New Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Here's a new track from Bonnie "Prince" Billy's upcoming first-ever live album, Summer in the Southeast (due out Nov. 15).

Bonnie "Prince" Billy Hearts mp3

Bronson vs. God has another track from the album.

Update:

The excellent Dreams of Horses (one of my favorite blogs...he's had some awesome stuff lately) has 3 tracks from the upcoming Tortoise and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy collaborative album, The Bold and The Brave, including this track, the album-opener:

Tortoise + Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Daniel mp3 (Elton John cover)

Why?

Elephant Eyelash, the new record from Anticon's Why?, is a collection of ridiculously catchy hip hop influenced indie rock.

Dusted Magazine says:

"There are so many surprising twists in the melodies, time signatures, lyrics and production that I'll keep returning to these songs for months. Elephant Eyelash is a terrific rock record, especially for a guy who's known as an MC..."

Recommended for fans of Pavement, Beck, Radiohead, and the Fiery Furnaces.



Why? Rubber Traits mp3
Why? Sanddollars mp3

Check out reviews of Elephant Eyelash on Metacritic

Buy it

The Squid and the Whale

Awesome movie, even better soundtrack. Written and beautifully directed by Noah Baumbach with the kind of impossible attention to detail reminiscent of his work with Wes Anderson, The Squid and the Whale is one of the best movies I've seen this year. Also the second movie in a row we've watched with Tim DeLaughter from the Polyphonic Spree sitting right behind us (the first being Thumbsucker). While I felt this clearly meant he was stalking us, it was suggested that he probably just has the same taste in movies. Whatever.

Here's one of the highlights from the soundtrack, used perfectly during a montage:

Lou Reed Street Hassle mp3

Bodies of Water

I was introduced to Bodies of Water by the great Music For Robots, and they are one of my favorite finds in a while.

These songs run the gamut stylistically from '60's California sunshine-pop to indie-folk to psych-rock, but all 3 sound like a band with a ton of promise. The band's website describes their sound as "lushly melodic," adding that they "eschew traditional verse/chorus songwriting, but they never, ever 'jam'."

Bodies of Water Here Comes My Hand mp3
Bodies of Water Love Will Call You By Name mp3
Bodies of Water Roar, Roar, Roar mp3

As of right now, you can only get the EP at this store, but the band assures us that it will soon be available from their website. I'll let you guys know.

Elsewhere:

Vashti Bunyan's Lookaftering, which i featured here last week (with mp3), is getting awesome reviews. Tiny Mix Tapes gave it a perfect score, and Pitchfork added it to it's Best New Music list.


In NBA news (sort of), ex-Detroit Piston Dennis Rodman has signed to play pro basketball. In Tijuana.

Iron & Wine + Calexico

Poster by Bryan Keplesky

We're going to see Iron & Wine and Calexico tomorrow night at the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth, and I'm real excited. So excited, in fact, that I'm offering you one of my favorite covers of all time:

Iron & Wine Waitin' For A Superman mp3 (flaming lips cover)

Bonus: another kickass cover!

Calexico Love Will Tear Us Apart mp3 (joy division cover) mp3

Good Hearted Woman

Willie

This comes to us from the cool people at the Polyphonic Spree Forum: The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne and Tim DeLaughter of the Polyphonic Spree covering Willie Nelson's "Good Hearted Woman". It's really short (about 1 minute) but to Tim's credit, you can hear he was ready to go longer until Wayne cut him off.

Tim DeLaughter + Wayne Coyne Good Hearted Woman mp3

Sweden is the new Montreal

On the heels of Dodge's posts on Swedish bands yesterday comes this post on yet another ridiculously likeable, impossibly good Swedish band with a misleading name: the Acid House Kings. If you're a fan of Kings of Convenience or Belle & Sebastian I can almost guarantee you will love these guys. Tiny Mix Tapes gushes about their new album:

"Mixing the sweet and gentle pop of Camera Obscura with the gorgeous intelligent dance sensibility of ABBA, Acid House Kings' newest will overwhelm your senses and make you fall in love."



Acid House Kings Do What You Wanna Do mp3
Acid House Kings This Heart Is a Stone mp3
Acid House Kings Sunday Morning mp3
Acid House Kings This and That mp3

Buy the album

If you like Swedish people as much as I do, check out this Swedish music blog

Also check out my previous posts on Swedish artists The Knife and Jose Gonzalez

Congrats

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Wall

It's been a bittersweet week for Paul Wall. His Houston Astros got swept by the Sox in the World Series, but he did find time to get married. To a sister. Keeping it trill. What it do. I don't even know what I'm talking about.

Anwyay, here's a link to his now irrelevant ode to the Astros:
(via So Much Silence)

Paul Wall They Don't Know (World Series remix) mp3

Book of Sand

In this installment of good bands with bad names, we have Tarantula A.D. Actually, their name isn't necessarily "bad", I just put off listening to them because the name sounded a little too death metal-y for me. But when I heard that their debut LP, Book of Sand, featured contributions from Devendra Banhart and CocoRosie's Sierra Casady, I figured they were worth a listen.



Let me start by saying this music isn't for everyone. Everything about this album is epic, from the cover art to the arrangements, instrumentation, and song structure. I'm really at a loss of words to describe their sound, so I'll let others do it for you.

Turnip says Book of Sand is "a living soundtrack of pounding rhythms, lush strings, spaced out opera and crashing rock...Sand is that creeping feeling you get when you run through the woods alone at night chased by a loved one who finally snapped"

Dude, that's kind of what I was thinking. Serious.

Mammoth Press says, "this is an album that you sit down with on a Saturday afternoon with a book and a cup of coffee and just soak in. Tarantula A.D really have something here, and for those with the patience to fully absorb it all there is a rich musical reward. I highly recommend this."

Finally, Mystery and Misery calls Tarantula "perhaps the most amazing live band I’ve ever seen."

The album comes out Nov. 8. (pre-order)

Tarantula A.D. Who Took Berlin (Pt. I) mp3

ACL News

The dates have been set for the 2006 Austin City Limits Festival. I guess the festival organizers thought that by moving the festival from the last weekend in September to the second to last weekend in September (Sept. 15-17), they would avoid those 100 degree temperatures. Good job guys. Organizers cite the fact that "the 30-year average high for the last two weeks of September is 88 degrees Fahrenheit (vs. 84 degrees Fahrenheit for first two weeks of October)." Apparently the organizers haven't heard of global warming.



In further ACL news, the ACL TV show will feature Austin locals and gorilla vs. bear favorites What Made Milwaukee Famous the week of Nov. 19. Franz Ferdinand will also perform on that episode.

What Made Milwaukee Famous Hellodrama mp3

thanks

First up, a couple of thanks are in order:

Thanks to everyone who took the time to put themselves on the gorilla vs. bear Frapper. Kind of a stupid concept, but it's cool to see where you guys are from and read your nice/interesting comments.

Also, blogger of the day award goes to Grambo from whatevs for his awe-inspiring pictures of Saturday Looks Good To Me's Betty Marie Best. Thanks dude.

Music:



Rocky Votolato is the newest signee to Barsuk Records (home at one time or another to the likes of Death Cab, Nada Surf, Rilo Kiley, etc.). He has drawn comparisons to Jeff Buckley, the Pernice Brothers, and Pedro the Lion. The following is a track from Rocky's Barsuk debut, Makers, due out Jan. 24, 2006.

Rocky Votolato white daisy passing mp3 (here)

Download songs from some of Rocky's previous efforts at his website

Also new from Barsuk:

The Long Winters Ultimatum mp3 (here)

Coach Said Not To

Coach Said Not To

I meant to mention these ladies a while back, then I saw that Dreams of Horses posted on them yesterday...so I figured maybe if mention them now, then maybe a bunch of other people will post on them, then they'll make it onto that elbo.ws Top 10 Artists thing and a bunch of people will buy their EP. Because it's good and they deserve it. Plus they have one of the best band names ever.

Coach Said Not To Shadow Puppets mp3

You Take My Breath Away

As regular readers of this blog can attest, when I get into an artist I tend to get a little obsessed and post on them relentlessly until you guys give in and listen just to shut me up (eg: Rogue Wave, Sufjan). Well, The Knife is my current obsession (3 posts in under a week!?), which is strange because I'm normally not into electro-pop like this.

But on my weekly trip to the record store to pick up the new Rogue Wave cd (I also got it on vinyl and got the 10:1 ep), I picked up the import self-titled debut from The Knife. I highly recommend you buy this if you can ever find it.

This track, however, is from their more recent album, Deep Cuts, which I could not find at the record store and is apparently not available in the U.S. (if anyone wants to hook me up w/ this I'd really appreciate it). This is not a cover of that 80's jam from Top Gun, but it does reference it. Which is only part of the reason I love it.

The Knife You Take My Breath Away mp3

Buy the album

Read more about The Knife at Music For Robots

We're Already There

Mazarin

I have to admit I was unfamiliar with Philadelphia band Mazarin until I found out they will be touring next month with SOUND team, so I thought I'd give them a listen. Not sure how I missed these guys before, but let's just say I was more than impressed.

Splendid says:

"This is wonderful stuff, immediately accessible yet impossible to wear out, as much power pop does, even after many repeated listens. Indeed, "Another One Goes By" has the feel of a classic, a song that will stick around forever, married somehow to the time and place in which it first took hold."

Hell, even Pitchfork gushed about them:

"For real, it's hard to find a track on this record that isn't at once impressive in its craft and deeply lovable on a sensual level"

The band is also very generous with their music, offering up 3 of the best tracks from the excellent We're Already There (buy it):

Mazarin Another One Goes By mp3 (highly recommended)
Mazarin Louise mp3
Mazarin We're Already There mp3

My Brightest Diamond

My Brightest Diamond is opening for Sufjan Stevens on his current European tour.

Shara Worden (UNT grad, Denton represent) sings, writes songs, and arranges for My Brightest Diamond, and she is also a member of Sufjan's Illinoisemakers. Here's a track from My Brightest Diamond's forthcoming album, Bring Me The Workhorse:

My Brightest Diamond Something of an End mp3

Small Stakes

Via Largehearted Boy:



Small Stakes has made available for purchase some of their new gig posters for the likes of Sufjan, Stars, Joanna Newsom, Death Cab, and The Walkmen. Some great stuff, and if you like one I suggest buying it now before it's gone forever. A couple more examples:

Album of the Week

I've been hyping this album for a while now, and it finally comes out this week, so buy it. I think I've mentioned before, this is one of my favorite records of the year.

Also, the band will be embarking on a U.S. tour in November, with dates in Denton on December 9th and Austin on December 10th.

Rogue Wave Publish My Love mp3
Rogue Wave 10:1 mp3

Download an additional track from Descended Like Vultures ("You") at Glorious Noise

Bonus Rogue Wave (from Out of the Shadow):

Every Moment mp3
Endless Shovel mp3

Elsewhere:

Good news for you guys on the left coast: the Silversun Pickups join Brendan Benson for that leg of his tour.

Heartbeats

The Knife

I threw up a hastily written post about The Knife's (or would it be The Knives'??) song "Heartbeats" last night. I stopped by the record store last night and picked up the import single and I've been rotating it with Jose Gonzalez's cover all morning...I can't decide which version I like better but they're both amazing.

So in a bit of "Heartbeats" overkill, I found this version, which is apparently a mashup of sorts that combines The Knife version with Jose Gonzalez's cover. Again, I'm worthless and i have no info on this, because I found it on a foreign website and I don't speak foreign.

The Knife + Jose Gonzalez Heartbeats mp3

Now, a little info on The Knife:



The Knife is a Swedish duo (Karin and Olaf, apparently brother and sister) who refuse to play live and "deride rock’n’roll for being outdated."

A statement from the band:

"We want to react against the organic, improvised expression. We wanna do a more synthetic, weird and non-organic expression. Within the artificial expression new moods and spheres arise. Electronic music is absolutely the music of the future. Machine music is good."

Watch the video for "Heartbeats" here.

Hard Lessons & The Nice Device

All my Detroit and Lansing readers, this show is going to be awesome. You have my guarantee. Plus that flyer has a boxer on it, and boxers are cool. So go. (thanks to possibly my coolest myspace friend Nicole for the heads up)

The Detroit Free Press says The Nice Device's "Birth of a Lover" is one of the strongest debut records to emerge from the fruitful Detroit scene in two years ..."

The Nice Device Little Birdie mp3
The Nice Device Oh Me Oh My mp3

The Hard Lessons "seamlessly meld a love of both Detroit's rock tendency--overdriven guitars and booming drums--
and soul style--preachy, soul-stirring swagger from the fiery Korin Cox" (says the Durham Independent)

Plus they've played with Brendan Benson, and he's my boy.

The Hard Lessons Milk and Sugar mp3

Both bands are on myspace and want to be your best friend:

The Hard Lessons
The Nice Device

In further Detroit news:

Make a Detroit Pistons pumpkin (via whatevs). I'm going with Rasheed.

Also, Glorious Noise offers up an "exclusive" Rogue Wave mp3 from Descended Like Vultures that was offered here about 2 months ago. Just sayin.

The Knife

I'm going to preface this post by saying I know absolutely nothing about The Knife, and I don't really have time to research them right now. But this song is fu**ing awesome.

I found it via Brooklyn Vegan's post on Jose Gonzalez (he covers this song on Veneer, and his version is great too...listen at his myspace). Something about this song makes me so nostalgic for the '80's. The part of the '80's that didn't suck. And I don't get nostalgic.

The Knife Heartbeats mp3

I found this song at Guava Maffiosa. Ridiculously good blog that you should all check out.

El Gato Esta Noche

If you're in Dallas, you should really check out this show tonight. El Gato is awesome. Unfortunately, I don't have any mp3s so you're going to have to trust me on that, or you can listen at their myspace page.

Salim Nourallah is also playing, and I know I've mentioned how much I like him. Fortunately, I do have an mp3:

Salim Nourallah 1978 mp3

Belafonte is also playing but I don't know them. Tickets are only $6.

Is the NBA Racist?

No more headphones for my boy Sheed

From cnnsi.com:

Indiana guard Stephen Jackson believes the NBA's new ban on bling-bling is racially motivated, but says he will abide by the rules.



Jackson, who is black, said the NBA's new rule about jewelry targets young black males because chains are associated with hip-hop culture, and he said the league is afraid of becoming "too hip-hop." In protest, he wore four chains to the Pacers' exhibition game against San Antonio on Tuesday night.

What do you guys think? I'm not convinced that it was a consciously racist decision, but Jackson's got a decent point...I think David Stern is a little out of touch with the league's fan base, who could care less what the players are wearing on the bench. Personally, I can't wait to go to a Mavs game and see all the players in their expensive suits, while team owner Mark Cuban parades around in his ridiculous acid-washed jeans and Mavs football jersey.

Read Cuban's comments about the dress code on his blog.

Oh yeah, for those of you who don't read Stereogum, a third track from the new Strokes album has leaked. Let the hipster backlash begin:

The Strokes 15 Minutes of Pain mp3

Thanks to everyone who put themselves on the map!

José González

First things first:

When bloggers get bored, we add stupid crap like this: Please take a second and put yourself on the gorilla vs. bear map. Rep your city, add a picture, etc. Only takes a minute. Thanks!

Okay, now some music:



I posted about a month ago on Swedish Argentine (or is it Argentinian Swede?) José González. In the post, I wondered why his album, Veneer, hadn't gotten much love from the bloggers here in the U.S. Well, that's changing quickly after his apparently incredible recent NYC shows.

Anyway, the album is great, and you should buy it. Here are a couple songs, the first one earning the coveted distinction of one of our favorite songs of the year. Something about his voice catapults him into that rarified Nick Drake/Elliott Smith category, at least for me:

José González Crosses mp3
José González Save Your Day mp3

Bonus:

songs:illinois has three live tracks from José, including his cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart". (thanks for the heads up, John!)

New Music

I bought two albums that were released yesterday, and they both come with my highest recommendation.



Animal Collective The Purple Bottle mp3

buy Feels here



dios (malos) Broken Bones mp3
dios (malos) Feels Good Being Somebody mp3

buy dios (malos) here

I also picked this up on vinyl:



Featuring members of Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Beck, etc. No mp3 for you guys (dude, it's for charity), but here's the music video, via YANP:

NAHPI Do They Know It's Hallowe'en video

The vinyl release includes remixes by Disco D and Th' Corn Gangg. Buy it here for under 5 bucks...all proceeds go to Unicef.

All right, fine, here's an mp3 that is not available on the release:
(via Razorbladerunner):

NAHPI Do They Know It's Hallowe'en (Cadence Weapon Remix)

SOUND team

Time for an update on everyone's favorite Austin band, SOUND team.

A few big things for the band: Rolling Stone reviewed their new EP Work, they started a new label to release their EP, and most importantly (for me anyway), the band will be playing at Trees on Nov. 13 (see all tour dates here). Everyone in Dallas should come out and make fun of Bill for smoking Misty Lites.

an mp3 from Work:

It's Obvious What's Happening Here

Update: Pre-order the EP right here for only 7 bucks!

The Raconteurs

Brendan Benson

Have I mentioned that I cannot wait for this?? (via LHB) The album isn't due out until early '06, but the first one to get me an mp3 wins a prize that won't suck.

The White Stripes Lovesick (Bob Dylan cover) mp3
Brendan Benson Tiny Spark mp3

Whatever Happened To Your Loving Heart

This may be a rather lengthy post for an artist you've never heard of, but bear with me, he's worth it:


Phil

I received Whatever Happened To Your Loving Heart, the debut CD from Phil and the fledgling release on Achord Recordings, in my mailbox yesterday:



I was immediately drawn in by the charming album artwork, and I was also intrigued by the accompanying press materials proclaiming Phil's Whatever Happened to Your Loving Heart "reminiscent of a young Gram Parsons, while lending a nod to more current artists like...Iron & Wine, or early Sufjan Stevens." Not likely, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

I felt an instant connection with this record. Phil's comforting vocals and earnest lyrics combined with near perfect production (Akron/Family's Ryan Vanderhoof co-produced) and instrumentation (a beautiful fusion of banjo, steel pedal guitar, piano, cello, and more) make for a pleasantly familiar and soothing listen that never becomes boring or derivative.

Whatever Happened To Your Loving Heart ranks with Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake It's Morning and Iron & Wine and Calexico's In The Reins as the best folk-country album of the year.

Phil Joke's On Me mp3
Phil Left Coast mp3

If you like these two album tracks, I highly recommend you buy the album here. Every track is exceptional, and there's not a weak song in the bunch.

Bonus: (non-album tracks)

Phil Whisper & Wail mp3
Phil Hey Ya mp3 (best cover of "Hey Ya" of all time)

New Vashti Bunyan

Vashti Bunyan's Lookaftering (due out Oct. 25) is one of the most highly anticipated folk albums of the year, featuring contributions from Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Adem, and more. The BBC says:

"Bunyan is back with a new collection of haunting, timeless songs. Lookaftering is authentically crafted, all aching melodies played on acoustic instrumentation. Her crystalline voice blows through the natural world with a fragile, classic force that contemporary ears may find difficult to ignore."

Recommended for fans of Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Iron & Wine, etc.

mp3:

Vashti Bunyan Against the Sky (feat. Joanna Newsom on harp)

Buy the album here

Elsewhere...

Go check out Dodge's contest for this week, in which you can win some stuff from MOKB favorite Stellastarr* The best part about it: the winner is selected at random, so you can be a complete moron and still win!

The Like In-store Photos

I went down to Good Records yesterday afternoon with Jesse from Indoor Fireworks for The Like's In-Store performance, and they sounded surprisingly good (and they sounded even better at their packed show later last night at Gypsy Tearoom). The Like's singer wanted to hook up with Jesse I think, after he knew the words to a Split Enz song they played. Here are some pics and an mp3...check these girls out if you get the chance.





Jesse with The Like:


Guest drummer Tim DeLaughter (hey, it is his store):


The Like What I Say and What I Mean mp3

The Go! Team + The Grates: Live @ Trees

These are from The Go! Team's show at Trees on Saturday (the first stop on their current U.S. tour). If this tour comes through your town, check it out.

Opening act The Grates won the crowd over with their energetic set. Frontwoman Patience is like a cuter, more wholesome Karen O, and you'd be hard pressed to find a singer with more energy and stage presence. Plus, she has some insane dance moves.





The Grates Sukkafish mp3

The Go! Team pics:

Unreleased Elliott Smith

I've got a lot of good stuff for you guys that I'll be posting throughout the day (pics and some unreleased music), but I'll start off with this:



These tracks are among the best of the 22 recently leaked Elliott Smith songs, which are being called From A Basement On The Hill II. Read about the leak on MTV.com.

Elliott Smith The Worst Part Is Almost Over mp3
Elliott Smith High Times mp3

Get the rest of the tracks courtesy of Elliott Smith B-Sides.

The Arrogants

Download some tracks from the first full-length cd from The Arrogants, entitled you've always known when best to say goodbye... Beautiful indie pop music, recommended for fans of The Sundays or Mazzy Star.

I Want You mp3
Don't Be So Cynical mp3
Wishing Well mp3

Buy the album-23 tracks + a DVD for only $7.50!!
Download a ton of tracks from The Arrogants @ their Myspace page

A Cloud Mireya

We finally have some tracks from A Cloud Mireya's (Prefuse 73 + Claudia Deheza) upcoming release. Unfortunately, I don't have mp3s yet, but listen over at the band's Myspace page. If you only have time to listen to one track, make it "Try To Hide". Beautiful.

Related: read my recent interview w/ Claudia Deheza.

The Ettes

I checked this band out because someone commented on Dodge's blog that their drummer was hot. According to the band's MySpace page, they sound like "Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Patsy Cline, the Slits, Thee Headcoatees, the Runaways, the Strokes, Portishead, the Stooges, Blondie, the Ramones, and a little bit like your mom."

I like the other songs I've heard from them more than this one, but it was the only mp3 available on their website, so it'll have to do. And yeah, the drummer is hot. So is the bassist. And the singer.

The Ettes Gimme mp3


Going to the Go! Team show tonight at Trees, pics/words coming tomorrow.

SSLYBY

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

I hate when bad names happen to good bands. How many people won't even give Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin a chance just because they think the name is ridiculous? Admittedly, I almost dismissed them before I ever heard a song, which would have been a shame. Please check these guys out.

"Piano-driven pop that pulls heavily from Wilco, Weezer and even the Elephant 6 collective, Broom might just be the best album I have heard in 2005 from anyone."
--Riverfront Times

SSLYBY House Fire mp3 (highly recommended)
SSLYBY Cora mp3

update: Get a couple more great tracks from Matt's blog

Buy SSLYBY's excellent album, Broom, here

Buy their new split EP from Catbird Records

Bonus: (for those of you who can't get over the name)

Breaking news: Jessica Alba looks hot in HDTV

Devendra + CYHSY + Architecture in Helsinki Photos

Excuse the enormity of this post, but it was a long night: Here are my photos/thoughts from last night's shows:

The Architecture in Helsinki in-store at Good Records was a perfect start to the night. It's impossible not to like these guys. Everyone in the packed store (including the band) had smiles on their faces. My only complaint is that they only played about 5 songs. But hey, it was free and we got free pizza and beer, so I guess I can overlook the brevity of the performance.







Clap Your Hands Say Yeah went on at around 10:50, which meant we could watch for about 30 minutes before we had to take off for The Cavern. It was a solid performance, if a little uninspired. But I'll admit that they seemed to be hitting their stride right as we were leaving (we left after Over and Over Again), so we probably missed the best part of the show. Opening acts The Black Angels and The Hourly Radio are both worth checking out if they hit your town.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah:





Devendra Banhart's show was the highlight of the night, no question. We arrived at the sold-out (and possibly oversold) venue right as he was about to take the stage, and the place was ridiculously packed and hot. We were stuck near the back:



Short of an act of God, we weren't getting anywhere remotely close to the stage. Luckily, right as Devendra launched into "Lazy Butterfly" (one of my favorites off Cripple Crow), God made two idiots start beating the shit out of each other. Pretty surreal, but surprisingly the song made a good soundtrack to a bloody brawl. As two huge bouncers escorted the morons out the front entrance, we got behind one of said bouncers and followed his big ass all the way to the front row in time for Banhart's insane version of "I Feel Like A Child". Devendra Banhart is an absolute spectacle on stage, and you should go see him live if you ever get the chance. One of the best shows of the year.

PostSecret

I'm sure most of you know already know about PostSecret, but I'm posting about it in case you don't, because it's one of my favorites. People send in postcards with their secrets, and this site posts them for us to read. Here's a current example:



Pre-order the Post Secret book

The Bell Orchestre

The Bell Orchestre, aka Richard and Sarah's (of the Arcade Fire) other band, creates horn and strings driven instrumental music that sounds nothing like the Arcade Fire. According to Rough Trade America, this track is "an ethereal frenzy of fiddles that sounds like nothing else out there..."

The Bell Orchestre Throw It On A Fire mp3

New Sufjan Stevens: "She Is"

What, you thought I forgot about my boy Sufjan? Illinoise is still my album of the year, and here's a new track from Dream Brother - The Songs of Tim + Jeff Buckley, which also features contributions from The Earlies, Micah P. Hinson, and The Magic Numbers (among others).

Sufjan Stevens She Is mp3

Buy the album here

The Detroit Cobras

So, we made it to all three shows last night, and you guys were right. Devendra was equally bizarre and amazing. CYHSY weren't bad, but were a little underwhelming. And Architecture in Helsinki were really...cute? They only played a few songs but were incredibly likeable. I actually got pretty solid pics from all three shows (coming this evening).

In the meantime, check out this really nice mention the blog received in Portland State's The Daily Vanguard.

And here's a quick post (dude, I'm real tired):



The Detroit Cobras new LP, Baby., was released on Sept. 27. But I know what you guys are thinking...what does Playboy Magazine have to say about it?

"Our greatest current party band. Singer Rachel Nagy has Patsy Cline's pipes and Courtney Love's attitude. The band is raucous and raw and the songs are saucy classics. Hot Damn!?"
--Playboy Magazine

mp3:

The Detroit Cobras I Wanna Holler (But The Town's Too Small)

Buy the album here

iPod Video

What do you guys think about this thing? I may have to get one now.

do the whirlwind

How could you not go see this guy live?

Tonight is going to be a good one. We will be attempting to see three shows at three different venues. First up, Architecture in Helsinki in-store at Good Records. Free food and beer. I've heard nothing but great things about this band's live performance, so it should be cool.

Next, we will make the half-mile trek from Good Records to Gypsy Tearoom, where we will be seeing Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (w/ support The Hourly Radio). I've read mixed reviews of CYHSY's live show, but at least THR is reliably good. (You doing lights tonight, Torr?)

Finally, we will race up Greenville Ave. to The Cavern, where Devendra Banhart goes on around 12 or so. Not sure if we'll make this one (depending on what time CYHSY actually takes the stage), but I've been listening to Cripple Crow a lot lately, and I'd really like to see him live.

Black Dice is also playing tonight, but it's up in Denton so we won't be able to make it. But if you're in Denton and you go, let me know how it was.

Pics and words coming tomorrow evening (hopefully).

Architecture in Helsinki Do The Whirlwind mp3
Devendra Banhart Quedate Luna mp3
CYHSY Over and Over Again (Lost + Found) mp3
The Hourly Radio Closer mp3

My Broken Bones

Here's an excellent track from the new dios (malos) album. Not sure why these guys don't get much love around the blogs. Hopefully this album will change that. Anyway, have a listen:

dios (malos) My Broken Bones mp3

Bonus: New Cat Power!



Cat Power The Greatest mp3

Tiny Cities Made of Ashes

You have to love the blogging community. Today's blogger of the day is Ryan, who not only sent me the Muzzle of Bees 2-disc compilation (which I received in the mail today, and it's absolutely awesome), but also hooked me up with Sun Kil Moon's Tiny Cities. For those who don't know, this is Mark Kozelek's album of Modest Mouse covers, due out Nov. 1.

This track, his cover of one of my favorite Modest Mouse songs, is absolutely stunning. An entirely original take on a great song:

Sun Kil Moon Tiny Cities Made of Ashes mp3

Buy it here (most highly recommended)

Broken Ear Record

Black Dice comes to Denton (Hailey's) tomorrow night. I won't be able to make it (we will be attempting to see Architecture in Helsinki, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Devendra Banhart all in the same night), but if you like your dance music chaotic and impossibly loud, you should go check them out.

Also, check out this website where you can waste a few minutes making your own art based on Black Dice's awesome/hideous Broken Ear Record album cover.



Bomber the Cat hates Black Dice

Black Dice Smiling Off (DFA Remix) mp3

The Runners Four

The Runners Four, the new LP from San Francisco art-noise rockers Deerhoof, comes out today. Now I have to admit, at the risk of losing what's left of my street cred, that I don't really "get" these guys. I generally like my pop songs to sound like, umm, songs. You know, with some sort of structure. But I have to admit: I may have been wrong. This song from the new album is fu**ing greatness:

Deerhoof You Can See mp3

Okay now the fact that I love this song leads me to believe I was missing something before. Then I listened to a couple more tracks from The Runners Four and found myself really digging them. Then I heard this song, and I was hooked:

Deerhoof Running Thoughts mp3


The Runners Four

Crap. Now I'm going to have to buy the album

Also Released today (and recommended):

dios (malos) dios (malos) (buy)
DangerDoom The Mouse & The Mask (buy)

The Greatest

I'm always looking for an excuse to post a picture of Chan Marshall:

Pitchfork has the details on Cat Power's new album, The Greatest. They say that the new album "continues the trend of her guest turn on Handsome Boy Modeling School's I've Been Thinking, turning the indie rock chanteuse into a simmering Southern diva". Count me in for that.



Handsome Boy Modeling School I've Been Thinking (feat. Cat Power) mp3

Coastlines are Landmines

100% of the credit for this post goes to Matt, who just posted on these guys. He says that if you love(d) Beulah, you'll love The Light Footwork. And he's right. Man, it's tough to keep up with that kid...how he finds out about all these new bands I will never know.

Anyway, this is one of his better finds in recent memory, so I'm posting it in case you missed it. Highly recommended:

The Light Footwork Coastlines are Landmines mp3

Buy the album here

Mi and L'Au

You have to love artists with interesting back stories. From the Young God website:

"Mi and L'au met in Paris a few years back. Mi is Finnish and was working as a model to make ends meet and L'au (who's French) was working in the music industry (soundtracks, I think). They fell deeply and immediately in love, and after a short period of moving from apartment to apartment in Paris, they gave everything up and decided to move to the woods in Finland, so they could be alone together in peace and to spend their time discovering each other and their music. They live in a small cabin in complete isolation with the barest of essentials (except in the brutal Finnish winter, when they move to Helsinki) and they spend virtually all their time making music together in solitude. They are pure and gentle souls (Devendra's song, from oh me oh my "gentle soul" was written for L'au – the two had met in Paris when Devendra was wandering there, and L'au took him in, and they also made music together). Their music is bare and austere, made with simple instrumentation - voice, acoustic guitars, and other very sparse orchestrations. I wouldn't say it compares at all to the current crop of neo hippy "weird folk" etc. It has the naked quality of certain early Nico recordings, or Chet Baker...soulful and elegant, without being touchy-feely or confessional. Their music reminds me of how one might imagine a winter Finnish landscape - haunting and pure."

Mi and L'au They Marry mp3
Mi and L'au Older mp3

Bonus--a couple new hip hop tracks from Spine Magazine (thanks to Kevin for the heads up):

Jurassic 5 Red Hot mp3
Ghostface Kilos (feat. Raekwon) mp3

Akron/Family & Angels of Light

Akron/Family's self-titled LP is one of my favorite releases of the year. The band will be releasing a split LP with Angels of Light on Oct. 31. Here's a track from the album:

Akron/Family & Angels of Light Dylan Pt. 2 mp3

Listen to more tracks from the album here
Buy it from Young God Records

Bonus:

Akron/Family Running, Returning mp3
Angels of Light Dawn mp3
Angels of Light Untitled Love Song mp3
Angels of Light Song For My Father mp3

The Jamie Lidell Show

We had a good time last night up in Denton at the Four Tet show at Hailey's. Four Tet and Koushik were pretty cool. They both create some really cool sounds with their laptops and knob-twiddling, and while I was pretty impressed by some of the things these guys are able to do, it doesn't make for the best live show.

But Jamie Lidell was the shit. If you ever get the chance to see this guy live, don't pass it up. He samples his own beat-boxing and vocals on the fly, then sings over them. My friend Eric's impression was that he's a combination of Aphex Twin, Stevie Wonder, and Kool Keith. I'd throw Beck in there too. In my opinion, Lidell could be a huge pop star if he wanted to, but luckily he loves chaotic noise way too much for that. Hopefully you can tell from the following pics that this dude gets down.







Koushik:


Four Tet:



Random dude dancing to Four Tet:


Four Tet:

I Don't Think So

Okay, I know I'm going a little overboard on the posting frequency today, but this could not be ignored:

Esquire Magazine has named Jessica Biel the Sexiest Woman Alive. Okay, no. No offense, Ms. Biel (I know you're reading this, girl) but they picked the wrong Jessica.

Related mp3:

The Streets Fit But You Know It Remix (feat. Kano and Lady Sovereign)

Stay home and drink a Lone Star

This is a pretty huge weekend here in Dallas. The University of Texas Longhorns take on the Oklahoma Sooners at Dallas' Cotton Bowl in the annual Red River Shootout.

A weekend of drinking, partying, general debauchery, a traditionally boring-ass football game, and apparently, a kick ass rap battle. Now I don't usually take part in these festivities, because I am not a fan of either team. But this rap battle, brought to my attention by my boy Jesse, is an instant classic in my opinion.

Take two of the best local MC's: one a UT fan from Austin (Bavu Blakes, who you may know from his beef with Scion), one an OU fan (HeadKrack). And this is what you get:

HeadKrack:
If longhorns have beef, then we coming with cleavers
turn your front line into fall guys like Colt Seavers
but this aint Nick at Nite, aim like Rhett Bomar
to the hands of Travis Wilson for 95 yards

Bavu Blakes:
I'm confused so far...who the hell is Rhett Bomar?
Y'all lost to TCU, stay home and drink a Lone Star
Sooner than later y'all oughta recruit Jesus
'Cause you'll need a miracle with those terrible receivers

Oh snap!! Round one goes to Bavu Blakes for sho.

HeadKrack:
please, you'll get defeated like an amputee
meet at the West End for a loser jamboree
y'all destined to fail like a ship with no sail
63-14 again...oh well

Bavu Blakes:
yea yea krack, whatever you said
call me at halftime when we're 20 points ahead
and when my longhorns win, you'll be shocked again
by seein' Big Tex flippin' the bird to Big Red

Game over. Bavu Blakes is your winner folks. So here's an mp3:

Bavu Blakes Too Selfish (Live on KVRX)

Read the whole battle here.

What Made Milwaukee Famous

"You could easily see someone like Absolutely Kosher, Barsuk or even Sub Pop putting out What Made Milwaukee Famous' next long player and all the kids lauding the rarely heard debut because of those MP3’s they downloaded a few weeks before. Get up on it, before they get up on The OC and you have to lie to your friends that you knew them way back when."
--Stylus Magazine

We saw What Made Milwaukee Famous when they opened for The Black Keys and the Arcade Fire @ Stubb's during ACL weekend. Here was an unsigned band, about to play the biggest show of their lives, and then play an even bigger show at ACL. They were loving life at this point, and it showed in their music. These guys are good. Really fu**ing good. So like Stylus Magazine says, get up on them now:

What Made Milwaukee Famous mp3s:

Hellodrama (highly recommended!)
Almost Always Never
idecide


Buy the album, Trying To Never Catch Up, here

Be the band's friend

Tonight

Four Tet

We will be attending the Four Tet + Koushik + Jamie Lidell show tonight at Hailey's in Denton. We don't make the trip up north very often, but I'm not sure I've ever been to a show featuring 3 artists that have received such collective universal critical praise. Plus my friends Marcel and Eric (and their wives) are making a rare appearance, so we can't pass that up. Anyway, here's a brief sample of some of the superlatives that have been spewed about these artists (and of course, some mp3s):

Four Tet:



"Kieran Hebden (Four Tet), the most critically acclaimed musician of the decade, has fiddled with his boxes and conjured up the appallingly-named folktronica. His fantastic previous albums (Rounds and Pause) have given machine-generated music a warm, acoustic feel and reinvigorated the worldwide audience for electronica."
--Tiny Mix Tapes

Four Tet Smile Around The Face mp3

Jamie Lidell:



"Back in 1972 Stevie Wonder claimed that having Soul was 'the ability to express what you feel inwardly.' Jamie Lidell feels alive and Multiply proves it"
--Stylus Magazine

Jamie Lidell When I Come Back Around mp3

Koushik:



"For a producer so early in his stages of a musical career, Koushik has shown a huge amount of ingenuity and inventive ideas"
--AngryApe.com

Koushik Be With mp3

Elsewhere:

Pitchfork gives the Go! Team's Thunder, Lightning, Strike an 8.7 (again) and Paul Wall's The People's Champ a 7.9. For those of you that care about that sort of thing.

Descended Like Vultures

Rogue Wave's new album, Descended Like Vultures, will be released by SubPop on October 25. Now, I love the band's debut LP, Out of the Shadow, but the new album is by far their best work yet. Descended Like Vultures has already secured a spot on my year end top 10 list, and it has been in heavy rotation on the nano for the last couple weeks.

The band has set up a secret MySpace page, where you can download the track "Publish My Love", from the new album, and listen to an exclusive unreleased track. No seriously, it's a secret.

Bonus track from the new album (via SubPop):

Rogue Wave 10:1 mp3

Pre-order the new album here. Thank me later.

Also, on the off chance that someone from the band is reading this...How about a Dallas (or Austin) date, guys?

Walking Without Effort

Richard Swift caught my attention when I read he's touring with the likes of Earlimart, The Deathray Davies, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, BJM, and The Walkmen. I love all these bands, so I figured I'd give the guy a listen. And I'm glad I did. You will be too.

Somewherecold says about Richard Swift:

"a fascinating artist who continues to impress the music world with his incredible talent. That Richard Swift can hold his own among the best in the music world as a singer, song and lyric writer, arranger and producer is apparent, but what is truly amazing is that he has not received the widespread mainstream acclaim that his work clearly warrants"

Richard Swift As I Go mp3
Richard Swift Lady Day mp3

Buy Richard Swift's double-LP, The Novelist/Walking Without Effort, here.

Bonus:



Been listening to these guys a lot since seeing them at ACL. Two of their best songs:

The Walkmen We've Been Had mp3
The Walkmen Little House of Savages mp3

New SOUND team

Here's a new song from Austin's SOUND team, who recently performed at NYC's Summerstage (w/ the Arcade Fire...Brooklyn Vegan has pics!) and Austin City Limits. Bill from SOUND team hooked me up with this info about the track and the band's upcoming EP, Work:

"We recorded this song entirely ourselves at our studio
here in Austin, Big Orange. It used to be a record
pressing plant. Then it was abandoned for 20 or so
years, during which time it gathered some 4 tons of
garbage and toxic waste. We moved in, cleared all the
stuff out, brought in an analog tape machine, and
started work. The results of this work (the above
mp3 is one of those) will be on our "Work" EP, to be
put out in a month or so. We're currently recording
an album with Mike McCarthy (spoon, trail of dead)."

SOUND team It's Obvious What's Happening Here mp3

Bonus:

SOUND team Don't Turn Away mp3

Stranded in Stereo

If you haven't already, make sure you go check out Stranded in Stereo. It's an awesome new music/film/etc. site that features CD, concert, and film reviews. Really cool site, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a contributor.

The best part: if you sign up for FREE, they'll mail you a kick ass CD + DVD featuring blogger-approved acts such as Tom Vek, Oranger, Nada Surf, The Joggers, and more. I got mine in the mail yesterday and there's some great stuff on there. Did I mention it's free?

A preview of the CD:

Oranger Crones mp3
The Joggers Era Prison mp3

The Grates

The Grates are opening for The Go! Team on their current U.S. tour. According to soundsxp, The Grates combine "the bluesy oddball quirkiness of the Fiery Furnaces and the frenetic edginess of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs." I think my favorite description I've seen (and possibly the most accurate) is "Judy Garland fronting Sonic Youth".

Anyway, I'm really liking this track from their new EP, which definitely falls closer to the Fiery Furnaces end of the spectrum:


The Grates Sukkafish mp3

Buy The Grates EP, The Ouch. The Touch here or on iTunes

Go see The Grates and The Go! Team @ Trees on Oct. 15.

Fruit Bats Pics

The Fruit Bats and Ghosty show (we missed Fishboy but he made that cool poster) the other night at The Cavern was pretty damn cool. That place is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues, and all the bands sounded great. One tip for those of you who were talking (loudly and rudely) through the entire set: shut the fu** up! Eric of the Fruit Bats even improvised the lyrics of one of his slower, more delicate numbers to include something along the lines of "shut the fu** up in the front row". Pretty hilarious, especially considering the morons didn't even hear him and just kept right on talking. Seriously though, if you leather-faced stripper whores feel the need to talk over the band then why did you even show up? Totally disrespectful to the other paying audience members, and more importantly, the bands. Okay enough with the rant, on with the photos!







Fruit Bats A Bit of Wind mp3

The Rest is Good

I don't mention my favorite local record store nearly enough, but now I have a pretty solid excuse to devote an entire post to them. Not only does Good Records have the best selection of CDs and vinyl in North Texas and probably the entire world, but they also have some pretty amazing upcoming in-store performances. And if you've been to a Good Records In-store, you know how they do: free food and beer!

Upcoming Good Records in-stores:

Oct. 12: Architecture in Helsinki
Oct. 15: The Go! Team and The Octopus Project
Oct. 16: The Like
Nov. 4: Feist

mp3

The Go! Team Did You Feel It Too
The Octopus Project Music Is Happiness

You Only Live Once

New track from the The Strokes. Better than "Juicebox", and I actually like "Juicebox". Go read what a bunch of commentors had to say about it over at Stereogum. This track can be had in many places around the interweb, but just in case you missed it:

The Strokes You Only Live Once mp3

Bonus:

Call Me Mickey has been on fire lately...head over there now to get mp3s of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's KCRW set.

Rilo Kiley: Live at ACL

Jenny Lewis @ ACL 2005 (photo by Andy Mendez)

One of my favorite sets at this years ACL Fest was Rilo Kiley's. This may have something to do with the fact that I was backstage for most of it (thanks Mo!). Or the fact that Jenny looked even hotter than usual. Anyway, Lullabyes.net has the entire set for you (in mp3 format) here.

New From Sub Pop

Kelley Stoltz is one of Sub Pop's newest signees. He's been compared to the likes of Beck, Nick Drake, The Beatles, and the Beach Boys. Plus he's from Detroit.

Here's an mp3 from his Sub Pop EP, The Sun Comes Through, due out Oct. 11:

Kelley Stoltz The Sun Comes Through mp3

Bonus (from Kelley Stoltz's Antique Glow):

Kelley Stoltz Perpetual Night mp3

Be Kelley's MySpace friend.

The Spectacular Fantastic

This track was in my inbox this morning...nice way to start a Monday morning.

The Spectacular Fantastic Darkest Hour mp3

Buy the album here.

Swords

Band of the Day: Swords

"These complex atmospherics demand (and reward) long hours with headphones"
-Tokion Magazine

"A lush, ambient soundscape that will suck you into a meditative state"
-BlackBook

Listen:

Swords The Mark mp3 (via Scissorkick)

Buy Swords' new album, Metropolis, here