Every band needs a good, honest video diary. It makes me feel like they’re “my” band. Not to mention the fact that their music is basically exactly what I love.
Have a watch, and you’ll feel like they’re not much different from you. It’s nice to get a peek in on a great band. Watch out for the Perishing album, coming out in April.
Be a Jason Schwartzman fan. If not for his rad movies, then for his music.
If you didn’t know, it’s the same Jason Schwartzman from every Wes Anderson film that matters. It’s also the same Jason Schwartzman who is from the band “Phantom Planet”. The same Phantom Planet that sings your favorite theme song to The OC, “California”.
So whether you’re a early 90’s has been teen queen that still hangs around your high school football games and hooks up with sweet bros, or an indie film freak that has a penchant for themes and plots that only intertwine in a way that is unrelated but satisfying, you should latch onto this project.
Jason Schwartzman is Coconut Records.
Coconut Records – This Old Machine
If that’s not enough crazy connections, then think about this. Jason’s brother, Robert Carmine, is the lead singer and guitarist for power pop sensations Rooney. Robert also took his talent to Hollywood as well as Michael Moscovitz in 2001 film The Princess Diaries (ladies recognize this?).
(insert proud mother look)
It’s hard to not hear one band and think of another. These are a couple of bands that have sounds that do that for me.
Sounds like Jimi Hendrix.. and something else
The Black Keys – Thickfreakness
Sounds like Beck
First, is a remake from a band called Self.
If you’re a true music nerd, you’ve probably listened to a bit of They Might Be Giants. It’s the kind of band you’re embarrassed that your friends know you listen to. They attract geeks of all kinds…. BUT….
They are actually geniuses. Their music arrangement and creativity is unparalleled. You’ll find a lot of their stuff to sound dated… but that’s because they’ve been around for a couple of decades and still put stuff out.
In a recent tribute album, Matt Mahaffey from Self did a remake of one of my favorites.. Ana Ng. It’s brilliant, as he’s also a producer and has amazing sense of arrangement. I love every twist and turn this song takes… as originally put by TMBG, but as later interpreted by Matt.
The second random pick is one of my favorite memory attached songs. If you like the recent push in electronica, you have to check out United States of Electronica. Their music was all available for free from their site awhile ago. My roommates and I were all big baseball fans and had a huge hoopla festival of nonsense Rex Soxery when they won the World Series in ‘04.
This was the theme to our celebration. Yeah, we know the song is about Seattle, but there was too much energy in the track to not use it.
A close friend of mine is from Seattle and saw these guys in concert. He said it was an experience you will find nowhere else. They are all about love and music. There’s a mass of them that gets on stage and just completely parties out. Worth a look for sure.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is a favorite of mine. The 2006 album went off with relatively little fanfare, and much to my dismay as over a period of time I couldn’t find their stuff. Even locating information online seemed tough.
After hearing I am Warm and Powerful on LastFM once, I did some thorough searches. I keep a list of good bands and their music that I hear. When I get the chance I look it up and find out more. Ticking most bands off the list wasn’t hard, but they were one of 2 that I just couldn’t get the info on.
Eventually, I subscribed to Rhapsody and found their album Broom.
Today as I scraped Hype Machine to find some Bird and the Bee stuff for their new EP, I located new SSLYBY stuff and everything was a-ok! It’s not for everybody, but I love their clever approach at arrangement. It’s simple, but different. I get the same feeling listening to I am Warm and Powerful that I get when I pop Say Hi’s Northwestern Girls. It’s just… good.
Anyway, the song Oregon Girl is coming as part of their new sophomore release called Perishing. It’s shaping up to be an amazing release, so keep on it. We’ll update with any more show news.
I can’t pick a favorite here.. they’re all rad.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – I Am Warm And Powerful
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Glue Girls
If your Birthday week is this week, then you already know it. I’m celebrating a Birthday week for someone starting today, and to start off I have a song.
I’ve been a huge Bird and the Bee fan, which is good because I don’t listen to a lot of girl-led bands unless they’re really good. I found the song Again and Again a long time ago and was way into it. The vocals are the serene type that do well over something a little less traditional for that type of voice.
I discovered a buddies blog yesterday, and it had this new Birthday song up. It pretty much took over the spot as fav Bird and the Bee song. So here’s “Birthday” as well…
In High School I D.J.ed and partied… that’s pretty much it. Funny because now I don’t listen to hip hop at all.. unless it’s the “good stuff”. You know.. like Souls of Mischief, J5, Roots, Mos Def, Common, and umm… well mix in a bit of Digable Planets or Blackalicious and I’m set.
Anyway, I went through some oldies and realized one thing. I love Warren G. He’s rediculous. In every way, it’s absurd music, but it completely blows my mind. I laugh in total bliss, thinking “why am I so lucky to have such rad music like this?”
Anyway, here’s my fav. Just love it, and it will change your life. Hook it up to your veins if you have to get the full effect.
I’ll be listening to this today, you better believe it.
Nothing much else to say about this one. Pollock sings pure lullabye here, and it’s mesmerising. Although it’s already “so last year”, this song gives me chills.
I talked to my buddy Ben today. He moved out to Hawaii and it’s been ages. We worked together on a project I started, but ultimately we both had to go do other things. We always seemed to enjoy a lot of the same music though, and so it was a glorious reunion of sorts.
In passing conversation, Ben mentioned that he was checking out Mitzvah from time to time. Funny enough, I forget that people even read this. So.. Ben asks me what I’ve been listening to. I hesitated to answer anything big, since i’ve been busy and sticking with more of the classics than anything else.
Despite that, I have been sticking with a lot of Sondre Lerche, and so I told him I’d post up some Lerche for him to check out.
I fell in love with this guy’s music way back in ‘03 when I first heard “Sleep on Needles”. The sound is so charming, he landed the gig to do the music for “Dan in Real Life”. Anyway, there’s not much else I could say without just letting you listen. If you aren’t a Sondre Lerche fan already, I hope this pushes you over the edge.
Oh yeah, and if you plan on seeing Sondre any time soon, don’t. He’s Norwegian and does more shows abroad than here in the States. Decide how much of a fan you really are.
Sondre Lerche – Airport Taxi Reception (easily my favorite)
Sondre Lerche – Let My Love Open The Door
Sondre Lerche – Two Way Monologue
I love music nostalgia. It’s good as gold.
In the summer of 2003, I was dating a girl seriously. She was from Vegas and she lived there during the summer while our University was in it’s off-term period. Being a big romantic at the time, I loved making the trips out to her house and staying there for a few days at a time. I packed up things and stuffed my group of CD’s into the car that I would listen to on the way there.
At the time, it was a lot of Pete Yorn, The Anniversary, Spoon, Get up Kids, Early November, Hot Rod Circuit, Patrick Park, and a little Jack Johnson.
Anyway, so I heard about a show coming up in Salt Lake that made me wanna go. It’s a three band set in a real small venue. Limbeck, John Ralston, and New Frontiers. The music from these bands totally takes me back to those times. I went onto Rhapsody today and got a primer on some of the stuff. I want to go, and I’ll see what I can do to get up there. I’m not really into missing it.
It’s nice to have the old stuff get you pumped up for newer stuff. I love Limbeck already. Here are a couple of songs.
On the subject of Limbeck…. did anyone else get their hands on the album “Hey, Everything’s Fine”? It was an acoustic version of “Hi, Everything’s Great”. I had a few cuts from it awhile ago. I like it better than the original, and I can’t find it anymore. Sad… just sad.
Limbeck – Julia
John Ralston – Gone, Gone, Gone
 | martha on +++Brazos |
 | K on +++every once in awhile |
 | Kevin on ++ one more |
 | james on An Indie Wedding |
 | randy on I like music, it’s … |
