This past Tuesday night, I had the great pleasure of seeing Rilo Kiley live in Orlando, and I can confidently say that they put on a hell of a show. Even if I didn't have a heterosexual bias towards the cutiest of cute, Jenny Lewis, I believe I would say the same thing. The crowd at House of Blues was a good one, and they knew all the songs. It was a special treat when they played "Dejalo" and "Smoke Detector", because they apparently hadn't played those songs for the past few dates of their tour. Also, they threw giant balloons filled with gold confetti onto the audience, which were soon popped on balcony lighting. One of the amusing highlights was when Jenny said "You guys are fucking awesome...sorry to cuss." The audience giggled. Here is a song that they didn'y play live called "Jenny, You're Barely Alive". It's a non-album track from the stellar "Saddle Creek 50" compilation.
Rilo Kiley- "Jenny, You're Barely Alive" [Removed]
Art In Manila opened for Rilo Kiley, and I had never heard of them before. I didn't have time to do my usual research before the show, because I got a ticket unexpectedly the morning of. Anyway, I didn't know what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed their set. It was very chill, and the guitarist's subtle approach to lead guitar kept the music very interesting. After the show I looked them up and was suprised to learn that the singer was none other than Orenda Fink of Azure Ray and Now It's Overhead fame, also wife of The Faint's Todd Fink. Their debut album is decent, more so if you're already a fan of Orenda's sound. My only dissappointment is that the studio recording doesn't quite capture the energy of the live performance. The song "Spirit, Run" from "Set The Woods On Fire" does the best job of displaying their live abilities.
Art In Manila- "Spirit, Run" [Removed]
For those who don't already know, Bloc Party has a new song, and it's got me psyched! Produced by Jacknife Lee (just like "A Weekend In The City"), it's heavy on synth with a fast dancable beat, and Kele's got vocoder effects. Set for release on November 12. Good Weather For Airstrikes had a radio rip of the song that I would love to share with you.
Bloc Party- "Flux [radio rip]" [Removed]
Always happy to hear news about former Unicorns members, I smiled upon hearing of Alden Penner's new group, Clues, and their upcoming album, "Rad Boo Horror & the Glory". The album title seems fitting of a fomer Unicorn. The album's release is scheduled for "soon", so be on the lookout for that one. Here is a montage preview of tracks from the new album that has my ears tickled with delight.
Clues- "Rad Boo Horror & the Glory preview" [Removed]
Stereogum recently featured a tribute to R.E.M.'s "Automatic For The People" featuring covers of each track. Entitled "Drive XV: A Tribute To Automatic For The People", it features covers by Figurines, The Veils, Rogue Wave, Meat Puppets, and many more. I'll share with you the Shout Out Louds' cover of "Man On The Moon". It's delicious, with a nice conga thing going on. The entire tribute is available for free over at Stereogum.
Shout Out Louds- "Man On The Moon" [Removed]
I apologize yet again for another Thursday post on Friday, but I was distracted by It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and late night swims. Hope you enjoy the tracks.
Labels: art in manila, bloc party, clues, live reviews, rem, rilo kiley, shout out louds
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
