The Black Heart Procession - Live on KEXP 6-30-06

The Black Heart Procession played four songs on KEXP yesterday. Prepare to be entranced and harrowed. Their spell has no cure.

The Black Heart Procession (Live on KEXP 6-30-06) (mp3s):

Not Just Words
The Letter
To Bring You Back
The Spell

Own The Spell.

The Long Winters - Putting the Days to Bed

The Long Winters' Putting the Days to Bed has been growing on me for weeks now, and I wish I knew why. There's something about John Roderick's voice that is instantly familiar, but I can't nail it down exactly. Maybe it's in the way he skips and holds syllables to break the constraints of verse, to blur the distance between lines and give an intimate, sincere feel. Or it might be the way the instruments meld together and build smoothly into synchronized climaxes. Then again, it could just be because Roderick's delivery just reminds me of Counting Crows' Adam Duritz at his most passionate.

One of these days I might nail it. For now, it doesn't matter. It's a fantastic album that keeps me company on long drives, and I'll just enjoy it whether there's anyone pulling levers behind the curtain or not.

The Long Winters mp3s (from Putting the Days to Bed)

Hindsight
Clouds
Pushover

Latin Soul Orchestra

Look no further for the perfect weekend driving music.

If you let me love you for a while
Whoah, baby, I'll give you my chile
If you let me love you for a while
Whoah, baby, I'll make you smile

Latin Soul Orchestra - Let Me Love You (mp3)
Latin Soul Orchestra - Puerto Rico Illama (mp3)

From Latin Soul Orchestra

Jim Noir - Tower of Love

Let me get this out of the way: Jim Noir's Tower of Love is the most ear-pleasing album of the year. Let me get this out of the way as well: It has been out (in Britain) since last year. The Barsuk American release, which contains two extra tracks, is going to send it over the tipping point, in the same way that the Postal Service's Give Up exploded after it pretty much sat there like unopened junk mail for about a year, or the way Arcade Fire's Funeral caught fire after the Pitchfork review. Yeah, it's like that.

The opening track, "My Patch," immediately reveals his Brian Wilsonesque tendencies, with short piano and vocal pulses harmonizing underneath the repeating "If you ever step on my patch, I'll bring you down, bring you down." After a short pause, the beats come in to give the song the feel of a light remix of a Beach Boys song. But the thing that tops it all off is what sounds like a children's guitar, all out of tune, with no sustain, which doesn't diminish its shine, but adds a certain innocence and brings the song even closer to perfection. It's like he built a lush song around a recording of the first time you ever tried to play guitar.

I Me You I'm Your (mp3) keeps the melodic momentum, but the acoustic guitar slyly strums itself into prominence. The vocal harmonies are spellbinding.

The Key of C is, again, melodic showboating, but Noir knows when to interrupt the ecstacy with the tone of an old music box, and how to heighten it with the unexpected electric guitar, heavy on the wah. Crazy, man.

You'll see other reviews calling these songs sunshine-y, bright, shimmery, luminous, bubblegum, psychedelic summery pop and whatnot, but don't buy into that so fast. Noir, after all, is French for Black. My Patch seems to be a self-pitying lament about personal isolationism. Computer Song might be about the failings of technology, but it might also be about the inherent unreliability in everything. In Key of C, he sings "I want to be/in the key of C/It's easier to play it." Something so familiar, so stable, something that the singer can't be because he wavers.

The quality of the songs on Tower of Love doesn't waver, though. The rest of the CD is as brilliant as the tracks posted here. They'll find their way to a large audience.

Tower of Love is due out 8 Aug 06. Sign up for the pre-release here.

Mp3s that move me.

I don't need to say much about this. It's a moving alternate take of Dylan's Outlaw Blues, recorded in mid-January 1965 (the original version is on Bringing It All Back Home).

Dylan - Outlaw Blues (alternate take) (mp3)


Speaking of "moving:"

Slide your bo-tay
Next to mine
Sugar's running
Up and down my spine

You cannot resist: Chicken Lips - Bad Skin (DJ Kicks) (mp3) (from DJ Kicks: The Exclusives)

The Modern Mixtape

...sadly, might be a CD of mashups. Not exactly the stuff of a Thurston Moore or Kurt Cobain mixtape.

But sometimes mashups can be wicked fun.

Years ago, my friends and I played this "Name That Tune" kind of game on road trips. We'd hit the "seek" button on the stereo, and the first person that named the artist and song got a point. Country and classical didn't count. You can't listen to Girl Talk without playing that game. In the two tracks below, you'll hear Black Eyed Peas, Paula Abdul, Kansas' Carry On My Wayward Son, Smokey Robinson, Smashing Pumpkins, Young M.C., Laid Back's Don't Ride the White Horse, Fleetwood Mac...you get the idea. If GT were a poster, it would be a photomosaic.

Both are from Girl Talk's new CD, Night Ripper. It's a hell of a lot of fun. Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) thanks 164 artists in his liner notes. I dare you not to peek.


Girl Talk - Overtime (mp3)
Girl Talk - Give and Go (mp3)

Bottleneck Friday

The archive seems to be down.

When it comes back up again, here's some dusty old bottleneck blues for a sweltering Friday afternoon. Grab an ice-cold lemonade or iced tea, pop open the guitar case, and let that six-string breathe.

Casey Bill Weldon - Back Door Blues (mp3)
Casey Bill Weldon - Hitch Me To Your Buggy and Drive Me Like a Mule (mp3)
Kokomo Arnold - Feels So Good (mp3)
.

From Bottleneck Guitar Trendsetters of the 1930s.

Groping for Luna at the Hexenhaus

First...

Lunafied, the digital-only Luna covers compilation, is out now. It will hold me over until the new Dean & Britta album comes out early next year.

Luna - Outdoor Miner (Wire) (mp3)

By the way, they put up a cover of Adam Green's "We're Not Supposed to Be Lovers" up on their myspace a couple of weeks ago. And check out the e-card for the Tell Me Do You Miss Me DVD.


and Second...

A short quiz:

Hexenhaus (mp3), a gorgeous cello-decorated song by Michigan band Canada, has as its subject the following:

A) A thrash metal band from Sweden.
B) Hexenhaus: Der Swingerclub, in Germany.
C) A witch's cottage.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.


Hexenhaus

Their Beige Stationwagon (mp3) is equally beautiful.

Power + Pop

Guitar speedwork in the form of rapidly arpeggiated ascending chords, yeah, been there, done that, don't need to hear it anymore, right? Right. But when it's done with electronic blips instead of guitar, in a song that blows up into a sonic orgy with heavy beats, like a hard Death From Above remix that happens to be neither Death From Above, nor remixed, then it's something worth listening to.

What Made Milwaukee Famous - I Decide (mp3)

-from Trying to Never Catch Up, soon available for preorder at Barsuk.


Speaking of Barsuk, Viva Voce do not fuck around. Well, they do at first, with the EZ piano for beginners, but they get serious at about the 1:30 mark.

Viva Voce - We Do Not Fuck Around (mp3)

-from Get Yr Blood Sucked Out

Jose Gonzalez, Live on MBE, 6-15-2006

Jose Gonzalez played these songs in the KCRW studio last Thursday, but I like to imagine him playing them in my living room.

Jose Gonzalez (Live on MBE, 6-15-2006)(mp3s):

Deadweight on Velveteen
Slow Moves
Sensing Owls
All You Deliver
Stay in the Shade
Lovestain
Suggestions
Crosses
Hints
Hand On Your Heart

Own Veneer.


Watch the stunning video for the heartbreaking "Hand On Your Heart" here (quicktime).

Sonic Youth, Live at the 9:30 Club, 6-15-2006

As a Sonic Youth fan for twenty-something years, I've become used to being confounded by the piercing anarchic tangents of their live shows. They're not a band to give the audience exactly what they're looking for, because they know what the audience needs. So it was kind of weird to hear people calling out their favorite songs from the SY catalog, as though that might influence what they play next. Who expects a best-of-SY show to happen, ever? These guys have always been about pushing forward, not reminiscing, and creating, rather than chasing, the zeitgeist.

At last Thursday's early 9:30 Club show, fans got what they probably never imagined from a Sonic Youth show - clarity. The show was straightforward and accessible, complete with two near-lullabys ("Lights Out" and "Or"), and audible lyrics. There wasn't a wrinkled brow in the room. Thurston even teased the crowd at one point, asking if we wanted it louder, faster--"Do you want total violence?", and then introduced the mellow, inspiring "Rapture."

Don't get me wrong. "Drunken Butterfly," "100%," and "Incinerate" all reminded us that Thurston Moore might be the greatest of guitar gods, who creates a tension that nobody--nobody else can approach. He still has great hair, and his six-foot-something silhouette has more presence and is more imposing than Lincoln's ghost. When he stands at the edge of the stage in the platonic ideal of a guitar stance, he's not a band member - he's a damn superhero.

No, the violence was still there. It was simply a violence that you could understand. Violence for pop fans.

These mp3s are not from the NPR stream, which you can listen to here. They're from another recording.

Sonic Youth (Live at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC)(mp3s):

Do You Believe in Rapture?
Drunken Butterfly
Incinerate
Pink Steam
Lights Out
100%

Buy Rather Ripped.

These were taken by my friend Randy:


playlist

Camp Radio

I love the name of this band. It's ambiguous, and requires interpretation. Expectations of their music change as your ideas of their name change. Maybe they sound like some sort of strange, warped folk band who sing about zombies. Or maybe they're a lo-fi pop band who sing of comforting things as the fire crackles. The possibilities go on, maybe you could suggest a few.

What surprised me when I finally played the songs is the muscle. These songs grab you and yank you around. They've got confidence and momentum. The guitar hooks and the driving beat are perfect for the drive home after a late concert.

But I'm still trying to figure out the name.

Camp Radio mp3s from their self-titled debut:

Landing Strip
Cons at the New Moon
The Julie Rationale

Psapp on MBE

Pitchfork gave the new Psapp CD a 7.0, which is not bad--at the very least, it's psychologically an order of magnitude higher than a 6.9. The reviewer blames technology and production in muffling the "well-constructed" songs and singer Galia Durant's "knowing, confident, sly, and sexy" voice. Wonder how he would rate the in-studio Morning Becomes Eclectic performance, without all the production and laptops. Pitchfork says the music on The Only Thing I Ever Wanted "cries out for warmth and space." I think the music gets both in these live songs, maybe even enough to break the 7.9 Pitchfork barrier.

Psapp - Live on KCRW's MBE (6-14-2006)(mp3s)

Tricycle
Needle & Thread
Curuncula
The Words
About Fun
Hi
King Kong
Rear Moth

Own The Only Thing I Ever Wanted

Juana Molina on MBE

Juana Molina's in-studio performance at KCRW is hypnotic, repetitious, and psychedelic at times, and I could listen to the set from here into the weekend without food or drink. It disorients and grounds the listener simultaneously; her songs touch both the spirit and the bones. Take Salvese Quien Pueda. It begins what could almost pass for Tibetan chant, then she sings a stunning folk song over the repeating chant loops, and eventually electronic hums replace the vocal ones. This one song is easily one of the best in-studio performances of the year.

Juana Molina (Live on KCRW, 13 June 2006)(mp3s):
Un Beso Llega
El Desconfiado
La Verdad
Quiero
Sólvese Quien Pueda

Buy Son.

Cibelle & Devendra Heart NY

I confess that I didn't even open this video for Cibelle & Devendra Banhart's London, London when someone sent me the link. I mean, I posted the mp3 and said nice things about the album way back here. Isn't the music enough? It is, but today I got a titanic message from the same person with gargantuan widescreen screen shots of the video, and being the audiovisual creature that I am, I opened the vid. It's fun. Cibelle and Devendra really bring you into their stroll and dance. Definitely watch it. Besides, the song is brilliant. And Crammed says:

London, London is Cibelle and Devendra's playful rendition of a song written by major Brazilian artist (and co-founder of the Tropicalia movement) Caetano Veloso while he was living in forced exile in London during the early '70s.

There are more videos by Cibelle here, as well as vids from Bebel Gilberto, Konono No. 1, and from the Congotronics 2 comp.

And then there's this:

Cibelle - About a Girl (Nirvana Cover) (mp3) (From the About a Girl EP)

Own The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves.

KT Live on MPR

Singer-songwriter K.T. Tunstall performed these songs live in studio for Minnesota Public Radio last week. From the MPR news story, "It might sound like she brought along a band to play 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree' with her, but it is just her, a guitar and some loop pedals." And there she is with the loop pedal again on "Suddenly I See," singing her own background vocals. It's like Final Fantasy meets the Lilith Fair. Hmmm...

K.T. Tunstall (Live on The Current, 6-6-2006) (mp3s):
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree
Suddenly I See

Straight, No Avant-

Sonic Youth play these songs straight, no experimentation. They're damn near radio-friendly. Not quite, but damn near. These are at least as good as the album versions.

Sonic Youth - Incinerate (Live) (mp3)
Sonic Youth - Rapture (mp3)

Motorcity Roots

These motown covers are from Jamaica Jazz's Motorcity Roots. They're not your everyday motown covers--they're a unique blend of jazz and reggae, and they preserve the energy of the originals.

Jamaica Jazz - War (mp3)
Jamaica Jazz - Tears of a Clown (mp3)

The Lady Has Spoken

...or actually, rapped, in Seattle, yesterday, with The Streets. Wish I were there.
Lady Sovereign - Public Warning (Live on KEXP) (mp3)


At least I'm seeing Sonic Youth next week at the 9:30. Rather Ripped is my favorite CD of the year so far. Check out this SY interview with Mike D, where you will learn crucial information about the new songs. For instance, Mike D cleverly coaxes Thurston to disclose that the song Rapture is not "a concerted attempt to get involved with the Christian Rock movement, which is very popular;" its agenda is to get us all to unite in some sort of faith-based insanity.

More Live PJ

I know I just posted some live PJ Harvey the other day, but I didn't know that I was going to have these songs today. They're too good not to post.

PJ Harvey, live at Hay-on-Wye (mp3s):

New Song (Unknown Title)
Dress

Epic Viva Voce

Anita Lotta Guitar

That's right, epic (eight minutes and twenty-one seconds epic), hard, and noisy. Anti-twee. This Viva Voce chews up and swallows the old one, like Saturn devouring his child. It's made for amps and stacks, not earbuds. I could go on and on and on, but instead, I'll let them do that for you.

Viva Voce - So Many Miles (mp3)

So Many Miles is from Get Yr Blood Sucked Out, due out September 12. Info on pre-ordering available here.

and a little something extra:

Micah P. Hinson & Viva Voce - Pleasant Street (mp3)

Death Metal Visits Conan

The Eagles of Death Metal kicked ass on Conan this April. The two drummer, two drumset set was too much. It was ecstacy, it was euphoria, it was bliss. It didn't have Jack Black, like the best damn video on earth this year does, but I'll still take a DVD of the live performance over the vid.

Eagles of Death Metal - I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News) (Live on Conan 4-28-2006)(mp3)

Here they are playing the same song on Letterman (sorry, only one drummer here).

See you in July.

I heart Georgie James.

I heart Camera Obscura.

They're touring together next month. I tremble with anticipation.

You know what's special about all this? The Georgie James mp3s I posted will be gone before opening night. The night that young lovers start to dance to a novel groove is the night before they search the Hype Machine for the Georgie James, only to find broken links, and having to resort to faint memories of strong melodies. I'll be in the crowd, smiling at those young lovers. Beautiful, isn't it?

Good thing the band is recording again this month, and with luck, you'll have a record in your hands while the leaves are still green.

Georgie James - Need Your Needs (mp3) (from Demos at Dance Place)

By the way, check out this Q & Not U You Tube video, with the less sexy half of Georgie James on the drums. It's sickeningly good. Ah, memories.

Jose Gonzales (Live on Conan)

Here's Jose Gonzales' cover of The Knife's Heartbeats, as performed on Conan a couple of months ago. It's beautiful, and you're going to love it.

Jose Gonzales - Heartbeats (Live on Conan 3-29-2006) (mp3)

Lord. Lord. Lord.

We post like we eat: a little bit of everything.

To achieve balance after yesterday's disturbing Nick Cave cover, here is some aged gospel. If this actually sounds creepier than the Cave...well, that would be ironic, wouldn't it.

Two Gospel Keys - Can't No Grave Hold My Body Down (mp3)

Professor Alex Bradford - Lord, Lord, Lord (mp3)

8606

The Q Magazine Best of 86/06 Compilation has been well posted. It features the Editors' version of Orange Crush, Franz Ferdinand's take on What Are You Waiting For, and the track that led hordes of teenie-boppers to the mag racks: the Sugababes' cover of Arctic Monkeys' I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor.

These two tracks are the reasons I've got the comp in heavy rotation:

Richard Hawley - Some Candy Talking (Jesus and Mary Chain) (mp3)
Nick Cave - Disco 2000 (Pulp) (mp3)

Call me crazy, but I prefer Richard Hawley's version to the original Jesus and Mary Chain song. It's more sinister. You hear the longing in his voice, and he convinces you that he relishes his subject. You believe him.

PJ Harvey, Early FM Performances

What did you think of the new PJ Harvey DVD? If you saw it, I assume you're a fan, and if you're a fan, you probably love it, and you might already have these live songs, all of them among my favorite PJ Harvey tunes.

PJ Harvey - Live on 99.1 WHFS Just Passin' Thru, Bethesda, MD 12-2-1992 (mp3s):
Dress (acoustic)
Highway 61 Revisited (acoustic) (Dylan cover)

PJ Harvey - Live on 88.5 WXPN World Cafe, Philadelphia, 2-22-1995 (mp3s):
Meet Ze Monsta
C'Mon Billy
The Dancer

Love and Dancing for the Headbanger

This tender "love" tune runs a little long for a Coachwhips song, clocking in at a whopping 2:12:

Guess I'm Falling In Love (The Velvets)(mp3)


And here's their "dance" song, which lasts less than two minutes, because at that point you collapse on the floor.

Mid-Tempo Violent Dancer (mp3)


Own the Coachwhips' farewell disc, Double Death

Craptastic!

...maybe this way they won't notice the song...

The two craptastic songs that American Idol 5 finalists Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee performed Tuesday night were, unbelievably, the best two songs in a pool of 150 possibilities...

Taylor’s first single, “Do I Make You Proud,” was written by Tracy Ackerman, while Harry Sommerdahl, Hanne Sorvag, and Tim Baxter wrote “My Destiny.” All five deserve eternal scorn and shame, or at least membership in the Diane Warren Hall of Mediocre Pop Songs.

-from Realityblurred.com

It took 3 people to write that hallmark card of a song for Mcphee? Flabbergasting. My dear Katharine, you were done wrong.

The Ditty Bops, Live on KCRW, 5-24-2006

This is how The Ditty Bops roll.

The Ditty Bops performed an album's worth of songs for KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic yesterday. Load these up on the iPod along with Moon on the Freeway, strap it on, and mount your non-motorized two-wheeler, because you're going for a ride with The Ditty Bops on their cross-country bicycle tour. They discuss the tour in their interview with Nic Harcourt.

The Ditty Bops, Live on KCRW, 5-24-2006 (mp3s):

Moon Over The Freeway
It's The Girl (Cover Of Rogers Sisters)
Growing Upside Down
Aluminum Can
It's A Shame
In The City
Nosy Neighbor
Walk Or Ride
Your Head's Too Big

Going to That City

Sister O.M. Terrell looks like a sweet old lady, but plays like she sold her soul.

These gospel songs are all spirit and no polish. Just what you needed after hearing those two godawful American Idol closing songs last night. That, or self-immolation.

Sister O.M. Terrell - Life is a Problem (mp3)
Sister O.M. Terrell - I'm Going to That City (mp3)
Two Gospel Keys - Every Man Got to Lay Down and Die (mp3)

From Country Gospel, 1946-1953

Heironymus Bosch is dead, too.

When I got my Mae Shi DVD, Lock the Skull, Load the Gun, in the mail, I wondered what kind of videos would go with their spastic basement rock. The answer? Spastic videos.

According to their e-card,

They ask every visually-minded friend they’ve made in the past decade to direct a video. The magic begins. Burn My Eye creator Virgil Porter and On/On Switch head honcho Dan Belyusar bring "Takoma the Dolphin is AWOL" to life using stop motion and a bathtub full of toys. Pat McHale turns "Body 2" into an animated Maurice Sendak-inspired werewolf story. Chris Levitus weaves "One Mississippi" into a live-action futuro-Renaissance fairytale of botched suicide. Somehow, everyone gets on the same page, and a strange hour-long tapestry is woven. There are ballerinas, motorcycle goths, Help!-era Richard Lester goofiness, and lots of monsters – prehistoric birds, vampires, wolfmen, serial killers, haunted bunnies, hungry cartoon dogs and killer bats. There were 33 tracks on Terrorbird and there are 32 videos collected here...

Check out the madness: there are 4 videos streaming on their e-card.

And here's some mp3 madness, from Terrorbird:

Chop 2
Heironymus Bosch is a Dead Man

John Ritter Died.

Last year, NPR named three albums the Best New Music of 2005: LCD Soundsystem, Innaway, and Don Lennon's Routine.

NPR Reviewer John Brady said, "Lennon’s a clever, understated conversationalist who gives us a wry account of his likes and dislikes, obsessions and aversions. It helps that he has a great ear for a pop hook and a light but sure hand with a melody."

That's great, but Lennon had me at "John Ritter died."...He had me at "John Ritter died." The only other person who could start a song with this verse, and turn it into what might be a penetrating song that questions the meaning of a life's work, is Lou Reed.

From Last Comic Standing (mp3):

John Ritter died
Two days ago
I saw a montage of his life's work
On some entertainment show

He Created a Monster (mp3) is a blissful pop charmer with irresistable chord progressions and a synth hook that you'll be humming all day.

Stream Reunion here.

Buy it here.

Gomez Live on KCRW

Gomez have recently performed in several radio studios, including KEXP and Minnesota's The Current (links to the right). Let's hope that radio is as friendly to Gomez as their music is to the radio. On their latest release, How We Operate, Gomez is as accessible as they're going to get. Here's their KCRW performance from last Friday.

Gomez - Live, KCRW (5-19-2006)(mp3s):

Notice
See the World
How We Operate
Hamoa Beach
girlshapedlovedrug
Chasing Ghosts With Alcohol

Bobby Bare Sr. and Jr., Live on KEXP

From Static On The Radio:

When asked what exactly got him back into the studio to record his first album in over 20 years, Bobby Bare’s answer is simple. “Bobby Jr.” he laughs with laid-back Nashville drawl. Even though the classic country crooner had to be coaxed out of retirement, his re-emergence with The Moon Was Blue was one of the most celebrated events in country music last year.

After accumulating several decades of hits and transforming country music along with artists like Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Bare left the scene in the ‘80s as Nashville become more and more corporate oriented. “I didn’t want to spend my time making records that weren’t going to go anywhere,” he says. “You put out an album that’s brilliant, and you can’t get it played. All they want are tracks.”

These live Bobby Bare gems aren't "tracks." They're real, reverent, relevant. It's a shame that you have to turn away from the country stations to hear country music, but though it's a quieter heartbeat, it still has one. You hear it in these live songs, and you hear it in the stories. The entire performance, including the interview, should be up on KEXP soon.

Bobby Bare, Sr (with Bobby Bare, Jr.): Live at KEXP, 5-18-2006 (mp3s):

The Streets of Baltimore
Detroit City
Are You Sincere
Everybody's Talkin'
My Heart Cries For You

Buy The Moon Was Blue.

Playful song titles and album covers

...beg for frolicsome music, and when it's jazz, you want it to be loose, yet accessible. Y'know what? Today, I feel frolicsome, loose, and accessible.
So have some Happy Apple jazz with me.

from Please Refrain From Fronting:

You & Mattel vs. Me & Coleco (mp3)
Koala Bear Wearing a T-Shirt With Your Corporate Logo

from Body Popping, Moon Walking, Top Rocking:

Tang: The Astronaut's Drink of Desire (mp3)

Tell Mommy You Want a Sip of HLAK

Having listened to the atmospheric pop acrobatics of Head Like a Kite's Random Portraits of the Home Movie, one wonders how good they sound live. Could they pull all that off live?

If last week's performance at the KEXP studio is an indication, the answer is a resounding yes.

Head Like a Kite (Live, KEXP 5-11-2006)(mp3s):

Words of a Friend
A Dime and a Cigarette
Tell Mommy You Want a Sip of Beer
Noise at the Circus

...and one track from the album:

Injecting 10 ccs of Temptation (mp3)

Distance Running for Music Lovers

Middle Distance Runner’s debut album, Plane in Flames, opens with a smile. Naturally (mp3) begins as all breezy melody and beat, catchy as hell, but just when it draws the ear into its lite comforts like any other standard indie pop clap-along record, MDR drops this lyric: “I/I hope she’s got a husband/I hope that he is coming/to find me out and tear out both/my eyes.” And that’s when you really start to listen, and it will hold you enthralled until the very last note.

Out of Here (mp3) sounds like it was born in the space between Pablo Honey and The Bends. The lead guitar caresses, then engulfs you a la Johnny Greenwood, and when lead singer Stephen Kilroy belts “Something’s gotta give/Before it all goes cold/Before it all caves in,” it’s with all the urgency of a more personal, less political Thom Yorke. You feel that early 90's chill when he cries “You are my way out of here.” Yeah, I know, Radiohead comparisons are trite, but just listen.

And if that's a little too much gravity for you, try this soul-stirring rock song with cowbell & banjo, called Shoot the Shit (mp3).

You’re going to hear a lot more of this D.C. area quintet once Plane in Flames hits stores on the 27th of this month. Get it for a mere 5 bucks at their CD release show at IOTA.

Download more at their Myspace.

Film School, Live on KEXP

Last week, Film School played a live set at the KEXP studio. Barely.

According to the frequently updated KEXP blog:

Apparently, they were running late and sure enough… they got pulled over by the cops for speeding! Figures, right?!?! They explained that they were on their way to KEXP to play a live set and the cop said something like, “KEXP? I listen to KEXP… MOVE ALONG!” They got off, no ticket!

The Smudge thanks the cop for not excessively delaying them. This post would not exist without you.

Film School - Live on KEXP (10 May 06) (mp3s):

Pitfalls
Breet
Sick of Shame
11:11

By the way, there is an exclusive in-studio performance from 2004 available here.

BRAK!

This is a request, which we don't normally do, but I think I speak for all of us when I say that what the world really needs now is more Brak. If he were our world leader, I guarantee that we'd be Rocking For Brak, and nobody would be ashamed to be from the same home planet.

So Highway 40 is for confessed mp3 blog addict Lori, whose signature was this:

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of
pleasures.

~Kahlil Gibran

The world needs a little more of that, too.

Brak - I'll Tell Me Ma (with the Chieftains)(mp3)
Highway 40 (with Freddie Prinze Jr.)(mp3)

Return of the Rentals

Matt Sharp recently told Pitchfork that The Rentals are recording a new album. According to their website:

WE ARE EXTREMELY EXCITED AND HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THE UNEXPECTED AND TRUE RETURN OF THE RENTALS. THE BAND IS CURRENTLY IN LOS ANGELES WRITING, REHEARSING, AND PREPARING TO RECORD THEIR 3rd STUDIO ALBUM.

THE SPECULATION IS THAT THE NEW ALBUM IS LIKELY TO BE COMPLETED AND READY FOR RELEASE IN 2007. IN THE MEANWHILE, WHILE WE WAIT WITH GREAT ANTICIPATION FOR THE NEW MUSIC, THIS WEB-SITE WILL DEDICATE ITSELF TO SHOWING THE FIRST EVER COMPLETE RETROSPECTIVE ON THE RENTALS.

THERE WILL BE NEARLY DAILY UPDATES WITH TOTALLY NEW AND EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION ON THE RENTALS, SO STAY TUNED AND WELCOME ABOARD.

Also available on their website: Tegan and Sara - Walking With a Ghost (Rentals Remix) (mp3)

Georgie We Adore Ye

No, it's not a lame blog post title - it's called internal rhyme, folks. It's all poetic and whatnot.

Anyway.

It has been a long week (mp3). The office is drab. Maybe it needs more lights (mp3). Or maybe the world just needs more Georgie James. I think I've said something like that before.

Songs are from Demos at Dance Place, available at their live shows.

Minus 5 Plus Michael, Mike, and Bill, on a Maddening Loop

This version of "Country Feedback," the haunting slow jangle from R.E.M.'s out of time, was played at a Minus 5 concert at the Georgia Theater in Athens, GA. It features Michael Stipe on vocals, Mike Mills on keyboards, Peter Buck on guitar, and Bill Berry on bass.

Let me rephrase that:

BILL BERRY is on bass, Stipe sings, Mills is on the keys, and Buck on the guitar.

You have to get past two minutes of crowd noise & chat, but then there it is.

REM - Country Feedback (Live in Athens, 1 Apr 2006) (mp3)

And here are a couple of covers by the Minus 5 at the same show:

The Ballad of John and Yoko (Beatles cover, live in Athens, 1 Apr 2006) (mp3)

Don't Be Denied (Neil Young cover, live in Athens, 1 Apr 2006) (mp3)

All songs taken from this torrent of the entire show.

We love you, Bill.


One of these things doesn't belong here...

Thelonious Cures

Sometimes, when I'm ill, all I can bear to listen to is jazz or classical. I've been ill the last couple of days, and this is way better than vitamin C:

It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (mp3)
Sophisticated Lady (mp3)

From Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington.

Checking on Beck

Every once in a while you have to check in on the Beck website, to see what the boombox has to offer. Like this gem:

Beck - Salt In The Wound (mp3)

And every so often you have to check the dimeadozen for Beck torrents, like the one that had these shit-hot live songs. He's a lightning storm in these, pulling energy & spirit out of his gut.

Beck - Sessions from West 54th, 1997 (mp3s):

Novacane
Asshole
One Foot In The Grave

Cibelle, My Belle

What do you get when you cross modern bossa chanteuse Cibelle with your favorite freak folksters, Devendra Banhart and Seu Jorge? Freak folka nova? Electrobossafolk? Call it what you want, but recognize that these songs successfully blend bossa nova, electronica, and freak folk, and exceed the sum of their parts to become sexy, danceable, and mystical. I'll take this blend of acoustics and electronics over laptop-folk every time.

Cibelle mp3s, with Devendra Banhart and Seu Jorge, from the stunning Shine of Dried Electric Leaves:

London, London (feat. Devendra Banhart)
Arrête Là, Menina (feat. Seu Jorge)

Secret Machines, Live on KCRW 5-3-2006

The Secret Machines epically rocked the KCRW studio yesterday. They're not afraid to play long, yet their songs are taut and intense. This performance is just the thing for those who are growing weary of quaint little pop ditties.

Secret Machines, Live on KCRW 5-3-2006 (mp3s):

Alone Jealous & Stoned/Road Leads
Lightning Blue Eyes
Faded Lines/Daddy's In The Doldrums/Nowhere Again

Buy Ten Silver Drops.

Irving Live on KEXP

Irving played four songs from their latest release, Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers, in a live in-studio synth-heavy set on KEXP yesterday afternoon. Prepare to move your feet.

Irving - Live on KEXP, 5-2-06 (mp3s)

Situation
She's Not Shy
Jen, Nothing Matters To Me
If You Say Jump, I Will Say No

Slacking

Sometimes you just don't feel like writing.

But the maddening urge to post remains.

Richard Bona/Lokua Kanza/Gerald ToTo - Help Me (mp3)

Toots & The Maytals - Monkey Man (mp3)

The Comas Picture Disc 7"

The Comas recently put up three solid mp3s from their Sit and Spin release, "Bumblebee / Shining Eyes/1:30." You can get them here. They're tagged as Track 1, 2, and 3, though, which is sad, because nobody will see the Vagrantesque title "You Got The Bumblebee, I Got The Stinger" on the Hype Machine.

I corrected the ID3s here, if you prefer to get them that way:

The Comas mp3s, from 7" Picture Disc:

You Got The Bumblebee, I Got The Stinger
One Million Shining Eyes
1:30

I Was Going To Post A Song From The New Sonic Youth, But...

...it would be a waste of my own webspace, since almost the entire Rather Ripped album has been posted on mp3 blogs (see the Hype Machine).

That, and I sorta don't feel like being sued today.

Anyway, however you felt about SY in the past, definitely listen to Do You Believe in Rapture?, which is here. It's easily one of the best songs of the year, from what will probably be my favorite album of the year. You know what, do yourself a favor and listen to Incinerate, too, if you can find it.

Since I'm not posting Sonic Youth, my substitute is..........

Dizzy Gillespie (of course!)

From Sweet Soul Live (LIVE) :

Getting Down (mp3)
Soul Time (mp3)
Soul Mama (mp3)

Babe We're Gonna Take it to the Top

It's a little creepy: just last week I was telling the Keoki about my first audio cassette purchases, in the year of our lord 1980, with my own money. The first batch of tapes I ever bought were The Brothers Johnson's Light Up The Night and Stevie Wonder's Hotter Than July. I wore both of them out.

Light Up The Night was 80 cents, in a bargain bin. It was produced by Quincy Jones, it featured Michael Jackson on one track, Stomp was all over the radio, and even made it as background music for an aerobics scene on General Hospital. The funk was majestic. Of course I had to buy it. I think I picked up a copy of Omni magazine the same day.

Anyway, I saw that their Strawberry Letter 23: Live became available on iTunes yesterday, and thought that was creepy.



From Strawberry Letter 23: Live:

Stomp! (mp3)
Word Up (Cameo Cover) (mp3)

From Light Up The Night:
This Had to Be (With Michael Jackson) (mp3)

Lap Steel Gospel

And on the sixth day, He created the electric lap steel guitar, so He had something to listen to while relaxing on the seventh.

Feel it:

Don't Let The Devil Ride - Sonny Treadway (mp3)
Franklin D. Roosevelt, A Poor Man's Friend - Willie Eason (mp3)
Praise Music - Aubrey Ghent (mp3)

From Sacred Steel: Traditional Sacred African-American Steel Guitar Music In Florida

Salad of Subconscious

Chas Mtn's Hugs is a multidimensional hypervolume of various states of consciousness. What the hell, you may ask, is that. Exactly. It plays like a workshop of subconscious minds, where a strange scientist grabs a couple of talented young men, throws them into a room with some instruments, tells them to make sixteen songs, on their backs and with the lights out, and they can't come out until they're done. And so you get a gentle 21-second 4-note daydream called We're Evil, We're Jazz to open the album, followed immediately by the relentless acoustic strum of Deep Safety, which layers instruments into an urgent vocal climax, and then you're greeted with buzzing flies (or are they bees or mosquitos?) in the mystical Leveled Mez. Then you get Wheels of Space, which is...forget it, I'm not even going to try. And so the whole album goes. Put it on random, and it will retain its splendid incoherence. But there is a thread there. It's just an invisible one, just underneath the conscious mind.

The one recurring theme, ironically, is the buzzing or chirping of insects, a disturbing symbol of awareness.

Chas Mtn mp3s, from Hugs (out today):

Deep Safety
Salad of Flies

Georgie James may sing of Cheap Champagne, but sound like Really Good Bubbly.

Take the tragically underknown solo artist Laura Burhenn's vocal and melodic talents, add the rhythmic pop sensibilities of Q and Not U's John Davis, and you get damn good ear candy from a D.C. Dream Team called Georgie James.

Mp3 bloggers know they've got a good CD in their tray when they torment over which songs to post from it. I want you to hear the entire Demos at Dance Palace EP, which you should be able to pick up from their live shows. But since I'm a mostly well-behaved blogger, I can't give you a taste of each delectable little pop bon-bon, from the opening drumbeats of the dance-along pop gem Need Your Needs, to the melancholy songwriting of Long Week (All of the fortune tellers say/It's gonna be a long week, a long week/Cause you've gotten used to the upswing/The feeling of a winning streak...), to the driving pop pulse of Cheap Champagne, which reminds me of the Primitives at a peak they never achieved. And did I mention that voice?

Fortunately for you, four of the demo songs are available at their myspace. And here's one that's not there, as well as an mp3 of Cheap Champagne, because you're going to need it for your mp3 player.

Georgie James are still unsigned, but they plan to record and release a full-length in the near future.

From Georgie James' Demos at Dance Place:
Cheap Champagne (mp3)
Places (mp3)

See them at DC9 on May 25th.

By the way, thanks to the Keoki for keeping the Smudge populated while I was in San Antone!

Texas Bound

I'm headed for San Antonio for the next two weeks, so the posts will be somewhere between sparse and absent. I leave you with my two favorite songs of this week.

Guy Davis - Po' Boy, Long Way From Home (mp3)
(from Skunkmello)

Meshell N'Degeocello with Chris Dave - National Anthem (Radiohead cover) (mp3)
(from Exit Music: Songs for Radio Heads)

The Smallest and Least Visible Details

In the reign of Harad IV there lived at court a maker of miniatures, who was celebrated for the uncanny perfection of his work. Not only were the objects of his strenuous art pleasing to look at but the pleasure and astonishment increased as the observer, bending closer, saw that a passionate care had been lavished on the smallest and least visible details. It was said that no matter how closely you examined one of the Master’s little pieces you always discovered some further wonder.

-from IN THE REIGN OF HARAD IV, by the great STEVEN MILLHAUSER, in this week's The New Yorker.

The Smooth Van

Van Hunt is smooth. Here's visual proof:



Van Hunt also makes smooth, deep soul that will dig into your bones. Here's aural proof - a track featuring Nikka Costa from his new CD:

Van Hunt feat. Nikka Costa - Mean Sleep (mp3)

From On the Jungle Floor.

The Smudge Strokes You

Hey, did you miss The Strokes' recent performance on Letterman? Me too. But here's a not so recent vid of the Strokes on Letterman, playing Take It Or Leave It.

The Strokes - Take It Or Leave It (Live on Letterman)(.mpg, 38MB)

When Ah Die

Yeeee Haaawwwwww! What're Y'ALL gonna do when Y'ALL die?

I'm gon' throw on th'overalls 'n live again.



Doc Watson Family - When I Die (mp3), from The Watson Family



The Dickel Brothers - When I Die (mp3), from The Dickel Brothers, Vol 1

George & Friends

There are times when George is my favorite Beatle.

George Harrison with Bob Dylan - (All I Have To Do Is) Dream (live@Columbia Studio B, NY) (mp3)

George Harrison with Eric Clapton - Something (live in Japan, 1991) (mp3)

Georgie James Podcast

Georgie James, a duet consisting of Washington D.C.'s own Laura Burhenn, and former Q & Not U drummer, John Davis, were recently interviewed by the Washington Post. You can download the podcast, which features songs from their demo EP, here.

I'm so Flipping Special, and Chrissie Hynde is a Creep

Thank. God. It's. Friday.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy a couple of live mp3s.

The Pretenders - Creep (Live) (mp3) (from Pirate Radio)

Joseph Arthur - In the Sun (Live) (mp3) (from the UNCUT compilation REM Presents: The Michael Stipe Collection)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Video: Live on Letterman 3-29-06

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion (.mpg)

NOTE: I condensed the file I uploaded to YSI earlier, and saved it to ezarchive. This link should work.

Top Ten Reasons To Visit The Smudge: And Number One Is...

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought a punishing thunder to the Letterman show about a half hour ago. This is what they sounded like:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion (Live on Letterman, 3-29-06) (mp3)

The video is uploading on YSI as I type. I'll link to it on my way to work.

Stipepearances

I wish Michael Stipe would appear on my cd. When I make one.

Faultline with Michael Stipe - Greenfields (mp3)

Stephane Pompougnac with Michael Stipe - Clumsy (mp3)

Billy Bragg, Bingo Hand Job, and Michael Stipe - Tom's? (mp3)

And on the 4.6 billion and somethingth day God created Art Brut, and lo, it was good.

A mere two hours after the Belle & Sebastian set, KEXP aired a live performance from Art Brut, who put out one of my favorite albums of last year, Bang Bang Rock & Roll. Post Soothing Out is a new non-album song they've been playing live. And the words to Emily Kane are different - he's now seen her at Christmas and realized he's not in love with Emily. He's in love with the idea of being in love with her.

Art Brut (Live on KEXP, 3-25-2006) (mp3s):

Formed a Band
Emily Kane
Post Soothing Out
Good Weekend

Belle & Sebastian Live on KEXP 3-25-06

This Saturday on KEXP, Belle & Sebastian treated us to a live in-studio performance of a couple of classics, a cover, and a song from one of my favorite albums of the year, The Life Pursuit. This version of A Century of Fakers, from the 3-6-9 Seconds of Light EP, is fantastic.

Belle & Sebastian (Live on KEXP, 3-25-06) (mp3s):

A Century of Fakers
She's Losing It
To Be Myself Completely
Anything You Do

Watch the video for The Blues Are Still Blue.

Dan the Destroyer is the New Dylan

His voice is too weird, his music too glittering-strange a species of rambling glam-folk for mass consumption. Bejar is a queer duck and a critic’s darling, and queer duck and critic’s darling he’s likely to remain.

That’s too bad, because that seventh album, Destroyer’s Rubies, is not only his best by far, it’s also a bona fide masterpiece of opaque genius bullshit—overblown, overwrought, and all the better for it. It’s Bejar’s rare gift to be able to spring beautiful lyrical booby traps, startling non sequiturs that somehow perfectly set off all the instrumental glitz surrounding them, mined from such diverse influences as Ziggy Stardust/Aladdin Sane–era David Bowie, Neil Young, French pop, mellow West Coast rock circa 1972 or so, and, of course, Dylan himself, acoustic and electric versions.

...

It’s genius; it’s bullshit—which means that some heedless music critic will inevitably dub Bejar the new Dylan and end up looking like an idiot. Well, Bejar is the new Dylan, and I’m that idiot.

From Sense You Been Gone, in Friday's Washington City Paper.

Made You Listen

She's [still] watching him with those eyes.
She's loving him with that body, I just know it.

Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl (acoustic) (mp3)

From Karma.

Jazz for Nords

This is how Nordic people keep warm. Just add a hot steamy bath and your favorite beverage for the perfect indoor combination.

Kusuumun Profeetta - Kovin Lentaen Kotiin Kaipaan (mp3)

Embee - Shibuya (mp3)

From Jazzflora 1 and 2.

A Cure for the Bossa Deficient

We used to post some hot bossa once in a while, but we've gotten away from it.

Our bad.



Maria Creuza, Toquinho, and Vinicius de Moraes - Canto de Ossanha (mp3)

Maria Creuza - Voce Abusou (mp3)

From Live In Buenos Aires and Voce Abusou.

What Is To Be Done

This is non-suburbanite Haitian folk music, real campfire music, the voices warm as the flames, and it feels so damn good.

Ti Fi-A (Hey, Little Girl) (mp3)
Dodinin (Rocking) (mp3)

From Smithsonian Folkways' Haiti: Ki Sa Pou-N Fe? (What is to Be Done) (Various Artists)

Hives Lives.

You know what the world really needs now? Another Hives tour. Can I get an "Amen?"

The Hives - Two Timing Touch and Broken Bones (Live, from the Tussles in Brussels DVD) (mp3)

The Hives - Main Offender (Live, Jools Holland) (mp3)

XLR8R Presents

Music for the subconscious ear.

From XLR8R Presents: Wanted, Vol 2 compilation:

Blockhead - Sunday Seance - (Loka Remix) (mp3)

Ulrich Schnauss - Monday Paracetol (mp3)

Boltsmoking Tennesseeans

I like these Tennessee Boltsmokers, and not just because their name sounds a little dirty. It's a little folk country, a little bluegrass, and whole lotta smiles.

Tennessee Boltsmokers - Angeline (mp3)
Tennessee Boltsmokers - Shotgun Wedding (mp3)

From Hydro Radio.

Figurines, Live on KEXP, Take 2

I received some e-mail requesting these tracks that I posted the other day, but then my dog ate them with my homework.

Figurines (Live on KEXP, 3/12/2006) (mp3s):

I Remember
Silver Ponds
The Wonder
Other Plans

Mp3s down

Most mp3s are down, but the recent ones will be back up this afternoon. You can't keep good fluff down.

Figurines, Live on KEXP!

It has only been a few days since I posted I Remember, by Figurines. But it just so happens that my favorite Danes since Claire opened their tight, lively KEXP in-studio set with the song yesterday. My anticipation of their live show is ginormous.

Figurines (Live on KEXP, 3/12/2006) (mp3s):

I Remember
Silver Ponds
The Wonder
Other Plans

Cocaine Done Killed My Baby

The album cover says it all, really.

Mance Lipscomb - Cocaine Done Killed My Baby (mp3)
Mance Lipscomb - Police Station Blues (mp3)

from Texas Songster, Vol. 2 : You Got To Reap What You Sow

Stellastarr is Long for You

The track is called "Love and Longing," but the tour announcement e-mail reads:

stellastarr*...are coming back to tour the US in late March and April to support the new single "Long and Loving."

I'm pretty sure that's two different things.

stellastar - Love and Longing (mp3)

Bullette Returns

Bullette, everyone's fave self-promoting darling last year, has a new band, The Sky Drops. They drop some heavy payload with their two new free downloads. The moody double single is here.

The Sky Drops - Now Would Be (mp3)
The Sky Drops - Green to Red (mp3)

Mind Your Figurines

I've moved in, and now that I have phone and internet, I feel complete again.

I thought I would share my obligatory "Now Playing" list of CDs I've been listening to since I arrived at the uber-metropolis that is the capital city of Delaware:


Figurines - Skeleton

And that's about it. And this is one of the reasons:

Figurines - I Remember (mp3)

Just try to deny that. Try to turn away from it, and it only digs its riff-claws deeper into your brain. And there's that "I remember everyone you know/It's eerie oh oh oh" - do they mean:

I remember everyone. You know?

or is it:

I remember everyone [that] you know.

Eerie.

Figurines have been getting mad hype since the release of Skeleton. Seriously, if you like your rock driven by spiffy guitar hooks and earworm-inducing melodies, then this Danish lightning bolt of an album is for you. Stream the entire album here.

By the way, I'm getting to the e-mails. Give me a day or two.

Matt Pond PA on KEXP

This is ridiculous.

We've gone overboard, fellow mp3 bloggers. It's time to stop the silliness. After this post.

Matt Pond PA (Live on KEXP, 3/3/2006) (mp3s):

So Much Trouble
Halloween
Several Arrows Later
From Debris

So, yes, I'm adding to the insanity, but I wouldn't post it if it didn't move me.

I'm not back from the move, by the way. Just poking in for a moment. See you toward the middle part of this week.

Hump Day Was Good

Rosanne Cash played an arresting live set on KCRW, nicely coinciding with the Walk the Line DVD release, and Polysics rocked out on KEXP. We've got both, except for the first two songs the Polysics played. As always, you can listen to the live sets, including the interviews, at the stations' web pages.

I'm moving this weekend, and I won't have internet service until sometime next week, so no posts until I'm back online. It hurts me more than it hurts you.

Rosanne Cash (Live on KCRW, broadcast 3-1-2006) (mp3s)

Black Cadillac
Radio Operator
God is in the Roses
House on the Lake
The Good Intent
Hope Against Hope
Burn Down This Town
Loverly

Polysics (Live on KEXP, 3-1-2006) (mp3s)

Baby Bias
I My Me Mine
Coelakanth is Android/Black Out Fall Out

John Songs

Hello. My name is John. Here are some songs.


Stay Away From My Johnny - Freda Gray & The Rocketeers (mp3)

From Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label


Blossom Dearie - Hey John (mp3)

From Whisper for You

Two Hours of Pushin' Broom

Before you start to listen to this Roger Miller cover and say "No, no, NO! That's not how it's supposed to sound," you have to understand that it's off the OST for the Oscar-nominated Brokeback Mountain. The vocals, especially Rufus' delicate timbre, appropriately soften, and dare I say lubricate, the song.

Teddy Thompson & Rufus Wainwright - King of the Road (mp3)