Living Proof

So Chan Marshall/Cat Power's new album The Greatest came out last week. Yes it is amazing. Yes just about everything Marshall does is amazing.

I was glad to hear, then, that she has a new video for her song "Living Proof," directed by Harmony Korine. The video is a bit strange, with a lot of crucix imagery. Is Korine calling Chan a martyr? I don't know. Check it out. It does not disappoint.

Living Proof video (Quicktime)

Doris Day Stocks

One of my new favorite blogs out there, Are You Familiar?, mentioned a band a week or so ago that got my attention. Their name caught my attention for all the wrong reasons. I was trying to figure out why he was talking about Doris Day. Were they some of his favorite songs by her? Did she have a new album coming out? My mom raised me watching Doris Day movies and you may have noticed my love for her on my Christmas song list.
Anyway I'm a dork and Doris Day is the name of a Canadian band froma small town near Ontario. their songs are great and poppy, and remind me a ton of Broken Social Scene (who, come to think of, I've just started listening to;I thought You Forgot it in the People was forgettable background music and like their self-titled album a lot better). So you should check out their songs because they're great. Maybe they'll get some attention, maybe they won't.

Also, can anyone tell me what the heck BlogShares is all about? A fake stock market for blogs? Why? Apparently someone put my blog on there or something. So weird. But it's worth $38, 490.36. Can I get some of that? I guess it's all just based on popularity. Kinda fun to see how much people are worth. The descriptions are funny:

Dreams of Horses was the subject of much speculation when analysts at several firms were heard to be very positive about it's recent performance. It's share price rose from B$2,245.30 to B$3,592.48. Much of the hype was said to originate from Amir whose Oxford Dictionary (artefact) was said to be involved.

Amir declined to comment on the recent speculation.

Gold Lion

Soo Palms Out Sounds has the Diplo remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' new single "Gold Lion" off the new album Show Your Bones. Download it here. I like what I hear, and am really anticipating the new album! Also cannot wait for them to tour! Saw them in Oklahoma and loved it. Hopefully they still got it.

Also, does anyone have Diplo's edit of "Maps"? I saw a dead link to it somewhere and would like to hear it. Maybe I could put it up on here if someone had it.

Until then, here's a track that may or may not be on the album, acoustic.
Cheated Hearts (Live AOL Session)

Unrelated, but apparently Morrissey's playing SXSW. Crazy! I wonder where he'll play at?

I Still Love the Light On

There are some bands that I don't understand how they're not more hyped. Editors are one such band that has flwon under the radar for far too long now. They played a couple shows in the U.S. which I think helped them get a little more attention.
Their album The Back Room has been out for quite a while now. The singer sounds a lot like Paul Banks of Interpol a lot on first listen, but his voice grows more distinct. The sound is similar to Interpol but decidedly more upbeat and frenetic. Of course there are a few slower songs, but they're still at a stedy tempo. Very great stuff.

Bradley's Almanac has an entire set by the band when they played in Boston on the twenty-second.

So Sorry

Sorry I've been sucking it up lately. I've been watching a lot of Family Guy on DVD and school and stuff. Then I woke up this morning to go to work and had a pounding headache and felt nauseous. So I'm not feeling too well right now so today's posts are probably going to suck too. But, I got some Tylenol and a big jug of orange juice and I'm trying to get better. I'm not used to being sick...


And I have Jens Lekman to keep me company. I've been trying to get my hands on just about anything by him, so if you got anything I'd appreciate it.
Jens Lekman-Maple Leaves

Etiquette

I saw keyboard pop-star Owen Ashworth (aka Casiotone for the Painfully Alone) back in November I think. The man creates a lot of sound from three or four battery-powered keyboards and a drum machine. He's got a new album, Etiquette, coming this spring on Tomlab Records.
The record is very lo-fi, and easy to listen to several times through. The lyrics sometimes are awkwardly fitting with the music and beats, but overall it's a great album.

Cold White Christmas
Young Shields

Voxtrot Voxtrot Voxtrot

There's been a lot happening for Austin's greatest new band! They're setting out on a humongously massive and ever-growing tour across the U.S. in support of their EP Mother,s Sisters, Daughters & Wives which comes out April 4th (they'll be starting pre-orders soon, and they will ship March 21st and the EP will be available on tour). They're playing Emo's at SXSW. All is pretty amazing.
See the tour dates at their website.

ALSO! Garrison just did an interview with Ramesh, singer for Voxtrot, for this week's IndieInterviews. Hear it here.

So about this time last year Bloc Party's album Silent Alarm was being released in the U.S. It's a pretty great record with many many fine songs. In the middle of last year they decided to release a remixed version of Silent Alarm with many many good tracks. Death From Above 1979 covered "Luno" to great success. Sadly, the band did not include the Mystery Jets' cover of the Bloc Party song "Pioneers." True the cover was put as the b-side on the Pioneers 7" but still.
Well now another band has gone and covered "Pioneers." They're called Tunng and I guess they're kinda folky, but they, like Mystery Jets, have dissected the song and made it their own.

Download it at Yeti Don't Dance. And the Mystery Jets version.

MSTRKRFT Vid

Everyone loves the MSTRKRFT remixes, but how are we gonna like their own material? It sounds a lot more electro than I was thinking it would be, sounds like it could be on DFA Records almost. Anyway check out the video for their first single, "Easy Love."

I'm looking forward to their remixes for The Gossip and Test Icicles especially!

Quicktime Hi
Quicktime Lo

Download just about every MSTRKRFT remix.

You're Wearing Make-Up

Got this ace new track from a band from Los Angeles called Wintergreen. Think Death Cab on a really really good day with intricate guitar work and catchy melodies. They just finished their debut, The Extended Play EP with producer Niko Bolas (My Morning Jacket, Fiona Apple, Neil Young, Travis) and it came out yesterday! I think I might just have to get it. Mt Fuji Records (although they don't really have any information on the band).

When I Wake Up
"When I Wake Up" video

Listen to two more tracks at their website and then a couple more at their MySpace.

Buy the EP from Insound or from the band for only $5 at their MySpace.

I feel an odd kinship with the band They Shoot Horses Dont They? Obviously it's the horse thing but yeah. I am really looking forward to their horn-happy album Boo Hoo Hoo Boo. I didn't notice either that they are scheduled to be playing at SXSW! It seems like just about everyone is. Amaaazing.

Anyway check out this video for the song "Sunlight." It's pretty trippy so beware. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

Sunlight

KRS Day

Today sees the release of eight releases on my fave record label, Kill Rock Stars. There are a few gems, and some that I especially recommend you check out!

First off, The Gossip's new album Standing in the Way of Control finally hits the shelves. It's a return from the band who spit fire and bluesy rock songs like no other. They also kick off their world tour tonight, where they hit pretty much every biggish city in the U.S.
Standing in the Way of Control

I don't know a lot about Excepter but they're releasing a CDEP/12" for Sunbomber today on 5RC (KRS's sister label)
Dawn Patrol

Dance punk band Delta 5 is being reissued today with a lot of old favorites and sessions from 1979 to 1981.
Now That You've Gone

Colin Meloy's old college band in Montana, Tarkio, is being reissued. The alt-country songs can very easily show you how Meloy got his start in the business. This is a 2xCD deal, and for only $15! Hot dang! Lots of good tracks on this, too.
Tristan and Iseult

I really didn't know what KRS's Starter Set DVD was all about. But apparently it's new music by people like Young People's Katie Eastburn and Aaron Hemphill of Liars.

Laura Veirs (currently on tour with Colin Meloy) gets her last beautiful album Year of the Meteors released on beautiful vinyl thanks to Kill Rock Stars!

Nintendo rockers The Advantage make a follow-up to their self-titled album just as great cheekily titled Elf Titled. They interpret old Nintendo songs through guitars, drums, and keyboards. Really amazing stuff.

To end it all up is a new compilation Otis' Opuses of several KRS artists, giving you a sample of many of 2005's releases and some sneak-peeks at what's to come in '06. Only $6!!

Buy all of these releases and more from The Kill Rock Stars Shop

Tender Buttons

I have nooo idea how I missed this one. Thought I was on top of my game and apparently I am not. I have no idea who Broadcast are. I really really really love their fourth and last album, Tender Buttons (Gertrude Stein shout-out?) so so much. The etheral electrics and lead singer Trish Keenan's droning yet beautiful voice soars through fourteen tracks of pure bliss.
This album, along with Jens Lekman's Oh You're So Silent Jens and New Buffalo's The Last Beautiful Day have seriously been holding my playlist captive for the past week or so. All beautiful beautiful gems and I wish I knew about them all sooner so they could have been contenders on my year-end list.

America's Boy

Buy the album from Insound.

Two New Bands Worth Hearing

I've seen a few posts around about the nine-piece band Young Republic. Is "republic" the new wolf? Most Serene Republic, Awesome New Republic, and now this? Well the YR is a lot better than the other two. Okay I can't realyl say because I've only heard one song by MSR. But Yung Republic is a lot catchier at first listen. Kind've sounds like new Pornographers if dan bejar sang a lot more and had a calmer voice.

Modern Plays
Girl from the Northern States
Befriend them.

Also:
Got an e-mail quite a while ago from a band called the Capstan Shafts. Have no idea what the name is, but they sent a link to download their EP Halaluah Moancoaxers! It's an interesting EP. Extraordinarily short songs, probably all under two minutes. It sounds like maybe a younger Mark E. Smith's first garage band with acoustic guitars and "doo doo doo doo's" Really fun upbeat stuff.

Personals Surfer
Download the EP here.

Rocinate

saw Seattle/Oklahoma's Ester Drang about two years ago opening for Eisley back in Tyler, TX. I liked what I heard then, but never pursued their music. Their tunes are saturated in pedal steel, drums, synths, everything it seems like. The singer's voice coats the entire thing to make a texture not unlike molasses. Their third album, Rocinate, comes out tomorrow on Jade Tree records. They were Spin's Band of the Day a couple days ago. Anyway, check them out, you'll probably like what you hear.

Come Back Alive
Valencia's Dying Dream

Speaking of Tyler, TX, if you're in the area, you should definitely check out this show that is happening Friday night (Jan 27th) downtown at Arcadia Coffee. Dallas's Bosque Brown is playing with local upstarts The Artful Dodger (my pal Jennifer plays the cello). Bosque Brown is going to be hitting town, so definitely go see them!

WRM

I got the new White Rose Movement album, Kick, and I can't really say I'm impressed. Their past singles, "Love is a Number", "Girls in the Back" and "Alsatian" are all on the album, and those are about the only good songs in my opinion. It might just require several listens, but after one run-through, nothing really struck me as great. I think it's the singer's voice that just rubs me the wrong way.

I Guess I'm Floating has a couple tracks from the album if you'd like to hear them for yourself.

I like this remix of "Alsatian" quite a bit. But then again just about anything Paul Epworth does is great (even if he also produced the album in question).
Alsatian (Phones Gone to the Dog Remix)

Australian "chanteuse" Sally Seltmann, more popularly known as New Buffalo, is going to be big. Her album, The Last Beautiful is a orchestral gem full of bright songs, especially the handclap starter "Recovery." It's a wonderful song, and reminds me a lot of Jens Lekman. I would probably go as far to say that the two of them, Jens and Sally, are twins separated at birth. Their albums are similarly sounding, and even their voices have a similar tone to them.
For fans of Jens, New Buffalo is definitely needed to even out the sexes. And if that isn't enough to pull you, her album was released on Arts & Crafts, home to Broken Social Scene, Feist, and Stars. In her own words, "the album [The Last Beautiful Day] is like a play you'd see in an old broken theatre, a real amateur production. I wanted to capture the beauty and innocence of the mistakes."

Download two tracks from Chinese Restaurant in the Forest.
Download "Recovery" from Said the Gramophone.
Stream the entire album at Arts & Crafts

Buy it from Insound.

Deep Inside

I'm pretty lazy on Saturdays. Not much to do. I work early in the morning so I can't sleep in. Brilliant. So here I am, handing you a track by Cat Power/Chan Marshall that you will love, devour, blah blah. It's from a Peel session she did, and it's a cover of a Mary J. Blige songe. Sooo cool.

Remember, you have two chances to win a limited edition of Cat Power's new record, The Greatest, from My Old Kentucky Blog and You Ain't No Picasso.

Deep Inside

Soo one of my new favorite bands, The Long Blondes, have a video for their awesome song "Separated By Motorways." It's a pretty straightforward video, but it's a great excuse to talk about the band again. They need all the attention they can get! I hear they were in an issue of NME which is cool and all.

Watch the video here.

Oh So Silent

It basically took me forever to listen to Jens Lekman. I heard many good words about the guy but pushed him off as some Rufus Wainwright shadow character. It was probably the knight in shining armor press pics that did it to me (see above). I couldn't have been more wrong. The poppy songs that Swede Lekman composes are more akin to say, Sufjan Stevens. Yeah I said it. The voice is very different but the melodies are similarish. Anyway, his album Oh You're So Silent Jens is out on Secretly Canadian records.

Black Cab

New Decemberists Song

So last night Colin Meloy played in Seattle and the reports coming back are nothing but wonderful. As you might know, he and his girlfriend Carson Ellis (who does all of the artwork for the Decemberists' releases) are expecting a child in early March. Well at the show last night, he debute a new song all about the wonders of procreation, mostly having to do with the conception of their child. Many thanks toa member of the Decemberists message board for upping this!

Weird and Wonderful

EDIT: I decided to take this down, because apparently there is to be no taping on Colin's solo tour, because Kill Rock Stars is going to release a live album culled from stuff from the tour. So he's asked that people not record, and if they do, not to share.

Thunderr

Soo since I don't really have anything to talk about, I'll make a list of what I've been enjoying.

Un Chien Andalou- Okay so my French and Italian Cinema class is proving pretty awesome. Tuesday we watched loads of surrealist movies and they were all pretty weird. I love these disjointed movies. Also, I read that the legendary eye-cut-with-a-razor was actually a cow eye. Hmm imagine that.

Morningwood's CD- I didn't really think I would like this as much as I do, but it's really frikken catchy. They may still be a little cheesy and over-the-top in a Darkness sort of way, but I'll take what I can get. Would like to see them live and see what I think. I've heard mixed reviews, but I think they have the potential for being awesome. Too bad bands don't like Utah.

Snow- it snowed again last night and it's amaaazzing. Everything looks so pretty (except for intersections, where the snow is all melted and mushy and disgusting). Being from Texas, it's weird having to walk through snow.

Arctic Monkeys Hype - I think it's really funny how people are making such a huuuge deal out of these guys. The album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is pretty good and full of really great songs like "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "Fake Tales of San Francisco." First person to say "the demos were better" well...they've got something coming.

The Artwork of Rachel Sumpter - Motel Gallery is my most favorite art gallery ever (yeah I've never been there) but month after month they have the best shows. This month is the artwork of Rachel Sumpter. Apparently some of the pieces were done for Said the Gramophone. Interesting/AWESOME. (I wish I could do stuff like that...) I knew that Inuit girl looked like Chan Marshall!

Colin Meloy on KEXP

Today Decemberists singer started to his second solo tour and appeared on Seattle's KEXP radio. His tour will take him down the western coast and then cross over to the east. Tourdates are:
01.18 Seattle WA @ Showbox

01.19 Portland OR @ Aladdin Theatre
01.20 San Francisco CA @ Great American Music Hall
01.21 Los Angeles CA @ El Rey Theatre
01.23 Chicago IL @ Park West
01.25 Boston MA @ Paradise
01.26 New York NY @ Town Hall
01.27 Philadelphia PA @ TLA
01.28 Alexandria VA @ Birchmore

On the tour, he will be selling a limited edition CD of him covering English folk singer Shirley Collins. Get it now before you have to buy it for ridiculous prices on eBay like your Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey CD!

Download Meloy's appearance on KEXP here.

Mezzanine

I know next to nothing about songstress Liz Durrett, except that her voice is frikken beautiful. And that her new album, The Mezzanine was produced by Vic Chesnutt. I also know basically nothing about Chesnutt.
Anyway, the album comes out on Warm Electronic Recordings next Tuesday, January 24th. I bet it's going to be beautiful work.

Here's the title track from the album.
The Mezzanine

And here's a beautiful rendition of the song from West Side Story, a duet with Chesnutt.
Somewhere
November (Tom Waits cover)

Le Man Avec Les Lunettes

Soo I heard about these guys, Le Man Avec Les Lunettes, through Chris (of course) and they're really pretty cool. They have an odd background though. The guys in the band are Italian with a French band name singing in English. It all sounds so odd until you hear it. The songs are beautiful, think the Beach Boys meet Sigur Ros. I usually don't go in for Sigur Ros, but these songs are a little more upbeat and shorter, too.

Their website doesn't give much information about them, so I assume they want to stay a little myserious or something. They have an EP that you can buy, but for some reason it says it's the Swedish edition? Too many nationalities going on here!

Also, I don't know the names of these tracks but they are both worth your time.
Track 1
Sybil Vane

There's Too Much Space

For French folk band Hey Hey My My, a lot of things come in twos: two hey's, two my's, two guys, two guys named Julien, and two guitars. Here's a little explanation on their creation:

"It all began on February 9th 2005, while singing a few songs for friends during one of the Julien’s birthday party, a fire broke out in the apartment. Luckily, no one was hurt, more fright than harm, but this inspired the two Julien’s to think of a part of a Neil Young song saying « It’s better to burn out than to fade away », which lead them to name their group with the title of this song : «hey hey my my»."

The song "Too Much Space" is a beautiful frolicking masterpiece, filled with glimmering guitars, upbeat drums, and a singer's voice that sort of sounds like Air (must be the French thing). It's a really beautiful song. They have two other songs on their MySpace that are both equally beautiful but more downbeat.

Too Much Silence

Breaking the Law

I got an e-mail describing a really odd sounding concept. The music was described as "the guys in Iron Maiden with acoustic guitars and Bruce Dickinson replaced by Björk, treating their material like some old lullabies."

Okay that sounds really really weird. But don't be surprised that it's really great. I'm not well versed in metal so I guess hearing the songs filtered through this band of Swedes is a good thing. They're called Hellsongs and are surprisingly good. Probably because they don't sound anything like heavy metal. I like that. Take a listen and don't be surprised if you like it. Because I do, I like them quite a lot actually.

Breaking the Law (Judas Priest)
Run to the Hills (Iron Maiden)

Mt Heart Attack

Liars new album Drum's Not Dead sees the three-piece noise-rockers continuing much in the vein of their last album They Were Wrong So We Drowned. As you can probably tell by the title, the album is very rhythm oriented. Not meaning it's a dance record, so those of you hoping for a return to the dance-punk of They Threw Us in a Trench and Threw a Monument on Top might be a little disappointed.

The album is out March 21st on Mute Records

Boy and His Blog has a couple new mp3's from the album.

Alec Ounsworth

Sooo I'm pretty behind on that whole entire Clap Your Hands Say blogger fiasco of 2005. I didn't really write about them because I guess I thought you would hear enough of them and didn't need to hear it from me. And I never really gave the album a real run-through. I loved "In This Home on Ice" but the other songs took awhile. I've grown to love singer Alec Ounsworth's voice, and was glad to hear he's done some solo stuff.

Apparently he's going to be making an album with all of these songs he's made. I've been listening to a lot of country today, so hearing this song made my day even better. Very lo-fi blah blah just him and a guitar. His voice sounds really great on this track.

Wide Awake

Download all his other demos here.

In Portland

If you're in the Portland or can drive there pretty quick (by 9 PM) AND are over twenty-one, I do recommend that you get yourself down to Holocene where you can see Bobby Birdman, Panther, This Dude, Copy and Truckasaurus.

Today I got my copy of Bobby Birdman's new 12" EP on Fryk Beat Records, Victory at Sea. And since I pre-ordered it, I got a super sweet remix CD by Copy called "The Diva Mixtape V.1" It's amazing and features Copy's remixes of super divas TLC, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey. Not convinced? Here's an mp3.

TLC-No Scrubs (DJ Copy Remix)

Dragging an Ox Through Water

It's a silly band name, but I like their music a lot. Dragging an Ox Through Water is a Portland band with a silly name. Okay no. They have a lot more than that. They've played shows with Kind of Like Spitting. That's enough for me to give them a chance. It sounds a bit like a folkier, less freaked out Xiu Xiu or a mellower Devendra Banhart. They were on the PDX Pop Now compilation in 2005 and they made a 3" CDEP that sold out on their record label Schapendoes Records. I dunno how to pronounce that. Anyway, lucky for you and me, they put mp3s of the EP online, for free! Nice nice. Download them, enjoy them, and look forward to a new 7", Rebukes! that is being released on Smells Delicious record label. I like the cover art though.

Here's a song off that 7". A really good song.
Aces

Download their self-titled EP here.

Guess what? they have MySpace!

The Band of Horses

Someone mentioned in the comments of my who's gonna be big in '06 post about Band of Horses. I had totally forgotten about them, and how sad I was that I had! I had written about them way way back around when my blog first started. They have an album that Sub Pop is releasing this year called Everything All the Time and it's awesome. On the record, it's crazy how much the lead singer (I don't know his name) sounds like James Mercer of the Shins. That's a good thing.

Anyway, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that this album will be good things for the band (of horses). Here's a demo of one of my favorite songs off the album, "Funeral."

Funeral

Thursday Thunderr

Okay uhh I'm gonna start a new thing on Thursdays where I just talk about a bunch of stuff I've been enjoying. Mostly music but a little TV maybe movies. I don't know. And guess what it's called Thursday Thunderr because I have lightning bolts and the site and when I was little I always got lightning and thunder mixed up. Okay that's not the real reason I just came up with it on the spot.

Strangers With Candy-I just bought season 1 and 2 on DVD and I can't say it wasn't worth it. Because they're awesome. Everyone that's watched it with me thinks it's retarded but I love Amy Sedaris. I saw her on David Letterman last Friday and it was awesome.

Indie Bear- Okay so this is Garrison from Indie Interviews and Chris from Gorilla vs. Bear doing a podcast for Texas Gigs. I don't usually like podcasts because I don't know. I don't understand the subscribing stuff blah blah blah check it out it's a lot of great music, duh.

Arcade Fire Rarities- The Torture Garden posted a crapload of Arcade Fire sort've rare mp3s. When I say that I mean like, new live songs or covers. They're all pretty awesome.

Babette's Feast- We watched this movie in my French and Italian Cinema class the other day. It sort've starts off slow but it's sort've in Swedish but yeah. I guess it won an Acadmy Award for Best Foreign Film in the late '90s. It's really good and funny and French. You know you love it. I wonder why we don't get many French indie bands? That's kinda weird. Swedn has a ton but there don't seem to be many French ones. Okay that was a tangent.

Spiritualized "Any Way That You Want Me" I heard this track at the end of Me and You and Everyone We Know (which is a really really really great movie if you haven't seen it either) but anyway it's a really great chill-out track.

SXSW- I gotta get to this. Torr pointed out that the entire line-up has been announced! So much goodness. Sadly though, Belle and Sebastian and Cat Power are both missing from the list...

The Love

I'm getting pretty excited about Blanket Music's first CD since 2004's Cultural NormsMove. Hush Records' Chad Crouch (also of Toothfairy) leads the band on their new album which is called The Love.
If the fact of all new Blanket Music material isn't enough to make you excited, maybe the super special second disk will. Love Translation finds Blanket Music covering past and present Hush Records roster members/collaboraters, from The Decemberists to Bobby Birdman and M Ward. I'm really interested in hearing Blanket Music tackling Colin Meloy's heartbreaking song "Red Right Ankle."
The double album will be out March 28th.

Hear the first song off The Love, "Slide" on Blanket Music's MySpace.

A New Face

When I first heard the Flints' song "Girl," I thought it was very nice. It's a nice song with a song song with a nice singer. That's always great. It's a very lush song about a girl who goes away from her hometown and turns into something she's not.
I can associate with the whole small town thing. It's weird going back when you've seen something bigger than a small town. All the drama is childish and the people seem almost backwards or stuck in their own business.
Anyway, the Flints' (who happen to be from Toronto) songs bring me a lot of those feelings, and the instrumentation sounds at much like if Wilco and maybe the Decemberists decided to switch some band members. There's piano and guitar and then there's pedal steel, trombone and accordion. The band is very nice and has an EP, There Used to Be a Time that you can download from them at their site or buy from them if you'd like (it would be a nice gesture, don't you think?)

Girl
Empire Hotel

What's Yr Take on...

I'd never heard of the alt-country band Cassavettes before a I got an e-mail about their new EP Whitewash the Blues. The Boston by-way-of-Dallas. The band's sound is reminiscient of early Old 97's or Magnolia Electric Co.'s heavier stuff. I only wish I had more to hear of the band, so I just might have to buy the EP because I really like the songs they have up on their MySpace. That's the only stuff I have of them and I wish it was more.

Sorry I haven't been keeping up as much. School has started back up and I'm trying to get into the swing of a new semester, new classes, etc. I've been getting quite a lot of new music from new bands wanting to be heard, so I'm sorry if it takes awhile for me to get to you. I'm trying to balance new bands and older bands, and yeah. Don't know how well I'm doing.

Stay

I remember awhile ago several bands blogging about a band called The Attorneys. I never listened because sometimes I just don't download mp3's from bands for sake of my hard drive. When I got an e-mail regarding the band, though, my ears finally tuned into their songs.

The band is from Brooklyn and just self-released a CD with two distinct "chapters" as the band calls them. It's called Sparrow Gardens/Pencil Factory. The songs on the 17-song album were recorded in two different sessions and are apparently vastly different. You can hear some of the tracks on the bands TWO MySpaces. Here and here. The first page is all full-band recordings while the latter is a collection of various solo efforts by band members.

Stay

Dream Don't Shoot

I'm really excited about the new album from British Canadian seven-piece band They Shoot Horses Don't They, Boo Hoo Hoo Boo, coming out February 21st on Kill Rock Stars.
For one, Pop Matters says "Plain and simple: This band is better than every other band on earth, even if you combined all the other bands on earth into one gigantic band -- this band would still be better than that band." Pretty high acclaim there. Two, they're on Kill Rock Stars. Three, I've heard them compared to Architecture in Helsinki. I sort of consider them the counterpart to AIH. Maybe like the darker, circus obsessed twin of Architecture in Helsinki. Maybe. Anyway here's a preview of the record.

Empty Head

A Real Penny Saver

Yeah yeah everyone loves a Swede. Is that getting old? No? Okay good cuz I got a great new one. This is a really lo-fi music group called Penny Century, which essentially is one Swede by the name of Magnus. He says that his music entirely with my keyboards, my computer and my mouth." The music's really good and very lush-sounding. He just put up a new EP of songs called A Real Penny Saver. Bad thing is his site's all in Swedish, but he does have an English portion. Great part is, all of his music is available on his website. There are four EPs and then a smattering of songs for your downloading/listening pleasure. Download the new EP here, and other under Musik off the main page.

I Water Plants

Nobody's Down

I got an e-mail from the manager of this NYC band called The Switch. I cheked out the mp3 she sent along to me, entitled Nobody's Down. I don't know much about them but I like what I hear. The song sounds like a real throwback to 80's pop music, all electronic and the lead singer Kai Altair's voice could stand right along Cyndi Lauper or Paula Abdul. You know how some 80s songs just sound like the band found a drum machine and just went nuts with it? That's sort of like this track and I just love it.

Check out several song samples on their website.

2005: Year of the Blogs?

A lot of people called 2005 the year of the blogs. Now what does that mean for 2006? I know there's been an explosion of mp3 blogs even since I starte mine at the end of May in '05. Having so many blogs can be awesome and then at times not so much. With so many people looking for new stuff, it can get the public a lot more music, meaning newer mp3s of old-loved bands and even more new bands to get excited about.

Here are quite a few blogs I've just recently put onto my blog roll and am really excited about seeing more of in 2006.

A Boy and His Blog (I can't tell if it's a Narnia inspired name or not)
Culture Bully (more than music)
Green Pea-ness (clever title, great stuff)
Indie Christoph
More Than Milk (a fellow Utahan, lots of remixes)
Some Velvet Blog

Nails Done

I don't know a whole lot about the band Panther (not to be confused with Vice's Panthers) except that it is the side-project of The Planet The's Charles Salas-Humara. Why haven't you heard anything by him? Probably because he hasn't released anything yet. This will change when, next Tuesday his 12" EP on newly formed Fryk Beat Records, which is run by E*Rock. Yep.
Also coming out on Fryk Beat next Tuesday is Bobby Birdman's 12" EP Victory at Sea. They can both be pre-ordered at Fryk Beat's website.

Panther-You Don't Want Your Nails Done
Bobby Birdman-I Will Come Again (Y.A.C.H.T. Remix)

You Don't Want Your Nails Done video

Not What You Want

Austin's The Weird Weeds create atmospheric electric melodies akin to Castanets and Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice. Also they have two releases, an album and an EP, that you can download for free online. How cool is that. Anyway, if you need some chill-out/freak-out music, the Weird Weeds would be a great soundtrack for that special time in your life.

Download This is Not What You Want EP from Sounds Are Active, an online label (they have several other releases for free that you may want to check out)
Included in the EP is Van Morrison cover.
Sweet Thing

Download the album Hold Me in torrent form. Learn how to use torrent.

They're on tour too:
6 Jan - Marfa, TX @ Ray's Bar
7 Jan - Albuquerque, NM @ Sol Arts
8 Jan - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
9 Jan - Provo, UT @ Starry Night
10 Jan - Walla Walla, WA, @ The Underground
11 Jan - Seattle, WA @ Gallery 1412
12 Jan - Portland, OR @ Berbati's
13 Jan - San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern, with Breezy Day's Band and Zdrastvootie
14 Jan - Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell, with My Little Red Toe
15 Jan - San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe
16 Jan - Phoenix, AZ @ Modified Arts
23 Feb - Austin, TX @ TBA w/ Shapes and Sizes
24 Feb - Houston, TX @ Super Happy Fun Land w/ Shapes and Sizes

Flaming Lips to Play at SXSW

Many thanks to Greg who wrote to tell me that the Flaming Lips will be playing at SXSW with The Czars. Not sure exactly where they'll be playing (SXSW hasn't released the full line-up or schedule yet) but the Flaming Lips might possibly be registered as a special guest, which is quite possible. Anyway, I thought that was really cool. I saw Wayne Coyne at the back of the stage during Sleater-Kinney's set at the Sub Pop showcase last year, and he's been to Austin City Limits several times. Plus their film Fearless Freaks premiered at the SXSW Film Festival last year. It all makes sense that they'd be playing there.

In other Flaming Lips news, Pitchfork says that the band has finally set a release date for their new album At War With the Mystics, which will be available April 4 in the US (the day before in the UK). Also, their album The Soft Bulletin is being re-released on January 31st.

Not Surprised

Canada's five-piece all girl band The Organ does a great job of paying homage to The Smiths and Morrissey. Lead singer Katie Sketch's voice sounds quite a bit like Morrisey and the jangly guitar helps accentuate the 80's pop influences. There is an organ in the band, yes, but it's not as upfront as the name of the band might make it seem. The music is dark, yes, but not as pervasively dark as it may seem at first listen.
The band was just recently signed to Too Pure Records, who will distribute the band's first album, Grab That Gun, worldwide. Their Canadian label is Mint Records, home of Neko Case (I didn't know she's releasing a new album this year!), P:ano and the New Pornographers.

I Am Not Surprised
We've Got to Meet
Love Love Love (Quicktime video)

Huge in 06

I don't know about you but I'm sort of sick of hearing about what was great in 2005. I'd like to hear what's going to be big this year. Here's a couple pics for bands I think are going to be huge in 2006. I want to hear your picks for what'll be big in '06. I might look into the bands and post about them/compile your list.

Morningwood
I heard about them in 2005. Saw the video for "Nth Degree" and got the single for it. Still love the song. I think of them as the new answer to the Scissor Sisters. I know that's probably trite saying that but, c'mon they fit the bill. Their debut album comes out this month on Capitol Records (which might be a hot label with the Morningwood CD and a possible Decemberists major-label debut release)
Easy

Voxtrot
Yeah I talked about them a lot in 2005, but this will be their year. A new EP is coming in the spring and apparently all the talk about a full-length LP is a crock. The band says they don't have enough money to make it themselves, and no label has picked them up. How this is possible I have no idea. I can see them signing and maybe a full length in early 2007 (that's scary to think about...2007.
(On a sidenote: I finally bought the 7" for "Raised By Wolves" from Magic Marker Records. Sure wish I knew how to rip vinyl to get the B-side for it, "They Never Mean What They Say" and the one off "The Start of Something" 7", "Dirty Version." Maybe someday...)
The Start of Something
Hear a new song on their MySpace.

The Changes
Yeah I talked about them for a bit but they're just so amazing! I love their EP and can't wait to hear what they have coming up. They're playing at Sundance according to their website on January 19th. Park City isn't too far from Provo and I'd love to see the band live but I guess you need some sort of gala ticket. Oh well.
When I Wake
Hear new demos on the band's MySpace.

We Are Wolves
Of all the wolf bands out there, WAW sound the most lupine for sure. Their searing dance punk will get this band a lot of notice in 2006. Doesn't hurt that they're from Montreal, or is the indie scene tired of Montreal? No matter. So what if their album Non Stop Je Te Plie en Deux came out in 2005? 2006 will be their year.
Little Birds

Tizzy Famous African Exile

If I lived in New York City in January, I would probably set aside every Thursday night. Why you ask? Answer: The Lolita Bras.

This band is coming from NYC. Their debut single, "Her Own Conversation" is all jagged guitars and chugging bass. Their biography on their MySpace might need a Snoop Doggle Trizzlator, but I think I can understand what the song is all about. And what I'm hearing is a really beautiful, soaring melody. Oh yeah, they're playing every Thursday at Piano's in NYC, which was why I said what I said in the first paragraph. Yep.

Her Own Conversation

Hear some demos on the aforementioned MySpace.

New Wolf Parade

Wolf Parade played in Montreal awhile ago and played quite a few new songs. They're also going to be on the Craig Ferguson show on CBS tomorrow night. So this is a treat of one of the new songs.

It doesn't have a name, though. Yep. That happens sometimes.

Another New One

Shaking Everybody's Hand

drawing by Carson Ellis

It's pretty hard to not be all...starry-eyed at the beginning of the year. After an entire year of crap and everything, no matter what great stuff happened that year, it always feels great to have the chance to "start over." I don't know it's just sort of nice to think about thinking it will all be different this time.

Anyway, I'm glad to have a whole new year, hopefully with as many great music happenings as 2005. This song just reminds me of a list new year's resolutions. I haven't really made any myself this year, but what he says in the song wouldn't be too bad to shoot for.

Johnny Cash-Old Chunk of Coal