Merry X-Mas!

E.S. M.M.

Most of my friends will know that this is a gem to me...and what not a better time to post it than a moment when no one is watching. enjoy.

Butthole Surfers

I knew there was some hidden reason I decided to stay in NYC for NYE...these dudes are going to cause trouble TWO nights in a row! Aren't they banned here???

Serenity on Saks

These silly snowflakes put on a show JUST for me yesterday. Who says there's no such thing as magic? ...or Santa Clause.

Yuck

-Pretty excited to get my ears on Yuck's debut LP out 2/15. "Holing Out" is the 3rd track I've heard from the new record and it stays true to the previous two- No frills, fuzzed out distorted guitar rock.

Check it.

Holing Out by Yuck

Thirty Century Man

Check out this new short capturing cyclist James Bowthorpe coasting through a refreshing Norwegian countryside. Also take note of a brand new Mogwai track enhancing the visuals.

Somtimes I wonder if growing up and living in a place like in this video, you would appreciate every day of it's beauty...or would you long for something else, some distant and contrasting element to what you already have?

New SoundCloud App

Check out this new (free) app from SoundCloud where you can capture field recordings on your phone and upload those directly to your SoundCloud account.

Gary Wilson

I can't stop watching this.

Psychedelic Jesus

This could be one of the strangest, more interesting mixes I've heard - a compilation of obscure, private press psychedelic guitar music...about Jesus. A lot of the stuff on here is pretty legit and a good listen. (To heighten the trip, focus on the words.)

Check it out for FREE. (Doesn't one of the commandments have something to do with not stealing? ...Just sayin'.)

New Garage

Check out part 1 of this pretty rad VBS doc about the recent proliferation of US garage music...Atlanta, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Memphis...

Branca. Today.

Symphony #15 @ LPR.

Mogwai

Biiiiiiiig surprise today when Mogwai threw the new single from their new record at me in the form of a widget (totally in vogue). Does the record have a name? Why, yes it does: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will...floored.
Get the very not post-anything single below.

 

British Sea Power

New song to stream now, new record next year.

Hotel Shampoo

Gruff Rhys (weird dude) has a new record coming out. He has also collected complimentary hotel toiletries for 15 years and has decided to make a hotel out of them...in an art gallery...to sleep in.

If the rest of the album is as solid as "Shark Ridden Waters," I will be more than pleased.

Rowland S. Howard

Check out the trailer for the new Rowland Howard doc, Autoluminescent, which will premier at the Melbourne International Film Festival next summer. Hopefully we get it over here shortly after.

Richard Hawley

-Pretty excited to hear that my favorite contemporary crooner, Dick Hawley, is working on another EP. AND...what better chance will I have to post his heart melting video for his Lady's Bridge cut "Valentine"???

Check out "The River" from the in the works EP out sometime on some label. This one is completely instrumental.

The River by threeminutesthirtyseconds

Christopher Owens (Girls) x "Oh My Love"

This video made the blog rounds earlier this summer and I rediscovered it as I have rediscovered Girls (even though their first record came out just last year). Girls have a new EP out soon and it's been soundtracking my commutes for the past week.

Broken Dreams Club is out 11/22. Get it.

01 “The Oh So Protective One”
02 “Heartbreaker”
03 “Broken Dreams Club”
04 “Alright”
05 “Substance”
06 “Carolina”

New J Mascis on Sub Pop

Solid. J is releasing a new, ACOUSTIC, LP next spring (3/15) on Sub Pop. Mascis is obviously known for brain melting riffs and solos but his acoustic stuff holds up pretty well also. I was a big Martin and Me fan years ago- that was a live record where this one will be a studio record...just J sans drummer.

Several Shades of Why:

01 Listen to Me
02 Several Shades of Why
03 Not Enough
04 Very Nervous and Love
05 Is It Done
06 Make It Right
07 Where Are You
08 Too Deep
09 Can I
10 What Happened

Video: Gruff Rhys x "Shark Ridden Waters"

I am but a question mark, hovering over the horizon...

Whoa...

...this rules!

JEFF the Brotherhood x "Diamond Way"

New JEFF!  Above would be the cover art.  Below would be a new single included on the record with said cover art.

F'ing righteous.

Diamond Way

Girls x "Heartbreaker"

 

...pretty excited about this surprise Girls EP out in less than a month. 

Gruff Rhys x "Shark Ridden Waters"

 

The new Gruff Rhys single is like someone's day at the beach 40 years ago was recorded, buried in the sand, dusted off and transmitted to my inbox.  Lots of stuff going on in this one...lots of stuff must have happened on that summer day.

Dirty Banking

Check out this sweet video some friends of mine over at Greenermedia put together for Greenpeace Australia. It's a great message that probably applies here in the US and in other countries as well.

Greenpeace Australia website

Video: Serena Maneesh x "D.I.W.S.W.T.T.D."

It seems like every time you try to have a good time, there's this drag following you around with a bag on his head. Check out the new SM video - I love happy endings!

Thurston Moore x "You've Lost Your Lover"

So this is cool- but I'm wondering why the internet didn't bring this to my attention, like, 7 months ago. Thurston breaks out new solo jam "You've Lost Your Lover" for the lawn at SXSW this past spring on a rad 12 string guitar. He's busy recording the follow up to his great 2007 solo record, Trees Outside The Academy, as we speak and will put that out next year on Matador. Damn, I need a 12 string...left-handed, please.

Check it out (3:15 mark)!

Magnus Lindberg x "Kraft"

"Kraft," hosted by the New York Philharmonic (but definitely not what you would come to expect from a philharmonic joint) is an hour and a half long piece composed by Magnus Lindberg and will be performed in NYC October 7, 8 and 12 at Avery Fisher Hall. Lindberg took inspiration from German post-punk music from the late 1970's and has created a work focusing on a dynamic range of sounds, mostly emitted from metal scraps taken from a junkyard. A giant gong will hang at the center of the crowd and the various sounds produced from the other instruments (both traditional- piano, violin, woodwind and nontraditional- metal scrapwork...) will be piped at the audience from all directions, creating an organized industrial sound landscape.

Brian Eno x "2 Forms of Anger"

I was pretty excited over Brian Eno's upcoming sound monster only seeing the amazing packaging it is to be wrapped in...but now I feel that my excitement is a little more legit. Take a listen below and tell me I'm wrong.  Eno's gone kraut!

Brian Eno - 2 Forms Of Anger (taken from Small Craft On A Milk Sea) by Warp Records

Small Craft on a Milk Sea is due out November 2 on Warp.

Video: Twin Shadow x "Slow"

"I like cars."
"What kind of cars?"
"Sports cars."
"You like muscle cars?"
"Yeah, I like muscle cars?
"I bet you do."

Check out the new video for Brooklyn's Twin Shadow which comes in support of his debut record, "Forget," out 9/28. This dude gets my vote to win the Indian Morrissey look alike pageant (that exists, right?)...nice pompadour.

Fennesz @ Littlefield x 9/22/10

Christian Fennesz brought his guitar, Macbook and table of electronics to Littlefield in Brooklyn last night as evidenced by this grainy iPhone video I captured.

No Age x "Everything In Between" Album Trailer

Check out Patrick O'Dell's blissed-out, ambient noise looped trailer for No Age's new LP Everything In Between out next week on Sub Pop.

New Badly Drawn Boy x "Too Many Miracles"

This video is getting me pretty stoked to hear the new BDB record which is out 10/4 in the UK via BDB and 10/12 in the States via The End. Solid.

Jack White Invents a New Record Format (Kinda)

???

Built to Spill x "Hindsight"

Uhh, check out this strange one in support of the year-old There Is No Enemy record where the guys again subtly remind us that they do have a sense of humor. 

WWIMRLN #3: 03/11/09

lay back, relax, and maybe enjoy.

  Music For Film #1 03 11 09 by goodone 

No Age x "Life Prowler"

Here's another Everything In Between preview...this time brought to you by an inflated rubber S&M dude playing with a bicycle tire pump. This record is going to rule it.

No Age: "Glitter"

Williamsburg, 1992

Check out this photo essay of my very own neighborhood streets, circa 1992. If I solely go on these photos, I'd have to think that it's kinda like the southside hasn't changed at all.

Melodie McDaniel Photography

Mercury Rev / Dean and Britta

Check out Jonathan Donahue & Grasshopper of Mercury Rev joining Dean Wareham and Britta of Galaxy 500 doing renditions of  songs from each of their catalogues in what looks to be a general store in upstate New York.  Good stuff.

Clinic x "I'm Aware"

I'm really into this new Clinic track (and great video) which the band is promoting as the first single from their new TBR record Bubblegum. I really hope the entire record is in the vain of "I'm Aware" - strings, soft melodies. This is a band I've never fully gotten into- I like a song here and there but their records never stick for me...we shall see how this one turns out.

Bubblegum is out 10/15 on Domino.

Beck's Record Club x Beck / Thurston / Tortoise x "One Man's Dream" (Yanni)

I continue to be amazed by this edition of Beck's Record Club.  I mean, Yanni?  Noise?  Good?  I actually hope they press this 1-day collab (1 day?!) because it's seriously good.

No Age x "Everything in Between" Cover Art

No Age will release their new burner on September 28 via Sub Pop which will follow new single "Glitter" on August 24.  Designed Brian Roettinger put together the images.

JEFF The Brotherhood x "Mind Ride" Video

Check out the new JEFF video...black metal dudes, fire, human sacrifice (with a guitar!) and the brothers JEFF. Ridiculous.

Liars x Daytrotter Session

Head on over to Daytrotter and download the new Liars session they recorded on Monday.

Check it!

2010: Up To This Point [Albums]

...and today take a look at just a few of the records that have been on high spin around my confines up to this point.

2010: Up To This Point [Songs]

We've reached summer and we're well into 2010's second half.  After the jump, take a look at some cuts I've dug deep this year.

Unarchived - 2008: The Year In Music That Wasn't

So I was digging around my hard drive this evening and came across (by chance?) a document which I composed at the end of 2008.  Crudely, I sent this gem formatted in MS Word to my unsuspecting friends' inboxes instead of putting it on the www.

Take a gander at this highly opinionated summery of my 2008 music release let-down.

New Clientele x "Jerry"

Check out the first song making the promo rounds for the new Clientele mini-LP called Minotaur (out on, sigh, CD August 31 via Merge). This band is always solid, not straying much from their pastoral-psych formula but here they add a few aggressive guitar sounds to the mix. Dig it.

Listen: "Jerry"

New Dungen x "Marken Låg Stilla"

Take a listen to the first taste of Dungen's heady new record (song: "Marken Låg Stilla" / record: Skit I Allt) which happens to be the last track on this (hopefully) psych monster.

Skit I Allt is out September 14 on Mexican Summer.

Listen: "Marken Låg Stilla"

The Jameses x "The Haunted Rider"

Check out the new single from Florida's the Jameses which is featured as the A-side on their new Captured Tracks 7".

Listen: The Haunted Rider

Altered Zones

There has been a DIY music explosion over the past 5 years which has been facilitated by cheaper recording technology and of course the rise of the blog. The blog format instantly gave a voice to anyone who wanted to be heard and along with that, anyone writing music who wanted to be heard.

Julian Lynch x "In New Jersey"

Check out the new Julian Lynch video for the Mare single "In New Jersey" that features layers of stained cell tissue cross sections on top of antiquated found footage of a boy stumbling across a dead...urm...mare.

Coney Island Punks - 1959

Coney Island is a strange place, a part of New York City that doesn't feel at all like New York City- it's got it's own identity and way about it.  Spend a summer Saturday walking along the boardwalk and you're sure to come across a wide range of social cultures- bike gangs, Puerto Rican locals, tourists...

Bruce Davidson hung out with teenage punks, The Jokers, during the summer of 1959 and documented their social lives at Coney Island and around Brooklyn.

Major Organ and the Adding Machine

I found this strange record around 2005 at Amoeba records while I was living in San Francisco and picked it up knowing nothing other than the fact that it was recorded by members of the Elephant 6 collective. Turns out, Orange Twin released the record in 2001 and it is now featured in a movie written by and featuring the E6 guys. From the look of things, the film was created in Athens, Ga...my home for 4 years and a very weird place indeed.

WWIMRLN #2

This is the second edition of WWIMRLN and includes acoustic and electric guitar (noise/rhythm).

Enjoy Yourself.

WWIMRLN #2 06-17-10 by goodone

David Byrne Speaks @ TED

In his recent TED speech, David Byrne explores the notion that the venue where music is performed shapes the type of music that the artist aims to create. Byrne cites certain periods of popular music as being no accident -the types of sounds in the music were influenced by where the music would traditionally be performed. All of this makes plenty of sense looking at this from a high level, low resolution view of music history. Byrne is emphasizing period POPULAR music so of course there will be outliers and exceptions. I wish I had this guy for a professor in college.

Listen: Julian Lynch "Mare"

Julian Lynch's new LP, Mare, is now streaming over at his Bandcamp page.

Check it!

Gruff Rhys x Separado!

Sometimes with all of the new music I'm find myself inundated with, I forget how rad some bands are that I haven't listened to in a while. This is the official trailer for Gruff Rhys' "psychedelic western musical" which he wrote, stars in and soundtracked. Just like his records and live shows (both solo and with SFA), this looks bizarre (awesome). Also, be on the lookout for Gruff's record he just recorded with a Brazillian TV repair man: The Terror of Cosmic Loneliness.

Underwater Base Jumping

This stunning video was filmed at Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas which is the deepest underwater sinkhole in the world. World champion freediver Guillaume Nery walks into the tranquil, almost sterile, blue world and begins his slow plunge into the deep abyss finding himself in regions where the sun can only reach with its most powerful rays. Nery's girlfriend Julie Gautier, also a champion diver, filmed the dive...all in one breath!
The composition and film angles of the shots in the film give an artistic quality good for a diver with gear and it is incredible for someone shooting with no aid.

Frank Black x Tim & Eric

My mind just blew all over my room...I need a second the process this and then I might write something more inteligent, but for now, I am completely paralyzed.

WWIMRLN #1 (Is This Thing On?)

WWIMRLN is a series of recordings that I have made and will continue to make in my bedroom and post post here. This first track is something that I recorded late last year and am using it as a test and as a preview of what is to come. I am hoping to post new stuff very soon and to do so on as regular of a basis as possible.

Enjoy.

12 11 09 by goodone

William S. Burroughs: "A Man Within"

Check out this trailer for a new documentary on the life of beat poet, junkie, gun enthusiast and self described "queer" William S. Burroughs which is making its way around the festival circuit. Burroughs was very open about his sexuality and drug use during a time when these topics were taboo (say the very least) and he found himself hailed as a revolutionary by artists and disdained as a lowlife by pretty much everyone else.
Burroughs' work is now considered an important addition to American culture and society.
A Man Within features interviews with such all-stars as: John Waters, Genesis P-Orridge, Jello Biafra, Iggy Pop, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo among others. Sonic Youth and Patti Smith do the soundtrack.

A Man Within is due in theatres this fall via Oscilloscope Pictures.

Liars...In Jail!

Pitchfork has really been coming through with some quality video work of late. Here Liars play in an abandoned jail. This video is just another reason why these guys are just on some other level. So rad.

Up There

If you live in New York, you're sure to see large signs, advertisements, sometimes stories tall, painted on the sides of buildings...many bright and new and many more faded relics of times past. "Up There" is a pretty great documentary on the trade of sign painting. This is a trade that is held dear to the people who create the signs but also a trade that is in danger of disappearing completely in favor of cheaper but less visually appealing vinyl signs. The doc features two Album Leaf songs which, along with the excellent mixing, really add to the story.

Via Thunder.

Deepwater Horizon & a clean future

A good pal of mine over at Greener Media has put together an interesting video using the current shitshow in the gulf as a propellant for greener thinking and awareness. I'm told that no computer trickery was involved in the making of this. Good stuff!

Check out more Greener Media productions HERE.

Preview: Arcade Fire x "The Suburbs" b/w "Month of May"

Arcade fire, more than any other band right now, uses the web to entice would be listeners to jump into their albums, even when said albums do not have a release date set (see: "...even when said albums have not leaked").  The sites the band sets up for their releases force the audience to interact with the screen.  There is usually a bit a mystery as to what you might be looking at or even hearing- but in the end you know that enough page refreshes will lead you to details on new music.  A great record needs more than fleeting blog hype to stay with people.  A great record should be an experience.

Video: Julian Lynch "Seed"

I just discovered this video for "Seed," a song off of Julian Lynch's Orange You Glad LP that came out last year. "Seed" teems with muted and sleepy bedroom psych and the video is a good companion to the piece. I am super stoked to hear Julian's new LP, Mare, which will be out sometime later this year on Olde English Spelling Bee.

Atlas Sound: "Attic Lights" (Live on Cemetery Gates)

Pitchfork and Bradford Cox have put together a stunning production of Atlas Sound's "Attic Lights" on the 'fork's Cemetery Gates live performance web series.

The LinnStrument

I have always preferred music originating from the more classic acoustic side of the instrument spectrum- be it unadulterated or processed a million times beyond recognition. To me, there is an emotion and energy that comes from a musician's interaction with an instrument that is an important part of the overall sound and performance - something that is absent from computer music. With that being said, I bring you the LinnStrument. This piece of technology is interesting for sure, but it won't be taking the place of the guitar any time soon...however, it would be pretty amazing to see a band playing these things strapped to their torsos.

Learn more about the LinnStrument over at Roger Linn's site.

This guy has managed to justify something that has gone down at parties (good ones at least) since the beginning of time...all for the sake of urm, partying...and recycling. Check it!

(Maximize the video to get rid of the advertisement that plagues the lower section of the screen.)

The Bloom Box

Check this out- A researcher in Silicon Valley is claiming to have created a reliable fuel cell, the Bloom Box, that produces energy in a cleaner and more energy efficient manner than the electrical grid system which we currently use to generate and transport electricity.
The basic idea behind this invention is to eliminate the need for a power grid by producing electricity at the site where it will be directly used. The Bloom box takes two inputs, fuel and oxygen, and creates electricity which is immediately usable. Because a fuel is needed to create electricity in this system, the user would still be dependent on a fuel source, but that fuel could come in the form of biofuel, natural gas, etc... and the Bloom Box would only need a fraction of that fuel to what the power grid uses to produce a unit of electricity.The technology is currently in use at major California corporations like Google and Ebay (partially due to California's green initiatives that give companies 20% in subsidies and up to 30% in tax breaks as incentives for using green technology).
Yes, be very skeptical of this technology, but also think of it as a step in the right direction and as an infant technology that will be further developed.

An Infographical Representation of the Impact of the iPod

I remember thinking back in 2004 when I plugged in my first iPod that it was up there on the list of landmark inventions...just below the sandwich. Mashable has a fun infographic which points out Apple's market dominance, shows just how far the device has come along since its inception and even relates the iPod's popularity to increases in U.S. robbery rates. Click HERE to check it out.

Admiral Radley: "I Heart California"

Click below to download the title track from Admiral Radley's upcoming full length due out 7/13 on The Ship. Jason Lytle still has a way with a vocal hook.

Wild Nothing: "Chinatown"

The video for Wild Nothing's Chinatown adds an innocence to the song much like Cyndi Lauper did for The Goonies- needless to say I dig!

You can find Chinatown on Wild Nothing's new record, Gemini, out May 25 on Captured Tracks.

Bike Polo - 05/02/10

Bike Polo in the LES on Sunday- these dudes were pretty serious.

Tonight: Text of Light (Lee Ranaldo x Alan Licht )

Tonight Lee Ranaldo and Alan Licht will be generating some noise over at the 30 Days NY space in tribeca. Gary Panter and Joshua White will be doing the visuals.

BEARDO: "Poobie"

New the Books: "Beautiful People"

The Books are set to release their new record, The Way Out, on Temporary Residence this July. Always an interesting listen, the Books are found sound collagists who pair tape recordings with folk styled instrumentation which they play themselves. For the new record, the guys amassed some 4000 tapes containing everything from hypnotherapy sessions to pitch shifted talkboy recordings, sorted out the gold and composed music for each tape collage.

Check out our first taste of the new record: Beautiful People.

New Interpol!

I needed this.

Flaming Lips: "Powerless"

An interesting choice of song to put video to, Powerless appears on Embryonic, the latest Lips record which was released last year. The tense video works well with the song's uneasy sonic aesthetic...plus there's a monkey.

LCD Soundsystem: "This Is Happening"

After letting this one sink in for a few weeks, I can say with certainty that, as a complete record, This Is Happening will be the most lasting LCD Soundsystem effort to date. Lyrically, both James Murphy's keen sense of self-awareness and penchant for writing songs packed with social commentary continue over to LCD's third LP. Sonically, there are elements of kraut, punk, robot funk, and disco which basically translate to straight up jamz. The one misstep LCD makes on the record is first single Drunk Girls, which is a bit of an underestimation of the fanbase's intelligence...but with that being said, the song is most likely on the record due to it's length and 'single appeal' (all other songs on the album are between 6-9 minutes long). Bands have to eat too. Bonus points go for the cover art which brings to mind Robert Longo's Men In The Cities work.

Click HERE to check out one of the better albums you'll hear this year. Pinky swear.

A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake

Perhaps best viewed on a rainy Sunday afternoon, this short documentary is a thorough account of the life of Nick Drake as told by family members and friends. Footage, shot on film, of the English country side and towns where Nick lived and grew up, along with the quality and the methods of mixing the audio give the film a very pastoral, PBS-like feel to it - all of which is a perfect fit for Drake's music which can be heard throughout the story.

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Exit Through The Gift Shop is a new documentary that sets out to tell the story of Banksy - notorious street artist and enigma.

The film is currently playing at the Sunshine Theater and Lincoln Plaza in NYC.

Today is RECORD STORE DAY!

Go out and support your favorite independent record stores today!

Visit here for a full list of all of what's being offered as far as physical releases go. Many stores will also have live events.

Yes Please!

* Modest Mouse's The Moon and Antarctica, reissued on vinyl.
* The Flaming Lips' full-album cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon on seafoam green vinyl.
* R.E.M.'s previously out-of-print debut EP Chronic Town, on limited edition individually numbered blue vinyl.
* A four-LP Joy Division box set on 180-gram vinyl.
* An individually numbered double vinyl reissue of the Starbucks Music Sonic Youth compilation Hits Are for Squares. Also, reissues of the early SY albums Confusion Is Sex and EVOL.
* A new 7" single from of Montreal, featuring the Royal Trux cover "Back to School" and the new original "Subtext Read".

Tonight: forgetters

forgetters is Blake Schwarzenbach's (Jawbreaker, Jets to Brazil) new band. There is no news yet of a record, but they will be playing at Tommy's Tavern tonight in Greenpoint...conveniently located off of the, urm, G train.

forgetters at Generation Records, NYC last year:

Tonight: LIARS @ Bowery Ballroom

Tonight's show is sold out, but it looks like tickets are still available for Sunday night's show at MHOW.
Do yrself a big favor and check out the video for first single Scissor:
LIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARSLIARS!!!

Mirror/Dash - 04/10/10

Mirror/Dash performed a noise set last Saturday in promotion of a new Sonic Youth art book entitled Sensational Fix.

Here's a brief background:



...and here's how it went down:

Spike Jonze: "I'm Here"

This is great. Today I stumbled upon Spike Jonze's new short, I'm Here, which premiered at Sundance this year. It's fantastic. According to the film's blog: I’m Here is a 30-minute love story about the relationship between two robots living in L.A...which is exactly what it is. I've always had a soft spot for stories that use inhuman characters and pair those characters with very human emotions (yes, that does sound like some subversive fetish, but I truly feel it's a powerful device...and it's weird).

Bonus points go to Spike here for sprinkling Of Montreal, Girls, Animal Collective and Nick Zinner among others into the soundtrack. L.A. based sound artist Aska Matsumiya as well as Sam Spiegel contribute original music.

You can view I'm Here online (limited to 12,000 views a day). Watch it HERE.

Thirty Days NY- Mirror Dash

“THIRTYDAYSNY is a celebration of the merger of arts and culture. The challenge was building out, organizing, managing, and presenting a live gallery space open to the public for one month in the heart of New York City. The gallery is curated by Family Bookstore, and the accompanying Thirty Days NY website is headed by Dallas Clayton. The completed Thirty Days Gallery, located at 70 Franklin Street, Tribeca, will feature weekly performances, symposiums, and showcases from contemporary artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers from all over the world.”

Good stuff. Tonight SY Thurston and Kim perform as Mirror/Dash (also the name of Kim's clothing line) in celebration of the Sonic Youth art book Sensational Fix, and Kim Gordon: The Noise Paintings.

Don't come looking for pop tunes.

Have You Seen Admiral Radley?

Admiral Radley is a new band formed by members of two of my favorite bands- Earlimart and Grandaddy. There is little information known about Admiral Radley- all we know is that he must be found.

There is no mention of a label but a record is promised to arrive shortly...until then you can by a t-shirt with "AD-RAD" sharpied on the front for $5.



Check out Admiral Radley @ SXSW here.

Jeff The Brotherhood Do Daytrotter

In case you haven't done so yet, head over to Daytrotter and check out what they're all about. Basically, Daytrotter the virtual is a website. Daytrotter the reality is a barn in Rock Island (seriously) Illinois where bands stop by while on the road to record straight to tape a few songs live, with no overdubs, using only the equipment which happens to be there. Said recordings are then converted to MP3 and offered to the world for free with original illustrations for each session.

If this isn't good enough for you, rad-i-cals Jeff The Brotherhood stopped by on March 19 to do some damage. Nab the session here!

Papercuts Sign To Sub Pop

Papercuts is one Jason Quever (San Francisco) who has released 3 full length LPs on Gnomonsong which includes last year's You Can Have What You Want which was criminally overlooked. Quever records all tracks himself entirely in analog (no computers are involved in the recording process) and uses a tasteful amount of reverb on his vocals to give his songs just the right amount of distance. This guy listens to a lot of Zombies records and his music reflects that in a sincere way. It should be interesting to see where Sub Pop's resources take Quever's tunes.




Sub Pop expects a new record to come out early 2011.

Check out Papercuts here.

Video: No Age Score Short film "Aanteni"

No Age score this short by Rodarte and Todd Cole.

The film looks great and No Age's ambient maelstrom works very well with the imagery.

Check it HERE!

Serena-Maneesh "S-M 2: Abyss in B Minor"

SM are from Norway and, if the internet can be believed, SM recorded their new record in a cave (see: SM are from Norway). To me, the sounds on S-M 2... are neither here nor there. At times the songs can be chaotic and disorienting. Melodies reveal themselves as distinguishable, only to disappear almost as quickly as they arrived. During other moments there appear to be distinct melodies, except that those melodies have been twisted through a maze of wires so many times that they become something new altogether...as so goes shoegaze. There. I said it. Check out fist single "I Just Want to see Your Face" which is one of my favorite cuts of 2010.

The album was recorded in a cave.

S-M 2: Abyss in B Minor is out now via 4AD.

Besnard Lakes "The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night"

The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night is the third full length from this Canadian group led by husband/wife duo Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas (Jace takes production credits). BL's last record, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, was my #12 favorite album of 2007 and so far this one is looking like it could make my top 20 this year. BL stick with elements that work for them well: layered, crunchy guitar tracking, slow builds + release and lots of vocal harmonizing.

Take a listen to first single "Albatross" here and take it easy on the tremolo bar.

The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night is out now via Jagjaguwar.

Go to your favorite independent record store to snag a copy!

The Morning Benders: “Big Echo”

(Originally written for and posted to Thunder on 02/27/10)

Ok, so it's hard to listen to or talk about these guys without mentioning a certain Brooklyn band's name in comparison (insert educated guess here). "Big Echo" is the second full length record from San Francisco dudes The Morning Benders...produced by Chris Chu and Chris Taylor...and now let's not mention Grizzly Bear again. These guys have crafted quite a refreshing and intelligent pop record, paying attention to harmony and mixing big overdriven guitar reverb low into the mix to reinforce song color without dominating it. First single "Excuses" is one of the better songs I've heard in 2010. The thing that excites me the most about this band is not so much the excellent record they have just recorded, but the potential for them to continue to find their own unique sound on subsequent releases.

"Big Echo" is out March 9 on Rough Trade US.

Check out first single "Excuses" (LP version and excellent live video) along with other tracks here.

Visit your favorite record store to pick it up.

Robert Pollard: "We All Got Out of the Army"

(Originally written for and posted to Thunder on 02/12/10)

It's easy to dismiss Robert Pollard's post-Guided By Voices work- it's exhausting. I mean, the dude apparently released 10 records in just the past year as the Boston Spaceships, Circus Devils and Robert Pollard (I cannot confirm nor deny this number because he probably released more). I myself become discouraged to explore his work at times because of the vast quantity of full length albums he releases in a year, at times failing badly.
With this being said, "We All Got of the Army" is worth your time if you are a Pollard fan even in the least. There’s nothing revolutionary here- just solid Pollard songcraft which can be rewarding just in itself.
So, I've done the work for you- go ahead and check out Bob's latest.

Robert Pollard: "We All Got of the Army" out 2/16/10 on Gbv Inc.

Clipd Beaks: "To Realize"

(Originally written for and posted to Thunder on 01/30/10)

These guys are rad. Totally taking a page out of Liars' soundbook, Clipd Beaks (Oakland, CA) are an experimental guitar band who combine elements of drone, krautrock-esque percussion, vocal manipulation and an all out sense of apocalyptical urgency both lyrically and sonically. Sometimes this idea can be a difficult listen- I don’t find that to be the case with “To Realize”…the band does a pretty good job tying up the lose ends and organizing confusion into something pretty tight.

"To Realize" is out now on Lovepump. CHECK IT.

Badly Drawn Boy: "Is There Nothing We Could Do?"

(Originally written for and posted to Thunder on 01/05/10)

Well, this came as a bit of a surprise for me. I had all but forgotten about Badly Drawn Boy until I saw that he just released a record meant to be the soundtrack for a new British movie, "The Fattest Man in Britain" (indeed the film is about a rather large British bloke). I can't vouch for the movie, but the record is very pleasant. Rare for a soundtrack, the individual songs on this release form a work best listened to as a complete album- a few melodies and sections are repeated in different songs later into the record.

Check out the album here.