Amazing. They can control the media with so little numbers. They must be, like, superheroes!
God Only Knows (Beach Boys cover)-Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
ILLJEWMANATI-Sneakas Feat. Iron Solomon, ILL Bill, and MC Serch, with guest lecturer Peter Rosenberg
Jesus was Way Cool-King Missle
Zen-Clipse feat. Pusha T, Sandman, Liva, Malice
Brontosaurus is the perfect name for Nicholas Kelley and Nicholas Papaleo’s band, because their music sounds BIG and mythic. The duo don’t sound extinct though–their experimental pop is almost unclassifiable. Very cool, very different.
Give it a try if you like to hear stuff you’ve never heard before.
Tour dates:
June 18 – Saki – Chicago, IL
June 21 – Garfield Artworks – Pittsburg, PA
June 22 – Heirloom Arts Theatre, Danbury, CT
June 24 – Pete’s Candy Store – Brooklyn, NY
June 25 – Pianos – Manhattan, NY
June 29 – The Triple – Richmond, VA
June 30 – Zanzabar – Louisville, KY
Tags: Indie, Indie rock
Back in 2005, a band with a lead singer who voice like dying, provocative-but-obscure lyrics, and a fast, catchy, yet oddly complex 
musical nature erupted on the scene and caught everyone’s attention. Their debut was one of my favorite indie albums of all time. They then promptly did nothing and faded away. That was the story of Clap Hands Say Yeah. The same description seems to apply to Portland’s And And And (who will give you their album for free if you just ask for it). This album is tremendous. It has the full potential and re-listenability to be the best indie rock album of 2011. It will knock you on your ass and make you get up and say “WTF?!” only be knocked right back down again.
There’s six guys in this band, so expect a big sound. It’s generally fast, with unusual lyrics about buying a soul and being a ghost and sailing on sinking ships and the power of youth (“I don’t recall us kids having it all wrong”) . . . It’s just too hard to explain. They lyrics are obscure but entirely honest–like good poetry, it rings true even when you don’t fully understand it. You know, it’s college basement music. And Holy Christ will these songs stick in your head.
I want to say more, because I don’t feel like I’ve convinced you yet. but I’ve run out of adjectives. Just trust me: You need to hear this album. It will change your life, pay your mortgage, get you laid, and cure cancer. it’s just that good.
You can cop a bunch of EPs, along with the album, here. I can’t believe these guys are unsigned.
Tags: Free Album!, Indie rock
Katie Goes to Tokyo. It’s almost an unfortunate band name, given recent events and given that this band makes sunny songs with lead vocals by Swedish singer/songwriter Kathrine Bergström, who has a voice of smooth, pop perfection. But it’s not her fault: The band has been around–in other forms and under other names–since 2002, when Kathrine met some of her current band partners and they formed The Wilson Hospital, who released their debut in Sweden and Japan. Hence the name she took on for her 2006 “solo” album, created with some of the same folks.
My Naked Heart was released in Sweden in 2010, and recently in the U.S. It’s her second album. Cop it at CD Baby.
Here’s the vid for “Will You Be Gone All Summer?”
Tags: Indie Pop
Tags: Video of the day
I told you a few days ago that Jason Isbell’s new album is one of the best of the year so far. Well, now my wife agrees with me. So it must be true!
And just to prove how fantastic it is, I am posting a show from his recent tour, celebrating this wonderful record.
The show is Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit from April 8 in Florence, Alabama, and it features what I think is their first time covering “Hey Pocky Way,” as well as their “usual” cover of Talking Heads and less-usual covers of Springsteen and Hendrix. Hendrix? Now, that takes balls.
Set I:
01 Go It Alone
02 Try
03 Grown
04 Alabama Pines
05 Goddamn Lonely Love
06 The Magician
07 Hey Pocky Way
08 Outfit
09 Heart On A String
10 Gum On My Shoe > Band Intros
11 Decoration Day
Set II:
01 Codeine
02 Dress Blues
03 Danko Manuel
04 Psycho Killer
05 Never Gonna Change >
06 Stone Free >
07 Never Gonna Change
08 Cigarettes and Wine
09 Atlantic City
Tags: Bootleg
Lots of FREE all-covers albums available this week–my in-box runneth over. Here’s my “top 10″ new cover feasts going on right now!
TOP 10 FREE COVER FEASTS OF THE RIGHT NOW!
10. BUSBUS offers “f/yuck”, an all-covers album featuring the songs of Pedro the Lion, Johanna Newsome, Velvet Underground, and more. Free from Bandcamp.
9. FROM EXILE offer an EP of Nine Inch Nails covers. It’s metal takes on Reznor’s industrial metal sound, so you won’t find radically different takes on the tunes, but it’s still pretty solid work. Go here.
8. KELLY PARDEKOOPER. In the first of several archive offerings, check out this barburning crooner’s 2010 set, recently posted here, with a bunch of cool classic rock covers, including this great version of Sympathy for the Devil.
7. WEATHERSTAR will hit you with a 4-song EP of covers of Britney Spears, The Scene Aesthetic, Dashboard Confessional and The Starting Line. All for the price of an e-mail addy. Sign up here.
6. JOHNNY FALSTAFF. A new live set posted at the archive has some really great classic country gems on it. Get it here. My favorite? Doin’ My Time by Johnny Cash.
5. NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE. A tribute webalbum called “Headed for the Ditch can be bought-for-nothin’ here. It’s a “coming together” of Bandcamp bands. There’s a bunch of songs you’d expect to see here (After The Gold Rush, Helpless, Sugar Mountain) but some less-covered ones as well, like See The Sky About To Rain and Cripple Creek Ferry. In all, a solid gathering of tribes and vibes.
4. RYAN ADAMS. Tons of RA covers are up at Cover Me. I already had them, but if you don’t, you’ll probably want a bunch.
3. MIKE MIZWINSKI has a remarkably high quality new live set posted on the archive, with covers of Grateful Dead, Allmans, and many others–acoustic-like. It’s very, very good. You definitely want to go get it here.
2. COVER LAY DOWN. I haven’t pointed y’all to this blog in a while. It’s a good one.
1. MAYER HAWTHORNE covers classic R&B on his covers EP. Love his take on “Work To Do,” which is probably one of my all-time favorite golden oldies anyway. Here’s the full set:
1. Work to Do (The Isley Brothers cover)
2. Don’t Turn the Lights On (Chromeo cover)
3. You’ve Got the Makings of a Lover (The Festivals cover)
4. Fantasy Girl (Steve Salazaar cover)
5. Little Person (Jon Brion cover)
6. Mr. Blue Sky (ELO cover)
Get it here.
Tags: Bootleg, Covers, Extended Player (EP), Free Album!
