Tuesday, December 22, 2009

#besttweetsof2009

Alright duders and dudetters. Finals are over so I now have free reign over my free time and I'm gonna be blogging hard at you until I get sick of year-end reminiscing (though, it being 22 days into December, most of you have probably been done with that for a while now).

Without further adieu,

A Stare Liike Yours'
#BestTweetsOf2
009
(you can't accuse me of taking this blog too seriously, now, can you?)

(this came up on google images under 'zany tweet'. whatever works, hey)

Twitter was certainly one of the most divisive pop-cultur
e discussion pieces this year.
"It's a complete waste of time! Do you really think anyone cares what you have to say?"
"You don't GET it!! It's so much cooler than that!"

Being a self-proclaimed 'twat for twitter', I had a blast communicating with a combo platter of my brothers and celebrities this year. Listed below are a few tweets that got my tweeter tootin'.

br1gid @astrobrando you are not hro. seriously.Clearly does not understand that I Am Carles.

ptilley fuck everybody...i'm listening to "Wavvves" right now
astrobrando
astrobrando


ptilley @astrobrando would like this: MAGIC KIDS http://www.myspace.com/themagickids




and @andymilanokis posting links of him rapping/twitpics of food.

R.I.P. ed droste's twitter.

Monday, December 21, 2009

hm....

The Daily Cardinal's top 15 albums of 2009

15. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
14. The Antlers - Hospice
13. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
12. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
11. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
10. The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa
9. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Part II
8. Atlas Sound - Logos
7. Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns
6. Girls - Album
5. Mos Def - The Ecstatic
4. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
3. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
2. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
1. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains



hm....

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

listen=oval

Though I never had a 'cool older brother' to turn me on to music, there have been a couple of fixtures in my family that have always been good go-to people for that sort of thing. This one comes courtesy of a second cousin with a large knowledge of experimental and electronic music.

Oval is a german glitch project sort-of famous for using physical cd manipulation instead of synthesizers. I picked up the album 94 Diskont a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it. The album's wiki credits the blips and tics to 'exacto knives, paint, and tape to damage the surfaces of the compact discs [stitched] back together in loops of melody punctuated by the disc's physical skips'. Intrigued? I love listening to music that seems to push today's boundaries only to realize i was 5 years old when this was released. Awesome.



Since 1995, the 3 men comprising Oval have worked on multiple projects while continuing to release material into the 21st century. I'm pretty excited to hear more stuff from these apparent 'pioneers of glitch'.

Friday, November 13, 2009

7 hours with the Mars Volta

On Wednesday as I was leaving for class, I decided to listen to nothing but the Mars Volta until I finished listening to their discography (in chronological order, of course)*. Though TMV was one of my favorite bands in years past (especially freshman and sophomore year of high school), I hadn't listened to some of their albums in months and months.

It took me about 7.5 hours of listening to get through the 5 studio albums, ep, and live album that comprise the Mars Volta's discography (in addition, there is live ep, but I haven't snagged it yet). Going back to old favorites was incredibly rewarding. While I won't say that all (or many) of my friends these days would be super-keen on them (i know #johnhashtag isn't), I am a big big fan of the insane drumming of Jon Theodore, the quiet/loud/quiet louds, the over-the-top lyrics, and Omar Rodríguez-López's otherworldly guitar playing. I haven't been able to see them live yet, but I would certainly travel to see them play.

If you haven't listened to the Mars Volta (or if you don't know them from The Zutons), you really ought to give them a try. Also, if you're reading this and are a fan, you should let me know so we can bro down to Tremulant EP.

Concertina (from Tremulant - 2002)

Cygnus Vismund Cygnus (from Frances the Mute - 2005)**


*took me less than two days
*fun fact: my myspace url is myspace.com/cygnusvismundcygnus1251, after this song (and the strokes' 12:51, obvs) .Yes, I had to spell that out for people often.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

voxtrot in chicago - 1/14/10

Most every time I get to work, I check the Chicago Reader's Early Warnings page. I don't make it down to chicago that often to catch shows, but it's good to keep up to date on what's going down there. Today's peruse through the newly announced dates proved more fruitful than most: Voxtrot is playing the thursday before winter break is over.


AAAAAH.

So I guess Schuba's does this thing called "The Future Never Knows", which is a five day 'fest' showcasing 'up-and-comers'. Because hey, the future never knows, right?

Anyhow, this year's lineup involves Bowerbirds, Final Fantasy, Voxtrot, Rural Alberta Advantage, and more next-big-things and is being held from January 13-17 at Schuba's and Lincoln Hall.

This is huge for me. Voxtrot really is one of my most favorite bands of all time. In case you haven't acquainted yourself with them, it's never too late. Though their crowning achievements are still their first two eps, the album is great in its own right and the most recent single is very promising.

Voxtrot's show is on thursday the 14th with Solid Gold (who played a deliriously groovy show at the rath this fall) and Gemini Club. See you there.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

listen=sleigh bells

ahhhh listen to sleigh bells!

LOUD JAMZ. And they are undeniably some of the loudest and most jammy jams out there right now.

sleigh bells on hypemachine

Saturday, October 10, 2009

listen=5 years of hyperdub

hyperdub. fresh sounds.



edit - 10/28/09

glad to see this album get the red flag. one of my favorite compilations of the year (there were a lot of them, weren't there?)--great from getting from place to place to, especially in the dark. If you don't know anything about dubstep this is a fine starting point - the second disc is comprised of classics from the now 5-year-old hyperdub label, and the first is new material.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Chill bros. It's just autumn.

With this week's chilly weather came the apocalypse of the Year of the Summer Jams. Tuesday morning, all 7 inches and cassette tapes and free (or $250) sunglasses produced, bought, and stolen this year were shelved in exchange for stocking caps, mittens, and, I don't know, Björk or Skinny Love or whatever it is that people listen to when it's cold out.

Or not. I never understood/bought into the Summer Jams concept (which doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy a ton of the summer jams themselves). Obviously, unless 'winter' is in the title or something, music can be enjoyed in all seasons. Most has nothing to do with any particular season. Some of the 'Summer Jams' this year didn't explicitly market itself as such, but certainly most of them did.
Real Estate
Beach Fossils
Best Coast
Pearl Harbour
Tanlines
Beachniks
WAVVES
Rainbow Bridge
Washed Out
'deadbeat summer'
Memory/Weird Cassette/Tapes
all of underwater peoples' stuff
lefse records comp
crocodiles' 'summer of hate'
etc etc etc

In mid-July, Patrick emailed me the pitchfork track review of Rainbow Bridge's 'big wave rider' along with part of that list of bands and other musings on the ridiculous nature of this seemingly created-by-blog niche that so many new bands were so eager to create music for. Seems like no one gets it. I wonder what No Age Guy would say about it.

My question is, now that summer's over, what's gonna happen to these bands? Are they going to go into hibernation (serious question)? Is anyone actually going to care less about them now that it's fall? How important was the summery aspect of their music, really? Sure, people are going to listen to Beach Boys more in the summer, but will the same hold true for Neon Indian? When these bands put out new singles this winter, are they going to still be 'summer songs' if they sound the same as ones from June?

Sunday, September 13, 2009

What's good, world?

I'm listening to this bootleg from Panda Bear's ATP show on Friday. It is excellent so far- I love the inclusion of Animal Collective tracks that they seem to be done with (live, at least) as a band.





I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Andrew Bird, Wavves+Zach Hill, Low, Collections of Colonies of Bees, Megafaun, Antlers, Atlas Sound, Ganglians, and a whole day to do homework and recover from Ghetto Division. Should be a good time.

I just listened to Ganglians for the first time a few days ago--I thought I had listened to them before but I guess I hadn't. I recommend checking them out. A lot more listenable then most of their psychedelic lo-fi brethren.

I'm also enjoying Kurt Vile. And the Volcano Choir album. Lately I've also been really into making sandwiches and picking up things in my room and putting them in another spot.


Wish HEALTH could have played Club 770.

After the excellently-attended Music Committee kick-off meeting on Thursday, Danielle and I walked to the High Noon to see Ramona Falls. Twas an excellent show. There was a remarkably small crowd (about 25 people tops) but it was an early show, a Thursday, and unfortunately I guess a lot of concert-going folk don't even know the band's frontman's main band Menomena. I didn't myself until prepping for their Chicago show (with White Rabbits, Hollywood Holt, and Mt St Helens Vietnam Band, all for 5 bucks!) that I went to this summer with John, Brigid, Danielle, Will, and Sam. Well, they're both pretty fantastic bands so I recommend checking them out.

bonus traxxx

Fatboy Slim - Praise You (figure rave edit)
Smith Westerns - Imagine, Pt. 3
Fever Ray - Seven (Crookers Remix)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

listen=cool jumper



New Wavves track with Zach Hill behind the drums.

GvB says 'haters will continue to hate', but I think that William's ability to crank out tunes post-hype may (hopefully) be a testament to Wavves' longetivity. Somewhere along the line at least some of the haters will have to admit that Wavves has made it further than they'd assumed.

With the variations in Wavves' sound in 'Cool Jumper' and 'Mickey Mouse', I'm pretty excited to see the directions further releases go in. If Nathan goes on tour with Zach, will they play old songs with this new edge?

Wavves - Cool Jumper (at Gorilla vs Bear)

Friday, July 31, 2009

15 seconds of fame: does he care? / diplo













I feel the need to repeat that i bought this, pre-'colbert report' name-drop. I love this man.

In other news...

Diplo's remix of 'Treat Me Like Your Mother' is infinitely listenable. It's basically a deconstruction of the song and a reconstruction using all of my favorite Diplo-isms.

The Dead Weather - Treat Me Like Your Mother (Diplo Remix)

Sunday, July 26, 2009

buy=used music

To me, nothing is more fun than going through tons of used records/cds looking for one or two of the best finds. A countdown of my favorite places to score music at great prices:

5 garage/estate sales

Gar(b)age sales are very spotty, but once in a great while I find some old person who is selling their whole record collection for next to nothing because, presumably, no one wants it. False: I do. A great way to pick up cassettes as well.

4 goodwill

I think it's safe to say that most of the best places to get used music are not music stores. Sure, plenty music stores have areas of used tunes, but the chance that I'll find something other people missed for a price I can't pass up is much lower in places like the Exclusive Company than, Whoa, Goodwill. I think that the Fond du Lac one is a better priced store. Stores in bigger cities usually have bigger collections but tend to be more expensive. You'll find a fair split between classical records and lps like led zeppelin's 4 and cassettes like To The Extreme.


3 cd replay (appleton)

CD Replay is a chain of used media stores. The prices are good (6-7 ish for most albums). No records or cassettes here, but it's probably for the better. There's an okay one in Madison (last time I was in there I found Turn On the Bright Lights for $2), a better one in Milwaukee, but the best one is in Appleton, pretty close to the mall. This stores is HUUGE and I have spent hours and hours slowly moving down the racks looking for good finds. I've bought a lot of cds there. Some that stick out: Cross, Friends of Mine, Lateralus, Graduation, and a lot more you wouldn't be impressed by. Used CD buying is not glamorous. It's about catching up on what you didn't want to pay full price for.


2 madcity music exchange

This great madison store houses mostly used vinyl. Though there's a relatively gigantic supply of old legitimate records, my favorite is the wall of unsorted $1 records. There's a lot of junk in there but the collection is so big that it's easy to find ten you want, and once you buy ten or more lps from this selection, they drop to 50 cents in price. Killer.

1 half price books (madison)

I first visited Half Price Books an afraid and vulnerable freshman wary of the bus system, waiting for a friend to come pick me up after being 'stranded' by the mall. Because of its location (not very close, but not very far) I think I visit it just enough that each time I find numerous great finds for incredible prices. Though they have a lot of fairly priced 'good' cds, they have two carts of $1-3 cds that tend to house some fine gems, and I only care about those carts. Well, the carts, and their fair selection of used vinyl. A while ago, I bought Beck's Midnite Vultures (an incredible album) for $2 here. That was probably my champion purchase from half price books until last Thursday, when I picked up a score that prompted this blog with its greatness:

godspeed you! black emporer - f#a#[infinity] $1
sigur ros - svefn-g-englar single $2
the unicorns - who will cut our hair when we're gone? $2

these were topped off by a depeche mode and an art paul schlosser 45 (50 cents). I already have (and love) f#a#[infinity] but had to buy it again. one dollar?

There's gold in them there hills, and I encourage you to dig for it.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

reflections on Pitchfork 09





I was not expecting to be in Chicago last week until.. well, last week. The lovely surprise that was Pitchfork 2009 was just that, a lovely (charming? deserved? no, lovely) surprise. I went with my cousin Jacob and scads of cool people I've met over the years. Since there was total overlap of lineup and such, I'll include the awesome Friday show at the terrace in this.

Friday brought Yeasayer, Ponytail, Cymbals Eat Guitars, The Dutchess and the Duke, and The Antlers to the beautiful and windy Memorial Union Terrace. Before this show I'd really only listened to each band's most recent cd once or twice (except the fantastic yeasayer, who i've been following for a while). I enjoyed all of the performances (missed out on a good chunk of D&D, but I wasn't that captivated by what I saw from them) and enjoyed the weather that'd follow through for the rest of the weekend--cloudy with moments of sun (esp sunday) and minimal amounts of drizzle (none on friday, some on saturday). Nothing like the scalding lollapalooza 08 sun.

Saturday morning, Jacob and I woke up at 6 AM, showered, and hit the road for beautiful Chicago. My Saturday epitomized the awesome festival experience-I enjoyed shows I did expect to see and some I didn't, I spent time basking in the atmosphere, I hit a pretty respectable position in relation to stage : time spent waiting ratio. I won a threadless shirt and ate chicken satay. Despite enjoying the National to a fair degree, I totally enjoyed spending my last 45 minutes sitting on dirty grass far away, talking about high school gym classes with claire, danielle, and john.

After a hearty breakfast of eggs and bacon and a train ride, the logical next step was to go to pitchfork and descend the staircase of decency to the level of 'awful mullet wearers'. I am an official world record holder for 'fastest mullet cut'. Since the last time I had my haircut was directly preceding a solitary trip to see the Thermals, I figured it was about time to pack my bags and head for the A stage. If one thing is sure, it is this: One thousand mullets could not have prepared me for the amazingness that is the Flaming Lips live. I know I'm late to the club, but I will travel to see them every chance I get. A week later, my brain is still buzzing with their songs.

Some highlights of the weekend, in chronological order:

The Antlers (Terrace)

I have never seen a performer handle on-stage equipment problems so gracefully. The front guy tried to fix his guitar tuning and it got out of wack. He proceeded to calmly and quickly retune his guitar in seconds, never stopping singing or showing his confusion. I know this is hardly the best reason to like the band, but it was very impressive.

Ponytail (Terrace/B stage)


Ponytail is up there with Flaming Lips for best show(s) of the weekend. I was not a huge fan before seeing them--interested, but not involved. After seeing them twice, I enjoy the cd much much more. As far as fun shows, this shoots to the top of my list, right next to Dan Deacon and Matt/Uncle Kimbo. Being feet away from the band(/fence, at p4k) certainly did not hurt.

Wavves (B stage)

Awesome. First I feel it's my civic duty to say, as someone in the front row, that Wavves did not go on late on their own accord--the fence was broken and the security bros did an awesomely inefficient job 'fixing it' (Congrats, guys!). Late starts aside, the show was great. Nathan seemed a ton more responsive and 'into' the crowd than at the Project Lodge this spring. They played a ton of new stuff. Very very interested to hear new recordings from them, especially after the ridiculously Panda Bear-y 'Mickey Mouse'. True, no 'Weed Demon', but enough 'wavvves' songs were played to sate my appetite.

Matt and Kim (B stage)


[0:08]

M83 (A stage)

M83 has a huge sound. Anthony Gonzalez slapped me in the face with his Fronch accent and soaring grooves. M83's drumming is sometimes comically epic, but it definitely fits with the rest of the band's feel. I still haven't purchased Saturdays = Youth but after their stellar live show I hope to acquire it soon.


The Flaming Lips (A stage)

Last week, I asked R Vergeront how he liked the Flaming Lips show. His response was along the lines of 'To say I really enjoyed it doesn't necessarily mean it was good'. I think this probably sums up a lot of people's feelings of the show. Wayne talked a LOT and due to it being a festival set, they could only play for about an hour and a half. This being said, they could have thrown dirt and rocks into the audience and only played 3 songs and it still would have been more awe-inspiring and incredible than almost any other show I've ever seen.

I've thought about it a lot, and I think several major factors played into how much I loved their show. First off, I was surrounded by people I knew. Somewhat inadvertently, I ended up being not only nearby Danielle and Claire but also Jeff, Todd, Jake, John, and so on. The feeling that all these people were experiencing the same overwhelming display that I was was pretty powerful.

Secondly, I was already riding a stressful-week-followed-by-near-perfect-weekend high that had me happily enduring the uncomfortable and cramped aspects of the show.



















Thirdly, the Flaming Lips' visual display is, of course, infinitely more entertaining than most other bands'. My tendency to get sucked into overwhelming sensory stimulation was in full effect last Sunday night (no, I was not on drugs).

Fourthly, and probably most importantly, The Flaming Lips are a band that I have loved for years. So many concerts I've been to over the years have been of bands I've been listening to for a year, maybe two. Especially after moving to Madison, a large amount of the shows I've been going to have been of bands I've listened to for less than six months. On a whim, I purchased 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots' in the summer after my twelfth birthday. That Christmas, I received 'The Soft Bulletin'. After growing with those two albums for seven critical years of my life, it's no wonder the emotional explosion I had during that concert was as profound as it was. From the drum riff that opens 'Race for the Prize' to the final reprise of 'Do You Realize??' my mouth was open in awe. It was a pretty incredible moment.

So yes, the weekend was a huge success. Virtually perfect, you might say. I got a free haircut. I made a world record. Will won 200 shirts. I got to see people that I love. I got to see Wavves and Ponytail and M83 and the Thermals and the Flaming Lips. I took the train, ate pancakes, pondered mysterious massage techniques. Great Great Great Times.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

listen=the new wine


I realized that I have never posted about new music on this blog (blocking trepidation party out of my mind). Drumroll, please.



The New Wine is from Norway. Yes, this can only mean one thing: there's at least one member of their band with an 'ø' in their name. Synthy poppy goodness for fans of Passion Pit, The Whitest Boy Alive, and Phoenix. All these guys are missing are an 80s movie montage video meme.

They released a free ep. It is delicious. Why not give them a shot? I repeat: this is not a test of your moral scruples. Free. It's free.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Dan Deacon (and Deerhunter, Sunn O))), etc) live from Primavera


http://freemusicarchive.org/search/?quicksearch=primavera&page=1&sort=artist_name

Share this link with the best of your friends. It will take you to a selection of free and legal professional recordings of select Primavera Sound shows (sorry, no wavves). I'm listening to the Dan Deacon one right now. Delicious.

For a more thorough briefing, check out last week's pitchfork article.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

the Rise and Demise of emusic.com, through the eyes of a devout follower

emusic has been a strange fixture in my life for the past four years. Since March of '05, I've been paying a cheap fee to download a sizable amount of music every month. I started with 40 tracks for $10. emusic was a much smaller site then than it is now. For those that don't know, the appeal of the site is that it stocks only music on independent labels, so it can afford to charge much less per track than iTunes or any other keep-what-you-buy site.

As a fifteen year-old high school freshman, finding about the fledgling website was a godsend. I could say that I didn't know how much of a godsend it was at the time, which would be true, but at the time I thought it was pretty darn cool. During middle school I downloaded a ton of (mostly awful, of course) music from peer-to-peer programs, like most people. Unlike most people, I experienced a pretty sudden extreme paradigm shift about my feelings on music piracy. I read articles and statements about the fall in cd sales and the impending doom facing the music business. Feeling like it was the right thing to do, and being adamant about my decision to do so, I deleted every song of the library of pirated music I'd amassed during my peer-to-peer career.

Left alone with my massive collection of cds bought from BMG music catalog and Sam Goody et al, I started anew in my quest to fill up my life with legal mp3s. I downloaded artists' free tracks on purevolume and I discovered that Amazon had a fair collection of free downloads of new artists (where I heard Bloc Party, The Decemberists, and Arcade Fire for the first time). When I first found out about emusic, my ears' heart fell to the floor. Here was a site that could not only give me more for less, but also could give me almost any cd too far off the beaten path to be in stock at Wal-Mart. Remember, I am a freshman in high school, so this means Brand New's 'Your Favorite Weapon' and The Vines 'Veni Vidi Vicious'. Here comes the kicker, though. I get all the things I've been unable to find in the past, I've got a monthly subscription, and I've got a duty to myself to find new music. What next? And almost immediately, my listening habits/life (where is the separation?) changed.

On a ride home from seeing Phantom Planet at Summerfest with a cousin, my uncle played 'The Electric Version' in the car. Vaguely interested in this unknown band with an obscene name, I downloaded the album from emusic and fell in love. I scoured issues of Spin (which i had recently begun reading) for suggestions and highly rated albums. I explored the pre-major label back catalogs of bands like Thursday and AFI. I blindly downloaded albums by bands like the Black Keys and The Pixies and Spoon until I was no longer blindly downloading anything. My mental lists of artists and albums to check out started growing out of control (it's never stopped, of course). Since payment on emusic has always been by track, regardless of length, I started to heavily explore genres like post-rock. Astounded that I could buy an hour and a half of godspeed you! black emperor for the same price as the first ten or fifteen minutes of most albums, I downloaded without hesitation and listened accordingly. And that pattern went on for years--download, download, listen, listen, research, wait for the next month's downloads to appear. And, even for an unemployed high school student, ten dollars is not hard to come up with every month. Not for good music, at least.

As time went on, the site grew. Though old rates were grandfathered in, new ones got more expensive. More and more labels started selling music on the site. Victory Records stopped by for a few months, Domino was added, emusic started to put those annoying card stock inserts in magazines. A year ago, my subscription was changed to 50 downloads a month for 12 dollars.

Come July, there will be a 'major addition' to artists in the emusic catalog. The major addition seems to be mostly big 70s-90s rock and pop names along with current bands including Modest Mouse, Outkast, and Kings of Leon. In exchange for bigger names, my subscription will now be a disappointing-yet-still-better-than-iTunes $12 a month for 30 downloads. Sad, but what can you do? Do a healthy amount of reminiscing in a long blog post, I guess.

I'm not sure if I ever realized how greatly emusic has impacted me until I wrote this. Very interesting. Has anyone else ever used the site? Comments especially appreciated on this post.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

listen=dj signify


Recently came upon another gem on WFLM. What makes WFLM one of my favorite blogs is that it posts a lot of stuff that none of the other blogs i read would ever post, like metal, low fi, underground, and classic records. Really random, generally dark, generally great.

DJ Signify released the Signify N' Breaks mixtape in 1996--the same year that a lot (i guess) was going on with instrumental hip-hop: DJ Shadow released Endtroducing..., and, well, that's all that I know. One thing about breakbeat/instrumental hip-hop that I've found is that most well-educated music aficionados still know very little about the genre other than that Endtroducing... was a seminal album in the genre and that its reissue got a 10 on pitchfork. For those who haven't heard the album, I highly recommend it. The album can be listened to in so many ways and yield such different reactions. It's perfect for driving and chilling to. I love trying to picture DJ Shadow at the turntables, crafting the samples from his immense record collection, weaving such different sounds together to craft cohesive grooves.

So, back to DJ Signify: You should have this album, at the very least, to be a companion to your copy of Endtroducing.... Educate yourself about this excellent genre. Listen and enjoy.

try DJ Signify's Signify N' Breaks via WFLM

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

In a big country.

I decided to make today count. I woke up, jogged, listened to a few albums, and applied for an office job at the cancer center at the UW hospital. Having made (albeit arguably minor) progress in my job hunt, I decided to go to Best Buy to use a $10 gift certificate that expires this friday.

My bus ride was pretty awesome, as bus rides tend to be--the driver was this old, washed up rocker who was wearing a cap and gloves without fingers, awesome. A pregnant teenager sat next to me. She and her friends spent the trip harassing these 30something men that were trying to talk about politics. It was interesting to listen to, anyhow.

When we got to the mall, I departed to find Best Buy. I had decided not to look anything up--bus routes, store locations--but just look for things I wanted to find. It took a while, but I found the Best Buy. I was elated when I finally came upon it, reaffirming why I didn't look it up beforehand. As I entered my conquest, I quickly came upon the Best Buy Megastore Vinyl Collection. It was pretty weird to look through the stacks for a few reasons-

-The shelves are clearly not built to house records. They were physically awkward to peruse.

-There were a large amount of 'why is this on vinyl' recent releases (see: katy perry). Clearly major labels trying to cash in on The Vinyl Revival.

-Most concerningly, some of it was, relatively, pretty cheap. There was a lot of cd-priced vinyl-- records that state street stores have to sell for 15 and 16 dollars being sold for 12 and 13 dollars. The price difference isn't huge, but sort of alarming in the 'looming death of real record stores' sort of way. Now that I know I can buy 180 gram radiohead reissues for 8 dollars less at Best Buy, will I ever consider buying them for more at B-Side?

After going through their small, but still substantial collection of records, I went through the cd aisles. I ended up choosing Menomena's Friend or Foe because I'm seeing them this weekend and, as of now, only know a few songs. 11.99-10 = 2 bucks. Not Too Shabby. I celebrated with Qdoba.

After Qdoba I travelled to Half Price Books. I love looking through their huge amount of 1-3 dollar used cds and albums. If you enjoy record shopping and haven't been there, I highly recommend it. Highly. After more than an hour (these times have all been confirmed by receipts by the way) of looking around at a fraction of their inventory, I purchased Big Country's eponymous album (LP, $4) and De La Soul's 3 Feet High And Rising (CD, $2). For those that don't know (i'm pretty sure everyone who will ever read this knows), 'In a Big Country' is and will forever by my favorite 80s song. I have never heard anything else by them so I am eager to get familiar with this record. Bag in tow, I headed for the road.

Without getting into too much detail, because nothing really happened, I had a really great time walking from the bookstore to my apartment. The walk was long (8mi+) and I don't think I'll repeat it any time soon, but I saw so many interesting things. Madison is an incredible, huge city. I walked past construction of new things, young people, old people, ancient trees and buildings. I took a bus because I didn't recognize its number to see where it went. It took me by the MATC campus near the airport--I got off there and walked through some neighborhoods back to East Wash. I found a tunnel that went under the street. I took it and crossed back above it to return to my path. I walked on a narrow pedestrian bridge. I talked to various people on all points of the creep spectrum. At many points I thought I must be lost, even though I knew I was walking along Washington, because the scenery looked so unfamiliar. I thought about all sort of things and sang all sorts of songs. It really was a wonderful time. I love walking.

When I arrived home, I put the needle down on Big Country and collapsed into bed. We all live in a big country. I encourage you to explore yours.

Monday, May 25, 2009

punk music

I've always enjoyed listening to different genres of music. I feel that, while seemingly distant, many genres influence and play off each other. I don't listen to everything, but I have ventured into a lot of exciting uncharted territory. Here are two of my favorite punk albums.

Buzzcocks, from England, were an extremely influential late seventies new wave punk band. New Wave was essentially a departure from punk's rough and dirty sound to cleaner, more melodic, and danceable songs. Buzzcocks were not really an album-centric group, and their 'best of', Singles Going Steady, is the album they're best known for. It is incredible. Pop sensibility at its best, while maintaining the '77 punk energy.



Descendents started in '78 in Manhattan Beach, California. Their lyrical content sets them apart from most other punk bands--many of their songs are about girls, rejection, and parents. Their songs are sarcastic and bitter. This is why I love Milo Goes To College (1982). The songs are fast and short, and while they aren't as melodic as Buzzcocks, they are more melodic than most of the first-wave punk bands. I just found out that Spin listed it the number one hardcore album of all time, awesome. Another point of interest is that this album has 4 songs with the word 'age' in their title.

listen=speaky

I was helping my friend Dan pack up and move out of the dorms a few weeks ago. He was playing these mashups by some bro who calls himself 'Speaky'. Apparently Speaky was the one who released an album last spring that was 'accidentally re-tagged' as Girl Talk's then-upcoming Feed the Animals.

Speaky's mashups are instantly recognizable as being different from Girl Talk's. The overall production doesn't sound as good and seems less, I don't know, Girl Talky. I don't know a ton about mashups and couldn't list more than a few mashup djs (the first obvious two being gregg & the hood internet), but it seems like Speaky uses a lot of the same effects that Girl Talk uses, except more often, sometimes to a fault (too much squeaky voice). There is a huge overlap in the samples in Feed the Animals and Mashcore Volume 2, the album that was being passed off being the new Girl Talk. This is pretty weird. Coincidence? Mashcore 2 was released about a half a year earlier. Hm.

Overall, I'd recommend checking out Speaky at the very least. His albums are all free on his website, I'd start with Volume 2.5 and then go for Volume 2. Poor (even poorer?) man's Girl Talk? Maybe. But there are definitely some cool moments (plus more daft punk samples).

Download Speaky's music for free here.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

weird songs

I was thinking about weird songs and how many of them I had on my computer. I made a mix of some of the best and worst ones...I mostly included songs that didn't seem to be trying to be weird, although some of them are so far from 'normal' or even 'acceptable', I had to use them. Disclaimer: Some of this is really, really bad. That's the point.

'WEIRD SONGS'
104 MB, 76 minutes


1. YMCK - カモン!スウィングオールスターズ

I downloaded this from WFLM. chiptune+jazz influences+J-Pop vocals=really, really weird
2. The Apples In Stereo - King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 3
I really like Apples, but this is really weird.
3. The Beach Boys - Unreleased Backgrounds
From a 'Pet Sounds' reissue...why?
4. The Blood Brothers - Under Pressure
A peppy cover of the Bowie/Queen classic.
5. Sonic Youth - Piece Enfantine (Nicolas Slonimsky)
One of the tracks on this mix that I genuinely enjoy. From their series of performances of 20th century avant-garde compositions.
6. Black Kids (Feat. Lil Wayne) - Not Gonna Teach Him (The Twelves Kickmix)
Featuring a cut-and-pasted Lil Wayne verse.
7. Calvin Johnson - Sorry Entertainer
A cover of the Daniel Johnston classic. This guy's voice is even more hard to listen to than Daniel's! Yikes.
8. Descendents - Weinerschnitzel
What?
9. T.I. - Whatever You Like (Dubstep Remix)
I have a lot of weird dubstep remixes, I decided this was the weirdest.
10. DeviJive & The Uptown 5 - Krakyani
An intro to a Fond du Lac local band's cd.
11. New Kids on the Glock - D.A.N.C.E.
Towards the end of the track, it gets better.
12. Chewy Chocolate Cookies - It Was Only A Kiss
I really like most of CCC's remixes, but this track sounds like electro Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
13. Dan Deacon - My Name is Robert
Pretty Durn Weird.
14. Fall Out Boy / Kanye - Scene/Arms
I have no idea where this came from. Sort of glad I don't have more than a minute and a half of this.
15. Das Racist - Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell
There is a Wallpaper mix of this that I like, but this original is really, really bad.
16. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks (Tom ato Remix)
For anyone who hasn't heard this yet, enjoy.
17. Flo Rida v. Stardust - Music Sounds Better Heaps Low (Whack-a-Tone Blend)
Pretty redonkulous.
18. I Set My Friends on Fire - Crank Dat Cavalry Boy
If this track doesn't scream (really) 'NOVELTY', I'd like to see what does.
19. The Advantage - Zelda (Fortress)
The guitar player of Hella is in this band. All they do is covers of NES songs.
20. Necro - The Most Sadistic
Probably my favorite rap song ever.
21. Popchor Berlin - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Probably my favorite German a cappella cover of Daft Punk ever.
22. Soulja Boy Tell'em - Turn My Swag On (Instrumental)
Step One: Set this song as your morning alarm. Step Two: Karaoke. Step Three: Get Said Swag On.
23. Superclowns - Poopy
I namedrop 'DJ Skillz' as often as I can. That's from this track.
24. Khoomei - Fedor Tau
Thank you, Smithsonian Museum, for giving me a sampler of weird throat noises from across the world.
25. Richard Cheese - Buddy Holly
Get Your Swank On.
26. Radiohead - Nude (Hipster Runoff Remix)
From HRo's glory days.
27. John Cage and the - 7_03
ha.
28. Toadally Krossed Out! - Toads Theme
Awesome.
29. Ween - Where'd the Cheese Go?
Rejected Pizza Hut Jingle (really)

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

listen=fiery furnaces


This evening as Arian, Will, and I were walking back from the tallest man on earth/pizza extreme, we talked of many things, one being Dotttt. I might make a post about Dotttt another time.
Anyhow, on the topic of grandmothers, The Fiery Furnaces.

I am not terribly knowledgeable about The Fiery Furnaces. I think the first song I heard by them was 'Chris Michaels', which remains my favorite Fiery Furnaces song, and would definitely hold a high spot on my list of favorite songs if I were to make one. 'Chris Michaels' is weird. Freak folk weird / Skeletal Lamping weird. It's seven disjointed songs in one, lasts about 8 minutes. I like to play guitar to this song. Instead of posting an mp3, I encourage you to plunk out the chords and listen to it that way (via deerhoof)

The Fiery Furnaces (brother/sister Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger) released a cd a while back with their grandmother. It is very weird. Their grandmother, who is named Olga and has a voice like her name is Olga, tells stories from her past. I like it.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

trepidation party









SooOo nervous for new voxtrot. Danielle Bade says "Pitchfork agrees with me that Trepanation Party blows chunks. They gave it a 4." This is sort of alarming but mostly because I feel like 'the great d'bader' + p4k are ganging up on me (kinda like Patrick Tillz + 'people who buy cds' ganging up on Pet'ruby 4 buying burial on vinyl).

Is voxtrot

a) piggybacking on the mid '00s synth trend [via Killers]
b) participating in the 'wtf album' release trend [ via kanye west]
c) trying to alienate fans who will accept garbage releases/not listen 'critically'
d) making their music more 'remixable/bloggable'
e) trying to get associated with a genre other than 'twee'
f) obsessed with this year's New Order reissues
g) trying to impress women who are obsessed with this year's New Order reissues
h) choose.your.own.response

??????

*blows trepanation chunks at awful HRo ripoff post*/
*uses asterisks like a seventh-grade girl on AIM*

Thursday, March 19, 2009

new music from old favorites.























There's a whole lot going on right now with some of my favorite bands. I'll give you a short rundown of some of the best.

Voxtrot - Trepanation Party [mp3]

wow. it has been a long time, voxtrot. very excited to see where this new sound takes them on their album. Apparently their lineup has changed.. I wonder who's left and how much of the sound change was due to added members' touches/change in direction from ramesh. it does not seem like two years ago that i was just as excited to see voxtrot follow up on their incredible eps with a full-length. Memories.


Trophy Scars - Anna Lucia [purevolume]

I have been waiting for yearss for Trophy Scars to release new material. For a while there, it looked like they could be done forever. Their new album 'Bad Luck' came out on Friday but i haven't ordered it yet. This week I'm going to go around town and see if any madison record stores have it...not sure what i'll find. I bet this album is incredible though. I will call Trophy Scars a post-hardcore animal collective--they don't follow trends, they just make music. respect them.

The Thermals - Now We Can See [mp3]

The Thermals just know how to rock a body.

Grizzly Bear - Cheerleader [mp3]

I have been listening to Grizzly Bear a lot lately, trying to 'get it'. Think i am getting really close.
This mp3 is great.

Dan Deacon - Snookered [mp3]

So stoked to witness this live on May 4 at the Majestic for TEN DOLLARS.
(mp3 courtesy of Living Ears)

Any good ones I'm missing?

Friday, March 13, 2009

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

lollapalooza.com + F5 == today

Hello.

Last week's music committee assignment was to make a playlist for someone we didn't know. I really enjoyed the opportunity to make a mix cd for someone because I hadn't done it in ages. Now that I think of it, mixing tracks on traktor is not that different from creating a mixtape--you want songs that people are going to enjoy and sound good together. Still, it's been a while.

I guess the joke was that everyone was going to try and out-indie each other with b sides and the like.. I did end up putting on more 'unknown' tracks that I want people to know. That's okay, right? I also made my mix short (40 minutes). This is something I have been enjoying with my more recent mixes. For years and years, I put as much onto a disk that I could. While this makes sense (especially for making tracks for oneself) I like the playability of shorter mixtapes. I am very prone to switch listening to something mid-cd if it is long, and I assume a lot of other people are also. That being said, I have gotten some great 20 track cds that are better than my 10 track cds. I've been listening to mixes I've made/received all evening.. It is so enjoyable to hear old strings of songs I've grown used to and forgotten until now.

Since I only know laura a very little bit, my mix is less about the content of the songs as much as their overall sound. I think that a wide variety of people would like this mix.. please download it and let me know what you think!

3-10-9
63 MB, 41.8 minutes

1. Beck - Sexx Laws
2. Bishop Allen - The Chinatown Bus
3. The Daredevil Christopher Wright - How to Get My Head Back On My Shoulders
4. Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Wednesday Week
5. George Harrison - Between the Devil And the Deep Blue Sea
6. Daniel Johnston - Funeral Home
7. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Dawn of the Dead
8. Hella - Biblical Violence
9. Dan Deacon - Snake Mistakes
10. Lykke Li - Little Bit (Death to the Throne Remix)
11. John Legend & Andre 3000 - Green Light (MSTRKRFT Remix)
12. The Bloody Beetroots - Detroit (Ghetto Edit)

All of these artists are awesome I hiiighly recommend you go out and buy a cd or two from them. Thanks!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Post-Post Pavillion


went to sleep early last night to make up for two late weekend nights, and i kept waking up during the night so i just decided to get out of bed and start my day at 6 45. I used to have to be up at 6 or 6 15 every day in high school because various organizations i was in required me to get to school at 7:00. It's hard to image getting up then... I have probably been up before Rheta's opened for breakfast less than ten times this whole year.

i stopped writing in this because i decided my next post would be about merriweather post pavillion. Since my order at the exclusive company i placed before the semester started arrived two weeks ago, i've listened to it about five times. It is very good. That's all I need to say.

Animal Collective is verging on taking over my life.. constantly in my head and playing in my room. I am nervous that i will get tired of them. I think their varied catalog is keeping me from getting exhausted, which is great. As with of Montreal, Ben Folds, or anyone else with 4 or more albums on my itunes, i can listen to an album to the max and just move to the next. So, take note, bands that dangle a second album on the distant horizon: let's get going.


I feel that i'm in the prime of my college life. Not because it will never get better, but because it is okay with me. I get up, rush to class, sit on the ground because I can't get the nerve to crawl across people, eat lunch with a friend, go to class some more, and then spend the rest of the day however i want. If i feel like being productive, I go to the library and am productive. If i feel like loafing, I loaf. I can call someone up and meet up to eat or I can get on a random bus and see where it goes. Sure, there's poor test grades and there are countless embarrassing freshman moments and there's endless concern over girls, but that's all there is. No mouths to feed, no 9-5, no getting up before 8 30. My life is so good that my biggest problems can be disappointing test scores, you know? Which, in a way, is great.

Also, friends. During first semester I made a fair amount of friends and a bunch of aquaintances. Almost as soon as second semester started, I met scads of new people and solidified a good number of past acquaintances into close friends. This is the most incredible thing. I owe my good fortune to music committee. I am so glad such a group exists here. All I ever do is listen to music, think about music, talk about music, read about music, make music, and i often felt with a lot of my friends in high school that it was annoying to them, though most of them would never say it. It's so funny to sit down to dinner with john and todd, because it's often what's on their minds as well. I am very curious to see how important music committee and the people on it will be in future years here.


Also, partially because this blog is named for one of their songs, I feel the need to write that The Thermals are coming to Madison. I am incredibly excited. If you're reading this and feel the same way, please drop a comment. If you haven't heard the thermals, let me know and I will send their best to you.

The Thermals - Now We Can See


www.myspace.com/thethermals


-Listen to 'No Culture Icons', then the rest of what's on there. Buy all albums. Come to the High Noon Saloon on April 28th with 12 dollars. Enjoy.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

listen=daniel johnston


yuk. My nose is sore and the my garbage is filled to the rim with kleenexes. Bright side: turntable is fixed (or so i thought) so I put it back in my room. this morning's spins included a side of songs in the key of life and yip/jump music by Daniel Johnston.

"True love will find you in the end
You'll find out just who was your friend
Don't be sad, I know you will,
But dont give up until
True love will find you in the end.
This is a promise with a catch
Only if you're looking can it find you
‘Cause true love is searching too
But how can it recognize you
Unless you step out into the light?"

I love Daniel. I have gotten to the point with his music that his songs carry additional meaning: a special feel and memories. Memories often pervade my listening experience because I let them--it is much more fulfilling to listen than to hear. Daniel Johnston's songs are pure in the sense of being unadulterated by production and its 'listenability'. There is much less to get caught up in--it is almost impossible to hear and not listen.

A few years ago, I purchased 'the late great daniel johnston'. One disc is entitled 'discovered covered' and includes covers of johnston's songs by the likes of bright eyes, beck, and tv on the radio. It is really a great homage to johnston's works and any fan should check it out.

Daniel Johnston - True Love Will Find You In The End