Listen:
"At It Again" by Sublime from Everything Under The Sun
View:
Image search results for At It Again - above image is from the first page of results (and was originally from HERE).
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In the recent past these songs were featured in Hit-or-miss posts:
"The Day I Tried To Live" by Soundgarden
"I'm Comin' Down" by Primal Scream
"I See Spiders When I Close My Eyes" by The Boy Least Likely To
"Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)?" by Buzzcocks
"I Would Work If I Could" by Brian Michael Roff And The Deer
"My Last Kiss" by The Durutti Column
"Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone" by The Walkmen
"Cosmic Dancer" by T. Rex
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EAR FARM's Hit-or-miss is a weekly feature (every Monday) wherein the EF music library is put on shuffle, the song that plays is then searched (using the song title) on Google images and a resulting photo (plus an MP3 of the song) is posted. You can see all of EAR FARM's Hit-or-miss posts thus far right HERE.
31 March 2008
Hit-or-miss: "At It Again" by Sublime
Animal Collective is stopping by East Village Radio...like right now!
Be prepared to get your boychat on very shortly as Avey Tare and Deacon from Animal Collective stop by the Domino Records Radio Show on East Village Radio from 10am to 12pm TODAY. Here are some abridged details from the EVR site:
TUNE in LIVE on Monday 31st March from 10am to 12noon [EST] / 3pm to 5pm [GMT] as the one, the only Animal Collective are stopping by Domino Radio.
In fact, while you're at it LOG ON to iChat or Windows Messenger or what have you, cause Avey Tare and Deacon are taking questions during the show! The studio's instant messenger address is: eastvillageradio so it's up to you to make an appearance!
The awesome new Animal Collective EP – Water Curses is out on May 5th on 12" and CD and tour Europe in May.
Now if you'll excuse us, we may go embark a 7-block EF field trip and lurk in the EVR window to catch the show. Enjoy it!
Listen: "Derek"
Visit Animal Collective on MySpace
OPP
The Philadelphia Inquirer reviews Stephen Malkmus's Saturday night Philly show
Mos Def and Beyonce to play Chuck Berry and Etta James in upcoming film about Chess Records
Wolfgang Van Halen says dad is doing great
Dodge has video of the White Rabbits performing "Sea of Rum" for his MOKB/SIRIUS Blog Radio show
Ten rock-star stunts even more ridiculous than flying to Antarctica
The Specials reunion imminent
Tone Loc plans two Detroit shows at bars scammed by an impostor posing as his manager
Sub Pop is offering 3 college scholarships
A new-ish blog critiques PR-blast emails
28 March 2008
Madonna - "4 Minutes" (feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
Who: Madonna
What: brand new single, released 25 March in the US
Why: instant club hit/spring break anthem, her best song in nearly a decade
When/Where/How: listen to "4 Minutes" by Madonna NOW - Quicktime | Windows Media
When leaks are bad: when they aren't finished versions, are boring, or cause artists to lose money that would otherwise rightfully be theirs.
When leaks are good: the first version of "4 Minutes" that I heard was the horrible recording of it that was played in a club in Philly by Timbaland back in December. I only listened to it because I'm, well, a bit of a Madonna fan and was anxious to hear her collaboration with Justin. But I didn't save it, or judge the track based upon this initial listen. All the leak did was get me extremely excited for when I'd be able to hear the proper track played very LOUDLY. The hype of hearing that crappy leak got me all hip-hoppy hyped up to listen to the proper track. Fast forward to today.
Well... mission accomplished leakers, because listen to "4 minutes" is precisely all I've done ever since getting it via pre-ordering Hard Candy on iTunes earlier this week. Over and over and over again I've listened, quite loudly, on repeat. Check my last.fm if you don't believe me. Oh wait, I guess it only records two of the same song in a row before it judges you a psycho listener and ceases scrobbling? Well, in the past 24 hours I've done enough dancing alone on my bed, shaking my fists in the air to the beat of "4 Minutes", to put that kid from the "Last Of The Famous International Playboys" music video to shame. And I can't stop singing it: "keep it up, keep it up, don't be afraid, Ma-DONNA..."
"4 Minutes" is the lead single off of Madonna's 11th studio album, Hard Candy, and was co-written by Justin Timberlake and produced by Timbaland. A superteam. Dance music's Justice League. And of course - if there really were "only four minutes to save the world" with a pop song, who else would you want working together other than Madonna, JT, and Tim?
The track features bits that recall the marching band/Stomp aesthetic that Gwen Stefani recently popularized, and a sense of Hillary Clinton's 'kitchen sink' campaign strategy with Timbaland pretty much throwing everything he's got at the listener, sometimes all at once. There are horns, beat box scratches, synths, signature Timbaland beats, cowbell, Justin singing in his best Michael Jackson voice, Madonna "tick tock tick tock tick tock"ing, and all manner of other sounds hiding in the background of the mix. Yet somehow the song does not end up a cacophony; instead, the magical combination of Tim, JT, and Madonna have put together her best song since "Don't Tell Me" - a song that's sure to be Madonna's first top 5 US hit since 2000, regardless of the current state of US pop charts. Excellent songs will always rise to the top and dominate the ears of the public - this song is better than excellent. It's hookus majorus, it's dance floorus for sure-us, it's a Brachiosaurus compared to the Compsognathuses that have ruled the pop charts of late. It's... it's... really good. As good at being a dance pop song as I am at being a nerd.
"4 Minutes" is loud, banging, catchy, thumping, energetic, and nearly perfect. If this song doesn't get you into the groove and make your body move then nothing will. Listen below, look for the entire album on the 29th of April.
Listen:
"4 Minutes" by Madonna (feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland) - Quicktime | Windows Media
See Madonna live @ special promo gigs in three cities:
New York: 28 April
Paris: 6 May
London: 10 May
**"4 Minutes" release party TONIGHT @ Highline Ballroom**
Watch Ellen DeGeneres dance and react to Madonna's "4 Minutes" over on EARF.
Visit Madonna on MySpace.
The Secret Life of Sofia - new record, two brand new MP3s, live dates
The Secret Life of Sofia shared some tantalizing news with EF yesterday, announcing the "semi-imminent" release of their anticipated full-length album Seven Summits. You may remember that we picked TSLOS as one of our top artists to emerge this year, and judging by the two advanced tracks below, we feel so clever! Hold on, we're patting ourselves on the back right now.
The first song, "Outside", is a delicate gust of autumn air in your speakers, a lovely, pastoral romp that establishes the reflective mood that permeates much of Seven Summits. Your palate cleansed, be sure to then check out the galloping "Fifty Fourteeners" and witness the band at its most propulsive and exaltedly frenetic. Together, these two tracks form a nice preview of what to expect on the rest of the album, but don't take our word for it. Listen to it, love it, and act on any of the below opportunities to see TSLOS and hear the new material live in the near future (see below). And though there is no solid release date for the album yet, the band is hard at work putting together a handmade-packaged limited edition version for tentative release at the end of May.
Listen:
"Outside"
"Fifty Fourteeners"
See The Secret Life of Sofia Live:
4 April @ MACRoCk (mid-Atlantic College Music Conference) @ Court Square Theater in Harrisonburg, VA
5 April @ Annex, NYC with Tiny Animals + TAB the Band
21 April @ Union Hall, Brooklyn opening for Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin + Via Audio
Visit The Secret Life of Sofia on MySpace.
*above photo taken by Josh Goleman.
Spam Filter: Sally Shapiro - "Jackie Junior" (The Junior Boys remix)
Remix Romance Vol. 1 came out late last year and featured the standout Junior Boys remix of Swedish disco-diva Sally Shapiro's "Jackie Junior" that's posted below. Remix Romance Vol. 2 is coming out on the 28th of May and the people at Paper Bag Records have made the track below available for download to remind you of a very likely source of your Summer of '08 jams.
Listen:
"Jackie Junior" (The Junior Boys remix)
Visit Sally Shapiro on MySpace.
*above photo by Frida Klingberg
OPP
Head over to Wired and cast your vote in the Innovation Smackdown: Trent Reznor vs. Radiohead
Pitchfork talks with Radiohead's Colin Greenwood
The Washington Post looks back on the legacy of Converse, from hoops to hipsters
SPIN.com's Video Vault has Man Man live from McCarren Pool last summer
Read Andrew Bird's blog detailing the process of writing a new album over at the New York Times
Brooklyn Vegan tackles the identity of the mysterious "Condo Fucks", who are set to play the last evening at Magnetic Fields next Friday
Liars' song featured in Timex commercial
Poison drummer Rikki Rockett arrested on rape warrant
XLR8 interviews Brent Grulke, SXSW's creative director
27 March 2008
8+
"You Enjoy Myself" by Phish which clocks in at 9:50
There are those of you reading this site who likely (really) enjoy making fun of Phish. The mere mention of the band probably makes you laugh loud judgmental laughs "Phish? ha ha HA!" you say. I'm sure you enjoy yourself making phun fun of Phish. And why not? It is a fun band to make fun of; what with their aimless jazz-brunch influenced noodling and nonsense lyrics and white-kid-with-dreadlocks audience members... Phish symbolized the Starbucks generation of "hippie" music lovers and carried a legion of mind-scrambled fans around the country with them for 20+ years, nearly single-handedly defining/soiling the term jam band for an entire generation. Making fun of Phish is like shooting fish in a barrel. Which is why that's exactly not what I'm here to do today. Instead, I'd like to make fun of fish. Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to hurt their feelings.
If that fish in the picture above could speak, what do you think it would say? "Tzaruch shemirah"? Me, I'm guessing something along the lines of "you enjoy myself to eat, please don't eat myself!" Look at it. It looks like it's talking to the photographer; and, it's fairly adorable. And fish aren't anywhere near "cute" or "adorable". But that one is. And I could totally see cuddling with it or having a nice broken English conversation with it. Phish, er fish, would be all "you wash your feet in my water drive me into a frenzy," or whatever it is they say. But fishes can't learn things like how to complain about dirty water, or language, or anything... can they?
This just in:Scientists are testing a plan to train fish to catch themselves by swimming into a net when they hear a tone that signals feeding time.
Seriously?! Fish will just, catch themselves?? Goodbye fish farms, expensive nets and lures, goodbye to an entire industry of fishing, goodbye to lazy days on the lake... hello Fishchurian Candidate?!? Here fishy fish fish, we've programmed you to respond to this one specific frequency, go forth now and "live" in the wild and we'll just vibrate the water when we're hungry, k? Okay, byeee fishy! (Really?)
If it works, the system could eventually allow black sea bass to be released into the open ocean, where they would grow to market size, then swim into an underwater cage to be harvested when they hear the signal."It sounds crazy, but it's real," said Simon Miner, a research assistant at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Hole, which received a $270,000 grant for the project from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Something tells me that spending $270,000 plus to "specially train" the fish to do everything but cut themselves into little cubes, cook themselves, and jump right into our mouths might drive the cost of dinner up a bit, no?
Miner said the specially trained fish could someday be used to bolster the depleted black sea bass stock. Farmed fish might become better acclimated to the wild if they can be called back for food every few days.The bigger goal is to defray the costs of fish farming, an increasingly important source of the world's seafood. If fish can be trained to return to the farmer after feeding in the open ocean for several days, farms could save money on feed and reduce the amount of fish waste released in concentrated areas.
Shit. I didn't even consider that some other hungry mouth might want to eat our brainwashed bass. Can't we train some dolphins to act as sheepdogs or something?
The key question for fish farmers: How many fish will actually return, and how many will be lost to predators or simply swim away?Previous experiments have used sound to train a fish to feed — similar to what Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov did in his famous dogs that salivated at the sound of a bell, expecting food.
Ah, there we go, fish nuggets! I thought something was seeming very McDonald-y about all of this anyway. So what, McDonald's is going to start training the animals they cook/serve to respond to "buh da buh ba ba" the same way they've trained Americans? "Buh da buh ba ba" - feeding time - "I'm lovin' it, let's go home"? Seems quite an involved process to go through just to get some fish nuggets for the masses when your average fish is willing to be caught with not much more than a stick, some thread, and a worm on bent metal. But anyway, I thought that fish couldn't even remember anything for more than a second anyway? You know, the little plastic castle is a surprise every time...
In Japan, scientists have used sound to keep newly released farmed fish in certain areas, where they could be caught in traditional ways.
But no one has ever tried to get fish to leave and return to an enclosure where they can be scooped up.
The project began last summer using 6,500 black sea bass, a stout, bottom-dwelling fish that lives between Florida and Cape Cod and in the winter is generally not found north of New Jersey. The species grows up to 3 pounds and 20 inches long and has a thick, white flesh that can be filleted for broiling or cut into nuggets for frying.Miner said the first objective was to see if the fish could truly be trained. He got his answer after keeping the fish in a circular tank, then sounding a tone before he dropped food in an enclosed "feeding zone" within the tank that the fish could enter only through a small opening.
This is getting ridiculous. It's like a science fiction version of the Tootsie Roll Pop question: how much money, how many years, will it take to raise fish nuggets, only to potentially lose them to freewill and/or other predators?
Researchers played the tone for 20 seconds, three times a day, for about two weeks. Afterward, whenever the tone sounded, "you have remote-control fish," Miner said.
"You hit that button, and they go into that area, and they wait patiently," he said.
Miner is now trying to figure out how long the fish remember to associate the tone with food. He feeds the fish outside the feeding zone without a tone for a few days and then tests if they will still head for the feeding area when the tone sounds again.
Some fish forgot after five days. Others remembered as long as 10. Miner said the strength of memory seems tied to how long the fish are trained.Scott Lindell, the project leader, said losing fish is a concern. But the savings of using the trained fish and the AquaDome is potentially huge: Even if only half the fish come back after reaching market size, the operation would be more profitable than current methods. The dome, for instance, is 10 times cheaper than a standard aquaculture sea cage.
Stupid fish. That's why I imagine their English to be as broken as the lyrics of the song posted here - they can't even learn to enslave themselves! Unlike, say, Phishheads, who never had any problem mindlessly responding to whatever (strange, off-key, odd, or atrocious) sound/cover version the band produced. Year after year after year. Those Phishheads must feel pretty lost right now. All jumping up and talking about trading tapes for veggie burritos whenever they hear the sound of a vacuum cleaner or see a trampoline or meet someone named Wilson... Hey, let's make nuggets out of them!
Miner said real answers won't start coming until the fish hit Buzzards Bay this spring. "There's probably 18,000 ways for it to go wrong and only one way to go right."
Phishheads, phishheads, roly poly phishheads; phishheads, phishheads, eat them up yum!
*above photo from HERE
Buy Junta 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+:
Green Day - "Homecoming"
Billy Bragg - "Joe Hill"
Van Halen - "Year to the Day"
Kraftwerk - "The Telephone Call"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Oh Comely"
George Gershwin - “Rhaphsody in Blue"
Múm - "Smell Memory"
Tool - "Lateralus"
To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.
EF Contest: WIN TWO FREE tickets to see Polvo @ Bowery Ballroom, REVIEW the show for EAR FARM
Polvo: a band I truly love, and grew up seeing at the Cradle, are back together and playing shows again. But you knew this already.
The important thing is that they'll be playing concerts again and YOU get a chance to see them live if you live in/near any of the cities listed below. In fact, the tickets to their show at Bowery Ballroom are on sale tomorrow at Noon.
***CONTEST*** YOU can go see the show here in NYC for FREE if you'd like to report on your experience seeing the band for EAR FARM. Please find contact information HERE, email SUBJECT: Polvo. Tell me why YOU should be the one to win TWO FREE tickets to see the band and write a review for EAR FARM. Sadly I can't make it because I have another show to attend, so I'm looking for someone who is a big fan of the band who'd like to see them in my place. The contest will be over when the right person is found.
Listen:
"Tragic Carpet Ride" by Polvo
See Polvo live:
9 May @ Black Cat in Washington, DC
10 May @ Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, NC
16-18 May @ ATP in Minehead, UK
29-31 May @ Primavera Sound in Barcelona, ES
20 June @ Middle East, Boston, MA
21 June @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC w/ Birds Of Avalon & Artanker Convoy
25 June @ Subterranean in Chicago, IL
See also:
- "El Rocio" by Polvo (8+, song re-uploaded for a limited time)
- Polvo live @ WMBR, Cambridge, MA - 15 November 1991
- I Want My MTV - Chapel Hill/Raleigh in the '90s
*above picture from HERE.
Crystal Castles, HEALTH, and Esque @ Studio B - 25 March 2008
Crystal Castles (above), HEALTH, and Esque played Studio B in Brooklyn two nights ago and Mercury Lounge in Manhattan last night (FRICTION). The pictures above and below are all from the Studio B show, taken by Zach Stern / nilShot photography. Check out Panda Toes for a review of the show; listen to a few MP3s from these bands and see more pics after the jump.
Listen:
"Crimewave" by HEALTH
"Air War" by Crystal Castles
"Crimewave" by Crystal Castles
Visit the bands on MySpace: Crystal Castles, HEALTH, Esque.
*again, all photos by Zach Stern / nilShot photography.
Spam Filter: Go See The Dodos in NYC
Right, well it's fairly obvious but by now we've gone completely dodo for the Dodos, so imagine our delight when our inbox gave us yet another excuse to write about them...
Fresh off a Best New Music nod from Pitchfork and a string of lauded SXSW appearances (and the regal title of EF BoW), the Dodos are returning to NYC (okay, mostly Brooklyn) for THREE shows next week, here they be:
March 31 - (Early Show) 6:00pm at Soundfix Records, Brooklyn
March 31 - 8:00pm at Death By Audio Williamsburg, Brooklyn
April 6th - 10:00pm at Mercury Lounge
After the jump, check out all their upcoming tour dates and hear/see what all the fuss is about...
The Dodos Complete Tour Dates:
27 Mar - Asheville, NC @ Harvest Records
28 Mar - Durham, NC @ Bull City Headquarters
29 Mar - Charlottesville, VA @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
30 Mar - Washington, DC @ DC9
31 Mar - Brooklyn, NY @ Death By Audio
02 Apr - New Haven, CT @ Cafe 9
03 Apr - Princeton, NJ @ Terrace Club
04 Apr - Washington, DC @ Black Cat w/Les Savy Fav
05 Apr - New Haven, CT @ Cafe 9
05 Apr - Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore - TLA w/Les Savy Fav
06 Apr - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
08 Apr - Montreal, QC @ Le Divan Orange
09 Apr - Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo
10 Apr - Annandale, NY @ Smog Club @ Bard College
11 Apr - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
12 Apr - Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Artworks
15 Apr - Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon Street
16 Apr - Detroit, MI @ Pike Room
17 Apr - Chicago, IL @ The Note
18 Apr - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
18 Apr - Chicago, IL @ Shoreland Ballroom
19 Apr - Bloomington, IN @ Culture Shock
20 Apr - Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
21 Apr - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
27 Apr - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall w/Les Savy Fav
14 May - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
28 June - Calgary, AB @ Sled Island Festival
02 July - Boise, ID @ Downtown Boise
Listen:
"Fools"
"Jodi"
Watch:
"Fools" (music video directed by Matt Amato)
Visit The Dodos on MySpace
OPP
Read up on Mexico's growing emo-witch hunt crisis
Duran Duran's world tour gets off to an embarrassing start in New Zealand
Wilco, STP among latest rumors for Lollapalooza 2008
R.E.M. rocks the London Apple Store in small instore gig
Juliana Hatfield strikes back against The Hills
Valient Thorr's frontman will donate his kidney to his ailing father
The FADER launches F2, an online-only magazine
The mad dash for second-best in digital music sales (behind iTunes)
And of course, who can ignore the Dr. Pepper/Guns N' Roses challenge? (not us)
26 March 2008
Band of the Week: We Barbarians
Band: We Barbarians
From: Long Beach, CA
Sound: sinewy blasts of reverb-soaked melancholic anthems, impassioned vocals and taut, fuzzed-out bass
Similar Artists: The Constantines, The Walkmen, U2, Calla
Listen Now: "Yesmen and Bumsuckers"
The blogosphere (and beyond) has been utterly clogged with SXSW-laden fare of late - and we are certainly as guilty as anyone on that front - but so far no estimation of the annual gala has even approached We Barbarians' level of incisiveness.
"SXSW is kinda like going to a restaurant, getting food poisoning, swearing to never go back, and then somehow ending up there again and again," drummer Nathan Warkentin recently told EF.
Taken out of context, this remark could be construed as your standard "negative for the sake of being negative" denouncement for which all those old timers seem to loathe our generation. More accurately though, Warkentin's keen observation is simply an extension of the same penchant for deconstruction and careful consideration allotted to We Barbarians' music, a pensive cloud of looming tension brimming with evocative song titles such as "Yesmen and Bumsuckers" and "Black & Crooked". And besides, according to the Music Slut, the band's SXSW performance was among the best of the entire week (food-poisoning similes notwithstanding).
To say the last seven months have been eventful for We Barbarians would be a wee bit of an understatement; here I'm using the time period of seven months not arbitrarily but marking the actual date from when they formed, way way way way back in August of 2007....Formerly all members of the band the Colour, the trio began practicing as We Barbarians in earnest late in the summer and marked frontman David Quon's first foray as lead vocalist, fairly remarkable given the lived-in expressiveness and effortless warmth of his voice.
Warkentin was good enough to correspond with EAR FARM via email on behalf of the band (which also includes vocalist, guitarist, and organist David Quon and bassist Derek Van Heule) as the trio finished their first show opening for Tokyo Police Club on their current tour stop in San Francisco.
"The evolution of We Barbarians has been very accelerated," Warkentin said. "We began writing songs in August, played our first string of shows with our friends Delta Spirit in September, recorded our EP in October, and toured with Cold War Kids in November and December. Since then we have done two residencies, in L.A. and Orange County, and now this Tokyo Police Club tour. It has all been quite a blur...But a good blur."
This "good blur" has also included "Yesmen and Bumsuckers" being featured as KEXP's Song of the Day as well as a recent Daytrotter session, where the band showcased four of the wonderfully melancholic tracks culled from their In The Doldrums EP. And it's within the crevices of these songs that haunting lyrics such as "they peeled back my skull to see an empty hollow hole" (from "Black & Crooked") creepily emerge and seem to belie the sunny environs of the band's native Long Beach.
Wait, melancholy in Long Beach? "But isn't it all about party fun-time music like Sublime out there?" says the beleaguered and sheltered New Englander (me). "That's really funny," said Warkentin. "There's actually a small community of great bands and artists in Long Beach. Bands like Cold War Kids, Sparrow Love Crew, Matt Death & The New Intellectuals are all good friends of ours creating great music."
And to ensure the positive momentum and great music continues, We Barbarians have made tentative plans to start recording their full-length album in April. According to Warkentin, there's a palpable level of excitement surrounding the new material, and recent shows have given them a chance to showcase many of the new songs. In the meantime, a 12" version of In The Doldrums is about to come out and will be available both at live shows (see below for dates) and on their MySpace page. So far so good; the next step then would logically be a record deal, right?
"This time is exciting, but mostly for the fact that at this point we are playing by our own rules," Warkentin asserted. "We are experiencing a great freedom artistically and choosing very carefully the things we accept to do. As far as labels go, aren't they extinct?"
Hmm, another incisive point taken.
Listen:
"Yesmen and Bumsuckers"
"Spun Out"
See We Barbarians Live:
26 Mar - Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubador w/Tokyo Police Club
28 Mar - San Diego, CA @ Soma w/Tokyo Police Club
29 Mar - Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse w/Tokyo Police Club
19 Apr - Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar
12 May - Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland w/Mezzanine Owls
18 May - Seattle, WA @ Neumos w/Tokyo Police Club
19 May - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater w/Tokyo Police Club
Visit We Barbarians on MySpace
--
In the recent past, the following bands have been featured as EAR FARM's Band of the Week:
The Dodos
Hey Hey My My
Amy LaVere
Beach House
Computer Perfection
Goes Cube
Magic Arm
Drink Up Buttercup
See the entire list of bands featured as EAR FARM's Band of the Week HERE.
EAR FARM's Muxtape #1: 12 Songs For A Cat Named Joe
EAR FARM's got a Muxtape*, obvs. You can check it out HERE. The first mix I've made is 12 Songs For A Cat Named Joe (that's my cat's name, pictured above at his 10th birthday party, he'll turn 13 in a little less than a month). Check out the songs featured in this mix listed below.
EAR FARM's Muxtape will likely become a recurring thing with a new mix posted every week, so do check back. And enjoy the Joe mix.
EAR FARM's Muxtape #1: 12 Songs For A Cat Named Joe
1. "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix
2. "Joe's Waltz" by The Dodos
3. "Joe" by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
4. "Soap Star Joe" by Liz Phair
5. "Joe" by PJ Harvey
6. "Harold and Joe" by The Cure
7. "Joe #1" by Fugazi
8. "Jimmy Joe Roche" by Dan Deacon
9. "Old Joe's Place" by The Folksmen
10. "Joe's Head" by Kings of Leon
11. "Hey Joe" by Patti Smith
12. "Cotton Eyed Joe" by Starsound Orchestra
*a Muxtape is nothing more than a quite genius, very simple, way to create and share mixtapes. you should create your own and link to it in the comments. go now.
Spam Filter: Bell X1
While Stereogum is busy fawning over NYC's Bell (rightfully so), EAR FARM has finally given in and twisted our own arms to get ourselves listening to Ireland's Bell X1. You better believe we're sorry to have missed their recent shows at Bowery Ballroom (we were on the road) that they almost missed due to tour bus fire.
Check out two Bell X1 songs posted below. The first one, "My First Born For A Song", has been playing over and over and over in EF HQ. It's part Dave Brubeck, part Coldplay, part perfect song title, and part completely amazing. Part completely. Listen, love.
Listen:
"My First Born For A Song"
"Rocky Took A Lover"
Stream Bell X1's US debut Flock (in full) HERE.
Visit Bell X1 on Myspace.
OPP
Rock Band coming to Nintendo Wii in June
Tapes 'n Tapes walk it off for cancer
VH1 Rock Honors to pay tribute to the Who
Stereogum turns its focus on Bell as a Band to Watch
South Park pays homage to Heavy Metal tonight
The A.V. Club has a roundup of recently released music DVDs
Sirius and XM merger is cleared
Smashing Pumpkins sue Virgin Records
25 March 2008
I Want My MTV - Portishead
I want my MTV!!! And I want more Portishead in my life already... check out a video for "Machine Gun" from their upcoming album Third, as well as some old favorites, below.
"Machine Gun" (above, from their upcoming album Third)
"Only You" (above)
"Humming" (above)
"Wandering Stars" (above)
"Glory Box" (above)
Three for Free - Excepter, Helvetia, and Plants and Animals
EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. This week - three from bands with new records out today. Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song.
Listen:
Excepter - "Kill People"
Helvetia - "Old New Bicycle"
Plants and Animals - "Faerie Dance"
Pete and the Pirates hail a cab
Recent BoW alums Pete and the Pirates have been keeping busy since releasing their outstanding debut album "Little Death" in February, touring endlessly throughout Europe (when oh when will you be coming stateside gents?) and most recently appearing on Britain's answer to La Blogotheque's Take Away Concerts, the Black Cab Sessions.
Watch above as vocalist Tommy Sanders and guitarists Peter Hefferan and David Thorpe tear through a portable version of "Knots" as said cab tears through the streets of London, or watch a higher res version over at the Black Cab Sessions site.
As their label - Stolen Records - told us before, a U.S. tour will hopefully come to fruition soon, though no dates have been scheduled yet. It's just as well they did this in a London black cab as opposed to a New York yellow taxi though, can you imagine the motion sickness?
Visit Pete and the Pirates on MySpace
Today's NEW Releases
The Raconteurs are causing a bit of a fuss this week, aren't they?:
- The B-52s - Funplex
- De Novo Dahl - Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound
- Elf Power - In A Cave
- Excepter - Debt Debt
- Ghostface Killah - The Wallabee Champ
- Helvetia - The Acrobats
- The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray (Collector's Edition)
- Morrissey - Greatest Hits (Deluxe Edition)
- Panic at the Disco - Pretty. Odd.
- Pennywise - Reason to Believe
- Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue
- The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
- Randy Newman - Leatherheads (Movie Soundtrack)
OPP
Listen to the Walkmen's Daytrotter session
Play Paul McCartney's divorce: the video game
R.I.P. Neil Aspinall, the Beatles' right-hand man
Velvet Revolver to break up?
George Michael to tour North America, two MSG dates
The National and Grizzly Bear will play Columbia University together, wowza
The top 10 weirdest rock 'n roll deaths
24 March 2008
Hit-or-miss: "The Day I Tried To Live" by Soundgarden
Listen:
"The Day I Tried To Live" by Soundgarden from Superunknown
View:
Image search results for The Day I Tried To Live - above image is from the first page of results (and was originally from HERE).
--
In the recent past these songs were featured in Hit-or-miss posts:
"I'm Comin' Down" by Primal Scream
"I See Spiders When I Close My Eyes" by The Boy Least Likely To
"Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)?" by Buzzcocks
"I Would Work If I Could" by Brian Michael Roff And The Deer
"My Last Kiss" by The Durutti Column
"Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone" by The Walkmen
"Cosmic Dancer" by T. Rex
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder
--
EAR FARM's Hit-or-miss is a weekly feature (every Monday) wherein the EF music library is put on shuffle, the song that plays is then searched (using the song title) on Google images and a resulting photo (plus an MP3 of the song) is posted. You can see all of EAR FARM's Hit-or-miss posts thus far right HERE.
The Fate of Friday Night Lights?
Rumors have been a swirlin' for some time about the fate of NBC's critically adored and viewer neglected Friday Night Lights. Stalled with seven episodes remaining in its second season, the most recent reports seem to indicate that a third season is imminent. Hooray, right?
Not so fast. Nothing is certain yet, and word is that new NBC honcho Ben Silverman doesn't much care for the Dillon Panthers. This online petition to save the show has been circulating for quite awhile, but with a decision looming in the very near future we thought it was high time to bring it to your attention.
Yes, but what does this all have to do with music? Well, most obviously there's the Explosions in the Sky factor; that they've featured prominently in the show's soundtrack for the past two seasons and have undoubtedly and deservedly reached millions of additional ears as a result is reason enough to keep this little-show-that-could rolling, right?
And according to Spin, having your band's song on the show is like the new O.C. status symbol of sorts. Witness the recent Vampire Weekend cover story, when Andy Greenwald wrote:
Further, their (Vampire Weekend's) success demonstrates a radical redefinition of the very term at a time when quantifiable benchmarks are increasingly defined not by units shifted or radio airplay, but by less scientific means. "Success might mean a synch on Friday Night Lights," says Alexandra Patsavas, music supervisor for Grey's Anatomy, Chuck, and Gossip Girl, referring to the placement of Vampire Weekend's infectious "A-Punk" on an episode of the football drama last November.
So the moral is Friday Night Lights stays on the air and everyone wins, yes?
Listen:
Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk" AND "A-Punk" (EF Live recording from The Earl, Atlanta, GA 3/9/08)
Explosions in the Sky - "It's Natural To Be Afraid"
OPP
Hear My Morning Jacket's SXSW performance in its entirety at NPR
Pitchfork interviews Michael Stipe
The Beatles' lawyers try to thwart distribution of early bootleg made during Ringo's first show
San Francisco Chronicle: A brief history of Ska
Gibson sues over Guitar Hero and Rock Band
Rolling Stone visits Of Montreal in the studio
The Dodos add a 2nd Brooklyn show
21 March 2008
EAR FARM South by Southwest Roundup - In Threes
As we take today to recover from our massive road trip (and watch a little basketball, perhaps... maybe play some Rock Band) we thought everyone could use a bit of a quick recap of EAR FARM's South by Southwest experience. Check out lists from each of us as well as links to all of EAR FARM's SXSW coverage/content below.
--Top three shows attended--
Matt
1. Islands, Man Man @ Cedar St. Courtyard – 13 March (+)/(+)
2. Torche @ Red 7 – 14 March (+)
3. Dead Confederate, R.E.M. @ Stubb's – 12 March (+)
Mike
1. Man Man, Islands @ Cedar Street Courtyard – 13 March (+)
2. British Sea Power @ The Mohawk – 13 March (+)
3. Tapes 'n Tapes @ The Cedar Door – 14 March
--Top three SXSW disappointments--
Matt
1. Not having enough time to see all of the shows I wanted to.
2. The dead time between day shows and night shows when there's no music and it's as difficult to find a spot for dinner as it is to hail a cab in Manhattan during the 4:30pm cab driver shift change.
3. So many bros and girls gone wild wannabes and people yearning to find "cool"; off-the-charts levels of douchebaggery on the streets. People disgust me.
Mike
1. The Lemonheads canceled TWO shows on Friday, the first of which I stood in line for a half hour beforehand and the second I walked a good 20 minutes to see.
2. That strange "witching hour" in between day shows and night shows where it seems like none of the bars serve alcohol and you're forced to walk around 6th Street like a zombie waiting for things to start up again.
3. Waking up early to see the Ting Tings on Thursday, only to have them stand there for a while and decide not to go on.
--Top three shows I wish I could have cloned myself for, in order to see--
Matt
1. My Morning Jacket @ Austin Music Hall - 13 March – (instead I saw Islands and Man Man, I'll see MMJ in June) (+)
2. Any of the shows The Dodos played (their new record is totally doing it for me, instead I saw other bands)
3. Any of the many British Sea Power shows (instead I saw other bands, I'll see BSP three times in May)
Mike
1. My Morning Jacket @ Austin Music Hall - 13 March - (I was at Man Man @ Cedar St. Courtyard) (+)
2. Thurston Moore, J Mascis @ The Mohawk - 14th March - (I was at Tapes 'n Tapes @ The Cedar Door)
3. Graveyard & WITCH @ Encore Records - 13 March - (no cloning necessary, just a car; this show was 15 miles away from downtown and I couldn't make it in time)
--Three revelations from the past week--
Matt
1. SXSW > CMJ by a loooong shot.
2. EAR FARM is going to have to have a SXSW show next year just to get all of the bands I want to see in one place at one time.
3. Seeing shows every day/night, one day after another, leaves very little time for writing about said shows in a timely manner. All play and no work makes Matt a dull boy?
Mike
1. Michael Stipe eats BBQ?
2. You don't have to drink it even though it's free
3. This year's trend in bands: forget dealing with a second guitarist, just use a loop pedal!
EAR FARM videos of SXSW 2008 performances:
EAR FARM posts about SXSW 2008:
Obviously, it’s impossible for two people to slay the SXSW beast on their own, and that's where you come in. What were your favorite shows, disappointments, revelations and regrets from the week that was South by Southwest?
Holler at us about your SXSW experience, or lack thereof, and we'll see you back here next week. Oh and look forward to more exclusive EAR FARM SXSW content in the near future!
OPP
Black Moth Super Rainbow release Dandelion Gum as scratch 'n sniff vinyl (does it smell like Momofuku?)
The Boston Globe is psyched that Guitar Hero III now has Dropkick Murphys songs
SPIN reviews the Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks show in Minneapolis
Yes announce 4oth anniversary North American tour
The Ting Tings played Union Hall
Pearl Jam to tour, two dates at MSG in June
20 March 2008
8+
"Homecoming" by Green Day which clocks in at 9:19
We're pretty lucky. Lucky to have arrived home safely (from our journey down to South by Southwest and back) last night after three days of some of the worst driving conditions either of us has ever faced. We figured it was that our timing was simply unfortunate in regards to leaving Kansas City on Monday to drive back to New York; yes, it turns out this was true. Perhaps it was that cursed table we sat at* in Austin? Whatever the cause, we drove with a massive storm the entire way back. It made each hour of driving seem like four hours. But still, we were never quite aware of the enormity of the peril we were right in the middle of. Pretty stupid - a couple of American idiots driving through the rain like that. You see, sitting here now (safe and sound, back at home watching the news), it turns out this storm was a LOT worse than we could've ever imagined.
The Washington Post explains:
- Flooding across the central part of the country over the past three days has killed at least 13 people and forced thousands to evacuate. And the worst may be yet to come as rivers approach record levels in the next few days.
Rain has fallen continuously in the Midwest since Monday, dumping more than a foot of water in some regions. National Weather Service flood warnings and advisories cover much of Ohio, Indiana, northern Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, southern Illinois, eastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas.
In Kentucky, a weather-related traffic accident killed five people Wednesday. In Texas, a teenager was swept down a drainage pipe Tuesday. In Arkansas, at least three vehicles were swept away by water Wednesday. In Missouri, a state Transportation Department worker was killed Tuesday by a tractor-trailer while setting up flood barriers, three people perished with vehicles caught in rushing water, and a teenager was found dead in the water.
Monday: On our first day after SXSW we headed to Kansas City to have our fourth of four scheduled BBQ meals, this time with Skatterman & Snug Brim. The BBQ, and company, were excellent. The weather, however, was not. It rained (heavily) the entire time. We could barely see Kansas City through the rain and fog. After lunch we decided to alter our itinerary and hit the road to get a head start on getting home through the rain. Bad idea?
We made it from Kansas City through St. Louis to Highland, IL in around six hours. The driving was arduous, the visibility was near zero. See above, that's the St. Louis Gateway Arch. I think. Vancina held strong; we decided to stop for the night and hit the road in the morning. Unfortunately it was past 10pm by the time we stopped. The only restaurant we could find open was Applebee's - it was our second journey to America's Neighborhood Grill and Bar® on our EF Tour'08. The first time was novel and fun and silly: we got Ultimate Trios and large beers. This time was different. We were exhausted and grumpy. Begrudgingly, I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with iced tea. Yum. Ideally we'd be avoiding similar eating and driving conditions the next day. 
Tuesday: No such luck. If anything, conditions were getting worse the more time we spent in the middle of this massive storm. We awoke on Tuesday morning and set out for home once again. The goal was to make it all the way to Pittsburgh and we got pretty close. In all, it took us about 11 hours to get from Highland, IL to Washington, PA. Our view for the whole day looked like the above photo: rain, big trucks, bad visibility. Upon arriving in Washington we celebrated our safety by getting Applebees for the third (yuck) time on this trip. Turns out there are very few options for dining in this country at 10:30pm on a weeknight. Can you guess what I ordered?
Wednesday: We faced (perhaps) the worst conditions of the entire trip late Tuesday night into Wednesday because two new elements were added to the mixture of rain, wind, fog, and 18 wheelers: mountains and the city. At first it was dealing with the winding up and down mountain roads in parts of Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Then it was the extra traffic and urban conditions in and around New York City. The above picture best illustrates what we saw (not much) during these harrowing hours. White knuckle driving the whole way. Thankfully we're both competent drivers. Thankfully Vancina is a warrior. Thankfully we had lots of good music, red bull, and sunflower seeds to keep our minds sharp. Luckily we made it the entire way (in about 7 hours too, great time) without an incident of any kind.It's nice to be home.
NO MORE APPLEBEE'S, NO MORE RAIN.
*the cursed table story goes like this: we went to some Tex Mex place in Austin last Friday night and sat and waited. We waited for over 20 minutes before anyone would even acknowledge us. The waitress who finally did looked, and moved, like your standard Igor. She took our order and then another waitress hobbled over to our table and proceeded to spill a tray of six full water glasses (and a pitcher, all glass) all over me and our table. Glass shattered everywhere. Our food then arrived quickly, but cold, and it took forever to get our check on the way out. Nobody ever even bothered to clean up the shattered glass all over me, my bag, and our table. It was as if we were seated in the one spot of the restaurant where nobody ever dared go. Cursed table: cause of the great Midwestern Flood of '08?
Buy American Idiot 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+:
Billy Bragg - "Joe Hill"
Van Halen - "Year to the Day"
Kraftwerk - "The Telephone Call"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Oh Comely"
George Gershwin - “Rhaphsody in Blue"
Múm - "Smell Memory"
Tool - "Lateralus"
Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks - "Real Emotional Trash"
To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.
Goes Cube @ Maggie Mae's - 15 March 2008 (SXSW Day 4, pics, video)
Goes Cube played the SESAC show @ Maggie Mae's on the final night of SXSW. They're tighter than ever and blew away at least one of us in attendance that night. I can't speak for everyone else because when I wasn't thrashing around with the music, or taking pictures, I was watching the band shred. Seeing them live for the first time in quite a while was like getting a much-needed, swift, refreshing, kick in the face. I can't say it enough, but, you must see this band live.
Check out more pics, video, tour dates, and a live MP3, after the jump.
Listen:
"Goes Cube Song 58" by Goes Cube live (from this show)
Watch:
"Goes Cube Song 58" by Goes Cube live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT
See Goes Cube live:
20 March - The Gravity Gallery w/ Freshkills, Clinton, Mississippi
21 March - Newby’s w/ Freshkills, Memphis, Tennessee
22 March - Springwater Supper Club, Nashville, Tennessee
23 March - Soundlab 84, Atlanta, Georgia
24 March - Crack Soup w/ Hammer No More The Fingers, IED, Urban Turban, Charlotte, North Carolina
25 March - Hell Bar w/ Hammer No More The Fingers, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
26 March - Nara Sushi w/ Onion, Pharmacy, and Snorklewhacker, Richmond, Virginia
27 March - Talking Head Club w/ Paul Michel, Baltimore, Maryland
28 March - Homecoming show w/ Constants, Hull, Look Mexico @ Union Pool, Brooklyn, New York
30 May - Pilam, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
31 May - Brillobox, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
See more pictures of Goes Cube (from this show and many others) HERE.
Visit Goes Cube on MySpace.
