Friday, May 25
Tommie Sunshine, VHS or BETA (DJ set), Keith 2.0, DJ Paparazzi, DJ Daniel Ledisko @ Avalon Hollywood
Abe Vigoda, Anchors For Architects, Black Black @ Pehrspace
The Autumns, The Sugarplastic @ Spaceland
Saturday, May 26
Ladytron (DJ Set) @ Avalon Hollywood
Crystal Castles, Purple Crush, DJ Franki Chan, DJ Paparazzi @ EchPlx
This song is one of the many standouts from 1997's Whatever and Ever Amen. It showcases the sadder, darker side of Folds who is (other than Brick, I suppose) better known for his quirky, offbeat humor and stage antics. Ben Folds has a handful of waltzes but this one is my personal favorite. Only three more songs until this mix is done.
Having shared a stage with the likes of Ratatat, Of Montreal, and Sunset Rubdown, Jacob Cooper has started making a name for himself. And this was before he just released his first full length under the moniker Bark Bark Bark just this last week. Hailing from Phoenix, he is signed to the L.A. label Retard Disco and performs mostly in the Arizona, SoCal region. The music is much in the same electronic vein as Ratatat or Crystal Castles and is just a small part of a larger electronic, dance, lo-fi movement that I have noticed over the last few years. This is the title track off the brand new full length Haunts:
This is another cut off of Lifted called, "Waste of Paint." The video comes from the same ACL performance as the "We Are Nowhere and it's Now" video I posted the other day. This is one of those songs that I listened to probably 10 times before it actually hit me. This performance is especially cool for the lyrical and pacing changes. Watch until the end if you have time.
I had been saving this one for the perfect spot in the mix and I think it's here. Through all my searching for modern pop songs in 3/4, I've found that a) they're kind of rare and b) they're usually slow. So I've been saving this cut from 2004's The College Dropout for a place that could use an energy boost. When I originally got into Kanye this was the first track that jumped out to me from this album. Something about working a shit job, and dreaming about a career in music was particularly appealing to this college sophomore. The beat is great, Kanye's verse is really good, and both GLC and Consequence's verses are both good. This is one of my favorite songs off my favorite record of 2004.
I'm not going to claim to be an expert on The Beatles... I know they're the best band of all time, etc. etc. but I've never really gone through a Beatles phase like everyone else. It might be for the same reason my dad never fawned over them - he once told me that he never loved The Beatles "because everyone else did." All of this aside, they do write great songs, and this one off of their 1965 release, Help! is just a damn well written pop song. I'm actually surprised no one else suggested this one. I think that it's a good fit here and packs a catchy punch at the B3 slot.
Emil Svanängen's bedroom has been getting a lot of press lately. It is in this room that Sweden's newest member of SubPop has done the bulk of his writing and recording under the moniker Loney, Dear. He makes delicate, pop-folk music with lush arrangements that sometimes could rival Sufjan. Loney, Dear just released what would technically be referred to as a label debut on SubPop, but Emil has released four full lengths on his own in Sweden. He is joined onstage at times with up to 8 or 9 other musicians. They are slated to play The Troub on Wednesday, May 30th. This song is called "I Am the Odd One" and comes off the SubPop release, Loney Noir.
My favorite band of 2006, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin has posted an old Merle Haggard cover that they recorded sometime last year. The song is called "Big City" and is the title track from Haggard's 1981 release. SSLYBY doesn't really offer any insight as to why this song was chosen, but I'll welcome any new recordings they are willing to post.
Now at spinner.AOL you can stream the entire new Battles record Mirrored that just dropped today. The quartet from New York finally release their first full length after releasing a series of EP's over the last couple years. I had read a lot about this band when the last EP came out, but never got around to listening to them. Upon hearing Mirrored I plan on delving deeper into their back catalog. Stream the new album here.
This is one of the best Dylan songs from the 70's, and who better to sing it than Elliott Smith? The video dates back to 1998 right in between the Either/Or and XO eras which in my opinion was Elliott at his best. This is one of many reasons why I'm upset that I never got to see Elliott live - he always seemed to pick interesting cover songs, and was known to do a few different Dylan tunes.
1990s -Cookies
Meg Baird -Dear Companion
Battles - Mirrored
The Bravery - The Sun And The Moon
Erasure - Light At The End Of The World
Handsome Furs - Plague Park
Hanson - The Walk
Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long
The National - Boxer
Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain
Shapes And Sizes - Split Lips, Winnings Hips, A Shiner
The Used -Lies For The Liars
Voxtrot - Voxtrot
Wheat -Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy And Made A One Inch Square
This is one of my favorite L.A. bands I've heard all year. I'm surprised that they haven't recieved more attention - they're still unsigned. With a sold out self-released EP and some high profile L.A. gigs, I have a feeling a deal is on the horizon for these guys. I wasn't able to find an mp3 link to post, because it seems like all the ones I found had expired. Go to their MySpace if you want to hear some catchy well-written indie pop songs. "Burn the Maps" and "Remember When" are my two favorites. Castledoor will be playing the Echo tomorrow night.. who wants to come with me??
With Bright Eyes having so many great songs that are written in 3/4, I had a hard time deciding what song to choose, and what spot in the mix to throw it in - but I have come to a conclusion. "Sunrise, Sunset" was what I originally wanted to include, but I think this one sets a more pleasant mood, and will transition us into the rest of side B more appropriately. "We Are Nowhere and It's Now" comes off of the 2005 release I'm Wide Awake It's Morning and features Emmylou Harris on the album cut. This video comes from Conor and Mike's Austin City Limits performance from a couple years ago.
