6 posts tagged “bird”
)|
|
One fan "Danger for Dollars" bought the album for $12 and then pointed out that it should've only costed $6, clearly there is a glitch. I hope they fix the problem and refund that guy's money! iTunes seems to have resolved the problem by disallowing buying the whole EP as one download, but instead makes you buy individual tracks :/
So, anyway, I've previously mentioned I love Tommy Boy Records and loved everything about Plushgun's self-titled EP (including the cute drawing and obessive songs).
Dancing In A Minefield EP has one great song (the first song) and four uncessary remix of "Just Polite" and a remix of "How We Roll". It's obvious to me that the single is just leading up to the full length, giving his fans something to tie them over. I felt that "Dancing In A Minefield" is kind of a rebellious/teenage angst song and it brings up feeling about "screw it all" and let's sort it out tomorrow feeling.... It's like almost too deep to be a pop song, and yet there it is. I love the climatic ending too.
Anyway, if you love 90s-sounding techno/pop/dance and especially remixes and reinterpretation of songs, you'll love Plushgun. He's gaining a lot of fans and recently his fans voted "Just Impolite" to be the winner of MTVu's "The Freshman" (No relationship to me. Get it? Vu? Nevermind). Congratuations! The video has a sad destruction of what looks like a black Ford muscle car and has a bit of Sid & Nancy feel to it.
Also, Plushgun will be one of four artists to be on Spin.com's "Battle Of The Bands". They get to re-enact the final scene in "Se7en". I guess anything to get a-head, haha, right?
Dancing In A Minefield EP is out now and be sure to look for Plushgun at The Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale in New York with Andrew WK for a special all-ages show on December 28th.
Links:
plushgun.com
myspace.com/plushgun
|
|
The talented Mister Graeme K (myspace.com/graemekmusic), stopped by on W♥M Radio to talk about his delightful mixey mashey collage EP is called Hidden Beast. I previously only briefly mentioned Graeme K in my birds article, you should check it out if you haven't seen it.
Once back from his upcoming tour, he'll settled down to record a new record, and hopefully we'll have him back on in 2009.
In the meantime, we had a wonderful time talking about music and such:
- The mysterious "K"
- Where all the music Graeme samples from
- His equipment and software used to make his music
- Childhood in Maine, being on radio, performances
- Not being in "the (music) know"
- Next record heavily influenced by The Wedding Present
- Upcoming tour (see details below)
-
Tour Dates
12/19/08 SPACE Gallery Portland, Maine
01/16/09 Olympia, Washington
01/30/09 Sam Bonds Eugene, Oregon
02/08/09 The Hemlock Tavern w/ CITADELLE San Francisco, CA
02/12/09 The Beauty Bar San Diego, CA
02/13/09 The Echo Curio w/ DETHRO Los Angeles, CA
02/20/09 The Process Santa Fe, New Mexico
02/24/09 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, Utah
02/27/09 Visual Arts Collective Garden City, Idaho
02/28/09 The Badlander Missoula, Montana
Links:
www.weheartmusic.com
podcast.weheartmusic.com
news.weheartmusic.com
)
 Ben Sollee at the 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/18/08) ♥ photo by Brody Tour Dates
12/11/08 The Dame (w/ Daniel Martin Moore) Lexington, Kentucky
Read More
12/13/08The Square Room (w/ Daniel Martin Moore) Knoxville, Tennessee |
Ben Sollee sings like an angel. A small, winsome angel in a JCrew pullover. It’s not easy keeping pure of thought, considering this angel plays the cello with the gusto of a wayward prep school dropout on the cusp of a musical revelation (classically trained but has a secret naughty stash of Muddy Waters albums). Part blue-eyed soul, part nu-folk, with a little easy-on-the-ears Americana thrown in, Sollee has tapped into the same ripe patch that birthed brother angels Andrew Bird and M. Ward. While he may not have quite the bearded following as Bird, it seems that Sollee has found a comfortable niche half-way between ‘quirky elegance’ and ‘coffee shop troubadour.’ His debut album, Learning to Bend, is very nice, but it feels pointless to praise a musician for his studio work when it’s obvious he’s meant to be heard in real life, in a real dirty club, really intimate and really real, flaws and all.
Ben and his cello played a real, flaw-filled, beautiful show at the 400 Bar last Tuesday. The crowd was respectful and hushed, which made the few minutes between songs almost unbearably polite (even the cranks that linger close to the bar were strangely mute). Perhaps everyone was thinking the same thing: who is this tiny person? I know what I was thinking: who’d a thought the cello could be sexy? (I won’t even bring up the implications of straddling a large, wooden apparatus.) I’m sure most of us attribute the cello to plain Asian girls in loose-fitting chinos and bobby socks. Besides Yo-Yo Ma, I can’t even name a professional cellist (and let’s be honest, while ridiculously talented, Yo-Yo Ma doesn’t exactly inspire tingling loins). But watching Sollee bow and strum and pluck at his instrument was…inspiring, to say the least. I could easily come up with at least a dozen more sly synonyms for ‘instrument’ (‘sleek music-maker,’ ‘big, strong love tool’) but I won’t. I already feel slightly creepy for talking so frank about an NPR-revered musician (“Top 10 Great Unknown Artists of 2007”). Nonetheless, these things must be said and the show must go on.
For me, one of the highlights of Sollee’s show was his interpretation of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.” This song has been stuck in my head for, literally, the last year, ever since it became the unofficial mantra for GObama 08. It was ballsy of Sollee to take such a classic political anthem and change the lyrics, but his voice suits the style, and so I feel OK about his creative bastardization (normally I would hate him for it, on principle). Other performance highlights: a short cover of “Crazy” (Gnarls Barkley); Sollee’s preface to “Bury Me with My Car,” in which he confused us simpletons with his book smarts; A solo rendition of “Only a Song” (originally recorded with Jim James of My Morning Jacket); and the encore fake-out “fake out” (you know, when a musician/band starts to leave the stage and then makes a comment like, “I never understood the point of leaving the stage”)—Sollee said something similar but I didn’t roll my eyes like I usually do when a musician tries to be “witty,” therefore, it must be love.
Ben Sollee and his big, strong love tool are currently on tour. For more information, visit his official website at www.bensollee.com or his Myspace at www.myspace.com/bensollee.
As a side note, I’d briefly like to mention Kentucky artist, Phillip March Jones, whose work is being featured during Sollee’s tour (t-shirts, stage set). Jones is the first artist that Sollee’s collaborated with, but hopefully not the last (Sollee talked a bit about his desire to continue building partnerships with new visual artists). The stage backdrop will be auctioned off for charity at the end of the tour. Please check out: www.phillipmarchjones.com.
|
11/07/08 Corner Hotel with The Motifs and The Harpoons Melbourne, Victoria
Read More
11/08/08 The Troubadour with Greg Brady & The Anchors Brisbane, Queensland 11/14/08 Karova Lounge with The Harpoons Ballarat, Victoria 11/15/08 Hopetoun Hotel with Songs and The Harpoons Sydney, New South Wales 11/16/08 Hopetoun Hotel with The Crustaceans and The Harpoons Sydney, New South Wales 11/22/08 Tilley’s Canberra, Australian Capital Territory |
I was looking to reuse Drugstore's "El Presidente", but the subject matter of a President assassination didn't sit well with me, so instead I am offering one of my favorite song of all time: "To Absent Votes" by The Lucksmiths.
There is just something about this song that I absolutely love. It's the mellow melody, it's the way singer/drummer Tali White paints the picture of a town, post election day.
Wow, right? Some of the best lyrics ever. This particular song was written by bassist Marty Donald, who's also cranked out some other hits for me: "A Hiccup In Your Happiness", "The Chapter In Your Life Entitled San Francisco", "Shine On Me", "Frisbee", and many more. You know, come to think of it, all Lucksmiths songs are hits for me. They are just too witty for their own good.And you're not one for anecdotes
But remember our delight
As we drank to absent boats
It was just a perfect night
Then a solitary sail
The softness of the light
The moon a fingernail
The chance that you were right
Anyroad, their brand new album, First Frost was just released by Lost and Lonesome in Australia,
Still, they are one of my favorite band, be sure to read our previous articles on them. Here are some more songs by the Luckies:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Links:
thelucksmiths.com.au
myspace.com/lucksmiths
| M-----l replied to Lost And Lonesome’s comment: Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 10:10 PM |
Thanks for the info. I checked out Matinee's website. They're offering First Frost for $10.
|
09/04/08 The Bless with The Herron brothers. Midlands
09/25/08 The Bless "Crunchie" night Derby 10/14/08 We’re headlining with Frank Hamilton Midlands 10/14/08 Graceless Bird on Indie store 10/31/08 The Bridge mini album release. |
Listen to the Podcast |
In a recent trend of birds on the cover is The Telephones' The Bridge mini-album. The album is in the middle of a final mix for CD pressing, but we were sent some demos (they sound good the way it is, to be honest), which we've used throughout this interview.
Joining us are: singer Andy Richardson, guitarist Jay Marriott, and bassist Gary "Gaz" Sitlinton, along with W♥M jazz contributor Dave.
As showrunner, I wanted to let you know that there are two distinct segment of this episode: a topic-centric/controlled portion (the standard interview) and a casual portion (which is just a few people sitting around talking about music). I do recommend hanging in there for the second part to hear some 90s flashback.
It was a lot of fun to do these band interviews, so maybe if we can co-ordinate it... Unfortunately, it seems I am only free on Sunday to do these setup. Hopefully, when Derek gets set up, he would be taking over as showrunner/MC for non-Sundays podcasts.
Speaking of which, if we can get our act together, next week, Derek and I will be doing a special "bookcast" edition of W♥M Radio. I'm very excited to be discussing books, so stay tune. Subscribe to our weekly podcast over at weheartmusic.mypodcast.com, where they offer a selection of xml, google and itunes variety. Let me know if you're having issues subscribing.
Links:
myspace.com/thetelephonesuk
Birds, what is up with that? It seems lately that we're getting album artwork that features birds on the cover artwork (especially owls). Can someone explain this to me? Seriously.
Below are a ton of bird-album artwork.
|
AVIARY GHOST
aviaryghost.com ♥ myspace.com
Fom Illinois is Aviary Ghost, a band that seems to be headed by Charlie Crimando and Stephen Kemsley. Reading their biography, it would seem that they spent a lot of time recording music in a one-room apartment in Michigan. One of my favorite song on their album, Memory Is A Hallway (featuring cut-out birds over a scenic location), is the most fast-moving song is "Windowlight", which seems to be about the light through the window - sung in an old-fashion cabaret-style song, which I will say works very well for the song. I thought "Somewhere Else" was also pretty good. The song is described as "catchy Swedish pop", which I'll have to agree with. The lyrics are pretty detailed too, I especially liked the chorus: "we're laughing, 'cause laughing is much better than a scream". You can get their album, Memory Is A Hallway (recently released July 15th), on iTunes or CD Baby.
|
MORE TEETH
more-teeth.com ♥ myspace.com
I think someone in the W♥M group have this album, One Bird a Day, for review, so I won't go into too much details about it. Surfice to say that it's a compilation of three or four bands in the electro-genre. Based on what I've heard, I really dig Sparkydog (sounds like new wave) and More Teeth (which sounds like very experimental noise art). I've decided to go with More Teeth because of their snazzy drums and electroclashesque vocals of Mindy Abovitz. JESSICA LEA MAYFIELDjessicaleamayfield.com ♥ myspace.com
We're not really promoting Jessica Lea Mayfield (I don't think her PR company knows my address, which I will confess is fine as I have too much music to handle), but I couldn't resist the owl-art on her soon-to-be release album With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt out on September 16th on Polymer Sounds on her press release. What's there to say based on this one song, "Kiss Me Again"? She has a very nice voice, and sounds like Thao Nguyen. |
|
PUTOIS
citizensofcontraryknowledge.com ♥ myspace.com
Yet another Chicago, Illinois band - man, they really love their animals! I believe "putois" is actually a ferret or something. Anyway, on their second album, Problem Is Not a Problem Anymore, we see a crane with some ducks (while their debut album, The Thinking Fireplace features a cartoon bird dressed as a gentleman). It would seem that these introspective songs are written and sung by its creator, one Bob Mason since 1995. Most of this album is acoustic, mostly folky and the song "No More Dancing" would best represent what currently Putois sounds like. There are a few highlights on the record. For instance, I liked what he was trying to do with "Cta". This had a weird bass and quirky noises and beeps. Even his singing style is different here (although I think this might be a guest-vocalist? It just sounds very different). The other song that isn't so acoustic is "The Lonely Traveler" with its arrangement of piano and harmonica. If you like bands like Minnesota's Low, Putois might be right up your alley. Problem Is Not a Problem Anymore is out now, you can get it from CD Baby. |
PLUSHGUN
plushgun.com ♥ myspace.com
I love Tommy Boy Records. One of my first CD was a Tommy Boy and I just remember how big they were in the early 90s, especially with the b-boys and girls. Well, I guess the record label is still around and I have one of their latest release by one-man-band, Plushgun. Daniel Ingala's vocals sounds like he has a British accent, reminiscent of early 80s new wave pop bands. His latest self-titled EP has a cute drawing of a bird with an old SNES controller in a cassette-tape-style mess in the sky. All the songs were available for download on August 19th (iTunes). The four songs on the EP is a very easy listen. I love all the songs actually, with the exception of the semi-sappy "14 Candles". Although it was nice to hear a woman singing backup on this song, but I didn't think this song belong on the EP. Maybe I just don't like love songs. His other songs are more upbeat and sounds more like obsessive/stalker feel to them. There are some great lyrics on "Just Impolite" ("I walk the line, like Johnny Cash" and "I'm not upset, just impolite"). A physical copy of Plushgun will be available on September 9th via Amazon and other retailers for $9.99, but if you can't wait the download is sold now for 60% cheaper ($3.98) |
|
BRICE WOODALL AND THE POSITRONS
bricewoodall.com ♥ myspace.com
Check out Brice Woodall and the Positrons with their album, Sine Wave Sea. The artwork on the cover is a flying bird block with a hole in its stomach. I know it's a bird because if you visit the artist's website (trevorbittinger.com), his all-flash website features these same block birds flying around. Brice Woodall is currently based out of Chicago, Illinois, according to his myspace. Woodall's vocals has a woman quality to them, but not in a falsetto way (and not as a put down). His voice is very interesting, it definitely pulls you in. I think my favorite songs off this album is easily "This, There, Where", a pop song with some interesting mix. I also dug the experiment on "Winter/Break/Down/Away". Well, it looks like they are currently on tour, be sure to check them out.
09/12/08 Double Door- Kittypalooza Chicago, IL 09/24/08 Rapture Charlottesville, Virginia 09/25/08 Lucky Buddha Richmond, Virginia 09/26/08 Trash Bar Brooklyn, New York 09/27/08 Murky (upstairs) Arlington/DC area, VA 11/08/08 Art*Bar Riverwest Milwaukee, Wisconsin 11/19/08 Madison, Wisconsin 11/20/08 Chicago, Illinois 11/21/08 Detroit, Michigan 11/22/08 Indianapolis, Indiana You can pick up Sine Wave Sea from InSound. |
CITIZENS OF CONTRARY KNOWLEDGE
citizensofcontraryknowledge.com ♥ myspace.com
Featuring a drawing of a chicken on the cover of Citizens of Contrary Knowledge's You're What You Wish You Are. Upon closer inspection, is that a cock? They do sound a bit southern cock rock... Reading their biography, it would seem most of the band members are residing in Harlem, New York. Their singer/frontsman, Chris Barczynski, sounds like he doesn't take his biography too seriously (he writes that he was in the Witness Protection Program, etc). This is also a problem when he lists that he's appeared on stage with Green Day, Sugar Ray and Hootie - should you believe him? I'm leaning to 'no'. I was drawn to the faster/rock song and my favorite is "Complicated" and "Lonely Hearts Society", which is driven by a muscular guitar playing (with some neat tricks). Despite as I have said about their music being rock, they do lean to the sensitive/slow side with "House of Cards", "Unless You Do", "Real Love", and "Wrong Side of the World". I think listening to them that they might fare better as a live act, perhaps jamming their songs at a longer length at a dive bar. You're What You Wish You Are is out now, available on CD Baby. They just finished playing Arlene's Grocery, which is apparently a bar? |
Here is the bonus segment, some bird-bands we've previously covered: Tinkture, Birdflu, Story of the Year, The Alarmists, The Notwist, Loquat, El Perro Del Mar, Ben Sollee, Peter Bradley Adams (Owl), Death Valley Sleepers, Death Cab For Cutie, Patrick Wolf, Deadbird, Jeff Hanson (Owl), They Might be Giants (Owl), Eels, Biography Of Ferns, Computer Vs. Banjo (Owl), Ash, Susan Krebs
Bands we haven't covered, but I'm sure we'll get around to them. These features birds on the cover: The Great Northwest (Experimental Folk), Nebraska (Folk), Foals (British Rock), The Black Keys (Southern Rock), KYTE (Ambient Pop), and the talented Graeme K (Experimental/Old-time/Dance). Honorable worth mention is Abigail Washburn with her tiny birds on the cover.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My Groups
-
Human Rights Updated: 12 minutes ago
-
song of the day Updated: 43 minutes ago
-
We♥Music (host) Updated: 43 minutes ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
