Grand Lake: (another) lineup change + new dates

Grand Lake had recently replaced drummer Ryan Parks with John Pomeroy, and I am sad to report that Erika Pipkin, who was a charging force behind the keys, is no longer a part of the Oakland band. nevertheless, I am confident that we can expect great things from the trio, who are currently working on new material

shows:
Friday, July 10 @ Metamusic, Santa Cruz w/ The Libra and The Inscape
Saturday, July 11 @ Rooz, Oakland, (Mission Creek Music Festival - as Headliner)
Thursday, July 16 @ Sophia's Thai Kitchen, Davis w/ Geographer (KDVS Cool As Folk Presents)
Wednesday, July 22 @ The Stork Club, Oakland, w/ Seasick, and Dirt Dress (Los Angeles) Bobby California (Rad Cloud) DJ's

Grand Lake - Sandusky Sunset [mp3]

visit the band on MYSPACE

new tour: Frightened Rabbit

the fantastic Scottish band have teamed up with The Twilight Sad for another American venture. unfortunately for me, when they come to SF, I'll only have been twenty for a month, which means I'm still 11 months shy of being admitted to the Independent. damndamndamn.

07.17 – Hoboken, N.J. at Maxwells
07.18 – Brooklyn, N.Y. at Siren Festival
07.19 – Chicago, IL at Bottom Lounge w/ Headlights
07.19 – Chicago, IL at Pitchfork Festival
07.21 – Detroit, Mich. at Magic Stick
07.22 – Toronto, Ontario at Horseshoe Tavern
07.23 – Montreal, Quebec at Petit Campus
07.24 – Providence, R.I. at Jerky’s
07.25 – Northampton, Mass. at Iron Horse Music Hall
09.13 – Morrison, CO at Monolith Festival
09.14 – Salt Lake City, UT at Urban Lounge
09.15 – Boise, ID at Neurolux
09.16 – Seattle, WA at Neumo’s
09.17 – Portland, OR at Musicfest NW at Dante’s
09.18 – San Francisco, CA at The Independent
09.20 – Los Angeles, CA at Knitting Factory
09.22 – Tucson, AZ at Plush
09.24 – Austin, TX at The Mohawk
09.26 – Birmingham, AL at Bottletree
09.27 – Atlanta, GA at The Masquerade
09.28 – Tallahassee, FL at Club Downunder
09.29 – Orlando, FL at The Social

Frightened Rabbit - Poke (daytrotter) [mp3]

visit the band on MYSPACE

new song: The Cribs - We Were Aborted

with ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr as a part of their permanent lineup, The Cribs can only get better.

this song is louder and more powerful than a lot of their old work, and I'm quite excited about their forthcoming fourth studio album, entitled Ignore the Ignorant and set for a release on September 7th

The Cribs- We Were Aborted [mp3]

visit the British band on MYSPACE

Maroon 5: back in studio recording LP #3

they're in Switzerland, and lead singer Adam Levine says the new record will sound like the Maroon 5 which we have grown to love (which I'm assuming is the fantastic funk sound they honed on their second album).

“It’s us, just newer, better, fitter, happier, stronger. It’s going to be good.”

read more on RS

apparently, he recently did a cover of Sinatra's “The Way You Look Tonight.” I've gotta get my hands on that.

Maroon 5 - Woman [mp3]
from the soundtrack to Spiderman 2, and one of my favourite songs ever.

video: Death Cab for Cutie - "Little Bribes" on Conan O Brien

the band performed a stellar version of the opener of their latest EP, The Open Door, on Conan last night.

Death Cab for Cutie - Little Bribes (live, Conan) [mp3]

I am very, very excited about Saturday, when I'm seeing them AND Andrew Bird at Berkeley's Greek Theatre. Ra Ra Riot will also be playing.

The Strokes Post #137

I have a fantastic bootleg for you all today.

one of my readers has directed me to mp3s of a concert that took place at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville North Carolina in May of 2006.

I've noticed that the band has a tendency of beginning with "Ize of the World" in their 2006 concerts, which makes me incredibly happy (it makes me hopeful that the band loves the song as much as I do...then again, that probably isn't humanly possible). that song is one of the most underrated pieces of genius of the 21st century.

they even cover "Walk on the Wildside", which they have time and time again dishonestly promised never to repeat again, much to my amusement.

the concert sound quality is simply fantastic, so go ahead and download the first half below, and get listening. you can grab the rest tomorrow.

1. Intro (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

2. Ize of the World (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

3. The End Has No End (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

4. Red Light (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

5. Juicebox (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

6. The Modern Age (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

7. You Only Live Once (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

8. Last Nite (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

9. Take a Walk on the Wildside (Lou Reed cover) (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

10. Hard to Explain (live, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) [mp3]

new Arctic Monkeys song: "Crying Lightning"

our favourite boys from Sheffield have been playing the tune for a while at gigs but the proper studio version has finally surfaced!

Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning [mp3]
shivers. so damn good. I love what the band has progressed to.

Humbug drops on August 25th, and you can bet that the album will emanate this dark maturity that the Monkeys have been displaying as of late.

Patrick Wolf records a DAYTROTTER session

most excellent.

he played two songs off his latest, The Bachelor, and one off of his groundbreaking The Magic Position

Patrick Wolf - The Sun is Often Out (Daytrotter) [mp3]

head on over to read the article (which centers around his lack of enthusiasm for the hours of morn) and download the rest of the songs

Panic at the Disco loses half its members

it always comes as a shock to me when bands that start out as friends part ways. Ryan Ross (who played guitar and wrote the songs) and Jon Walker (who played bass, he was a few years older than the rest of the band) have left the band to pursue other musical endeavours.

as you may or may not know, their original bassist, Brent Wilson, was replaced by Jon after their first album was released.

this new bout of dissipation will definitely take a toll on the band's sound, which had evolved on their sophomore LP into Beatles-esque maturity.

I remember the good old days, when people thought I was making the band name up when I told them about Panic (back then, their name had an exclamation mark in it)...ah, yes, burning loads of copies of that first album in 2005...hot damn I haven't listened to that in ages.

the band had excellent chemistry on stage. this news is saddening.

Panic at the Disco - The Weight (The Band cover) [mp3]

The Strokes Post #136

Beck - Femme Fatale

I totally forgot to include this in this week's SMC, sorry guys!

Beck - Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground cover) [mp3]

Sunday Morning Covers

ZIP FILE

Stereophonics - Best Of You (Foo Fighters cover)
ace.

Snow Patrol - Crazy In Love (Beyonce cover)
just found this in my itunes. score.

Phantom Planet - Watching The Detectives (Elvis Costello cover)
the best thing about Phantom Planet was Jason Schwartzman...but they do fantastic covers

She & Him - Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths cover)
from 500 Days of Summer, a movie I've been waiting on for forever and a day

The Fray - Heartless (Kanye West Cover)
I don't like The Fray or Kanye but I really like this.

The Honorary Title - No One (Alicia Keys cover)
a good song got better

Jake Shimabukuro - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles cover)
this is wicked sweet. this guy's on ukelele.

Delta Spirit - Peace In The Valley (Dawes cover)
love love love everything this band does

Guillemots - Take Me Out (Franz Ferdinand cover)
a cool rendition of a classic. yes, I consider Franz's first album a classic now.

The Strokes Post #135

17- The Strokes - Last Nite (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

18- The Strokes - Interlude (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

19 - The Strokes - The Modern Age (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

20 - The Strokes - Between Love and Hate (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

21 - The Strokes - Meet me in the Bathroom (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

ZIP FILE

The Dead Weather: listening parties + From the Basement video

the debut album, Horehound, drops on the 14th, here's a list of places you can go to celebrate:

July 6: Comet Tavern in Seattle, WA @ 7pm
July 8: Les Boom at Numbers in Houston, TX @ 10pm
July 9: Thursdays at Thom Bar in New York, NY @ 10pm
July 10: Obscura at The Ruby Room in Phoenix, AZ @ 9pm
July 10: Lipgloss at La Rumba in Denver, CO @ 9pm
July 11: Clampdown at The Ravari Room in Columbus, OH @ 9pm
July 11: London Calling at The Stable Loft in St. Louis, MO @ 9pm
July 11: Shake at Rogue Bar in Phoenix, AZ @ 9pm
July 11: Eclipse in Jacksonville, FL @ 10pm
July 11: Crashin' In at Stanton Public in New York, NY @ 10pm
July 12: Burn at The Castle in Tampa, FL @ 9pm
July 14: Sonic at Beauty Bar in Los Angeles, CA @ 10pm
July 14: Lipstick! at Old Ironsides in Sacramento, CA @ 9pm
July 14: Propaganda in West Palm Beach, FL @ 9pm
July 14: Trainwreck at Angels & Kings in New York, NY @ 10pm
July 15: Transmission at Clubhouse Jager in Minneapolis, MN @ 10pm
July 16: Popscene at 330 Ritch Street in San Francisco, CA @ 10pm
July 18: Bang! at The Ruby in Los Angeles, CA @ 10pm
July 18: Tiswas at Donhills in New York, NY @ 10pm
July 27: Panic at Darkroom in Chicago, IL @ 9pm

here's a link to the From the Basement performance. I'd recommend checking it out.

Saturday Music Definitions: America

I love this country. Happy Independence Day everyone!

The Libertines - Radio America [mp3]

Jack's Mannequin - American Love [mp3]

Simon & Garfunkel - America [mp3]

Razorlight - America [mp3]

Frank Sinatra - America The Beautiful [mp3]

Band of the Week: Ben Sollee

it slipped my mind to do this post yesterday, sorry guys.


Ben Sollee is a Kentucky based songwriter who plays cello and weaves beautiful songs with subjects ranging from the desperation for honesty in politics to personal accounts of love for his family. He is incredibly talented and gained much recognition last summer, mostly due to his spectacular cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”. Ben’s live shows are interesting and highly improvisational, and he keeps things fresh by reinventing his songs each time he takes the stage. His debut album Learning to Bend is a delight from start to finish, one of my all time favourites.

The soft-spoken Ben recently embarked on a 330 mile bike ride from Lexington to Bonnarroo (toting his cello around with him), playing small towns while trying to raise awareness for the charitable organization OXFAM America.


Ben Sollee - A Change is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke cover) [mp3]

Ben Sollee - Prettiest Tree on the Mountain [mp3]

visit Ben on MYSPACE

The Strokes Post #134

12- The Strokes - Trying Your Luck (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

13- The Strokes - Interlude (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

14 - The Strokes - The Modern Age (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]



16 - The Strokes - Hard to Explain (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

epic collaboration: Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, John Paul Jones

they're making an album.

The Strokes Post #133

06- The Strokes - Someday (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

07- The Strokes - Soma (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

08- The Strokes - Take It Or Leave It (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

09- The Strokes - Interlude (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

10- The Strokes - Trying Your Luck (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

11- The Strokes - NYC Cops (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

video: Franz Ferdinand - Can't Stop Feeling

I love it. it reminds me of my favourite scene from Down With Love.

The Strokes Post #132

I've recently acquired the entire Mtv $2 bill concert series (02/02/02), so I've uploaded it to YOUTUBE

here are the mp3s (requested by one of my readers), to be split into four posts

01- When it Started (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

02- Is This It (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

03 - New York City Cops (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

04 - Alone, Together (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

05 - Barely Legal (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

06 - Someday (Mtv $2 bill) [mp3]

The Strokes Post #131

The Strokes - You Only Live Once on SNL [video]

amazing! and I love the little victory dance Fab does at the end

I'm still on the lookout for the Juicebox video. if anyone has any info on that, please let me know!