Thirsty Thursdays: 11 (+ Requests!)
1 Comments Delivered by TakeoffZebra on 29 June 2007 at 5:53 PM.
I'd like to first off apologize for the delayed entry. The excuse? Viruses. Pipe's computer caught one and his main hard drive was corrupted. Thank God his music drive is safe. I also caught a virus myself, and had to take a shot in the butt from the doctor. But I'm here today and in perfect condition to post some music and a bit of commentary. The first song here will be by a man named Joseph Arthur. While not necessarily a household name, he is most recognized for his song "In The Sun" which was covered by Michael Stipe with Chris Martin, remixed by Justin Timberlake, and featured on Scrubs. His live solo performances are noted for their use of looping techniques and a large array of effects pedals. His latest album, "Let's Just Be", was released back in April with his new band The Lonely Astronauts. Also, the above painting is a Joseph Arthur original, probably featured in his limited CD/Book combo release "The Invisible Parade + We Almost Made It". The song for download is "Anywhere With You", my personal favorite from the "And The Thieves Are Gone" EP, which had a very limited release to specific indie music stores. The song seems to slowly rotate with slurred vocals, spastic organs, and echoing guitar effects. Fantastic.Joseph Arthur- "Anywhere With You" [Removed]
How about some electronic music? I certainly can't say no. This here is Kavinsky, a french dude that's touring with the likes of Daft Punk, The Rapture, Justice, and SebastiAn. The tour of all tours if you're into dancing. Seriously, I would drop everything and go if it came within 500 miles of Jacksonville, but of course, it doesn't. I'll just sit here and listen to "Testarossa Autodrive", the coolest song about one of the raddest cars ever, plus it has a hella sweet music video. His mini-LP "Dead Cruiser" is coming out soon, and until then, enjoy dancing to Ferrari themed techno.
Kavinsky- "Testarossa Autodrive" [Removed]
Film School is a band. Demetri Martin is a comedian. This is a song. More specifically, this is a song made by the two for Demetri's "Clearification" webisodes, and it's awesome. Film School started off in the late 90s in San Francisco with members of Pavement (!), and is set release a third album, "Hideout", this September. Demetri Martin is an Emmy-Award winning comedian that contributes to The Daily Show and is being considerred as a replacement to Conan O'Brien in 2009. He also has a great comedy CD/DVD out called "These Are Jokes".
Film School & Demetri Martin- "Electric Brain" [Removed]
Now onto the requests. Sorry to keep you guys waiting, but it will hopefully be worth it. Electric President's former namesake, Radical Face Vs. Phalex Sledgehammer, is a little known, under-appreciated musical output. This song is from the album "Typecast" and is a little more serious than the rap spoof I posted earlier. Ben Cooper's lyrical abilities are shown off by lines like "I can unpredict a thousand things in a day/ starting with the future and then moving on to better things" or "I've never been much of an optimist, so when life gives me lemons, I throw them at cars". Again, I do not have the tracklist to this release, so the song title is unknown.
Radical Face Versus Phalex Sledgehammer- "Track 9" [Removed]
Unicorns are people too, and unreleased music is music as well. I'll help shed some light on this instrumental Unicorns track by putting it out to the metaphorical sea on a metaphorical iceberg. Good luck Billy!
The Unicorns- "The Adventures Of Bayou Billy" [Removed]
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists is a band of overlapping genres, varying between punk, indie, rock, dub and others. This rare track is from the Cosmodemonic Telegraph compilation "Transmission One: Tea At The Palaz Of Hoon", and borders more on the punk side.
TL/Rx- "You Always Hate The One You Love" [Removed]
And there we have it, hope the anticipation wasn't too painful, and I'll do my best to make some sort of post this weekend, thanks guys.
Labels: demetri martin, film school, joseph arthur, kavinsky, radical face vs phalex sledgehammer, requests, ted leo and the pharmacists, the unicorns, thirsty thursdays
Photo by RachelACT III
"Light had gone and I could hear them speak of approaching rain. The Drunk Captain had hid himself from the coming storm in the deepest annex of his vice. The blue of his eyes was gone. They had now become grey and tremulous orbs, wavering in his stark, violent oration to the crew. "Sails full!" he screamed to them, his voice wrathful and unsure "we will beat this storm yet!" His bravery poured not from his heart, but from the bottle at his lips. His one hand clutch the helm, the other the bottle, and his sons toiled below him with rope and sail, and I could see there was mutiny in their eyes. We traveled with sails full, and the water grew angrier, throwing us and our property about with its surge, trying to extinguish the fires of commerce within our hold. And though the luster of the ship's gold and ivory burned bright, in crate and cage, the sea swelled, and the beasts yelled louder than before! The Drunk Captain's two other sons, Fapheth and Ham came to his either side, taking one of his hands each. "Come Father." They said, "you've had far too much to drink, and you must take down the sails and sleep, or we will not survive the storm." - "Where would you put me?" he asked, "With our cargo, sleeping in the warmth of their refuse?" He called to Shem to help him, but his son would not listen, for his brothers had convinced him of their will during the night. "My son, wil you not answer my call?" The Drunk Captain looked to me now, his eyes sad and empty, the anger from them had settled. His sons grabbed his either arm and took him from the helm onto the deck. Shem opened the hatch, and the cry of beasts called from below, and The Drunk Captain said "Secrets and irises open the door to a pride of lions and murder of crows, no one knows how I began, but how I'll end." And with this, shook his sons from his arms and ran towards the port side, leaping over the edge into the sea. His sons ran to the side of the boat, holding their heads in despair. "Save him, Save him!" they cried, looking with horror at the cruel sea far below."
The Sound of Animals Fighting - "Act III: Modulate back to the Tonic" [Removed]
THEMES OF INDIVIDUAL TUNES: (ACT III)
Fingerpick beginning: morning on the plains of earth sun's first light. Left guitar descending while right guitar provides ascending counter melody. Middle channel is more of a bass line than anything. All melodies interweave like the grass on the Sahara that I imagined. Chorus: first use of actual bar chords; modulate to parallel minor of the five chord- b minor - d major - a major - needed to be solid like a rhino stampede. Breakdown: Pink Floyd all the way brah!!! Modulate back to the tonic - can't remember what chords I used in that, though I believe it was very similar to "Dark Side..." Kept progressions relatively simple as the lazy life of a plains beast.
INSPIRATIONS
Act III inspired by the book Peter Pan by F.M. Barrie.
---
ACT IV
"The storm raged stronger than before. I was taken below deck and shackled in a cage with two slaves, as thought I was more a threat than the tempest above deck. The Captain's sons were above , the sails had been taken down and we sat in storm, battered by the sea from every direction. I heard them scrambling above through the night, and the rain and storm came heavy at us, as though God spoke to us in tongues of sleet and wind. The crew above me spoke to each other, their lips dripping with water, they said, "Still it rains, and there in that box he remains." The ship began to sway, and the planks creaked and the sides bulged, and the animals screamed deafening screams that echoed through the hold, in notes louder than the cacophony of Hell itself. The ship swayed left, and then right, and the crates slid to each side of the ship, crushing the animals against the walls. The poor beasts tore at each other's flesh, gnashing and biting at skin and wall, not knowing of the miles of sea on the other side. The voices of men stopped, and I heard only the storm above. Then the ship capsized. The sound of animals fighting ceased. When at last the heavens were steady again, I found myself alone in the darkness. I saw only this blackness, deep, and cold and wet. The water seeped in at the seams of the bow, flowing into the darkness of the broken ship, and the unexplored patches arose and spread, black shadows moved about it them, the roar of the beasts f prey was quite different now. It was one of despair. My cellmates were silent, dead or unconscious, I didn't know. The cabin filled to its half and the water covered us, and we were hanging by our ankles in the foam. Animals drowned all around, screaming as the water engulfed them, screaming and dying, their hooves and paws could not tread the death water of the black ocean.
"I am sinking, o' Captain, I am sinking." I said, to none but the great sea."
The Sound of Animals Fighting - "Act IV: You Don't Need A Witness" [Removed]
THEMES OF INDIVIDUAL TUNES: (ACT IV)
Counter attack of the machines: Math-y beginning C natural minor run resolving to A flat 9 and B flat 9. Modulate to E minor to keep consistency of first machine onslaught. Hits" harmonized, diminished mode in tri tones (flat fives). Chorus: dancy-y as fuck like violent and ecstatic sex; Luna rides a pterodactyl now and nimbly dodges the attack of the machines. Her Venus light is now apparent to the earth as the coming of a new age. E minor triads played in octaves resolving with g9-a9 and then g9-a9-b9-d9. Ninths harmonized over E Aeolian mode versus - apeggiations of E minor - more repeating Act I theme.
Happy 10 week anniversary Thirsty Thursdays, on to the random assortment of songs. To celebrate the release of The White Stripes' new album, "Icky Thump", I'm gonna share the very first thing this Detroit rock duo ever released. Prized by collectors, the "Let's Shake Hands" 7" was released back in 1998 with only 1000 copies pressed. It was re-issued in 2002 with another 1000 pressings. The song is great. It's loud, noisy and fast. With this very first peice of vinyl, they brought forth their combination of rough rock and raw blues that has risen them to present fame. Congrats guys.The White Stripes- "Let's Shake Hands" [Removed]
I'll admit, I used to be a huge Star Wars nerd. I'm still a nerd, but the obsessive habits wore off with the lack luster prequel trilogy. Well, I have a deluxe edition of the soundtrack to "Return Of The Jedi: Special Edition" and was listening to it recently. A couple of songs stuck out from the usual John Williams orchestrations. One being an obnoxious song played by Max Rebo's Band in Jabba's palace that John Williams had nothing to do with, and a baroque recital used in some of the Jabba's palace scenes. This baroque recital uses classic 17th and 18th century instruments and is a refreshing and relaxing turn away from the rest of the album that can easily be put on repeat to add a special "spacy yet sophisticated" atmosphere to any room.
John Williams- "Jabba's Baroque Recital" [Removed]
The Unicorns (R.I.P.) were a fantastic Canadian indie-pop band that were known for their colorful album art and suprisingly dark lyrics. Unfortunately, the band is no longer together, but key members have gone on to form Islands. Well, if The Unicorns had stayed together just a little bit longer, they may have released all the songs that they didn't have time to. Here's one of those unreleased songs, called "Do The Knife Fight", that highlights the bands happy sound and dark, disturbing lyrics.
The Unicorns- "Do The Knife Fight" [Removed]
Earlier today I was listening to an old, out of print compilation from Cosmodemonic Telegraph called "Transmission One: Tea At The Palaz Of Hoon". It's most notable for it's exclusive Bright Eyes song "It's Cool, We Still Can Be Friends" (which is now also available on the Bright Eyes rarity comp ("Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005)"). It also has an exclusive Ted Leo and the Pharmacists song. But the song I'm going to put up is by a group I have never heard of and that I really could not find information on. They are The Positive-Negative Men, and the song is called "Broadcast Electricity". It's a synthy race through energetic electronic organs and distant vocals.
The Positive-Negative Men- "Broadcast Electricity" [Removed]
Fatboy Slim is best known for his dance hits and the music video of Christopher Walken dancing. His songs are great to listen to and toe-tap/head-bop away while browsing the net. A great example of this is the b-side "Always Read The Label" from the "Rockafeller Skank" single. The heavy use simulated motion through stereo is a little disorienting when listening to this song in headphones. It's awesome.
Fatboy Slim- "Always Read The Label" [Removed]
In honor of Justice's new album "†" I'll post a remix that the french duo did of Death From Above 1979's "Blood On Our Hands" from the single by the same name. Yeah, good times.
Death From Above 1979- "Blood On Our Hands (Justice Remix)" [Removed]
There we go, Thirsty Thursdays is in the double digits. We're gaining a larger viewer base and things are going great. Thanks go out to all you lovely milk loungers who check the site, leave feedback, and tell people about us. Without you guys, well, we'd be wasting our time.
Labels: death from above 1979, fatboy slim, john williams, justice, the positive negative men, the unicorns, the white stripes, thirsty thursdays
Hey everyone! We'll we've been around for a little over three months now and we have some excellent posts in our archives (which are to the right under "Archives" where you can look at past posts.) Back in our first month of April we had a horrible file host and couldn't hold that much music, so in order to make space we had to remove a bunch of songs from our site. However, today I'll be re-uploading those songs and reattaching them to the site! I realize that I may have confused you in this post so I'll simplify it. No Space... Had To Delete Songs... Songs are coming back... These posts are in the April 2007 Archive. Phew. I hope people are looking forward to the Thirsty Thursdays post this afternoon!
Quirk. It's an abnormality, a kink, an eccentricity. It's something that can completely turn someone off to a song, or it can make the song unique and therefore endearing. Being quirky is a risk, but when done right, it's something I cherish. I can't stand people without humor and the same goes for bands, so here are a few songs that I feel exemplify the quirk aesthetic. We'll begin with the King Of Quirk, Mr. Weird Al Yankovic himself. Classically trained on the accordion as a child and master of parody, Weird Al is a Grammy Award winner and has had his own movie, a TV show, and has directed several music videos. The song I have chosen to represent the Yank Attack is "Yoda", a parody of "Lola" by The Kinks about everyone's favorite jedi master and is from his "Dare To Be Stupid" album. Indulge:Weird Al Yankovic- "Yoda" [Removed]
Next stop on the vagary van is a group of ska superheroes, The Aquabats! Famous for their heroic live shows and mythology, The Aquabats have a strong fan following of Aquacadets and are touring for most of the summer. This song, "Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates", is off their second album, "The Fury Of The Aquabats", which is the only album with drummer The Baron von Tito (aka Travis Barker).
The Aquabats- "Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates" [Removed]
Atom & His Package is a long-time favorite of mine. Ever since I heard the squeal of Adam Goren's voice combined with a single little synthesizer I couldn't get enough. He writes songs about what jews do on christmas, marrying his own grandmother, octopi, hammers, barbecues on the north pole, and plenty of other silly notions. This one is called "Nutrition" from a compilation of his early releases called "Making Love" and details that although he has very few ambitions, he at least cares about what he puts in his mouth.
Atom & His Package- "Nutrition" [Removed]
The Bloodhound Gang is known mainly for the sexual anthem "The Bad Touch" and most recently for "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo", which is the NATO phonetic alphabet equivalent of an F-bomb. I still say they stole the idea from Van Halen's "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge". Anyway, the song here is called "Ralph Wiggum" from their latest album, "Hefty Fine". And yes, it is a Simpsons reference. Actually, all the lyrics are quotes from the show. They even chant 'Yvan Eht Nioj!' Awesome.
The Bloodhound Gang- "Ralph Wiggum" [Removed]
Sonic Youth had a side project back in the second half of the '80s. This project was highly experimental and was called Ciccone Youth. Ciccone is Madonna's original surname. Well, this project gave birth to one album called "The Whitey Album" which contains (among other things) spoken word poetry, Thursten Moore rapping, a cover of Madonna's "Into The Groove", 1 minute of silence for the 2nd track, and a cover of Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love". Here's "Addicted To Love":
Ciccone Youth- "Addicted To Love" [Removed]
Electric President has gained a lot of popularity recently. Being based here in Jacksonville, I can remember back when they went by a different name: Radical Face Versus Phalex Sledgehammer. Well, three albums were released under that name, one of which was "Typecast". It's a fantastic album that my friends and I listened to on repeat back at summer camp, but the quirky treats are the hidden tracks at the end of the disc. This one here is a rap song that has me laughing everytime. The lyrics are rediculous: "If the bitches all skinny get some chicken n' fat in 'em". I remember they used to have a Hip-Hop project listed on the website, but it has since dissappeared. I do not know the name of this song, so the title is unknown. But I think it can be enjoyed anyway.
Radical Face Versus Phalex Sledgehammer- "Track 13 (Hidden Rap Song)" [Removed]
Well guys, I hope you've at least found something in this bunch of quirky tidbits that's either refreshing, funny, or somewhat pleasing, and if not, well, I'm sorry.
Labels: atom and his package, ciccone youth, radical face vs phalex sledgehammer, the aquabats, the bloodhound gang, weird al yankovic
ACT II "Out in the torrid wake of the sea, the gale shook the bow-planks like tremors, and our cargo rioted in voice below the decks. Though the winds shook us, The Drunk Captain showed me that the sun was high, and assured me that the seas would grow calm, and that our passenger-cargo, ten and one thousand animals of burden and beauty, would not perish in the storm or sea. The sailors' provisions were meager, and one ran about the ship catching food. His way was to pursue birds that had food in their mouths suitable for humans, and snatch it from them. "That is my son Shem." The Drunk Captain told me, "Who I love most of the three sons I have borne, and though he is a fool, his heart is good." He drank from his bottle. "Come with me now," He said. "For you have not seen your fellow passengers." We went down into the ship's hold. And I saw at my every side beasts of all colors and size and breed, howling from disease and madness. "Why do these beasts howl?" I asked."My dear Duke..." the Drunk Captain said to me, with eyes as blue and dark as the water outside the room's walls, "...they howl for the same reason I suffer. I've been trapped here for one hundred years. Blood, women and drink have been my only vessels on this vessel." He stared at the animals with pity, and said to the ceiling, to the sky, to none but himself and God: "Pray Horizon, lead me back to port."
The Sound of Animals Fighting - "Act II: All is Ash or the Light Shinning Through It" [Removed]
THEME OF INDIVIDUAL TUNES: (ACT II)
Choppy, math-y beginning: the first destruction finger-picked empty, quiet battlefield. Maiden-sort-of-chorus: unification of sea creatures and their haste to aid. D harmonic minor jazz richter part: E whole tone scale harmonized with F minor Locrian to create half tone dominant chaos - the whales collective song of defiance.
INSPIRATIONS
Act II is inspired by the poem "Anorexic" by Eavan Boland
"Anorexic"
By: Eavan Boland
"Flesh is heretic.
My body is a witch.
I am burning it. Yes I am torching
ber curves and paps and wiles.
They scorch in my self denials. How she meshed my
head
in the half-truths
of her feverstill I renounced
milk and honey
and the taste of lunch. I vomited
her hungers.
Now the bitch is burning. I am starved and
curveless.
I am skin and bone.
She has learned her lesson. Thin as a rib
I turn in sleep.
My dreams probea claustrophobia
a sensuous enclosure.
How warm it was and wideonce by a warm drum,
once by the song of his breath
and in his sleeping side. Only a little more, only a few more days
sinless, foodless, I will slip
back into him again
as if I had never been away. Caged so
I will grow
angular and holypast pain,
keeping his heart
such companyas will make me forget
in a small space
the fallinto forked dark,
into python needs
heaving to hips and breasts
and lips and heat
and sweat and fat and greed."
Yo, sorry for this belated fathers day post everybody. I hope everyone had a wonderful day. Currently listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela's self-titled release right now. Seriously... wow. I highly recommend buying their CD it's freakin' amazing! Enjoy the music!Led Zep - Stairway to Heaven [Removed]
Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine [Removed]
Explosions in the Sky - A Song for Our Fathers [Removed]
Labels: explosions in the sky, led zeppelin, pink floyd
Fixed the redirect for our URL finally... You can now use http://www.themilklounge.com to access the site, HOORAY! The contact us forum has been finished also so if you've got anything to say, would like to ask us a question, ask for promotional support or anything really... just let us know. Oh by the way, enjoy this track; it makes me happy every time I listen to it.Belle & Sebastian - We Are The Sleepyheads [Removed]
Labels: belle and sebastian
Sorry this post will be somewhat abrupt however, it does include some pretty awesome music.This week has been somewhat horrible, first here in Atlanta we got decked by a miniature hurricane. Winds that picked up my entire back porch set, hurling it throughout the yard. Getting pummeled by hail isn't awesome. Needless to say the place was a mess. Mulch from the gardens, tree branches, leaves, etc. thrown in the yard. It sucked, cleaning it up sucked too. Then my 3 year old half brother Joey decided to put my cellphone into my computer which wiped out my primary hard drive. THANK GOD that my music hard drive didn't fail. Phew. Alright enjoy the music, we've got some awesome stuff coming up this next few weeks!
VHS or Beta - "Disco Paradise" [Removed]
Hot Chip - "Just Like We Break Down" [DFA Remix] [Removed]
The Killers - "Somebody Told Me" [Mylo Remix] [Removed]
The Go! Team - "Ladyflash" [Simian Mobile Disco Mix] [Removed]
The Mars Volta - "Ambuletz" [Removed]
Labels: hot chip, the go team, the killers, the mars volta, thirsty thursdays, vhs or beta
The California based progressive-experimental rock group known as The Sound of Animals Fighting (TSOAF) will be re-releasing their debut album, "Tiger and the Duke." Which was previously out of print. (Awesome) The album will be reworked and remastered and will also feature remixes of the groups newest album "Lover the Lord Has Left Us." - It will be released June 26 if all goes according to plan. Which I highly will be recommending!!!To educate you on this great musical group and the genius behind their music, I've decided to start this mini series entitled, "Song and The Story." In reference to Tiger and the Duke. I will be giving the story to the song and then giving you the song itself. I will also be giving you the themes in the individual parts as according the group. First lets get a little background info on TSOAF.
TSOAF is a multiple member, multiple label group. Featuring members/former members of groups such as Finch, Rx Bandits, Circa Survive, Chiodos, The Hippos, and The Autumns. The way the albums are recorded are unique in themselves the artists never actual play out the song together, rather than doing that producer and musical genius Rich Balling would ask them to sit down and play something and write something based on a theme that he would give them. He would then take those snippets of the artists music and put them together creating a song with multiple attitudes, senses and feelings towards it. Now that this information has been provided to you let's move onto the themes story, and songs. Before listening to the song I highly recommend reading the story and the underlying themes that are placed by Rich Balling.
(Please note that all of this is according to the album)
THEMES THROUGHOUT RECORDING:
ACT I
"We had come off the black coast, where I could see the fire still burning on the shore. The cities were swallowed up by it. I saw, in the fading grey night, as our ship tread into the white-sky horizon, the great machines of industry grazing on the coast, their monstrous legs bowing with the weight of their metal gullets. All the cities of my travels, all the crossed borders, the hovels and estates, the stone terraces of great castles, all were crumbled in their wake. We left the port city of Anon and hour before dawn, gathering our sordid cargos into the bow of the ship, and cast ourselves to the cruel sea. There were a thousand ways out of that city, a thousand ancient paths to old kingdoms of dreams and terror, but the roads and cities had burned, and I only knew one other. I resigned. I saw my fate with my eyes wide open, to be the cargo of the last ship to new worlds. All others burned at the docks, sunk in their slips, their cargo buried in their ship's charred bow. All was ash or the light shining through it. We came out high into the sea, toward the horizon, where a million golden arrows shone, "Straight on 'til morning!" the Captain shouted."
The Sound of Animals Fighting - "Act I: Chasing Suns" [Removed]
THEME OF INDIVIDUAL TUNES: (ACT I)
Minor one / major six progressions, modulations between natural and harmonic minor.
Aggro part: C9 to a flat 9, F9 to Gmin 9 revert to F sharp minor. Dorian mode to retain the D sharp that is present in E harmonic minor scale. Half step modulation:
John Coltrane "Impressions" rip-off, I'll be honest (though I threw about a million notes in there).
Full step modulation to F sharp natural minor at end, triumphant sounding I guess. Most chordal arrangment in song left to pure arpeggiations to embody the digital encoding of a machines processor.
Our 8th week of Thirsty Thursdays? Wow, that's like, 2 months. I'll start off with a small addition to my last post involving notable modern guitarists. Pictured above is the mexican acoustic guitar duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela. They met in a thrash metal band, got fed up with the narrow minded mexican music scene, and moved to Dublin. Their style is a fusion of flamenco, jazz, latin and rock. Their latest s/t album is an all instrumental acoustic guitar masterpeice that includes a cover of Led Zep's "Stairway To Heaven" and Metallica's "Orion", along with seven other original works. They are currently touring the US, and are confirmed as an opening act for Muse at Wembley Stadium. The song below is the opener for their latest album and was inspired by a man in Mexico named Tamacun. This man lives in a small town and takes care of all the crocodiles being threatened by government construction. On the bonus DVD that comes with the album, there is footage of Tamacun with his crocodile friends that is very entertaining.Rodrigo y Gabriela- "Tamacun" [Removed]
I purchased Omar Rodriguez's latest solo album, "Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo", a couple of days ago and would like to share a track with you. You already know about him from the previous post so I'll just talk about the song. It goes by the name of "Rapid Fire Tollbooth" and is actually a mainstay of The Mars Volta's live setlist. This is the first time it has been formally released in a studio version and has a great guitar solo. It's fantastic.
Omar Rodriguez- "Rapid Fire Tollbooth" [Removed]
That conclude's the addition to the guitarist post, now back to some delicious tracks that have caught my ear recently. This one is a cover of Andrew WK's "I Get Wet" by a man named Jon Sebastian. I think it's the simplicity of this song that makes me love it so much. I'm pretty sure it's just a keyboard beat, some acoustic guitar, and overdubbed vocals, but the amazing thing is that Mr. Sebastian transforms this in your face party anthem into a soothing, almost apologetic ballad. It's not just the novelty of the contrast between the two versions, this song is genuinely beautiful and I highly recomend that you download it.
Jon Sebastian- "I Get Wet [Andrew WK cover]" [Removed]
Now for Dan Deacon's "The Crystal Cat" from his recently released "Spiderman of the Rings" album. DD is an electronic music composer with graduate studies in electro-acoustic and computer music composition. Cool! This song is a journey into electronic experimentation that includes a little dance, a little rock, and a pinch of quirk. Excellent.
Dan Deacon- "The Crystal Cat" [Removed]
I was listening to my library on random today when I heard a familiar voice. I checked the song and it was from The Microphones' "Tests" album. It's called "Oh Anna" and I'm almost certain the guest vocalist is Khaela Maricich of The Blow. This would make sense as The Microphones and The Blow share space on the K Records label. Khaela is my most favoritest female vocalist at the moment, and hearing her guest on a Microphones track was a pleasant suprise. "Oh Anna" is a bouncy, lo-fi diddy complete with hand claps and muddy guitar. Yummy.
The Microphones- "Oh Anna" [Removed]
Shout Out Louds stole my heart with "Hurry Up Let's Go" from their debut "Howl Howl Gaff Gaff". Now they have a new album "Our Ill Wills" slated for US release on September 11, 2007. They've toured with the likes of The Strokes, Kings Of Leon, and Secret Machines, and the bass player was the director for Peter Bjorn and John's award winning video for "Young Folks". Also, Bjorn of PB&J produced the upcoming album, which is already out in their native Sweden. The first single for "Our Ill Wills" is "Tonight I Have To Leave It" and I have it here for your listening pleasure.
Shout Out Louds- "Tonight I Have To Leave It" [Removed]
Hope you enjoyed the songs and I hope you like the blog. Pipe and I put a lot of work into and would love some input on what all of you think about it. So feel free to comment, e-mail, or even stalk. Also, if you'd like to find more great mp3 blogs, search for music that you like on The Hype Machine and check out the blogs that come up. Works for me!
Labels: dan deacon, jon sebastian, omar rodriguez, rodrigo y gabriela, shout out louds, the microphones, thirsty thursdays
A Selection Of Notable Modern Guitarists
0 Comments Delivered by TakeoffZebra on 04 June 2007 at 7:03 PM.
Hello folks, I feel the urge to post. Whilst listening to music lately, I have put most of my focus into the guitar parts like I used to. I generally listen to songs as a whole or a mixture of sounds that melt into one, but it's still fun to pick apart the peices and find new and interesting things. Anyway, while focusing on guitar, I realized that modern guitarists do not necessarily get the attention that the classic rock legends (ie Angus Young, EVH, Brian May, Hendrix, SRV, etc.) seem to bask in. Perhaps it's because we haven't been listening to these modern songs over and over again for twenty years, or maybe the technical skill and showmanship involved in Guitar Deism have taken a backseat to ellaborate stage shows and vocal performances. Only time will tell, and until then I have put together a few songs that feature some modern guitarists that I feel are worth mentioning. First off is a 12 and a half minute jam by The Mars Volta called "L'Via L'Viaquez" from the "Frances The Mute" album, and the single by the same name. The first two guitar solos are by John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame. But RHCP aren't his only output, his solo releases come highly recommended by yours truly. The third solo is Omar A Rodriguez-Lopez (pictured above) or Omar Rodriguez for short. Omar is half of The Mars Volta alongside Cedric Bixler Zavala, and also releases several solo albums and collaborations. The song starts off slow with overlapping loops, slowing grows and then Frusciante melts face. Being a Mars Volta track, expect a psychadelic experimental rock song with noticable Latin influence.The Mars Volta- "L'Via L'Viaquez" [Removed]
Next in line is Stephen Malkmus of Pavement, Silver Jews, and solo fame. Favored for his heavily distorted and evolving guitar parts that range from lo-fi garage rock to blues to psychadelia and back again. This Californian actually borders on legendary status already from being the Pavement frontman, and only continues to release new material (new album anticipating commercial birth in early 2008). Here's a track from his latest album "Face The Truth" that highlights his bluesy rock-jam side of guitar. It really reminds me of Traffic's "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys" but I can't seem to understand why.
Stephen Malkmus- "No More Shoes" [Removed]
Jack White. Familiar name I'm sure. This Detroit blues rocker has been everywhere. He's half of The White Stripes, apparent figurehead for The Raconteurs, he produced the latest Loretta Lynn album, provided vocals for Electric Six's "Danger! High Voltage", played bass on Beck's "Go It Alone", contibuted to the Cold Mountain soundtrack and a Coca-Cola commercial. Oh, he also won some Grammys and married a supermodel. Wow. His guitar style is heavily blues-based, and his live performances with The White Stripes are incredible. I super highly recommend the concert DVD "Under Blackpool Lights". The song I selected has three guitar solos and was performed when Jack "Three Quid" White made a suprise appearance with Bob Dylan in Detroit. I don't have the recording of that performance, but I do have the album version from "Elephant". That should suffice.
The White Stripes- "Ball And Bisquit" [Removed]
Belle & Sebastian's guitarist, Stevie "Reverb" Jackson, has a warm retro sound that's hard to resist. His songs add a smoother, 60s vibe to the usual (but still amazingly enjoyable) Stuart Murdoch tracks. For dowload below is a Jackson penned song from "Dear Catastrophe Waitress".
Belle & Sebastian- "Roy Walker" [Removed]
So there you go. John Frusciante, Omar Rodriguez, Stephen Malkmus, Jack White, and Stevie Jackson. Just a few of the amazing guitarists out there today that deserve to be heard. Enjoy and feel free to comment. I really like feedback.
Labels: belle and sebastian, stephen malkmus, the mars volta, the white stripes
