Certain People I Know: 4 Songs
Posted on 30 June 2009 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Best New Music, Indie Rock, Post Rock
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I’m sure every other music blog has also reported this, but Certain People I Know recently posted 4 songs on their website. “Big deal,” you say. Well, Certain People I Know is a great new band featuring Bob and Damon (Braid, Hey Mercedes), Jeff (The Bomb, The Story So Far, Noise By Numbers), Matt (This Is Me Smiling), and Lauren and this the the first recorded material they’ve released to the world. It’s a little Hey Mercedes-ish but with Bob and Lauren splitting lead vocal duties, it’s less so than it would have been otherwise. It isn’t as obtuse as anything Braid has done but also not as straightforward as most Hey Mercedes material even though I’d say that it’s more relaxed and not quite as punchy. I’m also not smitten with Lauren’s vocals as they don’t seem to fit in the mix all that well but it’s still nice to hear new stuff from Bob Nanna and company. If you like these songs, you might also be interested in the videos I took of the first ever Certain People I Know show in Champaign a few months ago.
MP3 | Certain People I Know – Neverlasting
MP3 | Certain People I Know – Our Lady Of Guadalupe
MP3 | Certain People I Know – Strongsuit
MP3 | Certain People I Know – All You Gotta Do Is Show
The Curtain Calls - No Action EP
Posted on 30 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Album Reviews, Just Plain Rock, Punk
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The Curtain Calls (who were formerly called No Action) are a pop-punk-rock band from Omaha, Nebraska that just happens to feature my old friend Chris Crutcher on vocals and guitar. He (as a teenager) played in Juniper 9 with some of the guys who went on to start The Carraways and Moped Band (discography forthcoming at Chris’ request). It’s refreshing to hear that not all the musicians I’ve played with have settled down and started families even though that’s cool too. I guess you’d call this living/listening vicariously through Chris.
Anyhow, on the band’s recently released No Action EP, the 5 songs are catchy and edgy without being too gritty. In this case, that’s not a bad thing; it’s, you know, pop-rock-with-a-hint-of-punk but with more hard rockin’ almost post-hardcore influenced instrumental parts thrown in for good measure. Vocally, the band is slightly similar to Fall Out Boy but I wouldn’t go so far as to say, “The Curtain Calls sound like Fall Out Boy.” Instead, I’d say something like, if you like Spitalfield, Bayside, or even Jimmy Eat World, you might really like The Curtain Calls. Besides, they’re from Omaha.
MP3 | The Curtain Calls – The Lies We Lead No Action EP
MP3 | The Curtain Calls – Your Turn No Action EP
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Part 12
Posted on 30 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
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It’s just like riding a bicycle… only different. Really, after a full week of not riding at all, I was able to freemount on my second attempt and I was also able to ride 455 feet after freemounting on Sunday. Either way I’ve really only spent about 7 total hours in the saddle practicing and learning so the more I do it, the better I’ll get. However, I can only imagine that with a new baby entering our lives in the next few weeks these updates might get a little more infrequent. I’ll still post some pictures of me on the unicycle as soon as I get someone to take a few.
It came from the nineties (Vol. 53)
Posted on 28 June 2009 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
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Here’s another dose of 90’s goodness right on the heels of the last one. I remember the first time I ever heard the band Live. It was at one of those CD stores that used to have listening stations where people could listen to music before they bought it. It was probably 1993 or so and the album was Mental Jewelry, which I still think is Live’s best album. For more posts in this series, just find “1990’s” in the drop down category list on the sidebar or just Stumble this post to share it with your friends.
MP3 | Live – Lightning Crashes
MP3 | Utah Saints – Something Good
MP3 | The Pharcyde – Passin’ Me By
MP3 | Catherine Wheel – Black Metallic
MP3 | Soul Asylum – Somebody To Shove
Jeremy Garrett - I Am A Stranger
Posted on 27 June 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Album Reviews, Bluegrass
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Jeremy Garrett’s new solo album I Am A Stranger is a fairly wide ranging bluegrass effort that shows his strengths as a fiddler and a vocalist (he is both when playing with The Infamous Stringdusters). The album features members of the Stringdusters as well as other players and is a blend of the both the traditional and the progressive sides of modern bluegrass. I’ve been digging the album a lot and I’m guessing you might like it too. Get a copy today from Sugar Hill Records.
MP3 | Jeremy Garrett – I Am A Stranger I Am A Stranger
MP3 | Jeremy Garrett – I Knew You Would Love Me I Am A Stranger
It came from the nineties (Vol. 52)
Posted on 26 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: 1990's, Mixes
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I’ve gotten a bunch of requests to keep this feature going so here it is. I can hardly believe that it has been almost 3 months since I last posted some songs from the 90’s. Has it really been that long? It has, but something about the untimely and sudden death of Michael Jackson yesterday made me want to post “Remember The Time.” Do you remember the video? It was atrocious despite (or because) featuring both Eddie Murray and Magic Johnson. Those were the days. And even though Michael was a freak he was still the King of Pop.
Want more, just find “1990’s” in the drop down category list on the sidebar to find all the other posts in this series or just Stumble this post.
MP3 | Michael Jackson – Remember The Time
MP3 | Seal – Crazy
MP3 | Joan Osbourne – One Of Us
MP3 | Stabbing Westward – What Do I Have To Do?
MP3 | Matchbox 20 – 3AM
MXPX - On The Cover II
Posted on 26 June 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Album Reviews, Punk
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C’mon guys! Does the world really need another MXPX covers EP? Really? The correct answer here is no, we don’t. Even though I’m an MXPX fan and their first covers EP was well and good way back when, On The Cover II just seems superfluous. Seriously, how many punk bands have covered “Vacation” and/or “Fallen Angel?” I’m guessing more than will ever be necessary. Also, here’s another thing, punk bands shouldn’t cover Clash songs. It never works. Even though I’m kinda giving MXPX a bit of a bashing here, for at least a few minutes while listening to On The Cover II I was taken back to my high school days and overcome with nostalgia and (right now) that’s enough for me to give this at least a passing endorsement.
MP3 | MXPX – Suburban Home (Descendents cover) On The Cover II
MP3 | MXPX – Fallen Angel (Poison cover) On The Cover II
Matt & Kim - Grand
Posted on 26 June 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Album Reviews, Indie Rock
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One of the funnest (is funnest even a legit word?) albums I’ve heard all year is Grand from the New York keys-n-drum duo Matt & Kim. It’s darn near perfect Summertime music if you ask me. The songs on Grand feature dancy urban indie-pop beats that aren’t techno and aren’t electronic but damn do the beats that just make you wanna move. Their songs are bouncy and hella catchy with melodic synths galore. Probably my favorite element of Matt & Kim is the airy minimalism and lack of density that being a duo gives (or rather it’s what they leave out of) their songs. They aren’t hiding or obscuring anything and just leave everything right out in the open. It’s 95 degrees in the Chicago suburbs today (I wrote this yesterday and it was actually a bit cooler today).
MP3 | Matt & Kim – Daylight Grand
MP3 | Matt & Kim – Lessons Learned Grand
Maximo Park vs. Cajun Dance Party
Posted on 25 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Album Reviews, Indie Rock
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I liked both of Maximo Park’s previous albums so I was quite surprised to find their new one, Quicken The Heart, to be rather boring and unexciting. It isn’t terribly bad but it just falls flat when compared to the band’s vibrant and endearing earlier work. Mainly (I think) it’s just that the songs aren’t as catchy and immediately rewarding as those on A Certain Trigger and Our Earthly Pleasures. I just don’t love anything on the new album. It’s all really quite forgettable. So, if you feel that way about Quicken The Heart as well, don’t feel too bad.
Instead of pouting, pick up a copy of Cajun Dance Party’s debut full-length The Colourful Life. It’s a record that finds the London based band of teenagers sounding like a hybrid of The Cure, Maximo Park, and (maybe a little) like Ben Lee’s more recent stuff. It is enjoyable and Ultra melodic and (at times) really catchy with thick British vocals. It isn’t Cajun music in the least and really doesn’t invoke thoughts of any sort of dance party, but The Colourful Life is quite enjoyable and fills the void left by the disappointment that is Quicken The Heart.
MP3 | Maximo Park – The Kids Are Sick Again Quicken The Heart
MP3 | Cajun Dance Party – Colourful Life The Colourful Life
MP3 | Cajun Dance Party – No Joanna The Colourful Life
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Part 11
Posted on 25 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
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Yeah, even though it’s been about a month since I started trying to ride, I haven’t ridden my unicycle since last Saturday. My hip has been feeling better but I’ve also been stretching a bunch too. I’m not sure if it’s really fucked up or if I’m just getting old and pushing too hard. Either way, I’ll be back trying to ride the beast tomorrow so more updates will certainly be forthcoming. In the meantime:
MP3 | cLOUDDEAD – Physics Of A Unicycle Ten
