Another Beautiful Take Away

 The amazing people over at La Blogotheque continue to amaze as they coax the most beautiful performances out of some of our most important (or at least soon to be important) artists for their Take Away video series.  The Antlers set is no deviation to this wonderful pattern.  Quite simply: beautiful.  Enjoy!


The Antlers - Two / Epilogue - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Great Songs: Spacemen 3 "Lord Can You Hear Me"

Tasty Mashed Potatoes

Stereogum and team9 present MySplice 4, their annual mash up of the year's best up against some, errm, classics.  Some of this is actually quite tasteful indeed.  Personally, digging the Cure and Phoenix track. Without further adieu, for your listening pleasure, we present...  


Great Songs: Patsy Cline "She's Got You"

Great Songs: Chuck Berry "Brown Eyed Handsome Man"

Amanda Palmer Has Yr New Year's Set

Amanda Fucking Palmer has the perfect plan for a perfect night to kick your New Year's celebration off this Thursday evening.  The erstwhile progenitor of all things burlesque will throw her estimable talents and trickery into a unique concert experience with the Boston Pops that is sure to please.  Special guests for the night include the wonderful Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade (who we hosted this past summer at our annual Traditions festival), Sxip Shirey, Adam Matta, and a world premier of a short film (starring AFP herself alongside Bill Nighy!) by none other than Neil Gaiman.  A gourmet boxed dinner (if such a thing actually exists!) is included in the ticket price.  What's not to like about that?

Get your tix:
http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/perf_detail.jsp?pid=prod3500019

Moby's Pads

Moby gives us a tour of his incredible drum machine collection.

New London Archives: Low-Beam - Charge of the Light Brigade

At long last, we are happy to announce the digital release of Low-Beam's Charge of the Light Brigade.  The New London group's magnum opus was recorded over several years with Michael Deming (Lilys, Pernice Brothers, Silver Jews) at the helm at Studio .45 in Enfield, CT.  The record has fantastic new takes on the band's classic material including Airstream, Tuffy Rhodes, Fathom, Parabellum and more.  Though the band is not currently playing live, the tunes still hold the test of time and the collection will be a much welcomed addition to anyone's catalog of the early 2000s' scene in New London.  You can stream the record below or visit the Mystic Music Archive for full downloads.  A limited edition physical release is in the works over at Cosmodemonic Telegraph.

Great Songs: The Kinks "Tired of Waiting"

Do You Know the Way....

I would hit this for sure just to hear the world debut of Flaming Lips covering Dark Side of the Moon.  The recording is out today via iTunes but throw in the live performance, the biggest balloon drop ever, a huge disco ball, thousands of wide-eyed (cough cough) fans, and that's a New Year's extravaganza, errrm FreakOut! not to be missed.

Palmer doth Protest

Wherein Amanda Palmer discusses the state and role of the female performer through a ukulele tune and finds the continuum between Lady Gaga, herself, and Madonna.

New London Archives: Can Kickers - We're Dying but We Ain't Dead

The Can Kickers are a perennial favorite in New London Towne (and all over the planet as far as we can tell!)!  Kicking out the punky old time jams like no one else, the trio has toured relentlessly playing living rooms, basements, parking lots, football stadiums (well, at least football stadium parking lots) and any other venue they can stand up and get down.  The Kickers are back in town for a gig at the Oasis Pub
in New London on Saturday, December 26 where they will be joined by Brazen Hussy and 420 Blackbirds.  In the meantime, hit play and crank it up.

Take Away Phoenix

Phoenix - 1901 - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Bring on the Bells

We're finally getting a taste of the new collaboration between James Mercer of The Shins and Danger Mouse.  Dubbed Broken Bells, the new act has readied a ten track slab of tunes due out March 9, 2010 called The High Road.  Early adopters can purchase the record in all the usual formats (cd and vinyl options) or as a special limited edition music box.  Those curious but not sold on proceedings can dip their toes in the lovely waters for the cost of a simple email and receive an immediate download of lead track "The High Road" for a limited time today only prior to its full digital release on iTunes tomorrow.  It's a lovely song that seems a logical step from the last Shins record with the obvious, umm, bells and whistles on the production side you've come to expect from a Danger Mouse project.  I'm really looking forward to the full release.  Get that download now over at the Broken Bells site.

Heat Miser

Well, I was thinking about that cool Christmas special with Heat Miser and Snow Miser and instead stumbled on this little gem from Elliott Smith's early band.  Had to share with you all!

Butterflies of Love with Mark Mulcahy

Shot this at the recent New Haven release celebration for the Ciao, My Morning Star collection celebrating the music of Mark Maulcahy.  It was quite a night indeed with some wonderful performances including Dumptruck (playing "Back Where I Belong" - a song I included on every mixed tape I made back in high school), Ray Neal with a crew of my fave New Haven players, both Ray and Mark with Jounce (featuring Pete AND Pete from that show and doing "Snacks and Candy"), Chris Collingwood (of Fountains of Wayne), Elvis Perkins, Boy Genius, The Reducers, and of course my old pals Butterflies of Love with Mark in tow as seen below.

Mos Def be Tripping

Breaking News from Broken Bells

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apparently The High Road is hard to find....

more details and hopefully some music when we have it!

otherwise register at www.brokenbells.com

B-Ball B- Ball B-Ball

deerhoof!

Shatner does Palin, Palin does Shatner

It's poetry AND music AND funny as hell, so I had to share:

New London Archives: Seratonin 'Uptake'

Gradually adding the back catalog at Cosmodemonic Telegraph up online.  This is the first and only release from Seratonin, a band with deep routes in the Mystic scene (featuring members of Skimbleshanks, Mindbender, Magpie, Delta of Venus, and Grand Passion) and the precursor to Low-Beam.  In fact, a handful of the songs on this collection carried through to that band's set and are even featured on the forthcoming swan song release 'Charge of the Light Brigade'.   The record was recorded in the basement at Secret Theatre and features Mat Tarbox on vocals, Sean Fake on drums, CJ Stankewich on guitar and vox, and Rich Martin (yours truly) on bass.

Down to the Filter

One of the great records of The Twenty Oughts is finally being released on vinyl.  Tom Waits' Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards is an odds and sods collection over three discs that sounds like anything but a hodgepodge patchwork piece.  In fact, the record is a seminal release from a national treasure that is staggering in its depth and breadth.  Waits' unique and uncompromising vision grabs you by the throat and drags you through the underbelly of some beatnik hobo fantasy land where you always find yourself under the lone street lamp in the fog taking a drag off your last cigarette, rinsing it down with a swig of whiskey from your hidden hip flask.

It's a melancholy world with bursts of beauty busting through the edges; those edges hanging on the precipice of some otherworldly cliff at the bottom of the world.  The fact that there is a whole additional slab of vinyl featuring six previously unreleased songs in this seven (!) record collection should send any loving soul to the piggy bank with a hammer to find the extra ching to repurchase this outstanding (astounding!) collection. Don't miss it, pretty sure that these won't be around for long!

http://www.tomwaits.com/albums/#/albums/album/4/Orphans/

Mulcahy Tribute at Toad's Place Friday

Mark Mulcahy is one of the singular voices in Connecticut rock history. His band Miracle Legion's career ran parallel to that of REM though due to label woes they never received quite the level of notoriety that their friends from Athens did. Still, their music was hugely influential on a great many artists still playing today (I certainly count myself among them). Mulcahy has also released a handful of solo albums each more challenging (and inspiring) than the last and it can truly be said that he is one of America's great songwriters of this generation.

For those in doubt, look no further than the very special tribute record, Ciao, My Morning Star, which was recently released to celebrate the songs of Mulcahy and help raise money to support the musician who recently lost his wife and mother of his twin daughters. The record is a savagely beautiful and somewhat melancholy affair that features such contemporary luminaries as Thom Yorke, Dinosaur Jr, Michael Stipe, and Elvis Perkins as well as local faves like The Butterflies of Love (who Mulcahy played drums for in early incarnation Bug) and The Gravel Pit. The digital version of the record includes an extra two discs worth of material by artists from around the globe who have donated their tracks to this special cause. In celebration of the release (and the music), Toad's Place in New Haven will host an exciting concert this Friday, December 11, featuring Elvis Perkins, Chris Collingwood (of Fountains of Wayne), The Reducers (who recently recorded a song with Mulcahy called "My Problem" - fingers crossed they'll play it!), The Butterflies of Love, Winter Pills, Dumptruck (!!!) and many more. Should be a wonderful night, definitely not to be missed.

John Winston Ono Lennon

in our thoughts always...

coming up roses

Feeling Feelies