Monday Music Roundup

Everyone needs a hobby.

A few of my dear readers have found purpose and meaning in facial hair and have started a blog chronicling their moustache progress from April 1 until May 5 ("growing season"), thus joining the Cinco de Moustache movement. Important topics such as "World's greatest moustaches" (yes, Tom Selleck is in there) and "Take baby pictures of your moustache" are covered. One of these guys won my Stranger Than Fiction book title competition a few months back by saying if he wrote a book of his life, it would be entitled: "Facial Failure: My Everyday Struggle to Grow a Moustache (and Sideburns) that looks neither Pervy nor Predatory." So there's a precedent here.

Good luck, men. Be strong. And may the best . . . follicles win?


Music for the growing season:

Amy (Ryan Adams cover)
Mark Ronson
I don't even know what to think of this concept album as a whole (see tracklist), but darned if I have to admit that I like this reinvention of Ryan Adams as fat-beat bossa nova soul funk from British DJ Mark Ronson. You can dance to it, and I'd never expect it to work but I think it does. Ronson says "With Version, I’ve taken these songs that I love and turned them into Motown/Stax 70’s versions. I keep the utmost respect and appreciation for the original songs I use. I’m just trying to find something in it, add something to the arrangement or change a groove. It’s not like I’m thinking it’s a shit song that I can make good, it’s more like it’s a great song and I’m now going to make it bounce.” Thanks to reader Sara for the download link.

California Saga (On My Way To Californ-i-a)
Beach Boys
With summer coming, everyone should own at least one really good collection of Beach Boys songs. You've got myriad albums and repackaged reissues to choose from - I am liking the sunburned harmonies of their newest money grab album release The Warmth Of The Sun. Out May 22 on Capitol, it's got a few "new stereo mixes," plus some songs notably featured in popular movies lately (Feel Flows from Almost Famous and Sail On, Sailor from The Departed) and lots of oldie goodies. You really can't go wrong. I loved this particular song because listening to it was like playing a game of "Have You Ever" with the Beach Boys, with all the places in CA they're asking if you've been.
I was like, "yes, yes, and yes."

Trouble
Acute
So for those paying attention at home, Los Angeles band Acute (featuring ex-members of Ozma and Poulain) just announced a string of tour dates supporting Jesse Malin. Jesse hasn't announced these dates yet, but let's just say . . . I know where I'll be on June 15. I really like the new Acute album Arms Around A Stranger (May 1, Help Records). It's produced by Dave Trumfio (Grandaddy, Wilco, My Morning Jacket) and shares some of that golden alt-pop goodness.

Destiny Calling
James
I can't believe I haven't posted this song before, but the advent of the upcoming release of Manchester band James' greatest hits double album (Fresh As A Daisy: The Singles, due next month on Universal) gives me just cause. Even though this tune originally came out in 1998 from James (think, "This bed is on fire with passion and love...") I just heard it fairly recently and it's been on one of my most-listened-to mixes in the car for months. A song about fame and being loved (and the fleeting nature of those things) set to these melodic jangly chords that I can always picture being hit with a flourish. I also love to sing the opening lines in my best Mancunian accent (that is to say, not very well).


Diamonds In The Dark
Mystery Jets
I'd read the NME yammering on about the hot UK superstars Mystery Jets for months, but didn't pay much attention until I got their new album (Zootime, on Hollywood's Dim Mak label May 8) in the mail yesterday. This is the lead-off teack and I find myself enjoying the Morrissey-esque vocals and the thrumming bass line. And then . . . I found out that the lead singer's dad is in the band. That is so oddball and rad I don't even know where to start. If I ever started a band and wanted to follow their model that means my dad could join and play trumpet -- from his days in the Army. He does a mean Taps.

Two "new" ones from Ray LaMontagne, and Jake Troth EP news

Hey kids, I am working on the Monday Music Roundup, but til then, here's some good stuff:

I reupped that new Ray LaMontagne song from the Beacon in December. Thanks to reader Eric, who was there, here is a better version than what I posted before.

You Are The Best Thing That's Ever Happened To Me - Ray LaMontagne

And while I'm at it, here's a fresh mp3 I ripped from his Austin City Limits performance of "Heaven Is A Honky Tonk," which he wrote about his personal heroes like Johnny Cash and Townes Van Zandt:

Heaven Is A Honky Tonk - Ray LaMontagne

This version above is a more sedate, refined rendition appropriate for the classiness of the ACL setting. I prefer the raucous, soul-reviving live version from January 2005, but the audio quality on that is not as clear and warm, so this makes for some good listening.

Also, an update on Jake Troth, the musician I raved about recently: his EP The Ups and Downs of Being at the Bottom is just now completed -- written, recorded, screen printed, and copied by Jake himself. They're available for a mere $10 by emailing Jake or contacting him through MySpace. Props to Bruce for also picking up on this and giving Jake's music some well-deserved love.

aaand . . . MySpace just keeps getting better

Dude, I totally think I'm gonna go for it.

Andrew Bird & Apostle of Hustle in Boulder

Jesus don't want me for a sunbeam, as the song goes, and Colorado don't want me for a juror. After lots of waiting and secretive shuffling to various rooms within the judicial complex yesterday, I was told that they wouldn't be needing me. The hardest thing I had to accomplish all day was filling out my juror questionnaire: #8 - "What kind of music do you like to listen to on the radio?" followed by a line about this long __________. Don't they realize that I would need more space than that? I think they wanted a one-word answer. I had to think long and hard on how to answer that one without letting anyone on my iPod down.

Also, I thought the juror video they made us all watch at the beginning of the day was humorously paternal: "Please do not be embarrassed or otherwise upset if you are dismissed from juror selection. This case may not be right for you, but perhaps in the future there will be a jury that is perfectly suited for you." Thanks for not hurting my feelings, jury people! I was about to cry, but now can I just have a lollipop?

Six of us packed in last night for the drive to and from Boulder to see Andrew Bird and Apostle of Hustle (I truly think the road gets longer every time, especially the dark trip home) with a tin of cookies I made during our recent snowstorm. When we arrived in Boulder, we hit up Illegal Pete's, which by itself is practically reason enough to make the drive. Mmmmmm. Then onto the sold-out show at the Fox.

Apostle of Hustle was fantastic -- really impressive, alternating parts Cuban/flamenco, Cake, and Notwist. I'd heard their name bantied about in association with Feist (contributing one of the remixes on her Open Season album) and Stars (loosely related vibe, they've also done some remixes of Stars' work) but to my distinct loss I had not previously listened to any of their own stuff. Apostle of Hustle is from Canada (frontman Andrew Whiteman, also of Broken Social Scene, was telling a story about Stephen Harper and whispered an aside to all of us in a deliberate sotto voce, as if letting us all in on a secret, "He's our prime minister...") and they're also on Arts & Crafts, which has a stellar track record of bringing me artists I like.

Their music fascinated me - rich melody and chimy harmonics, layers of creative sounds piled one atop the other, imaginative lyrics and arrangements. Their sound has been described as cinematic, Latin-tinged and "smoldering gypsy folk," but it transcended all of that into something truly original & fresh. I liked that they had two guys holding down the rhythm section - Dean Stone on traditional 4-piece drumkit and Daniel Patanemo working everything from the shakers to the congas to the cymbals and cardboard boxes. Double the rhythm, double my fun.

Lead singer/guitarist Whiteman physically evoked every note he played with a variety of squints, one-legged jumpkicks, and primal writhes, as if someone was invoking The Great Music Voodoo on him and each note brought an invisible pinprick. Visceral to watch, and highly recommended for fans of Stars (like me).

I regret that I wasn't taping the first few songs because they were heavy on the thumping beats, and I loved that, but these videos will also give you some sense of their fine abilities.
Apostle of Hustle: A Rent Boy Goes Down


Other videos I took last night:
Apostle of Hustle - Haul Away
Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel

Catch Apostle of Hustle on tour if you can (lots of dates and in-stores coming up) and be converted.

National Anthem of Nowhere - Apostle of Hustle
(from the 2007 album of the same title)

Watching Andrew Bird perform, I finally understood the title of his song A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left, as he does that a lot. He is disarming. Diminutive, stick legs, a scarf around his neck, a swath of disheveled hair. In physical appearance I find him reminiscent of the folk-poet fragility of Bob Dylan, with a voice that flat out eerily echoes Jeff Buckley. I had not realized that before in listening to his recorded work, but the way that instrument in his throat soars during concerts, it gave me goosebumps.

Discussion on the way home centered around how his music is so rich & dramatic, and quite esoteric, that one really needs to be focused to fully "get" it. It's not light pop nor hook-filled, but rather soaring and often-dissonant arias, with screaming violins competing with each other on looped audio while drums crash like waves during a storm.

Truthfully I can appreciate this astounding performance more this morning, with a few hours of sleep under my belt:
Andrew Bird, "Armchairs"


And it took about seven false starts to get the loops to "Skin Is, My" up to Andrew's exacting specifications (and this video cuts off abruptly after I was chastised by a Fox employee for filming). Pretty phenomenal, with that double-necked phonograph that would set off spinning to loan the stage an Alice-In-Wonderland feel:


A very talented man, for sure, with music that challenges in a good way. My brain felt full by the end.

Skin Is, My (live at Schuba's) - Andrew Bird

(song from 2005's The Mysterious Production of Eggs; the new Armchair Apocrypha is also out now)

Out on the porch . . . but they don't wave

I'm reporting for jury duty this morning like the good little citizen I am, and then I am off to see Andrew Bird/Apostle of Hustle in Boulder tonight (who else is in? Can I get an amen?) -- but a quick post before I go.

This little video made me cackle with laughter last night. Brilliance:



Make me fries.

-

New from Paul McCartney: "Ever Present Past"

I'm gonna warn you before you even listen to the new Paul McCartney (from his upcoming first album on the Starbucks label, as previously mentioned): It will totally and completely stick in your head.

You'll think as you listen, "Huh, self. That's catchy. Kinda synthy, kinda Wings-y, a little Devo. Plus, it's PAUL, and you get That Voice, so -- not bad." Then like an hour later you'll be doing something completely different and all of a sudden you'll want to bust out with Paul's double-negative lyrics about "I got too much on my plate, don't have no time to be a decent lover..."

Audio quality fair here, I think it's a rip of a rip.

Ever Present Past - Paul McCartney


The album Memory Almost Full is out June 5th, and will be the follow-up album to 2005's well-crafted Chaos and Creation In The Backyard, and then the classical album in 2006 that you didn't buy. It will be released first through Starbucks in the US, with distribution through Universal.

I'm still ambivalent on the Starbucks thing, and that makes me feel like an elitist but I can't help it. I heard one of Mason Jennings' best songs in Starbucks the other day while getting my toasty beverage (apparently we still need hot drinks this time of the year here, what with the spring snow shower nonsense) and I stood there vacillating between elated (because Southern Cross is a great song) and truthfully a little . . . defiant.

Photo credit Richard Haughton

Eddie Vedder @ the Kokua Festival this weekend

Eddie and Boom Gaspar played the Kokua Music Festival in Hawaii this weekend with Jack Johnson. By all accounts, it was pretty rad.

I am sitting here ripping audio from the streaming webcast up right now on the Kokua Festival MySpace: www.myspace.com/kokuafestival. Currently they are playing highlights from Saturday night on loop (and loop, and loop) -- tonight's is supposed to air live soon or so we thought. Looks like it was just Jack's set streaming from Saturday with Eddie dropping in.

It's almost as good as being there . . .


AUDIO:
Breakdown - Jack Johnson & Zach Gill from ALO
No Eddie, but I started recording because I saw the ukulele, and then it was such a truly lovely rendition that I'm sharing here

Soon Forget - Eddie Vedder & Jack Johnson
Ooh, they botch this one so bad...stopped in the middle -- then where to pick up again?

Constellations - Jack Johnson & Eddie Vedder
...with a Hawaiian guy whose name I didn't catch yet. Absolutely stunning and gorgeous with flawless harmonies. Hands down, best of the night that I heard.

I Shall Be Released (Dylan cover) - The whole gang
Grand finale. On the verses we've got Jack Johnson, Zach Gill from ALO, then Eddie taking the last verse. Boom Gaspar and Zach are on keys and various other dudes on percussion, etc (couldn't tell from the video, sorry!)

SATURDAY setlist (Ed & Boom)
Throw Your Arms Around Me (!!!!!!!!!!!)
Don't Be Shy
No More War (new, Ed said he wrote it 3 days ago)
Indifference
I Am Mine (!!)
Betterman/People Have the Power tag
Jack Johnson came out here but the person isn't sure of the song
Corduroy w/Jack Johnson
Elderly Woman w/Jack Johnson
So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star

As linked above, Eddie joined Jack Johnson for:
Soon Forget
Constellations (with Hawaiian guy, I'll get his name!)
I Shall Be Released

New song from Eddie on Saturday night, "No More War":


No More War - Eddie Vedder

SUNDAY setlist (Eddie & Boom)
Hide Your Love Away (started twice for some reason)
Driftin (Oops - Ed screwed this up, started sucking/blowing on the microphone instead of the harmonica)
I Am Mine
No More (the new song, this time with a full band)
Throw Your Hatred Down (full band)
Wasted Reprise
Hawaii 78 (full band)
Betterman (full band, riff on the Ramones "i wanna be your boyfriend" -- Hey mother earth, i wanna be your boyfriend)
Warch Outside (with full band, jack johnson on bass)
Corduroy (full band with jack johnson on bass)
Elderly Woman (full band, jack johnson on bass and dueling vocals)
Indifference (full band)

note from the poster: "2 things to keep in mind. this is all from memory, so the order may be wrong or i may have missed a song. and when i say full band i obviously don't mean pearl jam, i mean the guys he played with last night."


A few good articles from the weekend:

Interview with Eddie in the Honolulu Advertiser: Vedder rocking in a magical place

Star Bulletin feature on native Hawaiian Boom Gaspar: Way to go Boom! Local guy plays with Eddie Vedder at Kokua Festival

Bonus re-up: Remember last time PJ was in Hawaii?



Hey, guess where I got that picture from? Yeah, that's right: Getty Images. There's several good shots from last night up there now.

I'm (finally) gonna see Mason Jennings

Hip hip hooray for little birdies who let me know when good tours are coming my way. I somehow completely missed new June tour dates from acoustic rock/folk-with-a-beat singer Mason Jennings:

April 22 Latchis Theater - Brattleboro, VT (solo acoustic)
June 1 Fox Theatre - Boulder, CO
June 2 In The Venue - Salt Lake City, UT
June 4 Neumo's - Seattle, WA
June 5 Aladdin Theatre - Portland, OR
June 7 Bimbo's - San Francisco, CA
June 8 The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA
June 9 Malibu Inn - Malibu, CA
June 10 House of Blues - San Diego, CA
June 12 Rialto Theatre - Tucson, AZ
June 13 Sante Fe Brewing Co. - Sante Fe, NM
June 15 House of Blues - Dallas, TX
June 16 Antone's - Austin, TX

Butterfly - Mason Jennings

Southern Cross - Mason Jennings

Photo credit Cameron Wittig

The Shins rove the streets of Paris

La Blogotheque has one of the coolest concepts of capturing live music out there, alongside Daytrotter. Both are run by independent music lovers who entice fantastic bands to perform exclusively for them in a natural setting for the enjoyment of their readers via the magic of the internet.

They coax these intimate and laid-back performances from a range of folks, and then share the resulting songs with us. I could not help but smile for this whole bouncy, swirling, impressionistic serenade from The Shins as they walked the streets of the Montmartre district of Paris with their acoustic guitars, like the best kind of strolling troubadours. Sheer brilliance.


#44 - THE SHINS - PART1
Uploaded by lablogotheque

And the audio rip:
Gone For Good (Montmartre acoustic street version) - The Shins

The impressive potential of Jake Troth

One of my trusted musical savant pals recommended I take a listen to this San Francisco Bay Area artist he recently saw at an open mic. After taking a few spins, I have fallen for his music too, in a big way. It's got tones of My Morning Jacket vocals, resonant piano chords, and raw doo-wop harmonizing of the 1950s. All this from a kid of nineteen, recorded at home.

Jake Troth is a North Carolina native, currently passing time in the Bay Area before heading out here to Colorado for college. The Ups and Downs of Being At The Bottom is his first EP, and he's putting the final touches on it for a spring/summer release. My friend pointed out the semblance to some of the simpler tunes of Coldplay, but noted that "they don't sound like that anymore so it's good someone is filling the shoes." Personally, I find this stuff more compelling than Chris Martin and Co. in its unassuming purity, although I hear the similarities too.

Gram LeBron of Rogue Wave also helps out with two songs on this EP -- the title track (stream on MySpace), and a lovely tune about songwriting and slick grey streets called "Oakland On A Rainy Day". I would posit that there are far too few songs about San Francisco's lesser known cousin to the East, and Jake's tune is a killer offering.

Check out these tracks like whoa:

Hold You Tight - Jake Troth
The best Under The Sea school-dance music from the '50s sockhop that I never went to. I love how the acapella harmonies are raw and echoey, not glossy, the lyrics endearing. This is one of my favorite songs I've heard in the last few months. Hot dang it's good.

Caroline - Jake Troth
A small, perfect, piano tune about driving out to California, leaving Caroline far behind -- and I just don't want to stop listening to it.
It ends, I restart it.

Make your ears thrilled and head over to his MySpace to check out more of his work (I love all three songs he currently has up, definitely download "Not Enough"). The EP The Ups and Downs of Being at the Bottom is now completed, written, recorded, screen printed, and copied by Jake himself. They're available for a mere $10 by emailing Jake or contacting him through MySpace. I hope Jake keeps doing what he is doing, 'cos this is good stuff with loads of talent and potential.

Just a little more of me

I am busy all over the place lately. Two other places I've contributed to recently, for those who are following along at home:

۞ The newest Contrast Podcast radio show, regal subject matter Kings & Queens. Someone needed to represent the choice I picked.

۞ And I finally got my act together and posted a little something to the blog all about those songs on TV that catch your ear: The Commercial Music Blog. I watch so little TV (and even fewer commercials: thanks TiVo!) that it's almost comical that I'm even on the contributor board for that blog, but I finally saw something I wanted to post about. Check it out. And don't even try to say that it doesn't make you laugh too.

Radio rip of "New Monkey," another new track from Elliott Smith

My other Elliott Smith post recently was the actual album mp3 of "High Times" from New Moon, out May 8. I've also just come across this radio rip of one more song from the album, a demo from the Either/Or sessions called "New Monkey."

Because it's a rip of streaming audio, it is lower quality sound-wise (so wait for the album to fully enjoy!), but what a great track. We sometimes forget that Elliott knew how to bring some of that rock too. Plus he actually sings the lyrics here, "He's busy shaking hands with my monkey."

New Monkey (radio rip) - Elliott Smith

Friends, lovers, and bread.

I literally woke up with this Josh Rouse cover in my head this morning, and laid there barely half-awake with the sun streaming in between that crack in the blinds, these crystalline opening notes running on repeat. It really is a sunrise kind of song. So I decided to temporarily preempt what I was going to post in favor of this cover-licious compilation.

What would possess a bunch of modern-day indie rockers to contribute to a cover album of '70s AM-radio deluxxe group Bread? All of their stuff forever sounds like it should be listened to on a big 'ole 12" vinyl LP whilst wearing platform espadrilles and a loudly patterned shirt. Or maybe just nothing at all. But if you can get past the overarching soft-rockness, the harmonies are tasty, the music has definitely affected the generation of fine music that I like now, and there is a laid-back goodness oozing all over this stuff.

Josh Rouse's lovely cover is pretty much note-for-note faithful of this ridiculously sad-sap, "please walk all over me because I love you, you goddess" song, but it absolutely works with his striking tenor, and is nice to wake up to on brain radio:

It Don't Matter To Me (Bread cover) - Josh Rouse

It Don't Matter To Me - Bread
(add that to the list of worst band names to Google, along with Cake and Live)

Friends and Lovers: The Songs of Bread was released in 2005 (actually, two years ago to the day as luck would have it) and in addition to Rouse also features Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of The Posies, Cake, Erlend Oye (of Kings of Convenience), Oranger, Rachel Goswell (of Mojave 3), and Bart Davenport (of Honeycut).

Friends and Lovers (Bread cover) - Erlend Oye

Man alive, listening to this stuff --the originals and these covers-- makes me feel like an 8-year-old again, riding my bike really fast, or sitting on the cracked tan vinyl backseat of my dad's dusty green Datsun with the radio on. You don't realize how much Bread you've probably passively absorbed in your childhood. Rhino Records recently released a Best Of Bread album as well, if you just can't get enough.

And if you're still too insecure to fully bask in side of your brain that wants to love Bread, let John McCrea of Cake excoriate you as he defends their cover of "Guitar Man":

"Yeah, why make fun of a well-written song unless you're an insecure person that needs to use music almost like insecure middle-age people use fine wine," he said. "You're using music as a badge. And simultaneously I think what you do is drain the actual joy out of it, and it becomes somewhat of a calcified exoskeleton of your pathetic and, I guess, not fully defined ego."
- John McCrea, Cake


So there.

.

Damnwells do damn well

From their MySpace blog:

Monday, April 16, 2007

2007 Phoenix Film Festival. Best Documentary: Golden Days.
We won.
Fuck yeah.


Congrats, guys!

"High Times" :: First studio track from new Elliott Smith double album

"I kept recording more songs with no regard whether or not they were gonna be on anything. That’s what I’m used to doing, recording all the time and not going, ‘What should I record for this record?’ Usually it’s put out whatever happened in the last six months. With this, I had way too many songs and no mechanism for picking between them."
–Elliott Smith, Tape Op Magazine, 1996, on finishing Either/Or

On May 8th the Kill Rock Stars label will release New Moon, a double disc of mostly unreleased songs which melancholy, beautiful singer-songwriter Elliott Smith recorded between 1994-1997. Only three of these songs have been released before (all on compilations), and while live versions exist of many of these songs, Smith fans welcome the opportunity to enjoy these mastered studio recordings.

DOWNLOAD HERE: High Times (mp3, New Moon version)

A breakdown of which tracks appear on the album (and where they've shown up before) can be found here. A chunk of change from the album sales will go to Outside In, a Portland-based social service organization serving homeless youth and low-income adults.

More info on this album from IODA

Monday Music Roundup

You may have read about the ooooh-ahhhh coolness of the new iConcertCal plugin you can download for iTunes which will automatically cull all the upcoming concert dates for whatever city you type in, based on who is in your iTunes library. What I didn't know until yesterday is that it is now available for Windows users as well as Mac.

I did actually find myself ooohing and ahhhing when I loaded it -- very cool & helpful and now all of us Windows Luddites can join in on the fun. Plus, it's good for travelling (as I am doing to San Diego next month for my brother's graduation -- I gotta take that kid out and now I have some ideas of where to whisk him).

Here are some new tunes to feed your ears this week.

Look At You Now
Golden Smog
When does a side project become a "real" band? I love side projects for the freewheeling ways that they let the collaborating musicians explore common ground with no long-term commitment -- they're doing it because they want to. Blood On The Slacks (har har) is the second release in less than a year from Golden Smog (a supergroup comprised at times with members of The Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, Run Westy Run and Wilco -- although this release is Tweedy-less), and it's out April 24 on Lost Highway. There are several great tracks among the 8, including the blush-inducing falsetto ballad "Scotch On Ice" about a bendy and compliant sex partner, and the fuzzy & bright "Can't Even Tie Your Own Shoes." This particular cut is more '60s harmonies and pop-influenced than some of the other more alt-country/rock pieces on the EP -- a great summer song.

Os Novos Yorkinos
Bebel Gilberto
Daughter of legendary bossa nova musician João Gilberto and Brazilian jazz singer Miúcha, Bebel Gilberto has a solid gold pedigree in making music. Momento is her third solo album, a deliciously global and seductive collection of earthy rhythms influenced by her native Brazil and recorded in London, Rio de Janiero, and New York. This track jumped out at me for the acoustic guitar and handclaps+congas foundation mixed with her slyly knowing voice. This song (and the whole album, really) deserves to be liberally splashed throughout all of your summer mixtapes this year - delightful and warm.

Are You Prepared
The Concretes
A charmingly retro-sounding closer to the new Hey Trouble album from Sweden's The Concretes, illustrating the unvarnished '60s girl-group undertones layered with synthy-Scandinavian pop and tambourines. The aforementioned "trouble" refers to the tumultuous year they've had with the loss of lead singer Victoria Bergsman (who is busy whistling and singing about not caring about the young folks lately) and their decision to carry on as a band without her. Her voice is certainly missed on this album, but it's a new era for The Concretes with a new sound that's growing on me. Hey Trouble is out now physically in Scandinavia and digitally elsewhere.

White Headphones
The Mother Hips
I posted a bit from Jackie Greene last week where he mentioned the new Mother Hips album. It sparked something in my memory and I delved into the immense & growing pile of promo CDs sitting on my stereo cabinet, and eureka! there it was. Kiss the Crystal Flake has an odd egg/ocean-themed cover and a psychedelic title, but it's got some good stuff within. I've never seen the Mother Hips live, as everyone says I must, but I very much liked the '70s-Stones swagger of this track, which also features Mr. Greene on piano. It also definitely recalls the opening of the Beck track "Strange Apparition" for me, which in turn also reminds me of the Stones too. All that to say - it's good. Check it out.

Don't Give Up
The Noisettes
Pardon me while I sexually harrass another female. This album from The Noisettes is one, if you get it, that you should buy the actual album. The front cover is the trio busting out of some sort of carnival-mouth thingie. The back cover is a rear view of their exodus, and the central focus is pretty much lead singer Shingai Shoniwa's exceedingly lovely bottom in magenta spandex. I mean come on, you can't help but check that thing out. The Zimbabwean/Londoner yowls on this track with a take-no-prisoners snarl that belongs in the halls of the baddest female punk rockers. I feel fierce just listening to her verbal assault in front of a wall of thick guitar that Brian Setzer would approve of, and unrelenting punk drums. This is fun stuff (even if I think noisette is French for . . . hazelnut?). What's The Time Mr. Wolf (??) is out tomorrow in the US on Universal/Motown.
*

Vedder surprise solo set at The Croc last night

Ed Vedder (didn't play - see note) a small surprise solo set last night at The Crocodile Cafe in Seattle. I ate breakfast there the last time I was in Seattle (mostly I was being a musical stalker, but in my defense I was also hungry and they make really good omelettes).

Some interesting cover choices, especially the Nick Cave one (which they've not previously done that I am aware of) and the awesome "Don't Wanna Grow Up." I can't wait to hear this boot --surely someone was taping it?

AMENDED: Someone with too much time on their hands seems to have made up this appearance, but I am leaving up the good mp3s and we can all close our eyes and pretend it happened anyway.


SETLIST
Happy Birthday (to guitarist Mike McCready's new baby girl)
I Don't Wanna Grow Up (Tom Waits/Ramones cover)
You're True
Can't Keep
cover/improv/new song?
Gone
Hide Your Love Away (Beatles cover)
cover/improv/new song? (tag: Modern Girl/Sleater-Kinney)
Porch
Where The Wild Roses Grow (Nick Cave cover, duet with unknown female singer)


BONUS EAR CANDY
Here are some other live versions of a few of these great songs; this mp3 of "You're True" is one of my very favorite PJ boot songs ever:

You're True - Ed Vedder solo 2/26/02 @ Wiltern
Can't Keep - Ed Vedder solo 2/26/02 @ Wiltern
Gone - Pearl Jam @ 10/22/06 Bridge School
Modern Girl - Pearl Jam 9/20/06
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - Ed Vedder solo 2005 Tsunami Benefit @ Wiltern
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I belong with the salt and the sea and the stones...save them all for me

Last weekend I was very pleased with myself that I managed to be on time to a concert (for once) and catch the very first opening band because it was Gregory Alan Isakov -- and he turned out to be the best of the three acts that night.

Originally from South Africa, raised in Philadelphia (and he did a hometown taping there Tuesday night for the World Cafe on NPR), and now living in Colorado, Gregory nonetheless transcends geographical boundaries with this tune that he calls "a love song to the Pacific Ocean." It's unassuming and wonderful -- a shuffling jazzy beat, bold bass line, effervescent strumming . . . I close my eyes and I can literally almost see the ocean lapping at my toes when I hear this. Being the Pacific, the water's cold, as usual.

Salt And The Sea - Gregory Alan Isakov & The Freight

This is from his 2007 EP, self-titled. Another version of it was also on his 2005 EP Songs For October. Gregory has several record release concerts coming up in June for his new album, including ones in Denver, SF, Portland, and the lovely North Bay town of Sausalito in California. He's one of those singer-songwriter types, yeah, but his lyrics are noteworthy in their warmth and richly sweeping scope, with tones of dusky-twilight Americana like Jeffrey Foucault or Josh Ritter (although on this tune he kinda pulls a fantastic Sinatra).

New tour dates with The Damnwells

I am half-wishing I had a reason to be in Phoenix tonight for the premiere of The Damnwells new movie Golden Days, and also for their late night concert which is buzzed to be an hours-long, energetic affair in the works.

They've announced a string of tour dates (hurrah!), but not in Colorado yet (boo). We've established my budding love for them and I can't wait to catch them live . . . someday.

May 10 - The Triple Door, Seattle, WA
May 11 - Berbatis Pan, Portland, OR
May 14 - Troubador, Los Angeles, CA
May 15 - The Casbah, San Diego, CA
May 16 - Plush, Tucson, AZ
May 18 - The Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
May 19 - The Parish, Austin, TX
May 22 - WorkPlay, Birmingham, AL
May 23 - Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN
May 24 - Smiths Olde Bar, Atlanta, GA
May 25 - The Map Room, Charleston, SC
May 26 - Tremont Music Hall, Charlotte, NC
May 27 - Outer Banks Brewing Station, Kill Devil Hills, NC
May 29 - The Jewish Mother, Virginia Beach, VA
May 30 - The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
May 31 - Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY
Jun 01 - Middle East (Downstairs), Cambridge, MA
Jun 02 - Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA
Jun 03 - Tin Angel, Philadelphia, PA
Jun 05 - Rex Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
Jun 06 - House of Blues - Cambridge Room, Cleveland, OH
Jun 08 - Phoenix Hill Tavern, Louisville, KY
Jun 09 - Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL

MUST LISTEN:
I Am A Leaver (alternate stripped version) - The Damnwells
This will absolutely give you chills at the 1:42 mark...

Dance-tastic new video from Feist: "1234"

Okay, Feist is just wonderful in my book. A little crazy methinks, but in a creative and adventurous way. She carries the mantle now of making these surreal videos where everyone starts dancing in unison, this fantastic dream life, kind of the antithesis of Britney. You can watch everyone twirl in unison and not feel guilty.

Towards the end when everyone is crouched down swirling around her, it's like you've got a tiny Feist in the washing machine. And incidentally, where does one get a suit like that? I can't tell if it's vinyl or sparkles or both.

"1234" is off her addictively engaging The Reminder, out May 1 in the US, and the previous Monday (April 23) in Europe.

New video from Jackie Greene: I'm So Gone

As if Sacramento blues-rocker wunderkind Jackie Greene didn't already remind me enough of Bob Dylan, this rapidfire montage video makes me half expect him to start tossing hand-lettered signs off to the side with each lyric. Nonetheless I like this new film clip a lot, seemingly part of a campaign to drum up some deserved attention for his 2006 album American Myth, which I really like.

Jackie sounds a little glum:

"I am either up really early, or really late. Honestly I can't tell. Strange things are happening in my world, some of them not so wonderful, and some of them extremely exciting. I'm sure we all feel that way at times. Like we don't know if we're walking into a trap, or a surpirse party. It's an odd feeling...

Last night (or tonight) I played with one of my favorite bands, The Mother Hips, here in San Francisco. They have a brand new record out called Kiss The Crystal Flake which is available now. It's a fantastic record, one of their finest. To really experience the Hips, you must see them live.

We have a nice string of shows coming up that I hope folks will be good enough to show up to. I want to start performing some of the new songs that will hopefully wind up on our next release. Which by the way, will probably not be out for a long time. As impatient as I am, and it drives me fucking mad, it's probably a good thing. American Myth has only been out for about 10 months now. Sadly, it's pretty much dead. It's difficult to realize that a record that I cared so much about gets so little attention, but I guess that's the way it goes. Moving forward is the only motion that counts, I guess.

Tim Bluhm and I have been working on our Skinny Singers record. It's coming along nicely and we hope you'll enjoy it when it becomes available. The songs are different...quirky, sparse. Bluesy, funky. Two skinny dudes singing their skinny asses off...something like that."

I almost want to say something like, "Buck up, camper" and give him a gentle punch on the shoulder. He's got talent, and there are still those of us out here who appreciate that greatly. This video I shot of him performing last August (in a steaming ten-thousand degree club) is still one of the best live shots I've captured in recent memory - just full of life and a great, great song.

Something old = something new from Nada Surf

Those guys on the very high lifeguard chairs are Brooklyn alternative-rock trio Nada Surf, and they may be up there talking about how they're fixin' to re-release their 1996 five song EP Karmic, from their days before signing with Elektra. Out June 12 on Hi-Speed Soul Records, the EP will also include a bonus track, "Pressure Free," previously only available on 7".

From the press release, "Nada Surf has managed to survive the wonder of their one big hit [Popular], build an estimable army of loyal fans around the world, and thrive through the commitment to the craft of making pop music that's indelible, warm, and uniquely their own." Amen, I second that sentence. Nada Surf is currently in the studio working in their 5th full-length album out this fall.

Pressure Free - Nada Surf

Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip? Disregard that perplexing band name, watch this fantastic video

I found this to be immensely entertaining this morning over on Bruce's site. I'm glad I clicked "play" on the video (which, at first, I thought was a video of Fidel Castro rapping, but sounds like The Streets with some even-more-clever lyrics). Read the full lyrics and download the mp3 on Some Velvet Blog.



MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lesacvspip

Jason Schwartzman goes coconuts

I don't know Jason Schwartzman.

I only really "know" him as a string of quirky character roles in his various movies. So maybe it's logical as I spin his throughly likeable new musical effort under the name Coconut Records that my always-visual mind pictures a parade of those guys performing these songs. Whether it's a fleeting image of King Louis XVI (Marie Antoinette) sensitively strumming the guitar and pining away on "Summer Day," or Max Fischer (Rushmore) jerkily dancing along to the irresistible title track, this is an album that's just as off-kilter yet pleasingly authentic as the variety of movie roles he chooses.

Nighttiming (Young Baby Records, 2007) is eclectic and enjoyable, with a sound that reminds me of Pavement, The Format, Modest Mouse, and a dash of new-wave goodtimes.

Schwartzman blends some of the jangly California indie-pop of his previous work with Phantom Planet with his experience in composing film scores -- I found surprising aural creativity throughout.

It was just released digitally, and will be out in proper CD form this summer. Highly recommended.

Back To You - Coconut Records
Easy Girl - Coconut Records

'Cause we could be happy can't you see

We plunked down recently with some popcorn (we really wanted pizza but IT WAS SNOWING) and the DVD of That Thing You Do, Tom Hanks' paean to the starry-eyed musical hit machine of the 1960s and one likeable group's rollercoaster rise to stardom.

Mostly I thought to pick it up again because of the Scripture-quoting Chris Isaak cameo (blink and you miss it, but it always makes me smile) and the toe-tapping bubblegum tunes, but doing what I do now (for sport, this blogging business) I have to admit that I found the whole plotline about how the music industry "used to" work to be very interesting. Sure, all those staid mechanisms are still in place, grinding along, but I was excited by all the avenues that exist for new music today. You no longer have to sign with a big glittery major label to have your work heard, or sit and hope that a major radio show plays your stuff as they did in this film (although they were pretty proactive in making their own records). I know the movie is all fictional, but I think about these things.

Anyway, I've always considered the title song "That Thing You Do" to be a bit of a guilty pleasure, although pleasurable as all-get-out to drum along to with all the rat-tat-tat beats and sugar-sweet harmonies. Therefore I was thrilled to see that it was actually penned (along with two other songs from the movie) by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger. Now I can feel just a bit better about its lineage -- even though most of the other soundtrack songs were written by Tom Hanks. Really? He must be a serious music geek, there were definitely elements of that uberfandom in the film, like with Guy's geek dream jam session with fictional jazz musician Del Paxton. You couldn't help but feel all happy inside with that scene, and ponder who you would want to stumble upon your noodling in the studio and sit in to lay down some tape with you.

It's been so long since I've seen this movie (last time I watched it I believe I still had a serious crush on Johnathan Schaech from his role --and that orchard scene, I think-- in How To Make An American Quilt) so I forgot that it boasts one of the best movie pickup lines that you can watch in front of your grandma, penned in great quotable sense of old black and white movies:

"When was the last time you were decently kissed? I mean truly, truly good and kissed?" It makes women of all ages swoon, in very PG way.

Enjoy these tunes from the manufactured imaginary world of girl groups and doo-wop quartets of yesteryear in the soundtrack.

Voyage Around The Moon - The Saturn 5
(I thought for sure Chris Isaak was playing on this jangly surf delight. I was wrong)

Shrimp Shack - Cap'n Geech And The Shrimp Shack Shooters
("Good news guys. You get to keep the clothes.")

She Knows It - The Heardsmen

That Thing You Do - The Wonders

CONCERT ALERT (for my Colorado brethren):
Rocky Votolato at the Black Sheep tonight! Recommended artist, I'll be there. Oakland, CA's Street To Nowhere opens.

Monday Music Roundup

One of the big important early steps in starting a band is that all-important decision of what to call yourselves. Has to be something that will entice people to take a listen, but with just the right edge to it. If there is some hip in-joke connotation that could work too.

So here's your first stop: the massive Wikipedia page devoted to Fictional Band Names in popular culture. From Hey That's My Bike to Sonic Death Monkey to yes, even Fingerbang, they're all here, waiting to be loved, discussed and revived. I found it immensely amusing.

Here's what I am listening to this week:

Wasted
Brandi Carlile
The new sophomore full-length album from Brandi Carlile is out now on Columbia, and I like the direction she is heading. Her work with T Bone Burnett (Counting Crows, Roy Orbison, Gillian Welch) is so flawlessly treated that I can almost forgive him for his cut-of-meat moniker. The Story was recorded live, directly to 2" tape in eleven days, and possesses a very immediate, raw, timeless, soulful quality - four words that pretty much sum up Brandi for me. This song is completely charming from the opening notes, and finds a nice experiment with piano, which I always love. ALSO: Obligatory Pearl Jam connection, if you can believe it -- drummer for this album is Matt Chamberlain, early drummer for Pearl Jam, appears in the video for Alive. I was thrilled to hear that. Although Ten this ain't, she does bring the rock on tunes like the wailing-howl of a title track.

Frontin'
The Neptunes (Pharrell feat. Jay-Z)
You think you love your Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z for gettin' your party on, but also laughed at Jamie Cullum's frank and swingin' treatment of this tune from Pharrell and Co. -- then you need the original. I'd been meaning to seek this one out and finally did, off 2003's The Neptunes Present . . . Clones. I'm reminded of how great the synthy, sexy, throwback sound of this hit single from Summer '03 is, and I'm a step ahead because I already know all the lyrics thanks to Jamie. Well, except for maybe the bridge: "...like you were just another shorty I put the naughty on." I'm workin' on it.


Someday Soon
Gin Blossoms
My recent mention of the Empire Records movie (another one I know all too well, as in whole segments of dialogue, front-to-back) reminded me of the lead-off track from the fab soundtrack with the Gin Blossoms. Did you even catch that those guys released a new album last year after ten years? Called Major Lodge Victory, it sounds exactly like, well, circa-1995 Gin Blossoms. But they picked one sound and do it well, and I am finding myself loving this song for driving and harmonizing along. It's got great "whoooooooos," soaring guitar bits, and even a litle foray into the Cher-tastic world of Vocoder effects.

Fly Paper
k-os
This is my second mention of Trinidad-Canadian artist k-os ("chaos"), but I just got the full album Atlantis: Hymns for Disco (which is finally available stateside) and the eclectic blend of old-school beats, fresh hip hop, authentic island vibes is making it one hell of a party album that you really can't sit still for. It's thoroughly enjoyable all the way through. The only weakness is some fairly simplistic aphorisms-masquerading-as-lyrics ("I'm caught between a rock and a hard place" / "If it ain't broken, don't fix it"), but I'm definitively not in it for the lyrics. As the song begins, the voice of an old-time radio announcer inquires, "Feeling stuck? Self-loathing? Shoegazing? - Try new supersonic Fly Paper . . .it's catchy!" And indeed, this could be the perfect cure for the common indie kid feeling too mopey to shake it.

Free Love Freeway
David Brent/Ricky Gervais with Noel Gallagher
I was reminded of this little smarmy gem from a recent gorge on British Office courtesy of the library DVD I snagged. I was watching Season One (and I know this is anathema, but not feelin' it as much as the American version, probably because the British version just lacks Jim Halpert. And Dwight. And Michael.) and this is a classic from the most painful staff meeting you never had to attend. Dig the priceless lyrics like "Free love on the freelove freeway, the love is free and the freeway's long. I got some hot love on the hot love highway . . ." Now, exactly how Noel Gallagher got involved in the studio version of this is an enigma to me, but this pokes some mighty good fun at bad music.

Hear the bells ringing / They're singing

Easter is not Easter for me without hearing this song.

When I was a kid, every single Easter without fail, my parents would cue up the record player, lower the needle, and Easter would begin. Objectively speaking, it's a live performance of a hippie Christian tune (and quite celebratory; always makes me feel happy inside) but for me it's also one of those tunes that I have no objectivity in listening to anymore because of all the memories wrapped up in 3 minutes.

The Easter Song - 2nd Chapter Of Acts

My Easter eggs hidden throughout the house would always be half pink/half purple; my older sister would get pink/yellow, and my brother blue/green. It was the exact same every year as we embarked on our sugar-high quest and gnawed the ears off our chocolate bunnies.

Sugar High - Coyote Shivers (Empire Records soundtrack)

And as for the winning album cover art that goes with that first tune, check this out.

Wait for it, waaaaaaait....

I think that guy almost belongs photoshopped into this post.

We were dead before the ship even sank, but goshdarnit we were winners

Here are the five randomly selected victors of the recent Fuel contest to win the new dramatically-titled Modest Mouse album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. I'll never let go, Jack.

MODEST MOUSE CD WINNERS

Mitch, who said...
Have to go with 3rd Planet - shaken foundations, false gods, all the great things that make us one messed up species of primate! The whole album is brilliant though (you know that already, I bet) with thrown away thoughts and phrases reappearing as themes in other songs...

Kevin Dean, who said...
'Tis a difficult task to pick a favorite MM song. I almost had a brain aneurysm. After a long scientific test i have concluded that
The Devil's Workday from Good News .... is my favorite. It's almost an homage to Tom Waits with its weirdo rhythyms and vocal stylings. The lyrics border on psychotic. A few years ago I was working part-time in a kitchen. All of the weirdos in the kitchen loved said song. Most would probably find the track to be a throwaway from that album, but it really has stuck with me. After that i'd pick the lovely, simple "Gravity Rides Everything".

MattC, who said...
I would have said 3rd Planet without even having to think before I heard the song Florida off of this latest album. Great song for the car, as the weather is warming up.

Dirt - LPBME, who said...
How about a cover...South of Heaven. Seems the boys are fans of Slayer and had to do a cover of their most "friendly song". I certainly appreciate this cover as a look back at where we came from.

pen cap, who said...
Medication off of an old 7" but later on Building Something Out of Nothing. Isaac is great at the quiet-to-loud and slow-to-fast thing, but on this song his style fits the narrative better than on most MM songs. It actually sounds and feels like hope breaking through the anti-depressants. The jangly hopeful ear-candy part of the song is wedged between the low-key and surprinsingly intimate (medicated) lines. They've got songs that kick more ass, but this one does more than just sound good.

************************************************
If all the winners could please email me your mailing address, we'll get those shipped. There were a total of thirty-something v.g. recommendations running the whole gamut. Here is what I am adding to my new "Readers' Favorite Modest Mouse" playlist on my iPod, you may create the same and we can blissfully bob our heads in unison:

3rd Planet
Dark Center of the Universe
Float On
Trucker's Atlas
Worms vs. Birds
So Much Beauty in Dirt
Shit Luck
The Devil's Workday
Florida
The World At Large
Black Cadillacs
The View
Ocean Breathes Salty
Blame It On The Tetons
Never Ending Math Equation
South of Heaven
Doin' The Cockroach
Dashboard
Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset
Parting of the Sensory
Cowboy Dan
Whenever You See Fit
Bukowski
Missed The Boat
Stars Are Projectors
Dramamine
Out of Gas
Baby Blue Sedan
Workin' On Leavin' the Livin'
Medication

To read the impassioned commentary on why these favorites were selected, see the comments to the original post. Good work, kids.

Photo credit