Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Strokes Post #114


I was looking through old journals and came across something my younger brother said about my favourite band:

"It should be illegal to listen to The Strokes. They’re too amazing."

timeless wisdom from a 15 year old kid. genius.

Friday, June 12, 2009

artist to watch: Thomas J Speight


Thomas James Speight hails from the UK, but instead of being another Brit-pop artist or jumping on the electronica bandwagon, he relies on the appeal of minimalist song writing, much in the vein of our very own Ryan Adams. His songs are simple and pretty, primarily driven by his acoustic guitar and delicate vocals, with the occasional harmonica here and there. The songs remind me of the soundtrack to Once, the 2007 movie starring the lead singer of The Frames, Glen Hansard.

Speight’s gentle songs sound like they were written in the intimate settings of a bedroom, turning on old journal entries and photographs to supply inspiration. His music can give you much needed respite from the tiring frenzy that is rock music, and allow you to simply reflect on life and maybe enjoy a cup of tea.

His singles won’t be out until September, but I have an mp3 to share with you all in the mean time

Thomas J Speight – This House [mp3]

visit him on MYSPACE

Black Lips and Dinosaur Jr visit DAYTROTTER

check out the articles and free mp3s!



Black Lips on DAYTROTTER



Dinosaur Jr on DAYTROTTER

band of the week: Audrye Sessions


for fans of: Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Muse

Last Saturday, I went to a music festival called BFD that a SF radio station (live 105.3) puts on every year. I had a great time, but forgot to bring my camera, so I couldn't snag any photos or videos. Suffice to say that it was awesome. I checked out some local bands on the local stage, but was super happy to see Audrye Sessions on the Bud Light Festival stage, a step up from their previous BFD performances.

Their (too short) set was spectacular, and my younger brother now loves them. This is why I take him to rock shows, to expose him to good, good music. The poor sap goes to school with kids who listen to 3OH!3 and Chris Brown.

Anyhow, Audrye Sessions are my favourite local band, hailing from Oakland. They combine intricate songwriting with spectacularly gripping live shows. They've been on tour for forever and a day in support of their fantastic self-titled debut album (issued by Black Seal records, Albert Hammond Jr's label), and they're not stopping anytime soon.

The hardworking band is composed of

Ryan Karazija- Vocals/Guitar
Alicia Marie Campbell- Bass
Michael Knox- Guitar
James Leste- Drums

They also tour with various violinists and cellists, and the three times I saw them perform, their friend Dustin manned the trumpet.

Audrye Sessions may sound like something you’ve heard before: the siren guitars in “Paper Face” sound like Yellowcard’s “Way Away” and “New Year’s Day” evokes Parachutes-era Coldplay, but the album nevertheless manages to sound fresh, not to mention vastly superior to either of those bands. Although the songs don’t flow in a conventional way, the songs’ ordering is perfect. The band has a knack of creating incredible aural equilibrium. The lyrics tell a million stories, and lead singer Ryan even throws in a Beatles tribute in “Where You’ll Find Me” when he sings “it’s just the walrus and me”.

The band has even caught Rolling Stone's eye, and they were featured as a "breaking" band. Check that out HERE

I highly recommend checking them out, this band is going to get big, I know it.

Audrye Sessions - Turn Me Off [mp3]

Audrye Sessions - Where You'll Find Me [mp3]

visit them on MYSPACE

here are some more tour dates:

Jul 2 Summerfest Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jul 4 80/35 Festival @ Western Gateway Park Des Moines, Iowa
Jul 6 Southgate w/Paper Route Newport, Kentucky
Jul 7 The Garden Bowl @ Magic Stick w/Paper Route Detroit, Michigan
Jul 8 Grog Shop w/Paper Route Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Jul 9 The Basement w/Paper Route Columbus, Ohio
Jul 11 Jerky’s Live Music Hall w/ Paper Route Providence, Rhode Island
Jul 12 Middle East Upstairs w/Paper Route Boston, Massachusetts
Jul 14 Mercury Lounge w/Paper Route New York, New York
Jul 15 Dc9 w/Paper Route Washington, Washington DC
Jul 16 Maxwells w/Paper Route Hoboken, New Jersey
Jul 17 Kungfu Necktie w/Paper Route Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jul 18 Eleanor Rigby’s w/ Paper Route Jermyn, Pennsylvania
Jul 19 Garfield Artworks w/Paper Route Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jul 21 The Intersection- Front Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jul 22 Schubas w/Paper Route Chicago, Illinois
Jul 23 Firebird w/Paper Route St. Louis, Missouri
Jul 24 Mojos w/Paper Route Columbia, Missouri
Jul 25 Box Awesome w/Paper Route Lincoln, Nebraska
Jul 26 Marquis Theatre w/Paper Route Denver, Colorado
Jul 27 Club Vegas w/Paper Route Salt Lake City, Utah
Jul 31 Hawthorne Theater w/The Script Portland, Oregon
Sep 7 Bumbershoot Seattle, Washington

The Strokes Post #113 (super awesome super rare bootleg!)


WARNING: THE FOLLOWING AUDIO IS SUPER AWESOME AND MAY CAUSE OVER-STIMULATION. CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE YOU DOWNLOAD THESE SONGS.

my reader K. and I have been hunting for this concert, The Strokes in Australia in July 2001.

the blogger wouldn't reupload it but I bothered enough people to finally get a hold of the thing.

Keith at the IndieLimerick blog was kind enough to reupload the concert and send it to me, so head on over to his site and say thanks, or just check it out, it's a great blog

anyhow, this concert was before Is This It was released, and they play the first nine tracks off the UK version IN SUCCESSION and it's freaking amazing. I've fantastized about hearing them play an album in full in concert, and this is the closest thing I've ever come to that.

I need you all to hear it immediately, so without further ado, here you are

download the entire thing HERE

or, song by song, below:

1. The Strokes - Intro (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]


2. The Strokes - Is This It (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]

3. The Strokes - The Modern Age (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]

4. The Strokes - Soma (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]


5. The Strokes - Barely Legal (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]

6. The Strokes - Someday (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]

7. The Strokes - Alone, Together (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]

8. The Strokes - Last Nite (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]


9. The Strokes - Hard to Explain (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]

10. The Strokes - New York City Cops (Live at the Laundry, Melbourne 2001) [mp3]

enjoy!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Dead Weather - free online broadcast in two weeks


the band will perform live on FROM THE BASEMENT June 22nd at 9pm. I'll remind you guys the day before.

The Dead Weather - No Hassle Night (Live At Bowery Ballroom)[mp3]

The Dead Weather - I Cut Like A Buffalo (Live At Bowery Ballroom)[mp3]
Jack singing lead vocals, and it's fantastic. Mr. White said that he's obsessed with this song, and it's getting under my skin too.

The Dead Weather - Hang You By The Heavens (Live At Bowery Ballroom)[mp3]

The Dead Weather - 60 Feet Tall (Live At Bowery Ballroom)[mp3]

blink-182/weezer @ shoreline PRESALE PASSWORD

PRESALE BEGINS: Friday, June 12th from 10am -10pm
password: reunion
tickets can be purchases HERE

I'm still debating whether or not I want to go to this show. probably not, but I haven't ruled out the possibility completely

The Strokes Post #112

entire concert: RAR file

the third and final installment of the Alexandra Palace concert

download part one HERE and part two HERE

11. The Strokes - The End Has No End (live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]

12. The Strokes - Automatic Stop (live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]

13. The Strokes - Soma (live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]

14. The Strokes - Take It Or Leave It (live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]


15. The Strokes - I Can't Win(live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]

enjoy!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Arctic Monkeys name their third LP

it's called Humbug, and will see an August 25th release in the US; UK bastards get it a day early.

now we need album art, lads!

once again, here's the track listing:

01. My Propeller
02. Crying Lightning
03. Dangerous Animals
04. Secret Door
05. Potion Approaching
06. Fire & The Thud
07. Cornerstone
08. Dance Little Liar
09. Pretty Visitors
10. The Jeweller's Hands

Jack White to release solo album

holy fuck. now he's just mocking us for not being as brilliant as he is.

thanks to Stereogum for the tip

here's a fantastic video of Jack White and The Strokes performing NYC Cops


back in the good ol' days when he didn't have three bands and a solo project in mind...

The Strokes Post #110


last night, I was having a conversation with my younger brother about the next Strokes tour, and I voiced my concern that they wouldn't play much off Room on Fire. even with their 2006 tour, it was mainly the singles "12:51", "Reptilia", and "The End Has No End" that got played. It made sense, as they were supporting First Impressions of Earth and they knew that their fans just adored Is This It. But I feel like Room on Fire will get left out of the loop again this time around. I dunno, Julian always just seemed a lot happier with how their third album turned out, and I hope he doesn't forsake Room on Fire completely because both my younger brother and I are dying to hear "Under Control" live. that, and I wouldn't mind "I Can't Win" and "Between Love and Hate". ah, they're all such fantastic songs

anyhow, the point of that paragraph was to preface the following live show (which I will break up into three Strokes posts). It's at a place called Alexandra Palace in 2003, so it has a nice helping of songs from Room on Fire. and the sound quality is absolutely amazing (by which I mean both the technology and the freaking band sound incredible)
they played 8/11 songs from Room on Fire and 7/11 from Is This It...great set list.

1. The Strokes - Reptilia (live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]


2. The Strokes - Under Control (live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]


3. The Strokes - What Ever Happened (live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]

4. The Strokes - Alone, Together (live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]

5. The Strokes - The Modern Age (live Alexandra Palace 05 December 2003) [mp3]

this makes me incredibly depressed, as I was listening to really shitty hip hip in 2003 instead of The Strokes...if only I could have wised up sooner...

Monday, June 8, 2009

The Strokes Post #109

I can never get through this version of Trying Your Luck without tearing up a bit...well, really, any version of Trying Your Luck. this song is simply heartbreaking and perfect in every way imaginable.

The Strokes - Trying Your Luck (live, Los Angeles, February 2002) [mp3]

record review: Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane & Sugarcane



There’s a popular idiom in American society that tends to come up in conversations about music: “I listen to everything, well, except for country music”. As a lover of rock n roll, the only times I tread into country territory is if I’m spinning some Allman Brothers, Johnny Cash or Ryan Adams, and none of these artists can be described as purely “country”. No, I don’t listen to Tim McGraw or Taylor Swift. That type of music just doesn’t strike me as particularly poignant, but maybe that’s just because I’m from California and come from a Middle Eastern background.

Regardless, when I heard that Elvis Costello’s new album— Secret, Profane & Sugarcane was a project which the English singer embarked upon in Alabama with nothing but an acoustic guitar, I was intrigued. Elvis Costello is one of my favourite recording artists of all time, and I consider the man nothing less than a genius. I own all of his albums from his debut My Aim is True (1977) until 1986’s Blood and Chocolate, plus a couple of compilation albums and his recent collaboration with Allen Toussaint, The River in Reverse. Anyhow, less about my record collection and more about his latest effort.

If I’m going to be completely honest, it’s actually quite terrible. Even though I don’t know too much about country music, I know enough to discern that right now, we don’t need a prolific British songwriter contributing to the genre. The album is completely forced, as if Costello is trying to prove a point, that he can do anything in any genre and it’ll be a work of genius. The problem is, he kind of accomplishes the opposite, and what we are left with is fifty minutes of unbearable mess.

It was actually kind of painful to listen to, and when I tried to give it a second go, I just couldn’t get past the fourth song, “My All Time Doll”, which incidentally, is the least atrocious of the bunch. I don’t know what inspired Mr. Costello to make music in Alabama with Jim Lauderdale, but the only good thing about the whole fiasco is that he probably got it out of his system. We can only hope.

1.5/5

you can stream some of it on his WEBSITE, but I wouldn’t recommend it…you might get a better listening experience out of hearing the crow on his album art sing...

Sunday, June 7, 2009

The Strokes Post #108

The Strokes - Is This It (live, Oxegen) [mp3]



epic. I'd honestly trade everything I own (except for my Strokes records) to have been at the Oxegen festival. it's not fair that I don't live in Ireland.

Sunday Morning Covers


Wilco - Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson cover) [mp3]
Wilco are not as bad as I thought they were. I've been spinning disc one of Being There over and over, in a few days I'll be ready to move onto disc two.

Iron and Wine - Such Great Heights (Postal Service cover) [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]
this is one of my favourite covers of all time

Devendra Banhart - Fistful of Love (Antony and the Johnsons cover) [mp3]
this might sound like a disastrous proposition, but it turned out really well.

The Black Keys - She Said, She Said (The Beatles cover) [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]
I think this is my favourite Beatles cover, it's so great

David Bazan - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover) [mp3]
this guy was lead singer of Pedro the Lion. I really love the end of this song

Lissy Trullie - Ready For The Floor (Hot Chip cover) [mp3]

there's an mp3 of Lily Allen's cover of "Straight to Hell" floating around the internet [it's off of this charity compilation album], and it sucks. this is much better.

Matt Pond PA - Champagne Supernova (Oasis cover) [mp3]

a great (and underrated) band covering my second favourite song by the Gallaghers et al

Editors - Road To Nowhere (Talking Heads cover) [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]

this is fantastic.

BONUS:
Muse - Can't Take My Eyes Off You (Frankie Vali cover) [mp3]
this is probably the most popular cover I've ever posted (based on the 1000+ downloads of the damn thing), so here's a repost for anyone who hasn't heard it yet