David Pajo - Pajo - 1968 - mp3 review

I met up with Trevor last night for a couple beers.  We wandered around for a bit before ending up at local 138 on Ludlow in the LES.  A few beers deep at this point we head outside for a smoke where we meet the illustrious Sincere.  Sincere, you know, your ordinary lower east side crazy mother fucker that will “spit rhymes in your face” if you’re drunk enough to let him.  You know, he’ll “have a pint” with you, cuz he “grew up in Britain, innit”.  And he “just came from his hip-hop show over at <insert LES live music venue here>”, he’s “just looking for an after party”.  Oh, and by the way, “have you got a smoke” for him?  “Ah, thanks for the smoke, mate”, and Trevor and I stand outside sucking on our Marlboro lights thinking how great life can be.  We’re happy to be in the city, with a good beer buzz kickin’, and now we’ve got our new friend who is is always sincere, cuz he’s, you know, Sincere.  ”but oh, you know I’m fucking out of my mind, right.  Oh, yeah, I’m fucking crazy.”  Great, lets go get that pint, friend.   We like you, cuz you’re, you know, Sincere.  But please, get the fuck away from us.  So, next time you’re in LES say hello Sincere for me.

David Pajo used to be in Slint.  He also has played with Will Oldham, Tortoise, Stereolab, Royal Trux, Bush League and many others.  These tracks are from his latest solo release called ‘Pajo - 1968′ on Drag City records.

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/02%20Foolish%20King.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/04%20Prescription%20Blues.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/05%20Insomnia%20Song.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/06%20Wrong%20Turn.mp3

been mad diggin’ on Nathan Fake lately.  You guys heard his shit yet?

-mark

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Stars of Track and Field - Centuries Before Love and War - mp3 review

Can you believe I went to see snowden again.  By myself….AGAIN.  I went to see Forward Russia at Bowery, who were headlining, but I got there early to check out my boys(+girl) again.  They kind of redeemed themselves from the CMJ show, but overall I was left with a ’seen it all before’ feeling.  I guess that’s what you get when you see a band 3 times on the same tour.  Forward Russia was def. worth the trip though.  I didn’t realize that the girl in the band was the drummer.  She looked so awkward back there.  Holding the sticks like they were some foreign objects she had never seen before, sitting straight as board, and holding her stare at the back wall the entire show.  But she played remarkably well.  There’s something strange about musicians that look awkward when they play.  It almost makes them sound better, or maybe its just that it seems that much more unbelievable.  I remember the first time I saw Ben Harper play at the Bayou in DC (Dan you remember, right?).  He got on stage, sat in a chair, and put his weissenboard on his lap.  He held it like he had never touched a guitar in his life.  His fingers nervously searching the neck for the appropriate notes.  But the sounds that came out were perfect.  Don’t make fun, and don’t judge till you’ve heard him slam that weissenboard through a marshall stack in your face.  I still think his first 3 records were amazing. 

Stars of Track and Field are from Portland, OR.  These tracks are from their upcoming release ‘Centuries Before Love and War’, which was suppose to come out in June of 06, but was delayed after the band signed a 3 album deal on Wind Up records.  I think the release date is now 1/16/07.  These guys also toured with Jeremy Enignk earlier this year.

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/01%20Centuries.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/03%20With%20You.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/05%20Real%20Time.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/08%20Say%20Hello.mp3

I am an insensitive fuck.  If you don’t celebrate Christmas you can still get a CD, call it a Hanukah gift, or a Kwanzaa gift, or whatever.  Didn’t mean to imply that the CDs were only for christians.  doh.

-mark

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Owen - At Home With - mp3 review

Haven’t got much to write today.  Spent the night harassing and interviewing my family members and writing at my apartment.  Not sure why I’m doing it, but I’ve found it necessary to document my life on paper.  Everyone has a story, just trying to find mine I guess.

Ok, this is some mellow emo shit.  But you guys know me, emo til the end.  I’ll pretend like everyone doesn’t know this band’s whole history like I do.  Owen is Mike Kinsella’s latest project.  Mike was the drummer for Cap’n Jazz and Joan of Arc.  His brother Tim sang in both of those bands as well as Owls.  Mike was also the front man for American Football.  I’m not sure but I think he may have had something to do with Make Believe as well.  If you haven’t heard of any of those bands and you dig these tracks at all, you should def. check them out.  Although Joan of Arc’s def. fell way the fuck off after their 2nd record (don’t even bother with anything after Live in Chicago).  Owen is def. no where near my favorite out of all of Mike’s projects, but I still dig these tracks sometimes.

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/01%20Bad%20News.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/06%20Windows%20And%20Doorways.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/03%20Bags%20Of%20Bones.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/08%20One%20Of%20These%20Days.mp3

was thinking about printing up some CDs of my favorite tracks that I’ve sent out on this thing so far.  If anyone wants one let me know and I’ll make it an early Christmas present for you.

-mark

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Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller - mp3 review

Had an awesome time in DC this weekend.  Spent most of it with family.  Went ice skating in the sculpture garden with Casey.  Walked around the national mall and visited good ‘ole Abe and the World War II memorial.  I hadn’t been to the Lincoln Memorial since I was in 1st or 2nd grade, which I guess is kind of odd for a kid that grew up 30 minutes outside of the city (district?).  Sometimes when I go back to DC I miss NYC as soon as I step off the bus, but I had an amazing sense of nostalgia on this trip.  I mistook this for sadness, or lament.  My parents took me on a mini tour of all the places that had changed in the area since I had left, roads being widened, planned communities, strip malls, shopping centers, and multi-level office buildings spreading like wildfire.  While I tried to build mental pictures of these places as they were before I left I realized that I wasn’t at all saddened by the changes.  I was happy to see them go, to know that they no longer existed.  I was comforted by the feeling that I could never go to back and look at them the way they were. Ben Kweller (born June 16, 1981) is the former lead singer of the 1990s band Radish, which is critically dismissed as a nirvana imitation.  He began his solo career in 2002.  In 2003, Kweller toured

The Radio Department - Pet Grief - mp3 review

I had to go back to Planet Rose last night to get my bag.  Originally the plan was to just stop by and pick it up, then head out to see Tahiti 80.  Turns out Tahiti 80 was actually sold out (what the fuck?  for real? are we talking about the same band?).  So this time I went with Andy, which was prolly my first mistake.  The second was thinking that I could sing Journey after about 5 whiskey’s, that shit is high man.  The third was trying to sing every Smiths song they had (and Weezer, and Britney Spears, and Depeche Mode, etc, etc) in a drunken duet with Andy.  The final mistake was letting his girlfriend take photos and video of us doing it.  Good times. 

Some Swedish kids who got their name from a gas station/radio repairer shop in Lund, Sweden, which had a large sign with the name Radioavdelningen, (”The Radio Department” in Swedish) hanging outside their shop.  These tracks are from their upcoming release ”Pet Grief” which is due to release March 15th on Labrador Records.

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/12%20Always%20A%20Relief.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/10%20Sleeping%20In.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/03%20A%20Window.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/02%20Pet%20Grief.mp3

I’ll be in DC for the weekend if any of you DC kids want to hang.  give me a call (347)-232-1287. 

-mark

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Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder - mp3 review

Went to a party at the SPIN offices last night to see Silver Sun Pickups play.  They kind of suck live, but I still really like that band.  I was kind of envious of the SPIN office though.  Must be nice to work at a place that has monthly parties with an open bar, free food, and a live band in their conference room.  Afterward, headed to Planet Rose for kamikaze karaoke, which scared me enough to dart outta there without my bag.  No way that’s even thinkable without being totally wasted, have you guys ever tried that shit sober? scary.

No need to offer any background on this band, right.  ‘member these guys.   These tracks are from their upcoming release on yep rock.

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/05%20Same%20Old%20Drag.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/01%20Can%20You%20Feel%20It_.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/02%20Skyway.mp3

-mark

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Fields - 7 From The Village - mp3 review

Everyone make sure to wish Jackie a very ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ today.  Today she is turning a lovely XX years old.  Well, lets just say this one’s extra special.  Love ya sweetie! 

You can prolly get this entire album for free if you do a few blog searches and download all the free tracks available, so I apologize if you guys have already heard this stuff.  Lately its been getting a bit harder to find things I like so I’ve been resorting to my ‘well, I guess its cool’ pile to find tracks to send out.  These kids are from Birmingham although last.fm describes them as ‘Anglo-Icelandic’.  These tracks are from their most recent EP ‘7 from the village’ (vice).

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/FIELDS-7%20From%20The%20Village-06%20-%20Heretic.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/FIELDS-7%20From%20The%20Village-04%20-%20Sisters.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/FIELDS-7%20From%20The%20Village-05%20-%20Roll%20Down%20The%20Hill.mp3

No one wants to write reviews anymore, huh.  Not as fun, but I’ll keep sending ‘em if you guys keep listening to ‘em.

-mark

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Mogwai - Zidane - A 21st Century Portrait - mp3 review

When I was like 6 I pushed our dog sparky down the steps because he kept eating my leggo pieces and biting my hands.  I watched him roll down the steps and thought “that’s you get” as he hit the floor and yelped.  It wasn’t until I saw him immediately start running back to me that I started to feel guilty.  Just seeing him stumble back up the steps, his little tongue hanging out, no grudge, no resentment, no anger.  I was forgiven even before I realized I did anything that warrented forgiveness.  I wished so much at that moment that I could talk to dogs so that I could tell him how sorry I was.

whoa…ok…that was weird, huh?

I was talking to Dave Hyland about sending these tracks earlier today.  We both agreed that while we still liked Mogwai its kind of getting to the point where its like, “ok, I get it, you’re Mogwai”.  Just another example of our short attention spans?  Or maybe these guys are just a one trick pony?  Hard to tell with these tracks cuz they’re from the movie sound track for “Zidane - A 21st Century Portrait”, we can all guess what that’s about, right.  Careful with these, I fell asleep twice at my desk when I got this promo.

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/03%20Wake%20Up%20And%20Go%20Berserk.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/01%20Black%20Spider.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/02%20Terrific%20Speech%202.mp3

-mark

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Brice Woodall - Feathery Trigger - mp3 review

if you ever wanted to know what insound kids are listening to these days check it out: http://www.insound.com/lists.php?groupid=1.  Don’t make fun of my cheesy photo though.

Brice Woodall is quirky kid from chicago that likes to drink.  He won the Independent Music World Series in 2005.  Along with bragging rights, that also won him a shitload of free music equipment and duplication so he decided to use it all to self-release an album.  These tracks are from his upcoming release ‘Feathery Trigger’.

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/01%20redwoods.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/05%20short%20list.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/10%20passing%20with%20regrets.mp3

a few peeps on the list would actually really be interested in what you think of these tracks, so if you have some time please write something.

-mark

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Jucifer - If THine Enemy Hunger - mp3 review

Jucifer is a boyfriend-girlfriend team from Athens, GA.  Their first record was put out on their label ‘Crack Rock’, and was later remastered and released on Capricorn Records.  These track are from their most recent release on Relapse.  These guys get pegged as a metal band for some reason (uh….maybe the name?), I feel like some of the tracks have a darker breeders kind of thing going on.

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/04%20Hennin%20Hardine.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/02%20Centralia.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/08%20Pontius%20of%20Palia.mp3

http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3r/09%20Backslider.mp3

-mark

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