Category Archives: general

general, sports

Elbow b-side / Territorial Cup

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Well, Chris and Dodge already set the bar high with their year-end best-of lists. So it got me thinking about mine, and there’s little doubt in my mind that Elbow’s Leaders of the Free World will end up somewhere at least in the top 10, if not in the top 5. They seem to be forgotten amid all the UK exports.

It’s a bit of misnomer to call this track a “b-side” — from a Forget Myself single — because it didn’t come off a vinyl pressing. Nevertheless, it’s a great song, with some thick guitars and a heavy drum beat. Although, if you’ve listened to Leaders, it might seem out of place; so it probably was best left on the cutting room floor.

Elbow | The Good Day

In sports news, today is the Territorial Cup, the fight for bragging rights in Arizona: Univ. of Arizona at Arizona State. I’d be more amped up about it if I actually thought my Sun Devils would win. That’s right: I’m conceding victory to UA (reverse psychology?). This year has been such a disappointment that it wouldn’t surprise me at all to top it off with a loss to the hated rivals.

A win guarantees ASU nothing more than a trip to the Insight Bowl on Dec. 27, just across the Valley in Phoenix. Needless to say, this isn’t the glamorous bowl I had in mind when ASU opened the season ranked in the top 15.

Still, the rivalry is fun and intense and maybe a little overlooked during rivalry week. Those punks from UA got our ‘A’ Mountain with red and blue paint. Both schools have an ‘A’ Mountain that is heavily guarded during the week of the game. I’ve been to games in both Tempe and Tucson, and the drinking, swearing and trash-talking is ruthless. If UA is losing, it’s a sure bet their fans will come back with this trusty line: “Wait til basketball season.”

Well, for what it’s worth, here’s an mp3 of the Maroon and Gold fight song.

general

The Kevins and The Lovekevins

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For obvious reasons, this is a totally self-indulgent post. I couldn’t resist posting on two bands that use my first name in their band name (however, you won’t see me posting on the Dropkick Murphys).

Just to prove how totally self-indulgent this post is, I’ll admit to knowing next to nothing about either band. I do know The Kevins are two brothers (below) who play pretty sparse, acoustic ditties that rarely exceed the three-minute mark.

The Lovekevins (below) are Swedish. And poppy.

Buy The Kevins’ album here for only $10. Buy The Lovekevins EP, Max Leon, here. Go ahead. Support the Kevin cause. (Hey, wait, I think I just came up with a new band name.)

The Kevins | I Just Can’t Get Her
The Kevins | Gambling Hearts

The Lovekevins | Soviet.se

arizona, general

Apollo Sunshine at Cayenne Festival in Mesa

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I have to admit: I’m doing some research to catch up with the lineup for Saturday’s show. Apollo Sunshine is one of the bands that, if my indie IQ were high enough, I should have known about before now; for proof, check You Ain’t Know Picasso, who interviewed these guys last month.

Alas, I’m playing catch-up. From everything I’ve heard and read so far, these guys put on an amazing show. Matt at YANP says: “It would probably be fair to say that Apollo Sunshine have built a reputation around being the opening band that outshines the headliner.”

The notoriously fickle Pitchfork even raved in its review:

“These songs don’t seem to mind completely reinventing themselves halfway through, interrupting what you thought was a quiet, emotional song about feeling displaced in the world with a dive-bombing instrumental passage that flits between new wave and bottom-heavy groove.”

Needless to say, I’m jazzed about seeing these guys on Saturday. Buy their new album here.

Apollo Sunshine | Today is the Day
Apollo Sunshine | Eyes

arizona, general

Spoon at the Cayenne Festival in Mesa

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I’m feeling quite flattered. A blogger known only as M. had very nice things to say about my site. I’m not sure what I did, but I can say that flattery will get you far around here. So thanks, M. For that, he’s got a free pass to the blog roll and a plug right here. Go visit him — The Perm & The Skullet, great name — because he’s got some Sufjan and Nada Surf and Mountain Goats and a ton of other stuff that you’ll like. Promise.

Moving on, I’ve mentioned the Grand Cayenne Festival taking place in Mesa, Ariz., this week. The wife and I likely will be attending. The lineup is stellar, and I’m excited to see some bands I’ve never seen live: Go Big Casino!, Earlimart and Reubens Accomplice, especially. (Good lord, I’m just realizing that I’ve lived in Phoenix for, like, ever and I’ve never seen Reubens, who are from here. Sad, sad.)

Anyway, the headliner is Spoon, and so I thought I’d hit you off with some goodness there. We saw them for the first time in Austin at the ACL fest and I was not disappointed. We had to cut out a little early to make it in time to Stubb’s to see this one band called the Arcade Fire; maybe you’ve heard of them.

I’ve been listening to Gimme Fiction quite a bit, and I think what I love best about Spoon is they don’t dick around. They’re in and they’re out in about four minutes. That’s rock craftsmanship at its finest.

Spoon | The Fitted Shirt (holy hell. Their best song?)
“I long for the days, they used to say ma’am and yes, sir.”
Spoon | Sunday Morning, Wednesday Night (from Sister Jack single)
Spoon | The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine (on KEXP)

general

The Standard

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All of a sudden, the Yep Roc label is very high on my favorites list. My first run-in with the label was the Minus 5 album Down with Wilco. Now, I can’t stop listening to The Fast Rise and Fall of the South by the Kingsbury Manx.

Then, just yesterday, I stumble across The Standard on an Internet radio station only to read that Kingsbury Manx and the Standard are touring together. (Too bad I’ll miss them in Tucson on Nov. 25; I have to work, plus it’s the day of the Big Game: Arizona at Arizona State!)

Anyway, the Standard caught my attention with its piano-heavy hooks and somewhat mysterious yet warm vocals. The band released Albatross last month. Buy it here.


The Standard | Red Drop
The Standard | How Deep to Cut

general

The Sun

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One of my favorite pastimes is reading liner notes. Before the advent of mp3 blogs, that was the best way (in my opinion) to discover new bands. I figure if a band whose CD I purchased is thanking This Other Band in the liner notes, This Other Band must be good.

So what’s my point? I was checking tour dates for the Shout Out Louds, who are coming to (gasp!) Tucson on Nov. 22 but not Phoenix. (Get yer tickets.) One of the opening bands is The Sun, so I thought I should check ’em out. With a little digging I found some info:

>>It’s a quintet from Columbus, Ohio.
>>Their debut release, Blame it on the Youth, is supposedly the world’s first DVD album: 14 songs with a video for every damn one of them.
>>You can put yourself in one of their videos for Romantic Death, an interactive experience if you upload a photo. Do it here.
>>They have a My Space page here.
>>You may or may not be able to download two unreleased albums by the band here.
>>You probably will like them.

The Sun | Do You Really Want Me
The Sun | The Song I Committed Suicide To

general

Dios (Malos)

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Apologies (and thanks) to Chris, who recently posted on these guys twice (!) and introduced me to Dios at the Austin City Limits festival. Since they’re playing Modified in Phoenix on Nov. 17, I thought I’d do my share to build the interest.

For what it’s worth, I haven’t stopped listening to their new self-titled album for about the past three days. The choruses have a sing-songy quality that absolutely get stuck in your head — you know, the type you’re humming in your head from the moment you wake up and you’re not really sure why. The album definitely has an addictive pull.

I also quite enjoy the writing, which is plaintive and direct.

Dios (Malos) | EPK
Dios (Malos) | I Want it All

Wrapping up some loose ends:>> I’ll be buying this today … after I file my TPS reports. Mmmmm, yeeeeeeeaaaah. Kill time at work and play “Ditch Lumbergh” here.
BONUS (kick your feet up and play loudly in your cubicle):
The Geto Boys | Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta


>> If you’re not watching Extras, you’re missing out. Ricky Gervais is a genius. Go get the Gervais and Stephen Merchant Show free, courtesy of UK’s XFM.

>> My fantasy league team in my pay-in league is going downhill fast. I lost Daunte Culpepper to injury and nearly Anquan Boldin. I’ve lost four in a row. And now I have David Carr or Kyle Orton to start at QB. Yikes. Good news is I’m holding second place down in the music bloggers league with a win over Ryan, who prematurely talked smacked earlier in the week. But he’s a Bears fan, so all is forgiven.

>>Cubs need to make serious moves this off-season. Like signing him. And trading him.

>> Jeff Tweedy is preparing to release a second album with his side project Loose Fur and wants to regroup with Golden Smog. Read it here. As if that whole Wilco thing doesn’t keep him busy enough.

    general, radio rips

    Nada Surf on KCRW, Pt. II

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    Here are the rest of the tracks from Nada Surf’s performance Monday on Morning Becomes Eclectic. If you missed Part I, scroll down. Or go here.

    While I’m at it, I’ll say that The Weight is a Gift is nudging its way into my top 5 for the year. I dig Matthew Caws’ songwriting and the relative simplicity of the music. Good, clean pop/rock.

    Nada Surf | Your Legs Grow (on KCRW)
    Nada Surf | Blonde on Blonde (on KCRW)
    Nada Surf | Inside of Love (on KCRW)

    Meanwhile, I read this story at ESPN.com about Paul Wall’s hometown Houston allegiance. I’m not a big Paul Wall fan, but he remixed They Don’t Know to give some props to his Astros, who can use all the mojo they can get right now. Thought it was pretty cool. He name-drops every player and coach: “Whatchoo know about Jason Lane?” Um, actually, nothing. Who’s Jason Lane?Via The Fader magazine.

    Paul Wall | They Don’t Know (remix)

    general, radio rips

    Nada Surf on KCRW

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    Nada Surf made its KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic debut Monday morning. I was looking forward to this set, especially because the band skipped Arizona on its current tour. I’ll forgive them this one time.

    Anyway, they played eight songs, pretty much equally split between The Weight is a Gift and Let Go (and, surprisingly, they did NOT play the single Do It Again). They did play Stalemate from High/Low, which I won’t include because Nic Harcourt starts talking over it near the end in a frantic attempt to wrap up the show.

    I didn’t think the interview was very probing, although the band did touch on the whole aspect of being judged based on the song Popular.

    In a cheap attempt to lure return visitors, I’m splitting the seven tracks into two posts. Enjoy.

    Nada Surf | Blizzard of ’77 (on KCRW)
    Nada Surf | What is Your Secret (on KCRW)
    Nada Surf | Always Love (on KCRW)
    Nada Surf | Hi-Speed Soul (on KCRW)

    general

    capitalSTEPS

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    It’s rare you’ll find me listening to/posting about electronic music. Typically, it just ain’t my thing. That is, unless a Nintendo GameBoy is being used to create the sounds. Which brings me to Seattle’s capitalSTEPS (born Matthew Kenall).

    In a stroke of MacGyver-like wit, Kenall composes, manipulates and squeezes sounds out of a GameBoy and Nanoloop, a sound editor for GameBoy. Kenall calls it “gritty, 8-bit techno.” I love it because it appeals immediately to my jones for video games and rhythmic drum beats. And it’s just unique, a totally refreshing change of pace.

    Matthew was cool enough to hook us up with two mp3s he didn’t post on his MySpace page, where you can stream four more tracks. While there, you can also purchase his July release, Stacy, a 10-track LP for only $10. Dig it.

    capitalSTEPS | Evelyn’s Ride
    capitalSTEPS | Stinky