Good Intentions

Of course, I planned on being on here a hell of a lot more often to keep folks up-to-date on proceedings here in Austin for SXSW.  At this point, I've probably forgotten more of what I would like to have posted about that I'd care to admit but that's how these things go.

One sure highlight was the AOL Spinner sponsored Rogue Wave show at Lance Armstrong's Mellow Johnny's bike shop.  Besides being a nice break from all the shit shows in dark and sticky bars, there were also plenty of free beer (Fat Tire), excellent screen printed posters and tees and of course the wonderful charming and poppy Rogue Wave.  The set list included: Stars and Stripes, Publish My Love, Sleepwalker, Solitary Gun, Good Morning, We Will Make a Song Destroy, Lake Michigan, and Permalight.

Chanced upon the excellent Carolina Chocolate Drops at the Convention Center.  We'd been trying to bring them in for Traditions in New London for the last several years and with hope we'll get them in yet.  Part raucous and uplifting jug band and party history lesson the roots of roots music, the Chocolate Drops are infectious and entertaining as all get out.  They've got a new slab out on Nonesuch which you shoud definitely grab if willing and able.

Had full intentions of seeing Superchunk post Chocolate drops (sort of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of great music from the Carolinas, donthca think?) but then on arrival quickly realized that I was definitely not the only one planning on Skipping Steps One and Three!  The line for this one wrapped a block and half around La Zone Rosa and was not gonna be in the cards for yr friendly blogger.

This did lead to a nice surprise: as I wandered away with no plan up a random side street, caught an strangely familiar voice floating our of a particularly cool looking outdoor venue/bar and I wandered in to catch Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles in full gear.  The band was ripping it up for the Paste Magazine, Sugar Hill Records, Vanguard Records showcase and the crowd was plenty pleased with what they were seeing.  A nice touch of home: shredding guitarist Lyle Brewer was sporting a Dutch Tavern tee shirt!  Sarah was followed by the cutesy girl group The Living Girls ("we like to live") and the Watson Twins.  I've got some video of the Living Girls I will post up on my return to the Northeast.

We're off to the madness again so out of time to type.  We did get to see Jacob Dylan (with Neko Case in tow), hung with Eddie Shea before one of his many many gigs supporting the Court Yard Hounds, ran into old pal Denis Mahoney just off his Black Pig gig with DJ Spooky, and much much more.  Plans to catch Dr. Dog, Demolished Thoughts (Thurston, J, and Andrew WK!!), Justin Townes Earle, Freelance Whales, Local Natives and many more today as well as hit the record convention and Flatstock for some take home goods.  Here's a shot from 6th Street for y'all!

SXSWesting and Musket

We had a great first day at the annual music conference here in Austin.  The weather turned gorgeous after a few days of gray rainy ones, perfect timing for the mindless masses celebrating a Texas style St. Patty's day and the kick off to the biggest baddest music shindig of them all.  Highlights of my day including an excellent session on mastering led by the infamous Bob Ludwig and special one on one mentoring session with Maggie from Kill Rock Stars.

After the early day sessions we headed over to Third Man Records supremely fun pop up store at Frank's where they had "Texas sized" records for sale in 8" and 13" varietals.  The store was chock full of tasty goodness including requiste I Love Jack and I Love Meg buttons and extremely beautiful White Stripes poster that I will proudly hang in New London as a souvenir of our trip.  The also had a Third Man branding station though we weren't quite drunk enough to have ourselves marked for the team just yet!

After a banging meal at Frank's we headed south to Taco Maria's to see our good friends Avi and Celia perform a blistering set under the new moniker Hey Momma!  These two are as good as it gets playing their inspired blues - Avi ripping it on guitar and backing vox and Celia just blowing away the crowd with one of the best sets of pipes around.  They had the crowd from the get-go and never let them off the hook.  The margaritas were flowing pretty nicely at happy hour as well - just saying.  It was great to see Miss Tess and the bon Ton Parade in the crowd as welll.

The night wrapped up sweetly at Stubb's for NPR's excellent first night party/showcase featuring The Walkmen,   Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Broken Bells and Spoon.   The Walkmen were a revelatory surprise after listening to them for years but never seeing them live.  Great stuff indeed.  Sharon Jones was the win though for sure - blowing the doors of the place with the Dap Kings.  Broken Bells played a straight set of their new record and just nailed it.  And, well, Spoon was Spoon.  Such a great way to kick off the madness.  On the docket for today: a little Smokey Robinson, Rogue Wave and Broken Social Scene among many other surprises I'm sure.

Birds of a Feather

New London's Roadside Attractions will be playing a special gig at the Oasis tonight with Portland, Maine's Brown Bird. The latter is just returning from a highly successful European run with Providence's much acclaimed Low Anthem. The band is continuing its tour ad infinitum throughout the spring running scatter shot around the east coast. Roadside Attractions have, of course, just released their debut ep Whispers and are currently in the studio with Eddie Shea working on their first full length. Roadside's sweet singing chanteuse Daphne Glover is heading to Austin, TX next week for the annual SXSW music conference. If you can't get to Texas, drop by New London tonight! Should be a great evening of music indeed.

mp3: Roadside Attractions You Ain't Gonna

Flash Drive

Head over to whoismgmt now for a free download of Flash Delirium the first track to sneak out from MGMT's highly anticipated sophomore effort Congratulations!  It's a poppy psychedelic frenzy that'll leave you wanting more more more!

Where in the World...

The MGMT hijinx ensue!!! With their new record Congratulations on its way, the pr push begins with a game of cat and mouse that will see some lucky fans who find their way to some as yet undesignated locations first rewarded with an as yet unrevealed experience.  Clues can be found at their new site and through Twitter postings. 

The rules from the site:

We will give clues to the secret location and a password on this page. Once you figure out where the location is - GO THERE -  you have 1 hour, first come first serve. You will see a person holding an MGMT flag -  go up to them and tell them the password. If you are one of the first people to arrive - your journey starts then.  You will need to be free for the next 2 hours.

Here We Go Again

What do you do if you are a band who made its name on a viral video of the hugest proportions?  Well, you got back and top it with another must see vid!  Ok Go have done just that with the new Rube Goldberg inspired masterpiece for This Too Shall Pass. This is well worth the next four minutes of your life:

Grooved Pavement

Pavement launched their comeback yesterday in Auckland, New Zealand with a set that will have something for everyone (except all those nay-sayers who never got it anyway!).  The band will wind their way to US shores sooner or later but in the meantime will be getting constant feeds of fan fed sing-a-longs and shaky video teasers from the 14th row to keep us frothing like the Pavlovian mutts we are. Matador has a bunch of cheap re-issues of the catalog as well as the career spanning best of Quarantine the Past to fill out your collection in the meantime (isn't it time you got Watery, Domestic on vinyl anyway?!).

Here's the full setlist from New Zealand:
In the Mouth a Desert 
Trigger Cut 
Elevate Me Later
Shady Lane
Father to a Sister of Thought
Rattled by the Rush
Perfume-V
Summer Babe
Kennel District
Silence Kit
Range Life
Unfair
Stop Breathin'
No Life Singed Her
Fight This Generation
Date With Ikea
Box Elder
Grounded
Gold Soundz
Here
Give It A Day
Cut Your Hair
Encore:
Stereo
Spit on a Stranger
Conduit for Sale!
 
And here's proof it all went down! Range Life in all it's hand held glory!

Focus Group

Mercer and Mouse tested and re-tested their new material methodically prior to the release of the new Broken Bells record as the following bears out:

Slow Jamming

It's NPR stream day I guess! The fine people at our favorite nationwide radio service are also providing a full-stream of Broken Bell's debut (which we'll be taking a bit later post work-day, wink wink...).  Listen now, cuz you should....

I have heard the mermaids singing

 Gorillaz full on stream of Plastic Beach available now at NPR, just check it:



Plastic Beach tracklist :
1. Orchestral Intro (featuring Sinfonia ViVA)
2. Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach (feat. Snoop Dogg & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
3. White Flag (feat. Kano, Bashy & The National Orchestra For Arabic Music)
4. Rhinestone Eyes
5. Stylo (feat. Bobby Womack & Mos Def)
6. Superfast Jellyfish (feat. Gruff Rhys & De La Soul)
7. Empire Ants (feat. Little Dragon)
8. Glitter Freeze (feat. Mark E Smith)
9. Some Kind Of Nature (feat. Lou Reed)
10. On Melancholy Hill
11. Broken
12. Sweepstakes (feat. Mos Def & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13. Plastic Beach (feat. Mick Jones & Paul Simonon)
14. To Binge (feat. Little Dragon)
15. Cloud Of Unknowing (feat. Bobby Womack and Sinfonia ViVA)
16. Pirate Jet

Son of a Gun

I'm not sure when we last heard from Jakob Dylan but he's back with a lovely new work Women and Country produced by the always excellent T. Bone Burnett. The first teaser single "Nothing but the Whole Wide World" is a laid back country folk number that features backing vocals from the lovely Neko Case. It's available for download over at the Spinner blog.

Jakob Dylan, 'Nothing But the Whole Wide World' -- Song Premiere - Spinner

Rattled by the Rush

It's really happening!  The Pavement reunion that seemed an impossibility mere months ago is just about to kick into high gear with their first show in a decade.  Sadly it's happening down under and not here in the US but they'll be well-prepped by the time we all get our first glimpse later this year.  Spiral Stairs is kindly providing a peek into proceedings and grave architecture of the reunion over at his blog Spinalspirally.  In his own words, Sir Stairs says...

"it was the first time some of us had been in the same room together for close to 10 years. i think we all were a little nervous. it started off pretty rough, except for our drummer who probably practiced the most. but... by the time we had finished, most of the 40 plus songs we had rehearsed were sounding pretty good. we're really looking forward to the year ahead and seeing all the fans out there digging the music makes it all worthwhile. so thank you for buying tickets."

 

Not Too Soon At All

Rogue Wave's new slab of airy psychedelic folk rock is due any day now and we couldn't be any happier about it!  Another clear sign of spring emerging from this never ending winter.  For those who can't wait (count us among them) Permalight is currently streaming through a special Pandora station for your listening pleasure.

Starting today, the band heads out on a 29-city tour, making stops in New York, Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and everywhere in between. Check out the entire North American tour schedule.

The band has also created video clips teasers for each of the tracks and a making of vid that are all available for viewing at Rogue Wave's site.

Permalight Tracklist: / 01 Solitary Gun / 02 Good Morning / 03 Sleepwalker / 04 Stars and Stripes / 05 Permalight / 06 Fear Itself / 07 Right With You / 08 We Will Make A Song Destroy / 09 I'll Never Leave You / 10 Per Anger / 11 You Have Boarded / 12 All That Remains

Spinning Atoms

Thom Yorke will play a handful of dates here in the US leading up to an appearance at Coachella with the super duper group including Nigel Godrich and Flea among others he threw together to play out with his Eraser material. The news broke over at the w.a.s.t.e. site along with the announcement that the group, previously dubbed ??????, will now officially be known as Atoms for Peace. Thom says, "hope you like the name.. it seemed bleedin' obvious."

THOM YORKE / ATOMS FOR PEACE / APRIL 2010
Mon 5 Roseland Ballroom New York, NY
Tue 6 Roseland Ballroom New York, NY
Thu 8 Citi Wang Theatre Boston, MA
Sat 10 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL
Sun 11 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL
Wed 14 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
Thu 15 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
Sat 17 Santa Barbara Bowl Santa Barbara, CA
Sun 18 Coachella Festival Indio, CA

That Fresh Smell

Devo is back and for the next 24 hours you can get a free download of their new smash hit "Fresh" for the mere price of an email. While there, be sure to take advantage of the Devo Color Study which will help determine the proper color scheme to help move the band forward with confidence!

Broken Bells Ring True

James Mercer (he of the Shins) and Danger Mouse (yeah that Crazy guy) have made their live debut as Broken Bells at a gig last night in LA.  I, for one, and just happy to have Sir Mercer's plaintive and compelling poetry back in the collective consciousness for a time again.  That they tapped into the fringe cultural zeitgeist for Neutral Milk Hotel and Tommy James and the Shondells covers in their first outing is a good omen indeed.  Enjoy....








Visit Foundtrack's youtube channel for the whole shebang!

They're Back!

Broken Social Scene have a new album ready to drop on May 4 through long time label Arts & Crafts and for the price of an email you can get a download of lead track "World Sick" to tide you over until then.  The band has also announced a handful of dates with more sure to come.  The winter thaw begins here!

03-14 Elkton, FL - Harvest of Hope
03-18 Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ
03-19 Austin, TX - The Parish
05-01 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
05-03 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
05-07 New York, NY - Webster Hall
05-13 London, England - Brixton Academy *
05-14 Minehead, England - All Tomorrow's Parties
05-17 London, England - Heaven
05-18 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
05-19 Cologne, Germany - Burgerhaus Stollwerck
05-21 Paris, France - La Maroquinerie
05-23 Linz, Austria - LinzFest
05-24 Berlin, Germany - Kesselhaus
05-27 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Festival
05-29 George, WA - Sasquatch
06-19 Toronto, Ontario - Toronto Island *#

* with Pavement
# with Band of Horses

Punch | Stroke

Old timey Strokes cover from the excellent Punch Brothers.  What's not to like?  Certainly a nice way to celebrate the fact that the lower east side boys are back in the studio working on a new record.

Rufus Returns

Rufus Wainwright returns with his first record of new material and his sixth full length offering entitled All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu out on April 20.  The record is a return to simpler times featuring Sir Rufus and his piano stripped of some of the grandiose production that he explored on the Want albums.

Full tracklisting:

1. Who Are You New York?
2. Sad With What I Have
3. Martha
4. Give Me What I Want and Give It To Me Now!
5. True Loves
6. Sonnet 43
7. Sonnet 20
8. Sonnet 10
9. The Dream
10. What Would I Ever Do With A Rose?
11. Les Feux d'artifice t'appellent
12. Zebulon

Prelude to Plastic Beach

New teaser vid for Gorillaz Plastic Beach out on March 8th in which our lead man 2D gets delivered unto the scene...

Jug Runneth Over

a little teaser clip from Saddle Creek for the new Neva Dinova & Bright Eyes rerelease....

Bright Eyes / Neva Dinova "One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels"  teaser from Saddle Creek on Vimeo.

This is Your Brain On...

Jazz and blues legend Mose Allison is one of the smartest fellas to ever tickle the ivories.  His storytelling through song is an American treasure and the fact that he's still churning out the tunes for our enjoyment is enough to keep one's head up and smiling sublimely through this long slog of a winter.  Sir Allison has a new track ("My Brain") available for free download over at AOL's Spinner blog (no relation to the excellent Matt Gouette tune).  Catch it now before it's gone.  The track is part of a new release out on March 23 on Anti- called The Way of the World.

 

Track List:
01. My Brain
02. I Know You Didn't Mean It
03. Everybody Thinks You're An Angel
04. Let It Come Down
05. Modest Proposal
06. Crush
07. Some Right, Some Wrong
08. The Way Of The World
09. Ask Me Nice
10. Once In A While
11. I'm Alright
12. The New Situation

Wilco cover Neil Young's Broken Arrow

The Mutual of Omaha

Jake Bellows and his excellent band Neva Dinova have always been big here at the Palaz of Hoon.  The band played a few well-received shows here in olde New London towne though we've missed them on the last couple of tours.  Twenty Four Bit has the scoop (don't they always!) on a Saddle Creek reissue of the excellent record that Bellows recorded with fellow Omaha native Conor Oberst titled One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels.  The record will be expanded with the includion four recently recorded tracks by the pair including “Rollerskating,” “Happy Accident,” “Someone’s Love,” and “I Know You.”

American Band Scam

Third Man Records, TheWhite Stripes and their management have issued a strong statement of condemnation for what they consider an illegal use of their song "Fell in Love with a Girl" by the United States Air Force Reserve as part of a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl this past Sunday. Judge for yourself over at the label's site where they have posted the pieces side-by-side for comparisons sake.

"We believe our song was re-recorded and used without permission of the White Stripes, our publishers, label or management. 

The White Stripes take strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserves presenting this advertisemnet with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support.

The White Stripes support this nation's military, at home and during times when our country needs and depends on them.  We simply don't want to be a cog in the wheel of the current conflict, and hope for a safe and speedy return home for our troops.

We have not licensed this song to the Air Force Reserve and we plan to take strong action to stop the ad containing this music."

Slow Jam the News

Cage, no Cage

Thanks to Spike Jonze's We Love You So for pointing the way to the charmingly experimental work of French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot.  Her work is whimsical and fun while creating a serious sonic drone that would surely make Thurston and Lee smile blissfully in its Cage-like simplicity. This work is from a commission for The Curve, Barbican, London.

She Don't Lie, She Don't Lie, She Don't Lie

From Memphis, Tennessee's The Commercial Appeal:

Medical examiner cites cocaine toxicity, alcohol in death of Memphis musician Jay Reatard 
Bob Mehr

Autopsy results released Wednesday in the death of Memphis musician Jay Reatard reveal that he died from "cocaine toxicity, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death," according to Shelby County Medical Examiner Dr. Karen E. Chancellor.

The 29-year-old musician, whose real name was Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., was found dead in bed at his Cooper-Young neighborhood home on Jan. 13.

After a decade of working in the garage and trash rock underground with various groups, including the Reatards and Lost Sounds, Lindsey began to achieve mainstream stardom in 2006 with the release of his solo debut, Blood Visions.

His most recent album, 2009's Watch Me Fall, was released by the New York City-based label Matador Records.

Lindsey's death sparked international press attention and mourning by fans and friends. A memorial was held for Lindsey on Jan. 16 at Memorial Park Funeral Home. He was buried the following day, in a grave near Stax legend Isaac Hayes.

With more than 100 releases, including 22 full-length albums, Lindsey left behind a massive legacy. His manager, Adam Shore, confirmed that Lindsey's early work with the punk rock band The Reatards will be reissued on the local Goner Records label, while Los Angeles-based In the Red Records will be putting out material from Lindsey's later no wave outfit The Lost Sounds.

Shore added that plans for other releases are still in the works. At the time of his death, Lindsey was reportedly at work at his home studio on a solo follow-up for Matador. Former bandmates have said at least six songs were completed.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/feb/03/medical-examiner-cites-cocaine-toxicity-alcohol-de/

The Double Life

Twenty Four Bit has the scoop on the new Amanda Palmer project titled Evelyn Evelyn.  The new act purportedly features the croonings of a pair of Siamese Twins. The duo (errr does that count here?) will release their debut this spring but you can check out a few tunes now over at their myspace.  It's some great vaudevillian stuff and is sure to make for a fine spectacle on tour (which they will be in Europe soon enough though I would expect US dates to come along sooner than later).

An Extraordinary Machine

My Dave Rawlings obsession continues unabated as more performances continue to pop up on the web featuring his luscious, virtuoso guitar stylings and haunting harmonies with his graceful and gorgeous partner in musical crime Gillian Welch.  The latest peek into their music is provided by NPR as part of their excellent and sweetly off-the-cuff Tiny Desk Concert series. 

Set List:
"I'm on My Way Back to the Old Home"
"Ruby"
"Method Acting/Cortez the Killer"
"Sweet Tooth"

Hallelujah!

The New London scene continues to prove itself as the most fertile musical turf in southern New England.  Other scenes may have bigger clubs or see stops from major acts on a more regular basis but when it comes to original music no small city can hold a candle to the amount of talent that olde New London town has presented over the last decade.  A brand new compilation POWERS (Cosmodemonic Telegraph) debuted this past weekend at the annual Rock Fix (part of Hygienic Art XXXI) that shows off some of those acts at their best.  It's a two-disc set featuring 28 new and unreleased tunes from the likes of Get Haunted, Fatal Film, Roadside Attractions, Straight to VHS, The Reducers, Matt Gouette, Above Below and many many more.  Check it out:

Machine Head

Dave Rawlings Machine (really Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch switching their traditional roles supporting one another) released one of the loveliest records we've heard in a long time recently in A Friend of a Friend.  The record highlights Rawlings subtle and hypnotic guitar styling and excellent taste in material.  Most of the work here is covers (typically of songs by artists in which he played on the original recordings).  Some of the tracks are revelatory (a hauntingly beautiful cover of Dylan's Bells of Harlem; a mash-up of Conor Oberst's Method Acting with Neil Young's Cortez the Killer) while others suggest the perfect sound track to an episode of A Prairie Home Companion.  this stuff sticks in your craw and you can't help but wistfully whistling and singing along with a treasure like Sweet Tooth!  seek this record out, you won't be disappointed.

Here's some video someone kindly posted from an instore down in Nashville at Grimey's on December 3, 2009.  The sound on this video is absolutely stunning.  Make sure to check out the other clips available from this appearance, well worth the dig!

Goodbye CoCo

A Spoonful of....

 It's a great start to 2010 with Spoon making the rounds to support their new slow brew rocker Transference (out now via Merge).  The band hit Conan (while they could) with "Written in Reverse" last night.

The Turning of Seasons

Sad news today as Kate McGarrigle has passed away after a 3 year battle with cancer.  She was surrounded by family and friends (including her prodigal kids Rufus and Martha Wainwright).  McGarrigle was 63 and had enjoyed a more than thirty year career in music mostly singing with her sister Anna as The McGarrigle Sisters.

A Whole Lot Better

Heather over at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends posted some video she took recently of a Brendan Benson in-store show.  Yummy pop-rock confection follows, enjoy:

Forgetta About It

Sadly, Death Cab for Cutie turn in a forgettable attempt at Simple Mind's ubiquitous "Don't You Forget About Me" in tribute to the iconic 80s filmmaker John Hughes a the Critic's Choice Music Awards.  Still, worth a look see in comparison...

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

Go Ask Alice

Looks like some tasty morsels pop up on the soundtrack to Tim Burton's highly anticipated Alice in Wonderland including a solo turn by one Robert Smith (of a little band called The Cure) taking a stab at "Very Good Advice" from the original Disney animated Alice.

The album, which is being called Almost Alice, will be in stores in March 2nd, while a video for the soundtrack's first single, "Alice (Underground)" by Avril Lavigne," is due in early February. Full track listing:

1. “Alice (Underground)” performed by Avril Lavigne

2. “The Poison” performed by The All-American Rejects
3. “The Technicolor Phase” performed by Owl City
4. “Her Name Is Alice” performed by Shinedown
5. “Painting Flowers” performed by All Time Low
6. “Where’s My Angel” performed by Metro Station
7. “Strange” performed by Tokio Hotel and Kerli
8. “Follow Me Down” performed by 3OH!3 featuring Neon Hitch
9. “Very Good Advice” performed by Robert Smith
10. “In Transit” performed by Mark Hoppus with Pete Wentz
11. “Welcome to Mystery” performed by Plain White T’s
12. “Tea Party” performed by Kerli
13. “The Lobster Quadrille” performed by Franz Ferdinand
14. “Running Out of Time” performed by Motion City Soundtrack
15. “Fell Down a Hole” performed by Wolfmother
16. “White Rabbit” performed by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Two Words

New SPOON! NPR has an exclusive first listen of  Transference....
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122279793

Gonna Be a Beautiful Day

 So nice to start off the week with some fresh Animal Collective tastiness...

The Heart of Stone

Neil Gaiman's short film Statuesque featuring Bill Nighy and Amanda Palmer had it's debut at the Boston Pops New Year's celebration in which Palmer took the lead (and Gaiman offered a blessing and benediction!).  It's a touching fable of love unrequited with a bit of a twist. Enjoy!

Great Songs: Beatles "Two of Us"

Holy #$%&!!!

Ring in the New Year with a mega-mix tape of remixes from DFA's Holy Ghost! As they put it so well, "what better way to ring in the new year than with a mix tape. we offer you ‘holy ghost! the remixes vol.1′ for download HERE. chalk full of plenty of shout outs and a stellar hip hop doubles style intro by prince language."

New Year's in Boston

A little taste of how we spent our New Year's Eve!  What a show! Amanda Palmer was fantastic with the Boston Pops kicking off the Twenty Tens with grace, style, and subversion!  We also got to see our friends Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade both pre and post countdown, scoring their lovely and tasty new record Darling, Oh Darling.   Ooh ooh ooh, so good.  But, without further adieu, here's Amanda:

Beta Vision

Hot new act from New London towne Straight to VHS beats the physical release of their new tunes with a straight to youtube spectacular. Check it, yo!

This is just to say...

It doesn't reveal a lot but this teaser vid delivers the simple news that we'll have a new MT Bearington slab out on Safety Meeting Records in 2010.  And that's news enough for us! 


"Love Buttons" by M.T. Bearington from mtbearington on Vimeo.

Great Songs: Booker T & the MGs "Green Onions"

Weight of the Moment

I'm a sucker for Elvis Costello's Spectacle.  Unfortunately, I have yet to catch any of the new season but this clip is surely gonna get me back on the task of my viewing duties!  Featuring Elvis himself with Levon Helm on traps and other luminary guests including Richard Thompson, Nick Lowe, Allen Toussaint, and Ray LaMontagne, this cover of The Band's classic track "The Weight" is a keeper.

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