If these two got together

I think everyone in the indie/rock/music community would be a happy little Bon Iver/Lykke Li-lover. At least I would be.

As if you need anymore convincing of why you should show up to see the KEXP live in studio sessions during the week of CMJ (Monday, October 20th through Friday, October 24th) look no further. Lykke Li is scheduled for a spot on Tuesday, October 21st and she will be stellar. You can check out the rest of the lineup which includes some of my favorites like the Voom Blooms, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Friendly Fires, Hercules and the Love Affair, Deerhoof...seriously, they are FREE kids. FREE. Sign up
HERE.
Lykke Li Tags/Bon Iver Tags/KEXP Tags

I'm gonna miss this place

For those of you who are eagerly awaiting the new Antony and the Johnsons album due out next Tuesday, October 7th via Secretly Canadian, this is a good preview. He has a few scattered tour dates but hopefully will be announcing a larger run sometime soon.
*******TOUR DATES**********
Oct 14-WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL LOS ANGELES, California
Oct 16-THE APOLLO NEW YORK CITY, New York
Oct 30 & 31-Barbican-London, England
Antony and the Johnsons-Another World.mp3
Antony and the Johnsons-Shake That Devil.mp3
Antony and the Johnsons Tags

It's been a while since we had reason to smile

Because I am just discovering this album for the first time and savouring every second of it, you should as well. That's what Sunday afternoons are for.
*~`Super Furry Animals - Phantom Power`~*
Super Furry Animals-Hello Sunshine.mp3
Super Furry Animals-Bleed Forever.mp3
Super Furry Animals-Sex, War And Robots.mp3

sTArFuCker*...You even have health insurance? What a bore...

The magically talented Sarah Cass
And they say it is all in the name...During a recent trip to Seattle I was turned onto Portland-based band Starfucker and decided that heck, if they were good enough for one of my favorite people over at KEXP then they were good enough for me. One of the things to do whenever you travel to a new city is find out what the locals are listening to. Portland may be a mere three hours a way but their neighboring villagers of Seattle definitely support and adore their home grown artists as much as their own. Kinda like the Manhattan-Brooklyn connection going on here. Their debut (self titled ?) album came out last Tuesday via Badman Recording Co. and they will be hitting the CMJ market heavily during the days of October 22nd and 24th so if you are in the city and enjoying the mass chaos you should check them out. Sure to be compared to Passion Pit, The Flaming Lips, MGMT and anything else that gets the hipster kiddies movin' these days. Enjoy their music before it is splashed all over MTV and playing in Urban Outfitters. It is super catchy and I for one am excited to have this as my soundtrack for those indian summer days as we look ahead to colder days and early nights. Just means more time for dance parties indoors! HEck yeah!
***************TOUR DATES****************
Oct 7-Neurolux-Boise,Idaho
9-Kilby Court-Salt Lake City, Utah
11-High Dive-Denver, CO
13-Replay Lounge, Lawrence, KA
14-Skull Alley, Louisville, KY
15-Skully’s Music Diner, Columbus, OH
16-Talking Head CLub, Baltimore, MD
17-The Red and Black-DC, Washington DC
18-M Room-Philadelphia, PA
22-Cake Shop-nYc-CMJ
22-OS art house-nYc-CMJ
24-Knitting Factory-nYc-CMJ
26-Beachland Tavern, Cleveland, OH
27-The Hide Out-Chicago, IL
28-7th Street Entry-Minneapolis, MN
29-Nutty's North-Sioux Falls, SD
31-Badlander-Missoula, Montana
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NOVEMBER~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nov 1-Vera Project-Seattle, WA
7 -The Hemlock-San Francisco, CA
8 -Spaceland, LA, CA
4-Wonder ballroom w/ blitzen trapper-Portland, OR
Starfucker-Pop Song.mp3
Starfucker-German Love.mp3

New Port O'Brien Videos over at SPIN

Waking up on a sunday morning in a lake house in Conneticut is a pretty charmed life, especially when that includes things like Stew Leonards' chocolate milk and new Port O'Brien videos. Both of the offered selections over off of their may album release, All We Could Do Was Sing are available for you to preview at SPIN.com. This time around the band wanted to bank on their rustic, folk sound and energy that they have so adeptly made their signature drawing inspiration from the 20's style of film making. Laden with grainy, color saturated film techiniques my favorite video out of the two is "Stuck on a Boat" which closes with all of the band gathered in a tiny room singing and playing their hearts out. Shot on Super 8 reels both "In Vino Verita"and "Stuck on a Boat" (below) were filmed by director Joey Izzo in the band's hometown of Cambria, CA.

Warning, this is potentially incredibly offensive

There are moments in your life where in the midst of encompassing sadness and confusion you reach the pinnacle of being calm and it is within this space you mature and evolve. Humans as a species encompass a tribal existence. It has been widely studied throughout the centuries that we have progressed socially and biologically from being around one another. Humans who are cut off from their fellow kind often fall victim to the fate of disease and infection due to lack of social interaction. It is within me to always thing foremost as a romantic and second as a science geek and within this week have had a wrenching experience that has pent both of my better sides against one another. I was brought up believing that America was my second mother. A homeland for the poor, downtrodden and willing masses. In our land of freedom and opportunity we are reared to believe that anything is possible. Work will indeed set you free within our forward thinking territory and even the smallest peanut farmer can one day become president. It is with the most painful emotion I have been witness to the downfall of our country, our liberty and our community of countrymen. Yes we were attacked and it was beyond anything we could have expected or understood but in response to this instead of reaching for positive goals and ways of understanding our governmental leaders reached for paranoia, propaganda, guns and invasions. Under the guise of homeland security ( a term that single handily makes me ill) our political leaders have argued everything from phone tapping, internet monitoring to being categorized as UN-American for not agreeing with every step they take towards teaching the rest of the world to think like us. Or even worse, consume like us. America is turning away from our forefathers' ideals of a land of democracy and unadulterated thought into a land of ignorance and xenophobia. As a female I regard the nomination of Sarah Palin as an assault against my sex with more fear than and a larger threat than any white-male politician could ever carry. She could be the first representative of what my chromosomes encompass naturally and yet she is hell-bent on leading us even further from education, health care and environment, all things that are imperative for one to nurture and develop our community and our families. Beyond these simplistic fears that I am harboring for what I hold near and dear the woman cannot even formulate an argument. The video below was so shocking and that even before the reporter voices his disgust and disbelief I was right there with him. When I started this website I vowed never to write negative reviews about artists because what right do I have to sway anyone from discovering a new talent. But somethings need to be expressed. We are on the forefront of watching our country unravel. Our banks are foreclosing, one of our greatest cities STILL lays in ruins abandoned and ignored, our soldiers blood is bleeding from younger and younger veins and our presidential candidates are giving answers such as this:

Before you decide never to read my website again or leave a rank comment just put it where it really matters and vote this November. It is what we supposedly fight all of our wars for, what our government taxes us for and why people come to our country. So we can be loud-mouthed music lovers, writers and dreamers. I am not saying that Obama is a perfect candidate or human being, for no one is-so I welcome you to disagree and carry out your American-born right. Thank you. We now return to the previously scheduled dribble...

Dear Science

Definitely one of my favorite albums of the year so far. TV on the Radio have definitely set the bar higher with this one. Each track showcases artistry and production that will safely soothe happy followers of TV on the Radio joyous and conquer new listeners all in one foul swoop. Don't believe me, give it two complete auditions and I dare you to not fall under the wind of these talented Brooklyn musicians. Currently touring, check out their myspace for dates.
TV On The Radio-Love Dog.mp3
TV On The Radio-Dancing Choose.mp3
TV on the Radio TAgs

I love it when you read to me, you can read me anything

You are a splendid butterfly
It is your wings that make you beautiful
And I could make you fly away
But I could never make you stay
You said you were in love with me
Both of us know that that's impossible
And I could make you rue the day
But I could never make you stay

Not for all the tea in China
Not if I could sing like a bird
Not for all North Carolina
Not for all my little words
Not if I could write for you
The sweetest song you ever heard
It doesn't matter what I'll do
Not for all my little words

Now that you've made me want to die
You tell me that you're unboyfriendable
And I could make you pay and pay
But I could never make you stay

Magnetic Fields- All My Little Words.mp3
Magnetic Fields-The Book Of Love.mp3

Hacienda

Yesterday an album came out that I cannot wait to get my hands on from a band bursting forth from San Antonio, Texas. Loud Is The Night is the debut release from Hacienda a band of three brothers: Abraham Villanueva (piano), Jaime Villanueva (drums) and Rene Villanueva (bass) and their cousin, Dante Scwebel (guitar). All four family members take a turn with vocals melding together with such grace and adroitness that they are already earning praise and comparisons to The Beach Boys and the Beatles. The fact that they are touring with Dr. Dog as we speak does not hurt them either. Alive Naturalsound Records is the label behind the band but before the boys made it that far their six song demo found its way into the hands of none other than Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys which led to them recording in Dan's studio in Akron, Ohio. Not bad at all for a band fresh on the scene. I am expecting good things from them and from what I have heard off of their myspace page I am already incredibly excited to pick up the album. Check all of their currently announced tour dates below.
****************Dates with Dr. Dog and Delta Spirit************
~~~~~~~~~~SEPTEMBER~~~~~~~~~
TONIGHT-17 @ The Casbah-San Diego,CA
19 @ Detroit Bar-Costa Mesa,CA
20 @ Cellar Door-Visalia,CA
22 @ W.O.W. Hall-Eugene,OR
23 - Doug Fir Lounge-Portland,OR
24 @ Tractor Tavern-Seattle,WA
26 @ Urban Lounge-Salt Lake City,UT
27 @ Hi-Dive-Denver,CO
29 @ The Waiting Room-Omaha,NE
30 @ The Record Bar-Kansas City,MO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~OCTOBER~~~~~~~~
Oct 1 @ High Noon Saloon-Madison,Wisconsin
Oct 2 @ Blind Pig-Ann Arbor,MI
Oct 6 @ Higher Ground-South Burlington,Vermont
Oct 7 @ Club Hell-Providence,Rhode Island
Oct 8 @ Revolution Hall-Troy,New York
Oct 9 @ Iron Horse-Northampton,MA
Oct 10 @ Middle East (Downstairs)-Cambridge,MA
Hacienda-Hear Me Crying.mp3
Hacienda-Sun.mp3

Pop Montreal '08

Montreal happens to be one of my favorite cities and it is also host to a completely overlooked and underrated music festival happening October 1st-5th. Each year Pop Montreal has been loaded with bands we know and love and the folks behind the scenes cleverly advertise with the most adorable animated videos out there. While the latest version is cute in it's own way, 2oo5 still owns my heart. To check out set times, read band bio's or register to volunteer you can do all of these handy-dandy research tasks here.

For those of you interested this year includes Hot Chip, WIRE, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the worst name for a band yet...Psychedelic Horseshit. Yep, not kidding.
Psychedelic Horseshit-New Wave Hippies.mp3

I gave my heart and soul to you, I let you lay beside me

Jessica Lea Mayfield has been in my sights for the last month or so and I have found daily stalking her myspace page for local tour date announcements. Yesterday I was surprised when the announcement came from my Facebook page. Tricky Facebook...how you waste my time so. The lovely songbird will be performing at Maxwell's on October 21st and again on October 22nd at 205 in the city. SHE IS NOT TO BE MISSED. If you need convincing beyond listening to her music check out the comments on her myspace page filled with glowing admiration. Currently opening up for the Avett Brothers and Black Keys I am hoping she announces more shows for the week of CMJ. I would put a pretty penny on it that she will be one of the most talked about acts by the end of the occasion. Or at least she should be!
***************Jessica Lea Mayfield Tour Dates*******************
Sep 16-**CD RELEASE** Beachland Ballroom - Tavern Cleveland,OH
Sep 17-Ear X-tacy in-store-Louisville, KY
Sep 24-The Valarium w/ THE BLACK KEYS-Knoxville,TN
Sep 25-New Daisy Theatre w/ THE BLACK KEYS Memphis,TN
Sep 26-The Granada Theatre w/ THE BLACK KEYS-Dallas,TX
Sep 28-**ACL Fest Aftershow** Stubb’s w/ THE BLACK KEYS and THE BLACK ANGELS-Austin,TX
Sep 30-The Meridian w/ THE BLACK KEYS-Houston, Texas
Oct 1-House of Blues w/ THE BLACK KEYS-New Orleans, Louisiana
Oct 2-The Tabernacle w/ THE BLACK KEYS-Atlanta, GA
Oct 3-Georgia Theatre w/THE AVETT BROTHERS-Athens,GA
Oct 4-Criminal Records in-store-Atlanta,GA
Oct 15-New Brookland Tavern W.-Columbia,SC
Oct 16-The Handlebar-Greenville,SC
Oct 20-IOTA-Club Arlington,VA
Oct 21-Maxwell’s-Hoboken,NJ
Oct 22-**CMJ** @ 205 Club-nYc
Oct 23-The Khyber-Philadelphia,PA
Oct 30-The MadHatter-Covington,KY
Nov 1-The Basement-Nashville,TN
The One That I Love The Best.mp3
Jessica Lea Mayfield-Bible Days.mp3
Jessica Lea Mayfield Tags/The Avett Brothers Tags/The Black Keys Tags

And that haunted me, all the way home

My love/hate relationship with Kanye West continues. I love his music and what he has accomplished and how outspoken he is...most of the time. I was an unhappy little camper Sunday night when i was watching the VMA's (in between my new love-True Blood and Entourage of course) and saw his live performance of his most recent song, Love Lockdown. I understand that imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery, or so they say-but he completely (or whoever is the brains behind his stage set up) ripped off the Swedish band The Knife. The brother sister duo known for being creepy and cleverly aloof with their live performances graced NYC with their presence during CMJ two years ago at Webster Hall for back to back shows. Decked out in head to toe black spandex and glowing eyes they beat on their drums which lit up with each tap and touch...almost exactly like what Kanye had going on behind him grooving in his tailored grey suit. It is incredibly smart marketing to take these elements of electronic/pop shows and place them behind hip/hop and rap artists since their live shows tend to fall flat. I just was a bit shocked to see the Knife influences...Dear Daft Punk, Kanye has moved on to pillage someone else's art.


I'm not lovin' you, the way I wanted to
What I had to do, had to run from you
I'm in love with you, but the vibe is wrong
And that haunted me, all the way home
So ya never know, never never know
Never know enough, 'til it's over love
'Til we lose control, system overload
Screamin' no no no, no no
I'm not lovin' you, the way I wanted to
See I wanna move, but can't escape from you
So I keep it low, keep a secret code
So everybody else don't have to know

So keep ya love locked down, ya love locked down
You keep ya love locked down, you lose
Kayne West- Love Lockdown.mp3
Kanye West Tags/Daft Punk Tags/The Knife Tags

Words can never make up for what you do

A few weeks ago I went to see Lykke Li at Le Poisson Rouge and covered the show for KEXP. You can read my review here if you would like. She was excellent and I highly recommend going to see her upcoming shows, the most recently announced date is Tuesday, October 21st at Bowery Ballroom with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson as part of the CMJ Music Madness.
**************Lykke Li Tour Dates*********************
Oct 19-Black Cat-Washington,Washington DC
Oct 20-Music Hall of Williamsburg-SOLD OUT-Brooklyn,NY
Oct 21-Bowery Ballroom-nYc, nY
Oct 23-Paradise-Boston,Massachusetts
Oct 24-Mod Club-Toronto,Ontario
Oct 25-Empty Bottle-Chicago,Illinois
Oct 28-Richards on Richards-Vancouver,British Columbia
Oct 29-Neumo’s-Seattle,Washington
Oct 30-Doug Fir-Portland,Oregon
Nov 1-Independent-San Francisco,California
Nov 3-El Rey-Los Angeles,California
Dec 10-John Dee-Oslo, Norway
Dec 11-Vega, Copenhagen
Dec 12-Kägelbanan,Stockholm
Lykke Li-Breaking It Up.mp3
Lykke Li-Little Bit (CSS Remix).mp3
Lykke Li Tags

If you're always on the go----make an angel in the snow and freeze

If you missed Dr. Dog last week when he played the Bowery Ballroom and Williamsburg Music Hall then December 2nd at Webster Hall is where you should be to hear one of the best albums of the year. The Philadelphia bands' latest production, Fate has been on heavy rotation within my heart and head for the last two months. Currently touring throughout the States they have a mini-European package scheduled and then head back to NYC for what is sure to become a sold out show. Tickets go on sale this Friday, September 5th at Noon via ticketmaster.
Dr.Dog-From.mp3
Dr. Dog-The Breeze.mp3
Dr. Dog Tags

Your lying when you sing along

So far today has been the day of posting videos but I couldn't help but post the previous one and this is the latest from Okkervil River's stand-in session. This time around the band Bird of Youth stop by and cover the tune, Pop Lie off of their latest album, The Stand Ins.
Okkervil River-Pop Lie.mp3
Okkervil River Tags

And my friends wonder why i want to live in Seattle for a little bit...

All I have to do is see videos like this...care of les Pitchfork care of You Ain't No Picasso...
*Wilco and Fleet Foxes: "I Shall Be Released" (Bob Dylan cover; live in Spokane, Wash.)
The Band-I Shall Be Released.mp3
Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) with The Fleet Foxes covering The Band-I Shall Be Released.mp3
Wilco Tags/Fleet Foxes Tags