The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

Their first major label record, Colin Meloy and gang did not follow all the rules. The Crane Wife is an hour long with just 10 songs, two of which are more than 11 minutes each. The album switches back and forth between melancholy-folk and prog-rock, often times in the same song. The addition of organ and accordion give The Decemberists more meat to their sound and more weight to Meloy's dark lyrics. While it's not my favorite album, it will surely grow on me. The song "Yankee Bayonet" highlights a great duet with Meloy and Laura Veirs. Also, the last three songs are amazing. The Crane Wife comes out October 3. Enjoy.

I've also reposted 'The Magic Numbers' and 'They Shoot Horses Don't They' for Matt.

Posted while listening to Califone - Roots & Crowns.

M. Ward - Post-War

I don't know much about M. Ward. I know that he sometimes collaborates with Bright Eyes and that there has been a lot of buzz about his yet to be released album, Post-War. The intimate lyrics are written in such a way that they define the context of the current social climate. Ward sounds as though he's singing to you from both across an ocean and with you in the same room. Highlights for me include To Go Home, Right In The Head, and Chinese Translation. This album is quickly becoming one of my favorites of 2006. Post-War will be released on September 12. Enjoy.

Posted while listening to The Decemberists - The Crane Wife.

Califone - Roots & Crowns

I uploaded Califone's most recent album, Roots & Crowns, a couple of days ago and neglected to post about it. Lead singer, Tim Rutili, was apparently inspired to write this album after listening to the The Orchids by Psychic TV on repeat for several hours. That song is included as a cover and is one of the many highlights of this album which comes out October 10th. If you aren't aware, Califone is a blues/folk/rock experiment from Chicago. Their 2003 release, Quicksand and Cradlesnakes, was arguably one of the best of that year. Listen to this album and support this band. You won't be sorry.

By the way, this is a good opportunity to welcome Scott (aka Sloth) to Steal This Song. I share an office with Scott and he is the one who introduced me to Califone as well as several other amazing bands. Hopefully he will be posting his first contribution soon.

Posted while listening to The Decemberists - The Crane Wife.

The return of Patton

Posted is Mike Patton's – of Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and Tomahawk fame – latest offering. This time around, Patton has teamed with a different musical artist on each track.




A few artists he collaborates with:
Odd Nosdam
Rahzel
Dan the Automator
Massive Attack
Kid Koala
Dub Trio
Norah Jones (I know you all have been dying to hear Norah drop a few f-bombs in a song. Here is your chance!)

The album has been described as possibly on one of grooviest albums of the year. Patton's sound comes through in each and every tune, but this time around, Patton's work highlights the some of the strongest tallents of is collaborators. If there is a downside to this album, it is that the the album sounds more like a collection of singles. Also, if you never liked Patton's work in the past you may not be down with this one either. But for those of you who were faith No More fans, I am guessing you will find it entertaining.

Give a listen.

grant-lee phillips - nineteeneighties

Grant Lee Phillips former leader of Grant Lee Buffalo covers some of his favorite 80's tunes. Mostly performed semi-acoustic, his interpretations of songs by: The Cure, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, Robyn Hitchcock, etc., bring much of his own character to the mix. Love my way, track 6 is great.

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins -Rabbit Fur Coat

I bought this album on a whim. Mainly making my choice on a recommendation from NPR's All Songs Considered. (On side note the podcast is great). One of the best albums of the year they say. Hey I had a credit of $4.02 in the iTMS and thought what the hell. So I got it.

Jenny Lewis is one of the driving force behind the indie pop group Rilo Kiley. Now with Rilo Kiley I have not heard one note of their music. In fact I thought it was a girl power pop trio, but I guess it is Jenny singing and a bunch of dudes.

I have heard a lot of hype surrounding this album. There are a lot of fanboys out there who totally love Jenny. It reminds me of how people drool over Neko Case. The comparison to Neko is not unfounded. Both Neko and Jenny are similar in style and voice. Jenny's voice is a little softer and her writing style is a tad more whimsical. This album is closer to the earlier stuff Neko has done, rather then the noir pop of the excellent Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.

Jenny has veins of Loretta Lynn and Cat Power. Rabbit Fur Coat came out a week prior to Cat Power's white woman soul album The Greatest. Every critic loved The Greatest. I did not. I think Chan Marshall is an overrated nut job. She so badly wants be Dusty Springfield, but is not, not by a long shot. Chan's voice annoys the piss out of me. But that is another story. Me thinks that Rabbit Fur Coat was over shadowed by the undue praise that The Greatest got.

I have listened to this album five times, three of them in a row two nights ago. If you know me I rarely listen to an album more then once maybe twice in a row. Hell, I have a problem listening to the same artist in a row. Damn you iPod and your shuffle function! Rabbit Fur Coat is a solid album. There are some great songs on it, one with a nod to one of my favorite song writers, Jeff Tweedy. Special bonus points for anyone who can tell what the reference is. Jenny also does a great cover of Traveling Wilburys'"Handle with Care" with M Ward, Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), and a couple of the dudes from Rilo Kiley. The album is good, the album is damn good. Right now it is definitely in my top 10 my top 5 of the year.

Enjoy this album.

***this post was updated while listening to/watching the Cubs v Brewers***

Ok Go! - Here It Goes Again

So the first time I have ever heard of Ok Go! was on a special This American Life episode, for their 10th anniversary or something. They were the "house" band when Ira and gang took the show on the road. I pretty much thought the band would be going nowhere, but 6 years later they are every where. Kmart ads, and of horrors upon horrors VH1's Best Week Ever. This is where Ok Go again crossed my path. They showed the video I posted. The song is ok. It is straight ahead power pop. Nothing too ground breaking. Catchy, fun but very forgettable. The greatest thing is this video. Done in one single take with some amazing choreography, all on tread mills. No blue screens, no stunt actors, just the dudes from Ok Go.

Playing around on their site they have some other great videos. Enjoy, I just wish their music was a bit more adventurous, like their videos.

**this post updated while listening to Rabbit Fur Coat by Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins

Rob Corddry on Pavement's - Brighten the Corners

In this past weeks Onion's Random Rules Daily Show Correspondent, Rob Corddry, had this to say about the band Pavement, their album Brighten the Corners, and front man, Stephen Malkmus:

RC: Oh wow, I'm awesome. Brighten The Corners —I would argue, the best Pavement record. The Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain people can slam a cock, because this is the best. I miss Pavement. I went and saw Stephen Malkmus live a couple years ago. Terrible. He's a jam band now. There was this guy in the front row who wouldn't stop asking Malkmus, "What's up with the Jicks?" He kept saying, "Steve, what's up with the Jicks?" And my friend Jason started yelling, "Esteban, que pasa los Jicks?" Needless to say, he did not answer us. Not a good show, though I got very drunk.

If you don't have Brighten the Corners I have put it up for you. It is good, listen to it. I also have some of Stephen's solo stuff, but not his new one. If any one has it that would be cool.

[EDIT] I've posted Stephen's latest album, Face The Truth, per Kevin's request. - Kyle

***this post updated while listening to Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again) by Wilco. ***

ween... the mollusk

the album cover says it all.



posted while staring at a picture of kevin.

Sample or Be Sampled - Instrumentals

Really quick now:

1. Slim's Return, by Madlib, who is the best DJ working today.
2. Sexy Coffee Pot, by Tony Alvin and the BelAirs. Classic break/beat single.
3. Waitin' for the Rain - The Philly Sound. Look everyone! Disco!
4. Apache - The Incredible Bongo Band. The quintessential hip-hop break.
5. Strange Eyes - Sunz of Man. Off the Ghost Dog soundtrack, essentially a RZA tune. I love the back end on this song.
6. Soulful Sickness - Mickey and the Soul Generation. Great tune.
7. Getting Nasty - Ike Turner, who knows a thing or a hundred about gettin' nasty.
8. One Word Extinguisher - Prefuse 73. Look everyone! A party!
9. Parrty (Part 1) - Maceo and All the King's Men. A James Brown production. Yeah, there's some shouting, but it's basically an instrumental.
10. Kooler than Jesus - My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. Pure electro funk, layered thick with Russ Meyer samples.
11. Thank U - The R&B Classic Funk Band. A rolicking great time.
12. The Hen - Louis Chachere. I know nothing about this song except the title, the artist, and the way it shakes my ass.
13. Sneakin' in the Back - Tom Scott. Pop quiz: who sampled the shit out of this cut?
14. Montara - Madlib. Another Madlib joint from "Shades of Blue", an album everyone should check out.
15. Time Is Tight - Booker T. and the MGs. Great stuff from Stax.
16. Dry Dock - Polkapocalypse. It was supposed to be a polka-pop song about venereal disease spreading amongst hotstacking sailors (Dry Dock? Get it?), but we were for the children.

Cabaret Manana

Juan Garcia Esquivel. I first learned of Esquivel from a roommate of mine in college. His name is/was Ben Wells. He played in a some local punk bands in Minneapolis in the mid '90s. I can't for the life of me remember the name of band. It was DriveShaft, or Pig Fuckers or something like that. I lived with Ben and like 6 other guys in an apartment that had a crooked stair case and 50's frige retro fitted to hold a keg of beer. It was tasty days. The apartment was gross but the parties where fun.

Grunge was slowly dyeing, Kurt Cobain had been dead for several years, Eddie Vedder had cut his hair. Soundgarden's Spoonman was all the rage. Coldplay wasn't even a glimmer in a record executives eye. Swing was just starting to be come huge. Music needed something different something weird. Hey I know what do the kids like? Jazz Standards played by a Mexican American with glasses that would make Harry Carey. Better yet he's almost eighty, we will get him to sign a contract and get this 50 year old music dirt cheap. The Space Aged Bachelor music didn't quite take off like one would have hoped but for, but it was a fun ride while it lasted.

If memory serves Ben came home all excited from the Electric Fetus, with a stack of CD's. He told us of this crazy music he heard. He said it was like a 1950's Mr. Bungle. Now if you have ever listened to Mr. Bungle or Esquivel you probably would be scratching your head. I am scratching my head right now. A thing you have to remember about Ben, his chair in his room was from a car (which he later gave to me) and his instrument of choice was the Didgerdoo. It wasn't a didgerdoo he got on a trip to Australia, or one he bought in a music store. It was one he made out of a heavy duty card board tube and wax. We also made him one for Christmas and painted on it and shit. I think I also bought Scott Vocarl a bong that year as well.

So I found Cabaret Manana in the BMG Music Service. You know 20 CD's for a penny or whatever. So I got it, listened to it and liked it. I still don't like Mr. Bungle though. I threw it in my stack of CD's and never bothered transferring it my computer. Which mean I did not listen to it for many years. Paul's request for instrumentals brought me back to it. There are some pretty cool tunes on there. Some great twists on Jazz standards.


*** this post updated while listening to Elliot Smith's Roman Candle.***

A Collection of Instrumentals

Pualio (aka Scott Vocarl) requested a week or so ago some instrumentals. Since I didn't have much to do tonight and there was nothing on TV. I thought I would post a collection of crazy instrumentals for dear old Pablo. Here is the 19 I came up with.

1) Take the "A" Train - Esquivel
Esquivel is one of the craziest mother f*ckers out there. His music is nuts. This version of the Duke Ellington Classic is one of his more normal ventures in to music

2) Take the "A" Train - The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
This is from the Ken Burns' Jazz documentary a couple of years back. Wynton Marsalis is the director at this time. When his trumpet comes in it hits me every time. This song really started me liking jazz. Plus I wanted to hear how different the traditional version is compared to Juan's.

3) Good Eats Theme - Alton Brown
A catchy tune from the best Food Network show out there.

4) Cat Eats Coyote - califone
This is from one of the greatest albums in the last couple of years, Quicksand and Cradlesnakes. At first thought a throw away song, at just about a minute thirty. But there is a lot going on here, really works well as a stand alone piece, but is fantastic as part of the album.

5) Stockport - Badly Drawn Boy
Underrated album (One Plus One is One), love the piano. Quite and fun

6) Everything In Its Right Place - Christopher O'Riley
So Christopher thought it would be a good idea to play the lush electronic production of Radiohead, alone on his piano. Amazingly enough he pulls it off and well. You can hear Tom Yorke's voice straining out from behind the keys. I can't wait until his Coldplay album.

7) June Bug - Leo Kottke
Greatest 12 and 6 string guitar player, ever. Funniest too.

8) Smoothie Song - Nickel Creek
Yeah this was all over AAA radio a couple of years back, but damn if it isn't good.

9) Buck Hill - The Replacements
A song from their "experimental" album, Hootennanny. Where each of the members played a different instrument then their normal one. I think Paul is on drums but it hard to tell. Plus it is a song about a ski hill in Minneapolis.

10) Space Suit - They Might Be Giants
After the ADD marathon that is "Fingertips," the two Johns close Apollo 18 with this song. Really wraps up the album nicely. One of the first songs they ever wrote together and performed.

11) Main Theme, Doctor Who Series Two
Louis: I'm the king of France
The Doctor: Yeah? Well I'm the lord of time.

12) Ice Castles - Ween
A wonderfully weird and delightful song from Gene and Dean. Kinda reminds me a Saturday morning cartoon theme stuck on the wrong speed.

13) Instrumental 2 - Wilco
From the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos. There are words to this but luckily for you they are not on this version. They are not good.

14) Blue Grass - John Denver
Rocking out only as John can.

15) My Friend Cubilas - Badly Drawn Boy
The stocking capped Brit makes his reappearance. I really like this song. Can't tell you why though.

16) Sabrosa - The Beastie Boys
From their solid album, Ill Communication. Very funky with an Eastern twinge.

17) Dick Holster - Ben Folds Five
A total throw away song. Just Ben noodling with the piano.

18) Treefingers - Radiohead
Feel yourself melt with this song. Kid A is the best overrated album I have listened to. X&Y is the worst overrated album.

19) The Polynesian Fertility Chant
I don't even know myself

*** this post updated while actually listening to the above songs.***

Tapes 'n Tapes – The Loon

Last night I saw a Twin Cities success story on stage at First Ave. Since forming in 2003, Tapes 'n Tapes has already gone through a few variations. After recording a self-titled EP in early 2004, the band went on a touring binge with such bands as The Futureheads. They regrouped in 2005 to record their first full-length album, The Loon. Shows in the Twin Cities had not been successful, but thanks to their glowing reviews on music blogs such as Music for Robots and an eight-show marathon at SXSW, Tapes 'n Tapes had caught fire. Last night they returned to Minneapolis to open for another local band, The Plastic Constellations. Although Tapes 'n Tapes went on before TPC and only played about 45 minutes, it was clear that they were the stars of the show in the sold-out main room. Their sound recalls Pavement and The Pixies, they also fit nicely with current bands like Modest Mouse and Wolf Parade.

Check out The Loon. Highlights on this album include Insistor, Cowbell, and Omaha. You can see them perform live on the Late Show with David Letterman this Tuesday.

Posted while listening to Tapes 'n Tapes – The Loon.

David Darling - Dark Wood

Paul give this a listen. Dark Wood is wonderful meditative solo cello music by David Darling. It is a Hauntingly Beautiful recording that takes you to another place. I have more cello music if you are interested.

Magnetic Fields – i

An album composed entirely of bitter-sweet pop songs that begin with the letter i. How's that for a gimmick? Favorites include "I Looked All Over Town" and "I Don't Believe You."

Posted while listening to Explosions In The Sky – The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place.

Lyrics are for Suckers

Post-Rock is rock n roll music without the front man, the lyricists, the singer, the Rolling Stone interviewee, and the vocals. It works best while doing the dishes, walking the dog, or running at the YMCA. Since 8th grade you have been enslaved by lyrics and the mind controlling powers of the songwriter. Now you can be free. Imagine that great part of your favorite song when band “breaks it down” or slowly builds to climax of rock bliss. You are ready for post-rock!

M2 introduced me to the post-rock world last summer and I have been slowly collected a nice library of instrumental (and mostly instrumental) rock n roll. Some of you will love it, some of you will hate it, but those who dig it-will really dig it.

I have uploaded Austin, Texas’ Explosions in the Sky. This album is entitled “The Earth is Not a Cold, Dead Place.”

No words for our Alma Matter

Paul's request finally called forth the classic University of Eau Claire Jazz band extravaganza that is Jazz in Clear Water. It's fun jazz, and I always enjoy it when it pops on. It's been a staple in iTunes since my mac was born. This one should satisfy those that never even knew that Eau Claire had a world famous jazz band (let alone put out its own cds) as well as those hankering after a bit of the lyricless. Long Live Third Floor Governors! (or something like that)

Searching for the Perfect Beat

The year was 1982.

For the past five years or so, the Bronx had been rocked solid with poverty and huge block parties where the kids who had nothing else would congregate to have a good time and dance to some tunes.

They were a lot like any party you'd find today - the DJs played the hits the crowd wanted to hear, and circles formed around the best dancers so people could gawk at the raw athletic skill on display.

Except these parties were much different from anything you'd attend today. These parties were the genesis of hip-hop: breakdancers spinning and twirling in the crowd, and each DJ extending the "break", or drum/bass solo of each record, to keep the energy high while the MC would shout with the beat.



This was before Biggie and Tupac, before Jay-Z and the East Coast/West Coast beef. This was a simpler time, when a bunch of kids just wanted to have a good time. Among the early stars of the scene was Afrika Bambaataa, a veteran organizer of block parties and flawless DJ.

Planet Rock: The Album, released in 1986, collects the early 12" singles released by Bambaataa on Tommy Boy records. It's a marriage of key breaks with synth/electro production and early B-Boy enthusiasm. When "Searching for the Perfect Beat" kicks in, you either get it or you don't.

The Magic Numbers

For the benefit of P2 and anyone else that may be going to the Minnesota State Fair to catch The Flaming Lips along with Sonic Youth, The Magic Numbers have been added to the bill. Maybe not as exciting as the line-up for some other state fairs, but still pretty cool. For those that don't know, The Magic Numbers are a pair of brothers and sisters from London who play a laid-back style of folk-rock that is heavy on harmonies and beards. I've posted their debut album for your downloading pleasure. Enjoy and hope to see you at the show.

Updated while listening to Cubs vs. Mets on WGN.

The Best of Syd Barrett-Wouldn't You Miss Me?

Here is a best of compilation that was released in 2001. If you have a hard time getting though Syd's albums give this greatest hits disk a listen. There are moments of brilliance and moments of what's going on here. It has the previously unreleased versions of Bob Dylan Blues and Two of a Kind. Bob Dylan Blues was posted on the idisk before we had the blog thing. By the way here is the link to HYGIY.