Beastie Boys - The Mix Up

I'm a huge fan of the Beastie Boys. I have been ever since I ended up with a tape of License to Ill in my car one summer while in high school. I'm not sure where it came from, probably accquired while picking up Mr. Jackson in Baraboo or stolen from Kevin on one of his visits home from Minneapolis. None the less, that tape made many trips from Madison to Mauston and back worth the ride. Like many suburban white kids, it was my introduction to Hip-Hop. The B-Boys showed me that Hip-Hop could be fun and accessable to everyone.

Anyway, like most people, I'm surprised that the Beastie Boys have held on to their career for this long. I was sure that the six-year hiatious between Hello Nasty and To The 5 Boroughs would've killed any chance of another record. To The 5 Boroughs is not their best work, but it's got some good cuts. It cannot be denied that the Boys are old and don't have the spark that they used to. That's exactly why I'm so please that this new album is something completely different. Like the compilation, In Sounds from the Way Out, The Mix Up is an instrumental album. Deep funk grooves and tight drum breaks make this a fantastic album to just put on and drive around town on a hot summer day. If you like the instrumental tracks from Check Your Head and Ill Communication, then you'll like this.

Enjoy.

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

You can tell the Arctic Monkeys are British because they spell "favourite" with a "u." And everyone knows that British rock is always top.

Cheers.

Supergroups

Here are a few supergroup CD's for your retro listening pleasure. First we have Blind Faith -Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Rick Grech, and the great Steve Winwood. Next we have 4 Way Street (live album)-Crosby Still Nash and Young. Finally a collaboration between Brian Eno and John Cale, Wrong Way Up. Enjoy

SPOON Password

Hey Everyone.

The password for the Spoon album is

nodatta.blogspot.com

SPOON- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

The amazing new SPOON album. For previous fans, it sounds like a mix of Gimme Fiction and Kill The Moonlight.

As a whole, the album works incredibly well. The songs all sound very different alone, but when listening in the correct order, they really seem to lead to the next.

This album will definitely grow on you and could easily be on the Top Ten of 2007 list come December.

Check out Cherry Bomb, Rhythm and Soul, Finer Feelings, and the whole fucking album!!

The Traveling Wilbury's

Supergroups have been something of an odd side note in popular music. A collection of stars playing music often for fun, and releasing a only handful of albums/songs. The first true supergroup was probably Cream, but some could argue it was The Million Dollar Quartet, a jam session with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. The strange thing about Supergroups is that it there is always one guy with in the group that seems to be out of place. This is the case with the Traveling Wilbury's. Jeff Lynne though an accomplished musician and producer always seemed out of place in the Wilbury's.

The Traveling Wilbury's were a collection of some of the most important musicians in the 60's and 70's. Comprised of George Harrison (The Beatles); Bob Dylan; Jeff Lynne (ELO); Roy Orbison; and Tom Petty. They all originally got together to record a B Side for George Harrison. The song ended up being "Handle with Care." Their contributions eventually lead to the group to record a full album of original songs. Recording under pseudonyms (a ploy used by another supergroup) they released Traveling Wilbury's vol 1. With the death of Lefty Wilbury (Roy Orbison) vol 2 was never relased, though often thought of as Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever. A third an final volume was released in October of 1990. I have managed to gather from the internets, both official studio releases (vol 1 and vol 3) as well as a collection of outtakes, b-sides, and various performances which have been labeled as vol 2 and 4.

Musically the Traveling Wilbury's isn't that great. The albums are more about the musicians and the fun and joy they have playing music together. On many of the Dylan parts, one wonders if he is trying to sound like if he eats gravel and has lost the ability to enunciate any word in the English language. But he is puts all that he can in Crime/Cop drama of "Tweeter and the Monkeyman." The highlights are always those songs where the group is trading vocal lines, and vocal jabs, such as "Handle with Care," and "End of the Line."

If anyone has any interesting supergroups, I would love to have them posted to the iDisk.

***This post updated while listening to "Overkill" by Colin Hay"***

Coachella 2007 Videos

A little something different. These are some videos I took with my digital camera at Coachella this past weekend.

The first couple are of Jarvis Cocker. Please note I was extremely drunk at this point so the videos are pretty shitty. Fun though, cause Jarvis is great on stage.

The video of the green computer screen is from Bjork. The DJ would put different blocks on the screen, with each block making a different distinct noise. He would then move, twist, replace and generally fuck with them to make the beats. It was pretty amazing. I only wish I had taken a video when he had at least 10 blocks on the screen and was drawing lines between different ones.

The last few videos are from Rage Against The Machine. It truly was an amazing experience. They sounded like they should have, played the greatest hits, didn't preach too much and then rocked the place to the core. Screaming FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME over and over was exactly how I hoped it would be. Ohhhh so much fun.

Enjoy. If you want to see some photos from the weekend, as well as from SXSW, check out

www.flickr.com/photos/cderekj

Elliott Smith - New Moon

To say Elliott Smith was an under appreciated artist until his untimely death in 2003, is a misnomer. Smith found marginal success with albums such as Figure 8, XO, and Either/Or. Most notably he found true recognition with Miss Misery, the Oscar nominated song from Good Will Hunting. His genius as a musician and a song writer had been widely acclaimed by many in the business. Smith life is truly a strange one. For an interesting read check out Smith's wiki page. Because I would much rather have you read something that can be edited by anyone, rather then my insane ramblings.

It was however his suicide on October 21st, 2003 that really brought him to my attention. His self vocalizing, dark haunting lyrics really hit me. Though I knew about him before his death, but it was the mystery around his death that made me listen to his music. The first album I got was the one finished after his death, From A Basement on A Hill. Probably not the album Elliott would have finished, but a good indication of his style. From that point on I made it my mission to get everything from Elliott that I could get my hands on.

Kill Rock Stars Records will be releasing New Moon. A collection of 24 songs recorded between 1994-1997, the most prolific in Smith's career, which saw the Kill Rock Star Elliott's Self Titled and Either/Or releases. Like many demo and out take albums this has some very familiar songs. However what is great about this is that the audio quality is much better then most of the demo albums floating out there. And the producers made the double album flow like a true Elliott Smith album.

If you are not an Elliott Smith fan, or do not know much about his music, New Moon is probably not the best place to start. For those of you know Elliott's music New Moon is a great listen and really brings his music full circle.

For my next post I will take a vote. Should I post:

1. Traveling Wilbury's - Vols. 1 through 4
   
2. Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather
   
3. Eef Barzely - Bitter Honey
   
4. Ben Folds - 1990 Demos
   

Let me know in the comments and I will post the album in about a week or so, of course with my clever insight and choppy prose.

****This post updated while listening to Rain Delay Theatre on WGN Radio****

Icky Thump - White Stripes

Don't get excited boys, it is not the The White Stripes forthcoming album of the same name. It is just the single, and not a great copy of that. It is from some XM radio show, it has annoying intro and outro from some DJ with a fake, or seemingly fake British accent. If you want the a good quality single I suggest going to the iTunes Music Store (normally I would give you all the single but with the stupid DRM it was too much of a pain in the ass.)

It will give you a good idea of what the song is all about. In my humble opinion this song kicks all kinds of ass. It is a return to the pre 2005 Stripes. It is just Jack's circling guitar licks and and Meg literally thumping on the drums. The only thing I am not sure about is the lyrics. they fit the song, but towards the end there is a weird part about America or something. It doesn't make much sense to me.

So enjoy.

****This post updated while watching That 70's Show*****

Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars

2007 is the year of the crappy album title. From Arcade Fire's Neon Bible to The Shins' Wincing the Night Away artists have had a lot of trouble coming up with a decent album title this year. Rufus Wainwright's 5th studio album is no exception. Release the Stars is a horrible name. It conjures up an image of Rufus shooting stars out of his genitals (which would have been a pretty cool album cover, though). Why? I don't know.

The album itself rises above the terrible name. Rufus is a master of blending a a lush operatic style with pure pop sensibilities. It is not quite as lush as the disappointing Want Two but not as pop as Poses or his self titled effort. The album produced Neil Tennant (of the Pet Shop Boys) and Marius De Vires, at times suffers from the layer upon layer effect, muddling the song into a mass of orchestral movements and lazy enunciation. And really parts of some songs are wholly unnecessary. (ie the part from Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom of the Opera.)

The biggest complaint of the album as a whole is Rufus' enunciation. I think lyrically Rufus is one of the best song writers out there, his songs have a sly wit which make you think, laugh and cry. Most notably on this album is, Between my Legs, which suffers from over production, is lyrically a master peice. If I casually listen to the album I am hard pressed to understand what the hell he is saying half the time. This album demands several listens. Each time you will pick up nuances each time.

It is nice to see Rufus return to the more pop of his earlier work. I think many Rufus fans were afraid that he might turn his back on pop entirely and try to make it big in the Met's revival of La Boheme. All in all a nice solid effort by "The Tit Man".

This post updated while listening to Icky Thump by the White Stripes and Release the Stars by Rufus Wainwright.

Wilco-Down at the Dust Bowl

Here is one for all the Wilco fans out there. A friend of a friend gave me a copy of Wilco-Down at the Dust Bowl. I can not find out anything about it on the net. Maybe one of you know more about it. It is mostly live recordings of familiar tunes.

THIRTEEN SENSES-Contact

Thirteen Senses follows in the suit of Coldplay and Travis. A British band that gets a bad rap in the states for sounding like the others.

The new Thirteen Senses is a lot of Coldplay, but they really branched out with their sound from their debut. Not so many radio friendly hooks and choruses, rather well thought out songs that really focus on the instruments and lyrics to pull the heart strings, not some cheesy video and a montage on Grey's Anatomy.

I actually did a little experiment with Thirteen Senses new album here at work. I gave it to 3 women and a gay man who hate most of what I like musically, but love soft singing cheese dick music like Gavin Degraw or James Blunt. They are a little mixed on the album. They love his voice, but will probably not be putting the disc back in the rotation any time soon.

Either way, check out CONTACT, FOLLOW ME and SPARK.

GOLDEN SMOG-Blood On The Tracks

I figure a few of you (ALL) would want this album. Havn't listened to it yet, but I was told that Jeff Tweedy was not involved with this album. Bowie's Starman is excellent.

TRAVIS-The Boy With No Name

Finally, a new Coldplay, wait, scratch that, TRAVIS album!! I think some of Travis is much better than Coldplay, but to each their own.

I am on my yearly Britpop phase right now, and am loving the new albums from The Rakes, Arctic Monkeys, Thirteen Senses and now Travis.

The new Travis is less like 12 Memories, and more like the radio friendly sound that got them some coverage here on this side of the pond with Invisible Band and The Man Who.

Wilco - "Hate It Here"

When you pre-order Wilco's new album, Sky Blue Sky, you get to download a video. It's basically Jeff, Nels, Mike, Glenn, and John performing the song "Hate It Here" in their practice space. No sign of Pat in this video, maybe he's the one behind the camera. Anyway, there is a version of the album that comes with a bonus DVD of the guys playing and talking about songs from the new album. I would gather that this is a taste of what the DVD will be like. I've posted the video for your viewing pleasure, check it out in glorious Quicktime (MPEG4, h.264 @ 627kbps). Enjoy.

Finally, somebody not going to rehab

I finally managed to procure a copy of Amy Winehouse’s newest, “Back to Black” and have uploaded it to the site.
I am told in certain circles that she is quite well known and was quite the child-prodigy, but her music is new to me.
If you haven’t heard her before, think Sara Vaughan or Macy Gray, only tiny, Jewish, anorexic and covered in tats.

The singles are “rehab” and “you know I’m no good”.

Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True

My iPod loves Elvis Costello, it always lands on his music when I shuffle songs. Maybe that's because I have more than 10 hours of Elvis Costello's music in my library mostly thanks to my brother. This album is a classic (1977) and a good introduction to his great story telling and pure rock n' roll style. I'll let some of the more hardcore Elvis fans like Kevin weigh in on the importance of this album. Enjoy.

Wandering Sons

A fellow Wisconsinite slid this on my desk the other day. Worth a listen--a bit bluesy and reminiscent of Elivs Costello (thanks, Kyle). They come around every now and again and their live shows are supposed to be worth the cover. Enjoy.

Bright Eyes-Cassadaga

Bright Eyes' new album, Cassadaga for your listening pleasure.

Again, no time to listen to it, but wanted to post for you this weekend.

For those who don't know them, they are led by Conor Oberst, who is a lively, well dressed, handsome man, and likes to sing about rainbows and ice cream.

The National-Boxer

One of my favorite bands as of late, The National, are fantastic on album, but not so hot live.

2005's Alligator was one of my favorite albums of that year, along with many of the all powerful bloggers. They have 3 previous albums on their first label, The National. Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers, and Cherry Tree.

I have not had a chance to listen yet, I wanted to post it as a little weekend present to you'all.

The first single is Fake Empire.

Plague Songs

Probably the weirdest "concept" album I have ever run across. And this is coming from someone who who knows the driving force behind Frankenstein The Rock Opera.

The concept is straight forward and interesting. It is a collection of 10 songs done by various artists each interperting one of the ten bibical plauges as described in the Old Testament book of Exodus. I am not going o pretend I know why or try to pointificate on the meaning of why. I will direct you to allmusic.com's telling.

What I will tell you is that there are 10 very peculiar songs, by pecurlar artists. Some of them you may know some of them not. It is something you can listen to when you need to have something to go along with the bible.

Also as a side note if you start this album right when the MGM lion roars in the beginning of Cecil B DeMille's The Ten Commandments you are in for a trip and a half.

This post updated while listening to Stranger's Almanac by Whiskeytown.

Pan's Labyrinth

Here is the score for Pan's Labyrinth, the latest film written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. Set in postwar repression during the fascist regime in Spain in 1944, a young girl named Ofelia, living with her pregnant mom and adoptive father (a tyrant), creates a dream world filled with fantastic fairy tale creatures. The composer, Javier Navarrete built the score around a simple lullaby tune. Navarette and the score was nominated for an Academy Award. The movie won Academy Awards for art direction, best cinematography, and best makeup. It also won numerous international awards. It is coming out on DVD May 15.

Voxtrot - Voxtrot

Found and posted at the request of Chris. I'll let him elaborate.

Donuts - J Dilla

You've probably read a lot about this album - how Jay Dee was in the hospital, dying, and putting this thing together in his bed, using whatever records his pals brought him while he laid there with a turntable and laptop.

Though it's just an instrumental hip-hop album, it's probably the saddest collection of songs I've ever heard. The quality is very, very high.

So enjoy these Donuts. They're very sweet.

Oh, and t3h hits: I've got ratings on "Stop!", "The Diff'rence", "Time: The Donuts of the Heart", "Two Can Win", "Don't Cry", "Thunder", "One for Ghost", "Bye.", and "The Last Donut of the Night", but remember that we've all got different taste (mine is pretty bad) and you might like some different cuts than me.

Word.

The return of GNR

Uploaded to the site is the album "Whenever it's Done", which in reality is the long-awaited – since 1993 in fact – album by Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy". No release date has been set yet, so enjoy this bootleg, because who knows when the actual album will come out.

-Jason

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-Living With The Living

Ted Leo Rocks! His live shows Rock! Ted Leo brings the ock to Rock.

This is indie rock goodness. No strings attached rocking.

Rock this shit while rocking out.

Tracks to check out: Who Do You Love, Colleen, and La Costa Brava. But please don't stop there, keep rocking with the RX bandits.

Great Lake Swimmers-Ongiara

The first word that comes to mind when I think about Great Lake Swimers is mellow, also maybe haunting. Definitely for fans of Andrew Bird, Badly Drawn Boy, My Morning Jacket, Wilco.

Based out of Toronto, this indie-folk, roots music and alt country pop outfit (straight from their website), sings amazing tunes with lyrics to boot.

No specific tracks to check out, just give it a listen.

I URGE YOU ALL TO TRY IT. Let me know your thoughts and I can post the first 2 if you like.

Feist - The Reminder

You may recognize Leslie Feist as the female vocals on the last Kings of Convience album, Riot On An Empty Street. She is also a contributor to Canadian post-rock including Broken Social Scene and Apostle of Hustle. Sometimes delicate, sometimes boisterous, The Reminder is a fantastic album that shows of Leslie's many talents. My favorite tracks so far include My Man My Moon, Sea Lion Woman, Brandy Alexander, and How My Heart Behaves. Enjoy.

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

It hadn't even made it into the scurvy hands of internet pirates when Wilco streamed their newest album, Sky Blue Sky, on their website this past Saturday evening. Of course, it didn't take long for files to start circulating after that. But maybe that was the point, beat the pirates at their own game and control the buzz. The stream is down now, but you can download a track from the album at wilcoworld.net. Lucky for you, I've posted the complete album for your previewing pleasure. It's a good album and I've got some opinions about it which I'll share another time. But for now, my favorite tracks include Either Way, Sky Blue Sky, Walken, and What Light. Give it a listen and share your opinions here. Enjoy.

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

The latest offering from Isaac Brock and his Modest Mice with a little help from Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Not as immediately striking as their previous albums but there are some great tunes on here including Dashboard, Missed the Boat, and Spitting Venom. Enjoy.

Son Volt - The Search

I'm not sure that you could rightfully call this band Son Volt since Jay Farrar is the only remaining original member. None the less, the biological father of Alternative Country has created another album to remind us all that the genre is not yet dead no matter how hard Jeff Tweedy tries to kill it. I haven't given this one much of a listen yet, but my earlier impression is that it is good, but not great. I really enjoyed their last album, Okemah and the Melody of Riot, and it took me a while to come around to it. So, I'll give this one a chance. Enjoy.

Pulp: Peel Sessions

I love Pulp.

I love Jarvis Cocker.

I hope you do too!!

Peel Sessions combines songs from all of the seminal Pulp releases, from 2004's highly underrated We Love Life, to the classics, This Is Hardcore, Different Class and His and Hers, all the way back to the early days of It, Freaks and Separations.

Jarvis is the lead singer of Pulp, and gives us his first solo album. It came out in November in the UK, should hit the states in March. Those lucky few going to Coachella will get a glimpse of this modern genious. Yeah, I said it. There is a secret song after a long pause on the final track, which was passed around the web a while back. It is called Cunts Are Still Running The World, and was written exactly one year after the big flop that was Live 8.

1983, Bitches!

I've got little else to say except that She's So Unusual came out in 1983, and if you were around then, you rocked out to it (because it was turbo-ubiquitous - even lil' ol' me in bumbletruck, Minnesota had it on cassette), and then probably engaged in what became two decades of backlash against Cyndi Lauper.

But go back in time, and take a listen with fresh ears. This album rocks out in a way that only a one-shot pop album can. Loaded with singles, and sporting remarkably light early-80s synth production (synthesizers have never sounded so great on a record as here, paired with Cyndi Lauper's strong, bouncy voice), this is a triumph. This release includes three live tracks that don't really add much, but there they are.

Anyway, enjoy the trip down memory lane if you were there. If you weren't, well, here is a hell of a time capsule.

Andrew Bird is Dr. Stringz

It is unfortunate that this is not on Armchair Apocrypha

Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition

A little throwback for all ya playa haters, well, thrown back to 2004.

Murs, a founding member of Living Legends out of California who claims to be "More Coldplay than Ice T", and 9th Wonder, a producer from Little Brother out of North Carolina, formed to make this instant classic. They continued to work together on 2006's excellent Murray's Revenge (on both Kyle and My best of the year lists)

Part of the whole indie or underground rap scene, the album is just plain excellent. The production taps into a little of everything, focusing on R&B, straight beats, and jiggling hooks. Murs lays down sick vocals and rhymes that are straight up ghetto but has all the emotion and relevance that this genre of hip hop is best known for.

A 45 minute film based off of this album was made by Murs and some friends and released late 2005 as a deluxe edition. Have not seen it but would love to. Anyone???

Apostle of Hustle-National Anthem of Nowhere

The new album from Broken Social Scene's Andrew Whiteman.

This is Ap0stle of Hustle's second disc, after 2004's Folkloric Feel.

A great sound similar to BSS, indie folk experimental or whatever the fuck you want to call it.

Another excellent album from our good neighbors to the north, Canada! Reminds me of a good joke...eh!

From their press release:
'National Anthem of Nowhere’ is for everyone who feels that they have no voice or can’t be heard. They hear this title and something stirs inside them. Then they hear this song and they feel that they “know” it. They meet strangers in nowhere places and will never forget those meetings. They wander out into the suburban, in-between zones and there they are welcomed.

blues boy and pre string spaghetti

i know. long time, no post. my apologies.

two things i'd like to share in attempts to get back into your collective good graces: 1) a fantastic live recording of bb (blues boy) king and his band circa 1965. bb and lucille swing, the band jumps and the audience wails. 2) spaghetti western's debut, before they added string co. to the name... my latest impulse purchase. not as musically strong as the quiet mob EP, but worth a listen or two.

p.s. thanks for the great postings and tunes. 700 hobo names and neon bibles - you just can't beat this shit with a stick.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

I'm not sure I could think of a worse album title if I tried. Fortunately, Neon Bible is not as lame as it's title. It hasn't blown me away yet and is honestly a bit of a disappointment when compared to their debut album, Funeral. But it's still a good album except for a few throw away tracks. My favorites include "Intervention" and "No Cars Go." Enjoy.

Martin Dosh: Pure Trash

Though Dosh has been sharing the stage recently with Andrew Bird, he also performs wonderfully well alone. His solo performances are always a treat, and to watch him work up close (as I got a chance to do recently at a gallery opening), is fantastic. He completely ignores the crowd and simply experiments with his various instruments, throwing (sometimes literally) sounds together which you hear a moment later, integrated seamlessly. This isn't music to hum along with. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Minneapolis's own Martin Dosh.

LCD Soundsystem-Sound of Silver

Following up the leak's, I bring you the fabulous new release from LCD SOUNDSYSTEM- Sound of Silver.

As Kyle put it, "indie hipster electronic crap", this album is a hybrid of sorts, a la RJD2 or Junior Boys.

Made famous by their remixes and original songs under the DFA Label, James Murphy has created a unique sound. Everything culminated with 2005's "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House." My house.

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

Armchair Apocrypha is the follow-up album to Mr. Bird's amazing 2005 release, The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Recorded mostly in Minneapolis, Andrew enlisted the help of a few local musicians including Haley Bonar and touring partner, Martin Dosh. You can hear Dosh's influence throughout the album and specifically on the song "Static X" to which he wrote the music. Haley sings backing vocals on several tracks, most notably "Spare-Ohs." If you've seen Andrew Bird in the past year or so, there is a good chance you've heard several of these songs already. We have been lucky here in the Twin Cities that Andrew has played several shows locally while recording his newest album here. Andrew has a knack for tinkering with his sound during shows and his songs live usually never sound the same twice. So, even though these songs are familiar, there are some welcome surprises. It may be Dosh's influence, but this album seems more focused on electronics and drums than the acoustic sounds of The Mysterious Production of Eggs, it's nice to see a musician as talented as Andrew Bird push his sound even further. Armchair Apocrypha will be released March 20 on Fat Possum Records. Enjoy.

The PC is cooler then the Mac

I recently heard an interview with John Hodgman on NPR this weekend. He was promoting his new book Areas of My Expertise. You may recognize his name from his apperances on The Daily Show and This American Life. I had never but it together before but after looking him up on his website areasofmyexpertise.com, I did not not put two and two together and realize who he actually is. John Hodgman is PC, from those cleaver and often copied Mac ads staring Die Hard 4's, Justin Long. Justin Long is a realtive bore of an actor and often seen as the poor man's Zach Braff. But this is not about Justin nor Braff it is about the subline wackiness that is Mr. Hodgman.

Really take the time to explore his site. There is some great stuff on there. Apparently John has an unatural facination with Hobos, as we all do I am sure. I have posted on the iDisk John Hogman reading 700 different Hobo names. It sounds exactly what you would think. PC reading Hobo names like, "Cricket Eating Charlie Digs" and "Professor Challenger" while John Coulton playes guitar. It goes on for nearly an hour. The cool thing about it is that it was all done in one take. Yes I know it is weird but really take the time and listen to it, maybe not in all one sitting but listen. It is funny, extremely funny.

Enjoy

***uploaded while listening to John Hodgman and John COulton read 700 Hobo names***

Joanna Newsome

For the last couple of weeks we have been listing to David Byrne's January play list Welcome to Dreamland . The playlist consist of artists that fall under the freak folk rock category. Their roots are in ’60s psychedelia, ’90s jam bands, electronica, and a number of world music traditions. One artist that caught my interest is Joanna Newsome. I am posting both of her albums: Ys released in Nov. 06 and The Milk-Eyed Mender released in 2004. Newsome is an accomplished classical harpist that sings/tells stories (her pitch and phrasing may seem unusual or hard to take at times). Sometimes she sounds like Bjork. Either you like the vocals or you don't, it is definitely an acquired taste. The final mixing for her new album Ys was done by Jim O'Rourke.

Tom Waits "Orphans"

I going to assume you're aware of Tom Waits. If you like him, then dowload this. If you don't like him, then please ignore. This is the new 3 disc box set from Tom Waits. The box set is called "Orphans." Each disc is organized in of the 3 styles of Mr. Waits. "Bastards" is a collection of spoken word/weirdo music. "Bawlars" is a collection of sad songs. "Brawlars" are the types of songs that appear on the Fight Club Soundtrack or on a Ramones tribute album. Enjoy.

Jeff Tweedy - Sunken Treasure

Songs from the DVD Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest uploaded for Chris and anyone else that may be anticipating the upcoming release of Sky Blue Sky.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder

Probably one of the most anticipated sophomore albums of 2007 next to Arcade Fire's forthcoming Neon Bible. Don't worry, Alec Ounsworth's voice is still annoying as hell and they sound like a band that is about to explode at any moment. But they've matured musically and have made anything but a safe follow-up to their 2005 self-titled independent release. What sets Some Loud Thunder apart is the production, at some points garbled and muddy, at other points crisp and poppy. In fact, the opening track is so unlistenable, CYHSY will probably loose as many fans with this album as they'll gain. Enjoy.

Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth

Since appearing on Non-Prophets "Doomage" in 2004 with the line "Must not discuss divorce with the case still pending, but I got some shit to tell you on my next record," The Undisputed Truth has been one of the most anticipated of upcoming hip-hop albums. Originally set to be released in early 2006, Brother Ali's latest effort has been pushed back to March 2007. I offer to you the "Clean Advance" version of The Undisputed Truth. Unfortunately, this means that all the naughty words have been scratched out and you are reminded every minute or so that "this is a pre-advance copy." Fortunately, this means you have a chance to preview this album and pre-order it before it drops.

Brother Ali joins forces once again with Rhymesayers super-producer, Ant. The beats are tight and musical like you'd expect, the flow is smooth and positive in a way that only Ali can spit. But there is something noticeably different about this record compared to Ali's previous efforts. His lyrics have always been extremely personal, but this album quickly becomes a confessional and appears to be as much therapy as it is entertainment. Since releasing Champion in 2004, Ali has apparently lost his mother to cancer, gone through a divorce, and a subsequent custody battle. Normally, that type of personal struggle may be better left unmentioned, instead he makes it the forefront of his storytelling. Brother Ali's rise from the ashes is the theme of The Undisputed Truth. Unfortunately, the record suffers a bit from all this truth. Ali forgets the listener in favor of dealing with his personal ghosts. The Undisputed Truth doesn't have the urgency of Shadows on the Sun or Champion, but it is an important step for one of underground hip-hop's rising stars.

Enjoy.

Heartless Bastards: All This Time

Heartless Bastards, a recent LaLa acquisition covertly selected by my sly girlfriend, feels like an amped up version of Cat Power minus the with less piano and histrionics. "Into the Open" and "Searching for the Ghost" get the album rolling and the rest of it doesn't disappoint.

Mos Def-True Magic

So apparently this was recalled today by Geffen. Pitchfork talked about it. The CD came in a clear plastic case with no artwork or liner notes. It was pretty cheap. According to the article, they are going to rerelease the album in the spring with a different tracklist and actually promote the thing, as opposed to what they did this time by releasing it on the last Friday of the year and making it hard to find.

I actually quite like the album. It is more Black on Both Sides than the Black Jack Johnson punk/rock/hip hop of The New Danger. There are a few songs where he mumbles some of his def poetry shit however.

Either way, decide for yourself.

Paleo – Carpet Samples from The Song Diary

Some notes:

Paleo is David Strackany.

Is originally from Illinois.

Went to college in Iowa.

May or may not have run an art gallery.

Is currently writing one song a day for every day of one year –(that's 365 for you folks in LA).


He's touring and recording a song a day and posting them to his website as part of his "Song Diary" project. I just saw this guy perform last night at Big V's and got a copy of this and his first record Misery, Missouri. He plays this toy acoustic guitar and he reminded me of a younger, thinner version of Tiny Tim. It was cooler than it sounds and the more songs I hear, the more I like it. Check out his website (paleo.ws) for the rest of the Song Diary, including yesterday's song "Sunday Prayer XXXIX". If I wasn't out so late last night, I would be catching his show tonight at the 331 Club (I guess I'll just have to wait for the mp3).

Gyrofrypepsi

So, here's this thing.

As far as I can tell, Selda Bagcan is like the Ethel Merman of Turkey. Or maybe the Judy Garland, or Lesley Gore. Maybe she's closer to the Grace Slick of Turkey, or maybe, just maybe, I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. It's possible there is no American analog to this woman with the throaty, emotional voice.

All I know are these facts:

1. I got this album last Thursday night


2. This album is filled with chunky Turkish psych-rock breaks


3. Listening to this album makes me feel like I'm drunk, it's 3am, and I'm waiting in line for gyros and fries at the Parthenon, State St.

It might be a little far-out for some of you indie kids, but as Abba said (and they were foreigners too) Take A Chance!