Gorillas Are Way Smart

Further proof that a gorilla would destroy a bear (hypothetically speaking, of course):

"AP-- For the first time, biologists have documented gorillas in the wild using simple tools, such as poking a stick in a swampy pool of water to check its depth.

Until now, scientists had seen gorillas use tools only in captivity. Among the great apes, tool use in the wild was thought to be a survival skill reserved for smaller chimpanzees and orangutans."

Read more about gorillas using tools here.

Speaking of tools, go visit Dodge's blog
(sorry man, i'm running out of ways to link you)

Related mp3s:


Minus the Bear Hooray mp3
Minus the Bear Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!! mp3

You Crashed Your Heart Into Mine

I initially checked out Biirdie only because I heard they covered a song ("We Can't Work It Out") by one of my favorite bands (Saturday Looks Good To Me). Well it turns out this is one of those bands you can fall in love with after hearing only a couple songs.

The band has garnered numerous Bright Eyes comparisons, apparently based solely on frontman Jared's voice, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Conor Oberst's. Maybe if Conor was a little less whiny and went on a major Beach Boys-listening binge, he would be capable of creating songs like these.

I can't stop listening to these two tracks, and I'm pretty confident you guys will like them too. PopMatters describes the band's sound as "trippy chamber pop", citing Jared Flamm's "classy song writing coupled with a strong Phil Spector/Brian Wilson-like production".

Highly recommended, to say the least. Buy the album here.

Biirdie Estelle mp3
Biirdie We Can't Work It Out (SLGTM cover) mp3

Be the band's Myspace friend.

Also:

Finest Dearest's debut EP, Pacemaker, is now available on their website (only $5.50!!). Buy it here.

Finest Dearest Sleep Until The Weekend mp3

Thumbsucker Premiere Party

I realize this is like my 8th post on this film, but I've heard great things about it and the soundtrack is amazing. The Dallas Premiere Party for Thumbsucker is tomorrow night at 9:30 at the Angelika Theater, and Tim DeLaughter and other members of The Polyphonic Spree will be on hand for a brief Q & A. Rumor has it they will also be performing a song or two from the film. Read more details here, and get tickets here.

Also:

Go to Dodge's blog. It doesn't suck.

Beat Radio

NYC's Beat Radio will be playing at Sin-e on Saturday night (Oct. 1). This song (from their upcoming The Ecstatic EP) has been growing on me all week. Check it out:

Beat Radio Treetops (EP Version) mp3

Download some Beat Radio demos:

Beat Radio Elegy mp3
Beat Radio Million Miles mp3

Also:

We have a rare dilemma for Dallas coming up on Oct. 12. Three shows we really want to see on the same night. Albums from all three artists will likely end up on my year-end Top 20. This never happens here, so obviously we are really confused and have no idea which one to attend. Please vote on the left side of the blog for which show you want to see pics and a review of. Since we are completely incapable of deciding for ourselves, we'll do whatever you guys want.

Bonus--the new Metric single (via Filter):


Metric Monster Hospital mp3

Tonight

We'll be at The Cavern tonight at 10 PM for the Fruit Bats and Ghosty show. If you're in Dallas I highly recommend you attend. Both of these bands are great, but if you need further convincing, here are some mp3s:


Fruit Bats Lives of Crime
Fruit Bats A Bit of Wind


Ghosty I Know What's Best
Ghosty Big Surrender
Ghosty (In A Big World) Little Dreams Count
Ghosty Clouds Solve It (feat. Wayne Coyne)

The Cobra Snake

The Cobra Snake was at ACL, and of course, he got pics (including the above photo of the Arcade Fire; click photo to enlarge). Dodge got to meet him and I remember him saying something about how he thought Cobra looked hot in his short shorts. Anyway, check out his photos from ACL here.

The Go! Team

Just a quick reminder that the U.S. version of The Go! Team's debut album, Thunder Lightning Strike, is released on October 4th. One difference is the inclusion of this track, one of my favorite from the band: (follow link)

The Go! Team We Just Won't Be Defeated mp3

Watch the video for The Go! Team's "Bottle Rocket" here (via Filter)

Go! see the Go! Team @ Trees on Oct. 15.


Buy the album too. It's good, and now you don't have to pay the import price.

Also:

Dodge has his first ACL recap up. Check it out.

Eisley

One band we saw at ACL that I forgot to mention was Eisley. Their sound has matured in the few years since I first saw them perform as MossEisley, and I'm always impressed by their incredible vocal harmonies. Plus, the new material they debuted at ACL was slightly darker than previous stuff and sounded really great. If you don't know these East Texas girls (and boys) yet, this fan site is a good place to start. Here are a couple of my favorite Eisley songs that cannot be found on their debut LP:

Over The Mountains mp3
Laughing City mp3
Pretender mp3

Get more rare live and unreleased Eisley tracks here

Elsewhere...

Kevin has his first ACL recap up (Thursday and Friday), complete w/ pics and review. I told you guys it would be better than mine.

ACL Recap

This weekend was amazing, and unfortunately I don't have time today to do a full review (coming back to work after a four day weekend sucks). So I'll spare you all the details and just give you some highlights:

• First of all, as you may have noticed from the pics, we had backstage V.I.P. passes to the Heineken stage. This made our entire weekend. Free beer and water, free food, and most importantly, free shade. Thank you so much Mel!
• Eating BBQ in Austin w/ the Arcade Fire and sushi in Dallas w/ the Walkmen. Okay not really with them, but at the tables right next to them. Members of both bands were really nice, in case you were wondering.
• Getting to hang out w/ Dodge and Kevin (and their wives) was awesome. All really great people. And you should check out their blogs because I'm sure their recaps and photos will be better than mine.
• The heat and dust were insane, even by Texas standards. Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far in Austin. I believe the official temperature was like 120 or something.
• Getting to see Melissa's favorite band for the first time, Mates of State. They were really energetic and fun, and their new songs sounded awesome.
• My boy Jesse spending most of the weekend watching football in our hotel room, yet still managing to make it out there to see almost all the bands he wanted to see, including Bloc Party, Oasis, The Black Keys, and Coldplay.
• Seeing the dude in Split Lip Rayfield play what appeared to be an old gas tank with weedeater strings, and actually making it sound good. (Angela got a great picture, so hopefully she'll hook me up so you can see what I'm talking about).
• Seeing Rilo Kiley from backstage. Jenny Lewis looked hot and seemed to be in a great mood despite playing at what was probably the hottest time of the day.
• The Black Keys. Wow. After seeing them twice this weekend, I'm still not exactly sure how two white boys from Akron, OH, make noise like that.
• Seeing the Arcade Fire two more times in three days. The Stubb's show was one of the best shows I've ever seen. They were great at ACL too, but the crowd was pretty lame. Just a bunch of people standing around.
• Coldplay's Chris Martin mentioning how great the Arcade Fire is at least 5 times during their set.
• Best sets of the festival (that I saw): Rilo Kiley, Kaiser Chiefs, The Walkmen, The Arcade Fire, and The motherfu**ing Black Keys, who are now one of my favorite bands. By the way you can download mp3s of their ACL set right here.

Now there's probably a ton of stuff I'm leaving out. But I'm sure Dodge and Kevin will fill you in when they get home.

My ACL Photos

I'm back from Austin, and I'm too exhausted to do a write-up/review of the festival today, so I'm just going to post some pics from the weekend. We had an awesome time, which I'll get into a little more tomorrow. Make sure to check Dodge and Kevin's blogs in the next couple of days, because they got some really amazing pics that are much better than mine. The Arcade Fire and Black Keys pics are from their show at Stubb's on Friday, which was one of the highlights of the weekend, and the rest of the pics are from the festival. Enjoy:

The Black Keys & Arcade Fire at Stubb's:








dios (malos):



Mates of State:


Kaiser Chiefs:



Rilo Kiley:




M83:


The Walkmen:

All These Days Just Melt Into Tomorrows

Okay one more post before I go:

I'm sure most of you heard about JetBlue Flight 292's emergency landing yesterday at LAX in which passengers watched the drama unfold via the satellite TV on their inflight TV screens. Luckily disaster was averted, but imagine watching your life unfold on live television and not knowing whether you were going to live or die. Pretty scary. Anyway, I thought this was pretty interesting:


From the CNN.com article:

Zachary Mastoon of New York said it was "surreal" to watch his plane's fate being discussed on live TV while it was in the air. At one point, he said, he tried to call his family, but his cell phone call wouldn't go through.

"I wanted to call my dad to tell him I'm alive so far," the 27-year-old musician said.

Well I Googled Zachary Mastoon and found out that he makes experimental hip hop (think Four Tet or Prefuse 73) under the name of Caural (check the Pitchfork review). Really cool stuff. Here's a couple mp3s:

Caural All These Days Just Melt Into Tomorrows mp3
Caural Lime Green Transfer mp3
Caural Aquarium mp3
Caural Dead Armies mp3

This is Not Good

Updated image as of 1 p.m. Eastern (looks like Austin is out of the direct path...still will likely see bad weather on Sat.):


Holy shit. The above image can't be good for our weekend plans. Now I realize our weekend plans are relatively inconsequential in the grand scheme of thangs, but it still sucks. Nevertheless, I'm leaving for Austin this afternoon and we are going to make the best of it. Should be a fun weekend, despite that dirty, dirty whore Rita. One good thing about all this hurricane coverage...you can never have too much Stephanie Abrams:


Anyway, I hope to make a few updates from Austin, complete with photos from ACL and the numerous other shows we'll be attending. But we'll see. I may just end up doing a huge recap on Monday. I'll leave you with a few tracks I've been rocking a lot lately...follow them links:

Devendra Banhart Lazy Butterfly mp3
(Probably the creepiest of many creepy tracks by Devendra, and one of my favorite from Cripple Crow)

Wolf Parade This Heart's On Fire mp3
(one of the best tracks off their upcoming album...sounds a little like Beck fronting Modest Mouse)

Metric Empty mp3
(opening track from Live It Out; such a good song)

Detroit Cobras Last Nite (The Strokes cover) mp3
(count me as one of those who like The Strokes' new single. Here my Detroit players cover The Strokes' first single)

The Black Angels

ACL (or Mudfest 2005, thanks to Hurricane Rita, which is now a Category 4 storm) is only two days away. Here's the last in my installment of Austin bands you should check out. Coincidentally (or maybe not so much) these guys will also be playing a few ACL After parties that I will try to coerce Dodge and Kevin into attending:


The Black Angels are from Austin, TX. And they will be opening for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and The Hourly Radio at their Dallas show @ Gypsy on Oct. 12. These guys (and girls) have a healthy obsession with the Velvet Underground and Nico, and the obsession manifests itself in their droning, drugged out brand of psych rock. And that's a good thing. Plus it makes for some ill concert posters. Here are some mp3s, courtesy of the band's website:

black grease
bloodhounds on my trail
doves
syd barrett blues

Buy the EP and other assorted merch here.

Stubbs the Zombie + Rza & MF Doom

So this game called Stubbs the Zombie is coming out for Xbox on October 18th. The premise of the game as I understand it: you're a zombie named Stubbs who goes around killing humans. And it's the 1950's.

Why should I care about some video game, you ask? The soundtrack kicks ass, that's why. '50's tunes covered by some of today's best indie bands. I will be buying both the game and the soundtrack. Check the entire tracklist here.

Here are a couple of my favorite songs from the soundtrack (follow link):

The Raveonettes My Boyfriends Back mp3
Rogue Wave Everyday mp3

Links removed @ request of Shout Factory.

Go here to view a preview video and hear more tracks from the album, including Ben Kweller's great cover of "Lollipop" and Death Cab's "Earth Angel".

Preorder the soundtrack here.
Preorder the game here.

Super bonus:


I posted about this the other day, and here it is, courtesy of Spine Magazine:

MF Doom and Rza Biochemical Equation mp3

Creativity Now

I received an email about Tokion Magazine's (which I love) 3rd Annual Creativity Now Conference in NYC on Oct. 15-16. I highly recommend attending if you have the chance. This year's diverse line-up of speakers includes notable names such as Todd Haynes, Ondi Timoner (Dig!), David Cross, Neal Brennan (Chappelle's Show), and of special interest to the blogosphere, Antony from Antony & the Johnsons. Check out the whole lineup and ticket info here.

Also...


Run DMC has re-issued 4 of their classic albums, complete with unreleased bonus tracks such as demos, live performances, single B-sides, and remixes. Check out the re-issues here. Here are a couple unreleased remixes, courtesy of Wiredset.

Run DMC Run DMC (Pete Rock megamix) mp3
Run DMC King of Rock (Charlie Chan megamix) mp3

The Kingsbury Manx

Thanks to Kevin for the heads up on these guys. Think The Shins, Calexico, Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, etc. Yeah these guys are awesome.

Oh yeah, and they're opening for Wilco this Saturday at their sold-out show at Stubb's in Austin. Can anybody hook a blogger up w/ tickets?

The Kingsbury Manx's The Fast Rise and Fall of the South comes out today (buy it). Here are a couple tracks from the new album: (follow link)

The Kingsbury Manx What A Shame mp3 (this one comes w/ Kevin's highest recommendation...great song)

The Kingsbury Manx Harness and Wheel mp3

Bonus (from previous efforts, via the band's website):

The Kingsbury Manx Pelz Komet mp3
The Kingsbury Manx Grape To Grain mp3
The Kingsbury Manx Over The Waves mp3

In ACL news...

If you're going to ACL (or even if you're not) you need to check out Janet's ACL previews. She did a great job previewing every single band that's going to be playing ACL this year.

Nastradoomus

I know a lot of y'all have been looking for this, and I finally copped it, so here are a couple of tracks. MF Doom remixes of Nas tracks. Should be enough description for you.

(follow link)

Nastradoomus Street Dreams mp3
Nastradoomus Hate Me Now mp3
Nastradoomus One Love mp3

nice and nicely done

Your boy (and mine) Dodge posted on these dudes the other day, so this post may or may not be necessary, but god damn if The Spinto Band doesn't make some of the most instantly likeable and unescapably infectious songs in recent memory. Seriously. I love these guys. Buy this record.

The Spinto Band Oh Mandy mp3
The Spinto Band Crack the Whip mp3
The Spinto Band Brown Boxes mp3

Also...

Check out Stranded In Stereo, a pretty cool new website (that I will be contributing to) featuring music/film reviews and more. While you're there, check out my first published review. Of course they spelled my name wrong, but I ain't complaining.

Bosque Brown

Bosque Brown is Texas singer-songwriter Lara Lee Miller. Discovered by Damien Jurado, who says Miller's voice combines "...the heartache of Kitty Wells and the lonesome howl of Robert Johnson", Miller's music is perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Here's what Junkmedia had to say:

"Like contemporaries Scout Niblett and Joanna Newsom, her songs are paragons of slow-dance pith: beautifully simple, and simply beautiful."

Listen:

Bosque Brown Still Afraid mp3
Bosque Brown Red Roses mp3
Bosque Brown Went Walking mp3
Bosque Brown You Said mp3

Buy it here.

M.I.A. Live in Austin

Continuing in my long line of subpar Saturday posts, here are my photos from last night's M.I.A. show in Austin. Since the venue didn't allow cameras, however, I had to make due with Melissa's camera phone. And although you'd never know it from these pics, the show was actually really great. The crowd was into it, and M.I.A. was awesome.

My only problem was with the venue: no cameras allowed (what the fu**?), bright lights shining directly into M.I.A.'s and the crowds faces, which she repeatedly asked to be turned off (to no avail), and busted mics and other assorted technical difficulties. Still, we had fun. And we were practically on stage, which was cool. Anyway, here are my crappy pics. Of course the ones of Spank Rock and the other chick turned out great, only the ones of M.I.A. turned out like shit.

Biochemical Equation

One more hip hop post before I take off for the weekend:


Just a quick heads up to check this out...Hip hop dream team MF Doom and RZA release the track Biochemical Equation (produced by RZA) from Think Differently Music via iTunes on Sept. 20. Should be good.

Also:

A lot of people hate The Streets, but Mike Skinner is my boy. And this kicks ass:

The Streets & Bloc Party Banquet Remix mp3

New Fiddy track taken from his upcoming film, Get Rich Or Die Tryin'. I guess this track is supposed to be his Lose Yourself

(via Spinemagazine.com):

50 cent Hustler's Ambition mp3

Some White Boy Sure To Imitate That

We will be making the trip to Austin this evening to see M.I.A. (check her new website) and Spankrock at La Zona Rosa. Who is Spankrock, you ask?



Spankrock, who started as a solo MC from B-more, but is now flanked by his DJ and a female MC named Amanda, has been described as "part MF Doom, part 2 Live Crew" A typical Spankrock live show is allegedly a little, ummm, sexually charged. What do you expect from a group whose hit song is called "Put That Pu**y On Me"?

Spankrock Put That Pu**y On Me mp3 (follow link)

Bonus:

Go to M.I.A.'s website to download acapella versions of her songs.

Extra Bonus--New Ghostface:

Ghostface Killah Be Easy mp3

Empty Rooms

I posted on Finest Dearest the other day, and it's nice to see them getting love around the other blogs...although the increased traffic to their website killed their bandwidth for a minute there. They even made it onto elbo.ws' "Top 10 Artists" list. Couldn't happen to a nicer band. Coincidentally, their song, "Sleep Until The Weekend" remains in heavy rotation on the Nano. In case you missed it the first time:

Finest Dearest Sleep Until The Weekend mp3


In related band news, if you liked Finest Dearest (which I know you did), check out Empty Rooms. These guys are from San Francisco, and they show much promise for a band that just released their debut EP. Aquarius Records says:

"The band oozes with composure as they unfurl their solemnly brooding, verging on goth style of rock. They'll undoubtably draw plenty comparisons to the moody likes of Interpol..."

Carly from Finest Dearest contributed vocals on "Form Has Two Faces", and both of these tracks are really good:

Empty Rooms Form Has Two Faces mp3
Empty RoomsTry Again mp3

Buy Empty Rooms' self-titled Ep here.
Check out the band's Myspace page.

The Roots + Deerhoof + TV On The Radio

How kickass would this show be, and it's for an important cause...if you're in Philly Friday night I suggest you go:


The Roots Clones mp3 (follow link--highly recommended)

Deerhoof Wrong Time Capsule mp3 (via Dreams of Horses)

TVOTR Dry Drunk Emporer mp3

Bonus:

Blackalicious Your Move mp3

Sufjan B-Sides and way more megapost

Katrina Kerns (best photo ever by Brooklyn Vegan)

Dude how bad does it suck that Sufjan's current tour isn't coming within 500 miles of Dallas? Illinois is my album of the year, and I'm not going to see the tour supporting it. Which means I don't get to see Katrina Kerns. So lame. And to make matters even worse, Sigur Rós, creators of what could very well be my album of the year runner-up, aren't coming to Texas either, although my friend Marcel and I may be basing a Vegas trip around them. Okay enough with the whining...

Here are a couple Illinois b-sides (follow link):

Sufjan Stevens Chicago (To String Remix by Jon Galloway) mp3
Sufjan Stevens The Avalanche mp3

On the bright side, I'm going to see M.I.A. tomorrow in Austin, then going back to Austin next week for ACL, where I'll be seeing the Arcade Fire twice and hanging out with some of the world's most famous mp3 bloggers. Say hi if you see us, we'll be the nerds competing for the best pictures for our blogs.


In related news, I'm hoping Diplo will be DJ'ing for Maya tomorrow in Austin. That Diplo is a funny motherfu**er...check out his response when asked about his Central Park show w/ M.I.A.:

"Central Park was just like a joke, man. Corny crowd. Didn’t even know "Heads High," but knew "Bucky Done Gun." It’s like, "Huh? What planet are you from? Planet Blog?"

Ouch. Nevertheless:

Diplo Diplo Rhythm mp3 (follow link)
Mr. Vegas Heads High mp3 (follow link-now you bloggers know)

Finally, thanks to Torr for the heads up on the following:

An incomplete list of shows I will be attending in the near future has been added to my sidebar (via upcoming.org). Holler at your boy.

Torr calls these guys the "Swedish Polyphonic Spree", but to me they sound more like the Swedish Brady Bunch. Either way, I'd say they're worth a listen:


I'm From Barcelona We're From Barcelona mp3
I'm From Barcelona Treehouse mp3

New Wilco

Wilco has announced a Nov. 1 release date for their live album, Kicking Television-Live In Chicago. I'm pretty excited that we will be seeing Wilco at least once, and maybe twice (if we can swing tickets) in a couple weeks. Here are a couple live tracks, courtesy of Glide Magazine:

Wilco I Am Trying To Break Your Heart (live)
Wilco Hummingbird (live)

Also:

The Onion's A/V Club reviews Thumbsucker and Sigur Ros' Takk.

My First Interview

Claudia Deheza (photo by Karen Ngo)

Claudia Deheza (formerly of On!Air!Library!; currently of Daylight's for the Birds) was nice enough to grant Gorilla vs Bear its first interview. I didn't want to take up too much of her time, so it's pretty short (she's a busy girl, with DFTB and a new project coming up w/ Prefuse 73's Scott Herren). But I was curious about O!A!L!'s breakup and her new projects.

Here ya go:

Me: Okay, first, fans of O!A!L! were pretty disappointed about the band's breakup, but at the same time, the Daylight's For the Birds material I've heard is really exciting. The band's myspace page says the songs were influenced in part by "various break-ups and bouts of homelessness, as well as the unsettling social and political climate of the first half of 2005". Can you elaborate on that a little, and explain how it contributed to the birth of the band?

Claudia Deheza: Well, that statement includes everyone in the band. As far as I go, I had to move unexpectedly and found myself couch surfing for a couple weeks until I found a new place, all while dealing with a few pretty upsetting personal situations. And of course, there was coming to terms with the break up of OAL after five great years.



Me: Based on the tracks you contributed to Prefuse's "Surrounded by Silence" and Scott's words on his website, I'm pretty anxious to hear A Cloud Mireya. Can you describe how the project came about and the songwriting/recording process/collaborative dynamic between you and Scott, as well as give a little description of the project's sound?

CD: Scott and I's first collaboration was actually a Savath and Savalas tour. He needed a singer so I did the tour and started making music with him shortly after. We made a song one day while we were just sitting around and realized we had this amazing creative chemistry. It all just went from there.


Claudia (photo by Tracy Sham)

Me: Do you and alejandra have that telepathic link thing going on that twins often describe? Does that make it more/less difficult to make music together? any projects planned w/ her in the future?

CD: Yes, Alley and I do have the "twin thing" that people are so curious about. I think everyone has it to a certain degree with someone that they're close to. It's just stronger in twins. I love working with her, although we have nothing planned at the moment. She's actually recording an album with Benjamin Curtis from the Secret Machines. (Ed. note: yes!)

Me: What artists/bands have you been listening to most or drawn inspiration from lately?

CD: Lately I've been listening to Alog, Mark Hollis, and lots of Thin Lizzy. Icy Demons are also amazing.

Me: do you read mp3 blogs at all? any thoughts on them?

CD: I don't read any mp3 blogs, no. I wouldn't know where to start, really. Is that what this is?

Claudia, being the sweet girl that she is, even closed by saying "I didn't think your questions were lame at all. Thank you so much for showing interest in the band and writing about us. Keep in touch."

Claudia Deheza's Music Recommendations:

Alog Pesce Spada mp3
Icy Demons Desert Toll mp3
Daylight's For The Birds Worlds Away mp3

Dirty

From ODB's upcoming album, A Son Unique.

Dirty and Ghostface. Produced by the Rza. Enjoy:

Ol' Dirty Bastard Back In The Air (Feat. Ghostface Killah) mp3

Bonus: New Redman!

Redman Rush The Security mp3

mp3s courtesy of Spine Magazine (get em while they last)

Bottom Of The Barrel

I know absolutely nothing about this band, other than the fact that it is Howe Gelb's (Giant Sand) project, and according to Insound, has contributions from gorilla vs. bear favorites M. Ward, Grandaddy, Scout Niblett, and members of the Arcade Fire. Plus I thought Kevin would like the band's name. This is how the band's label describes it:

This band has no members. No memberships is loud anymore. It is mostly a place to get things fixed. Sometimes such things are dinged but deemed durable. If it is not broke it won’t get fixed. It is mostly hot here. We promise we will get right to it sooner or later. We offer up quadruple A protection and services. If you are a stickler, you can count on AAAA.

Okay then. Listen:

Arizona Amp and Alternator Bottom Of The Barrel mp3

The album comes out tomorrow, Sept. 13 (i think). Buy it.

I Love Tuesday

I always look forward to Tuesdays for new music releases, but today is an especially great day for new music. I got Sigur Ros' Takk in the mail yesterday (thanks Penny), and over the last month or so it has firmly entrenched itself in my year-end top 5. Also, I got the Thumbsucker Soundtrack at the Polyphonic Spree show; it's worth getting for the 3 Elliott Smith songs alone, and the new Spree material is great.

Here are a few tracks from albums released today:

(follow links to download mp3s)

Elliott Smith "Trouble" (unmastered version--download the mp3 here)
Sigur Ros Saeglopur mp3
Super Furry Animals Lazer Beam (Danger Mouse remix) mp3
Paul Wall Trill mp3
Iron & Wine/Calexico He Lays In The Reins mp3

And since I know you're busy, I'm going to make it real easy for you:

Hey! It's Time

Man, last night's Polyphonic Spree show was so amazing. I can't even put it into words. I've seen these guys probably 12-15 times, but this night was special. Definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen, and I go to a lot of shows. And I have to say, these are some of the best show pics I've ever taken, considering my camera is what you might call a little dated:

New MC Paul Barman

MC Paul Barman is often too clever for his own good. While he has worked with some of the most important names in hip hop (Del, Prince Paul, MF Doom), a lot of people can't stand his "look at how smart I am" lyrics and white boy flow, but this politically tinged track is pretty good. Listen:

MC Paul Barman Sept. 11th mp3

Bonus: MC Paul Barman Learn 101 mp3

Get a couple more mp3s at MC Paul B's website.

Also...

Trent from Pink is the New Blog went to the Sufjan show last night in Detroit. Here's his pic:

New Franz Ferdinand

I honestly wasn't too enthused about the new Franz Ferdinand album, You Could Have It So Much Better. But that was before I heard this song. In my opinion, this is the best thing they've done so far. I played it for a few friends who were all surprised to hear when I told them who it was, which is a good thing, I think.

Franz Ferdinand Eleanor Put Your Boots On mp3 (follow link)

Another piano-driven track from the new album:

Franz Ferdinand Fade Together mp3 (follow link)

Of course, the rest of the album is unmistakably Franz Ferdinand, which is also a good thing.

Pre-order You Could Have It So Much Better here

Also:

The Polyphonic Spree show was amazing...pics and words later this evening.

Bowie and The Arcade Fire

Thank the Us Kids Know forum for this one:

Arcade Fire + David Bowie Wake Up (live @ Fashion Rocks) mp3 (follow link)

Bonus:
Download The Arcade Fire covering the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" at Brooklyn Vegan.

Tonight

The Spree loves PETA

The Polyphonic Spree, fresh from their performance last night at PETA's 25th Anniversary Gala in front of a bunch of celebrities (Pam Anderson, Morrissey, Joaquin Phoenix, and others), perform for their hometown fans tonight at The Granada here in Dallas.

Rumor has it that this will be your first chance to get a copy of the Thumbsucker soundtrack, featuring new material from the Spree and unreleased Elliott Smith songs. From what I've heard of it so far, this will likely be one of my albums of the year.

I'll be there, so hopefully pics will follow tomorrow or Tuesday.

Buy the Thumbsucker Soundtrack here

My New Toy and Finest Dearest

I picked up a black iPod nano yesterday, and this thing is awesome. One of the first bands that found their way onto my new obsession (after the new Rogue Wave, Sigur Ros, Metric, Animal Collective, and Wolf Parade cds) was Finest Dearest:



Finest Dearest's music is self-described as sounding like "good early 90's indie", so I wasn't expecting anything all that special. Now, maybe it was the mood I was in, or the fact that it was 2 a.m., but their song "Sleep Until The Weekend" really got to me. (I think it's front-woman Carly's earnest lyrics and passionate voice). There's a certain longing there that made me all nostalgic.

Anyway, turns out "good early 90's indie" is actually a perfect description. I can't wait to hear more from this band, and I will definitely be keeping my eye on them. Here are a couple songs from their debut EP, Pacemaker (due out this month):

Finest Dearest Sleep Until The Weekend mp3
Finest Dearest Idaho mp3

Visit the band on MySpace

Also:

I'm not going to even mention that my Michigan squad played like complete garbage yesterday. Hopefully my Detroit Lions will make up for it today.

Fish Market

Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 is one of my favorite mc's of all time. His baritone flow is one of the most recognizable in hip hop. This track is from his Fish Market mixtape, which apparently is a precursor to his debut solo LP, Fish Outta Water, due out later this year.

mp3 (follow link)

Chali 2na Join The Dots (featuring Roots Manuva)

Okay I'm off to watch the Michigan take care of Notre Dame. I predict 31-24.

Katrina Songs

There have been a few excellent songs recorded by socially conscious artists since Katrina devastated much of the Gulf Coast, and they all have a similar theme: George Bush doesn't care about black people or poor people. I think we knew this before, but in my mind recent events have reinforced my sentiment that the current administration can go f**k themselves.

Mos Def Katrina Clap mp3
K-Otix George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People mp3
TV on the Radio Dry Drunk Emporer mp3

Today's Your Day

My boy Fatlip (formerly of The Pharcyde) releases his solo LP soon (or maybe it's already out, I can't keep up w/ this shit), and here are a few tracks. If you haven't seen the video/documentary Spike Jonze did with Fatlip, you're missing out for real. It's hilarious.

Fatlip What's Up Fatlip? mp3 (most highly recommended)
Fatlip Today's Your Day mp3
Fatlip Joe's Turkey mp3

Thanks Prefix for the heads up.

O Honey, We're Ridiculous

According to Pitchfork, my Detroit players PAS/CAL are preparing their debut LP, Citizen's Army Uniform, to be released "some unspecified fraction of our attention span from now." Now this could hardly be considered news, until you consider that the album was supposed to come out in "early 2005", which most likely ain't happening, considering it's now mid to late 2005. Anyway, regular readers of this blog (like i have any of those) know that I love these dudes, and I can't wait for the album.

Here are a couple tracks (recommended if you like Belle & Sebastian, The Beach Boys, or that one Saturn commercial that features PAS/CAL):

PAS/CAL Summer Is Almost Here mp3
PAS/CAL O Honey, We're Ridiculous mp3
PAS/CAL The Bronze Beached Boys mp3 (from the Saturn commercial)

Read all the glowing reviews of PAS/CAL here.

Also...

Everyone go wish Kevin from So Much Silence a happy 28th birthday. Man that guy is old. Here's a song in his honor:

Giant Drag Kevin Is Gay mp3

Who Knows What Goes On In Her Pretty Little Head

I have a feeling I'm a little late on these guys (I know Matt posted on them a little while back), but I was really impressed by this song. It's catchy as hell, and those drums in the chorus just make the song feel huge. And I think I have a thing for any song that features toy pianos. Anyway, check it out:

The Crimea White Russian Galaxy mp3 (follow link)

The Crimea's album, Tragedy Rocks, is due out in early '06, and the other tracks I've heard are really good too.

Bonus: Listen to 3 live tracks on The Crimea's MySpace page.

Also:

Watch Death Cab For Cutie's video for "Soul Meets Body" here:

Real Player
Quicktime

New TV On The Radio Track

TVOTR is one of my favorite bands for a few reasons, one being that they're never afraid to voice their collective opinion about the current state of our country and its (lack of) leadership. This is a new track from the band, recorded in light of recent events. From the Touch & Go website:

A Gift To You From TV On The Radio

"we ( tvotr ) were back in the studio thinking and
feeling again and made this song for all our
everybody... in the absence of a true leader we must
not forget that we are still together.... hearts are
sick ... minds must change ... it is our hope that
this song inspires, comforts, fosters courage,and
reminds us... this darkness cannot last if we work
together. let us help each other... heal each other
.... look after one another ... the human heart is our
new capitol.... this song is for you....
us.....we....them...
it is free. pass it on.

TO THOSE AFFECTED BY HURRICANE KATRINA : NEW YORK
CITY'S HEART IS WITH YOU... STAY STRONG !
WE LOVE YOU . -tvotr"

Thanks, guys.

TV On The Radio Dry Drunk Emporer mp3

Visit the band's blog

Edit: Wow, just reading the lyrics to this track...some intense stuff.

"what if all the fathers and the sons
went marching with their guns
drawn on washington.
that would seal the deal,
show if it was real,
this supposed freedom.

what if all the bleeding hearts
took it on themselves
to make a brand new start.
organs pumpin on their sleeves,
paint murals on the white house
feed the leaders L.S.D
grab your fife and drum,
grab yor gold baton
and let's meet on the lawn,
shut down this hypocrisy."

The People's Champ

Paul Wall

Paul Wall's much anticipated major label debut, The People's Champ, drops next Tuesday (Sept. 13). I realize this isn't the type of shit I normally post but I decided to feature these tracks for a couple reasons. First, look at my boy's grill. Second, he's local (sort of). And perhaps most importantly, on the first track he explains exactly what "trill" means, and on the second one we learn that Lil' Wayne paid Paul 100 grand for his grill. What it do:

mp3 (follow link)

Paul Wall Trill (featuring Bun B)
Paul Wall March (featuring Lil' Wayne)

Move Away and Shine

I know I've posted on this before, but here's a great article/interview in which The Polyphonic Spree's Tim DeLaughter discusses scoring his first film, Thumbsucker.

From Thumbsucker director Mike Mills (not the REM dude):

"Tim's a real genius about finding emotions in the pictures," Mills says. "This is the guy's first score, and he just intuitively did one that well. He really got what the score was about on the very one. It's almost huger than the [band's other accomplishments]. It's another format. That gets a lot of my respect."

I'm excited about this movie, and the score. Go to The Cavern on Monday night (Sept. 12) for the Thumbsucker CD Release Party to meet Tim and hear tunes from the soundtrack.

mp3 (follow link)

The Polyphonic Spree Move Away and Shine (live)

The Polyphonic Spree plays The Granada Theater on Sunday (Sept. 11). I'll be there.

José González

Although he has been mentioned in a couple places, I'm surprised José González hasn't gotten more love from the collective blogging community. Described as a cross between Nick Drake and Elliott Smith, this dude is really good. The songs are simple and sparse, yet filled out by his uniquely powerful and haunting voice. Plus, he's like, a Swedish dude named José González. Check him out:

José González Crosses mp3 (highly recommended)
José González Stay In The Shade mp3

Buy Jose Gonzalez' Veneer right here.

Feels Good Being Somebody

One of my favorite bands, dios (malos) (formerly just Dios), has a new album coming out next month. Filter Magazine hooks us up w/ an mp3 of the first single:

dios (malos) Feels Good Being Somebody mp3

dios (malos) plays ACL on Friday, Sept. 23. (1:50 P.M., Austin Ventures stage)

What Do You Intend To Do Young Man?

Gary Higgins

I'm busy this morning, so I'm going to get right to the point on this one: Gary Higgins' Red Hash is one of the best psych-folk records ever. Highly sought after (copies fetched well over $100 on ebay) but nearly impossible to find, the album was recently re-issued by Drag City.

I am obsessed with this album as of late, especially "Thicker Than a Smokey". Amazing that an album recorded in 1973 (that I had never heard until recently) is one of my favorite records of 2005. Highly recommended for fans of Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Six Organs of Admittance, etc.



mp3 (follow link)

Gary Higgins Thicker Than A Smokey
Gary Higgins It Didn't Take Too Long

Bonus cover: Six Organs Of Admittance Thicker Than A Smokey

Buy the Drag City re-issue of Red Hash here.

Read reviews of Red Hash here and here.

Daylight's For The Birds

Claudia Deheza

As reported by Pitchfork and Chromewaves recently, On!Air!Library has decided to call it quits. Turns out the impossibly beautiful Deheza twins wanted to concentrate on other projects, one of which is called Daylight's For The Birds.

Now I was going to post on them anyway, if only as an excuse to post a picture of Claudia Deheza, who I think I'm in love with. But it turns out their songs are actually really beautiful, and I think I like it as much or more than the O!A!L! stuff.


Cloudy Mireya

The band's MySpace page says "Daylight’s for the Birds fuses the aural inventiveness of O!A!L! with a newfound post-pop sensibility, resulting in heartbreaking, hummable songs that create towering sonic dreamscapes equal parts Spacemen 3 and The Carpenters". Count me in. And this song backs up the comparisons:

Daylight's For The Birds Worlds Away mp3

Also be on the look out for Claudia's other side project (w/ Scott Herren of Prefuse 73), A Cloud Mireya, about which Herren has this to say:

"She's the star, I'm just the backbone. With her vast and open mind, she'll be a household name due to the fact that she can rock over anything and give it light. It is something I loved making and it's bulletproof from any outside opinions."

SOUND team

Second in my installment of Austin bands that you need to hear is SOUND team, who were handpicked by Win Butler to open The Arcade Fire's Summerstage show in NYC. I was tipped off to these guys by Jared from Voxtrot (thanks Jared), another Austin band that I love.

The Austin Chronicle describes SOUND team as "pulling the best elements from Squeeze, the Walkmen, and Blonde Redhead, yet not aping a single one", but the best description of the band that I've seen comes from Citybeat:

"Though considerably edgier, if anything, SOUND team mildly resembles Wilco at their pre-deconstruction, Classic Pop finest, with pristine harmonies, rumbling organs of varying assortment (Farfisa, Moog, etc.) and an organic sense of writing that is beyond infectious."

SOUND team Don't Turn Away mp3 (via Brooklyn Vegan)

SOUND team plays ACL on Friday, September 23. (5:15 PM on the Austin Ventures stage)

Listen to a couple tracks at SOUND team's MySpace page.

Brooklyn Vegan also has an interview w/ the band.

******************

New Metric

The new Metric album, Live It Out, comes out September 27. Lead single "Monster Hospital" is a politically-charged rocker that recalls one of my favorite tracks from Old World Underground, "Succexy", and album-opener "Empty" is a great song that frontwoman Emily Haines (also of BSS) points to as "a breakthrough song for the band, one that showed them a path beyond Old World Underground’s new-wave formalism." I highly recommend you buy this album and see them live too (tour dates here).

mp3 (follow link)

Metric Empty
Metric Monster Hospital

Pre-order Live It Out here.
Metric plays the Gypsy Tearoom on Nov. 11. (buy tix)

Tonight @ Gypsy

Voxtrot

We will be attending The Hourly Radio (Dallas) and Voxtrot (Austin) show at Gypsy tonight...two great bands that will likely blow up nationally in the near future (THR has played w/ CYHSY, while Voxtrot will play CMJ in a couple weeks).

I've posted on THR before, so you know how i feel about them, and Voxtrot is equally awesome. Mundane Sounds says "It's impossible to listen to Voxtrot without tapping your toes or smiling from enjoyment" (I agree), while Up the Tree says "the real treat is for those that attend their live shows which are truly impressive. The band is tight and has an honesty which is intoxicating."

Voxtrot The Start of Something mp3
The Hourly Radio Closer mp3

Get tickets for tonight's show (only $6!)

Sufjan's "Wolverine"

The hot Detroit girl loves Michigan



The University of Michigan's National Championship run starts tomorrow in Ann Arbor, where they will take on (and destroy) Northern Illinois. Stay up on my boys right here.

Here's a related Sufjan B-side (from Greetings From Michigan) to honor my squad:


Sufjan rocking the Michigan hat

Sufjan Stevens Wolverine mp3 (follow link)

Bonus related tracks:

A Thousand Times Yes Yes Michigan mp3
Bear vs. Shark Michigan mp3

One more time, can't stress enough how awesome Mgoblog is for all of your Michigan Wolverines football information. Such a great site.

Tonight

Dallas' The Cavern is having its Grand Re-opening Party tonight, and it's going to be a good one. Many improvements have been made (including a new sound and lighting system that allegedly kicks ass), and the bar has an entirely new focus, intent on bringing in more local (Deathray Davies, Sorta, The Happy Bullets, etc.) and national (the motherfu**ing Fruit Bats!) indie acts. And that's just downstairs! The upstairs bar will feature a rotating lineup of local indie/electro/britpop/hip hop DJ's. Check their calendar page for the details.

The party starts tonight at 8, with local acts The Happy Bullets, Cordelane, and Salim Nourallah on the bill. If you live in Dallas, make sure you're there, it's going to be fun.

The Cavern is at 1914 Lower Greenville. Holler. I'll be the one drinking the free Heineken Light.

A downloadable preview of tonight's festivities: (follow link)

Salim Nourallah 1978 mp3
The Happy Bullets The Vice and Virtue Ministry mp3


***************************

Completely unrelated...

We had our Inaugural Blogger Nerd Fantasy Football League Draft last night, and while I was unable to partake, I did phone in some picks to my boy Jesse (although he inexplicably wasted my 3rd round pick on Chris Brown...he later redeemed himself by successfully getting Braylon Edwards and Charles Rogers for me on successive picks). But my team is straight gangster, consisting almost solely of Detroit Lions, with the exception of my team leader, Randy Moss. Yeah, in other words, my team sucks.

Also, please join me in welcoming Ashlee, a new fan of the blog, who left possibly the most awesomely rambling, nonsensical comment in the history of this or any other blog. Ever. Check it out (scroll down to the Turn Records post), and help me encourage many more comments just like this one.