The Strokes Post #202

thanks to Kiko for the pitchfork link, it looks like Jules has updated his website to confirm the release date as Oct 19th in the UK and Oct 20th in the US.

Saturday Music Definitions: Chocolate

heading over to SF's Ghirardelli Festival today! preparations have been made, in a nice 7 mile run this morning.

I think there's an ice cream sundae eating contest. glorious.

Hot Chip - Sexual Chocolate [mp3]

Snow Patrol - Chocolate [mp3]

Art Brut - DC Comics and a Chocolate Milkshake [mp3]
this song makes me smile, Eddie Argos is just so silly, I love him.

MCMXLV - Los Alamos NM 1945

I was cleaning my room today and found a CD sampler from almost two years ago, when I went to an Elliott Smith photo exhibit and met Autumn De Wilde. she was really nice, we talked about Elliott for a bit and she signed my copy of her book, one of the only things that I am really quite attached to. speaking of, it comes with a great bootleg cd, I'll upload that soon.

but anyhow, the photo exhibit was part of SF's annual Noise Pop Music/Art/Film festival, and some promoters were handing out samplers for Studio Paradiso. I never got around to listening to it until today. I really liked the second track, it's from a SF band called MCMXLV. the song is like a great meeting point between "My Hero" by Foo Fighters and Fugazi's general post-punk excellence.

MCMXLV - Los Alamos NM 1945 [mp3]

according to their MYSPACE page, they released an EP in April of 2008. there isn't much other information to be found, though, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for this band.

band of the week: Paolo Nutini

I just came across this guy on Tuesday, while browsing last.fm and I absolutely love him. from the first couple of seconds, he immediately made my list of things to buy the next time I'm record shopping.

I don't know how I've gone all of my life without listening to him.
a. he's Scottish
b. he has a gorgeous, soulful voice, very Gavin Degraw
c. he has Italian blood.

like hello, future Mr. Hanan.

ahem, ok, so a little bit about this strapping young lad:
he's twenty two, very young and talented, like Zach Condon (only very very different). his debut The Streets was released in 2006, at the age of 19. album number two, Sunny Side Up, was released this May.

his music can be sunny, like Matt Costa, or nostalgic, like Ryan Adams, but it always has a sexy twist, like Adam Levine. that's about all you need to know.

now listen (and get ready to swoon):


I love this song. it really does suck to be treated like a little kid just because you're 18 or so. in the states, it sucks to be under 21 when you go to gigs.


awesome.


I love Jools Holland. he always has great musical guests. or so youtube leads me to believe.


so pretty.

he covered Amy Winehouse. that makes so much sense, it isn't even funny.



this is cool, kind of like Pete Doherty's tribute to Arcady

I realized, as I browsed youtube, that I had heard him before, on a commercial:



I remember totally digging the song, but thinking "oh, I'll look up the song the next time I see the commercial", which never actually happened. I don't watch very much tv, I don't know what got into me, not looking the song up that very minute. on a slightly related note, when I was about twelve years old, I wanted to make commercials.

visit Paolo on MYSPACE. he's currently on tour.

The Strokes Post #201

in addition to using it as a mile logging device (fucking awesome), Nikolai has posted on Twitter that The Strokes have started pre-production!

thanks very much to Eric at The Ripcord for posting this happy bit of information!

Classic Track Thursday

I was reading the SPIN cover story of Muse today, and they mentioned how The Resistance (which I'll be posting about next week) is really their third album in the US. other than getting me pretty annoyed that Americans waste their lives and ears with Taylor Swift or whatever is popular nowadays, it got me thinking about how weird it is that some bands pretty much forsake their previous discography when they breakthrough with mainstream success. or sometimes, "fans" of the band aren't really familiar with the band's early, oft brilliant work. see: Kings of Leon.

that being said, Blood Sugar Sex Magik is Red Hot Chili Pepper's FIFTH release (yes, you read that correctly), back in 1991. it is the only RHCP cd which I own (thanks again to Amoeba clearance racks), having ripped most of the band's releases from library copies. the album has raw sexual energy a la Iggy Pop, and it is funk-heaven. some of the bass parts feel like they're traveling through my veins via a slinky toy.

I love John Frusciante, he's a fucking wicked guitarist. he left the band after this album and the band recorded one album (One Hot Minute)without him, but he came back for Californication (1999). the title song from that album is one of my earliest music memories.

here's a great track which was released fifteen years before the band starting ripping off of Tom Petty:

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss [mp3]

BONUS:
the beginning part of this is so cool. seriously, this song is like my childhood epitomized.

The Strokes Post #200

in case you haven't heard it yet:



many thanks to Eric at The Ripcord for the youtube link!

soundtrack: North and South

I am a massive fan of the BBC (especially the six hour version of Pride and Prejudice). a lot of people don't know this about me, but I totally swoon for this type of thing, and like to have tea parties with my best friends with music such as this playing in the background. last night, my best friend and I watched this really great miniseries (four hours, based on a novel) called North and South, and the soundtrack is gorgeous. it's all instrumental of course, you can download the whole thing HERE. have your own tea party or use the music to study, either way, it works.

Martin Phipps - Opening Theme to North and South [mp3]

really, I love the BBC so much, I want to take it behind a middle school and get it pregnant.

The Strokes Post #199

The Strokes - You Only Live Once (Zane Lowe session) [mp3]
lyrics from the gorgeous demo "I'll Try Anything Once" paired with the happy-go-lucky music from You Only Live Once. Holly Golightly would probably have listened to The Strokes.

Magnet: over/underrated songs by The Who

I love it when the mag does my favourite bands. I end up liking most of the "overrated" songs anyways, though. I'm the kind of person who, if I like a band, I like their entire discography, plus b-sides and stuff. I'm a full-album person, too, if you haven't picked up on that.

according to Magnet, though, here's the list

most overrated:
1. My Generation (haha whatever I love this song)
2. Squeeze Box
3. Who Are You?
4. Behind Blue Eyes
5. Tommy

most underrated:
1. The Who By Numbers
2. Early Morning Cold Taxi
3. Just You and Me, Darling
4. A Legal Matter
5. Let's See Action

read the explanations HERE

I love that line in Almost Famous (the movie that got me to listen to the band for the first time)...when Jeff says "I don't think anyone can really explain rock 'n' roll. Maybe Pete Townshend, but that's okay". The Who were just a cut above the rest.

what do you think?

The Strokes Post #198

because I have been listening to First Impressions a lot lately, and because I love (to share) bootlegs, and because, well, that's enough reasons really, here goes!

here's a bootleg from Tokyo in 2005, a couple of months before the third album was released. it's spectacular, The Strokes play EVERY SINGLE SONG FROM FIOE except for "Razorblade", "Ask Me Anything", "Ize of the World" and "Fear of Sleep". The first three are abundant in live form, but Connor-from-the-UK pointed out to me that he's never heard "Fear of Sleep" or "15 Minutes" live (I checked my itunes and youtube and realized he was right). with this bootleg, half of that problem is solved.

they start with the album's closer, "Red Light" and end with two older hits, "Last Nite" and "Reptilia" (probably their two most popular/best known songs to date). they also do Hawaii, the b-side to Juicebox which I love so very much. it displays Jules' vocal talents quite nicely.

enjoy!

The Strokes - Live at Shibuya, Tokyo (18 November 2005)
ZIP FILE (entire concert)

1. Intro [mp3]
2. Red Light [mp3]
3. Heart in a Cage [mp3]
4. On the Other Side [mp3]
5. Hawaii [mp3]
6. Killing Lies [mp3]
7. Electricityscape [mp3]
8. Juicebox [mp3]
9. Evening Sun [mp3]
10. 15 Minutes [mp3]
11. You Only Live Once [mp3]
12. Vision of Division [mp3]
13. Last Nite [mp3]
14. Reptilia [mp3]

I have no idea why, but Jules has a tendency to expose the Japanese fans to the new tunes first. I'm just glad I got a hold of this bootleg though, it's freaking amazing.

I especially love how Electricityscape sounds.

"this next one, it might be a single maybe, it's called 'Juicebox' ". haha, oh Julian I love you.

"Evening Sun", I had never heard live before, except for that lovely MTV Special. "they go fast like a sun that's been shot" is one of my favourite lyrics ever. it'll look lovely on my body someday, maybe coming out of a gun.

the weakest of the bunch is probably YOLO, but only because Jules later perfected it so much that this early performance is less spectacular by comparison. don't get me wrong, it still sounds amazing, but YOU DON'T NEED REASSURANCE at this point, we all understand the genius that is this band.

andddd that's enough words for today, get listening!

The Strokes Post #197

for the most part, I don't approve of poetry-writing, I think it's a tad self-indulgent. however, a few days ago, I was looking for scholarships and entered for one which required a poem about how you're a global citizen. I started thinking about this blog, and The Strokes, and how universal all good things are. although I don't think I'll win the contest, I really like how the poem turned out so I'm sharing it here:

“the world is in your hands or it’s at your throat”, croons Jules

as I type type type away at a music blog which people read across the globe:

in New Zealand, Sweden, and Colombia.

with my daily posts,

and my ramblings about our favourite band, The Strokes

I see that my passion for life is constantly fueled not only by impromptu

late night sessions of trying to teach myself Latin

or my boxes of notebooks filled with subpar writing

(which is nonetheless genuine and close to my heart)

[[written in various alphabets and oft inspired by old films with English subtitles]]

but by the daily reminder that

la vita is indeed dolce.

as I indulge in the world’s most popular drink (thé)

I smile and remember the sticker which proudly decorates my vehicle

(more versatile and abundant than Japanese-made cars):

“think globally, bike locally”

PS
holy crap:

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young from RVCA on Vimeo.

Sunday Morning Covers

ZIP FILE

Beck - Black Angel's Death Song (Velvet Underground cover) [mp3]

The Arcade Fire - This Must Be the Place (Talking Heads cover) [mp3]

Kaki King - Lovestoned (Justin Timberlake cover) [mp3]

Sufjan Stevens - What Goes On (The Beatles cover) [mp3]

Albert Hammond Jr - Well, All Right (Buddy Holly cover) [mp3]

The Last Shadow Puppets - Wondrous Place (Billy Fury cover) [mp3]

Stephen Malkmus - Funk 49 (James Gang cover) [mp3]

Art Brut - Catch (The Cure cover) [mp3]

Beirut - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover) [mp3]

Jamie Cullum - High and Dry (Radiohead cover) [mp3]

Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson cover) [mp3]

The Strokes Post #196

this is so freaking cool:



last week, I watched Bread & Tulips, a lovely Italian film which incorporates an accordion via the main character's midlife crisis. it got me really pumped to search for accordion-based music beyond my collection of Beirut, but I kind of forgot to follow through. it also made me wish I liked Gogol Bordello, because I love gypsy music, but just can't get into that band. then again, I only tried listening to Gypsy Punks; does anyone have any suggestions of where I should start with that band?

but yeah, anyway, I came across this video yesterday and it made me so happy.