Response was gratifying to the posting of Glorious Noise downloadables last week, so here are a few more. Not right up to date, but if you like 'em and want 'em, so what? Sartorially resplendent Elizabeth primp at left.
Plasticland were yet another love at first listen. Neo-psychedelia from Milwaukee. “Gloria Night” was my favorite off their second full-length, Wonderful Wonderful Wonderland, but the whole album is packed with grooves that will effectively alter your perspective. Read more here, buy this good stuff here and here. Fire up the lava lamps, close your eyes (preferably in that order), and assume the position. Oh, yeh, and click the song title. 4 days + 3 days = the chronolength of this one's sojourn here.
As promised, herewith are a few more delights tracked down at the excellent Spin.com Artist of the Week site. I'm only posting a fraction of the great grooves Spin.com so generously makes available on an ongoing basis. Copenhagen's Figurines cut a fine figure, left. Oh, ho ho.
This was another of the myriad groups and songs I discovered through the good offices of DJ Jody Denberg of radio station KLBJ out of Austin, Texas. Ultra Vivid Scene began as the solo project of New York prodigy Kurt Ralske. He recorded two albums, a self-titled one in 1988 and Joy: 1967-1990 in 1990 before recruiting other musicians for 1992’s Rev. The superbo "Staring at the Sun" is from Joy:1967-1990. Read more here and buy at eMusic here. Posted for halfafortnight.
Got pretty darned excited by the incredible number of great grooves (sorry for all alliteration of late, it's congenital) at Spin.com's Artist of the Day pages. I'm going to post a series of them over the next few days. I've been looking for a link to the Silversun song for months now. Yippee-ti-yi-yo, dawgies! That's the Picks picktured above. (Mangling names is a way some of us bloggers intimate in-the-know association with groups we'll never get close to in a million suns.) And a big thank you to Spin!
Here's a small collection of recent finds bringing eustachian enchantment. Belying their name, Sweden's The Confusions gaze forth clear-eyed at left. I could not find an info link to The Ma'ams, but I'll keep trying. Let me know if you have one. The others have linkywinks. I know, I know, cut the cute.
From an ungodly name comes heavenly music. These, um, boys definitely got the pipes (and apparently, a taste for irony). Mikkel is a current and wife Camilla (left) a former member of the fabulous epo-555, whom I previously posted here and here. I do not believe Ivan is married to either of them, although Mikkel and Ivan used to be in a group called "Ivanhoe." Heh. Stytzer’s got more by ONBC at Hits in the Car. I thank him for introducing me to this incarnation of fellow Danes. Click band name for info. (Might I suggest either "Boy" or "Choir?" No use sullying your pointer).
Okay, I'm a bit skitterish about this one, so please bear with me. Back in early December, I went group-by-group, song-by-song through a long list of artists I found at the 2006 South-by-Southwest festival website. I sampled every song I didn't already know and prepared my own list of the ones I liked best, old friends and new. For various reasons totally uninteresting even to myself I've just never posted a big bloc of the songs, some of which are by some of my favorite current artists. Soooooo, I'm simply going to copy and paste the entire deck of 52 right here and now. Maybe you'll look it over and find some things you like. It might appear a bit overwhelming, maybe it seems a copout on my part, maybe you won't respect me in the morning (and for some of you, it already is morning, so we won't even have to wait). Due to the time factor, I'm not doing the usual drill of providing links to the band names. I trust your ability to Google the ones that interest you. All of these are mp3s. I'm eschewing labelling each one as such so they'll be easier for you to hunt and gather. I have retained spelling and punctuation from the site. If you like this one, I've got a similiar list for SXSW 2005. Also if you like this one, you might want to click on the SXSW link up there and check out the rest of the list for yourself. Maybe you'll discover I left out some of your favorite stuff (although I've posted another twenty or thirty the past month-and-a-half). So without further ado, I post our first Big Bloc. Now I'm going to hide somewhere till the dust settles. 
One of the in-the-knows on the Audities mailing list recommended Copenhageners The 20 Belows, so I went to Whoa Oh Records to check it out. An hour or two later I emerged with eleven winning numbers. How shall I characterize these songs? I shan't. Well, okay, untwist my arm and I'll unlumber. Poppy. Lots of fuzz. Fun. (Sorry, didn't mean to get so deep.) Here are four. More to follow. You really would do yourself a favor by getting on the Audities mailing list. Last month approximately 75-80 of my 90 eMusic downloads were based on recommendations I got from Auditeers. Also, if you like pawing through record label sites' free media offerings, I left quite a few behind at Whoa Oh--nine, I think. Am I giving away secrets of the blogging sisterbrotherhood? Welllll...... Oh, and I don't quite know how to say it. . .but I didn't know Copenhageners could sound like this. Neato. 
With the help of their latest newsletter, I found my way to some excellent songs posted at Glorious Noise. Herewith, a selection. Some of the songs posted below have been out awhile now. Click artist names for info.
Yeh, don't worry, I've sensed it. Some of you cogniscenti have been smirking right the way through this Heyday thing I've been doing. You've been thinking things like, "Okay, Mr. Blogger Man, if you were really one of us, if you were really in the know, if you really knew your "heyday," you'd be posting something from the real Heyday. You'd be posting something by those righteous men of Oz, The Church. And you know, you're right. I remember the thrill, the shiver of pleasure the first time I heard them. And the song posted below was the one. It was recommended to me by the guy I'm calling "James," referred to in an earlier post. The Church quickly became one of my all-time favorite bands. You've most likely heard their biggest hit, the transcendent "Under the Milky Way," from their album, Starfish. If not, go watch it at YouTube and buy it at the links I'm posting. (I'll provide the link or post it here when YouTube is back up and running.) I had the pleasure of seeing the band with some dear friends in Austin during the Gold Fix Afternoon tour. Wow! So here we go. Read here, buy here and here, and visit them here, s'il vous plaît. And this just in from their bandsite:
. . .and they do it pretty much every week. Here are some nice ones I found at their free mp3 site. The Three Hour Tour song serves to remind us there are but 22 shopping days (including the mad rush on the day itself) until V-Day.
Again, I gave some indication as to how much The Smithereens mean to me in an earlier post previewing their just-released Beatles tribute album, the delightful Meet the Smithereens. I also previously posted a song by Don Dixon, who produced Green Thoughts, the album on which the song posted below is found. Ever heard a song in which every freakin’ sound totally delights you? “Elaine” does that to me, and it happens song after Smithereens song. I'm providing links whereby you can purchase Smithereens albums and individual songs. You can stream three songs from Meet the Smithereens here and buy it here. One-week post.
As you have perhaps noticed, I'm not much given here to writing reviews. My main and pleasant task is to post music I like and you might. I don't emote much about songs, preferring to let you decide for yourself. If I post a song, it means I like or love it. You might not, and that's (sniff) fine. I have my reasons but they might not necessarily be yours. I jotted down a lot of notes as I first listened to The Shins' Wincing the Night Away, released today, thinking I might, this once, depart from form. It's just not what I want to do. Most of what I might say would merely feel like showing off or showing (myself) up. I've purposely avoided haunting all my favorite music blogs today so as not to be predisposed one way or another. It's been fun and strange to know the whole indie world is abuzz about this but still not know exactly what they're saying. But I'll say this: I love this band and I love this album. I'm right on the verge of letting go and raving, but I'll hold myself in check. Two groups have by far attracted more visits to this blog than any others: The Beatles and The Shins, and with good reason. So I'll simply repost "Phantom Limb" and three earlier songs and let it be and encourage you one way or another to get and let the rest of this sublime music flow through you. The Shins will definitely. . .you know.
I promised more from Fat Wreck Chords, so I guess I better follow through. With pleasure. The first song is in honor of the surge (not). After that, we lighten up. The Soviettes (pic) say they're not at all communists but definitely party-oriented. One of them looks more like a Soviet, and that's cool. What does this have to do with the music, one might ask? Not sure, but I want to mention that last week the songs at FWC were zipping right open. Tonight they're moving slower than a toilet paper line at pre-90s GUM. (This post's title will probably get some interesting Googlings. You should've seen the disappointed faces on those who searched for "girls" and got Girls at Our Best! Of course, now it's probably gonna happen again. I'll keep you posted.)
In one of my earliest posts, I made it about as clear as I succinctly can how much I treasure these Beantown brilliants. Please go read that post and listen to those songs if you like, before, after, or. . .well, before or after listening to this deluxe dopaminer of a song. I just checked and The Cavedogs' albums are still available at Amazon for ridiculously low prices. (How does, like, $.10 and $2.39 sounds?) I have to woof in agreement with the person named "Anonymous" who opined at my previous post that someone needs to reissue the 'dogs albums. This will be posted for seven days.
Recent and not-so-recent finds/very much likes. Click names for more of what you need. At left, The Icicles fearlessly faced the dangerous melting season. No such danger at the moment.
I was poking around at one of my favorite labels and emerged with the following by some old friends. Click for info and more tunes. The Rosebuds bloom left.
Ask me if I love this song and group. Answer hints above. More here. You know 'em, you love 'em, but read more here and here. Watch video here. Get better recording quality here.
Boy howdy, my sentiments exactly, fellers, you bet your Beckett. I've been coming across lots of good stuff but it's the same dilemma day after day: I just don't have time to write it up. Soooo, if you prefer a blog awash with words, I do apologize. If you prefer something more in the way of music, I have it indidi. So let's gogo, if you're feelin' lucky, punks. (Now, how do I work in Pozzo? Oh well, no biggie.)
Let’s spin a few on the distaff. I’ve posted two songs previously by both Tralala and Shalini, so you can click on the names to refresh or inject your memory. The affecting voices of Tegan and Sara have given me pleasure for a couple of years now, while I blushingly confess to only just having found Angie Heaton, formerly of Corndolly, Liquorette, and Tractor Kings. Tegan and Sara are pictured. Again, clicking artist names below will bring certain benefits. For example, Tegan and Sara have six excellent downloadable mp3s at the Audio page of their website.
Reviewers and bloggers have been touting Chris Brown's Now That You're Fed since its release last February. In an Audities mailing list message yesterday, powerpop guru David Bash anointed the album as the Best of 2006. Here is a song from Brown's website to take you on a first--or maybe 100th-- step toward deciding (if you haven't already).
Here are a few songs I came across today that I liked. Click on band names to learn and/or hear more. Story of the Sea are pictured.
Although partly known for zany, attention-grabbing antics, New Yorkers Too Much Joy recorded a number of excellent alternative songs, including my personal favorite, "Crush Story," from their 1991 major label debut, Cereal Killers. Read more here, buy some here, here, here, and here. One weeker. . .
Again, I've meditated long and hard as to whether to post this one at ppop, even though I love the song and even though song and album appeared on myriad Best of 06 lists. The time has come to do the deed. Midlake formed deep in the heart of North Texas back in 2000. "Roscoe" is on their third album, The Trials of Van Occupanther. But wait, you can read more here and here or just hear. I must confess my pants never got in a bunch over the opening riff, further evidence of my lack of critical acumen.
Thanks to Peter over at Coast is Clear for showing the way to the link for "Radiation," by Portland's The Epoxies. I’ve liked this song for quite some time now but didn’t know where it lived. Tracking it down to the group’s label, Fat Wreck Chords (whoa, too clever, man) put me in touch with other enjoyable bands, some of which I knew, most of which I happily did not. Here are several that tickled my fancy. Royal we’ll post more in the near future. Click band names if you like.
I've liked these Montrealers since first hearing them but haven't felt their music quite comports with what I'm generally posting at this blog. That changed a little while ago when I found the following at Merge Records.
Sacramento-based Rocketship created 60’s-style pop layered “with droning analog organs and waves of ringing guitars,” as All Music puts it. All Music likens the feelings evoked, if not the sound, to those brought forth by Stereolab and My Bloody Valentine. Slumberland Records has made available the 1993 album, A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness, which you can find here. The following two songs are from that album.
I loved this Boston band and this song, among many others. I'm a bit short of time, so I'll just link to the occasionally snippy All Music summary--with which I don't fully agree--and leave it to your ears. All three full-length albums are listed on this Amazon page. Slam is available at Amazon for $.01. One week, then buh-bye.
The ever-vigilant Morten at Hits in the Car has discovered The Eames Era have revamped their website and stocked it with mp3s from their soon-to-be-released album Heroes and Sheroes. Since just last week he kindly acknowledged my earlier posting of The Eames Era, I'm going to go ahead and post all three of the Heroes and Sheroes mp3s. And to save trouble for you clickaphobes, I'm posting here everything the group is making available at their website. I love these Pelican Staters and can't wait to hear the rest of the new album. I encourage you to head over to eMusic and check out the rest of The Eames Era songs. I did so after first coming across them and downloaded a bunch of good stuff. As always, Morten is afire with great new music, so here too is the homepage for Hits in the Car..jpg)
It’s always great to spend a couple of your monthly eMusic downloads on two great songs and then find them free of charge at their record label website two minutes later. . .Rea!ly. I’m glad I can post them! (That ! in the midd!e of their name both turns me on, stands for more than one !etter, and is no exaggeration!) I was tracking down an Audities best of 2006 band (to be posted later) and found Sw!ms. If they haven’t been on any bo lists they should have been. I’m guessing they’re the best thing out of Scranton, PA since Dunder-Mifflin. Enough talk, let’s go deep.
The look, the attitude, even the sound do not say “powerpop,” but Angelenos Tex & the Horseheads were recommended to me by one of the purest poppers I’ve ever known. (We’ll call him “James,” as that is his name.) I for one will be eternally grateful. Trouser Press’sss description probably won’t attract you either. I quote in part:
I was first enamored of Knoxville, Tennessee’s The Judybats via their haunting cover of “She Lives (In a time of Her Own)” on the superb Roky Erickson tribute album Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye. Although they enjoyed modest success on college radio, they never quite achieved the recognition they deserved. After checking the usual places, I could only find Marketplace copies of their now out-of-print albums at Amazon, at incredibly reasonable prices. There was one song at eMusic and one song and some videos for sale at iTunes. I am posting for one week my favorite Judybats song, the title track from their excellent debut album, Native Son. Here is a band summary at All Music. One week up, then down.
It’s almost too good to be true, so I’ll simply share precisely what Share says.Welcome to the Fading Ways SHARE website. Here you can download, for free, all of the tracks released to date in the SHARE sampler series. You are also free to copy them and give them to friends and family, upload them to your p2p networks, and let as many people as possible hear them. As long as you use them non-commercially, so that any money that is made from their use goes direct back to the artist, you are granted permission to do whatever else you like with them, thanks to the Creative Commons license under which the SHARE samplers have been released.
Due for release in Canada this coming Tuesday, College Grove by Vancouver’s Abernethy is filled with gorgeous, deeply moving music. I don’t have a lot of information on what seems to be a solo project-with-friends, but the songs themselves provide what you need to know. They reward close and repeated attention. Here are my three favorites.
They said they hoped to get my toe tappin’, but little did I know they’d get the whole corpus twitching with pleasure. New Yorkers We The They have a European tour pending and will soon be releasing a split 7 inch with Siluh Records stablemates Killed by 9v Batteries. You should know as well they are endorsed by no less than 60s guitar greats The Ventures and their guitar company, Wilson Bros. “Give me a motive,” they sing, but I’m awfully glad they motivated me to listen to such an excellent band of poppers. Read and listen to more at their MySpace site.
Yeh, so this is quite the antimetal site and I do like metal and goth and such but sometimes it’s good to get in touch with one’s inner wimp. This site will flat fey you down, and you’ll be glad as you tweest and shout, or maybe sigh really, really loud. "Bubbyworld." Waaaaah! Heh. Oh, and go here for more. Thanks to the always excellent Mira el Péndulo for the headsup.
If you’re full of rage, you might as well don a shiny suit and skinny tie. I guess. Whatever, these angry Londoners put out four hard-hitting albums, with their second, Birth, School, Work Death, a certifiable alternative classic. It has song after excellent song - the title song, "If I Only Had Time," "Tell Me Why," "When Am I Coming Down," "Cause I Said So" - and is one of those rare albums I enjoy listening to from first song to last. My favorite has always been one of the perhaps lesser known tunes on BSWD, “Love is Dead.” For those who like their pop with an ooch of snarl. Check out the full catalog here and Birth, School, Work, Death here. Also, read more at All Music.
Found in their lairs of late. I wish I had more time to expound, but currently, it's not happening. More mp3s are available at some of the bandsites, so clicken, ustedes, si vous los desean. Gorgeous picture, eh? And as you'll note here, it's pronounced "richly."
Here are the ones I liked best this week at Last.fm's Weekly Free Downloads.
Here’s the opening line in the Wikipedia summary: “Something Happens were an Irish pop-rock band whose heyday was the late 1980s – early 1990s." Heyday. Late 1980s – early 1990s. I'm suing the Wikis for stealing my theme line. Maybe. Anyway, I loved this band as soon as I heard their second full-length, Stuck Together with God's Glue. “What Now” is a pretty much perfect song, but please don't take my word for it. The Wikipedia article says “Parachute” and “Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello (Petrol)” were more popular, so please go check them out here. "Hello, Hello. . ." had a winsome video, but when I just went to see if it's available, da Tube was tied up. I'll check it again later. You can also sample and buy other Something Happens albums here. One week post. Good buy.
My absolute favorite by these Swedes, and I just copped it at Last.fm's Weekly Free Downloads. Yee and ha!
Jared over at 5 Acts has been on a tear of late, posting song after excellent song. He said I could do this, and I've been quite abstemious for quite some time, so here goes with one that touched my sweet spot. Please return the favor by checking out the great songs at 5 Acts and the acquisitional info about TMLS' new album.
We place before you, for your listening pleasure, another of our treasured numbers from the late 80s/early 90s heyday. Of course if you prefer simply to stare at the names of the band and the song (not to mention the picture), that is fine, too. New York’s The Brandos were another early and immensely satisfying discovery for me during that era. During the early 80s The Brandos’ frontman Dave Kincaid had been in the Seattle powerpop band The Allies but split and moved to New York, where he eventually formed the rootsier group featured here. Read more at All Music. What I like most about “A Matter of Survival”: the hook, the syncopated guitar/drum interplay, the vocals and lyrics, the sentiments, the clever, extended solo, and the ending. The debut album, Honor Among Thieves, from which the posted song is taken, is very much available here. Other albums from The Brandos’ catalog are for sale here. Again, posted for one week.
Over the next few weeks, and partly due to the request of an old friend, I intend to post songs from the late 80s/early 90s. For a variety of reasons, this was a kind of heyday of musical discovery for me. The right friends, the right media, the right dj (bless you, Jody Denberg), the right record stores all came together in a happy confluence of great music. Terrific Torontans The Pursuit of Happiness were one of the first groups I discovered during that time, and their music was absolutely infectious. “I’m An Adult Now,” “She’s So Young, “ and “Hard to Laugh” were great tunes and more widely popular, but my favorite song from their Todd Rundgren-produced debut Love Junk has always been “When the Sky Comes Falling Down.” You can buy Love Junk here, and you won’t be sorry. It’s one of my favorite albums from the golden age of late 80s alternative. (Yeh, yeh, alternative to what? Bleh.) Other albums from the TPOH catalogue are available here. Each heyday song I post will be up for but one week. If you like, buy more and tell your friends.
