overdue library books

stuff to remember

the clean-i keep forgetting i like them. basic first wave punk/glasgow kinda sound (though no from glaslow or very punk) very simple, stripped down sound with fun melodies. the perfect thing to put on when not doing much of anything and you want to play something to ignore.

Capsule-japanesse pop/lounge at its finest (or the finest i can find chillin' here in america) bubbly and poppy with an air of going on vaction to some distant shore. they have a pretty good range of impala lounge to dance floor beats that have hard to find melodies.

st.vincent-actor. singer annie clark from brooklyn, was the guitarist of polyphonic spree. oh wow! shes really good! a sort of strange awe and eerie sounds undermask thoughtful and beautiful sounds. great voice, excellent arrangement, and amazing sound.

mos def-The Ecstatic. mos def is good again! not that he was ever terrible, but this album goes back to something that seems hard to obtain. it has a loud and rough sound (electric guitars blistering on top of heavy but smart beats) with honest, confrontational and insightful lyrics that dont seem to be intended to be marketed an mass distributed, but for something more. awesome

madeline-white flag. new madeline adams! though she is still only my age (or younger!) she seems to be resting comfortably into a more mature, relaxed sound. the album has a full band with piano and all, and has a much more southern country sound, but with the same beautiful melody and lyrics. a solid step in the a new, fun direction.

camera obscura-My Maudlin Career. new CO. still the same catchy tunes and wistful spirit of the the other albums, but this one with a lot of strings or almost ochrestra sound pushing the emotions to be a bit cheezy. will they ever find love? who knows!

The Marked men- ahhhhh!!!! so good! a modern punk/indie band that has a solid sound and a maturity or long ago, (but not in a snobby, im better than you, kind of way) its kinda like of ted leo was split into a few differnt guys who formed a band and untied together to bring out the awesome sound they have with in, but with no one front man.

fuck the ba-ba-ba-ba-bank!

more music for me to remember. i totally swear-

野宮真貴 (Maki Nomiya) - Lady Miss Warp japanese pop/lounge. super sweet sweeping sounds. this one of those things ive been looking for a while, a certian sound that sweets you in and give you a nostalgic feeling of a peaceful meadow on a breezy day. sweet j-pop lounge.

frances gall-baby pop. old french ye-ye on a simple, sophomoric, almost adolescent kind of sound. great voice, a little rough at times but really endearing. definitely the style of 1966 france.


dead to me-Cuban Ballerina. great punk rock with catchy choruses. very off with their heads with a bit more of a main stream appeal, in that really good way. these guys have their own thing going on despite the area of punk they are playing in can get a little muddy. very talented guys.


Coeur de pirate-self titled. french Canadian singer. fun, soft, a little sad at times, but in that "life is still good" kinda way. if regina specktor was consistently good, and you know, from canada. great piano player too. the kind of artist you learn about through your girl friend and end up really liking (which is exactly how i learned about her)

Asobi Seksu-hush. new album! great release, they have gotten a little more up beat and over all more appealing, the album has a stange start with jumping right in to the mess of the sound, still fantastic, this progressing. quiet lovely.


sam cooke-night beat. one of the very few "albums" by sam cooke before he left us. a nice step away from the tons of classic hits, this album has a bit more personal feel, a great look at the inner workings of a soul singer working out rhythms and sounds privately, but in a refined kinda way (no demo tapes here) not as poppy as his singles, you can really feel the influences from other music, his past, and his faith. awesome.

doreen shaffer-adorable. i have been trying to find this for ages, finally got my hands on the files. not too too exciting, but still what i was expecting for the queen of jamacian ska. pretty sure shes singing with the skatalites on these records, all the songs ive lost or have been searching for are on this, so while its not the longest album, it is very consistent, with lulls or flat songs. ska at its finest, most traditional sense.

low blows are a thing of the past

oh my goodness, it has been forever since i last updated this thing. so heres whats new.
the softies-its love
talk about twee, the girl from AGSFB and the girl from tiger trap and go sailor. the duo make music that sounds like the name, super softy. no drums or keys or anything extra, very nice, simple guitar and singing, perfect for late at night when you dont want to wake up your roommates.

the stereo-three hundred
pop rock and roll that takes me back to high school mix tapes and awful car speakers. the guys from animal chin and the impossibles got together and made this band (in my opinion a little bit better than the other bands, but only by a little) and under fueled by ramen records. songs about girls, understanding what you're going through, and more girls. a tang of emo, garage rock and lots of feelings. great rhythms, and some piano ballets. wheres my anniversary hoodie covered in patches and pins?

best fwends-Alphabetically Arranged
two dirty kids from texas making super funky fresh beats with overly catchy beats and samples sliced up for something that you cant really categorize but can dance crazy to. i love these guys!

Vic Ruggiero-solo albums!
finally! ive been able to find these solo albums from the vic from the slackers. very new york folk/ska/blues style, feels like if bob dylan grew up listening to laurel aitken and prince buster, and, you know, wasnt overly popular and a house hold name (but that doesnt make him suck though, since vic is awesome!, also a nice guy, i got to meet him years ago at a slackers show)

totally michael-self titled!
ahahahaha! finally there is an album! this guy is the definition of fun! dancable pop sings coming from a DIY background. songs about being a kid, the prom and other awesome things, this is guaranteed to make you shake your butt.

heculese and the love affair-self titled- the singer from antony and the johnsons with some other new york based people, make a set of strangely cool, funky, new york noise/dance songs. it feels like stepping into a gay and lesbian club in the late 80's and feeling completely at home.

there have obviously been a ton of other bands ive recently been listening to, but i will have to write about them later. in the mean time so i dont forget, heres a list.
tiger trap
the max levine ensemble
the carrots
Marnie Stern
School of Seven Bells
France Gall
The Clean
Rocketship
Mummy The Peepshow
Off With Their Heads
Wayne Shorter
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

night-of broken glass

been getting tons of new stuff. super fun! still have tons to filter through. in the mean time of figuring out my likes and not-likes-as-much, here is some new stuff ive been really enjoying.
Jay Reatard-singles 06-07, singles 08. just got 06-07 on vinyl today ( i had originally bought curtis mayfield but it was warped so i had to exchange it, dang!) but 06-07 is something im glad i have, since its one of my most favorites this year hands down. its like if scooby doo solved murder mysteries instead of busting guys in masks. frantic, nervous and catchy as hell. this guy is amazing.



shugo takumaro-night pieces. a japanese artist that i dont know too much about, but i do know is a technical genius. beautiful, floating songs that make you feel at peace with everything, even if you dont really understand. he had played recently but i was unable to see him, sold out show!, but my friends did go and got him to autograph his cd for me! super awesome! i read a review and he was described as a nuclear physicist playing with legos. pretty accurate.

other bands ive been enjoying
caribou, mouse on mars, jonathan richman, kemuri, and so on.

more to come later!

break outs and break ups. sure

so this goes against the nature of this blog for me, (as it is only for me to catalog bands i like) but at this point all things considered, i feel its ok for my self to put up. so ive been working on a mix for myself. and as all mixes, its like breaking up, it takes ages longer than you thing. so in respect of that high fidelity reference at my current placement, here is a fairly decent break up mix ive made for myself. and with the art of a break up mix is not so much to make you feel sad about how you feel (all though that is very important) but its more about hearing others opening their hearts and to know others go through these sorts of things and feel similar and separate than you. anyways, here is the mix.

good ol' fashioned nightmare

Hey all,
been a while since my last post, got a few new things to jot down and mention. so my ipod shit the bed a few weeks ago, and i was able to get a new one, but i lost all the music i had on it. luckily i have all my CD's but everything i got from friends and collected over the years was also on there, so you can imagine my frustration. anywho, im getting most of it back, and finding some new stuff i like along the way.

fleet foxes-so i just learned about this band and apparently they're really popular? im getting out of the loop! i stumbled on them by accident, and at first wasnt too impressed, now i cant stop listening! their self titled album has a beautiful, hymnal sound mixed with modern softer sounds like iron and wine and peter bjorn and john. the album has a very gospelly feeling, with smooth transitions and a great pulse for build ups and harmonies. seems to be the perfect thing to listen to at night.

joe dassin-Guantanamera. a great, old french musician from the 60's and 70'. these songs are a little less poppy than some of the other popular french sings that were coming out at the time, but they are just as beautiful and haunting. i first learned about him through the wes anderson film the darjeeling limited, and joe dassin definitely fits in there. a mixture of nick drake, Francoise Hardy, Van Morrison, and ray davies, but you know, french.

the hot toddies-Smell The Mitten. a seattle (i think?) girl rock twee band. in the vien of all girl summer fun band, but most of the songs are funny and about sex or boyfriends. so kinda alot like AGSFB. a bit more younger sounding with a great sense of fun.


in other music news, matt and kim have a new single out, good ol' fashioned nightmare, and it is really good. its stuck on repeat most of the time. look for new album "grand" soonish! (?)
more to come!

flying fortress part 1., the skeleton for creating

hey all,
it has been a little while since my last post, and the past little while has been a little crazy! finished being an RA for my college, went to alaska to visit my brother and then went to San Francisco to visit one of my good friends and his girlfriend, then got back and 3 days later went to a party, talked to girls and got wicked drunk so i could wake up a few hours later to move to motha fuckin brooklyn! so we finally moved into our new place, me and two of my close friends. and its really wonderful, many good things will happen here.
so with all that happening, i of course spent tons of money, and little was on music, but there have been a few gems along the way.
the new-
a friend from school, ross who goes by Otis Surbernt, is some sort of distorted pop genius. very catchy songs with a solid understanding of how to make a living, breathing song, but with terrible (or terribly funny) lyrics. songs about fucking while your girlfriend is on her period, drunk driving crazy, the monster of frankenstien writing his creator a letter, and so on. his current project he is working in is called killer whale, look it up on myspace. i expect great things from him in the near future.

ratatat-LP3, the newest album from a band hard to classify, is now even hard to classify. seriously, this album is brilliant. it has a spooky edge, excellently composed and complex, and at times leave you wondering what if this is the first time you have heard these strange and beautiful sounds. its a huge step up from the last two albums, which are good, but this one is just really good. complicated synthesized guitars, layered over beats and samples and run through all kinds of adjusters. great fun.

ozomatli-self titled. this is an old album, i know, but i just bought it. the multi- ethnic band that does everything at once, and if they cant fit it all in one, they do it in the next. a mixture of salsa, latin, rock, hip hop, ska and shear energy. it is a constant party.

the old-
the pogues. so ive been listening to the pogues a LOT lately, (i find irish songs help me to get over ex girlfriends and breakups) and the beautiful drunken words of shane mcgowan from the pogues fits that bill. lyrics that touch the levels of great literature, and songs that blend old irish folk songs and modern rock come out perfectly from the pogues. they have the ability to give the listener almost no hints as to when the songs were made, with melodys and lyrics that have constant application to any time in history.

the cramps-dirty, sexy, pulp psychobilly from times long past. this is the kinda band that makes you feel really proud of your fetishes instead of embarrassed. pretty raw, basic rock and roll made exciting.


more to come when the next paycheck comes rolling in!