I know. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is so 2005. But I’ve been meaning to split up this set from WOXY’s Lounge Acts for quite some time now. (The set and interview is available as a download in one file here.)

Just last night, Royce and I were lamenting the fact that we missed the Clap Your Hands/The National show at Modified in Phoenix last year. Granted, we were working, but still … what the hell were we thinking?

Alas, here’s four tracks, including the unreleased Cigarettes.

Support WOXY.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, WOXY Lounge Acts, 9/21/05
1. Details of the War
2. Gimme Some Salt
3. In This Home on Ice
4. Cigarettes

Earlier in the week, Dodge was raving – finally! – about Elbow’s fantastic Leaders of the Free World (V2 Records). The album was a cinch for my favorite albums of 2005 list; in fact, it checked in at No. 3.

Today’s three tracks were taken from the great Xfm Sessions, which I receive as a podcast. Anyway, for all the rave in the U.S. over bands from the U.K., Elbow seems oddly lost in the shuffle. Elbow does not possess the cachet of Coldplay, yet, in my opinion, come off more sincere and thoughtful.

Here’s hoping Elbow has enough of a following here in the States for a tour.

Elbow, from the Xfm Sessions:
1. Station Approach
2. Forget Myself
3. Leaders of the Free World

BONUS mp3:
Mexican Standoff (Spanish version)

Also …
On this rare post for a Saturday, I’d like to point out an e-mail I got from Clea, who runs (Sm)all Ages, an mp3 blog aimed at folks with children. This is a fantastic idea because, as Clea points out, “no one should have to listen to the Wiggles. Ever.” As the uncle of a 3-year-old and 1-year-old, all I can say is, Amen! The Teletubbies typically frighten me, and the world would be such a better place if our kids were raised on Wilco. Thank you, Clea. Our future is safe in your hands.

Hey, if you live in Arizona and plan on attending Nada Surf/Rogue Wave/King of France on Monday, did you know Nada Surf is doing an in-store acoustic session at Stinkweeds in Tempe at 5 p.m. Monday? Yeah, I’ll be there. Probably recording, too.

Before the music, I have to share with you the coolness that is my wife, Annie. Wanna know what she got me for Valentine’s Day? Tickets to see the National on March 29 at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Holy hell. The National only landed the top spot on my favorite albums and favorite songs of 2005. And I missed their show with Clap Your Hands in Phoenix because I had to work.

I’m just way too excited. My gift for her isn’t nearly as fabulous. So I can only say thank you and I love you. She knows the way to a man’s heart is with concert tickets.

So, all you LA bloggers … that means you and you, and anyone else I might be missing: Let’s rendezvous for drinks, shall we??

OK, on with the music …

Of Montreal is a band I’ve missed twice now in Phoenix in the past year. I tried to go to a show last year on a whim, and that was a mistake. The place was packed, line going out the door and through the parking lot.

So, this set on KCRW is as close as I’m going to get for now, although I think Cable and Tweed is hooking us up with a live set from a recent show in the ATL. I only own Sunlandic Twins, though Matt at YANP tells me Satanic Panic in the Attic is another one to pick up.

(Note: This was recorded from KCRW’s live stream, which comes over at 128 kbps as opposed to the archive audio, which is at 40-something kbps. So the sound should be pretty solid quality. You know, if you’re into that audiophile sorta thing.)

Of Montreal, on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, 2/13/06:

1. Rapture Rapes the Muses
2. So Begins Our Alabee
3. The Repudiated Immortals
4. Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games
5. Oslo in the Summertime/I Was Never Young
(There was a cool bridge between songs that I didn’t wanna chop up.)
6. The Party’s Crashing Us
7. Disconnect the Dots

Back in September, Seattle radio station KEXP broadcast for a week from New York’s Museum of Television and Radio. Among the invited musical acts (mostly all indie) was Blackalicious, a favorite in these parts for the duo’s progressive hip-hop stylings.

Gotta give it up to the excellent KEXP, which is known for hosting many a great indie act, for opening up to include hip-hop in the rotation.

I’m still in debate (with myself) about where Blackalicious’ latest LP, The Craft, stands among its work. Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel set the bar high with their debut Nia (and then Blazing Arrow), which sometimes sets expectations unrealistically high (see also, Nas’ Illmatic or even Souls of Mischief’s 93 Til Infinity). At least until Nas’ lastest work (God’s Son … maybe) could anybody argue that he lived up to the promise he set forth in Illmatic.

Classic debut albums: blessing or a curse? Talk amongst yourselves …

Blackalicious, live on KEXP, 9/15/05:

1. World of Vibrations/Rhythm Sticks
2. Alphabet Aerobics
(One of the great displays of verbal dexterity.)
3. Your Move

Also …

• Because I’m on the topic of Blackalicious, whose track, I Declare, from the PlayStation video game The Con was part of my contest last week, I am sad to report that not one person guessed my favorite hip-hop album from 1988 (although one entrant was absurdly close). I’m debating extending the contest or simply drawing a random winner from those bold enough to guess. Stay tuned …

• And if all goes as planned, I will have recorded Of Montreal’s performance on KCRW this morning.

• I’ve got a fun week lined up, with a couple of great interviews, one of which will be accompanied by yet another contest.

Before the music, let me say this: I made an honest mistake for Monday’s post in not linking to NPR, which was then misconstrued in a comment as a slight to the NPR staff and its hard work. That was not the case. I quickly updated the post and also sent an apology to All Songs Considered.

We should all be thankful that NPR and artists, such as Colin Meloy, have made these shows on the Live Concert Series available for download; it’s a great service for fans. In no way, did I intentionally mean to undermine the diligent work of NPR and All Songs Considered. Their site is a tremendous resource for music fans; I can personally – and highly – recommend the ASC podcast.

My sole intention of splitting this NPR show (and others like it) is for the sake of convenience. It’s difficult to maneuver through an hour-plus file; it’s somewhat like a cassette tape – rewinding and fast-forwarding. I like to skip tracks sometimes, and I assume others do, too. However, I encourage you to visit NPR’s Live Concert Series page to download the concerts in their entirety. More specifically, the download of Colin Meloy’s concert can be found here.

I would like to thank All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen for pointing out my mistake. Who knew such an influential member of the media was reading my blog?

Hope everyone enjoys this.

Colin Meloy, NPR Live Concert Series, 1/28/06:

10. Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right
11. Barbara Allen (Shirley Collins cover)
12. Apology Song
13. California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade
14. Red Right Ankle
15. Blues Runs the Game (Jackson Frank cover)
16. Bandit Queen

Briefly …

I’ve not been able to log in to MySpace for like two months, even though I’m using my correct e-mail address and password. Their technical support is lacking; automated messages are about all I’ve gotten. Wondering if I just need to create a new page. Anyone encountered this problem?? I’m having MySpace withdrawals …

Joel Didriksen for www.kingpinphoto.com

So, I have nothing to say about the Decemberists or Colin Meloy that hasn’t been said already. I will admit that my fondness for them wasn’t immediate. There’s definitely a certain amount of concentration required when taking in their literature/prose disguised as songwriting. Yet that’s come to be what I most appreciate.

Like reading a good book, the stories and history wrapped in the writing make listening more than a passive exercise. To me, Meloy doesn’t come off so much pretentious as he does the outcast drama kid from high school who was determined to make good on his talents and interests. And damn it if Engine Driver isn’t becoming one of my favorite songs.

Most chatter was snipped from these songs. Tomorrow’s post will have seven more tracks. (Sorry, cutting up and uploading 16 tracks in one shot was too much of a pain.)

[UPDATE: Bob Boilen, host of NPR’s excellent All Songs Considered, left a comment about an egregious oversight on my part. I failed to link back to NPR, which I did a couple of days ago. All apologies. You can find Colin Meloy’s concert in its entirety here. The Live Concert Series page is here.]

Colin Meloy, NPR Live Concert Series, 1/28/06:
1. Devil’s Elbow
2. We Both Go Down Together
3. Engine Driver
4. The Gymnast, High Above the Ground
5. Baby song (about his impending fatherhood)
6. Shankhill Butchers (new)
7. Tristan and Iseult (from his ex-band Tarkio)
8. Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect
9. Shiny

So, this is sort of a fallback post; I’m nursing a pretty killer cold and I think this is the first day, um, ever, I’ve not picked up my iPod.

That said, these Tom Vek tracks were going to get posted sooner or later. So how about sooner? This set is a lot shorter than his KCRW appearance. But the audio quality (it’s all about bit rates, baby) is much better. Plus, he plays Nothing But Green Lights, which is probably my favorite track off We Have Sound. (Buy it at eMusic.)

Tom Vek on KEXP, 11/18/05:
1. The Lower the Sun
2. Nothing But Green Lights
3. If I Had Changed My Mind
[update!: Peter over at tmwsiy* has kindly offered us the Kaos Remix by James Fucking Friedman (that’s his name) of Nothing But Green Lights. Go and thank him; while you’re at it, you can enter to win the new Prodigy box set.]

Tom Vek | Nothing But Green Lights (Kaos Mix)

Led by Minnesota farmer Craig Minowa, Cloud Cult produces nice music that would best be described using a long, hyphen addled word.

When Cloud Cult visited the KEXP studios for a live set, they stripped down some of the electronic elements of their sound and let the folk shine a little brighter. All in all, a nice recording of a band doing interesting things.

Cloud Cult, live on KEXP, 6/24/2005

1. As Long as You’re Happy
2. Bobby’s Spacesuit
3. Lights Inside My Head
4. Washed Your Car
5. Breakfast With My Shadow

Thanks to Jax, the self-titled full-length debut by The Magic Numbers has been my most recent obsession. I first heard a couple of songs on Sirius’ Left of Center, and then I turned into this raving lunatic, foaming at the mouth, fiending for more. Such is the irresistible pull of the catchy pop they create.

While I guess the comparisons to the sunshiney pop of the Mamas and Papas are inevitable, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the lyrical depth of The Magic Numbers.

“That I’m a no-good, used-up, bruised and fucked-up boy /
Who gets beat up just by looking at you /
I’m a lonely soul, lost every single thing I ever did own /
But I never owned you”

This five-song set also includes Gone Are the Days from Help: A Day in the Life, a War Child benefit, which is available at eMusic.

The Magic Numbers, live on KEXP, 11/7/05:

1. Forever Lost
2. Don’t Give Up the Fight
3. Love’s A Game
4. Love Me Like You
5. Gone Are the Days

A request came last week to convert The National’s in-studio performance on WOXY into mp3s, and who am I to deny such a worthy suggestion? After all, I believe in a democracy. I also believe in The National, which happened to own the top slots in my favorite albums and songs lists of 2005.

The set contains four songs, including an outstanding and energetic rendition of Abel. Also, I’m curious as to anyone’s interpretation of the song Secret Meeting. (Get the lyrics here.) In two interviews I’ve heard, both interviewers talked about listening to that song quite a few times before it really hit them. I have an idea of what I think the song is about, but I’m wondering about anyone else’s translation of the lyrics. Fire away in the comments.

The National, WOXY.com Lounge Acts, 9/22/05:

1. Secret Meeting
2. 90-Mile Water Wall
3. Looking for Astronauts
4. Abel

Also …

• I’ll likely offer up my two cents on the Bloc Party DVD, God Bless Bloc Party, for the Sunday Grab Bag. In the meantime, you might wanna hit the group’s Web site for some pretty excellent mp3s.
• You need some more style in your life. You do. So hit my friend/co-worker Carrie’s blog, Spinning Wheels, through The Arizona Republic’s online arm.
• The awesome Brooklyn Vegan has been kind enough to link to this site in the past couple of days, so I just want to return the favor, though my traffic is probably just a drop in the bucket by comparison.
• Special thanks to Dodge (he knows why) for being like a big blog brother to me. He’s got two contests you can enter.
• I Guess I’m Floating is a new addition to the blog roll and for good reason. Those guys are killin’ it over there! You’d do yourself a favor and jump on their 100th post extravaganza.
• With the NFL season dead to me (thank you, Bears) I look forward to baseball: less than a month to pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training. The Cactus League has its own Web site now.