Friday, December 28, 2007

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Seasons' Greetings

May each bring you what you want and need.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Sambassadored


"I adore this Swedish band." I'm quoting myself in hopes Labrador will again take notice. You see, the label recently quoted me in their email circular to the folks on their mailing list. Yeh, that's right, the guy who never says anything got quoted the one time he did. Anyway, the sentiment still holds, only deeper, and I'm posting everything I legally can by this incandescent (use that, Labbies?) group. The playing of Daniel Permbo, Joachim Läckberg, and Daniel Tolergård rings true, and Anna Persson's voice flows dangerously deep into this particular "soul." Ooooh, I like that one, too, and it happens to be true. Enough of barely making sense, though. Sambassadeur has final say.

Final Say mp3

From Sambassadeur:
Kate mp3

From the New Moon EP:
New Moon mp3


Well, okay, I'll add this, but it will, finally, lead you back to the band. Clicking the yellow titles takes you to eMusic pages where you can buy the rest of the albums and EP. Not only does Labrador front some of the best music on the planet, they are wise and generous in making free downloadables available at their label site. This gives their artists great exposure while creating myriad warm, fuzzy feelings in the "souls" of potential customers. I know the links work as well as Labrador's policy: I've bought everything there I didn't already have.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Around the Blogosphere: Hives, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Chromatics, Frank Black, Afraid of Stairs, Magnetic Fields, Ramones, Godfathers, et. al.

Were I hosting these myself, I'd have to buy the same brand of Depends-type thingies Astronautess Nowak uses. Maybe the actual hosterposters are made of sterner stuff, but I do thank them all the same.

The Hives – You Dress Up For Armageddon – BadmintonStamps
The Hives – Return the Favour – BadmintonStamps
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Kiss, Kiss – BadmintonStamps
Chromatics – Night Drive – Badminton Stamps

Frank Black – I Gotta Move – The Modern Music
Sounds Like Sunset – Frequency – mp3hugger
Eat – Shame – mp3hugger – Catchy

Michelangelo – Soon (We’ve Kept the Room. . .) – Raven Sings the Blues
Afraid of Stairs – When Nothing – My Little Ghost Friend
The Magnetic Fields – The Nun’s Litany – a Plague of Angels – Catchy

The Ramones – Somebody Put Something in My Drink – Bag of Songs - a personal favorite by the happy fam, as are 40 or 50 others; live at the Armadillo on the Leave Home tour was a seminal experience (again with the loins; sorry)
The Godfathers – I Want Everything – Bag of Songs - Come to think of it, The Ramones wanted this, too.
Gary Myrick And The Figures – She Talks in Stereo – Bag of Songs - A long-time faveorite

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Mars Needs Gui- . . . Ears


One of the most enjoyable things about doing this blog has been hearing from bands new to me and, sometimes, just plain new. After I posted songs by Boston's The Prime Movers, Chris Gorham invited me to take a listen to him and fellow Beantowners Mars, and I'm awfully glad I did, as you'll soon hear. Their self-titled EP drops tomorrow, and they'll be having a CD release party January 5 at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge (Mass., that is). Words cannot express how much I wish I could be in one of my favorite cities in the world for the gala occasion! How 'bout it, Chris? Airplane tix, luxury accomodations, all expenses-paid-payola-kinda-thing? Oops, must avoid all appearance of evil (whatever's going on behind the scenes, i.e., nada). XTC had five senses working overtime; Mars one-upsy daisies them in this song. Good luck, guys.


Click their name to go to their MySpace site to hear more.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

What's the Buzz? Tell Me What's A-Happening: Charlatans, Craft Economy, Pinto, Zolar X, Darling Buds, Ludvico Treatment, Freezepop, Shumai

Modeling the new Grados and flirting with Phil. Tart.
What a strange but affecting little accumulation we have today. Classics, newbies, newbies by classics, space cadets, a b-boy. Best just to listen, I think. (Some visitors have wondered how many different ways I'll contrive to say nothing. You have no idea, my unknown buds. I have not yet begun to say nothing.)

The Charlatans - You Cross My Path mp3
Pinto - I Can't Feel My Heart mp3

Zolar X - They're from Plutonia, if that tells you anything. I guess that's kind of a warning, although I like the songs.
Jet Star 19 mp3 - Is Geddy helping with vocals?

The Darling Buds - Baby Head mp3

Now to the apiary to cop a quick buzz from the immaculate, blissed-out, highly embraceable percussionist, Phil! Mind the stinger.

And finally, an apt shummation.


Click artistes' names to visit other venues of the 'sphere.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Rocks: Eux Autres, Motion Sick, Canadians, Let's Go Sailing, Red Sun Band, Dora Steins, Arcade Fire, Robbers on High Street

This picture rocks.
Thank you, dear visitors, for not insisting on long expositions. You don't know how much that means to me. To tell you would require a long exposition, which we do not want. So what shall we do? Maybe. . .some music?

Eux Autres - When I'm Up mp3
Canadians - 15th of August mp3

The Red Sun Band - Like an Arrow mp3
The Arcade Fire - No Cars Go mp3 - Thanks, Toolshed.



Click artist names for more.


Disclaimer: I didn't mean to steal the Aerosmith LP name, but it doesn't bother me that much either.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Sykosonics

Hi, hope you're well.

Sykosonics – I didn't hyperventilate when I first saw this rummaging around at the ever-excellent Milk Milk Lemonade. A few sonic seconds later I was huffing and puffing, my tiny world turned upside down or rightside up, whatever, it was oodles better. Good bandname, too, divided as it is into two meaningful two-syllable sections. I left "Ultralite" at MML, so go get it before or after checking out the following from the bandsite. I'm probably going to post "Ultralite" myself soon, but Casey and Michelle deserve your custom. They're doing a great job of getting me in Dutch, first with überneato Utrechtians The Happy Few and now these A1 Amsterdammers.

Hyper mp3

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Monday, December 03, 2007

Collect: Hard Lessons, Choir Practice, Harmonica, Helen Love, Shout Out Louds, Dog Day, Whitsundays, Mashup

Cool, calm collective. Almost as purty here.
Here we are again, barely believing it ourselves.

The Hard Lessons - See and Be Scene mp3 - More downloadables at MySpace.
The Choir Practice - Red Fox mp3 - Thanks, Toolshed. - More dls at MySpace.
Harmonica - Friday Night mp3 - Early every week lately I've intended to post this on Friday and then get to partying so hard I forget. Yeah, that's why.
Helen Love - Debbie Loves Joey mp3

Shout Out Louds -Tonight I Have To Leave It - I've always liked it, but this one has really grown on me, especially since hearing it live on the radio on a crisp fall day. Sorry, poetry moment.
Dog Day - Use Your Powers mp3





Achtung!






Purists and the faint of heart, beware. Perhaps turn back, even. That is all.




The Knack and The Beatles - My Sharona/Love Me Do mp3 - Thanks, WFMU. At this same page you can hear Brian Wilson do rap. Yeah, me neither.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Beatles Posts at Mewzick

As a hardcore Beatlemaniac, I've got all these, but I just came across two excellent posts at Mewzick, an excellent blog that's new to me but won't be for long. If you're interested, move quickly because they've been up for a couple of weeks now. Yeah x 3.

The Beatles – 13 songs – early to mid - Mewzick
The Beatles – 14 songs – mid to late - Mewzick

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Soul of Wit: Shalini, Mitch Easter, Marmalade Souls, AM Syndicate, Libertines, Primitives

The family that plays together. . .
When I have to be brief I'm never sure whether to apologize or say, "You're welcome," but it's post and run this time, or rather, crawl to sleep. We open with a nice couple (pic) and take it from there.

Shalini - White Widow mp3
Mitch Easter - I Want a New Scene mp3

Marmalade SoulsIt Won’t Be Too Long mp3
Fall Into the Sky mp3

AM Syndicate - The Neighbor and His Wife mp3
The Libertines - Time For Heroes mp3

The Primitives
Across My Shoulder (Andy Kershaw Session) mp3
Crash (95 Mix) mp3


Click green names for additionals.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Around the Blogosphere, Fond Farewell Edition: Redd Kross, Bongos, Beatles, Shins, TMBG, Wire, Pogues, TMtY, Jackson Browne

'Tis a bittersweet post, this, what with Retro Music Snob going into (we hope temporary) abeyance. We're gonna miss you, Gary, and hope you find your way back into harness soon. Thanks for all the great music. Some of these other songs express our feelings and will hopefully help us make it through the night/day/mid-morning, etc. Thanks to all ye who labor in the bloggy fields, living and dying, laughing and crying, we wouldn't have it any other way. That doesn't make complete sense, but working "Motorbreath" into this somehow seemed important.

Redd Kross – The Faith Healer – Retro Music Snob

The Beatles – Thank You Girl – Echoes in the Wind
The Shins – Young Pilgrims – Battle of the Midwestern Housewives


They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul – 17 Seconds
Wire – Kidney Bingos – 17 Seconds – Here’s to 300, 600, 9,000 more!


The Pogues – On the Sunny Side of the Street – Battle of the Midwestern Housewives

Monday, November 26, 2007

Poppish Plot: American Suitcase, The Color Wheels, Jonathan Rundman, Roadside Poppies, Fjord Rowboat

As I've said more times than you care to remember, I love bloggal archives. So the other night I was prowling around the early days' of one of my favorite blogs, Milk Milk Lemonade, and found "Lloyd Christmas," a pure little number by Oslovians, American Suitcase. I was so intrigued that a simple click took me to AS's website, where I unpacked the first two songs below. Wowser (if I might wax eloquent--and someday I might)! Anyway go see Casey and Michelle here to get "Lloyd Christmas"and do the usual below to hear the ones I found.

American Suitcase
Change mp3

The plot thickens with a few recent finds:

Jonathan RundmanCarol of the Bells mp3
Roadside Poppies - A bit donnish perhaps, but hey, they're Cantabrigians!
Wed-nes-day mp3 - Good song, but I will certainly ignore their absurd stricture. Viva Frosted Minis Forever, and till my teeth rot! Hooah! Sheesh.
Just Another Love Song mp3

Let's polish off this strange little conspiracy with a bit of the old newgaze. Thanks to another favorite blogger, Peter at Coast is Clear, who has more.

Fjord Rowboat - Paragon mp3 - Speaking of Norway (even though these guys are from Toronto), this group's name makes me hope the MST3K box set my son's "surprising" me with at Christmas has the Scandi episode with the classic reference to "The Adventures of Fjord Fairlane." Any MST3K fans among my visitors?



Click artists' names for more.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The Prime Movers


Frankly I'm not sure how I first heard about Boston's The Prime Movers. I think it was via the Audities email discussion list, which by the way, I strongly suggest you join, being as we are on the cusp of the Best of 2007 lists the members will soon be flinging about. Anyway, I was moved to seek them out and when found, was really moved, in fact pretty much primally. After repeated soakings in their MySpace streams, I got up enough nerve to write the group and was gratified to get permish from guitarist/vocalist Dick Tate to post several of their songs. With your permish, I'm simply going to quote the brief bio from the MySpace site. It'll be mostly in red below, in case you're searching, with regulation quotation marks and the usual scholarly apparatus. I'm adding a few extra colors simply because that's how we do it here.

"Formed by high school chums Dick Tate (guitar, vocals), Cam Ackland (vocals, harmonica), Jeff Sugarman (bass, vocals) and Dennis McCarthy (drums), the Movers were inspired by their musical heroes the Who, the Jam and the Kinks. Adopting a power chord driven, vocal harmony approach, their sound is aggressive power pop with elements of “Mod” soul and 60’s go-go. Their full-length debut CD “Back In Line”, strives to capture their live energy with some refinement. Produced by Boston garage rock guru, Jack Younger (The Konks, Radio Knives, Eli “Paperboy” Reed), this CD represents the Prime Movers accurately, but hints at future works where Younger’s studio suave will be employed for more ambitious compositions. Currently the Movers play mostly in the New York and New England area with a European tour being planned for the fall of 2007."

Dick made a point of saying the second song, "'Left In The Dark,' is actually by a band called the Vertebrats (circa 1979) from Minneapolis." I'm posting two TPM originals and encouraging you to nip over to MySpace to check out another. Many thanks to Dick and the rest of the Movers for letting me post these excellent songs.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Thankful, Already: Ponys, Manhattan Love Suicides, Fireflies, Bell, Elias, Superchunk, Portastatic, Aislers Set, Henry's Dress

From around the sphere - by email, diligent seeking, pony express - myriad pleasure-inducing aural experiences aggregate in this little corner, begging to be bruited. I for one am thankful, and in the particular country in which I reside, that is especially appropriate tomorrow. "Shut up and post," booms my Blogospherial Overlord, and I am only too happy to comply.

Just Now
The Ponys - 1209 Seminary mp3 - Thanks to AOL's spinner.com.
The Manhattan Love Suicides - Last Stand mp3 - Love their tendencies.

Dual Memberbships


Click artists' names for more of what you might be looking for.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

GhostRockIt & The Conversation Heart

Through the kind ministrations of Gary over at the excellent Seattle-Powerpop, I was able in April to post a pleaser by Seattle poppers The Conversation Heart. This action paid dividends when former TCHer Ian Corbin contacted me from New York, where he is currently hard at work in his bedroom recording songs under the moniker, GhostRockIt. Ian’s having a tough time deciding whether to make the bandname one word or three, but it took me about .0013 second to decide he’s continuing to distill primo pop. He promised to send more GhostRockIts as they incarnate but also turned me loose on an excellent cache of TCH and gave me leave to post some. I’m assuming all concerned are still on good terms, so here we go. If it ain’t quite so, shomebody shtop me. If shomebody doesn’t, I’ll be posting more as the weeks roll by. If you can’t wait, you can download a couple more here. I know for a fact that many of my visitors like puzzles, so see if you can figure out which of the pictures is GhostRockIt and which is The Conversation Heart. And which is Ian. Or just listen to the songs.

GhostRockIt
Gotham mp3
Robot, Robot mp3

The Conversation Heart
Misery is Flattery mp3
UFO mp3


Click bandnames for more.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Monday Mornin' You Sure Look Fine

I'm feeling quite pumped about these songs. I'm also feeling extraordinarily diffident today, so this is all I'm going to say for now.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

From the Archives

As many of you who have tried it will attest, blogging can be extremely cerebral. Not for me, of course: I go strictly by feeling, and awhile ago my feelings said, "Go to the Archives and make us groove." After diving in, I emerged cleansed and refreshed. After combing through them, I emerged well groomed. Etc. Clicking the song titles should launch the songs.*** Clicking the artists' names will take you to the original posts, where you will find all kinds of potentially useful matter.

The Sky Drops - Million mp3
Coco B's - Sister Cold Caller mp3

Mitch Easter - Time Warping mp3

Palomar - You’re Keeping Us Up mp3

***I was getting some popup-blocking action when testing some of these links. If this happens to you, hold down Ctrl when clicking the song title. Only a suggestion.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Yet Another Happy Humptag: Chapterhouse, Hitchcock, Devin Davis, Babyshambles, No Age, Butcher the Bar, Pillbugs, Fine Arts Showcase

Hello, we're here to post some songs for your listening pleasure. Thank you for visiting.

Chapterhouse - Breather mp3 - We breathe a sigh of relief to be able to return this to our fold.
Robyn Hitchcock - I Wanna Go Backwards mp3 - So we oblige by posting the cover art for a personal fave, Globe of Frogs.
Devin Davis - Iron Woman mp3

No Age - My Life’s Alright Without You mp3 - Thanks, xlr8r.
Butcher the Bar - Get Away mp3
Faceless Wonder mp3
The Fine Arts Showcase - Dance with Your Shadow (Rough Bunnies cover) mp3 - Sure wish we could still do the Bunnies version, too, but we've been enjoying TFAS's for quite some time now. (Eek, I just noticed the last.fm version I originally posted cuts off early. As this and three other songs are available at the band's MySpace site, I hope Gustaf, et. al., won't mind my posting the full version.)

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

We b itchy: Teenage Fanclub, Raveonettes, World Record, Electric President, Buddyrevelles, Warlocks

Boldly (but not too) came forth the word from on high: "Let there be tunes." And behold, in some mysteriousish way but dimly understood, there were tunes. And it was good, as were the tunes, in the opinion of some, mostly humans. But the people did chafe and itch with an itch that knew no scratch and did say, "Dude, keep writing intros such as this and we will no longer visit your blog." And so, chastened and mortified and himself feeling, albeit slightly, the lash of itch, the dude wrote no further intros such as this and played gaily with the anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals prior to feasting thereon.


The Buddyrevelles - The Foreigner mp3 - Very polite of ya, budge. No imposition at all.
The Warlocks - So Paranoid mp3 - Nyce psych. Thanks, GloNo. (pic)

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Around the Blogosphere: Then, Wanna Be James?, Mercy Arms, Darker My Love, Warlocks, British Sea Power, Mansun, My Bloody Valentine, Pipettes, et. al.

I diddled around last week and lost a dozen excellent songs from a favorite blog, songs I feel you, valued visitors, might well have liked. To forfend such a recurrence, I hastily post the following. Thanks to the host(esse)s.

Then – Cutting Veins & Arianne – Coast is Clear
Wanna Be James? – Deep Blue Sea & Spin (acoustic demo) – Milk Milk Lemonade
Mercy Arms – Ending to Begin – Untitled Records
Darker My Love – Summer is Here – Instrumental Analysis
The Warlocks – Baby Blue – Instrumental Analysis

British Sea Power – Carrion – The Devil Has the Best Tuna
Mansun – Rebel Without a Quilt & Skin Up Pin Up – The Runout Groove
My Bloody Valentine – Honey Power – 17 Seconds
The Pipettes – ABC – The Yellow Stereo
The Pipettes – Because It’s Not Love (But It’s Still a Feeling) – Headphones On

Pylon – Crazy – Gaper’s Blog
The Stone Roses – Shoot You Down (Soul Hooligan Remix) – mp3hugger
Elliott Smith – Needle in the Hay – Music for Kids Who Can Read Good
Duran Duran – Is There Something I Should Know – The Devil Has the Best Tuna
Pink Floyd – Bike – The Devil Has the Best Tuna

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Around the Blogosphere: Ride, Swervedriver, Jags, Cheap Trick, Hitchcock, La's, Sprites, Son Volt, End, Witchcraft, Magnetic Fields, BOC, Ramones, etc

There's no stylothematic unity here today, just a fine batch of songs one (or more) might like. The groupings are simply meant to provide visual relief. I'm kind of grooving on the 4-3-3-4 thing, but that doesn't mean everybody has to.

Ride - Twisterella - Dead Flowers - In case you missed it here previously
Swervedriver - Never Lose that Feeling - Dead Flowers
The Jags - Tune Into Heaven - Retro Music Snob
Cheap Trick - Such a Good Girl - Retro Music Snob

Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians - Flesh #1 (Beatle Dennis) - Retro Music Snob - Oh, yes, most definitely
The La's - There She Goes & Timeless Melody - Retro Music Snob
Sprites - I Started a Blog Nobody Read - Headphones On

Son Volt - Windfall - Instrumental Analysis
The End - Loving, Sacred Loving - Raven Sings the Blues
Witchcraft - If Crimson Was Your Colour - Raven Sings the Blues

Magnetic Fields - Strange Powers - Yellow Stereo
Blue Öyster Cult - (Don’t Fear) The Reaper - The Yellow Stereo
The Ramones - Pet Semetary - Instrumental Analysis - A band and I played this for the burgermunching patrons at a sports bar one time. Their eyes could have been the pets'.
The Music Explosion - Little Bit O’ Soul - Retro Music Snob

I thank the individuals who made these available at their blogs.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Convo: AM Syndicate, Nada Surf, Pollard, Five O'Clock Heroes, Moot, AVO-8, Language of Flowers


Cottontop speaka dey language.


Just trying to make a little convo here while you check out the tunes. So how was your day? Good, good. Mine? Oh, f-. . .right, laters.

Nada Surf - See These Bones mp3

Robert Pollard - The Killers mp3 - He's a self-aware genius.
Five O’Clock Heroes - White Girls - Sometimes they use "The" and sometimes they don't. Last time we did, this time we won't.

The Moot - Manic Man mp3 - Good job, womons.
AVO-8 - When You're Gone mp3
Language of Flowers - Just felt like reposting these, in case you missed them previously. And check out Crashsite, if you like the primitive.
Tara Mascara mp3
If It's Not You mp3

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Swift: Jesus Couldn't Drum, Ham1, Poison Control Center, Giantess, Tiger! Tiger!


We step lightly into the swift stream that is this week and hope to get swept away. Perhaps. . .some music?

Jesus Couldn’t Drum - I'm not sure what the story is here, but if I'm not supposed to post this, shomebody shtop me. Thanks to mp34u for the headsup.
Sister Dream mp3
Ham1
Pop Song for a Funeral mp3 - Is this a Camper cover? Whether or not, these Athenians revivify my musical sweet spot.

Poison Control Center - Make Love a Star mp3
Tiger! Tiger! - So You Won't Deceive Me mp3 - Darned if the day after merrily posting "Black Daggers" this beaut doesn't arrive in my box. Which is to say, it did. Georgia's definitely on my mind these days.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Around the Blogosphere: Records, Tchaikovsky, Someloves, Holly, Green PJ's, Say Hi, Sparklehorse, J & M Chain, Raveonettes, Petty, Stars, et. al.

Attention, poppers. Attention, poppers. Tom over on Aisle Bag of Songs has hit a grand slam and then circled the bases on a victory lap. One click takes you to all five.

The Records - Starry Eyes - Bag of Songs
Bram Tchaikovsky - Girl of My Dreams - Bag of Songs
The Someloves - Know You Now - Bag of Songs
Holly And The Italians - Tell That Girl to Shut Up - Bag of Songs
Something Happens - What Now - Bag of Songs

But wait, there's more.

The Green Pajamas - She’s Still Bewitching Me & This Haunted Hill & The Haunted Dollhouse - Speed of Dark
Say Hi - This Forest Scares the Hell Out of Me - Speed of Dark

Sparklehorse - Ghost in the Sky - 5 Acts
Say Hi - Toil and Trouble - 5 Acts

Jesus and Mary Chain - April Skies - 17 Seconds
The Vaselines - Son of a Gun - 17 Seconds

And more. . .

The Raveonettes - Blitzed - A Plague of Angels - The other one’s really good, too.
Milburn - Lipstick Licking - A Plague of Angels
Alpinestars - Snow Patrol, pt. 2 - A Plague of Angels – Takes 40 seconds to really get going, but when it does it does it.

Stars - Sleep Tonight - Battle of the Midwestern Housewives
Tom Petty - Feel A Whole Lot Better - Are You Embarrassed Easily? - Not as good as the original but what is?


Dearest hostesses and hosts,
How do I thank thee? Let me count the ways.
pp


Oops, have I posted too many at once again? Sorry, guys. Re-he-he-he-healllly.

Friday, November 02, 2007

These, Luvs: Maritime, Yo La Tengo, Comet Gain, Pluramon, Friday Bridge


The Word: "weekend," as in "Have a nice one." (That's kind of what the album cover's saying to me.)

Maritime - The more I hear these Milwaukee guys, the more I love 'em. Wish I could do them justice logo-wise, but I feel what I hear. Some people have a way with words and others. . .not have way.
For Science Fiction mp3 - I know, I already posted it, but it's one of my faves of the year. And since you noticed, I'll repost the next one, too. Notice anything else? I'll shut up or I won't respect me in the morning either.

Yo La Tengo - Little Eyes mp3 - Te quiero a tí, Yo.
Comet Gain - Just One More Summer Before I Go mp3 - Dedicated to our friends down Oz way. It won't be long, yeah.
Pluramon - Drowning in You mp3 - Thanks, 'fork.
Friday Bridge - Love and Nostalgia mp3 - Kinda dancy, but we like.
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