A Stare Like Yours

A STARE LIKE YOURS 10 BEST ALBUMS*

2011-12-29T20:21:00.005-06:00

*That I listened to today, in chronological order

10. Jerry Goldsmith - Chinatown Original Soundtrack

A perfect album to listen to while writing a paper about Chinatown!~

9. Liturgy - Aesthetica

The #1 controversial black metal album of 2011 for people that didn't really care to follow what was controversial in black metal this year

8. Sigur Ros - ( )

I like this CD and deemed it worth listening to.

----- at this point I listened to several chunks of different albums including those by Wolves In The Throne Room, Bill Orcutt, Blut Aus Nord, Indian, and Beyonce----------

7. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact

At this point my activity transitioned from writing a paper for school to handing it in and celebrating being done with the fall semester with doing a large puzzle. I put on several albums from this year that are especially fun to listen to. "LIVE FOREVER"

6. Cut Copy - Zonoscope

This a fun cd and it always impresses me how much I am able to enjoy the song with the dopey shouts of "yeah!" around the chorus.

5. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Makes for epic puzzle assembling

4. James Blake - James Blake

My #1 cd of 2011. So excellent

3. My Morning Jacket - Circuital

I hadn't listened to this in months. It's good and I'm sorry for forgetting about it!

2. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

Logical progression: "eh, I guess I haven't listened to Evil Urges in a while lately. AH THIS IS GOOD"

1. My Morning Jacket - Z

and "okay, Z too now. AHH THIS CD"

At which point I finished my puzzle. The end!

Instant Review - Knee-jerk reactions to the P4k 100 for 2011

2011-12-14T16:39:00.005-06:00

First off: I really do not expect anyone to read this. I wrote it for myself, as a historical document.

Basically I listened to each of the songs in this list before reading the next one. 100 songs later, this is what I got.

100. Thundercat - For Love (I Come Your Friend)

YES to this, I have still never heard his album though. I need to get on that.

99. Ill Blu - Meltdown

Not sure I have heard of Ill Blu. It sounds so good though. Note to self: check out Numbers to see if Ill Blu’s label is as good as hyperdub.

98. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Ffunny Ffrends

I booked them! I wish I knew the rest of their songs as well as I know this one.

97. Fever Ray - The Wolf

The blurb for this accomplishes in 142 words what this one accomplishes in 5.

96. Peaking Lights - All the Sun That Shines

“A love song for the cavemen”... Okay

95. Kendrick Lamar - ADHD

I think this is the first time I’ve ever actually listened to a KL track. I like it, I like his voice and the way he says ‘that’

94. Sepalcure - Pencil Pimp

Yeah yeah yeah! It is too bad that Sepalcure + Mux Mool didn’t come to Madison.

93. Wild Flag - Romance

I saw WF at SXSW but haven’t listened to their cd yet. This song is cool but the blurb comparing the song to “its” top 40 influences is a bit of a stretch.

92. Jacques Greene - Another Girl

How have I never heard of this before!!! This is great!! The first great discovery by way of this list.

91. Thee Oh Sees - The Dream

I have not listened to TOS very much. I like this song a lot.

90. Grimes - Vanessa

I feel like this is one of those songs that I’ve heard far more times than I actually have. I wonder if Grimes is gonna next year’s Beach House (or something)

89. SBTRKT - Wildfire [ft. Little Dragon]

I’m so glad this is on the list! This is much higher on my personal list. Maybe I should make one this year, because I’m curious where this one would end up.

88. Cities Aviv - Coastin

Oftentimes I feel it takes about 30 seconds for me to know if I’ll like a hip hop track or not. This is great from the start. I have never heard of Cities Aviv before.

87. Zoo Kid - Out Getting Ribs

I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard of Zoo Kid either. Too bad, because he’s 17 now and there’s a big difference between falling in love with music made by a 17-year old and falling in love with music made by a 16-year old. Still, 17. Wow.

86. Blawan - Getting Me Down

The review says “For the first half of the year, ‘Getting Me Down’ was an event”, and I get what he’s saying, but I’ve never heard the song before. I do like it.

85. Junior Boys - Banana Ripple

God, Banana Ripple is such a great name. I don’t know the track too well and don’t think I’ve heard the album more than once or twice.

84. Iceage - You’re Blessed

Iceage. They’re amusing to see in the pages of Spin and Rolling Stone. This song sounds like it should have come out two or three years ago.

83. Tiger & Woods - Gin Nation

I haven’t heard this song. It sounds like it belongs in mixes. And 2009.

82. John Maus - Believer

AHHHHH alright, the first real disappointment in this list. ‘Believer’ is certainly one of the year’s best tracks. Not the 82 best, the 10 best. Come on!!

81. Yuck - Get Away

Hahaha. Instead of saying ‘come on!!’ at first I had ‘yuck!’ but changed it to avoid it coming off as a lame joke. I like this song a lot. Belongs in the same bucket as ‘You’re Blessed’ and Japandroids. I genuinely like the blurb’s shout out to high schoolers.

80. Fucked Up - Queen of Hearts

I will forever associate this track (and the album’s intro) with driving into Madison after a moonlit car ride back from seeing Okkervil River + Titus + Future Islands in Minneapolis with my friends. As the sun had risen and my tiredness was shifting to the excited feeling I get after accomplishing something big and fun, Christian put this on and started the day. Man, what a great memory!

79. Kelly Rowland - Motivation [ft. Lil Wayne]

Wow, how have I not heard this until today? I had no idea Kelly Rowland was still making music. The production on this sounds like it was made for dubstep remixes.

78. Sandro Perri - Changes

Oh wow, this is really great. I have never heard of Sandro Perri! Will definitely look into him though.

77. Cults - Abducted

This is good. Cults has come so far! Makin’ the big #77 on the Best Tracks of 2011 P4k List. Who would have thought? I think my first introduction to the band was this super-indie blog post:

76. Julianna Barwick - Prizewinning

Wow JB. You slay me! Actually, I want you to slay me. For some reason I have never gotten into your music. I like what I’ve heard and promise to listen to you more. “Barwick's celestial vocals gradually flood the track, confirming that there is indeed reverb in heaven.” As if there was ever any doubt!!

75. Washed Out - Amor Fati

If only every Washed Out song was as incredible as “Feel It All Around”..right? This is really Washed Out. I’m satisfied with this ranking.

74. Dum Dum Girls - Wrong Feels Right

I haven’t been keeping track, but this is at least the second review to mention striking ‘the gut’. I guess I understand.

73. tUnE-yArDs - Powa

Nothing really to say about this one. I’m glad tUnE-yArDs isn’t fading into obscurity or eccentric indie purgatory. Questionable blurb. Congrats to Garbus for garnering the most unlikely comparison to 1970s Jamaican dub!

72. Britney Spears - Till the World Ends [ft. Nicki Minaj & Ke$ha] (The Femme Fatale Remix)

Hopefully this isn’t the only track featuring Ke$ha on this list!

71. The Men - Batailles

I haven’t heard this song. Rock and roll! The hi-hat sounds perfect.

70. Holy Ghost! - Jam For Jerry

Oh wow, I didn’t know this song existed. I’m glad I found it in this list.

69. Neon Indian - Polish Girl

What a good song. This is another one I feel I’ve heard more times than I probably have.

68. The Joy Formidible - Whirring

One of those bands I haven’t gotten to yet. I liked the song though. Worth checking out probably.

67. Rihanna - We Found Love [ft. Calvin Harris]

Here’s my second big beef with this list. This song is tremendous and should be much higher on the list. A travesty!

66. DJ Quik - Killer Dope

Not a big fan of this one. Sorry Quik!

65. Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean

I realize FF will likely have a few songs on this list, but this seems awfully low. 65? I guess there were a lot of good songs this year..

64. Toro Y Moi - New Beat

This should’ve been #65.

63. Bon Iver - Perth

This song is so incredible. It should be higher. At least it’s higher than ‘New Beat’. What a perfect opener. I love the percussion in this song.

62. Liturgy - Generation

Yes yes yes.

61. Eleanor Friedberger - My Mistakes

I haven’t heard this album yet. My first impression of this song is that it reminds of my “All My Friends”.

60. Adele - Someone Like You

This song owned my year. In my top 10 for sure.

59. Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire - The Last Huzzah! [ft. Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown, and El-P] (Remix)

This is kind of like this year’s “Swagga Like Us”

58. PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder

I still haven’t listened to this album, which I should probably do soon since I’ve had a copy of it in my apartment for the better part of this year.

57. The Weeknd - House of Balloons

God, this is still terrific.

56. M83 - Intro [ft. Zola Jesus]

I just listened to this album for the first time straight through a few days ago. This is a great enough opener that it’s hard listening to the second half of the album because I always start at the beginning.

55. Destroyer - Chinatown

A solid mid-50s pick.

54. Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx - I’ll Take Care of U

A great song made better by the Drake companion. I want to be a DJ so I can play this song for everyone, every night. The progression of this song through covers on covers on covers is so impressive and wonderful.

53. Real Estate - Green Aisles

This is very pleasant. I don’t think I’ve heard this album more than once or twice but I recall liking it quite a bit.

52. Action Bronson - Larry Csonka

I have never heard of Action Bronson, and I have never heard of Larry Csonka. I like this!

51. Todd Terje - Snooze 4 Love

Ah, Todd Terje. I remember this coming out but don’t think I’ve heard it since listening to it on a blog somewhere. It’s good.

50. Atlas Sound - Mona Lisa

I’m content with this placement. ‘Te Amo’ had better be in the single digits!

49. Katy B - Broken Record

In looking up this song (which I’d heard a few times on napster) i found a jacques greene remix. Aw yeah!

48. Kreayshawn - Gucci Gucci

Should be higher!

47. Battles - Ice Cream [ft. Matias Aguayo]

Ooh, this is a great song. Fantastic video!

46. Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread

I haven’t listened to Ty much at all.

45. Drake - Headlines

One of my almost-favorite top 40 rap singles of the year. This is a decent spot on the list for it.

44. Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise You Can See

I have never listened to this man. Very Interesting.

43. Panda Bear - Last Night At The Jetty

It looks like we’re getting into the really terrific songs of 2011.

42. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Otis

Yep.

41. Frank Ocean - Novacane

Mmhm.

40. Burial - Street Halo

I would not put this so high on the list. It’s good, but I feel it ranks among the 50s or 60s in this list. I really miss the ‘old’ burial beats on this song.

39. Shabazz Palaces - Swerve... the reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding)

I really hope ‘an echo from..’ is on this list!

38. Purity Ring - Ungirthed

I’ve never heard this song. It’s Nice!

37. ASAP Rocky - Peso

Yessssss.

36. Jamie xx - Far Nearer

YESSSSSSSSSSSS.

35. Charli XCX - Stay Away

Never heard this. It’s Aight

34. Cut Copy - Need You Now

This is a great song. A solid mid-30s track.. maybe should be higher.

33. AraabMuzik - Streetz Tonight

This is a good choice from electronic dream. Not an obvious one, but I’ll take it. Wonder if there’s gonna be anything else.. it’s unlikely at this point in the list.

32. Cold Cave - The Great Pan Is Dead

Completely forgot about this song! This is a terrific cut. I still haven’t heard the album though.

31. The Field - Then It’s White

This is great. A good spot for the song in this list.

30. Clams Casino - Motivation

This was Clams Casino’s year. I am excited to see this song at #30 because it gives me hope that I’m God is in the top 10.

29. Jai Paul - BTSTU

I’ve never heard of this man. Great sounding song... will be interesting to see what the follow-up is like in 2012.

28. Danny Brown - Monopoly

Somehow I haven’t listened to XXX yet. I like the songs I’ve heard.

27. The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love?

This song’s chorus reminds me of a pop song from the 90s.

26. Beyonce - 1+1

OMG Beyonce. This is perfection. Deserves a higher spot.

25. Soulja Boy - Zan With That Lean

Really? I am a Soulja Boy fan but this song means nothing to me. This song doesn’t belong on this list.

24. Kurt Vile - Jesus Fever

Though hearing Kurt’s version never fails to make me wish I was hearing Molly play this on her ukelele instead, I suppose it’s alright that he’s at spot #24 instead of her. This is a great song. This year’s analogue to ‘Walkabout’?

23. Adele - Rolling in the Deep

An obvious top-5 pick for best pop singles of the year. Dude, Adele has got to be so rich right now.

22. Bill Callahan - Riding for the Feeling

This is a masterpiece. If this song is at #22 I can’t wait for the top 20. (Okay, I have been waiting for the top 20 since i read the top 20 of the 2010 list)

21. Drake - Marvin’s Room

Aw man. Great song. So quotable!

20. Gang Gang Dance - Glass Jar

Nice. I hope this means Mindkilla is in the top ten!

19. Lana Del Ray - Video Games

A perfect spot for this song. It’s really good. Really good. But there were some really really good songs this year and it feels good casting LDR away in favor of the really really good stuff. You know?

18. St. Vincent - Cruel

This is is perfect. I had forgotten about this album/song. I really love the guitar solo at about 1:15.

17. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica

A deserving slot.

16. Tyler, the Creator - Yonkers

I’m surprised this isn’t higher! It’s the perfect OF single. Whatever.

15. The Weeknd - The Morning

Awwwl that money, the money is the motive

14. Girls - Vomit

This is a pretty big-sounding song. It deserves it’s ranking here even though I’m not sure where I’d put it on my list.

13. tUnE-yArDs - Bizness

Yeah, this is awesome.

12. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Neighbors in Paris

Yeah, this is awesome.

11. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream

Yeah, this might be the best track of the year.

10. DJ Khaled - I’m on One [ft. Drake, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne]

I have never heard of this song. Where were you, Post-Library?

9. Azealia Banks - 212

Ahhh really? I guess. It is a great song but this ranking is questionable. Tom Ewing calls this a ‘banger’. This is the definition of a banger.

8. Cass McCombs - County Line

Cass McCombs. I haven’t gotten this album yet, and I haven’t heard this song more than once or twice. Yet I approve of this ranking on my first listen and the good faith that the song will grow on me as the rest of his stuff has. I feel like I finally ‘got’ ‘You Saved My Life’ this year.

7. Beyonce - Countdown

This wasn’t my favorite of the upbeat, potentially world-dominating songs from ‘4’. It is really great though.

6. Destroyer - Kaputt

Destroyer was destined for critics’ best-of lists. He had to have something on the top of this list.

5. Real Estate - It’s Real

AHH I need to listen to this cd more!

4. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass

Ah. okay. Not my pick for this song (i’d stick it around the 40s at the highest). Bummer. I’m sure the last 3 will be perfect...

3. EMA - California

Oh my god!! Wow. Very surprised. But then, this is a great song. This is perfect. Nice work Pfunk.

2. Bon Iver - Holocene

Wow. This song. Another perfect pick.

This was my text to Will yesterday trying to guess the top song of this list.

“If it’s girls i’ll poo myself. Midnight City? Yonkers? Video games, wilhelm scream are my four best guesses”

Looks like we might have a winner, as only one of those hasn’t been listed yet..

1. M83 - Midnight City

A perfect choice. This song slays.

Brandon Clementi vs Destroyer

2011-07-15T02:24:00.006-05:00

Well friends, this was a lot of fun. Thanks for reading! To finish things off, here are my four picks for Destroyer, a personal favorite.

My love for Dan Bejar goes back to my discovery of the New Pornographers, who were perhaps 'my first indie band' (I was 15 and my uncle played them while driving my cousin and I home from seeing Phantom Planet at Summerfest). There is something about his songs that set him far apart from all other songwriters in my mind. The guy is so nonchalant!

When he came to the High Noon this spring, the inevitable happened: his setlist was comprised mostly of songs from Kaputt, with only 4 songs representing the rest of his infinitely listenable catalog. While the same case is likely to be true for Destroyer's Pitchfork set, I still can't wait to see him again. I would pay good money to see a 3 hour Destroyer show or a multi-night engagement. Until then, I'll just have to embrace the Sax.

1. Blue Flower/Blue Flame

2. Rubies

3. Notorious Lightning

*Notorious Lightning is one of my favorite songs of all time. Easily Top 20, perhaps Top 10.

4. Bay of Pigs

Christian Widder vs Superchunk

2011-07-15T02:16:00.000-05:00

Having never listened to Superchunk before, I can't wait to post this list so I can see what they sound like. Once again, Christian Widder delivers the goods!

1. Hyper Enough

2. Crossed Wires

3. Learned to Surf

4. Detroit Has A Skyline

Honorable Mention: Slack Motherfucker

TJ Matzen vs The Dismemberment Plan

2011-07-15T00:56:00.007-05:00

I only met TJ Matzen this week, but since he is both a blogger and a big Dismemberment Plan fan I knew I had to ask him to cover the famed indie rock band. TJ writes for the fresh Playground Misnomer, a site well worth perusing. Check it!

"I was introduced to Dismemberment Plan in 2007 with their fourth album, Changes. Immediately I was struck by their untampered sound and immediately I’d wished I’d been of college-age in the late 90’s so I wouldn’t have missed the chance to see them tour. They were up in my top 3 no-longer-touring acts that I was most distressed I’d never see, along with Jeff Buckley and DFA1979.

1. “Superpowers” – Changes

"What I didn’t realize then was that Changes really was appropriately named, as it was entirely different from their first three albums. D-Plan’s stuff was weird. It was unlike anything I’d ever heard. And it was good. I was impressed with how Travis Morrison could be so skilled with the inflections in his voice without having what some people might say is a good voice. He and guitarist Jason Caddell were super talented at using dissonance at just the right moments..

2. “Academy Award” – The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified

"I think I purchased Emergency & I third out of the four albums, and it quickly became one of my favorite albums of all-time. Morrison takes on the role of clinically-depressed comedian, which I think many of us have felt like at times. It’s an album so relatable and so perfectly summative of early-20s life. I get frustrated with Pitchfork a lot, but their 10.0 of the reissue of this album felt like a slice of justice.

3. “What Do You Want Me to Say?” – Emergency & I

"Last year, I heard D-Plan was reuniting for a tour and immediately made up my mind that one way or another I was going to get to a show. I found out days after they sold out that they were playing two shows in Chicago. I immediately took to eBay and bought tickets from some schmuck who clearly knew the value of the show and jumped on as many tickets as he could. I didn’t care that I was funding some idiot, I was going to see one of my favorite bands of all-time. Their shows are unsurprisingly energetic and personal, like their songs. Without fail, every show they play “The Ice of Boston” where everyone gets to run on stage. I asked the security guard at the beginning of the encore if that was the plan and let him know that the second he gave me the nod I’d be tearing up there. Notice the loser in the striped jacket next to Travis… Also, at the beginning the band berates this annoying girl that was yelling out the name of a song and sings a portion of Biz Markie’s 'Just a Friend'"

4. “The Ice of Boston” – The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified

Gabriel Herrera vs Odd Future

2011-07-14T21:22:00.000-05:00

I kicked off this summer with a road trip to Detroit (my first time there) to see Odd Future with som e fri ends. I keep bragging about how the conversations on the way was almost unbelievably nerdy (sorry guys, it's a compliment) about blogging, the cooking dance, hip hop production, etc. Leave it to this guy, then, perhaps the king of pop culture analysis among my friends, to choose OFWGKTA for this project. Gabe writes for Post Library when he's not tumbling.

1. Tyler, The Creator - French

2. Domo Genesis - Rolling Papers (feat. Wolf Haley)

3. Tyler, The Creator - She (feat. Frank Ocean)

4. Frank Ocean - We All Try

Honorable Mention: Mellowhype - Gun Sounds

Will Leemkuil vs Guided By Voices

2011-07-14T01:45:00.006-05:00

WHY IS GUIDED BY VOICES NOT HEADLINING????!?!?!?!

This is seriously wack. Wiggedy Wack. The best alternative band of the 90s (yes, better than Pavement) has so many songs I had no problem allowing a fifth submission for this list. For GBV I contacted Will Leemkuil, the mastermind behind Stairfuck and Stairfuck Record Reviews.

1. Game of Pricks

2. Ester's Day

3. Weed King

4. Echos Myron

5. Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory

Kevin Stockert vs Deerhunter

2011-07-14T01:39:00.002-05:00

"Hey Kevin. I want you to choose any band playing Pitchfork this year, any band.."

"Brandon. By any band, you clearly mean Deerhunter"

There was a period of time (weeks? Months?) where Kevin played Halcyon Digest at least once a day. Really, weeks. This doesn't include the times Kevin played the album on his turntable. That is all I've got to say about that.

1. Nothing Ever Happened

2. Hazel St.

3. Revival

4. Helicopter

Caroline Wilson vs Yuck

2011-07-14T01:38:00.005-05:00

Wow, I am getting really lazy with formatting photos. I just have so many of these to get up here, which is awesome! This post is courtesy of my friend Caroline. Big ups to her for answering all of the questions I can think to ask about textiles and denim care.

I was very happy to hear she was covering Yuck because I don't know their album too well. When Emily Roehl and I saw them at SXSW playing with James Blake and Smith Westerns we were standing by one of the guys from Consequence of Sound, which I should note is probably the closest I have ever been to quality internet journalism taking place (or quality tweets).

"Yuck is a new band but I see a lot of potential in them. I don't read a lot of music blogs so I don't really know what people and/or critics are saying about them, but I dig it."

1. Georgia

"My favorite off their self-titled/first/only album. This song just sticks with me and sometimes I find myself humming it without realizing. And there's a mix of male/female vocals which I hope they continue with in the future."

2. The Wall

"I have to mention this song. It's great. Love the shoegaze-y/garage-y stuff going on here."

3. Suck

"Because 'Suck' rhymes with 'Yuck'. 'Wait up, wait for me, I've had enough of being young and free.'"

4. Get Away

"The first song on their album and one of the best. I like the way it's kind of messy.

"I know I chose Yuck to talk about but I am still deciding if I want to see How to Dress Well or Yuck. I'm not sure if I can make it to both with my stress fracture and the big festival grounds. I change my mind everyday! I'll have to see what mood I'm in."

Todd Olson vs Battles

2011-07-14T01:34:00.004-05:00

While it doesn't take being a drummer to get into Battles, it certainly helps. Todd is great because he introduced me to Reddit. He also worked in Yellowstone last year, which is pretty cool. Since I can't make a post about Battles without linking to their terrific video for "Ice Cream", here's that link.

1. Tras

2. Atlas

3. TIJ

4. SZ2

Dylan Hill vs James Blake

2011-07-14T00:36:00.004-05:00

Dylan and James Blake are similar because they both have charming British accents. While Dylan is not working in catering or skateboarding at the park, he can be found hanging out at his blog Dylan Hill Talks About Stuff For Some Reason. It is truly one of the best blogs I have ever followed, really, bookmark that and read it!!

1. Unluck

2. CMYK

3. Sparing the Horses

4. Tell Me Are You With Me

Danielle Bade vs Zola Jesus

2011-07-14T00:07:00.005-05:00

I am quite partial to Danielle. The longstanding rumors of our relationship are, in fact, true. You read it first here on A Stare Like Yours on Blogspot Com! She is the Zola Jesus expert among my friends (they shared a class a few semesters ago, coincidentally) so I was happy to have her pick 4 songs for this project.

1. Sink the Dynasty

2. Clay Bodies

3. Sea Talk

4. Manifest Destiny

Adam Raimond vs DJ Shadow

2011-07-13T10:32:00.005-05:00

I was looking forward to seeing what Adam had to say about DJ Shadow. In addition to one of them being a big fan of the other, both are tall white guys with facial hair so I consider them to be kindred spirits of some sort. I imagine Shadow will be playing a lot of his classics (though he has been moving in a different direction ever since endtroducing/preemptive strike), but we'll see what ends up happening. Safe to say his set will be awesome either way.

Adam provides commentary:

"I'm just going to pick songs from The Outsider to fuck around... nah not really"

1. Midnight In A Perfect World

"One of them is definitely Midnight In A Perfect World"

2. What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 2)

"Then it's kinda a tough one. I wanna put on either In/Flux or What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 2), but not both because each are over like 13 mins"

3. Mashin' On the Motorway

"Then next I'll go with Mashin' On the Motorway b/c it's a good idgaf song. Then can I cheat on this last one?"

4. Boogie Down Productions vs. David Bowie - Jack of Spades vs. Let's Dance

"It was mixed by him. So- Reppin' the obvious, the really obscure, the under-appreciated, and then a good unexpected one."

Christian Widder vs The Radio Dept

2011-07-13T09:52:00.005-05:00

Christian is fantastic because he goes to a lot of concerts in other cities and gives me rides all the time. In addition to helping me save on travel costs, he recently shaved his beard and cut his hair, which was pretty wild.

1. Heaven's On Fire

"Silly question but: when The Radio Dept plays Heaven's on Fire, will they use a prerecorded version of the Thurston Moore sample, or will Thurston Moore actually get up and recite the quote?"-Dylan Hill

2. Never Follow Suit

3. Pulling Our Weight

4. The Worst Taste In Music

Nick Pjevach vs TV On The Radio

2011-07-13T01:26:00.005-05:00

Nick has some great Facebook profile pictures. He also likes TV on the Radio, and is awesome for providing reasons for his picks!

1. Wolf Like Me

What they will always be known for.

2. Ambulance

"Dum dum dum dun dum dum" (agreed!)

3. I Was A Lover

This video!

4. Lover's Day

"A song about sex that is explicit without making you feel dirty, now with woodwinds! (Or maybe I am the only person to like this song. If so, see "Will Do," because that will actually be performed live.)"

John Ash vs Deerhunter

2011-07-13T01:03:00.004-05:00

John Ash is a true Dudebro. He was the first to chose 4 songs (last week at Pizza Di Roma). Let's hear it for John Ash!

1. Nothing Ever Happened

2. Hazel St

3. Cryptograms

4. Desire Lines

catching up - pitchfork 2011

2011-07-12T23:49:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I get bogged down in doing listening homework before fests. Lollapalooza is always the worst (or the best) for this--there are so many potential future favorites that I don't recognize when the lineup's announced.

Pitchfork has been rolling out stellar lineups for a few years now. While no day of this year's fest touches the near-perfection of Sunday 2010, this year's lineup is full of my favorites. Recently, though, as conversations turn to the fest it becomes apparent that some of the bands I don't know too well (Superchunk, Neko Case) are some of the sets my friends are looking forward to the most. The opposite was also often true, but instead of just finding more about my friends' favorites one-on-one I thought it'd be fun to compile a list and post it here.

I've asked a few of my friends to pick a favorite band of theirs playing the festival. The challenge was for them to showcase the group using only 4 songs chosen to entice a stranger to the band. I've been really pleased with the responses I got--overall this has been a lot of fun to put together! I'll be rolling out posts until the fest starts. If you'd like to choose the 4 songs that best highlight a band's catalog, just send me your submissions and I'll put them up!

Edit: I've got 10 of these posts up now. Check them out!

Ice Cream Pain Job

2011-01-15T18:43:00.000-06:00

fistful of love

2010-12-29T19:03:00.001-06:00

Antony looks a little bit like Andy Milonakis in this one. THIS IS SO GOOD.

New/Old Sounds

2010-12-09T23:16:00.005-06:00

Buy a new needle. Listen to your records backwards. Slow them down, and then slow them less partway through a song. Play them forwards. Finally give your slipmat some use--slow or speed revolutions with your hand. You're Making Art (at the very least, you're on your way).

Anyhow, I've had a lot of fun with that lately. This is especially fun with those 25 cent records you picked up at a garage sale in 2008 and still haven't listened to because the warped voices are less likely to sound out of tune if you haven't familiarized yourself with them.

catching up

2010-10-16T15:12:00.004-05:00

I've been posting too many links on facebook lately. Here you go, hear this.

1. Zach Hill - The Primitives Talk

2. Emeralds

Album of the year? One of them, at least.

3. sufjan sufjan sufjan

Heading over to the project lodge to listen to Julian Lynch's new album. Catch you later

fixing small spindle holes

2010-05-18T16:40:00.012-05:00

Summer is upon us at Madison so expect a lot of postponed blog ideas from asly in the coming weeks.

If you are one of the increasing number of people buying new vinyl (way to be!) chances are good that you have encountered a record with too small of a spindle hole. I'm not sure what the deal is here. I asked my father if he had this problem 'in his day' and he said he didn't. They don't make 'em like they used to, eh?

There's probably some product out there to fix this problem. I don't know what it is and I can't imagine it would be cost effective when there are a few good home-made remedies. One article I found suggested using a scissors to scrape a bigger hole. This seems a bit intense to me.

My favored method for enlarging spindle holes is to use sandpaper.

1. Acquire sandpaper.

2. Roll up into a spindle-sized tube. Hold in place with a rubber band.

3. Insert into spindle hole and spin record. Don't spin it more than a few times before checking how it fits into the spindle--you don't want it to get too big. Usually one or two spins is all it takes.

All better! Now it looks good AND plays without being forced onto your turntable.

Okay now, remember to be careful. Take off the least amount of hole-clogging vinyl possible and you should be golden. Let me know how this works for you/what you do when you get a record that doesn't easily fall into place on your player.

listen=pavement

2010-02-28T16:00:00.001-06:00

I heard this for the first time on Friday night. Wow.

listen=the divine comedy

2010-01-22T08:35:00.001-06:00

best in shows 2009

2010-01-09T09:33:00.023-06:00

Live music is one of my favorite things in this pretty little universe. Here are the top 20 concerts that dropped my jaw in 2009.

20. White Denim - High Noon Saloon, 11-5

On record, White Denim are crazy. In person, they are absolutely on fire. Playing most of their songs in 'medleys' (they actually called them that!), they flew through songs you had to sort of look for to recognize.

19. The Books - The Majestic, 11-30

I went to this with pretty little knowledge about the visual aspect of the Books' live show, so I was was really pleasantly surprised to see that they had projected video to accompany all of their songs. The found-clip aspect was pretty Tim & Eric-y, and provided humor and oddity to add a new level to their songs.

18. Ramona Falls - High Noon Saloon, 9-10

Riding a thin line between 'intimate' and 'awful turnout', this Tuesday-night show was one of the most personal I've enjoyed in quite a while. Brent Knopf (of Menomena) knows how to be in a band by this point, and was relaxed and conversational throughout. In between songs, he offered up pieces of a chili chocolate bar to the audience. Oh, and the music was good, too.

17. The Thermals - High Noon Saloon, 4-28

They are awesome, that is all. This show was unsurprisingly wild. A lot of crowd sing-a-longs etc. And Kathy was sporting a healthy crop of armpit hair, which is pretty bad-ass.

16. Asthmatic Kitty Community Theater - DM Stith, Osso, The BQE - Project Lodge, 10-30

As if seeing Sufjan Stevens at the Majestic wasn't surreal enough, here we were: in costume, sitting in this tiny room sneaking peaks at Sufjan while listening to Run Rabbit Run and watching his film. And I talked with him afterward about his movie and his future, which is always more rewarding than reading about it on pitchfork.

15. The Rural Alberta Advantage/Roadside Graves/Daredevil Christopher Wright - The Terrace, 8-22

Any show opened by Daredevil Christopher Wright has the big task of not being a letdown (see: bowerbirds, probably). That being said, all three bands were fantastic. To me, this was a perfect terrace show. Listenable and always engaging.

14. Animal Collective - The Riverside, 5-19

Fireworks. Banshee Beat. Brother Sport.

13. Andrew Bird - Overture Center, 9-19

I've thought about it, and A. Bird is one of the musicians I'd most like to be. His live show was incredible--so complex and always so clean. In a year so full of lo-fi upstarts, it was refreshing to see someone who knew what he was doing with his loop pedals.

12. Diplo - The Rathskeller, 4-11

Diplo is king, and no one seemed to care about how strange it was that he was in the Rathskeller. One thing that set this dj set so far above (most of) the rest I saw this year was being up against his table and being able to see what he was doing. And with the number of afterparties I've seen crash and burn this year, this one shined like a beacon of hope and love for mankind. Shone?

11. Los Campesinos / Titus Andronicus - The Rathskeller, 2-6

By this time, my fall '08 Titus Andronicus curiosity had grown into a full fledged love. This show was a nonstop exhausting mess of sweaty awesomeness. Totes crowdsurfed to you! me! dancing!.

10. Wavves - Project Lodge, 4-4 / Pitchfork 7-18 /Corral Room 9-19

I couldn't pick my favorite Wavves show of the year. Was it the stereotypical small club/awful performance at the Project Lodge? The 'triumphant phoenix-from-the-ashes' broken-arm performance at P4k 2k9? The bar-basement middle of the night Forward Music Fest closer, with one PA and Zach Hill on drums? I suppose no one cares about Wavves anymore except Patrick Tilley (Wavvves' 'best new music' didn't get it into even Pitchfork's list of 25 honorable mentions) but one can't deny that he was a 2009 staple worth recognizing. Especially if that 'one' is me.

9. Sufjan Stevens - Majestic, 9-28

One of the most surprising tours of the year, supporting 4 or 5 epic new unreleased songs, brought the sweet sweet sounds of Sufjan to 600 lucky people (although it always feels like 30 when you're in the front row). I can't deny the brilliance of Sufjan and his band or how cool it was to watch him play as many new songs as old favorites.

8. The Tallest Man on Earth - High Noon Saloon, 3-31

I went to this on a whim, not knowing anything about the Tallest Man other than having heard a few songs once or twice. I was absolutely blown away with how loud he sang and how captivating he was. I'd recommend seeing all the performers on this list, but few will grab your complete attention like Kristian Matsson.

7. Crookers / Kid CuDi / Major Lazer / Simian Mobile Disco - Congress Theater, 8-7

A bit of background- I woke up early in the morning, drove from Madison to Milwaukee and Milwaukee to Chicago, experienced a full day of Lollapalooza in the rain in a t-shirt, and then skipped out on Kings of Leon with John to meet up with Gabe and Trubes (you read that right) and head to the Congress. So I was pretty exhausted, but this double header featuring some of my favorite names of electro (plus some bro rapping) was worth hitting a second wind for. One highlight: the predictable but (patrick) awesome transition of Kid Cudi's set into Crookers' with 'Day n Nite'. wawawawawawawawa wah wah wah wah

6. Ponytail - The Terrace, 7-17 / Pitchfork, 7-18

One of those bands that really can't be appreciated to the fullest until you see them live. Ponytail is absolutely wild and I really lucked out being able to see them twice in two days. I think I was supposed to have a similar epiphany when I saw micachu & the shapes, but I didn't.

5. Bat For Lashes - Lollapalooza, 8-9

I didn't expect Bat For Lashes to translate well to the summer festival setting I saw them in, but this ended up being one of the biggest festival surprises of the year. They had the bass high in the mix, which helped bring attention to how danceable many of their tracks are. It was really windy, which fit in perfectly with the atmosphere of their music. Insert pretentious comparison to Shakespearean weather reflecting conflict here if you're into that kind of thing. Highlight: the massive backdrop flying loose during my favorite 'Siren Song'.

4. Atlas Sound - Overture Rotunda, 9-18

One of the most intimate performances I've been to in my life. Bradford was casual and honest and the last-minute change of location to the Rotunda Stage brought everyone together sitting on the ground in a way similar to the Asthmatic Kitty showcase (or kindergarten). Sitting right across from him allowed a great view of his mastery of pedals. Listening to Logos always brings be back to this.

3. Grizzly Bear - Pabst Theater, 6-8

This was fantastic. Not like you don't already know this, but Grizzly Bear is one of those bands that truly deserve terms such as 'brilliant', and their live show showed off all of their best qualities.

2. Dan Deacon - Lollapalooza, 8-9

Festival time is precious but after seeing Dan Deacon at the Majestic this spring I didn't have to think twice about staying put when Bat For Lashes finished and much of the crowd dispersed. At the peak of my Dan Deacon fan-ship, this show melted my brain in a way words can't describe. Mashed up against the cheese grater of the crowd barrier, people were being passed over me and being caught by security throughout the whole set. Dan played with his Bromst orchestra, AND brought on an additional brass band to play on his last songs (woof woof, of the mountains, crystal cat). I foresee very few future moments in my concert-going life that are as blissful as these last three songs were. The fact that I've gotten this far without mentioning Snookered should get the point across: I liked this show a lot.

1. The Flaming Lips - Pitchfork, 7-19

AND THE LIPS TAKE THE CAKE. After being on heavy rotation through middle school, high school, and college, I finally had the opportunity to see them this year. I laughed, I cried, but mostly I stood there beaming like a fool. Few overwhelm like Wayne Coyne & Co, and I thank them for that. (for more blither-blathering about this show)

11 Very Honorable Mentions

Daniel Johnston

Dawes

Fleet Foxes

Hercules & Love Affair DJ set

Local Natives

M83

MSTRKRFT

of Montreal

Spoon

Why?

Yeasayer

What did I miss? Any agreements? Did you think this list was kind of dumb? Can I get an amen? etc

#besttweetsof2009

2009-12-22T19:14:00.006-06:00

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'
#BestTweetsOf2009
(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-culture 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.7:53 PM Apr 3rd from web

Clearly does not understand that I Am Carles.

Beligeront

@astrobrando SARS bRO!2:09 AM Apr 30th from web in reply to astrobrando

ptilley fuck everybody...i'm listening to "Wavvves" right now
3:49 PM Jul 2nd from web

Probably my favorite.

gabrielherrera

@astrobrando you don't even know, brah. that & trey songz's album on the 30th are the two best things that will happen to music in july1:28 PM Jun 10th from web in reply to astrobrando

'That' being 'guns don't kill people...lazers do'.

astrobrando

Spotted: already perfect alt bro specimen carrying oracular spectacular on vinyl. You're awesome dude!12:05 PM Sep 3rd from txt
cmarquard

@astrobrando look in the mirror again?12:26 PM Sep 3rd from web

lololololol!!!!!1!

@majorlazer INGLAN YU NICE. FRANCE YU NICE. AMSTERDAM YU NICE. GERMANY YU NICE. BIG UP DI WHOLE WORLLLL1:28 PM Sep 11th from web
astrobrando

X is smoking2:00 AM Oct 18th from txt

'do somethin crazy'

mbforr @astrobrando AHH SLAPPA THEE BASS.7:52 PM Oct 20th from Tweetie in reply to astrobrando

astrobrandojohn ash on the red bull power shot: "I don't even know if this works. It says 'energy for hours', but how many?"5:04 PM Nov 24th from web
astrobrando

"i'm going to have to try it on a day when studying doesn't matter. What if I have an adverse reaction to it?"5:07 PM Nov 24th from web

#johnhashtag

Beligeront Patrick Till Wave11:24 PM Dec 20th from txt
ehberlin Patrick Chilley11:24 PM Dec 20th from txt

etc etc etc

ptilley

@astrobrando would like this: MAGIC KIDS http://www.myspace.com/themagickids
1 minute ago from web

haven't listened yet, but it would be cool if I published this and they ended up being my favorite band ever. sort of.

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

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

hm....

2009-12-21T13:22:00.002-06:00

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....

listen=oval

2009-12-01T14:34:00.003-06:00

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'.

7 hours with the Mars Volta

2009-11-13T18:14:00.005-06:00

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.

voxtrot in chicago - 1/14/10

2009-11-12T17:40:00.006-06:00

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.

listen=sleigh bells

2009-11-03T08:47:00.006-06:00

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

listen=5 years of hyperdub

2009-10-10T18:04:00.005-05:00

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.

Chill bros. It's just autumn.

2009-09-24T14:27:00.005-05:00

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?

What's good, world?

2009-09-13T17:18:00.006-05:00

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)

listen=cool jumper

2009-08-12T10:26:00.002-05:00

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)

15 seconds of fame: does he care? / diplo

2009-07-31T22:35:00.005-05:00

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)

buy=used music

2009-07-26T23:38:00.005-05:00

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.

reflections on Pitchfork 09

2009-07-23T15:32:00.006-05:00

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.

listen=the new wine

2009-07-02T13:29:00.002-05:00

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.

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

2009-06-30T20:52:00.003-05:00

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.

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

2009-06-25T16:45:00.003-05:00

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.

listen=dj signify

2009-05-30T11:50:00.006-05:00

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

In a big country.

2009-05-26T21:01:00.005-05:00

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.

punk music

2009-05-25T10:44:00.006-05:00

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

2009-05-25T10:19:00.007-05:00

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.

weird songs

2009-05-21T18:01:00.003-05:00

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)

listen=fiery furnaces

2009-03-31T23:06:00.003-05:00

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.

trepidation party

2009-03-25T22:40:00.004-05:00

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*

new music from old favorites.

2009-03-19T11:27:00.004-05:00

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?

listen=louis vuitton 2008

2009-03-13T02:05:00.003-05:00

17 min daft punk conglomeration. Not too shabby!

Daft Punk - Louis Vuitton 2008

lollapalooza.com + F5 == today

2009-03-10T23:22:00.005-05:00

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!

Post-Post Pavillion

2009-02-23T07:28:00.004-06:00

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.

listen=daniel johnston

2009-01-06T12:37:00.002-06:00

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

This is what you get:

2009-01-05T17:37:00.002-06:00

Lately I have been paying a lot more attention to rap music. After years of ignoring, for the most part, most 'mainstream' rap in effort to stay 'alternative' or whatever, I have broken out into the forbidden top 40.

Well, sort of. While 808s & Heartbreak and Tha Carter III did make my Christmas list, I still spend the majority of my time with hip hop on the hype machine looking for zany remixes. When I read (on pitchfork, of course) that a certain Minty Fresh Beats had mashed Jay-Z & Radiohead songs into a 10-song album (titled, ahem, Jaydiohead), I had to give it a listen. If you're into this type of thing, it is definitely worth checking out. Nothing incredible, but interesting nonetheless to hear 'in step' cut up to a 5/4 + 3/4 to work with .

Jaydiohead is available for free download y'all.

While on the topic of mashes, be sure to learn how to create your own via Sue Teller

listen=hella

2009-01-03T10:36:00.000-06:00

This fall I got the chance to see Zach Hill (drummer for Hella) play at the High Noon. He set up his drum kit and played through 'Necromancer', the anchor of his latest solo release, Astrological Straits. It was an incredible display of power, dexterity, and, most impressively, stamina. For those who haven't heard Hella, here is a must:

'Biblical Violence' live.

The most impressive aspect of Hella is that it sounds cohesive and they make real songs. Zach Hill and Spencer Seim are also incredibly prolific-when I went to see Zach play the merch table was stocked with 20+ different cds of Hella and numerous side projects.

A free download from every Hella album is available at their website.

diversion

2009-01-03T00:32:00.000-06:00

back in the lac and things are pretty quiet. I've been enjoying me some card games lately... it is so interesting how many different things you can do with a deck cards. think about it.

5 Best Card Games at the moment:
runner up: Go Fish exxxtreme 4-card match style

5. Texas Holdem - why not

4. Gin Rummy - A refreshing spin on 500 rummy

3. Hearts - microsoft stylee

2. Rummy 500 - classic

1. Solitaire variations - my grandfather taught me some great alt. versions to keep things exciting.

make room for my 45s / along beside your 78s

2009-01-02T19:39:00.000-06:00

pretty fired up about 2k9. Tons of cool stuff planned.

look at this dank JPG i found of gumby playing guitar.

I'm not very familiar with the blogspot site yet. Can I make blogspot friends with other bloggrs? Bloggers add me.

A Stare Like Yours is primarily a music blog. Hey, why not. I dig the musics. I figure writing a blog is like getting a 1 hour long weekly radio show on college radio, but much more convenient.