new track from of montreal

yes, i said "from of."

pitchfork has posted a new song from of montreal's upcoming album skeletal lamping.  if you are me, you are very excited about this album.  there's a lot of good shit coming out this fall, but this may just be the best.  maybe.

it's a good thing i got a job.  this fall is going to be expensive.

new calexico track!!

this is my 100th post on this blog.  not bad.

anyhow, on monday touch & go/quarterstick posted a brand new calexico track.  it's called "two silver trees" from their upcoming album carried to dust. (out september 9th)

more info here. (along with a link to a video preview of more new calexico!)

mp3 is posted here.

enjoy! that's what i'm doing.

about my birthday

i am a quarter today.  25 years old.

did you know that i share a birthday with some of the greatest artists of the 20th century?

-Billie Holiday - perhaps the greatest singer of jazz, perhaps the greatest emotive singer ever.  i think so.

-Ravi Shankar - perhaps the greatest sitar player ever.  perhaps the turning point in the Beatles' career, especially that of George Harrison.  perhaps.  wikipedia calls him "the leading Indian musician of the modern era."

-Bobby Bare - perhaps the best song of 1963 was his, "Detroit City," for which he won a grammy.  i just know that Johnny Cash liked him a lot.

-Francis Ford Coppola - perhaps the best director? i don't think he is, but he directed some films which can be considered among the greatest of all time: The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and Apocalypse Now.

-Patricia Bennett - a member of perhaps the greatest of the girl groups, The Chiffons.

-John Oates - perhaps the greatest mustachioed blue eyed soul musician.

-Jackie Chan - perhaps the greatest martial artist star that does his own stunts.

-Tony Dorsett - perhaps the greatest running back.  Wikipedia says he's "the only player in the history of football with the following five career achievements: a national college championship, a Heisman Trophy, a place in the Collegiat Hall of Fame, a Super Bowl championship, and enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame."

-Bill Bellamy - perhaps ummm...the greatest cousin of Shaquille O'Neal?  the other day I was with some friends and someone said the phrase "poor man's Bill Bellamy" and I laughed because isn't Bill Bellamy the poor man's Bill Bellamy?

-Pitchfork.tv - it launched today, so it too shares a birthday with me.

Billie Holiday - Why Was I Born?

you can get this song legally in many places.  I got it off the CD The Essence of Billie Holiday.  I got it at Target for super cheap.  You can get it on amazon in the digital format HERE.  support the Billie Holiday estate!

the wunder years

time to write about another old band i used to dig, and it turns out i still do.

personal experience of this band:
so this band was opening for the lawrence arms at the arms' first fort collins show, at the starlight lounge. this was back when the starlight was THE place to see a punk rock show in fort collins. before the back alley lounge, before the allegations of misconduct on the part of the owner. it was the second home of all and all the o&o bands of the time. to this day, even though the starlight is closed and i live in denver, i've been to more shows at the starlight than any other venue. probably more than all the other venues combined.

anyway, the wunder years were playing there, so i went to rocks off (back when fort collins had a respectable record store, it was called rocks off) and looked to see what i could find. there was an ep for real cheap, like 6 bucks or something. a split with a band called sorry about the fire. at the time i thought "sorry about the fire" was the name of the album. still, it was worth it for these 5 wunder years songs. especially the first one:

the wunder years - you know who you are

you can get this ep at the official springman records website. it's cheap. do it.

anyway, i went and saw them. the frontman was named brian moss. between the wunder years' set and that of the lawrence arms' i went and spoke with brian moss. see, instead of selling generic band t-shirts, they had thrift store shirts with a wunder years logo ironed on. quite clever. he dug through the pile with me to find the perfect shirt. i ended up with a sweatshirt in fact.

after that show, i picked up their full length cd, one of my favorites ever, pitstops on the road less traveled. i friggin love every song on this album. but my favorite is maybe this one, which closes the album:

the wunder years - the electric shoes

i don't think you can find this album anywhere anymore. i think the label is out of business. sucks to be you.

and then they recorded one final release, an ep that is also out of print, called fashion over function. a couple days after the release date, they played at the back alley, which i think is one of my favorite venues ever (but it did get closed down). but it was a 21+ club and at the time, i was not yet 21. i was like 18. so i actually emailed brian moss asking if it was really 21+ and stuff. i never got word back. but i went to the show early, i think i got in with an x on my hand. i was all by myself at the show. anyway, i sat at a table, and was just sitting there by myself waiting for some rock & roll, and brian came up to me. now, he had only met me once, to help me look through the shirts. but he somehow put 2 & 2 together and figured i had written the email. and somehow remembered little old me. because he came up to me and asked if i had any problems getting in etc. seriously nice guy.

they played the show and it was awesome the end. they broke up a couple days later.

brian went on to form the ghost, and pitchfork even liked the album!

and then the ghost broke up. now he's performing solo under the name hanalei.

but the wunder years, that's the real deal (not that his other projects are fake), and will always hold a special place with me.

the sound of this band:
people call them "emo" but i really don't see it. i call them heartfelt rock and roll music. not whiny, just hearty.


holy crap, i am just about done with the w's in my music listening project! only a few random x's and some xiu xiu, some random y's and some yo la tengo, youngblood brass band, you am i, random z's, and zzzz and i'm DONE!

perfect timing

man, did that early daylight savings time thing confuse the hell out of me this morning.  but the good news is, now if i get a 9-5 job, i can still take the dog out after work and it won't be dark yet.  so that's good.

i think the main purpose of this blog, other than posting free association fiction and babbling about what cds i want to get, is to talk about some of the criminally underexposed musical artists that i love.

which brings us to what i think is my first post about that.  because i happened to reach this artist today in my "alphabetical musical listening project" i've been doing for the past over-a-year.

i can't remember what exactly first got me interested in tom daily.  i know it was related to him being in the smoking popes.  and probably him being on double zero records, which was run by mike felumlee, awesome drummer and message board poster.  that must have helped.  and i know it had something to do with a trip to secondspin, a local used cd shop.  i don't remember if i sought him out or just kinda remembered his name upon seeing it.  but it was pretty cheap, so i picked up one of his albums, The Burlington Northern.

i re-discovered tom daily today.  not that i had totally forgotten about him.  i just wasn't sure what to think as i saw his name come closer and closer on my music listening project.  sure, i had been enjoying the toasters on a nostalgia trip.

but this TD experience was more than nostalgia.  sure, i knew every song and would have likely sung along, had my girlfriend not been in the next room, ready to judge me.  

ooh, maybe it was his smoking popes cover.  one of the finest covers i have ever heard.  even though the popes song ("The First Time") is like a b side or something.  but he makes it brilliant.  but maybe that's where i discovered him.

he's an artist i remember pimping out to friends back then.  back when we all listened to faux-emo bullshit.  tom daily was such a refreshing change from that.  is this where i talk about the music?

people kinda compare him to the elephant 6 collective a lot.  at least from what i read today.  what i will say about him...he sounds midwestern.  his voice is VERY midwestern.  but the musicianship is so fresh.  it's experimental--not unlike the elephant 6 collective--with layers and distortion and sounds that sound so strange yet familiar (especially at this point for me.  now that The Burlington Northern is so comforting, like the gravy my dad makes every thanksgiving, you don't know what's in it but it's delicious and makes you feel all nostalgic), but it's also driving and there are even straight up pop songs.

ok, the reason i called this post "perfect timing" is because his myspace has a free song to download called "Daylight Savings Time."  however, it's a live recording and really not indicative of his greatness.  just know that i planned on posting that song (but you can still get it on his myspace).

but instead, here's perhaps my favorite song of his.

What's It Like - from The Burlington Northern - pick up the cd for $10 at thick records.

more at myspace.com/tomdaily (he actually has quite a few tracks available for free download here)

back to work, tv and film business!

if i were living in LA or NY at this time, i would be heaving a huge sigh of relief right about now.

thanks to an overwhelming majority, the WGA has voted to indeed go back to work tomorrow.  those reports you were hearing last week and the week before, i didn't comment because i didn't want to add to the pressure to accept the deal and all that, even though everybody else was saying the strike was ending.  i don't necessarily want to get everybody's hopes up, that's all.

so congrats hollywood, you will have your precious oscars.  i'm more concerned about the "below the line" workforce in the industry, the grips, gaffers, set dressers, 2nd 2nd ADs, PAs, etc etc etc.  they can finally maybe pay off some of that credit card debt.  eventually quit that pizza delivery job.  get back to their passion.  2 1/2 months is a long time to be out of work, especially when it's not even your strike.  these people sacrificed and don't even stand to benefit from it.  

the machine is running again.  i hope the LOST season can be salvaged.

i, on the other hand, do not go back to work tomorrow.  i think it's time i start looking though.

Polysics - I'm A Worker

sadly, their album Neu is out of print.  But you can get their other Asian Man Records album Hey! Bob! My Friend! for $8 (or $9 for a picture disc vinyl!) at asianmanrecords.com

(when it comes to pimping out labels, Asian Man is one I will always be more than happy to support.  Everything they do is totally awesome.  Watch for more AMR bands to pop up here in the future.)

tuesday tomorrow

yes, i shall discuss the marketplace of which i am not currently an active member!

MUSIC

Bob Mould - District Line: Brendon Canty is on this one.

Hot Chip - Made in the Dark: I do like them.  Eventually, if I keep hearing about this CD being great, I might get this.  Assuming I have a job by then.

Jason Collett - Here's to Being Here: Why is this not Broken Social Scene Presents? Is Kevin Drew the only one doing that?  Anyway, I hear it's a "guitar record" so that's pretty sweet.

Kool G Rap - Half a Klip: Who knows.

Lenny Kravitz - It Is Time for a Love Revolution: I'm not gonna get this, but it's still cool that he's back.

Nada Surf - Lucky: If I get any album tomorrow, it will be this one.  Based on the one song I've heard, it's more of Nada Surf being awesome.  

Nada Surf - See These Bones (link goes straight to the download at barsuk.com)

(of course, this is off Lucky, which you should purchase at your local record store or at barsuk.com)

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Calibration (is Pushing Luck and Key too Far): weird, so soon after the Mars Volta album.

They Might Be Giants - Here Come The 123s: I do like them.  Very much.  But this would be much more suited for someone else.  Like my nephews, or my good friend who will be giving birth in May.  I didn't get ABCs, but maybe once my TMBG collection nears completion I will get this.

DVDs

2 Days in Paris: I always thought it looked too much like Before Sunrise/Before Sunset.  But now I might check it out to see for myself.

Across The Universe: I always wanted to see it more out of curiosity than anything else.  The first time I saw the trailer I thought it looked stupid, then thought it might look cool as it moved along.  That's what netflix is for, right?

The Aristocats: I liked this one when I was little.  Maybe my nephews would like it.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Rob Ford: I like the title.  People on Amazon like it.  Nick Cave did the soundtrack.  Sure, I'll netflix it!

Jean-Luc Godard Box Set: includes Passion, First Name: Carmen, The Detective, and Oh Woe Is Me.  These are some of his harder-to-find titles, I most definitely want this collection.  If it's really only 26.19 I just might have to get it now, rather than wait.  Score!

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection - Vol. 10.2: includes Giant Gila Monster, Swamp Diamonds, Teenage Strangler, Giant Spider Invasion

Perfect Strangers: The Complete First And Second Seasons: wow, what a surprise!  I loved this show back in the day, and I've been waiting for it to come out on DVD ever since shows started coming out on DVD.  I'm a bit worried though, if I actually watch it again it'll probably tarnish my great memories of the show (i.e. it's probably not as great as I remember)

And that's all I know of.  Did I miss anything?

tuesday tomorrow!

Back when I did a music show online, I did this segment called Freshly Pressed, which went over lots of the new music releases every week.  The mainstream ones were in there, as well as popular underground titles and then the ones I just felt could use the exposure.  It's awesome how much power they gave me, really.

So anyway, I shall do the same on this blog.  But I'll incorporate DVDs in it as well.  And I won't bother to cover what I'm not interested in for this one.  Bad grammar!  But it will help me keep up if I have to look into it every week.  Maybe I'll also do new movie releases every Friday.

Although honestly I will probably only buy one this week.  I am, after all, unemployed.

Let's get started.

Cat Power - Jukebox

This is the one I absolutely plan on buying.  I think I'll get it on vinyl, though it'll be double vinyl and pretty expensive.  But when the option is available, and it comes with a free download, it seems like it has to be worth it.  Anyway, the album only got a 5.3 or something from Pitchfork.  But I don't care.  The one song I've heard, Song To Bobby, is absolutely brilliant.  Although p4k said that was the only song they really liked.  Still, it's Cat Power.  I'm just upset about the fact that original track listings had The Dark End Of The Street on them, and it didn't make the final cut.  So that is the song I'll post.  The original.  SO GOOD.

James Carr - The Dark End Of The Street

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

This is a band that has been getting quite a bit of buzz lately.  So if you read blogs, you probably are familiar with them.  I learned about them when they opened up for of Montreal on tour last year.  I showed up to the show while they were playing.  I can't say I was spectacularly impressed.  They were likable, but not lovable.  Perhaps it was the context, but I kind of felt like they were a poor man's of Montreal.  Although with oM standards, that can't be saying much.  They were like a more boring version though.  Although maybe I was wrong.  I might eventually pick this up, if the hype on it gets too crazy.

Black Mountain - In The Future

I just decided to check them out when they were on the top of elbo.ws because a song had leaked off their new album, In The Future.  I really doubt I'll get this though.  It's good for what it is, but what it is is really not my style.  I can see myself getting into it sometimes, but I do not plan on getting it.  If you like what you've heard, check it out though.  At least it's something different.  Wow, I'm really saying nothing at all about what it sounds like.  Kind of reminds me of Black Sabbath, but more experimental.  There ya go.

Judy Garland - Live at the Coconut Grove

You think this may have been released to cash in on the Rufus tribute?

Julie Andrews - The Lass with the Delicate Hair

and this one?

Rancid - B-Sides and C-Sides

If I was still in high school I'd be pumped.  I used to LOVE Rancid.

Soul Summit - Soul Summit

Lots of great soul singers that I don't know have come together.  I'm sure it's great.

Hot Water Music - Till The Wheels Fall Off

I used to like them, never LOVED them.  Loved a few songs.  But lots of people are pumped because they got back together.  This is just rare tracks and stuff though.  Not "new" material.

and...the DVDs.

let me just say: without Criterion, there would be NOTHING this week.  I looked through it.  But luckily, Criterion has 3 DVDs out this week.

Miss Julie (Alf Sjöberg)

I know nothing about this.  But I just read the synopsis and it should be good.  Swedish movie from 1951.  Pretty dirty by 50s standards.  It's an adaptation of a play about men and women and all that.  You know, what drives most narratives to this day.

The Sporting Life (Lindsay Anderson)

Anderson's first feature narrative film.  Criterion calls it "One of the finest British films ever made," so I assume I have to see this one.  I did enjoy Anderson's If... so if that film is any indication of Anderson's skill as a director, this is a can't-miss.  I'll probably netflix it first though, because those Criterion movies are expensive and I'm poor.

4 By Agnes Varde (Agnes Varde)

This is a box set containing, how about that, 4 by Agnes Varde.  As far as I am concerned, this is essential to film people.  Varde, it seems, doesn't get the credit she deserves.  Scholars consider her first film, La Pointe Courte, to be the kickoff for the French New Wave, so that alone makes her very, very important.  And La Pointe Courte is one of the films included in this set, as far as I'm aware, for the first time on DVD in the US.  A film I have to see.  The other films are from throughout her career as she evolved and matured.  In the set: La Pointe Courte (1956), Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), Le bonheur (1965), and Vagabond (1985).  If you have the money and are interested in film and its history, I cannot recommend this set again.  I don't have the money, so I'll have to put it in a wishlist for my birthday.  Or if I get a job soon enough, I can pick this one up.

thank you 3 doors down

I went to see Cloverfield today.  More on that later.  But when we went into the theater I saw/heard Matt Walsh.  And there up on the screen was the Upright Citizens Brigade (minus Amy Poehler)!  Now, I have not yet seen season 3, so I don't know if this was from that or if it's the gang getting back together to shoot weird random things to play at movie theaters.  That in itself was supercool.  

However, you take the bad with the good. Another pre-show item that played in the theater was a music video by 3 Doors Down.  This in itself was painful, but not my main source of annoyance.  The music video was a promotional tool of the US National Guard.  And apparently you can get the song for free at the National Guard website, so if you're into 3 Doors Down, you should totally join the National Guard.  Or at least go to the website.  I'm not gonna look it up or link to it, because I don't want to help them out.

During the music video slogans flashed on the screen.  Now, I associate the National Guard with the rest of the US military, so the irony was more about other facets of the military, but some of the slogans were "Never Give Up," "Never Admit Defeat," and the best one was "Never Leave...A Comrade" (the first part came up, followed by the second part).  I guess the editor of the piece couldn't sneak in "Never Learn From Your Mistakes" without being too obvious.

Now that I think about it, I wonder how deep this influence goes.  How many movies does this video play at?  Because when I think about it, the movie Cloverfield paints the National Guard in a (fairly) favorable light.  I'm not saying there was an influence on the movie (at least I hope not!), I'm just wondering if there's an endorsement and if there's a shady reason that propaganda played before the movie.

Plus, 3 Doors Down sucks.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Army Bound

Buy Living With The Living at the Touch & Go Digital store!  (Or get the vinyl, of course.  Probably comes with a free digital download that way.)

enon

So for the first time in awhile, today Pitchfork posted a story that pertains to me.  A band I like (well, love) is on tour and this time they have a Denver date!

I've already talked about this, but let me reiterate.  Enon's last album, Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds was one of the most underrated albums of 2007.  Everybody talked about how it was so one-dimensional, how it was so straightforward and commercial, how it just wasn't weird enough.  That's not what I heard when I put it on though.  I will tell the tale once again, since I think it's important.  When I saw Enon at the Touch & Go 25th Anniversary Fest (I took that picture! yeah!), in between songs, somebody yelled "Brainiac!" and instead of being flustered/annoyed, John Schmersal said "Thank you! I would like to dedicate this next song to Tim Taylor!" To me that is huge.  It's not like anyone would want to forget his late friend and bandmate, but most musicians would get really pissed off if you were to yell their former band at them.  But not only did he take it in stride, he DEDICATED the song to his former band.  Embracing the past while moving forward.  

And then a year later we got Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds.  The most Brainiac-sounding Enon album yet.  The spirit of Tim Taylor and Brainiac is found throughout the album.  Every song is unmistakably Enon, but they've brought the spirit of Brainiac, one of the most important bands of the 90s, into the mix.  That is why I love the new album so much.

You can go to Pitchfork to see the complete list of dates, but April 17 I plan on attending the Denver show.  And here's my favorite track off the album:

Enon - Dr. Freeze

You can buy Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds at the Touch & Go digital store.  At 256 kbps even! Screw itunes for its crappy bitrate!  But I recommend going to your local super hip record shop and picking it up on vinyl, because it comes with a code to download the entire album for free.  Because Touch & Go loves you.

OFS Unlimited

and while I'm talking about "O" artists, I have to blog about OFS Unlimited.  I don't really know anything about them, but this Christmas I got a compilation called Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label.  It seems to be #15 in the Eccentric Soul series, which seems to be just about the greatest series of compilations I've ever heard of.  Even though I only own one of the discs.

Anyway, #15, as its name implies, is about the Prix Label, a small Columbus, OH label that seems to have been as full of talent as any of the big names in soul at the time (Motown, Stax, Atlantic...).  I'm not going to claim to know what I'm talking about here though, because I really don't know my history.  All I know is what I've read on other blogs and liner notes.  So instead of trying to comprehend what this all means, I will get to the point.

OFS Unlimited was a short-lived project of the early 70s that was on the Prix Label.  And they recorded one of the funkiest songs I have ever heard.  They have two songs on this compilation, but "Mister Kidneys" is just too good not to share with the world.  I encourage you to pick up this compilation, and all of the others in the series.  I know I will be doing just that.  

Special kudos to whichever soul blog first alerted me to the existence of this series.  Sadly, I can't remember which one and I don't have time to look it up.  But I'm sure it's somewhere on that column to the right.

Here's the track:

OFS Unlimited - Mister Kidneys

Savages

I just saw The Savages.  But before I talk about the movie, I have to mention where I saw it.  There's a new theater in Greenwood Village, from Landmark.  It's a brand new theater, and I don't think people really know about it yet.  Mostly because I was the only person in there for my movie.  It is a bit pricey ($12 for a ticket!!) but you get free popcorn and soda, so it kind of evens out.  I almost always end up getting popcorn and soda anyway, and it usually costs me more than $12 in the end.  So there's that.

And being the only person there meant there were a bunch of bored ushers, so I was actually ushered to my theater.  And the dude opened the door for me because my hands were obviously full with popcorn and soda.

Anyway, the movie.  It stars Laura Linney (LOVED her in You Can Count On Me) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (my favorite actor).  I'll let you look at the synopsis and such if you are so inclined, but I just kind of want to spread awareness about this movie.  It's very well done.  Reminds me of those depressing Swedish movies I love so much.  There is a little bit of humor in there, but the whole time I was just kind of blankly depressed.  I wasn't bored really, just saddened by it all, which made it pretty hard to laugh at the mildly humorous bits.

The real reason I watched the movie was for Philip Seymour Hoffman.  After a draught in films starring him ever since Capote (let's just pretend MI: 3 didn't happen), he has a bunch out right now.  He is a brilliant actor as always in this film, but I was kind of surprised to see him play the character that kind of "has it together," much moreso than his sister.  Hoffman is so great at playing the character that's just falling apart, and seeing him in this light was pretty refreshing.  

Laura Linney did a great job taking the lead role in this movie, dealing with her problems with much less grace.  It was really a character driven piece, but only those two characters.  The dad, the centerpiece of the whole thing, was really more of a mcguffin to explore these two characters.  Interesting device.

this song has really nothing to do with the film, other than the title meeting the theme a little bit.  just a little bit.  i'm still new at this whole mp3 blogging thing, you see.

Black Eyes - Fathers of Daughters

buy Cough at dischord.com for only $10!

bender's big score

on this blog, you can expect me to be a little bit "behind."  back at my old job, i could've seen advance screenings for some movies, but now i don't really get anything in advance.  and as far as music goes, i don't really do leaks.

and that is why i just, last night, saw the new Futurama movie, Bender's Big Score.  what the hell?

i loved the series.  it was unjustly cancelled.  it was brilliant but got killed with its time slot (football preempting it all the time).  but like family guy, it got resurrected.  but unlike family guy, it's taken a dive since its cancellation.  i looked and i was surprised to see that it had the same writers as the series originally had (David X. Cohen and Ken Keeler).  I figured they'd brought on random fans of the show and had them write it.  it seriously just feels like fan fiction.  a pale imitation of something great.  it seems kinda lazy that they had so many references to old episode of series.  lazy or an insult.  and by about the 40 minute mark, i was so bored i figured it was almost over.

so i don't know what went wrong here.  maybe the show is best as a half hour episode, and not an 89 minute movie.  because i rarely even chuckled at this.  

they're making a few more of these movies, and i'm sure i'll watch, just hoping for something better.

and here's a song you may sort-of recognize if you're a Futurama fan.  I discovered this on the Pop A Paris vol 2: More Rock 'n' Roll & Mini-Skirts compilation, which I highly recommend.  You can get it on amazon here.

Les Yper-Sound - Psyche Rock