The (s)Wheat Spot!

Old Sufjan is the New Sufjan

2006-04-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Stereogum reports that the next Sufjan album will be an outtake album of tracks that didn't make it onto what was originally planned as the Illinois double album.

I don't know about you, but as much as I like Illinois, I get a little weary of listening once 'Tallest Man, Broadest Shoulders' gets about halfway through.

Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche [from Trees Lounge]

What would you name the Texas album?

I'm Back, Suckas

2006-04-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yep. It only took me 2 1/2 weeks to get over jetlag/wedding planning insanity/remorse from missing the Beasties, Flaming Lips, Midlake, Brothers & Sisters, Jenny Lewis, Peter & the Wolf, and Deathcab/Franz Ferdinand in Austin. Not bad. Anyhow I'm back, and I'm coming back ready.

I have pics from Sunday night's Amanda Leggett show at Ego's, and a few recommends for the Wall of Sound fest that I'll be attending on Saturday in Ft. Worth, with Dan, who's in this band Washing Machine [review here]

Wall of Sound Recommendations [Sat. only]:
12:30 pm Amanda Leggett
5:00 Doug Burr
5:30 The Black Angels
6:30 Knife in the Water
7:00 Comet
8:00 AM Syndicate
9:00 Midlake
9:30 Mazinga Phazer II
10:10 Dave Bazan
12:30 Low
2:00am Go to Sleep

The Amanda Leggett show Ego's on Sunday did not disappoint at all, and I'm looking forward to seeing her again at Wall of Sound. Her new pedal steel player was also working a smoke machine, which added this eerie effect to certain songs.

I missed you! Any other bands on the suggested list above you would add/delete?

So X So What

2006-03-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

Being an Austin musicblogger, it's a mortal sin to be out of town this week. It's SXSW and I'm sure the town is abuzz with music glitterati of all sorts, and I'm missing it.

Forgive me, but I'm in Asia, and I proposed to my girlfriend and she said yes. That's going to have to win out over SXSW this year. Put me in musicblog timeout, if you must, but let Gorilla Vs. Bear or Stereogum or Austinist guide you home this week. Uncle Paul will be back next week.

And I don't want to hear it about March Madness either.

Natalie Portman, Gangsta Rappa

2006-03-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

beep. bop. boop. has this hilarious new video from Saturday Night Live, the same guys who brought you Lazy Sunday [and who spawned numerous Ripoffs [real player needed]. Enjoy.

Alex Dupree on NPR!

2006-02-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

NPR.com has a great story about a great Austin band, Alex Dupree and the Trapdoor Band.

My roommate Brett has been talking these guys up to me for a while now, and with good reason.

They'll be playing SXSW on March at the 29th St. Co-op, so check it out if you're around the ATX for the circus. If you're a regular Austinite, catch them at the Parish on March 2.

Samples to come...???

I'm the worst blogger ever...

2006-02-26T17:28:00.000-08:00

...but then again, you're reading. Aren't you, sucker?

I've been absent because my mind just isn't in the blogosphere lately. But I'm back, to update you on stuff you should be listening to, if nothing else.

Lately, I've been so busy [and broke] that if it ain't on emusic, I ain't getting it. But there's a ton of stuff on emusic, so I'm alright. Some of the stuff I've been listening to the most lately are the most recent Deerhoof, Cat Power, the National, and the AWESOME Destroyer's Rubys.

But I had been wanting Jenny Lewis' album 'Rabbit Fur Coat', and couldn't get it on the cheap. Until now. Her record label, Team Love has put her entire album [except for the Traveling Wilbury's cover] online for free download.

You're welcome. Enjoy.

Download 'Rabbit Fur Coat'

New-ish Midlake

2006-02-11T07:49:00.000-08:00

I think this has been out for a while, but I just came across Midlake's 'Balloon Maker EP' on eMusic the other day, and it has two new non-album tracks that I'm loving. The alternate take of 'The Jungler' is a lot more menacing than the album version, but the other song, 'Mornings Will Be Kind' is a lot more playful than most of the Bamnan stuff. Both are highly recommended. Enjoy.

Midlake - The Jungler [alternate take] [follow links]
Midlake - Mornings Will Be Kind [follow links]

For Dan: Video Day

2006-02-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in forever because I was super busy all last week, but I'm back again.

Since I received my new video iPod in the mail last week, I've been on a mad dash to get as many videos on it as possible. So far, I've gotten Fearless Freaks and several episodes of Arrested Development, but I've also found a bunch of videos on ...good weather for air strikes.

My go-to video for showing people how awesome the iPod screen is would have to be Michel Gondry's Kanye Video. It's amazing.

Also, here's one I found by Cat Power. Don't ask me to explain it. I don't know.

Cat Power - Living Proof

But, I can't have a video day without showing this gem. It's all over the internet like SNL's Lazy Sunday, but now it's here too.
K-Fed is art in motion, seriously. Watch and be amazed.

Best .gif Ever.

2006-01-26T14:10:00.000-08:00

Vince "Champion" Young as Uncle Rico Dynamite? Wow.

Akron/Family tonight in Austin - Cat Power tonight in my Head

2006-01-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

So, (s)Wheat Spot! faves Akron/Family are playing at Emo's tonight, and I'm all giddy inside. I saw these guys when other (s)Wheat Spot! faves Pilotdrift opened for them [and Angels of Light] in the Spring, and they blew me away. They have an amazing live show.

If you're near the ATX, look for me there. Hopefully pics will follow. Song follows now.

Dylan pt.2 [via An Aquarium Drunkard - a good blog with a great Wilco-reference name]

Also...

Listened to the new Cat Power album, 'The Greatest' about a million times today and yesterday, and I keep going back and forth between thinking it's bound to be one of the best albums of 2006 [or as I told Brett, "the Illinois of 2006"], and thinking that it teeters on overdoing it.

My favorite ditty on the album [other than the title track, which you can get here] is the hauntingly sad 'Lived in Bars'. Enjoy.

Cat Power - Lived in Bars [via the CAMERA As PEN]

New Week installment 4: New Midlake

2006-01-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

I've been following Midlake, from my hometown of Denton, TX for years now, and I've been waiting to hear their new album ever since I heard their last album 'Bamnan and Slivercork'. I may have to wait a little longer, but Bella Union has included a new Midlake track on their most recent sampler. Enjoy.

Midlake - Roscoe [from SKATTERBRAIN]

Live Midlake video from 'Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson' [from Midlake.net

Marfa

2006-01-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

Marfa is this little pop. 2000 town just north of Big Bend National park in the middle of nowhere West Texas. Everything about the surroundings remind you of desolation. We drove for half an hour sometimes before seeing another car on the highway. The music had to compliment the surroundings...
Cat Power - The Greatest [via Matador Records]

Yo La Tengo - Beautiful World [live]

The funny thing about Marfa is that on the weekend there are all these New York/LA/Austin Hipsters that come in and enjoy the triving arts scene there. Back in October, Yo La Tengo played a show there at the Thunderbird Hotel. There was a great article in the Austin Chronicle about Marfa on a Tuesday in December, questioning whether the hipsters are ruining the town they put on the map. Well, my friend Chris and I took a trip there on a Tuesday in December ourselves, just to see what Marfa had to say about it.

And what's a buddy trip without a Sufjan song about two guys on a roadtrip themselves?

Sufjan Stevens - Chicago [acoustic] [via mp3 online]

New Week installment 3: New Shins

2006-01-17T22:56:00.000-08:00

Ever since Zach Braff took the Shins from mixtape masters to every college girl's indie crush, the next Shins record has been highly anticipated. Well, let the hype begin. My guess is that prior to it's release, the hipster backlash will be in full effect, and no one will expect it to be as good as it actually will be.

Prediction: this album will outdo their previous two albums in lyrical quality and musical maturity. Write it down. You heard it on the (s)Wheat Spot! first.

Enjoy.

The Shins - New Song [live 1/07/06] [via You Ain't No Picasso]

Bonus! The Shins - Pink Bullets Video [iPod compatible mp4, from m3 Online]

New Flaming Lips/Sufjan Live

2006-01-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

iTunes has a the new Flaming Lips song 'Wand' from their forthcoming LP 'At War With the Mystics'. I say it's a winner. It really doesn't tread much new ground for the Flaming Lips, but it is a welcome change from the phoned-in singles released for soundtracks over the last few months. The track has a great groove, a mind-burning guitar riff, and some effective [however not novel] vocal effects. Plus, I'm never going to fault a band for using live handclaps in a beat.

Pitchfork gave it 3 1/2 stars, so take that for what it is.

In other news, the New York Times has a review of a Sufjan live show from the Allen Hall of the Rose Ballroom in NYC. It's a glaring review, so, bravo Sufjan.

Man of Metropolis Steals our Hearts [live @ KCRW] [from Music for kids who can't read good]

New Cat Power

2006-01-13T08:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, the (s)Wheat Spot is back, ladies and gentlemen. It's a new year, and we've got some new music. Cat Power's Myspace has her entire new album 'The Greatest' available to stream until it's release. Also, you can pre-order 'The Greatest' [which they keep insisting is NOT a Greatest Hits comp] at Matador Records on either CD or LP Vinyl. [As an aside, I think that record labels should include a password for a free iTunes download for any album they sell on vinyl. That way, we can have the vinyl and still listen on our iPods. I mean, I want the vinyl, but we're a portable society, and if I can't play it on my iPod, i just can't listen to it as much. But I digress...]

Apparently, for this album Cat Power is aiming for the Hi Records soul sound from the 1970's. I don't know about all that, but what I do know is that the title track, available for download from Matador [and the (s)Wheat Spot!] is one of the most haunting songs I've heard in a while, and I can't stop listening to it. Enjoy.

Cat Power - The Greatest

The (s)Wheatest 11 of the 2k5! [#2 and #1!]

2005-12-31T15:23:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years, Y'all. So, I've been looking around, and it turns out that Top 11 lists are very en vogue right now. I didn't even know. I mean, even Jesus is doing a top 11 this year. Believe it or not, His #1 and my #1 are the same, but first, Katie, you're going to have to read my #2.

2. MySpace

Here's a quick analogy. Let's see how you do with it...

MySpace : Friendster :: Crack : __

A. Butt
B. Egg
C. Coffee
D. Sidewalk

[answer: C. "Coffee"]

I mean, MySpace came on like gangbusters this year, and all of a sudden, you're sucked back into the world of online friend networks. But this time, you can download music legally from your favorite bands. Whoa. I put MySpace at #2 because it probably got more of my time this year than any of the other previously ranked people/places/albums. Add me.

1. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois [Asthmatic Kitty, Insound, eMusic]

Yes, Katie, it's Sufjan. I mean, the guy puts out an album about a state, writes about serial killers, wasps and Carl Sandburg, and it makes you want to cry. Bravo! On Illinois he weaves the themes of loss and redemptive love so deeply in his music and can talk about God without coming off preachy. Best album of the year, hands down. I don't even know if there's an album that's been released in this decade that can match it. I don't know if he will top this album with his next release, but it almost seems impossible.
Sufjan Stevens - Chicago [via Gorilla vs Bear]
The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us [Live in Denver] [via My Old Kentucky Blog]

That's a Roman Numeral for #1 on their sweaters.

Previously [in case you're anti-scrolling]:
#6-#3, #11-#7.

The (s)Wheatest Top 11 of 2k5 [#6-#3]

2005-12-30T19:25:00.000-08:00

So, my last post listed numbers 11 through 7 of The (s)Wheat Spot!'s Top 11 of 2005. Here are the next four spots. Numbers 2 and 1 will be posted before the clock strikes twelve tomorrow. Promise.

6. Austin City Limits Fest 2005
Read All 'Bout It.

5. José González

José González is the only person listed here, and I guess I could have listed his album Veneer [Insound, eMusic], and it's great, but his cover songs have become so ubiquitous on the interweb that it makes more sense to me just to list the man himself. His 'quiet is the new loud' sound seems to be equal parts Elliot Smith and Nick Drake, with generous helpings of Flamenco guitar and Scandinavian solitude. Here's his cover of Kylie Minogue's 'Hand on Your Heart':

José González - Hand on Your Heart [Kylie Minogue cover] [via songs:illinois]

José González - Crosses [via Gorilla vs. Bear]

4. M. Ward - Transistor Radio [Insound eMusic]

M. Ward was all over my iPod in 2005. I saw him live on April Fools at the Parish in Austin, and after that, I used my eMusic subscription to get every one of his albums. Each of his albums are uniquely astounding, but since this is 2005, and he released Transistor Radio this year, that's what I'm talking about. M. Ward's gentle swirling voice nests perfectly over the antique sound of his guitar. Where Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot [insound] sends it's messages across short-wave radio, M. Ward transmits on more commonly traveled frequencies, all the while coming through like a distant radio station.

M. Ward - I'll Be Yr Bird
M. Ward - Radio Campaign [via Chromewaves]

3. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm [Insound, eMusic]

This album grew on me this summer and is now one of my favorites. Their ACL show was probably one of the Top 10 shows of my life, and they released a remix album that re-defined the remix for 2005. All-in-all, a pretty good year for Bloc Party.

Bloc Party - Pioneers [via Rock Insider]

Stay tuned for #2 and #1 tomorrow!

The (s)Wheatest 11 of the 2k5! #11 through #7

2005-12-26T21:36:00.000-08:00

So, everybody's doing year-end 'best of' lists, and I figured I'd chime in myself. I didn't want to a Best Songs of 2005, nor did I have the technology to do a Readers Poll, so I'm going to go for what impacted me the most this year: a dozen songs, albums [new and re-releases], artists, and maybe even a spare phenomenon or two.

11. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! [insound]

I love this album. I can’t understand half of what Alec Ounsworth is saying, but I’m glad he’s saying it. It’s fun, it’s a little different, and anyone who makes sounding like David Byrne a positive thing gets a thumbs up from me.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth [via Rock Insider]

10. The Re-emergence of Houston as Hip Hop Ground Zero in 2005

Back in the day, the Geto Boys held it down for H-Town, then it was the “Wanna Be a Balla” song talking about the now-defunct ‘PrimeCo phones’, but now the Swisha House crew is the main thang. They Screw it, they Chop it, they have platinum grills, they candy paint their cars, and they love purple drank. Go figure.

Read Fluxblog's coverage of Mike Jones

Mike Jones - Cuttin [remix] [via Fluxblog]
Paul Wall - They Don't Know [Astros remix]

9. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane over the Sea [re-release]
[Insound, eMusic]

I get 'Two Headed Boy, Pt. 2' in my head about once a week spontaneously, as though it was given to me from above. Read my review. Now read Pitchfork give it a 10.0

Neutral Milk Hotel - Two Headed Boy, Pt. 2 Live

8. Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
[via Gorilla vs. Bear]

I won't lie. I heard this on the O.C. during the season finale of Season 2, and I was floored. The vocorder vocal is perfectly angellic. Listen. Love.

7. Spoon - Gimme Fiction [Insound eMusic]

Some called this album Spoon's 'Revolver'. I don't know about all that, but it rules. The sound is big, upbeat, and it's probably Spoon's most fully realized release to date. They manage to be more experimental with their sound than they were on 'Kill the Moonlight' while coming off more poppy than 'Girls Can Tell'. Plus, their ACL show rocked. Dig it.

Spoon - I Turn My Camera On [via Rock Insider]
Spoon - The Beast and Dragon, Adored [via The Big Ticket]

Stay tuned for #6-#1!

It's Christmas, Kids

2005-12-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love Christmas. Yes, it's over-commmercialized, and yes, I think that these uber-activist Conservatives who wanted to boycott retailers who omit Merry Christmas from their advertisements are putting their efforts in the wrong place, but otherwise, it's a good time.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the music. It's so joyful. Last year, Stereogum linked a great Indie Christmas album that I listened to all season. Well, this year, you can enjoy enough Christmas music to make your ears bleed tears of Christmas joy!

Irresponsible Journalism has all of Sufjan Stevens' Christmas Albums for your immediate download.
Test Pilot has a bunch of Indie [and not so Indie] Artists doing pop-Christmas tunes. And they do have The Raveonettes - The Christmas Song, which is one of my favorites from last year.
Sounds Are Active has the Krismus Karols album [incl. (s)Wheat Spot fave Half-Handed Cloud].
I'm boycotting Krismus Karols though, because they took "Christ" out of Christmas by spelling it with a 'K'. Are they with the KKK?

The Arcade Fire - Jingle Bell Rock [from Test Pilot's Mix]
Christmas 1979 - Jingle Bells [from Sounds Are Active's 'Krismus Karols'].

Enjoy!

Denton, TX

2005-12-01T12:06:00.000-08:00

I'm back in my hometown of Denton, TX for the next few days, and I thought I'd share a little love about some Denton bands that you should know of.

Growing up in this town was not the typical small-town suburban experience. Because of the University of North Texas, which sports one of the best music schools in the nation, as well as a great art program [and yes, Chris, their Marketing dept. is ok too], Denton has far more culture/music/life packed into its 75,000 inhabitants than most other cities.

Here's a little tour you can take, without ever leaving the confines of myspace. You will find mp3's galore, and you might find a few bands you could learn to love.
Centro-Matic
Midlake
Doug Burr
Bosque Brown
and
Hailey's [a great club in Denton; here's their Myspace]

Who did I miss?

Coming soon: Choose your own blog adventure!

The Phenomena of the .gif

2005-11-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed something? There's been a proliferation of animated gifs on the internet lately, and I love it. Here are my faves:

Jeremy Shockey sums up his career thus far in a capture from yesterday's surprising overtime loss. You Feely Me?

This one inspired my roommates and I to shoot an impromptu video of two dolls yelling "that's racist" at each other. I found it from Gorilla vs. Bear.

This guy's pretty cool too.

Gifs have become the artform of the common people of the internet. Use them well, and you can be an internet winner. Here's to you, common people.

Pulp - Common People

This Isn't A Real Post, but...

2005-11-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

Check out my Myspace

How do you say that? "My Myspace" sounds weird. Should I just say, "Check out MySpace"? Or Maybe, "Check out My Space"? Or maybe you'd like something in a "My, my! My MySpace is Spacey McMyspace."

It's a sick world.

Here's some tunes:
You can download a new Cheyenne song at Cheyenne's Myspace. I like it. It's called 'As Long As I Can' and it's good.

Also, here's Jose Gonzales - Crosses

Mining or Digging, You be the Judge!

2005-11-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the theme of cover songs this week, I figured I'd include some covers of some popular songs done by Ian Nelson. During college at UT-Austin, Ian garnered modest notoriety writing clever songs and pulling off rousing interpretations of the most ubiquitous pop songs of the day.

Well, he's up to his old tricks again, this time with an extremely catchy reinterpretation of Kanye West's Gold Digger. Which do you like better?

Ian Nelson - Gold Miner [Save File - Follow Link]

Kanye's Original

Bonus!
Ian does 'Toxic' by Britney Spears [Follow Link]

One of his originals: the frank, rousing, Ian Nelson - You Are Crazy [Follow Link]

p.s. I fixed the links

Cover-rama

2005-11-15T10:37:00.000-08:00

So, when the interwebs blow up about some music, they usually blow up about cover songs. What is it about a cover tune, you might ask? Well, I'll try to take a stab at it.

The genius of the cover song lies in its familiarity and its novelty. A song generally gets covered because it has struck a chord in the life of the artist reinterpereting it, so the artist serves as a tourguide to the great songs of the past. Hearing an old song in a new way is a win for the artists and the listeners. The artists get their names out, the listeners hear a "new" song with an old comfort to it.

Here are some of my favorites circulating the world wide nets right now.

Sun Kil Moon - Ocean Breathes Salty [Modest Mouse Cover] Sun Kil Moon has put out two albums of all cover songs, a 2001 album of AC/DC covers, 'What's Next to the Moon,' and now comes the Modest Mouse cover album, 'Tiny Cities.'

Jose Gonzales - Heartbeats [The Knife cover]

Jose Gonzales - Love Will Tear Us Apart [Joy Division cover]

[links via Pimps of Gore]

And here's one of my favorites from last year:

The Arcade Fire - Born on a Train [magnetic fields cover, link via purevolume]

Previously...

What's your favorite cover song of all time?

The Ultimate Punk Rock Cover Song Project

Amanda Leggett @ Gypsy Tea Room

2005-11-09T22:53:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I mentioned Amanda Leggett and her album, 'Home.' Well now the lovely singer-songwriter has a number of shows forthcoming in the Dallas/Ft. Worth/Denton Golden Triangle Metroplex, and you ought to know about them.

Firstly, this Saturday [11/12/05], she's playing a set at the Gypsy Tea Room. She'll be doing an instore at the Borders in Lewisville, TX on Nov. 26th, and then she'll be doing a CD release in Denton at Dan's Silverleaf on Thursday, Dec 8.

Amanda's sound is both hopeful and haunting at the same time, her rich voice gliding smoothly through the solid backing laid down by her band. Her name fits nicely next to names such as Neko Case and Laura Cantrell, but her soul sounds much older and more comfortable with the likes of Patsy Cline or Emmylou Harris. Her music hits at that deeper longing within ourselves which longs for rest, home, and acceptance we cannot always find in the people and places around us.

Amanda Leggett - My Love [YouSendit Link]

Beard Week, Day 4: DJ Crown

2005-11-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know this guy doesn't have much of a beard, but he's one of the best up and coming Hip Hop DJs on the Central Texas scene, so we'll cut him a break. He's been tearing up a weekly set at Lucy's in San Marcos on Wednesday nights for the last few years as a part of Electric Mayhem, and he's got a regular set going at the Firehouse Lounge in Austin too now.

He has a full-length album coming out soon, so be on the lookout, but until then you can catch him live in Austin or San Marcos with the Word Assosciation, Electric Mayhem, or simply as DJ Crown. Also check out his Myspace page which has some of his original stuff on it.

DJ Crown is a good friend of mine back from my Denton, TX days. We started DJing at the same time in college, then he started taking it seriously and I started taking my turntables to eBay. He's an amazing DJ with a real taste for classic tracks, both old and new, so check him out.

Beard Week, Day 3: Akron/Family

2005-11-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

Last Spring, my friend John David's band Pilotdrift was playing at Emo's, opening for some bands I had just read about, Akron/Family and Angels of Light. Now I know this is crazy to some people, but Angels of Light just didn't do it for me, but Akron/Family really won me over. Their sound is really stripped down, the songwriting has a flair for the antique, yet surreal. Deep down, I think the guys are just hippies making freak folk, but it works.

Over the summer, I really got into their self-titled album, and I couldn't get the song "I'll be on the Water" out of my head.

Looks like they're working on some new material which you can find at their myspace.

Here's a track off their album with Michael Gira's Angels of Light:
Akron/Family w/ Angels of Light - Dylan pt. 2

Beard Week, Installment 2 - Hasidic Homeboy

2005-11-07T22:17:00.000-08:00

So, this guy's been around for a little while, but whatever. If you don't know, now you know. Matisyahu is a Hasidic Jewish Dancehall Reggae singer making the rounds nowadays.

What's fascinating about him is that he isn't just a kitchy guy, trying to hock bad music with a good gimmick. The Hasidic Jew thing isn't for show. This guy [ne Matthew Miller] is doing it out of a deep desire to follow God.

He has an interesting story. He 'found God' in Colorado, traveled to Israel and rediscovered the heart of his Jewish heritage, and then decided to pursue God and music more deeply while, of all things, traveling around while following a Phish tour.

Hippie.

Beneath it all lies a deep faith and a deep desire for others to encounter God. He became a Hasidic Jew after studying at the New School, and now, according to his website "[splits] his time between the stage and his yeshiva."

What do you think?

Matisyahu - King Without a Crown

Buy 'Matisyahu - Live @ Stubb's' [yeah, it was recorded live in Austin].

Must Be the Clouds in My Eyes!

2005-11-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

I'm a sucker for a good cover song, and wouldn't you know it, but Will Oldham [aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy] has teamed up with indie electro-heads Tortoise to put together an album chocked full 'o covertunes. It's slated for release in January on Domino Records, and I think it sounds pretty good.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy w/Tortoise - Daniel [Elton John Cover]

Bonnie "Prince" Billy w/Tortoise - Thunder Road [Springsteen Cover, follow link]

[links via Dreams of Horses]

Fake Siblings or Real Siblings?

2005-11-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday, stereogum linked a streaming version of The White Stripes covering Tegan and Sara's 'Walking with the Ghost'.

The question I have to ask you is not which version is better [although feel free to comment about that too]. What I want to know is which of these is it better to be:

Fake Siblings [a la Jack and Meg White]

or

Real Siblings [a la Tegan and Sara]

Original Tegan and Sara version of 'Walking with the Ghost'

Shabbat Shalom

2005-10-30T15:43:00.000-08:00

So, as you may have noticed, I took a much-needed blogging sabbath last week. It was partly for rest, partly because I was so busy that the juices just weren't flowing.

I spent this afternoon traipsing around downtown Austin with Dan and Meghan, and by sundown, I had been in two different situations where Garth Brooks' alter ego, Chris Gaines, had come up. Weird.

I figured I'd break the fast with a little Sufjan. If you surf music blogs, you probably already have his song off the Tim and Jeff Buckley tribute album, but if you surf only my site, you don't have it. So here it is:
Sufjan Stevens - She Is [follow link, thanks, callmeMickey].

Sufjan's also on the new Half-Handed Cloud 7", What's the Remedy from Asthmatic Kitty.

Dreams of Horses has some of the songs posted here:
Half-Handed Cloud - Here's a List
Half-Handed Clous - Ten Commandment Tombstone[follow links].

The Strokes Don't Want You to Buy Their Album!

2005-10-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

They want you to download it, song by song, over the next several months until it's released.

At least that's what it seems like, seeing that there are 'conveniently' timed leaks of new songs of theirs every few weeks lately. Evil conspiracy, or clever hipster marketing? You decide.

The Strokes - '15 Minutes of Pain' [link via stereogum]

iBloc

2005-10-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

The South London lads of Bloc Party sure are busy! Pitchfork reports that Bloc Pary have released a digital-only single on emusic and iTunes.

The first song, 'Two More Years,' is a steady, driving track, reminiscent of 'Plans.' Now that I've said it, it's a LOT like 'Plans.' Hmmph. The B-Side, 'Heros,' is a little more of a departure from the Silent Alarm sounds we all know and love. The song meanders a little more, it's softer, like 'Plans' and 'Two More Years," but it moves well.

I still say that 'Pioneers' is their best song. What's your favorite? Any thoughts on the new single?

In other news, Pitchfork reports that Beck is following Bloc Party's [and DFA 1979, Interpol, etc.] by releasing a remixed version of 'Guero.' Can't wait to hear it.

Free Yep-Roc

2005-10-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

Yep Roc Records out of North Carolina have released a free album on emusic.com with music from The Kingsbury Manx, American Princes, Robert Skoro and The Standard. The EP, entitled 'Four for Fall' includes two songs from each band.

Stream Songs Here from Yep Roc.

Taks, The Boy Disaster

2005-10-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

So, my pal Phaedra told me about this band the other day because she's designing their next shirt. I didn't think much of it, but then an hour later, I found myself sauntering through Waterloo, and I saw this poster:

It made me curious, so I found their myspace page, and checked out some of the musak. Great stuff. Think Daniel Johnston, Rufus Waiwright, with some upbeat, keytar and piano driven riffs.

They don't have a website, but you can stream some song snippets on their myspace page, or catch them 10/22/05 @ Progress Coffee in Austin. Enjoy.

Elliot Smith is the New Tupac

2005-10-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Apparently, recordings from beyond are uber-hot right now. Somehow, somewhere, someone found and published a bunch of unreleased Elliot Smith b-sides, and gorilla vs. bear got the jump on publisticizing it.

Elliot Smith Basement II Demos

In other other-worldly news, cnn.com asksare you a 'Godblogger'? [thanks, Chris, for the link]

Take that 'Lost' Addiction on the Road, Junkie!

2005-10-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

So, now all of a sudden, if the tech-heads weren't clamoring enough for the iPod nano, apple releases a new video ipod. Apparently, you can download whole television episodes for $2. Including 'Lost'. That's when you know you have a problem.

The new iPod's not just better, it's the same price as always, and it's adopted a new, slimmer, nano-like body. Don't buy me one. I don't have the time or the money to watch 'Lost' every day.

So this begs the question: Which is the 'must-buy', the nano or the video iPod?

So, Elizabethtown, Huh? Me too.

2005-10-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

The guy baffles me. He writes and directs arguably one of the best movies of the 80's [Say Anything], he makes one of the best sports movies ever [Jerry Maguire], and throws in a few great music films [Singles and Almost Famous] and then Vanilla Sky, which, no matter what you say about the story, the ending, or the fact that it was totally ripped off from Abre Los Ojos [Open Your Eyes], had a superb soundtrack. Somehow, though, he is able to come up so short with Elizabethtown.

Not this year, Cam.

Just like all Cameron Crowe films, the soundtrack is memorable (Ryan Adams, Tom Petty, Elton John, Sun Kill Moon, My Morning Jacket[making a cameo - so funny], Patty Griffin [also w/a cameo], and Wheat [no relation]). There are touching moments and good laughs [I LOST IT during the children's video], and Kirsten Dunst actually manages to act well. The problem is that the story just tries to do too much.

Watch it for the music and the musical cameos [Loudon Wainright III, father of Rufus Wainright also appears], but don't hold your breath for another Say Anything.

Link to download for Ryan Adams' demos, 'Exile on Franklin St."

Denton, TX Chanteuses!

2005-10-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

Denton, TX artist Bosque Brown is getting a little press nowadays, since getting a little attention from Damien Jurado. The attention is well-warranted. When I hear her voice, I think of Cat Power's Chan Marshall [mp3 w/Handsome Boy Modeling school, via gorilla vs. bear], but with a little something else that I can't put my finger on. If you want more of her story, you can head to her MySpace page. All's I'm saying is that she and midlake make me proud to claim D-Town.

Bosque Brown - Still Afraid
Bosque Brown - Red Roses
Bosque Brown - Went Walking

In other Denton news, Amanda Leggett put out her debut album a few weeks ago, and it is certainly worth a listen. The Austin-via-Denton singer/songwriter has put together an extremely mature debut, available at CDFuse, where you can stream some of her songs. There's more to come about Amanda's album in a later post. I'm just kicking myself now for not being in town when Bosque Brown and Amanda Leggett played a house show here in Austin.

Bloc Party Blasted into Space by a Gun!

2005-10-10T15:35:00.000-07:00

Bloc Party - Helicopter Video

What Made Austin Famous

2005-10-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

This is a big Tuesday for Austin live music, conisdering we're still getting over the ACL Festival, and we're months away from SXSW.

Tuesday, we Austinites get to choose between Architecture in Helsinki at Emo's and The National/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/What Made Milwaukee Famous @ the Parish.

I'm afraid I may have waited too long for the Parish tickets, and I think they're sold out, but can you imagine more hype on one bill right now?

what made milwaukee famous - heliodrama
what made milwaukee famous - almost always never
what made milwaukee famous - iDecide

buy 'Clap Your Hands Say Yeah' @ insound
clap your hands say yeah - upon this tidal wave of young blood
clap your hands say yeah - over and over again [lost and found]

[I know I've posted those Clap Your Hands songs a hundred times, but you need them. I know of a few girls who traveled through the Arizonan desert for hours on an empty tank, laughing hysterically, trying to decipher even one word from 'The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth', and if that's not a recommendation, I don't know what is!]

Yellow Country Teeth [live @ KCRW, link via callmeMickey].

Oh yeah, and...

Game, Horns.

No O.C., MLB

2005-10-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

The Lost/The O.C. debate recorded a critical blow this evening when Fox decided to preempt October's The O.C. episodes with Baseball playoffs.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love October baseball, but I don't know if my interest in The O.C. can survive such a hiatus, with Lost in full swing right now. This troubles me.

You may be thinking to yourself, what is the big deal, these shows don't even air at the same time, but there is only room in my heart (and schedule) for one tv addiction, other than Texas Longhorn Football, Sports Center, and random IFC viewings.

Can the O.C. survive?

Neutral Milk Hotel are so 2005!

2005-10-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

So, a while back [1996], Neutral Milk Hotel released In the Aeroplane Over the Sea on Merge Records.

Then, a while back [2005], Domino Records re-released it.

I'm not going to lie to you, it took a re-release of the album, numerous friend recommendations, and finally, Katie's blogging about it's 10.0 in Pitchfork that got me to hit up eMusic and get it, and I'm glad I did.

This album seems to have reached legendary status in the 9 years since its release, and it gives an almost instant indie-cred boost with its mention. Numerous indie darlings list it in their hypothetical Top 5's, and in spite of all of that, it's actually a great album.

In the week since I got it, I have not stopped listening to it. At first, it was because of the honesty in Jeff Mangum's voice, then it was the beauty of his words. The themes of religion, love, intimacy and beauty are expertly woven with dreamlike playfulness throughout the album, and the instrumentation almost sounds as if Wayne Coyne were being backed by a lo-fi Wilco coverband. But it all works, and it all fits, and it all sounds like it was recorded in a hurry with no forethought, and then once you listen more closely, it all sounds so perfectly planned.

I can rarely say that I am inspired by a song to live better or love better, but Two Headed Boy, Pt. 2 makes me feel regret for not having loved my family and friends better, and it makes me hope to know God more, and really let myself fall in love, no matter the consequences.

Daddy, please hear this song that I
sing,
In your heart there's a spark
that just screams
for a lover to bring
a child to your chest,
That could lay as you sleep,
And love all you have left
Like your boy used to be, long
ago,
Wrapped in sheets warm and wet.

And in my dreams you're alive and
you're crying,
as your mouth moves in mine, soft
and sweet,
Rings of flowers round your eyes
and
I'll love you for the rest of
your life (when you're ready)

And when we break
We'll wait for our miracle,
God is a place where some holy
spectacle lies.
And when we break
We'll wait for our miracle,
God is a place you will wait for
the rest of your life.

Two-headed boy,
She is all you could need,
She will feed you tomatoes
and radio wire,
And retire to sheets safe and
clean,
But don't hate her when she gets
up to leave.

Two Headed Boy, Pt. 2 Live in San Francisco, 1998 [link via Elephant6.com]

Stream "Holland, 1945"

Clap Your Hands and Call me Mickey!

2005-10-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Live on Morning Becomes Eclectic [link via callmeMickey]

... More The Strokes, More The Better.

2005-10-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

The Strokes - You Only Live Once [link via stereogum].

You Could Stream It So Much Better

2005-10-03T22:56:00.000-07:00

Stream the new Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better

Exciting stuff.

Stop Bugging Me About My Sister

2005-09-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a new Wilco song [thanks Muzzle of Bees].

Wilco - Walken

Any thoughts about the O.C. last night? IMHO, the storyline was the worst of the season, and a bad way to go into an October hiatus [no cliffhangers!]. On the music tip, maybe one of the best episodes of recent memory:
Bob Mould, M.I.A., Royksopp, Youth Group. Yeah.

Death Cab B-Sides & Lost/O.C. Debate

2005-09-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

Stereogum reported earlier today that Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good posted two B-side tracks from Death Cab's new album, 'Plans'. Check it out. There's also some Sufjan Stevens love on the link.

For all you fans of ultra-layered Brit sounds, Elbow has a new album coming out. Here's a video of the first single:
Elbow - Forget Myself [video] from bossBlog.

In other news, Lost is rapidly becoming more of a must-watch for me than The O.C.. I can't believe I just typed those words. Which show is more believable?

Mama Cass - Make your own kind of music [song from 'the hatch' in Lost S3 Episode 1

Phantom Planet - California 2005 Acoustic
[both songs from bossBlog

Post ACL Soulsearching

2005-09-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

After three days of unbearable heat and dust at the Austin City Limits music fest, I ended up with a sore throat and headache for the last three days, and I'm utterly wiped out even now. That may have something to do with the continued 105+ degree heat Austin is experiencing right now. But after a brief hiatus to gather my thoughts, I'm back, ready to guide you through it.

So the other ACL bloggers are recouping and getting back to their compys and getting the goods out too. Here's what I've found.

1.) Muzzle of Bees seems to have linked me exclusively for ACL Recaps. Muchas Gracias.

2.) CallMeMickey posted a generous helping of mp3s from the Black Keys' set. That was fast. Download Impy threes from the Black Keys' ACL set from Sunday [via callmeMICKEY]

3.) Austinist found a list of every artist who played ACL, done by Out the Other, complete with at least one mp3 of each performer. Wow.

4.) Austinist also posted a recap of ACL afterparties.

5.) Achtung Baby! posted some ACL coverage, including a Video from the Spoon show, and many other videos.

6.) Metroblogging Austin posted a bunch of links to lots of other recaps. Check them out.

ACL Day 3 - We're Gonna Burn This City

2005-09-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

Well Day 3 was the hottest day so far this year. 108F. Every band felt it necessary to mention two things yesterday: a) Some variation of "So, it's hot, huh?" b) Some variation of "Don't forget to hydrate", so bake we did, and hydrate we did. The theme of the day was Fire and Cold.

I got a late start, but got there in time for the Arcade Fire. Most of the members were in all-black. They must have been baking. They burned the house down, though. Unbelievable. Not quite as good as their more intimate show at Emo's earlier in the year, but they definitely overcame the lack of intimacy that generally characterizes a festival show.

Stream Arcade Fire songs here.

Stream Arcade Fire live @ KEXP

After the Arcade Fire, I caught a little of the Decemberists. They were good. Definitely better live than on album, if for no other reason than that Colin Meloy's nasal voice is further back in the mix, so it's a little less annoying. Great songs and a good voice for the songs, but less is more with Colin Meloy's voice, I say.

Engine Driver - The Decemberists

After that, we hightailed it over to the SBC stage to get a good spot for Franz Ferdinand. No complaints there, other than the heat. I must say that by this time in the weekend, the crowd was getting pretty lethargic, which affected the intensity of the shows, for sure. Franz Ferdinand worked hard and were all over the stage, and maintained their cheeky personas, despite the near-110 degree heat during their show. They played a good mix of their new stuff and their old stuff, and have definitely matured as musicians and songwriters since their last album.

Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen

Franz Ferdidnand - Eleanor Put Your Boots On

Franz Ferdidnand - Walk Away [They really rocked this one - one of the highlights of the show for me.]
[links via Dreams of Horses]

Of course, then there was Coldplay, who seriously must be looking to get the Arcade Fire to tour with them or something [too late, U2 got to them first; looks like coldplay's always trying to copy U2!], because Chris Martin would not shut up about how great they are and what an inspiration they are to him, etc. Nice to know that he has an appreciation for music. [btw, Brett and I decided that the difference between Coldplay and Oasis is that Coldplay seems to understand that there is a whole world of music out there, and it humbles them. Oasis just thinks they're God's gift to pop, and they're the only band that matters. Nevermind the fact that they're just an empty clone of the Beatles' worst stuff. I digress.]

Coldplay's show was spectacular. Great visuals, great energy, great performances of the songs. In the middle, they did a tribute to Johnny Cash, and then played 'Ring of Fire'. Their stage set is amazing, and they really fit the role of international superstars well.

During 'Yellow,' they released these huge yellow balloons into the crowd filled with yellow glitter. 'Yellow'... Yellow... Oh, I get it! Clever.

Torrent of Coldplay's 2005 Coachella show

Saturday ACL - 'Are You Hoping for a Miracle?'

2005-09-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Remember what I said yesterday about Brits being able to work a crowd? This was proven to be even more true today at Day two of the Austin City Limits Festival. The forecast called for high winds and low heat in the wake of Hurricane Rita, but it was just the opposite. 100 degree heat ruled the afternoon, and rather than wind or rain, there was a cloud of dust rising from the ground and filling your mouth.

It was hottest at 4:30 for Death Cab for Cutie's set.

I was honestly under-whelmed for the second time in a row that I've seen Deathcab live. My friend Dan and I figure that it's just not upbeat enough to translate live. I like the albums just fine, and Gibbard, Walla and co. put their all into it, but it just didn't move me.

Soul Meets Body Video

After Deathcab, I headed over to the AMD stage for the Fiery Furnaces, and I was pleasantly surprised by the unique form of artrock coming from the brother/sister duo. Plus Eleanor is a Texas graduate, which only makes her cooler, if that's even possible. She had lots of stage presence.

The Fiery Furnaces - Single Again"
Fiery Furnaces Live @ X-Posure Live

Eleanor's stage presence was nothing compared to Kele's from Bloc Party, though. I have no idea how anyone can top the show Bloc Party put on tonight. Definitely Top 5 ACL performances of the last three years. They owned the crowd, and played with such intensity. Dan and I made it to the front row, and loved every second of it. Dan even got one of the drummer's sticks from some high school girl who didn't know it had fallen into her bag when the drummer threw it. Highlights: 'Like Eating Glass,' 'Helicopter,' and 'Pioneers' (which was semi-dedicated to Oasis, sarcastically).

Bloc Party live in Washington DC 6-16-05 [from npr.com]

Bloc Party on 'Morning Becomes Eclectic'
Bloc Party - Banquet
Bloc Party - She's Hearing Voices [live in Austin @ SXSW 05]

After Bloc Party, Oasis played, we were nowhere even close, and Liam had enough ego for the whole festival. Then we left after just a few Oasis songs.

New Oasis Song, if you care.

What were your favorites? Any other stories of seeing these bands live?

Everything Hits at Once

2005-09-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

So, I woke up this morning without an ACL ticket. My plan was to try and scheme a Sunday ticket from a scalper or something. The only big problem: I had to see Bloc Party on Saturday night. What to do? Craig's List, my friend.

By 10am, I had found a 3 day pass for sale for $75, and I bit. Just a few minutes later, I had a ticket in hand, thinking about what time to head to the ACL fest. What a wonderful world wide web!

So, here's my promise to you: Impy Threes and Pics from the Austin City Limits Festival.

Episode 1: Friday night - Spoon/Keane

Spoon on the AMD stage Friday (9/23/05) at the Austin City Limits Music Fest

Spoon's Britt Daniels

The Spoon show was great. Best of theirs I've seen. Britt Daniels was loving it, and the hometown crowd was singing along. They played a good mix between Gimme Fiction material, and a strong mix of Girls Can Tell ('Everything Hits at Once' 'Anything You Want' 'Me and the Bean') and Kill the Moonlight ('Paper Tiger' 'The Way We Get By' 'Small Stakes') stuff. The show came to a climax when the whole crowd sang along to 'The Way We Get By'. My only complaint is that I'd like to hear them do a few older songs off of 'Series of Sneaks' or 'Soft Effects'. Great show, though.

Spoon - Everything Hits at Once [disco mix]

I Turn My Camera On - Spoon, off Gimme Fiction [video]

In between the Spoon set and Keane, the sun was setting, and the clouds from the first wave of Hurricane Rita leftovers moved over Austin from the Southeast. It was majestic.

Keane's first few songs had the sunset-colored clouds in the background. Perfect.

Keane had an uphill battle in impressing me after Spoon. I like their stuff, but I didn't know how it would translate live. They totally won me over with their showmanship and how catchy each of their songs were. One thing I do know is that Brits know how to work a crowd.

Keane - She Opens Her Eyes [rare 7" B-Side Rapidshare mp3]

Keane - Somewhere Only We Know [iTunes video].

Watch the videos of Keane @ AOL Music

ACL Must Sees

2005-09-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

For all of you who will be [or in my case, won't be, but wish you would be] at the ACL Fest, I thought it would be fun to list your Top 3 must sees of each day.

Rules:
1.) Two "must sees" cannot meet at the same time
2.) A "must see" is defined as a person or group that you would forsake all other bands playing at that time to see. You would even be willing to brave tropical storm force winds to see this band.

Here are mine:
Friday:
dios(malos)
Mates of State
Spoon

Saturday:
What Made Milwaukee Famous
Bloc Party
Oasis

Sunday:
The Decembrists
Franz Ferdinand (only because I can't include Wilco too)
Coldplay

[If I had to exclued one of the Sunday ones to include Wilco, it would be The Decembrists]

What are your must sees?

ACL Scenario Workshop

2005-09-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, unless you've been asleep for the past several days, you know that Hurricane Rita is coming and is likely to disrupt Saturday at the Austin City Limits festival. What is needed in this situation is preparation. I mean, you just don't want to be out in the elements when a Hurricane comes by. Seriously.

So, let's say you've plopped down your hard-earned cash on a 3-Day pass. What do you do about Saturday? Brave the traffic, the bad parking, the walk, and then face a full-on category five "finger of God" hurricane in order to catch Bloc Party [quite possibly worth it, if you've been listening to their Remix album]? Or do you sit Saturday out and wait for the stellar Sunday lineup?

Decisions...

A possibly even more perilous decision may be the one you have to make for Sunday, namely, Wilco or Franz Ferdinand. What imbecile planned both of those bands at the same time?

Which band would you go to see?

Watchoo Talkin' 'Bout, Willis?

2005-09-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

Not since I watched Arnold and Willis and their madcap hijinks on tv after elementary school has this combo been in my life: Strokes and Juicebox.

The new song by the Strokes just leaked [thanks again, as always stereogum for the heads up.

What do you think?

The Strokes - Juicebox [follow links]

DITC#1: Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill/The Karate Kid

2005-09-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

Let me clear my throat!!!/Kick it over here, baby pop
And let all the fly skimmas/Feel the beat... mmmmDROOOOOOP!

I can say nothing about this album that hasn't already been said. Say the opening lines of 'Paul Revere' to most suburban kids born between '69 and '89 and they probably can finish off the verse, if not the song. "Noooow, here's a little story I gots to tell about three bad brothers you know so well..." 'Brass Monkey' and 'Fight for Your Right to Party' still get regular play at parties and on alternative radio. And speaking of alternative radio, this album refuses to be pigeonholed into one genre. Rap, yes. Metal, yes. Classic Rock, yes. Modern Rock, probably. Pop, well, yes. It is an immensely popular album (9 million copies sold to date), but it has this quality that makes it feel like you're in this special club for having it.

The true greatness of the album is not found within its singles, however. Each song is memorable in its own right ('Girls,' 'She's Crafty'), but the greatest brilliance lies in some of the myriad samples. The producer Rick Rubin jacked possibly the stoutest beat ever off of the most popular Led Zepplin album ever('When the Levee Breaks' off "IV"), and had the audacity to let the sample play naked on side 1, track 1 of the album. Never again will you hear Zep sampled so well (and so often).

The only movie that could even come close to having the ubiquitous appeal of 'License to Ill' in my mind is 'The Karate Kid.' I mean, that movie is so quotable, so memorable, and so classic for so many people. These two artifacts of the 80s are both seemingly simple, but so enduringly appealing. I mean, how many cheap knock-off movie redos of 'Rocky' were there in the 80s anyway? But you and everyone else you know can recognize the "Get him a bodybag! Yeaaaaah! Heheheh..." line from the finals of the tournament.

[image taken from Chicago's New Millennium Theatre Company's stage performance of "Miyagi! A Karate Kid Musical"]

Wax On Wax Off [mp3 from "It's Karate Kid! The Musical"]

What's your favorite line from the album/movie?

DITC#2: Michael Jackson - Thriller/Sixteen Candles

2005-09-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

You can't make an 80s list without these two gems. I mean, "Beat It", "Billie Jean", "Thriller", "Human Nature", and "The [Doggone] Girl is Mine (f./ Paul [Doggone] McCartney"? Fuggettaboutit. So many hits. As a child, the Thriller video invaded my dreams and turned them into nightmares, and now, thanks to Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, the Thriller dance invades nightmare movies and, for a short time, makes them memorable.

Probably one of the greatest musical moments I know of in the 80s is Eddie VanHalen's guest guitar solo on "Beat It." I'm serious. The part where he knocks on the guitar to let you know he's about do blow your door down may be the most ingenious way to start a solo EVER. Give it a listen [a capella version of the solo from www.ibreathemusic.com (sans opening knock)]. Fascinating backstory of the solo.

And 'Sixteen Candles' is quite possibly my favorite movie from the 80s. I'm including Star Wars films in that consideration (I think). Anthony Michael Hall as 'Farmer Ted' is eerily quotable. The squeaky voice, the inexplicable confidence, his "king of the dweebs" persona... simply sublime.

Sixteen Candles' similarities to Thriller are not easily mined, but here's a shot:
1.) Both tremendously and enduringly popular artifacts of the 80s.
2.) 80s "Best Of" lists are simply incomplete without either one.
3.) Where 'Thriller' does horror in a humorously campy way, 'Sixteen Candles' takes the horrors of High School and makes them painfully humorous.
4.) Both 'Sixteen Candles' and the 'Thriller' video end with a freeze frame where the protagonist ends up with the love interest in the end.

What's your favorite song from 'Thriller'/line from 'Sixteen Candles'.

I Am Trying to Break Your iPod

2005-09-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Apparently gorilla vs. bear has reported that Wilco's releasing their new album on Nov. 1. I can't find that info anywhere on Wilco's website, but that don't mean it ain't true, right, bloggers?

Wilco - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart [live]

Theologians [live]

Thax Douglas Poem - "Wilco #7" [links via gorilla vs. bear, via Glide Magazine]

And, SERIOUSLY, download this song RIGHT NOW!!! (If you haven't already).

Impy Three Monday

2005-09-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'm totally loving the new Franz Ferdinand, but I gots to pass on some of these songs I've found here and there on different world wide websites.

Miguel Mendez - Drinking Beer [via stereogum]

-Think Akron/Family, Elliot Smith, Damien Jurado, and that's Miguel Mendez. I used to work at a restaurant that sold stuffed baked potatoes with a guy named Miguel. We used to play Tony Hawk on his playstation whenever the store wasn't busy (which was a lot). He drank a lot of beer. Funny that this other Miguel writes a song about beer. What a funny world.

Sigur Rós - Glósóli
Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla
Sigur Rós - Sæglópur
[via Comfort Music]

-Last night, I helped play bass at my friend's church, Liquid, and they used Sigur Rós for the background music when people were walking in. It was really pretty cool. I get a sense of the divine when listening to Sigur Rós. It's probably because I don't understand what they're saying, and it's so beautiful that I can just make it mean whatever I want.

The Young and the Restless

2005-09-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Texas 25 - OSU 22

Vince Young was a total champ in the game. Not because he played perfectly, but because he led perfectly. With heart. No matter what was going on on the field, Vince was cool calm and collected.

The exact opposite was true of the Horn fans near campus here in Austin. There was total mayhem at the crosswalk by the West Mall on Guadalupe. I love Texas.

Texas Fight.

New Franz Ferdinand Leak!

2005-09-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Dreams of Horses for their links to some new Franz Ferdinand songs.

Are these as good as the first album?

The Fallen
Eleanor Put Your Boots On
Walk Away (acoustic)

Tell me your thoughts...

DITC #3: The Smiths - The Queen is Dead/Stand By Me

2005-09-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

For #3 album/movie combo from the 80s, I chose to darken things up a bit. The Smiths' "The Queen is Dead" has a great mixture of sad lyrics and happy music. That was the brilliance of the Smiths: Johnny Marr's upbeat guitars and Morrissey's melancholy lyrics. This album probably captures the Smiths at their best.

Similarly, the genius of "Stand By Me" is the mix of action, humor and depth used by Corey Feldman, River Phoenix and Jerry O'Connell as they go on a search for a dead body. This film is classic in so many different ways: young stars at the beginnings of their careers (Kiefer Sutherland also appears), the movie is so moving, and it's all from a Stephen King short story. Much like "The Queen is Dead", Stand By Me does darkness with aplomb and the result is a melancholy masterpiece.

A conversation at the College Game Day Offices

2005-09-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Producer 1: So guys, we need a theme song.

Producer 2: Something hip.

Producer 3: Something the kids will like.

Producer 1: Who do the kids like these days?

Producer 3: I was thinking Elton John, he's really big with the college demographic.

Producer 2: Huh?

Producer 1: Yeah, Elton John. Or maybe Billy Joel.

Producer 2: Are you seri-

Producer 1: Or maybe someone with more universal appeal, like Celine Dion.

Producer 2: Do you guys even know what you're talking abou-

Producer 3: No, more upbeat. Maybe some polka.

Producer 1: No, country music is big with college students. Can we get Tim McGraw?

Producer 2: What about Li'l Jon?

Producer 3: We don't need little, we need big.

Producer 1: Seriously guys, country's hot!

Producer 3: Tim McGraw's busy, who else can we get?

Producer 2: I'm outta here [walking out]

Producer 1: I know, someone big.

Producer 3: Someone rich.

Producer 1: I know, let's hire Big & Rich. They need some work.

Producer 3: Do we have to pay them?

Producer 1: I think they'll work for free.

Producer 3: even better.

Drama + Irony = Dram-irony

2005-09-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

So the OC premiere, huh? Sweet.

Long story short: I like how everything tied together, and I didn't feel like I was being played with.

Normally a season premiere diffuses all of the tension of the cliffhanger, and then sets things back to normal, all within one episode. It's usually really anti-climactic. Josh Schwartz wasn't so ambitious, and it worked to his advantage. The storylines tied into one another well, it left me wanting more, there weren't too many unbelievable twists, and the music was good.

Not-so-welcome changes: 1.) Julie Cooper is back to being her usual one-dimensional, evil self; 2.) We had another maningless character introduced, a la Lindsey (Kirsten's rehab-mate, Charlotte (I give her 3 episodes before she's propositioning Kirsten or helping her relapse again)); 3.) Trey is still alive and in an actual coma (rather than the acting coma he tends to be in for every other episode).

Here's a song from the episode, an excellent remix of a great Bloc Party song:

Bloc Party - Blue Light (Engineer's Anti-Gravity Mix) (off the upcoming Silent Alarm Remix album)

Best Week Ever?

2005-09-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

So, in the next few days, things are going to become a lot clearer in life. Tonight at 8/7 central, we see if all of the drama of last season's The OC finale will bring us into another year of fun. I mean, it's senior year in the OC, y'all. This is where the memories are made. Set your TiVos for stun.

Then, just 48 excruciatingly long hours later, at 8/7 central on Saturday, we have the greatest regular season matchup of the 2005 College Football Season, and my Horns are playing. Don't blink.

Henry Melton, aka "Hemi." I like to call him "Hank the Tank".

Of course, all of the hype could be for naught. We all remember the OC debacle that I like to call "the Lindsey episodes," and no Longhorn fan is without a little nervousness as the minutes count down to a game against a big opponent away from Austin [anyone been to the State Fair lately?]

Next up, iPod iNvisible

2005-09-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

Is there a point where these things just get too small and too easy to lose?

#4: Depeche Mode - Violator/Heathers

2005-09-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

Now, if you're looking closely, you'll catch my bending of the rules: Violator was released three months into the 90s, so it's not quite an 80s album. When you think about it though, it was recorded in the 80s, Depeche Mode was most popular throughout the 80s, and this album is more of a culmination of Depeche Mode's potential as a power-pop-alt-dance-synth outfit with heart.

The songs on Violator are intense, dealing with addiction ("Clean," "Sweetest Perfection," love, selfishness, God and even those awkward silences between lovers ("Enjoy the Silence"). In the songs of Violator, you find the lead singer Dave Gahan at his most intimate and personal. The result is an accessible but emotionally aware album with a wide appeal. Plus I used to rock it on my boombox at the pool every day of summer after 6th-8th grades.

Violator has the darkness, the depth, as well as the upbeat tempo that makes it a good match with the movie 'Heathers'. You could almost put Violator on repeat as the soundtrack to Heathers. Just as they have another slushie and place the bottles of mineral water in the hands of the dead jocks, you can almost hear 'Personal Jesus' blaring in the background. Heathers' wit has been copied many times (most notably with "Mean Girls"), and has served as the prototypical teen-revenge satire, but it's brilliance has never been repeated.

Violator, in the same vein, inspired many a band to come (Air, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Scissor Sisters, etc.) but none of these have the same widespread appeal and depth as the original.

Enjoy...

DJ Earworm Mashup of Depeche Mode's 'Policy of Truth' with Eurithmics' 'Sweet Dreams' [mp3]

Yesterdayborday was Labor Day!

2005-09-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

Todayborday is Laborday quote from Homestarrunner.com

Diggin' Through the Crates

2005-09-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

This summer, I was talking to Will about some possible blog postings we could do, and this came to our mind. I just started going through my iPod finding some of the enduring classic albums of the 80's that deserve discussion.

In the same way that The Sports Guy will compare things like NBA/NFL teams to movie characters/quotes, I thought I would do a Top 5 enduring albums of the 80's list, and couple each album with a movie from the 80's that matches the album.

My only critera: I have to actually own the album, and I have to actually have seen the movie.

So, Album/Movie #5: The Cure - Disintegration[1989]/The Breakfast Club[1985]

Kyle from South Park once uttered "Disintegration is the best album ever!" in the episode when a 50' tall Robert Smith [lead singer of The Cure] defeated a 50' Barbara Streisand. For many late-80s goth-rockers, Disintegration was THE album of the century. On the strength of the uber-popular single "Lovesong," Disintegration was a commercial success, and it appealed to a wider fanbase (via MTV, etc.) than any other Cure album before or since has. If you survey die-hard fans, Disintegration may not be their favorite, but ask anyone else, and it probably is.

So why is it like 'The Breakfast Club'? In the Breakfast Club, you have a rag-tag group of ne'er-do-wells serving time in detention, and through the course of the day, they realize that they all have something in common. Despite their differences, they all feel like outsiders. That's the thing with Disintegration: It's music that made everybody feel like they were different and could identify with the goth-rocker guys wearing eye-liner and lipstick. In the Breakfat Club, even the most popular jock felt like an outsider, and that's the allure of Disintegration.

N.O.

2005-09-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

With respect to all that has happened in the last week because of the hurricane, I just want to say that I'm praying for the people of New Orleans, and for all of the people I know in the affected areas.

This whole thing seems to be bringing the worst out of America in the same way that 9/11 brought the best out of us.

All answers to the questions we ask about tragedies of this magnitude fall so short. The blame shifting, the anger, and certainly the violence simply heap further sorrow onto this already sorrowful time.

Last night, at a party, my friend Chris came up with the idea that Juvenile and some of the other N.O. music personalities should go around to the areas being affected by street violence the most and tell eveyone to cool off. Maybe then everyone would listen...

neworleansbands.net reports Juvenile's house destroyed, Juvenile now helping to orgainze relief efforts.

Red Cross Donations

Capial Area Food Bank

CCC Hurricane Relief Fund

Video Gold

2005-08-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

Who likes videos???

New Franz Ferdinand vid [via aol music] - Very Funny.

Ok Go - A million ways

Which video has a better use of Four Guys Dancing Around?

Sculpted with Love

2005-08-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

So for the past two days, I've been in San Antonio for work at UTSA.

Funny place, that San Antone. All over campus there is a, how do you say, different style of campus decor.

First, the sculpture:

And last, but not least, I found this fresco on the wall of the University Center:

Love my job.

Stream New Kanye West CD - Late Registration

Stream New Death Cab for Cutie - Plans

[Links via AOL Music]

Weekend Recap

2005-08-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

So, I was out of pocket for a few days for a Texas tour this weekend.

I went to Dallas for my friends Matt and Lindsay's wedding. They're Austinites, but they met in Minneapolis, and there were lots of Minneapolites there. A few of them are in some pretty good Minneapolis bands.
I met Linnea from Coach Said Not To and Robin from Valet. Robin and I had a good conversation about Craig Finn of The Hold Steady, a Brooklyn band, originally based in Minneapolis. Apparently, the crowd at Hold Steady's most recent show in the Twin Cities was a veritable who's who of the Minneapolis music scene. Not bad.

Robin also entertained me with tales from his youth spent in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Fascinating stuff about the IRA and terrorism.

Since Linnea and Robin were such friendly and interesting folks, I decided to check out some of their songs. I think you'll like them, I do.

Check out some of their tunes:
Valet - Havana
[apparently written after Robin's trip to Cuba, which he absolutely loved]

Coach Said Not To - Shadow Puppets

Kanye's Workout Pets

2005-08-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday, stereogum posted info about a semi mash-up of Kanye West's best stuff and 'Pet Sounds' by the Beach Boys [which is only the 2nd best album of all time, according to Rolling Stone's Top 500 albums of all time] by a guy named Lushlife.

Some of the highpoints:

The New Workout Plan

Slow Jamz

Diamonds

Obviously, it has the best impact when you are familiar with both sources.

What are your thoughts?

A Beach Boys original from Pet Sounds:

Beach Boys - God Only Knows

"Hallelujah was a Hoodrat/Now you finally know that."

2005-08-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Concept Album Alert!

I got The Hold Steady's "Separation Sunday" [itunes, insound] off of emusic.com back in April or May, and I was really intrigued by the intricately crafted lyrical acrobatics, the song-by-song story development, and the obvious underbelly of youth culture/Christianity dichotomy running throughout the album, but the classic rock guitars really turned me off, and I never absorbed it.

Then yesterday, I heard
NPR's story on The Hold Steady, and I was reminded about all of the things I love about this album. I mean, any album that remains listenable, but also needs Annotated Lyrics is definitely a unique piece of work.

The album follows a girl named Hallelujah [Holly for short] through her days as she dances on the wire between sin and grace. She is equally pulled by the world, filled with drugs, parties and shady characters, and the Church, filled with grace-soaked sinners and saints, partying priests and redemption. Fascinating stuff.

I mean, anyone who can write a song about a Catholic girl "coming to" in a confessional booth after blackout night of partying is onto something.

Check it out for yourself.

Song and Annotated lyrics to "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night"

Song and Annotated lyrics to "Cattle and the Creeping Things"

Your Little Hoodrat Friend [regular ol' impy three]

Zombies Everywhere!

2005-08-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Previous Zombie post

So, we went down to the Erwin Center about 15 minutes late (we were like zombies waking up this morning) to find...

Nothing.

Just a bunch of American Idol hopefuls, post-tryout.

You can imagine how hard it was for us to ask one of them if they had seen any zombies.

Us: "So, how'd it go?"

Ameircan Idol Hopeful, Post-Tryout: "Fine. I sang, they said I had a good voice but wasn't what they were looking for."

Us: "Sorry, man."

[pause]

Us: "Oh, say, did you see any zombies?"

A.I.H,P-T: "Real zombies?" [puzzled expression]

Us: "Well, not real zombies. But real looking ones?"

A.I.H,P-T: "No, I don't think so" [slowly backing away]

Us: "That's too bad."

A.I.H,P-T: [quickly walking away backwards]

Us: "Let's go get some taquitos!"

Sufjan vs. Kanye - Zombies Walk

update: M. C. T. B. has another telling of the story

RIP Bob Moog

2005-08-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

BBC reports on the death of the inventor of the synthesizer, Robert Moog.

I remember the first time I saw a band use a Moog synth live was Stereolab at the Liberty Lunch (RIP) in Austin back in 1997. Ever since, I've been in love with the sound. This guy changed music a lot.

What are some of your favorite bands that use a Moog synth?

I like Air, Stereolab, the Rentals... (just getting the ball rolling)

Stereolab - Lo Boob Oscillator

Stereolab - Sunny Rain Phase [via Fluxblog]

Idol Hands...

2005-08-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

So, this is so uncool even to post this, but I have to:

Tomorrow, Zombies are descending on American Idol tryouts.

If I can force myself out of the house on a morning off, I'll get some video/photo footage and pass them on to you.

Is the fake zombie thing clever, or stupid?

The Zombies - Time of the Season

Sufjan Stevens - They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Our Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhh!! [Live in Denver] [thanks Music For Snobs.]

Returning the Favor

2005-08-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

So, my sister decided to jump on the blog bandwagon. Check her blog out. Or I'll beat you up.

She started things off in grand fashion, giving me some (probably undeserved) props. See, I can't be all bad!

Other blogs of note:

Quite possibly the best blog I know of, by Randy

Truman's Blog - He doesn't post much, but I'll call him out on that, and maybe he'll get on the ball.

gorilla vs. bear - A Good Music Blog

Music Spectrum - Music Blog with a Christian bent

I'm totally loving these bands right now:
Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah [World Wide Inter-web]
Home On Ice
Upon this Tidal Wave of Young Blood
Over and Over Again (lost and found)

Of Montreal [Interweb]
So Begins Our Alabee
The Party's Crashing Us
The Repudiated Immortals [a great track about life and God from a different perspective]

Backstroke of the West

2005-08-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

Check this out!

Apparently, some dude bought a Chinese DVD of Star Wars Episode III, and the rest was mistranslation history.

Some of my favorites:

You and I know this stuff happens all the time, and now someone has documented it for us on www.engrish.com. Apparently, the Japanese are the worst perpetrators of English mistranslation, a la "All Your Base Are Belong to Us!!!"

In other news, my housemates and I made the news about a stabbing that happened at our house twenty years ago:

The house at 704 West Elizabeth, painted lavender now, with an overgrown aloe vera plant flopped toward the street, is home to three recent college graduates who knew nothing of what happened there 20 years ago and could hardly imagine so many strangers packed into their three-bedroom, one-bath residence.
Courtesy of the Daily Texan

And FYI, it's an overgrown Yucca plant, Mr. Smarty Pants reporter, and we live in a 4/2!

Emo-klahoma!

2005-08-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Every time I go to Oklahoma, it's cloudy. Now, I refuse to believe that a state in this part of the country can always be cloudy, but something's up with that. My friend Chris just says that Oklahoma has 'emo weather.' I don't usually use 'emo' to describe weather, but in this case it fit. Even in the middle of August, I felt like I should have brought a sweater. To Oklahoma.

To add to the 'emo-ness' of the weekend, I decided to rock Oklahoma bands on my iPod while in state. The Flaming Lips, Blakely and Cheyenne are a pretty good soundtrack to a rainy weekend in OKC. The irony was that all weekend, John David from Pilotdrift (who have a new album coming out 9.20.05 that sounds amazing!) kept talking about going to visit Wayne Coyne (the Flaming Lips' frontman), and once we got back to our hotel Saturday night we realized that we had both been listening to 'The Soft Bulletin' by the Flaming Lips throughout the weekend. Emo/Synchro.

So, on with the promised OK pics. When I was on my way out of OKC, the clouds were low, the rain was gently falling, and it only made sense for me to take a visit to the OKC Bombing Memorial.

Iron & Wine - Waitin' for a Superman (Flaming Lips cover)

The Flaming Lips - Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen Cover)

Blakely - Rachael's Song (I actually met the girl this song's about at the wedding.)

Dig the New Song from Cheyenne on their Myspace Site: As Long as I Can
Cheyenne - You Were the Sound"

Album Leaf Video

2005-08-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

So I was in Oklahoma all weekend at my buddy Dan's wedding. It rained all weekend, but it was a great time. I'll post some pictures of my time in OK tomorrow.

Until then, here's the video for "On Your Way" mp3 from the Album Leaf's new album In a Safe Place on Sub Pop.

Enjoy

Mice On A Girl

2005-08-11T00:20:00.000-07:00

Check out the Video for Beck's song Girl off Guero.

Motion Theory directs, giving it a Mad Magazine, Al Jaffe look.

Notice the Scientology "all drugs are bad" propaganda? Maybe I'm paranoid. But Beck is a Scientologist, even if he's not as crazy as Tom Cruise was at his most publicity hungry.

Speaking of, isn't it weird that with 'Batman Begins' and 'War of the Worlds' at the wane of their box office run, we're not hearing any crazy rants about drugs and stuff from TomKat? Hmmm...

Wonder-Ful

2005-08-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I met my friend Sean at his summer job, a little special place all San Martians have come to know and ignore, namely, Wonder World.

Holla.

Sean was quite the tourguide through the attractions: a cave,

the antigravity house,

and the observation tower.

I know of no Wonderworld songs, but here's a cover of Wonderwall by Cat Power.

Enjoy!

Top 5

2005-08-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

High Fidelity might be the most re-watchable movie outside of the original Star Wars Trilogy in the history of film. I'm not sure, but I'm asking around.

The first time I ever saw that movie, it was like stumbling upon a group of friends who you fit in with but have never met. They like the same things as you, use the same slang as you, watch the same movies, etc. You know you're going to be fast friends within fifteen minutes.

Not too long after, I went through a period where I felt a lot like Rob (John Cusack's character), and I felt really good about it. Then later, I felt the same way and felt a little pathetic. Either way, I've never felt so much pathos with a movie character.

elliott smith - waltz #2 (off xo - Kill Rock Stars). This isn't in the movie, but it's a treasured song that reminds me of the time in my life when I first watched the movie. Enjoy!

It's got a permanent place in my Top 5 of all time, along with Good Will Hunting and the Godfather. I might be able to put "Lost in Translation" in that category too, but it's too new to say, and that would only leave one liquid spot in the Top 5, which would almost warrant a new Top 5-the "other" Top 5 (the transitory set).

That Top 5 would probably contain (in no particular order): Road to Perdition, About a Boy, Batman Begins, Saving Private Ryan and Say Anything, maybe.

What's your All-Time-Permanent-Top-5 (and if you like, your Liquid-but-still-really-good-just-always-up-for-review-Top-5)?

This Mobile Life

2005-08-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, fliers were posted on every car windshield on our street to inform us that there would be a house being moved down our street, and we needed to move by 11pm or be towed. We waited with anticipation wednesday night, to no avail.

Thursday, my friend Chris parks his car on the street, and we think little of it. We go to a movie, and in the middle get text messages saying that the house was being moved that night. Once "Hustle and Flow" was finished (Grade: a solid B), we headed home just in time to avoid towing (it would have been on our dime) and catch the house being moved down the street.

Apparently this is more common than I knew. People can save thousands of dollars by moving old homes into the country, renovating them and then selling them. Who knew?

Since I thought it was a crime that they changed the night of the move (wed. to thurs.) on everyone, and then still saw fit to tow people out of the way, tow them back to where they were parked, and then ticket them for the cost of both tows, I thought I'd give you the new Fruit Bats song "Lives on Crime" off their new album on Sub Pop, Spelled in Bones.

I listened to this album for free on Sub Pop's website, until they took it off once the Album was released. You can get it at Sub Pop now. It sounds a little like the Shins: low-key, original indie pop with unique lyrics and a penchant for nostalgia. Recommended.

Fruit Bats- Lives of Crime

When you think about it, people who tow cars for a living live "lives of crime": they steal cars for a living, then extort money from you in order to give it back.

The Reason for my Silence

2005-08-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

So, the (s)Wheat Spot! has been a veritable ghost town for the month of July. The reason? I was in Colorado, and I was really busy with a conference for 6 weeks. Chances are, if you're reading this, you probably know that, though.

Here are some pics from my summer, coupled with albums I listened to all summer, just so you can share in my experience a little.

Album: M. Ward - Vincent O'Brien (from Transfiguration of Vincent - Merge Records)

Album: Cheyenne - You Were the Sound (from I am Haunted, I am Alive - The Record Machine)

M. Ward - I'll Be Yr Bird (from Transistor Radio - Merge Records)

Akron/Family - I'll Be on the Water (from Akron/Family - Young God Records)

Album: Sufjan Stevens - The Predatory Wasp of the Pallisades is Out to Get Us (from Illinois - Asthmatic Kitty Records)

My birthday

2005-08-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

So, Now I'm 26. Today! I had a quad-city day: woke up in Denton, had lunch in Dallas with my friend George, met my friend BV in Waco, then had dinner with a lot of folk in Austin.

If you want to give me a gift, join emusic.com.

It's awesome, and it's pretty much the only way I get music anymore. It's $10/month and it has Vice Records, Yep Roc, Merge, and Matador stuff on it. Not much mainstream stuff, but still pretty good.

If you want to try it out, you can get 50 free downloads, and then cancel within 2 weeks for no charge. If you do it through an invite from me, I get 50 free downloads too. So if you want to try emusic out, post a comment with your email address, and then delete it (I don't want your email address floating out on the internets for all spammers to see, but I'll still have it when you comment). I'll send you an invite, and then you click the link and, voila! 50 Free Downloads.

Anything You Want

2005-07-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

If There's Anything You Want/
Come On Back Cause It's All Still Here/
I'll Be In The Back Room Drinking My Half Of The Beer/
And If You And Me Is So Right/
Why's It The Same Thing Every Night

It's Just A Matter Of Time/
It's Almost Measurable/
Imagination Ain't Kind On Us Tonight

You're At Your Best When You Got The Guns Turned A Hundred Eighty Degrees/
And Finding Out If It Adds All Up Right/
We Go Through All The Same Lines Or Sell Out To Appease/
But Go To Sleep In A Bed Of Lies/
I Made My Own More Than Once Or Twice

And Now Time Is My Time Time Is My Own/
And I Feel So Alive Yet Feel So Alone/
Cause You Know You're The One And That That Hasn't Changed/
Since You Were Nineteen And Still In School Waiting On A Light/
On The Corner By Sound Exchange

Spoon - Anything You Want (acoustic @ KEXP)

So, I guess I may want a 3Day Pass Now

2005-07-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

New Deathcab to be released Aug 30, according to their website.

Thanks to Welcome to the Midwest for the link to the mp3 of their new song Soul Meets Body

What do you think?

Torn ACL

2005-07-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

Talk about an injury! Wilco playing at the same time as Franz Ferdinand? What to do?

So the ACL schedule is up, and I'm torn in a few ways:

1. The afforementioned Wilco Franz Ferdinand dilemma.
(Although I already know I like Wilco more... but Franz Ferdinand have a new album coming out on Oct. 3, and I missed them last year...)

2. $105 is a lot of money to spend to go out in the heat when you have no a/c in your car.

3. The first two days have a combined number of 1 1/2 "must see" bands*.

4. Dude, it was SOOO hot last year!

What to do?

*I am using the most exclusively narrow definition of "must see" in this case. A "must see" band in this sense must meet three of the following four criteria:
1.) I have never seen this band in concert before (Thus excluding Deathcab from Day 2 and Spoon from Day 1 - although I would give at least one extremity to hear a rousing live version of "I Summon You" or "The Beast and Dragon, Adored")
2.) If I have seen this band before, they must have released a new album since the last time I've seen them (This keeps Spoon in the running for "must see")
3.) I would actually pay a significant portion of a one-day ticket price to see the bands on a particular day if they were playing in a club, rather than ACL.
4.) (This is a sub-point to #2) I would pay (or have paid) full-price for this band's album and STILL pay a reasonable cover charge to see this band at a club.

!ll!no!s

2005-07-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last post about Sufjan Stevens' album Illinois, I promise.

Today is supposed to be the official release date for Sufjan's new album, and it's out on iTunes and Asthmatic Kitty, but as I read on Pitchfork, who gave the album a 9.2 (the best Pitchfork review all year, according to Stereogum), the album's release will be delayed until they work out the copyright issues with DC comics about putting Superman on the cover.

I got the one with the Man of Steel on the cover before the eBay blood-suckers started closing in. Too bad I opened mine.

Just a few words about the album: Buy it. It's thick with multi-instrumental layers, a la Brian Wilson (but with less insanity). Sufjan writes songs with feeling, meaning, and pathos. He's a believer, and his faith comes through the music, but never in a heavy-handed way at all. He writes songs from the perspective of faith, but never comes across preachy or trite.

In "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.," about the serial killer, he exhibits pathos and an understanding of sin when he sings, "And on my best behavior/I am really just like him/Look beneath the floorboards/For the secrets I have hid".

"Casimir Pulaski Day" plays out like a conversation between Sufjan and a friend with cancer, not glossing over the sickness, nor God's ability to heal, while also dealing with the sweetness and disappointment of life with a dying friend, "Tuesday night at the Bible study/We lift our hands and pray over your body/But nothing ever happens".

My favorite songs are probably these two and "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!" "The Seer's Tower," and "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!"

I really can't say enough good stuff about this album. Some of the songs have already made it onto the rarified air of my iTunes Top 25 Most Played. That's not an easy task for a CD I've had for just over a week in its entirety.

Top 5, 2k5

2005-06-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

I'm really swamped with studying right now. I have a paper about the Tower of Babel (more interesting than you think), and I have to read some Church History tonight, and somewhere in there figure out how to watch Game 7 of the Finals. So in lieu of a real post, I'll give you some links and another Top 5.

Quotes from Dr. John Hannah, my Church History professor from one of my classmates, Will Musings.
I literally was brought to tears yesterday when he talked about the process he went through to get his two PhDs. My favorite quote of his today: Hurry only leads to anxiety, and people who rush to arrive on time just get more time to wonder why they hurried for nothing.

Brooklyn Vegan's Top 5 of 2005

My Top 5 of 2005, up to this point.

5. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

4. M. Ward - Transistor Radio

3. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

2. Cheyenne - I Am Haunted, I Am Alive

1. Spoon - Gimmie Fiction

You can buy these from Apple (except Cheyenne, which is at Insound) by following the links from "Album is the Old Ipod."

Let me know your Top 5 favorites released so far in 2005 in the comments, people.

Road Album Top 5: #1

2005-06-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan

Bruce Springsteen called the opening snare hit of "Like A Rolling Stone," the first track on Hwy 61, as a "snare shot that sounded like somebody'd kicked open the door to your mind." It's more than that. It sounds like the closing of a car door on the roadtrip of a lifetime.

As albums go, Highway 61 Revisited is one of the best ever. Rolling Stone named it #4 of all time. Of course, though, you know that an album with "Highway" in the title has the road all over it.

The beats, like on Automatic for the People are not consistently upbeat, and the subject matter isn't necessarily all about the road. Put this on in the car, however, and you'll see it's brilliance.

"If you're looking to get silly/You better go back to from where you came/'Cause the cops don't need you/And, man, they expect the same" - Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues.

There are some classics on this album: "Like a Rolling Stone," "Queen Jane Approximately," etc. The genius of Highway 61 isn't necessarily in the great songs, but in how ground breaking the album is as a whole. The single, "Rolling Stone," tops in at over 6 minutes, at a time when singles never topped 3 minutes. The lyrics are all over the place: stream-of-consciousness, expertly crafted, messy, poetic, the kitchen sink.

Buy the album. Give it a few listens. It may not hit you over the head at first, but give it time and let Bob take you on the road with him.

"But the joke was on me/There was nobody even there to bluff/
I'm going back to New York City/I do believe I've had enough"

Oh, and by the way:

"Game: Blouses"

Road Album Top 5: #2 & Road Journal

2005-06-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

Today was the marathon stretch of the 5 day road trip. So much so that I finished day five during day four.

In reality, this may have been one of the most ideal roadtrips I've ever done. Contributing factors:
1. I was in a caravan, but alone in the car. I pick all my own music, I talk on the phone when I want, but I still get face-to-face human interaction when needed.
2. Great weather. Important when your AC doesn't work.
3. One hour of sleep. Everything seems more dramatic when I'm flying on less than 3 hrs.

I'm not going to recap all the music I listened to all day (even though I could), but one cross section of my journey corresponds with my #2 All-Time Road Album: Automatic for the People - R.E.M.

I have literally listened to this album every single time I traveled up 287 from Denton to Colorado through Amarillo from my first youth group ski trip in 8th grade until now. In fact, during high school I had a rule that I would only listen to this album on the road between Colorado and Denton, and only at night. This album defines this drive for me, and by that virtue alone, it deserves high billing in the Road Album Top 5. Not to mention the fact that it's a sublime album, start to finish, and is the ultimate Night Driving album (see RAT5#4) in my book.

After only one hour of sleep, I was in the mood for introspection. I was praying, I was thinking, a CD of every song I could fit from M. Ward's Transistor and Transfiguration of Vincent had looped a second time by mile 140. The pump was primed for contemplation. Into the CD player went Automatic for the People.

"What if I ride/What if you walk/What if I drive to get off/baby" Michael Stipe muses on "Drive", song 1. Driving song, Roadtrip, Simple. I don't know if it was the sleep deprivation, but by the time "Everybody Hurts" was in full swing, I was seeing a connection between this album and the stretch of the road I was traveling, specifically, Chilicothe, TX to Quanah, TX - a mystical road. "No, no, no/You're not alone."

Mile 173.2: I pass a sign for Wisdom Rd. I passed over Wanderer's Creek three miles ago. "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" plays, and I see a sign for a landmark, "medicine Mound" - a inexplicable protruding hill, nine miles away. I held a crush's hand on the 9th grade ski trip bus, listening to this organ sing its melody. Gamble Rd. is next.

At Mile 200, "Nightswimming" reminds me of one of the last nights of the summer after high school graduation, where the moon was perfect, the weather was muggy, and we ignored all curfews and swam under the moon.

"Watch the road and memorize/This life that pass before my eyes/Nothing is going my way" Mile 205. As the final note of the final song plays, I turn my blinker on, and I pull into the McDonald's. It's 9:45am. McGriddles, check. Bathroom break #1, check.

Road Album Top 5: #3

2005-06-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Adam Carroll - Lookin' Out the Screen Door

Adam Carroll is a singer/songwriter living in San Marcos, TX. His songs are in the vein of artists like Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, and Butch Hancock. While he isn't widely known outside of Central Texas, his new album, Far Away Blues seems poised to put him on a larger stage in the next year.

Lookin' Out the Screen Door, Carroll's debut, isn't a typical road album, with road beats throughout and themes of travel or distance weaving through the album. Instead, Carroll paints pictures of characters and stories in various locations throughout Texas and Louisiana. Instead of the beat of an interstate highway, Screen Door travels on well-worn country roads, making stops at every bar and barbecue along the way, visiting themes of friendship and love, sin and redemption, and loss and regret along the road.

This is not to say that Screen Door doesn't have it's moments where the road has a front seat in a song or two. Racecar Joe follows an old racecar driver through a stream-of-consciousness jaunt through the travels of his twilight years.

There's restless dreams
There's oil fires
There's broken drill bits
And blown out tires
There's all-nude stripjoints
It's a holy road
He's seen 'em all
Racecar Joe

In Amanda's Song, Carroll muses,

I'm driving and I'm dreaming
Stopping at the same old place
Thinking 'bout the way that your dirty blonde hair
Never hides your pretty face...

See neon making magic
From the inside of a bar
See a statue of the Virgin
From the dashboard of a car

The last three songs form somewhat of a road trilogy that deserve consideration in their own right in the Road Song Pantheon. Girl With the Dirty Hair includes conversations with locals in a Galveston bar with both the stillness of a lonely bar and the beat of a pickup hitting the road.

If I had me some sense,
I'd be five years gone
Everyone I used to know
They just moved on...

I thought to myself
I'd have did it all by now
I got stuck in Galveston somehow
She's twisting and she's turning
She won't leave me alone
But the girl with the dirty hair said she'd drive me home.

The album closes with Rosemary's Song that begins and ends "On the world's last steam train/lookin' out the window/watchin' all the life go by..."

All in all, this album has been a welcome companion in times when the traveling wears thin, and I'm just ready to be home with people I know and love again.

Worst CD Purchased after age 15

2005-06-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Stereogum dared to ask the question, "What's the Worst CD You Ever Bought?" today.

It made me wonder what your worst CD purchase is.

I took one of the commenter's suggestions that there have to be ground rules:

1. You have to have actually bought the CD. You can't claim other people's bad taste as your own, you freeloader!

2. The age of consent for pop music purchases: 15. I bought some real junk in Jr. High. We all did. I want to know what you bought when you actually had your wits about you.

I'll go first. My worst CD purchase was probably "The Sign" by Ace of Base

Your turn.

Road Album Top 5: #4

2005-06-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

David Gray - White Ladder

For #4 on the all-time Road Album list, I decided to go with a proven great in an underappreciated sub-genre of Road Albums: Night Driving Albums. During the more reflective quiet of a midnight drive through nowhere, you need an album that adds to the mood. The heavy beat of the white lines turns into a soft, almost inaudible, pulse.

You know the story: In 1998, after three albums that met as much critical acclaim as commercial indifference, David Gray retreated into his home with the last of his record contract money to record what became White Ladder. The album reflects the isolation of the recording process, and on a dark night, you can let the opening beat of "Please Forgive Me" carry you to your destination. By the time the second version* of "Babylon" comes on, I'm in deep concentration.

When this album had just come out, one of my roommates and I would go drive "the Loop" around Austin(Mopac to 2222 to 360 to Bee Caves and back to Mopac) and listen to White Ladder at midnight. I have too many memories associated with this album to list.

Here's a version of "Please Forgive Me" Live in San Francisco 5/22/01.

*Usually, I find it a weak move to include two versions of the same song on an album. Wilco does it on Being There (Outta Sight/Outta Mind) and Summer Teeth (A Shot in the Arm (Alternate Take) - incorrectly labeled "In A Future Age (Alternate Take)), The Flaming Lips do it on The Soft Bulletin (Waiting for a Superman). Actually, that's a list of some pretty strong albums, though. I would have more of a problem with it on White Ladder if the rest of the album weren't so strong and "Babylon II" wasn't so much better than the first version.

Blogging on the Road

2005-06-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, I'm leaving Austin for 6 weeks for Ft. Collins, CO. Looking forward to sustained human contact again, but I'm not looking forward to a few things:

1. Altitude adjustments. Drink that Water!

2. Leaving my girlfriend in Austin, when she just moved here.

3. Four words: 800 miles, no a.c.

I tried to get the a.c. fixed on the hybrid today, and nobody would touch it. Boo.

But! I've got lots of time on the road to absorb some music (the Hold Steady, some Daniel Johnston, Death from Above 1979, etc.) and enjoy some great old favorites.

Since I'm going to be in four different places in five days, I'm going to try to blog for the next five days and list my Top 5 Road Albums. The Road Album cannot be a mix CD. The Road Album (TRA) cannot be a pre-produced compilation (like, say, American Eagle's Rockin Roadtrip Summer '03 Mix). There is a possible exception for Greatest Hits collections. TRA can however, be an album intentionally written with travel in mind, which means that it can (but doesn't have to be) named after a road (like Route 66, or something... that's foreshadowing, btw). This also means that albums including the themes of air flight or train travel or sea passage are not disqualified from this list.

That said, here's #5, from Austin, the beginning of the journey: The Joshua Tree by U2.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? This album cannot be topped in U2's discography, and with good reason. Irish boys fall in love with the American West, and write songs rich with the spirit of the desert and the pulse of the open road.

The album's opener, "Where the Streets Have no Name," opens with the Edge's infamous guitar riff that moves into the song like an oncoming car appearing out of a mirage. All of a sudden, the beat is there, and the album never lets up again. For my money, I don't know of a better starting four than Joshua Tree. "Streets Have No Name" leads off, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" on deck, "With or Without You" gets to advance a runner into scoring position, and "Bullet the Blue Sky" at cleanup. I defy you to name a better lineup on a Road Album.

...and we're only at #5!

Come on Feel the Illinoise!

2005-06-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

"Steven A. Douglas was a great debater/But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator"

I'm telling you right now, go ahead and pre-order the new Sufjan Stevens album, Illinois. You'll thank me later. It's $10 from the Asthmatic Kitty website, and they'll go ahead and ship it to you immediately, even though it won't be officially released until July 5.

Just in case you wanted a preview, "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step Mother" (follow the link to download).

Also, in NBA Finals news:

"What did the five fingers say to the face?... Slap!"

But seriously, I hate the Spurs.