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!