shine on.

Teen heart throbs, and overall swell guys, Apollo Sunshine are out west spreading their infectious freakness. Those smug bastards of San Fran who saw them play the other night with Cold War Kids are indeed the objects of my envy. Now a trio again, and fresh off their annointment as "Best New Band" by the Boston Phoenix, an Apollo live show ain't to be taken lightly. As a witness to the epic Thursday night Harp sessions of 2005, all I could advise you to do is wear garters because the chance of your socks being knocked off is inexplicably high.

Tour info here.

Apollo Sunshine - Phoney Maroney
Apollo Sunshine - Ghost
Apollo Sunshine - I Was On The Moon

best part of wakin' up.

Does anyone else feel like their days are affected by the first thing they listen to en route to work? I've been noticing it alot lately. It's an odd phenomenon, letting your ipod dictate the fate of your day, but it's become increasingly true for me.

Mr. Pod randomly decided it would be an Animal Collective day yesterday, and for that, I think him/her/it. I think it's their catchiest, and best off the new album Feels. My students had to ask me to stop whistling it several times throughout the day. Not because I'm a bad whistler, but because they're autistic and hate noise.
Animal Collective - Turn Into Something

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus. Life is out of balance and I'm trying to even the scales. Liars live review later tonight, perhaps.

it seems like all our friends have gone

I'm teeming with giddiness in anticipation for the Liars show at the Paradise tonight in the Bean. It's been a solid 4 months now since Drum's Not Dead has been a constant on the ipod, and I still can't get enough. How it transpires live is what I'm most curious about. My experience with bands that heavily rely on looping is shoddy in a live setting for the most part, but for some reason I'm thinking that tonight will be quite the exception.

I have an extra ticket if anyone is in the Boston area and wants it for 12 bones. Holla.

Liars - Hold You, Drum
Liars - Drum Gets a Glimpse

Brookland/Oaklyn

I had no idea who Tarsier was prior to her collabo with Alias, and had only read about their joint project on the Anticon website. What began as a long distance exchange of ideas (Alias is in Oakland, Tarsier in Brooklyn) morphed into the exchange of concrete vocal and instrumental tracks. The result is a rather beautiful, Bjork-eque soundscape, heavy on synth layers and sporadic live instrumentaion. Speaking of the Icelandic princess, I'd go out on a limb and say that if you are a fan of Mrs. Matthew Barney, you'd probably dig Tarsier's voice. Her style and timbre is strikingly similar. As with most Anticon releases, it's chock full of guests.
Snag yourself one here.

Alias and Tarsier - Cub
Alias and Tarsier - Rising Sun
Alias and Tarsier - Plane That Draws a White Line

Liars at the Paradise on Friday night. I'll be the one with the ear to ear grin on his face for the duration of the evening. Give me a pound.

Sam Champion

Sam Champion isn't new, but they are to you. I've known Noah Chernin is a rock god and Ryan Thorton is a monster behind a drum kit from my days as a RANA groupie. It's so nice to see Noah rocking on his own, and not just rocking a tambourine during a RANA song. Pump ya fists to this.
Sam Champion - All of Our Tomorrows

You dig?

Happy Father's Day

My old man has good taste in music. It could have been easy to feed me a steady diet of Tears for Fears and Huey Lewis and the News, but my dear old dad always insisted I be raised on Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, and Lou Reed. I know exactly where my musical snobbery stems from, and for that I am greatly indebted to him. One of my fondest childhood memories was when he bought his first CD player and let me jump on his bed bangin' "Rock Lobster" out of his Klipsch speakers.

Life's not as easy nowadays, but that's not to say that we all can't forget about our troubles and blast Rock Lobster, evoking simpler times.


There was a request for some Richard Thompson, and I know my daddy would appreciate it on Father's Day.
Richard Thompson - When I Get To The Border
Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Richard Thompson - Beeswing


I know it's been all over the place, but the eMusic Pitchfork compilation is totally worth the download.

Jim O'Rourke

Mr. O'Rourke has long been one of my faves as both a producer and fake member of Sonic Youth. I feel his solo work is far short on the props it deserves. Plus, I saw Grizzly Man last night and he and Richard Thompson wrote and performed all the music for the film. I recommend if you are a bearophile like myself. ANYWAY, I hope you enjoy these three tracks as much as I do. And save the bears.
Jim O'Rourke - Get a Room
Jim O'Rourke - Halfway to a Threeway
Jim O'Rourke - Please Patronize Our Sponsors

Sonic Youth on NPR tonight, speaking of. Live from DC.

Instrumental Wednesdays

Listening to this song on a train leaving New Delhi, on a several mile long stretch of shanty towns, served as one of the more powerful moments of my life thusfar. The sights and sounds of 20 or so minutes of my train ride touched me like nothing else. The sensory/emotional overload was viscerally overwhelming and certainly something I'll never forget. Ever. Any of you ever share something similar? This song is as beautiful as it is terrifying. Much like life, sometimes.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - (untitled 1) (From Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada EP)
Another Bad Plus interpretation of one of my favorite songs. It's still amazing to me what a piano trio is able to churn out. See them live, if ever the chance.
The Bad Plus - Flim (Aphex Twin Cover)

Out.

like prefontaine, but decidedly more "rocking"

The Joggers sound more like Modest Mouse then, well, the last Modest Mouse album. With a Cape and a Cane plays like Lonesome Crowded West, in the sense that it's great start to finish. They also perpetuate the indie-rock "must have at least one guy with a beard" corollary, which I wholeheartedly support.

I like my hook-laden rock from the Pacific Northwest.
The Joggers - White Madam
The Joggers - Wicked Light Sleeper

why don't you leave a comment? yeah, you.

Apollo Up!

From Nashville, so you know it gotsta be the jam!
Coming to your town, if you reside in the Midwestern sector of this fine country.

Apollo Up! - Walking the Plank
Apollo Up! - Invisible Syllable

Their newest full length, Chariots of Fire, is out this month.
I'm diggin' it.

Jamie Lidell

To pit an older Jamie Lidell solo album against his newest, Multiply, is akin to picturing Squarepusher putting out an album that sounds like Antony's "I am a Bird Now". I'm sure there is an explanation, but I haven't stumbled upon it. Either way, the whiteboy-soul route he's gone works well, and he's crafted a great summer album. Prince, he ain't, but my British homeboy does indeed have soul. Some would even say, by the pound.
Touring with Beck this summer...

Jamie Lidell - Multiply
Jamie Lidell - What is it This Time?
Jamie Lidell - What's the Use?

Instrumental Wednesdays

A taste of the subcontinent and something that is far too nasty for a home.

Bill Laswell and Karsh Kale teamed up for this project a few years back. As with any Laswell collabo, well, it's as sick as it gets. After living in India for long enough to appreciate a master tabla player, this stuff is the real deal. Mr. Las has long been one of my favorite bass players, and tracks like this remind me why.
Tabla Beat Science - Sacred Dub

And this? Post-rock doesn't do it justice. Saw them open for Prefuse 73 in Northampton last year and almost had to be peeled off the ceiling. Go here. Now.
Battles - B+T

666

and what a day it was! i didn't get the memo soon enough, but today all of america was implored to stay home from work and listen to SLAYER all effin' day long. now THAT's a cause i can rally around. this is the 13 year old in me talking, mind you.
check this shit out, in all it's metal glory.

www.nationaldayofslayer.org



"The objective of this day is for everyone within earshot to understand that it is the National Day of Slayer. National holidays in America aren't just about celebrating; they're about forcing it upon non-participants."

Amen to that!!!

something wicked this way comes....
Slayer - Raining Blood

Radiohead 6/4/06

1. There There
2. 2+2=5
3. Lucky
4. 15 Step
5. Arpeggi
6. Kid A
7. Dollars & Cents
8. National Anthem
9. Nude
10. Videotape
11. Paranoid Android
12. Spooks
13. The Gloaming
14. House of Cards
15. Idioteque
16. Bangers 'n' Mash
17. How To Disappear Completely
Encore
18. Airbag
19. Street Spirit (fade out)
20. Bodysnatchers
21. Everything In Its Right Place
Encore
22. 4 Minute Warning
23. My Iron Lung
24. Karma Police

I'll admit it. I felt like a little kid clamoring in anticipation for this one. Those feelings were ubiquitous among the thousands cramming into the big white tent on the Boston waterfront, judging by the crowd's electricity throughout the evening.
The new material held it's weight when stacked against the old-schoolers that the band plodded through. Particularly tasty was Bangers n' Mash, which found Thom on a mini-drum kit while singing. I was surprised by the stripped down approach they seem to be employing for the next full length. Most of the new songs seemed like they would be perfectly OK on OK Computer. Not necessarily a bad thing when you know what to expect from Thom's solo joint.
One thing is for sure, Radioheadhead's are a intense breed of people. Equal parts aging hipsters, teeners, frat dudes, and everyone in between, these people came to get rowdy and lap up every second of their favorite band in the world.
Judging by Thom's banter, and the band's body language, the appreciation was enitirely reciprocal.

Highlights: There There opener was HUGE. My favorite of the evening. Idioteque was predictably loud and intense. How to Disappear Completely was eerily gorgeous, and slightly extended. Street Spirit (Fade Out) was the best of the Bends fare.

The stage/backdrop was amazing (see above Kristy photo). As if anyone needed their attention kept by pretty lights and frighteningly filtered live video feeds of the band.

good night. real good night.
Radiohead - How to Disappear Completely
Radiohead - The Gloaming
Radiohead - There There

thom yorke

tonight's the night in boston folks. judging by the setlists we're in for a great night, regardless of the weather in the northeast.

SO...the eraser. say what you want about leaks, but when a long awaited solo album from the frontman of one of my favorite bands squeaks through, i'm all over it.
and i'm glad that i was, because it is amazing.
and yes, of course i will buy it when it hits shelves.

you're welcome...
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Thom Yorke - Atoms for Peace
Thom Yorke - And it Rained All Night

black keys

Certain genres of music lend themselves to be played more frequently in different seasons, and my favorite season for music is the mutha-effin' summatime! For some reason, bad ass blues played loudly with the windows down in the Subaru just oozes with summer fun. Not that anyone who saw me in my Subaru bangin' blues out of the two speakers that actually emit sound would ever think to themselves "now THAT, is badass". Either way...get bluesy. Some Black Keys for you.
Girl Is On My Mind
If You See Me
The Lengths

just got my illegal little hands on the eraser. so far so good. i'll keep you posted.