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Indie ringers on your cellphone

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… Have you checked out Bliptones? For $1.99 apiece, you can download a whole slew of indie songs for your cell phone: The Decemberists, Death Cab (“ba, baaaaa, this is the sound of settling”), Sleater-Kinney, My Morning Jacket and a bunch more. I went with a DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist ringer.

… Does anyone have thoughts/opinions on the Andy Milonakis Show on MTV? I’m ashamed to say I laughed when I sat down and watched it last week.

… Upcoming local shows:

And, oh yeah, 41 days until Austin.

Just a little weekend treat:

Jurassic 5 | Concrete Schoolyard (Funky Precedent edit)

general, radio rips

Brendan Benson on Sirius Left of Sessions

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OK, so I flaked on Flashback Friday. But South of Mainstream has you covered there.

Instead, I spent the morning recording and meticulously trimming (via Audio Hijack Pro and Audacity) Brendan Benson’s set on the Sirius satellite radio show Left of Sessions: Seven tracks, including a Gram Parsons cover of Strong Boy.

With Audio Hijack, I think the sound turned out decent; the Internet stream tends to sound a little tinny from Sirius. Any feedback on the sound is appreciated. (Songs are listed alphabetically, not in the order he played them.)

Brendan Benson | Alternative to Love
Brendan Benson | Between Us
Brendan Benson | Cold Hands (Warm Heart)
Brendan Benson | Get It Together
Brendan Benson | Spit It Out
Brendan Benson | Strong Boy (Gram Parsons cover)
Brendan Benson | What I’m Looking For

general

Radar Bros.

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So, I’m wholly convinced now that I will like just about anything put out on Merge Records. If one of my favorite artists, Richard Buckner, moving to that label wasn’t enough, I’ve fallen for the new album by the Radar Bros., The Fallen Leaf Pages.

I picked it up on whim — having not listened to any of their previous albums — and can’t stop playing it. It’s moody, open-ended, unassuming and always seems to creep close to these sonic crescendos before fading into this lilting guitar-piano-drum amazement. I like how the songs take their time — as if there’s no rush to find the end.

Buy it here.


Radar Bros. | Is That Blood (personal favorite)
Radar Bros. | The River Shade
Radar Bros. | Papillon

Uncategorized

Da Ali G Show — Booyakasha!

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Thought I’d take a break from music and change it up a little. Da Ali G Show could be one of the funniest shows on TV, in my opinion. Sasha Baron Cohen plays three roles in the show: Ali G, a wannabe British gangsta born “in da heart off da Staines ghetto”; Borat, a confused TV reporter from Kazakhstan; and Bruno, an Austrian fashion reporter.

This Slate article talks about how Cohen is able to dupe some pretty prominent Americans (Newt Gingrich, Buzz Aldrin, Sam Donaldson) into appearing on the show for “interviews” with Ali G. My favorite, though, is Borat, who attempts to explore American culture while practically offending everyone in his path.

Here’s a couple of clips from the first season. (Sound clips were transferred to MP3 using Audio Hijack Pro.)

Ali G asks Buzz Aldrin if man will ever walk on the sun.
Borat interviews at a dating agency.

hip-hop

Boom Bap Project

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OK, I just purchased Boom Bap Project’s full-length debut Reprogram last night and had to share. A member of the absurdly cool Rhymesayers roster (hello, Atmosphere anybody?), this Seattle-based trio is on tour with Hieroglyphics right now, which is validation enough in my mind. And Reprogram is exactly the kind of hip-hop I love: fresh beats and energetic emcees on the positive tip. Guest spots include Gift of Gab (Blackalicious) and Rakaa Iriscience (Dilated Peoples).


Boom Bap Project: Welcome to Seattle
Boom Bap Project: Rock the Spot (recommended … highly)

BONUS:
Boom Bap live on KEXP (performance + interview)

hip-hop

Pete Miser

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“Emo” isn’t the sole property of indie rock. B-boys have feelings, too. Check Pete Miser for proof. The New York emcee, via Portland, Ore., wears his feelings on his mic on his newest release Camouflage is Relative.

Narrative prose — a la Slick Rick — is Miser’s strength. He embodies the hip-hop culture but eschews the machismo posturing that is so transparent in commercial rap. He’s an emo emcee, but he can flip a phrase with the best. On I See You, Miser raps to the object of his affection: “I’m so grimy in comparison it’s embarrassin’ / You got me weak in the knees like Nancy Kerrigan.” Final is like a diary entry about his ex in which Miser tries to excuse his emotions: “I bet this is going to seem a surprise / but I still catch them feelings when I look in her eyes.”

But no track jumps like the opener, So Sensitive, even if — or maybe because — the stuttering guitar loops recall N.W.A.’s If It Ain’t Ruff. This is where Miser flaunts his verbal prowess but bares his soul, too: “Weigh a buck fifty with a backpack / still dumb enough to slap Shaq and tell him he raps wack.” But on the chorus, he opines: “It ain’t easy being me / with all these insecurities / I’m such a sensitive emcee.”

Topped by tight production, Miser is an underground hip-hop gem.

So Sensitive (mp3)
Scent of a Robot (mp3)
Table Scraps (mp3)
Final (mp3)

covers, vinyl

45: Come Together/Soundgarden cover

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Another trip to the record store this weekend, another vinyl 45 score: The Beatles Come Together for 99 cents (B-side is Something). It even had (what I think is) the original Apple Records sleeve. The collection for the jukebox gets sweeter by the day.

So I thought I’d share, along with a Soundgarden cover from Loudest Love, a seven-song Japanese import from 1990. I’ve always had an affinity for Soundgarden, and I won’t apologize for that.


The Beatles: Come Together
Soundgarden: Come Together

general

More Sufjan and Asthmatic Kitty

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Sufjan Stevens: Anybody ever hear of this guy? OK, seriously, folks. Inspired by a post about bargain-bin hunting over at Can You See the Sunset from the Southside, I headed to Tempe on a mission to pluck a quality, cheap CD.

And I did. I snagged an Asthmatic Kitty label compilation To Spirit Back the Mews (2001) for a mere $5.99. I was quite proud of myself. That is, until I went to AK’s Web site and discovered I could have bought it for $6 at their store.

Nevertheless, I’m convinced I found a gem. It contains 37 tracks — some of which is quirky filler material — and runs almost 80 minutes. What you really want to know is that there are four Sufjan Stevens songs on it. You should also know is the rest of it is just as solid as the Sufjan tracks, especially the songs by Half-handed Cloud and Liz Janes. It takes some patience to work through the album — although the longest track checks in at just under five minutes — but it’s really worth it: a bit of folk, a bit of twang and really nice songwriting. (Liner notes explain that a contribution in advance of proceeds of the album were made to New York Firefighters 9-11 Relief Fund. Another portion of proceeds will be donated to The Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary.)

But I’ll provide what you really want.

Sufjan Stevens: The First Full Moon
Sufjan Stevens: God’ll Ne’er Let You Down
Sufjan Stevens: Bushwick Junkie
Sufjan Stevens: I Can’t Even Lift My Head

BONUS
Half-handed Cloud: He’s Not the Swindler We Are

general

Elbow

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So, Elbow’s new album — Leaders of the Free World — comes out Sept. 5. It won’t receive nearly the amount of pub Coldplay’s latest piece o’ crap got, but I’m hopeful it will blow X&Y (or X&Y&Zzzzzzzzzz, as my brother put it) outta the water.

I’m here to help fuel the hype:

Stream the video for Forget Myself here.

And be a day ahead of the news, with this BBC article — dated August 9 … it’s that whole time zone phenomenon — in which singer Guy Garvey interprets the lyrics for the album for us.

arizona

Ariz. pick: Reubens Accomplice

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With all the running around to shows last week, I neglected to post an Arizona band. Allow me to correct that.

At its core, Reubens Accomplice consists of two members: Chris Corak and Jeff Bufano, who were high school classmates. The pair launched Reubens in 1994 and have released two albums I Blame the Scenery (Better Looking Records) and The Bull, the Balloon and the Family, the first album released under the Western Tread imprint, created by Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World and local promoter Charlie Levy.

Mixed by Chris Fudurich (Nada Surf, Matthew Sweet) and produced by Adkins, The Bull is a melodic exploration of emotions, not limited to the relationships of love. A recurring theme in Reubens’ lyrics is our ties to a city, a landscape and how that shapes us. On Lost Sun: “This desert floor has a way of keeping us here / suffering, developing hatred ’til we disappear.”

Even with Corak and Bufano splitting songwriting duties, The Bull maintains a cohesiveness held together by catchy melodies and shifts in rhythm. The Bull, which features guest spots from Howe Gelb of Giant Sand and Dave Bazan of Pedro the Lion, is simultaneously melancholy and hopeful. (On a personal note, I’ve met Corak several times and he couldn’t be a nicer guy; reason enough to listen.)

Reubens Accomplice: Lost Sun
Reubens Accomplice: This Town
Reubens Accomplice: Tonight We Drink (feat. Dave Bazan)
Reubens Accomplice: Oh My God (from I Blame the Scenery)