Colour Me Impressed

A New Home

2009-01-05T21:49:00.001-05:00

We moved! Check out our new home at ColourMeImpressed.com

Top 5 - March 2 2008

2008-03-02T13:55:00.006-05:00

1. Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes
Often viewed as Bee Thousand's kid brother, Alien Lanes packs 28 songs into just over 40 minutes. My copy actually smells like basements and stale beer.

2. Nick Lowe - Jesus of Cool
Pure Pop For Now People. This reissue restores the original UK trackorder and tacks on some choice bonus cuts ("Cruel to Be Kind (Original Version)"). The cover photo perfectly illustrates his chameleon-like appropriation of pop stylings.

3. Throw Me the Statue - Moonbeams
Secretly Canadian keeps sneaking out these great little records. "Lolita" is a great sounding homemade pop tune that trades Nabakov's dreariness for the sunny sounds of toy xylophones, hyper-active drumming, and choppy acoustic guitars.
Download: Throw Me the Statue - About to Walk

4. Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung by Lester Bangs
I originally read through this collection of Bangs' writings in college, but hadn't revisited since. While often obnoxious, his writing style deftly mimics the propulsive nature of good rock 'n roll. Worth the sticker price for his account of the 1977 Clash tour.

5. Deer Tick - "Dirty Dishes" Live at SSLB Fest (video)
Sam first introduced me to Deer Tick through this very site, but this video really peaked my interest. Filmed in a dark apartment bathroom, John McCauley picks and rasps his way through "Dirty Dishes" in a way that could never be contained by a traditional recording.

New Format - Back to "Regular" Updates

2008-03-01T13:14:00.003-05:00

After over a month of complete inactivity (and about a month of irregular updates preceding that), we're coming back. Well, sort of.

I came to the difficult realization that it was utterly impossible for me to update this site as frequently as I'd like. As a form of compromise I'll begin posting a weekly music related "Top 5" with brief comments. When time (or uncontainable excitement) permits I will post additional content.

This format is inspired by the Big Takeover's weekly Top 10 lists and Mac McCaughn's weekly post at the Portastatic blog.

Look for the first list tomorrow afternoon.

Wye Oak - If Children

2008-01-08T07:38:00.000-05:00

Merge Records just announced the upcoming release of Wye Oak's debut release, If Children, on April 8th. If the teaser track, "Warning," is any indication the album will balance lush melodies with noisy guitars. In other words, exactly my cup of tea.

In the band's own words:

When our band plays live, Jenn plays guitar and sings and Andy plays the drums and keyboard and sings. When we record, Andy and Jenn sing and play all the instruments, although each of us play some things better than others.
Many people have said that our album sounds lush, layered and full, and that we do a pretty good job of capturing that sound on stage, although there are just two of us. We'd like to think that if a song is good enough, it'll stand on its own regardless of how much noise you pile on top. On the other hand, we do like noise.

Download:

Wye Oak - Warning

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For more info visit Wye Oak's Myspace page.

2007 Faves - Yeasayer: All Hour Cymbals

2008-01-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

This is the first installment of a series of posts detailing our favorite albums of 2007. Each installment will be tagged appropriately so that eventually, when we're finished compiling and posting our picks, you can see them all by clicking on the tag.

All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer's first album, feels oddly like the kind of album a small community might assemble. The album has an almost tribal quality, but of a distinctly more civilized nature. And following the comparison a little further, each song shares and builds upon that feeling of generations old culture you might find in such a civilization.

With a few exceptions, most notably 2080, these are not immediately catchy songs. Many of the songs are more like collections of short movements, none of which command much more than a fond remark in passing. I find myself wondering why I am compelled to keep coming back to this album. But inevitably, I am compelled. I start from the beginning and before I know it, I find myself at the end with a distant satisfaction of having listened to a great album. And somewhere between where it began and it ended, I have a vague recollection of having joined in the chanting and shouting, as each movement passed through me. I said "through", not "by".

And while the memorable lines are not numerous, the one that stands out the most for me, and the one that answer my question of why I keep coming back to this album:

"Everybody's coming, down with the same thing!"

Download: Yeasayer - Germs

Download: Yeasayer - Wait For The Summer

Buy it from emusic.com or amazon.com

David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists - and Megastars

2007-12-20T07:06:00.000-05:00

David Byrne raises some interesting ideas regarding the role of business in music in the latest issue of Wired.

There is no one single way of doing business these days. There are, in fact, six viable models by my count. That variety is good for artists; it gives them more ways to get paid and make a living. And it's good for audiences, too, who will have more — and more interesting — music to listen to.

Read the article here.

Various Artists - Yuletunes

2007-12-15T20:36:00.000-05:00

In 1991 the Shoes compiled this holiday collection for those of us who like a little jangle with our jingle. Inspired by Phil Spector’s Christmas LP and the Beatles’ Fan Club Christmas EPs, this is a totally original take on holiday music with nary a standard in sight. Besides being a fine Christmas album, this serves as a nice look back at often forgotten early 90’s power pop.

Download:
Shoes – This Christmas
The Cavedogs – 3 Wise Men and a Baby (Xmas Song)

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The album is out of print, but CD Baby has a limited number in stock.

The Attic Lights - God

2007-12-10T23:12:00.000-05:00

The Attic Lights' debut album isn't due out until sometime next year, but the Glasgowian poppers have recently released the lead single "God." It's hard to avoid the Bandwagonesque era Fannies comparisons, but where I come from that's pretty high praise.

Video:

Daedelus - Was Waiting

2007-12-09T21:06:00.000-05:00

Experimental beats typically manage to accomplish only one thing on a consistent basis: bother the fuck out of me. To be clear, I am a fan of almost anything experimental. But when it comes to rhythm sections, there is a fine line between experimentation and pissing around.

Daedelus has, perhaps out of sheer dumb luck, found that line on Was Waiting from Of Snowdonia, and manages to skirt it magnificently. The song’s wonderfully crafted synth melodies provide the basic structure through which the snare drum bounces around in a slippery fashion always able to avoid prediction; just when you’re sure it’s going to pop, it snaps, or vanishes completely.

But perhaps more remarkable is that all this foolishness takes place behind a deceptively catchy pop tune. It is as if the rhythm section is waging a distant war, while the song carries on unaffected by the turmoil.

Download:

Daedelus - Was Waiting

Buy it from amazon.com or emusic.com

Elvis Costello - This Years Model

2007-11-30T21:15:00.001-05:00

At age 16, in a musty record store attic, I purchased my first vinyl copy of This Years Model for $2. I had never heard a note of Elvis Costello's music, but I recognized his name, checked the copyright date (1978!) and was instantly attracted to the geeky but cool aesthetic of the cover photo. My turntable at the time, a pathetically cheap hand-me-down, was unable to play at a volume much above a whisper. Yet, with my ear pressed to the speaker, in Costello's frantic energy and lover's scorn I recognized a kindred spirit. He wasn't so much angry as pissed off and reflective.

Led by Steve Nieve's sharp edged organ lines, the Attractions' reckless energy is perfectly suited to Costello's breathless delivery. The whole album teeters on the verge of combustion. "No Action," immediately lets the listener know just where we're headed, as Costello spits "I don't wanna kiss you. I don't wanna touch/ I don't wanna see you 'cause I don't miss you that much." Ouch.

Halfway through side two, in the second verse of "Lip Service," Costello buries one of the best kiss-off lines in history:

"Don't act like you're above me/just look at your shoes."

So pissy. So perfect.

Witness the band's riotous attitude during their U.S. TV debut on Saturday Night Live. Scheduled to play My Aim Is True's "Less Than Zero," Costello chose to stop the song after only a few bars and instead broke into the then unreleased "Radio, Radio," reportedly much to the chagrin of the suits at both SNL and the record company.

A week later, I went back to that musty attic and picked up My Aim Is True. But that's another story...

Download:
Elvis Costello - Lip Service

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Buy This Years Model at Amazon.com

CNN/Youtube Debate - Nov. 28, 2008

2007-11-29T01:31:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the off-topic post, but it’s a must.

I just finished watching the CNN/Youtube Republican Debate and I’d like to make a few observations.

Let me get this one out of the way first. One of the Youtube questioners asked, while holding a Bible for the camera, “do you believe every word in this book?” Giuliani responded with the safe answer that he does believe it but that some of it has to be understood as metaphor and cannot be taken as the literal word of God and so avoided the damaging effect that a fundamentalist stance would have on his, or anyone’s, credibility as a rational human being, let alone a candidate for President.

Romney, however, took a different approach. He tried to take both positions. He first stated that he certainly believes the bible as the word of God. By saying this, while not saying so explicitly, he implicated that he believes the bible to be literally true. However, when pressed further by the moderator, he stammered for a bit, then backed off by saying that while he believes every word to be the word of God, some of it is surely meant to be interpreted as allegory.

Without getting too far off topic, I’d like to make the obvious, if beaten to death, point that if this is the case, how is it decided which parts are to be taken literally and which are to be taken metaphorically? Should I literally smite the inhabitants of a city of unbelievers? And if not, how does one interpret that metaphorically?

Politicians pandering aside, the more important point to be made is that it never occurred to either one of them that the only appropriate response to such a question is that a candidate’s religion HAS NO RELEVANCE IN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE!!

I think this is appropriate:

Second, I’d like to address the failure of democracy in this country that is so blatantly obvious that no one seems to want to acknowledge it. Any two year old watching this debate, or any other presidential debate, could tell you that what we have here is a media spectacle that exploits the general public’s propensity for favoring entertainment over substance. Is it any surprise that the frontrunners got center stage and were given the majority of the two hours? You can check my numbers on this, but it is not a gross overstatement that Giuliani and Romney spent more time quibbling back and forth over the very first question of illegal immigration than Ron Paul was given the entire time.

Call me crazy, but if it is going to be scewed, face time should be inversely related to poll figures. How can we possibly have a democracy if the opposite is true.

If you doubt the media bias, I refer you to the following clip from an earlier debate. Listen for Sean Hannity in the background saying that Fox’s own poll is driving him crazy because the results indicate overwhelming support for Ron Paul.

Of course the poll in question was not scientific and was probably flooded with Paul supporters. But the media is constantly trivializing Paul, suggesting he has no chance of winning. Well of course he has no chance if all anyone hears about him is a dismissive/insulting remark made in passing by Sean Hannity.

Hilariously, the media has had to start taking Paul seriously after he raised 4.3 million dollars on November 5 of this year, setting a one-day GOP fundraising record. That's hardly indicitive of someone who has no chance of winning the nomination.

Listen. What I’m getting at is that now is the time to make a conscious decision to become interested in politics and it has never been so important as it is now. We are on the verge of something big, and we all have a vested interest in the outcome. Our generation could see the fall of the most powerful nation in the world. We have been witnesses to and accomplices of the most egregious acts of aggression abroad and have allowed the most potentially irreversible losses of freedom and liberty at home in the history of the United States.

If you’re interested in Liberty and freedom, you’re not going to find it in a CNN debate. Do your 2008 Election research on the internet. I’ll get you started with a couple clips of two candidates that I feel strongly about. I don’t agree with either one of them on every issue, but in the words of Elizabeth Kucinich, they are both “truth tellers.” And from what I can gather so far, they are the only “truth tellers” running.

Democrat: Dennis Kucinich

Republican: Ron Paul

And finally, since this is a music blog, I’ll bring it all together with the appropriately titled:

Arcade Fire – Wake Up

Buy it from emusic.com or Amazon.com

/end rant

The Magnetic Fields – Take Ecstasy With Me

2007-11-24T23:05:00.000-05:00

On the surface, this song is almost boring. But somewhere beneath the layers of cheesy synths and dry vocals, there’s a vast dusty labyrinth to be explored. It’s one of those songs that you have to have your eyes closed for in order to get the full effect. If you listen closely, during the chorus, the echoing of Stephin Merritt’s voice gives shape to the walls of a great underground concourse. Stand there in the middle for awhile, and look around.

The Magnetic Fields have a nack for establishing a specific mood in their songs. And although it's difficult to describe those moods or explain where it is that the songs takes you, the effect, when they are at their best, is overwhelming.

Download:
The Magnetic Fields - Take Ecstacy With Me

Buy it from emusic.com or amazon.com

Citay - Little Kingdom

2007-11-21T21:37:00.000-05:00

Little Kingdom is a guitar lovers album. Before you run away, this isn't the guitar shreddery of the Eddie Van Halen pentatonic-finger-blister variety. Instead Citay focus their energy on interweaving guitar lines that move the listener into an otherworldly headspace. This is an album where the individual songs come together beautifully to form a cooperative whole. Imagine a campfire version of Television and you’re almost there.

Download:
Citay - On the Wings

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Buy Little Kingdom at Amazon.com

Saturday Looks Good To Me - Fill Up the Room

2007-11-17T11:44:00.000-05:00

Pop music contains a long line of “cracked” geniuses, artists who take the simple structure of a pop song and find creative ways to invert them without losing their hummability. Brian Wilson’s post-Pet Sounds output is the obvious touchstone, but more recent artists like the Microphones have created lofi headphone pop that leads the listener into a scattered but transcendental head space.

With Fill up the Room Fred Thomas has officially laminated his membership card for this very special club. Previous Saturday Looks Good to Me albums were full of instantly likeable retro pop, but this time around finds each of Thomas’s tunes overflowing with different ideas pulling in every direction.

The album opener, “Apple,” uses a doo-wop chord progression as a jumping off point as it builds into a symbol crashing barroom sing-along. The hyperactive strumming of “When I Lose My Eyes” perpetually sounds like it’s on the verge of collapse yet manages to sustain its momentum for nearly 7 minutes. Buzzing spy movie guitars prevent “Make a Plan” from sounding like the otherwise simple folk pop that falls behind them. The albums only track not sung by Thomas, “Hands In the Snow,” uses Betty Marie Barnes’s sweet voice to contrast the fuck off message of the lyrics.

With a move to K Records and a less immediate sound, Saturday Looks Good to Me may lose some fans but are poised to connect with many more. This is the kind of album that leaves me to wonder, “What’s next?”

Download:
Saturday Looks Good To Me - When I Lose My Eyes

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Buy Fill Up the Room at Amazon.com

Menomena - Muscle'n Flo (live)

2007-11-13T21:56:00.000-05:00

While we clear up some bandwidth issues, please enjoy a live version of one of my favorite songs, courtesy of Juan's Basement and Plum TV. If you don't know this song, then we can't be friends, and in fact, I don't want to know you...unless you hear it, decide it's also one of your favorite songs and swear your undying allegiance to it.

Enjoy:

The Clean - Anything Can Happen

2007-11-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned previously, I have a soft spot for kiwi jangle pop. I just stumbled upon this vintage video for the Clean's "Anything Can Happen" via the Merge Records blog.

Mum – Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy

2007-11-08T22:56:00.000-05:00

I’ll apologize ahead of time for the gratuitous use of acronyms.

It’s taken a solid month or two, but Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy has finally nestled itself into a cozy place in my heart. I’m not sure why it took so long. In fact, I wanted to like this album long before it was ever recorded.

A little self disclosure: my only previous experience with Mum is their 2002 release Finally We Are No One. And my take on that album is that there are two songs that make the whole thing worth having: Green Grass Of Tunnel and We Have A Map Of The Piano. Experimental glitch pop is the best way to describe FWANO. And although Kristin Valtysdottir’s childlike, delicate croon makes the album better suited for closet listens - “er… no I wasn’t listening to that, I was trying play, um… Rancid. Yeah, Rancid. And then I was going to, uh, get a tattoo. On my balls.” - those two songs will live long on my future playlists and rank well into the double digits of my all-time favorites.

I think the reason why Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy took me so long to accept is that it is so different from what I was expecting (granted, I missed a couple releases between FWANO and GGSTPI). The glitchiness is still there to an extent, although it is much less pronounced and is more of a fucked-up start-stop percussion section rather than the pops-and-clicks from FWANO.

The most notable difference, which is likely a result of the radical change in members since the 2002 setup, is that Mum sounds more like a band now, as opposed to an experimental, synth driven outfit. Where the music once felt cold and sterile, there is now warmth and fluidity with brassy instrumentation at times not so dissimilar to Broken Social Scene.

And while I don’t foresee any of the songs on GGSTPI making it onto my all-time list, the album, as a whole, turns out to be far superior to FWANO.

I'm recommending both albums so here is a sample of each:

Finally We Are No One:
Mum – Green Grass Of Tunnel
Mum – We Have A Map Of The Piano

Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy:
Mum – Blessed Brambles
Mum – Guilty Rocks

Also check out this killer performance of We Have A Map Of The Piano:

"I'll close my eyes and bite your tongue."

Available at emusic.com and amazon.com

Ravens and Chimes - Reichenbach Falls

2007-11-07T13:29:00.000-05:00

Quick, name a band from New York City. Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, Television, Interpol...just in case you needed help.

Certainly Wolf Parade and Arcade Fire aren't two names that immediately jump to mind. They are the first two that I thought of while listening to this album. Ravens and Chimes lists Wolf Parade as a band that they enjoy, and rightfully so, as it shows through in their music (that's a good thing). I don't mean to make it sound that they steal from or mimic the fine fellows from Montreal, because they don't.

Ravens and Chimes' music is music that makes you want to dance. That is not necessarily because it is full fledged dance music, though it does err that way on occasion. Simply put, it is fun. Having a bad day? Put this on. Your girlfriend ran off to join a hippie commune, leaving you to care for her pet ferret? Put this on. You dropped your wii controller in a jack and coke? Put this on.

I think you get my point. I don't want to confuse you though, this is not syrupy pop music that will lighten your mood. It's music that will share a mood with you (I promise that will make more sense after you listen to this).

May I recommend:
General Lafayette! You are Not Alone
So Long, Marianne (Leonard Cohen Cover)

Buy it at Amazon.

Battles - Tonto

2007-11-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

A couple of months ago Sam and I discovered Battles and their video for first single 'Atlas.' After watching that, we realized that we had to find out more. First there was the groove heavy, almost jam-like quality to the music. I would've written if off as jam rock for indie kids if there wasn't so much to their music. WIth a gabillion (yeah I made up that numberm so?) layers of sounds, and the oddest voice modulation I've heard in quite some time, I thought I'd realized why I liked it so much...then we saw the drummer's crash cymbal set up about eight feet tall. Yep, you heard right.

We then spent the next half hour or so trying to re-create it on Sam's drum set only to realize that it is invoncenient and unstable.

What's my point you are probably wondering. Well, it's simply that Battles is kind of out there at first, but even with all that doesn't make sense about them, there's too much to get interested in. That is most evident in the video for 'Tonto', which turns out to be one of those songs that you can't listen to without thinking of the video; thanks to the talents of proclaimed light artists UVA (United Visual Artists).

I hereby implore you to get this video stuck in your head:

Download:
Battles - Tonto

Buy the album at Amazon

Simply Saucer - Cyborgs Revisited

2007-11-04T16:43:00.000-05:00

I can only imagine what the residents of Hamilton, Ontario made of Simply Saucer back in the mid-70’s. Their music, a blend of Velvets stomp with Syd-era Pink Floyd weirdness, still sounds a bit off-putting. Straight forward rock songs quickly shift into Theremin led discordant freak outs. The groove heavy “Dance the Mutation” could have been the most fucked up dance craze ever. “The Twist” for the kids who ate acid instead of cereal for breakfast. While “Instant Pleasure” is a freak beat sex romp sing-along that clocks in at less than 2 minutes (without any lyrics past the first 45 seconds). “Bullet Proof Nothing” is the album’s pop song as Edgar Breau begs to be treated like dirt by the object of his desire. His straight-faced vocals sound as if he’s the only one not in on some sort of joke.

Much like the Velvets before them, the few that actually heard this record the first time around couldn’t have helped but absorb Simply Saucer’s influence.

Download:
Simply Saucer - Dance the Mutation
Simply Saucer - Instant Pleasure
Simply Saucer - Bullet Proof Nothing

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Buy Cyborgs Revisited at Amazon.com

Sigur Ros - Svefn-G-Englar

2007-11-03T23:01:00.000-04:00

I was thinking that if I had an apartment directly above Sigur Rós’s rehearsal space, my dreams would be a lot cooler than they are now. They would, at the very least, involve considerably more floating.

Plus, the intense blue light that, I’m certain, pours from the crack underneath their door (that blue light follows them wherever they go… concerts, rehearsal, Taco Bell, etc.) would look sweet bouncing off the bricks across the alleyway and back in through my window, saturating the ambient fog in my bedroom. Because, of course, I would have to get a fog machine.

Check out this (superb quality) performance of Svefn-G-Englar from 2001:

Ityooawoooooyaaah!!!!

Download:
Sigur Rós – Svefn-G-Englar

Buy Sigur Rós at emusic.com or amazon.com

Covers: Grizzly Bear - Knife

2007-11-02T12:48:00.000-04:00

First, a bit of a preface; I would like to make this a regular entry, as I find it interesting when bands cover their contemporaries, as opposed to giving a new spin on old favorites. I have a few in mind, but suggestions are always welcome.

One of the best songs in the past five years is receiving its due by being covered, seemingly, incessantly. A few of the culprits being CSS, Born Ruffians, Girl Talk (Sort of), and Beirut.

The CSS and Born Ruffians covers of Knife are solid efforts, which leave the original feel and arrangment essentially intact; of course they sound a bit different, as you neither band is what I'd call comparable to Grizzly Bear. The Girl Talk cover, and I use the word cover loosely in this case, takes Knife and welds it together with Clipse single 'Wamp, Wamp', and the beginning percussion from 'Shout' by Tears for Fears. Anything involving Clipse is a winner in my book, so I fully endorse the Girl Talk version.

Check out this surreal and amazing picture courtesy of Broolyn Vegan:

Yes, Clipse + Girl Talk + Dan Deacon + Grizzly Bear = Awesome

Sorry, back to the entry...the Beirut version is also a bit less than a true fleshed out cover, but it is worth viewing and ejoying (courtesy of LaBlogtheque):

Check 'em out:
Girl Talk - Knife (Remix)
CSS - Knife
Born Ruffians - Knife

Download the artists at Amazon or emusic.

The Pale Blue Dot

2007-11-01T23:07:00.000-04:00

“It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.” – Carl Sagan, The Pale Blue Dot

We know very little about each other, reader. We are strangers. In fact we do not even enjoy the simple privileges that most strangers do; like being able to look each other in the eyes, or engage in a dynamic dialogue. Unless you leave a comment for us, you are simply a statistic on our site meter.

Bear with me. I’m going somewhere with this, I think.

The universe is incomprehensibly vast. That you and I should find ourselves together on this planet, much less this website, is, at the very least, unlikely. That the molecules you are made of have gathered themselves in such a way as to be able to contemplate the molecules I am made of is downright absurd. Nevertheless, our consciousnesses meet here, for a moment. Lest I should squander this opportunity.

Listen. It is my moral obligation to pass this along. I hope that whatever trust we’ve built so far will not be damaged when I say this. And I won’t say it often, but this is…

A must watch:
(stick with it, it gets good!)

The voice you hear is Carl Sagan himself, author of The Pale Blue Dot. The music is Mogwai’s Stop Coming To My House.

In the words of this film’s creator:

“This is not meant to be nihilistic or defeatist. Rather, it should inspire us to make the most out of our brief stay here on Earth. It is a scale on which to measure the insignificance of our differences and magnifies the importance of our similarities.” - Pale Blue Films

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for humoring me.

Download:
Mogwai – Stop Coming To My House

Gruff Rhys - Candylion

2007-10-31T22:05:00.000-04:00

I'm beginning the slow descent from my Mars Co. induced rush. We already posted our Halloween mix, but here's a song for the comedown inspired by my son's lion costume. "Candylion" is the title track from the excellent solo album by the Super Furry Animal's Gruff Rhys. Mellower and more straightforward than his full-time gig, this one is certainly a contender for a high spot on 2007's best list.

Download:
Gruff Rhys - Candylion

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Buy Candylion at Amazon.com

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T07:22:00.000-04:00

To celebrate the oncoming sugar coma here's a collection of 13 spooktastic tracks. Enjoy!

Download:

~~Dream Syndicate - Halloween~~

~~John Cale - Fear Is A Man's Best Friend~~

~~Gun Club - Ghost on the Highway~~

~~The Beat Happening - Pajama Party in a Haunted Hive~~

~~Radiohead - We Suck Young Blood~~

~~The Cramps - Rockin' Bones~~

~~Luna - Bewitched~~

~~Neil Young - Vampire Blues~~

~~The Go-Betweens - The Ghost and the Black Hat~~

~~The Cure - Lullaby~~

~~Ryan Adams - Halloweenhead~~

~~The Gothic Archies - The City of the Damned~~

~~Sonic Youth - Halloween~~

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Support these artists. Buy their music at Amazon.com, Insound.com, or emusic.com

Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London

2007-10-30T23:33:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow we'll be bringing you a full Halloween-centric mix. In the meantime, here's a teaser with Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London."

"His hair was perfect..."

Download:
Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London

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Buy Excitable Boy at Amazon.com

Billy Nicholls - Would You Believe

2007-10-28T10:20:00.000-04:00

In 1968, while still in his late teens, Billy Nicholls recorded one of the finest albums of British psychedelia. Nicholls was clearly a product of his surrounding influences as traces of the Zombies, the Kinks, and Between the Buttons era Stones are blended to create lavishly produced pop. Harmonies drip from every corner and strings constantly rise and fall just as you would expect from the greats of the era. The title track would sound right at home on Odessey and Oracle and "London Social Degree" pays Nicholls' debt to Ray Davies.

Unfortunately the album did not see an original release date and only a few promotional copies made it into circulation. Though he would later go on to work with Pete Townshend and eventually recorded a follow up, its hard to imagine the greatness he may have achieved if success had given him the opportunity to shake the obviousness of his influences.

In 2006 Castle released an expanded 2-disc version of the album. If this is your cup of tea, snatch it up as this album tends to fall in and out of print.

Download:

~~Billy Nicholls - Would You Believe~~

~~Billy Nicholls - London Social Degree~~

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Buy Would You Believe at Amazon.com

A Place To Bury Strangers

2007-10-26T22:53:00.000-04:00

Sound Technician: “I’ve got your guitar running through three reverb, two crunch, and twelve fuzz pedals. The vocals are so wet, it sounds like you’re in a sunken, hollowed-out submarine. I’ve got fuzz pedals on the drums for Chrissake! Don’t you think this is all a bit much? Overkill, if you will?”

Oliver: “Great idea! Try adding the Overkill, between the Annihilator and the Discombobulator. And while you’re at, is it possible to get some reverb on the reverb?”

***

Not much else needs to be said. if the preceding dialogue doesn’t intrigue you, the music won’t either.

But I’ll make a few quick points anyhow. A Place To Bury Strangers is two things: 1) a band and 2) an album. The band is noisy. They made a noisy album. It is awesome.

Descriptors: The Jesus And Mary Chain plus shoegaze on steroids.

Download:

A Place To Bury Strangers - Don't Think Lover

A Place To Bury Strangers - Another Step Away

Buy it from Amazon or Emusic

Joe Pernice - Guest Blogger at Powell's

2007-10-26T19:53:00.000-04:00

One of my all-time favorite musicians, Joe Pernice, of Pernice Brothers and Scud Mountain Boys fame has written a guest blog post over at Powell's Books. In addition to creating perfectly crafted songs, Joe has written a novella based on the Smiths' Meat Is Murder for the 33 1/3 series.

Check out Joe's post here.

Download:

The Pernice Brothers - Somerville

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Buy Joe Pernice's music

Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof

2007-10-25T15:32:00.000-04:00

Sure the name is misleading a bit. Vampire Weekend play fantastic organic pop music, not pop punk or moribund pop music (see The Cure), as their name might suggest. Emusic just made available the Mansard Roof single in preparation for their upcoming LP, due out in January of '08.

The two songs featured are, Mansard Roof and Ladies of Cambridge. Both songs are in the vein of the Shins, with whom Vampire Weekend is off galavanting around Europe. However, Vampire Weekend seem to favor a more worldly beat; think Paul Simon circa Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, except less cheesy and self indulgent, but just as catchy. Alright, I'll stop rambling.

Usually we'd give you a few tracks to download, but since there are only two on this offering, I feel it unfair to give away the boys' tracks for free. However, I'll gladly point you to their site where they graciously let you sample and download a few cuts from the upcoming full length.

You can also download Mansard Roof at emusic.

Wu Tang Clan - The Heart Gently Weeps

2007-10-23T13:38:00.001-04:00

December 4th, 11th, or 17th can't come soon enough. One of those dates will be the release date for the new Wu album...hopefully. I've given up trying to keep track of it anymore.

On the bright side, thanks to Loud.com and the good folks at Pitchfork, we have access to a new track from the upcoming 8 Diagrams LP.

I think from the title, you can probably gather where I'm going with this. No, it is not another Danger Mouse style mashup; this time it's for real, well sort of. It is actually an interpolation of the famous Beatles song, with George Harrison's son, Dhani, and John Frusciante (yes of Red Hot Chili Peppers) playing the guitar parts on the song.

Now for the less snobby version of what I just said. The song has most of the notable Wu members rapping and "singing" their own lyrics over top of While my Guitar Gently Weeps. For me the pinnacle is when Ghostface replaces Harrison's line "I don't know why, nobody told you..." with "This bitch is crazy, she brought her baby..."

From all accounts, 8 Diagrams is a return to form for the Wu, and this single shows why everyone is so hyped.

Check it out (ignore the few whispers of "loud.com"):
The Heart Gently Weeps

The Boo Radleys - Everything's Alright Forever

2007-10-21T11:22:00.000-04:00

The Boo Radleys are often considered a footnote. Dismissed by critics as a minor band riding the coattails of My Bloody Valentine, they have not been written into history the way many of their contemporaries have. To top it all off, Everything's Alright Forever is considered one of their lesser albums. A prologue to their "better" more pop oriented material. Luckily, the digital era makes revisionism easy as this album certainly deserves a place on your shelf (or hard drive) alongside their more revered peers.

Dense fields of electric guitar, rhythmic acoustics, and distant pop melodies certainly recall MBV, but with the more immediate drive of early Stone Roses. Further proof that blissed out electrics and strong songwriting are always a lovely match.

The CD is out of print, but thankfully emusic recently rescued it.

Download:

~~The Boo Radleys - Does This Hurt?~~

Video: Elliott Smith - Between The Bars

2007-10-20T15:54:00.000-04:00

As part of a short three song documentary/montage called Lucky Three filmed in 1996, Elliott Smith played an especially intimate version of Between The Bars (as if it could get much more intimate). I'm sure this video is realatively well known by the Elliott Smith faithful. But at the risk of retreading already well-worn steps, here it is again. It's a beautifull performance. This video is concrete evidence supporting my belief that greatness requires but three ingredients: a dude, a guitar, and a microphone.

I'll never get tired of the imagery evoked when he sings: "Drink up baby, look at the stars/I'll kiss you again between the bars/where i'm seeing you there with your hands in the air/waiting to finally be caught." Chills, I tell you! Chills!

You can find the entire film here.

Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover

2007-10-18T22:19:00.000-04:00

At this point, if you told me that Spencer Krug was out fighting crime, I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, I don't know how he has the time and motivation to take on the projects that he does, so nothing would shock me.

That is precisely why I wasn't shocked that I enjoyed his latest offering, coming from his "solo" project. Perhaps I should be shocked though. The more I think about it, the harder a time I have coming up with names of people who are putting out music that keeps me interested on a consistent basis.

Upon first listen, this is another solid release that seems like it might fit in with the Swan Lake release, or perhaps the last Sunset Rubdown offering. I think that might be another unfair reaction, and one that is all too easy to have. Take the track Magic vs. Midas which starts with Krug soft and contemplative. All the while you know that something else has to be coming. It finally grows to include his signature warble over a more driving arrangement, only before softening again. This track single handedly shows you that Krug is certainly capable of, if not deft at, creating a wonderfully complex melody.

Just because this incarnation allows him to allow his wandering and amelodic urges, doesn't mean that it is singly devoid of melody. He embraces the more abstract in order to transform something you swore you've heard before into something completely new and interesting.

If nothing else Krug can grow one fantastic moo-stache.

Download Random Spirit Lover at Amazon.

or at emusic

Download:
Sunset Rubdown - Winged/Wicked Things
Sunset Rubdown - Up On Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days

The Jam - Town Called Malice

2007-10-18T19:16:00.000-04:00

The Jam were on the verge of impolding when they released this stomper. Paul Weller's mod revival had always hinted at his love for Northern Soul, but "Town Called Malice" was his tribute to the genre. Weller's tale of overcoming the struggles of life in an impoverished town is backed by Rick Buckler's pounding snare and Bruce Foxton's syrupy bass line (which bears a striking resemblance to "You Can't Hurry Love"). This has been a personal favorite for 10 years and never fails to put a smile on my face.

The song was also used to great effect in the film Billy Elliot.

Sadly our file host has gone down. So while I am in the process of securing a new home for our mp3's, enjoy the video for one of my all-time favorite joints.

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Buy Cd's by the Jam at Amazon.com

Jens Lekman - Swedish Radio P3 Session 10/10/07

2007-10-15T20:33:00.000-04:00

I recently stumbled across this live radio broadcast thanks to Kwaya Na Kisser. Here's three tracks as a teaser (including my favorite track from 2004's When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog, A Higher Power). Download the full show for a limited time here.

Download:
Jens Lekman - A Higher Power (Live)
Jens Lekman - A Postcard to Nina (Live)

~~Jens Lekman - You Can Call Me Al (Live Paul Simon Cover)~~

Video:
A Postcard to Nina (Live)

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Buy Night Falls Over Kortedala at Amazon.com

Deer Tick – Ashamed

2007-10-13T22:07:00.000-04:00

Here’s a quick fix for you sad saps in the alt. country crowd:

You get the feeling that John McCauley of Deer Tick wrote Ashamed from a perch, much like the one shown here. And whether or not that’s true, this song does a fine job of putting you there.

If McCauley doesn’t sound like a weathered and beaten old man, he certainly sounds a great deal older than the 21 years he actually is. A religious song masquerading as a love song (or vise versa, I can’t figure out which), Ashamed is an honest tale of heart-ache wrapped in warm, uplifting spiritual imagery. McCauley’s voice is so charismatic and convincing that I nearly recanted my agnosticism on the spot.

Unfortunately, Deer Tick’s first album, War Elephant, never comes close to living up to the promise of this opening track. But then again, there certainly is some promise, so I’ll be keeping an eye on these guys. Perhaps they just need a few more years’ experience under their belts.

Download:
Deer Tick - Ashamed

Support them:

emusic.com

Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight

2007-10-13T20:14:00.000-04:00

After his first solo album (1972's Henry the Human Fly) was a commercial disaster, former Fairport Convention guitar virtuoso, Richard Thompson, set out to record his second album with new wife Linda. The resulting collection of songs, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, is 70's folk tinged rock at its finest. The Thompsons share vocal duties throughout the album, taking turns singing Richard's bleak character studies.

The title track offers a rare light-hearted lyrical moment as Linda sings the joys of weekend escapism. Put this one on loud for Saturday night.

Download:
Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight

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Buy I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight at Amazon.com

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

2007-10-09T19:39:00.000-04:00

In February of 2005 I attended a Jens Lekman show at the University of Pittsburgh. Along with me were my soon-to-be-wife, my younger sister and her soon-to-be-fiance, and my youngest sister and her soon-to-be-ex. Lekman's music perfectly mirrors these bittersweet possibilities of love beginning as well as coming to a close. With lines like "If I had to choose a moment in time to take with me into eternity/I would choose this moment with you in my arms," he certainly believes in the notion of a true love. In fact, at times you can practically hear his heart overflowing with the wonder of it all. Through all of this open armed sincerity, he isn't afraid to acknowledge the difficulties love presents. However even a song titled "I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You" can't help but show its sweeter side by ending with an apology, "I'm so sorry I couldn't love you enough/I'm so sorry."

Musically Lekman incorporates influences across the pop spectrum and blends them with his flat baritone and creative sampling. "Sipping On the Sweet Nectar" is straight up disco that would fit right in with those other Swedes. The driving stomp of "The Opposite of Hallelujah" sounds like a Motown single from some alternate universe. "Shirin" is a simple love letter to an under the table hairdresser with a truly transcendental falsetto chorus. "A Postcard to Nina" incorporates doo-wop backing vocals and toy xylophone chimes behind Lekman's tale of playing boyfriend for the overbearing family of a lesbian friend. His wry sense of humor and keen slice of life observations are fully let loose when he sings, "Your father's mailing me all the time/He says he just wants to say Hi/I send back Out of Office - Auto Replies."

Its easy to get caught up in Lekman's sentimentality, but that's missing the point. This is simply gorgeous pop music.

Download:
Jens Lekman - A Postcard to Nina

Also:
The Opposite of Hallelujah
Friday Night at the Drive-in Bingo
Sipping On the Sweet Nectar (video)

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Buy Night Falls Over Kortedala at Amazon.com

The Church - Columbus

2007-10-08T22:46:00.000-04:00

In celebration of the "holiday," here's a great song from the Church's Heyday album.

Download:

The Church - Columbus

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Buy Heyday at Amazon.com

The Twilight Sad - Pittsburgh 10/2

2007-10-07T12:18:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, Sam and I ventured out to the somewhat renowned Gooski's in Polish Hill to check out The Twilight Sad. Before being treated to the boys from Scotland, we were pleasantly suprised by the local band, Life in Bed.

Life in Bed is similar to The Twilight Sad in that they teeter on that brink of shoegazer. However, Life in Bed brings a more technical, almost mathy sound, which we best compared to Minus the Bear. The relateively short set didn't give us the best sampling of their sound or ability, but it was enough for Sam to proclaim that there might be hope for the Pittsburgh scene yet. Our only beef, if you can call it that, is that we wish the singer would bring out more of the vocal range that he exhibited during the sound check where he unleashed an imperfectly perfect falsetto.

The Twilight Sad set was also somewhat short, but it delivered everything we could've asked for. They plowed through just about every track from the new record, starting off with Cold Days From the Birdhouse, with James Graham's powerful and endeering Scottish brogue drawing us in from the start. The other highlight for me was And She Would Darken the Memory of Youth. Andy MacFarlane wrapped us up in a blanket of reverb, fuzz and hidden melody, and Graham again delivered a compelling vocal that demanded our attention as he delivered the line "Head up dear, the rabbit may die." All in all it left us feeling as though we were party to something that is on the verge of becoming much bigger than the backroom stage of a somewhat forgotten Pittsburgh bar.

As a surprise we were then treated to a screening of the new biopic 'Control', that of Ian Curtis and Joy Division. If you're even a casual fan of Joy Division, New Order, or good music, you shoudl be excited for this one...it looks great, just like the night that we had thanks to Life in Bed and The Twilight Sad.

Shocking Pinks - Shocking Pinks

2007-10-05T12:31:00.000-04:00

In New Zealand the human population is outnumbered by sheep. As I chew this sentence over, I can't help but think of all of the great indie pop that has been produced by the residents of "middle earth." Specifically, Flying Nun records has gifted the world with classic records by the Bats, the Chills, and the Clean (all personal favs). I guess isolation lends itself well to heart on sleeve jangle.

After stints in various NZ bands (including playing the drums for the Brunettes), Nick Harte began writing and recording his own material. Inspired by the 1986 John Hughes dramedy Pretty In Pink, Harte named the project the Shocking Pinks. Taking the influences of the classic Flying Nun artists and merging them with the experimental aesthetic of My Bloody Valentine, Shocking Pinks are a welcome addition to the kiwi indie pop canon.

In 2005 Harte released two albums for Flying Nun, Mathematical Warfare and Infinity Land, which he wrote and recorded by himself. Full of shambolic guitars, walls of reverb, sleepy melodies and electronic flourishes, Shocking Pinks, cherry picks the best of these two releases.

Video: Shocking Pinks - End of the World

Listen to streams of the singles here.

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Buy Shocking Pinks at Amazon.com

Animal Collective on network TV

2007-10-03T22:44:00.000-04:00

Just a little heads up for everyone, Animal Collective lets their freak flag fly on the Conan O'Brien program Friday night. Set those tivos.

Vic Godard & Subway Sect - What's the Matter Boy?

2007-10-02T20:02:00.000-04:00

Still in the process of learning to play their instruments, Subway Sect debuted at the 100 Club Punk Festival on September 20th, 1976. Other bands on the bill included the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Buzzcocks. How's that for a lineup?

In 1978 while recording what was intended to be their debut album, the band's manager sacked everyone with the exception of songwriter Vic Godard. Working with unpaid musician friends, Godard eventually released What's the Matter Boy? in 1980. The songs on What's the Matter Boy? bear little resemblence to the snotty punk played by the other bands at the 100 Club Festival. Instead, Godard's songs have a romantic, world weary feel that blends French pop, Velvet Underground rave-ups, Northern Soul stompers, and Sinatra's swing.

Download

~~Vic Godard & Subway Sect - Stop that Girl~~

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Buy What's the Matter Boy? at Amazon.com

Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter, Vol. 3/Da Drought 3

2007-10-01T12:46:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, I spent a lot of time driving to and from my former roommates wedding. As a result I spent a lot of time catching up on new music. Most notably, I found, was that I need to devote more time to the latest Okkervill River album, and two, that there is a new Lil Wayne disc coming; though probably not until next year.

Lil Wayne has been trumpeting himself as the best rapper alive in the past year or so, which I tend to agree with. I'll give you a pass on not fully immersing yourself in Lil Wayne's catalog, especially since he's probably the 159th rapper to make the aforementioned claim.

Now the proper album might not be released until next year, but many of the tracks have been circulating the net as a mix tape of a similar name. One track that is gaining steam, and is a result of these seesions (not included on this edition of De Drought) is 'I Feel Like Dying', on which you'll find an honest, if not somewhat sinister account of Weezy's drug use. This isn't a typical durg anthem. Wayne doesn't go on about how much, or how good he somkes. If anything, the production and Kanye West-esque chorus communicate the feeling that many of us have had after coming down from a night mis-spent.

Download: Lil Wayne - I Feel Like Dying

Don't believe me, check out what the good folks at Pitchfork had to say.

NEW RADIOHEAD!! IN 10 DAYS!!

2007-09-30T23:00:00.000-04:00

Sweet!

Check out the original message from the band here.

stereogum graciously gathered the details for us here.

In short:

-It comes out in 10 days (Oct 10).
-They're calling it In Rainbows.
-Radiohead is releasing it themselve, apparently. No label.
-Thus far, it is available in Download or Discbox format only.
-And the best part is, the price for the download version is up to you.

My advice: Radiohead is providing us with a grand opportunity to give a big middle finger to the big labels. So, if they're not joking about the price thing, then don't be stingy... you stingy bastartds. Let's make this work.

Iron & Wine - Pabst Theater 02/08/2007

2007-09-30T13:15:00.000-04:00

Last week we posted about Sam Beam of Iron and Wine's set at Messiah College. The show was the second in a pair of acoustic teasers for the fantasic The Shepherd's Dog. Two days prior to the Messiah College show, Sam performed at Milwaukee's Pabst Theater. The tracklist is strikingly similar with one major exception, TSD stunner "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" closes as the second encore.

Download

~~Iron & Wine - Flightless Bird, American Mouth (Live 02/08/2007)~~

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Buy The Shepherd's Dog at Amazon.com

The Twilight Sad live at Gooski's in Polish Hill, Pittsburgh

2007-09-29T14:38:00.000-04:00

The Twilight Sad will be at Gooski's in Pittsburgh on October 2nd. Not sure what the cover will be, but the bar tender last night told me probably $5-7. A steal! Be there.

I scoured the intertoobs for a decent Twilight Sad video but there seems to be nothing but horrendously grainy live bootlegs of almost unlistenable audio quality. The only exception seems to be this strange Ingrid Bergman montage to the tune of That Summer At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy.

But what the hell? Here it is. And besides, black and white is like a coolness multiplier:

Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth

2007-09-27T22:18:00.001-04:00

One-off albums hold a mythical place in pop music history. A band appears, seemingly from thin air, and burns hard and bright before quietly disintegrating. Their music is left to stand on its own, pure and untouched by the excess that success often breeds.

Formed in 1978, Young Marble Giants released one album, 1980's Colossal Youth, and a handful of other tracks. Stuart Moxham, the band's principle songwriter plays stiff palm-muted guitar lines and swirling organ leads, while his brother Philip's bass lines often carry the song's melody. Listening to Alison Statton's detached vocals it is hard to decide whether they are a practiced cool or simple naivety. Without an interest in hiring a drummer, the band's backbeat is carried by a homemade drum machine created by the Moxhams' telephone engineering cousin, Peter Joyce. The machine lays down simple cardboard box rhythms that allow the music space to breath. In fact, open space often occupies these songs as much as the music itself.

Often tagged with the "post-punk" descriptor, the sound of YMG has none of the jagged guitar lines or danceable rhythms of a band such as Gang of Four. Instead, this is minimal music that is beautiful in its simplicity. Highly recommended.

Earlier this month, Domino Records released a 3-disc edition of Colossal Youth stateside. This expanded set includes the Testcard EP, the 1979 Final Day single, the Salad Days demo collection, a compilation track, and a 1980 John Peel session.

Download:
Young Marble Giants - Music For Evenings
Young Marble Giants - Final Day

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Buy Colossal Youth at Amazon.com

Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam

2007-09-26T21:56:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed by now that when I get excited about something, I get really effing excited. Call it a character flaw, I guess.

Although it may be a little premature, I’m going out on a limb here and declaring that Strawberry Jam marks the second entry Panda Bear will have on my top 10 of ’07. Let’s just say, some shit’s gonna have to go down real fast if he’s going to get bumped from the list.

As a follow-up to Person Pitch, his brilliant solo record released earlier this year, Panda Bear joins back up with his Animal Collective cohorts for another round of the madness that has become so familiar and unmistakably characteristic of the band. This time however, they seem to have continued on in the direction hinted at on the first half of Feels, their last full-length. On Strawberry Jam, we find the band immediately more accessible than the vast majority of their previous work. On "For Reverend Green," clearly the highlight of the album, Avey Tare bubbles over the edges with what can only be described as (trust me, if I could have used another term I would have) raw emotion. Barely able to restrain himself long enough to croon perhaps the strongest melody in the Animal Collective catalogue, he erupts into the chorus with fits of hysteria finally shrieking “a lucky child don’t know how lucky she is.” All I can say is, if you don’t feel something on this one, then you don’t feel at all.

With all this talk of a poppier, more accessible Collective, you might be worried that they’ve sold out. Fear not. They’ve sacrificed none of the head-scratching eyebrow-raising quirkiness that we fell in love with in the first place. You’re still going to need to be prepared to defend your sanity if you pop in Strawberry Jam at a party. What I’ve always loved about Animal Collective is that they make it easy for me to tell who my true friends are… they’re the ones who still invite me to parties.

Download:

For Reverend Green

Winter Wonder Land

Buy it at Amazon.com

Also, check out this early live version of "For Reverend Green"

Big Star - September Gurls

2007-09-24T21:35:00.000-04:00

September is a month without an identity. The seemingly endless possibilities of summer are over, but the rustic woodsmoke scent of autumn has yet to begin. Big Star's September Gurls captures this bittersweet feeling, like the crisp taste of an apple plucked straight from the tree. The guitars ring out like the Byrds with a bit more muscle and the sweet harmonies hint at those not-so-distant summer days. But when Alex Chilton sighs "I loved you, well never mind" it's as if he can see the oncoming deadness of winter and just might collapse from the weight of it all.

Download:

Big Star - September Gurls
Big Star - September Gurls (live)

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Buy #1 Record/Radio City from Amazon.com
Buy Big Star Live from Amazon.com

Iron & Wine - Messiah College 02/10/2007

2007-09-23T06:26:00.000-04:00

Iron & Wine's latest album, The Shepherd's Dog, is out this week, but we've already written about that here.

In February of 2007 Sam Beam played a pair of seemingly random shows, the second of which took place at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. With minimal backing, Sam tried his hand (or fingers) at several songs that would find their way in expanded versions on The Shepherd's Dog. Stripped of TSD's kitchen sink instrumentation, many of these songs are given more space to breath allowing for added emotional resonance. One can only imagine that the intention was to debut much of this material lending to a eudemonic atmosphere, as Sam jokes about the titles or flubs opening lines.

Luckily for those of us who were unable to attend, a sound board recording was made for broadcast on the campus radio station. The strength of these performances makes this essential listening for both die hard obsessives and passing fans.

Download: Iron & Wine - Messiah College 02/10/2007
01. Die
02. He Lays in the Reins
03. Sodom, South Georgia
04. Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car
05. Lovesong of the Buzzard
06. Free Until They Cut Me Down
07. House by the Sea
08. Naked As We Came
09. Peace Beneath the City
10. Muddy Hymnal
11. Boy Wtih A Coin
12. Jezebel
13. Carousel
14. Resurrection Fern
15. Trapeze Swinger
16. Upward Over the Mountain

Video: Lovesong of the Buzzard - Messiah College

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Buy The Shepherd's Dog at Amazon.com

Kevin Drew – Spirit If…

2007-09-21T23:42:00.000-04:00

When it comes to BSS fanboys, there are few as intensely unabashed as yours truly. Well, that is perhaps not true; there are a lot of goddamn BSS fanboys out there. So take this for what it’s worth:

I’ve been in bands before, and I know that we were lucky if we could get the drummer to stop dicking around long enough to play four consecutive bars of something that even slightly resembled what we were trying to play; and a doctorate thesis can be, and probably has been, written about the delicate psychology involved in convincing a rhythm guitarist that face melting finger tap solos are sometimes not appropriate. Or at least not appropriate all the time. So it is and always will be: the trials and tribulations of the aspiring 4-piece.

So for Broken Social Scene to pull together 237 musicians {{citation needed}} and make anything beyond incoherent ruckus, much less (arguably?) flawless music, is no small feat.

I think my point, though I’m much less certain now then when I began writing, is that this sense of shear improbability, the singularity from chaos, is what makes BSS so fascinating for me. And I think the lack of this sense is why I was so disappointed in Spirit If… initially.

Yes, I am aware that there were so many contributors to the album that it more closely resembles a marching band’s halftime performance than a solo record. Nevertheless, it is Kevin Drew’s project, solo or not, and although it may not be fair to compare it to a BSS album, the comparison is unavoidable. The result? It feels like it’s missing the influence of about 236 people.

Only after I was able to look beyond what was probably, to be honest, a subconscious thirst for new BSS did I realized Spirit If… is actually a fantastic record. It is somewhat hit and miss, but when he hits (i.e. Gang Bang Suicide) there is no questioning that Kevin deserves credit for garnering at least his proportionate share of the fanboydom.

If nothing else, Spirit If… is a wonderfully detailed magnification of one small section of the mosaic that is BSS.

Download:
Kevin Drew – Gang Bang Suicide

Then buy from:
Amazon.com or Emusic.com

MIA - Kala

2007-09-20T17:17:00.000-04:00

I know that British grime isn't for everyone. In fact it's probably for very few. The problem is, this MIA record doesn't play like her more grimey Arular. This new record is like a trip through Sri Lanka (her father's homeland if you aren't in the know), but on that trip you are fervently dancing and partying.

MIA seems confident and married to the music that she's putting out this time. The second track, Bird Flu, hits you with a barrage of organic drums and child like screams that make you think she's descending upon you backed by some far off warrior tribe, that likes dance music. The following track, Boyz, is like a micorcosm of the entire record. With it's constant horn stabs and helium vocal shouts, you are thrown into that party atmosphere whether you like it or not, though you probably will.

This time through, MIA succeeds at everything she attempts. To make a Radiohead comparison, if Arular was her Bends, Kala is her OK Computer. It is an album that builds on the last and realizes all of the potential and half cooked ideas that were started the last time through. Hopefully she makes good on my Radiohead comparison and continues this pattern of growth and experimentation.

The bottom line is, if you need to dance, and we all do sometimes, pick up this record.

Buy it at Amazon.

Gravenhurst - Trust

2007-09-18T20:31:00.000-04:00

My head feels heavy and thick like a can of condensed soup. Sleep deprivation has finally taken its evil tole. Admittedly, this happens to me a lot and when it does I find it near impossible to listen to music for more than a few seconds before shutting it off. These are the days when I end up listening to NPR very quietly on the drive home. Today was different though. Today I discovered Gravenhurst. More specifically, today I discovered their song "Trust."

The band's third album, The Western Lands, was recently released by Warp Records, a label typically known for its blippy and bleepy electronica. The Western Lands, however, is pure hazy pop. The band creates a beautiful mess that mixes the fragility of 60's folk-pop with shoegaze atmospherics. Check out the excellent video for "Trust" below.

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Buy The Western Lands from Amazon.com

Archers Of Loaf - Web In Front

2007-09-18T10:28:00.000-04:00

I have to admit I’m a little bit late to the party on this one. A couple years ago I happened upon a random web forum thread posing the question “what is the ultimate indie-rock song of all time?” Scrolling through the sea of posts, all of the favorites were well represented: Teenage Riot, Debaser, Summer Babe (Winter Version), etc.

I decided to check out a few I’d never heard of. Web In Front by Archers Of Loaf fell in that category. Knowing nothing about the band, I felt pretty safe, after only one listen, in agreeing that “yes, this is indeed one of the best indie-rock songs of all time.” (I should qualify that by mentioning my tendency to jump the gun; when it was first announced, I thought the Segway was actually better than sliced bread.) But Web In Front, two years later, remains heavily fortified high atop my version of “the list.”

Pretentious bandwagoning aside, Web In Front via The Speed Of Cattle accomplishes in slightly over two minutes (two minutes!) what most bands struggle to accomplish over the course of an entire catalogue. Its immediately energetic pace and weird-enough-to-be-brilliant lyrics keep you engaged just long enough for the crescendo to pick you up, put you down, and disappear, all before you have the chance to say “holy shit!”

The Speed Of Cattle, as a whole, is no slouch either. In its lo-fi splendor reminiscent of its decidedly more successful first cousin Slanted And Enchanted, it is an excellent record, start to finish.

The more obvious comparison is Nirvana, though. Eric Bachmann mimics Cobain’s rasp on many of the tracks, rather poorly I might add, but it doesn’t elicit the same gag reflex that we’ve come to expect a little over a decade after the scene’s heyday. You can’t hold it against Bachmann, especially when he’s screaming a lyrical masterpiece such as “Power walker / you really look so stupid when you walk that way / you really look so dumb when you walk that way / why don’t you just fucking run? ”

And while I can’t help but think that The Speed Of Cattle could’ve been edited down to a more reasonable 40-50 minutes from the 60 minute monstrosity that it is, I can’t say that there is a single song that doesn’t belong.

Enjoy:

Archers Of Loaf - Web In Front

Archers Of Loaf - Telepathic Traffic

White Rabbits - Fort Nightly

2007-09-16T11:03:00.000-04:00

First, look past the name that invokes images of Alice and the Mad Hatter. Then prepare yourself for unbridled listening enjoyment. I'll admit, upon first "skim" through the tracks, I thought I was getting myself into another hipster retread. You can try to make comparisons to bands like the Walkmen, for instance. However, White Rabbits do bring a sense of east coast cool, but also the feeling of a more simple and elegant yet dangerous time.

This record plays like something you should be listening to in a speakeasy while sipping gin. Listen after listen I feel a constant urge to light a cigarette and sit in the corner booth of a dimly lit, underground club. The feeling and imagery provided here is enough, but it is easily overtaken by the fact that this sextet writes layered pop music that defies comparison. I dare you to not be dragged in by the rhythm section, which, by the way, is what probably makes this record so interesting in the first place. Honestly, this is some of the most creative, and at the same time understated, rhythm work since the first Interpol record.

This record deserves the praise being heaped upon it. If this isn't enough for you, they're cool enough to let you listen to the whole thing on their site.

Once you've done that, buy it from emusic, or amazon.

St. Vincent - Dig A Pony

2007-09-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

Its worth getting a bit car sick to see Annie Clark do a cover of the Beatles' "Dig A Pony" from the back of a London cab. Consider my schoolboy crush cemented.

(via GvB, via forkcast)

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Buy Marry Me from Amazon.com

Video: Menomena – Evil Bee

2007-09-14T01:38:00.000-04:00

Those of you who have been giddily following Menomena, as I have, since the release of their first full length album, playfully titled I Am The Fun Blame Monster, will be pleased to know that they’ve released a video for Evil Bee from their most recent and most excellent effort Friend And Foe. While the video is a rather sick and twisted affair (i.e. vomiting and fornicating bumblebees enslaved and forced into cannibalism by an evil race of crows... with tank treads?) still, you can’t help but find these guys downright lovable. While their albums are generally darker in tone and subject matter, there is a pervading childlike quality to their music that is unmistakably Menomena.

Plus, how can you not love a band that can incorporate the words chrysanthemum and germinate into a jazz-rock song (Monkey's Back)… and actually pull it off… successfully?!?! ‘Nuff said.

You can find the video for Evil Bee on pfflyers.com (high quality, annoying interface) or youtube (I’m sure you’re familiar with the site).

Also check out this weird as hell video for Cough Coughing from IATFBM.

Iron & Wine - Shepherd's Dog

2007-09-13T07:41:00.000-04:00

A new album by Sam Beam's musical moniker, Iron & Wine, comes with a number of expectations. He is from the south. He plays gently finger picked acoustic guitar. He sings in a near whisper. He has a beard.

Despite these somewhat limiting parameters, each new release has seen Iron & Wine's sound expand to include new dimensions. Shepherd's Dog, out September 25th on Sub Pop, marks the largest departure from the aforementioned expectations yet. Beam's songs still evoke a strong sense of cinematic imagery, but a new rhythmic denseness lays atop his looping acoustic guitar lines. Shepherd's Dog can be seen as the natural progression from 2005's Woman King EP and his collaboration with Calexico, In the Reigns. The result is a looser sound that seems more influenced by Ali Farka Toure than Nick Drake.

Download:

Iron & Wine - Boy With a Coin

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Pre-order Shepherd's Dog at Subpop.com

Site Update

2007-09-10T20:56:00.000-04:00

If you're one of the 3 people who currently read this blog, you may have noticed its recent inactivity. Fret not, dear reader, because behind this facade of nothingness lies a virtual cornucopia of musical goodness.

What I am trying to say, is that my long-time friends Matt O. and Sam will be joining me in contributing to Colour Me Impressed. We're hoping that between the three of us we can pump out more regular content while posting about a broader range of topics.

In tribute, here's an excellent track from Crooked Fingers' 2000 debut.

Download:
~~Crooked Fingers - A New Drink for the Old Drunk~~

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Buy Crooked Fingers at Amazon.com

Why I'm Watching More TV Than Usual

2007-09-08T14:33:00.000-04:00

Watching TV has always been a favorite past time of mine. Not only does it provide a great escape from reality, but it also provides fodder for my obscenely short attention span. What's making me watch more than ever is the fact that the commercials in between are now allowing me to listen to my record collection without leaving the couch. Peter Bjorn and John lending their pop sensibility to Pontiac and Levi's, Modest Mouse helping to hock Nissans, The Flaming Lips making neon Dell lap tops seem like a good idea. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.

At this point I suppose you're expecting a diatribe about the dangers of selling out. Maybe you're thinking about how this might lessen the quality of the music we love, because bands might concern themselves with writing a "jingle" instead of a song; that's not where I'm going. I guess I'm just trying to say that I'm happy the 4-5 minutes in between actual showtime now plays like a Girl Talk album. Ok, maybe it's not mashing Clipse and Grizzly Bear, but I don't really mind the droning of talk about cellphone coverage so long as it's over top of one of my favorite New Order songs.

CBGB Founder, Hilly Kristal, Dies

2007-09-01T10:20:00.000-04:00

As you may have already read, Hilly Kristal, the founder of the famous NY club CBGB passed away this week due to complications with lung cancer. CBGB is often considered the birthplace of punk and it is difficult to deny its importance in rock history. Originally intended as a club for bluegrass, country and blues, Kristal opened his doors to the loud, messy bands of the neighborhood and provided a home for the Ramones, Television, the Talking Heads, Blondie, and more. Forced to close, the club held its final show in October of last year.

Brooklyn Vegan has some great pics from outside CBGB.

Here are a couple live Television tracks recorded at CBGB in 1975. Turn 'em up real loud and pretend you're there.

Download:

~~Television - Hard On Love (Live @ CBGB 08/21/1975)~~

~~Televsion - See No Evil (Live @ CBGB 12/07/1975)~~

Scott Walker: The Old Man's Back Again

2007-08-31T12:26:00.000-04:00

Scott Walker, a former teen idol, released his fourth album appropriately title 4 in 1969. The album is full of delicate arrangements and Walker's trademark over-the-top vocals. "The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)" is his finest moment. The song, reportedly about the returned ghost of Stalin, is driven by a propulsive bass line, bursts of strings, and a reverb heavy backing chorus. Admittedly, Walker's thick baritone can be a bit off-putting at first for anyone with an easy listening phobia, but when the music slows, the strings swell and he sings, "His mother called him Ivan/then she died," your heart will break.

Download:

~~Scott Walker - The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalanist Regime)~~

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Buy Scott 4 at Amazon.com

Update

2007-08-31T12:03:00.000-04:00

All broken mp3 links are now fixed. Whoops.

The New Pornographers - Challengers

2007-08-29T10:56:00.000-04:00

After a lot of middling rewiews the hype around the latest New Pornographers album has seemingly died down. Why then, if this album is just so-so, does it keep returning to my stereo? Much has been said about the relatively toned down approach the band has taken this time out and it seems to lend itself well to repeated listening. Whereas previous albums were the aural equivelant of standing underneath a piñata as it breaks, Challengers is dense and layered like a rich desert. Besides Dan Bejar turns out what could be my favorite song lyric of the year: "I walked into the local record store/and asked for an American music anthology/It sounds fun."

If you haven't done so already, check out two tracks from Challengers via Matador.

Download:

The New Pornographers - My Rights Versus Yours

The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour

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Buy Challengers from Amazon.com

Don't feel so alone, got the radio on...

2007-08-28T14:23:00.001-04:00

While browsing through today's CD releases I discovered the reissue of a remastered and expanded edition of the Modern Lovers' self titled album. While I can't speak for the quality of this particular reissue, I can speak for the quality of the album itself. Recorded primarily in 1972 (that's 4 years before the Ramones debut, if anyone is counting) and produced by John Cale, these songs were intended to be demos, but the group disbanded before being able to record a proper album. The songs are raw, but Jonathan Richman's wide eyed worldview lends them an innocent charm. Richman went on to solo "success," but this proto-punk classic is where its at.

Check out the two chord rave-up of "Roadrunner."

Download:

~~The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner~~

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Buy The Modern Lovers at Amazon.com

Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings 1990-1997

2007-08-27T21:35:00.000-04:00

I've been a long-time fan of the Go-Betweens, often going through extended phases of listening to nothing but the brilliant 80's Australian band. That said, I never checked out solo albums by either of the groups leaders. Luckily for people like me, Beggars Banquet released a 2-CD retrospective earlier this year with a disc dedicated to each Robert Forster and the late Grant McClennan. The Lennon/McCartney comparisons are hard to avoid with Forsters songs tending to be more brooding and edgy while McClennan retains a thick pop sheen.

Sadly, Grant McClennan passed away last year shortly after selecting the tracklist for this compilation.

Download:
~~Grant McClennan - Haven't I Been A Fool~~
~~Robert Forster - I'll Jump~~

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Buy Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings at Amazon.com

Our Band Could Be Your Life

2007-08-25T13:48:00.000-04:00

I've been re-reading portions of Michael Azerrad's excellent Book Our Band Could Be Your Life, particularly the Husker Du and Replacements chapters. I first read the book about 5 years ago and was initially drawn to its warts and all account of great, underappreciated rock bands for the simple reason of loving the music. Reading it now, however, I am beginning to gain a new perspective on the era Azerrad describes.

Both the Replacements and Husker Du are from Minneapolis, not a city that most would consider one of the cultural hubs of America (read: not NY or LA) and yet they were both able to organically grow audiences through extensive touring and word of mouth. All of the bands in Azerrad's book forged new ground, creating music that was original and exciting without the traditional means of support. Bands like the Huskers and the Mats opened us up to the idea of creating music on our own terms, outside of the traditional music business.

As I read about SST selling out of the initial pressing of Zen Arcade and their shoestring recording budget (most songs done in one take!), I realized just how much technology has changed independent music. What would it be like for these bands to exist today?

Coversely, are these bands the direct forefathers of the myspace generation? Today's musician is able to circumvent the system completely, finding ways to record and make their music widely available.

If you ask me, that's pretty punk rock.