must watch video: The Hives - Genepool Convulsions

I was listening to some of my 45s and came across a Hives single with this b-side:



I love The Hives, and their b-sides are, as Pelle says, superior to most band's a-sides.

Saturday Music Definitions: Holiday

[in the British sense of the word (vacation)...not Christmas]

The Walkmen - Seven Years of Holidays (for Stretch) [mp3]

Albert Hammond Jr - Holiday [mp3]

The Subways - Holiday [mp3]

The Sex Pistols - Holidays in the Sun (live) [mp3]

The Who - Tommy's Holiday Camp [mp3]

The Strokes Post #168

"once that your music was born, it followed you 'round. it gave your activities meaning and let you be loud"

new interview with Julian Casablancas!

I love the internet.
I love that today, I got email notifications from youtube, Jules' website, and a bunch of my readers informing me of this:



most of all, I love Julian Casablancas. he is my favourite person in the entire universe. and he listens to BEIRUT!

this solo album is gonna be fucking epic.

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young (preview) [mp3]

Band of the Week: Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor was classically trained and is well read. That essentially sums up why I love her. Her music blends beautiful arrangements with interesting lyrics that cannot be matched in today's world of music. Her piano playing is oddly haunting, and some of her songs could be mistaken for things meant to accompany silent films. She's kind of like a female Ben Folds--ridiculously talented at keys and always has a grin on her face. Her early work is more jazzy, but she constantly pushes the pedal with her songwriting, which is always innovative and fresh. I could listen to her forever.

She is based in NYC and is currently touring in support of her latest release, Far.

Here's the first track from her first album, 11:11

Regina Spektor - Love Affair [mp3]







visit Regina on MYSPACE

BONUS:

The Strokes Post #167

I just realized that the link to "The Modern Age" in the first post accidentally linked to "Red Light". it's been fixed, if you guys want to download "The Modern Age", go ahead and do so.

here's part 3/3

15. Barely Legal
16. Ask Me Anything
17. Vision of Division
18. Reptilia
19. Someday
20. NYC Cops
21. Take It Or Leave It

ZIP FILE (entire concert)

Happy Birthday Elliott

this man is 20 years and 3 days older than I am, but his talent has surpassed anything I'll ever do.

RIP.

The Strokes Post #166

The Strokes, Live in Houston, March 2006

part 2/3

8. Alone, Together
9. Electricityscape
10. Last Nite
11. Hard to Explain
12. 12:51
13. Ize of the World
14. Trying Your Luck

video: Arctic Monkeys on Jimmy Fallon

the band performed "Crying Lightning", and it was crisp and reeking of excellence.



Humbug is really growing on me--more than I thought it would. I even like it more than FWN now, even though "The Bad Thing" has got to be one of my favourite songs ever. in general, Humbug has less filler than FWN. also, it is irresistibly sexy.

Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning (live, on Jimmy Fallon) [mp3]

PS I hate it when stupid late night show hosts mock me by holding vinyl copies of albums I really love before they're officially released.

PPS I've watched this video like five times in a row now.

PPPS if I looked as cool as Matt, I'd get laid a lot more.

The Strokes Post #165

The Strokes, Live in Houston, 2006

part 1/3

1. You Only Live Once
2. The Modern Age
3. Red Light
4. Heart in a Cage
5. The End Has No End
6. Juicebox
7. Razorblade

must watch videos: Henry Clay People on LaundroMatinee

you may or may not remember my ramble about this band, they are positively spectacular and fun.

this session was recorded via MOKB. it's really cool. well worth checking out.

Craig "Dodge" Lile from MyOldKentuckyBlog.com, with help from the incredibly talented Jeff DuPont (audio) , Doug Fellegy (video), Tim Wilsbach (video) and Nate Karamanski (video), has created laundromatinee.com - a site that features the in-studio sessions MOKB records for its SIRIUS XM Blog Radio show (Tuesdays at Noon EST on SIRIUS 26/XM 43.

Hypernova

the weirdest thing just happened...I came across a band that I never thought would gain any recognition.

I was browsing the Atlantic's website and found this.

a couple of years ago, I went to Blake's in Berkeley to see these guys. I was originally supposed to go with a friend of mine who liked the band but ended up calling someone else, as my friend came down with a bad flu. neither of us knew the band, but we both enjoyed the set a lot.

Persian rock bands aren't a dime a dozen, after all. there even have been songs written about how sparse pop music is in Iran.

anyhow, I never followed up with the band, but they're sounding great. I might just go a-scouring for their music later.

visit them on MYSPACE. one of them even has Jimmy Page-like locks goin' on.

Beck - Venus in Furs

as promised, I'm posting this song. I just only got a hold of it. enjoy!

Beck - Venus in Furs (The Velvet Underground cover) [mp3]

PS I recently watched I Shot Andy Warhol, and it made me want to have lived in NY in the 60's even more than usual. good movie. John Cale did the score.

The Strokes Post #164

"I'm gonna shit on your floor" hahahhaa.

The Strokes Post #163

[from a RS article]

"I just wanted to write music that could touch people," he says. "A songwriter -- you play a few chords and sing a melody that's been done a thousand times, and now you're a singer-songwriter. I think it takes a little more than that to do something that matters. And I wish I could write a song where all the parts work. When you hear a song like that, it's like finding a new friend. Maybe you've been fucking alone and looking for someone, and when you find them, it's like everything seems better. I feel like sometimes great artists -- it won't politically affect anything, but it can make a crack in the ceiling and you can see a bit of light. You don't know what's gonna come, but you try. I think eighty-five percent of the fun is just going for it. And not going for it for your own gratification, but making personal sacrifices to do it right." Suddenly self-conscious about having waxed philosophical, he looks me in the eyes and laughs. "Or not."

REPOST: climbing the narrow stairs.

fuck you DMCA. I specifically posted a live mp3. fucking aye, I recorded that video and extracted the mp3 from it myself. why do you have to take down my post?

assholes.

"how i wish you could see
the potential of you and me
it's like a book,
elegantly bound, but in a language that you can't read"

it's amazing how a simple thing like liner notes will change how you perceive an album. I first listened to Narrow Stairs ages ago, I had downloaded it and was listening to it as I did some reading for school. I liked it, but nothing stuck out. it was no Transatlanticism.

I later listened to it more diligently in the days preceding the glorious concert, during which I heard most of the songs from Narrow Stairs performed live. I liked them a lot. but something was still missing.

today, I went to a record store and picked up a handful of goodies, including Death Cab's latest LP. I'm listening to it right now, as I read the liner notes. 

the lyrics at the top of the post struck me, HARD. they are the opening lyrics to a single, called "I Will Possess Your Heart". even though I'd heard the song a dozen times, I never heard those lyrics (probably because four minutes of gorgeous instrumentals precede them). 

but still, those are some of the most beautiful words I've ever read. and I was a freaking lit major in college.

I'm appreciating Narrow Stairs a lot more now.

I have this theory, that having a physical copy of an album can allow you to connect with it in a way that mp3 downloads will never match. my experiences with Narrow Stairs tonight only cement this.

so I implore you,

spend a little more time with vinyl or cds. read liner notes. know who wrote what songs and where the thing was recorded. all four members of Death Cab for Cutie contributed to "I Will Possess Your Heart". 

and remember, most of our favourite musicians are fucking poets. let's appreciate the written word. it'll give you satisfaction that itunes will never be able to match. 

I've never in my life purchased an mp3, and I don't ever plan on doing so. mp3s are for sampling. records are for keeps.

The Strokes Post #162

Sunday Morning Covers

ZIP FILE

The Last Shadow Puppets - SOS (Rihanna cover) [mp3]

Rogue Wave - Debaser (Pixies cover) [mp3]

Elliott Smith - Dead End Street (The Kinks cover) [mp3]

Arctic Monkeys - Red Right Hand (Nick Cave cover) [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]
v. excellent audio quality via this week's live web transmission.

Regina Spektor - Real Love (John Lennon cover) [mp3]

Jim James (My Morning Jacket) - My Sweet Lord (George Harrison cover) [mp3]

The Soft Pack - Grinding Halt (The Cure cover) [mp3]

Dr Dog - Heart it Races (Architecture in Helsinki cover) [mp3]

Andrew Bird - The Giant of Illinois (The Handsome Family cover) [mp3]

BONUS:
Radiohead - Wonderwall (Oasis cover) [mp3]
this'll give you a larf.

BONUS x2:
(warning: this gets kind of wild near the end.)