this is my first post here. im not even sure what im supposed to be writing about. music maybe? fuck that. im going to write about whatever the hell i feel like writing about. besides, most of the people on this site who have been here from the beginning dont even post comments anymore about the actual music. so i’m going to write about stupid meaningless bullshit. stuff that you probably don’t even care about. honestly though, hopefully it will be intelligent and interesting enough to read.
i am feeling like i’m getting sick. you know when the onslaught of sickness first starts to hit you and you feel a little woozy and jittery and are startled easily? well, i was walking home today past mccarren park in williamsburg. along bedford ave where there is a black steel fence that lines the park. if you live in nyc, you’ve probably been startled by a rat on the sidewalk before. you are in your own little world, walking along, maybe you have your ipod playing and your just walking, enjoying the day when BAM! a rat runs across your path and your heart skips a beat and you almost jump out of your skin. well, thats pretty much what happened to me… except it was just a black plastic bag blowing against the fence. i must have looked pretty stupid.
I generally try not to include my opinion of the music I send (try being the operative word). I usually prefer to hear what you guys think and to watch you guys argue about it, but this post has to be an exception a) because none of you guy are writing about the music anymore anyway. Seriously, I was going back and posting some of the old comments and you guys used to rip some shit up. What gives, just not feeling it anymore? But more importantly b) this first track is so freakin’ perfect that I couldn’t even think of sending it along without my whole hearted approval stamped all over it. Just such a soft, bitter, visceral punch in the gut. I’m not so proud to admit that there are a few people in this world I would love to dedicate this song to, imagining in my head the refrain sticking in their head like gum to the bottom of thier shoe, “if you come back, you come back with a heart attack”. Oh man that hurts.
Orillia Opry is Danial Noble and Emma Baxter from Montreal. They rallied together an impressive backing band of musicians to record this latest release on to 24 track 2″ analog tape at The Treatment Room in Montreal. They feature a cast of some of the best musicians Montreal has to offer, including members of Plants and Animals and The Ideal Lovers and produced by Warren C. Spicer (Plants and Animals, Katie Moore, David Macleod). These tracks are from that album, Lighthouse for Straggler’s Eyes, which is suppose to be released today on Ships at Night Records.
A Buddhist friend of mine was telling me about how she sometimes feels overwhelmed by the number of souls in her home. She keeps a lot of pets, some of which require little to no attention or affection, but just the mere presence of their souls in the house weigh on her humanity. I thought I knew what she was talking about until I found out last week that I had a new roommate. He’s a terrible roommate in every sense. He doesn’t pay rent, he doesn’t clean up after himself, he eats my food without asking, and he doesn’t help pay for groceries. He really is a pest…..no, I mean he really is. He’s a tiny little mouse, and as much as I’d like to get him out of my apartment, I can’t help but feel a bit of compassion for the little guy. Seeing him, standing on his hind legs holding a tiny crumb with his stubby little hands, nervously staring at me with his big round, glassy eyes, makes me wonder if we can’t just get long and work out our differences. I imagine the conversation going something like this, “so, look. I’m totally fine with you crashing here, and well, its cool if you eat my food, you really don’t that much anyway, but how about just eating the food in your cabinet,eh? I’ll even leave you some food in there. And look, can you please just try to be a bit more hygienic. I mean there’s a bathroom right down the hallway, just use it. And for god sake wash your hands before crawling all over my stuff. And could you do me a favor, if I’m having friends over, just try to stay out of site. It’s not that I don’t like you, but you know, some humans just aren’t as understanding.”
Celebration is comprised of singer Katrina Ford, multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis and drummer David Bergander. The band’s sound is centered around the unique output provided by all the instruments played by Antanaitis in the studio as well as live. He plays all of the music in the band including organ, Moog bass pedals, guitorgan and electric keys, leaving Ford to drape the sound with enticing vocals and Bergander with intense drumming. Their self-titled was produced with David Sitek of TV on the Radio and also includes the other members of the band contributing backing vocals on various tracks throughout. In addition to producing, Sitek also contributed guitar parts and synths. Other noteworthy members on the album include Martin Perna and Stewart Bogle who contributed flute and sax into the mix. Celebration is the result.
I spent the entire weekend couped up in a small one room rehearsal space recording music. My saving grace during those late night sessions were the plethora of coffees and highly cafinated energy drinks I evidently absorbed. There’s no better way to ruin a work week than to break up a normally caffeine free routine with a two day cracked out excursion into the world of insomnia. Just the thought of starting Monday without some kind of supplemental *jolt* weighed on my eyelids. But I fought through it, content to look like an idiot every morning on the train hypnotically bobbing my head back and forth resisting the urge collapse onto the shoulder of the stranger next to me. That is until today. The first day I’ve felt the cold fall weather, and while I a big fan of drab overcast days the dreariness of it all sent me running to the nearest corner store lusting for the exact thing that put me into this state.
Vampire Weekend, an indie rock / afro-beat style trio hailing from New York, has had a fair share of buzz floating around them lately. They recently signed to XL records and have been collecting a slew of accolades from the likes of NME, Rolling Stone, Under The Radar, and many others. These tracks are from the EP, Mansard Roof, on XL which was released 10/22/07 with the exception of ‘Walcott’ which I grabbed from the www.thebluewalrus.com Snazzy Vol. 9 mix.
Quick update on the blog, I’ve got all the old posts up now, still working on the comments. I haven’t turned on the auto email posting yet but will probably have it ready next week. If you guys wanna browse old posts or download old tracks check it out: http://www.r8e8r.com/mp3review.
Anyone see any good CMJ shows? I didn’t really go to shit except the Insound party and one or two random shows. This post is long overdue as the record came out at least a month ago, but I wasn’t sure if I was *allowed* to send it out. But, now I have permission so enjoy and let me know what you think.
Georgie James is a new, classic four-piece pop/rock outfit from Washington D.C., featuring John Davis (ex-drummer of the defunct Q and Not U) and D.C.-based singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn. Having met through mutual friends, Davis and Burhenn (who had released 4 solo albums on her own Laboratory Records prior to this project) found out that they both had an affinity for retro-pop from the 1950-70’s; subsequently, they decided to start working together as a band derived from said style. Davis would handle guitars and drums arrangements while Burhenn oversaw the Rhodes electric piano - both would share vocal duties. A few hours later they had written a few songs, and decided this was a worthy project to take aboard.
My morning commute now includes a brisk walk through the heart of Borough Park. A nice condensed chasidic neighborhood where most of the signs read from right to left and english is rarely heard on the street. Lately I’ve been struggling with an odd realization that this addition to my daily routine has revealed. I am oddly attracted chassidic women. There’s something about the long dark pleated skirts, the button up collared shirts, the dark homely hair and light eyes, the natural unmade faces. The plainness is amazingly sexy to me for some reason. Sort of a cross between that elementary school teacher crush and that catholic school girl lasciviousness. Dear God what am I saying? At least one person on this list has to relate, no? Come on, I know some of you girls dig on those curls.
I’m assuming most of you guys got the new radiohead already and there’s no need to send any of that out, right? Lemme know if you guys wanna check it out, or wanna discuss. I know I just sent some Jesu out, but I like these tracks and thought you guys would too. These are from the latest EP that came out yesterday.
I’ve totally flaked on running since Casey started school. I just don’t feel like there’s time, but in all honesty there’s no reason why I couldn’t go in the morning before work. I just don’t fucking feel like getting up at 6 am for that shit. Is it really worth it? Anyway, have all you last.fm users seen this thing? http://mainstream.vincentahrend.com, it tells you how mainstream you are based on your last.fm chart. Andy and Joe are working on the alt-o-meter, which of course tells you…….
The duo of Handsome Furs, comprised of Montreal residents Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) and his fiancé Alexei Perry, began as an idea in the winter of 2006. Handsome Furs toured Europe before having recorded any songs, and has since opened for the likes of Paavoharju, Islaja, David Cross and Modest Mouse without having released a proper record. Recorded at Wolf Parade’s studio, Mount Zoomer, in the heart of December, these tracks are from their debut, Plague Park, released May 22 on Sub Pop.
