This is a new weekly feature here on EAR FARM. Plain and simply, a new song each week for listening/download. The only rule here: that the posted song is longer than EIGHT minutes. They'll be from my music library and only available for a limited time.
First song, British Sea Power - "Lately", which clocks in at 13:59.
This song appears on British Sea Power's flawless debut album The Decline of British Sea Power and I remember first listening to it and thinking to myself "oh bliss! bliss and heaven...gorgeousness and gorgeousity!"
I think I had a dream soon after that where I was stuck inside the video for "November Rain" by Guns n' Roses (except in the dream, the church was on a seaside cliff) and I was dressed up like an old-school British infantry soldier, you know the "red coats"? Well the storm in the video got really fierce and windy, and the skies a very dark dark grey, and quickly Slash and Axl got blown off the edge of the cliff as I stood there and smiled. Then I took to the sky and floated around the gloomy coast for a while. A tall American dressed in an historic British infantry outift flying around the dark skies of an unknown seashore - happy to be rid of Guns n' Roses, if just for a little while. The whole time, the entire dream, THIS song was the soundtrack.
22 December 2005
8+
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah CONTEST #2 - WINNER announced!
So, the response to EAR FARM's second contest was even better than the first two. Lots of people sent in emails with suggestions for "lesser-known artists" and I've just started to scratch the surface of checking some of them out. IF any of them are featured on here, the person who told me about the band will get a mention too...at any rate, a winner was chosen completely at random (a drawing if you must know) and notified, so congrats to the winner!
I want my MTV
The Faint edition:
21 December 2005
Overlooked Albums from the 90's - #11
God Fodder by Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Here's an overlooked band for you. Because of their hit song "Grey Cell Green", most people probably see Ned's Atomic Dustbin as a one-hit wonder. A Flock of Seagulls of the 90's or something. I'm here to tell you that's just not the case.
Back when I used to wear silly outifts alot (serious, like these red denim shorts, Morrissey t-shirts, and Doc Martens) and thrash around at Lollapalooza shows I used to watch (and videotape) 120 minutes every sunday night to get my fix of current and good music. When I first caught the video for "Grey Cell Green" (sorry, can't find it anywhere) on MTV I was hooked. My band mates and I were playing the song a week later (my late 80's era Peavey amp really helped mimic the guitar sound Ned's has going on). Then I bought the album and, funny thing, every song was a good song! I must've listened to this album hundreds of times driving to and fro back then...
Allmusic says:
"God Fodder, their first major release, is arguably their best. Featuring college radio hits like "Kill Your Television" and "Grey Cell Green," it's a consistently satisfying blend of frenzied, melodic rock, with the occasional touch of quirkiness; the band's use of two basses (one playing "normal" basslines, the other scratching out harmonic riffs) keeps their sound light and hooky enough to put quite a distance between their oeuvre and that of the average grebo or punk band."
Now, granted, their sound is VERY 90's sounding. Not that that's a bad thing, but I'd love for someone to remaster the orignal recordings here and give the whole album a little more low end punch. That aside, what we've got here is a very fine collection of pop rock songs. Back in the staleness of the early 90's this record was a breath of fresh air...in fact I'd go so far as to say that that is EXACTLY what they sound like - 'a breath of fresh air'! Huh? I'm serious. And their music is catchy pop/punk rock, who doesn't like that? Plus, as a super bonus, one of the songs ("Selfish" - listen below) on this album opens with a quote from Die Hard. Yes, I was sold immediately back in 1991. Check out three of my favorite songs on this album below and see what I mean.
Listen:"Kill Your Television""Selfish""Until You Find Out"
Previous Overlooked Albums from the 90's:
#1 - Saturnalia by The Wedding Present
#2 - The Inevitable by Squirrel Nut Zippers
#3 - This is Our Music by Galaxie 500
#4 - Dusk by The The
#5 - Fantasma by Cornelius
#6 - New Wave by The Auteurs
#7 - I, Jonathan by Jonathan Richman
#8 - Futureworld by Trans Am
#9 - Harmacy by Sebadoh
#10 - Cure For Pain by Morphine
if you'd like...
Pitchfork's top albums of the 90's
1st version of their list
Also, it appears another blog is onto this "Overlooked of the 90's" idea:
Top 30 'Other' Albums of the '90s
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah CONTEST - LAST chance to win free tickets!
Those in the know, already know. For anyone who missed it before, there's less than 24 hours left for you to enter yourself in EAR FARM's 2nd, and final, contest to win TWO tickets to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah live on New Year's Eve. So go, go and enter. And best of luck to all.
UPDATE: The contest has ended and a winner has been notified. Thanks for reading!
OPP
You Tube has SNL's amazingly good "The Chronic of Narnia Rap"
berkeleyplace has some excellent mashups, my favorite being "DJ BC’s Crazy 80s". Stars on 45 indeed.
Clever Titles Are So Last Summer has a great post about some holiday tunes
Yeti Don't Dance links to some Editors songs and talks about how fast their upcoming show just sold out. I really messed up by thinking I could get tickets ONE hour after they went on sale.
20 December 2005
Pitchfork releases top 50 albums of '05 list
Their top 10:
10. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
9. Cam'ron - Purple Haze
8. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
7. Animal Collective - Feels
6. Deerhoof - The Runners Four
5. Antony & the Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now
4. M.I.A. - Arular
3. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll
2. Kanye West - Late Registration
1. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
To me, that was very predictable. What do you guys think??
See the whole list, 10 at a time, HERE
Today's NEW releases
Personally, I won't be buying any of these. Not that they're UNinteresting but...
You?19 December 2005
BANDS - The Syrup Room, 16 December 2005 (Print, Limbs, Bells Bells Bells, The Art of Shooting, Susu)
JezebelMusic helped put together a very cool show this past Friday night. Sadly I missed seeing Print, so I'll have to find another time to check them out...but I heard they were LOUD. Word.
On to the bands I did see.
Limbs
Limbs caught me a bit by surprise. I had checked them out online and liked their stuff (it reminded me of Pinback + Interpol, which might be surprising to the guys in the band) , but not as much as I liked it once I saw these guys live. I'm interested to catch them live again because in person they had a catchy raw rock sound - either way, listen to this song of theirs: Limbs - "Complications"
Bells Bells Bells
Bells Bells Bells was kinda the opposite for me. Hearing their music online I could tell they were drawing from influences that I love (maybe some PJ Harvey, Souixsie) but then live I wasn't that impressed. Given how many factors go into such opinionatings, I'm not letting that sway my opinion too much. Listen: Bells Bells Bells - "Natalie"
The Art of Shooting
Do I have a music crush on The Art of Shooting? So what if I do? Look, Amy and Kelly rocked that motha on Friday night and the crowd loved them. LOVED. And I realized that their drummer Oliver reminds me a bit of Stephen Morris in his playing...who was the girl on keys?
Anyway, sorry about the blur there on the pictures and yes, that's Billy from Other Passengers there front and center in the 2nd picture rocking out to The Art of Shooting. K, listen time. This song is one of the better songs I've heard this year, by anyone. I'm not kidding. EAR FARM has linked to it before, and there's more goodness like this on their EP so go GIT it: The Art of Shooting - "Lost in Boredom"
SUSU
I missed seeing SUSU the last time they played and if I can help it, I won't miss them again. This band did NOT disappoint me and the whole time I was just left thinking 'they sound so damn GOOD'. They have a CD release show coming up at Sin-e in January and I'd not be surprised to see them moving on up the ranks of the NYC scene soon after that.
In fact, I'll be going to see The Wedding Present at the Bowery Ballroom in March...SUSU should totally be the opening band! Proof? Here: SUSU - "In The Pool"
UPDATE - I forgot to mention it but if you were there on Friday night, how about you share YOUR opinions of the bands here in the comments, k?
snip·pets
Pitchfork's top 50 singles of 2005 - #1? Antony & the Johnsons - "Hope There's Someone"
Starbucks Unveiling Hear Music Coffeehouses
Rush Bringing Vintage Performances To DVD
Stylus Magazine’s Top 50 Albums of 2005 -> #50-41
Filter's "top ten favorite albums of 2005" feature thus far, done by various musicians/artists
The Knife
Watching New York Noise recently I caught a music video by a Swedish band named The Knife:
"The Knife was formed in the summer of 1999 when the sister and brother, Karin and Olof Dreijer, made some recordings together. Earlier, Karin played in a band called Honey is Cool. Olof had been working with different music projects. The cooperation worked out fine so they continued with hardware recordings of acoustic instruments mixed with midi and sampler programming. The Knife continued working sporadically until February 2001 when the album “The Knife” was released at their own label, Rabid Records.Read the rest of their bio HERE...
The debut album was received with both anger and happiness. Some were furious and didn’t understand anything of it and got quite provoked, while some thought it was what they always had been waiting for. One year later The Knife started working in the studio again."
Anyway, I liked the video and like the song even more. Totally touching on my weakness for synth-pop it sounds like a Human League kind of thing, or maybe what I was hoping Annie was going to sound like. What is that, a Prophet 5??
Listen/download:
The Knife - "Heartbeat"
Not everything is "chocolate boxes and roses". Looking for their video to this song I came across something I'd rather not have, the terrible video for "You Take My Breath Away". Yikes.
Well, we'll always have "Heartbeat". And you can also go see the band on MySpace.
Some recent goings on for The Knife:
"‘Deep Cuts’ lead single ‘Heartbeats’ has entered the nation’s conscience after being covered by fellow Swede José Gonzalez. Originally released in 2003 in Sweden on The Knife’s own indie label Rabid Records. The Knife will return with a new album ‘Silent Shout’ in March 2006, more news very soon!"
18 December 2005
New stuff on EAR FARM
If you've been reading EAR FARM for any amount of time, you may now notice a few changes.
there's a newly designed banner at the top up there...see? even more sites have been added to the links, go check them out as I find all of the sites listed under links worth reading. EAR FARM has joined the Filter Music Alliance, check out the banner low on the right side of the page from this point forward, EAR FARM will be hosting MP3s via EZArchive. this is going to mean that I'll be able to share music much more easily and directly - enjoy!
17 December 2005
Weekend Live Music
Explosions in the Sky live @ the Bowery Ballroom, NYC, 12 December 2005
1. "First Breath After Coma"
2. "New Song"
3. "Six Days At The Bottom Of The Ocean"
4. "Have You Passed Through The Night?"
5. "Memorial"
6. "The Moon Is Down"
(sorry guys, had to remove the show to make room on the server)
***since that's only 6 songs, here's a little bonus for you - an entire Wilco show from Montreal, June 28, 2005. may take some time to download but it's great, so go get it. thanks go out to The Perm & The Skullet for pointing us in the direction of this one***
16 December 2005
Alexandra Scott
Alexandra Scott found EAR FARM on MySpace a few days ago and I was immediately hooked on her music. For that very reason I wanted to try and give it a little time so I wasn't just posting a knee jerk reaction but you know what? Sometimes right when you hear something new you tell yourself "I like this...I'm really going to like this", and sometimes it's the truth.
Alexandra's songs are an interesting and inventive, literate mix of acoustic and electronic sounds. I can hear a ton of different influences in her music...some Suzanne Vega in "Good Girl" (partial song), Exile in Guyville era Liz Phair in "I Want A Boy" (partial song), as well as some Emmylou Harris and early Beck throughout (and many more actually). And you know what else? I can hear the South in her songs, I like that.
Now, I can almost guarantee that many many more people will be listening to her stuff sometime in the near future. Sure it's not a race, but if you want to WIN and start listening to her before those people...follow these instructions:
#1 - go visit Alexandra Scott on MySpace and check out her music (my favorites on there are "Please Don't Wake Me" and "Good Goddamn")
then
#2 - go visit her official site and hear a bunch of samples of her other songs (my favorites here are the already mentioned "Good Girl", "I Want A Boy" and then also "All I Ever Do Is Let You Go")
then
#3 - by this time you'll want to buy some of her music (I already did, yesterday)
then
#4 - if you're lucky enough to live in one of these places, you can go see her live!
Alexandra Scott live dates:
29 December 2005 - Gravity Lounge, Charlottesville, VA
17 January 2006 - Pete's Candy Store, Brooklyn, NY
14 February 2006 - Pianos, New York, NY
I want my MTV
Revolver Film Company edition:
- Rush - "Closer to the Heart"
- ...and They Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead - "Another Morning Stoner"
- Broken Social Scene - "Pitter Patter Goes My Heart"
- Unicorns - "Jellybones"
- Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - "She Said"
- Interpol - "Obstacle 1"
- The Cure - "End of the World"
- Graham Coxon - "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery"
- Futureheads - "Decent Days & Nights"
Want even MORE videos? search "I want my MTV" on this site for past music video related EAR FARM postings.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah CONTEST #2!!! (MORE free tickets!)
EAR FARM has two more tickets to give away, here's the deal:
You can win TWO tickets to the sold out Clap Your Hands Say Yeah New Year's Eve show at Irving Plaza. To enter, email earfarm@hotmail.com (subject CONTEST) and tell me ONE 'less well-known' band or artist on MySpace (or anywhere else) EAR FARM should check out.
The contest will end Thursday Dec 22nd, 2005 @ NOON EST. A winner will be chosen at RANDOM from everyone who sends in an email and someone will get a very nice FREE Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Festivus present. EAR FARM will NOT share your email address with anyone and you will not be put on a mailing list.
These are the last two tickets I've got for this show but don't you worry - there'll be more giveaways in the future!
By the way, everyone who entered the previous CYHSY ticket contest is welcome to try again on this one...and if you don't have any bands to recommend, I suppose that's okay too...just send an email anyway and you'll be entered in the contest!
UPDATE: The contest has ended and a winner has been notified. Thanks for reading!
15 December 2005
BANDS. The Syrup Room. 1oo Ingraham Street - Friday, 16 December, 2005
You guys all know by now that EAR FARM endorses The Art of Shooting (EF'd here and here) and SUSU (EF'd here)...WELL, let me tell you that they're BOTH playing tomorrow night, at the same venue!!!
LOOK
Seriously, that is some good news. Well, assuming there's no strike it's GREAT news!
As a bonus these other bands will be playing tomorrow night too, and I've checked them all out a bit [hyperbole alert] and THEY ALL sound really amazing - maybe the greatest collection of bands in one night EVER!!!
Okay for real, all of these bands make good music, at the very least I'll betcha it will in fact beat whatever else you may have going on tomorrow night for $6 entertainment.
The lineup (times are from JezebelMusic)
9:00: Print
9:30: Limbs
10:00: Bells Bells Bells
10:45: The Art of Shooting
11:30: SUSU
Cheyenne
The Flaming Lips told me (via MySpace) that I should go checkout Cheyenne when they play tonight at Lakeside Lounge. I love that bar.
Even though I can't go (work X-mas parties - boo!) I checked them out. Good thing 'cos their tunes I've heard so far ARE good things. I'm just scratching the surface of checking them out here, so bear with me, but there's a Silver Jews + Grandaddy thing going in their music. And, have they been on The OC yet? They will be, unless they're too close to "country"-sounding for that show...lookit me, like I've ever even seen one episode. Anyway, listen time.
MP3s:
"You Were The Sound"
"Houses"
And you should also go to these places to listen to them:
Cheyenne on MySpace
HERE you can stream their whole album
Remember - they're playing in NYC tonight at Lakeside Lounge.
2005 Unsilent Night (the Christmas Piece)
Juno sends the following:
Every year since 1992 I've presented Unsilent Night, an outdoor ambient music piece for an INFINITE number of boom box tape players. It's like a Christmas carolling party except that we don't sing, but rather carry boom boxes, each playing a separate tape which is part of the piece. In effect, we become a city block long stereo system!Read more about it here
In 2005 the New York event will happen on Sunday December 18th. We will meet at the Arch in Washington Square at 6:45 pm, begin at 7 pm and proceed eastward to Tompkins Square Park, where the piece will end around 8 o'clock.
a Stereogum contest
Spreading the word here because the more people who participate in this contest, the more interesting the results will be AND well, the prize is a good one.
Who knows if it was the cancelation of the NHL season, the new Pope, or the mere existence of Arcade Fire, but 2005 was the year indie rock got bigger than ever. There were so many great albums, and at least a couple of instant classics, so we decided to open up Stereogum's end-of-year list to everyone. The three of us can't agree on a top 100, much less a top 20.Sorry, I'm not linking directly to where you vote. To vote you'll have to go to Stereogum yourself.
The deal: CLICK HERE to vote on Stereogum's 2005 Readers Poll and we'll randomly select a winner to receive the TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2005 as determined by your submissions. That way at least one of you won't feel guilty about downloading most of them.
Now, in the comments I will leave my answers to this poll, as will you.
14 December 2005
Overlooked Albums from the 90's - #10
Cure for Pain by Morphine
I've gone back and forth about which Morphine album to pick here and actually whether or not Morphine's albums have really been overlooked. I mean, to me, they're one of the best bands of the 90's: they had amazing live shows, two classic albums, and a sound that was COMPLETELY their own. In a decade full of sound-a-likes that's not something you can say about a whole lotta bands. Well, after talking to some people whose musical opinion I value, and searching for ANYthing slightly Morphine related online with disappointing results, I've reasoned that the band is indeed under-rated and I've decided on Cure for Pain as the album to talk about here as being criminally overlooked.
In 1993 I used to hit up my local CD Superstore all the time. You could go there and have them open ANY disc in the store so you could sit down at one of their stations and listen to it, to see if you wanted it. What a concept! I used to just browse and pick random bands and check out their CDs, like 10 at a time sometimes. I found Stereolab this way in 1992 and, in 1993, I picked up Morphine's Cure for Pain because I thought their band name was 'cool'. As soon as I got to track two...as soon as the trademark slide bass came in on "Buena", I was hooked. Didn't even listen to the rest of the album - just stopped it after track two and bought it, and never looked back. I saw the band live four times and was blown away each time, bought everything they put out, and was slightly devastated to hear of the tragic death of bassist/lead singer Mark Sandman in 1999. People know 'of' this band, and probably this album because of the aforementioned "Buena", but Morphine never got the very large fan base their PERFECT sound deserves.
I could just as easily have picked their third album here, the near perfect Yes, but upon listening to them both again last night I decided on the album that first made me love this band.
TrouserPress says:
"Cure for Pain refines the sound and Sandman's terse, hard-boiled lyricism: "Thursday" could have been taken straight out of a Jim Thompson novel, a tawdry met- her-at-the-poolhall scenario in which violence lurks in the not-too-distant future. "A Head With Wings" and "Buena" both rock more ferociously than anything on Good."
Read what AllMusic had to say about Cure for Pain.
Read what Rolling Stone had to say about Cure for Pain
Listen to my three favorite songs on this album (these will take a while to download):"I'm Free Now""Thursday""Cure for Pain"
Previous Overlooked Albums from the 90's:
#1 - Saturnalia by The Wedding Present
#2 - The Inevitable by Squirrel Nut Zippers
#3 - This is Our Music by Galaxie 500
#4 - Dusk by The The
#5 - Fantasma by Cornelius
#6 - New Wave by The Auteurs
#7 - I, Jonathan by Jonathan Richman
#8 - Futureworld by Trans Am
#9 - Harmacy by Sebadoh
if you'd like...
Pitchfork's top albums of the 90's
1st version of their list
Also, it appears another blog is onto this "Overlooked of the 90's" idea:
Top 30 'Other' Albums of the '90s
I want my MTV
HSI Productions edition:
Sigur Ros - "Glosoli"
Kanye West - "Jesus Walks"
Outkast - "Miss Jackson"
The Hives - "Two Timing Touch and Broken Bones"
all videos from HERE
Want even MORE videos? search "I want my MTV" on this site for past music video related EAR FARM postings.
U2 top tour of the year
From HERE:
"U2's Vertigo tour was the top-grossing trek of 2005, according to year-end figures from Billboard Boxscore that will be published in the Dec. 24 issue of magazine, which hits newsstands Friday (Dec. 16). Vertigo reported grosses of $260 million and drew more than 3 million people to 90 concerts, all of which were sell-outs."
EAR FARM likes to make things easy to read, here's a list culled from that article so you don't have to read paragraphs and things.
Top concerts of 2005
1. U2, grossed $260 million
2. Eagles, grossed $117 million
3. Neil Diamond, grossed $71 million
4. Kenny Chesney, grossed $63 million
5. Paul McCartney, grossed $60 million
6. Rod Stewart, grossed $49 million
7. Elton John, grossed $45.5 million touring (plus another $30 million via his Las Vegas show)
8. Dave Matthews Band, grossed $45 million
9. Jimmy Buffett, grossed $41 million
10. Green Day, grossed $36.5 million
Funny but I've seen a bunch of shows this year and the only one off that list I saw live this year was Paul McCartney. Anyone else see any of those acts? Wonder how much they'd all be raking in if their ticket prices were actually reasonable...
13 December 2005
Explosions in the Sky & Wilderness @ Bowery Ballroom - 12 December 2005
That's Wilderness
That's Explosions in the Sky
I was going to go see Explosions in the Sky and Wilderness last night because (well frankly because I'm a fan of Public Image Limited and Wilderness reminds me a bit of them...but more on that later, tomorrow maybe) I like Wilderness and enjoyed seeing them previously at Mercury Lounge. Alas, it was not to be so I held a private "contest" and gave the tickets to two friends of mine. Yes, a stipulation was that at least one of them must give us EAR FARM types a report on what they thought of the show. Nothing in this life is free I tell you. Enough out of me...without any edits on my part, I'm now turning it over to Mike:
"I feel as though I'm in an awkward position here. I'm aware of earfarm's official stance on the Wilderness (you like them), and yet I can't deny that loud voice in the back of my head that unfortunately wasn't loud enough to block out singer James Johnson's awful Rollins-lite barking during the show.
I'm a bit out of the loop with this band, granted. I only heard their album for the first time a few weeks ago. It was on in the background, I was focusing on backgammon, I enjoyed it, makes sense. They deserve to be background music, I'm telling you there's absolutely nothing compelling about this band. The guitar player is quite good but when every song is a midtempo drone that lazily lilts between two root notes in order to pad Johnson's "range", you're in for a snoozefest.
It's mostly Johnson that bothers me. Jesse thought he was tripping on acid with all of his weird David Byrne-like 'once in a lifetime' gestures. With his glasses on, he looked like David Cross doing the robot dance; with glasses off, he looked like Rob Corddry in a mime routine. What's this have to do with their music? exactly.
Yeah, so there you have it. My honest opinion. Sure most won't agree but this is just one hump's opinion who got free a ticket.
Explosions In The Sky were pretty wonderful though. Another band I've never properly heard. They are fantastically tight, incredible arrangements, my favorite blend of dissonance, melody, and swelling dynamics and rhythms. I'm sure they've heard this a few thousand times since first plugging in down in Austing but here it goes: "guys, get a singer and you'll be one of the best bands in the world." I'm sure I'm vulgarizing their aesthetic by suggesting that, but after an hour of pure instrumental goodness, no matter how sweet the sounds are I need vocals, maybe just a personal thing. If it means they run out and get James Johnson I take it back.
So, do what you want with this review, if its too long or mean or what have you feel free to edit. pictures attached. they're kind of blurry. sorry, blame sierra nevada seasonal. thanks again for the tickets dude."
No editing desired. EAR FARM actually really likes a variety of opinions and welcomes such things, granted that review WAS long and blurry, I mean it was 'mean'...aw heck, anyone else go to the show and agree or disagree? Speak.
Half of The Smiths reunite for Manchester v. Cancer
From the official Manchester v. Cancer site:
"Manchester v Cancer is the idea of ex-Smith, Andy Rourke, following news that his manager’s sister and father had been diagnosed with cancer. Andy and his new company, Great Northern Productions Ltd decided to group together to raise £1million to fund cancer research at Manchester’s Christie Hospital, Europe’s largest cancer treatment and research centre.
Picking up the phone to friends, Andy quickly found that most people’s lives had been touched by cancer in some way and everyone wanted to help. And more famous faces and bands are set to confirm over the coming weeks."
Well, it was recently just announced that Johnny Marr has agreed to join the lineup for this show - what's that? The two guitar players from The Smiths* together on stage again!? Wonder what they'll play...? Wonder what the chances are that another ex-Smith joins them? We shall see.
Other excellent artists like New Order and Badly Drawn Boy (and a few more even) are also set to play.
(of course you can read more about this and talk to others about it over at Morrissey-Solo)
*also, if you hadn't noticed...there's no 'official' site for The Smiths so I try to give you some different, but good, links whenever they happen to come up.
Today's NEW releases
Funny how as Christmas nears the new releases start really stinking. Nothing out today that I'll be buying but I wouldn't be mad if I found myself listening to these:
Anything I'm missing that's worth a darn?12 December 2005
Tralala
I first saw Tralala not too long ago (September 2004) at Rothko when I was there to see no band in particular. They were called "Tight Fit" then, if memory serves me correctly. I must say I wasn't blown away, but there were elements of their sound that struck me as something I wasn't really hearing anywhere else. A new band that wasn't building on a foundation solely made of post-punk/indie rock?! Really though, what current NYC band reminds you of songs like "Leader of the Pack" by the Shangri-Las and "I Will Follow Him" by Little Peggy March? Seems to me these guys picked up Beauty and the Beast by the Go Go's and decided that the best songs from that album were the ones when The Go Go's let go of pop and let punk/rock drive the vocals. That perfect spot somewhere between glam and trash.
Long story short, Tralala has come a long way in a short time. They recently opened up for Broadcast and played shows on the west coast with Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. They have an album you can buy on Amazon or on iTunes, they just recently released a Christmas themed EP Fa La La La La with Tralala out now on Audika, and they're playing this Saturday, the 17th, at Mercury Lounge. See? It's not too late for you to get in on the fun.
Listen:
"Motorcycle Man"
Tralala's recent appearance on WMFU's Cherry Blossom Clinic (here they play a bunch of their songs including all of their X-mas songs)
Man in Gray
I could go on with my own version of why you should check out Brooklyn's Man in Gray. How, if you like Sonic Youth and/or Sleater-Kinney, you might want to listen to these songs of theirs. But I prefer the description from their MySpace page:
"One pretty guitar with a fair share of wah, one ugly guitar with more than a smattering of skronk, one punk pedigree bass and one jackhammer drummer. Screaming and whispers from Tina, born a star. Songs about shock, awe and why Feb 14th is dumb. A little dancey, a little trashy, yet somehow always classy."
Wicked. Let's listen, shall we?
"Brakelights"
"Incommunicado"
You can buy their music HERE or HERE.
UPDATE (13 December) - just got a note from the band that they have a fresh, NEW WEBSITE and some demos from the new album you can listen to by going HERE and scrolling all the way down. is it me or do these guys REALLY need to play a daytime set at next year's Siren Festival?
10 December 2005
Weekend Live Music
Sonic Youth Live @ Roskilde Festival, Denmark, 26 June 1998
(photo, from another show, from here)
1. "Anagrama"
2. "Sunday"
3. "Female Mechanic Now On Duty"
4. "Karen Koltrane"
5. "French Tickler"
6. "Wildflower Soul"
7. "Hoarfrost"
8. "Ineffable Me"
9. "Heather Angel"
10. "Death Valley '69"
Sonic Youth Live @ Roskilde Festival, Denmark, 1 July 1993 (incomplete show?)
1. "Candle"
2. "Self-obsessed and Sexxee"
3. "Stereo Sanctity"
4. "Starfield Road"
5. "Drunken Butterfly"
6. "Theresa's Sound World"
7. "Total Trash"
All were found HERE. There's much more to be had there if you're interested.
(sorry guys, had to remove the show to make room on the server)
Past EAR FARM Weekend Live Music has included live songs/sets by Sublime, Spoon, Ween, The Unicorns, My Bloody Valentine, New Order, Sufjan Stevens, and Neutral Milk Hotel.
09 December 2005
Depeche Mode @ MSG - 8 December 2005
Okay, so I didn't pony up the $$ to go see them two nights in a row BUT there's a post about last night's show that you Depeche Mode fans out there HAVE to see.
In my post about the Wed show nghia commented "awesome song list. don't have tix yet gonna go out there tonite and scalp them. did they check bags for cameras, i wanna take pics if i get in." Well, lucky for all of us nghia got tickets AND brought a camera. The picture you see here is a result of that but you REALLY need to go see this post on Crackers United for more great pics and a VIDEO of "Everything Counts". Go now.
Wired's "Audiophiles Unite!" special report
From A Music File by Any Other Name:
"Finding music on the internet is getting easier by the week as legit and less-than-legit file-trading services show up by the dozens. Given all of the options, the number and variety of file formats can be ultimately confusing for the uninitiated.
Today we'll study the most popular audio formats and the players that support them. We'll look strictly at audio-file formats that utilize lossy compression, because the small file size and ultimate portability of compressed audio files has afforded them huge popularity, not to mention near ubiquity, on the web. We'll also be looking exclusively at downloadable, and not streaming, file types."
The author then continues to explore audio compression and digital audio file types. Worth a read if this stuff has confused you in the past.
From Audiophiles Unite! Draws Feedback:
"We are no longer limited to a CD's delivery format of 700 MB (that's only a 10-minute download now), so why is my music still being ripped by Apple Computer, Napster and Musicmatch from a CD in the first place? The music on a CD is compressed to begin with! I want what comes from the studio, whatever the file size, before it's ripped, before the highs and lows are taken out, and definitely before it's compressed. That's future-proof, that's what the internet allows and, most importantly, it will finally shut up the vinyl people. -- Adam Emery"
Amen to THAT! There are a few more responses from audio nerds that are worth reading at that link above which is just a response to a series of articles you can read here ("Old Rips: May They Rest in Peace"), here ("When Hi-Fi Meets the IPod"), and the article mentioned previously here ("A Music File by Any Other Name"). Any audio-dork/music nerd/audiophile/wanna-be should read those articles, if you haven't already.
US of ATP
"The lineup has begun to take shape for next spring's United States of ATP (All Tomorrow's Parties) festival, which will be held May 12-14 and May 19-21, 2006, at the U.K.-bred fest's longtime home at Camber Sands in East Sussex, England.
As previously reported, a different band will curate each day, with the Shins, Mudhoney, Sleater-Kinney, Devendra Banhart and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs all committed. Dinosaur Jr. is stepping in for Ween, who has pulled out of the festival for undisclosed "personal reasons."
Read more
US of ATP official site
08 December 2005
Strawberry Fields, NYC remembers John Lennon
I went up to Strawberry Fields here in Central Park today to kind of pay my respects to John Lennon, his music and what he stood for, and to just see the scene in person. There were a TON of people out: some quietly paying respect, a large group formed around a band that played Lennon songs, and even the obligatory 'blame the CIA' guy. There were also people getting pictures of themselves taken on the street in front of the Dakota where John was shot. There is a candlelight vigil at Strawberry Fields in the park tonight at 10:50pm.
In memory of John Lennon
John Lennon (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980) was one of the greatest artists in history. His legacy as a songwriter is unmatched and yet his impact on humankind has had a much greater reach than just his music. Twenty five years ago today he was murdered. It's impossible for me to do justice to all of the good he brought to the world.
Read about John on Wikipedia
ABC News - John Lennon Remembered 25 Years Later
SF Chronicle - John Lennon's strange sort of immortality, now 25 years long
BBC News website marks the 25th anniversary of his death
And many, many more
Radio Clips:
Fluxblog today posted "recordings scanning the airwaves of NYC (listen) and LA (listen) on the night John Lennon was murdered twenty-five years ago today"
Having trouble giving direct links to music videos, so go HERE on Lennon's official site to watch a bunch of great videos.
Soon to be posted: Pics from Strawberry Fields here in NYC
Recommended purchases:
Lennon Legend - The Very Best of John Lennon DVD
John Lennon - Anthology [BOX SET]
Depeche Mode @ MSG - 7 December 2005
Depeche Mode played Madison Square Garden last night and I'm so so glad I got tickets. It was one of the best large arena shows I've ever seen. This was like a classic Depeche Mode show from way back, the entire audience was really into every song and waving their arms along with Dave - the audience singing along to "Everything Counts"...oh man. But the band, the band sounded fantastic.
I didn't bother with pictures but I'll find some in a bit, there were a TON of cameras there. By the way, they're playing at MSG again tonight and there are very good seats still available on Ticketmaster.
Oh, and the setlist:
Intro
A Pain That I'm Used To
John The Revelator
A Question Of Time
Policy Of Truth
Precious
Walking In My Shoes
Suffer Well
Damaged People
Home
I Want It All
The Sinner In Me
I Feel You
Behind The Wheel
World In My Eyes
Personal Jesus
Enjoy The Silence
(encore)
Somebody
Just Can't Get Enough
Everything Counts
(encore #2)
Never Let Me Down Again
Goodnight Lovers
If You're Feeling Sinister (Live)
It's finally available!
Belle & Sebastian's live performance of their amazing second album If You're Feeling Sinister...performed during the 'Don't Look Back' series of concerts...is now available to download on iTunes HERE.
It sounds GREAT.
NME mentions it here
OPP
The Perm & the Skullet on the amazing Christmas song by The Pogues - "Fairytale of New York"
Brooklyn Vegan on Indie & Mainstream Holiday Music & Events
My Old Kentucky Blog points to where you can hear Grandaddy's new EP streamed
Stereogum - Ben Folds and Bill Clinton
07 December 2005
Overlooked Albums from the 90's - #9
Harmacy by Sebadoh
I could pick any Sebadoh album and be pleased with the fact that I'd be suggesting something great that not enough people know about. Bubble and Scrape and Bakesale have some truly perfect moments on them and III is perhaps just as essential to 90's indie rock as Slanted and Enchanted. The thing about Harmacy, though, is that this record flew right in the face of Sebadoh's trusted low-fi sound and delivered a perfect studio sound, something most fans of the band didn't really like a whole lot. Screw that I say.
I first bought the album on the day it came out in 1996 (August 20th) and it went into heavy rotation at my house. Soon after, my hometown was struck by a hurricane and we were left without power for TWO weeks. During that time it was just me, a boombox, and Sebadoh's Harmacy (okay, there were other things but this isn't about them). I listened and listened and when I was finally able to venture out of the house to go to the local Kmart I was amazed to see that the hurricane had knocked the "P" off of the front of the store. Harmacy was indeed everywhere.
Harmacy was Lou Barlow's first release after the surprise smash-hit success of "Natural One", off of the soundtrack to the film Kids. Clearly the taste of commercial success had an impact on Barlow, and this record, as it's Sebadoh's most "accessible" but don't let that turn you away from it. In my opinion there's no good reason why Harmacy didn't help Sebadoh find a spot somewhere between REM and Nirvana among the elite bands of the 90's.
Read what AllMusic had to say about Harmacy.
Read what Pitchfork had to say about Harmacy.
Listen:"Willing to Wait"
Previous Overlooked Albums from the 90's:
#1 - Saturnalia by The Wedding Present
#2 - The Inevitable by Squirrel Nut Zippers
#3 - This is Our Music by Galaxie 500
#4 - Dusk by The The
#5 - Fantasma by Cornelius
#6 - New Wave by The Auteurs
#7 - I, Jonathan by Jonathan Richman
#8 - Futureworld by Trans Am
if you'd like...
Pitchfork's top albums of the 90's
1st version of their list
Also, it appears another blog is onto this "Overlooked of the 90's" idea:
Top 30 'Other' Albums of the '90s
Islands @ Knitting Factory NY - 6 December 2005
Islands played the Knitting Factory last night and it was a really great show. I went with three other people and have asked them to send their opinions about the show to me so you, the EAR FARM reader, might have a bit of variety. Two have done so already and you can find them below. The final person's comments will be added later. Mine are tagged as EF. Sorry about the crap picture, all of my attention was focused on the show.
M: " I felt the whole show as though Diamonds had been listening to Paul Simon's Graceland for the past 10 months and decided he wanted a band that could rip a mean cover of 'Diamonds on the soles of her shoes.' Sure enough, first encore they rip into a great cover of 'Graceland' and you could just see the bassplayer Patrice with a shit-eating grin, absolutely loving it. From the first song in, I couldn't stop thinking this was one of the most surprising and great concerts I've been to in a loooong time. Also, I couldn't get over that Patrice and one of violinists bore striking resemblences to Lamar and Tashi from Revenge of the Nerds."
K: "Islands were a real joy. One of the more entertaining bands I've seen in a while. Great music from people who really enjoy playing, I would see them again in a heartbeat."
EF: "I just stood in awe and enjoyed. I used to ask myself, 'What fantastic place did all the greatness that was Unicorns come from?' Well that question has been answered. I already can't wait to see them again, though they can keep that Paul Simon cover to themselves next time. Also, VERY pleasantly surprised by the second encore being just Nick and Jaime coming out to play 'Abominable Snow'. Shit yeah."
(UPDATE)
J: "I was initially weary when Nick and Jaime walked out with 5 others – I typically don’t like unnecessary clutter on the stage (was that a bass sax played for almost the entire show?). However, I was completely sold after the first song. Nick’s songwriting is top notch, and has only improved since the Unicorns days. It was a surprisingly fantastic show, and Nick and Jaime playing Abominable Snow to close it out it sent me home smiling from ear to earfarm."
Go listen to the Islands song "Rough Gem" on PopMontreal's Podcast HERE.
(If you were at the show, it's the song they had people clapping along to. Mmm Hmm.)
UPDATE - Go listen to "Abominable Snow" (thanks for the link J!)
UPDATE - Go HERE for a good closeup pic and to see another person's thoughts on the show. Or go HERE and scroll down a bit to see someone who left "thinking that i am indeed leaving a fifth-grade classroom. the music wasn't even good."
UPDATE - ANOTHER person tells you how great this show was. Frankly I can't believe even more people aren't talking about this band.
UPDATE - Miss_Claire posted a bunch of great pictures from the show as well as the setlist (thanks!!):
Evil
Humans
Ruff Gem
Tsuxit
Don't call me whitney bobby
Jogging gorgeous summer
? (I think it says "come" and then there are two illegible words)
Volcanoes
Where there's a will there's a whalebone
If
Swans
(encore 1)
Graceland
(encore 2)
Abominable snow
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah CONTEST - winner announced!
So, the response to EAR FARM's first contest was pretty darn great. Lots of people sent in emails with suggestions for "Overlooked Albums from the 90's" - some were ones I know to be excellent records, some I don't know at all, and others are perhaps overlooked for a reason. At any rate, a winner was chosen completely at random and notified, so congrats to the winner! If you did NOT win please check back as there are still TWO more tickets to this show that EAR FARM will be giving away in the coming weeks.
Also, I'll be checking out the suggested albums that everyone submitted and if the one you recommended ends up being featured on this site, you'll be sure to get some kind of goodies courtesy of EAR FARM.
Freezepop
Freezepop is clearly no 'secret' as they have had 63,334 profile views on their MySpace page but hey, it's the first I've heard of them. I ran across them searching MySpace for bands sounding like The Human League and Erasure and that's exactly what these guys are. Remember, I have a soft spot for synth pop...if you do too, check them out now:
"Here Comes A Special Boy"
"Science Genius Girl" (remix version live on WMBR)
A music video:
"Stakeout"
You can also find Freezepop on iTunes.
06 December 2005
In memory of Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) had the greatest voice EVER. This is the opinion of EAR FARM yet it is also surely FACT. Elvis Presley called Orbison "the greatest singer in the world" (from onstage in Las Vegas in 1976), and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees referred to him as the "Voice of God."
On this day in 1988 he suffered a heart attack and died just before midnight at the age of 52.
Here are EAR FARM's three favorite Roy Orbison songs (found here):
"Blue Bayou"
"Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)"
"Mean Woman Blues"
Recommended purchases:
Roy Orbison - A Black & White Night DVD
Roy Orbison - For The Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits
I want my MTV
The letter 'D' edition:
Depeche Mode - "But Not Tonight" (previously mentioned as my favorite DM song)
Devendra Banhart - "Little Yellow Spiders" (RealVideo format)
Dirty on Purpose - "Mind Blindness"
This bonus one is just cool:
DJ Shadow performed by The Minnetonka High School Percussion Ensemble
Want even MORE videos? search "I want my MTV" on this site for past music video related EAR FARM postings.
Brakes to support Belle & Sebastian!
Brakes news from their email newsletter!
"Probably the best Brakes news since the last mailiout is that Brakes will be heading out on tour for their highest profile support slot to date with Belle & Sebastian.
The dates are as follows:
January 26th BIRMINGHAM, Academy
January 27th LIVERPOOL, Academy
January 28th NEWCASTLE, Academy
January 29th MANCHESTER, Ritz
January 30th MANCHESTER, Ritz
February 1st BRISTOL, Colston Hall
February 2nd CAMBRIDGE, Corn Exchange
February 3rd BRIGHTON, Dome
February 5th DUBLIN, Ambassador
February 6th DUBLIN, Ambassador
February 7th BELFAST, Ulster Hall
February 9th SHEFFIELD, Octagon
February 10th LONDON, Hammersmith Apollo
Some of these dates have already sold out but there are still tickets available for the other shows at www.seetickets.com."
Depeche Mode @ MSG CONTEST - WINNER!!!
The contest has ended as Lynn correctly guessed my favorite Depeche Mode song to be "But Not Tonight" from Black Celebration. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Today's NEW releases
I find three of these new releases interesting, one - essential:
You?04 December 2005
Depeche Mode @ MSG CONTEST!!! (free tickets!)
EAR FARM has two tickets to give away, here's the deal:
You can win TWO tickets to the sold out Depeche Mode show at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday Dec 7th. To enter, email earfarm@hotmail.com and guess what my favorite Depeche Mode song is (hint - it's on an album released in the 80's). Put your song guess in the SUBJECT of the email - FIRST person to guess correctly wins these tickets and if nobody can guess it, a winner will be chosen at RANDOM.
The contest will end Tuesday Dec 6th, 2005 @ 7pm EST. The winner will be notified and sent the tickets via email (they are the ticketfast tickets you print yourself). EAR FARM will NOT share your email address with anyone and you will not be put on a mailing list.
The seats are section 233 row B on the aisle.
UPDATE - The contest has ended. Lynn correctly guessed my favorite Depeche Mode song to be "But Not Tonight" from Black Celebration. Thanks to everyone who participated.
03 December 2005
Weekend Live Music
Neutral Milk Hotel Live @ Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco - 12 April 1998
(photo from here)
1. "Sailing Through - Two-Headed Boy pt 2"
2. "Holland 1945"
3. "Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone"
4. "A Baby for Pree - Ferris Wheel on Fire"
5. "Worms - King of Carrot Flowers pts. 2 & 3"
6. "Song Against Sex"
7. "Rubby Bulbs - Snow Song pt. 1"
8. "Naomi"
9. "I Will Bury You in Time"
10. "Ghost - Untitled"
11. "Oh Comely"
12. "King of Carrot Flowers pt 1"
13. "Two-Headed Boy"
All were found HERE. There's much more to be had there (including some live QTs) if you're interested.
(sorry guys, had to remove the show to make room on the server)
Past EAR FARM Weekend Live Music has included live songs/sets by Sublime, Spoon, Ween, The Unicorns, My Bloody Valentine, New Order, and Sufjan Stevens.
02 December 2005
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah CONTEST!!! (free tickets!)
EAR FARM has two tickets to give away, here's the deal:
You can win TWO tickets to the sold out Clap Your Hands Say Yeah New Year's Eve show at Irving Plaza. To enter, email earfarm@hotmail.com (subject CONTEST) and tell me one album from the 90's that doesn't get enough attention, hey maybe it'll inspire me to feature it in EAR FARM's Overlooked of the 90's feature.
The contest will end Wednesday Dec 7th, 2005 @ NOON EST. A winner will be picked at random and notified. EAR FARM will NOT share your email address with anyone and you will not be put on a mailing list.
If you don't win this pair of tickets fear NOT. Two more tickets to this very same CYHSY show will be given away in another contest in a few weeks, so check back for details.
UPDATE: The contest has ended and a winner has been notified. If you entered and did not win please check back in the coming weeks as EAR FARM still has TWO more tickets to give away to this show. Thanks for reading!
01 December 2005
Other Passengers @ Mercury Lounge - 30 November 2005
As I just said in the post about Mobius Band, I went to Mercury Lounge last night to see Other Passengers. How were they? Excellent as always. Other Passengers has a massive sound and puts on one heck of a live show. All of the band members play like they're totally in love with the music they make (for good reason) which is notable only because this is strangely a rarity for most non "jam" bands. It was the last show for Other Passenger Travis and they sent him off in style playing all of the songs off of their forthcoming LP. If you think you'd like a band that sounds a bit like Bauhaus plus My Bloody Valentine then yes, you're sorry you missed it.
Listen - "In the Belly"
Other Passengers on MySpace
Mobius Band @ Mercury Lounge - 30 November 2005
Last night I went to Mercury Lounge to see Other Passengers and got a pleasant surprise in the band that played before them. The band was Mobius Band and their electro pop rock quickly turned me into a fan. They spent some time on the road with Tom Vek so it seems like I should already have known about this band. Feel free to go and check them out:
Listen - "The Loving Sounds of Static"
Mobius Band on MySpace
Pandora
This was sent to EAR FARM by Jonathan - you can thank him. He said:
"I have a link that will revolutionize your entire life at work. Put in the name of a band you like, and it makes you a custom radio station based on that style. It's pretty darned accurate most of the time."
Oh OH? What IS it??
It's Pandora created by the Music Genome Project.
Ever since we started the Music Genome Project, our friends would ask:Fascinating I say. So I tried it out. I entered "Rusholme Ruffians" (a track off of one of my top five albums of all time Meat is Murder) and here's the songs it started playing for me:
Can you help me discover more music that I'll like?
Those questions often evolved into great conversations. Each friend told us their favorite artists and songs, explored the music we suggested, gave us feedback, and we in turn made new suggestions. Everybody started joking that we were now their personal DJs. We created Pandora so that we can have that same kind of conversation with you.
1. "Unlovable" by The Smiths - um, that's an easy fit. almost cheating.
2. "Vampire" by Sebadoh - wow, I already loved this song. is this thing working? don't go giving away next week's "Overlooked Album" there Pandora.
3. "Destinymanifesto" by Logh - who? don't know this band but liked the song...must research.
4. "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" by The Smiths - okay, Pandora you got me. I do love this band.
5. "Daughter" by Pearl Jam - yikes. is anyone watching? because I secretly am really enjoying "Daughter" by Pearl Jam right about now.
6. "Of Montreal" by The Stills - always been so-so on this band but this song is nice.
Then it stopped the music and asked me to sign up for a free account. I think I might. It was totally like having a good radio station almost catered directly to my tastes (almost I said, and no I don't like Pearl Jam)...now I am seeing why it's called Pandora!
