The Mountain Goats - Deuteronomy
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
new Animal Collective MP3s
so it turns out that Animal Collective's new song "Lion in a Coma" wasn't debuted at Pitchfork, as some have been reporting (and as I had suspected). They played the song on May 28th in Portugal, and luckily for us Animal Collective fans there is a very good audience recording of that show floating around. Anyone interested in hearing the new song and/or having an mp3 copy to play at your leisure, here it is...
Animal Collective - Lion in a Coma (Live)
and While you're at it, why not grab the Collective's version of Panda Bear's "Comfy in Nautica" that they've been playing recently (it's PHENOMENAL to see/hear in person)...
Animal Collective - Comfy in Nautica (Live)
Animal Collective - Lion in a Coma (Live)
and While you're at it, why not grab the Collective's version of Panda Bear's "Comfy in Nautica" that they've been playing recently (it's PHENOMENAL to see/hear in person)...
Animal Collective - Comfy in Nautica (Live)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The Daredevil Christopher Wright
It's been quite the hiatus, but I'm back, at least temporarily.
The Daredevil Christopher Wright is a band based in Eau Claire, WI, and I discovered them last year when they played at my school which is just a short drive away. They have a fairly eclectic sound, but their songs are very accessible (in a really good way). While watching them perform live, I decided that they have a hint of Decemberists in them, and even some Animal Collective on one song, "Parade of Tigers", which features all three band members banging on one drumset while yelling and singing. They have a soft side as well, however. "Everything I Do Comes Back To Me" is one of my favorite songs in my music library. The song is acoustic, with a hint of cymbals and xylophone. Jon sings, "what if all of those things that you did came back to you/would you feel regret?" The text doesn't quite do the vocals justice though. His voice is so sincere, and the entire atmostphere (for lack of a better word) of this song makes it really great. It carries on for about 6 and a half minutes which is enough time to allow you to get completely enveloped.
The band will be releasing a new album soon (I don't believe there is a release date set at the moment), and they just posted one new recording entitled "The East Coast" on their myspace page. The song is a slight departure from the work on their EP, but it's absolutely wonderful, and it has me pretty psyched for the album.
If you live near Wisconsin or Minnesota you can check them out at the following venues this month:
The Daredevil Christopher Wright is a band based in Eau Claire, WI, and I discovered them last year when they played at my school which is just a short drive away. They have a fairly eclectic sound, but their songs are very accessible (in a really good way). While watching them perform live, I decided that they have a hint of Decemberists in them, and even some Animal Collective on one song, "Parade of Tigers", which features all three band members banging on one drumset while yelling and singing. They have a soft side as well, however. "Everything I Do Comes Back To Me" is one of my favorite songs in my music library. The song is acoustic, with a hint of cymbals and xylophone. Jon sings, "what if all of those things that you did came back to you/would you feel regret?" The text doesn't quite do the vocals justice though. His voice is so sincere, and the entire atmostphere (for lack of a better word) of this song makes it really great. It carries on for about 6 and a half minutes which is enough time to allow you to get completely enveloped.
The band will be releasing a new album soon (I don't believe there is a release date set at the moment), and they just posted one new recording entitled "The East Coast" on their myspace page. The song is a slight departure from the work on their EP, but it's absolutely wonderful, and it has me pretty psyched for the album.
If you live near Wisconsin or Minnesota you can check them out at the following venues this month:
| House of Rock | Eau Claire, Wisconsin | ||
| Beaner’s | Duluth, Minnesota | ||
| Nomad | Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||
| Planet Supply | St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin | ||
| Paradigm | Sheboygan, Wisconsin | ||
| Project Lodge | Madison, Wisconsin | ||
| The Grand Little Theatre | Eau Claire, Wisconsin |
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
New Buffalo
New Buffalo is Sally Seltmann, a woman from Australia who makes some really, really beautiful music. Similar to Feist or Cat Power, her songs are driven by her vocals and lyrics, while the instruments are there to add just a little extra charm.
"Cheer Me Up Thank You" is the first track on her (fairly) new album Somehwere, Anywhere. and it also is my favorite track on that album. The song is a happy song, quite simply about someone who cheers her up all the time. Her voice, in addition to the simple strumming of a guitar, creates a very delicate, sincere song that captivates me. I hope it captivates you, too!
download "Cheer Me Up Thank You"
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Peter Bjorn and John with Andrew Bird Review - Milwaukee
I wasn't at this show, but my friend Lenny was, and he gave me the scoop via AIM tonight. Enjoy...
Me: hey
Lenny: hey
Me: so, tell me about the show last night
Lenny: k
Lenny: so the opening band, mcarthy trencheon or something like that, was pretty okay but i couldn't get into it. very country. they were introduced by a guy saying, "these guys are from omaha and they're friends of connor oberst. lots of slide guitar. songs about drinking and love.
Lenny: Andrew Bird played next
Lenny: and was fucking amazing
Lenny: oh and btw there was still that dumb construction, only this time i didn't get lucky so i was driving around for like 45 min. before i got there
Lenny: anyways, he had this thing set up, remember that big horn/gramophone looking thing he had? he had another one that like split into 2 horn/speaker things...and then it spun...and he played his looped violin through that and it had a surreal doppler effect. that was fucking awesome...it blew me away.
Me: whoa
Lenny: he played a few songs from eggs and few from armchair
Lenny: i wrote down the set list:
sovay
why
sparrows
some new song (self induced ritualistic torture(?))
he said he hated that name so he renamed it "Home of the water Jet Sellice"after Du Buque
Plasticities
Section 8 city (new?) i didn't recognize it
(some song i didn't recognize that he played with a stop motion video playing on the backdrop
the video was by Britta Johnson)
a nervous tick motion
...then he actually played an encore
which was Weather Systems, except it was totally reworked and slow and un recognizable but still neat
Lenny: then PB & J played and they were okay. they had really good showmanship, stepping to the edge of the stage and rocking and shit...but yeah, like i said on your facebook, it just made me wish they were the hives.
Lenny: i only liked Young Folks and then they played Teen Love (concretes cover) right after that, which i liked a lot. there were a lot of really young people there, getting really into it, and for some reason that kinda killed it for me.
Me: weird
Me: that seems odd
Lenny: but i still bopped my head
Lenny: oh! haha and some girl behind me asked me if i was at pitchfork
Me: haha
Lenny: and she recognized me because she was behind us at girl talk and i had my bag on again, so she recognized the bag
Me: haha, oh man
Me: i bet she hated you
Lenny: haha i know! I think she hated me more because i was like, yeah i didn't really like girl talk
Me: uh oh
Lenny: and she really loved it
Lenny: whatever
Lenny: oh and the crowd couldn't keep a beat worth shit. everytime pb&j wanted them to clap along they'd fuck it up after like 3 bars, and bjorn made fun of them for it.
Lenny: oh and then when i left it was a really terrible thunderstorm and i was lost for another half hour before i found the highway
Me: oh man
Me: that really sucks
Lenny: you should post this on your blog as a review for that show
Me: haha
Me: just copy and paste this conversation
Lenny: yes you should, haha
Lenny: it would be my first contribution to your blog
Me: hey
Lenny: hey
Me: so, tell me about the show last night
Lenny: k
Lenny: so the opening band, mcarthy trencheon or something like that, was pretty okay but i couldn't get into it. very country. they were introduced by a guy saying, "these guys are from omaha and they're friends of connor oberst. lots of slide guitar. songs about drinking and love.
Lenny: Andrew Bird played next
Lenny: and was fucking amazing
Lenny: oh and btw there was still that dumb construction, only this time i didn't get lucky so i was driving around for like 45 min. before i got there
Lenny: anyways, he had this thing set up, remember that big horn/gramophone looking thing he had? he had another one that like split into 2 horn/speaker things...and then it spun...and he played his looped violin through that and it had a surreal doppler effect. that was fucking awesome...it blew me away.
Me: whoa
Lenny: he played a few songs from eggs and few from armchair
Lenny: i wrote down the set list:
sovay
why
sparrows
some new song (self induced ritualistic torture(?))
he said he hated that name so he renamed it "Home of the water Jet Sellice"after Du Buque
Plasticities
Section 8 city (new?) i didn't recognize it
(some song i didn't recognize that he played with a stop motion video playing on the backdrop
the video was by Britta Johnson)
a nervous tick motion
...then he actually played an encore
which was Weather Systems, except it was totally reworked and slow and un recognizable but still neat
Lenny: then PB & J played and they were okay. they had really good showmanship, stepping to the edge of the stage and rocking and shit...but yeah, like i said on your facebook, it just made me wish they were the hives.
Lenny: i only liked Young Folks and then they played Teen Love (concretes cover) right after that, which i liked a lot. there were a lot of really young people there, getting really into it, and for some reason that kinda killed it for me.
Me: weird
Me: that seems odd
Lenny: but i still bopped my head
Lenny: oh! haha and some girl behind me asked me if i was at pitchfork
Me: haha
Lenny: and she recognized me because she was behind us at girl talk and i had my bag on again, so she recognized the bag
Me: haha, oh man
Me: i bet she hated you
Lenny: haha i know! I think she hated me more because i was like, yeah i didn't really like girl talk
Me: uh oh
Lenny: and she really loved it
Lenny: whatever
Lenny: oh and the crowd couldn't keep a beat worth shit. everytime pb&j wanted them to clap along they'd fuck it up after like 3 bars, and bjorn made fun of them for it.
Lenny: oh and then when i left it was a really terrible thunderstorm and i was lost for another half hour before i found the highway
Me: oh man
Me: that really sucks
Lenny: you should post this on your blog as a review for that show
Me: haha
Me: just copy and paste this conversation
Lenny: yes you should, haha
Lenny: it would be my first contribution to your blog
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Pitchfork Festival '07
I have no choice but to deem this year's festival a success. It's hard to not consider it a success when you have the chance to see so many great bands over the span of two days for just $35. I'm going to keep this short, because there has already been a ton of coverage of this festival on other blogs. I'll just tell you my brief opinions/thoughts, and you can ask me questions if there's something else you want to know.
My favorite acts...
1. Battles (they reproduced the sound from Mirrored incredibly well in a live setting. great energy. crowd loved them.)
2. Dan Deacon (his set was all about dancing and having a good time, all while trying to avoid crowd surfers falling on your head from behind and/or falling down and being trampled to death. his set was cut short because the crowd was getting too out of control.)
3. Menomena (musically, these guys were better than Dan Deacon. they played a really solid set, and the reminded me of how awesome Friend and Foe is. i've been listening to it a lot again since the festival ended.)
4. Stephen Malkmus (i was really excited for his set. he was first or second for my most anticipated acts to see going into the festival, next to Battles. i did enjoy his set, but it wasn't really what i was expecting. he played a solo set, and he played a fair amount of Pavement songs. unfortunately for me, i'm not that familiar with Pavement. it's really a shame, so i'm working on changing that in the coming weeks.
I don't feel the need to rank any more of the bands from the festival, as they were all pretty much on par with each other, from the shows that I actually caught. I felt like I missed a lot of potentially great acts, however.
I wanted to see, but didn't see: Of Montreal, The New Pornographers, Cat Power, Clipse Mastodon
Of those four bands, I'm actually most upset that I missed Of Montreal, and I've seen them live more than any other band. I watched their set from a distance, and it was spectacular. I know what it's like to be up front for an Of Montreal show, and it's one of the greatest things in the world. Fortunately for me, I might be catching them in October in Minneapolis (they announced a fall tour).
Overall, Pitchfork was a great time. The festival is so laid back that it's hard to not enjoy it, even if you're not there to watch bands play.
p.s. I didn't mention the sound problems (there were plenty of them), and I hope Pitchfork gets their crap together before next year. The problems didn't stop me from having fun, but minor annoyances like these can certainly hurt the festival in the long run.
My favorite acts...
1. Battles (they reproduced the sound from Mirrored incredibly well in a live setting. great energy. crowd loved them.)
2. Dan Deacon (his set was all about dancing and having a good time, all while trying to avoid crowd surfers falling on your head from behind and/or falling down and being trampled to death. his set was cut short because the crowd was getting too out of control.)
3. Menomena (musically, these guys were better than Dan Deacon. they played a really solid set, and the reminded me of how awesome Friend and Foe is. i've been listening to it a lot again since the festival ended.)
4. Stephen Malkmus (i was really excited for his set. he was first or second for my most anticipated acts to see going into the festival, next to Battles. i did enjoy his set, but it wasn't really what i was expecting. he played a solo set, and he played a fair amount of Pavement songs. unfortunately for me, i'm not that familiar with Pavement. it's really a shame, so i'm working on changing that in the coming weeks.
I don't feel the need to rank any more of the bands from the festival, as they were all pretty much on par with each other, from the shows that I actually caught. I felt like I missed a lot of potentially great acts, however.
I wanted to see, but didn't see: Of Montreal, The New Pornographers, Cat Power, Clipse Mastodon
Of those four bands, I'm actually most upset that I missed Of Montreal, and I've seen them live more than any other band. I watched their set from a distance, and it was spectacular. I know what it's like to be up front for an Of Montreal show, and it's one of the greatest things in the world. Fortunately for me, I might be catching them in October in Minneapolis (they announced a fall tour).
Overall, Pitchfork was a great time. The festival is so laid back that it's hard to not enjoy it, even if you're not there to watch bands play.
p.s. I didn't mention the sound problems (there were plenty of them), and I hope Pitchfork gets their crap together before next year. The problems didn't stop me from having fun, but minor annoyances like these can certainly hurt the festival in the long run.
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