Top 10: Bands I Need to See Before I Die

I have been lucky enough to see a lot of bands in my time. I have seen bands like Pink Floyd and The Ramones, not in their original lineup but close enough to it that it felt like the real thing. I have seen reunions a lot of people thought they'd never see like My Bloody Valentine and Mission of Burma. I've seen artists you could never have expected me to see like Britney Spears and Prince (for 2 songs). But in all my time there are still certain bands and artists I've never gotten to see that I would give a lot to see. Some of them, The Beatles, The Clash, Joy Division, Nirvana, are dead, some of them, Husker Du, Black Flag, are probably not getting back together anytime soon. But there's still a lot that if I had the means and resources I would give practically anything to see. The reason I'm bringing this up this week is that I have never before seen Jay-Z, I've revered the man for years, listened to everything he's ever released, and somehow I've never been able to see him. Of course that will change on Friday night when he headlines the first night of All Points West, so I'm leaving him off the list because I know it'll be changing really soon! As for the others I hope I get to see them and I reserve the right to change any of these choices whenever I feel like. Sometimes artists spring to mind when you least expect it.

There are rules for this Top 10, and I'd ask you to stick to the rules when you leave your own must see bands in the comments!
Rule #1: Band must still be together! We can save top 10 reunions for another time!
Rule #2: Band must have the majority of its original members (3 out of 4, 4 out of 5). In other words The Who does not make the list.
Rule #3: Enjoy!

10. Pixies; I kick off the list with the Pixies, not because they are the band I want to see the least out of all ten of these bands, but because I have a good feeling that I'll be seeing them in November when they come tearing through the States playing Doolittle in its entirety! Yeah, I'm excited about that, especially considering as I missed them when they came around last time and I certainly don't wanna repeat that mistake lest they never come around again!
Pixies - "Here Comes Your Man"

9. MF Doom; A relative newcomer amongst a bunch of legends that populate the rest of this list, but let's face the fact that MF Doom is a legend in his own right. Beyond that he doesn't tour all that often and for whatever reason I have never managed to catch one of those rare live performances. Hopefully with the new record he'll go around more often, but even with that it doesn't seem like he is.
MF Doom - "Gazillion Ear"

8. Madonna; The Material Girl doesn't really fit my normal listening habits but if the death of Michael Jackson taught us anything it should be to embrace our legendary pop creators. For this reason I think Madonna has become a "must see" the next time she comes around, so long as I have the greenbacks to go out and buy one of the ridiculously priced tickets she sells. I also hear that it's quite an entertaining performance as well so I look forward to seeing that someday.
Madonna - "Like A Prayer"

7. The Clean; There is a good chance that I'll be seeing The Clean in the next few months thanks to a new album coming out very soon, but since I missed them last time around and since have lately been devouring their catalog I'm putting them on the list. The bonus is that The Clean are probably the one band I won't have to go to some huge arena to see them at, I can probably catch them at some place like Bowery or Music Hall!
The Clean - "Tally Ho"

6. The Rolling Stones; A good portion of the original band are dead, but Mick and Keith are still going strong and that's really all that matters when it comes to The Rolling Stones. It's because of them that I amended my rule to "most" of the original band it was going to be the whole original band but I seriously want to see these guys before they croak. The problem with them has always been pricing so next time they announce dates I'll be hoping to save up enough quid real quick!
The Rolling Stones - "Paint It Black"

5. Bob Dylan; The latest reports on Bob Dylan's live performance is anything but glowing but that does not deter me from hoping to see him before he stops playing live. I know he may not be the artist he once was but it's Bob Dylan and that's really all that matters.
Bob Dylan - "Buckets of Rain"

4. Bruce Springsteen; To live in the tri-state area and to never have seen Bruce Springsteen should be considered a crime, but for whatever reason I have never been a witness to the great live show that is The Boss. I'd prefer if it were a show with the E Street Band, but beggars aren't choosers. Maybe I'll try to get in to one of his Garden shows in November.
Bruce Springsteen - "Thunder Road"

3. R.E.M.; I know I have had every intention of seeing R.E.M. a number of times now but have never followed through on those good intentions, and you know where they lead. Peter BuckBill Buck may be gone from the band but they continue on and apparently put on a pretty solid show. It would be a lot of fun to see them performing their classic tunes that I have grown up loving though.
R.E.M. - "Nightswimming"

2. Kanye West; The spectacle alone should be worth the price of admission, but I can literally rap along with just about every song Kanye has ever released. I am a huge fan but I am also terrified of hip-hop shows thanks to the awful Wu Tang performance I saw in 1996. From what I've heard you don't need to fear that with Kanye, you just have to fear him showing up three hours late.
Kanye West - "Jesus Walks"

1. David Bowie; I don't know when the last David Bowie tour or performance took place, though I'm sure I could Google it. I don't know if he will ever perform again. My fingers are crossed that he does though because I would pay practically anything to see him perform.
David Bowie - "Let's Dance"

Band of the Week: Cast Spells

My knowledge of Maps and Atlases is extremely limited. I have posted about them a total of three times in the history of Pop Tarts Suck Toasted and all three have just been notes about live shows they were playing with someone else I knew of in New York. So anything ballyhooing a member of their band going solo would be met with barely a notice from me, yet for some reason I wound up downloading their EP when I was prodded to (by their publicist) and it wound up in my "To Listen" playlist on iTunes. All of these events are random and harmless enough but upon listening to the new project known as Cast Spells I was entranced by what I heard.

The music from Maps and Atlases' front man David Davidson is positively enchanting, full of melodies and quaint pop hooks that lull you in much the way the gentle scent of baking bread coaxes you into a bakery. The music is calm, quiet, and lovely in every way. For six songs Dave Davidson holds your undivided attention with the simplest of sounds and his amazing voice. It's not an overpowering voice, but it is so full of emotion and urgency that you can't help but listen to every note he sings. Behind that voice Davidson has recruited a number of family and friends to provide percussion, piano, and a variety of other instruments that give the songs a stirring, vivid life. I am pretty much floored by all the lovely sounds found on Cast Spells debut EP Bright Works and Baton, it reminds a bit of the best parts of Bright Eyes minus all the sadness.

Cast Spells debut EP, Bright Works and Baton, is available now at the Sargent House website and is definitely something you should consider adding to your collection (the physical CD is only $6.50). Fans of Maps and Atlases, I'm not really sure what your band sounds like but I'm sure you'll love this record to death, and I'll go and finally give Maps and Atlases some listening time. Unfortunately I came to all this lovely music at the end of his brief solo tour and we missed out on his New York City show two days ago. Hopefully he'll be back soon!
Cast Spells - "Glamorous Glowing"
Cast Spells - "Potted Plant"
Cast Spells on MySpace

Questionable Corner: Das Racist

Summer is never complete without an anthem, a song we hear so many times it makes us nauseous after a while, yet it will always remind us of the Summer of whenever. This year it seems that that anthem has become Das Racist's "The Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell", a truly unconventional tune that has wormed its way into every day life. But don't be fooled, Das Racist may have that one big hit but don't expect them to stay a one hit wonder. With their penchant for repetitive hip-hop and their socio-political depth they could truly make it as the indie rappers they are. I had a chance to sit down with Himanshu and Victor, the two guys behind the Das Racist and found out a lot about these guys. Check it out, and check them out!

PTST: I think the question that is on everyone's mind is, what would you actually order from the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell?
Himanshu: I don't actually eat any of that stuff.
Victor: I'm freegan.

PTST: Why did you guys diss KFC and leave them out of the song?
H: I do actually eat KFC, but not Kentucky Fried Chicken. I fuck with Kennedy Fried Chicken strictly. Crown Fried Chicken too.
V: Three syllables: syl-la-bles

PTST: Das Racist may not be the most PC name for a rap group, what made you guys settle on it?
H: http://files.jonezy.org/racist.gif Shout out to Henry Louis Gates. Fuck the police.
V: Shout out to Judge E. Curtissa R. Cofield.

PTST: How did you guys come to form Das Racist? Have you been spittin' rhymes for a long time?
H: I've been rapping for about seventeen years, okay? I don't write my stuff anymore, I just kick it from my head, y' know what I'm sayin'!
V: Yeah he can do that, no disrespect, that's just how he is.

PTST: Victor, you're also in a band called Boy Crisis, which musical project do you prefer being a part of? Does the success of "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" push Boy Crisis to the back burner for now?
V: Boy Crisis signed a global deal to a British record company who is not trying to spend any money on touring/press/etc. in the United States until the band "breaks" in the UK market. We took a while making our album and the buzz that we had around us faded, as it inevitably does around any new band that doesn't deliver immediately, and often enough even after new bands that do deliver immediately. While it would have been nice to ride that momentum while it was still there, we didn't want to rush ourselves and we actually wanted to make an album that we could stand behind and at the end of the day I think we did. It comes out in the UK in September but there is no release date for the US yet. And on the other side of things, a lot of why Das Racist is getting so much attention in the American press right now is because we have an American press agent (Xavier Aaronson at The MuseBox, who's an old friend of a friend of ours and who's been working with us because he digs the music). I'm not trying to boil it down to some purely historical materialist/all culture is disseminated to the masses via various apparati of the ruling class in a vast network of macro-nepotism type shit but still, the music industry is, in fact, an industry so yeah maybe I am trying to say all that. I don't prefer either band over
the other.

PTST: When did you guys start making music? Were you doing this all your life or are you kind of new to it?
H: I was more of a freestyle dude than a writer when I started rhyming in high school. It wasn't until college when I was surrounded by a lot of (WHITE) people with the means of production for music that I started recording. I guess I'm new to creating music? I don't know, man.
V: I've been in bands since I was 13 or 14. I don't write my stuff anymore, I just kick it from my head, y' know what I'm sayin'!

PTST: What did you guys listen to growing up? What are you listening to these days?
H: Growing up there was always Indian music being played in my house so I used to fuck with that. I've gotten back into it now but it's more the funky weird stuff from the 70s I want to sample or sad stuff by Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi. Besides that, I've always listened
to and still always listen to Hot 97. BREAKING NEWS: New York rap in the 90s was hell of fucking good. As for more recently, in addition to anything played on Hot 97, I mostly listen to my friends bands - Acrylics, Suckers, In (Strong Looks), Tony Castles, Gordon Voidwell, Leif, Apache Beat - and Neon Indian. I love Neon Indian. Shit is great. And The Dream. And Suckers. I guess I said that. They're doing a residency at Pianos and I hosted 2 of the shows, which just means introducing them and drinking for free but holy shit they put on a great show. I've been listening to their EP and Daytrotter sessions non-stop.
V: Godstomper.

PTST: What are your feelings on Pitchfork.com. I know they gave Das Racist a very nice review but they also called Boy Crisis "the worst band in the world right now." Do you think they realized that they shared a member?
H: As my man Victor said on one of our joints, "Pitchfork.com, I don't even read that." But I do, sometimes. I'm more of a Gorilla vs. Bear man myself, pause.
V: Pitchfork is not some monolithic entity that speaks with one voice, it's a publication with several contributing writers who all have their opinions. Scott Plagenhoef's review of us even said as much. I don't know what's really good with Amy Phillips, the chick who wrote the "worst band in the world" review. I wrote her what I felt was a polite email a while back and she never responded to me. She described Boy Crisis as "cliché[d]... Williamsburg hipster douchebags... play[ing] ironic 'smoove' white boy electro r&b" and then compared us to the Bush administration while comparing TV on the Radio to Obama so it seems her beef with Boy Crisis was racial in nature, which is interesting to me. Even ignoring the fact that I (lyricist, front man, and a principle songwriter in Boy Crisis) am half black (like her dude Obama), there's still the question of why she should be so worked up about white people playing "r&b," (from which the largely white genre known today as "rock" sprang), the question of why an attempt by white people to play such music should have to be viewed as "ironic" and the question of why she should be so happy that black people are playing music in the rock tradition with electric guitars... It's kind of on some "Oh, finally those negroes are playing some real music, with guitars just like proper white people! Now if we could just get those low white types from acting like negroes we could all get along perfectly in a uniformly white culture, which is like, duh, superior to all other cultures and, BTW, totally not a mythical construction."

PTST: At Siren Fest you guys got on stage with Bear Hands, it was my first time seeing you guys in person and my first reaction was "who the fuck are these guys". Do you get that type of reaction a lot?
H: Yeah. I guess that's what we're going for? I don't know.
V: Yeah, I'm not sure what we're going for either but "who the fuck are these guys" isn't a bad look.

PTST: What was it like to be on the stage at Siren? How do you know the guys in Bear Hands? What did the sound guy say to you when knocked the mic of the floor tom?
H: Siren was cool. Dylan Rau is one of my closest friends. Ted Feldman is the fucking man. We went to Wesleyan with those 2 dudes and then I lived with Dylan in Bushwick for a year after graduating. I actually used to make music with Dylan too. We made these poorly recorded
garage band synth beats with acoustic guitar on top and Dylan sang and I rapped.
V: I liked that shit you did with Dylan. The sound man said, verbatim, "Stop acting like an animal, you barbaric freak monkey semi-negroid" I swear to God. That man was a racist.

PTST: You guys both live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn right now, how's that working out for you? Do you guys like living in the hipster central?
H: I like living in a neighborhood a lot of my friends live and drink and play music in but I feel like it's not a real place. It's like post-college college. I sometimes miss Queens and "the real world". Also, living in Williamsburg makes me really appreciate natives because we're a dwindling demographic. When I was growing up here I never thought about where people came from. To me, everyone was a New Yorker. But then I got older and I was like, holy shit no one here is from here anymore. NATIVES STAND UP!!!
V: Living in Williamsburg is convenient for me in a number of ways but I still do feel weird about it pretty much every day. I feel weird about a lot of shit every day.

PTST: Some people have started to label you guys as a novelty act, despite the socio-politcal commentary in your lyrics, do you think that's a fair or appropriate labeling of what you do?
H: Novelty journalism.
V: I second that quip.

PTST: You've done a couple shows around New York, what's your live act like? Why should people come see you?
H: People should come see us because our live act is like partying in the Foot Clan's hideout from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Or like Saturday in Lima, Peru - no rules.
V: Or like listening to Rollerskating Jam Called Saturdays in Lima, Peru - no rules.

PTST: Do you have any plans to take your show on the road?
H: Sure.
V: Yeah.

PTST: When can we expect an album from Das Racist?
H: When someone throws mad guap at us.
V: YEAH.

Listen: Das Racist - "Jungle Fever"
Das Racist - "The Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Wallpaper Remix)"

Upcoming Shows:
July 28th @ Southpaw Brooklyn, NY
August 6th @ Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
September 18th @ Forward Music Fest Madison, WI

Blast from the Past: Jay-Z's Hard Knock Life Vol. 2

Late last week the music world was hit hard when MCA of the Beastie Boys came out and told the world he had been diagnosed with cancer. It seems like the cancer will be treatable and we all wish him the best but questions loomed over the canceled Beastie Boys shows namely Lollapalooza and this weekend's All Points West. Lollapalooza went and booked the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the band that would have opened for the Beastie Boys on Friday night. Instead the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be opening up for Jay-Z, the legend. All Point West are clearly the winners in all this, getting the first ever American festival performance by Jay-Z. Obviously this ramped up the excitement for the struggling festival just a little bit and with my girlfriend Rachael winning tickets to the three day fest today I've been sweatin' my Jay-Z collection pretty hard all day!

Now I'm not gonna stand here and tell you that Hard Knock Life, Vol. 2 is one of Jay's better albums. It's not, and we all know it. But I've already covered Reasonable Doubt as a Blast from the Past and Hard Knock Life, Vol. 2 was the first Jay-Z album I actually owned. Don't look at me like that, I'm sure a lot of people can say the same thing, this record was absolutely huge when it was released. Of course it was lifted by singles like the Annie sampling "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" and "Can I Get A..." featuring Amil and Ja Rule, but there's a bunch of worthy tunes on the record as well.

Listening to it now though even I have to admit the album has gotten weaker with age. The beats, the rhymes, the flow, are all well below HOV's normal standard and even though the singles are really strong even they pale in comparison to the best of Jay-Z. I'm still excited to see him, I'm just gonna go throw on a different record now.
Jay-Z - "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"
Jay-Z - "Ride Or Die"
Jay-Z - "Money Cash Hoes"
Jay-Z - "Can I Get A..."
Jay-Z - "Money Ain't A Thing"

August's Free Concert Calendar

Sat. 8/1: M. Ward, Mike Watt, + Nels Cline @ Central Park Summerstage 7pm
(three legendary musicians on one stage! way too good to pass up, though the Summerstage line gets pretty crazy at times! get there by 5:30pm or you're not getting in!)
M. Ward - "Magic Trick"
Mike Watt - "Piss-Bottle Man"
Nels Cline - "Cymbidium"
Sun. 8/2: Deerhunter, No Age, Dan Deacon @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2pm
(performing in the round, that means one will play a song, then another, then the third band, and so on until it stops. at least that's the way I understand it!)
Deerhunter - "Little Kids"
No Age - "Every Artist Needs A Tragedy"
Dan Deacon - "Padding Ghost"
Mon. 8/3: Bela Fleck + Toumani Diabate @ Central Park Summerstage 8pm
(really this is for world music fans and people with open minds only, but those types of fans will have an amazing time!)
Bela Fleck - "Kinetsa"
Toumani Diabate - "Kaounding Cissoko"
Tues. 8/4: The Rural Alberta Advantage + The Dig @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 8pm
(free indoor show! you know in case it rains or something!)
The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Don't Haunt This Place"
The Dig - "She's Gonna Kill That Boy"
Fri. 8/7: Casiokids, The Wave Pictures, + Slow Club @ South Street Seaport 6pm
(2nd to last Seaport show, stock up on 32oz. of cheap beer!)
Casiokids - "Finn Bikkjen!"
The Wave Pictures - "If You Leave It Alone"
Slow Club - "Because We're Dead"
Sat. 8/8: Rhys Chatham @ Damrosch Bandshell 7:30pm
(last year got rained out, trying again with 200 guitarists in tow! should be mind blowing!)
Rhys Chatham - "A Crimson Grail Part Two"
Sun. 8/9: The Fiery Furnaces + Dark Meat @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2pm
(excellent new album from The Fiery Furnaces, probably the most under appreciated band of the decade! DJ set by Simian Mobile Disco closes this though!)
The Fiery Furnaces - "Even In The Rain"
Dark Meat - "Freedom Ritual"
Tues. 8/11: The Budos Band @ City Winery 5pm
(Staten Island's finest do their 3rd free show of the summer!)
The Budos Band - "The Proposition"
Thurs. 8/13: Yeasayer + Amazing Baby @ Pier 54 6pm
(this venue has had its barriers almost torn down and a torrential rain storm to contend with, what will happen tonight?)
Yeasayer - "2080"
Amazing Baby - "Smoke Bros"
Fri. 8/14: School of Seven Bells @ South Street Seaport 6pm
(last Seaport show of the season, kind of a disappointment musically)
School of Seven Bells - "Half Asleep"
Sat. 8/15: Dinosaur Jr. + The Walkmen @ Central Park Summerstage 3pm
(for fans of rock music only!)
Dinosaur Jr. - "Cats In A Bowl"
The Walkmen - "Canadian Girl"
Sun. 8/16: Del the Funky Homosapien + DD/MM/YYYY @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2pm
(yeah, even the Pool Parties can't have the best lineups in the world all the time!)
Del the Funky Homosapien - "King of Fighters"
Sun. 8/23: Girl Talk + Max Tundra @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2pm
(this one is pretty sweet though! be ready to dance!)
Girl Talk - "Still Here"
Max Tundra - "Which Song"
Sun. 8/30: Grizzly Bear + Beach House @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2pm
(last chance to wear white pants at a free show this summer!)
Grizzly Bear - "Cheerleader"
Beach House - "All the Years"

This Week's Live Picks

Monday: Cass McCombs @ Joe's Pub 7pm $12
Have you seen the weather forecast for this week? It does not look very pleasant, luckily there are more then a few indoor concerts to fill your evenings with starting with the wonderful tunes of Cass McCombs at the very intimate Joe's Pub. Cass has had a huge year so far with his raved about new album Catacombs and is someone you should definitely check out.
Cass McCombs - "Dreams Come True Girl"

Tuesday: Green Day @ Madison Square Garden 7pm $30
For years I have been an enormous Green Day fan and even though 21st Century Breakdown isn't their finest moment I'd still plunk down the $30 to see them at MSG if I were working and had the $30 available to use on this instead of rent or groceries or insurance. Sigh, maybe Billie Joe or Tre or Mike will read this and invite me to come to the show. A guy can dream can't he?
Green Day - "Pulling Teeth"

Wednesday: The Grates @ Pianos 8pm $10
A few months back I caught The Grates opening for Micachu & the Shapes at this very same venue and though I was there for Micachu I was positively wowed by the pizazz The Grates showed on the small Pianos stage. Though front woman Patience Hodgson doesn't just stick to the stage! Part of the floor and one of her fan's shoulders also served as performance space for her that night and I'd expect more of the same tonight.
The Grates - "Milk Eyes"

Thursday: Destroyer + Iran @ Bowery Ballroom 8pm $15
This weekend is all about kick ass lineups and it all starts with this one which boasts two bands I absolutely cannot get enough of. Iran has wowed most of us with their most recent release Dissolver, a record that bristles with energy and experimental sounds. And as much as we adore Iran the obvious draw to this show is Destroyer. For years now Destroyer has been dishing out some of the best lyrics and finest tunes in the music world, not just the indie landscape but the whole musical soundscape! Dan Bejar understands his craft and to watch him perform is nearing concert going perfection!
Destroyer - "Modern Painter"
Iran - "I Can See the Future"

Friday: Polvo + Obits @ South Street Seaport 6pm FREE
In case you didn't get enough of Merge over the last, what with Superhcunk at the Seaport and XX Merge down in North Carolina, the weekend will also be dominated by Merge artists once again! Obviously Destroyer started that off, but Polvo picks up where Superchunk left off by taking over the Seaport stage. Now the weather doesn't look promising at the moment but let's hope that all changes by week's end!
Polvo - "Beggar's Bowl"
Obits - "Run"

Saturday: M. Ward, Mike Watt, + Nels Cline @ Central Park Summerstage 7pm FREE
Continuing on the Merge/awesome lineup theme of the New York weekend we have M. Ward from Merge and a very well rounded lineup with Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and Nels Cline (currently of Wilco) all doing solo sets at Summerstage. That's a pretty heavy day of guitar vitruoso and outstanding lyricists doing their thing, one that you would be foolish to miss.
M. Ward - "Poison Cup"
Mike Watt - "Piss-Bottle Man"
Nels Cline - "Cymbidium"

Sunday: Deerhunter, No Age, + Dan Deacon @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2pm FREE
If it's Sunday most of Williamsburg will be at the Pool Party and if I had to choose one to label an absolute cannot miss it would be this one! All three of these bands have thrived in the current booming indie world and all three put on shows that are not to be missed! The really fun part is that all three will apparently be taking that stage together at some point to something really crazy. I hope those rumors are true and this will be a Pool Party for the ages!
Deerhunter - "Circulation"
No Age - "Eraser"
Dan Deacon - "Snookered"

Top 10: Music Videos by Radiohead

10. "Paranoid Android"

9. "Creep"

8. "There There"

7. "No Surprises"

6. "Fake Plastic Trees"

5. "Knives Out"

4. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"

3. "Just"

2. "House of Cards"

1. "Karma Police"

Band of the Week: I'm Turning Into

I imagine there's not too many different ways to spend your evenings in Norfolk, VA. Not that it's a small town, I'm just comparing it to growing up in New York City where every night there's literally hundreds of options for entertainment. So instead of doing all the crazy things we New Yorkers take for granted kids in places like Norfolk, VA resort to starting bands and dreaming of living in New York and playing gigs every night. Once again I imagine this is exactly what happened for I'm Turning Into a local three piece that recently relocated from Norfolk, VA.

Listening to their soon to be release EP, cleverly titled theep, you don't get the impression that I'm Turning Into are from some Southern(-ish) town, you hear the tunes and genuinely believe that these guys could have been living in Brooklyn all their lives, they certainly have the lo-fi aesthetic down to a "T". But the music is also more then just another lo-fi band, these are songs that are built on genuinely good riffs and solid lyrics, either that or they are just flat out jamming out. The biggest thing about theep is the range in songs, from the catchy opener "I'm Going", to the break neck punk of "Would It Matter", and wrapping up with a more then 14-minute long jam session, it shows a lot of musical dexterity and the desire to try new things. Both of those traits are admirable but if these songs wound up sucking I wouldn't be talking about them, instead they flat out rock.

I'm looking forward to checking these guys out live in the next couple of weeks and getting to know one of the new bands coming up through the ranks in Brooklyn and doing so the right way. Check 'em out you won't be disappointed!
I'm Turning Into - "I'm Going"
I'm Turning Into - "Would It Matter"
I'm Turning Into on MySpace
Upcoming Dates:
July 25th @ Backyard BBQ (102 Moore St.)
August 14th @ Bruar Falls
(P.S. - You can vote for I'm Turning Into for Deli Band of the Month!)

Questionable Corner: Suckers

A couple of weeks ago Suckers started a month long residency at Pianos and we thought it would be great to promote their four July shows with a nice fun interview. Then life happened and we scored one last interview with Oxford Collapse and one with the far more attractive Those Darlins and suddenly Suckers were pushed to the back of the month. Apologies are probably due all around, to the band and the fans that would have seen these shows, because these guys are super fun and a great sounding band. But then you know that already because you saw when they got Best New Track over on Pitchfork or when they got labeled Band to Watch over on Stereogum. Now you get to find out which tag they liked more as well what their favorite sucker is and what part of their record collection they're most embarrassed about! Oh and you still have tomorrow and next Thursday to see them at Pianos!

PTST: Let's kick this off with some of the goofier questions and we'll get to the real meat and potatoes later on. What would be your favorite flavor of suckers (lollipops)?
Suckers: Cherry Blow Pop or Chocolate Tootsie Pop, I can't decide.

PTST: What part of Brooklyn are you guys living in? What's the best pizza joint in your
neighborhood?
Suckers: 3 of us live in Williamsburg and 1 in Bed Stuy. I don’t have any great pizza places in my immediate neighborhood, but the closest would be Betterfella’s, which used to be Vinny Vella’s, also, La Nonna on Bedford. Neither can even compare to New Haven pizza though.

PTST: Do you guys have any guilty pleasures that have seeped into your musical upbringing and maybe even influenced you a bit?
Suckers: We’re all collectively influenced by so much music and I don’t think any one of us feels guilty about any of it.

PTST: Was there ever any thoughts to wearing costumes on stage? If you were to wear
coordinating costumes, what would they look like?
Suckers: Well, we don’t really wear costumes. Quinn’s been painting his face ever since he was a child and Brian enjoys the occasional “on-stage dress-up” now and again. If we were to coordinate? We would probably dress up as characters from “The Wizard of OZ”

PTST: What's your favorite TV show right now?
Suckers: “Sons of Anarchy”, a pretty sweet show about a biker gang in Northern California.

PTST: OK, let's get a bit more serious (though not too much). Your 4-song EP was produced by Anand Wilder of Yeasayer, what's your favorite Yeasayer song?
Suckers: I really like this new one they have called “Amblin' Alp”

PTST: What was it like working with Anand?
Suckers: We’ve been good friends with Anand for a long time now and it was a pretty natural choice for us to ask him to produce the EP, since he would always tell us what was we should change with our songs anyways!

PTST: Do you guys think of yourselves as a typical Brooklyn band?
Suckers: I wouldn’t be happy if I considered us a typical anything…

PTST: Do you think you fit in one genre of music better then another?
Suckers: Not really. I think in the end we play pop music, which is a pretty broad genre at this point.

PTST: What do you guys think you sound like?
Suckers: I like to say “Extraterrestrial Pop Music” but we’re basically just 4 guys who like to experiment and try to do interesting things within basic song structures.

PTST: What does your Mom think you sound like?
Suckers: I just asked her this and she said we sound “harmonious”, she's not a big music nerd.

PTST: Do your parents support your decision to pursue a life as a starving artist? Are you a starving artist? Do starving artists eat a lot of fried bologna?
Suckers: Yeah, all of our parents are super supportive, right now, only half of us are starving. Quinn lives on fried bologna, but Brian keeps stealing it from him.

PTST: You guys are doing a big July residency at Pianos, you know it gets really hot in there right? How do you plan on combating the heat?
Suckers: It’s not the heat I’m worried about, the last time we played there, they had some septic problems and the whole back room smelled like shit! I just hope they figured that out by now.

PTST: Do you guys have a favorite beverage to drink while on stage? Why don't more bands get drinks with umbrellas in them while on stage?
Suckers: Whiskey, water & beer, but now that you mention it, I think I might drink more umbrella drinks on stage.

PTST: Are you more excited to do your residency shows or to open for MGMT at Prospect Park?
Suckers: Opening for MGMT will be our biggest crowd so far, so I’ll go with that one.

PTST: Who is a better band, Suckers, Yeasayer, or MGMT?
Suckers: MGMT are better looking, Yeasayer are better musicians and Suckers are better lovers.

PTST: Some of you grew up in New Haven, do you know the guys from Vampire Weekend?
Suckers: Nope, I’ve never met those guys…

PTST: Earlier this year you guys made a stop at SXSW, will you be playing CMJ this year? If you are do you wanna play my unofficial showcase? What's better CMJ, SXSW, or Holy Week?
Suckers: I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing CMJ and yeah, sure! Why not?! Get in touch with our booker. SXSW has definitely been the most fun, Holy Week is a close second.

PTST: I read somewhere that the lyrics of your songs are taken from the collected poetic works of one of you guys, which one was that? Were these poems you wrote for school or for personal gain? Are they all in iambic pentameter?
Suckers: Haha that was a joke! I think Quinn was pretending to be like Jim Morrison or something!

PTST: What did you guys listen to growing up? What do you listen to now? What would you never ever admit to listening to?
Suckers: A lot of oldies/doo-wop stuff growing up. I personally was listening to a lot of different stuff in high school, everything from Metallica to Parliament to the Dead. All of us have really eclectic tastes in music, it’s hard to pinpoint and I will never tell anyone I had a New Kids tape when I was a kid - never.

PTST: Have you seen an increase in groupies since landing Pitchfork's Best New Music tag?
Suckers: Yes we have. I think we’re up to 3 now.

PTST: What was more pleasant, being Stereogum's Band of the Week or Pitchfork's Best New Music? Were you guys attention whores as children too?
Suckers: “Best New Music” is a bit more definitive than “Band to Watch”, so I’ll go with that. As far as being an attention whore, I definitely made a guitar out of cardboard and lip-synched Poison songs with my cousin at family functions as a kid - so I guess so.

PTST: So the EP is out, you're touring behind it, what do you guys wanna do next? Double
album? Rock opera?
Suckers: Well, Quinn already released a double album and actually, some of us are already partially involved in something like a rock opera so, all of the above!

PTST: After the Pianos residency what are your plans for the rest of the summer?
Suckers: We would ideally like to start recording a full-length, but my only definite plans this summer are drinking margaritas.

Listen: Suckers - "It Gets Your Body Movin'"
Suckers - "Easy Chairs"

Upcoming Shows:
July 23rd @ Pianos, New York, NY (w/Bear In Heaven, Intermissions, Hexa)
July 30th @ Pianos, New York, NY (w/Sean Bones, Acrylics, Class Actress)
October 4th @ Austin City Limits

Blast from the Past: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Let's Face It

Does anyone listen to the radio anymore? Now I'm not talking about clicking on WOXY while you're sitting at your computer, I'm talking about tried and true terrestial radio. Are you all doing the whole iPod or CD thing in the car now? Do you ever really listen to what they're selling us on commercial radio?

I listen to the radio fairly often, every time in the car at least, and when I'm not listening to WFMU (a listener supported station) I generally tend towards this new station in New York known as WRXP (101.9 for those searching the dial at home). The new station's boast is that they are "The New York Rock Experience" playing popular rock bands and local New York bands like the up-and-coming MGMT or Grizzly Bear. I shit you not this is what they peddle and they seem really proud of it. Matt Pinfield or Nick Carter are truly boastful when they play a set of local artists who they are trying to "break" in the mainstream.

Now the thing is, they don't even play these artists very often instead we get to hear the mainstays of 90's alternative radio like Fastball or Jimmy Eat World or The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. In fact for the past week it has seemed like every time I get in the car I am treated to a rousing rendition of "The Impression That I Get". And I truly loved that song back in 1997 when it was played every 10-minutes on MTV and every radio station in the world. I loved it so much that I bought the album Let's Face It and saw The Mighty Mighty Bosstones a couple of times and they were a fun ass band to see live. People danced like I have never seen them dance at a concert before. But that was back in the last revival of ska music, a time most of us look back and scoff at. It was fun but it probably should have stayed there.

The problem is everyone is too scared to try news things these days. Instead of pumping the latest single from Grizzly Bear they will play the new tune from Green Day a thousand times which, if you pay any attention to the internet and music criticism, you would know is a big mistake! Indie music is thriving in the same way alternative music thrived in the 90's on smaller labels that tried to move a few thousand units instead of a few hundred thousand units. Now they are getting people to buy tickets to shows and download tunes from paid for services like eMusic.

If only radio could catch up to this, and the funny thing is WRXP probably represents the best bet in the biggest market for the change. They have started playing some acts occasionally like Vampire Weekend and Miike Snow that are not your conventional artists but they need to shift more. Bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are okay to be played during a novelty show or once every six months for the rest of the time leave the air time to something fresh and new and you'll witness some good things happen.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "Te Rascal King"
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get"
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "Another Drinkin' Song"
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "1-2-8"

Top 20 Merge Albums of All-Time

Tomorrow marks the start of the huge celebration Merge has planned for its 20th Anniversary! It seems fitting that we take a look at the great albums the label has released over the years, the ones that brought us to this insane world of independent music and endeared us to it forever. Merge has obviously been wildly influential over the years and looking at the list below you will immediately see how far it reached and the true power of the label. Obviously not all of you will agree with the list, some will want re-number, some will change an album or an album there, and some will probably want to scrap the whole thing all together, and I urge you to share those thoughts and feelings in the comments. If you're heading to XX Merge have a blast and let us know if Jeff Mangum comes out of hiding to play a few songs down there! Enjoy the list!

20. Spoon Gimme Fiction; When I did my Matador list a couple of weeks ago it was pretty obvious that Pavement were the best band ever to grace the label, but with this Merge list it's a little bit trickier. Do you go with the creators of the label Superchunk? Do you go with a band that doesn't have too much of a history like Arcade Fire or Neutral Milk Hotel? No, you pick Spoon who have consistently churned out good to great albums throughout their entire career. Gimme Fiction is the first of three that make an appearance on this list and it just edged out Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by the narrowest of margins. Still, you know you can sing just about every word to every song on this album and you know you still get excited when it randomly pops up on your iPod. You might not play it on purpose as much as you used to, but this record still is something you love.
Spoon - "I Turn My Camera On"

19. Camera Obscura Underachievers Please Try Harder; For most of their brilliant career Camera Obscura have been underrated and under valued, with people always just skipping right over them for whatever hot new thing is coming through the pipeline. But after more then 10-years you've probably sold back more of those hot new things then you have Camera Obscura because they are consistently incredible with their music but never more so then on Underachievers Please Try Harder, and album full of heartbreaking, beautiful pop tunes that should be listened to on a fairly regular basis. A lot of folks may opt for the slightly more popular Let's Get Out of this Country, but track for track this is a much stronger record.
Camera Obscura - "Before You Cry"

18. East River Pipe The Gasoline Age; If ever you plan on making a road trip it would be good to bring The Gasoline Age along with you. The record is built for the car, hence the title, the album cover, and the multitude of tunes the refer to cars or driving or the road. It's perfect in every way for just such a trip, even if that trip is just around the corner. Beyond all the literal car references the real reason this is such a car album is all the lo-fi aesthetic that permeates every inch of the record. Throw this record on your fancy record player with thousand dollar speakers and it sounds poorly produced, but put it on in your car with its cheap sound system and you'll be rocking out to every note in no time. For some reason some albums just sound better in the car and this is definitely one of them.
East River Pipe - "Down 42nd Street to the Light"

17. The Clientele God Save The Clientele; Spoon isn't the only band that appears on this list more then once, The Clientele also manages to get three nods throughout and deservedly so. The Clientele are another one of those bands that have never put out a bad record, the subtle sounds may melt into one another but they are always pretty amazing to behold. God Save the Clientele is a little bit different from everything else the band has put out, the addition of a pedal steel and slide guitar add a new layer to their sound but the rest remains unchanged. Still listening to Alasdair MacLean's voice and the rest of the bands perfect sounds is enough to have us grinning ear to ear for the rest of the day.
The Clientele - "Isn't Life Strange"

16. Caribou Andorra; For most of his career Dan Snaith was better known as a producer and composer of sounds then he was a writer of songs. Despite this his Manitoba and Caribou projects flourished thanks to the blending nature of his sounds, mixing parts of electronics with parts of psychedelica, but on Andorra Snaith really made a jump with actual songs that could be sung along to as well as devoured for their musical depth. The leap resulted in a 2008 Polaris Prize as best Canadian album and definitely the finest recordings of Snaith's long career. It even led to three separate singles including the amazing and appropriately titled "Melody Day" a song that celebrates the sharp changes on this album.
Caribou - "Irene"

15. Spoon Girls Can Tell; If you can remember back to the early days of Spoon you may recall a short time where they released a solid album on Matador Records and then made the jump to Elektra. Well the Elektra album was great but the label unfortunately disagreed and sent the band running back to the indie world. They settled with Merge and thus a new history was born for the band as they started pumping out classic albums faster then anyone else in the indie world was. The first one, Girls Can Tell, was the first sign of the new focus and the growing talent of Britt Daniels as a songwriter. It was an album with remarkable emotional depth and with music to accompany the range of emotions as well. It was an amazing record considering where they had come from, but we know now it was just the start of something bigger.
Spoon - "Take A Walk"

14. Lambchop How I Quit Smoking; Lambchop has never been known to stick around one idea or one sound for very long, heck they don't even keep band members very long, but for one album the band practically gave birth to the while alternative country genre of music. How I Quit Smoking is a wondrous record full of the authentic country instrumentation you would expect from a band out of Nashville combined with some experimental sounds and foreign instruments that make this something very different from standard country albums. There is a mild twang to it, but there is so much more here from the use of woodwinds to the offbeat lyrics of Kurt Wagner. As strange and Southern as this record may be it is certainly a thing of beauty to listen to.
Lambchop - "Smuckers"

13. Portastatic I Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle; Mac McCaughan, the founder of Merge Records, has had a long and brilliant career with a variety of projects. His solo output under the Portastatic moniker his definitely up there with some of his finer work, and this second solo record is probably the best of it. There is a wide array of sounds on the album, ranging from the raging rock tunes to quieter, introspective songs and somehow they blend together brilliantly. There are moments of absolute catchiness, but the album really stands out for the remarkable number of layers built in here which make it perfect for repeated listens. Each time you hear it you can peel back a layer and find something completely new to like about the record, and if there anything better then that in music. Probably not.
Portastatic - "Polaroid"

12. Destroyer Destroyer's Rubies; Dan Bejar has long been hailed as one of the patron saints of the indie rock world. His work with the New Pornographers is adored by critics and popular audiences alike, but his solo material as Destroyer is the stuff more people should be paying attention to. Of course after Rubies more people started to get the point. This record with its wonderful wordplay and catchy sounds truly launched Destroyer to a much larger audience, but it also showed that all the albums prior to this one had been building to this one moment. It showed a little bit of every facet of Bejar's game and rolled it into one fantastic record, with which we will never tire.
Destroyer - "Watercolours Into the Ocean"

11. The Clientele The Violet Hour; When it was finally released in 2003, The Violet Hour marked the true full length debut of The Clientele despite several years of releasing singles and EP's. That may have led to some of the mixed reviews the album was met with that had people complaining it sounded too similar to what we had already heard, but over time we've come to realize that the album is as full and deep as anything The Clientele have ever done even if it does follow the same basic formula of pretty and quiet indie tunes that their earlier releases were also known for. The sounds here were hazy and beautiful like everything The Clientele has come to be known for, and there's nothing wrong with sticking to a tried and true formula.
The Clientele - "Porcelain"

10. M. Ward The Transfiguration of Vincent; Sadness has often led artists to some of their most brilliant work and such is the case with M. Ward's The Transfiguration of Vincent an album recorded in tribute to his deceased friend Vincent. Full of melancholy folk tunes, the album shows off a variety of styles while M. Ward truly came into his own on this record. There's some old time Americana, some psych-pop, lots of folk, and as evidenced by the tremendous cover of Bowie's "Let's Dance" some true roots in pop music. There are moments where the album could lull you to sleep thanks to the overall quiet melancholy of it but really the beauty of it all should be enough to keep you listening to every word and every note.
M. Ward - "Helicopter"

9. Polvo Today's Active Lifestyles; For most of the mid-90's Polvo flew totally under the radar, releasing classic albums in relative obscurity while bands with a similar sound; Pavement, Sonic Youth, etc. managed to flourish. Of course Polvo weren't a copycat act they just shared a similar aesthetic to noisy, guitar driven sounds and never did it sound better then it did on Today's Active Lifestyles an album that simply does not play by the rules. By using multiple tempos and some intricate distorted guitars Polvo crafted an album that would not sit still for anyone and really did not want to classified as this or that. There were bits of punk and grunge and pop, but with all those layers the only way to really classify the record is by saying it's an absolute classic!
Polvo - "My Kimono"

8. Destroyer Your Blues; With its use of MIDI instrumentation some might mistake Your Blues for a video game soundtrack, but nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is Dan Bejar was trying something new, branching out into new sounds on this record and did see with great patience and wonderful ability to craft something that is absolutely amazing. The mix of his theatrical voice, a strummed guitar, and the synthetic sounds makes for an album that can be jarring at times but ultimately winds up as endearing and wodnerous. This was the first time Bejar had ditched the normal band format with Destroyer and he really went out on a limb with all of it but it worked out so tremendously well that it is tough to argue the importance of this record on music since its release. Yeah, it's that kind of record but it's also one we love.
Destroyer - "The Music Lovers"

7. Superchunk Foolish; Let's face facts there had to be a Superchunk record on this list and there probably could have been two or three to make it. Ultimately I thought the list was better with just the one, the best one, Foolish. The album came at a time when everything about Superchunk was in flux, Mac and Laura had broken up, the band had abandoned Matador opting to release its records on Merge for the first time, and the music totally echoes all of these changes. More somber, orchestrated tracks replaced the band's signature high energy punk tunes, but somehow they managed retain the melodic qualities the band had become known for. That saved this record from drowning in the sad sack pool, but it also combined with the more melancholy parts of it to make some of the finest music in the band's history. This is definitely their landmark album, one that we will listen to for all-time.
Superchunk - "Kicked In"

6. The Clean Anthology; It may be cheating to include The Clean's 2002 collection of their early material on this list but in all honesty it was my first exposure to The Clean and it is definitely one of the strongest releases in the history of Merge Records. Top to bottom there is no weak point in the two disc compilation, it is loaded with some fast and furious post-punk tunes that had gone out of print or were tough to find. Songs like "Tally Ho", "Fish", and "Big Soft Punch" are absolute classics. And without The Clean would New Zealand have a rock scene at all? Probably not, so cheating or not The Clean's Anthology definitely belongs on this list so don't even bother arguing it.
The Clean - "Safe In the Rain"

4. The Clientele Strange Geometry; Once again The Clientele don't stray far from their hyper literate, dreamy indie pop, but once again the fact that they are sticking to a wonderful working formula doesn't mean very much. The difference between Strange Geometry and the rest of the band's very strong history is that this album adds a bit of emotion, a surge of wit, and tweaks the sounds ever so slightly to make a deeper and more full record then anything else in The Clientele's discography. It's a record that is remarkably layered but also immediate with it's beauty so whether you are hearing it for the first time or the fiftieth time you will find something to fall head over heels in love with. Oh, and this one probably has the band's finest singles with "Since K Got Over Me" and "E.M.PT.Y.", but that's just a bonus.
The Clientele - "Since K Got Over Me"

4. Spoon Kill the Moonlight; If Girls Can Tell was considered a comeback album after the horrific way Elektra had treated Spoon then Kill the Moonlight is the record that takes everything the band has been through, runs it through a blender, and makes the finest concoction your ears have ever heard. Spoon broke down their sound, taking the subtle sounds of Girls, mixing it with the bigger parts of A Series of Sneaks and puts it all together to create the finest record Spoon has done so far. The album bristles with a hint of anger but it also has the same depth and range of emotions that Girls Can Tell introduced us to. Of course a lot of this has to do with the continued improvement of Britt Daniels songwriting but it also has a lot to do with the hooks that were put back in for this record. Tunes like "The Way We Get By" and "Stay Don't Go" simply latch onto and don't let go while the others make sure you don't skip past any of them. It's a complete, top-to-bottom record that everyone should own, listen to, and adore.
Spoon - "The Way We Get By"

3. Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs; If there wasn't a label like Merge out there do you think a crazy concept album like 69 Love Songs would ever have existed? Who else would have given Stephen Merritt and his merry bunch of misfits the opportunity to release a three disc concept album that was originally meant to be a live revue? No one that's who, but thanks to Merge's affinity for music that didn't stay within the parameters of pop music we were rewarded by 69-ingenious love songs ranging from inane to beautiful and poignant. It is such a magnificent work of music and it was such a crazy idea at the time, but somehow they came together and made it work.
The Magnetic Fields - "The One You Really Love"

2. Arcade Fire Funeral; At the end of this year music critics everywhere will be scrambling to list the best records of the decade and surely Funeral will have more then a few votes and will land in a ton of top 10's. The album has helped to bring Merge Records into the 20th century and into the golden age of Merge Records. Over the last 10-years the label has grown from a niche indie label to one of the biggest names in the growing world of independent music and the Arcade Fire are obviously a huge reason for that. Funeral is a beautiful and huge record, with an enormous amount of sounds that permeate every inch of the record. They can be loud and anthemic or they can quiet everything down trying to speak to your soul, but no matter what the songs on this record are always impressive no matter how many times you've heard them.
Arcade Fire - "Rebellion (Lies)"

1. Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea; An argument can be made for why each of the last three or four albums could take the top spot on this list, but in terms of my own personal taste the nod must belong to Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. In my mind this is the record that truly defined the independent sound of the 21st century, even though it was released in the last year of the 20th century. It paved the way for this sudden interest in the geeky bands that have been making music like this for decades, and it is spoken of in hushed and reverred tones wherever you go. A lot of it's mythic status has to do with the fact that Jeff Mangum hasn't released any new music since it was released and because of his reclusive status most people have never seen it performed live, but really when you listen to the music there is so much more to it then that. A concept album about Anne Frank that pulls on every heartstring we have so that we feel the same way Mangum felt while reading her diary. It's an amazing record, built on an odd concept that somehow touches us all in a number of extraordinary ways. That is why this is the greatest album Merge Records has ever released and that is certainly saying something.
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Holland, 1945"

(Editor's Note: after listening to them all together I realized the mp3's in this post make a pretty sweet, hour and half long, mix for you guys to take along with you on your way to XX Merge! Download the zipped and ordered file right here!)

Tuesday's Recommended Release (Part 2)

It has been quite some time since the good siblings of The Fiery Furnaces gave us a fully accessibly record. Now I'm not saying the Widow City, or Bitter Tea, or Rehearsing My Choir are bad records at all, I'm just saying that they aren't very easy to get into. Once you do you can totally fall in love with all the nuanced sounds and quirky lyrics Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger put into them, but it takes a good deal of effort to get to that point. Prior to those records The Fiery Furnaces were making weird, but accessible indie rock records like EP and Blueberry Boat, and I'm Going Away is closer to being in those veins then anything they've done in a while.

For starters the vocals are straight forward, handled mostly by Eleanor though Matthew adds some here and there for a little more depth. The lyrics are still more then a bit quirky, but also a little easier to decipher then they have been. Musically the album has a bit of a theatrical feel, prompted mostly by the use of piano on the record, but it definitely does have some rocking bits as well. It's a deep, versatile record, like anything The Fiery Furnaces have produced with a lot of layers, but the first listen is so much easier then it has been.

I suppose that's the gist of the record, it doesn't quite reach the heights of their two landmark records but I'm Going Away is instantly more catchy and appealing to our ears then the last few albums were. Now I know that's not exactly a ringing endorsement, but for me all of The Fiery Furnaces' records have taken some time to truly fall in love with and I have feeling that will be the case with this one as well. Thought this one has made greater in-roads in much less time.
The Fiery Furnaces - "The End Is Near"
The Fiery Furnaces - "Keep Me in the Dark"

Tuesday's Recommended Release (Part 1)

For a few years now Bad Veins have been on the verge of making it very big. In 2007 they burst onto the scene thanks to the strength of their single "The Lie" and a couple of raved about CMJ appearances, then faded a bit as they recorded their full length debut. Earlier this year Dangerbird Records snatched the guys up and now with the release of their self-titled debut they are poised to finally make good on all the promise and potential they built up two years ago.

Right from the start Bad Veins is a big album, which is remarkable considering there are only two members in the band, but if you've seen them live you know that it doesn't restrict or hold them back at all. With Sebastien Shultz on drums and Benjamin Davis singing and playing the guitar you have the human element to Bad Veins, but really their is a third, very important piece to this puzzle and that is their reel-to-reel player nicknamed "Irene". It is important because it's this archaic piece of equipment that allows Bad Veins to have such epic instrumentation throughout the record. That combined with the dramatic drums and altered vocals make for some of the most interesting indie rock we've heard in quite some time.

Bad Veins features a few of the tunes that originally launched Bad Veins to their buzz band status, tunes like "The Lie", "Falling Tide", and "You Kill" but it also features some fantastic new additions to their song stable. Most notably the epic first track, "Found", "Gold and Warm" which has been a live staple for a while now, and "Go Home". The mix of old and new makes the record instant, accessible, yet fresh and vibrant at the same time, which is definitely a good thing. After all, you can't hope to ride the same songs for three years.

It may have taken some time but Bad Veins have finally made good on all the promise that was seen when they played the Knitting Factory for their third ever show. Three years may seem like an eternity in the music world, but based on all the great shows they've played in New York over the years we're pretty sure people are still eagerly waiting to see what's next from Bad Veins. Let's just hope that it doesn't take another three years for a sophomore release!

(Ed's Note: I was asked not to make any of the songs available to download, but I was given permission to stream what I wanted so here you go!)

Superchunk + Versus @ South Street Seaport 07.17

For 20-years Merge Records and Superchunk have gone hand-in-hand giving us some of the best indie rock in the world. This week they'll be celebrating that legacy in North Carolina with the 5-day XX Merge Fest that we unfortunately won't be able to attend. Lucky for us we live in New York and all the best bands make stops here including Superchunk and their sometime Merge label mates Versus who joined forces to play for us on Friday night at the Seaport.

Now the Seaport is always a good time, but this year the sound has been infinitely better making the performances even more worthwhile then they were before. That combined with the awesome lineup made Friday night one of the best shows we've ever seen at the Seaport.

The show kicked off with Versus, a band who release their last three records on Merge before breaking up in 2001. Since then the band went on to form other bands like +/- and TFT, but returned in 2007 to open for Yo La Tengo during one of the Hannukah shows and Love Is All last year. Now they opened for Superchunk and did an admirable job playing as a four piece and really giving it their all. It's not as lively as the 'Chunk's set but it's damn good stuff.





Superchunk were simply amazing! Mixing up their song choices from throughout their career the band seemed to bounce across the stage with booming amount of energy. They were magnetic and the crowd seemed to respond in kind going pretty nuts for the band. It was a great performance and makes me really want to head to North Carolina this weekend!

Monday's Leaky Faucet

Who: The Dodos
Title: Time to Die
Release Date: September 15th
Label: Frenchkiss
Thoughts: When The Dodos released Visiter last year most people were taken by surprise by the sudden, amazing sounds this band were putting out. Their debut studio album had gone largely unnoticed and suddenly they were a buzz band and worthy of all the admiration they were receiving. Because of their sudden rise to prominences it almost feels as if Visiter was their debut, which makes Time to Die feel like their sophomore release and some might say it falls directly in the category of the sophomore slump. For starters this a much more subtle record, one that doesn't involve all the catchiness and has taken the pace of the rhythm section way down. The writing and music is still at exceptionally high levels, it just doesn't seem to have that spark that Visiter had. Maybe the excitement of something new enhanced what The Dodos had going for them, but in all honesty I just feel they wanted to try something different here and it's not connecting as well. There are a couple of tunes that come close to capturing the energy of Visiter, namely "Fables" and "Two Medicines", but for most of the album it lags behind what we're used to.
Listen: The Dodos - "Fables"
The Dodos - "Two Medicines"

Who: Modest Mouse
Title: No One's First and You're Next
Release Date: August 4th
Label: Epic Records
Thoughts: Modest Mouse is forced to eat a lot of shit. They get a lot of the "sell out" branding and people are little bit quicker to hate on them then they would be a relative unknown. For 15-years they've been making some kick ass tunes and really helping to push indie rock to a larger audience. For what it's worth I wasn't the biggest fan of the last record, but with this EP Modest Mouse have really returned to what they do best - writing outstanding songs and pairing it with some catchy sounds. Obviously the result is something to be excited about, these guys are outstanding musicians, and they really let everything shine on this compilation of unreleased tunes from their last two albums. Combined these tunes make up what is probably the best EP released so far this year, imaginative, playful, and wonderfully addictive, No One's First and You're Next is just a fantastic assortment of songs. Take for example "The Whale Song" a tune that literally sounds like whales singing in the ocean. It's fun and different and totally fitting of the Modest Mouse style. The true standouts are the three tunes that have been released as 7''s over the last few months, "Satellite Skin", "Autumn Beds", and being released tomorrow 'Perpetual Motion Machine". These tunes are just flat out great and make you wonder why they were tossed aside in the first place. Whatever that reason may be be glad that these tunes will finally be out in the open for everyone to enjoy.
Listen: Modest Mouse - "Perpetual Motion Machine"
Modest Mouse - "King Rat"

This Week's Live Picks

Monday: The Static Jacks @ The Studio at Webster Hall 8pm FREE
Looking over the bands playing Monday night I don't see a name I recognize or a band I know much about, so after a weekend of free shows I'll probably take it easy and enjoy a quiet Monday night on the couch. If you're feeling adventurous you might as well keep the free shows going and take a chance with The Static Jacks.
The Static Jacks - "Stay A Lover"

Tuesday: Gutsies @ Monster Island Basement 8pm $7
A band that I am loving the crap out of are up-and-comers the Gutsies. I caught these guys playing an acoustic set in Prospect Park and I was wowed by what they were able to do. As a full band it's a bit different but it is no less enthralling. Check them out before they're the next big thing.
Gutsies - "Surfer Body"

Wednesday: Mannequin Men @ The Studio at Webster Hall 8pm $10
Two years ago I was fortunate enough to get the awesome Chicago band Mannequin Men on the stage for my CMJ show and now here we are and the band is finally starting to get some of the attention they deserve. If you haven't heard these guys yet do yourself a favor and jump on the growing bandwagon!
Mannequin Men - "Grapefruit"

Thursday: Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Radio 4, + Extra Golden @ Pier 54 6pm FREE
This weekend's free shows kick off Thursday night with the always awesome Ted Leo & the Pharmacists playing their annual free show here in the city. I believe this is the 7th year in a row he's played for free and he never fails to go all out for. Oh and there's som sweet openers playing too!
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "Where Was My Brain?"
Radio 4 - "(Give Me All Your) Money"
Extra Golden - "Fantasies of the Orient"

Friday: Black Moth Super Rainbow, Blank Dogs, + Dan Friel @ South Street Seaport 6pm FREE
Another Friday at the Seaport this time with a couple of buzzed about openers and of course Black Moth Super Rainbow who played the Seaport a couple of years ago. To be completely honest I'm more excited for openers Dan Friel and Blank Dogs, but that's just some personal taste.
Black Moth Super Rainbow - "Gold Splatter"
Blank Dogs - "Setting Fire To Your House"
Dan Friel - "Ghost Town (Pt. 1)"

Saturday: Tyvek @ Cake Shop 8pm $10
I'll be pool side on Saturday but if you're hanging around the city make sure you check out the always amazing Tyvek play.
Tyvek - "Hey Una"

Sunday: ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Black Lips, + Health @Williamsburg Waterfront 2pm FREE
Flat out, holy shit, look at that lineup! The Black Lips as one of the opening acts! You know you've got something special going when that happens, and sure enough you get a lineup with the LA upstarts Health, the always amazing Black Lips and the reborn Trail of Dead all on the same day! It's days like today that make me so happy that I live in New York City!
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - "Source Tags and Codes"
Black Lips - "Again & Again"
Health - "Die Slow"

Siren Fest '09

Do not go to Siren Fest hungover! This should be a rule that's written on the post because it is a pretty awful feeling to stand in the sun on one of the warmest days of the year when you were drinking till 4am the previous night. Yeah, sometimes my decision making is not what it's supposed to be at this point in my life, but I did my best to battle the hangover and my sudden aversion to the sun to see a few of the bands I had really wanted to see.

First on the list was Micachu & the Shapes, a band that wowed us when we saw them at Pianos and have woven their spell on us with their terrific debut album Jewellery. It's a bit weird seeing this three piece band on an outdoor stage in the middle of the day, not because their music is out of place it actually fits pretty well in the Coney Island sun, but they are such tiny, pale people that it almost seemed they have never seen the sun and almost disappear on a large stage. Micah Levi did her best to keep us entertained by it kind of drifted by instead of taking us over in the expansive space.





Next up was Bear Hands, a band we were not excited to see and who put on a half-hearted effort for sure. But they did have Das Racist come on stage to do their feel good hit of the summer, "The Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell", and the guys of Das Racist did their best to prove that they should have been included on the lineup. They took over the stage, both rappers and their hypeman, abusing the floor tom and leaping off the monitors at the front of the stage. It was almost as amusing to watch the sound guys scolding them as it was to watch them drinking and rhyming on stage. For 5-minutes or so Bear Hands were truly cool for that move then they returned to their otherwise mundane set and we headed back over to the other stage.





Japandroids were a band that did not disappoint at all. They have of course been hyped up by all the right people (Pitchfork, Stereogum, me, etc.) and really did everything to live up to it. Their guitarist pranced about the cavernous stage and the drummer was truly fantastic throughout the set and their noisy, punk anthems really seemed to be one of the hits of the day.





This is where things start to go really down hill for the hungover. A little less then two hours of standing in the sun were taking their toll and I opted to skip Thee Oh Sees and grab a bite to eat. It was a mistake as everyone has been raving about Thee Oh Sees' set and the greasy food did nothing to help my hungover stomach. We took to the pit to wait for my most anticipated band of the day - Future of the Left - and waited as they set up and Frightened Rabbit rocked the 10th Ave. stage. Like I said my decision making is completely fucked at this point.

Luckily Future of the Left and their incredible set made my decision making look like genius as we were absolutely rocked by the angry lads of the band. In fact everyone that saw them were rocked, they absolutely tore through their set, pausing for just the right amounts of witty stage banter and interaction with their fans. It was absolutely great and proved that these guys are going to be a force to be reckoned with for a while to come.










Alas that was the last band we saw as we skipped out of Brooklyn following Future of the Left's awesome set. The sun, the remarkably high probability that no one would top that set, and of course my wicked hangover drove us from the beach and back to the air conditioned confines of my apartment, but based on the 30 or so people on my Twitter feed that stayed we didn't miss too much. Next year (if there is a next year) we'll prepare for the day much better, water and bed rest and all that not as much fun stuff.

Siren Fest '09: Built to Spill vs. Spank Rock

Who: Built to Spill vs. Spank Rock
Times: 7:30pm vs. 8:00pm
Hometown: Boise, ID vs. Philadelphia, PA
Thoughts: Seriously is this even a fucking question? If there is any doubt in your mind as to which of these you need to see more you are out of your fucking mind. Now, no doubt Spank Rock has made some good tunes and probably have a solid live show, but they are going up against Built to Spill, absolute legends of indie rock! This is a band that asked for requests at a show, heard some asshole shout "Free Bird", and fucking played the whole thing! Yeah, don't miss this band.
Verdict: Built to Spill!!!!!
Listen: Built to Spill - "You Were Right"
Spank Rock - "Bump"

Siren Fest '09: The Raveonettes vs. Monotonix

Who: The Raveonettes vs. Monotonix
Times: 6:00pm vs. 6:30pm
Hometown: New York, NY vs. Tel Aviv, Israel
Thoughts: Truth be told I have never really listened to either of these bands nor have I seen them live. What I can tell you about them is that I know Monotonix have a reputation for a truly insane show and I've never heard anything, good or bad, about The Raveonettes and their stage show. I trust word of mouth if a lot of people say a band has a crazy live show they usually have a crazy live show. In other words I'm going with...
Verdict: Monotonix
Listen: The Raveonettes - "Boys Who Rape"
Monotonix - "Ride"

Buzzworthy??? Or Not???

Who: Drake
Location: Toronto, Ontario (Canada)
elbo.ws Ranking: #21
Thoughts: Now I don't know how many Americans spent the early part of their Friday evenings watching Degrassi over the last few years, but I know that if you did you already know who Drake is. Of course Drake isn't Jimmy Brooks. If you've been following hip-hop, and by the looks of their sales you haven't, you'd also know who Drake is already. The kid has already been found rapping with some of the best rappers in the world including Young Jeezy and Lil' Wayne. Indie rock fans should also have a good idea who Drake is, I mean he does have Santigold, Lykke Li, and Peter, Bjorn, & John on his mixtape. Put all this together and you have a star in the making, a young dude who is making the transition from child actor to big time rapper as seamlessly as possible. Of course it seemed like a lot of people didn't take it seriously, he remained unsigned for far too long, and then all of a sudden he just exploded. A lot of the credit should probably go to Lil' Wayne or Kanye West, but Drake probably would have made it alright by himself too. His flow is pretty solid and his rhymes are a little bit better then I thought they'd be, but really this is a whole package type of deal everything wrapped together makes for quite the rapper. Take a listen if you haven't already I think you'll like what you hear!
Verdict: Buzzworthy!
Listen: Drake (ft. Lil' Wayne & Santigold) - "Unstoppable"
Drake (ft. Lil' Wayne & Trey Songz) - "Successful"
Drake - "Best I Ever Had"

Siren Fest '09: Grand Duchy vs. A Place to Bury Strangers

Who: Grand Duchy vs. A Place to Bury Strangers
Times: 5:00pm vs. 5:30pm
Hometown: Boston, MA vs. Brooklyn, NY
Thoughts: For more then a year now A Place to Bury Strangers have been rocking New York audiences with their take on noisy shoegaze and it is quite a sight to behold, but how well that will translate to an outdoor stage prior to sunset is anyone's guess. Normally they use all sorts of strobe lights for their show but here I suppose they'll let the music do the talking and normally that would be enough, but they're going head-to-head with an absolute legend! Now Grand Duchy may not be the way we want to be watching Black Francis rock, we'd all rather be seeing the Pixies, but it beats having no Black Francis doesn't it! Personally the chance to see Grand Duchy for the first time out weighs seeing A Place to Bury Strangers out of their element.
Verdict: Grand Duchy!
Listen: Grand Duchy - "Lovesick"
A Place to Bury Strangers - "Don't Think Lover"

Band of the Week: Shark?

A few weeks ago I was introduced to a band by a music blog not unlike my own. The blog was called Quiet Color and they do a wonderful job talking music and posting mp3's but a couple of their writers have taken the whole music thing a step further and started their own band known as Shark?. Now Shark? has routinely popped up in the lineups for shows that Quiet Color put on and I am routinely invited to those shows so I decided to click on the link to their MySpace page and see what was up with this poorly named, tough to Google band.

For the past week I have been listening to the 5-tunes posted on their MySpace page practically non-stop (not at all true, I've listened a lot but not non-stop) and now am something of an expert on the musical stylings of Shark?. Or I hope I am for your sake! Shark? seem to fall in the oft used category of lo-fi pop rock music. This being 2009 and the summer of the lo-fi band it seems like a good time to be releasing tunes like this into the wild, but a lot of people are getting a little tired of it lately. Look at all the critical backlash surrounding folks like Vivian Girls and WAVVES and you'll see what I'm talking about. Lucky for Shark? they remembered the absolute cardinal rule about lo-fi music, that there must be catchy, good tunes underneath the poor recordings to make it all worth while. With tunes like "I've Got Friends", "Oh My", and "That Type", Shark? have definitely fulfilled this vital requirement! These are tunes that will not leave your head no matter how many times you smash it with a hammer. They stick there, they force you to sing-a-long, and you will probably love them more then you love your cat.

The one drawback to falling in love with Shark? is that there's not a wealth of material to play right now. Their MySpace page makes no mention of any sort of demo or EP, there doesn't seem to be an LP that you can download from Bolachas Gratis, and forget about finding any vinyl. For now we'll have to settle for a troika of shows the band have coming up and the tunes posted below for our Shark? enjoyment, and I suppose that'll have to do. For now.
Shark? - "I've Got Friends"
Shark? - "Oh My"
Shark? on MySpace
Upcoming Shows:
July 25th @ Pete's Candy Store Brooklyn, NY
August 14th @ Bruar Falls Brooklyn, NY
September 18th @ Legion Brooklyn, NY

Siren Fest '09: Frightened Rabbit vs. Future of the Left

Who: Frightened Rabbit vs. Future of the Left
Times: 4:00pm vs. 4:30pm
Hometown: Selkirk, Scotland vs. Cardiff, Wales
Thoughts: Two products of the United Kingdom, one from Scotland and one from Wales, will be rocking the stages in Coney Island this weekend and both have very different but noisy takes on rock music. Frightened Rabbit hailing from the land of Belle & Sebasitan take a bit of a mopey approach, their music can be dark and very emotive but it certainly doesn't skip on the loud factor either. Future of the Left simply cannot be contained, their energy and their anger rises off their records and from what I hear their stage shows. I'd like to see both but if I can only choose one I must go with....
Verdict: Future of the Left!
Listen: Frightened Rabbit - "The Twist"
Future of the Left - "Chin Music"

Questionable Corner: Oxford Collapse

In the years that I have been doing Pop Tarts Suck Toasted we have had no shortage of bands that have upped and called it quits. Some of those bands we never got the chance to hear, some soundtracked some part of out lives, but few had an impact on us as Oxford Collapse have. Just last year the band headlined my CMJ Day Party at Cake Shop, helping me out just as much as they were promoting their own new record at the time. They've played stages as big as McCarren Park Pool and as small as some of their fan's basement and I'm sure they played each and every one of those shows with the same passion that made them one of my favorites. They were a DIY band, they were a Sub Pop band, and they were a damn good band! Beyond that they were a fun bunch of guys to hang around, to watch play, to chat with after a show, or to a share a beer with, and while they'll still probably be all of those things after July 18th they won't be Oxford Collapse anymore. So it was with a heavy heart that chatted with Mike Pace via e-mail about all Oxford Collapse have accomplished in their 8-year long existence. And for those of you in the New York area for their final show on July 18th the venue has moved details on all that after the interview. Thanks a lot Oxford Collapse for all the great music and memories you've left us with!

PTST: I guess the obvious first question is what made you guys choose to call it quits? Was this something you saw coming or did it just all of a sudden seem like the right way to go?
Mike: The decision to end came about fairly naturally. We’ve been together for eight years, touring consistently for the past five. At a certain point we sensed that this band had run its course; we felt had taken it as far as we could. The idea of bowing out gracefully with some sort of closure appealed to us more than going on “infinite hiatus” and just fading away.

PTST: Looking back on what you've accomplished as a band are you satisfied with how you're going out? Did you accomplish all you set out to accomplish?
Mike: It’s hard to be truly satisfied with anything you do, because there’s always more that could have been done. I am very proud of what we did accomplish; putting out our own records, touring all over the US and Europe multiple times, meeting awesome people and playing with great bands, but I think I’m most proud of the fact that we were able to do everything on our own terms.

PTST: Do you guys see yourselves continuing in the music world, either solo or with another group of people sometime down the line?
Mike: I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we’ll all be involved in different musical projects in the future in some capacity. Once you start writing and playing songs – and you find out that you really like it – it’s hard to stop.

PTST: You chose to do your last two shows in the New York area, was there ever any thought to doing a full goodbye tour? Are you looking forward to these last two shows?
Mike: To answer the first part of your question, not really. We’re not presumptuous enough to think that there’s too much demand for an Oxford Collapse Farewell Tour. Since we were based out of New York for so long, it only made sense to do the last shows there. I think they will be a really fun, hopefully raucous time. It’s also definitely bittersweet because of the finality, but we realize that this is the “right” way to go out.

PTST: Who was the best band you ever opened for? What about best band who ever opened for you?
Mike: I don’t know if I can give you a definitive answer. When you tour with other bands, you (hopefully) become buds and really look forward to seeing them every night, either before or after you. We’ve been fortunate enough to get along with all the bands we’ve spent serious time on the road with, so there was always something to get psyched about.

PTST: When you guys started out as a band did you ever picture winding up as a Sub Pop recording artist? What's the coolest thing about having been on the label?
Mike: Never. It was hard enough to picture getting out of the practice space. Sub Pop has been good to us over the years. We were the first band from New York on the label, which is pretty cool. I’ll always remember being flown out to Seattle for our initial meeting with the label and meeting Kurdt Kobain, who told us that we sucked.

PTST: What was your overall favorite show?
Mike: Having played close to 450, that’s a tough one. There were many that were memorable for different reasons. I think of the Remember the Night Parties release show at Glasslands, McCarren Pool with a expanded band of 8, playing a garage in Santa Barbara to 40 kids who went nuts the second we started, playing in the UK to 2900 people, playing to 6 people in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and jamming on our cover of “Proud Mary” for 17 minutes, playing at a strip club at some kid’s bachelor party who had no idea who we were – there were lots of classics.

PTST: Best venue you ever played?
Mike: Again, lots of ‘em. Some of the best shows, like the aforementioned one in Santa Barbara, were literally plug-in-and-play deals in weird spaces – no sound system, no stage, nothing. Conversely, I remember the first “big” show we played – opening for Franz Ferdinand at the Showbox in Seattle (well before we were on Sub Pop) – and how nice and attentive the venue personnel were.

PTST: Favorite album you guys put out?
Mike: There’s something to be gleamed for all of them, but I think everything really came together musically when we made BITS. It’s the album we had been hearing in our heads for a long time

PTST: Are there any regrets? Anything you guys wish you had done as a band but never got the chance to do? Any festival you wish you had played? Anything like that?
Mike: Like my Grandfather said after I accidentally burned up his 1987 Mercury Sable on a road trip to Lake George, “you don’t look back.”

PTST: What will you remember most fondly about having been a member of Oxford Collapse?
Mike: As I said earlier, the fact that we never compromised anything we were doing, and still were able to make records, tour, meet awesome people and bands, get involved with a number of great labels, and experience amazing regional cuisine. I also look forward to becoming “that guy from Oxford Collapse” to the six people who might actually recognize me.

PTST: What are the chances that Oxford Collapse go and pull Michael Jordan/Brett Favre?
Mike: Will we start playing minor league baseball in 1995? Highly unlikely.

PTST: Got any final words?
Mike: To quote the late, great GG Allin, “life sucks, scum fuck.” I’ll counter-balance that tasteful quote with another, literally tasteful quote from the late, great Warren Zevon, “enjoy every sandwich.”

Listen: Oxford Collapse - "Please Visit Your National Parks"
Oxford Collapse - "Young Love Delivers"

Upcoming Shows:
July 17th @ Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ (SOLD OUT)
July 18th @ Collective Hardware 169 Bowery 9pm $10 (FINAL SHOW/NEW VENUE!)

Blast from the Past: The Clash's Combat Rock

Right now I am sitting here at 4:00am after seeing the midnight showing of the new Harry Potter film which flat out gargled my balls, so I'm tired, angry, and bloated from all the greasy popcorn I just gobbled for two hours and forty minutes. In other words I need something really nice and simple to write about right now and that something will have to be The Clash's Combat Rock.

Obviously it's a well known album, it has the songs most closely associated with the band on it, and it was the last album the band recorded with the original lineup intact. So yeah it was important for all those reasons and it is a solid record, but it pales in comparison to the self-titled debut and to London Calling and to Sandinista! but it's still better then a lot of the other crap out there! Truth be told I just reached for a record in my CD collection and this is what I came up with, pretty good but not the greatest.

In fact listening to this record I have to say the single most important moment on it is the opening riff to "Straight to Hell", a brilliant song in it's own right, that was the backbone to one of the best songs of this decade! Okay that's not fair, this is The Clash after all and most people only know The Clash thanks to "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" which are both here on this record. But this wouldn't be The Clash album I'd be taking to my desert island.

Okay it's fucking bedtime, enjoy the mp3's below, don't go see the new Harry Potter unless you're a completist, and I'll try to do better the next time!
The Clash - "Know Your Rights"
The Clash - "Straight To Hell"
The Clash - "Atom Tan"
The Clash - "Inoculated City"

Siren Fest '09: Japandroids vs. Thee Oh Sees

Who: Japandroids vs. The Oh Sees
Times: 3:00pm vs. 3:30pm
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada vs. San Francisco, CA
Thoughts: This is easily one of the toughest slots to choose between and I will in fact attempt to run between the stages and catch parts of both of their sets, but you guys need to know which one to see so we'll try to break it down quick. Both bands hail from the West Coast though Japandroids are a lot further north up in Vancouver as opposed to San Francisco. Both bands have ridden waves of buzz this year, both revel in a bit of noise, and they would probably be better suited playing back-to-back rather then at similar times on opposing stages. Sorry, I'm dragging this out aren't I. Phew, I like both bands a lot but I'm gonna have to see that Japandroids are just millimeters better. Seriously it's really close so listen to each band and choose your own fave please!
Verdict: Japandroids!
Listen: Japandroids - "Wet Hair"
Thee Oh Sees - "Rainbow"

Mission of Burma, Fucked Up, Ponytail, + Jemina Pearl @ Jelly Pool Parties '09 (07.12)

For three years hipsters and music fans have flocked to Williamburg for the free Pool Parties hosted by JellyNYC at McCarren Park Pool. It was a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon listening to tunes, bathing in the sun, slip n' sliding, or playing some dodgeball, but all good things must come to an end and the politicians decided to turn the pool back into an actual swimming pool for the first time after decades of neglect. You make something popular and they take it from you. That left the fans of these free Sunday shows to worry all winter long about where we would get our free show fix in the summer of 2009. Luckily Jelly has returned as more global brand (note the lack of NYC) and brought the shows to the Williamsburg Waterfront, a State Park that borders on police state with all their rules and state troopers making everything safe. It's a far cry from the rock n' roll environment of McCarren Park Pool but it's a hell of a lot better then no Pool Parties.

Yesterday kicked off an awesome slate of shows for the summer of '09, a lineup that more then makes up for all the new rules and fenced off beer areas and lack of a slip n' slide. Jemina Pearl (formerly of Be Your Own Pet fame), Ponytail, Fucked Up, and Mission of Burma were all on tap yesterday and all of them brought a few surprises, tricks and excitement to their performances.

Jemina Pearl kicked off things bringing her new backing band to a stage for the first time ever. It's quite the stage to kick things off with when you're playing in front of the earl comers of an audience that would be more then 6,000 people strong and though there were moments where the band seemed really rough they were better then anyone could have hoped for. Jemina seems to have learned to mix in a little melody with all her punk attitudes and the spunk of the music definitely still comes across. It probably won't win them any Grammy's or any top spots on year end lists, but it'll definitely get their fans moving and excited.





Ponytail followed Jemina's energetic set with even more energy and enthusiasm, obviously led by their enigmatic front woman Molly. Molly makes all the vocal noises that make Ponytail so divisive but damn are they a fun band to watch and listen to. Most of the music was drawn from their last album, Ice Cream Spiritual, and the kids up front definitely ate it up!





The single best set of the day belonged to Fucked Up. It's a little weird to say that considering I'm a huge Mission of Burma fan, but the band's energy just could not be matched. With Pink Eye stripping and jumping down into the photo pit for most of the set he just connected with the people at the show, literally and figuratively. His sweaty hands and man boobs were rubbed on practically every face that pushed forward during their set and the band absolutely rocked even if they stayed on stage the whole time. Kids were stage diving and crowd surfing, pushing the barriers up front to their limits, but it was all in good fun as the music compelled them to do so!











Mission of Burma kicked off their set with a brand new tune, "1,2,3 Party!" (which has been made available for download today!) and then spent the rest of the set straight rocking out with their older tunes. And those tunes are fucking great! I will never get sick of seeing Mission of Burma play live, they simply perfected the rock n' roll comeback and continue to make really good music that you need to listen to!





All in all the first Pool Party of the season was a smashing success. Yeah, the new rules suck but how can you fight it when you just wanna rock out to all these bands. That alone is worth conforming to so if it means not wearing cargo shorts I won't wear cargo shorts (lots of people wore cargo shorts). Next week sees the Dirty Projectors, Magnolia Electric Co., and Crystal Antlers playing the Pool Party so slather on the sunscreen and get your asses to the Waterfront! I'll see you there!
(videos of performances coming all day long!) [videos have been removed due to a sponsorship agreement between JellyNYC and Converse (which is owned by Nike in case you didn't know)]

Siren Fest '09: Micachu & the Shapes vs. Bear Hands

Who: Micachu & the Shapes vs. Bear Hands
Times: 2:00pm vs. 2:30pm
Hometown: London, England vs. Brooklyn, NY
Thoughts: For several months I have been listening to the debut record from Micachu & the Shapes and I liked enough to put it in my top 10 albums of the year so far just a few days ago. That said I always have a fondness for our local talent and Bear Hands certainly fit into that category, but you just know that in a few days you'll look on Oh My Rockness for a show and you'll see that they're playing Union Hall or the Cake Shop or somewhere really fun to see a band like that. Micachu & the Shapes you may have to wait months for them to come back.
Verdict: Micachu & the Shapes!
Listen: Micachu & the Shapes - "Just In Case"
Bear Hands - "Long Lean Queen"

This Week's Live Picks

Monday: Future of the Left @ Maxwell's 9pm $12
If you weren't hip to it Future of the Left played a surprise/secret gig last night in Brooklyn following the first Pool Party of the year. Lucky for you they are also playing Siren Festival on Saturday. In case you hate the huge crowds and still wanted to see them in a smaller venue you can probably still sell your soul to get a ticket to see them in Hoboken at Maxwell's. Good luck!
Future of the Left - "Lapsed Catholics"

Tuesday: Growing @ Santo's Party House 10pm $10
If you look at the amazing schedule of free summer shows you may see one glaring omission and that's generally Tuesday evenings (to be fair Anthony Gonzalez of M83 is performing at the Winter Garden tonight!). So it is imperative that we find something that fits within our budget to fill up the whole week and Growing for a Hamilton definitely fits the needs of people that flat out need to rock.
Growing - "Freedom Towards Death"

Wednesday: WAVVES, Woods, Real Estate, + PoPo @ Bowery Ballroom 7pm $13
At this point I believe that everyone has heard of the meltdown WAVVES underwent over in Barcelona. He has apparently recovered from the incident and will persevere. Having seen them twice already I'm kind of excited to see what changes have happened since Primavera but more interesting is the possibility of seeing Woods, Real Estate, and PoPo on a full fledged sound system!
WAVVES - "Beach Demon"
Woods - "Rain on Radio"
Real Estate - "Green River"
PoPo - "Feel Good Song of the Year"

Thursday: Man Man @ East River Amphitheater 7pm FREE
Once again, Thursday thru Sunday is nothing but FREE shows as far as your eyes can see! Thursday kicks things off with the always fantastic Man Man at the East River Amphitheater! I have a feeling people are gonna go kind of bonkers for this one, but it's just a feeling!
Man Man - "Top Drawer"

Friday: Superchunk + Versus @ South Street Seaport 6pm FREE
If you're not heading down for Merge XX next week then you better head to the Seaport to get your fill of legendary bands from the label. With Versus and the label starters Superchunk both on the same bill this is sure to be the next best thing to traveling down for the whole festival. Or at least until Polvo plays the Seaport in two weeks!
Superchunk - "Learned to Surf"

Saturday: Siren Fest @ Coney Island 12pm FREE
Pack up the sunscreen. Bring some money to ride the Cyclone and eat some Nathan's. And bask in the sun, surf, and sounds of the Village Voice's Annual Coney Island pilgrimage known as Siren Fest. This year may seem a bit light at first glance but with buzz bands galore like Frightened Rabbits, Future of the Left, Micachu & the Shapes, and Japandroids all on the bill with headliners Built to Spill it should be a very fun day on Stillwell Ave. and W. 10th St.
Built to Spill - "You Were Right"
Frightened Rabbit - "Be Less Rude"
Japandroids - "Crazy/Forever"
Micachu & the Shapes - "Curly Teeth"

Sunday: Dirty Projectors, Magnolia Electric Co., + Crystal Antlers @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2pm FREE
If you aren't burnt to a crisp from spending the day at Siren Fest head on over to the Williamsburg Waterfront for the second Pool Party of the summer. This week features one of the holy trifecta of indie rock bands so far in 2009 - the Dirty Projectors (along with Animal Collective & Grizzly Bear of course!). But don't sleep on Crystal Antlers or Magnolia Electric Co. as both of them should be make for a really fun afternoon.
Dirty Projectors - "No Intention"
Magnolia Electric Co. - "Josephine"

The Co-Op's Field Trip @ Prospect Park 07.11 (videos)

Will Stratton:

Superhero Name (aka Greg of Dinosaur Feathers):

pow wow!:

Gutsies:

I'm Turning Into:

Los Basement:

They Might Be Giants @ Prospect Park Bandshell 07.11

Not being a parent yet it's always a bit surreal to see a sea of kids at a place I want to be. That was the scene on Saturday afternoon as hipster moms and dads descended on Prospect Park with their children in tow to see the two John's and their Grammy award winning kids songs.They Might Be Giants have long had a childish nature to their songs, I myself discovered the band through the playful videos for "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man" on Tiny Toons in the early-90's, but lately they have really been focusing on the kids with a trio of albums geared directly for them. Here Come the ABC's and Here Come the 123's have each managed to win the band a Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children and were well represented this afternoon, as was the band's first record for kids No!. Later this year they will be releasing their fourth kids record Here Comes the Science and we even got a little sampling of music from that in the form of a fantastic tune called "I Am A Paleontologist".

Of course more of They Might Be Giants extensive catalog has a playful nature to it so there were a few classics thrown in there for Mom and Dad to sing-a-long to. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man" were both played as was "Doctor Worm" and "The Guitar: The Lion Sleeps Tonight". The rest of the day belonged to the kids though who responded by dancing about in force, either with their parents or with each other, and seemed to have a genuinely wonderful time listening to They Might Be Giants tunes.

In a few years I hope to have a kid or two of my own and hopefully They Might Be Giants will still be cranking out socially acceptable children songs for me to shovel into my kids. It sure beats whatever the kids are watching on Nickelodeon these days!

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ South Street Seaport 07.10

Another Friday, another lovely evening on Pier 17 listening to music and drinking some beers. This week's entertainment was provided by a trio of bands; Zaza, Ribbons, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Like most of the swarming crowd we were there to take in the sounds of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, a band that has been the soundtrack to a good portion of 2009 so far. But we got there early enough to check out the other bands too.

Ribbons kicked off the night, a two piece band featuring Jenny Logan the bassist from My Teenage Stride on guitar and vocals. As Jenny plays subtle, lovely sounds drummer Sam Roudman tackles the drums with a ridiculous amount of unusual beats and furious fills to cover every gap between guitar or vocal parts. It's an impressive little project that had my undivided attention during their set. Zaza weren't quite as captivating to me, but definitely kept the Joy Division influences rolling.

The real draw of the evening, aside from the fact that is a great night, free, and supports outdoors drinking, were The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, a band that has rode the buzz wave all year and seems to have built a really devoted fan base here in New York. They absolutely dominated the stage last night, with all five members doing there best to pump out their awesome pop tunes. Lead singer/guitarist Kip Berman is a magnetizing figure at the front of the stage. His huge eyes seem to lock on every person for at least a few seconds of each show before letting go and moving onto the next person. But it's his voice and keyboardist Peggy Lee's harmonizing vocals that really capture your attention. Even on a sound system meant for the outdoors they come through crisp and clean and lovely as ever.

Obviously seeing The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at a small, intimate venue would be a much more personal and probably a better experience, but watching them take over a huge crowd with their tunes was pretty special in its own way.

Those Darlins @ Mercury Lounge 07.09

I never really thought I'd live to see the day where a country tinged act would be considered "hip" but lo and behold that day is here with the rise of Those Darlins. Granted, they don't just stick with the country motif mixing in elements of punk, AM rock, surf rock, and more, but everything these three girls and their drummer do definitely has a bit of a twang to it.

Last night the girls returned to New York for the first time in a couple of months. They spent a good amount of time here during the winter recording their debut album and last night we all celebrated it's release with a rocking, riotously fun, good old fashioned party. I have rarely seen the Mercury Lounge as packed or as festive as we did last night. People were joyous, dancing about, and generally having a good time at least as far as my eye could see.

Those Darlins did everything to make last night a memorable time, from their lovely little stage outfits, to their witty between song banter, right down to their charming Lucinda Williams cover (see the top video!) everything they did was spot on. I saw them back in January at the same venue and they have come a long, long way in just a few short months. Tighter, better musicians, and spunkier then ever before they dominate the stage in a way few bands do and make sure everyone is having a good time watching them.

Matt & Kim @ Pier 54 07.09

By the time I walked on to the wharf known as Pier 54 last night Flosstradamus was already in full flow and the pier was stuffed to the gills with kids dancing and partying the beautiful summer evening away. The sun was setting behind New Jersey and everything was glowing a little bit of orange. As the kids danced to Flosstradamus Pier 54 literally shook, you could feel it and I was a bit concerned that a lot of people would be swimming back to the Isle of Manhattan. Likewise the promoters of the show were concerned that there would be an onslaught of people pushing up when Matt & Kim went on. All those people in such a small space was a thing to behold though, moving like a wave as the sound waves hit each of their ears. Flosstradamus got the party going for sure with a rousing DJ set ending with an MJ mashup that was poignant and solid.

Like everyone else there though I wasn't there to see a couple DJ's spin, I was their to see indie rock's preeminent couple Matt & Kim play tunes of their new record and work the kids into a tizzy. The couple came out and launched into some of their older stuff. "Yeah Yeah", "5K", and "Lightspeed" were all played and then they started to mix in some of the newer material as well.

Sure enough the promoters of the show were right about the kids pushing. Security guards lined the barriers to keep the folks up front from being trampled by the folks in the back. It was more then a little bit scary but if you looked at the kids crowd surfing and dancing around it was obvious that the element of danger was also a bit fun as well. Kids and their risky behaviour!

Matt & Kim did everything to encourage that kind of behavior though, never taking it down a notch, always trying to amp everything up. They said they wanted to one up Beyonce's MSG appearance the other day, they asked everyone to yell at the Empire State Building, they had the kids eating out of their hands with their catchy 2-minute long tunes. As if that weren't enough they also found time to toss out some new CD's and shoot t-shirts out of a cannon.

All in all it was a ridculously fun evening of live music thanks to Matt & Kim and their endless streams of energy. The band closed the night with an impromptu riff from Guns n' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine" followed by the tune from the Bacardi commercial "Daylight". It was a great set, an awesome evening, and a lot of fun!

Track By Track (New Tunes from the Interwebs)

The Almighty Defenders - "Bow Down and Die"; A song that features the Black Lips, King Khan, and BBQ Show on one track is just not fair, it's like shooting hipsters in a barrel because they just know we're gonna go apeshit over it! It doesn't matter that it sounds like everyone is singing into only one functioning microphone, it doesn't matter that this was done in Berlin when Black Lips barely escaped India, all that matters is that it fucking rocks and it's really not fucking fair that shit like this happens and we don't get to watch!
Grade: B+

Times New Viking - "No Time, No Hope"; At some point this year the whole lo-fi scene is gonna fizzle up and die like so many other trends that outlived their welcome. The thing is a band like Times New Viking isn't a trend, they are a classic in every sense of the word. The difference between TNV and all the other lo-fi'ers is that these guys know how to write a pop song and scuzz that shit up. They don't just scuzz it up to hide all it's flaws. So yeah, Times New Viking wins for life!
Grade: A

stellastarr* - "Freak Out"; Listening to this song I feel like this is gonna do really well. It's catchy, easy to pick up on, and would be great for an episode of The Real World or Gossip Girl or something like that. And as much as I like those TV shows I will most likely focus on the characters and ignore the background music it's just so inoffensive.
Grade: C+

Your Twenties - "Billionaires"; If any new indie rock band has a chance of making on the strength of one tune this summer it is Your Twenties and that tune is "Billionaires". Think what "Kids" did for MGMT. Yeah, it's not quite that catchy, but that chorus will be stuck in your brain for days!
Grade: A-

Track of the Week:
Warpaint - "Billie Holiday"; Dreamy, quiet, calm, and lovely. It seems basic and redundant but there is no better way to describe this tune then those four words. Sit back, close your eyes, and turn the headphones all the way up. You're welcome.
Grade: A

Buzzworthy??? Or Not???

Who: The Rural Alberta Advantage
Location: Toronto, Ontario
elbo.ws Ranking: #29
Thoughts: Every time you think the hipsters and taste makes have gone and tired of all the bands from Canada another one comes storming over the Rainbow Bridge with lofty comparisons to Arcade Fire, New Pornographers, or Broken Social Scene and sometimes with all three. It's become almost cyclical, you just have to wait long enough to see them in their Econovan getting their passports stamped and visas checked before heading on down to play at Union Hall. The latest of these bands is The Rural Alberta Advantage who are riding a wave of lofty praise from practically everyone thanks to their brand new album Hometowns. To be fair Hometowns is a really good record full of lovely harmonies and incredible musicianship, but it really doesn't sound like the Holy Trinity of Canadian indie rock bands. Instead this trio of Torontans are creating something that is truly their own a sound that is inventive and catchy and immediate. Hometowns isn't the type of record that needs to grow on you, it is with you right after the first time you listen. I guess even though we're sick of this never ending wave of Canadians storming our borders they really haven't done anything but give us great music! Maybe we'll start attacking the Swedes instead!
Verdict: Buzzworthy!
Listen: The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Don't Haunt This Place"
The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Frank, AB"

Band of the Week: Heathers

Amid all the loud, raucous music I normally find myself listening to I sometimes find the need for a little bit of a break with something quieter, calmer, and far more mellow. This week I got that in the form of Heathers, two young Irish ladies who make lovely music with just an acoustic guitar and their powerful vocals. I was turned onto the duo when I saw a 'Pink Couch Session' they had done with If You Make It a while back, but I really started pouring over their 2008 release Here, Not There a short time ago. This record is full of amazing tunes sung with their simple, unadorned, but emotionally captivating voices. Aside from that there is little more then the steady strumming of an acoustic guitar to keep the music company but there doesn't need to be anything more. It's stripped down music at it's most basic form and for some reason it absolutely connects with me. I honestly have no one to compare these ladies to right now, in a world where every record has AutoTune or some sort of other effect this is a completely refreshing sound. Take a listen to one song, watch the video below, download it at iTunes, whatever just make sure that you make some room in your day today for Heathers!
Heathers - "Margie"
Heathers - "Slices of Palama"
Heathers on MySpace
Bonus Video:

(video from the awesome If You Make It website!)

Questionable Corner: Goes Cube

Matt Tyson, the main man behind the incomparable New York City music blog Ear Farm, has long been a friend of Pop Tarts Suck Toasted. He was part of the original After the Jump gang, and like most of us New York bloggers he could be found fairly regularly at all the same shows we all attend. A few months ago news came down that Matt Frey was leaving Goes Cube and was going to be replaced by Matt Tyson and we were all thrilled for Matt. That said we wanted to find out what it was like for a successful music blogger to go and join one of the bands he has voraciously covered over the years. Maybe it would be worth it to finally get myself some drum lessons! Here's a chat we recently had with Matt and make sure to check out Goes Cube's latest record Another Day Has Passed and to catch them when they hit a town near you!

PTST: You just recently joined up with the guys of Goes Cube, how's it going so far? Have they in anyway hazed you or initiated you at all?
Matt: It's going really well. We did a three week tour a month ago that had us play something like 18 shows in 21 days - some strange shows, some fantastic shows, some in-between shows. Then we came home to play an incredible show at Union Hall to friends and family and now we're writing new songs and consistently finding ourselves humbled at the press that's been written about the band and the debut album (lots of great stuff from the UK in particular). As far as hazing, not really, since I'd already toured with the band before and was friends with them, I wasn't "the new guy" per se and didn't have to do anything ridiculous that the other two guys weren't doing as well. That said, if you know how to play me against myself, you can pretty much elicit some self-hazery. Which the guys did towards the end of the tour by daring me to shotgun a warm Budweiser that had been in the van for two weeks while we were stuck in traffic on the highway (I wasn't driving). Like Marty McFly being called "chicken," I downed the nasty beer, gagged, and sat there proud of myself as the guys laughed hysterically.

PTST: What made you want to join Goes Cube? What made them want you? Did you have to audition for the role?
Matt: First of all: the music. It's loud, punishing, abrasive, melodic rock with metal tendencies and it hits on so many styles and sounds I've always loved to listen to - joining a band with a sound so tailor-made for me was a no brainer really. Especially considering that David and Kenny (guitar and drums, respectively) were already close friends of mine. And I think, speaking from my perspective, that's a lot of what made them want me to join the band when the original bassist Matt Frey decided he was going to leave. Goes Cube was always as much about friendship as it was about anything else; so, having me join kept the band's focus of 'three close friends making music' intact. In terms of trying out, I wasn't asked to do a formal audition, but when I was asked to join the band I kind of forced an audition on David and Kenny. Basically, I wanted them to consider what was best for the band, and to make sure they thought I'd work for Goes Cube from a playing standpoint. So I learned some songs and practiced with them once before "officially" joining.

PTST: If you had never covered the band for Ear Farm do you think this opportunity would have ever revealed itself?
Matt: No way. First of all, I met Goes Cube because I was at an Art of Shooting show to cover it for Ear Farm and saw Goes Cube play right before them. I wrote about both bands, focusing on Goes Cube, and then got to know the guys after that. If not for the blog though, I'd have just been another dude who saw the band and loved them and I doubt we'd have all gotten to know each other otherwise. I'm actually pretty shy outside of speaking on behalf of Ear Farm (or now Goes Cube).

PTST: What type of bass are you playing these days?
Matt: It's a black on black Fender Jazz '70s reissue.

PTST: I know you toured with the band as a blogger before this. How is it different touring as an outside member of the press then it is to actually be in the band?
Matt: The main difference? No nervousness or pre-show jitters before each show when you're not in the band. The first time around I was just hanging out with Goes Cube and documenting the experience. This time I had lots of stuff to remember and perform each night.

PTST: How do you think your new role in Goes Cube will affect your position at Ear Farm? Are you gonna be posting exclusive Goes Cube material all the time?
Matt: I've decided not to post anything about Goes Cube on Ear Farm other than factual references to the band and disclaimer notes telling people I'm in the band. Definitely won't be doing exclusive Goes Cube posts on EF anymore... hopefully we'll be able to find other sweet music blogs to do that kind of stuff with (wink wink).

PTST: Did you consider just quitting your work on Ear Farm as a result of your new role?
Matt: Never. Aside from the fact that I'm very interested to see how this 'music site run by two guys (the other main Ear Farmer, Mike, is in the band Mancino) who are in active bands' experiment plays out, I kind of think there will always be an Ear Farm. I'd love for the site to be much bigger than just me and feature all kinds of contributors with varied tastes, but ultimately all Ear Farm started as was a place for me to write about the music that is a part of my life. I expect that music will always be a part of my life; therefore, so will some manner of Ear Farming.

PTST: Do you think other bands are going to wind up looking at Goes Cube as the band with the blogger in it now, or do you think they'll be looking to you to possibly plug their bands too?
Matt: Honestly, I'm not sure how well-known it is now that "the guy from Ear Farm" is in "that band Goes Cube," so I can't say. But I really hope it doesn't impact how other bands approach getting in touch with me and sending me stuff to checkout.

PTST: Is it gonna be tough to get your blogging buddies to pay for Goes Cube shows?
Matt: Between blogging buddies who (rightly) might want a spot on a Goes Cube guest list, and any of the many many musicians who've put me on their own guest lists... there are quite a few people who probably expect a free pass into a Goes Cube show at some point. Maybe I'll put all of the old Goes Cube songs in a hat and have people draw them out like deli numbers to see who can be on each show's list. "Goes Cube Song 46? Now offering a guest list spot to the person holding Goes Cube Song 46...."

PTST: If you could have joined any other band that you have ever covered who would have joined and why?
Matt: Mancino. No wait, Morrissey's band for the cash money and chance to stand on stage and play Andy Rourke bass lines while Morrissey is performing in front of me... shit! I get chills just from playing "Barbarism Begins At Home" on headphones at home, can't imagine actually playing in THAT band. But yeah, after that, Mancino for the very same reasons I joined Goes Cube.

PTST: I can't imagine that Goes Cube is your first band. What other band experience do you have?
Matt: Lots. I started my first band when I was 13 and we sounded a lot like Poison and wrote one original song about sneaking out of the house, going to a party, and getting in a fight. From there I played in bands in high school and college that ranged from rip-offs of The Cure to alt-country stuff to heady synth based stuff along the lines of Animal Collective meets Trans Am. When I moved to New York I answered a Craigslist ad looking for a keyboard player and ended up backing up a singer/songwriter for a few shows. After that didn't work out I decided to ease up on the 'being in a band' thing and just messed around on my own at home until I joined Goes Cube this year. Frankly, I didn't think I'd ever be in another working band until a few months ago.

PTST: What are you looking forward to as a member of Goes Cube?
Matt: Everything. Right now we're working on writing some new songs, so that's been pretty awesome and I'm really looking forward to getting these and future new ones recorded at some point because Dean Baltulonis (producer/engineer) does such an amazing job in the studio with Goes Cube. Beyond that, I really can't wait for more tours (hopefully one soon to the UK!), New York shows, writing more songs... heck, I'm even looking forward to practice tonight as it'll be the first one we've done as a full band in a few weeks. Honestly, I'm looking forward to all of it. It's a real privilege to get to be in a band you love, playing music you love, with close friends - that's not at all lost on me.

PTST: Are you guys gonna be hitting the road at all this summer?
Matt: Indeed, we'll be doing a quick run up I-95 to Portland, Maine and back. Two shows we're way excited about: playing The Middle East in Boston with Moving Mountains and playing the Empire in Portland with Clues and Marie Stella.

PTST: Are you on the new album at all, or will you have to wait to be a part of the next one?
Matt: I'm not on the album that was just released, Another Day Has Passed, all of the bass parts on that were done by Matt Frey. So in terms of hearing me play with Goes Cube, you'll have to come on out to one of the shows or just wait for our second album. Which, hopefully, won't be a very long wait.

PTST: What's next for Ear Farm?
Matt: Well, other than our normal posts and features... we're actively looking to expand our roster of contributors, about to roll out a slightly-tweaked redesign of the site, already looking towards putting on a sweet CMJ show, and considering other ways to get awesome music in front of smart people with good taste. Plus, a few other things too. Secret things! Stay tuned to Ear Farm in the coming months to find out...

Listen: Goes Cube - "The Only Daughter"
Goes Cube - "Song 57"

Upcoming Shows:
July 30th @ The Middle East Boston, MA
July 31st @ Empire Portland, ME
Sept. 26th @ Webster Hall New York, NY

Blast from the Past: Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American

Listening to Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American won't take you way back to the sounds of your childhood. It won't make you nostalgic for a time long gone and far from memory, but it will bring back the some of the earliest memories we have of this decade. It was a time where George Bush just looked like a silly choice for President, not someone that would for all intents and purposes ruin our nation. We were coming out of a prosperous run there for a while and though the popular music of the time leaves more then a lot to be desired there were a few minor bright spots before that New York resurgence really kicked in.

Obviously this is as emo an album as one can possibly, I won't sugarcoat it and I know I'm not supposed to like the album, but after hearing "The Middle" on WXRP the other day I felt compelled to listen to the record once again and of course one thing led to another led to this. Bleed American, now known as a self-titled album thanks to September 11th, was a top to bottom crowd pleasing record. It had hooks and tunes that could be sung along with by absolute morons and it had a music video with half naked people when music videos still mattered. It all added up to a really successful record, one that went platinum and actually got some pretty decent reviews across the board. Of course we were comparing it to the likes of N*Sync, Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit, and more.

My personal memories of Bleed American also run towards the MTV world as the band played a special $2 Bill show at Irving Plaza to celebrate the success that they were having. I managed to score tickets and passed one on to my little brother, even though he was already knee deep in the indie rock scene. My brother "lost" his ticket and it wound up being the first of many shows that I went to by myself. It was a freeing experience being at a show and not knowing anyone there. I could push to the front or stay in the back and wound up staying at the stage throughout a very solid show. It was a great time and I sung my heart out when "The Middle" and "Sweetness" were played.

Listening to Bleed American now I can still sing along with every word on the album, I'm not ashamed to say it my head has the lyrics glued in for good and I was really excited when it came on the radio the other day. Sometimes music reminds us of things and I have a lot of positive memories surrounding Jimmy Eat World even if most indie die hards would scoff at such a notion.
Jimmy Eat World - "A Praise Chorus"
Jimmy Eat World - "The Middle"
Jimmy Eat World - "Your House"
Jimmy Eat World - "Sweetness"

Tuesday's Recommended Release

For one reason or another there are certain songs and albums that demand to be a soundtrack for your summer. Whether they are big hits that are played on the radio all summer long or intimate tunes placed on a mix tape by a summer lover they will forever be etched in your memory as a huge part of the Summer of Whenever. After this year a lot of us will be looking back at the Summer of '09 with the music of Discovery playing in the background of all the great memories. The album screams summer, from its colorful cover right down to the summer electro-pop found all over the record.

Of course the story behind Discovery is almost as compelling as the pop music on the record. Started by Wes Miles of Ra Ra Riot and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend, the electro-pop project was supposed to be an outlet for the duo's R&B leanings while away from their full-time projects. It wound up taking the two three years to compile enough material for an album, but now that LP is playing on our turntables we're pretty excited about the three years of work these guys poured into this.

Kicking off with three fantastic tunes, "Orange Shirt", "Osaka Loop Line", and "Can You Discover?", the band immediately hooks itself into your regular listening with programmed beats meant to move your feet and synthed up vocals you can actually sing along to. It helps that "Can You Discover?" is a new take on Ra Ra Riot's classic "Can You Tell" to add a bit of familiarity to the project. But as we go deeper into the album we realize that none of this is a fluke, these boys genuinely know their way around a pop music and show it off at every turn.

Wes and Rostam didn't just stick to their own celebrity appeal either, bringing in Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) and Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors) in for two brilliant tracks. Ezra in particular uses his guest spot to have a bit of fun with AutoTune on a track that would not have been out of place on Kanye's 808's & Heartbreak. But the biggest celebrity nod of them all is the duo's cover of The Jackson 5's " I Want You Back", a slowed down version with some robot-o-fied vocals taking the place for Michael Jackson's smooth delivery. Obviously this tune was recorded and in place well before the tragedy of Michael's passing, but with the record hitting a week after it it seems perfectly timed to help realize the unifying reach of Michael's musical genius.

Summer is supposed to be a time for fun and excitement, music is supposed to make it that much better, and Discovery manages to come through with a fine summer soundtrack.

Discovery by PopTarts

(Editor's Note: Hey folks, in case you haven't noticed with this post I'm trying out something new with a SoundCloud widget. I think I'm gonna go with it all this week and if everyone likes it keep on with it. So let me know what you think, hate it, love it, indifferent, doesn't matter just leave me note telling me.)

This Week's Live Picks

Monday: Afro-Punk Fest @ Brooklyn Academy of Music 3pm FREE
If you were looking for a way to keep the holiday weekend going today you don't have to look very far at all. Day three of the Afro-Punk Festival will be going strong all day in Brooklyn and is headed up by the best musician of the whole fest, the incomparable Janelle Monae! Seriously folks, she may not be my normal cup of tea but she positively blew my mind when I saw her in Austin! Check it out!
Janelle Monae - "Many Moons"

Tuesday: The Secret Life of Sofia @ Cake Shop 8pm $7
It's always fun to get a chance to see The Secret Life of Sofia, but when they play smaller venues like the Cake Shop it makes it all the more fun. Considering last time they played they were at the way more spacious Bell House it may be time to check this band out in a small venue if I were you.
The Secret Life of Sofia - "Moon on the Sea's Gate"

Wednesday: The Sundelles, Little Girls, + Browns @ Cake Shop 8pm $7
Before the weekend takes over with a slew of free shows cough up less then a Hamilton to get in and see this three-headed bill! All of these bands will rock you out! Seriously.
The Sundelles - "So Long"
Little Girls - "Tambourine"
Browns - "Forgotten Son"

Thursday: Matt & Kim @ Pier 54 6pm FREE
Today Hudson River Rocks kicks off with a wonderful free show featuring Flosstradamus and Matt & Kim! Since Matt & Kim went and got themselves huge it's no longer possible to see them in cramped, super small venues with everyone going crazy, so the next best thing would be seeing them under a setting sun with everyone going crazy!
Matt & Kim - "Daylight"

Friday: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ South Street Seaport 6pm FREE
Week 2 of the Seaport Friday's brings us one of the best young bands in New York City these days, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. With their heartfelt, lovely pop tunes this is the type of show that will be perfect for the early evening backdrop of Pier 17. Zaza and Ribbons open the show.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Everything With You"

Saturday: They Might Be Giants @ Prospect Park 3pm FREE
Are you worn out from all these free shows yet? Hopefully not, there's still a couple more to go! Today They Might Be Giants head to Prospect Park to help Celebrate Brooklyn with a free show for the kids. I don't think you need a kid to show up though and that's good because even if they're playing their kiddie anthems They Might Be Giants are still a band worth seeing.
They Might Be Giants - "Lucky Ball and Chain"

...then Japandroids @ Pianos 8pm $8
A few months ago Japandroids were supposed to be hitting New York for the first time as the buzz band du jour. That tour got canceled due to surgery though and now they'll be playing a bunch of shows at venues way to small for them! Good luck getting in and surviving the pressing crowds of people.
Japandroids - "Young Hearts Spark Fire"

Sunday: Mission of Burma, Fucked Up, Ponytail, + Jemina Pearl @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2pm FREE
The pool may be busy turning back into a pool, but the Pool Parties will live on for another summer at a different venue! The folks that got us to show up at McCarren Park Pool week after week have shifted to the Williamsburg Waterfront and if you haven't already seen the lineup it may just be the best overall lineup they've ever given us. This week we get Matador staples Mission of Burma and Fucked Up, Baltimore upstarts Ponytail, and the former Be Your Own Pet front woman Jemina Pearl! Get there early to ensure entry!
Mission of Burma - "Fever Moon"
Fucked Up - "Son the Father"
Ponytail - "Celebrate the Body Electric"
Jemina Pearl - "Nashville Shores"

Here We Go Magic @ South Street Seaport 07.03

It may have come a month later then it normally does, but summer has finally arrived in New York City. The weather is finally warming up and after Jay Reatard's free show on Wednesday evening the South Street Seaport kicked off their annual run of Friday nights with a great free show from Here We Go Magic. Sure the 32oz. beers have gone up in price to $4.50 and the crowd may have sat through the entire opening set by Bachelorette, but it was still a summer evening on the Seaport's boardwalk and what a blast it was!

For me the big thing was hanging with friends and drinking 96oz. of beer, but Here We Go Magic made sure we did all that with some fantastic tunes. I spoke of their live set earlier this year, musically they are sharp as knives but on stage their music is so intricate that they have to focus on it and wind up just standing behind their instruments. That's a bit of a bummer, but the Seaport sound system has been improved by leaps and bounds, you could actually hear the vocal harmonies yesterday and the sounds provided were pretty fantastic.

It was a bit of a sleepy evening thanks to the muted sounds of the two bands, but it was fun to be under a lovely early evening sky and be outside enjoying some free music once again! Next week we get three bands, Zaza, Ribbons, and of course The Pains of Being Pure at Heart! Be there!

Top 20 Matador Albums of All-Time

For the past few years it has seemed like Matador Records and the 4th of July went hand in hand, with Matador artists normally taking over the wonderful, free River to River show celebrating our Nation's birth. This year instead of one of the brilliant members of the Matador stable we're being given Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band which while exciting and fun is far removed from the usual Matador excitement. Still, this being the 20th anniversary of Matador Records we thought now we would be a good time to look back at the very best records the label has put out. Hope you enjoy the list and please feel free to chime in in the comments as to your own favorite Matador Records!

20. Fucked Up The Chemistry of Common Life; Just last year Matador Records made quite a splash with a few of it's newest signees, bands like Times New Viking, Jaguar Love, and Jay Reatard. The best of the new class of Matador bands happened to be a crazed hardcore band whose name is normally not fit for print - Fucked Up. This band exploded onto the scene with the brilliant, loud, and blistering The Chemsitry of Common Life, an album that holds nothing back and wraps itself around you suffocating you as you bounce around to the sounds. It was often a bit overlooked and underrated last year, but I have no doubt that their next Matador release will once again blow minds. Give it another 20-years and this album will quickly move much higher up on this list, for now we'll use it as a great place to kick off the list.
Fucked Up - "No Epiphany"

19. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Now I Got Worry; There must be some debate out there as to which album was truly the Blue Explosion's best, but for my money this one wins hands down every time. It is the one album that comes closest to capturing the power of the Blues Explosion's dynamic, raucous live shows and one that keeps Jon Spencer's often campy posturing hidden underneath some ferocious, wailing guitar parts. This is a bluesy as anything the band ever did, but it also straight rocks thanks to those incredible guitars and the barked vocals of Jon Spencer. This is a great record for sure.
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - "Dynamite Lover"

18. Cornelius Point; The sound style of Cornelius has always been cut and paste, using bits of sounds and genres to create and overlapping and cohesive sounding record. The funny thing is throughout a good portion of his records you can feel the whole cut and paste thing a little too much making the record feel like a collage rather then a whole. But on Point the Japanese artist put together his most seamless and whole record. It's a record that uses not only music, but sounds found out in the world as well as electronic sounds to create something rhythmic and full of pulse pounding beauty.
Cornelius - "Drop"

17. Matmos A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure; As good as the overall music on A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure is the whole concept behind the album really adds something to the overall enjoyment of the record. The idea that all the sounds pieced and played together were recorded in a number of operating rooms during nose jobs and liposuctions is pretty fucking amazing! That it came out sounding like a cohesive dance record instead of some hokey shtick is even more amazing, so a lot of credit must be given to the guys of Matmos for trying and succeeding at making this concept album. The record is pretty incredible even if you don't know the back story, but once you do it is doubly impressive in every way.
Matmos - "L.A.S.I.K."

16. Belle & Sebastian The Boy with the Arab Strap; When talking about Matador Records people generally start with one of two bands, either we name drop Pavement or we start sharing stories of why we love Belle & Sebastian so much. Fittingly these are the only two bands with more then one record on this list and here's Belle & Sebastian's first appearance. Most people hail The Boy with the Arab Strap as a fantastic album, Pitchfork and Arab Strap excluded, and it flat out is. This was the first album the band actually released here in the U.S. so for a lot of us it was our first taste of the Scott's and their mopey, yet addictive music.
Belle & Sebastian - "The Boy With the Arab Strap"

15. Stephen Malkmus Face the Truth; As a member of Pavement Stephen Malkmus has always faced unfair expectations in his solo work and his work with the Jicks. Over the course of a couple of albums, the self-titled record and Pig Lib, Malkmus got solid reviews that explained to people why these records weren't as good as what Pavement had done. It wasn't until 2005's Face the Truth that people started to realize Pavement weren't coming back and Malkmus' solo songwriting was brilliant enough on its own to be worthy of our attention. Yeah, this record is flat out better then his first two post-Pavement records but I think people should have given him more of a shot straight out of the box. Whatever, Malkmus is still doing pretty well in the world of music.
Stephen Malkmus - "Loud Loud Crowd"

14. AC Newman Slow Wonder; Carl Newman is one of those artists that have helped define the '00's and the indie rock sound that has become so prevalent during the decade. Whether he was doing it solo or as a member of The New Pornographers didn't really matter because you knew that no matter what Newman was gonna put his all into the songs he was writing and make something that sounds pretty above all. On Slow Wonder Newman showed that it wasn't all about the other moving parts in New Pornographers, the Neko Cases and the Dan Bejars, but that it was as much about Newman himself. The songs on this album are short, clear, concise, pretty, and instantaneous, it doesn't take long to be engrossed in the melodies and lyrics and once they are over they stay with you for a long, long time.
AC Newman - "Miracle Drug"

13. Pavement Brighten the Corners; I will freely admit to anyone reading that Brighten the Corners is my least favorite Pavement album ever made. It would also probably make my Top 100 favorite albums of all-time too. Pavement are just that good and there's no denying it. Yeah I'm spoiling a lot with that lead in all five Pavement albums will appear on this list and they all deserve to be here. When I started making this list (and the one for Merge that I'll post later this month) I thought about limiting each band to one album, but that was foolish. Pavement are the very definition of what it is to be a Matador Band, without them there's a very real possibility that the label would have folded early in the 90's or not mattered at all. Okay, that's probably an exaggeration but not by much.
Pavement - "Date With Ikea"

12. Pavement Terror Twilight; By 1999 most of the members of Pavement had turned 30 and started families. They had spread across the country and had already made a bunch of landmark albums, so after recording Terror Twilight the band decided that was it and called it quits. This year happens to mark the 10-year anniversary of the last album and I'm sure Matador will be reissuing it soon enough. Terror Twilight finds the band using better recording equipment and cleaner takes then ever before revealing everything there is to know about the band one last time before they left us. They continue to show us the wit we've come to love, they definitely rock, but it's all much prettier then it has ever been before. Of course if you heard Brighten the Corners you would have seen this all coming, the higher quality recordings and all, but it was still a bit shocking to hear and a little weird that it stands as Pavement's final statement.
Pavement - "Spit On A Stranger"

11. Mission of Burma OnOffOn; If you wanna blame a band for all the comebacks that have been going down the last few years I think you should probably point the blame at Mission of Burma. The Boston band called it quits way back in 1983 due mainly to Roger Miller's terrible case of tinnitus (wear ear plugs kids!) only to resurface for a tour in 2002. It was a massive success as fans of the band flocked to see their wild, loud shows and to see songs they had grown to love performed live just one time. Lucky for all of us the band has hung around since, touring and even recording new stuff for us all to digest. The pinnacle of this comeback has definitely been 2004's OnOffOn, and album that picks up perfectly where the band left off with their debut album Vs.. It's an album full of post-punk goodness from one of the early pioneers of the genre.
Mission of Burma - "Fake Blood"

10. The New Pornographers Twin Cinema; Canada has spent a good portion of the past decade dominating the world of indie rock. Their bands have perfected the sound that so many have come to love and they truly have owned the past ten years. The New Pornographers somehow manage to take that dominance once step further by putting together some of the finest pieces of Canadian music in one place. Led by AC Newman the supergroup features tons of talent including Neko Case, Dan Bejar, and more that work together to perform some of the most syrupy and addictive indie pop these ears have ever heard. Twin Cinema is definitely their finest hour with an album full of classic tunes each strong enough to be a single. The tunes are easy to sing-a-long with, follow in the style of so many that have come before, and yet are impossible to forget once you've heard them. These guys are the Yankees of Canadian indie rock.
The New Pornographers - "Twin Cinema"

9. Cat Power You Are Free; Before she got clean and started actually performing at her shows Chan Marshall was better known for not performing, or when she did doing so half assed but still barring her soul in the process. You Are Free was released right as Marshall was coming out of those self destructive times. It was an album that saw Marshall battling her demons very publicly and with unmistakable beauty. You Are Free sounds like a transformative album because in every it was for the artist known as Cat Power, people began to notice her for the music once again rather then the horror stories of disaster that had followed her for so long. If you look past the place holder cover records this wound up being the sophomore release for Cat Power, the follow up to the amazing Moon Pix and in almost every way it bettered everything about the debut. A lot of people might prefer The Greatest but You Are Free is the better, deeper record.
Cat Power - "Free"

8. Pavement Wowee Zowee; If you listen to the Pavement catalog will notice a lot of change and a lot of experimentation with sound. The band started out tinkering and toying with everything they could before straightening out for Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, an album a lot of people credit for breaking the band through to a bigger audience though not quite the mainstream. This was of course followed up with Wowee Zowee, a record that immediately reverted back to the spontaneous, experimental Pavement. Some people attribute the switch back as an aversion to success, and really what else could it be seen as? The band easily could have made another record that sounded like Crooked Rain, they didn't because they didn't want to make that record again. Instead they tinkered with their sound and played and must have enjoyed the fuck out of it, but somehow they made a really good fucking album anyway.
Pavement - "Rattled By The Rush"

7. Interpol Turn On the Bright Lights; New York at the turn of the century was a fun place to be for music fans. While the rest of the country fawned over nu-metal stars and boy bands we were treated to a renaissance of cool bands led by The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, Liars, and TV on the Radio. These bands are still cool, people will drop their shit if another Strokes album ever hits and people went ape shit for a really solid album from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs earlier this year, but none of them had as impressive a debut as Interpol did. When Turn On the Bright Lights was released in 2002 there were battling sides of people calling them overhyped and people who absolutely loved the music. Listening to it now you can't help but realize that this band really were making some amazing music. Sure, they've never quite reached the same heights with any of their successive albums, but how many records do you own that are as good as this one?
Interpol - "PDA"

6. Guided By Voices Alien Lanes; Guided By Voices started their life with Matador Records with the unenviable task of trying to follow-up Bee Thousand, a record that still stands as probably the finest moment of their prolific existence. That said they did an admirable job with Alien Lanes, an album that continues with the lo-fi sound that had honed for years and Robert Pollard's biting lyrics. Obviously it must have been a little tough for Pollard and company to follow up Bee Thousand, especially when you consider they took almost a full year to put out their next album which is virtually unheard of for Guided By Voices. Still there's more then a handful of great tunes on Alien Lanes and I'm sure there's more then a few people that prefer it to Bee Thousand. I'm not one of those people, but I love this album anyway.
Guided By Voices - "A Salty Salute"

5. Liz Phair Exile in Guyville; Know what must suck? Making your debut album your best record. You set the bar insanely high, like so high you'll never be able to come close to it again. Then you spend the next decade trying to redefine yourself or change your sound a little bit only to realize people just wanna hear that first album that you made. Well fuck if that doesn't blow, but how awesome must it be to be able to say your first record is one of the great modern rock records. Yeah, Liz Phair's gotta deal with all that because she went and made Exile in Guyville before she made anything else but she also made Exile in Guyville so let's all remember that when we're talking about Liz. Not that her other albums are awful (some are), they're just not Exile in Guyville, not even close.
Liz Phair - "6'1"

4. Yo La Tengo I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One; For ten years Yo La Tengo worked as one of the underrated indie rock bands of the late 80's and early 90's. While other bands rode the grunge wave to new levels of success Yo La Tengo didn't quite get to ride the same wave but kept making good album after good album. Then 10-years after they first released a record the band went out and released I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One and created one of the finest indie rock records ever put together from start to finish. Then again I can probably say that about all of the records in this here top 10. Still this record showed off the depth and dexterity of Yo La Tengo like none of their previous records ever had. It had cover tunes, some of their finest originals, and truly no weak tracks from start to finish.
Yo La Tengo - "Green Arrow"

3. Belle & Sebastian If You're Feeling Sinister; Ah the last non-Pavement spot on my list of Matador's best releases ever! Makes sense that it's going to the only other band with two albums on the countdown, and what a great album If You're Feeling Sinister is. Forget that Jack Black thinks it's "sad bastard music" and acknowledge all the beautiful pop pieces at play here. Listen as Stuart serenades us with his beautiful broque, and the amazing words written throughout this record. It's enough to make a boy or a girl or a boy/girl swoon. This is as good as indie pop could ever be, it is the true pinnacle of the genre and will never be topped. You folks can keep trying but you're just not gonna get there! Seriously!
Belle & Sebastian - "The Boy Done Wrong Again"

2. Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain; In their brief time as a band there was no shortage of changes for Pavement. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was probably the first big example of their willingness to redefined themselves from album to album. After the relative success of their debut album, Slanted & Enchanted, the band went and jettisoned their drummer (Gary Young), got rid of their lo-fi sound for a more refined production style, added Mark Ibold on bass, and percusionist Bob Nastonovich. Big changes for a band on just it's second record but all those switches made for a more straight forward rock album, one that would sell a couple hundred thousand copies and have an actual single for people to sing along with! It's a great record no arguments necessary, but I have to think that a lot of Pavement fans probably wonder what would have happened had they continued along the path of Slanted & Enchanted. True, they'd be a totally different band but would we like them more or less for it?
Pavement - "Cut Your Hair"

1. Pavement Slanted & Enchanted; For many people Slanted & Enchanted stands as the American rock album of the 90's. It is supposedly our answer to OK Computer only it came out 5-years earlier and directly influenced Radiohead's first two albums. Go figure. Whatever, while people at parties were playing albums by Nirvana and Pearl Jam and everyone was going ape shit over the new alternative sound Pavement were keeping alive indie rock with their lo-fi sound that anyone could have done. The thing is not everyone did, instead people aped the garage sound and started rapping over metal records, leaving a whole generation of kids that would idolize Pavement and grow up to take over the internets and the 21st centuries version of the music business. Okay, that's exaggerated but it's damn close to true and it is all because of this record. So....suck it Nevermind! (Just kidding, I love Nirvana too)
Pavement - "Fame Throwa"

Questionable Corner: The Radical Sons

So about two weeks ago I posted this interview with The Radical Sons in advance of their New York City shows. Well Blogger decided it would be a good post to delete despite me having permission to post the mp3's I did. Well even though I have been diligently saving all of my posts to re-up them once they're taking down I missed this one so it took me a little longer to get back up and I forget what my intro was. Whatever, the band e-mailed me about why it came down and seemed upset that it was taken down so it's going back up with this new intro! Please don't delete my post again!
PTST: You guys hail from St. Louis which isn't necessarily thought of as a musical hotbed. How did you guys come to form a band, and what led you towards the indie aesthetic as opposed to emo or alt-country or something more prevalent?
Radical Sons: I think the reason I was drawn towards indie rock was firstly because I really disliked the kids in school who were into the whole Nu Metal tough guy rap stuff. And I equally disliked the whiny emo stuff as well. I just didn't fit in with either category. I wasn't really into music until I was about 12. Within the course of a month I got into The Velvet Underground, Television, White Stripes, Nirvana, & a bunch of other great bands. Once I would get into one band I would immediately look up their influences and download that stuff. File sharing definitely played a major part in my music discovery.

PTST: How did you guys get together? Is this your first band?
Radical Sons: Radical Sons formed originally as The Overtones when we were like 15. I had wanted to start a band for a long time and had been using the Overtones name for a while for various projects with different kids I knew and just my home made demo stuff. We all met through mutual friends and began hanging out in the St. Louis loop skateboarding and recording shopping and other stuff like that. Around that time I decided to get serious about doing the band and asked those guys to join. About a year and half ago we decided to change the name to Radical Sons because things were getting more serious with the band and we all agreed The Overtones was a really lame name.

PTST: You guys are fairly young but you've already opened up for some pretty cool bands, who was the coolest band you've had the chance to open for so far?
Radical Sons: I would say the coolest band we played with was definitely Be Your Own Pet just because we went on to become really good friends with those kids and got to play with all their other bands after that show.

PTST: A lot of blogs are tossing around a lot of comparisons when talking about The Radical Sons, I myself likened you to The Velvet Underground and Television. Do you guys generally consider these comparisons to be accurate? Were these bands big influences of yours? What modern bands do you feel are influencing you guys right now?
Radical Sons: While we are totally into the whole velvets NYC 70's rock thing, that is definitely not the only stuff we are into. We are also super into weirder early 80's no wave noise stuff as well as old 50's doo wop records . As far as modern bands go I think Deerhunter is really doing some of the best stuff out there especially that new EP they just did (Rainwater Cassette Exchange). Bradford Cox is just a really great performer as well. I saw him with our bassist Geoff a few years ago during the Cryptograms Tour and he scared the shit out of us. He was in a dress, screaming, and crawling on the floor banging a guitar. I had never seen anything like that before or felt that way at a concert. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen. His solo Atlas Sound stuff is great as well.

PTST: Is there a St. Louis music scene that you guys are a part of? Who are your favorite bands from your hometown?
Radical Sons: The St. Louis music scene is weird. There definitely is a group of indie rock bands there and somewhat of a community, but so many of the bands who get really good get discouraged and just break up after a year or two. St. Louis is really overlooked by the national music blogs or magazines, so the bands who don't tour just get stuck in this rut of playing to the same people all the time at the same clubs and get bored. There is definitely a lot of great music coming form the city though. I would recommend So Many Dynamos, Jumbling Towers, & Cameron Matthews. Those are some of my favorites.

PTST: You guys are releasing your debut EP on St. Ives, how did you guys come to sign with them? How do you guys feel about being on the label so far?
Radical Sons: We played a show in Bloomington Indiana last winter and some of the guys from Secretly Canadian came out to see it and we got to talking with them about doing something with their St. Ives label. We jumped at the chance to do it because we are huge fans of past bands they have worked with. They have been great to work with and are a great label. We couldn't be happier with the way the record turned out. They will be for sale at our shows this week!

PTST: Are you guys excited to be playing up here in New York? Outside of playing your shows is there anything you're looking forward to seeing/doing while in New York?
Radical Sons: We love NYC and can't wait to just hang out with our friends who live up there. There is also always coo' shows to check out and we can't wait to see Girls, Paper Chase & Free Energy at Mercury. That will be great, we always love checking out the other bands we are playing with. Our only complaint with NYC is that most of the shows are 21 up. Besides that it is the best. So much musical history took place here and its a lot of fun to read stuff about the Velvet Underground, Ramones, Television, Cro Mags, etc, then walk around where that stuff happened.

PTST: After these New York dates there seems to be nothing left on your schedule, do you guys have any plans for the summer?
Radical Sons: After this tour our future plans are to start demoing some stuff for a full LP and then just keep setting touring and plugging away at Radical Sons.

Listen: Radical Sons - "I'm So Sick of the 21st Century"
Radical Sons - "Throwing Knives"