everybody's down

Not only are No Age the face of the Los Angeles underground, but they're easily my favorite band of 2007. Their perfect 'diamond in the rough' blend of lo-fi bombast meets artsy pop made quite a splash at last month's CMJ festival and their Sub Pop contract and new material show no signs of slowing down.

"Everybody's Down" - the standout from this years' Weirdo Rippers LP is two-chord rock at its finest (although the best part of the song is the one time Randy hits that third chord.) This is the 4th song of November's mix, and is what's beautiful about living in L.A. To know this song you have to see it live, so here's the next best thing:

lovers who uncover

This song showed up on my radar awhile back in the form of another Crystal Castles remix. I kind of like the original better - which is rare for a CC remix. Little Ones are from around these parts and this song is pretty much all I know of them. They're currently touring other countries with Kaiser Chiefs, becoming popular, and all that good stuff.


The video has some sweet shots of my dream Fender Jaguar guitar and sort a cute concept, so check it out:

be set free

A little Langhorne love this morning:

run to your graves

November's second installment comes in the form of The Mae Shi's poppiest number "Run To Your Graves." Due out on their upcoming release HLLLYH, this has been a live staple of theirs for awhile now and always a fan favorite. Having randomly walked into their performances numerous times when I've been there to see other acts, this is the band I've probably seen 'by accident' more than any other band.
If you're unfamiliar with the band here's an introduction from their Myspace:

If you are just hearing of us now, you missed out on four records and 250 shows of busted electronics, spazzier-than-fuck drums, crazy-ass boogie guitar, distorted caveman bass and throat-destroying vocals. You missed us playing in 100 different basements and garages to 100s of different kids. You missed our 59-minute-long debut EP and our 5RC debut full-length, Terrorbird, which was a hyper ADD-afflicted hip-hop concept album about monsters and the Old Testament. You missed six different home-screened t-shirt designs and our 2004 mix tape, which collected our favorite 1200 songs in under 80 minutes. You missed Heartbeeps, which was the next step in our self-improvement plan, in which we put our best foot forward and tried to state our case powerfully and succinctly in 15 minutes.

Here's the brand new video (released last week) for Run To Your Graves featuring members of the band, HEALTH, 14 Year Old Girls, and DJ Kyle H. Mabson. Pretty fun concept, so enjoy:

November 2007

TADA! After a three-plus month hiatus, TapeRock is back just in time for the month of November's mixtape. I apologize to all (two) of you who were looking forward to the August, September, and October installments but we'll start up right where we left off...

This month our mix is going to be made up of songs from L.A. based bands. There are so many great bands that have been a mainstay in our scene out here as well as tons of up and comers. Expect some changes around here in the coming weeks, especially once I get my new computer up and running at home.

Our first song for November has been one of my favorites for a couple months. It's a remix of an L.A. band via a non-L.A. band - so it still counts as local. HEALTH vs. Crystal Castles - Crimewave is the track. HEALTH is a band that's been apart of the L.A. scene for awhile now. Head over to their MySpace if you don't know what they're all about or even read this terrific interview from WeShotJR. This song was the catchiest song of the summer and I'm excited for some of you to hear it if you haven't yet. It's one of those songs that makes you want to hit the Play button once it's over.

FUCK YEAH FEST IV!

July Mix - 15. Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues

For the final song of the Album Opener Mix I had to go with what I know best. Dylan does album openers better than anyone - he always has great songs at track #1. "Blowin' in the Wind," "The Times They Are A-Changin'," "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" to name a few were all album openers. Hell, Rolling Stone magazine's #1 song of all-time "Like a Rolling Stone" was one of Dylan's A1's. I picked this one, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" because it's an all-time favorite of mine and also because it's a nice compact, upbeat number perfectly suited for the mix tape format. Check out the seminal video for this song from D.A. Pennebaker's doc "Don't Look Back":

This concludes our July Mix. Expect a download link as soon as I get moved into my new place and compile all the songs...

July Mix - 14. Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

There isn't a lot to say about this song because it's an obvious pick for the mix. When I heard this album before all of the hype, this was by far the stand out track to me. A classic beginning to what has become a classic album already. I'm not a big fan of their latest effort, but this record will go down as one of the best of the 00's. This will be a good lead in to our last song. Tune in tomorrow for the official final July tracklist. Here's the music video for it:

New Weakerthans Song!

I'm kind of surprised to see this band getting some music blog love. I've appreciated The Weakerthans since high school but their brand of poppy alt. country rock can teeter into whiny territory and thus attract the haters. This song, "Night Windows" is the first leak from their upcoming release Reunion Tour on Epitaph Records. It sounds like the good ol' Weakerthan sound and I'm glad for it. Pretty slow and shiny, the band waits until the end of the song to release the hook and the title lyric. Definitely worth a listen (or two.) Reunion Tour due out 9/25.

Joanna Newsome Playing LA With Orchestra

Joanna Newsom appears to be next in line for the latest fad in indie music - going orchestral. So far the harpist has 4 U.S. orchestral dates scheduled including one at L.A.'s Walt Disney Music Hall. According to Pitchfork she is touring with a 28 piece ensemble (I'm assuming she will not be using the L.A. Phil like Decemberists and Bright Eyes.) The show is slated for November 9th. Her sound lends itself to this sort of spectacle and you can bet I'll be in attendance. In the meantime check out this video of her solo performance of (my favorite of her songs) "Sadie." It's funny to hear such an uproarious reception to such a soft and pretty song. The last verse of this song is to die for...

July Mix - 13. Wolf Parade - You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son

This song comes off one of my favorite records of 2005 Apologies To The Queen Mary and sets off one of the best one-two punches to start an album I can think of. "You Are a Runner..." begins with a punchy kick/open hi-hat drum beat and sets the tone for the rest of the album. This is a perfect place in the mix for this song with it coming off the heels of Modest Mouse's track. Isaac Brock is responsible for signing this band and produced most of the album (and you can tell WP borrowed a lot from him, especially vocal stylings.)

Zach Galifianakis and Will Oldham - Can't Tell Me Nothin'

Via KanyeWest.com: In another brilliant move by Kanye West to garner indie blog attention, he has commissioned funnyman Zach Galifianakis and folkster Will Oldham to redo his music video for "Can't Tell Me Nothin'." The original video and single was catching a lot of flak, because, well they both kind of suck. This video parodies the seriousness of the song, and seeing Kanye's more lighthearted side makes me like the single more. Even though he doesn't appear in the video, I've read that the spoof was his idea. Check it out for yourself here at KanyeWest.com. It's worth the couple minutes especially for fans of Zach's. If you watch you can catch Will cracking up in the silhouette shots.

July Mix - 12. Modest Mouse - 3rd Planet

I originally wanted to include "Teeth Like God's Shoe Shine" off of The Lonesome Crowded West, but at six minutes plus, it breaks every rule for a mix tape. "3rd Planet" is a classic Modest Mouse track and has always been one of my personal favorites and The Moon and Antarctica is their second best album. This song is the perfect way to kick off the album and will make for a great addition to the mix.

Ben Kweller Will Play All 3 Albums in LA

In the wake of the Pitchfork Music Festival getting classic indie bands to play their magnum opuses (sp?) in their entirety (Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation or The GZA's Liquid Swords) Ben Kweller announced that he's going to do something similar in NY and LA. Over the course of a three night stint at The Echo, Ben will play Sha Sha the first night, I'm On My Way the second night, and the newer self-titled album on the third night. For 18 bucks you can see just one album, or for 50 bucks (yikes) you can buy a pass for all three. Click here if you're interested in buying said tickets. The NY shows are already sold out (besides the I'm On My Way show. Ha!) I'm definitely going to check out the Sha Sha show.

Fuck Yeah Fest in L.A. Times

Today's Times edition features a writeup of Echo Park's Summer music festival. Fuck Yeah Fest takes place this August and with bands like Deerhunter and The Explosion slated to play, the Los Angeles mass media is taking some notice. Read the article here. We're all still waiting to hear who the "special guest" will be, who is supposedly being announced the week of the shows. For the time being check out this Deerhunter music video for their song "Lake Somerset" off the newest LP Cryptograms. If you don't know anything about this band click here and read up, their controversy is actually more interesting than their music.

July Mix - 11. Joanna Newsom - Bridges and Balloons

The fact that Joanna Newsom is such a divisive artist has baffled me for a couple years now. I was in love with her lyrical imagery, her musicianship, and her one-of-a-kind voice from the first half of a song that I heard of hers. But I have met more than a handful of people that just plain cannot stand her - and I honestly don't see how. This song opens up one of my favorite albums of 2004, The Milk Eyed Mender. The melodies that Newsom weaves throughout this song (and the entire album) are remarkable. There is also a Colin Meloy (Decemberists) cover of this song that is pretty great as well. Check out both (live) versions of the song for yourself:
Joanna:

Colin (live in studio):

Jeff Mangum: Live At Jittery Joe's

I came across this album today while surfing through a co-workers iTunes library and was baffled as to how this slipped through the cracks for me all these years. Recorded in 1997 and released 2001, this album was released to try and capitalize on eBay sales of bootlegged Neutral Milk Hotel concerts. The sound quality is higher than the typical bootleg but still has a rustic and authentic "live" feel that gives Mangum's voice and guitar the perfect saturation. Here's a cut off the album, one of NMH's classics "Two Headed Boy" complete with baby/child screaming in the background (and the first time the child chimes in it's so perfectly timed, it feels staged.)

New Vanderslice Song, Album Drops Tomorrow

With John Vanderslice's new album Emerald City hitting stores tomorrow there's been a lot of buzz today. I found this new song called "Tablespoon of Codeine" that is being tagged as the "centerpiece" of the album. Featuring an ethereal soundscape and some nuanced drum loops this song is laden with interesting instrumentals. The song starts innocent enough but slowly becomes more urgent and dissonant before dying out to the lone piano and drum loop. Pretty cool effort from JV, but I'll be more excited to hear it in context with the rest of the record. Check it out for yourself:

July Mix - 10. Pixies - Debaser

From their 1989 release, Doolittle, Pixies' "Debaser" is one of those songs that was ahead of its time. Going back and listening to it this morning, I realize that this is what every single band on the radio back in 1996 sounded like (a good 7 years or so after its release.) There are some bands that are still ripping off the Pixies and this song even today. There's a really cool article on Wiki about the album and also about this particular song. You can check out all the details for yourself if you'd like. Here's the music video for the song:

The Good Life Divulge New LP Info

I've been waiting to hear this news ever since the day I bought The Good Life's last release, Album of the Year. I've always been a Cursive supporter, but over the last couple years I have become more of a Good Life fan and have yet had the chance to see them live. I'm excited to hear that they plan on releasing an EP (Heartbroke) before the LP (Help Wanted Nights) in true Saddle Creek fashion. The last EP precursor to Album of the Year has my favorite song of theirs on it so the new 7'' has a lot to live up to. Pitchfork released the tracklisting for both releases today:

Help Wanted Nights:

01 On the Picket Fence
02 A Little Bit More
03 Heartbroke
04 You Share of Men
05 You Don't Feel Like Home to Me
06 Keely Aimee
07 Playing Dumb
08 Some Tragedy
09 So Let Go
10 Rest Your Head

Heartbroke:

01 Heartbroke
02 Thirty-Year Evaluation

No song has been posted as of yet, but in the meantime check out my aforementioned fav off of the Lovers Need Lawyers EP called "Always a Bridesmaid"