At Fallen Penny's Video Shoot, Oberammergau
One of Robert Pollard’s latest projects, The Takeovers, are set to release their second album on June 12. The twelve-tuned, tautologically-titled Bad Football features input from a constellation of indie rockers, including Guided by Voices bandmate Chris Slusarenko, Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus, and members of Mudhoney, The Decemberists, Tad, 44 Long, The Dharma Bums, and Invert. Circus Devils, another Pollardian joint, are set to release Sgt. Disco on July 24. The Takeovers have posted three downloadables at their bandsite and another at their MySpace site. Here’s my favorite so far.
I got pretty hopped up a few minutes ago to hear from Mike Detmer of Cincinnati band, The Spectacular Fantastic, who have just released their latest full length, Outer space is nothing but a lie. In the case of this excellent outfit, “release” has special meaning: they offer up their entire catalogue for free at their bandsite. How uncapitalistic, and you will never see a better cost-to-profit ratio on this terrestrial ball, nevermind the great out-there. As I indicated in one of my earliest posts, I’ve loved the band since early '06. For a couple of months “You” held the honored opening-song slot on faves CDs I made for friends. You’ve maybe noticed (not that it matters) I tend to like my songs uptempo; this is one of the few bands that can move me at any speed. Here are four favorites from Outer space. I hope you’ll be joining me at TFS’s bandsite to take advantage of their system of a-downloadin’. Also, please to explain “Outer space is nothing but a lie.” Close attention might pay off.
Tense?
While making his daily rounds, Dr. Pplist got no further than the middle of the alphabet. There he discovered that Chris over at the venerable Swiss blog, Music of the Moment, had apparently stolen his "Around the Blogosphere" theme and posted some really nice finds from the 'sphere. (Totally kidding, Chris, totally. You've been at this game far longer than the doctor and are a model for him, not vice versa, mkay? Kid-ding. Cheesy Grin City. Yuk-yuk, etc., etc.) Well, to continue, MOTM directed Dr. P to a German indie blog called Die Stagediven. (Although one could well snuff it in such risky recreation, the doctor's elementary knowledge of Deutsch suggested that "Die" in this instance actually means "The." He could be wrong but he's not.) Much as Dr. P needs to come up with new terminology, "goldmine" pretty well sums up what he found at Die Stagediven. Not only are DS's current posts juicy with jewels, the 63 pages of mp3 archives are a veritable torrent of. . .juice. Anyway, the doctor extends thanks to these two excellent blogs. Posted are some favorites he found at DS. Sure, the first one's ancient, but he's been looking for a link to it for a long time. More will be decanted over the coming weeks. But, hey, go find some for yourself, if you're so inclined. Doctor's orders.
This just in from Fanatic: pleasing whacked out sixtiesish psychy fuzz pop from ex-Daytonian Chicagoans. “Coltrane Motion” they’re called. Gratifying it is to find these heads so firmly planted in the here and now and then.
Again, we must be in more of a listening than writing mode. We really like these songs, though.
Laconic we have been of late, and current obligations will continue to curb the word count for awhile. We'll make very effort, though, to continue posting music we find and like and hope you do, too.
Great songs, great price: zero. I couldn't believe it either the first time I came across Boston's The Spaceshots. I liked every song on Siren Sounds and appreciated these sentiments at the CherryDisc/Hearbox site: "The artist has agreed to the free distribution of this music. Feel free to download the album, copy it to your MP3 player, burn CDs, play loudly in cars, and distribute with wild abandon." Needless to say, my abandon knew no bounds. It is slightly more hedged this early morning, so I'll post four and encourage you to let your own abandon get as feral as you like. Go here and pay zip, download and unzip.
Ooh, ooh, a couple of themes have emerged for this one, and my glee is immense. Brooklynite (lots of them here this week) Sasha Bell is the driving force behind Finishing School, as well as a member of The Ladybug Transistor and The Essex Green. Impressed? Sure, but wait, there's more. The late and ever-to-be-cherished Elliott Smith does the fourth and fifth songs below. "High Times" is from his recent, posthumously released album, New Moon, and "Between the Bars" happens to be my favorite song by him. Gee, those online "Blogging For Dummies" courses are giving me my money's worth.
Apologies to you logophiles, but today we must get straight to the music (which, happily, does contain words as well).
For our Mittwoch frolic we barrow out a couple more from the Fingertips goldmine, one by old friends The Connells, and one more from SXSW 2005. And why not, let's add a current one as well. I could probably say more, but this should suffice.
Good newweek to you. "We" offer today a mix of new, newish, and oldish (like, two whole years old). You've maybe noticed we've been quite aroused by Brooklynites Palomar lately and just might have to do a special post pulling together all we've been able to find so far. (Clickin' those "Labels" doodads down there basically accomplishes the same thing.) Brooklynites Bishop Allen and Torontans Uncut are doing us good as well. The second Uncut song is one of the ones that excited us at the SXSW 2005 site we've been posting stuff from the past two weeks or so. (Sorry if we haven't been regular enough about it. We'll try to do better.) Tennesseans Feable Weiner may have a funny name, but this song is quirky, too. Ya'll have a great week, ya heah. We goin' ta teach ya'll ta tawk suthen, and I don't mean no Lambeth neither. (Speakin' o' London, that pic shows the Weiner "way on down south.")
I followed a link over at the excellent Power Pop Action and discovered Spanish gold. Quant are from Galicia and are assayed as "perfectly pure." Between the Pirates and this lot, the smile lines seem pretty much permanent. All angsty, exi cred is kaput. This is charming, sparkly pop, and I left a bunch there, if the prospecting tempts you. (Click on "CANCIONES MP3.")
Visitors looking for thematic coherency will be confounded. You might like some songs, though. (Thankfully, blogging does not require professional certification.)
Yes, someone actually found this blog this week using a Google Search for "Humptag." Whether they found what they were looking for I might never know. But where was I? Right, nowhere, so let's go where. I just found the Fields song earlier this evening at AOL’s Spinner.com, which I strongly encourage you to visit for more great music. I really liked their "If You Fail, We All Fail," which I posted on April Fools' Day (really), and am very glad to have today's tune as well. I sent some of you scurrying over to another blog to get The Mary Timony Band song last month and delight in finally having it here. Palomar have also given pleasure here (and here ) before and I suspect will do so with "Woah!" I nabbed it with Pitchfork. We conclude with a SXSW 2005 fave by a band new to me called Noodles. You can read more about all these bands by clicking on their names. Personally, I like to listen first and read later, but suit yourself, I'm easy. I hope both sides of the hump prove good for you this week.
Chicago’s The Krinkles are set to release their third full-length on May 29th, and 3: The Mordorlorff Collection is well worth the wait. The sixteen excellent powerpop/glammers on 3 are sure to please longtime fans and new. Thanks to the band for getting in touch and letting me post two songs for one month. Come the 29th, you'll be able to purchase the rest at CD Baby. (As usual with the Baby, you can hear two-minute samples right now.) Update, 11:50 A.M. CST: And this just in: Drummer Matty Favazza of The Krinkles just let me know that you can buy the album at CD Baby NOWWWW!!! Thanks, Matty, and good luck!
or lose it looks pretty 50-50 this Monday morn, so let's try the former.
popboomerang. Hmmm, now where might that be from, one onedered, espying the email to the Audities discussion list. One certainly liked what one heard. Some of the evidence, so far:
Thanks to Robbie over at The Musebox for sending me links to a couple of songs by LA-indiepoppers, Acute, who on Wednesday released their debut full-length, Arms Around a Stranger. I'd previously posted "Follow You Home" and will do so again, along with another I very much like.
Here are a few much-liked downloadables hosted at sites I visit. Hosts, I appreciate you. OTC are pictured. I'll be back later today with more directly downloadable fare.
It’s hard to feel sinister grinning from ear to ear as they drive and hook and cook and – sorry, but it must be said – rock both heart and brain, pouring goodness out and on and in. If they’d just bite off a bat’s head or growl blackmetal Cookie Monster threnodies, maybe I could hang a left and get in touch with the dark side. But with this lot of hasty college puddin’s there’s a bit too much pure delight going on to twist the handlebar with a “Mwah ha ha.” I recently posted “The Last Time” and see no reasonable objection to reposting it alongside some terrific tunes further research just turned up. (More here.) They say they’re sinister but they do it right.
None of this is particularly right up-to-date, but I'm hoping you won't mind. Your impeccable tastes keep this blogger on his toes, I tell you what. Oh, in case you missed yesterday's post, the final two below are the next installments of 50 to 60 nice ones I found by digging further at the SXSW 2005 site. I'll be posting a couple per day for the next few weeks.
So much music, so little time. Over the weekend I dug back into the SXSW 2005 site and found another 50 or 60 songs I rated at three stars or better. (Translation: I like 'em a lot.) For the next several weeks I'll be working in a few per day, along with current goodstuff I happen upon. Thanks to visitor "John's" recent tout, Ireland's Ash have been for me one of the most exciting close encounters of the heard kind in many a moon. Imagine if you dare (and why not) my embarrassment/excitement to find them right there as one of the SXSW Showcasing bands back in 2005, which is by way of saying we lead off with them. Next we're calling Sydney for a song by Starky I've liked for a year or two now. (I posted Starky's "Hey Bang Bang" at Big Bloc 4, which I must confess is one of my favorite posts since I started blogging.) Then we get a bit more au courant with a goodun by Montrealers Young Galaxy, brought to earth at the excellent AOL Spinner.com. We close this set with a pleaser brought to our attention by a representative of the London band, Kelly's Heels. Thanks, Katy! Click the artists' names for more info, music, etc.
