Brazos’ new album Phosphorescent Blues doesn’t release until Nov. 11, but this track is making it around already. Arguably one of the better tracks to surface over the last week, it reminds you a bit of the lyrical and melodic qualities of Dr. Dog without sounding like it quite the same. There’s something to be said for the repetitive and dreamy vocals that seem to entrancingly slur together.

Brazos – Day Glo

Spending a decent amount of time in my 20’s overseas, I’ve learned a critical fact about myself and travel. I’m primarily interested in the human experience. I don’t need to see castles, churches, or art museums. I just want to be around people.

When I was 12, I went to Greece. The trip was with my Aunt and Uncle. Uncle Tony, as we still call him, is very Greek. When we went, we did a lot of sightseeing. However, what I remember is spending time with his extended family at various Tavernas in Athens. It’s really the only thing that rests with me. Later in my teens, I went with a friend and his family to England and France. We stayed some of their British friends in Southampton. Our time was focused on the experience of culture.

The point is, I love people. I love being around people that are so different from me we are forced to talk about one another and learn. It’s one of the things I do best, love the most, and crave the most often.

This music has made it’s rounds on many times, but this video is a new one to me and it gets to me every time.

…because for reasons I don’t care to justify, I owe it to myself to think I’m cool and the Junior boys inexplicably help me achieve that.

Parallel Lines – Junior Boys

Passion Pit has an album coming up in May. It’s called “Manners”. The band comes from Europe, but I don’t know much else about them. They’ve been getting a lot of play with their single “The Reeling”. Not on my blog, today. Check out “Little Secret”.

Great single. Lots of good energy and makes me want to be out seeing bands and away from my computer. Not a bad feeling.

Passion Pit – Little Secret

It’s hard to stay ahead with all the music promotion that goes on over the Internet. The average person will not be able to do it. I listen to a lot of music while I do some of my work (when it is permitting to my productivity). Anyway, I get a lot of people who ask me where I find the bands that I do. I figured, why not let people know who want to know? Many will think it’s laborious, but if you love hearing new music it’s good times.

Elbows – Elbows was the first real music discovery site I came to know. It’s not as advanced as some other sites, but has things that still stand out to me. Namely the fact that a lot of the music that goes across elbows is still rock. You’ll see why that’s important.

Hype Machine – Hype Machine was once a better experience for me. The system is great. Listen to music on the fly, save favorites, link to their blogs, listen to their weekly radio show, etc… it’s all very impressive. The only problem is Hype Machine users are obsessed with techno and hip hop remixes. No, not just electronica…. I mean literally techno stuff. Yeah, I like a chunk of it but not all the time. Still, a lot of gems float up because good music is just good music. Worth browsing frequently.

Pitchfork – I have to be honest about Pitchfork. It’s good for hearing about new bands and that’s it. The problem with pitchfork is that it’s represented by that certain type of indie music lover that everyone hates. If a band that you like goes mainstream they will likely hate their next record. If they fall out of mainstream, they will like them again. If it’s new and unheard of, they’ll give it a serious shot to be the best record ever. If it sounds absolutely different, they’ll likely give it an instant win. It’s the way it goes. Forget if the record is just plain good, that’s just not enough for Pitchfork. They even try too hard in their writing. Their reviews feel less like communicating a point and evoking an understanding, and more like an early college level english paper that’s too heavy on the far-reaching metaphors and similes.

That being said, you’ll hear about lots of new bands and be able to access their music right there on the site. They also redesigned and, trust me, it was sorely needed.

Going to Shows – If you love music, you should be saving money to go to shows. The holy grail of band discovery, shows can plug you in to some great stuff. The only word of warning here; if you listen to already obscure bands then their opening bands are probably more obscure. Lock down any good musics while you can at the show. You may not see their stuff surface online.

Seeqpod – Seeqpod is great. Nobody telling you what’s this or that. Just listen to stuff you like. After you do a search, you can hit the discovery tab and hear similar music. It works out okay a lot of the time. You’ll find some stuff you’ve never heard.

iTunes – Again, there’s lots of music out there. You’ll never again be the most educated on music. There’s no reason to fight it. iTunes has great ways of discovering new music through Genius, browsing similar artists at the iTunes music store, and going through playlists put together by other users. You’ll find obscure stuff there too.

Pandora and Last.fm – Different beasts in so many ways, but both are online radio stations with a lot of great stuff. I even have an addon for my Firefox browser that lets my type a band in a search field and it just starts playing that station while I work. Very nice. I got into Loney, Dear a couple of years back. When I put the name in Last.fm I found about 10 bands that same day that I still listen to. Consequently, Scandanavian rock is alive and well.

SXSW – If you can appreciate South By Southwest, then you’re a music geek for sure. The reason I mention SXSW beyond other festivals is because they list all the bands on their site and even let you sample the music right there. Go there around SXSW season and you’ll see a ton of good stuff.

La Blogotheque – I read La Blogotheque for a few reasons. Because I speak French, because their video is excellent and should be watched, and because it’s well designed. Lots of good music too. Even if you don’t speak French, it’s worth clicking around until you find a good video and listening to some great bands.

There are lots of blogs and many more obscure ways to find good bands. These are just the most efficient because they aggregate a lot of that. Sure, if you find a blog that you particularly love then put it on your RSS reader and keep up with it. If you don’t have time to scour every blog out there, this is a good way too.

…here

Did that KKK guy just give that black guy 5? That’s fine, but why is he still wearing his outfit if he’s showing his interracial friendship. Come on KKK guy, don’t you know we hate racism?

This song is absolutely brilliant.

Follow the link…

WAR – Why Can’t We Be Friends?

And each song should be treated equally…

Fol Chen – Cable TV

David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Heers

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Come Saturday

Blitzen Trapper – Furr

The Smiths – Panic

Shugo Tokumaru – Button

The Thermals – Now We Can See

AC Newman – Miracle Drug

Jukebox the Ghost – Victoria

and a bonus video

You find a song that fits you so well you listen to it more than appropriate. For me, it’s a rare sensation. I’m going to enjoy it.

I first heard “Knock That Door” a few years ago and was massively impressed. I don’t know why some of this stuff falls by the wayside. Maybe it was really huge and I just never heard anyone talk about it.

Enon has dealt with a lot of steam, for better and worse. They’ve shuffled a few band mates to other projects since Believo! came out in 1999. I got into them after they picked up Toko Yasuda (vocals on Knock that Door) and after Believo!’s release. Since then, I went back and checked out what I missed. Their work may not be everyone’s taste, but they’re creative and I like that. It’s not enough anymore these days to just have an act, and Enon knows that.

Bottom line, bands like Enon that stick through thick and thin, maintain a style, and keep touring are worth a listen. They’re passionate musicians at heart and deliver for their fans over and over. They’re on play all day for me.

Enon – Knock that Door

Enon – Rubber Car

Enon – Conjugate The Verbs

Enon – Disposable Parts (video is a random by somebody… not official but the song is there)