Woods "To Clean"

With a distinctly dandy, yet rustic tonage



The "freak" surely overrides the "folk" in the video.

The Go! Team

"Wait, are those cheerleaders singing?"

http://sadsteve.com/preview.py?url=http://antisocial.lolerskates.com/The%20Go!%20Team%20-%20Thunder%20Lightning%20Strike%20(2004)/10%20Huddle%20Formation.mp3&song=Huddle%20Formation&artist=The%20Go!%20Team

Pinback

Warm, like musical chicken noodle soup.

http://sadsteve.com/preview.py?url=http://www.tgrec.com/media/880.mp3&song=Pinback%20-%20Fortress&artist=Pinback%20-%20Fortress

Memory Cassette

Described as the "feminine alter-ego" to Dayve Hawke's other solo projects, Weird Tapes. Hazy synths that heighten senses instead of washing out, as expected.

The xx

Brit girl/guy duo muse intimate conversations backed by wandering bass tones and minimalist beats. Sometimes its difficult to discern if they lyrics are internal speculation or an ongoing, external dialague. Basically lots of tenseion fueled by aptly place negative space. The most provocitive aspect of the band I think was pointed out in their debut album review by Pitchfork- "after dozens of listens, it's nearly incomprehensible to think that a group so fresh-faced produced xx...It is so fully formed and thoughtful that it feels like three or four lesser, noisier records should have preceded it."

Wait for the opening female vocals in "Heart Skipped a Beat", I love how they sort of stumble into the song, yet still hold a purposeful tone.

Neon Indian

Alan Palamo, the elusive mastermind behind Neon Indian "borrows nostalgia from the unremembered 80's" (oh man, we've got a winner). It's like a poor man's Ratatat and infinatly more relaxed and zoned out. The aptly titled "deadbeat summer" fronts the album and is described best by pitchfork as the following...

"Whatever they owe to the past, the memories on Psychic Chasms are Palomo's and ours. Soft vocals recalling You Made Me Realise-era Kevin Shields. Italo-disco synth arpeggios. Hall & Oates drum sounds. Divebombing video-game effects. Brittle guitar distortion. Manipulated tapes that bend the notes the way Shields' "glide guitar" did, the way bluesmen's fret fingers did. Field recordings of birds. Oohing and ahhing backing vocals. And samples, on at least two songs, of the elder Palomo, whose electro-rock approach was quite similar. All combine on eight or nine unforgettable songs and a few tantalizingly brief interludes, indelibly capturing the glamor and bleary malaise of being young and horny as an empire devours itself."

Briliant. Some choice picks.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

I would be turned off by the righteous name of the band if they weren't so good and the music didn't fit so perfectly. Kirk sings softly but the hazy guitar re vibes give it all the force it needs. In a lot of respects, they fit the mold for the lo-fi, 80's band with a hint of so-cal noise on some tracks (as if its always there in the back of the song, almost like an afterthought)- If The Smiths were from Cali maybe? But most can agree the emerging force has began to string together their own stake in indie pop. The most recent EP surely matches the first and offers equally strong tracks to a fast-growing catalog.

Newest single exemplifies...

Girls

So-Cal beatniks who make "tropical/gothic/thrash" that never sounded so sunny.

The video for "Lust for Life" features a candid, technicolor collection of memories filled with long stringy hair falling over sun-kissed faces and edgy characters who are self-loathing in the most not believable way- plays like a old Polaroid album thats been long forgotten.

Horchata

New Vampire Weekend song unveiled off the album coming out this winter. Xylophones! Crescendos! The angst of privilege! Vampire Weekend!

The Tallest Man on Earth

Already has had his music out for a while. But seriously, what a fantastic name for an artist. It adds a whole other dimension to the music where the listener imagines everything through the eyes of this individual, imagining him as, well, the tallest man on earth. You feel his loneliness and alienation as the tallest man; it only adds to the sureness of each strum of his guitar.





Revibe at it's best in his Daytrotter session

Kurt Vile

I guess it's ironic that someone with such and off-color name is paired with an album called Constant Hitmaker (and yes, that's his real name). I'm sure he wanted to juxtapose that undertone. Among other sentiments- a pervasive sense of "blue collar nostalgia". I think it defiantly hearkens back to the composition of the music relating to the likes of Tom Petty, Springsteen ect. (Listen to Freeway). Just let his mumbling and murmuring drift on by...oh and he's the lead guitarist for The War on Drugs. Makes sense for sure.

The Mountain Goats

One of his more resonating tunes...talk about a pervasive sense of purpose.

Ida Maria

Norwegian songstess belts out impulsive jams, so good that Spin listed her debut album one of the best of 2009 thus far. Just please, please don't turn into Courtney Love...

The world would be such a happier place if we took her advice to heart.

The Ruminant Band- Fruit Bats

Appropiate title...

http://sadsteve.com/preview.py?url=http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/aolmusic/mp3s/Fruit_Bats_The_Ruminant_Band.mp3&song=The%20Ruminant%20Band&artist=Fruit%20Bats

And some new (but feel like old) favorites...







and the ever uplifting-

Ambivalence Avenue- Bibio

Sonic reverberations play off structured, but winding melodies

Hazel

So I've discovered this band through the solo work of their frontman, Pete Krebs (who I've wanted to make a post on for a while but I havnt been able to due to lack of actual music sample to post- check out "pacific standard time" if you can find it somehow, its on itunes). They run in the same veign as Heatmiser and circuited the same scene in Portland in the early 90's. Good stuff to zone out to.

Day-Glo is a video that embodies early 90's alternative- out of character band members(like a 12 year old drummer who sings as a tenor and actually sounds like he's 12 and a band "dancer" (Nastanovich of Pavement mastered this in terms of functionality and aesthetic ha) who looks like a homeless man), sunflowers,overalls, distraught yet contemplative characters, and an overall tone of introspection. Today is the first day I've been listening to it and I'm posting it, so i hope I'm not being too pre-emptive.

Deastro

Haven't been turned on by the new album just yet, but it's growing on me. Till then I can settle for his synthed out tracks from Keeper's. Impatient stuttering hasn't sounded this cool since Mick Jagger.

Around the Well- Iron & Wine

Select tracks from the new album of B-sides, rarities, and previously discarded jingles.

Use of a lot more slide guitar...


Maybe my favorite track on the album- I think it'd be pointless to analyze what Sam is trying to say about this girl, because, well, the nature of the girl can't be dissected.


The least recognized cover on the album. To be honest, I don't think it adds much to the original, but it's great nonetheless.


Epitomizes what a good cover should be- it holds true to the message of the original yet adds its own je ne ses quois


Appropriately ends the album with a near 10 minute jam and a finale whispered of "na na naaaa"s and "ooh ooh ooooh"s

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Wow, so behind the ball on this one, but they are too good not to mention. Their self-titled album is really and eclectic gem...damn shame they couldnt follow it up with anything else.



"aaannndddd you look like David Bowie"






All i can think of is that cartoon with the talking toaster and fellow appliances...

Rainwater Cassette Exchange- Deerhunter

(They don't look that unlike zombies...)

New Deerhunter EP, Rainwater Cassette Exchange, that musically runs in the same vein as Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. by laying fuzzy guitar over truly beautiul harmonies. In some ways these guys, and their outlandish frontman, epitomize the spirit of alternative music- the flirting on the edge of maddness (or at least seeming to), the brash expirimentation, and just being plain weird sometimes. Some favorites...





Love all the lyrics to this song. "We walked into the sun/ We walked, we cannot run/ because walking's half the fun/ we walked into the sun". And it really sounds like they do at the end...

Face Control- Handsome Furs

Frantic lyrics shouted over funerial keyboard tones paired with jarbles of messy, yet spot on synth tones to make a tortured but beautiful mess (listen in "Officer of Hearts" or begining of "Radio Kalininbrad"). Speed up the beat and turn the "frantic" to "on the edge of madness" and you've got an Handsome furs anthem. Perhaps all this energy bursts forth from Boeckner's inability to truly go nutty with Wolf Parade? Or mabye his wife and partner on the drum machine is the culprit...And then they can take a 90 degree turn and sound like a post-post-millenium Cure (All We Want, Baby, Is Everything), go figure- great stuff though, might as well let them explain it themselves...

"The juxtaposition of cold, metronomic, electronic beats, courtesy of Alexei Perry, with the jagged, dissonant and frail, broken or breaking, guitars of Dan Boeckner portray what it is to be a human being at the bottom of the 21st century. It underlines the confusion you feel as your best friends are conveyed to you via a series of ones and zeros passing through lines and cables and microwaves; the same confusion felt witnessing the pure, wholesome thrill of a band of musicians pouring their hearts out on stage, through someone’s cell phone as pixelated streaming video; the profound and bitter frustration of your long-distance relationship with the world up against a burning, alcohol-soaked sunrise as you admit some things you never thought you would; your constant feelings of inadequacy intertwined with the omnipotence modern technology grants us all. You are there, yet somehow you never are. As we all are and are not. You are left with a rhythmic and empowering programmed beat interrupted by the warm, reverberating fuzz tone of vibrating strings on wood hit hard enough to shatter skyscrapers. Over it all a perfectly imperfect voice roars images of landscapes, maps of forgotten continents ripe with history, and you are left feeling as human and alive and wide-eyed as you should be every single morning..." (http://www.myspace.com/handsomefurs)







From the past blogotheque...






A favorite from their past album; wait for the break, its fantastic, let it wash over you

Earlimart

Old indie favorites...

Farm- Dinosaur Jr.

Basically all the review of this album praise Mascis for returning the band to it's "old school" late 80's sound. This point completely ignores the fundamental growth and change and maturing process the band has gone through since then. Yes, Farm (and "Beyond")brings back the snarled hooks and Mascis muffled, but oh so powerful "na na na naaaas", but on both these albums its most important to note the overall tone is not of angst, but of understanding (of the past and whats to come) and a feeling of finality. It's like everything has come together for the band, and you can really feel it in the music; its uplifting, it really is. The lyrics may not convey this, in fact almost all of Mascis' lyrics convey downright questioning desperation, but its the feeling that's being blasted from his wandering riffs that does the true talking. Here are some choice tracks from Farm and Beyond .





And some tracks from Beyond (with the album cover because I love it so much)







And personal favorite- the break in the middle is amazing, exactly the feeling I was talking about above

DJ Loose Fit

Empire of the Sun's "Walking on a Dream" with some Three Six Mafia (love the Clarence Carter reference)...some more infectious junk to fill the airwaves with...obnoxious Justice sample not needed, but otherwise great

Matt & Kim

In light of their triumphant return to NYC tomorrow after a successful tour, I have to put up "daylight". This song has been infectious enough to jump from a commercial into the mainstream party scene this summer. The duo combines spastic synth pop beats with Matt's piano and what they do lack in depth and melody (which is much improved upon from their first album) they make up with enthusiasm tenfold- their live shows are apparently well deserving of the hype. Here's the video for daylight, the trendy, but timeless(literally)commercial that started it all, as well as two other cool tracks.

Smashing Pumpkins

Ok, time for a throwback into the mainstream. This 1993 acoustic performance of "cherub rock" is honestly a gem. I have always been more drawn to the Pumpkins more subdued (though no less passionate) side, so naturally, an acoustic version of cherub rock is truly a fusion of the best of these two faces of their music- harnessing the raw, layered, electric passion (which is sometimes overwhelming for me) and condensing it into an acoustic set. You can really see the intricacies of Corgan's guitar work too. And I'll throw in "1979" too because the video is so good.



The Smashing Pumpkins ~ 1979

Tonite- Spiderbait

Sometimes the most unworthy bands display a flash of brilliance in a song that expands their listening base exponentially. That being said (and possibly a gross overstatement for this band), "Tonite" is the one track in Spiderbait's entire catalog of music ever worth listening to. I think the fact that their one billboard success, a remake of "black betty", was used in countless shitty sitcom promos is a testament to the regrettable and forgettable quality of the rock produced. But I don't do this to trash on music, so I will say "tonite" would fit in beautifully as as an expression of any young persons inner angst(so cliche, i know).

Los Campesinos!

Go crazy!

The War on Drugs

This song, "Taking the Farm" by The War on Drugs is about a year old, but nevertheless, I'm just being turned on to it now. For some reason, a lot of the songs I like a lot, I imagine playing at a particular moment in a persons life. I may be in a specific narrative/context or it may just represent a particular feeling. Not like a soundtrack, but almost like whatever vibe the individual is emanating at that moment in time. And for this song, I imagine playing at a precise moment of realization for a character, especially for the intro and first verses, and this character begins rushing to someone(?) or something in order to actualize whatever he/her has come to terms with. Good shit.

Oh and the guitar blips in the first 30 seconds remind me of dolphins vocalizing ha

Electric Owls

So when I came accross the "Magic Show" EP back last year, I obviously set high expectations for the upcoming album, especially when I heard Matt Gentling of Band of Horses was involved. Needless to say expectations have been met...exceeded? mmmh dunno as of yet... They actually remind me a lot of The Who, and I know how big of a claim that is, so i'll attempt to back it up. Looking in "Magic Show" in particular- obviously the use of electric guitar as a monumental force in the song, the focal point of the "magic"...Townsend obviously was a master of this. Also, the use of the lyrics- The way Herod tell a story, just in a linear fashion, really reminds me of Tommy. And I just get the vibe, and thats obviously whats most important ha. Great track and album regardless.

Chad VanGaalen

As simple and heartfelt as it gets. I don't think I've ever heard of vikings being so...romance driven...but it works beautifully. Is it morbid to say I imagine this song playing when i die?...yea, defiantly a bit weird...

New Order

So now that everyone is going ga ga over synthesizers and computerized beats, i think its only fair that people realize that a suprising amount of these layered beats are sampled directly from the New Order catalog. Probably the best thing to come out of England in the 80's (after Swatch watches of course) New Order redefined what it ment to be a pop band....ok, scratch that, i dont like were im going with that...

Basically, New Order used synthesizers in ways never thought of before to create a wide range of music. I think that can be clearly seen by comparing "ceremony" to say "temptation". I can't say that I love all there work, but what I have caught onto, I have with a vengence. So many cliche 80's sounds in a song, combined to make something blissfully wonderful. Dont be ashamed to play these, the 80's at their finest. Fun fact: these guys were apparently brutal live in concert, go figure.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

New album just in time for summer. No suprise they have their roots intertwined with Daft Punk....just much too heartfelt to be robots...

What Up Fam- Robust

Introspective beats to bring it all back down to earth...

Manners- Passion Pit

This probably need'nt be said, but download the album and put it on around the height of the next party your are at, then let the damcing on tables ensue. Who knew a valentines day gift could incite this...

Vampire Weekend- Unreleased Material

So Vampire Weekends debut album was unquestionably at the forefront of last summers playlist and now that its been well overplayed (in a conventional sense of course; i don't think i'll ever tire of them) I'll laud them a bit more and move on. They've legitimized a ivy diploma's in the indie scene while keeping it modest and giving us one of the best ending song lines ever ("All your collegiate grief has left you dowdy in sweatshirts, absolute horror!"). So here's to making VW standout again this summer too with some concert material and tracks unreleased in the US- not only for the ladies of Cambridge to enjoy anymore...classic radiohead covers only prove them to be more versatile then originally thought. They are just too damn cool for school, bravo.

Places Like This- Architecture in Helsinki

So again, I'm about a year and half behind the ball on this one, but whatever. When I first listened to the album, right away it reminded me of The Talking Heads- Goofy instrumentals paired with equally goofy subject matter ("underwater"), wild rants by Bird parelleling Byrne, ect. I feel like this comparison is drawn way too often, but damn it holds true for this album- listen to "Debbie" and you will know what i mean immediately. Here's the video for my favorite track "Like it or Not"...the intro is so cool, as well as the breakdown at around 2 min.

Brighten the Corners- Nicene Creedence Edition

Bout time i got around to this- its the 4th re-issue of the Pavement albums, having already re-vamped Slanted and Enchanted, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, and Wowee Zowee. As expected, its a gem packed with goodies on the second disc, including unreleased tracks and radio sessions. Of particular interest
- an energetic "harness your hopes" ("and cauterizing syrup!!"),
- a delightfully tortured "killing moon".
- Scott Kannenberg singing lead in "Winner of the" alongside an airy keyboard. He also sings lead for in the Peel session for "Date W/Ikea". Fantastic. Classic spiral stairs on "Passat Dream" on disc 1.
- And just for fun, the disc ends with the 2 Space Ghost themes. The buildup in the second theme is so great. Its amazing how such a seemingly uninterested voice can have so much power behind it. Nastiovich barking "get off my planet" in the background only adds to the appeal.

Basically the reissue is a treasure chest with wavering guitar and whacked out riffs the whole way through. By far the most upbeat, unquestionably happy album. Almost like the group had come to terms with themselves. Truly a new, perfectly imperfect form of classic rock.

one disappointment, the lacking of a live version of "stereo". The beauty of the song lies in in the craziness of malkmus expressions in relation to the nonsensical lines. The chorus also seems so much more powerful when malkmus is screaming "LISTEN TO ME!" Its what really give saliency to the song i think. Check out Pavements BBC sessions and you'll see what i mean

New Roman Times

another band out of Austin (no relation to the titled Camper Van Beetoven album from like 2005(?). These guys released their first album, International Affairs a few years back and recently put out some new stuff. International Affairs is a very low key album, reminds me of some of the stuff Pinback has done, but a lot less pop-y. Check out the two tracks below...

Alice in Videoland

A decent portion of the music i find comes from the ski industry. whether or not i should be a bit embarrased by that i have yet to determine. regardless, this track came from a featured segment in a swedish (mabye norwegian?) film from a couple years back. Alice in videoland (also from sweden) are sortof like an electroclash group- swedens answer to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with a less annoying leadsinger who also happens to be a lot scarier and edgier without trying. Posted below is the song "going down" from the trailer of Teddy Bear Crisis. Cool.

Hello All

so basically this blog chronicles music that gets me goin. Ive been wanting to do this for a while, so the first posts will be me catching up sortof...as time goes on, I'm sure posts will become less frequent... I think its only appropriate my first post pays homage to the blogs namesake- pavement. I hate to have one artist have a domineering presence, but i have a feeling Pavement/Malkmus evidently will...

So here's a solo performance of Box Elder by Malkmus. He slows it down a bit, and lets the simple guitar riff jingle along, whereas on Westing, the guitar gets a bit buried (although it should be noted it doesnt detract from the song at all). Enjoy