The Submarines, live on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 5-13-2008

The Submarines played a live set for KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic this morning. Their latest album, Honeysuckle Weeks, was released today, and anyone who listens to this performance must have it immediately. If your sole memory of this band was the song "Peace And Hate" from Declare A New State, you'll be amazed at what Blake Hazard does with her voice on the new songs. She sounds somewhere between Bat For Lashes and Jesca Hoop, and often in a vocal domain all her own.

The Submarines, live on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 5-13-2008:

Swimming Pool (mp3)
Submarine Symphonica (mp3)
The Wake Up Song
The Thorny Thicket
Interview
Brightest Hour
1940 (mp3)
You and Me & The Bourgeoisie
Xavia

Watch the entire performance, with interview:

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - "Tell Me" Video

As posted on their myspace blog earlier today.

Laaawwwwwdy.

Arcade Fire - Heroes (David Bowie) - Live, Greensboro, NC Coliseum parking lot, 1 May 2008

Sponsored by the 2008 Obama campaign.



Also: Keep The Car Running.

The Kills - Live on The Current, 5-11-2008

The Kills played a live acoustic set for Minnesota Public Radio's The Current yesterday. Yeah - acoustic. In the interview, vocalist Hotel said, "we never played acoustically before - it's really weird."

The Kills - Live on MPR's The Current (5-11-2008)(mp3s):

Pull A You
Last Day Magic
Venus In Furs

Listen to the entire performance with interview.

The Kills' most recent album is Midnight Boom. Not just recommended, but urged.

DeFord Bailey

DeFord Bailey was the most influential harmonica player in the first half of the 20th century. Despite such acclaim, DeFord died quietly without recognition of his place in American music history.

- from Deford Bailey: A Legend Lost (PBS.org)

If "haunting" weren't such a music review cliche, I'd have the perfect word to describe these arresting southern solo harmonica pieces. They deserve the noise-cancelling headphones, closed eyes, and a vivid imagination - picture yourself in the hot south with dirty boots on.
Deford Bailey - Old Hen Cackle(mp3)
Deford Bailey - Pan American Blues (mp3)

Download Harmonica Genius DeFord Bailey: Best of Blues, Vol. 1. on emusic or itunes.

Pixies, Live in Spokane 2004

as loud as hell
a ringing bell
behind my smile
it shakes my teeth
and all the while
as vampires feed
i bleed

Pixies - I Bleed (Live in Spokane 4-24-2004) (mp3)
Pixies - Where Is My Mind? (Live in Spokane 4-24-2004) (mp3)

From Pixies Live In Spokane, WA 4.24.04, Disclive #672 of 1000.

The Jealous Girlfriends, Live at the 9:30 Club (12 Apr 08)

The Jealous Girlfriends' electrifying opening performance for Nada Surf at the 9:30 Club is up on the NPR live concerts podcast site. Download it (immediately!!) here (mp3) or subscribe to the NPR live concerts podcast here.

And here are a couple of songs from their new self-titled album:

The Jealous Girlfriends - Something In The Water (mp3)
The Jealous Girlfriends - Machines (mp3)

And here's a video:

Black Francis - The Seus (Infadels Remix)

Black Francis is touring this summer with...

...drumroll...

...the Stone Temple Pilots??!!

'Tis true:

Black Francis with Stone Temple Pilots

6/24/08 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
6/25/08 - Tucson, AZ - Anselmo Valencia Amphitheatre
6/27/08 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
6/28/08 - Woodlands, TX - Woodlands Pavilion
6/29/08 - Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Live
7/2/08 - Denver, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
7/4/08 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest

But we should be used to curveballs from the man by now, no? Speaking of curveballs:

Black Francis - The Seus (Infadels Remix)(mp3)

Viva Voce in Blue Giant

According to their latest newsletter, Viva Voce...well, on second thought, rather than summing it up, you should know the whole story. Here's the entire thing:

Hi Friends,

Holy cow it's been a while, hasn't it? For tax reasons, I've been keeping a healthy distance from the internet - but with legal permission, it's now time to get reacquainted. Hope you've been well....good to see you again. Hello, hello.

So, on our way to making the next Viva album we found something missing & sought to remedy it the best way we know how. While there is indeed a new Viva Voce album forthcoming,....we had to make a detour, and oh what a detour it is.

To put it simply - as Viva Voce, Anita and I had played so long as a duo that we'd forgotten the joys of a communal music experience.
We caught the bug to play with other folks during our performance of “Breathe” (by Pink Floyd) with The Shins on our last tour with them. What a blast! What had we been missing? In addition, it became increasingly clear that our old way of recording (i.e. playing it all ourselves), wasn’t enabling us to keep up with the new and prolific output. The stage was set.

When it became evident we were turning a new curve, the reach wasn’t a stretch at all. Evan Railton, of Portland’s defunct Swords Project, had been delving further into his solo endeavor, (the experimental Ovian) and was ripe for collaboration. A friend for years, all it took was an email.
Dischord Records alumni Seth Lorinczi moved to Portland from San Fran a few years back and our friendship began before the boxes were taped up. His musical pedigree is unmatched (The Quails, Crime in Choir, Golden Bears, et al.), and it took little coercing to pour the foundation.

As natural as it can be - friends playing music together.
Enter Blue Giant.

http://www.myspace.com/bluegiantland

We now have a debut show and in our traditional fashion, we aren't just having a normal affair. We plan to give the new Blue Giant EP to those who come to our show! Consider it a gesture of goodwill to a town that has consistently lent us their ear as we delve further into our musical growth. Obviously, this is huge for us. It's going to be a big night and here's hoping to see you there. Mark yr calendars:
Friday June 20th.
Blue Giant Debut @ Wonder Ballroom in pdx.
All ages! + extended beer garden for our fellow imbibers
with support: Shaky Hands, Lackthereof (d.Seim of menomena)

For those of you not in the Pacific Northwest, there will be a proper release for the EP in the short future, as well as a forthcoming Blue Giant full length - once we've found the proper partners and outlets. We're in the process of sorting that out now, & any business or press inquiries should drop a line to: amore@amorephonics.com


I'll reiterate here that we're not done with Viva by any means and that there is, in fact, a new LP on the way - this is just where our hearts, heads and fingers are at the moment.

We hope you enjoy the new inspiration.

- Kevin Robinson

I absolutely love the new inspiration, thank you very much. Very classic, very classy rock with an edgy southern flavor. It sounds like this:

Lonely Girl (low bitrate/low quality preview mp3)
Target Heart (low bitrate/low quality preview mp3)

I can't stop listening to Lonely Girl.

Clock Hands Strangle

Clock Hands Strangle's Red Shift/Blue Shiftis a folk rock space exploration of the mind and the heart. On this voyage, the band illuminate the phenomena of expansion, contraction, alienation, reconciliation. They highlight the irony that growth and learning can lead to distance and solitude - how our experience and accumulation of knowledge can ultimately make us feel infinitesimal. And they explore the ways our minds try to make sense of it all.

Don't let Redshift/Blueshift's philosophical density turn you off. As rich as the songwriting is, the music is delightfully infectious. Lines like the one below are nestled in bright acoustic melodies, and the hushed vocal harmonies resonate throughout. There's thought in these songs, but it's as much a musical journey as it is a mental one.

Yeah we were born
The same way that the universe began
And as we form
The tiny galaxies in our mind expand

Clock Hands Strangle - Redshift (mp3)
Clock Hands Strangle - Sing It! (mp3)

The Watson Twins, live on The Current, 5-2-2008

Yesterday, The Watson Twins refreshed our memories on their stunning vocal harmonies, when they played 3 songs from their forthcoming album, Fire Songs, on Minnesota Public Radio's The Current.

The Watson Twins (Live on The Current, 5-2-2008)(mp3s):

Just Like Heaven (The Cure)
How Am I To Be
Sky Open Up