Free Shows:
Saturday Dec. 13th - Pwrfl Power @ Sound Fix Records
Pwrfl Pwr - "It's Okay"
Cheap Shows: ($10 and under)
Tuesday Dec. 2nd - Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains @ Union Hall $8
Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains - "I Hate My Friends"
Friday Dec. 5th - Jukebox the Ghost @ Knitting Factory $10
Jukebox the Ghost - "Fire In the Sky/Where Are All the Scientists Now?/A Matter of Time"
Friday Dec. 12th - Pop Tarts Christmas Show @ Martini Red
Happy Anarchy - "Wake Up"
Wakey! Wakey! - "Falling Apart"
Sunday Dec. 14th - The War on Drugs + Drink Up Buttercup @ Union Hall $10
The War on Drugs - "A Needle In Your Eye No. 16"
Drink Up Buttercup - "Seasickness Pills"
Monday Dec. 15th - Shy Child + Free Blood @ (le) poisson rouge $10
Shy Child - "Astronaut"
Free Blood - "Quick and Painful"
Saturday Dec. 20th - Growing @ Santo's Party House $tba
Growing - "Green Flag"
Not So Cheap Shows: ($20 and under)
Tuesday Dec. 2nd - El Guincho @ (le) poisson rouge $12
El Guincho - "Palmitos Park"
Wednesday Dec. 3rd - Boris + Growing @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $15
Boris - "Blackout"
Growing - "Rave Pie Only"
Sunday Dec. 7th - Love Is All @ Bowery Ballroom $13
Love Is All - "Wishing Well"
Wednesday Dec. 10th - Xiu Xiu @ Housing Works Used Books Cafe $15
Xiu Xiu - "FTW"
Thursday Dec. 11th - Dan Deacon + Dirty Projectors @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple $12
Dan Deacon - "Okie Dokie"
Dirty Projectors - "Police Story"
Tuesday Dec. 16th - The Walkmen + The Dodos @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple $20
The Walkmen - "Red Moon"
The Dodos - "Fools"
Wednesday Dec. 17th - CSS @ Webster Hall $20
CSS - "Rat Is Dead (Rage)"
Friday Dec. 26th - Kimya Dawson @ Bowery Ballroom $13
Kimya Dawson - "Loose Lips"
Expensive Shows: (more then $20)
Monday Dec. 8th - Nada Surf @ Maxwell's $25
Nada Surf - "See These Bones"
Thursday Dec. 18th - Ingrid Michaelson @ Town Hall $25
Ingrid Michaelson - "Be OK"
Tuesday Dec. 23rd - Wu Tang Clan @ Hammerstein Ballroom $50
Wu Tang Clan - "C.R.E.A.M."
Wednesday Dec. 31st - After the Jump NYE Bash @ Knitting Factory $?
Deerhoof - "Panda Panda Panda"
Deer Tick - "Standing at the Threshold"
Akron/Family - "Raising the Sparks"
SOLD OUT:
12/21 - 12/28 - Yo La Tengo @ Maxwell's
Yo La Tengo - "Little Honda"
Who: Happy Anarchy, El Ten Eleven, Castanets, + Miles Benjamin Anthony RobinsonWhere: The Bell House
When: 8pm
Cost: $10
What to Expect: Considering that Thanksgiving Eve is widely considered the biggest party night of the year it makes sense that the owners of Union Hall and The Bell House would combine the two shows that had been booked for Wednesday to make one mega show! Let's face it just two bands are not enough for an evening that is supposed to end with you passed out somewhere before you go stuff your face the next day. It also helps that all four of these bands a truly solid acts representing the East and West Coasts. So if you don't already have plans for your Turkey Eve make sure you get your asses to The Bell House for this one!!!!
Listen: Happy Anarchy - "Personal Judas"
El Ten Eleven - "Paranoid Android" (Radiohead cover)
Castanets - "Glory B"
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - "Written Over"
Staten Island is the New York City version of a small town. Basically, you grow up knowing just about everyone and as your life goes on and you stay here longer and longer you realize that you just cannot lose touch with people. Back in the mid-90's I worked with at an everything store called the Village Shoppe. It was my formative years and I was working with this music obsessed dude named Tim Boylan. Suffice it to say some of his taste rubbed off on me after a while and I took an interest when he started playing trombone in a band though I wasn't able to go see them due to the 21+ rule. Now here we are many moons later and I am still able to see Tim play in a band called Happy Anarchy along with a few other Islanders. They are a fun band and if you happen to be at The Bell House tonight they'll be sound tracking your Thanksgiving Eve!PTST: You guys have had a pretty big year so far, releasing a new album, playing CMJ, playing Rock the Harbor what have you guys been most proud of accomplishing this year?
HA: We don't know if we can pick out one thing, we are happy to even have a list of accomplishments. We have gone through a lot of ups and downs, and put a lot of hard work into this band, so we are just proud to still be standing.
PTST: As a Staten Island band, do you find it to be more difficult getting your name out and being taken seriously then folks doing similar things in Brooklyn or the city? Are there any advantages to being from Staten Island?
HA: We feel a little bit of that especially in the press. We have gotten reviews that downplay the SI scene, or they assumed we would be terrible because of it. Some of those people thought we were great once they heard the record, but some people have a tough time getting over it. It's mostly in the NYC area, the rest of the world doesn't really care where you're from. We like to think it will be an advantage in the long run. It's good to be underdogs, and once you turn a few heads you are able to have more of an identity and not be another scene band from Brooklyn or Manhattan.
PTST: Are there any bands from your area that you guys look up to or aspire to be like? Any up and coming bands that you guys have tried to help along?
HA: We are excited to be involved with all the talent that's developing on the island. Things are really coming together now and the bands are building good relationships with one another. It's important for everyone to help each other out, from bands to fans to the printed and electronic media. It takes all of these elements working in concert for a scene to make an impact.
PTST: When you guys started off I remember you always having like a dozen guys in the band, now there's half that amount, what led to trimming the lineup? How has that affected the direction of the band?
HA: It wasn't so much a trimming but a progression. The band that Joe and Tim started playing together in 10 years ago is by no means the same band that is together now. Personnel have changed so many times in a decade and the band are stronger for it. With each new iteration we've been able to focus on what works and what doesn't, both musically and logistically.
PTST: It's also had a profound affect on the sound of the band, making it a bit more cohesive and allowing the strengths of your individual members shine through a bit more then in the past. Do you guys like where your sound has shifted? Was there ever a conversation that the band had where you decided to take things in a slightly different direction or did it just evolve into what it is now?
HA: We never want to write the same song twice, so in that respect it is a deliberate choice. We evolve as individuals and so naturally does our creative output, so in that respect it's organic. There are a lot of things that dictate how a band evolves their sound and there are just as many approaches to take. Happy Anarchy are a collaboration.
PTST: This week (tonight in fact) Happy Anarchy will be headlining the Bell House. Is this the biggest venue you guys have played so far? What are you guys looking forward to about being able to play bigger and bigger venues as you continue growing?
HA: This is probably the biggest room we've played and it's a brand new venue so we are pretty excited about it. The best part about playing bigger venues is the fact that we're able to play those venues. It means we're doing something right.
PTST: Will you guys be taking part of SXSW this year or touring at any point?
HA: We certainly hope that is in our future, and we are definitely working on making it happen this year.
PTST: Are there any other plans for 2009? Writing, recording, touring etc.?
HA: We have been recording for the past few weeks now and will continue to do so for the early part of 2009. We will have a single released in early spring and there will definitely be some touring next year.
Listen: Happy Anarchy - "Is That Right"
Happy Anarchy - "Personal Judas"
(AKA: Best New Artists 2008; note all other year-end lists will be coming in December)
It seems this year with the economy in turmoil and more and more people spending less and less on Christmas gifts that companies have picked up on this trend and adjusted their marketing accordingly. More of the commercials from big companies like Target and WalMart have focused on friends and family during the holiday season by spotlighting food and drink rather then the normal easy to market products like iPods and DVD players. So it seems to these eyes that this holiday season is being bred to be the resurgence of a family oriented holiday, where the gathering means more then the gifts. It's actually a nice change from the ridiculous, stressful times recent Christmases have become. So as we kick off the holiday season with Thanksgiving tomorrow I'd like to take a moment to recognize some of the newer additions to the musical family this year. These bands have all made significant contributions to the world of music this year and should have places set at your listening table for many years to come.
10. Dream Bitches; The music scene is always in flux here in New York with bands coming and going faster then you can change your Facebook picture. Luckily for us there is never shortage of good new bands emerging from any one of the five boroughs and this year that band for me has been Dream Bitches. Their version of angelic, rocking, pop music has hooked my ear for a good portion of 2008, and though I have been thwarted by their hectic and busy schedule so far I am sure they will be playing one of my Staten Island shows in the near future. At least I hope so.
Dream Bitches - "Bad Luck Bill"
9. Passion Pit; If you happened to live the life of Michael Angelakos then 2008 would certainly be one of the stranger, more important years of your life. You started the year by making an EP of music as a late Valentine's Day gift for your girlfriend and by the end you wound up with a record deal and scores of music journalists asking you about that very same EP. It's been a meteoric rise through the ranks of the indie elite, but Passion Pit seem to be just getting started. They have toured relentlessly since the re-release of the Chunk of Change EP and have a full length in the works for early on in 2009. Basically, Passion Pit is just getting started and we should fully expect to see them on all the blogs and music magazines once again next year.
Passion Pit - "Better Things"
8. Lykke Li; What can I say about Lykke Li that has not already been said about a million times? Seriously, this girl has been everywhere, dropping songs all over the place, getting remixed by everyone! Lykke Li has had an amazing 2008 and to consider that she's still just an emerging artist is absolutely baffling. It feels like she's been around for forever.
Lykke Li - "Breaking It Up"
7. Women; Women didn't come to our attention till around September when their self-titled debut started making the early rounds, but since then they have done nothing but push themselves further and further into our ears. Between a killer album and playing an absolutely frightening amount of shows during this year's CMJ Music Marathon, the band has become one of the indie bands of the moment and it's all very well deserved as their album has been one of the most compelling listens of the year. I'm sure Women will be hitting most of the important year end lists (including my own) and will be a touchstone for indie rock for years to come.
Women - "Shaking Hands"
6. Hercules and Love Affair; Like most of you I was blown away by Hercules and Love Affair's DFA debut. This record is stunning in its beauty and the way it makes me want to move if only I knew how to move that way. There have been few electronic albums that were as immediate or as popular on my own personal iPod and I'm sure a shit ton of you feel the same way.
Hercules and Love Affair - "Blind"
5. Fiasco; Attempting to put some of my own personal bias aside for a second, when Fiasco took the stage during this year's After the Jump Festival it was absolutely one of the brightest moments I have seen from rock music all year long. Three teen-aged kids, who care more about playing for all-ages then making money, cranking out aggressive, punk music often times leaving the vocals to stew on the sidelines. This is what music should be. It should be held in the palms of the teens who listen to it, crafted with care and aggression to relate their feelings to a mass crowd of anyone who would dare to listen. Fiasco are doing just that, they are making music for themselves and people like them, they are letting anyone listen to it by playing almost exclusively for all-ages shows, and they are doing it all by themselves. This band would be impressive even if they weren't as young as they are, but when you throw that into the mix it becomes even more awesome.
Fiasco - "Oh, You Horny Monster!"
4. Vivian Girls; At this point you're probably tired of hearing about Vivian Girls, but such is the double edged sword of popularity. Like Vampire Weekend last year, the Girls are just now starting to face the backlash of their own success and even I have had a hand in that with my tepid review of their CMJ performance. But forget that one instance of less then stellar rock and you'll see a band that played a bajillion shows this year and recorded one of the finest rock albums of the year. Their self-titled debut is a heavy, dirty ode to the girl groups of the 50's and 60's that sang about loving their men and using their sexuality as a weapon. It's like Riot Grrrl - with a sex drive - empowering women everywhere through their rock riffs and their willingness to pen a song about relationships without looking weak. Yeah a lot of people have spent far too much time writing about them, but honestly that usually only happens when it's deserved.
Vivian Girls - "Tell the World"
3. Fuck Buttons; To be fair, Fuck Buttons have been around for a couple of years now, but let's face it this is the year that you first heard of them and that's certainly true for myself as well. The band was a constant in my regular iPod rotation with their album Street Horrrsing being one of the best of the year. Besides that I went to see this band on four different occasions this year. Now normally that wouldn't be too outlandish as I see bands repeated times pretty regularly, but considering they are from England and have toured through the country that many times already is pretty freakin' amazing. Easily one of the most important bands of the year and really this is just the tip of the ice berg for this duo.
Fuck Buttons - "Ribs Out"
2. New Bloods; The definition of punk music has become a very poorly defined idea since it's late 70's heyday, but every decade seems to have bands that adhere to a stricter sense of the words punk. Whether it's in their political views or their "fuck the man" attitudes, punk somehow thrives in different shapes and forms through people that are willing to stand up for whatever it is they believe in. In 2008 we got a new version of punk music, one that is completely devoid of guitars and stands up for a totally different belief then ever before. New Bloods, with a sound that is propelled by the violin rather then the three chord attack that has been abused for decades, have reshaped punk music into it's billionth different incarnation but it is definitely punk no matter how you slice it. This is aggressive, biting music that fights for a cause and an idea. It's not just regurgitated crap that you can package and sell at Hot Topic, it's far more and way better then any of that.
New Bloods - "Oh, Deadly Nightshade"
1. Titus Andronicus; There are very few bands that had more of an impact on me throughout this year then Titus Andronicus did. Playing the After the Jump festival, serving up one of the only decent sets at this year's Pitchfork Music Fest, playing show after show in New York, I'm pretty sure I saw this band a dozen times this year and each time they put on absolutely frantic, energetic, and immensely enjoyable shows. But really it was their album, The Airing of Grievances that impacted me the most. I have no idea how many times I listened to this record, but it has to be amongst the top 5 most played this year so that probably puts it at around the 50 or 60 listens mark. And that's not just for one track it's for the whole freakin' thing. Titus Andronicus are the real deal and I think they're here to stay around for a while.
Titus Andronicus - "No Future"
It seems this year with the economy in turmoil and more and more people spending less and less on Christmas gifts that companies have picked up on this trend and adjusted their marketing accordingly. More of the commercials from big companies like Target and WalMart have focused on friends and family during the holiday season by spotlighting food and drink rather then the normal easy to market products like iPods and DVD players. So it seems to these eyes that this holiday season is being bred to be the resurgence of a family oriented holiday, where the gathering means more then the gifts. It's actually a nice change from the ridiculous, stressful times recent Christmases have become. So as we kick off the holiday season with Thanksgiving tomorrow I'd like to take a moment to recognize some of the newer additions to the musical family this year. These bands have all made significant contributions to the world of music this year and should have places set at your listening table for many years to come.
10. Dream Bitches; The music scene is always in flux here in New York with bands coming and going faster then you can change your Facebook picture. Luckily for us there is never shortage of good new bands emerging from any one of the five boroughs and this year that band for me has been Dream Bitches. Their version of angelic, rocking, pop music has hooked my ear for a good portion of 2008, and though I have been thwarted by their hectic and busy schedule so far I am sure they will be playing one of my Staten Island shows in the near future. At least I hope so.
Dream Bitches - "Bad Luck Bill"
9. Passion Pit; If you happened to live the life of Michael Angelakos then 2008 would certainly be one of the stranger, more important years of your life. You started the year by making an EP of music as a late Valentine's Day gift for your girlfriend and by the end you wound up with a record deal and scores of music journalists asking you about that very same EP. It's been a meteoric rise through the ranks of the indie elite, but Passion Pit seem to be just getting started. They have toured relentlessly since the re-release of the Chunk of Change EP and have a full length in the works for early on in 2009. Basically, Passion Pit is just getting started and we should fully expect to see them on all the blogs and music magazines once again next year.
Passion Pit - "Better Things"
8. Lykke Li; What can I say about Lykke Li that has not already been said about a million times? Seriously, this girl has been everywhere, dropping songs all over the place, getting remixed by everyone! Lykke Li has had an amazing 2008 and to consider that she's still just an emerging artist is absolutely baffling. It feels like she's been around for forever.
Lykke Li - "Breaking It Up"
7. Women; Women didn't come to our attention till around September when their self-titled debut started making the early rounds, but since then they have done nothing but push themselves further and further into our ears. Between a killer album and playing an absolutely frightening amount of shows during this year's CMJ Music Marathon, the band has become one of the indie bands of the moment and it's all very well deserved as their album has been one of the most compelling listens of the year. I'm sure Women will be hitting most of the important year end lists (including my own) and will be a touchstone for indie rock for years to come.
Women - "Shaking Hands"
6. Hercules and Love Affair; Like most of you I was blown away by Hercules and Love Affair's DFA debut. This record is stunning in its beauty and the way it makes me want to move if only I knew how to move that way. There have been few electronic albums that were as immediate or as popular on my own personal iPod and I'm sure a shit ton of you feel the same way.
Hercules and Love Affair - "Blind"
5. Fiasco; Attempting to put some of my own personal bias aside for a second, when Fiasco took the stage during this year's After the Jump Festival it was absolutely one of the brightest moments I have seen from rock music all year long. Three teen-aged kids, who care more about playing for all-ages then making money, cranking out aggressive, punk music often times leaving the vocals to stew on the sidelines. This is what music should be. It should be held in the palms of the teens who listen to it, crafted with care and aggression to relate their feelings to a mass crowd of anyone who would dare to listen. Fiasco are doing just that, they are making music for themselves and people like them, they are letting anyone listen to it by playing almost exclusively for all-ages shows, and they are doing it all by themselves. This band would be impressive even if they weren't as young as they are, but when you throw that into the mix it becomes even more awesome.
Fiasco - "Oh, You Horny Monster!"
4. Vivian Girls; At this point you're probably tired of hearing about Vivian Girls, but such is the double edged sword of popularity. Like Vampire Weekend last year, the Girls are just now starting to face the backlash of their own success and even I have had a hand in that with my tepid review of their CMJ performance. But forget that one instance of less then stellar rock and you'll see a band that played a bajillion shows this year and recorded one of the finest rock albums of the year. Their self-titled debut is a heavy, dirty ode to the girl groups of the 50's and 60's that sang about loving their men and using their sexuality as a weapon. It's like Riot Grrrl - with a sex drive - empowering women everywhere through their rock riffs and their willingness to pen a song about relationships without looking weak. Yeah a lot of people have spent far too much time writing about them, but honestly that usually only happens when it's deserved.
Vivian Girls - "Tell the World"
3. Fuck Buttons; To be fair, Fuck Buttons have been around for a couple of years now, but let's face it this is the year that you first heard of them and that's certainly true for myself as well. The band was a constant in my regular iPod rotation with their album Street Horrrsing being one of the best of the year. Besides that I went to see this band on four different occasions this year. Now normally that wouldn't be too outlandish as I see bands repeated times pretty regularly, but considering they are from England and have toured through the country that many times already is pretty freakin' amazing. Easily one of the most important bands of the year and really this is just the tip of the ice berg for this duo.
Fuck Buttons - "Ribs Out"
2. New Bloods; The definition of punk music has become a very poorly defined idea since it's late 70's heyday, but every decade seems to have bands that adhere to a stricter sense of the words punk. Whether it's in their political views or their "fuck the man" attitudes, punk somehow thrives in different shapes and forms through people that are willing to stand up for whatever it is they believe in. In 2008 we got a new version of punk music, one that is completely devoid of guitars and stands up for a totally different belief then ever before. New Bloods, with a sound that is propelled by the violin rather then the three chord attack that has been abused for decades, have reshaped punk music into it's billionth different incarnation but it is definitely punk no matter how you slice it. This is aggressive, biting music that fights for a cause and an idea. It's not just regurgitated crap that you can package and sell at Hot Topic, it's far more and way better then any of that.
New Bloods - "Oh, Deadly Nightshade"
1. Titus Andronicus; There are very few bands that had more of an impact on me throughout this year then Titus Andronicus did. Playing the After the Jump festival, serving up one of the only decent sets at this year's Pitchfork Music Fest, playing show after show in New York, I'm pretty sure I saw this band a dozen times this year and each time they put on absolutely frantic, energetic, and immensely enjoyable shows. But really it was their album, The Airing of Grievances that impacted me the most. I have no idea how many times I listened to this record, but it has to be amongst the top 5 most played this year so that probably puts it at around the 50 or 60 listens mark. And that's not just for one track it's for the whole freakin' thing. Titus Andronicus are the real deal and I think they're here to stay around for a while.
Titus Andronicus - "No Future"
Who: Yip Yip, Mixel Pixel, + NinjasonikWhere: Cake Shop
When: 8pm
Cost: $8
What to Expect: Basically you should expect nothing, because none of these three bands follow a script when they hit the stage and anything can happen at anytime. As for the music that you can expect something from. These bands are frantic, experimental, messes of juxtaposed music that comes off in all the right ways. I have never had a bad time listening to any of these three bands, and I doubt you will seeing them on stage.
Listen: Yip Yip - "Gender Changers"
Mixel Pixel - "Sinking Feeling"
Ninjasonik - "Tight Pants"
David Byrne & Brian Eno Everything That Happens Will Happen TodayDavid Byrne & Brian Eno - "Everything That Happens"
The Killers Day & AgeThe Killers - "A Crippling Blow"
Ludacris Theater of the MindLudacris (feat. Jay-Z & Nas) - "I Do It For Hip Hop"
Fennesz Black SeaFennesz - "Vacuum"
Nada Surf Vinyl Box Set 1994 - 2008Nada Surf - "See These Bones"
Rivers Cuomo Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers CuomoRivers Cuomo - "Don't Worry Baby"
I think when it leaked I did a pretty good job of conveying how much I am enjoying the new Kanye West album 808's & Heartbreak, so this is merely a reiteration of the enjoyment now that the record is officially out. And yes, it is obviously a slow release week to have me revisiting an album I so recently wrote about, but then that was a really long post compared to what I normally write of leaked albums. I'm standing by it no matter how much other people hate this record. So check out that writing if you need some more words on the record, for now I'm off to bake for Thursday!Kanye West - "Welcome to Heartbreak"
Kanye West - "Love Lockdown"
Kanye West - "Streetlights"
Who: SimplifiresWhere: Pianos
When: 7pm
Cost: $8
What to Expect: Honestly I have no idea what to expect from this one. All I know is that this is the last of their residency shows (always the craziest) and a bunch of my fellow bloggers have been talking a lot about these bands. That usually bodes well (though not always) for a band and I think I might head over for this show. Are you going to?
Listen: Simplifires - "Yourself Only"
Simplifires - "Unsupervised"
Monday: Goes Cube @ Irving Plaza 6:30pm $15
Yeah so maybe Goes Cube isn't quite headlining the Irving Plaza stage (yet), but they are the most (only) interesting band on this lineup. It may be a stretch to say they are worth $15, especially since they'll probably be playing somewhere else sometime soon for only $10, but I think you can spare the extra $5 even in this economy.
Goes Cube - "You Clench Your Jaw When You're Angry"
Tuesday: Mixel Pixel + Ninjasonik @ cake Shop 8pm $7
I don't know exactly why but I adore everything the Ninjasonik/Death Set combination stand for. No matter which band they are playing as they fucking kill it every time. Just try and have more fun seeing someone else, 'cause it ain't happening! Mixel Pixel are rad too.
Mixel Pixel - "Sinking Feeling"
Ninjasonik - "Tight Pants"
Wednesday: Happy Anarchy @ The Bell House 7:30pm $8
For a Staten Island band, Happy Anarchy are kind of blowing up right now. I mean their not on the same level of blowing up as someone like Vampire Weekend or anything, but their funkified sound definitely makes them the choice to see on the biggest party night of the year. You'll be dancing and bopping along and not dreading seeing your relatives the next day.
Happy Anarchy - "Is That Right"
Thursday: Thanksgiving!!!
No shows. It's Thanksgiving. Celebrate the mass genocide of the Native Americans. Watch football. Eat turkey or tofurkey or whatever the hell you want. And save me a piece of pumpkin pie!
Reverend Horton Heat - "Turkey Gotta Gobble"
Friday: Gang Gang Dance + Marnie Stern @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 8pm $15
If you're not too hungover from the excess tryptophan in your system then get your asses over to Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight where not one, but two of this year's Best New Music recipients will be hitting the stage! And they aren't just good 'cause Pitchfork says so, they are good 'cause I says so.
Gang Gang Dance - "First Communion"
Marnie Stern - "Steely"
Saturday: They Might Be Giants @ (le) poisson rouge 7:30pm $27
They Might Be Giants have been doing a monthly appearance at (le) poisson rouge for a couple of months now, so no excuse if you've missed them. Get out to their show!
They Might Be Giants - "New York City"
Sunday: King Khan & BBQ Show + Vivian Girls @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $13
This is the show of the week, most likely the show of the month, and quite possibly the show of the year. At least it has the potential to be that. No seriously it does.
King Khan & BBQ Show - "Love You So"
Vivian Girls - "Tell the World"
Yeah so maybe Goes Cube isn't quite headlining the Irving Plaza stage (yet), but they are the most (only) interesting band on this lineup. It may be a stretch to say they are worth $15, especially since they'll probably be playing somewhere else sometime soon for only $10, but I think you can spare the extra $5 even in this economy.
Goes Cube - "You Clench Your Jaw When You're Angry"
Tuesday: Mixel Pixel + Ninjasonik @ cake Shop 8pm $7
I don't know exactly why but I adore everything the Ninjasonik/Death Set combination stand for. No matter which band they are playing as they fucking kill it every time. Just try and have more fun seeing someone else, 'cause it ain't happening! Mixel Pixel are rad too.
Mixel Pixel - "Sinking Feeling"
Ninjasonik - "Tight Pants"
Wednesday: Happy Anarchy @ The Bell House 7:30pm $8
For a Staten Island band, Happy Anarchy are kind of blowing up right now. I mean their not on the same level of blowing up as someone like Vampire Weekend or anything, but their funkified sound definitely makes them the choice to see on the biggest party night of the year. You'll be dancing and bopping along and not dreading seeing your relatives the next day.
Happy Anarchy - "Is That Right"
Thursday: Thanksgiving!!!
No shows. It's Thanksgiving. Celebrate the mass genocide of the Native Americans. Watch football. Eat turkey or tofurkey or whatever the hell you want. And save me a piece of pumpkin pie!
Reverend Horton Heat - "Turkey Gotta Gobble"
Friday: Gang Gang Dance + Marnie Stern @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 8pm $15
If you're not too hungover from the excess tryptophan in your system then get your asses over to Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight where not one, but two of this year's Best New Music recipients will be hitting the stage! And they aren't just good 'cause Pitchfork says so, they are good 'cause I says so.
Gang Gang Dance - "First Communion"
Marnie Stern - "Steely"
Saturday: They Might Be Giants @ (le) poisson rouge 7:30pm $27
They Might Be Giants have been doing a monthly appearance at (le) poisson rouge for a couple of months now, so no excuse if you've missed them. Get out to their show!
They Might Be Giants - "New York City"
Sunday: King Khan & BBQ Show + Vivian Girls @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $13
This is the show of the week, most likely the show of the month, and quite possibly the show of the year. At least it has the potential to be that. No seriously it does.
King Khan & BBQ Show - "Love You So"
Vivian Girls - "Tell the World"
Who: Budos BandWhere: Cargo Cafe (Staten Island)
When: 10pm
Cost: FREE!!!
What to Expect: So rumor on the street (or in the AWE section of the Staten Island) is that the Budos Band will be doing a surprise show tonight in Staten Island at the old Cargo Cafe. On top of that the show is free and they are rumored to be filming something. That there is a lot of rumors, but we all know you love the funk jams this Staten Island big band are putting out and so you might wanna hop on that old ferry and get yourself into this little old bar for the show.
Listen: The Budos Band - "Budos Rising"
The Budos Band - "Chicago Falcon"
Who: Of MontrealWhen: December 16th
Where: Music Hall of Williamsburg
More Dates
Thoughts: Of Montreal are one of those bands that people absolutely adore or totally abhor. Personally I don't mind the quirky band, but they've never been one of my die hard favorites either. I don't know how I wound up in the middle of those very opinionated people, but I'd definitely like to check them out someday. Just not this time around as I'll be seeing The Walkmen that day.
Listen: Of Montreal - "Instant Karma"
Who: DeVothcKaWhen: January 24th
Where: Webster Hall
More Dates
Thoughts: Last time DeVotchKa was here they played Terminal 5, so either they shrank since their last visit to the city or they are playing a far more intimate setting to do something special for their fans. Based on how well their most recent album has done, and all the chatter about possible year end list placement, I'm voting that it's the latter. You DeVotchKa fans better get your butts on top of this one if you really are dying to see them again.
Listen: DeVotchKa - "How It Ends"
Who: Andrew BirdWhen: January 28th
Where: Carnegie Hall
More Dates
Thoughts: Indie rock has finally made the leap to acceptable form of music with Andrew Bird heading to Carnegie Hall. Obviously he listened to that old joke about how you get to Carnegie Hall. You know the one where the person answers "practice, practice, practice". Yeah it's not all that funny, but it definitely is true and it's wonderful to see a person like Andrew Bird getting a chance to bring his beautiful music to one of the finest concert halls in the world.
Listen: Andrew Bird - "Oh No!"
Who: Lykke LiWhen: February 2nd
Where: Webster Hall
More Dates
Thoughts: Lykke Li has had an enormous 2008. She began the year as a quickly buzzed about singer and ends it as one of the best acts of the year. To celebrate she'll be heading back to the States come the new year with a few dates here and there and of course one of those places will be in New York, duh. And as she has done each time she's been here she will be playing a bigger stage then the one she played the last time. Such is the way it goes when you're responsible for one of the best songs of the year.
Listen: Lykke Li - "Dance, Dance, Dance"
Who: Deer TickWhen: December 31st
Where: Knitting Factory
More Dates
Thoughts: Some character let the cat out of the bag on the After the Jump New Year's Eve bash at the Knitting Factory so I'm gonna go ahead and list Deer Tick's appearance there as well. I won't tell you who else is playing (though if you read Brooklyn Vegan you probably have a good idea), I'm just gonna let you know that this is the final show ever at the current Knitting Factory and this show will be fitting for just such a moment and for the holiday it's taking place on.
Listen: Deer Tick - "Long Time"
The Killers are no longer the fun band we once knew and loved. On Hot Fuss, the band did an admirable job of crafting overtly catchy songs bathed in their 80's synthetic sound. It was fun, it caused dance parties to break out, and there was barely a serious bone in the band's makeup. But now they have moved beyond that making themselves into this very serious group of balladeers. They never seem to be having fun anymore, and though the songs remain catchy and awash in that 80's sheen we've come to expect for them, I couldn't picture anyone getting down to this music and enjoying themselves. Instead it's as if the band has gone goth, purposely making themselves an emotionally strained band and removing the entertainment factor from the equation entirely. I wish they'd lighten up and get back to what they did best but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen any time soon.The Killers - "Human"
The Killers - "I Can't Stay"
For anyone that may forget that Rivers Cuomo knows how to write a pop song this may be a bit of a refresher on that. For the past two Weezer albums the man has made a mockery of his song writing abilities and tarnished his image, but on his second solo album Rivers attempts to atone for some of that. Granted this is certainly now Pinkerton and probably doesn't even stand up strong against the Green Album, but it does show that he is still capable of some strong songwriting. The production on Alone II is minimal and it generally allows Rivers the space to show off some of his more intimate feelings. Of course it is far from a perfect record as a lot of it is filled with trite songs that would generally fit well on the last two Weezer records which is generally not a good thing. All told this is an okay record, definitely not for people who weren't already fans, but for those that are you may find yourself listening and wishing that Rivers could translate some of these songs for his full band and maybe, just maybe recapture some of the magic that's been missing for ages.Rivers Cuomo - "My Brain Is Working Overtime"
Rivers Cuomo - "Don't Worry Baby"
Who: Violens + TelepatheWhere: Mercury Lounge
When: 8pm
Cost: $12
What to Expect: You should already know about the whole Friction scene and how they put on pretty much the best shows with the people you should be just starting to know as they are blowing the hell up so let's talk about the bands for a bit here. Both Telepathe and Violens have been on the radar for most of 2008. Both bands have released albums, done extensive touring, and played large, impressive shows in front of lots of people. Yet for some reason these bands are still playing the smaller, intimate Mercury Lounge instead of say Bowery Ballroom. The reason for this is because Friction wants you to see them jammed into a small room. If you haven't gotten tickets I think they are close to sold out so jump on this shit fast!
Listen: Violens - "Violent Sensation Descends"
Telepathe - "Devil's Trident"
The Good:
No Age - "Intimate Descriptions"; For a B-side to the fantastic and electric "Teen Creeps", this is kind of a downer of a tune for No Age. But amazingly the noise-punkers do a good job with the toned down (though still loud) and slower jam here. It starts to pick up in the later stages but then just ends before it can start rollicking about. It's a damn good song, just not quite as invigroating as what you would expect from the band.
Grade: B+
Jens Lekman - "Water Runs Dry" (Boyz II Men cover); I really wish the people in the background of this song would just shut the fuck up already. Seriously folks, why the hell are you talking over Jens Lekman when he's doing anything let alone covering a ridiculously emotional ballad from Boyz II Men! God! Anyway, Jens does his best, despite the crowd, covering this jewel of a song solo, with just himself on the piano accompanying. It's a sweet, tear jerker of a song that only resembles the Boyz version in the lyrics. Otherwise this is all Jens and it's a great cover.
Grade: B-
Ludacris (feat. Jamie Foxx) - "Contagious"; I don't know why but I am still amazed everytime I hear Jamie Foxx's voice. The boy can flat out sing. On this new Luda track he gives the tune a shit tone of soul with his "contagious" chorus. Ludacris ain't half bad either and listening to this has me itching to hear his new disc.
Grade: B
The Bicycles - "Won't She Be Surprised"; I just made a dentist's appointment after listening to the new track from The Bicycles. Seems this little ditty should come with a warning on the package alerting listeners to the dangerouosly syrupy sweet tune you are about to here. It's bouncy and fun, and just a general indie-pop good time. Just make sure not to abuse it and listen in moderation otherwise it may rot your teeth.
Grade: B+
My Brightest Diamond - "Tainted Love"; For the second year in a row Engine Room Recordings is giving us their excellently titled Guilt By Association compilation, featuring a shit ton of your favorite bands doing song they are too ashamed to admit to loving. The first tune released is My Brightest Diamonds excellent rendition of "Tainted Love", she sings it powerfully and with an unabashed enthusiasm, almost like she's not ashamed to love this song. And I'll bet she isn't. You can stream the whole album over here.
Grade: B
Cool Kids - "2K Pennies"; In this day and age of music you gotta make money any way you can with your songs, so it makes sense that musicians are selling their tunes to everyone under the sun; video games, tv shows, commercials, you name it they'll sell it to you. But I suppose it beats us having to actually pay for kick ass tunes like this. Just don't expect it to come completely free. Besides the sick little whistle sound that keeps the tempo, the sick as rhymes, and the down tempo beat, there are annoying references to the NBA and to 2K Sports recent NBA release. But those trivial details are largely ignorable thanks to the sick song in there.
Grade: B+
Track of the Week:
Dinowalrus - "Haze on the Mobius Strip"; Dinowalrus thoroughly impressed me with their self-released EP a few months ago. A combination of loud, shoegaze-ish tunes mixed with just the right amount of electronics, the music was an instant grab and has held my attention throughout these months. Now the band is recording again and I was lucky enough to get sent an mp3 of their new song. Like their older stuff this relies heavily on a shoegaze, noise inflected influence, though it kind of strips away some of the electronic aspects the band had going. Instead, this reminds me a lot more of some of the earlier Deerhunter stuff or something like Slowdive. It's a very cool, very long, and well fleshed out tune that I think will grab a lot of you by the ears and never let go.
Grade: A
Old School Track of the Week:
Paul Simon - "Me and Julio Down By the School Yard"; For some strange reason I have been hearing this song everywhere lately. In the car, on the radio, in the supermarket, and today my girlfriend was just randomly singing it. So it's been in my mind and now it's here on the blog. This is one of the great songs of all-time, just in case you didn't know that already.
Grade: A+
The Bad:
Beyonce - "If I Were A Boy" (SNL version); The other day I was driving in the car and Sound Opinions played us this track off the new Beyonce album I Am...Sasha Fierce. Much like the album's title the song is a bland attempt at a makeover for Beyonce, who honestly wasn't really in need of one. The girl can still sing sure, but overall this is a cheesy ballad and gets away from everything Beyonce has done to build herself up. I could imagine some American Idol winner choosing this song from the list of songs presented to her, but Beyonce should be better then this.
Grade: D+
Matt Duke - "Spilt Milk"; This starts off as a simple, pretty little indie tune, but somewhere around the minute mark it starts to wear a bit thin. Matt Duke has a nice enough voice, but it just makes me a bit too sleepy to keep going with it. I was on the fence about it though, then my face hit the desk.
Grade: C
Video of the Week:
Tim Fite - "Big Mistake"; It seems like forever since I last posted on Tim Fite, but it's been a busy few months and for some reason his latest release kind of slipped under my radar. No more though! No Mr. Fite has roared his way back into my listening rotation with a keen video animated by himself and featuring the strongest song off this year's Fair Ain't Fair. It's a super sweet video that ends with a total kick in the damn pants, but fits Tim's song and his personality to a tee. Check it out, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!
Grade: B+
No Age - "Intimate Descriptions"; For a B-side to the fantastic and electric "Teen Creeps", this is kind of a downer of a tune for No Age. But amazingly the noise-punkers do a good job with the toned down (though still loud) and slower jam here. It starts to pick up in the later stages but then just ends before it can start rollicking about. It's a damn good song, just not quite as invigroating as what you would expect from the band.
Grade: B+
Jens Lekman - "Water Runs Dry" (Boyz II Men cover); I really wish the people in the background of this song would just shut the fuck up already. Seriously folks, why the hell are you talking over Jens Lekman when he's doing anything let alone covering a ridiculously emotional ballad from Boyz II Men! God! Anyway, Jens does his best, despite the crowd, covering this jewel of a song solo, with just himself on the piano accompanying. It's a sweet, tear jerker of a song that only resembles the Boyz version in the lyrics. Otherwise this is all Jens and it's a great cover.
Grade: B-
Ludacris (feat. Jamie Foxx) - "Contagious"; I don't know why but I am still amazed everytime I hear Jamie Foxx's voice. The boy can flat out sing. On this new Luda track he gives the tune a shit tone of soul with his "contagious" chorus. Ludacris ain't half bad either and listening to this has me itching to hear his new disc.
Grade: B
The Bicycles - "Won't She Be Surprised"; I just made a dentist's appointment after listening to the new track from The Bicycles. Seems this little ditty should come with a warning on the package alerting listeners to the dangerouosly syrupy sweet tune you are about to here. It's bouncy and fun, and just a general indie-pop good time. Just make sure not to abuse it and listen in moderation otherwise it may rot your teeth.
Grade: B+
My Brightest Diamond - "Tainted Love"; For the second year in a row Engine Room Recordings is giving us their excellently titled Guilt By Association compilation, featuring a shit ton of your favorite bands doing song they are too ashamed to admit to loving. The first tune released is My Brightest Diamonds excellent rendition of "Tainted Love", she sings it powerfully and with an unabashed enthusiasm, almost like she's not ashamed to love this song. And I'll bet she isn't. You can stream the whole album over here.
Grade: B
Cool Kids - "2K Pennies"; In this day and age of music you gotta make money any way you can with your songs, so it makes sense that musicians are selling their tunes to everyone under the sun; video games, tv shows, commercials, you name it they'll sell it to you. But I suppose it beats us having to actually pay for kick ass tunes like this. Just don't expect it to come completely free. Besides the sick little whistle sound that keeps the tempo, the sick as rhymes, and the down tempo beat, there are annoying references to the NBA and to 2K Sports recent NBA release. But those trivial details are largely ignorable thanks to the sick song in there.
Grade: B+
Track of the Week:
Dinowalrus - "Haze on the Mobius Strip"; Dinowalrus thoroughly impressed me with their self-released EP a few months ago. A combination of loud, shoegaze-ish tunes mixed with just the right amount of electronics, the music was an instant grab and has held my attention throughout these months. Now the band is recording again and I was lucky enough to get sent an mp3 of their new song. Like their older stuff this relies heavily on a shoegaze, noise inflected influence, though it kind of strips away some of the electronic aspects the band had going. Instead, this reminds me a lot more of some of the earlier Deerhunter stuff or something like Slowdive. It's a very cool, very long, and well fleshed out tune that I think will grab a lot of you by the ears and never let go.
Grade: A
Old School Track of the Week:
Paul Simon - "Me and Julio Down By the School Yard"; For some strange reason I have been hearing this song everywhere lately. In the car, on the radio, in the supermarket, and today my girlfriend was just randomly singing it. So it's been in my mind and now it's here on the blog. This is one of the great songs of all-time, just in case you didn't know that already.
Grade: A+
The Bad:
Beyonce - "If I Were A Boy" (SNL version); The other day I was driving in the car and Sound Opinions played us this track off the new Beyonce album I Am...Sasha Fierce. Much like the album's title the song is a bland attempt at a makeover for Beyonce, who honestly wasn't really in need of one. The girl can still sing sure, but overall this is a cheesy ballad and gets away from everything Beyonce has done to build herself up. I could imagine some American Idol winner choosing this song from the list of songs presented to her, but Beyonce should be better then this.
Grade: D+
Matt Duke - "Spilt Milk"; This starts off as a simple, pretty little indie tune, but somewhere around the minute mark it starts to wear a bit thin. Matt Duke has a nice enough voice, but it just makes me a bit too sleepy to keep going with it. I was on the fence about it though, then my face hit the desk.
Grade: C
Video of the Week:
Tim Fite - "Big Mistake"; It seems like forever since I last posted on Tim Fite, but it's been a busy few months and for some reason his latest release kind of slipped under my radar. No more though! No Mr. Fite has roared his way back into my listening rotation with a keen video animated by himself and featuring the strongest song off this year's Fair Ain't Fair. It's a super sweet video that ends with a total kick in the damn pants, but fits Tim's song and his personality to a tee. Check it out, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!
Grade: B+
Labels:
beyonce,
cool kids,
dinowalrus,
jens lekman,
mp3's,
no age,
paul simon,
tim fite,
track reviews,
video of the week
Who: Wilderness + San SeracWhere: Cake Shop
When: 9pm
Cost: $7
What to Expect: Considering for a second the vast array of sounds found eminanting from the Baltimore scenes these days, it's a bit difficult to sometimes remember that Wilderness is a part of that area at all. Their post-punk ways are pretty standard and samey compared to some of the crazed things happen across from the Capital, but no matter how you slice it the sounds of Wilderness are a wonder to behold. Sure it may not be glitchy dance noise like Dan Deacon or crazed punk like Ponytail, but the music is all we really care about not the labels of the music. Right? If that's true for you then there's a good chance I'll see you in the basement tonight when Wilderness hit the stage.
Listen: Wilderness - "Monumental"
San Serac - "Fairlight"
The release of the long awaited Chinese Democracy by Guns N' Roses this weekend got me thinking about albums that we had to wait a long time for, but were also wholly worth the wait once we finally got to hear them. When you really think about it there aren't too many of these. Sure there are a lot of bands that had huge gaps between good albums, but very few went on long hiatuses and managed to crawl their way back into the music listening consciousness. Still, there are definitely some albums that were totally worth however long we had to wait for them and these are them.
10. Max Tundra Parallax Error Beheads You (6-years); Yeah so I've already reviewed the new record from Max Tundra, I've interviewed the man, and now I'm including him here on this top 10 list. I guess you can pretty much call it 'Max Tundra Week' here on Pop Tarts Suck Toasted at this point. But as much as I have pontificated about the album this week there is no denying how fantastic this record is, and it has been a lengthy 6-years since we last heard from the Brit. I'm sure I could have included someone else that I haven't talked about on the site this week, but that would be lying to put a lesser album on a list then something that truly belongs for fear of over-hyping it. And I am not for lying.
Max Tundra - "Which Song"
9. Beastie Boys To the 5 Boroughs (6-years); I'm sure most Beastie fans will admit that To the 5 Boroughs is not the bands finest moment, because let's face it when you're comparing this to albums like Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, or Ill Communication you are just not going to trump them too often. That said, it is still an excellent example of what the Beastie Boys do best, putting down simple samples and dropping some mix-and-match, cut-and-paste rhymes to them, and it flat out works every time. It's just that some times happen to be more successful then others, but really there are no bad Beastie Boys albums.
Beastie Boys - "An Open Letter to NYC"
8. The Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge (5-years); For their follow-up to Slick Wheels The Rolling Stones once again relied heavily on the format that had created them, bluesy guitar riffs, strutting vocals, and mostly straight forward rock music. Even though Keith and Mick had both released solo albums in the years between the two records it seemed like something was missing from Voodoo Lounge, but whatever that was was made up for by the pure fact that the world had a new Rolling Stones album to faun over. Like To the 5 Boroughs above, it's not the best work of the Stones' remarkable career, but it is a solid display of rock music and musicianship through and through.
The Rolling Stones - "Love Is Strong"
7. The Descendents Everything Sucks (9-years); While Milo Aukerman was off studying biochemisty, the punk world was left without their wonderful 2-minute anthems of teen agnst. It was a sad decade for punk music, a time where bands like Green Day and Blink-182 swooped right in and took up the flag of punk music and made something completely different from what it had been in the 70's and 80's - a commercially viable form of music. Perhaps sensing this shift in the music world The Descendents reformed to release 1995's Everything Sucks, their first record since the release of All, but I prefer to believe that Aukerman and company just had so much pent up energy in them that this record was literally bursting from them. No matter what reason they had for reforming Everything Sucks easily stands on a plane with the band's more reverred albums, Milo Goes to College and All.
The Descendents - "We"
6. Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers (4-years); For a number of years David Berman battled addiction and acted as hermit during those years, hardly ever coming out, never doing interviews, never performing live, and never releasing new material. Then one day news came down that a new Silver Jews record was in the making and lo and behold we had Tanglewood Numbers at our feet. An album that was rocking and jubilant in sound, but scary and emotionally rocky in its lyrics. It was a fantastic record and is still constantly playing on my iPod even though it may have been upstaged by this year's Jews release. No matter what though, Tanglewood Numbers brought Berman out of hiding and for that alone it should be praised immensely.
Silve Jews - "Punks in the Beerlight"
5. Bruce Springsteen The Rising (7-years, 18-years since prior E Street Band album); Inspiration can come from all sorts of places; love, muses, you name it and inspiration can be born from it. So it shouldn't be all that surprising that Bruce Springsteen chose the attacks of September 11th as the driving force behind his first record in 7-years and his first with the E Street Band since Born in the U.S.A.. Obviously the events of the morning had a profound effect on all of us but it led to the finest Springsteen album in ages,with a profound and stirring reflection on the tragedy and the vigorous nationalism of an American patriot. The album, of course, hit right in stride with the way Americans reacted to the tragedy and launched Springsteen to yet another hit record and one of his finer contributions to the legacy of rock music.
Bruce Springsteen - "The Rising"
4. Radiohead In Rainbows (4-years); As the music industry suffered through the start of the digital era in music history Radiohead sat waiting and plotting their next move. Their previous album, Hail to the Thief, had been a sharp blow to the American president and it also signaled the end of their recording contract with EMI. Meaning the innovators were free to do whatever they wanted. What they did decide on changed the face of the music industry forever as the band announced their record was coming out in 10-days and then before we knew it it really was out via a "pay what you want" digital download. It was an incredibly bold move on the part of Radiohead and it apparently paid off, though exact numbers still probably aren't exact. The album itself is yet another in a long line of fantastic records made by Radiohead, but In Rainbows is more then the music thanks to the brains behind the album and the way it was released.
Radiohead - "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"
3. Brian Wilson Smile (38-years); When work began on Smile, the album that was to follow The Beach Boys' seminal work Pet Sounds, my father was 7-years old. When it was finally released as a Brian Wilson solo album my father was 45-years old. It's just one of the many examples that could be used to prove just how long it took Brian Wilson to complete this work. But after performing what was suppsoed to be Smile Brian Wilson was renewed and clear headed enough to complete the album and the results is a fine piece of pop music history. The is the ultimate wait for an album if ever there was one and all told it was certainly worth it.
Brian Wilson - "Heroes and Villains"
2. Bob Dylan Modern Times (5-years); When you talk about waiting 5-years may not seem like that great a distance of time, but considering that this was Dylan's first album to reach #1 on the charts since 1976, and the critical adoration it garnered, it certainly stands as one of the greater comebacks in modern music history. Musically, Modern Times is one of the best piece of work in the songwriter's incredible career and showed a beautiful imagining of how music should be made. Of course there was some controversy over uncredited uses of older songs and the usage of actual lyrical lines from poet Henry Timrod, but in this day and age aren't those types of things par for the course (see: rap music). Dylan crafted a masterpiece well past what should have been his prime, but like most of the musicians on this list who's to say when an artists prime actually is.
Bob Dylan - "Someday Baby"
1. Mission of Burma OnoffOn (22-years); Having been forced from music far too early due to Roger Miller's awful bout with tinnitus, the return of Mission of Burma after a 19-year hiatus is probably the most surprising and exciting long wait on this list of waits. For 22-years the band sat idle as indie band after indie band took their sound and slapped new labels on it while calling it their own. So many bands had been influenced by Mission of Burma, yet far too many of those same bands never had the chance to witness the sonic explosion of their live show. When they returned, indie rock stalwarts were overjoyed and the band sold out show after show. This in turn led to the pursuit of new music by the band and in 2004 after a lengthy 22-year OnoffOn was born. It's a tremendous record, maybe not quite as powerful as Vs. (seriously is there anything as powerful?), but definitely a worthy entry into their far to small catalog of music. Obviously most of wish they could have gone on throughout the 80's but who knows where that would have led us, instead we have a revitalized Mission of Burma touring regularly and recording new music every day. What could be more worth the wait then that?
Mission of Burma - "Max Ernst's Dream"
10. Max Tundra Parallax Error Beheads You (6-years); Yeah so I've already reviewed the new record from Max Tundra, I've interviewed the man, and now I'm including him here on this top 10 list. I guess you can pretty much call it 'Max Tundra Week' here on Pop Tarts Suck Toasted at this point. But as much as I have pontificated about the album this week there is no denying how fantastic this record is, and it has been a lengthy 6-years since we last heard from the Brit. I'm sure I could have included someone else that I haven't talked about on the site this week, but that would be lying to put a lesser album on a list then something that truly belongs for fear of over-hyping it. And I am not for lying.Max Tundra - "Which Song"
9. Beastie Boys To the 5 Boroughs (6-years); I'm sure most Beastie fans will admit that To the 5 Boroughs is not the bands finest moment, because let's face it when you're comparing this to albums like Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, or Ill Communication you are just not going to trump them too often. That said, it is still an excellent example of what the Beastie Boys do best, putting down simple samples and dropping some mix-and-match, cut-and-paste rhymes to them, and it flat out works every time. It's just that some times happen to be more successful then others, but really there are no bad Beastie Boys albums.Beastie Boys - "An Open Letter to NYC"
8. The Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge (5-years); For their follow-up to Slick Wheels The Rolling Stones once again relied heavily on the format that had created them, bluesy guitar riffs, strutting vocals, and mostly straight forward rock music. Even though Keith and Mick had both released solo albums in the years between the two records it seemed like something was missing from Voodoo Lounge, but whatever that was was made up for by the pure fact that the world had a new Rolling Stones album to faun over. Like To the 5 Boroughs above, it's not the best work of the Stones' remarkable career, but it is a solid display of rock music and musicianship through and through.The Rolling Stones - "Love Is Strong"
7. The Descendents Everything Sucks (9-years); While Milo Aukerman was off studying biochemisty, the punk world was left without their wonderful 2-minute anthems of teen agnst. It was a sad decade for punk music, a time where bands like Green Day and Blink-182 swooped right in and took up the flag of punk music and made something completely different from what it had been in the 70's and 80's - a commercially viable form of music. Perhaps sensing this shift in the music world The Descendents reformed to release 1995's Everything Sucks, their first record since the release of All, but I prefer to believe that Aukerman and company just had so much pent up energy in them that this record was literally bursting from them. No matter what reason they had for reforming Everything Sucks easily stands on a plane with the band's more reverred albums, Milo Goes to College and All.The Descendents - "We"
6. Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers (4-years); For a number of years David Berman battled addiction and acted as hermit during those years, hardly ever coming out, never doing interviews, never performing live, and never releasing new material. Then one day news came down that a new Silver Jews record was in the making and lo and behold we had Tanglewood Numbers at our feet. An album that was rocking and jubilant in sound, but scary and emotionally rocky in its lyrics. It was a fantastic record and is still constantly playing on my iPod even though it may have been upstaged by this year's Jews release. No matter what though, Tanglewood Numbers brought Berman out of hiding and for that alone it should be praised immensely.Silve Jews - "Punks in the Beerlight"
5. Bruce Springsteen The Rising (7-years, 18-years since prior E Street Band album); Inspiration can come from all sorts of places; love, muses, you name it and inspiration can be born from it. So it shouldn't be all that surprising that Bruce Springsteen chose the attacks of September 11th as the driving force behind his first record in 7-years and his first with the E Street Band since Born in the U.S.A.. Obviously the events of the morning had a profound effect on all of us but it led to the finest Springsteen album in ages,with a profound and stirring reflection on the tragedy and the vigorous nationalism of an American patriot. The album, of course, hit right in stride with the way Americans reacted to the tragedy and launched Springsteen to yet another hit record and one of his finer contributions to the legacy of rock music.Bruce Springsteen - "The Rising"
4. Radiohead In Rainbows (4-years); As the music industry suffered through the start of the digital era in music history Radiohead sat waiting and plotting their next move. Their previous album, Hail to the Thief, had been a sharp blow to the American president and it also signaled the end of their recording contract with EMI. Meaning the innovators were free to do whatever they wanted. What they did decide on changed the face of the music industry forever as the band announced their record was coming out in 10-days and then before we knew it it really was out via a "pay what you want" digital download. It was an incredibly bold move on the part of Radiohead and it apparently paid off, though exact numbers still probably aren't exact. The album itself is yet another in a long line of fantastic records made by Radiohead, but In Rainbows is more then the music thanks to the brains behind the album and the way it was released.Radiohead - "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"
3. Brian Wilson Smile (38-years); When work began on Smile, the album that was to follow The Beach Boys' seminal work Pet Sounds, my father was 7-years old. When it was finally released as a Brian Wilson solo album my father was 45-years old. It's just one of the many examples that could be used to prove just how long it took Brian Wilson to complete this work. But after performing what was suppsoed to be Smile Brian Wilson was renewed and clear headed enough to complete the album and the results is a fine piece of pop music history. The is the ultimate wait for an album if ever there was one and all told it was certainly worth it.Brian Wilson - "Heroes and Villains"
2. Bob Dylan Modern Times (5-years); When you talk about waiting 5-years may not seem like that great a distance of time, but considering that this was Dylan's first album to reach #1 on the charts since 1976, and the critical adoration it garnered, it certainly stands as one of the greater comebacks in modern music history. Musically, Modern Times is one of the best piece of work in the songwriter's incredible career and showed a beautiful imagining of how music should be made. Of course there was some controversy over uncredited uses of older songs and the usage of actual lyrical lines from poet Henry Timrod, but in this day and age aren't those types of things par for the course (see: rap music). Dylan crafted a masterpiece well past what should have been his prime, but like most of the musicians on this list who's to say when an artists prime actually is.Bob Dylan - "Someday Baby"
1. Mission of Burma OnoffOn (22-years); Having been forced from music far too early due to Roger Miller's awful bout with tinnitus, the return of Mission of Burma after a 19-year hiatus is probably the most surprising and exciting long wait on this list of waits. For 22-years the band sat idle as indie band after indie band took their sound and slapped new labels on it while calling it their own. So many bands had been influenced by Mission of Burma, yet far too many of those same bands never had the chance to witness the sonic explosion of their live show. When they returned, indie rock stalwarts were overjoyed and the band sold out show after show. This in turn led to the pursuit of new music by the band and in 2004 after a lengthy 22-year OnoffOn was born. It's a tremendous record, maybe not quite as powerful as Vs. (seriously is there anything as powerful?), but definitely a worthy entry into their far to small catalog of music. Obviously most of wish they could have gone on throughout the 80's but who knows where that would have led us, instead we have a revitalized Mission of Burma touring regularly and recording new music every day. What could be more worth the wait then that?Mission of Burma - "Max Ernst's Dream"
Labels:
beastie boys,
bob dylan,
max tundra,
mission of burma,
mp3's,
radiohead,
silver jews,
the descendents,
top 10's
On Tuesday I recommended that you all check out the first record in six years from electro-pop wizard Max Tundra. Today I get a chance to share an e-mail interview I had the chance to do with the artist behind the moniker, Ben Jacobs. I was really excited to be asking him some questions, so hopefully you guys will be excited to read some of them and make sure you check out the new record Parallax Error Beheads You!PTST: First off, it took you 6-years to make Parallax Error Beheads You, so when do you think we'll see the follow-up to this record?
Max Tundra: I think I'll bang my next album out fairly quickly. I always try and make each Max Tundra album (and each song too, for that matter) completely different from every other one, and I've never done an album in a short space of time before, so this could be a decent way of making it sound unique. Although I say that now, but I'm sure I'll get fussy with it when the time comes.
PTST: Obviously that first one was on the joking side, but seriously what have you been doing during those 6-years? Was there any particulars that forced the record to take such a long time to reach it's completion?
Max Tundra: I spent most of the time living on a raft made of old piano keys, upon which I floated into the Forest Of The Lost Chord, hung my clothes from a pointy branch and did thoroughly gad about naked. Four years into this the songs took their basic shape and order, the remaining two years are unprintably secret.
PTST: Now that it is done, and it did take 6-years to make, is there any feeling of anxiety waiting to see what people's reactions will be to the record? Do you ever find yourself going to add to it only to realize it's done?
Max Tundra: It's always lovely when people like my music, and a bit disheartening when they don't. A peculiar trait in those who hate my stuff is that it makes them pretty furious. This is amusing and poignant. And I knew when the record was ready, and didn't add to it after it was done. I still remember the morning of completion. I have never been that excited before.
PTST: What was the process of making this like? Did you jump from song to song composing bits and pieces or did you just focus on it song by song till it was done? Did you have any idea what you were aiming for when you began the creation of this?
Max Tundra: I only worked on one song at any one time; to record two songs in parallel would feel like I were cheating on each of them. However I had all the songs in rough demo form fairly early on, as well as the running order of the tracks. I took my time fleshing out the production particulars of each song, and wouldn't change a moment of this dense beastie.
PTST: You rely heavily on your Commodore Amiga 500 for your compositions, what other sounds are going to appear on Parallax Error? How many times do you need to program the Commodore for each song to get it to where you want it to be?
Max Tundra: The Amiga is just a small facet of my studio, but it's interesting that people have focused on it. True, I use it for sequencing, but none of the actual sounds you hear on Parallax Error Beheads You came out of the Amiga itself. A couple of the tracks don't have any sequencing on them at all. Do people ask Philip Roth about his Biro?
PTST: Lyrically your music is pretty fun, songs like "Will Get Fooled Again", where does material like that come from?
Max Tundra: I occasionally think "I'd like to write a song about such-and-such situation", but what normally happens is that I run out of material about that person/object/place/foodstuff after a verse, and then have to think of something or someone else to write the rest of the song about. Then I think "hang on, I haven't mentioned X yet". "Will Get Fooled Again" is the oldest song on the album; at the time Friendster and Myspace were quite hip, new things to sing about. They no longer are.
PTST: So after six years of work what was your first reaction when you listened to the completed album? How do you think your fans will take to the new material?
Max Tundra: I was deliriously excited upon hearing the finished album. It happened on a Friday morning at around 8 o'clock. I had been up all night working on "The Entertainment" and then when it was done and I put it all into place, it truly knocked me for six. I tried to go to bed but only managed to sleep for twenty minutes, I was so happy and relieved to have completed it. There were many times I thought it would never happen, even as recently as a year ago. I think anyone who dug the first two records will maybe even prefer this one.
PTST: If you had to do the whole thing all over again do you think it would still take as long as it did? Would you do anything differently?
Max Tundra: I couldn't make this record again, absolutely no way. I sacrificed a lot of physical and mental energy, more than you might think, and it scares me to look back on it all. However I wouldn't change any aspect of the sound of it; it's exactly how I wanted it to turn out. This is the record which most truly resembles the one I had planned in my head.
PTST: Are there any plans to tour behind the album? If so are you going to be hitting the U.S. at all?
Max Tundra: A US tour is tentatively planned for spring 2009. Check myspace.com/maxtundra for news updates on this and other jaunts.
Listen: Max Tundra - "Will Get Fooled Again"
Max Tundra - "Which Song"
This weekend Chinese Democracy is finally going to see its long awaited release. Fro more then a decade people have talked about the coming Guns N' Roses album even as the band dissolved and became Velvet Revolver there was still talk of what Axel Rose was working on. So it only makes sense that before we hear the new version of Guns N' Roses that we take it back to the beginning to briefly explore the music world of 1987 and the way that Appetite for Destruction completely dismantled that world.In '87 the pop world was overrun by horrible bands making coked up music and it was true in all genres. Rock, pop, metal, rap, everything was built on lavish excess creating a Dionysian society that was a horror for anyone less fortunate then those that could afford vial after vial of coke. The Regan years were beginning to wane though and finally people were waking to the realization of a weakened economy, a health crisis like the world had never seen, hunger and famine in countless nations across the globe and a general feeling of dismay that was sweeping everyone up. It was then that Guns N' Roses thrust their dirty, honest hard rock in our faces and made us take a deep whiff of everything that stunk in the world. Granted, they didn't quite expunge on how to save a deathly ill world, no they just pointed a spotlight on certain areas that were vile, most notably the festering urban decay that was Los Angeles in the late 80's. And of course the band weren't really role models of any kind, with most of them imbibing on just as many libations as they looked down upon in their music, but at least they took their stance to the public and showed something much darker then the party happy music of the time.
As much as Appetite was willing to rub our noses in the despicable filth of the world, it was not really a political record so much as it was an honest to god rock album that just showed off a darker side of human nature at the time. Songs like the heroin ode "Mr. Brownstone" or the plea to escape known as "Paradise City" brought to life the very real depravity of the world that had built up Guns N' Roses through the inner workings of its club scene. It was an honest telling of the darker side of all the drugs, sex, and rock and roll that hair metal was peddling and getting rich off of. Somehow people stood up and took note when Axel sang of the horrors and darkness that could be reached through these actions.
Maybe it was his stark, unmatched vocals, but a lot of the credit must be given to the powerful band behind him. With Slash and Izzy Stradlin playing their dueling guitars, with Duff McKagan pounding out fierce bass riffs, and Steven Adler helming a steady drum, the music matched the gritty subject matter. It was heavy and hard no doubt, but it also infused elements of the blues and punk that made it more people oriented then the ridiculous sounds the hair metal makers were crafting while shopping for mousse. It was this powerful sound, combined with Rose's wailing voice that drove the point home and propelled Appetite for Destruction into the charts against the bands they despised.
This was a powerful record, something that can still be looked upon as one of the great records of all-time, and something that started driving the nails into the coffin of hair metal and synth pop. It began crushing that stuff with its realism and brutal honesty, driving the point across that no matter how fun all this debauchery was it would catch up with you eventually. Appetite for Destruction was a true metal album, something that I'm sure will dwarf any attempt to recreate that feeling and emotion of Chinese Democracy. But however the long awaited album pans out there is no doubt what this band once brought to the table, the only debate now is whether the newly added pieces can even hold a candle to what they once were.
Guns N' Roses - "Welcome to the Jungle"
Guns N' Roses - "Nightrain"
Guns N' Roses - "Mr. Brownstone"
Guns N' Roses - "Paradise City"
Guns N' Roses - "You're Crazy"
I totally missed this when it happened, and I still regret it. At least now I can watch a 10-minute video that makes me hate myself more and more by the minute. Sigh. Good night internet.
Who: Subtle, Zach Hill, + Pattern Is MovementWhere: Knitting Factory (Main Stage)
When: 8pm
Cost: $14
What to Expect: For fans of drummers or crazy propulsive music this show is for you. Chris Ward (drummer of Pattern Is Movement), Zach Hill, and of course the whole rhythm section of Subtle, create beats that are insane, defying standard times and signatures and propelling their band's sounds to new areas that few bands can dare to match. This is gonna be a loud, moving show that should be a blast for any fans of skin pounding, drummers.
Listen: Subtle - "Sick Soft Perfection"
Zach Hill - "Stoic Logic"
Pattern Is Movement - "Sound of Your Voice"
Belle & Sebastian BBC SessionsBelle & Sebastian - "Slow Graffiti"
Gentlemen Auction House Christmas In LoveGentlemen Auction House - "On the Rooftop"
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan Sunday at Devil DirtIsobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - "Something To Believe"
Asobi Seksu Me and Mary b/w Breath Into Glass (7")Asobi Seksu - "Me and Mary"
Who: Army NavyLocation: Los Angeles, CA
elbo.ws Ranking: N/A
Thoughts: Think of every feel good story you've ever heard of about an indie rock band suddenly jumping into the collective consciousness of the music listening world, now be prepared to have all of those shamed by the story that is Army Navy. Consisting of four members, Army Navy have an incredibly remarkable history that consists of enlisting a member of Elvis Costello's Attractions to come play with them, writing songs and playing with Ben Gibbard in his pre-Death Cab days, recording a song for a band that would later be made huge when covered by Melissa Ehtridge, and so it goes. Basically Army Navy have done everything you could ever imagine doing and decided to combine their parts into a quickly rising indie pop group. And these boys are actually solid! With a sound reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub or The Posies, they craft melodic tunes that are upbeat downers mostly about longing after some girl or another. Simply put, this is 90's revivalist stuff done extremely well. So Army Navy are pretty much living the life you dreamed of having, don't be jealous just start appreciating the music the best you can with that grudge on your shoulder.
Verdict: Buzzworthy
Listen: Army Navy - "Saints"
Army Navy - "Silvery Sleds"
Army Navy - "Jumping Someone Else's Train" (The Cure cover)
Bonus Video: Army Navy - "My Thin Sides"
For six years music geeks around the world have patiently waited for a new album from the technical pop prodigy known as Max Tundra. Since releasing his wonderful Mastered By Guy At the Exchange was released in 2003 we have been yearning for some more video game blips and bleeps, some more jangly keyboard bits, and of course Max's wistful melodies and quirky lyrics. It's been quite the wait, but at last it's finally over with the release of Parallax Error Beheads You and album that immediately atones for the long delay with some of the finest electro-pop out there. Of course, this is music for geeks with all the programming involved in the making of it and all the technical references found within the songs, making this an album that is probably not going to win everyone over but will make the egg-heads pretty happy.For six years Max Tundra, or Ben Jacobs if you prefer to go by actual names, has been toiling away working on this record, the odd job here and there, and little else. It shows as everything on this album is meticulously laid out, with programming loops and melodies pieced together to give a fully realized sound that is never rushed but is immensely dense and layered. The album also reveals a lot of loneliness experienced by Jacobs during the making of this albums. Songs like "Which Song" detail his yearning for the perfect woman and the fact that he lost the woman detailed in his 2002 album, Some Best Friend You Turned Out to Be. Of course he also mixes all these emotions with his technical background combining emotional lines with references to pieces of technology as in the wonderful "Will Get Fooled Again" which details his trials meeting women through the online world of Myspace and Friendster. As emotional as it can be it is also done with a self-deprecating humor that is a joy to behold. He almost laughs at himself throughout parts of the album and the sounds of all the electronics and piano add to the light heartedness with which he experiences his emotionally trying times. In other words he's not going goth or suicidal just because he can't land his dream girl.
But when you get right down to it the reason us music dweebs log in to find out about new Max Tundra material is the sounds he lays down. Relying heavily on the Commodore Amiga (though it's apparently mostly for sequencing as we'll learn in my interview tomorrow) and a variety of other synthetic sounds, as well as an array of scales on his keyboard, Jacobs composes his most immediately pop album to date. It's an album with surprising depth and layers that may seem a bit chaotic during your first few listens, but it spreads out with each successive listen.
All in all this is a damn fine record from Max Tundra, certainly worth the six years of waiting we've had and definitely one of the year's finest piece of music. It's a compelling, interesting listen that you can get down to or bounce around with or sing along to whatever your preference may be. It pushes the pop music to new soundscapes and new places that only Max Tundra can bring us to right now.
Max Tundra - "Will Get Fooled Again"
Max Tundra - "Which Song"
Max Tundra - "Number Our Days"
Who: The AntlersWhere: Union Pool
When: 8pm!
Cost: $7
What to Expect: If you haven't heard before I am a huge fan of this new-ish Brooklyn band called The Antlers. Okay, that entire sentence is pretty much an understatement, but followers of this blog are probably getting sick of me talking about The Antlers or have fallen in love along with me and can't get enough. Either way you slice it though you haven't heard the band's new album which has recently been completed and is in the process of being released in the new year. This album is by far the best new music I've heard all year (though unfortunately it will not be my album of the year since it has yet to be released) and I think fans of folks like My Bloody Valentine or Jeff Buckley will instantly find a lot to love about The Antlers. Listen to the mp3's below, get a sense of what they sound like and then be prepared to be blown away by their live set.
Listen: The Antlers - "Two"
The Antlers - "When You Sleep" (My Bloody Valentine cover)
Who: Kanye WestTitle: 808's & Heartbreak
Release Date: November 24th
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam
Thoughts: Art has seemingly always been plagued by artists who were so far ahead of their time that they were critically derided by their peers and by audiences of their time, only to be hailed as a landmark and innovator after their time has passed. In music it's far less common though not completely non-existent, though what is more common is a musician that has a run away hit and then branches out into uncharted territory. Think Lou Reed or David Byrne, and now you can add Kanye West to that list. Over the course of three records Kanye has built a following that is huge, has been raved about by more critics then most musicians could ever dream of, and has completely spanned the bridges normally dividing music fans to encompass pretty much every person that has ever listened to music. But on his new record, 808's & Heartbreak, Kanye drifts into some truly uncharted territory relying heavily on autotune and a drum machine. It's like nothing we have ever heard from Kanye, and though songs on his most recent record could certainly pave the road for an electronic tinged pop album like this, they definitely were only the smallest indicators of what we would get here. Of course Kanye has had a lot of changes in his life that had a massive effect on this record, most notably the untimely passing of his mother. There is true heartbreak on this record, a far cry from the bravado he normally spits out though that's present here too. But for the most part 808's takes on a more personal, confessional sound for Kanye, telling us that he yearns for children and a woman he can truly love and other emotional touchstones that Kanye has obviously been thinking on for a while now. But not everyone is sold on the direction of this record. The initial response to the lead single, "Love Lockdown", was mixed at best and I have a feeling the rest of the record will do nothing to mend the divide here. Overall the record is definitely something different, but the beats, the melodies, the lyrics, all soar high above anything Kanye has ever tried before, it's just the use of autotune that will be truly divisive and for my money I really like his usage of it. Yes, it sometimes come out forced or sterile, but it gives a little bit of a shroud to the emotional depth of his lyrics here allowing him a place to hide while putting himself out there. Maybe it's not the best thing, but the usage is poignant and certainly fitting for such a proud, out going person, who has had his fair share of tears these days.
Listen: Kanye West - "Welcome to Heartbreak"
Kanye West - "Love Lockdown"
Kanye West - "Streetlights"
Who: FenneszTitle: Black Sea
Release date: November 25th
Label: Touch
Thoughts: Listening to the new Fennesz album at almost midnight before you have to work the next morning is probably not the best way to first digest his music. You are already sleepy, and the sleepiness of the droning, textured guitars only heightens that feeling, but this is some beautiful music. Working an acoustic guitar and filtering the sound until it is almost of indiscernible origin, Fennesz redefines what electronic bedroom music should sound like. Rhythms are almost completely absent from this record, allowing the drone to have its own life force and pulse. It's a pretty cool concept and it definitely makes for an interesting listen, just it would be better if was awake enough to process it all.
Listen: Fennesz - "Perfume for Winter"
Fennesz - "Vacuum"
Monday: Little Joy @ Virgin Megastore 7pm FREE
Like I said for their show last week at Mercury Lounge, anytime a member of The Strokes shows up in New York - whether it's for a side project or anything else - it is an event to behold. Now you can get in for free to catch the excellent new stuff from Fabrizio Moretti and the rest of his Little Joy group. This may be a packed event so get there a little early.
Little Joy - "Don't Watch Me Dancing"
Tuesday: Subtle, Zach Hill, + Pattern Is Movement @ Knitting Factory 8pm $12
During CMJ I was chatting with Chris Ward, drummer for Pattern Is Movement, and he was telling me that he was pushing to be a part of this tour featuring Subtle and Zach Hill. Well, it seems he got his wish and you will all be rewarded for it with some of the best drummers in the world today taking the Knitting Factory stage. This is going to be an explosive show!
Subtle - "Day Dangerous"
Zach Hill - "Hindsight Is Nowhere"
Pattern Is Movement - "Jenny Ono"
Wednesday: Wilderness @ Cake Shop 8pm $tba
I've been really enjoying the new record from Wilderness but I'm a bit baffled by the venues they're playing in New York this time around. Cake Shop tonight, Union Pool on Thursday, I thought this band was much bigger then the intimate spaces they'll be playing this week, but I suppose it affords as an awesome opportunity to see them do their thing in a small space. Should be an excellent show.
Wilderness - "Own Anything"
Thursday: Violens + Telepathe @ Mercury Lounge 7:30pm $10
Another month, another show from the guys at Friction. Tonight they'll be hosting the always fantastic Violens and up-and-comers Telepathe. I saw Telepathe a few months back at the Seaport where they did not impress me and a few months before that at Knitting Factory where I was wowed. I'm wondering which Telepathe will show up tonight.
Violens - "Violent Sensation Descends"
Telepathe - "Devil's Trident"
Friday: Crystal Stilts @ Less Artists More Condos 8pm $7
Hey guys look it's one of those bands with the word "crystal" in their name. Guess it's going to be one of those packed shows with lots of bloggers with cameras in attendance. Should be a solid show though even with all the buzz surrounding the band.
Crystal Stilts - "Departure"
Saturday: Bishop Allen + Drink Up Buttercup @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 8pm $13
It has been a long time since we last spoke of Bishop Allen, but it seems like the indie-popsters from Brooklyn are finally set to get back in the swing of things. They'll be joined by the always entertaining Drink Up Buttercup, and it should be a fun Saturday night in Williamsburg.
Bishop Allen - "Vain"
Drink Up Buttercup - "Gods and Gentlemen"
Sunday: Brian Wilson @ The Wellmont Theater 7pm $55
Brian Wilson is a legend and definitely merits the hefty price tag here. If you've never seen him it's time to do so.
Brian Wilson - "Can't Wait Too Long"
Like I said for their show last week at Mercury Lounge, anytime a member of The Strokes shows up in New York - whether it's for a side project or anything else - it is an event to behold. Now you can get in for free to catch the excellent new stuff from Fabrizio Moretti and the rest of his Little Joy group. This may be a packed event so get there a little early.
Little Joy - "Don't Watch Me Dancing"
Tuesday: Subtle, Zach Hill, + Pattern Is Movement @ Knitting Factory 8pm $12
During CMJ I was chatting with Chris Ward, drummer for Pattern Is Movement, and he was telling me that he was pushing to be a part of this tour featuring Subtle and Zach Hill. Well, it seems he got his wish and you will all be rewarded for it with some of the best drummers in the world today taking the Knitting Factory stage. This is going to be an explosive show!
Subtle - "Day Dangerous"
Zach Hill - "Hindsight Is Nowhere"
Pattern Is Movement - "Jenny Ono"
Wednesday: Wilderness @ Cake Shop 8pm $tba
I've been really enjoying the new record from Wilderness but I'm a bit baffled by the venues they're playing in New York this time around. Cake Shop tonight, Union Pool on Thursday, I thought this band was much bigger then the intimate spaces they'll be playing this week, but I suppose it affords as an awesome opportunity to see them do their thing in a small space. Should be an excellent show.
Wilderness - "Own Anything"
Thursday: Violens + Telepathe @ Mercury Lounge 7:30pm $10
Another month, another show from the guys at Friction. Tonight they'll be hosting the always fantastic Violens and up-and-comers Telepathe. I saw Telepathe a few months back at the Seaport where they did not impress me and a few months before that at Knitting Factory where I was wowed. I'm wondering which Telepathe will show up tonight.
Violens - "Violent Sensation Descends"
Telepathe - "Devil's Trident"
Friday: Crystal Stilts @ Less Artists More Condos 8pm $7
Hey guys look it's one of those bands with the word "crystal" in their name. Guess it's going to be one of those packed shows with lots of bloggers with cameras in attendance. Should be a solid show though even with all the buzz surrounding the band.
Crystal Stilts - "Departure"
Saturday: Bishop Allen + Drink Up Buttercup @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 8pm $13
It has been a long time since we last spoke of Bishop Allen, but it seems like the indie-popsters from Brooklyn are finally set to get back in the swing of things. They'll be joined by the always entertaining Drink Up Buttercup, and it should be a fun Saturday night in Williamsburg.
Bishop Allen - "Vain"
Drink Up Buttercup - "Gods and Gentlemen"
Sunday: Brian Wilson @ The Wellmont Theater 7pm $55
Brian Wilson is a legend and definitely merits the hefty price tag here. If you've never seen him it's time to do so.
Brian Wilson - "Can't Wait Too Long"
Labels:
bishop allen,
crystal stilts,
free show,
live shows,
mp3's,
pattern is movement,
wilderness,
zach hill
Who: The Heavenly Tenants, Pet Ghost Project, DJ Pop Tarts (that's me!)Where: Martini Red (372 Van Duzer St., Staten Island, NY, 10304)
When: 10pm
Cost: $5
What to Expect: Both of these bands mix melody and rock to get the perfect combination of indie-rock out of their sound. The Tenants should be bringing all you Islanders out and Pet Ghost Project should be good enough reason to abandon the other boroughs and come out to Staten Island for the night. Plus it's cheap, the booze is cheap, and I'm DJing the best in the independent music world and some of my classic faves the rest of the night. Really the only reason that you'd wind up missing this show is that you're lazy!!!!
Listen: The Heavenly Tenants - "Fifteen"
Pet Ghost Project - "Age of Automatics"
Who: Cut Copy + Matt & KimWhen: March 21st
Where: Terminal 5
More Dates
Thoughts: The pairing of Cut Copy with Matt & Kim may be a little odd, but I am far more flabbergasted by both bands playing Terminal 5 then anything else about this tour. I know they have solid followings and all but that place is freakin' huge! Whatever, they are two awesome bands so I may just be making the venture to Terminal 5 for only the second time. Also, Cut Copy has announced that this will be their last tour to support this album.
Listen: Cut Copy - "Feel the Love"
Matt & Kim - "Daylight"
Who: Los Campesinos! + Titus AndronicusWhen: February 14th + 15th
Where: Bowery Ballroom
More Dates
Thoughts: Oh man, two of my favorite bands of 2008 sharing stages all over the U.S.! This should be a shit ton of fun and I expect all of you to be with me in front of the stage, singing along, and generally going ape shit while both of these bands play. I hope my girlfriend is down for this for our Valentine's Day!!!
Listen: Los Campesinos! - "You'll Need Those Fingers for Crossing"
Titus Andronicus - "Titus Andronicus"
Who: LindstromWhen: January 29th
Where: Studio B
More Dates
Thoughts: Studio B and Lindstrom seem like a match made in heaven. The club is known more as a club then it is a live venue and let's face it Lindstrom knows how to get the peoples moving their feet to his tunes. Hopefully the venue won't be shuttered again by the time January rolls around but I doubt it will, it seems they've worked out their problems. This should be a sweaty good time on a cold night in Brooklyn! Be there. Bring your dancing shows.
Listen: Lindstrom - "Grand Ideas"
Who: Jimmy Eat WorldWhen: February 23rd
Where: Terminal 5
More Dates
Thoughts: I was amazed when I received a press release alerting me to the 10th anniversary tour of a band known as Jimmy Eat World. Okay maybe shocked would be a better way to describe my reaction because I really didn't realize they were still around and that they had made it through ten years of being a band. Who knew "The Middle" was still a popular song? But I have to admit I really liked them when I saw them approximately 10-years ago and I think I'd still like to sing-a-long to some of their songs. Maybe I'll meet you there if the nostalgia really kicks in.
Listen: Jimmy Eat World - "Sweetness"
Who: Frightened RabbitWhen: January 17th
Where: Bowery Ballroom
More Dates
Thoughts: I'm almost ashamed to say that I have never seen Frightened Rabbit and their melancholy songs live as of yet. For most of the year I have been playing their fantastic album The Midnight Organ Fight, and they have played here a ton but somehow it just never clicked in that I had to get off my butt and go see them. I will try and correct that when they come around this time as I hear they are a very good live band.
Listen: Frightened Rabbit - "Fast Blood"
Who: Crystal StiltsWhen: December 7th + December 17th
Where: Bowery Ballroom + (le) poisson rouge
More Dates
Thoughts: As one of the buzz bands of the moment you are probably already hyper aware of the fact that Crystal Stilts are touring and will be playing New York a shit load of times in the coming months. In fact, I would venture to guess that there are already more dates in the works after these ones. That's just what happens when you're from New York and all the bloggers adore you. I haven't seen them yet, but perhaps I'll check them out this time around. The real question though, is will everyone be sick of them by the time these shows roll around?
Listen: Crystal Stilts - "Prismatic Room"
Who: GlasvegasWhen: January 6th
Where: Bowery Ballroom
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Thoughts: I have heard some very good things about the Glasvegas live show. Unfortunately I'm not too big a fan of the tunes so I'll probably avoid this and miss out on the live show but you win some and you lose some my friends.
Listen: Glasvegas - "I'm Gonna Get Stabbed"
Who: Friendly FiresWhen: December 9th
Where: The Annex
More Dates
Thoughts: Yet another over hyped band that has been the talk of the town since CMJ, Friendly Fires make dance-rock a la The Rapture and company, yet for my money it sounds kind of boring and kind of samey. I know a lot of folks like these boys, including hundreds of my blogging brethren, but I have not yet bought into the hype on these guys.
Listen: Friendly Fires - "Photobooth"
Who: AutodroneWhere: The Annex
When: 8pm
Cost: $10
What to Expect: When they hit the stage at After the Jump this summer Autodrone captured the audience right from the first song. A powerful band that blends elements of shoegaze and goth effortlessly, Autodrone are celebrating the release of their new album Strike A Match tonight. It's an awesome opportunity to get to know a fantastic new local band and you should all head out, listen to the tunes, and then buy their new disc. It's definitely well worth it!
Listen: Autodrone - "Final Days"
Autodrone - "Through the Backwoods"
The Good:
Heads We Dance - "The Human Touch"; On earlier tracks Heads We Dance have usually had a playful 80's vibe to them, making danceable music with a bit of a heart, but here they go for a more direct, straight up dance hall vibe. It's powerful rhythms propelling feet to move along with it, this is definitely a solid song and something I'll probably be dancing to in the near future somewhere.
Grade: B
The Wrens - "In Turkish Waters"; I've never been the biggest Wrens fan on the planet, but I do find an appreciation of what they do and how they do it. This tune follows mostly in synch to what they've done in the past, though maybe it's slightly calmer then some of their other material. I'm sure Wrens fans everywhere will be shitting themselves over this for the foreseeable future.
Grade: B
Jay-Z - "History"; There have been a slew of songs dedicated to the victory of President-elect Barack Obama, some of which are just a bit too rushed and forced. Jay-Z's history is neither of those, this is a sentimental, heartfelt song that puts into words just how empowered Jay feels by Obama's victory. It's a solid track even without its historic conotations, but with them it only enhances to power of it all.
Grade: B+
The Bad:
Kanye West (feat. Lil' Wayne) - "Tell Everybody That You Know" /Kanye West (feat. Young Jeezy) - "Amazing"; For most of his career I have adored everything that Kanye West has done, hell I even sat hear defending "Love Lockdown" while everyone was trashing it, but I cannot defend these two tunes of his forthcoming album. At least I can't right now, but maybe they could potentially grow on me (I'm just not seeing it). These are weak tracks at best, they are rushed, unfocused, and of course are marred by the autotuned Kanye. He was better off sticking with the rap and getting guests to do the real singing parts. Even the guest spots on these don't have the shimmer we'd expect from the likes of Lil' Wayne of Young Jeezy.
Grade: D+ / C
Rivers Cuomo - "My Brain Is Working Overtime"; As the lead guy in Weezer, Rivers Cuomo has been instrumental in bringing two of my favorite albums ever into the world (Weezer [the blue one] and Pinkerton), but he has also been responsible for some god awful trash recently. It's time we put our foot down and turn our backs on Cuomo, the way he once turned his back on his best material.
Grade: C-
Video of the Week:
(to be posted later today)
In recent years the idea of playing full, classic albums has gone from a sweet idea to a fully realized and usually pretty amazing experience. Bands as diverse as Mission of Burma, GZA, Sonic Youth, and Tortoise have done the full album thing and it's seems to be getting more and more common as the propensity towards indie music grows. Last night Mason Proper added their name to the list of bands doing this, albeit with a brand new album and not a classic. Opening for Cloud Cult at Bowery Ballroom, the Michigan based quintet played their brand new album, Olly Oxen Free, from front to back for a crowd that was as solid as you can get for an opening act (I'd say 75-80% full). Full of killer guitar riffs, sharp and quick lyrics, and some fantastic rhythms, Olly Oxen Free has definitely been one of my top albums of the year thus far but seeing it live definitely adds to the intensity of the record. The band members seem to really get off on playing the upbeat, faster paced parts of the record, dancing about and thrashing around as they continue to play on. Granted, part of the album is a bit more subdued and they certainly played those tunes that way, but songs like the lead single "Lock and Key" were absolute foot stompers. Some of the crowd seemed really into it, tapping along with the band and nodding their heads in agreement, though for the most part it was your standard stand there do nothing New York crowd. Still the band put on a pretty solid show and definitely sold the record to me even more so then it already was.
Who: The MuggabearsWhere: Death By Audio
When: 8pm
Cost: tba (probably $7 or $8)
What to Expect: It's been a really long time since I last checked in with The Muggabears and that's totally due to my own shitty neglect of this excellent local band. Lucky for me the band missed me just as much as I had missed them and their head honcho Travis gave me the heads up about the show and also let me know that The Muggabears are just about done with some new songs for us all to hear! I'm super excited to hear a new record from The Muggabears and I'm sure you are too, but it seems to me an announcement like that implies that there will be some new tuneage at this here show! Very exciting stuff!
Listen: The Muggabears - "Dead Kid Kicks"
The Muggabears - "Married to the Moon"
In thinking up my top 10 for the week I had the initial thought of doing the best album closers of all-time, but that challenge was so throroughly daunting that I decided to narrow it down to just the 90's the age in which I grew up and have a fond affection for. Perhaps over the course of this I will do a decade by decade version of this particular list and have them go head-to-head at some point. Perhaps. For now here's the list, feel free to tell me I'm an idiot but make sure you back it up with your own list.
10. Oasis - "Champagne Supernova"
9. Nirvana - "Something in the Way"
8. Belle & Sebastian - "Judy and the Dream of Horses"
7. Pavement - "Filmore Jive"
6. My Bloody Valentine - "Soon"
5. Weezer - "Only In Dreams"
4.Wilco - "Reservations" (came out in 2001, shit.)
3. Nine Inch Nails - "Hurt"
2. Radiohead - "The Tourist"
1. Neutral Milk Hotel - "Two-Headed Boy Part 2"
10. Oasis - "Champagne Supernova"
9. Nirvana - "Something in the Way"
8. Belle & Sebastian - "Judy and the Dream of Horses"
7. Pavement - "Filmore Jive"
6. My Bloody Valentine - "Soon"
5. Weezer - "Only In Dreams"
4.
3. Nine Inch Nails - "Hurt"
2. Radiohead - "The Tourist"
1. Neutral Milk Hotel - "Two-Headed Boy Part 2"
Labels:
mp3's,
my bloody valentine,
neutral milk hotel,
nirvana,
oasis,
pavement,
radiohead,
top 10's,
weezer,
wilco
There are few rappers that have ever captured my attention to the extent that Jay-Z has. Granted, I didn't come around till he was rhymin' over samples from Annie, but when I finally did get around to listening to him I ate up everything he had done before it as well. That obviously means Jay's seminal work Reasonable Doubt, a record that has been hailed in all circles of the music world as one of the finest records in hip-hop's history. Beyond that, this is the record that launched Roc-A-Fella Records, changed the landscape of the rap world, and thrust Jay-Z from a part-time rapper, full-time drug dealer to a player in the rap world.With the exception of a handful of tracks, Reasonable Doubt is dedicated to the street world that Jay knew. He grew up in the Marcy Homes, lived as the son of a single mother, and hustled on the street to make some money. He was the essence of gangsta rap before it ever had a label. But unlike many that have come since Jay-Z didn't just glorify his criminal past, he spit on it with some gritty realism that has rarely been matched since. He extolled the negative feelings he had toward his life of crime, laid out his financial goals and what he hoped to earn from hustling, and yeah he bragged about his skills but always kept it in check with every other side of the dealing life. It's his ability to show off his torn conscious that really set him apart from everyone else and he was damn good at it.
No matter what he was rhyming about he was always buoyed by his ability to turn a rhyme or a phrase like no one could. His style and flow have been ripped off and stomped on so many times by now that it's a bit ridiculous. Whether he's putting the brake on a turn of a phrase or speeding things up to where you can barely process everything he's saying he can spit it any way he pleases and does.
Reasonable Doubt is one of the most real, truthful, and sick rap albums of all-time. If you doubt that you don't know shit about the genre and should probably get back to listening to your Nelly records. It launched something so much larger then just a great rapper, it launched a mogul, a style, a whole new idea on the whole rap game. It is legendary and there really is no doubt of that.
Jay-Z - "Can't Knock the Hustle"
Jay-Z (feat. Notorious B.I.G.) - "Brooklyn's Finest"
Jay-Z - "Dead Presidents II"
Jay-Z - "Ain't No Nigga"
Jay-Z - "Coming Of Age"
Deer Tick War ElephantDeer Tick - "Ashamed"
The Bronx The Bronx (III)The Bronx - "Young Bloods"
Holy Hail Independent Pleasure ClubHoly Hail - "Elemental"
Jean on Jean Jean on JeanJean on Jean - "Tonight"
Love Is All A Hundred Things That Keep Me Up At NightLove Is All - "Sea Sick"
The Postmark By the NumbersThe Postmarks - "You Only Live Twice"
Who: Cloud Cult + Exit Clov + Mason ProperWhere: Bowery Ballroom
When: 8pm
Tickets: $15
What to Expect: Opening act Mason Proper is the main reason I'll be heading to Bowery tonight. Their sophomore release, Olly Oxen Free, has been in constant rotation on my iPod since its release and the post-pop sound of it has been something different for my ears each time I put it on. It is a really solid album, certainly one of the year's best, and I think you guys should get there early to check these guys out. As for the headliners, Cloud Cult is a band that takes its name literally. Their dedicated fans do occasionally resemble a cult, but don't feel bad if you're the only one not singing along, because honestly they have so many songs I don't think I'll be able to do much singing either.
Listen: Mason Proper - "Fog"
Cloud Cult - "Transistor Radio"
Exit Clov - "Working Class Hero"
Who: Drink Up ButtercupLocation: Philadelphia, PA
elbo.ws Ranking: N/A
Thoughts: Another one of those bands that was buzzed about during CMJ week but which I completely missed somehow was Philadelphia's Drink Up Buttercup, but a lot of other people did catch them and their rave reviews have led me to check out what's up with this band. With a shit ton of sweet pop harmonies and positively addictive hook, Drink Up Buttercup are a band that could fit in in a lot of places. It's part Beatles, part everything that's come since, but they definitely put their own fun spin on things on all their tunes. Now I know I'm a new comer to the Drink Up Buttercup party but this could be one of the most fun bands you will listen to all year and when they hit town again (Nov. 22nd @ Music Hal, Dec. 14th @ Union Hall) well I think I'll have to check them out and see how fun they can be live.
Verdict: Buzzworthy!!!
Listen: Drink Up Buttercup - "Mr. Pie Eyes"
Drink Up Buttercup - "Seasickness Pills"
When We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed was leaked to the internet I was a bit quick to jump to conclusions, deriding the album as a less catchy version of their earlier release this year. After sitting and listening to the album for a few weeks though I have to admit I was terribly wrong in my initial take on this album and have been won over by what is actually a stronger, more complete record then Hold On Now, Youngster. Where the first record of their year was built on the infectious twee hooks and cutesy guy-girl vocals, this album is built up on the strength of stronger lyrics, twee hooks, adorable guy-girl harmonies, and some stronger musical pieces. Sure the general sound remains similar to what they've done before, but that's just the beast that is twee music and who would want a band that is built on this much energy to shift away from their chosen sonic course. Not I.But as much as We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed resembles its predecessor it also takes the next logical step of building new layers and new elements into that trademarked sound of theirs. It also takes on a darker element removing songs about dancing and replacing them with troubled relationships, bitter jealous rages, and self eviscerating rants that are as sharp as daggers. As angry as the album is it's still a ton of fun to listen to with their bouncing, jovial sound acting as a complete opposite to the lyrics. It's peppy and upbeat and everything you remember from their debut 8-months ago, but there's nothing but darkness and crankiness in the lyrics under all those pop instrumentals.
We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed shows that Los Campesinos! possess a lot of versatility within their songwriting and prove once again that they are one of the more fun bands around.
Los Camepsinos! - "We Are Beautiful We Are Doomed"
Los Campesinos! - "You'll Need Those Fingers for Crossing"
Los Campesinos! - "Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #1"
For the third time this year I was present for a show by The Mountain Goats and like all their other shows it was completely different from any set I've ever seen them do. There were old tunes and new tunes, and of course there was a whole section of the show devoted to the new EP the band just released with their tour mate Kaki King. It was a solid show as always, with John Darnielle playing the sharp and witty frontman while his band of able bodies rocked along side him. The crowd was adoring as they always are for the Goats and honestly it was exactly as it should have been a solid show from some very talented performers.
(NYCTaper was present again and recorder the full set. Download here!)
(NYCTaper was present again and recorder the full set. Download here!)
As Deerhunter have grown as a band there has been a general shift in the way they perform. Gone are the days of hiding behind Bradford's shtick, wearing dresses or going on hour-long chats with audience members. Instead the band stand behind their music now, allowing their developed talents to showcase some of the finest music being released right now.
Having already fallen in love with the two new Deerhunter albums I was fully ready to be rocked by the band with most of those songs. What I got though, exceeded every expectation I ever could have had. The sound on Friday night was absolutely pristine with every instrument coming through with perfect clarity and power. The band themselves were as tight as I have ever seen them with their new-ish guitarist and everything clicking on all cylinders. And Bradford seemed as calm and relaxed as I have ever seen him, a powerful confidence coming form him thanks to his belief in his own music. He's still very much appreciative of the adulation showered upon him by the fans, but now it seems that he has relaized how strong his music is and been comforted by its strength.
The set list was definitely heavy on Microcastle and New Era Cont. material, but seeing as that's the strongest material the band has put out to date it made the show that much better then anything I've seen from them so far. It's no longer a stretch or too early to start comparing them with the finer bands of the day because they certainly belong as one of the best bands of their time. Friday night just cemented that opinion for me.
(NYCTaper was there and recorded everything! Listen here!)
Having already fallen in love with the two new Deerhunter albums I was fully ready to be rocked by the band with most of those songs. What I got though, exceeded every expectation I ever could have had. The sound on Friday night was absolutely pristine with every instrument coming through with perfect clarity and power. The band themselves were as tight as I have ever seen them with their new-ish guitarist and everything clicking on all cylinders. And Bradford seemed as calm and relaxed as I have ever seen him, a powerful confidence coming form him thanks to his belief in his own music. He's still very much appreciative of the adulation showered upon him by the fans, but now it seems that he has relaized how strong his music is and been comforted by its strength.
The set list was definitely heavy on Microcastle and New Era Cont. material, but seeing as that's the strongest material the band has put out to date it made the show that much better then anything I've seen from them so far. It's no longer a stretch or too early to start comparing them with the finer bands of the day because they certainly belong as one of the best bands of their time. Friday night just cemented that opinion for me.
(NYCTaper was there and recorded everything! Listen here!)
(Ed's Note: Not much coming through the pipeline this week so I thought I'd do a special edition of some tour EP's I've recently culled together. Hope you enjoy!)
Who: The Mountain Goats & Kaki King
Title: Black Pear Tree
Release Date: available on tour & eMusic
Label: Cadmean Dawn
Thoughts: For some time John Darnielle has admitted to a loving adoration of Kaki King's music, so to take that admiration a bit further he enlisted her for an EP and for the current tour they are on. The EP may be one of the first times Darnielle has ever shared the spotlight, but for most of it the fingerprints are all his. Sure, Kaki King offers some vocals on the first track, "Black Pear Tree", but for most of the rest of the album everything focuses around Darnielle. It's not necessarily a bad thing as John as a certain ability with his verbose lyrics that many could not copy or hope to accomplish, but for something that is billed as a partnership you would think you would get a little more of both artists on it. Kaki King is definitely present in a number of ways but for the most part this just sounds like some more output from The Mounatin Goats. Good, not great, but definitely worth the attention of any Mountain Goats fans.
Listen: The Mountain Goats & Kaki King - "Black Pear Tree"
The Mountain Goats & Kaki King - "Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle"
Who: The Twilight Sad
Title: Killed My Parents and Hit the Road
Release Date: available on tour only
Label: FatCat Records
Thoughts: It seems like it's has been a long time since we heard anything new from The Twilight Sad, a band the leaped into our conscious with their lovely Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters and have only followed that up with a single EP thus far. Of course it hasn't been too much time and they have been touring a lot so we'll wait patiently and listen as they give us little scraps like this tour only EP featuring a slew of live songs and a bunch of excellent covers. The 11-song EP truly harnesses the band's live prowess on tracks like "Walking for Two Hours" and "Cold Days from the Birdhouse", but it's the covers that have me the most intrigued. Taking on The Smiths, Joy Division, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the band are able to mix their ferocious, noisy side with their dark emotional side beautifully. It's powerful stuff and brilliant imaginings of these fantastic songs. These alone make it worth seeking the EP, but I'm sure they'll be releasing it digitally at some point.
Listen: The Twilight Sad - "Twenty Four Hours" (Joy Division cover)
The Twilight Sad - "Modern Romance" (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)
Who: No Age + Zach Hill
Title: Flannel Graduate
Release Date: Japanese only CD-R
Label: None (I think)
Thoughts: Since appearing on Zach Hill's solo debut this year, No Age and Zach have had ample amount of time to hang together as they've toured and been in LA doing their thing. So it's not too surprising that the three of them worked out time to record this interesting piece of music. The first two tracks serve as a 20-second lead into the fully realized third song which is an epic 20-minute long jam session. Zach and Dean mesh well as they pound their individual skins and Randy Randall is able to just riff about throughout the pulsating 20-minutes of rock. It's cool, but sounds far more like something Zach Hill would put out then No Age. Still it shows another side to how developed No Age actually are as a band, proving that they don't have to stick to those two and a half minute noise anthems they are so good at.
Listen: No Age + Zach Hill - Flannel Graduate (via A Song A Day)
Who: The Mountain Goats & Kaki KingTitle: Black Pear Tree
Release Date: available on tour & eMusic
Label: Cadmean Dawn
Thoughts: For some time John Darnielle has admitted to a loving adoration of Kaki King's music, so to take that admiration a bit further he enlisted her for an EP and for the current tour they are on. The EP may be one of the first times Darnielle has ever shared the spotlight, but for most of it the fingerprints are all his. Sure, Kaki King offers some vocals on the first track, "Black Pear Tree", but for most of the rest of the album everything focuses around Darnielle. It's not necessarily a bad thing as John as a certain ability with his verbose lyrics that many could not copy or hope to accomplish, but for something that is billed as a partnership you would think you would get a little more of both artists on it. Kaki King is definitely present in a number of ways but for the most part this just sounds like some more output from The Mounatin Goats. Good, not great, but definitely worth the attention of any Mountain Goats fans.
Listen: The Mountain Goats & Kaki King - "Black Pear Tree"
The Mountain Goats & Kaki King - "Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle"
Who: The Twilight SadTitle: Killed My Parents and Hit the Road
Release Date: available on tour only
Label: FatCat Records
Thoughts: It seems like it's has been a long time since we heard anything new from The Twilight Sad, a band the leaped into our conscious with their lovely Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters and have only followed that up with a single EP thus far. Of course it hasn't been too much time and they have been touring a lot so we'll wait patiently and listen as they give us little scraps like this tour only EP featuring a slew of live songs and a bunch of excellent covers. The 11-song EP truly harnesses the band's live prowess on tracks like "Walking for Two Hours" and "Cold Days from the Birdhouse", but it's the covers that have me the most intrigued. Taking on The Smiths, Joy Division, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the band are able to mix their ferocious, noisy side with their dark emotional side beautifully. It's powerful stuff and brilliant imaginings of these fantastic songs. These alone make it worth seeking the EP, but I'm sure they'll be releasing it digitally at some point.
Listen: The Twilight Sad - "Twenty Four Hours" (Joy Division cover)
The Twilight Sad - "Modern Romance" (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)
Who: No Age + Zach HillTitle: Flannel Graduate
Release Date: Japanese only CD-R
Label: None (I think)
Thoughts: Since appearing on Zach Hill's solo debut this year, No Age and Zach have had ample amount of time to hang together as they've toured and been in LA doing their thing. So it's not too surprising that the three of them worked out time to record this interesting piece of music. The first two tracks serve as a 20-second lead into the fully realized third song which is an epic 20-minute long jam session. Zach and Dean mesh well as they pound their individual skins and Randy Randall is able to just riff about throughout the pulsating 20-minutes of rock. It's cool, but sounds far more like something Zach Hill would put out then No Age. Still it shows another side to how developed No Age actually are as a band, proving that they don't have to stick to those two and a half minute noise anthems they are so good at.
Listen: No Age + Zach Hill - Flannel Graduate (via A Song A Day)
Labels:
album preview,
kaki king,
leaks,
mp3's,
no age,
the mountain goats,
the twilight sad,
zach hill
A band like Times New Viking always seems to have a few technical problems whenever they hit the stage. Whether it's a broken string, a shattered cymbal, or some sort of speaker issue they always seem to hit a slight snag in their brutally fast paced sets, but plow straight through with the energy and exuberance making up for any technical flaws they may be having. But I guess listening to their collected lo-fi works you could have already assumed that the noise they dish out could create just such an issue. On Friday night their main issue was some sound coming off the keyboard speakers, but as the set wore on everything seemed to clean up nicely allowing for a truly spectacular three song finish they left the whole crowd wanting a whole lot more.
Of course Times New Viking don't stay on stage long and promptly invited us to get amped for Deerhunter which was all well and good but I definitely would have liked to have heard two or three more tunes from the Ohioans.
Of course Times New Viking don't stay on stage long and promptly invited us to get amped for Deerhunter which was all well and good but I definitely would have liked to have heard two or three more tunes from the Ohioans.
Monday: No Age @ Market Hotel 8pm $9
Due to a busy, and drunk, beginning to the weekend I skipped out on last night's No Age and Titus Andronicus performance at Santo's Party House. I know I should totally lose my indie rock card for missing that show but I get a chance to make up for it tonight by heading to Market Hotel to see them. I probably won't though. I'm an old foggie you know.
No Age - "Sleeper Hold"
Tuesday: Cloud Cult + Mason Proper @ Bowery Ballroom 7:30pm $15
Two solid bands with rabid fan bases hit Bowery tonight. I'd expect a lot of singing along and a whole lot of over happy people super stoked to see some of the bands they adore. In other words there will be more enthusiasm at this show then at many of the too cool to move shows we normally go to. That could be a fun thing!
Cloud Cult - "Everybody Here Is A Cloud"
Mason Proper - "Lock and Key"
Wednesday: Free Blood @ 205 Club 8pm $10
The !!! offshoot Free Blood has just released an excellent album compiling all of the band's singles to date. It's a solid record but as good as that is this band is meant to be seen live where their energy and enthusiasm pour out of them and usually take over their fans as well.
Free Blood - "Quick and Painful"
Thursday: Little Joy + The Dead Trees @ Mercury Lounge 7:30pm $12
Anytime a Stroke returns to New York it is a must see show featuring a who's who of the New York music scene. I assume this will be no different.
Little Joy - "Brand New Start"
The Dead Trees - "Shelter"
Friday: The Heavenly Tenants + Pet Ghost Project @ Martini Red 10pm $5
Yep that's right folks I'm putting on a show on Friday night in little old Staten Island and I hope some of you will make the trek out for two excellent bands. The Heavenly Tenants are fine purveyors of some of the best indie pop coming from the island and Brooklyn's Pet Ghost Project are just as solid. Plus you'll have me on the decks (computer) spinning (pressing play) some of the finest new and old tunes in the land.
The Heavenly Tenants - "Had It All"
Pet Ghost Project - "The Dog"
Saturday: The Homosexuals @ Cake Shop 8pm $tba
I totally missed The Homosexuals during CMJ and because I will be off celebrating my girlfriend's mom's birthday I'm afraid I'm going to miss them again. So please go so that I can attempt to live vicariously through you. Thanks!
The Homosexuals - "Slow Guns"
Sunday: Girl Talk @ Terminal 5 7pm $20
People that haven't seen Girl Talk on stage yet probably just think it would be a DJ in front of a crowd but nothing could be further from the truth. When Greg Gillis hits the stage he takes over the entire venue, people dance like mad men and women, and nobody leaves without having a good time. Expect this to be 3,000 sweaty people moving as one. In other words - awesome!
Girl Talk - "Like This"
Due to a busy, and drunk, beginning to the weekend I skipped out on last night's No Age and Titus Andronicus performance at Santo's Party House. I know I should totally lose my indie rock card for missing that show but I get a chance to make up for it tonight by heading to Market Hotel to see them. I probably won't though. I'm an old foggie you know.
No Age - "Sleeper Hold"
Tuesday: Cloud Cult + Mason Proper @ Bowery Ballroom 7:30pm $15
Two solid bands with rabid fan bases hit Bowery tonight. I'd expect a lot of singing along and a whole lot of over happy people super stoked to see some of the bands they adore. In other words there will be more enthusiasm at this show then at many of the too cool to move shows we normally go to. That could be a fun thing!
Cloud Cult - "Everybody Here Is A Cloud"
Mason Proper - "Lock and Key"
Wednesday: Free Blood @ 205 Club 8pm $10
The !!! offshoot Free Blood has just released an excellent album compiling all of the band's singles to date. It's a solid record but as good as that is this band is meant to be seen live where their energy and enthusiasm pour out of them and usually take over their fans as well.
Free Blood - "Quick and Painful"
Thursday: Little Joy + The Dead Trees @ Mercury Lounge 7:30pm $12
Anytime a Stroke returns to New York it is a must see show featuring a who's who of the New York music scene. I assume this will be no different.
Little Joy - "Brand New Start"
The Dead Trees - "Shelter"
Friday: The Heavenly Tenants + Pet Ghost Project @ Martini Red 10pm $5
Yep that's right folks I'm putting on a show on Friday night in little old Staten Island and I hope some of you will make the trek out for two excellent bands. The Heavenly Tenants are fine purveyors of some of the best indie pop coming from the island and Brooklyn's Pet Ghost Project are just as solid. Plus you'll have me on the decks (computer) spinning (pressing play) some of the finest new and old tunes in the land.
The Heavenly Tenants - "Had It All"
Pet Ghost Project - "The Dog"
Saturday: The Homosexuals @ Cake Shop 8pm $tba
I totally missed The Homosexuals during CMJ and because I will be off celebrating my girlfriend's mom's birthday I'm afraid I'm going to miss them again. So please go so that I can attempt to live vicariously through you. Thanks!
The Homosexuals - "Slow Guns"
Sunday: Girl Talk @ Terminal 5 7pm $20
People that haven't seen Girl Talk on stage yet probably just think it would be a DJ in front of a crowd but nothing could be further from the truth. When Greg Gillis hits the stage he takes over the entire venue, people dance like mad men and women, and nobody leaves without having a good time. Expect this to be 3,000 sweaty people moving as one. In other words - awesome!
Girl Talk - "Like This"
Who: Animal CollectiveWhen: January 20th
Where: Grand Ballroom
More Dates
Thoughts: Seeing Animal Collective is one of those experiences that should be added to every music lovers bucket list. I know there are a lot of people out there that deride the band as boring as I have witnessed friends of mine actually fall asleep at their show. And I realize that this is not coming off as a huge endorsement of the band, but don't be fooled by a few people's ridiculous ease of falling asleep this band can bring their funky sounds to any arean and kill it! I've seen them a couple of times and each passing show is an amazing experience that I wouldn't trade for many other bands out there. If you've never seen them, go now!
Listen: Animal Collective - "My Girls"
Who: PhosphorescentWhen: November 28th
Where: The Bell House
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Thoughts: Fresh off a couple of CMJ dates, Phosphorescent is just going to keep plugging along on the road trying to get his music to as many people as humanly possible. I assume at this point he has a full-time touring band with him and that is something to behold having seen it a couple of times already. His tunes are elegant yet strong and live they come off a bit more funky then they do on record. Okay, maybe funky isn't exactly the right word but I think you catch my drift. Hopefully.
Listen: Phosphorescent - "Not A Heel"
Who: Don CaballeroWhen: December 7th + 8th
Where: Maxwell's + Europa
More Dates
Thoughts: I'll be honest here, I know nothing about Don Caballero. I was really grasping at straws trying to find bands that announced tours this week and this one popped up over on Brooklyn Vegan. So I ran with it. I have no idea if you should go or not, I probably won't be going, but maybe it's time for me to check out some of there tunes. I think I'll start with the one below.
Listen: Don Caballero - "Bulk Eye"
Who: Bishop AllenWhen: November 22nd + 23rd
Where: Music Hall of Williamsburg
More Dates
Thoughts: Having just appeared in the latest Michael Cera vehicle Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (the book was better), Bishop Allen will probably be playing for crowds that are slightly different from what they've become used to. Sure, there tried and true fans will still be there in their skinny jeans and whatnot, but I'm sure there will be a lot more youngish folks looking to latch on to the next cool band. Unfortunately they missed the boat, but let's not tell them because Bishop Allen are certainly an excellent gateway drug to the wonderful world of indie pop.
Listen: Bishop Allen - "Middle Management"
For the past year and a bit Times New Viking have punished our eardrums, while also treating them to some of the finest pop hooks in the business. It's a strange spectrum for sure, but with their last two albums, Present the Paisley Reich and Rip It Off, the youngsters from Ohio have presented some pretty dynamic, pure pop sounds all scuzzed the fuck up. While the music comes off as loud and abrasive thanks to the ridiculous amounts of feedback and initially poor recording practices, it is overwhelmingly fantastic pop music with hooks and harmonies and lush sounds buried under all that loudness. On this EP, Stay Awake, the band continues to devolve with a sound that is constantly sounding trashier and more rotten then what has come before, yet somehow the songs are becoming more and more catchy with each passing lo-fi release. Listening to it is sure to turn some people off, but for my ears there are few bands testing the limits of rock and pop as fiercely as Times New Viking are right now.Times New Viking - "Call and Respond"
Times New Viking - "No Sympathy"
With all the text messaging and Twittering going on these days, brevity has become a fine art form and like all other fads music has certainly picked up on the ADD affliction that is raging through this country. Cause Co-Motion!'s just released collection of singles is the perfect soundtrack to tapping away at your iPhones and Blackberry's with a collection of 14-songs flying by in just over 20-minutes and no song ever touching the 2-minute mark. It is brief and spastic and over in the blink of an eye, but these angular, poppy, punk tunes are so immediate and devastatingly catchy that it's impossible to take your attention away from them for the duration of their play time. It's fun music, meant to bop around a room to or to thrash about with a few others. At times it can be jangly, almost like a commercial ditty, but guaranteed after each listen you'll be humming along for hours after It's Time has been over. Of course the one big drawback to It's Time is that it is a collection of singles that have been released for the last 3-years giving us nothing new to bop around to. But a lot of those singles are tough to find or out of print so this collection certainly serves its purpose and gives us a cohesive piece of work to rock out to.Cause Co-Motion! - "Take A Look"
Cause Co-Motion! - "Don't You Know"
It's been 9-years since Q-Tip's debut solo album hit our ears and now we are finally getting the follow-up in a day and age where Tribe biters reign supreme. Of course Q-Tip didn't intend this to be his sophomore record, with at least two other albums shelved by his label this should have just been another in a long line of Q-Tip records. But of course the music industry plays by its own rules and so while people like Kanye and Outkast have blossomed by following in the footsteps of A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip has been forced into becoming a background figure in the last few years. On The Renaissance, Q-Tip finally gets to stand in the sun once again and you can see just where Kanye gets a lot of his flows from as he bumps in time to the rhythm, slowing down as the track picks up or speeding up when it slows down. He spits with a playfulness in his voice though suggesting he might not be completely jaded by the industry but also taking his shots in there as well. For the most part this is a really solid hip-hop record, not quite A Tribe Called Quest level, but definitely on par with the people that have followed in their image.Q-Tip - "Gettin' Up"
Q-Tip (feat. D'angelo)- "Believe"
You have until 7pm to enter to win the Dent May 7"!!!! Just thought I'd remind you! Details are here!
The Good:
Max Tundra - "Playboy" (Hot Chip cover); I've been obsessed with the new Max Tundra album for a couple of weeks now, and though this isn't his best track it definitely helps prolong the fun times of listening to the album.
Grade: B
AC Newman - "There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve"; At this point it might be time to retire the New Pornographers so that the band's individual stars can just focus on their solo projects where they pump all their good songs into. Destroyer has done it, Neko Case has done it, and now AC has gone and put one of his best tunes in a while on his solo record.
Grade: B+
Beirut - "My Night With the Prostitute from Marseille"; Listening to this the first time around you might be a little surprised that it's a Beirut track. Other then Zach Condon's distinctive voice there really isn't much here that shows what we've come to expect from Beirut. But I guess that's the plan surrounding it and it definitely works.
Grade: B+
Iran - "Buddy"; Tunde and Dave Sitek aren't the only ones with a busy schedules these days as their fellow TV on the Radio band mate Kyp Malone is also working on other projects. This one called Iran has actually been around since 2005 or so, but just now are they seeing their songs hit the internets thanks in part to Kyp's higher profile full-time gig.
Grade: B+
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Everything With You"; Despite having one of those lengthy names that just scream out emo The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are nothing of the sort. Instead the pop heavy band make some weighty, sometimes dark tunes that are capturing me right now. This one, the first of their forth coming full length, is pretty much outstanding and should be listened to a lot.
Grade: B+
Track of the Week:
Fake Male Voice - "OMG!!!FMV!!!"; As if Tunde Adebimpe wasn't busy enough with his budding acting career and his full-time gig as the voice of TV on the Radio, the man went out and put together a solo record under the name Fake Male Voice. Of course there is nothing fake about Tunde's voice and this track definitely proves that fact.
Grade: A
The Bad:
Third Eye Blind - "Non-Dairy Creamer"; I think it's time for one-hit wonders from the 90's to vanish from the face of the planet. Bands like Counting Crows and Third Eye Blind had their time to shine, made one catchy single, and have somehow built careers out of it. I blame this entirely on mainstream radio, but there really is no reason for people to call into Z100 requesting crap like this ever.
Grade: D
Fight Bite - "Swissex Lover"; Fight Bite built a fairly solid reputation thanks to a slew of gigs during CMJ week, but if there music is anything like this track then I don't see myself sticking around very long listening. This is a pretty flat, awfully boring tune that shows off a very solid vocal ability but little else. There are some potentials in it, but if it stays this flaccid then there really is nothing worth your time here.
Grade: C-
Friendly Fires - "I'm Good. I'm Gone" (Lykke Li cover); As much as people have been raving about Friendly Fires in recent weeks I have been pulling further and further away from the band. In my mind this is just some sort of weak imitation of what dance-rock was earlier in the old '00's. This cover does no justice to one of my favorite songs of the year making it just a bland version that drunks could maybe dance to, though they'd be completely out of rhythm and fairly embarrassing doing so.
Grade: C-
Pepi Ginsberg (feat. The Spinto Band) - "Oh, La" (Ra Ra Riot cover); I love the original version of this song so I gave it a chance. Bad move. Just listen to the Ra Ra Riot version.
Grade: D-
Video of the Week:
Jukebox the Ghost - "Victoria"; It's been quite a while since I posted anything from Jukebox the Ghost but this video caught me in just the right mood - playful! 'Cause that's what this video is, playful, and very much so. The band do the whole interpretive lyric thing arranging stars closer to Victoria and whatnot, while showing off one of their catchiest tunes in the process. It all works to create a solid video that shows off the band in the best possible light.
Grade: B+
Max Tundra - "Playboy" (Hot Chip cover); I've been obsessed with the new Max Tundra album for a couple of weeks now, and though this isn't his best track it definitely helps prolong the fun times of listening to the album.
Grade: B
AC Newman - "There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve"; At this point it might be time to retire the New Pornographers so that the band's individual stars can just focus on their solo projects where they pump all their good songs into. Destroyer has done it, Neko Case has done it, and now AC has gone and put one of his best tunes in a while on his solo record.
Grade: B+
Beirut - "My Night With the Prostitute from Marseille"; Listening to this the first time around you might be a little surprised that it's a Beirut track. Other then Zach Condon's distinctive voice there really isn't much here that shows what we've come to expect from Beirut. But I guess that's the plan surrounding it and it definitely works.
Grade: B+
Iran - "Buddy"; Tunde and Dave Sitek aren't the only ones with a busy schedules these days as their fellow TV on the Radio band mate Kyp Malone is also working on other projects. This one called Iran has actually been around since 2005 or so, but just now are they seeing their songs hit the internets thanks in part to Kyp's higher profile full-time gig.
Grade: B+
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Everything With You"; Despite having one of those lengthy names that just scream out emo The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are nothing of the sort. Instead the pop heavy band make some weighty, sometimes dark tunes that are capturing me right now. This one, the first of their forth coming full length, is pretty much outstanding and should be listened to a lot.
Grade: B+
Track of the Week:
Fake Male Voice - "OMG!!!FMV!!!"; As if Tunde Adebimpe wasn't busy enough with his budding acting career and his full-time gig as the voice of TV on the Radio, the man went out and put together a solo record under the name Fake Male Voice. Of course there is nothing fake about Tunde's voice and this track definitely proves that fact.
Grade: A
The Bad:
Third Eye Blind - "Non-Dairy Creamer"; I think it's time for one-hit wonders from the 90's to vanish from the face of the planet. Bands like Counting Crows and Third Eye Blind had their time to shine, made one catchy single, and have somehow built careers out of it. I blame this entirely on mainstream radio, but there really is no reason for people to call into Z100 requesting crap like this ever.
Grade: D
Fight Bite - "Swissex Lover"; Fight Bite built a fairly solid reputation thanks to a slew of gigs during CMJ week, but if there music is anything like this track then I don't see myself sticking around very long listening. This is a pretty flat, awfully boring tune that shows off a very solid vocal ability but little else. There are some potentials in it, but if it stays this flaccid then there really is nothing worth your time here.
Grade: C-
Friendly Fires - "I'm Good. I'm Gone" (Lykke Li cover); As much as people have been raving about Friendly Fires in recent weeks I have been pulling further and further away from the band. In my mind this is just some sort of weak imitation of what dance-rock was earlier in the old '00's. This cover does no justice to one of my favorite songs of the year making it just a bland version that drunks could maybe dance to, though they'd be completely out of rhythm and fairly embarrassing doing so.
Grade: C-
Pepi Ginsberg (feat. The Spinto Band) - "Oh, La" (Ra Ra Riot cover); I love the original version of this song so I gave it a chance. Bad move. Just listen to the Ra Ra Riot version.
Grade: D-
Video of the Week:
Jukebox the Ghost - "Victoria"; It's been quite a while since I posted anything from Jukebox the Ghost but this video caught me in just the right mood - playful! 'Cause that's what this video is, playful, and very much so. The band do the whole interpretive lyric thing arranging stars closer to Victoria and whatnot, while showing off one of their catchiest tunes in the process. It all works to create a solid video that shows off the band in the best possible light.
Grade: B+
With all the hoopla surrounding The Beatles agreement to be on the next Rock Band video game I started to think about all the fantastic songs gaming enthusiasts would soon be able to play with their fake six strings and drums. Unfortunately my buddies Matt and Mike over at Earfarm beat me to the punch in listing the best possible songs for that version of the game so I adjusted my list to a wide stretch of bands that could be suitable candidates for the next version of the game. Bands, if you're on this list, you owe me some royalties when your version sells millions of copies!!!!
10. The Ramones; Think of it as Rock Band for beginners as you bash out three chord, repetitive tunes, that are sung in an octave that's perfect for your crappy karaoke voice! Plus with tunes topping out at around 3-minutes long, you probably won't develop any sort of debilitating arthritis from playing the game.
The Ramones - "Sheen is a Punk Rocker"
9. Metallica; The only problem with having a Metallica video game is the potential of having all those albums from the 90's making an appearance, but if you cut those out and throw together tracks from Metallica, Master of Puppets, and Ride the Lightning and you would have a sick game that would benefit skilled, speedy players immensely. This could be freaking sweet and should be in the works as we speak!
Metallica - "Enter Sandman"
8. Pearl Jam; I was gonna put Nirvana here, but with only a handful of albums on their resume the game would just be far too short, so we'll go with Pearl Jam who have longevity on their side, a huge fan base, and some pretty rocking songs. Who wouldn't like to wail "Jeremy" or "Daughter" on the mike?
Pearl Jam - "World Wide Suicide"
7. R.E.M.; If you were to do an R.E.M. Rock Band you'd be faced with all sorts of challenges, but just the sheer amount of incredible songs they've compiled over their 20-year career makes it something I'd like to see done. Besides, I'd love to see people trying to sing-a-long to "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)".
R.E.M. - "Let Me In"
6. Black Sabbath; With AC/DC and Aerosmith already raking in some video game dollars it seems to make sense that a Black Sabbath game would be rushed to follow along. Dark, hard songs ranging from simple quiet tunes to complex ragers with huge solos make for the perfect fit in this format. Only dilemma, do you play as Ozzy or as Dio?
Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"
5. The Kinks; Hot on the heels of their reunion news I thought it only apropos to include the legendary Kinks on this list. Okay, so maybe it's not just because of the reunion news but because The Kinks have written a huge array of incredible songs over the course of their career. That alone makes them a strong candidate for Rock Band-dom, but yeah the whole reunion news certainly helps thrust them back into the spotlight.
The Kinks - "Lola" (mp3 no good, my bad)
4. The Clash; I don't think much of an explanation needs to be made for a Clash version of the game. They flat out rock and have a huge amount of material to draw upon. Makes sense to me. There could be an argument that they are a bit simple for it, but I'd ask you to listen to London Calling and Sandinista again before you rush to that conclusion.
The Clash - "Train In Vain"
3. The Beach Boys; Like The Beatles version of the game, The Beach Boys would face all sorts of musical problems. Would there be a piano? How many mike hook-ups can you have for the vocal harmonies? But the strength of their brilliant and timeless songs make absolute sense to me.
The Beach Boys - "Sloop John B"
2. The Rolling Stones; Let's face it the Stones have been following The Beatles for their entire career so I'm assuming contract talks have already begun.
The Rolling Stones - "Let's Spend the Night Together"
1. The Who; The Who are one of the great rock bands of all time, both individually and as a whole. Whether you want to manically bang on the drums like Keith Moon, prance about your living room floor as Roger Daltrey, pound out vicious bass lines like John Entwistle, or control the band with the insane guitar virtuosity of Pete Townshend you know this would be an awesome interactive experience.
The Who - "Won't Get Fooled Again"
10. The Ramones; Think of it as Rock Band for beginners as you bash out three chord, repetitive tunes, that are sung in an octave that's perfect for your crappy karaoke voice! Plus with tunes topping out at around 3-minutes long, you probably won't develop any sort of debilitating arthritis from playing the game.
The Ramones - "Sheen is a Punk Rocker"
9. Metallica; The only problem with having a Metallica video game is the potential of having all those albums from the 90's making an appearance, but if you cut those out and throw together tracks from Metallica, Master of Puppets, and Ride the Lightning and you would have a sick game that would benefit skilled, speedy players immensely. This could be freaking sweet and should be in the works as we speak!
Metallica - "Enter Sandman"
8. Pearl Jam; I was gonna put Nirvana here, but with only a handful of albums on their resume the game would just be far too short, so we'll go with Pearl Jam who have longevity on their side, a huge fan base, and some pretty rocking songs. Who wouldn't like to wail "Jeremy" or "Daughter" on the mike?
Pearl Jam - "World Wide Suicide"
7. R.E.M.; If you were to do an R.E.M. Rock Band you'd be faced with all sorts of challenges, but just the sheer amount of incredible songs they've compiled over their 20-year career makes it something I'd like to see done. Besides, I'd love to see people trying to sing-a-long to "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)".
R.E.M. - "Let Me In"
6. Black Sabbath; With AC/DC and Aerosmith already raking in some video game dollars it seems to make sense that a Black Sabbath game would be rushed to follow along. Dark, hard songs ranging from simple quiet tunes to complex ragers with huge solos make for the perfect fit in this format. Only dilemma, do you play as Ozzy or as Dio?
Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"
5. The Kinks; Hot on the heels of their reunion news I thought it only apropos to include the legendary Kinks on this list. Okay, so maybe it's not just because of the reunion news but because The Kinks have written a huge array of incredible songs over the course of their career. That alone makes them a strong candidate for Rock Band-dom, but yeah the whole reunion news certainly helps thrust them back into the spotlight.
4. The Clash; I don't think much of an explanation needs to be made for a Clash version of the game. They flat out rock and have a huge amount of material to draw upon. Makes sense to me. There could be an argument that they are a bit simple for it, but I'd ask you to listen to London Calling and Sandinista again before you rush to that conclusion.
The Clash - "Train In Vain"
3. The Beach Boys; Like The Beatles version of the game, The Beach Boys would face all sorts of musical problems. Would there be a piano? How many mike hook-ups can you have for the vocal harmonies? But the strength of their brilliant and timeless songs make absolute sense to me.
The Beach Boys - "Sloop John B"
2. The Rolling Stones; Let's face it the Stones have been following The Beatles for their entire career so I'm assuming contract talks have already begun.
The Rolling Stones - "Let's Spend the Night Together"
1. The Who; The Who are one of the great rock bands of all time, both individually and as a whole. Whether you want to manically bang on the drums like Keith Moon, prance about your living room floor as Roger Daltrey, pound out vicious bass lines like John Entwistle, or control the band with the insane guitar virtuosity of Pete Townshend you know this would be an awesome interactive experience.
The Who - "Won't Get Fooled Again"
I was sitting in the car the other day, waiting for my girlfriend to get off the ferry, thinking but not really thinking to hard, when Live's "Lightning Crashes" came on the radio. Without thinking I began singing along to the song, passively at first, but building in intensity along with Ed Kowalczyk. It wasn't long before I had caught the scornful eye of a fellow standing car and rolled up my window to continue singing behind closed doors. Once the song was done I thought about how long it must have been since I had last listened to Live's breakout album Throwing Copper, no clue how long it had been but I was amazed that a song released 13-years ago was so fresh and memorable in my mind especially when you consider the amount of music that pours through my ears on a daily basis and is filtered out mere minutes after I'm done listening to it. I guess that's proof enough that this is decent enough record to at least maintain a position as a karaoke standby in my brain.When it was released in 1994 Throwing Copper was pretty much the shit. Booming singles, sales that would catapult it way past platinum status, and of course a growing legion of fans that would make up a fan base that can still sing their songs more then a decade later. Live had built something, not necessarily original as their are overwhelming elements of the alternative explosion of the mid-90's all over this record, emotionally charged and well thought out and at times truly rocking. Listening to it these days it doesn't quite have the same power, some might even say it was no better then some collection of Stone Temple Pilot b-sides, but at the time this album reigned supreme thanks to "I Alone" and "Lightning Crashes" and a fully realized powerful album.
After hearing "Lightning Crashes" in the car I went home and dug out my copy of the album for this right here and after just a few minutes of listening I realized that the album no longer has the same allure for me as it once did. I know everyone has albums like that in their collection (it's probably this one!) but it's still a little sad when you can recall days of rocking out to a record in your teens and have it mean little to nothing when you put it on in your late 20's. There are still very solid songs on the album, but overall there's nothing to bring me back to the altar of Live. It just hasn't aged all that well, but it was great during its time.
Live - "I Alone"
Live - "Lightning Crashes"
Live - "All Over You"
Live - "Shit Towne"
Live - "Waitress"
Normal posting is on hold today as I spent all night watching as history unfolded before our eyes. I'll get the posts up either later this evening or tomorrow. For now I will go to bed with the promise of a brighter tomorrow firmly in my head! Pleasant dreams America, I know mine will be!
Since the mayhem of CMJ took me out of my game for September and October, I have been slacking on my monthly shows. Well all that changes now with a new monthly series at my local Staten Island venue/bar Martini Red! I couldn't come up with a name that was catchy to run on and on like some of my booking, blogging buddies, instead there will be a different theme each month and different sounds and bands and styles and it should be pretty cool, at least I think so. Of course I need you guys to attend to make it a huge success so please come out! This month to kick the series off we will be showcasing the sounds of Brooklyn's Pet Ghost Project and one of Staten Island's finest The Heavenly Tenants. If you've yet to check these two bands out you should and what better time to do so then on a Friday night! Come down, drink, get down, and have a good time! I'll see you all there!
Details:
Who: The Heavenly Tenants + Pet Ghost Project
Where: Martini Red, 372 Van Duzer St., Staten Island, NY, 10304
When: Friday, November 14th, 10pm
Cost: $5
Listen: The Heavenly Tenants - "Fifteen"
Pet Ghost Project - "Age of Automatics"
Every Tuesday for the past couple of years I have brought you folks a regularly scheduled recommended release in the hope of guiding you through you weekly trip to the record store. I realize that not all of you take my suggestions, or even like them, so I'm going to start offering you a little larger plate to sample from in the hopes that you can make more well educated decision based on your own personal tastes and what you like. Basically put, I'm giving you a shit load of mp3's to sort through so you can figure out what you wanna buy most. I'll still have my recommended release up first, but this should also serve you in the future. Thanks, hope you like it, and as always feedback is definitely welcome!
Danielson Trying Hartz
Listen: Danielson - "Animal in Every Corner"
Free Blood The Singles
Listen: Free Blood - "Quick and Painful"
Friday Hyvonen Silence Is Wild
Listen: Frida Hyvonen - "You Never Got Me Right"
Grampall Jookabox Rope Chain
Listen: Grampall Jookabox - "Ghost"
Johann Johannsson Fordlandia
Listen: Johann Johannsson - "The Rocket Builder"
Little Joy Little Joy
Listen: Little Joy - "The Next Time Around"
Megapuss Surfing
Listen: Megapuss - "Adam and Steve"
The End of the World French Exit
Listen: The End of the World - "I Don't Wanna Lose"
Travis Ode to J. Smith
Listen:Travis - "J Smith"
Danielson Trying HartzListen: Danielson - "Animal in Every Corner"
Free Blood The SinglesListen: Free Blood - "Quick and Painful"
Friday Hyvonen Silence Is WildListen: Frida Hyvonen - "You Never Got Me Right"
Grampall Jookabox Rope ChainListen: Grampall Jookabox - "Ghost"
Johann Johannsson FordlandiaListen: Johann Johannsson - "The Rocket Builder"
Little Joy Little JoyListen: Little Joy - "The Next Time Around"
Megapuss SurfingListen: Megapuss - "Adam and Steve"
The End of the World French ExitListen: The End of the World - "I Don't Wanna Lose"
Travis Ode to J. SmithListen:Travis - "J Smith"
Who: CluesLocation: Montreal(?), Canada
elbo.ws Ranking: N/A (not for long!)
Thoughts: With stories popping up on esteemed music websites like Pitchfork and Stereogum the mystery that has been surrounding Montreal based band Clues seems like it is all but set to vanish. The "super group", of sorts, is set to release their debut record in 2009 and already appear to be headed for one of the "must see" slots at SXSW (trust me everyone is trying to book them). Featuring ex-Unicorn Alden Penner, ex-Arcade Fire(er) Brendan Reed and a troika of fellow Monteal musicians; Ben Borden, Lisa Gamble, and Nick Scribner, this is the type of band that takes over the internet in the leadup to their album and then either burns out or soars to near mainstream status. It seems that this band is set to take the loftier of paths thanks in part to a muted start-up (they didn't make a Myspace or Facebook page) and have built around limited hometown shows and word of mouth for the most part. Now the band have released their debut single in the form of "Perfect Fit" and have had some crazy spliced sampler available for a bit now. It's not too far removed from Unicorn stuff, but obviously with such a limited amount of music to sample it's diifcult to label them at this point. All I know is they are set to be the first big, new band of 2009 and you better start taking note now! (New Yorker's please note they'll be hitting town tonight for a show at Exit Art!)
Verdict: Buzzworthy!!! (if only for strength of their collected members)
Listen: Clues - "Rad Boo Horror & Glory Preview"
Clues - "Perfect Fit"
In an eras where albums have been dissected into itty bitty pieces of art, where artists that make 2-minutes songs and 20-minute albums are lauded, it may be difficult to embrace something like the new Wilderness record (k)no(w)here. For starters this is not an album that should ever be broken down into individual mp3's (though I did below, shame on me) or listened to on iPod shuffle, instead this is the type of record where you dim the lights, puts on the headphones, and crank it as far as your cerebellum can take it. Then you listen as the lo-fi, slow progression of the album unfolds before you.For 40+ minutes Wilderness thump out a half-tempo slog through their sonic terrain. Drums thump slowly and constantly throughout the record creating the illusion of a continuous piece of music, while guitars are set to reverb and wail along almost as slowly, and then there's the vocals which wail with an achingly slow ferocity that reminds us of the days of the emotionally strained slowcore bands. As much as I want to compare this to those kind of albums I really can't as the politically charged lyrics and occasional backing vocals strike away most comparisons to that genre of music.
If you really have trouble focusing on music for this long and are looking for the piece that will draw you in look no further then "Chinese Whispers" a song that is beautifully paced and emotionally charged while still rocking straight on through. But believe me when I tell you that this is the very definition of what an album should be. There are no stops or pauses, no little gaps, instead it just keeps going rising and falling occasionally but never stopping even for a moment.
Wilderness - "Strand the Test of Time"
Wilderness - "Own Anything"
Who: Belle & SebastianTitle: The BBC Sessions
Release Date: Nov. 18th
Label: Matador Records
Thoughts: For those looking for something new from the wonderful Scots known as Belle & Sebastian, you're going to have to wait a bit longer because I haven't even heard the faintest of whispers on a brand new album yet. But for fans of the band they are releasing a compilation record that culls together all of the band's excellent BBC Sessions. It's an excellent collection of material from the Isobel Campbell-era of B&S and even has the previously unreleased songs from their 2001 Peel session which is the last recorded material with Campbell in the band. That alone makes this a necessity for any Belle & Sebastian fans, but the way they translate their material for radio with their sparse and intimate arrangements and subtle, barely their sounds is so enjoyable. Now I realize the band have picked up a lot of new fans over the last couple of albums since they've embraced a more upbeat pop sound, but this is the stuff that started them off and got them to where they are and should be equally embraced by those new fans looking to learn more about the band. Very cool collection of tunes here and I think you'll enjoy them.
Listen: Belle & Sebastian - "Slow Graffiti"
Belle & Sebastian - "Nothing in the Silence"
Who: The RaptureTitle: Tapes
Release Date: November 25th
Label: !K7
Thoughts: You know it's been a slow week of leaks if I'm bringing you a DJ compilation, but it is what it is so I have to present you with The Rapture's DJ offering known as Tapes. The latest in the long-ish running series of these sees DFA dance-rock band The Rapture spinning tunes by bands you can dance to. It's pretty straight forward, boogie down beats, bumping bass lines, you know the stuff. It's not bad stuff and it would definitely play well at a club or something but let's face it how often are we gonna be bumping this on our iPod's or at home? Not too often. It is definitely worth picking up for some of the individual tracks most notably the Ghostface track below. So I guess you don't need to get it since you can download it there. Huh, well if you're ever DJing a party and need a bit of a break just throw this on.
Listen: Ghostface Killah - "Daytona 500"
Syclops - "Where's Jason K?"
Monday: Nonhorse @ Cake Shop 8pm $7
There isn't much going on this Monday evening, but Nonhorse seem to have a pretty interesting reputation behind them and should be something to enjoy in some way. Apparently their debut album is spliced together out of pieces of old cassette tapes and at a recent show they burned incense and cut onions to add smells to the sounds of their music. Not sure if they'll be doing that here, but with that kind of reputation preceding them I don't think you can really expect anything but the unexpected.
Nonhorse on Myspace
Tuesday: Woods + MV & EE @ Death By Audio 8pm $tba
Woods were one of the few bands that were buzzed about going into CMJ that I totally missed out on. I attempted to see them at the Cake Shop during the NY Noise Anniversary show but it was far too packed for me to stand. I'm sure Death By Audio will be packed for their show on Tuesday, but from what I've heard it's well worth the sweat and claustrophobia.
Woods - "Twisted Tongue"
MV & EE - "Lonely Moon"
Wednesday: The Decemberists @ Terminal 5 7pm $31
There are few bands that I would pay $31 to see at this point. Most of the bands I'm checking out are playing in little divey places that cost no more then a ten spot to get in, at the very most a Jackson. But The Decemberists own the keys to my musical heart with their literary songs and gentle melodies. It's such fun music and their live show is something that should not be missed. Of course now that they've grown to Terminal 5 size it lacks the intimacy of seeing them at places like Warsaw or Maxwell's, but they are still a tremendous band even in the big spaces.
The Decemberists - "Raincoat Song"
Thursday: Dream Bitches @ Glasslands 8pm $6
When Dream Bitches dropped Coke-and-Spiriters on our heads earlier this year the blog world stood up and took note and started fawning over the girl group and their songs that gently mixed elements of Brit-pop and anti-folk and made us all sing-a-long. Now a few months later, the ladies have been MIA for far too long and are finally now resurfacing with a show at the always cool Glasslands. It's mad cheap for such a good band so kick start your weekend early and get over there!
Dream Bitches - "Bad Luck Bill"
Friday: Deerhunter + Times New Viking @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 8pm $15
The two Pitchfork darlings are taking their Best New Music on the road together and it's really some pairing of bands. Both Times New Viking's Rip It Off and Deerhunter's Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. will be making more year end lists, and as awesome as those records are both bands are better live. This is going to be one of those blow your minds, everyone's talking about, best show of you life type of experiences.
Deerhunter - "Vox Humana"
Times New Viking - "No Sympathy"
Saturday: The Mountain Goats + Kaki King @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 8pm $23
I've already seen The Mountain Goats twice this year, but that won't stop me from enjoying the band all over again! I mean this time they have yet another EP to play for us, not to mention the songs that Darnielle has collaborated on with his opening act Kaki King. Also, I'm really excited to finally see Kaki King! This should be an awesome show!
The Mountain Goats - "Satanic Messiah"
Kaki King - "2 O'Clock"
Sunday: No Age + Titus Andronicus @ Santo's Party House 7pm FREE (RSVP)
I know Sunday's are normally a day of rest at this time of the year, but let's face it it's not everyday that we get a lineup consisting of two of the best rock bands around right now for FREE! That's right you can catch the frantic two piece known as No Age and the ridiculous fury and power of Titus Andronicus for nothing! It really doesn't get much better then that.
No Age - "It's Oh So Quiet"
Titus Andronicus - "Titus Andronicus"
There isn't much going on this Monday evening, but Nonhorse seem to have a pretty interesting reputation behind them and should be something to enjoy in some way. Apparently their debut album is spliced together out of pieces of old cassette tapes and at a recent show they burned incense and cut onions to add smells to the sounds of their music. Not sure if they'll be doing that here, but with that kind of reputation preceding them I don't think you can really expect anything but the unexpected.
Nonhorse on Myspace
Tuesday: Woods + MV & EE @ Death By Audio 8pm $tba
Woods were one of the few bands that were buzzed about going into CMJ that I totally missed out on. I attempted to see them at the Cake Shop during the NY Noise Anniversary show but it was far too packed for me to stand. I'm sure Death By Audio will be packed for their show on Tuesday, but from what I've heard it's well worth the sweat and claustrophobia.
Woods - "Twisted Tongue"
MV & EE - "Lonely Moon"
Wednesday: The Decemberists @ Terminal 5 7pm $31
There are few bands that I would pay $31 to see at this point. Most of the bands I'm checking out are playing in little divey places that cost no more then a ten spot to get in, at the very most a Jackson. But The Decemberists own the keys to my musical heart with their literary songs and gentle melodies. It's such fun music and their live show is something that should not be missed. Of course now that they've grown to Terminal 5 size it lacks the intimacy of seeing them at places like Warsaw or Maxwell's, but they are still a tremendous band even in the big spaces.
The Decemberists - "Raincoat Song"
Thursday: Dream Bitches @ Glasslands 8pm $6
When Dream Bitches dropped Coke-and-Spiriters on our heads earlier this year the blog world stood up and took note and started fawning over the girl group and their songs that gently mixed elements of Brit-pop and anti-folk and made us all sing-a-long. Now a few months later, the ladies have been MIA for far too long and are finally now resurfacing with a show at the always cool Glasslands. It's mad cheap for such a good band so kick start your weekend early and get over there!
Dream Bitches - "Bad Luck Bill"
Friday: Deerhunter + Times New Viking @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 8pm $15
The two Pitchfork darlings are taking their Best New Music on the road together and it's really some pairing of bands. Both Times New Viking's Rip It Off and Deerhunter's Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. will be making more year end lists, and as awesome as those records are both bands are better live. This is going to be one of those blow your minds, everyone's talking about, best show of you life type of experiences.
Deerhunter - "Vox Humana"
Times New Viking - "No Sympathy"
Saturday: The Mountain Goats + Kaki King @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 8pm $23
I've already seen The Mountain Goats twice this year, but that won't stop me from enjoying the band all over again! I mean this time they have yet another EP to play for us, not to mention the songs that Darnielle has collaborated on with his opening act Kaki King. Also, I'm really excited to finally see Kaki King! This should be an awesome show!
The Mountain Goats - "Satanic Messiah"
Kaki King - "2 O'Clock"
Sunday: No Age + Titus Andronicus @ Santo's Party House 7pm FREE (RSVP)
I know Sunday's are normally a day of rest at this time of the year, but let's face it it's not everyday that we get a lineup consisting of two of the best rock bands around right now for FREE! That's right you can catch the frantic two piece known as No Age and the ridiculous fury and power of Titus Andronicus for nothing! It really doesn't get much better then that.
No Age - "It's Oh So Quiet"
Titus Andronicus - "Titus Andronicus"
Free Shows:
Sunday Nov. 9th: No Age + Titus Andronicus @ Santo's Party House 7pm (RSVP)
No Age - "Eraser"
Titus Andronicus - "Fear and Loathing In Mahwah, NJ"
Monday Nov. 7th: Little Joy @ Virgin Megastore 7pm
Little Joy - "Unattainable"
Cheap Shows: ($10 or less)
Saturday Nov. 1st: Creaky Boards @ Pianos $10
Creaky Boards - "Now I'm in the City"
Monday Nov. 10th: No Age @ Market Hotel $9
No Age - "Teen Creeps"
Wednesday Nov. 12: Free Blood @ 205 Club $10
Free Blood - "Grumpy"
Friday Nov. 14th: Pop Tarts Suck Toasted Presents @ Martini Red $5
The Heavenly Tenants - "Fifteen"
Pet Ghost Project - "Age of Automatics"
Saturday Nov. 15th: The Homosexuals @ Cake Shop $7
The Homosexuals - "Slow Guns"
Wednesday Nov. 19th: Wilderness @ Cake Shop $tba
Wilderness - "Chinese Whisperers"
Thursday Nov. 20th: Violens @ Mercury Lounge $10
Violens - "Violent Sensation Descends"
Tuesday Nov. 25th: Mixel Pixel + Ninjasonik @ Cake Shop $7
Mixel Pixel - "Sinking Feeling"
Ninjasonik - "Internet Bitch (I'm Fucking Famous)"
Wednesday Nov. 26th: Castanets + Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Union Hall $10
Castanets - "Glory B"
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - "Written Over"
Not So Cheap Shows: ($20 or less)
Sunday Nov. 2nd: Pelican @ Bowery Ballroom $15
Pelican - "Sirius"
Tuesday Nov. 4th: Rival Schools @ Maxwell's $15
Rival Schools - "Good Things"
Friday Nov. 7th: Deerhunter + Times New Viking @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $15
Deerhunter - "Never Stops"
Times New Viking - "Sick & Tyred"
Sunday Nov. 9th: Boris @ Maxwell's $15
Boris - "Blackout"
Tuesday Nov. 11th: The Sea and Cake + Death Vessel @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $20
The Sea and Cake - "On A Letter"
Death Vessel - "Peninsula"
Thursday Nov. 13th: Little Joy @ Mercury Lounge $12
Little Joy - "Brand New Start"
Sunday Nov. 16th: Girl Talk @ Terminal 5 $20
Girl Talk - "Like This"
Tuesday Nov. 18th: Subtle + Zach Hill @ Knitting Factory $12
Subtle - "Day Dangerous"
Zach Hill - "Dark Arts"
Saturday Nov. 22nd: Bishop Allen + Drink Up Buttercup @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Bishop Allen - "Butterfly Nets"
Drink Up Buttercup - "Gods and Gentlemen"
Friday Nov. 28th: Gang Gang Dance + Marnie Stern @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $15
Gang Gang Dance - "First Communication"
Marnie Stern - "Transformer"
Saturday Nov. 29th: King Khan & BBQ Show @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $13
King Khan & BBQ Show - "Fish Fight"
Mad Expensive Shows: (more then $20)
Wednesday Nov. 5th: The Decemberists @ Terminal 5 $31
The Decemberists - "O New England"
Thursday Nov. 6th: The Hold Steady @ Terminal 5 $30
The Hold Steady - "First Night"
Saturday Nov. 8th: The Mountain Goats + Kaki King @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $25
The Mountain Goats - "Woke Up New"
Kaki King - "Pull Me Out Alive"
Monday Nov. 17th: Iron & Wine + Blitzen Trapper @ Terminal 5 $28
Iron & Wine - "Arms of a Thief"
Blitzen Trapper - "Gold for Bread"
Friday Nov. 21st: Brian Wilson @ Hammerstein Ballroom $57.50
Brian Wilson - "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl"
Sunday Nov. 9th: No Age + Titus Andronicus @ Santo's Party House 7pm (RSVP)
No Age - "Eraser"
Titus Andronicus - "Fear and Loathing In Mahwah, NJ"
Monday Nov. 7th: Little Joy @ Virgin Megastore 7pm
Little Joy - "Unattainable"
Cheap Shows: ($10 or less)
Saturday Nov. 1st: Creaky Boards @ Pianos $10
Creaky Boards - "Now I'm in the City"
Monday Nov. 10th: No Age @ Market Hotel $9
No Age - "Teen Creeps"
Wednesday Nov. 12: Free Blood @ 205 Club $10
Free Blood - "Grumpy"
Friday Nov. 14th: Pop Tarts Suck Toasted Presents @ Martini Red $5
The Heavenly Tenants - "Fifteen"
Pet Ghost Project - "Age of Automatics"
Saturday Nov. 15th: The Homosexuals @ Cake Shop $7
The Homosexuals - "Slow Guns"
Wednesday Nov. 19th: Wilderness @ Cake Shop $tba
Wilderness - "Chinese Whisperers"
Thursday Nov. 20th: Violens @ Mercury Lounge $10
Violens - "Violent Sensation Descends"
Tuesday Nov. 25th: Mixel Pixel + Ninjasonik @ Cake Shop $7
Mixel Pixel - "Sinking Feeling"
Ninjasonik - "Internet Bitch (I'm Fucking Famous)"
Wednesday Nov. 26th: Castanets + Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Union Hall $10
Castanets - "Glory B"
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - "Written Over"
Not So Cheap Shows: ($20 or less)
Sunday Nov. 2nd: Pelican @ Bowery Ballroom $15
Pelican - "Sirius"
Tuesday Nov. 4th: Rival Schools @ Maxwell's $15
Rival Schools - "Good Things"
Friday Nov. 7th: Deerhunter + Times New Viking @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $15
Deerhunter - "Never Stops"
Times New Viking - "Sick & Tyred"
Sunday Nov. 9th: Boris @ Maxwell's $15
Boris - "Blackout"
Tuesday Nov. 11th: The Sea and Cake + Death Vessel @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $20
The Sea and Cake - "On A Letter"
Death Vessel - "Peninsula"
Thursday Nov. 13th: Little Joy @ Mercury Lounge $12
Little Joy - "Brand New Start"
Sunday Nov. 16th: Girl Talk @ Terminal 5 $20
Girl Talk - "Like This"
Tuesday Nov. 18th: Subtle + Zach Hill @ Knitting Factory $12
Subtle - "Day Dangerous"
Zach Hill - "Dark Arts"
Saturday Nov. 22nd: Bishop Allen + Drink Up Buttercup @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Bishop Allen - "Butterfly Nets"
Drink Up Buttercup - "Gods and Gentlemen"
Friday Nov. 28th: Gang Gang Dance + Marnie Stern @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $15
Gang Gang Dance - "First Communication"
Marnie Stern - "Transformer"
Saturday Nov. 29th: King Khan & BBQ Show @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $13
King Khan & BBQ Show - "Fish Fight"
Mad Expensive Shows: (more then $20)
Wednesday Nov. 5th: The Decemberists @ Terminal 5 $31
The Decemberists - "O New England"
Thursday Nov. 6th: The Hold Steady @ Terminal 5 $30
The Hold Steady - "First Night"
Saturday Nov. 8th: The Mountain Goats + Kaki King @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $25
The Mountain Goats - "Woke Up New"
Kaki King - "Pull Me Out Alive"
Monday Nov. 17th: Iron & Wine + Blitzen Trapper @ Terminal 5 $28
Iron & Wine - "Arms of a Thief"
Blitzen Trapper - "Gold for Bread"
Friday Nov. 21st: Brian Wilson @ Hammerstein Ballroom $57.50
Brian Wilson - "Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl"
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