Band of the Week: The Vines

today, as I was removing my headphones from my ears, one of my pupils asked me (in earnest) if I liked High School Musical. as I suppressed a gag, I calmly told her "no". she was clearly disappointed; it seemed as though she wanted to impress me or something.
I was listening to Wolfmother as she asked this, and, on the subject of solid Australian bands, here are The Vines

if you listen to The Strokes, you're probably at least somewhat familiar with Craig Nicholls' band. while the frontman has battled with many mental health issues (yeah! long live rock n roll insanity), the band continues to put out album after album of extremely consistent music, a lovely hybrid of the psychedelic and grunge genres. Craig is an incredibly fascinating frontman. I dunno whether or not it's unethical to enjoy his erratic behaviour if he has serious issues, but it's all in the punk spirit so I'm sure he doesn't mind.

The Vines - Get Free [mp3]
from Highly Evolved (2002)
"I'm gonna get free, ride into the sun" has got to be one of the greatest lyrics ever.

The Vines - She's Got Something to Say to Me [mp3]
from Winning Days (2004)

this is so badass:



hahaha oh my goodness, just stumbled on this:

their fifth studio album is in the works, stay tuned for more info.

The Bloodsugars announce new album

the Brooklyn band released I Can't Go On, I'll Go On on Tuesday.

their new single is delectable. the buildup is a monstrous combustion of Spoon-style percussion, discotheque approved beats, and, best of all, straight up garage rock (think of how "garage" is pronounced in "Garageland" by the Clash. oh baby)

The Bloodsugars - Light At The End Of The Tunnel [mp3]

stream the entire album HERE

visit them on MYSPACE

Miike Snow offers free session

via myspace transmissions,

the band has recorded four tracks, download 'em for free!

Miike Snow - Sans Soleil (myspace transmissions) [mp3]

The Strokes Post #271

two really good things on the internet salvaged my shitty day today

first of all, Nikolai is an angel:

JANUARY.JANUARY.JANUARY.JANUARY.

anddddddddddd


from this feature about Julian in Rolling Stone:
take that, Eric.

ah, I almost forgot, here's a new (short) interview with Jules. I looked up Times New Viking, they're cool, they sound so retro! also, it must be reiterated: I love that Julian listens to Beirut.

Classic Track Thursday

The Hives - AKA I-D-I-O-T [mp3]

from 1997, bitches. they actually played this song the first time I saw them live, which was 11 years after they released Barely Legal. listen to it if you haven't, it'll change your life for the better, I promise.

Julian's final show.

ok so I am deliberating something very dangerous. but I need to know something, maybe the people who have been to Jules' LA shows can help me out,
what is the difference between General Admission and Pit?

hahaha.

ok so I am a total nerd and am nostalgic for the 90's and good cartoons and my favourite Disney film ever.

The Strokes Post #270

photos from a boy I met at the concert who doesn't really appreciate Julian. it makes me angry, seeing as how so many people would kill to see this genius live, and there are people who go to concerts because of work assignments and don't even enjoy it. funnily enough, he feels the same way about King Khan as we do about Julian so maybe I should go to a King Khan show and be all indifferent about it. that'll show em.

new video: Vampire Weekend: Cousins

hahahah list maker. didn't catch that when I heard the song 82 times. this is why I love videos.

Vampire Weekend - New Music - More Music Videos

this song and/or video is on such drugs. I for one think Tomson looks great.

The Strokes Post #269

although this is yesterday's news, it's still freaking epic:

NME has named IS THIS IT the #1 album of the decade.

concert review: Julian Casablancas @ the Regency Ballroom (San Francisco), 17 November 2009

[photo is not mine, snagged it off some forum]

There’s something so personal about listening to Is This It. The low production and ensuing fuzziness tricks you into believing that you can sound just like Julian. It’s easy to sing along, the arrangements and lack of alliterative lyrics make it seem like a piece of cake. It’s so raw, so accessible, and it gets you to believe that you’re a rock star too. And then that faulty self-assurance dips into Room on Fire and even First Impressions of Earth, which houses an uncharacteristically wide range for Julian.

Then comes Phrazes for the Young, and you’re so excited, you’re singing along anyway, even though you know you shouldn’t. You know that Julian has far exceeded the grasp of your fantasy rock-stardom (Guitar Hero aside).

And then you’re at the concert and singing your heart out. And you can’t hear yourself, because everything’s so loud. And then you give your video souvenirs a listen and realize how fucking mortal you are in comparison to you know who. The other JC.

Holy crap this man can sing.

He can write mad good songs. The live sound shook my world amuck. The guitars stood out so much amongst a sea of synth. The cadence of every instrument was perfect, although slightly faster than the album. The Sick Six have their shit together for sure, that Conan performance was very misleading.

I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the fact that he didn’t go for visually stunning shows like the ones for his Los Angeles residency, but honestly people, who cares? What difference does it make what you’re looking at? You know you’re gonna end up being mesmerized by his golden pipes and leather jacket even if it’s raining oompa loompas and crème brule.

What the hell, Julian? Wasn’t this supposed to be like your I’m-having-fun-messing-around-writing-songs-album? Why the world is it so intense and layered and crisp and gorgeous? Why must you force fans to adore you in your introverted, low key glory (ironically enough, often expressed in high musical notes), and find everything from your new found hunch to your less than successful attempt to destroy the mike stand endearing rather than pathetic in comparison?

There’s something oddly reassuring about the fact that Julian turned to JP (the “guru” of Is This It) to be his main axe man. Much beyond mere graciousness (sober or not), it shows growth. Maturity, in the best sense of the word. An acknowledgment that no matter what direction your career takes, your roots are what matter the most. And this is the kind of man we can trust with our next Strokes album.

It doesn't matter what he sings, or when he's singing it.
He can make you forget the world, and everything bad that’s ever happened.
He is the saviour of rock n roll, pure and simple. This fact remains the same, and I am born again.

5/5

Julian Casablancas - Out of the Blue (live, SF) [mp3]

just look at this epic set list:



HE PLAYED 30 MINUTE BOYFRIEND. holy crap that made my night. really, the slew of songs from 11th Dimension to Out of the Blue is absolutely genius.

you can watch and hear the entire show (minus the opening band, sorry! I'll post about them soon) HERE

The Strokes Post #268

watch closely. 3:45 is where it is at. can you hear the crowd cheer for me? XD

oh and he points at me at 5:16. JC POINTED AT ME AND SMILED, HOLY SHIT. he also smiled really big when I hugged him, and it was the greatest moment of my life.

new Vampire Weekend: Cousins

[link to song has been removed]

it's erratic in every good sense of the word. Vampire Weekend are scoffing at sophomore slump like I used to scoff at people taking the LSATs.

I like this song a helluva lot more than I like any of my cousins. and yes, it gets better with every listen. I especially love the pseudo-Christmas-y ending.

Ezra doesn't have time to remember to breathe, he's too busy trying to maintain the aural equivalence of confetti. effect achieved, sir.

King Khan + friends get arrested for drugs

hahaha they were caught with shrooms. as good a reason as any to be incarcerated. stupid laws, hallucinogenics should not be illegal.

it's kind of crazy, 'cause I just referred a friend to King Khan's band because my friend wanted music like Black Lips. the two bands are friends and stuff.



(Black Lips are also known for getting into trouble...they got banned from India)

and here is one of my favourite Black Lips songs (very appropriate):



and, my favourite Black Lips song (also appropriate):

The Strokes Post #267

holyyyyyyyyyyy shit. I was just thinking a few hours ago how badly I wanted to see this song live. and now I don't have to wait 'til tomorrow!



am about to go pick my brother up and buy shit tons of junk food and cigarettes for tomorrow. I will be seeing Jules in approximately 27 hours. holy shit indeed.

Sunday Morning Covers

ZIP FILE

M. Ward - Green River (CCR cover) [mp3]
wasn't it the American musician in Hornby's A Long Way Down who pretended to have a lethal disease called CCR?

Beck - Stranger Song (Leonard Cohen cover) [mp3]
you can actually hear MGMT in this one, it's cool! for the entire album, head on over to Musical Pairings

Mark Ronson ft. Phantom Planet - Just (Radiohead cover) [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]
I love this, a whole fucking lot.

Marie La Foret - Paint it Black (Rolling Stones cover, en Francais) [mp3]
courtesy of our very own racist dragon, Allie

Joshua Radin - Sesame Street (Joe Raposo cover) [mp3]
v. cute.

Elliott Smith - I'm Only Sleeping (The Beatles cover) [mp3]
I love this song, I love Revolver, I love how happy Elliott sounds in it.

Ben Gibbard - To Sing for You (Donovan cover) [mp3]

Spoon - Rocket USA (Suicide Cover) [mp3]

Ben Harper - Strawberry Fields Forever (The Beatles cover) [mp3]

Eddie Vedder - Blackbird (The Beatles cover) [mp3]
I don't love Pearl Jam's new album, but I do like this, and I must listen to the Into The Wild soundtrack again very very soon. I miss it dearly.

Okkervil River - Some Weird Sin (Iggy Pop cover) [mp3]

The Strokes Post #266

I love Berkeley sososo much. I love that I can talk to everyone about music there, and that almost everyone can keep up. so I got together with a very good friend of mine, told her I felt like getting a tattoo, and she accompanied me. the tattoo artist who did my tattoo just so happened to be the only guy in the shop who liked The Strokes, and he asked me if I liked The Hives and I said "hell yes, I've seen them in concert twice" and he asked if I had heard their early stuff and we started gushing about how far superior Barely Legal is to any of their other albums (I have that one on vinyl, too, it's one of my favourites) and how The Hives kicked so much ass when they had that unrefined punk sensibility about them. so anyhow, here is my new tattoo.


the cool thing is, it is exactly centered to MY perspective, it's off center when I hold it up to a mirror. it's my perspective that counts.

so, we're continuing our outing, we're walking towards a thrift shop where I wanted to go to pick up something to wear for Jules' show (I found the most amaaaaaaaaaaazing dress, fits like a glove) but what do we see on the wall?


I have never in my life seen any Strokes advertisements of any sort. and it just so happens to be next to the Them Crooked Vultures poster, and also the Nirvana one. we'll ignore the ad for Glee just for now. I realized that I didn't have any photos of my friend Ayesha, so we had a hobo photograph us.


Ayesha has actually been with me every time I've gotten a tattoo. I wanted to get my first one right when I turned 18, but then I met Ayesha, who wouldn't turn 18 until May and I decided to wait 8 months for her so we could get them together. we went the day after her birthday. the last two times I've visited her in Berkeley, I've gotten tattoos, and we made this half joke, half serious decision that each time I visit her, I'll get another tattoo.

so then we step into Rasputin (a record shop, I get my records at the one near my house), and unlike the Campbell Rasputin, which had ONE copy of Phrazes, these guys have FREE POSTERS as giveaways for people buying the album, and dozens of copies of the album on vinyl on display. I tell the chick who worked there I wanted a poster, and she handed one to me as I explained that I had bought one in Campbell. she didn't need to hear justification, those guys know my face almost as much as the people at Amoeba.


later, I went to Amoeba with another friend, and guess what I found?


holy smokes, I know. every time I'm in any record shop, I look under J for any non-remastered Joy Division vinyl and my efforts are ALWAYS in vain. until now, hellooooooo this is their very first compilation album.

so to finish off this commemmoration of my excellent day yesterday, I will post a short but excellent bootleg. it's a radio session, and the story at the beginning is well worth listening to. enjoy.

The Strokes - BBC Sessions, London (06 February 2000) [ZIP FILE]

1. Soma [mp3]

2. Last Night [mp3]

3. This Life (early demo version of Trying Your Luck) [mp3]

4. New York City Cops [mp3]

to top it all off, I don't have to work today. I was supposed to, but I don't have to anymore. so I'll listen to all of the vinyl I bought yesterday instead =)