New Justin, Arcade Fire, Etc.!!!

"Dark Was The Night" is a 2-disc collection of indie rock stars donating new material for a charity CD release raising funds for HIV/AIDS awareness and research.  I had only 4 downloads left on my recent Emusic account and picked new Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Justin Vernon with a guest, and Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew. The complete list is here.  I like that Justin is releasing solo material and the idea that Bon Iver is turning into a band. The Bon Iver track sounds like a 5th soung from the recent E.P. while the Justin song is more solo. The Arcade Fire is solid, but not great and the Kevin Drew song is disappointing.  Enjoy the 4 tracks. I plan to add more downloads from the album once my Emusic account rests. 

M Ward - Hold Time

ask, and you shall receive.

Bon Iver- Blood Bank

Go Blugolds! 

Track 1 is great. Track 2 & 3 are solid (I like 3 a little more) and track 4 sounds like Lil' Wayne (& not in a good way)

Down with Lollipop. 

Nathaniel Merriweather presents... Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By

Fresh off the heals of one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, Deltron 3030, producer Dan The Automator formed another supergroup in 2001 and released this instant classic, Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By.

Producer Dan the Automator, DJ Kid Koala, singers Mike Patton and Jennifer Charles and a slew of special guests ranging from Prince Paul to Damon Albarn make up LOVAGE.

The album is not a gimmick or a brush off concept album, rather an amazing collection of songs to not only make love by, but to chill or relax or lounge around.

The wikipedia entry for Loavage boasts all about the Serge Gainsbourg album cover reference and song titles that sample and take from Hitchcock.

Patton's raspy vocals and Charles sultry voice on top of solid beats and instruments from The Automator and Kid Koala perfectly coexist.

Check out Pit Stop (Take Me Home), Sex (I Am) and To Catch A Thief, but do yourself a favor and listen from beginning to end. (Even the skits are worth checking out)

Unfortunately, this album is out of print and Automator sort of fell off the face of the earth, but in a cold February night at First Avenue in 2001 (or was it 2002 by that point??), the live incarnation of this album is one of my favorite concerts of all time. Patton had a 17 year old kid wearing a Korn shirt jump on stage and lick Jennifer Charles' shoe soul just to get a dance with her. Complete with Cigar and bathrobe, Automator walked around on stage and got drunk off Alize while all the soon to be hipsters in the crowd just dreamed of what they could be doing while this music was playing.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Okay, long time reader, been a while poster.

I have some time this week at work, so I decided I will post 2 albums each day, one being a new indie rock hype band and the other a random classic album to me.

The first posting happens to be what many bloggers are claiming the album of the year. Now, I never quite jumped on the noise bandwagon that is Animal Collective. Their album a few years ago, Sung Tongs, is a fun listen but never stuck with me. In the last 2 years I feel you couldn't get away from them, with each new track being dissected by the likes of Pitchfork or Gorrilla Vs. Bear.

Well, Animal Collective release their most accessible album to date with Merriweather Post Pavilion and it happens to be good. I am not going to freak out and claim them the next Purple Jesus or this album the best of 2009 no matter what else comes out, but I will say this album certainly deserves a listen.

Their first single off the album is called My Girls.

Oh, and the album covers moves! Optical Illusions a must!

2009

Admittedly, it's been a little quiet around here. That may be because there hasn't been a lot of new music lately or Kevin isn't sharing everything he's stealing from the interwebs. Whatever the reason, there is a lot to be excited about in 2009. Below is a list of some of the albums I am most excited about in the first 3 months alone.

01/20/09 Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
01/20/09 Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP
01/27/09 RZA – Afro Samurai: The Resurrection
02/03/09 P.O.S. - Never Better
02/17/09 M. Ward – Hold Time
03/01/09 The Decemberists – Hazards of Love
03/03/09 Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
03/03/09 The Boy Least Likely To – The Law of the Playground
03/17/09 Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Beware

Anything else?

Coldplay: Viva la Vida

It's up; it's what you expect. But it got good reviews and I happened into it, so drag it down and listen to the definitive pop rock of our time.

Jake One - White Van Music

Another Rhymesayers release, White Van Music is a collection of beats and collaborations from Jake One, a producer and DJ from Seattle, and some of the best MCs in the business. At 22 tracks, the album is a little long and hit-and-miss in some places. But there are some instant classics from MCs such as Freeway, Brother Ali, MF DOOM, and Blueprint. My favorite track is Trap Door (MF DOOM) for the bass line alone. Enjoy.

Murs - Murs for President

Not so much a political concept album as the title might suggest. It's more of a relationship/break-up album. Produced by 9th Wonder, it's not the best album Murs has put out but it's got some killer tracks. My favorite by far is track 4, The Science. If you only listen to one song from this album, listen to that one. Enjoy.

The Killers - Day & Age

I haven't listened to this enough to give you guys any fully thought-out opinions. I'll just say that I like The Killers first two albums, and so far, I like this one too. It seems to be a bit more of a departure for them, throwing in some new elements you haven't heard from them before (jazz?) while retaining their signature sound. Tommy likey.

New Jay Bennett! For Free!

Got this from Jay Bennett, the other day:

That's the big news; now here's the story:

As anyone keeping a watchful eye on me has noticed, October came and went without the release of "Kicking at the Perfumed Air." The reason for this: In the final stages of completing "Kicking at the Perfumed Air," at Pieholden Suite Sound (http://www.myspace.com/pieholdenstudios), I was simultaneously working on a very personal and concise 10-song album called "Whatever Happened I Apologize." After debating back and forth, I have decided to release "Apologize" first. I am somewhat at a loss for words as to explain why I arrived at this decision, save to say it's just one of those lonely and private choices one sometimes has to make in other words, it just felt more like the right album for the time.

It is stark, stripped down, and acoustic based more so than any other record I have made. I really wanted to capture the simpler and more emotional nature of the songwriting, and I knew that the only way I could do this was to put it together quickly, with no second-guessing, and no heavy deliberating about minor details. Consequently I would have to learn to embrace the resultant imperfections and I have. All of the vocals are done live to my own acoustic guitar accompaniment, so it has some warts, but, in my effort to not forsake integrity for technical perfection, the album ended up feeling more honest, immediate, naked, and cohesive to me. I am very proud of presenting myself without my typical voluminous bells and whistles. I am left wondering why I haven't done this more often in the past.

As I've really wanted to help out my studio partner, Matt DeWine, and his partner Casey Meehan, with their new download record label, rockproper, that's just where you can find this new album: http://www.rockproper.com. Again, it's called "Whatever Happened I Apologize," and did I mention it's free? I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think. I would also like to encourage you all to check out some of the other free downloads, by some of the great artists, available on the site.

Love,
Jay
http://www.myspace.com/jaybennett

I haven't really listened to it yet, but thought you all would interested in it.

Albums I been meaning to Post

I have been thinking about things to post for awhile now, but haven't yet, so here a down and dirty post o'rama. Following are the album covers and thought in Haiku form.

Blitzen Trapper - Furr

Blitzen Trapper Rock
Best Album of year, suckers
more focused then last

Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers

Mann returns to form
Elvis Costello on one track
songs 'bout middle age

Ben Folds Five - The Complete Sessions at West 54th

Ben Folds looks so young
DVD of cool PBS show
Before Jesse got fat

Ryan Adams - Cardinology

Adams likes The Dead
Cardinals best band today
Song Writing o.k.

Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue

Expecting more, please
Songs leave me flat, where is Twins
Will give another shot

Mr. President (You're The Man)

Brother Ali's congratulations message to Barack Hussein Obama. The title of the song really says it all.

Her Space Holiday - XOXO, Panda And The New Kid Revival

I don't know a lot about Her Space Holiday other than I like their previous record, The Past Presents The Future. So, I bought their newest album. It's great. I hope you like it too. Enjoy.

Obama video

Here is a link to a cool Obama video.

Bob Dylan: Tell Tale Signs (Boogleg Series Vol. 8)

It's been only in the last 6 or so years that I've really enjoyed my Bob Dylan. I remember when Peterson showed up to Governors praising him. I'm in now, and I think the last three albums have been some of his best work. So I was excited to hear about this double album, a series of outtakes, live performances, and b-sides spanning the last fifteen years. To me, it's worth it just for the two alternate versions of "Mississippi." Enjoy. I'll be seeing him on Nov. 4th at Northrop Auditorium, and I'm expecting it to be a worthy distraction from a day of politics.

Bob Dylan's Tell Tale Signs Preview

NPR offers a full listen to Dylan's new bootleg album. I'll be snagging when it goes live, for the alternate takes of Mississippi alone. Enjoy.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95047293

Good News (if its true)

A New album will feature the music of Ben Folds and the lyrics of Nick Hornby 

This could be fun. 

Nada Surf - Let Go

Until recently, if someone asked me about Nada Surf, I would've replied, "you mean that one-hit-wonder? Didn't they do that song Popular? Yeah, I remember when that song was big, I was in high school. Wait...they're still making music?"
Why yes, yes they are. And it's good music too...imagine that! This album from 2003 is a wonderful little slice of indie-pop pie. Take a sec to read the Rolling Stone review, which encapsulates it nicely:

Nada Surf enjoyed a buzz-bin moment in 1996 with the high school satire "Popular," and while the extremely groovy guitar ripples stuck in your head long after the joke was over, it wasn't the kind of hit that suggests a long-term career, as Harvey Danger or the Primitive Radio Gods would be happy to explain to you. So the New York guitar-rock trio hit the indie trail to earn its cred the hard way, and after the Weezer-like introspection of 2000's startlingly great The Proximity Effect, Nada Surf get it all together on Let Go, the band's best by a mile. Let Go is an excellent rainy-afternoon album, full of gentle and melancholic beauty, with echoes of Love and the Beach Boys. In "Blizzard of '77," "Blonde on Blonde" and "The Way You Wear Your Head," Nada Surf show enough smarts and panache to leave most of their Nineties-rock peers eating hot dust.

Faith No More - King For A Day (1995)

posting because Kevin told me to.