 out of 5 stars, NME a pretty average 7 out of 10 and Pitchfork a lofty 9.2. I haven't seen eye to eye with Pitchfork in my last couple of postings but I have greatly enjoyed this record. The ambient guitar and fuzzy distortion makes me happy. It's a thumbs up from The Pants. Take a listen:

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Wikipedia:

No Age is an experimental rock band based in Los Angeles, currently signed to Sub Pop records.

No Age formed in December 2005 out of the ashes of hardcore punk band Wives and played their first proper show at Downtown Los Angeles venue The Smell in April 2006 with sister band Mika Miko. The band have recorded a number of limited vinyl singles and EPs which were collected together to form the album Weirdo Rippers, released by FatCat Records in 2007. The album received positive reviews in the music press and the band have since signed to the prominent Seattle-based independent label Sub Pop. On May 6th, 2008, No Age released their debut record for Sub Pop, Nouns.

NO Age

The Kills

2008-05-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

Bubble gum pop meets the Jesus and Mary Chain in the The Kills song "Sour Cherry." It's catchy has a nice beat and I can dance to it. Pitchfork media seems down on the album giving Midnight Boom a 6.8 out of ten. Despite the negative press it didn't take long for them to jump up near the top of the CMJ top 20. The college kids seem to dig em. So take a listen:

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Wikipedia Bio:

Mosshart was previously in Floridian punk rockers Discount, and Hince was in British rock bands Blyth Power and Scarfo. The duo first met when Mosshart heard Hince practicing in the hotel room above hers, and when the former groups disbanded they struck up a songwriting partnership. For months, the pair air mailed work tapes across the Atlantic; this proved to test the patience of both artists as it took days or weeks to get each others tapes, so Mosshart upped sticks from her Florida home and flew to London.
Wanting to cut themselves off from their pasts, Mosshart and Hince considered their new project to be Year Zero in their careers. They renamed themselves VV and Hotel respectively and began writing sparse, minimalist songs together with the aid of a drum machine. In 2001 they showcased their new songs on a well received demo tape. In true punk rock fashion, however, the pair shunned approaches from major record labels. Recording as VV and Hotel, they contributed the song "Restaurant Blouse" to the compilation If the Twenty-First Century Did Not Exist, It Would Be Necessary to Invent It. Shortly after this they recorded their debut release, the Black Rooster EP, which saw release on British indie label Domino Records and was picked up for distribution by Dim Mak Records in the United States.
The record could not have been more of a departure from both artists' previous bands. It was lo-fi in both musical and aesthetic terms. The record sleeve featured photos of Mosshart and Hince taken in a photo booth rather than professional photography. Musically, the record was a sparse, lo-fi Garage rock/Blues hybrid. Though the band cites PJ Harvey, LCD Soundsystem and Royal Trux as immediate influences, the music press has largely compared them to the other boy/girl minimalist garage blues duo The White Stripes.
Following international touring, they entered Toe Rag Studios, where the White Stripes had recorded their album Elephant, to record their debut album Keep on Your Mean Side, mostly on 8-track, in just 2 weeks. Distributed in the US and UK by Rough Trade Records, the album was similar in style to the EP, veering from the Velvets-esque stomp of "Wait" to the noisy, dirty garage punk blues of "Fuck the People" (this song is rumoured to be a reference/homage to the French convicted criminal Florence Rey) and dark psychedelia of "Kissy Kissy". The record was well received by the music press, though the White Stripes comparisons would not go away.
Maintaining an anti-careerist, anti-music industry attitude, the band rarely granted interviews. Rather, they got the music press to come to them with their minimalist yet powerful live shows (which also included the drum machine), the pair maintaining an air of tension by subverting the expected role of stage performer.[citation needed] Mosshart chain-smoked while singing, rarely speaking to the audience, whilst Hince violently ripped blues riffs from his instrument. At a New York City show following the ban on public smoking, Mosshart went on stage with three bottles of water, lit up a cigarette and proceeded to smoke constantly from the first song to the last note of the set.
Their second album, No Wow, was released by Domino Records on 21 February 2005. Featuring an artier, less guitar rock sound, the record embraced post punk influences and sounded even more stripped down than Keep on Your Mean Side. Originally written to be performed on a Moog, the band was forced to change directions and record it primarily using a guitar as its central instrument after Hince's Moog broke and couldn't be repaired before entering the studio.[1] A 40-minute DVD documentary was included with a limited number of copies and features interview, performance and on the road footage shot on tour.
The first single, "The Good Ones", from No Wow, was released on 7 February 2005 and reached number 23 in the UK singles charts.
Mosshart features in the title track of Placebo's latest album Meds, released on 13 March 2006 in the UK, and on 4 April 2006 in the US. She also features on the Primal Scream album Riot City Blues.
In 2006 "Wait" from the album Keep on Your Mean Side was used in Children of Men, the film by Alfonso Cuarón. It is played on Radio Avalon and described as "a blast from the past all the way back to 2003, that beautiful time when people refused to accept the future is just around the corner".
In 2007 the show Criminal Minds used the songs "Cat Claw" and "Wait" from the album 'Keep On Your Mean Side' in the episode "Doubt".
On November 2, 2007, the band announced on their news blog that their third album was finished. The first single was called "U R A Fever", and was premiered by Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 1 on November the 19th. On December 10, 2007, The Kills were interviewed on a New York radio station where it was revealed that the new album will be titled Midnight Boom. Two song titles were also revealed: 'Alphabet Pony', a dark surreal song inspired by playground clapping games and songs, and 'The Last Day Of Magic', a song written by Jamie Hince about heartache and feeling alone, with references to the book Crime and Punishment.
Following a cover-story interview in Nylon magazine, the new album was released March 10, 2008 (March 18 in US), and The Kills embarked on a supporting US tour. There is also a new UK tour for April, set to begin in Edinburgh on April 15 with These New Puritans.
Their song, Sour Cherry, was recently used in the "OMFG" promo for Gossip Girl

Links:

Official website
The Kills at MySpace
The Kills at Domino Records
The Kills at Dim Mak Records
"The Good Ones" music video
The Kills interview clip for Edie:Girl on Fire

The Kills

Elika - trying got us nowhere

2008-04-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Evagelia Maravelias and Brean Wenckebach are Elika. The debut album "trying got usnowhere" came out on February 18th on Fiercley independent records. Elika describes their music as "blissed-out aambience with head-nodding beats that range from Downtempo to Trance to IDM." I have really been enjoying the first two songs on the Album "The Whip" and "Nowhere." They list their influences as "Slowdive, Karen Carpenter, Boards of Canada, Nico, Squarepusher and Flying Saucer Attack."

Links:

www.elikamusic.com

www.myspace.com/elikamusic

http://www.fiercelyindie.co.uk/

Elika

Liam Finn

2008-04-19T05:04:00.000-07:00

I was on the road this past week but I did manage to grab a bunch of music and stick it on my mp3 player before I left. Before leaving I was certain I would be doing a post on The Kills this weekend, however, Liam Finn's song The Plot got stuck in my head all week and I could not get it out. The album came out way back in August of last year on Yep Roc Records. Pitchfork reviewed it in February of 2008 and gave it a 7.6 rating out of 10. So here are a few Songs from Mr. Finn and his Wikipedia Bio:

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Wikipedia:

Liam Finn is a singer/songwriter, born on 24 September 1983 in Melbourne, Australia; he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the eldest son of musician Neil Finn (of Split Enz and Crowded House) and Sharon Finn.
Well known as the frontman of New Zealand band Betchadupa, in 2007 Finn released his solo debut 'I'll Be Lightning', which draws on his experiences from living in London in recent years. Finn chose to record the album entirely in analog at his father's recording studio, Roundhead Studios, in Auckland. In his concerts, he creates an instrumental layering effect by using a looping effects pedal; he is also accompanied by backup vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Eliza-Jane Barnes (daughter of Jimmy Barnes).
Liam and his father Neil covered The Beatles song "Two of Us" for the I am Sam film soundtrack. Liam Finn also contributed a song "Lucid Dream" to the soundtrack of 2001 movie Rain, which was directed by Christine Jeffs. Since the reunion of the band Crowded House in early 2007, Finn has become part of its touring band, playing concerts such as Coachella Festival, and Live Earth in Sydney. Liam's debut solo album I'll Be Lightning, was released in July 2007 in Australia and New Zealand on Liberation Music and was released internationally by Yep Roc Records on Jan 22nd, 2008.
Liam performed in New York at the CMJ Music Marathon on October 18, 2007 at the Yep Roc Records showcase. Liam was also the featured musical guest on CBS's "Late Show, with David Letterman" on Thursday, February 28th,2008, where he played "Second Chance".

Liam Finn

DeVotchKa

2008-04-12T03:29:00.000-07:00

DeVotchKa has climbed to the top of the CMJ Radio 200 chart this week moving past Hot Chip and Vampire Weekend. The new album "A Mad & Faithfull Telling" received a postive review in SPIN magazine earning four out of five stars. Pitchfork seems to be less excited about the new album giving them a 7.7 rating out of 10. The Pants is currently luke warm on the album. Not enough rock for my taste. Despite the lack of rock "A Clockwise Witness" is a great song to get mellow with.

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Wikipedia Bio:

DeVotchKa is a four piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble that fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic, Bolero, and Mariachi music with American punk and folk roots. They take their name from Anthony Burgess' Nadsat word for "young girl," which is itself derived from the Russian word (девочка) of the same meaning. Based in Denver, Colorado, the quartet is made up of Nick Urata, who sings and plays theremin, guitar, bouzouki, piano, and trumpet; Tom Hagerman, who plays violin, accordion, and piano; Jeanie Schroder, who sings and plays sousaphone and double bass; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet.
Originally a backing band for burlesque shows, in their early years DeVotchKa also toured with fetish model Dita von Teese. Numerous nationwide tours in support of self released records earned the band an underground following. Their song "How It Ends" was featured on the trailer for the film Everything Is Illuminated, introducing the band to a widening audience. Their performance at the 2006 Bonnaroo music festival was considered a breakout event. In between tours, the band was picked by first time film directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris to score Little Miss Sunshine, a 2006 film that would go on to garner four Academy Award nominations. DeVotchKa, along with composer Mychael Danna, composed and performed the majority of the music for the film's soundtrack and were nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack.
Arcade Fire singer Win Butler suggested to DeVotchka that they cover the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "The Last Beat of My Heart". The musicians found the idea interesting and they recorded that song for the now critically acclaimed Curse Your Little Heart EP.[1]
DeVotchKa's latest studio album, A Mad & Faithful Telling, was released on March 18, 2008. DeVotchKa is currently doing a worldwide tour in support of the album's release.

Devotchka