new video: Little Joy-Next Time Around

watch the band's first video for their first record's first single below:



for a record review and mp3s, click HERE

new Jimmy Eat World tour to celebrate 10th anniversary of "Clarity"

they plan to play the entire album in each of the following venues

New York, NY Terminal 5 (February 23)
Washington DC 930 Club (24)
Philadelphia PA Trocadero Theater (25)
Boston MA House of Blues (26)
Chicago IL Metro (28)
Denver CO Ogden Theatre (March 2)
San Francisco CA The Fillmore (4)
Los Angeles CA Club Nokia (5)
San Diego CA House of Blues (6)
Tempe AZ Marquee Theatre (7)

I will be at the Fillmore show. "Clarity", which was released in 1999, (was that really a decade ago? I had just started middle school...) is such a good album, I got it from the clearance rack at my local record shop for 2 bucks.

Jimmy Eat World - Lucky Denver Mint [mp3]

I know this is kind of weird and random, but I always wished that Jimmy Eat World would cover "Such Great Heights" by the Postal Service. I feel like they'd do it justice (there are a few covers of SGH out there that I don't particularly enjoy)

my NME newsletter sometimes confuses me

behold, a quote probably taken out of context:



hahahaha

anyhow, I do like their Virgins feature

I totally didn't realize that Donald was the antler boy in FOB's video for Sugar We're Going Down! I haven't seen the video in YEARS and I just started liking the Virgins this last Spring. I just rewatched it, Donald looks so young! I love how he always sounds drunk in interviews. when I met him, he was incredibly polite. Nick's a lot of fun. I love these guys.

The Strokes ft Regina Spektor - Modern Girls and Old Fashioned Men [mp3]

The Virgins - Rich Girls [mp3]

Saturday Music Definitions: The Pianist

I am a sucker for soundtracks, I really am.

I watched the Pianist a couple of nights ago and I've been listening to the soundtrack pretty obsessively since. therefore, I'm dedicating today's SMD to the two ballades on the album:

Ballade No. 2 In F Major, Op. 38 [mp3]
Ballade No. 1 In G Minor, Op. 23 [mp3]

both songs are incredibly beautiful and moving. I don't understand how some people think that classical music is boring. it can be so expressive, so powerful.

buy the entire soundtrack HERE

Band of the Week: Modest Mouse

these guys have been off the radar for a while, since their latest record, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, which dropped in 2007

nevertheless, they remain one of my favourite bands. the Washington based boys have been around since 1993 (although they have had a handful of band member trade offs, all in good humour of course), and they are as awesome as bands come these days. they haven't burnt out, and are taking a well deserved break right now, but this doesn't mean that we should take a break from listening to their magnificent melodic musings

what is that you say? you aren't familiar with this band? what, have you been living under a rock with no access to indie culture for the last decade and a half? before the Kings of Leon even picked up instruments, these guys had perfected the art of combining critical acclaim and indie audience approval

Modest Mouse - Float On [mp3]

Modest Mouse- Breakthrough [mp3]

visit them on their OFFICIAL WEBSITE

NEW KILLERS SONG! (REPOST)

it's called "A Crippling Blow" and it rocks.

this is what I've been waiting for. quality a la Spaceman or Neon Tiger. aggressive bass, great vocals that DON'T make Brandon sound like a 890's pop diva and an insanely catchy keyboard chord progression. the sound is space-y without being wussy, the guys have taken a page out of Bowie's book. and I approve. whole-fucking-heartedly.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT. I knew I liked it from the first couple of seconds. the title is very appropriate. now I don't even have to force myself to like Human (even though it HAS grown on me). this song gives me hope that the review I read about this record being better than both Hot Fuss and Sam's Town is true. this song draws the strengths from each record: the incredible synth sound that made us fall in love with the Killers and the more refined and mature songwriting that came with their later work.

The Killers - A Crippling Blow [mp3]

I will keep posting this if it gets taken down. this must be shared! tell all your friends.

and to you stupid copyright people, I'm trying to get people interested in Day and Age! so all my readers, make sure you support the Killers by buying their merch and going to shows (if they aren't sold out, which they probably are)

I am a huge Killers fan. I woke up two hours early to make sure that I could get tickets, and I did, and they sold out a minute later. I own three Killers shirts, all of their albums and their posters are all over my wall at home too. so fuck you, people who think that sharing leaked songs online is stealing. I love The Killers. end of story.

Sunday Morning Covers

The Whigs - The Kids Are Alright (The Who cover) [mp3]
Whatever happened to the hype around these guys? it seems like nobody cares about this cool Athens, GA based band anymore. well, I still think they're relevant

Jason Mraz - Piano Man (Billy Joel cover) [mp3]
Jason shines when he covers songs, or when he sings his original stuff. ok, yeah, I just fawn over his brilliance

Mates of State - California (Phantom Planet cover)
so much better than the original version, featured on the OC

visit The Whigs on MYSPACE

Concert Review: Jason Mraz @ Greek Theatre in Berkeley 02 Nov 2008

Last Sunday, Jason Mraz graced the Greek Theatre in Berkeley with a pitch perfect performance filled with happiness and love and sunshine (metaphorically). Despite forecasts of rain, Jason managed to “stop” the rain, saying that it never rains on his sunny fans. The enormous outdoor venue was PACKED, there were no free spaces. Every seat and every inch of space was occupied with Jason’s loyal fans.



I never realized how many people appreciated Jason, whom I like to call a pop princess (in the most endearing sense of the word). The concert was SUPERB, incorporating Jason’s eclectic range as a singer, from jazz to reggae to pop to rock. He introduced a cover of Rick James’ “Mary Jane” by saying “I hope you all love ukulele funk as much as you like ukulele light rock [“if it kills me”]”. The best part of the show was when Jason emulated the notes a bandmate of his played with a saxophone with his voice. It was amazing.



Jason encouraged everyone in the crowd to go out and vote, and endorsed Barack Obama with pictures of him on the screen while he sang the verse “Try to picture the man” in “Live High”.



He also reminded the crowd to vote no on Prop 8, which unfortunately passed anyway. He entertained the audience throughout the show, defining dating as “the act of making appointments to see one another again” (I swear it was funnier when he said it) and encouraging the crowd to participate in dancing and singing.

The only downside to the show was that the opening acts were on for way too long (the concert started at 3 and Jason didn’t come on until after 5), and neither of them were any good. His supporting bands were a UK band called Two Spot Gobi and an Irish singer named Lisa Hannigan who joined him for "Lucky"



Jason’s set more than compensated, though; my only complaints are that he didn’t play “You and I Both” or “I’ll Do Anything” (my favourites by him) and that his set was too short. Ok, so it wasn’t that short, he played for about an hour and a half but I wanted more! It was seriously one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to, and the acoustics were surprisingly good for an outdoor venue. Jason Mraz is one of the best things about pop music right now, and his live performances bring a sweet spin to his already wonderful songs. If Mr. A-Z comes by your town, check him out! He was worth every penny of the 60 dollars that I spent on my ticket, and then some. I couldn’t stop grinning for hours after the show. Now this may seem like a biased review, but in reality it is a very accurate review of a fantastic and talented musician who promised to be back next year. =)



4.5/5

Set List:

1. Make It Mine
2. The Remedy (+freestyle rap); got the guys in the crowd to sing along “Wonderwall”
3. If It Kills Me
4. Mary Jane (Rick James cover)
5. Life is Wonderful [mp3]
6. A Beautiful Mess
7. Live High [mp3]
8. Only Human
9. The Dynamo of Volition
10. I’m Yours/Three Little Birds/Every Little Thing Gonna be Alright (Marley cover)
11. 1000 Things
12. Lucky (with Lisa Hannigan)
13. Build Me Up Buttercup (The Foundations cover)
14. No Stopping Us
15. Butterfly

Mary Jane =) =) =)



The Dynamo of Volition:



1000 things:



just listen to how he holds that note at 2:18-2:26. chills.

Life is Wonderful:



seriously, this one got to me.

Build Me Up Buttercup:



I
<3
Jason
Mraz.

video obsession: Ryan Adams on Letterman

I don't know if you all have had the fortune to watch this, but it is AMAZING. I've been watching it all week.



Ryan Adams is perfection. there are no two ways around it. his performances are so heartfelt.

I'm not going to post an mp3 because I don't want this post to be deleted.

INCREDIBLE Beatles bootlegs: Abbey Road

courtesy of POPDOSE

download each track HERE

Megapuss premiere video, and it's HILARIOUS

watch "Adam and Steve" below



this is what happens when people with a shit load of talent realize that they have the leeway to do stupid things and still retain their fans. I wonder what would happen if the Gallagher bros did something of this sort

Megapuss - Crop Circle Jerk '94 [mp3]

Saturday Music Definitions: Fireworks

the post-Obama victory festivities included many fireworks, and it got me thinking: how freaking awesome will Independence Day 2009 be?

Elvis Costello - Indoor Fireworks [mp3]

Animal Collective - Fireworks [mp3]

Nicholas Hooper - Fireworks (from the HP V soundtrack) [mp3]

Jimmy Eat World - Just Watch the Fireworks [mp3]

Band of the Week: Little Joy (+record review)

according to my iTunes, Little Joy is classified as "Tropical" music

now that made me laugh out loud. literally.

the band consists of:

Fabrizio Moretti – Guitar/Tenor Guitar/Piano/Bass/Drums/ Percussion/Melodica & Backing Vocals

Binki Shapiro – Vocals/Guitar/Glockenspiel/Percussion & Backing Vocals

and
Rodrigo Amarante – Vocals/Guitar/Piano/Bass/Ukulele/Organ/ Melotron/ Percussion & Backing Vocals

the album insert also thanked other contributing artists, including Nick Valensi (Fab's fellow Stroke) on background vocals and miscellaneous instruments



I really dig this record. Quite simply, it's happy music. No depressing Conor Oberst vocals in sight: this band sounds like sunshine. "Brand New Start" reminds me a bit of Rilo Kiley's "Silver Lining". You get a bit of Portuguese lyrics here and there, and the closer "Evaporar" is entirely in the beautiful Brasilian dialect of the language. "How to Hang a Warhol" resonates with Strokes fans who are aware of Fabrizio's incredible capacity as an artist (as in art school, which he attended for a few years before pursuing the Strokes full time). "No One's Better Sake" delves a bit into reggae. Binki sings background vox throughout, and sings lead in "Unattainable" and "Don't Watch Me Dancing", singing a la Kimya Dawson in the latter. Alongside "Brand New Start", "Keep Me in Mind" is the strongest track on the record, because the guitar sound is ambitious and explores territory the other songs don't. For an album which was released on Election Day, it's surprising how un-political the collection of songs is. Little Joy is lounge music in every sense of the word, so whip up some margaritas, pull out that bong, and enjoy. I guarantee that Little Joy will give you more than their name suggests. What else would you expect when the Strokes' sexy and talented drummer collaborates with his girlfriend and good friend?

3/5

Little Joy - Brand New Start [mp3]

Little Joy - Keep me in Mind [mp3]

visit the band on MYSPACE

For fans of: Sondre Lerche, Rilo Kiley, Vampire Weekend, and of course, the Fab Four

record review: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cardinology (repost, sans mp3)

I am so sick of emails with "Blogger DMCA takedown notification" in the subject line.

I specifically DIDN'T post a song from Cardinology, in order to avoid the wrath of these stupid internet cops.

I'm kind of sad because I edited it online and didn't save the changes on my word document, so here is the incomplete review.

anyhow, here it is:

It seems like Ryan Adams fans are abundant, but not fanatics. This doesn’t mean that Ryan is not worthy of our ecstatic anticipation, on the contrary: he has consistently released excellent music since his fantastic debut, Heartbreaker. It’s just that, though, he is ridiculously consistent. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m glad that there is at least one artist whom I can turn to and not be disappointed with. The only downside is that we know that Ryan won’t get very much critical attention, despite his incredibly excellent new songs. I have yet to be familiar with all of Ryan’s songs (I am a relatively new fan on about 3 months), because there is such a vast supply of goodness, including excellent live shows floating online. All I do know, is that Ryan’s voice warms me like hot chocolate.

Now, his new record- the verdict: EXCELLENT. Most of the record is characteristic of Ryan’s unpretentious neo-ballad type songs, like “Let us Down Easy Lord” and “Fix It”, but there are a good number of surprises, like the ridiculously sexy “Magick”. That guitar riff will punch you in the face, I really hope that the Cardinals perform it when I see them live. “Sink Ships” starts out with an acoustic guitar but glides through a bunch of different genres, epitomizing Ryan’s eclectic style. I always have a difficult time describing Ryan Adams to people oblivious to his brilliance, and try to avoid the “alt-country” label most people (and Wikipedia) use. Ryan conforms to no labels. Well, perhaps perfection. The record closes with “Stop”, an incredibly moving song with Ryan singing “a crucifix can never fix enough”, perpetuating the theme which he started on “Fix It”. Overall, it’s a solid record and, like the new CWK album, gets better upon multiple listens. 3.5/5

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club release new record online

head over HERE to buy "333", their new, all instrumental record, which will be released independently.

track listing:

'The Effects Of 333'
'Still No Answer'
'I Know You're In There'
'And With This Comes'
'A Sad State'
'A Twisted State'
'Sedated With Sterilized Tongues'
'We're Not Welcome Alone'
'Or Needed'
'And When Was Better'

read more on NME

I found this band on last.fm and wrote in really big letters in one of my notebooks: "black rebel motorcycle club = kicks a lot of ass". they craft some damn good garage rock/psychedelic tunes. check them out.

visit the LA based band on MYSPACE

BRMC- Aint no Easy Way (acoustic) [mp3]

The Kinks are back together!

they are set to reunite to create new material! read more on SPIN

I love the Kinks. in my opinion, they are WAY underrated, a la Velvet Underground. what is it with incredibly good bands from the 60's who made sunshiney music being ignored now?

lame.

anyhow, I will keep you all posted

The Kinks - Love me Till The Sun Shines [mp3]

Kings of Leon: new tour dates + new video (Use Somebody)

according to an email I received from them,

New European Tour
Kings of Leon will heading to Europe to play 7 shows in 5 countries. All dates are scheduled for February 2009 with tickets going on sale over the next 5 days. Go to kingsofleon.com for a full list of on sale dates.

* February 11: KB Halle (Copenhagen, Denmark)
* February 14: Razzmataz (Barcelona, Spain)
* February 15: La Riviera (Madrid, Spain)
* February 20: Olympia (Paris, France)
* February 21: MHM (Amsterdam, Holland)
* February 23: Columbiahalle (Berlin, Germany)
* February 26: Live Music Hall (Cologne, Germany)

head over to their to MYSPACE to watch their new video for "Use Somebody"

Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire (live on SNL) [mp3]

NME's cool list of 2008

read the entire list (and justifications) of 50 artists HERE, but here are the top 5:and

5. Sam Dust, Late Of The Pier

4. Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys/The Last Shadow Puppets

3. Andrew VanWyngarden, MGMT

2. Jay-Z

1. Alice Glass, Crystal Castles

agree, disagree?
I think Ezra Koening should be higher up on the list. and Donald of the Virgins should have been mentioned. and hello, Pete Doherty? I don't care about his drug addiction(s) he is STILL really damn cool.

MGMT - Time to Pretend [mp3]
I had this on repeat at work today =)

Saturday Music Definitions: Change

I'm dedicating this week's SMD to our soon to be President Obama. I've been following Obama ever since I read his breathtaking book "Dreams from my Father" my senior year of high school. Finally, this race has nearly reached its end; on Tuesday, we will know who the new leader of the free world will be. (did anyone else see that hilarios bit from the Colbert report on Thursday where Stephen's logic defied him and led us to Senator McCain and PRESIDENT OBAMA? haha priceless.)

Ben Sollee - A Change is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke cover) [mp3]
this is the best cover of this song that I've ever heard. Ben Sollee is a FANTASTIC musician from Kentucky, and his cello playing skills are superb. he is actually on tour right now, visit his MYSPACE for more information. I'm going to see him at Cafe Du Nord in a couple of weeks =)

The New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed [mp3]
TNP are always loads of fun. their music is upbeat and addictive.

The Flaming Lips - Suddenly Everything Has Changed [mp3]
people often brush off this band as crazy or psychedelic or whatnot and overlook the fact that they produce really beautiful, well crafted songs. Wayne Coyne has the voice of an angel. a slightly demented angel, but an angel nonetheless.

John Mayer - Waiting on the World to Change [mp3]
this one speaks for itself. well don't you worry John, the change is here to stay

Jamie Cullum - 7 Days to Change Your Life [mp3]
it's actually 3 days, thank goodness. I love Jamie's newer record because it shows his brilliance as a songwriter. his first record had a lot of covers; he really shines on "Catching Tales"

The Killers - Change Your Mind [mp3]
probably the most underrated and under-listened to Killers song of all time. it's a fantastic tune.

Band of the Week: The Muslims

this band is fantastic. there is no way around it. I have not yet had the opportunity to see them play live, but I hear that they have an incredible stage presence, much like the Strokes. The San Diego band is said to emanate an aura of indifference but perform with incredible precision and passion.

The Muslims stray away from the big, over produced sound that mainstream music has unfortunately embraced. They are raw, they make great songs. Mr Strummer would be proud.

they've been getting some attention from blogs lately, which is good. their music deserves to be heard by more people. they recently played CMJ

for fans of: The Strokes, early Clash, Sublime

The Muslims - Extinction [mp3]

The Muslims - Bright Side [mp3]

The Muslims - Nightlife [mp3]

visit them on MYSPACE

they have a handful of shows in CA right now, this makes me incredibly happy:

Nov 3 2008 8:00P
MAYAN THEATRE w/ LAST SHADOW PUPPETS Los Angeles, California
Nov 8 2008 8:00P
DETROIT BAR w/ Japanese Motors, Tijuana Panthers Costa Mesa
Nov 14 2008 8:00P
SLIMS w/ The Breeders San Francisco, California
Nov 15 2008 8:00P
SLIMS w/ The Breeders San Francisco, California
Nov 16 2008 8:00P
THE ECHO- PART TIME PUNKS FEST Los Angeles, California
Nov 17 2008 8:00P
THE WILTERN w/ The Breeders Los Angeles, California
Dec 5 2008 8:00P
RICKSHAW w/ The Morning Benders San Francisco, California