Erie Choir @ Lit Lounge - 28 April 2007

The photos above are of Erie Choir playing a show @ Lit Lounge this past Saturday night.

Listen:
"Favorite Fotos"
"Lullaby For John Grives"

Visit Erie Choir on MySpace

See more pictures from this show HERE.

snip·pets

Bjork, Interpol, Jesus & Mary Chain Usher In Coachella

Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire Heat Up Coachella Day Two

Reunited Rage Against The Machine Closes Coachella

Former 'Idol' finalist arrested on battery charges

Rolling Stone’s 25 Best Songs for Reefer Gladness

Stylus: Top Ten Favorite Penultimate Songs

NME: The Greatest Indie Anthems Ever countdown begins

Erie Choir playing NYC tomorrow night @ Lit Lounge

One of my favorite bands (Erie Choir) from back home is coming to New York this weekend and playing Lit Lounge tomorrow night.

You may remember Erie Choir from the EAR FARM Holiday Show in Raleigh this past December, or this might be the first you've even heard of the band. Either way, you'll want to check them out Saturday night.

Listen:
"Favorite Fotos"
"Lullaby For John Grives"
"Trunion Pike"

Visit Erie Choir on MySpace

See Erie Choir live tomorrow night - 8pm @ Lit Lounge w/ Hammer No More The Fingers, Please Dept and Containers.

8+

"Ziggomatic V17" by Aphex Twin which clocks in at 8:35

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00011011010111100100100
00001110000011001010111
00100111001101101111011
01110011000010110110000
10000000101000011101010
1101110011001000110010101110010011001010110010001110
1010110001101100001011101000110010101100100001010010
0100000011011110111000001101001011011100110100101101
1110110111000100000011101000110100001100001011101000
0100000010110100110100101100111011001110110111101101
1010110000101110100011010010110001100100000010101100
0110001001101110010000001101001011100110010000001110
1000110100001100101001000000110011001101001011011100
1100101011100110111010000100000010010010110111001110
1000110010101101100011011000110100101100111011001010
1101110011101000010000001000100011000010110111001100
0110110010100100000010011010111010101110011011010010
1100011001000000111001101101111011011100110011100100
0000110010101110110011001010111001000100000011101110
1110010011010010111010001110100011001010110111000101
110

*hint

Buy Drukqs HERE on Amazon.

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Agalloch - "In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion"
Explosions In The Sky - "It's Natural To Be Afraid"
Guns N' Roses - "Locomotive"
Guns N' Roses - "Estranged"
Guns N' Roses - "Coma"
Guns N' Roses - "November Rain"
Sleep - "Jerusalem (Pt. 4)"
The Velvet Underground - "The Gift"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.

Domino to re-issue Sebadoh's first album, The Freed Man

Domino Recording Company is going to re-release MORE Sebadoh:

Domino Records will issue a deluxe re-issue of Sebadoh's first album, The Freed Man, with a US street date of July 10, 2007. This is the second Sebadoh re-issue from Domino, following last year's release of III - the band just completed an extensive North American tour in support of the disc. The Freed Man re-issue has been re-mastered and will include a whopping 52 tracks on a single disc, including many tracks that have never seen the light of day until now. It will also include expanded liner notes by Lou Barlow and Eric Gaffney. The album was originally released on Homestead Records in 1989 on cassette and LP formats, it has never really seen a proper CD release (a CD called The Freed Weed which combined most of the tracks from The Freed Man and Weed Forestin' was released on Homestead in 1990).

Sebadoh - The Freed Man track list:

1 Healthy Sick
2 Level Anything
3 Soulmate
4 Ladybugs
5 Close Enough
6 True Hardcore
7 Julienne
8 Wrists Sebadoh
9 Amherst Hanging House
10 McKinley's Lament
11 Solid Brown
12 Narrow Stories
13 Bridge Was You
14 Drifts on Thru
15 Overturns
16 Yellow Submarine
17 Squirrel Freedom Overdrive
18 Little Man
19 Land Of The Lords
20 Bolder Sebadoh
21 Believe
22 Deny
23 Wall Of Doubt
24 Crumbs Sebadoh
25 I Love Me
26 K-Sensa-My
27 Lou Rap
28 Punch In The Nose
29 Resistance to Flo
30 Stop The Wheel
31 Loose n Screw
32 Oak Street Raga
33 Last Day of School
34 Jealous Evil
35 Moldy Bread
36 Made Real
37 Cindy
38 Nest
39 My Decision
40 Fire Of July
41 Jaundice
42 Design
43 Dance
44 Cyster
45 Powerbroker
46 The Lorax
47 Pig
48 Hung Up
49 Slow To Learn
50 Elements
51 Attention
52 Your Long Journey

Goes Cube Joins Warner Music Group

This just in!

Goes Cube has signed a deal with Cordless Recordings that will cover digital distribution and make Goes Cube an official member of the Warner Music Group.

Press Release:

Fresh off a cross-country tour, a video premiere (of “Goes Cube Song 30”) on Stereogum, and a nearly sold-out homecoming show at the Mercury Lounge, Brooklyn-based trio, Goes Cube, has signed an exclusive agreement with Cordless Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The label will digitally distribute Goes Cube’s EP, Beckon The Dagger God, which recently climbed to #8 on the Insound top-seller list.

Goes Cube is celebrating their new relationship with Cordless Records with a just-announced show this Thursday (4/26) with The Constantines at the Luna Lounge in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Goes Cube performs at 7:30pm.

Listen:
Goes Cube Song 30

You may recall that I recently spent 5 weeks on said tour with the band shooting footage for an upcoming documentary. Read about those adventures HERE.

See Goes Cube live on Thursday @ Luna Lounge w/ Constantines.

Jarvis Cocker @ Webster Hall - 23 April 2007

One of my big concert regrets is not ever having seen Pulp live. The first time I got any hint of how amazing their live show was was when I purchased an import of their concert film F.E.E.L.I.N.G. C.A.L.L.E.D. L.I.V.E. in 1997. I used to watch that VHS tape over and over again imagining how awesome it would be to live in England and be able to go see multiple Pulp shows. Instead I lived in the southeast and had the chance to see Jimmy Buffett every year (though I never did). Needless to say, last night was somewhat of a realization of a dream in that I got to see one of my musical heroes for the very first time. Jarvis Cocker and his band did not disappoint.

In general I've found Webster Hall to be among my less favorite venues in the city but last night everything was perfect. The sound was outstanding, the bass at times out of this world. Like, move your body a few inches to the left kind of out of this world bass. But not ever too loud, just perfect. And such spot on sound is exactly what Jarvis's current music needed to come across really well in a live setting. Well, the sound and the perfectly engaging lead vocalist...

For the whole show the entire room was transfixed on Jarvis. Above you can see him reading stories to us from a book titled This is New York.

The set lasted about an hour and included every song from his recently released album (an album which, by the way, appeared at #10 on EF's Top Albums of '06). Last night we even got to hear "Black Magic", which is something the audience from Sunday night's show did not have the pleasure of seeing the band perform, and it was amazing. It was, unsurprisingly, the highlight of the show and the final song of their set.

When Jarvis and crew returned to do an encore the anticipation in the room was palpable. Pretty much everyone was wondering if they'd play any Pulp songs. The people next to me kept muttering "Common People", "Common People". Yeah right. I knew better. They obviously didn't read the internets as much as me. We were going to hear some cover songs, right? I mean, he played "Heaven" by the Talking Heads and "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath the night before. What tonight?!

Well the first song of the encore wasn't a cover. It was, in fact, the final song from Jarvis's album called "Running the World". Then Jarvis proceeded to fake everyone out by saying he'd run out of his own material and was going to play an old song. The room waited, breathless. The guitar started before the rest of the band. It sounded a bit like..."Eye of the Tiger"?! No. "Burning Down The House"? Yes, maybe. But no, Jarvis then announced that they were playing a song written by someone who lives not too far from here. A song called "State Trooper". That's when I screamed out loud - "YES!" I think I was the only person in the room familiar with the song. To that end, I've posted the original version below so you Pulp/Jarvis Cocker fans can get an idea of what Bruce's version sounds like. Jarvis and the guys started the song slowly, more true to the Nebraska version of the song, and then stretched it out into an E Street style live jam. It was honestly the perfect ending to what is sure to be one of my favorite shows of 2007.

Listen:
Jarvis Cocker - "Black Magic"
Bruce Springsteen - "State Trooper"

Visit Jarvis Cocker on MySpace.

More pictures of Jarvis Cocker (from this show) HERE.

Setlist and other pictures @ Music Snobbery.

Today's NEW releases

Today's interesting releases (according to me):

• Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
• Charlotte Gainsbourg - 5:55
• Cornelius - Sensuous
• The Electric Soft Parade - No Need To Be Downhearted
• Golden Smog - Blood on the Slacks
• Patti Smith - Twelve

What else?

EAR FARM checks in with the Elbo.ws top 10

Heyyyyy.

Long time no see, right? Am I right, or am I right? Right. Right right right right...right.

I think it's about that time again. Time to unwind? No. Time to bust a rhyme? Naw b. Time to check in with the Elbo.ws top 10 'hot' artists to get a better idea of what the rest of the music blog world is talking about. Ready?

Let's do this.

Elbo.ws top 10 'hot' artists - 23 April 2007 @ 1:00pm EST

Tokyo Police Club - There is a certain portion of the population who immediately feel much better about themselves because they know about, and listen to, bands like Tokyo Police Club. Stay away from these people. They will make every attempt to syphon your originality from you and claim it as their own.

Listen: "Cheer It On (Trey Told Em remix)" (via UnaRocks)

The Shins - My favorite memory of The Shins was when I saw them live at The Apollo. I was in the center of the front row. As soon as they finished I was like "YES. Morrissey time." Don't get me wrong, I enjoy their music, and liked that show quite a bit. But they're not all that.

Listen: "Australia" (via EARVOLUTION)

Bright Eyes - Something about the music of Conor Oberst makes me want to compare Bright Eyes to sweet white wine. At first it's really good, even refreshing. But then suddenly you realize you're sick of it and you've got a headache. That said, this song's not too bad. I have a headache.

Listen: "Middleman" (via Indietastic)

Blonde Redhead - I think this new Blonde Redhead album is pretty good. Maybe even great. It's at least a bit better than Pitchfork's 7.0... Anyone want to bet that Sofia Copola is wetting her director's chair over the notion of trying to include the following song in her next movie?

Listen: "23" (via EAR FARM)

Winterpills - Do you know what you need to become an indie rock/mp3 blog band-of-the-week sensation? An acoustic guitar, a delicate singing voice, a love for the music featured in Wes Anderson movies, a good PR agency, and at least one girl in your band.

Listen: "A Folded Cloth" (via Indieblogheaven)

Dinosaur Jr. - Shit, I don't want to sound like a jaded old grandpa but THIS NEW DINOSAUR JR. ALBUM KICKS ASS. Sure, it sounds a lot like old Dinosaur Jr. but how can that be bad? I mean, half the bands in the world are simply copying what other bands have already done, so why can't Dinosaur Jr. revisit the good old days like everyone else? After all, they nearly invented the early '90s.

Listen: "Almost Ready" (via CYSTSFTSS)

Feist - Lyrics: This kind of letter is in black/Gotta know who's got your back/But comes around for you/Because I'm telling you the truth/So much present inside my present/Inside my present and/So, so much past inside my present/Inside my present inside my present...Um. Okay. Uh, at the risk of sounding like Paula Abdul searching for something nice to say when an American Idol contestant isn't very good...hey Feist, um, at least you're very pretty. Sometimes.

Listen: "Past in Present" (via SixEyes)

Wilco - Remember way back up top when I said The Shins aren't "all that"? Well Wilco is. Or was. That remains to be seen. Something tells me the new album isn't going to be so great, but for now I've still got hope. Fingers crossed.

Listen: "Either Way" (via Good Hodgkins)

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Air, Jarvis Cocker, and Nigel Godrich teamed up to help poor little Charlotte record an album. Aw, how nice! The song posted below is pretty excellent, though very much a ripoff of what her parents used to do in their own music.

Listen: "Either Way" (via Villains Always Blink)

Mark Ronson - Mark Ronson is a producer, right? Then I shouldn't have to tell him that covering a song by The Smiths in such a manner that it ends up sounding like a mashup of "Safety Dance", amateur electronica, and Deee-Lite is a bad thing...right? I mean, he should just already know not to do that. Right?

Listen: "Stop Me" (via Cub Pop)

snip·pets

Jarvis Cocker looks within for music based in reality

Music blogs traffic in mainstream MP4 videos

IGN: Top 25 Britpop Albums

Sigur Ros gear up for busy year of releases

Horses may be doped for Stones gig

Smashing Pumpkins Settle On 'Zeitgeist' Track List

Decemberists Get Orchestra Treatment On Tour

Ratatat Live Videos

Ratatat at Webster Hall - 18 April 2007

Ratatat playing "Gettysburg" at Guggenheim Museum

Ratatat playing "Lex" in Pomona - 23 September 2006

From Sebadoh with love

Just throwing a bone to those EAR FARM readers celebrating the "counterculture holiday" today / pandering for the sake of a few extra thematically day-specific hits. Nudge nudge wink wink insinuate insinuate funny ha ha.

From Wikipedia:

4:20 or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is a term used in North America as a discreet way to refer to cannabis and, by extension, a way to identify oneself with cannabis culture.

It is widely accepted that in 1971, a group of teenagers at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California, calling themselves "The Waldos", used to meet every day after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke marijuana at the Louis Pasteur statue. The term became part of their group's salute, "420 Louis," and it eventually caught on more widely. Many cannabis users continue to observe 4:20 as a time to smoke communally. By extension April 20 ("4/20" in U.S. dating shorthand) has evolved into a counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.

Listen:
Sebadoh - "Smoke A Bowl"

View last year's post HERE.

Frauke @ Fat Baby - 16 April 2007

The photos above are of Frauke playing an encore inducing show @ Fat Baby this past Monday night.

Listen:
"Hunt The Yeti"

Visit Frauke on MySpace.

More pictures of Frauke (from this show) HERE.

Chop Shop, The Bosch, and Mancino playing Hot Rocks @ The Delancey - 14 April 2007

Chop Shop

The Bosch

Mancino

The photos above are of Chop Shop, The Bosch, and Mancino playing the Hot Rocks party @ The Delancey last Saturday night.

More pictures of Mancino (from this show and others) HERE.

8+

"In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion" by Agalloch which clocks in at 14:43

This is an actual conversation. This just happened. Not the picture you see here (that happened a few weeks ago and is, in fact, an actual photo I took after removing Rising Sun's headrest) but the IM conversation that's posted below. I suppose this is the week where you learn that I'm not above creating posts out of actual IM conversations. So be it - things tend to change around here with the ebb and flow of my work schedule.

AIM conversation with David from Goes Cube. Today, 3:08pm.

David:
Kenny and I are going to go drink a bloody mary.

Matt:
That sounds amazing.

David:
Yes it is, because bloody marys are good.

Matt:
And amazing because work is killing me this week. How 'bout you guys drink me up an 8+ for today?

David:
I'll write one for you...tell you what, I'll do it right now.

Matt:
You dont have to man, besides you already have...

3:10pm

David:
Ok done with the 8+.

One morning I woke up to buy everyone coffee, but a shoe was missing. One time I was trying to relax in the front seat but someone behind me kept pulling the seatbelt against me, and then removing my headrest. One time I was trying to sleep but someone kept on hitting me. That person was a real jerk.

But as much as he was a jerk, he didn't manage to fuck up my Agollach CD, which I really enjoyed listening to. Here's one of my favorite tracks. It's called "In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion," and while it was playing in the mini-van, that previously mentioned person was mock-side-swiping a guy just because he had a Duke sticker on his car. He thought it was real funny. Yeah. Fuckin' hilarious how you almost totaled the car, dick.

Matt:
HAHAHA. Oh shit, that rules.

David:
You want to use it, don't you? Yeah you do.

Matt:
Hell yeah I do.

David:
Do it.

Buy The Mantle HERE on Amazon.

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Explosions In The Sky - "It's Natural To Be Afraid"
Guns N' Roses - "Locomotive"
Guns N' Roses - "Estranged"
Guns N' Roses - "Coma"
Guns N' Roses - "November Rain"
Sleep - "Jerusalem (Pt. 4)"
The Velvet Underground - "The Gift"
Elton John - "Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.

OPP

Nerd Litter on Goes Cube @ Mercury Lounge on April 6th

CMJ on Mancino @ the Delancey on April 14th

BrooklynVegan: An interview with Björk

Largehearted Boy: Ned Vizzini Interviews The Harlem Shakes

B.O.O.T.L.E.G.S. - a new live show MP3 blog

An Aquarium Drunkard - Stephen Malkmus New Album News/Pig Lib EP

And because I'm feeling like being an ass today: Stereogum posted about Vampire Weekend...some four months after Ear Farm did.

Three for Free - The Comas, The Besnard Lakes, Black Moth Super Rainbow

EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song.

Listen:
The Comas - "Red Microphones"

Listen:
The Besnard Lakes - "And You Lied To Me"

Listen:
Black Moth Super Rainbow - “Sun Lips”

Today's NEW releases

Today's interesting releases worth a listen (according to me):

• The Comas - Spells
• Elk City - New Believers
• Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero

What else?

Frauke

And now for something entirely German, not entirely German, and completely unique. Who/what is Frauke? How is Frauke? Why is Frauke? When is Frauke, and where?

Our first explanation comes from their very own bio: "Frauke is formed by Frauke, Frauke, and Frauke. Frauke met Frauke in Germany, and Frauke introduced Frauke to Frauke in Germany. Frauke is a she. Frauke wants you to dance, stop dancing. Frauke wants to play love songs for you but they are songs of hate. Look at Frauke, look away from Frauke. Frauke loves the suit that is covered in blood and and is left alone in the snow so that a child may come across it and weep. Frauke sees pain in child's eyes. Does frauke feel emotion? Frauke does not feel. The owl laments, stops lamenting, for it fears Frauke."

The above may offer answers to a few of the questions we have about Frauke, or it may simply serve to further Frauke the Frauke. For clarification I decided to seek out Frauke for an IM interview, and for some songs with which to entice all of us to go see Frauke tonight.

Frauke:
knock knock

EAR FARM:
who is there?

Frauke:
do you know why the man grew his beard long?

EF:
hello, who is knocking?

Frauke:
it is me frauke, i have come with a joke about a man with a long beard and all you have to do is reply "no, i don't know - why did he grow it long?"

EF:
no, alright. no. i dont know. and i'm embarrassed to say so.

Frauke:
so he will remember what he had for lunch the previous day!

EF:
omg. lol. brb.

The interview continued, as did the laughter, yet no conclusion was reached as to who/what/why/how the heck Frauke became Frauke. Some things are better left shrouded in Fraukery anyway. I suppose. The one question I do know the answer to is when. More on that below. First, THIS JUST IN.

Hello,

This is Frauke. Frauke sent me a transcript of your interview with Frauke. It seems that Frauke has either decided to spread false information, or perhaps she is from Finland. The truth is, I have a very bad case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to my experiences in the wartime. It is not that I have no morals, it is that I am frightened of the shrieking animals, the sounds of bombs, and - of course - the Finnish and their love of burglary and scheming.

Thank you.
-Frauke

I am not meaning to confuse you the reader, just meaning to report everything as accurately and completely as I possibly can. The truth is that I chose not to print Frauke's detailings of Frauke's debauchery. Nay, instead Frauke outed herself by attempting to explain away her own loose morals even though nobody here was to speaking about them. Ultimately, all of this is of no matter. I mean to tell you of an event. Of three Fraukes singing and playing their collective Frauke off TONIGHT. Be there, or else be prepared to apologize to yourself later.

To further grasp understandings beyond the why of all things Frauke, listen to the songs posted here. They are 100% music. They are sounding of a garage band, very much Frauke for Frauke's sake, and better than the music that you've heard elsewhere that made you think "yuck". Get ready to have their musical musings pleasantly scratch that golfer/lemonade/iced tea itch in your ear, for Frauke is the kind of band which makes Arnold Palmers when life throws them kittens. You know what I mean?

This is not make believe, this is Frauke.

Listen:
"Emoticonspiracy"
"Hunt The Yeti"

Visit Frauke on MySpace.

See Frauke TONIGHT at Fat Baby at 9pm.

Bell @ The Living Room - 13 April 2007

The photos above are of Bell playing an amazing show @ The Living Room this past Friday night.

Listen:
"Expanding File"

Visit Bell on MySpace.

More pictures of Bell (from this show and others) HERE.

The Muggabears @ Mercury Lounge - 13 April 2007

The photos above are of The Muggabears playing a CD release show @ Mercury Lounge this past Friday night.

Read the EAR FARM review of their EP Night Choreography HERE.

Listen:
"Dead Kid Kicks"

Visit The Muggabears on MySpace.

More pictures of The Muggabears (from this show and others) HERE.

snip·pets

Radiohead reissue rare EP

Slash hints towards 'theoretical' Guns N' Roses reunion dates

Never-before-heard Nick Drake tracks to be released June 20th

Record Labels Smack Down MP3.com Founder's New Site

IGN lists the top 25 live albums

Wilco frontman Tweedy gets intimate with new album

'NPR Idol'?

Mancino on MOKB SIRIUS Blog Radio

One of EAR FARM's most favorite bands in the universe, and earliest endorsements (go read that horrible post to have a laugh at the terribleness of the first few EF posts), is Mancino. Mancino recently finished their first LP (EF review HERE) and also paid a visit to My Old Kentucky Blog to record some sessions for Dodge's satellite radio show on Sirius.

Go HERE to listen to Mancino's MOKB SIRIUS Blog Radio session. Be sure to check out all of the other fine sessions Dodge has hosted.

Visit Mancino on MySpace.

8+

"It's Natural To Be Afraid" by Explosions In The Sky which clocks in at 13:27

This is a game. A game which I will win, because I just invented it. Just now. I'll explain the rules. We'll call them rules simply because this is a game, and all games need rules the way people need to believe in powerful beings who live in the sky, but they're not actual rules though. They are more like guidelines. Therefore, feel free to bend them anywhich way you'd like. For this is truly a game of solitaire and we all know the only losers of games of solitaire are the idiots who don't cheat. Want to watch me play? "Rules" first.

The rules:
- the player must first select a song, ideally a rather long song.
- the player must then proceed to write a story that recounts something that actually happened that somehow relates to the selected song, or happened while the player was listening to said song.
- during the telling of this story the player must attempt to work into the story the title of the song, the title of the album on which the song can be found, and the name of the band.
- it is strictly against the rules to reference any of the above in a manner that explicitly states that you're talking about music.
- the more you're able to naturally work in the song, album, and band name, the more points you will be rewarded.

Ready? Begin.

So, there we were. Driving. At night. Late at night. The middle of whotheshitknowswhere west Texas. Nothing around anywhere. No buildings, no gas stations, no motels. No signs of life other than the random other cars we'd pass every 15 minutes or so. Another world entirely. Being honest, now after the fact, we were afraid. I kept thinking to myself, "it's fine...it's natural to be afraid." I didn't tell the others though.

We had left Austin earlier that night on our way to New Mexico. When we left there was the biggest, most beautiful, sunset we'd ever seen. Just sitting in the sky for what seemed like hours. The sky was illuminated by all kinds of reds and yellows and oranges, almost as if there had been a series of slow motion explosions in the sky and these colors were the aftermath. Anyway, the plan was to drive for a few hours, cover a bit of distance, and then stop in Fort Stockton. None of us had ever been to Fort Stockton, but it seemed like a big enough dot on the map. Plus, at one point, it was clearly a fort of some kind. While this fort might not be able to protect us from actual explosions in the sky it did indeed sound like a perfect place to stop. A safe haven out there in the middle of nowhere. This land where people seemed to have yet to discover.

By the time we got to Fort Stockton it was late. Around 1am or so. We pulled up to the first motel we saw and immediately found out that they had no vacancies. No worries, we'd just try the other 8 motels at this exit. One after another and they all had the same problem. Too many people. "I hate people," someone in the back muttered aloud at one point. We all hated them then. It was late, we were road weary, and all of the people sleeping in motels in Fort Stockton that night were forcing us to soldier on. Into the unknown. At 1am. When would our next potential motel show up? We had no idea. After we got back on the desolate highway it occurred to us that we were also going to need to stop for gas sometime soon. A small amount of fear again crept into the minivan. It's natural to be afraid.

It was nearly 2:30am when we finally found an exit with a gas station. The two passengers in the back of the van were asleep, the driver and myself had been relishing the creepiness of our current situation. I'd made an "On the go" playlist on my iPod that consisted of distinctly creepy songs and we both got a bit excited as we pulled up to this seemingly abandoned gas station. There was a white pickup truck there at first. Not getting gas, just there. It pulled away as we pulled up. Surely they were doing something there at this gas station at 2:30am, hopefully not something they didn't want anyone else to see. With no other human beings around for many many miles, in the black night of west Texas, who would notice if some psycho in a white pickup truck killed an entire minivan full of three musicians and a filmmaker? It's natural to be afraid. The two people in the front of the van were actually enjoying being afraid.

The driver and I got out of the van at the gas station and were immediately hit with powerful wind. The kind of wind that's deafening. Loud, forceful wind. In the dead of night, at this clearly closed gas station, unable to see anything but pumps and darkness, we stood and took it all in. We ran around like children, the wind moving our bodies a few feet to the side at times, the darkness just outside the lights of the pumps taunting us. Begging us to come closer. Might that pickup truck return? We were enjoying being afraid.

Just then someone awoke from the back of the van and stepped out into our world.

"Where the hell are we?" he groggily questioned.

"No idea, isn't it amazing?!" we responded.

"No. Where are the people? I don't hate them anymore. All of a sudden I miss everyone."

Buy All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone HERE on Amazon.

**above photo from HERE**

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Guns N' Roses - "Locomotive"
Guns N' Roses - "Estranged"
Guns N' Roses - "Coma"
Guns N' Roses - "November Rain"
Sleep - "Jerusalem (Pt. 4)"
The Velvet Underground - "The Gift"
Elton John - "Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding"
Jenő Jandó - "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.

OPP

T-Sides on Goes Cube @ Mercury Lounge on April 6th

Rewritable Content has some live Man Man

Heart on a Stick with a post about Kurt Vonnegut

Idolator: Inside the Fillmore New York

Tim (he of Contrast Podcast and Face of Today fame) won a contest remixing the song "Titties"

You Ain't No Picasso has video of The Light Footwork performing “Mensa, AZ” live

Beat the Devil

When I left to go on tour I had this romantic notion that each night I'd be seeing new bands paired with Goes Cube who would be all WOW and HOLY MOLY. Bands I'd never normally see in NYC, but who could get exposed to the light of the internets because I'd be there seeing them in their hometowns, in the comfort of their favorite local venue with their hometown crowds. Then I'd have this huge backlog of sweet unknown bands from around the country that I'd need to tell the world about. Could've been, I suppose, but as it turns out, that's not what happened at all. Mostly the other bands didn't do a whole heckuva lot for me. If you followed along with the tour postings, you already know this. In those posts the only other bands I mentioned were the ones I found worthwhile, and there weren't that many. This one here though, this band is one of the best bands I saw during the month of March. They're from NYC, but I caught them in Austin.

Beat the Devil is an experience, and from the very first song of their set I was enthralled. Lead singer Shilpa Ray was standing on stage holding a shovel and the drummer Mitchell sat patiently while they both waited for the bass player Mishka to enter the room with a very large marching band style bass drum. Their first song began in this fashion with Mishka marching towards the stage pounding his drum with maracas and Shilpa playing shovel percussion. In no time the band took shape with Mishka on bass, Mitchell on drums, and Shilpa playing the harmonium and delivering powerfully nuanced vocals. All together the band produced a dark ragtime-punk sound along the lines of a mixture of the spirit of Man Man, a New Orleans funeral procession, Tom Waits, and Billie Holiday. They're the kind of band that defines what I wish current Lower East Side bands would have the courage to sound like. Not that they could, however, because lead singer Shilpa Ray's voice is one in a million and the LES has lost pretty much all of its growl. But when you're bitching to yourself day after day about the all-sounds-same utter crap that is constantly finding its way onto the other music blogs, remember Beat the Devil. If you long for sultry dark dirgey folk rock that climbs into your mind and never lets go ("wow wow, a WOW WOW"), then this is the band you've been waiting for. Check out "Plea Bargain" below and for the full experience, see Beat the Devil live.

Listen:
"Plea Bargain"
"Shine In Exile"

Visit Beat the Devil on MySpace

Music Video for Goes Cube Song 30

Wouldn't you like to see the brand new music video for Goes Cube Song 30? Yes you would. It was directed by Jake Hensberry, shot on 16mm film, and it's pretty awesome. Video and MP3 links below. Enjoy.

Stereogum has the video for you right HERE.

Or, you can also view the video on Jake's site HERE.

Listen:
Goes Cube Song 30

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace

Three for Free - Art Brut, Thrushes, and Elk City

EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song.

Listen:
Art Brut - "Pump Up The Volume"

Listen:
Thrushes - "Heartbeats"

Listen:
Elk City - “Cherries In The Snow”

Today's NEW releases

Today's interesting releases (according to me):

• Blonde Redhead - 23
• Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
• Cloud Cult - The Meaning of 8
• Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers
• Madlib - The Other Side: Los Angeles
• Rosebuds - Night Of The Furies

Anything else that I might have missed?

Goes Cube Tour Day Thirty-two

After thirty days on the road, playing as a mostly unknown band to unpredictable audiences, what exactly would Goes Cube be coming home to? How many of their friends and fans would show up, and would they be prepared for how tight the band had gotten over the past five weeks?

Regardless of what the turnout was to be, show after show (after show) had already proven to me that Goes Cube is always ready to deliver their raw power. No matter how few (or many) people they play for, no matter how terrible (or excellent) the venue/bill/soundsystem, if there's one thing to be learned from spending a month documenting this band on tour it's the fact that they bring it every night. And, to be honest, the homecoming show at Mercury Lounge was circled as the important show from day one. Not actually circled. I mean, not like they're a college football team who'd gotten together one day after practice to watch their coach circle April 6th and say "boys, this is the day...you can lollygag all you want on every other date, but you better bring hell at Mercury Lounge." Then again, it was kind of like that. But without a coach, and all much more implied. Still, this was the one we'd all been waiting for...yourselves included. Goes Cube back in New York City after taking on America. After kicking America's ass from coast to coast, and everywhere in between. You want to know how the show was? In short, not for one second of their set did Goes Cube disappoint. It was the best show I've seen them play.

The band that was on stage before them (Pilot to Gunner) got off to a late start and didn't finish until a few minutes after 10pm, which is when Goes Cube was supposed to start. They ended up being ready to go by about 10:20 and were promptly told they'd have to be off the stage at 10:45. Because of reasons outside of their control, the band coming off a month long tour was going to have their set cut short?! Yeah, welcome home. I was extremely pissed off at the situation, so I can only imagine how mad the three guys were. The thought of waiting all this time for the homecoming show, only to have it cut short?! Goes Cube SMASH! And they did. More on that later. Ultimately, all this really did was help to fuel the Goes Cube fire. Yeah, like they needed any extra reasons to bring the thunder.

Given the time constraints, Goes Cube launched into their set with added urgency. This show was supposed to be about playing to a home crowd full of fans and friends but what it turned into was something else altogether. From the very first chords following the violin bow intro to Goes Cube Song 34 the band set a blistering pace. All business, all rock. Loud. Perfect. The sound was out of this world, compared to the clubs we'd been at for the past few weeks, and the band responded accordingly. They paused ever so briefly between songs to catch a breath of air, and to mention what song was next, but that's all. Rather than halt momentum for a second too long, Goes Cube pushed forward and destroyed song after song, eardrum after eardrum, as only they can. To top it all off, David unleashed his new guitar on the audience for Goes Cube Song 33. By unleashed I mean to say that he jumped down into the crowd (as he often does) and smashed the guitar on the floor right in the middle of everyone (see the above picture, taken by Charlie from Nerd Litter). It was their final song of the evening, and I couldn't have come up with a more perfect punctuation for the tour if I scripted it - Goes Cube played their best show of the tour (best ever, in my opinion) on the final date to a home audience. And smashed a guitar right smack dab in the middle of said audience. Shit yes.

Speaking for myself, and the band as well, it's really great to be back home. Friday night was an instant reminder of why New York music fans are some of the best in the country. Thanks to everyone who came out, both on Friday and throughout the tour, and thanks to the band for letting me come along to document the whole thing on video. Stay tuned for updates about my work on the post-production side of things with the video, and for future posts relating to, and reflecting upon, this tour. It'll probably take me quite a while to edit the film, so hopefully it'll be worth the wait.

Now, who wants to pay us lots of money to do it all over again?

Listening to right now:
Explosions In The Sky - "What Do You Go Home To?"

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the show (from David's perspective) HERE, and from another blogger's point of view HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

snip·pets

The Boston Globe profiles music bloggers

Nashville Scene interviews Lou Barlow

Violinist Bell wins $75,000 Fisher Prize

'Fifth Beatle' Wants To Reunite With McCartney

Bike orchestra sounds a warning

Game Says The Truce is Over, Attacks G-Unit After Alleged Yayo Incident

Springsteen Steals The Show At Springsteen Tribute

Goes Cube Tour Day Thirty-one

Over one month on the road (8,000 plus miles) for Goes Cube and myself. Fourteen capitol buildings jumped in front of, 24 states visited, 22 venues rocked. Tonight, the homecoming show at Mercury Lounge. See you there.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

6 April - Mercury Lounge w/ Bang Camaro
New York, NY

Listening to right now:
Goes Cube Song 30

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the tour (from David's perspective) HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Day Thirty

The final show on the road before we head back to NYC...what would Pittsburgh have in store for Goes Cube?

We started out the day in Columbus and went for lunch with Emily from Necropolis. I got a hummus and vegetable sandwich with a side salad and it was delicious. Boy I really needed some veggies after a month of bar and gas station food. Despite what you might think, shopping at a gas station each day is not a glamorous lifestyle. Chex mix, trail mix, water...repeat. That's my secret for surviving consistent gas station shopping. And then grilled chicken sandwiches at the venues, but I already covered that. Anyway, thankfully the restaurant had free wireless internet and I managed to post yesterday's update as we had lunch. In no time we were back on the road headed for Pittsburgh.

Goes Cube had played this particular venue already, but that was back before Kenny was a member of the band. Therefore, the show yesterday promised to be a bit different than the last one. Unfortunately the band was paired with six separate solo avant-garde guitarists. They each played about 20 minutes or so (which set the stage for a rather short set for Goes Cube) and they all were kind of terrible. Okay, I didn't see them all. But of the four I did see, none of them were anything I'd recommend anyone listening to ever.

So, this poorly curated lineup (mixed with tour exhaustion) didn't exactly make for the best show of the tour. Goes Cube started out sluggishly, displayed perhaps a bit of fatigue, but finished strong. Although it was apparent to me that they'd rather not have been stuck in the middle of six guitarists practicing in public, I'm not sure anyone else would've necessarily known. What I mean to say is that they still brought it. They always do. It was loud and it was rocking, and then it was over. Six short songs, then we left. Left the venue, left town, and drove all the way home. Kenny and David battled through the night to bring us safely from Pittsburgh to New York. We arrived this morning at 5am and have today off before we head to the FINAL show of this tour at Mercury Lounge tomorrow. It's going to be AWESOME. I guarantee it. Also, I bet it will sell out, so get there early.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

6 April - Mercury Lounge w/ Bang Camaro
New York, NY

Listening to right now:
Daniel Johnston - "To Go Home"

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the tour (from David's perspective) HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

8+

"Locomotive" by Guns N' Roses which clocks in at 8:44

The following is part 4 of 4 in a special series of Guns N' Roses related 8+ posts written by my friend Ryan Vanderboosh. Thanks go out to him for allowing us all a glimpse into his world of guns and roses. I hope you've enjoyed these as much as I have. Ryan's a gifted writer when he's not too busy passing the time calculating celebrity death probability. Next week you can expect a return to normalcy with a brand new 8+ written by me. Until then, enjoy this final chapter.

Locomotive

Here the boys have learned all about a little something that burns worse than a fresh hernia scar full of chorizo grease. It’s called the nasty breakup with & subsequent scorn of a woman who never fully appreciated the heart-sick narrator’s efforts to refrain from beating her… and they’re here to tell us about it. From the smoke’em if you got’em pick-slide on through to the obstreperous, wawa-infested outro, it’s the most straight-up rocker of the four, and the one my older self is enjoying most.

There’s a world of difference between blowing yay off a stripper’s tits and eating sushi off an geisha’s ass. While they both involve professional nudity & delicacies popular during a Goldman-Sachs lunchbreak, “Locomotive” could only be the soundtrack to the blow/boobies formulation.
…and this somhow proves that quadruple-dubbed vocals are not tasteless & vaguely insane.

************

Despite my sincere fondness, it’s hard not to discuss these great songs without giving in to sarcasm or mockery. That’s partly just because i’m a prick. But you donkey-punch the ones you love the most. Bloated & booze-fueled, it was merely a beautiful, irreparable mess, which –much like Chris Farley-- could neither continue nor regain coherence… only flop face down in a hooker’s tracks.

(And look, i do like the so-called grunge revolution –it’s wonderful. But i take issue with the fundamento-revisionism* that Teen Spirit personally caught a flight to LA to slice the ass-cheeks out of everyone’s leather pants & take a shit in Slash’s hat. One style had said its piece, and so everybody moved on to the next. They’re called trends, and that’s how they fucking work. With enough affirmation, anything can & will become titanically preposterous, but who will notice until it’s too late? Have you ever considered that? Oh you have? and…? No, huh? So then the towering lucubrations behind these four song were never again duplicated simply because the supply price of heroin fell below the Pacific Northwest’s market equilibrium for three years? Fine, be that way.)

My point is this: the person inside you who loves these songs hasn’t got any fucking groceries. He is not a real person. In fact, it’s more than likely there are times when he pours milk directly into the cereal box for lack of bowls. i don’t know how much to worry that the encroaching real-personhood is cutting of his oxygen. But if it’s already too late, i promise not to be sad: at least i can listen to music on the subway, and it sounds pretty fucking great. And so we’ll both get up around 7 tomorrow, Axl, ol’ buddy ol’ pal. But i’ll leave it to you to get out of bed around 9, following two hours of god-knows-what. Trying to remember how much moo-shu pork is left in the fridge & prank calling Izzy Stradlin, i would imagine.

*- like the trendier Islamo-fascism, but with better cartoons

Buy Use Your Illusion II HERE on Amazon.

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
Guns N' Roses - "Estranged"
Guns N' Roses - "Coma"
Guns N' Roses - "November Rain"
Sleep - "Jerusalem (Pt. 4)"
The Velvet Underground - "The Gift"
Elton John - "Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding"
Jenő Jandó - "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2"
The Temptations - "Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.

Goes Cube Tour Day Twenty-nine

The facts:

- woke up in motel, got gas and coffee, hit the road
- David and I watched A Mighty Wind in the van
- we laughed lots
- made it to Columbus with plenty of time to spare
- took a capitol picture
- ate sandwiches
- arrived at le maison du Necropolis around 4pm
- hung out, went for a walk, bought toy airplane, got a drink, played pinball, played with toy airplane, called Auburn information number to inquire about Ohio's state house's lack of a dome
- played with toy airplane
- watched Jeopardy
- drank Sparks
- attempted to hit squirrel with toy airplane
- walked over to the venue
- had super easy load-in since the venue is mere feet from the house
- Goes Cube played first, kicked ass
- David premiered the new guitar he bought in Kansas City, kicked its ass
- Necropolis played next and was a very energetic and impressive live band
- next band not so great, watched them anyway
- went for a walk to find more sandwiches
- got home, watched some of Airplane II, went to sleep

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

4 April - Garfield Artworks
4931 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Listening to right now:
Johnny Mandel - "Suicide Is Painless"

Visit the bands from this post on MySpace:
Goes Cube
Necropolis

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the tour (from David's perspective) HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Day Twenty-eight

Yesterday was supposed to include a show in Michigan but that got cancelled due to car trouble. Instead we used the day as a travel day and made our way to Indianapolis for a capitol buidling picture and some bowling. The van is completely repaired and we're now in Columbus, OH getting ready for one of the final three shows of the tour.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

3 April - Cafe Bourbon St w/ Necropolis
Columbus, Ohio

Listening to right now:
Blonde Redhead - "23"

Visit Goes Cube on MySpace

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the tour (from David's perspective) HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***

Goes Cube Tour Days Twenty-six and Twenty-seven

As I was saying, we encountered some trouble in Champaign and ended up needing to have the van towed to a garage. We're currently awaiting the repair of the engine oil pan and, if all goes well, I expect we'll be heading out of Illinois sometime late today/tonight. Unfortunately the show originally scheduled for tonight in Michigan has been cancelled but we're planning to make it to Columbus, OH for the show tomorrow...one way or another. I'll betcha we find a way to make a stop in Indianapolis for a capitol picture.

The first show in Chicago was at the Elbo Room. Because the other two bands on the bill had cancelled, Goes Cube was to be the only band appearing on Saturday night. They took the stage around 10:15pm to a very friendly audience full of Matt's family and other various friends of the band. And, as an extra special surprise, two close friends of Goes Cube (shout outs to Tammy and Andrew - what what) made a surprise visit to Chicago for the show. The warm welcome they received must've helped energize the guys because they destroyed their set (that's a good thing) and delivered happy musical punishment to the ears of all in attendance. Merchandise sales reenforced the fact that this show was one of the best of the tour.

We spent a lot of our time in Chicago with Mike and Andrea, who are close friends of the band. They were kind enough to welcome the four of us into their home and it was super refreshing to enjoy non-motel living again. Comfortable sleeping arrangements, food and beverages in abundance, time to relax, and knowledge of where to get the best local food. Mmm regional cuisine. In this case it was Chicago hot dogs. Whoa baby.

First of all, this was the best hot dog I've ever eaten. I'm referring to just the dog itself. Dogs actually, more on that in a second. I just wanted to address this fact immediately. It was better than any of the NY hot dogs I've had by a long shot. And the toppings? Holy cow. Look at them. An explosion of tastes. Pickle, relish, tomatoes, mustard, onions...and TWO hot dogs...all on one poppy seed bun. Yeah, two dogs, one bun. I got the double char dog because that's what Mike ordered but next time I'd go for the single I think. Two turned out to be too much hot dog, but oh so delicious.

After the hot dogs we made our way to Andy's house (another friend of the band) for some homemade beer and Guitar Hero. It's been quite a while, but my chops returned in no time and Kenny and I wrecked "Hangar 18" to the tune of 275,000 plus points before we headed to Town Hall Pub for the second Goes Cube show in Chicago. This show was nowhere near as excellent as the previous night's show, but was a good time nonetheless. A band from the first show of the tour (Constants) had called David and asked if they could be worked into the bill and that's just what happened. They're an excellent band, one of the best I've seen on tour, and I highly suggest checking them out sometime. As for Goes Cube, things were a bit off because they shared equipment with Constants and didn't sound much like themselves. Yet still they were as tight as ever and deafened the small audience with another powerful combination of numbered songs and emphatic delivery.

We're on our way now back to Champaign to pick up the van and then eventually off to Columbus, Pittsburgh, and then home.

Goes Cube tour 2007 next show:

3 April - Cafe Bourbon St w/ Necropolis
Columbus, Ohio

Listening to right now:
Torche - "Charge Of The Brown Recluse"

Visit the bands from this post on MySpace:
Constants
Goes Cube

Full tour schedule HERE

**read more about the past few days (from David's perspective) HERE and HERE**

***also be sure to go HERE and submit some questions for me to ask the guys***