There are better things to check out...
- So last week it was Bob Dylan's birthday, and I was completely oblivious. But other people weren't. Another one of those on-drugs-crazy-cover-posts I keep linking to...this time of one of my favorite Bob songs, "Girl From the North Country." Some interesting information about the song: it was written to the tune of "Scaborough Fair," which Dylan had only learned the winter before (1963) from a British folksinger, Martin Carthy. It was also put on my favorite of Dylan's albums, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.
- One very fun mix-up of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle"
- NPR stories on John Stewart (no, not Jon Stewart), the folksinger, and one excellent non-Latino Spanish-singing band. It's pretty awesome. Las Rubias del Norte, anyone?
- The Sunday Source's list of the best local Jukeboxes. I'm definitely going to try to visit one or two besides the Black Cat's this summer.
- Islands loses a member...and Pitchfork needs interns for its music festival...talk about a cheap way to get in...
- Bruce Springsteen is channelling Pete Seeger?
- The 50 most conservative songs of all time...makes you wonder
And Politics...
- Hillary "Clinton A Politician Not Easily Defined"??? Can you hear that spun as "Flip-flopper"? I can...
- So, if you read Wonkette like I do, you know that they all are out to get Katherine Harris...but the staffers seem to have managed to find someone worse...
So, you don't actually have to read this...
0 Comments Published by Kate on Tuesday at 5/30/2006 11:21:00 PM.Lately, I've lost my best last.fm-buddy/blog supporter to his finals, my best guy friend my own age to some intense prom-related awkwardness (we're talking, it's just all really weird), my best friend to asian-parent syndrome (though not really lost, it's just rough)......and I really like to whine. I also recently upgraded from my classical baby to an electric baby (you can figure out what kind of baby I'm talking about) due to insanely wonderful memorial day sales. Way to honor the dead? And school...I still have two late assignments to turn in and the whole "Senior Experience" thing that I'm doing is actually work, which it's really not supposed to be. However, I do only have to go to school for about 2 hours next week, and hopefully the week after...hmm...
That's it. My brain fart. Enjoy.
So, assuming anyone actually reads this post and doesn't just skim down looking for a download link, here's my question:
Why do you all download Weezer and the Arctic Monkeys...and Sufjan, you french people and hipsters...????? Why?
Why not Brendan Benson? He's catchy and at least a little bit dashing (see the photo on the top left), and "Pleasure Seeker" is a very fun song. For you VH1 groupies who aren't the mp3-blog-hipsters who normally frequent my site, he's now teamed up with the ever-amazing Jack White to form the Raconteurs. Yet another reason to download.
And Supergrass? "Alright" is also a fun song...beginning with the piano...then the base, then the funness just EXPLODES! I mean, it was originally featured on the freakin' CLUELESS soundtrack!
Now, I highlighted these two bands because the rest have slightly less general appeal. But if you like country, may I introduce you to Wilco? (which is more less-depressing Johnny Cash type country than the stuff that currently gets played on country radio stations, which is pretty crappy) "Forget the Flowers" is a classic, with the banjo and all.
Now, Ben Kweller is special. But special in a way that makes you want to keep listening, kind of the way Say Hi To Your Mom or the Mountain Goats are special. And with the chorus of "Wasted and Ready" containing the lines, " She is a slut but her ex thinks it's sexy / Sex reminds her of eating spaghetti" how could you not want to at least try listening to the song?
Now that I've made my case to diversify your downloading, I have confession to make. Considering how annoyingly long it takes to upload songs onto YouSendIt, I want to make the most of my bandwidth, damnit!
Memorial Day...I'll get around to it
0 Comments Published by Kate on Monday at 5/29/2006 11:46:00 AM.the old post
Sufjan Stevens - The Mistress Witch From McClure
and now...Sufjan Stevens - No Man's Land (apparently he had copyright issues with this one because of its repeated references to Woody Guthrie's song "This Land Is Your Land")
HYPING OTHER BLOGS (and non-blogs)
- You can now download the Walkmen's concert at the 9:30 Club on NPR's website
- Fluxblog interviews Andrew Beaujon, who recently researched, wrote, and published a book on the phenomenon of Christian Rock - Pedro the Lion is discussed at some length.
- I Guess I'm Floating has found the mecca (Connor's word, not mine) of all TV theme songs
- My Old Kentucky Blog is still on something...covers and covers and covers...and 33! covers of "Hallelujah"
- You Ain't No Picasso posts on artists' from indie (and folk, etc) bands solo careers...with many many fun downloads
- Fun with Pete Seeger, the Stationary Set, and A.F.I.'s new album
- THE GREATEST BLOG POST EVER - making fun of actual blog posts...and Dr. David Thorpe himself
...I said I'd get around to it... Belle and Sebastian - I Fought In A War
The Arctic Monkeys - Bet You Look Good (on the dance floor)
Me First & the Gimme Gimmes - Prom Night
Radish (Ben Kweller's old band) - Wasted And Ready
Wilco - Forget the Flowers
Brendan Benson - Pleasure Seeker
Motion City Soundtrack - The Red Dress
Supergrass - Alright
Weezer - Photograph
I also discovered I am a...Pushover (The Long Winters)
Don't ask, please. It's too embarrassing.
And because I'm all about sharing the love...
Brendan Benson - Alternative To Love
FYI - I can proudly say that for the first time in ages, I'm going to stay in my pajamas until 2 pm. Yes!
Labels: mixtape
Blender lists the 50 worst songs ever...my response:
What are they thinking?
- 48 The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
- 42 Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence !?!?!?!?!?!
- 29 Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffany's
Thank Goodness! Someone else realizes what a horrible song this is...
- 35 R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People
- 28 John Mayer - Your Body Is A Wonderland
...the list becomes more understandable as you get closer to #1
HYPING OTHER BLOGS
- So lately My Old Kentucky Blog is on something. Now it's 16 different versions of the Smith's "There is a light that never goes out," 13 of the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows," 25 of Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds", 11 of the Pixies' "Where is my mind?"...whatever it is, I want some
- New Shins' downloads
- Live Destroyer (Dan Bejar's band - he's the drummer for the New Pornographers') downloads...
- Fun mixes from the torture garden & I guess I'm floating
Back to Sufjan Stevens...from his Pitchfork interview:
"Pitchfork: How do you feel about that in terms of your own material? Say if someone took "Chicago" and changed the lyrics to be more political?
Sufjan: It's definitely not public domain. I have a publisher and I make money from the publishing of the songs. That's a big part of an income, so I'm not going to pretend that I'm that socialistic about my music. But I'm not so possessive about it that I would sue anyone who misused it. If someone were to sample my work, I would have a hard time seeking payment for that. I don't even have a problem with people illegally downloading that stuff.
Pitchfork: Not at all?
Sufjan: Not really. I don't need to be selling hundreds of thousands of records to have a career. It doesn't really hinder me."
.....YEEESSSS [Sufjan Stevens - The Mistress Witch from McClure (or, The Mind That Knows Itself) which is discussed at some length in the interview]
...and songwriting is is "Plan B"...see the end of the interview
- Old Pete Seeger interview on NPR
Hyping other blogs...
- post on Bell X1...Damien Rice's band (with a number of downloads)
- Giant Drag @ Criminal Records (downloads included)
- review of Elefant's new album (downloads included)
- 29 covers of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart"...now I'm not a big Joy Division fan...but that's pretty impressive...
- So I like Josh Rouse. Do you like Josh Rouse? These downloads will make you like Josh Rouse
- so EVERYONE and their monkey's uncle has been posting about Nouvelle Vague lately, and I'm just going to link to another post because I'm such a rebel...
Labels: Sufjan Stevens
FRIDAY, May 19 - Elefant (Black Cat - $12)
May 21 - Angels & Airwaves (9:30 club) sold out
May 25 - The Walkmen (9:30 club - $15)
The Walkmen - Brandy Alexander
May 26 - The Whips (Black Cat - $9)
May 30 - Pearl Jam (Verison...used to be MCI...Center - $54)
June 3 - *The Stills* w/ Rogue Wave (9:30 Club - $15)
2 songs from "Without Feathers" - I particularly like destroyer
June 11 - Eels (9:30 club - $25)
June 11 - Devendra Banhart w/ **the Magic Numbers** (the Birchmere - $22)
I fell in love with the Magic Numbers after seeing them open for Bright Eyes. They're Scottish, but you would assume that they'd been pulled straight out of the south. Of all the indie bands that incorporate both male and female singers, they seem to do it in a very organic, natural way. It's just there and it works - you don't have to think about it.
My favorite song of theirs: The Magic Numbers - Morning's Eleven
June 15 - Sonic Youth (9:30 Club - $25)
June 15 - ***Vans Warped Tour*** (Merriweather Post Pavillion - $29.75)
The line up includes: AFI, The Academy Is..., Anti-Flag, Armor For Sleep, the Early November, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Less Than Jake, Motion City Soundtrack, Rise Against, Saves the Day, and Thursday
June 17 - *Tilly and the Wall* (Black Cat - $12)
4 downloads
June 27 - We Are Scientists (Black Cat - $14)
June 28 - ***The Futureheads*** w/ the French Kicks (9:30 Club)
1 Futureheads download, 3 French Kicks downloads
I love the futureheads....
July 7 - Taking Back Sunday, Angels & Airwaves, the Subways (Merriweather - $27)
July 8 - *****BELLE AND SEBASTIAN*****, Broken Social Scene, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists (Merriweather - $30 or $45)
July 11 - the Weakerthans (9:30 club)
July 27 - Editors (9:30 club)
Stars (*) indicate how much I want to see a concert. And there's no way I'm seeing Belle and Sebastian, FYI
The New Pornographers - Your Daddy Don't Know (what your mama's gonna do tonight)
Gotta love myspace:
- Michael Andrews...sweet electronic music that you could fall asleep to plus some (2 downloads)
- Inara George...she has the sweetest of voices, and the rockiness of the music varies in a delightful way (1 download)
- Spitfires and Mayflowers = Q and Not U +Hot Hot Heat...and I'm lost for description
- the bicycles - I'm REALLY hooked on these guys. I'm not going to bother describing them because EVERYONE should check them out (2 downloads)
- the bird and the bee...Inara George's collaboration with Greg Kurstin...I also highly recommend this
- How some notable mp3 blogs got their names (I Guess I'm floating)...I happened to pull the name of this blog straight out of my ass, FYI
- The Washington Post laments the end of the West Wing with some profiles of the cast members...and funny stories from the set
Say Hi To Your Mom (their site) are coming to the Warehouse Next Door in DC TOMMOROW (@9 pm, tickets are probably less than $9)
So go see them, because I can't...
Say Hi To Your Mom - Let's Talk About Spaceships (a classic)
Say Hi To Your Mom - Hooplas Involving Circus Tricks
and the newish Say Hi To Your Mom - Dimensions and Verticals
Hyping other blogs...
- Live Oh No! Oh My! and best releases of 2006 so far (from I guess I'm floating)
- ways to...apparently...find Binky the Doormat
- Futureheads - Skip to the End (fluxblog)
- Shins b-sides and rarities (just pretend)
- as if the 1st post wasn't amazing enough...more explanation of the awesomeness of the beatles (marathonpacks)
Non-blog
- I absolutely LOVE your band sucks...so...the review of Tool's 10,000 days
- the washington times explains music blogs to the rest of the world
- DC VOTING RIGHTS!!!! make progress in the house
- Proving the Beatles' greatness...thank goodness Said the Gramaphone linked to this post, because it's amazing. Just amazing. I'm relistening to my entire collection now...
- NPR review of Josh Ritter's Animal Years (I could have a very schoolgirl crush on this guy, "Girl in the War" is such an amazing song)
The aforementioned wish for you:
Stereophonics - Have A Nice Day .... I could use more of those
when the world is puddle-wonderful...
0 Comments Published by Kate on Tuesday at 5/09/2006 03:36:00 PM....Of the many songs in the world about youth and growing up, there are two songs I can think of that manage to capture it without too much hindsight. Both of them have been covered a good deal, so you get not one, but five songs...
Big Star - Thirteen
Elliott Smith - Thirteen (cover)
Wilco - Thirteen (cover) I think I might actually like this better than the original...don't tell anyone
this one's been bouncing around the web a lot lately...
The White Stripes - We are going to be friends
Jack Johnson - We are going to be friends (cover)
And some more (same theme):
Belle and Sebastian - The Stars of Track and Field
Neutral Milk Hotel - The King of Carrot Flowers
Simon and Garfunkel - Kodacrome
The Verve Pipe - Freshmen
Labels: mixtape
- more from Without Feathers (the new Stills album) - here and here. Buy the album here.
- MORE new Sufjan Stevens! (Saul Bellow)
- Feist demos (link courtesy of Largehearted Boy)
- another mp3 off the Beirut album (here's more)
- Bloc Party remixes
- fun with Imogen Heap
- my latest fall...Sambassadeur...that they have a song with my name on it doesn't hurt things...
- need a substitute for Q and Not U?...apparently Rahim will do the job...
- So many R.E.M. covers!...the Dashboard Confessional one is rather lovely, I must say.
Non-downloads: NPR interview with Paul Simon & Wilco's in the studio!
...if I promise to go to church on sunday...
1 Comments Published by Kate on Sunday at 5/07/2006 12:24:00 PM.Green Day - Church on Sunday
- see the title...will you go with me on Friday night? If you'll live for me I'll die for you and this compromise. HAHAHAHA I get it.
Death Cab For Cutie - President of What?
- I saw the scene unfold...on a rainy Sunday
- Whenever I listen to this song, I wonder exactly how Beulah pulled the title out of their asses...but supposedly it's still about Sunday
- ...everyday is silent and gray...hmm, let me think about this. No, I don't NORMALLY find Sundays to be depressing, nor the rest of the days of the week...I think it's just today...
A.F.I. - Dancing Through Sunday
- Will you join me in this dance, this dance of misery?
Labels: mixtape
So apparently Heath Ledger has replaced Colin Farrell as Bob Dylan in the biopic of him being worked on right now...
Let's consider this:
THE REAL DEAL -
- HEATH, who forever filled our image of the gay cowboy with incredible hotness
and FARRELL, who would have contributed amazing sexy Irish scruff to the role -
Ben Gibbard's many side projects - captured in a single post
Like Girl in the War?...MORE Josh Ritter...the most I've seen in a single post
the sexiest vegetarian? from Indie/Emo/Punk/Metal bands + real celebs, the VH1 kind? This is difficult! VOTE!
Why do I have a picture of Stuart Murdoch dancing? Because Belle and Sebastian are COMING BACK TO DC! They will be at the Merriweather Post Pavillion on July 8 with Ted Leo & the Pharmacists and Broken Social Scene...exciting? Very much so. The pre-sale starts tommorow and the regular sales start...Saturday? I will be unable to attend this epic event because I will be in Belize but you should go! ...if you live in DC that is...
In honor of B&S...one of my favorite songs of theirs:
Belle and Sebastian - A Century of Fakers
Let's hope "everyone" doesn't succeed
Meanwhile...
Sufjan Stevens A to Z (All Things Go), Josh Ritter Recommends Music on Amazon + Good Bands with Bad Names (Largehearted Boy gave the links), The English beat us in yet another area...health, Ramones Tributes and Rarities (Cable and Tweed), Jack White has a baby!
...And I fein political ignorance. There's just too much to talk about. Why not just listen to NPR?
WEST WING: Did I mention that Vinick is going to make the most awesome Secretary of State ever? Because I'm telling you now...
To the music...blogs, that is
- Interview with Oh No! Oh My! from I guess I'm floating
- Live Sufjan fun...at Judson College and the Triple Door
- I love local bands...so yay! for the Hard Tommorows
- Red River...a very cool lo-fi band...that you can download a bit of thanks to Said the Gramophone
- many many many live photos of Tapes N' Tapes and The Essex Green from their show in Chicago thanks to My Old Kentucky Blog
- Lately I've noticed that people have been putting up links to A LOT of Coldplay and U2 live covers and b-sides...Is there a reason? Here's some of the latest
- Check out my favorite Badly Drawn Boy song of all time...and I didn't even have to put up the link
Other news:
- Sonic Youth (@ 9:30 Club 6-15), Wilco, Modest Mouse, Radiohead, Fiery Furnaces (@ 9:30 Club 6-30), and Sigur Ros summer tour dates
- Post article on YouTube, as it's being used by the conventional media
- Gotta love that Colbert! (a take on The White House Correspondent's Dinner that makes me happy...)