The Only Thing I Ever Wanted, Psapp

The first track, "Hi" is such a standout song. It hooks you to say, 'I like this band, this is a band that I like'
First track. ..
Possibly they should have elongated the title to something like 'good afternoon' or at the very least 'hello'. I'm saying they should ride that wave longer.
'Hi' is a great track.

Can you tell already that the rest of the album is so hard to live up to that it doesn't.

Maybe electronica isnt my thing... 'Hi' is the closest thing you can get to melodic pop on their tracks, and, truth be told, that's what I like.

Their sound reminds me of an organized kitchen. Pots and pans and buttons and switches, windchimes, claps, swishes - in harmony.

Check out their myspace singles. It's easy to like.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=11732999

Daniel Higgs at Southpaw

First time I saw Daniel Higgs perform was at The Glass House in Brooklyn. He played the jews harp and also played this radical distorted acoustic guitar. I dont even know if it produced notes. It made sound though. Glory sound.
He forgot that wicked guitar on Saturday, but he did get himself a girlfriend. So that's good. Higgs mostly played on his beautiful banjo and a few songs with his signature mouth harp. His girlfriend played the violin and sung backup voCals. They both shared duties on this drum with a string attached to it. Not sure of the name, but it seemed like one of the first instruments made by man.

So, If you don't know about him, Daniel Higgs is....
well, when I tell most people, I usually describe this.

Here is what I recorded from the show


He sings about pretty interesting topics such as wolves devouring carcasses and the world ending. The last show in The Glass House was much more "world is going to die" "armegeddon commeth" type. Maybe since he got a girlfriend, he lightened up a bit.



The headliners for the show were Brightblack Morning Light. Woah. Very cool stuff. Intense. Things built up then sloooowed down. Seemed like they were trying to mimic nights of passion. Too bad I went with a dude.


Daniel Higgs. He is very under the radar, but has a loyal following. If you have asthma and are deeply religious, I would not recommend this show. Otherwise, it's always a great experience more than just a show. Higgs.

Cass McCombs, I take it back

Don Pedro's in Brooklyn, Saturday night - Cinco de Mayo. Maybe my expectations were too high. A more accurate indication of my impressions of the artist that night is that the recordings are just too good to match.

If you read the prior post, you can tell my closing in on obsession. Now its damaged, I must say. I saw hints of his transcending voice, but only that. The music was opening band worthy. The acoustics werent conducive. Things didnt go as deep inside you as you might hope for. As I hoped for.

Maybe it would have gone better with a sweet womanly figure with me - rather than 2 drunk friends asking me for money to buy more beer.

Cass had a 2 guitarists and a drummer with him. No one came out and claimed the performance for themselves. All that really sparkled was the glimpse of his voice.



His next record, I'm in. And I still love to listen to the older records. But as for future live shows, I will wait to go home till I listen to the voce again. Feliz Cinco de Mayo

Cass McCombs, Manic Crooner

I've been following this artist for about 3 years now. It was one of his first singles, "I went to the Hospital" that got me hooked.

It is hard to get the entire impression of him by just going to his album and being digital with his music (picking one and done). Try sitting in a room, and non-stopping an album. Its hard not to feel strong inside after listening. Not patti smith strong. comfort strong. what?

His original site had drawings that people made and sent to him. His new site says fire in the hole. yes it does. This is the misdirection in obscurity that I cannot get enough of. Is it only me that he does this for? I hope not, but wouldnt be surprised.

I am suddenly realizing the similarities to Radiohead that my friends have mentioned. that soft sweet puffy lipped drawl.

Cass McCombs is playing 3 dates in NYC in the next month

May 3 2007 2:30P Canal Room, Tribeca Film Festival New York
May 5 2007 8:00P Don Pedro's Brooklyn
May 6 2007 8:00P Mercury Lounge New York

See you at the last two.

Is it just me, or are you getting seriously tired of linking to youtube?


A - Prefection

Tiny Masters of Today

"Dude, have you heard of this band playing in brooklyn, its like 2 13 year old kids. Its like a mini white stripes... Tiny Masters of the Universe I think..."
That was last Saturday, my friend Chet was trying to tell me about them, but this was one of those drunken, last brain cell memory type of "did you know?" type of pontifications.

I took it to heart. I love kids trying and also jack white. I believe in our future. So I bookmarked it somewhere in my head, and yesterday I found who he was talking about.


Tiny Masters of Today



Is this the legitimate return of lo-fi? - in the vain of the stooges and the Ramones. Especially in their sub 2 minute songs. What made punk rock so cool in the 70's was the lack of money and good recording equipment, the do what you can in order to F with the man attitude. In this day and age, only a couple of pre-teens can legitimately do this. They probably have no allowance, they havent been influence by the news or even the daily show yet. They are not intellectuals, pseudo or actual, and their edges havent softened at all. In a world where people are growing up so much faster and becoming more knowledgeable about society so quickly, the only way we can now create the too stupid to quit, unfiltered mind of the 1969 22 year old punk rock icon, is to find a couple of 11 year olds and give them one pick. too dramatic? fuck you.

In the normal brooklyn band, the lead singer wears a mickey mouse shirt b/c he thinks its ridiculous in a hipster sort of way. Ivan, of Tiny Masters, wears it because, yes, he actually likes Mickey Mouse and wants to go to Disneyland.

I really don't even feel right grouping them with other bands in the same age group. I won't even mention them. That would demean what the Tiny Masters are.

If that's not enough, they have a fucking dancing panda on their webpage.

Nancy, Brazilian import

Heres another band I found on myspace.

I was attracted to this band for 2 reasons.
1 - Brazil. Anything from South America is automatically killer. After CSS (not the code, you geek), I am convinced that music coming out of arid countries in turmoil must be good. I imagine a house boarded up, with ransom driven kidnappers at the doors. Guns put together from Russian army surplus. Inside, a recorder, a computer, and a hotspot from the coffee shop next door. these mothers bang out the track live, and post it to myspace. for me.

2- the red/orange hue myspace photo. They tease you consistently with pictures of the lead singer. We all want to see the face. They never give it to us. Very close on the website. not satiated though.


Nancy originally was an instrumental band. Eventually they stopped being background music and signed Camila Zamith. Smooth and original. unfiltered.
Astrud Gilberto stops you in your tracks.


Victoria Bergsman makes you sit and close your eyes (see the video in the Swede post)

El Perro Del Mar (another swede) is just a really sweet girl

Frida Hyvonen is also very sweet - but don't tell her lyrics this.


Camila Zamith speaks well.



Theres still a lot more to hit in order to be revolutionaires. The potential is definitely there. Lets see where this takes them.



The old bassist left the band to be in the TV show "Lost"

Envelopes and more Swedes

Envelopes "smoke in the desert, eating the sand..."


seems like a nintendo throwback video until you start getting destroyed.

What is this? another swede? the Scandinavian music import scene is strong. vVerYy strong. Serena Maneesh already broke up to become some other band, but apparently they are back and touring with NIN. Trent Reznor (phone number 216-333-1810) always has a heads up on whats good. and whats God. Emil is god-like on stage. off too. At a show in NY, I realized something: Scandos are huge! every body unnative to the states was pressing 6'2 - and the women were on the cusp of 6 even. Some singer from some death metal norwegian band told me that back in the bulbous triple threat, every band plays. every night. every band is this just as good as this or better. I believe him and I want to go.

and if you havent hear the songs playing in your local abercrombie, here is some sweet sweet music to sit with. courtesy Peter, Bjorn and John.

Be sure to thank them on your way out.

23, Blonde Redhead makes their own sweet background music

Unfortunately for Blonde Redhead, their newest album shares their name with a Jim Carrey movie (thanks ponyboy). Whats also unfortunate is that they broke so much new ground with their past albums that each new record will have a hard time to revolutionize just like they did before. So now, we will wallow in the awesomeness where they have already created.

This is not an embarrassing step-son type of album - the one you might feed seldomly and keep in the kitchen when you have company. This is more of the youngest child. An absolute pleasure to have around, sure, but when someone makes fun of your mother, you fucking bring out Misery Butterfly and you watch them cry running home to their own.

The title track pretty much lays the mood for the entire album. It deserves to be the title track, and deserves to the the first single from the album. Its good. Playing loud makes better, as with most BR. The rest of the album follows along the same ambient path, with a few highs and not so many lows. They are more consistent in this production, with less explosions of lust. Tantric sex? Yeah, this album is tantric sex.

a tribute myspace

THE NOT NEWEST DEERHUNTER

so i’m sitting in my cubicle this morning listening to “turn it up faggot” and i feel overwhelmed by this giddy pride in being 24 years old and listening to thrashy, distorted noise and screams and thinking how if i were 40 i’d be such a fucking loser. but i’m not. i start to sense a plan developing but its too early to translate these sensations into something manageable, so i decide to finish my coffee and let my brain catch up to the intuition of my body. it takes me an hour and a half, as always, to finish off that last muddy, sugary gulp, and by the time i finally do, i have a pretty good deerhunter buzz flowing through my body. i had listened to the album a few times and remembered how much i love adorno, and wondered if it was really ‘that’ adorno that the song was about. how could you know: the words are indecipherable throughout the album, but it doesn’t matter. i don’t think anybody notices that. on most songs, if you’re not paying attention its difficult to distinguish vocals from layer after layer of crunchy guitar and bass fuzz. at what place do deer and hunters intersect?

as soon as my phone rang i realized that, ok this is for real. i calmly stood up from my desk, shook my foot until it woke up and proceeded to walk down the hall, out the glass doors, and sort of skipped like a fool to jam my arm into the elevator doors and squeezed in. downstairs, waiting to be let in, were dene and jeff each supplied with guitar amps sufficiently loud enough to really offend the 7th floor of the hedley building and all of the cubicle robots occupying it. each also had a bag filled with rocks, torches, cans of gasolines, and ski masks. when we make it back up we plug the amps in, hook in the ipods to their respective amp via rca adapters. the amps are about 10 yards apart and i’m between the two, 10 yards out. we form an equilateral triangle. at this point my ‘team’ is confused why i brough 2 strange looking guys with backpacks and guitar amps up to the quiet, orderly data-entry floor. i was out of my element. so they sync up adorno and on my cue play it a modest level. every one is staring in wonder. the supervisors stand up, stern with sourpuss faces. get that sourpuss face out of my life. at 10 seconds i cup my mouth and scream my first and last scream into the 7th floor ceiling “TURN IT UP FAGGOT.” and the noise went from about a 2 to about a10, and panic ensues. by now our ski masks are on, our shirts are at our feet and they’ve handed me my flaming torch. we line up shoulder to shoulder, rock in hands, approach the first rat and watch it scurry away. yeah, cause today we;re the terrorists that you’ve all been pissing and shitting about. and we simultaneously ejaculate our rocks all over the rat’s computer monitor as people scream and all around us all you hear is “SITTING ON THE FLOOR WITH MY HANDS TO THE CROSS, TAILS CROSSED, TAILS CROSSED”, and i become acutely aware that this is my last day of work, cause they’re gonna probably fire me. we sprint through aisles, torches in hands, smashing computer monitors with our rocks gods among men. high fives all over the places, sweat dripping over our bodys. as adorno reaches its end, i think to myself, “as much as i like this album, this next song isn’t nearly as exciting as the previous one and maybe we oughtta get out of here while the energy level is as high as it is”. with a beckon i draw the terrorists towards me and as we prepare to pack up and head out i notice that everyone is on their knees with their arms extended towards us. what?

and check out their new album 'cyptograms'

The Vicious Five

Another myspace find. Sick mother Effing Band!
These guys are from Portugal. I have no idea what language. there definitely some english in there, but there is otherwise unintelligible lyrics. At least being in another language would be a good excuse for it.
I am given the impression of the Black Keys kicking people in faces. Not to say the keys arent doing that already, but this band is doing it in a destroying something beautiful kind of way.


Their single (?, they have a video) reminds me of Jet, but not like in a ">Gap kind of way - more of a yellow rat bastard kind of way. One can't help but notice the sausage fingers on one of the guitarists, as depicted in the video.

This music makes me believe Portugal is a radical place with deserts and guitars and wires, and cactus, and black blood, and people rocking till they die. I don't even think bulls can survive in such a climate. Ive never been there, but is this correct?

Jessica L. Fenton

Do some people just have it? I think you can always see the magic in people.

Here is an artist I found on myspace just by clicking around.
Her name is Jessica L. Fenton.
The production is noticeably unrefined. Somehow she rises slightly above generic though. Thats why I am writing this. There is no type I am specifically looking to write about in the blog, but the correlation is definitely the artists who are able to go to one more level than what is expected. This girl, Jessica Fenton, she has this snarl, a yell - particularly on the track "Wool" which really rises out of comfort into intrigue. The guitars are a normal guitar riff, but a good one nonetheless that always sounds good wherever we hear it. She adds a piano in there, drumset - all which she plays herself.
To totally reduce her to generics, I would say fiona apple and the proclaimers consummated their mid 90's love affair. But thats not fair.
Here is a person who is doing the music we have all heard before, but there is that spark that catches you. There is definite potential here if she keeps on this track.
http://www.myspace.com/jessicalfenton

The EP is 3 songs... not even enough to fill an entire myspace profile. Despite this, theres still that sound. She seems like someone Id like to see perform live. This is a recommendation for her work to date. Looking for more.

She has a sister, but no one told her you have to rock out.

Young at Heart Chorus

Young@Heart Chorus

Its hard to believe this group has been around for 25 years. their ages: 3 to 4 times that.
http://www.youngatheartchorus.com/index.php

Its not just just their ages, but the artists they cover: pearl jam, strokes, flaming lips, coldplay

http://www.myspace.com/youngatheartchorus

They are something worth knowing about. 70-90 year olds covering current songs. The thing is, they are too good, they are too with it. this is nothing like I would expect at my grandmother's old nursing home. theres no follies, no missing teeth, no pureed food droop, and the smell is nowhere to be found, this is just the older generation singing today's hits. still worth seeing once. And if they ever come to NYC, I'm front row.

Fire Bug

Myspace discovery from the forum I created to as an outlet for new bands to show off their videos.

Fire Bug. Grandiose music made for destruction. Perfect theme music for a demolition job. Blues/rock/psychedelic - Ive heard music like this before but very rarely does it click like this. The difference might be the acoustic, bringing the psychedelic down to earth.

http://www.myspace.com/firebug

Walk Again (stereo)

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Is Marianne Faithful the inspiration? that sweet death rattle of a voice. very cool music - worth a listen.

Lily Allen

I have to get this one out of the way before its too late. There are tons of unsigned bands to post about, but I also realize that there is plenty of time, and the bandwagon is already moving with this artist.

Lily Allen. If you don't know her already, you have to get on board. This may be a bit poppy, and I am definitely aware of the flack I am susceptible to now, but F you - shes good. If the rhythm moves you, let it groove you.
I found her through pitchfork when the featured her video for 'smile'. Here it is:

is irreverent the word for her? Well, she seems real and cool and not too pretty so shes untouchable, but still fit as anything.

her website is great, all her songs are posted, she has a tour diary, videos. Here it is: http://lilyallenmusic.com/

is this too late for this post? Doesn't matter, here it is.

UPDATE: Today < I found an article on digg . heres a reprint:

Lily Allen slates Apple's iTunes tactics
Apple accused of bullying musicians into providing exclusive content for iTunes

Karen Haslam

British singer Lily Allen has accused Apple of bullying musicians into providing exclusive content for iTunes.

Her comments were made in a radio interview. She stated: “They won't advertise your album unless you give them extra material,” according to a report in the Wall Street Journal .

Allen claimed Apple pushed her to quickly produce a new version of a song for sale on iTunes, so she planned to give them a “rubbish remix".

Apple shuns the typical pay-for-placement system used by high-street music retailers, which sees labels pay for good in-store placement of albums. Apple claims its stance enables it to make unbiased music recommendations. Apple iTunes VP Eddy Cue wants customers to feel that advice on music is “coming from someone who really liked it versus someone who was paid to say they liked it,” according to the Wall Street Journal report.

In order to gain visibility on the front page of iTunes, labels must negotiate with Apple. Apple offers good iTunes placement to artists who offer exclusive access to new songs, special discount pricing or additional material such as interviews, according to the report.

This placement is key. One industry executive told the Wall Street Journal that during a week when an album is featured on the iTunes home page it can sell about five times more copies on average than it does when the album isn't featured.

Now executives are concerned that Apple is using the iTunes home page to promote TV shows, movies and games, leaving less room for pitching music content. Label executives claim it is now necessary to begin discussions with Apple three to six months before a major music release to have a chance of promoting it on the iTunes home page.

Too much power for Apple. This is what happens when the suits make more decisions than the turtle neck.

You're a Wolf

The track to this band was my obsession with my friend's brother to the my obsession with the silversun pickups to Sea Wolf being a top friend on their myspace page.

The 3 songs on myspace are smooth and progressive. The sound is reminiscent of Eliott Smith, with a double voice track, but the band is a very prominent element in the songs - without overpowering the vocals at all.
This band just got signed to Dangerbird records and is putting out an EP and LP later this year.

here is a live video. There are no official videos yet. judge them by the myspace songs though, the quality of the sound and video here is not perfect.


This is such a great band, get on board. By the end of the year, the album will reach top 5 in the indie charts.

Technorati Profile

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

This album has been on constant play in my car/computer for about a month. It is almost time to pass on the cd for fear of playing it out and ruining it forever.
to my surprise, I found out Neon Bible was released only a few days ago...

As evidence of their prowess, I pose the question: How many bands can sell out 5 days in a row in a single city?

I feel like I am charging through things when listening to their music. treading through the mud, galloping, running, all kinds of movements - usually going through an element.

Here is a video that some youtuber made:


a better resource for the uninformed is their myspace

This is the first post. Obviously you need to check them out.

Mission Statement

I created this blog to share the music that I love and info about it. I can only hope to turn a few people on to some great bands. Clicking around myspace I have realized that there are a tremendous amount of bands that are more than listenable - that are actually good.
I have always been treading my way through band after band t0 find everything that I consider 'good'. Subjective as it may be, I am sure that many people share similar angles to my tastes.
This blog will show videos and links to listen to new music.

I definitely angle towards the indie/pop/experimental/rock genres.


I get a lot of info through myspace, ohmyrockness, pitchfork and many other music sites that I will certainly list here as time goes on.

Hope I can pass on some info - and readers can comment in some knowledge too. Enjoy