Happening Now: Boy Eats Drum Machine

I think I'm in love.

Song of the Day, 4/30/2011

Hey! If you have nothing to do tonight, you really ought to consider coming out to the Comet to see Throw Me the Statue, Boat, Boy Eats Drum Machine, and Wonderful. It's a pretty epic Seattle pop band line up - it's going to a super fun night.

Throw Me the Statue hasn't played a show in like, what, a year? Wonderful is the new/old band from most of the members of USE, and Boat - is Boat.

I keep wondering if this song was written about someone I know. Maybe I'll learn tonight!

Song of the Day, 4/29/2011

"SHE IS SO CUTE!" A bunch of drunk dudes in glasses were losing it.



Buke and Gass opened the sold out Tuneyards show last night at the Crocodile - and they were dangerously close to stealing the show. The crowd demanded an encore, the Croc wouldn't let them play it.



They sound better live than they do recorded, mostly because the Gass (guitar + bass) is really loud and a little drone-y, which is a fantastic foundation for the Buke (baritone uke) and totally wild vocals.


Yep! Keep an eye out for them in the future.

Happening Now: High Tension Line

Song of the Day 4/28/2011

My band has a show this evening. It’s the first one in over a year and this, combined with the lingering cold, and the random, harrowing demands of the job are making me edgy. For the last few days I’ve been anxious, snappy and impatient (more so), I am a fucking joy to be around.

So I looked around on the internet for something to cheer me up and found this:

Superchunk - Digging For Something from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Obviously it’s a stone cold good song, it’s up there with any really good Superchunk song - and the video manages to actually be funny. I reckon this because Jon Wurster is so heavily involved with funny things these days (I also reckon that THAT is how Marc Maron’s WTF podcast got sponsored by Merge Records – I love it when two disparate things I like get somehow connected).

What’s really taking the edge off for me is having this song remind me of the fucking awesome show Superchunk did last year, it’s nice that a miserable mood can be fended off with a happy memory.

Also, we’re coming up on 20 years since No Pocky For Kitty came out. And you should read this about that.

Song of the Day, 4/27/11

It is Wednesday. And today I'd like to bring you some Beat Connection. They self describe themselves as some combination of Tropical Psychedelic Disco Electro Pop, and I'd probably describe them as Post Chillwave Dance Music. Both of those mean absolutely nothing, and probably don't represent their music at all.

Their record Surf Noir came out on April 12th, and it opens with some of aesthetic qualities that remind me a little bit of the Animal Collective/Grizzly Bear sounds I'm getting suuuuuuper tired of. But then it grows. And has a beat. And samples. And some air. The record has a great build to it - and listening to it feels like clearing my palate.

They've got some tracks from the record (and some other stuff) up on Soundcloud:

Here's Track 01 - Sunburn
01 Sunburn by Beat Connection

Here's Track 04 (which I really like) - Theme from Yours Truly.
04 Theme From Yours Truly by Beat Connection


And imagine getting from here to there. Yup, dig it. Totally dig it.

SotD 4/26/11 - The Mountain Goat's No Children

In honor of my shiny new guitar, I give you one of the songs in my repertoire. "No Children" is one of my favorite Mountain Goats songs because it's so damn fun to sing. It's even more fun to sing when you're accompanying yourself on guitar.

Also: Listen to the new Fleet Foxes record

Like, totally do it right now. It's available for streaming on NPR..

And check out the violin on Bedouin Blues!! It's one of my homes from youth symphony times!

Song of the Day, 4/25/2011

Kill County: The Trains, The Drinks, and The Dawn from Love Drunk on Vimeo.

I really want my band to start playing in old abandoned buildings and recording videos. There are tons of old mills and ghost towns in Washington state, and lots of old docks and abandoned places. Or hell, any old abandoned building in Seattle. Or any place that just doesn't belong empty. (I would also love us to film a video of us playing on the floating walk adjacent to Fairview, but it's so noisy right there I don't think you could get audio.) Maybe this summer when I start to get a little stir crazy and need to get out of the city, I'll just go film myself playing some of MY songs in some of those weird magical places.

Anyways, this video is lovely, was filmed in an abandoned silo by a crew called Love Drunk in the fair state of Nebraska. via Nebraska Admiral.

Song of the Day, 4/24/2011

Happy Sunday. If you're sitting around at home sipping coffee like I am (okay, well, not like I am, because I AM OUT) the entire show from last week at the Columbia City Theater is up on Youtube. There are a couple of different versions of each song, with the sound tweaked differently - but it's still lovely.

What a talented effin' band, eh?



Also, I dunno if this has shown up on your radar, but here's teenaged Robin Pecknold and Aaron Mannino covering some Radiohead:



(and hence, I will be forever plagued by how I didn't manage to know Robin Pecknold way back when.)

Song of the Day, 4/23/2011

While we were down at SxSW last month, one of the bands we watched for about half a song was The Belle Brigade. I posted a photo, misspelled their name (oops!), and we moved on. I described them as excessively earnest (they were!), but in a landscape full of folk bands, we wanted to see something else.


Even though we walked out on them, I'm back in Seattle, my endless quest for honesty and sweetness continues. I downloaded their record anyways last week, it's just on the edge of spring time, and I can't stop singing along to this track.



I just fell in love.



We spent some time over brunch today talking about mandolins (so hot right now) (plus I want one) (and I played on a beautiful one today - $1600!!) and this folk rock moment we're all stuck in, and tried to figure out how much longer it's going to last (long enough to invest in a mandolin?)

I don't think it matters because I'm not sick of it yet.

Golden Gardens

Plant Party

Guitar, drums, violin, and mandolin. Super loving this.

Song of the Day 4/21/2011

I am unwell. Not seriously ill, but coughing, uncomfortable and suffering from diminished concentration, any errors or insane observations in the below should be attributed to my condition.

To speed up my recovery I've taken the day off and I'm sitting in a coffee shop drinking spendy coffee and listening to old KEXP song of the day podcasts (drowning out The Jackson Five, which the staff seem to play on an endless loop). Obviously this is an excellent source of new music and being able to select a song from a finite list gives me a pleasant feeling of control that I don't get from just listening to KEXP on the radio.

Of the twenty or so songs I've heard this morning this is probably my favorite:

Teenage Love Made Me Insane by The High Dials
(yeah, Soundcloud, not youtube - this is the future).

Things I like about this record:

• The start - similar (same?) chords as Growin' Up by Portastatic.
• The first verse - sounds like Teenage Fanclub.
• The end - where a phaser (or possibly a flanger) is employed to mix the vocals and guitar lines together into a squashy beam of joy.

Right, back to eating fistfuls of Vitamin C.

Bonus Song!

"None of those dancers were professionals!"



Big Country on Top of the Pops in 1983. Via facebook friend Melissa.

Song of the Day, 4/20/2011

I'll bet you thought I was going to post G&O today, huh?

No, instead, you get a song which I think falls in a genre one of my coworkers calls "Fake Classy Restaurant Music" (as in, "Sometimes, sitting next to you is like being in a fake classy restaurant.")



This comes via Ian, whose Facebook like of this band made me check them out tonight. And I really dig it. (Although the video is very blah.) Accordion?? Ukelele?? Gang vocals?? Uncertainty as to whether this song is uplifting or totally depressing?

Perfect.

SotD 4/19/11 - Bill Callahan's Riding For The Feeling

I've been feeling melancholy today; more so than I've been for a long time. Fortunately, Stereomood has a mood appropriate playlist for me. I always question whether it's a good idea to listen to downer music when you're not in a great mood but I do it anyway.

I picked this song from the playlist because out of all of the thirty-something songs I've listened to today this one was the must successful at enhancing my melancholy. It remains to be seen whether it was good judgment on my part to listen to it again.

Song of the Day, 4/18/2011

"Once this is over, it is all downhill."

Local Natives | Who Knows Who Cares | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

I had a plan for an entire like, expository diatribe I was going to post about an artist I used to love, love, love when I was a teenager - one that's kind of embarrassing, but I think totally justified, and I think is worth you understanding too.

But instead, my pal Lauren linked this from Facebook, and I decided you should watch it too. (Oh the harmonies! Oh the drumming!)

Maybe I'll get my ranty-face on for Wednesday.

Song of the Day, 4/17/2011

Sorry for falling way behind and sucking at songs of the day in the last week.



Today's song of the day is The Redwood Plan. They are the party. In general, I think Seattle doesn't have enough party music or party bands - we're really good at supporting and elevating sad guys with guitars and folk guys with beards, but we're not good at elevating bands that actually make you want to dance.

We caught The Redwood Plan at the Comet last night, and it was all kinds of awesome. I think we all need a little more of this.

The Redwood Plan

Fences

Same Tattoos

Clutch Douglass

Song of the day 4/14/2011

I'm really looking forward to the next Future of the Left record, because it means they'll probably tour and probably come to Seattle and it will be amazing.

If past performance is anything to go by - they'll bring the following:

• A rack of identical black Epiphone SG guitars.
• A smart, snarky attitude that borders on distain for the audience.
• Filthy bass tone.
• Loud, loud music. Loud enough that it affects your vision not just your hearing.

This is one of those songs that confers on the listener a sense of indestructability was they walk through even the most bro-infested streets on a Saturday night (see also: songs by White Zombie, songs with the word “motherfucker” in the title).

Come on Rick, I'm not a prize. I'm not a cynic or one of those guys!

Future of the Left - Arming Eritrea



Further reading:
FOTL’s posts on twitter: @shit_rock
Filesharing scum: http://www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft/blog/485944356 and http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/sep/28/advert-filesharing

Fleet Foxes

SotD 4/12/11 - Jawbreaker's Save Your Generation

This song is an old favorite from high school, and I still love it. Unfortunately, it's much more difficult to find good video from the 90s. I also made the discovery of a Fall Out Boy cover of this song. Blecch.

Back then I really wanted to be punk or a rude girl but didn't do a great job at either. I was too naive and "nice." I dyed colored streaks in my hair and pinned a safety pins to my hoodie but never progressed much beyond that. I didn't really have any money so my safety pin collection sucked. If I'd really been punk I suppose I would have shoplifted them. Punk fail.

Song of the Day, 4/9/11

Song of the day 4/7/2011

It is very important that you buy the first British Sea Power record “The Decline of British Sea Power” and listen to it over and over again.

I remember buying this and Dance of Death by Iron Maiden at Sonic Boom in Capitol Hill one evening in 2003, then things get fuzzy. There was a pub quiz, at which I don’t think we (and I don’t remember who “we” were) did very well also there was the lager – this was uncommonly, shockingly, deviously strong and the drunkenness sneaked up on me without my consent. At some point I got home (still carrying the CDs) and thought “I’ll just lie on the floor for a bit, before I go to bed” (nope, no idea). Around 7am I woke up, ran a few self-assessment tests and decided that I would not be going into work that day.

Instead I spent the next few hours recovering and listening to this.

British Sea Power – Something Wicked



Dance of Death didn’t get much of a look-in, it’s not a great Iron Maiden album – in fact there’s some disturbingly right-wing ideas expressed on it. Another painful step on transition from “liking metal” to “liking indie".

Bonus! Death Cab Video.

You may or may not have heard, Death Cab For Cutie did something novel and interesting yesterday - they shot this video in one take with a live audience watching via streaming video on their website (EDIT: Not on their website - via UStream). (Disappointed that they chose 4pm PST, so no, I didn't actually watch the live webcast.)

I'm not a huge fan of the song, I'll admit, but I think this is an interesting way of generating media attention and getting fans engaged - I certainly felt overwhelmed with the amount of coverage this got on Twitter and the local music outlets that I follow.

The UStream channel reports 24,433 total views - it doesn't compare anywhere near real TV viewership (As a data point of comparison -- The OC which played role in launching DC/FC - at it's worst averaged 4 million viewers per episode) but 24k viewers for a 4 minute video shoot doesn't seem that bad.

(I'm trying to think of other things to compare it to - is this a success? a flop? an interesting proof of concept? suggestions?)

Song of the Day, 4/6/11

Stars | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

A beautiful version of one of my favorite songs (Your Ex-Lover is Dead). The album "Set Yourself On Fire" came out in 2004, and I discovered it in spring of 2005, not long before I left for Lincoln. After breaking up with my college boyfriend, I used to listen to this record and had this elaborate fantasy in my head about how bumping into him would somehow be like this song.

There'd be snow. It'd be the bitter, dry, bone chilling cold (......................that we don't have in Seattle.) There would be taxis, frosted streetlights, maybe a car wreck. "I'm not sorry I met you, I'm not sorry it's over, I'm not sorry there's nothing to say."

Really, this song ended up being much more about me from 2005-2007: "Live through this, and you won't look back."

SotD 4/5/11 - Jens Lekman Medley

This video is a medley of "I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You" & "The Opposite Of Hallelujah." I was just looking for the first song but when I came across a recording from the time I saw him at the Crocodile and I had to use that version.

I love this song because it's a break-up song but there is no blame or drama in the lyrics. It didn't work out, and it's time to move on.

Song of the Day, 4/4/11

Love Somebody from Christian Sorensen Hansen on Vimeo.

No comment.

Song of the Day, 4/3/11

Oh hey! First post of April!

Sorry, I've been kind of overwhelmed the last few days with the latest Seattle Rock Orchestra concert (which, was probably one of my favorites to date) and an overdue trip up to Bellingham.



I found this record in my old closet. I kind of forgot about this one. (oops.)

I was so moved by this record the first time I heard it years and years ago, and I wonder what happened that made me give up entirely on music like this. Falling in and out of love, with people and with sounds, what made me start getting obsessed with the artificiality of electronic noises, and start chasing the honesty of folk bands filled with sad voices and acoustic guitars.

If I can piece it together, I'll tell you. But for now, I'm back where I started, haunted by a critical mass of strings and where they can move you. And drop you.



So let's lie on the floor tonight, drink some cheap wine, and listen to Godspeed until it feels like the whole world is spinning around you. I promise it's a really great idea.

Tonight at the Triple Door!

Seattle Rock Orchestra accompanies Shenandoah Davis and Kaylee Cole!!

It's gonna be GOOD.