Thursday, April 11, 2013
Today's Swell Tune: Evil Friends
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Today's Swell Tune: I Don't Mind
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Today's Swell Tune: Riptide
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Today's Swell Tune: Someday
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Today's swell Tune: Longrun
Friday, April 5, 2013
Friday's Forgotten Song: A Song From Under the Floorboards
Magazine
Album: The Correct Use of Soap
1980
1980
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Today's Swell Tune: Lady You Shot Me
- Artist: Har Mar Superstar
- Album: Bye Bye 17 (release: 23.4.13)
- From: St. Paul, MN/ Brooklyn, NYC, United States
- Sound: This is exactly what Sam Cooke would want done with his last words; R&B, soul
- Website: harmarsuperstar.com
- Social: facebook, twitter, YouTube
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Boss Stuff on the Interwebs: Wednesday Links 3/4/13
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Today's Swell Tune: Your Life, Your Call
- Band: Junip
- Album: Junip (Release date: 23.4.2013)
- From: Gothenburg, Sweden
- Sound: A gentle coax out of bed...it sucks that she doesn't love you anymore, but dude, you still need to put on pants. It'll be ok.; post-rock, percussive synth.
- Website: junip.net
- Social: facebook, twitter, YouTube
- Download Free: soundcloud
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Justin Vernon Isn't Trying to Make Me Cry, For Once: The Shouting Matches
Bon Iver won't be performing at Coachella, but Justin Vernon will be. This time, the indie frontman and noted passive aggressive Grammy speech-giver will be backed by a very different group.
Completely bypassing any timid navel-gazing, bandmates Brian Moen (Peter Wolf Crier), and Phillip Cook (Megafaun) bash out bluesy, old-school rock, as Vernon gives the autotune a rest to howl in his best Otis Redding. The result is The Shouting Matches, a group that's been around and recording since 2008, but hasn't really put much out there, til now.
And how do they do? Well, Mother When's the Judgement Gonna Come has a raucus, I'm-totally-gonna-get-a-staph-infection-in-this-dive-bar feel to it, while the live I Had a Real Good Lover makes me want to lie on the floor, belting out lyrics in a whisky stupor.
So it sounds awesome.
Mouthoil, their first EP is due out sometime this year. Probably.
Today's Swell Tune: Dancing with the Tornado
- Band: The Veils
- Album: Time Stays, We Go
- From: London, England
- Sound: A precision firestorm tearing through a spaghetti western; indie rock.
- Website: theveils.com
- Social: facebook, twitter
- Free Downlad: here
Monday, April 1, 2013
Weekly Photo Album: The Clash, Debbie Harry, Andy Warhol, Kurt Cobain, Jerry Hall, more
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| The Clash--In a supermarket! |
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| David Bowie--In the tub. |
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| Debbie Harry with Lou Reed... |
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| ...and now with Andy Warhol... |
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| who also hung out with Joe Strummer. Not in a supermarket. |
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| The ex-Mer. Jagger Jerry Hall. |
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| Not to be outdone by Robert Plant. |
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| Janis Joplin backstage. |
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| Patti Smith onstage. |
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| Waylon Jennings and Buddy Holly pose. |
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| Kieth and Mick pretend not to. |
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| Kurt Cobain and Krist Noveselic couldn't pose if they tried. |
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| An astute John Lennon. |
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sunday Night Cinema: Jesus Christ Superstar, David Bowie, Louise Quinn & Kid Loco
Heaven On Their Minds:
For Easter, rock opera classic featuring the snappiest of jumpsuits. There is nothing not to love.
The Stars Are Out Tonight:
With David Bowie, Tilda Swinton and Andre Pejić all in one place, the song doesn't even need to be good. But it is, of course.
Oh Jackie:This collaboration between Louise Quinn (of A Band Called Quinn) and Kid Loco was up for the Scottish Short Film Award at last month's Glasgow Short Film Festival.
Today's Swell Tune: Weight
- Artist: Mikal Cronin
- Album: MCII (Release date: 7.5.2013)
- From: San Francisco, California, United States
- Sound: A shitty morning on a beautiful day; garage, rock.
- Social: bandcamp, soundcloud, twitter
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Today's Swell Tune: Closer
- Band: Chic Gamine
- Album: Closer
- From: Winnipeg, Manitoba/ Montreal, Quebec Canada
- Sound: Somewhere, Berry Gordy is getting a boner; soul, pop, R&B.
- Website: chicgamine.com
- Social: facebook, twitter, YouTube
- Buy It: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/chicgamine3
Friday, March 29, 2013
Friday's Forgotten Song: Daylight*
Aesop Rock
Album: Definitive Jux
Album: Definitive Jux
2002
*For the argumentative emailers, I get that you didn't forget
this song. Neither did I. The Friday feature is just for great
tracks that are more than a decade old. Yeah: this song is
more than a decade old.
tracks that are more than a decade old. Yeah: this song is
more than a decade old.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The Veruca Valium Vortex: The Hot Toddies' Bottoms Up
I've always had a thing for hazy, garage-style girl groups. The love hatched in the still fledgling years of my musical development: I remember staring longingly at a Veruca Salt album wishing I had the $25 (in 90s Money!) to buy the CD.* Now music is cheap and easy to get, and I'm all grown up and can have as much as I want. But I'll never forget the ache for that American Thighs album and all the cool I thought it would bring into my life, and I still covet the discovery of those grungy girl bands. Thing is, my angst has waned; he early teens is not the early nineties, and Jimmy Stepchuk is not flirting with my prettier, cooler best friend anymore, so I can afford to lighten up.
That's why I fucking love this EP.
Taken as a whole, this is what it would sound like if Veruca Salt circa American Thighs travelled back in time to 1965, moved to California, popped some pick-me-ups, and cut an album to send to us, here, in the future. Which, y'know, is probably totally what happened. Science.
The only thing The Hot Toddies did wrong was not make it a full LP.
But I have all five tracks below, for your streaming pleasure. Or buy it.
*Okay, fine: tape.
Today's Swell Tune: The Way We Fall
- Artist: Alela Diane
- Album: About Farewell
- From: Portland, Oregon, USA
- Sound: The way she sings "You never know when it's the last time/
I didn't know it was the last time," you're going to feel it; folk, pop. - Website: aleladiane.com
- Social: facebook, twitter
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Boss Stuff on the Interwebs: Wednesday Links 27/03/13
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| Jane Birkin digs vinyl. |
- A New Band A Day did SXSW, talks blogging and freebies. Because they were there. At SXSW. And I wasn't. There. Hmph.
- What's Protocol also has a rundown of SXSW, from 2/3 Goat's POV, because they were there too, and
sometimes you just can't make all the showslife is unfair I hate you I'll be in my room. Doorslam. - Torres' Torres gets a 9/10 from Little Reviews. Great taste, over there, so even if you can't read French, just click play and know that everything's gonna work out fine.
- The Stigma of Synth: My Secret Life with Depeche Mode is an amazing essay. One of my favourite music essays, ever. It's an old piece, but with the new album out, I'd say relevant. PopMatters
- Meanwhile, Color Theory reviews the new album. Succinct and for the devotee.
- guerolitomusic has an exclusive: the new single Sink, from Inspired and the Sleep. Sweet and crunchy like Corn Pops that don't cut your gums.
- A weekly oldies playlist is starting up. I like oldies. I like playlists. And I like awesome, rambling blog names. So it goes at Mel's Internet Universe Music Blog.
- Speaking of playlists: casamonita has days of boss playlists for you. Days. l have accepted her in my heart as my personal DJ, this week.
Today's Swell Tune: Stand All Night
- Artist: Jil Is Lucky
- Album: In the Tiger's Bed
- From: Paris, France
- Sound: Remember when he did gypsy better than the gypsies do it? This is the 80's better than the 80's did it; alternative pop-rock, indie.
- Website: jilislucky.com
- Video: Here.
- Social: facebook, twitter, YouTube
- Buy: itunes
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
R.I.P. Scott Hardkiss
Earlier today, DJ and producer Scott Hardkiss passed away unexpectedly, at the age of 43. He had reportedly suffered an aneurysm.
Born Scott Friedel, the early 90's saw him forming the influential Hardkiss with "brothers" Gavin and Robbie. They would lead the way in the west coast/ Bay Area's developing electronica scene with their acid house/trance/psychedelia sounds and legendary warehouse parties, key to the development of the 90's rave scene. He also worked under the moniker God Within, defining an era with 1993's Raincry.
In the late 90's Hardkiss moved to Brooklyn, where he continued DJing and producing under the name Scott Hardkiss (official site), also working the musical end of film and television projects from the likes of Spike Lee and Wes Anderson. In 2009, he would finally release his well-received debut solo album, Technicolor Dreamer. I'm most a fan of his countless remixes for artists that include The Flaming Lips and George Clinton.
Goodbye to a musician whose distinct hand effortlessly blurred the lines between what's hip and what's beautiful. Rest assured, he's remixing the tired afterlife into a better place.
Today's Swell Tune: Latter Days
- Band: French Films
- Album: White Orchid (Release date: 5.4.2013)
- From: Espoo/Järvenpää, Finland
- Sound: I described them years ago as "Joy Division as cast by John Hughes". I stand by that; post-punk.
- Social: facebook, soundcloud, twitter, vimeo, YouTube
Monday, March 25, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Today's Swell Tune: Reset/Restore
- Band: We Were Not the Savages
- EP: We Were Not the Savages
- From: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Sound: Everyone uses synth in their rock now, but this one actually uses it for good; rock, synth-punk (is that a thing?)
- Buy it: bandcamp (name your price)
- Facebook: facebook
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Today's Swell Tune: Cuckoo
- Artist: Rose and the Howling North
- Album: Cuckoo
- From: Leeds, England
- Sound: Nancy Sinatra scoring Tarantino credits.
- Website: Cuckoo Records
- Social: twitter, myspace
Friday, March 22, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Today's Swell Tune: Better Things
- Band: Young Rival
- Album: Stay Young
- From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Sound: The Animals. But louder. And Johnny Cash is in the room, for some (awesome) reason.
- Website: http://www.youngrival.com/
- Facebook: facebook
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