Another contest: Win Ryan Adams' new EP
Never one to let the dust settle under his boots, Ryan Adams' newest release with The Cardinals is coming on October 23.The Follow The Lights EP (Lost Highway) will offer a brand new tune, an official studio version of his Willie-Nelson-loaned "Blue Hotel" (LOVE that song), and a couple older songs re-recorded & an Alice in Chains cover. Tasty.
Follow The Lights EP tracklist
1. Follow The Lights (new song)
2. My Love For You Is Real (older song, never released)
3. Blue Hotel (first official Ryan release, recorded live in studio)
4. Dear John (from JCN, new version live in studio)
5. This Is It (Cardinals version, live in studio - originally on RnR)
6. Down In A Hole (Alice In Chains cover, live in studio)
7. If I Am A Stranger (originally on Cold Roses, live in studio)
Forget girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, EPs really are one of my favorite things. I love how the best ones possess that perfectly digestible sense of flow and pull throughout the six or seven songs. Like one of those mini-desserts in a shot glass, or tapas.
To win the new Ryan EP, let's talk in the comments what your favorite EP is and why you love it. Make sure I have a way to contact you (and you may want to spell out the email addy -- not sure if that fools the spambots, but it's worth a try), and the contest will go until Tuesday, so the winners might even get the EP before the street date? We'll see.
TWO winners will be chosen; I haven't yet decided whether to pick winners on merit or randomly. But you can't win unless you enter, so DO IT.
RYAN ADAMS TOUR DATES
Oct 13 – North Charleston, SC – N. Charleston Perf. Arts Ctr
Oct 14 – Atlanta GA – Fox Theater
Oct 15 – Birmingham AL – Alabama Theatre
Oct 17 – Mobile AL – Saenger Theatre
Oct 18 – Houston TX – Verizon Wireless Theatre
Oct 19 – Dallas TX – McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
Oct 21 – Tulsa OK – Cain’s Ballroom
Oct 23 – Nashville TN – War Memorial Auditorium
Oct 24 – Indianapolis IN – Murat Theater
Oct 25 – Columbus OH – Lifestyles Community Pavilion
Oct 27 – Lakewood OH – Lakewood Civic Auditorium
Oct 29 – Pittsburgh PA – Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland
Oct 30 – Washington DC – D.A.R. Constitution Hall
Oct 31 – New York NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
Oct 13 – North Charleston, SC – N. Charleston Perf. Arts Ctr
Oct 14 – Atlanta GA – Fox Theater
Oct 15 – Birmingham AL – Alabama Theatre
Oct 17 – Mobile AL – Saenger Theatre
Oct 18 – Houston TX – Verizon Wireless Theatre
Oct 19 – Dallas TX – McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
Oct 21 – Tulsa OK – Cain’s Ballroom
Oct 23 – Nashville TN – War Memorial Auditorium
Oct 24 – Indianapolis IN – Murat Theater
Oct 25 – Columbus OH – Lifestyles Community Pavilion
Oct 27 – Lakewood OH – Lakewood Civic Auditorium
Oct 29 – Pittsburgh PA – Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland
Oct 30 – Washington DC – D.A.R. Constitution Hall
Oct 31 – New York NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
Labels: contests, ryan adams
posted by heather @ 10:36 AM
91 comments
91 Comments:
I'll cheat and take the Bishop Allen ep project. I especially love February, March and May. Breezy, fun indie pop music. Somehow, the EP songs that made to the album seem like they lost a little of the carefree spirit when they got into the studio (though I still like the album).
But I love Ryan and would very much appreciate the new ep.
Really love Beirut's Lon Gisland EP
chicago in fashion at g mail dot com
10:47 here, my email is sethkjolly at g mail dot com
Casados - Passages EP
Indie folk/pop from Champaign, Il. This is the first time I've ever been thanked in the liner notes.
chaseabner at hotmail dot com
Hem-I'm talking with my mouth. organic dreamy, deconstructed covers like Cash's "Jackson" and a chest-carving Springsteen cover.
bendamayer at gmail dot com
My favorite EP has to be the Rosewood Thieves' From the Decker House. Simply brilliant and I love every song on it. Even the three bonus songs they sold on iTunes are great.
My email is MGMay70 at gmail dotcom.
Of course there are too many to choose from... Love Is Hell are standout EPs. The new Cabin EP, Jesse Malin's Wendy EP, but my favorite EP would have to be Wilco's Australian EP that they made available a few years ago on their website. Such an amazing mix of tracks!! The track, More Like The Moon is stellar.
wiAlready won some goods a few months ago, but just wanted to pipe up and say that Caledonia's EP Waiting to Burn is golden. Check them out... http://www.caledoniatheband.ca/
My favorite EP is "Sap" by Alice in Chains. At the time it was released, it showed a completely new side of the band and just blew me away that they could slow things down a bit without losing any of the intensity and emotion that made their music so great. Their later EP, "Jar of Flies", was OK but couldn't really touch the music on "Sap", especially songs like "Brother" and "Right Turn". (jts@scs.unr.edu)
I'll have to go with Paul Westerberg's first Grandpaboy EP. For one thing, it took me years to find at, and it has one of my favorite Paul ballads "Lush and Green."
(kat19901991 at yahoo dot com)
This is getting me even more excited to see him next week in houston! Favorite EP right now has to be the Hold Steady's Live at Fingerprints EP. A close second is Bishop Allen's entire EP project, February still being my favorite of the 12. (blot911 at yahoo dotcom)
Must admit that I am still recovering from the heavy disappointment of waiting 5 years for a new Matchbox Twenty Album and then being served with a "Best Of... plus some very moderate new recordings";((
In spite of this, Rob Thomas still has my sympathy for his 2003 "EP", containing a breath-taking "If You're Gone"....
Hope Ryan's is even better !
Somewhere between Iron & WIne's Woman King EP and the Great Lake Swimmers recent Live EP...
I think there was a Clem Snide one too...but three is more than two, which is already more than one...
psjacobsen at hot mail dot com
My favourite EP is Husker Du "Eight Miles High/ Makes No Sense at All" first of all because I love the Huskers and the songs are really really great. And second because I found the original SST edition in a street sale in Buenos Aires!!!! Is like my own Indiana Jones little treasure...
Good work Heather, keep on rockin, i'll keep on reading from the south
juliancostoya@hotmail.com
Without a doubt, my favorite EP has to be The Replacements Stink EP. It's a full-throttle power slop masterpiece from beginning to end. Whether I'm screaming out of the gate aside Westerberg's hoarse "1,2,3,4..." countdown into the anthemic Kids Don't Follow, stomping my foot to the trashy blues romp of White and Lazy, or howling along with the aching beauty of Go, this is as vital as any 15 minutes in the history of rock and roll. Bonus points for a young Dave Pirner cussing out the cops from a Minneapolis rent party in the recorded intro to the EP. Very rock and roll indeed...
I have a soft spot for The Breeders' 1994 vinyl-only EP, "Head to Toe." It's short, but oh so sweet. A nice raw punk-pop song of theirs to balance out the freak mainstream success they were enjoying at the time with "Cannonball."
And I LOVE the covers of Guided By Voices' "Shocker In Gloomtown" & Sebadoh's "Freed Pig." Everything oozes indie rock & it makes me feel so good inside.
Pity it was vinyl-only, but fortunately, it came at the perfect time: I was in the midst of my year-long indie rock adolescent snoot phase where I was buying lots of vinyl... but not really listening to them. I just thought I was being cool. But fortunately, I listened to "Head to Toe" lots.
I would LOVE for it to be released on CD (even though I found some MP3s recently).
And if you haven't heard this EP & like The Breeders, for God's sake, seek this out! Hell, e-mail if you'd like & I'll share it with you!
Matt
mattyp4@hotmail.com
My favorite EP is Neil Young's Eldorado, the comeback we were all waiting for. Cocaine Eyes!
mattm377 at aol dot com
The Decemberists - The Tain EP
They released it before Picaresque, but I think it more foreshadows the progessive sound of The Crane Wife. It sounds more experimental than what comprised Picaresque, but the outlandish lyrics of that LP are present. It also has that storybook-like feel.
klwestfall at gmail dot com
My favorite EP is Nine Inch Nails - Broken. While I'm not a big metal fan or anything I just think it works perfectly. "Wish" and "Happiness in Slavery" are Reznor at his agitated best. And then there are the 92 blank tracks that lead up to two of the most wonderful "Secret Songs" in history.
bcdo_2000@yahoo.com
I love Prince's 12" of Erotic City. It's gritty and raw and hot and steamy... It's a funk masterpiece! Not to mention it's not every day you can drop a massive load of F-bombs and still get radio play.
I know it's not a "traditional" EP and it's over 20 years old and it was released on a major label but it's still getting played and sampled and ripped-off to this day. It's a classic.
...
I'd have to say Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock".
Yes, it was before CD's.
Yes, it was a movie soundtrack.
But it has two great rock tunes (the title track and "You're So Square", on which Elvis plays some killer electric bass), a great ballad ("Young and Beautiful"), and bluesy crooner tune called "Don't Leave Me Now". I wore it out when I was a kid, and the disc was already 25 years old!
Also, Sugar's "Beaster" comes to mind as well...
loginame at rocketmail dot com
I love the trio of Ben Folds EPs and the early Belle and Sebastian stuff, but truth be told my fav EP is Ska-Core, the Devil and More from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Six songs with a jazzy version of Bob Marley's "Simmer Down" and their own classic "Someday I Suppose."
Plus "Drugs and Kittens" which was recorded under three or four different names like "Dogs and Chaplains" etc.
jamesfurbush@slyoyster.com
Green On Red's "No Free Lunch" my first real introduction into the Alt-Country/Cow-Punk movement of the mid 80's. Dan Stuarts whiney vocals on Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away" are simply glorius.
The Replacements "Boink" with one of Paul's greatest songs " If Only You were Lonely" and the Alex Chilton produced "Nowhere Is My Home"..
Last and the least well known. The Beat Farmers (San Diego) EP "Glad And Greasy" These guys were the best bar band right up there with the Blasters and Jason and the Scortchers. This blog is the best keep up the great work.
Ryan
RMCANANY@DTSONE.COM
I'm actually gonna go with Pearl Jam - Live at Easy Street
During the VFC Tour I was worried we would never get any decent quality versions of all the politically charged covers they were rocking every night. This EP brings "The Amerikan in me", "Bleed for me" and "The New World" (with John Doe no less!) to the table along with great versions of "Half Full", "Lukin", "Save You" and "Porch" and rocks.....hard.
blakecarterpnw AT gmail DOT com
while i really enjoy the grandpaboy ep, hands down my favorite ep is u2's "wide awake in america". i remember hearing that live version of "bad" for the first time in '85 and being blown away. it still gives me the chills. it came out a couple of months (iirc) before the band defining performance at live aid, in which they included snippets of "ruby tuesday" and "walk on the wild side". i will always prefer the ep version, though, because it is a purer live take and, to my ears, the original transcendent version of a fantastic song.
paulwestymats@comcast.net
gotta be a toss up between the weepies "happiness" EP and pete yorn's TERRIBLY underrated "westerns" EP that featured the twangier side of "the man"
jagiddens at g mail dot com
man, EPs...so many to choose from.
I used to love the Sugar EPs (Beaster was the soundtrack of spring semester junior year)
a few other favs:
my iron lung, radiohead
and pretty much every single GBV/Robert Pollard EP...
I have to mention three
1. Ryan Adams - Love is Hell Pt. 2
2. Iron & Wine and Calexico - In the Reins
3. Gillian Welch - Black Star
Iron & Wine and Calexico - In the Reins is absolutely fantastic. It never gets old. I also really like Gillian Welch's Black Star EP. But Love is Hell Pt. 2 is my favorite EP. I actually prefer to think of Love is Hell as seperate as opposed to one whole. Each EP has two distinctive dark sounds. The reason why Pt. 2 is better than 1 is because "English Girls Approximately" is on Pt. 2
balltb at hotmail dot com
I have three, as well:
1.I agree with Jim; U2's "Wide Awake In America" is excellent, and in this age of so many bonus tracks that should sometimes remain unreleased, all four songs would have fit nicely on "The Unforgettable Fire".
2.The Clash: "Black Market Clash": groovin' reggae, with lots of sampling a la Sandinista!
3.Dire Straits' "Twistin' By The Pool": when Mark Knopfler put together a new version of Dire Straits in the mid '80s he was so smitten he put out this rockabilly-styled little four-song EP to show what they could do. Big, summer-sounding fun.
Thanks Heather, as always.
witchnose@comcast.net
i loved both of ryan adams' love is hell ep's, but i really wish i would have know he was going to put it out as an lp. i don't know if i could have waited that long, but i like to listen to them both together.
iron and wine's woman king is also amazing.
rockamyface at yahoo dot com
I should win because I was too stupid to remember to spell out my address, so a free EP would give me something to listen to while I'm deleting and blocking senders. Oh woe is me...
World's best ep - Mrs Robinson - a song whose aching generosity cannot be matched in the film;April come she will - Scarborough fair - The Sound of silence....simplicity,joy and the sinew twisting confusion of being young:'Hello darkness my old friend....
Ryan would approve.
Happiness is a warm E.P.
Also mention in despatches for Elvis Costello's New Amsterdam - Just a Memory - the 4th track owns the appellation:a damn fine song.
Alice in Chains-Jar of Flies
This is the only EP in my collection that actually trumps any LP by the same artist. AIC's somewhat one-note approach to lyrical themes combined with their sludge metal tended to become overwhelmingly somber when stretched across an entire album. However, you give them acoustic guitars, a string section, and around a week to make some songs and out comes gorgeous (though still slightly depressing) music the likes of which you wouldn't expect from them despite the evidence presented in Sap. Plus, on one song ("Swing on This") they almost sound like they're having fun. Almost.
(beavis0002@aol.com)
http://tinyurl.com/25y8mb
Bruuuuuuce.....I mean..back in 1988 he was not known for releasing stuff like this...
Those were dry times for whoever was waiting for officially released live material (yes, even also the released of the Live '75-'85 box set)
Chimes Of Freedom EP :
4 live songs beautifully produced from the Tunnel Of Love tour and a real treat:
- Tougher Than The Rest (can this song be powerfull ? apparently...yes)
- Be True (beautiful, a River b-side in all its live glory)
- Chimes Of Freedom (are you kidding me ? Bruce doing Dylan and what a great version)
- Born To Run (acoustic) (the emotional stripped down version of the classic; listen to Bruce's voice, he's great)
kylewilliam at tin dot it
Heather, one of my favorite extended play records was technically not a real release, but it had a huge impact on my life. In 1997 the band X was releasing a compilation of their music called Beyond and Back. One of my best friends was an X fan who worked at a college radio station in Mississippi, and he snagged me a copy of a seven-song promo for the record.
I was 22 and have no idea how I went that long without hearing the band. The songs perfectly encapsulate the two poles of X music—shivering, skittering rock melded with loud guitars, evolving into Western-tinged ballads. It started with “Los Angeles” and ended with demos of “4th of July” and “See How We Are,” seven years worth of radical change on one disc.
I’d never been into “country” music before and had always bitterly attacked it—country was for rednecks, punk was for me. Then in thirty minutes I saw how close the two could be, and releases around that time period by the Supersuckers and this little band from Raleigh really poured it on. After “Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight” I was pretty much done for. And I still have an elaborate red “X” painted on the shoulder of my old leather jacket.
Shout-out to Kevin for naming Stink!! & kylewilliam for Chimes of Freedom!
Also, if any of y’all can catch Ryan at the Alabama Theatre . . . it’s one of the most amazing places on earth.
gorjus.prettyfakes@gmail.com
Without a doubt, I have to say the 'God Lives Underwater' EP has to be my favorite. I had listened to this EP so much before I left for Army Basic Training that I could literally listen to it in my head on command. This EP helped me get through the tedious, silent roadmarches. More accessible than most groups of that era,GLU was one of my favorite bands, and I think they're still one of the most overlooked champions of the 90's industrial/electronica movement. I'll take GLU over NIN and Ministry anyday.
I get to see Ryan Adams in, like, two weeks! Shoop da woop!
jeremy streem at yahoo
you know how it works.
Keith Richards "Eileen" EP. It has an absolutely amazing live version of "Gimme Shelter" sung by Keith with his solo band.
And Ryan loves Keith!
washkevich@rocketmail.com
I will go with Wilco's All Over the Place EP. I think it came out on vinyl only and is pretty hard to find, but the MP3s of it are floating around. It really shows how versitile a band Wilco is and how much fun they have as a band. And a punk rock version of Passenger side makes you just want to start headbanging. Tweedy's scream in the middle of it is perfect. avess325 at gmail.com
The Format's Snails EP. I love this EP because 1) they only released it at their shows, 2) It was all-new material that wet my appetite in anticipation of their upcoming (i.e. delayed) album, and 3) there were even more bonus songs that you could only get with the EP.
concretecircles at gmail dot com
The Afghan Whigs' Uptown Avondale is, by far, my favorite EP of all time...
The thought of a 'grunge' band covering some of the greatest R&B hits of all time just puts a smile on my face...and their execution of the concept makes it even broader.
Thanks for all the great work on the blog - junk4thefords (at) hotmail (dot) com
I can't get enough of Jackie Greene's "Small Tempest." I love the fact that he produced and played many if not all of the instruments himself.
taylor (at) purrmusic.com
For me, it would definitely have to be Pearl Jam's Merkinball which, at a time when it wasn't easy to find non-album material, was the greatest two song release a band could ever produce. They were at the peak of their popularity and Long Road and I Got Shit (Id) just blew me away and I think I listened to it twice a day (in my car on the way to school and in my car on the way home from school) for about three months straight. Speaking of repeated plays, I've become interested to see how many times I listen to songs and albums on my iPod and if they had been invented back then, I often wonder how many times I would have listened to Ten, Siamese Dream, August & Everything After, etc - probably in the thousands by now.
smikalis at hotmail dot com
hey! no fair playing on heather's pearl jam love and using merkinball! that should have been a rule!
anywho, i bought dave matthews band's recently ep the day before o left for college. i'm pretty sure i had no idea what an ep was then.
but it was versions of two songs i already loved, two i had never heard before, and the closest we may ever get to a studio version of dave wailing 'all along the watchtower.'
that ep is fall, it's freshman year of college, and it's a big part of my lifelong love of dave and his boys. now THAT'S important.
brandon
theyeck zero one at hotmail dot com
My favorite EP would have to be Damien Jurado's 4 Songs. Perfect minimal acoustic pop with a tantalizing dramatic lean towards the dark sides of life. The perfect soundtrack for being drunk on Christmas.
stobered@aim.com
Not sure if it's my favorite of all time, but lately, I've been listening to the Avett Brothers' EP, The Gleam. I saw them a month or so ago at the Soiled Dove in Denver. After seeing them live, I was hooked!
rutherbug at yahoo dot com
Josh Rouse "bedroom classics vol. 1" extremely rare A favorite past-time is watching ebay auctions climb for this extremely rare EP. Too bad lastfm did not exist 7 years ago, "Michigan" would easily have 10 kagillion times played.
straitg at gmail dot com
In the Reins The Iron&Wine and Calexico EP. Two great bands meshing together perfectly. kingdomforavoice at yahoo dot com
Verve EP - first piece of music I ever bought. Bought it in a second hand store for about $2.00 from a second hand cd store at around the time Urban Hymns came out.
It's my favourite because I'll never forget the first piece of music I ever bought. It was the only CD I had for about 3 years, and I played it almost everyday during that time.
Forbidden Love Ep - Death Cab For Cutie :)
Also wanted to let you know I've changed URls to http://dancehallhips.wordpress.com
-Jon
For me when thinking EPs the first that comes to mind is Jeff Buckley's Live At Sin-é
The original 4 song EP was the his first release...and it's the aural equivalent of a Jägermeister shot...going down smoothe and tasty, but with a definite kick and and urge for another taste.
'Mojo Pin' and 'Eternal Life' surface here, but what makes it interesting are the two covers: Edith Piaf's 'Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin' and Van Morrison's "The Way Young Lovers Do"...and it's that last one in particular that does it for me, and is what makes me return to this disc again and again for a revisit.
~Brian
(salparadise44 at hot mail dot com)
This is a difficult one, but I think I am going to have to name Pedro the Lion's Whole EP as my favorite.
From the drumsticks at the start of "Nothing" to the slow burn of "Hymn," the whole thing flows perfectly and reminds me of the fall of my freshman year of college.
If you don't like that one, I'll give Ben Kweller's superbly titled "EP Phone Home."
andy dot klingenberger at gmail dot com
Well I see someone else already put this one down but I am going to go with Hem's "I'm Talking With Me Mouth". Each song is beautiful on its own but they also work wonderfully together. I esp enjoy their version of Valentine's Day. Their remake of Jackson is also great in its simplicity. It is so different from the original that for quite awhile, I didn't like it. Now I appreciate the songs quiet strength.
Thanks!
Anne VW
Urge Overkill's Stull EP . . . even before Tarintino mined it for the Neil Diamond cover. Stull was a big step forward for UO and set up the sound that would become Saturation. That said, it's a great record on it's own. It's also the first record to really showcase Nash Kato's voice.
Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon and Stitches are great covers. Stull (Pt. 1) has a great groove and Goodbye to Guyville is a soul number leveraging a great guitar riff vs Kato's singing. The two tracks that really set up the next step toward Saturation are What's This Generation Coming To?, an ode to vinyl records, and (Now That's) The Barclords one of my favorite UO tunes. Both bubble over with the U.R.G.E charm.
Overall, it's one of Urge Overkill's best releases.
dynovinyl at yahoo dot com
blah said:
I think my favorite EP would be the "New English" EP by Ambulance LTD. It is not just a masterpiece, but I think I appreciate it more because it took me so long to find it.
This album has a little bit of everything from a great cover of the Pink Floyd song "Fearless" to an acoustic version of "Heavy Lifting" to a Demo version of "Sugarpill" to a 70's style groover called "Arbuckle's Swan Song".
P.S. thanks for the great site (this is not a suck up).
blah69_69(at)hotmail(dot)com
i read most of the other posts and it reminded me of how much i love the tain & forbidden love ep's, but when i initially read your post only one came to mind...
the black keys - chulahoma
something about how raw and honest this tribute is makes me want to listen to it constantly. i don't think i have ever played it for anyone who didn't love it. it's pretty bad ass.
sidora at gmail dot com
thanks for the blog.
Oasis' Wonderwall EP is easily my favorite. The EP/single was their true medium, as it allowed Noel to really hunker down and create some amazing songs that would have never fit on their albums. 'Round Are Way, Talk Tonight, and Rockin' Chair follow the title track, and listening to them now makes you remember exactly what the big deal about Oasis was, all summed up in a five-song epic. It ends with I Am the Walrus, a shot at the Beatles who never performed the song live. Brilliant. The songs are all available elsewhere, I believe, but this original presentation of them is simple and staggering.
bherring24 at gmail dot com
Recently EP by Dave Matthews...
Three reasons...
- I remember the goosebumps the first time i heard 'Watchtower' kick in...
- Playing that version of 'Dancing Nancies' won me enough Open Mikes between school and work to live like Larry
- That girl on the cover... holy smokes, the girl on the cover...
cole dot bill at gmail dot com
...
did I mention the girl on the cover?
Pixies- Come on pilgrim , it opened up a whole new world of music to enjoy
Cant wait to see ryan in dublin on the 28th of this month and cant wait for the EP, I also love EP, there something sweet about them an insight into an artist, My favourite EP , would have to The Blue Room EP from Coldplay, Raw classic from parachutes, its a brilliant listen to hear the band experiment and listen to when they were not famous and nervous.
Check out my blog http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/
Thanks!
kkelly@travelsavers.com
I love the series of EPs Ben Folds put out a few years ago. My favorite is probably "Sunny 16". Oh, and I don't need a reason, it's Ben Folds bitches!
sybilskelton at hotmail.com
I'm trying to think of what EPs I actually have... sticking with the Ryan theme, I think that Love Is Hell Pt1 (in its original released form) gets my vote. Both EPs are amazing but at the moment that would be my favourite. I love the flow, from those solemn piano chords at the beginning of Politcal Scientist, to the final track of Halloween (was one of the bonus tracks on my version :] Gotta be one of the best non-album songs ever). It's such a dark EP, but beautiful and uplifting at the same time. And I'll always remember 'Shadowlands' as the song that stopped me seeing him for the first time on this tour 'cos he got so into it that poor old Ryan forgot that stages do end and you can't step off one without breaking something.
Can't wait to see him again in November!
Clearly the only answer is the Modern Age ep. The Strokes saved me from Swig Nine and Dave Matthews.
beachwood sparks - make the cowboy robots cry
beck - original loser ep
crooked fingers - resevoir songs
paves - watery, domestic
best: grifters - eureka
rcchase8 at yahoo.com
My favorite EP of all time is definitely the Airbag/How Am I Driving EP by Radiohead. It was recently re-released but when it was originally released in 1998 it gave fans of OK Computer some brilliant b-sides. Some of them are more experimental (Melatonin/Meeting in the Aisle) but my favorite is the very poppy Palo Alto. Also the title track of the EP isn't too bad either.
Sean
remocallahan@hotmail.com
Wilco- "Australian EP" or any other name...
Love it since it was digital only, had various versions of the cover art available for download, and Wilco is just great.
i'd have to go with the wimbledons self-titled ep. i'm afraid you haven't heard of them. and really, you should. 3 brothers, 5 songs, lots of lovely.
runners up for me:
the papermoons. 7" ep.
http://www.myspace.com/thepapermoonsband
'bad notes' and 'exist' especially.
two guys, breezy and delicate tunes. and the lyrics match.
really. check out both. i think you'll like what you hear.
(oh yeah, ashley dot linnenbank at gmail dot com)
Hands down - "Under A Blood Red Sky" by U2 - it's what got me into the band. Great memories of renting a VCR with a great group of friends to watch the Live At Red Rocks concert tape and the movie Patton! d2squared@cox.net
Iron & Wine's The Sea & The Rhythm
Waking before you
I've got a fever and a childish wish for snow
Seems like a long, long time
Since I spun you to this borrowed radio (Someday The Waves)
This line always gets me, along with the title track.
Brandon, believe me, I thought about not putting PJ because of this exact reason but then it's not everyday that you find your doppelganger in the female form - it's just something you learn to live with. Heather knew that I would reply with Merkinball when she created this post.
Black Market Clash.
In 1980, in between the near perfection of London Calling and the ill advised bloat of Sandinista the Clash put out this little gem. Great cover of Toots and the Maytals 'pressure drop' and another of Booker T's 'time is tight' but what stands out for me is the final track 'justice tonight/kick it over' a track with both a message and a groove. This was at a time when the marketing people claimed that the Clash was "the only band that mattered" and they just might have been right.
Brociner at aol dot com.
I fancy the Yeah Yeah Yeahs debut EP. very sexy and full of raw energy. The Yeahs at their finest.
bmcdesign at geeeeeeeeeeeeeeee mail dot com
The Black Keys - Chulahoma. It takes you and wrings you out with its blazing blues rock, it leaves you breathless and beat and satisfied enough to light up a cigarette afterward.
shutupmulder at yahoo dot com
"Chimes of Freedom" Springsteen
Great 4 song disc from the '88 Tour with a fantastic acoustic encore of Born to Run...
tomaguire@yahoo.com
City and Colour EP... it floored me the first time I heard it and it did the same when I put it on last week. Can't say that about many records.
phillyv at hotmail dot com
coincidentally enough, i'm going to go with alice in chains, 'sap', which was a beautiful collection of songs, but more importantly showed a more toned down and melodic side of the band. the significance of 'sap' may not be as evident now, in retrospect, as they went on to record an unplugged album.
oh shit. someone already said 'jar of flies', which now makes me wonder if i meant that one or 'sap'. let me check. i guess i meant 'sap'. they also did a dual release of both e.p.'s on vinyl. i've got that here somewhere.
Wilco's "Bridge EP" (aka Australian, More Like the Moon") is my choice. A beautiful tracking of six songs with the rough-cut Camera, an early Handshake Drugs, the Guthrie-esque Dylan's 49th Beard and the wistful closer: More Like the Moon. That song spelled the end of the EP but also for me felt like a grand ride not off into the sunset but the moonlight. Things were changing for me and it seems for the band and for one moment there was mysterious synergy. Oh, and it was a free download!
phillips [dot] adam [at] mac [dot] com
the sea & the rhythm
sorry, forgot about this
bjstilb@gmail.com
Maybe this is predictable, but I gotta go with R.E.M.'s Chronic Town. A band that changed my perceptions, and that EP is the start.
trampus AT gogtt.net
Sarah McLachlan Live Acoustic EP, with Fallen, one of my favorite songs of hers ever. Love those lyrics. Poignant song about life and love lost.
jlh@bellsouth.net
First of all, great idea... ;-)
Let`s be honest here, one of the most underrated artists out there today is Glen Phillips and although I love his solo projects, I regularly go back to his Toad The Wet Sprocket-days, how can you NOT love those albums...and especially the "Acoustic Dance Party"-EP from 1994.
Let`s start with the story behind the album, the boys wanted to record their beautiful "Something`s Always Wrong" acoustically but the day before their equipment was stolen, so the song was recorded with borrowed instruments. How`s that for "Something`s Always Wrong"...? ;-)
Also on the EP, 4 acoustic tracks recorded in front of a small audience during their Dulcinea-tour. And it shows Toad at their best: beautiful songs, great harmonies and awesome lyrics, ranging from insightful (Walk On The Ocean) to just plain fun ("You bend your words like Uri Geller spoons" on "Nanci").
Glen is indeed an amazing songwriter and Toad just made great songs and put on great performances, proof of that can still be found on that great EP: Acoustic Dance Party.
Have a great weekend,
AJ
aj77@orange.nl
Ben Folds- Speed Graphic EP.
Even though I've moved away from Folds through the past few years- coincidentally at the time I really fell in love with Ryan's music- Speed Graphic came at a time in my life where every one of those songs fell into and right back out of all the things that I was grazing with all five senses.
benvoliowillson at yahoo dot com
radiohead- my iron lung ep
polyphonic spree- wait ep (I'm a sucker for cover tunes)
californiarocks7@aol.com
My two favorite EPs are Matt Wertz's Orange EP and Elliott Smith's Needle in the Hay. I still regularly listen to my old scratched copy of the latter.
maxwastler at yahoo dot com
i'd say one of the better Ep's is Story Like A Scar by The New Amsterdams
I love M. Ward's "To Go Home" EP.
To Go Home is a brilliant song, upbeat, hopeful, but with texture and gritty subtly. Classic M. Ward... but the real gems are the 3 other tracks, "Cosmopotian Pop", where you get a lovely whimsical m. ward, "Human Punching Bag", where you get the slow, dripping with GOOD m. ward, and lastly "headed for a fall," where you get another classic m. ward song, like to go home... solid, moving song, but with a lot of texture and creativity.
I'm a huge m. ward fan and love this ep.... however, i'm a bigger ryan adams fan and would love to win this great prize!
steve
steve.joh@gmail.com.
dunno if anyone said it, but REM's Chronic town EP, it's brillant, i think i was fifteen and bought it with my friend (whose birthday was sept. 9th, yes, 9-9, another REM reference.) Ben died a decade ago of a disease he fought all his life, but EVERY time I hear "Boxcars, are rolling out of town." I thank Ben for making me a copy of chronic town. it's my form of zen, listening to old rem albums and bootlegs.
mike r.
uppitycrip at gmail dot com
my favourite is In the Reins The Iron&Wine and Calexico EP and snow patrols live and acoustic at park ave. they are sooo great live!
So who won this crazy contest?
Just finishing the post ;)
I got to go with 'The Format EP' simply titled EP and a demo that got them signed, ironicly some of there best work to date.
nelso330@msu.edu good luck to all
Post a Comment
<< Home