A 70's flashback with Alberta Cross

While listening to the opening track of Alberta Cross's debut LP The Thief & the Heartbreaker (which also happens to be the title track), you are instantly transported back in time to some point in the 70's with Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young playing in the background. It's uncanny how close the resemblance is; in fact it sounds like it could be a missing studio track that never made a CSNY album.

Unlike CSNY though, Alberta Cross formed in London in this century, not the last. Their debut is short, only seven songs long, but that's by design. "It’s a battle against weak verses and big choruses and we want to make classic albums, not albums with four singles and a bunch of fillers.” The whole album has that classic rock flavor to it with an updated feel. Try the following two songs, then get the rest of the LP for yourself.


Alberta Cross - The Thief & The Heartbreaker : The Thief & The Heartbreaker

Alberta Cross - Lucy Rider : The Thief & The Heartbreaker

Visit their label Fiction Records and become their friend on MySpace.

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Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young - Woodstock : Deja Vu

The truth about Liars

Off-kilter notes, echoy reverbed vocals that feel like they're bouncing around a dark crypt, gloomy tones that make you want to look around for pentagrams: welcome to Liars self titled album, their fourth since forming in 2000.

The album very much reminds me of another release from earlier this year: Clinic's Visitations. Both offer an air of despondency, notes that seem out of whack but somehow piece together into music, a dark driving beat that is muted as if run through a handful of filters.

Liars is on tour opening for Interpol as you read this. Listen to the songs below, then see if they're coming anywhere near you.


Liars - Plaster Casts Of Everything : Liars

(watch the video with Karen O cameo)

Liars - Leather Prowler : Liars

Visit their website, their label Mute Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

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INTERPOL / LIARS TOUR DATES

09-14 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
09-15 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre
09-16 Raleigh, NC - Disco Rodeo
09-18 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
09-19 Miami, FL - BankUnited Center
09-21 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
09-22 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
09-23 New Orleans, LA - Sugar Mill
09-25 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theatre
09-26 Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q
09-27 Dallas, TX - Palladium
10-10 Kansas City, KS - Uptown
10-12 Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
10-14 Denver, CO - Fillmore
10-15 Salt Lake City, UT - McKay Center
10-16 Boise, ID - Big Easy
10-18 Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater
10-19 Portland, OR - Memorial Coliseum
10-20 San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
10-23 Los Angeles, CA - The Forum

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Clinic - Animal/Human : Visitations

Interpol - Specialist : Matador at Fifteen

Division Day winner

Congratulations go out to Alyssa, who was the winner of Division Day's new album, a t-shirt, and a pair of tickets to check them out at Union Hall in Brooklyn. For those of you who didn't win (or enter), here's a remix of a track from the album.


Division Day - Ricky (Tandemoro Remix) - Original version on Beartrap Island

Visit their website, their label Eenie Meenie Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

An Unlikely Place for Love

I've been listening to Josh Ritter's latest album lately (The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter) and I'm very much enjoying the song The Temptation of Adam. Maybe it's because compared to the rest of the album (which is quite different from his folk-rock ways) it more closely resembles his previous work, or maybe it's the unlikely juxtaposition of a story about love taking place in a place of war, but the song has really hooked me.

It's not often you hear anything about missile silos now a days never mind find a love song that takes place inside one. In fact, I would hazard to guess that a lot of younger listeners might not even know that much about the history of real missile silos during the cold war in the 1960's, a time fraught with tension. Missile silos were originally intended to carefully house the nation's nuclear weapons in time of war to protect them from a first strike by an enemy. As such, they were housed fairly deep underground as defense against being destroyed by an attack, and were designed to be self-sufficient in case of nuclear fallout.

Oh Marie if you would stay then we could stick pins in the map
Of all the places where you thought that love would be found
But I would only need one pin to show where my heart's at
In a top secret location three hundred feet under the ground

All of the sites were decommissioned in the 60's, some after only being in operation for 4 years, and anything of value was removed. Since then, many have fallen into private hands, and you can actually buy them for your own use if you have enough money and technical skill to renovate them. While you're enjoying the song, poke around in the following sites to learn more about the history behind the song's setting:

Read and see the history of the development of missile silos at SiloWorld.

Take a virtual tour of a missile silo HERE and HERE.

Want to buy one? Head over to this site.

Josh Ritter - The Temptation Of Adam : The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter

Visit Josh's website and become his friend on MySpace.

Meet Girl Nobody

Look what we've got
A guitar keyboard and a chore
To create our art
To love it breathe it and to flow right from the start

So sings Marta Jaciubek-McKeever from the Canadian band Girl Nobody in their song Two Left Shoes. To create, love, breathe and flow, and so the band does in their sophomore release Balaclava Casino Heist which came out last week through Jericho Beach Music. The band has been on hiatus for several years but has regrouped to produce a follow up to their 2004 debut.

I'll first say that it's hard to put your finger on the band's style. The album begins with the title track (offered below) which is a fast tempo, electronic sort of get up and rave sort of experience that gets you ready for a Bjork meets Moby sort of album, which it absolutely is not. The album slows down somewhat with tracks two and three, I'll Shake It and Sniffin' Glue, but there's still that edge of danceability to it. When you reach the middle of the album, things really come down a few notches, but that electronic element remains which reminds me of Portishead, although I would qualify that statement by saying Marta's voice is not nearly so gloomy as Beth Gibbons.

Just as you're getting comfortable with the direction you think the album has settled into, you get to Grandfather, track 9. I have to say that this song just doesn't quite fit. I wouldn't say it's a bad song, it's just out of place. It's the one track with a male vocalist (not sure which of the band members) and it's texture just doesn't flow like the other ten tracks. It's followed by an instrumental piece (one which feels more at home than the previous track), and then what I would call an acoustic hula ditty with Marta back at the microphone that reminds me of the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

I know it looks like the album is a mish-mosh of styles and sounds, but it flows well (except maybe track 9). Try the first track below, and then get the rest of the album to see for yourself.


Girl Nobody - Balaclava Casino Heist : Balaclava Casino Heist

Visit their website, their label Jericho Beach Music, and become their friend on MySpace.

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Moby - Hymn (This Is My Dream) : Hymn (CD E.P.#1)

Portishead - Mourning Air : Help: A Charity Project For The Children Of Bosnia

Squirrel Nut Zippers - Lover's Lane (live) : Live from 6A

Pink Floyd, 40 Years Ago

"It was 40 years ago today...that Syd Barrett taught the band to play..."

OK, so maybe it wasn't exactly today, but over 40 years ago (August 5th, 1967) Pink Floyd, with Syd Barrett at the helm, released their debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn on the unsuspecting masses and rock music would never be the same again. With songs about Grimble Gromble the gnome, space, and bicycles, and shoegazing sessions that seem to last an eternity, the album had a huge effect on psychedelic rock of its time and much of what was to follow it. Regardless of the fact that Syd's name is so often attached to the band's mystique, it was the only Pink Floyd album to actually have him leading the band as he left during the recording of their second album and was replaced by David Gilmour.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album's release, Capitol / EMI records is reissuing the album in two different versions: a two CD set that has the album recorded in both mono and stereo (the original album was recorded in mono, then released in stereo on vinyl a month later, and then in stereo on CD in 1987) and a three CD set that resembles a cloth covered book with an 8 page reproduction of one of Syd Barrett's notebooks and a third disc that includes all of the band's single from 1967 plus the B-sides and several unreleased tracks.

To give you an idea of the difference in sound between the two recordings (mono and stereo), listen to both with Astronomy Domine below and then enjoy The Gnome (also in stereo).


Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine (mono) : The Piper At the Gates of Dawn Disc 1 - Mono

Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine (stereo) : The Piper At the Gates of Dawn Disc 2 - Stereo

Pink Floyd - The Gnome (stereo) : The Piper At the Gates of Dawn

or get the 3 CD Limited Edition version HERE.

Watch some rare streaming video footage of Arnold Layne.

Visit their website, their label Capitol Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

Pash this way!

With a title like The Best Gun, you might expect a country album with some dueling vocalists battling back and forth. Sort of like the western version of a dueling piano bar. Thankfully, you'll find no such music on Pash's debut album, which came out the last week of August. Instead, what you will hear is some invigorating and electrifying guitar playing backing up Merideth Munoz's vocals which leap, sail, and soar through upbeat lyrics that remind me of the sweet pop perfection of old school Boston rockers Belly (and new school Boston rockers Static of the Gods).


Pash - Swears and Bearings : The Best Gun

Pash - ABCD : The Best Gun

Visit their website, their label Exotic Fever Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

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Belly - Super-Connected : King

Static of the Gods - Cycles Follow Signs : Cycles Follow Signs

Division Day Contest

OK, so here's a brainteaser to pose at the next party you go to...

Question: How can you have a debut album that has two different release dates a year apart?

Answer: If your band is named Division Day, you've signed over to Eenie Meenie Records, you've recorded a couple new tracks to add to it, and you're re-releasing it.

That's right, previously released in 2006, Division Day's debut full length album Beartrap Island is getting polished up, added to (two new tracks), and sent back out into the world on iTunes on September 18th and in stores on October 2nd. In anticipation of the excitement, the band will be releasing unreleased cover songs and remixes every Tuesday for the next eight weeks. First up, a cover of Sunny Day Real Estate's song Every Shining Time You Arrive, which you can listen to below.

For those of you who didn't catch the hype wave last year over these Los Angelites, think 80's synth sounds emo-ized with some occasional outburst of absolutely wailing guitar work and feedback that would make a shoe-gazer proud. If any of that makes sense, then give them a try.


And if that did make sense, and you do want to give them a try, now here is your chance to win a copy of the new and improved album, a T-shirt (pictured to the left), and a pair of tickets to catch them play at Union Hall in Brooklyn, NY (look below for schedule and to pick your date). Simply leave a comment (or e-mail me) with your name and e-mail address and I'll pick a winner sometime next Wednesdayish and let them know super pronto.



Division Day - To the Woods : Beartrap Island

Division Day - Colorguard : Beartrap Island

Division Day - Every Shining Time You Arrive (Sunny Day Real Estate Cover)

Visit their website, their label Eenie Meenie Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

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Sunny Day Real Estate - Every Shining Time You Arrive : How It Feels to be Something On

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October Tour Dates

02 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo [CD release show]
04 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of The Hill [CD release show]
05 Reno, NV - Satellite Lounge
06 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
07 Denver, CA - Larimer Lounge
09 Chicago, IL - Subterranean
10 Pittsburgh, PA - Club Café
11 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
13 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwells
17 New York, NY - Canal Room [CMJ ASCAP showcase]
18 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
20 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 [w/ Eulogies & Film School]
25 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall

Will you sleep and dream with me?

Resting (in the past)

dream
are you a dreamer?
are you a dreamer?
do you dream?

sleep
are you a sleeper?
are you a sleeper?
do you sleep?

when your brown eyes close
do blue skies open up?
and when your breathing slows
your mind drawn fast and free
will you sleep and dream
with me?

love
are you my lover?
are you my lover?
do you love me?

save
are you a savior?
are you a savior?
will you save?

when my blue eyes close
will white clouds lift me up?
and when my breathing slows
my mind drawn fast and free
do you hold me when i sleep?
do you hold me when i sleep?

water
i'm walking on water
walking on water
for you

Denison Witmer - Are You A Dreamer? : Happy Birthday Denison (studio version on Are You A Dreamer?)

Hats off to the Fat Man

When many people think about the roots of rock & roll, typically the first name that comes to mind is Elvis Presley. Another name that should be considered is Fats Domino. Fats' song The Fat Man from 1949 is considered by many to be one of the first true rock & roll songs ever released, and in the 50's and early 60's Fats ruled the rock & roll charts with 35 top 40 singles.

If you want to question Fats' influence on present day music, simply take a look at the roster of musicians involved in Goin' Home - A Tribute to Fats Domino, a 2 CD set that's set to hit the shelves on September 25th. It includes some big names such as Elton John, Neil Young, Ben Harper, and Willie Nelson as well as many blues and R&B musicians whose music can be directly traced back to Fats Domino such as Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Marc Broussard, and Toots & the Maytals. And kicking of the first CD is John Lennon's cover of what is probably Fats' greatest hit, Ain't The A Shame.

Not only is this 2 CD set a fitting tribute to one of rock's pioneers, it's also a benefit album for The Tipitina’s Foundation, a 501 ©(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of New Orleans through music education for the youth and providing programs that support working musicians of New Orleans and the Gulf Region. The money raised from the sales of Goin’ Home will also go toward the rebuilding of Fats Domino’s home and to create a community center in the Crescent City’s still ravaged Lower 9th Ward as well as fund additional community related programs.

Disc 1:

1. John Lennon: Ain't That A Shame
2. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: I'm Walkin'
3. B.B. King with Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk: Goin' Home
4. Elton John: Blueberry Hill
5. Taj Mahal & The New Orleans Social Club: My Girl Josephine
6. Dirty Dozen Brass Band with Joss Stone and Buddy Guy: Every Night About This Time
7. Paul McCartney featuring Allen Toussaint: I Want To Walk You Home
8. Lenny Kravitz with Rebirth Brass Band, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker: Whole Lotta Loving
9. Dr. John: Don't Leave Me This Way
10. Bonnie Raitt & Jon Cleary: I'm In Love Again/All By Myself
11. Art Neville: Please Don't Leave Me
12. Robbie Robertson with Galactic: Going To The River
13. Randy Newman: Blue Monday
14. Robert Plant with Lil' Band O' Gold: It Keeps Rainin'
15. Corinne Bailey Rae: One Night (Of Sin)

Disc 2:

1. Neil Young: Walking To New Orleans
2. Robert Plant with The Soweto Gospel Choir: Valley Of Tears
3. Norah Jones: My Blue Heaven
4. Lucinda Williams: Honey Chile
5. Marc Broussard featuring Sam Bush: Rising Sun
6. Olu Dara & The Natchezippi Band with Donald Harrison Jr.: When I See You
7. Ben Harper with the Skatalites: Be My Guest
8. Toots & The Maytals: Let The Four Winds Blow
9. Willie Nelson: I Hear You Knockin'
10. Irma Thomas and Marcia Ball: I Just Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind
11. Bruce Hornsby: Don't Blame It On Me
12. Herbie Hancock with George Porter Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste and Renard Poche: I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday
13. Los Lobos: The Fat Man
14. Big Chief Monk Boudreaux with Galactic: So Long
15. Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Walter "Wolfman" Washington & Theresa Andersson: When The Saints Go Marching In

Randy Newman - Blue Monday (Fats Domino cover) : Goin' Home - A Tribute to Fats Domino

Fats Domino - Blue Monday : The Original Recordings

Taj Mahal & The New Orleans Social Club - My Girl Josephine (Fats Domino cover) : Goin' Home - A Tribute to Fats Domino

Fats Domino - My Girl Josephine (live) : Sold Out!: The Greatest Rock And Roll Show In The World

Mark Olson and The Last Town Chorus, Live

Last night I was lucky enough to see The Last Town Chorus open up for Mark Olson (former Jayhawk founding member) at the Iron Horse Theater in Northampton, MA, both of which are touring in support of their latest albums (Wire Waltz for The LTC and The Salvation Blues for Mark). It was a small crowd that I was a part of, but quite an enjoyable evening.

For those of you not familiar with The Last Town Chorus, the chorus really is Megan Hickey, playing her lap steel guitar. And if you've heard her songs before and have been impressed with her playing, you need to catch her live. The way that she holds the instrument, caressing, plucking, striking, easing spectacular notes that bend and wail. It's simply haunting in its sound, which isn't really completely conveyed via recording.

If you are going to listen to one of her tracks below, You and Modern Love (a David Bowie cover that has an utterly different feel to it compared to the original), please listen to both. They're tracks two and three on the album and they seamlessly meld into one another. The rest of the album is just as good, with Megan's voice conveying a sense of longing and loneliness that mates well with the keening notes of her instrument.


The Last Town Chorus - You : Wire Waltz

The Last Town Chorus - Modern Love (David Bowie cover) : Wire Waltz

Visit their website, their label HackTone Records, and become their friend on MySpace.

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After Megan came the main attraction for the evening: Mark Olson and his supporting band. Even if his name isn't instantly recognizable to you, you should know the seminal alt-country band The Jayhawks which he founded in 1985 and played with for 10 years. After leaving the band in 1995 (the band wished to pursue a more pop-orientated style) Mark formed the Creekdippers, with which he recorded several albums. Now he's going solo, although his latest album also features the long-awaited reunion with his former Jayhawks band mate and writing partner, Gary Louris, on three songs.

He started his set last night with Winter Song from the new album, and in fact over the course of the evening played almost the entire album. With a career that stretches back over twenty years, Mark has a deep pocket of material to draw from, and he did so last night, playing some Jayhawks' songs (Blue and Over My Shoulder) as well as a Creekdipper song (Big Old Sign). What impressed me the most though wasn't the breadth of his material, rather the fact that he seemed to enjoy himself on stage so greatly. Clearly he enjoyed himself as much last night as he has for the countless other shows he's put on over the many years of touring.

If you get the chance to see the pair perform, it's well worth the price of admission to see an upcoming artist and one who's had a large impact on music of today. Look below for upcoming tour dates.


Mark Olson - Clifton Bridge : The Salvation Blues

Mark Olson - Sandy Denny : The Salvation Blues

Visit his label HackTone Records and become his friend on MySpace.

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David Bowie - Modern Love : The Best Of David Bowie 1980-1987: Sight & Sound

The Jayhawks - Lights : Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams

The Jayhawks - Blue : Rock Live from Mountain Stage

Mark Olson and the Creekdippers - Give My Heart To You : Pacific Coast Rambler

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Remaining North American Tour Dates

SEPTEMBER

2 - Borders Braintree (Boston, MA) - in-store performance & signing - 1:45p - *FREE*
2 - Paradise Lounge (Boston, MA) - w/ The Last Town Chorus - 7:30p
4 - World Café Live (Philadelphia, PA) - w/ The Last Town Chorus - 7:00p
5 - Borders (Philadelphia, PA - Broad St.) - in-store performance - 12:15p - *FREE*
6 - Borders - (DC - 18th & L) - in-store performance - 12:15p - *FREE*
6 - Iota (Arlington, VA/Washington, DC) - w/ The Last Town Chorus - 8:00p
7 - Hideaway BBQ (Raleigh, NC) - w/ The Last Town Chorus - 9:00p
8 - The Melting Point (Athens, GA) - w/ The Last Town Chorus - 8:00p
9 - Borders (Atlanta - Buckhead) - in-store performance - 2:45p - *FREE*
9 - Smith's Olde Bar (Atlanta, GA) - w/ The Last Town Chorus
10 - Grimey's (Nashville, TN) - in-store performance & signing - 4:30pm *FREE*
10 - 3rd & Lindsley (Nashville, TN) - 7:15p
12 - The Blue Door (Oklahoma City, OK) - 7:30pm
13 - Borders (Overland Park, KS) - in-store performance & signing - 6:30p *FREE*
14 - Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club (Kansas City, MO) - 7:00p
15 - Borders (Colorado Springs, CO) - in-store performance & signing - 6:30p *FREE*
18 - Borders (Tucson, AZ) - in-store performance & signing - 6:30p *FREE*
19 - Plush (Tucson, AZ) - 9:30p
20 - Raven Café (Prescott, AZ) - 8:30p

The Real Tuesday Weld (on Saturday)

I listened to this CD three times in a row yesterday. With all of the new music that I'm able to listen to, that doesn't happen very often, but it did with The London Book of the Dead, the fourth album by The Real Tuesday Weld, the moniker used by musician Stephen Coates.

As with previous albums, Coates blends together an amalgamation of sounds that seem to be diametrically opposite. Lo-fi sounds mixed with hi-fi. Spoken words under instrumentation. Tinny horns tooting under electronic beats. French pop with electro-jazz. Snippets of old radio sounds mixed with very modern music. And somehow, all of these various parts are pieced together to produce a completely satisfying album that holds an element of kitschiness while maintaining an air of real art.

The album's title is a play on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a book about when one's soul passes from one life on to being reborn into the next. Coates says, "I thought it would be funny if there were a book like that for the English. The album felt like that to me – a way of moving from one state to another, and all set against the backdrop of this city."

The first track below, It's a Wonderful Li(f)e, reminds me of a darkly comic parody of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. I Believe, the next track, also drips with morose humor and irony. The album is out now, so listen and enjoy Coates' dark humor and realize that life isn't so bad after all.


The Real Tuesday Weld - It's a Wonderful Li(f)e : The London Book of the Dead

The Real Tuesday Weld - I Believe : The London Book of the Dead

And one from his first full length release:

The Real Tuesday Weld - Terminally Ambivalent Over You : Where Psyche Meets Cupid

Visit his website, his label Six Degrees Records, and become his friend on MySpace.

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Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World : My Favorite Things

Yungchen Lhamo - Om Mani Padme Hung : Tibetan Freedom Concert (Disc 1)

Tenzing Tsewang - Banzaguru - Heartbeat Of Tibet : Mantra Mix (Disc 2)