iPhone using Hipstamatic, 2010
I’m running a bit behind with the posting, which really isn’t too surprising. Will try to catch up some this week.
Tags: hipstamatic, photo
The Alternate Routes – “The Future’s Nothing New”
Four tracks deep into their latest release “A Sucker’s Dream,” this was the first song that stuck in my head and I’m pretty sure they’ll wake up with the catchy hook still looping come morning.
Mofro – “Lochloosa”
I caught onto JJ Grey and Mofro a little late in the game, but thanks to a friend suggestion, I did catch their set at ACL Festival a couple years ago. Pretty sure they played this song, so I happily added it to my collection along with “Dirtfloorcracker” after hearing it on House (thanks Shazam).
Dawes – “Love Is All I Am”
First time I heard this track, I initially thought it was Bob Schneider, not Dawes. They recently rolled through Houston on tour, but after a long day at work and late set starts, the yawns prevailed and I called it an early night.
The Damnwells – “Bastard of Midnight”
Trouble keeps the bar lights on
For the heartache
Sunset Boulevard to take me home
But I just wanna scream
When living in California I would often head down to LA to see shows at clubs along Sunset Boulevard. The lyrics from this song take me back to those late nights when I would hit Sunset to catch the 405 back to Bakersfield. The Damnwells are also one of those bands that I’m perplexed why they aren’t bigger. Head over to their Myspace page to give “Bastard of Midnight” a listen.
Tags: alternate routes, damnwells, dawes, mofro
iPhone using Hipstamatic, 2010
On their last trip down to Houston, my folks brought me the stack of records that, while once spun sound, had been relegated to the second shelf of the bathroom closet for many years. The times change, as does technology, but that doesn’t mean we get rid of stuff – we are Eckers. As I type this I have a stash of cassette tapes (both purchased and mixes) in a plastic tub under my bed, a couple of CD storage books full of live shows from the b+p days, and let’s be honest, a hard drive full of music that would take months to listen to (if that’s all I did in life). Did I mention that minidisc player? Yea, that’s probably in a shoe box somewhere with a couple of shows that I attempted to tape. Oh, and iPods? More than one.
Well, I think you see a pattern here – that I like the music and the technology. So why revert back to those shiny black days? Nostalgia. Amongst those records were several that I remember listening when I was a child – “Rubber Duckie” and “Tiger Hunt” with Bert and Ernie (and his trusty, rusty telescope) and “I’m a Pink Toothbrush” by the Smurfs. While the sound might not be the clearest, neither are the memories but coupled together, everything is a bit more vivid. As an adult, there’s also the added bonus of discovering some of the other music in the collection – Pink Floyd, The Band, Jimi Hendrix, and the Original Soundtrack to The Graduate. Oh, and now I can finally listen to that Guster “Keep It Together” album that I bought to hand on the wall as art years and years ago as well as Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons’ album “Death Won’t Send A Letter” – purchased last weekend, the day after I turned 33 1/3.
Anya Marina – “Move You”
Thought this was an appropriate song to get the week moving. Kinda slow to start, but then it kicks it up a notch.
OK Go – “This Too Shall Pass”
Can I just say how effing brilliant this video is in all it’s Rube Goldberg machine glory. Go on, watch it a couple times through. I think my favorite part is when the song cuts away and the music is replaced by clinking glasses. Oh, and the song is pretty good too.
Blind Pilot – “Go On, Say It”
There’s a definite vein of music that I listen to that while not county, has a tinge of twang to their sound. Blind Pilot fall into that vein, and if you like this song, I strongly recommend picking up their album since it’s one that I can listen to from beginning to end, rinse, repeat.
The Jayhawks – “All The Right Reasons”
Throwback Thursday? Maybe I’ll make that a thing, although I was just in the mood to listen to a little Jayhawks after checking out the anthology that they recently released which includes this song.
Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons – “Born Again”
I’m going to repeat myself from above – tinge of twang but with a bit of folk, a dash of rock and a handful of gospel. Incidentally, I started and ended my day with this song, with the latter being a live performance at Rudyard’s. Again, this is an album that I would highly recommend, in fact, I’ve bought it twice…seemed appropriate to pick it up on vinyl seeing that Friday was my 33 1/3 birthday.
Tags: anya marina, blind pilot, cory chisel, ok go, the jayhawks
Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers – “Shady Esperanto and The Young Hearts”
If the video enough of a tip off, this is a band that doesn’t always take themselves that seriously. That’s not to say that their music isn’t seriously good. Seriously.
Peter Gabriel – “Flume (Bon Iver cover)”
When I first read that Peter Gabriel had covered Bon Iver’s “Flume” I was skeptical. The original is lo-fi and full of falsetto with lyrics of “Only love is all maroon / Gluey feathers on a flume /
Sky is womb and she’s the moon.” Or at least, that’s what I’m told…it can be a bit tough to understand all of them. Gabriel’s rendition is a bit more refined, but still just as powerful.
Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
It’s quite likely that you know of this song from the recent VW PunchDub commercial that debuted during the Super Bowl. I had ignored the music blogs touting the band and despite being featured on several festival stages, it wasn’t until mid-2009 with their “Veckatimest” release that I actually started to listen. The impressive fan video below was created by Gabe Askew.
Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.
Matt Hires – “Honey, Let Me Sing You A Song”
I have Jamie again to thank for introducing me to Matt Hires’ “Live at Hotel Cafe” EP around this time last year since I somehow missed it on the Paste Magazine Sampler from Nov ‘08. If I were to have made a mix cd that represented what I was listening to last year, this acoustic/pop track definitely would have been on there.
Tags: grizzly bear, matt hires, peter gabriel, stephen kellogg & the sixers
Pure earworm. Not the sort of song that falls along the norm for me, but once again, you can’t deny a catchy hook. Now, if you like the song, you can download it here, but I warn you that the imagery on the site is NSFW (Not Safe For Work).
Mike Doughty – “(You Should Be) Doubly (Gratified)”
I wasn’t a big Soul Coughing fan. I knew a couple of songs, the “hits” if you will, but I caught on to Mike Doughty’s solo music and figured it would be fitting to pick one of his songs since I was going to see him play at a yoga studio turned music venue this week.
Swell Season – “Low Rising”
I was quite happy to see The Swell Season put out a second album – and this is one of my favorite tracks. Plus, the video is quite brilliant.
Works Progress Administration (WPA) – “Always Have My Love”
Fiddle + pedal guitar? Yes, please.
Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man”
And now for a little bit of banjo from an English indie folk band. Okay, upon actually watching the video again, it’s a dobro, no matter, this song is in heavy rotation right now. Their album “Sigh No More” was finally released in the US, which I picked it up on Friday and spent some quality time with it (and Lissie’s EP) while cleaning up my garage and assembling/priming/painting an IKEA coat rack. Exciting, I know.
Tags: mike doughty, mumford and sons, the swell season, works progress administration, yeasayer
Dead Hot Workshop – “Push Luck Shove”
Okay, so I can’t actually find this song out in the Internets for you to listen to, but this track off of “Karma Covered Apple” is one of my favorites by the band. I got into Dead Hot Workshop via The Refreshments and Gin Blossoms many years ago. Even had a chance to see Brent Babb play a set at Long Wong’s on Mill Ave on a trip to Tempe back in 2001.
Abbie Gardener & Anthony da Costa – “On My Knees”
This song is another hauntingly beautiful track that I stumbled across about a year ago.
For the last couple of years I’ve downloaded the SXSW bit torrent that features music that takes me quite some time to sift through. Balmorhea’s track in all it’s ethereal glory, possibly because they fell towards the top of the playlist and I eventually picked up their album at Waterloo’s in Austin. Balmorhea State Park is located out in West Texas and if/when I ever make it out towards Marfa and Big Bend, I’ll be sure to be playing this album along the way.
Bleu – “Come ‘N Go”
You have to admit, it’s a bit hypnotic to watch those air blower dudes wave around.
Tags: abbie gardener, anthony da costa, balmorhea, bleu, dead hot workshop
I should mention, for those of you that use RSS Feed Readers, you will need to subscribe to the new feed url (http://www.newleavesinmarch.com/?feed=rss2). If you don’t see any new posts, you are still connected to the old feed.
Lissie – “Everywhere I Go”
Sometimes I think it’s imminent that I discover some artists and songs. Take for example Lissie. Paste Magazine touted her as “Best of What’s Next” in their Dec ‘09/Jan ‘10 issue and even featured a song that month’s sampler. Fast forward to the end of January and her song “Everywhere I Go” plays the perfect soundtrack to the final scene of the final episode of Dollhouse. To be honest, I’m a bit behind with my Paste reading so I completely missed her the first time, but was given a second chance with Dollhouse. So here’s your chance to see what you’ve been missing.
Blackchords – “Broken Bones”
I think after watching this video I love this song even more.
fun. – “All The Pretty Girls”
When I heard that The Format were no more as of February 2008, I was a little disappointed. You see, I’d just barely discovered their indie power pop when they were one of the special guests at Guster’s Boston Opera House shows back in April 2007. After the split, Nate Ruess went on to form fun. and released “Aim and Ignite” in August 2009 which is still full on power pop with a bit more rock and just like their name, is fun to listen to.
I’ve made some great friends through music and the thing is that they usually have similar taste in music. Dave Mallick introduced me to Erin McKeown’s music a few years ago as he was a fan and had taped several of her shows. This past Thanksgiving while I was in NJ with the Mallick’s I had my second visit to Princeton Record Exchange (PRex) where I scored McKeown’s new album “Hundreds of Lions.” “The Foxes” is one of my favorite tracks from the album.
Manchester Orchestra – “Shake It Out”
Someone once asked if I had any “angry” music and the best I could come up with was Pearl Jam. I thought of that question when I heard “Shake It Out”, but the irony is that I first heard Manchester Orchestra through their much mellower song “I Can Feel A Hot One.”
Or if you prefer, here is the video inspired by the movie “Over the Top”
Tags: blackchords, erin mckeown, fun., lissie, manchester orchestra
Snow Patrol featuring Martha Wainwright – “Set Fire to the Third Bar”
If you weren’t familiar with this song previously from Snow Patrol’s “Eyes Open” release, then it may have found its way to your ears via the trailer for the movie Dear John. Have I ever mentioned that my dream job would be something along the lines of selecting music for tv or movies, or even putting together music that you hear playing overhead in stores and restaurants. Until then, I guess I’ll stick to the day job.
Love the way this song builds from just some hand claps and foot stomps to a full sonic blast.
Rosi Golan (featuring William Fitzsimmons) - “Hazy”
It started with hearing a hauntingly beautiful song featured in an episode of Dollhouse. After a bit of searching I discovered the song and its artists. Fitzsimmons I was already familiar with (please, check out his album “The Sparrow and The Crow”), but Golan was a new find for me.
Charlie Mars – “Darkside of the Moon”
Caught Charlie Mars’ opening set for Griffin House last year. I’d previously seen Mars open for Bob Schneider in Boston back in 2004, but his music didn’t catch my ear as much as this time around. Can’t deny a song that wedges itself in your head on first listen.
Tags: charlie mars, joshua james, rosi golan, snow patrol, william fitzsimmons