That One Pop! Gem

Monday Roundup: Tuesday New Year Edition

2022-01-04T19:13:00.006-05:00

Wherein I take a look at select cuts from what Spotify has recommended in this week's Release Radar.

I've been listening to my massive, 650+ song Christmas playlist for a few weeks and now Spotify is going to recommend holiday music until April.

"Let's Cozy Up (Put Your Hands In My Muff)" - Barbara Dixon
I didn't know who Barbara Dixon was (now I do - is this like when Maeby pretended to be a Annette Austero but on Broadway instead?) or where this song came from, but now it's on the Christmas playlist, a veritable melting pot of the sacred and profane. A++++++++ selection, Spotify!

"X-MAS TIME! - Live version" - ShitKid
This doesn't grab me enough to go on The Playlist, but it's interesting enough for me to want to listen to their other releases. Can't fault Spotify then, I guess.

"Red River Rock" - Metronomy
This is... "Red River Valley"? But it sounds like a Christmas song? And The Oregon Trail at the same time? I don't know what to do with this one.

"Read My Mind" - Rebecca Black feat. Slayyyter
I love Rebecca Black. I'm not sure if I love this song, but I certainly like it well enough. The cover is wild, and I feel like I should watch the music video for context at some point.

"Last Night on Northgate" - The Long Blondes
That gorgeous anniversary vinyl has been released, and Spotify will also be adding all the b-sides to this playlist for ever and anon. That's not necessarily a complaint, and while I've certainly heard a lot of them, I don't recall this one. This is classic Long Blondes, on the less cinematic, dramatic side; it sounds more lighthearted, more DIY, more fun. Recommended.

"Buzzed" - BENNETT
This reminds me of "Playground" and other songs I was listening to in the summer of 2019, but those ones were... better. I know why Spotify added this - the remixes include one by Icona Pop. Sometimes the lyrics are interesting anthems ("Good girls don't go bad, they go back") but overall, it just feels like an incoherent message of depression and drugs from a(nother) white R&B artist.

"Landed on My Head" - Barenaked Ladies
I've noticed a few high-quality cuts from BNL over the past couple of years. This is no exception, turning well-worn lines and clichés on their head and throwing in a catchy chorus with just the right chord progression to boot.

"Leading" - Best Coast
I like a good '90s / early eughts throwback. This is a band I've meant to listen to for nearly a decade - they debut came out my personal wasteland of the early 2010s - but have never made the time for.

"Listen, The Snow Is Falling" - Yoko Ono, The Plastic Ono Band
This is gorgeous.

"Let's Go" - The Beaches, Lights
Another band I've meant to dig into. This feels a little more early aughts, like an early iPod commercial, and I love it.

"We Are Children of the Light" - Black Dresses
I'm so delighted when Spotify gives me a band with an absolute bare bones bio. I'm dead serious here. Who the hell are they? A mystery! This is great.

"Featured Singer" - Cheekface
Someone wants to be the Talking Heads! This is fun and yet, I can't decide if the lyrics are also fun or depressing? THIS REMINDS ME OF A SONG I USED TO LISTEN TO CA. 2006 (it's not a Talking Heads song) AND I CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON IT.

"Stepped On A Bee" - MisterWives
I was deeply into 2014's "Reflections," rolling in the throes of one of the crushiest crushes I've ever crushed, one of my handful of Guys I Know Because They Opened for OK Go That One Time, the best catalyst for getting away from a toxic ex but a situation which never panned out the way I wanted. And while I suppose that's always for the best, "Reflections" captured me in that moment perfectly - desperate, sad, sparkly, and dancing.
I was excited to hear them again so many years later, and yet, this feels so... generic. Sure, despite the fact that break-ups are universal, they still allow for "intensely personal reflection," but where the hell is it here? "We're all the clichés I swore would never come true" indeed.

"Spud Infinity" - Big Thief
This is a refreshing to follow up with - pared down, playful, nonsensical and yet makes all the sense in the world. I'm even willing to sit through this 1:00+ outro. I guess our elbows really are on their own.

"Walker" - Animal Collective
I'm 99% sure that it was Animal Collective which a friend dragged a bunch of us to go see at Hampshire College in like, 2004 or 2005, and we all complained so much that we subsequently dragged her away, and then Merriweather Post Pavillion came out and suddenly they were all over, and I thought, "Oh, maybe I should've paid more attention?" I can see the appeal here, but honestly, I was bored af at that show.

"sleeping with a frend - revisited version" - Neon Trees
Are "revisited versions" the new "record anniversary show"? I was never big on this particular single, and stripped down like this, "Ooh ooh, we're in danger / Sleeping with a friend" feels like the point is just too painfully obvious.

"Yellow Venus" - The Cribs
I got to see the Cribs early in their career, opening for Franz Ferdinand and playing at Siren '06, and then I just... stopped following around Men's Needs..., to my own detriment. They've put out a series of singles over the last year, and I'm grateful to Spotify for continually reminding me they exist. That ending tho.

"Favorite Person" - The Sunshine State, Hayley Gene Penner
Is this a Christmas song? Does it count as a Christmas song? The Sunshine State had a few releases last year that I got into, and I'm glad to see another, though this one vibes more melancholy than ones like "Dating a Drug Dealer." Those last few lines, though.

"My Weight" - Lady Pills
Is this a love song? This is a long song! It feels like a modern version of "Head over Feet," and friends, I've always loved that song. Another song that sticks the landing, too.

"Just For Love" - Bully
The kind of song that makes me feel like I should be at a divey rock club, holding a beer and bopping along without really knowing what's going on. That's a thing we used to do in the Before Times, right?

"Walking in the Air" - Gemma Cullingford
"Tis The Season" - Big Freedia
I told you - this will keep going until April.

Monday Roundup: NO HOLIDAY MUSIC YET.

2021-11-15T08:59:00.004-05:00

Where I take a look at select cuts from what Spotify has recommended in this week's Release Radar.

New John Rutter? New Handel recordings? Early English Polyphony? I guess this is a reminder to clean up my massive Yuletide playlist. I’ll have to come back to the John Rutter EP - no holiday music yet!

"No" - Little Mix

Me, looking at the cover of this greatest hits collection: Weren’t there, like, four of them? What happened to the one with the lip fillers?

This led me down a rabbit hole of googling pictures of Jesy Nelson back in 2011 and hoooo boy she went full Ari, like... even more Ari than Ari. (Listen, I love Ari and I enjoy Little Mix, but people ain't wrong here.) Anyway, this is standard Little Mix, but nothing to write home about.

"Sunrise/Sunset" - The Dodos

Do I like the Dodos? I think I heard some of their stuff, liked it, then tried to get into their early aughts stuff and was like “meh.” I like this. It sounds, well, “early aughts indie” enough to evoke a certain nostalgia in me. The drive of it reminds me of Matt and Kim, the outro of the '60s, very generally. It’s repetitive, but not in a bad way; not quite earworm catchy but enough for your brain to latch onto.

"Never To Be Repeated" - The Long Blondes

The Long Blondes!!! It’s hard to tell if I’ve heard this before - Google says it was released in 2006, so very probably? This is classic Someone to Drive You Home-era Long Blondes, before "Couples", which felt more contrived. I started reading this interview in The Quietus, and it's fascinating. I miss this band, deeply, and their aesthetic. And that vinyl reissue looks gorgeous.

"Barely Reason for a Smile" - NNAMDÏ, Lynyn

Every now and then, NNAMDÏ comes up in a playlist and I think, “I know that name…” and then I remember the absolute gem that is “let gO Of my egO.” I feel like this would go well on the alternative radio station out of Philly I used to listen to, and yet it feels cinematic and classical, a piece rediscovered and reinterpreted in the 21st century.

"tend the garden" - Gang of Youths

I overlistened to "the angel of 8th avenue" over the summer, and everything on this track is sweeping and lovely and somehow feels very New York and very Tom Waits at the same time. But maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

"Mr. Fix It" - Darlene Love

Why does this make me think of New Year’s Eve? (It came on and I thought, "No, no holiday music yet!") (This is Barry's fault.) Doesn’t mean this isn’t great.

"Pumpkin Spice Heaven" - Parry Gripp

SPOTIFY. SPOTIFY, STOP. I. LISTENED. TO. ONE. ALBUM. A YEAR AGO.

"Good As What You Give" - I Know Leopard

Is this distorted or purposely out of tune? (Shows what I know, don't hire me for your next record.) I think I might’ve liked this when I was younger - it feels like a synthy, distorted DCFC with a dash of the ‘70s in the bridge - but it’s a bit too plodding for post-pandemic me.

"Try a Little Act of Kindness" - OK Go

Confession: I haven’t paid attention to any of OK Go’s more recent single releases. But my god, this sounds like their earlier stuff - squeaky clean, bright powerpop with just tinges of their fourth record. It’s for a soundtrack, so it sounds just a little contrived. I wish it was a little longer and given the opportunity to end a little more organically. A-, more like this, and a tour, please.

"Billy Goodbye" - Franz Ferdinand

FF’s releasing a greatest hits record and going on tour and Paul’s left the band and I’m not sure how I feel about all of those things together. But FF’s fourth record is absolutely my favorite, followed by their first, and this feels like a straight-up rock effort that mixes both of those eras with a little stadium rock feel and I love it. The bridge gets wonderfully weird. It’s catchy, fun, and wonderfully classic FF, keeping the energy going right up to the very end.

"Fearless" - Hanson

This is so dramatic! I keep seeing poll tweets from them about Against the World, and I honestly have no idea what it’s about. Is it a new record? A tour? This is not my favorite release from them, but it’s sort of like what Imagine Dragons might sound like if they were actually good. I’m still stuck on this summer's “Don’t Ever Change,” a ‘70s powerpop song that was magically transported and released in the Year of Our Lord 2021.

"Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels (Just Dance Version)" - Todrick Hall
How many versions of this song can he release and get away with it??

"Teletron for the Populace" - The Apples in Stereo

The Apples in Stereo? Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time, a long time. But this is a hard “nope” from me.

"Lonely Boy - BBC Session" - Black Keys

I was not expecting to listen to this all the way through, since I usually skip over remixes and live versions in this playlist, but this recording is wonderfully unpolished.

"Wake Me Up" - Foals

And now for something different! So ‘80s! Reminds me of VHS or Beta, who were very derivatively ‘80s! (And whom I loved!) Reminds me of all the ‘80s stuff I just listened to on the Monster Jams playlist! Parts remind me of FF, which also shows how they tapped into the ‘80s too! I like the lyrics, too! This is great!

"Love in New York" - HalfNoise

After the bop that is “Wake Me Up,” I was ready to dismiss this, but it’s really lovely. It reminds me of Summer Fiction, about whom I got really worked up about a few years ago, but then I just... could not stand that guy live. This feels both sweeping and intimate. If this had come out in 2003, it might have been on the Garden State soundtrack; I don’t feel that’s a bad thing, because that record was the thing my first semester of college. The last line lingers: I’ll keep dreaming if you keep dreaming about us.

"If U Can't Dance - Demo Version" - Spice Girls

Normally, if you throw a demo version at me, I will automatically declare that it is the best thing ever and why did they even bother going into the studio and re-recording it because they just ruined it, but this is... hoo boy, this is not good.

"Run Me Down" - Carla Prata

I swear to the Universe, this did not show up on my playlist on Friday. I adore Prata, and this is exactly what I want and need right now.

"Holiday Rock" - Neon Trees

NO, NO HOLIDAY MUSIC YET.

Monday Roundup: You feel like a holiday.

2020-07-27T04:00:00.002-04:00

I'll acknowledge that my blog title is somewhat a misnomer. "That One Indie Rock Powerpop Gem" really doesn't work and it's not the name of a song, anyway. Still, I've been diving hard into mainstream pop bangers of late. I also need to stop relying on Spotify's Release Radar for recommendations, because everything this week was rubbish, except for Little Mix's latest pop gem. #sorrynotsorry, I put it in my blog title.

Show on the Road: The Aquadolls are touring the US this fall.

2019-08-22T05:22:00.000-04:00

Uh, hi world.

I wrote about The Aquadolls four years ago when their LP Stoked on You wound up in my inbox.

Has it really been four years already?? Man, time flies when you're... in relationships and also doing a grad degree.

Anyway, they released another LP, the dream and the deception, late last year, and now three-woman mermaid rock band is hitting the road starting in September:

Dates include 10/22 at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn. Please go for me, because guess what, I'm not living in the US right now. 😢 (Why does this always happen??)

Here's their latest cut, "suck on this":

Stuck In My Head: Summer Fiction, "Perfume Paper"

2015-06-17T18:33:00.001-04:00

Generally, all it takes is a descriptor of "power pop" attached to a band to get me to come running. Enter Summer Fiction: when I an email drawing comparison between sophomore record Himalaya, released 16 June, and Big Star landed in my inbox, I was game. My love usually lies with the '90s alternative ilk, but Bill Ricchini's style feels older, too, more of the '60s and '70s; other comparisons rely heavily on Brian Wilson.

Essentially, lead single "Perfume Paper" has been stuck in my head - literally, it just kind of pops up throughout the day - since earlier in this month. It's been a long time since I've asked for a record in advance, but this jangly little 3:00 track tugged hard enough at my sentimentality that I really couldn't resist the rest.

If you're like me and want to hear the rest, SPIN has the full record available for streaming.

Two upcoming shows in NYC and Philly are slated for this week:
18JUN - Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY
20JUN - Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA

I'll be at the Philly show; hopefully, some of you will be there, too, and I'll be able to pull together my thoughts enough to post about the show and the whole record sometime next week.

Here's some French music for you. (Surprise!)

2015-06-03T20:53:00.001-04:00

No, not much has changed in the past five years, even if I haven't written consistently (or at all): I still miss my adopted hometown of Paris as much as ever (although I get to go back in August - whee!) and I still try to keep an ear out for what's going on over there, or who will make their way over here. (Stuck in the Sound, I'm still waiting.)

These two landed in my inbox today:

AIR BAG ONE (it's capatilised everywhere, so I'll continue the trend) is a Francophone trio who seriously the channel '80s with their catchy synth-pop. It's not clear where they're from - their social media lists Cameroon, but they record and play in Paris, including opening for Brandon Flowers recently. (Except they write "support" instead of "open," since the French use the verb "supporter." So cute.)

They only have two songs listed so far - "1992," release a few months ago, and today's "You've Got Something." When I first started listening, I thought, "No, not really" and then my brain went, "SHUT UP you like this." It's like when I got into Pony Pony Run Run's, like, two songs, but better.

Both tracks from this (apparently digital) 45 are below. LP Rich Kids and US tour dates are forthcoming.

...

France Rocks noted that Paris Loves L.A., created by French actress Adele Jacques as a tribute to and in the vein of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot and the like, are playing a free show called "Paris Loves N.Y.C. Me Neither" - a nod to "Je t'aime moi non plus" - tomorrow, 04 June at Le Baron, New York. I'm not sure I'll make this one, but I'd sure like to; it certainly sounds interesting, even if I'm not the biggest fan of Gainsbourg.

Nothing's on Telly: Teen Men have a party, tour with CYHSY, who are apparently still A Thing.

2015-06-01T19:32:00.000-04:00

Oh, the mid-to-late-2000s. Listen, I sort of wax nostalgic for this golden period, when I was discovering new music right and left and actually dedicating time to writing about it. The age of Blog Rock. And speaking of Blog Rock, apparently Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are still a thing? I listened to their debut in 2005 or 2006 sometime and tried really, really hard to like it, but despite that perfect-for-Pitchfork 9.0 rating they got, I just couldn't get past the vocals. Sorry. Apparently they're still popular enough today that they booked two shows in Philly and two in New York for their 10th anniversary tour. Huh.

This post isn't about CYHSY. Although I went to Philly show one of two, my boyfriend and I didn't stay for the main act. (Not trying again 10 years later, not sorry.) We were there to see opener Teen Men, who released this video for "Adventure Kids" less than two weeks ago, and who are releasing their s/t record next week.

Rachel called it one of the weirdest videos she's ever seen. I don't really agree with her, but then again, she didn't see the visuals they show during their set, either.

Upcoming shows w/ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah:
02 JUN - Radio Radio, Indianapolis, IN
03 JUN - Exit / In, Nashville, TN
05 JUN - Club Dada, Dallas, TX
06 JUN - The Mohawk, Austin, TX
08 JUN - Lowbrow, El Paso, TX
09 JUN - The Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
11 JUN - Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
12 JUN - Casbah, San Diego, CA
13 JUN - Constellation Room, Santa Ana, CA
14 JUN - The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA
17 JUN - The Independent, San Francisco, CA
19 JUN - Mississipi Studios, Portland, OR
26 JUN - Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE *

17 JUL - The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
18 JUL - Electric Owl, Vancouver, BC
19 JUL - The Bartlett, Spokane, WA
22 JUL - The Aquarium, Fargo, ND
23 JUL - Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN
24 JUL - Majestic Theater, Madison, WI
25 JUL - Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
26 JUL - Thompson House, Newport, KY
28 JUL - Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI
29 JUL - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON
31 JUL - Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA

01 AUG - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
02 AUG - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
* w/ Sin City Band

Stuck In My Head: The Aquadolls' Stoked On You

2015-02-21T17:57:00.000-05:00

All right, listen. It's been a long time, but I've got the Aquadolls stuck in my head, okay?

I'm pretty rubbish about listening to Insound's featured tracks of the week, but since I was cleaning out my email the other day (lol, you guys, you should see my email account for this blog), I actually managed to give "Sinus Infection" a listen. And then the rest of the record.

They sound exactly like a band called the Aquadolls should - surfy pop rock. Occasionally, Melissa Brooks's vocals remind me of Arrah Fisher of Arrah and the Ferns (at least what I know of them, which is admittedly one record), but the songs are nowhere near as twee. While I'm digging the whole album, I particularly like "Wander," below:

stoked on you by the aquadolls

But really, none of the tracks make me want to skip ahead, and that's a good thing, since I usually get into a rut with an album after a while.

Upcoming shows:
13MAR - The Yard, San Diego
28MAR - Burgerama @ The Observatory, Santa Ana

Hey, maybe I'll write again sometime soon, like I always say I will, right?

Stuck In My Head : Young the Giant, "My Body"

2011-01-28T15:31:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty out of the loop. (That's the understatement of the year, and it's only January.)

For instance : I know next to nothing about this band Young the Giant, other than that they've recently released a record, and that their song "My Body" keeps getting stuck in my head.

And that that's not a proper video. I know that. Here's a more proper video.

And I now know that making "quesadillas" in the microwave is not the best idea I've ever had. My lunch is a gooey, chewy mess.

Hello, world. It's been a while. Here's what I've been listening to.

2010-11-16T16:07:00.004-05:00

The title says it all. I always want to get back to writing on a regular basis, but I just haven't been in-tune enough with what has been going on, music-wise, for the past eleven months for me to write something, or anything, decent. This is probably a bad time to get back into things; every music outlet on the Interwebs is going to be flooded with top 10 lists for the next two months, and this time, it's not just top 10 of the year but top 10 of the decade. Ugh.

Well, in the meantime, here's a small smattering of what I've been listening to lately. None of it is new, but it's all good.

I came across this when somebody posted a comment along the lines of "here's some real talent and body paint" in response to this. (Why is Kim Kardashian even noteworthy, and why is she naked?) Weird, huh? Anyway, "I Am Not A Robot" and "Mowgli's Road" have been getting stuck in my head over the past few weeks.

Speaking of getting stuck in your head, how catchy is that one? I swear I heard this, in its entirety, in a dream last night. Is that normal? Um, they also have videos with the lyrics in Spanish and German.

And now for something completely different. This is the fifth of six videos made for their latest effort, Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky, which came out in January and I meant to write about and don't think I actually did. I'm not sure how much I like this new batch of videos. This is animated toast, which is either really awesome or really...weird. The animation is certainly pretty, but it reminds me of this, for some reason. They've also done a video with dogs, which I guess goes well with this lot.

Yeah, seriously. Fucking earworm.

Why didn't anyone introduce me to the Posies like, five years ago? I took it upon myself to watch the entirety of Daria and finished up, I dunno', a few months ago. The original version of this song played over the original TV broadcast of Is It Fall Yet?, and luckily that was the version that I came across. It's all I've wanted to listen to since then.

Some Business for you.

2010-01-26T02:48:00.005-05:00

As your local former Ser Biz intern, it is my duty to inform you that disbanded as of I-don't-remember-when SBR band Man In Gray are back with a one-show reunion at Union Hall on 20 Feb. :

Man in Gray
With not-on-Ser-Biz-but-much-beloved-by-them-nonetheless El Jezel and Coyote Eyes (who, if you'll remember, I saw at Northside back in June)
8 pm
8 dollars
21+

There's some other Business going on (upcoming shows and records) that I haven't quite caught up on, so you'll have to wait for that. In the meantime, feel free to download SBR's annual free compilation of last year's releases and hits, The Year In Business : 2009.

Tracklisting :

1) SAADI - "Bad City (Serious Business Remix)"
2) The Two Man Gentlemen Band - "Me, I Get High on Reefer" (live)
3) The Paparazzi - "The Rococo Tape"
4) The Octagon - "Suicide Kings"
5) Higgins - "What Don't You Want?"
6) Jack and the Pulpits - "Francypants"
7) Rocketship Park - "Spinning Globes"
8) Benji Cossa - "Annie Delia"
9) The Unsacred Hearts - "Fake Kisses"
10) The Two Man Gentlemen Band - "Drip Dryin'(Reprise!)"

You can download the whole thing in a .zip here.

In case you missed out, The Year in Business : 2008 is here and 2007 over here.

So it's a new year.

2010-01-19T03:53:00.002-05:00

I'm sort of ashamed. I've REALLY fallen out of the habit of posting, haven't I? Which means I've fallen out of the habit of listening to new stuff, which means I have nothing to write about anyway, which makes it one big, vicious cycle. I've also been in Paris for four months now and I haven't yet gone to a concert. Not a single one. Not even at La Flèche d'or. This is batshit.

My goals for this year :

1) Keep y'all entertained and work up to posting an average of once per day. (I said "work up to." That's not going to happen this month.)

2) Stop being late to everything.

3) Figure out a way to get into the Pony Pony Run Run (21 January), B.B. Brunes (10 February), and Vampire Weekend (25 February) shows in Paris.

And in other news, Vampire Weekend has released a new record, OK Go has, too (and I actually have my tickets to go see them on the 26th), and I'll actually, ya' know, start listening to stuff and responding to your emails. Promise!

But seriously y'all, somebody get me into those shows and I will love you forever. Please?

IT'S BAAAACK : La Fleche d'Or to reopen on 23 November. Hooray!

2009-11-20T05:27:00.003-05:00

In the interest of full disclosure, I only went to la Flèche d'Or once to see Pony Pony Run Run before they were big enough to fill up une salle like La Cigale, but I didn't even stay for their set because my right ear was freaking out and I didn't know what wrong with it back then. (Which, ya' know, now I'm okay.)

And then I got news sometime back in May that it was shutting down due to "noise complaints." I thought it was gone for good (although this site posits that it was merely closed for soundproofing work) and was incredibly upset as I'd intended to spend every night I possibly could seeing shows there. La Flèche wasn't perfect - for starters, the drinks were terribly overpriced, but I suppose that was to make up for the fact that there was always 100% free entry. Plus they brought together obscure, up-and-coming, and fading bands from France, Belgium, the UK, the US, and more together for shows pretty much every night. I didn't go very often (if at all), but I did find some really great artists (like the aforementioned PPRR and Georgie James, for example) through their line-up.

Well, according to A Nous Paris, la Flèche is set to reopen on the 23rd, having been taken over by Alias and Asterios productions :

I'm not so keen on this whole "plus de sobriété" thing, but I guess if you're reopening a rock club that's been shut down for noise, it's necessary. The other big change : entry is now payante instead of free, which is a bummer. But 8 euros for a show is pretty reasonable and you get a drink along with that, so I guess it works out. Will that prevent me from going as often as I would have were it free? Yes. Do I still intend on making trips out there? Sure. Besides, Alias Productions sponsors a whole bunch of artists that I like, so I'm sure there will be shows I'll want to see.

Evan Dando from the Lemonheads is heading opening night, along with Chris Brokaw, Anoraak, and The Two. For the rest of the upcoming line up, go here.

Stuck in my Head : My First Earthquake vs. MJ, "Billie Jean's Frenemies"

2009-11-11T11:12:00.003-05:00

Way back in July (holy goodness, it's been that long...?), I was sent this video for My First Earthquake's first single of their debut record, Downstairs, called "Cool in the Cool Way." Given that it was released in mid-June, you may or may not have seen already.

It's subtitled "Invasion of the Hipster Bodysnatchers," and while I'm not usually keen on the whole "Those damn hipster kids! What's wrong with them?!" fist-shaking commentary, largely because a lot of those who make such commentary are eye-rolling hipsters themselves, this video seems to avoid falling in that pitfall because 1) it's self-deprecating, not eye-rolling, 2) it hints at the idea that "maybe we're hipsters, too," what with Rebecca's eyes flashing green at the end, and 3) it's damn catchy. I am not averse to damn catchy pop music.

Oh, plus their video for "Sweet Frowns" takes a stab at that favourite hipster girl obsession, Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette :

Wow, that's two videos. Maybe I should have called this a "Nothing's On Telly" instead of a "Stuck in my Head." Back on topic :

So, back when Michael Jackson died at the end of June (link for journalistic integrity and in case you've been living under a rock for the past five months), I feel like a whole load of people did covers and "tributes" and remixes and all sorts of things in his honour, justifiably so. Let's Sexy Fighting mashed up My First Earthquake's "In The Forest With Frenemies" with MJ's "Billie Jean" to get "Billie Jean's Frenemies." I think I had this song on repeat for the entirety of July and August. It's an odd combination ("Frenemies" is about, um, animals fighting and forest fires), but with "Billie Jean" taking a back seat lyrically and lending its slinky beats, it actually works pretty well without feeling ridiculously forced or particularly inappropriate.

Let's Sexy Fighting - "Billie Jean's Frenemies" (My First Earthquake vs. Michael Jackson) [link]

If you're not dancing by now, um. I don't know what to tell you.

My First Earthquake - "Cool in the Cool Way" [link]

Northside Festival, Day Three : The Best Bishop Allen Set I've Seen. Also, Darlings, Motel Motel, April Smith.

2009-11-03T06:29:00.010-05:00

So it's a shame I didn't write this about four months ago, because I simply don't remember much anymore. And also because nobody really cares about Northside anymore, do they? Ah, well, that's what I get for being lazy.

In fact, I wouldn't bother to write about day three if I hadn't seen a fantastic set by Bishop Allen that night. The fact that Bishop Allen was going to play Northside was the original reason for my interest in the festival. It was also the one show I wanted to go to terribly, and the one show I risked not being able to attend - because I'm silly and didn't ask off, I was scheduled to work that night. Heh, oops. After some careful cajoling (ie, asking one of my managers, "Can I please have off work on Saturday, pleeeease??"), things worked out and I was free. (I don't work there anymore, so I really don't care who knows about this, either.)

Right, so. First stop was Spike Hill, yet again, to check out The L Magazine's "NYC Bands You Need to Hear" showcase. I got there late, so the first band I caught was Darlings, not to be confused with the punk outfit The Darlings, although there's a bit of a punk spirit alive in an otherwise pop band. Maybe it's a bit more of a "screamy garage" spirit than a "punk" spirit. Anyway, after their set they announced they were opening that night for...Bishop Allen. Oh. Well, that answered my question of "Who's opening for Bishop Allen...?", but also made me think, "Man, I could have checked out another band instead and still not missed this one..."

Don't quit remember what I did after that. I definitely remember wandering over to Public Assembly, where I caught the tail end of Motel Motel's set. Um, I remember having liked them. I guess Paper Mag said they were "better than Cold War Kids," which is actually the best comparison I can think of right now.

Anyway. Back to Studio B, which I got to way too early and therefore had to sit around for a while, reading and drinking free beer. Oh, noes.

Darlings

First up were Darlings, who hadn't changed in the few hours since I'd seen them last. Ta da!

Bishop Allen

Oh, and of course, Bishop Allen. I'm not exagerrating when I say this was the best performance I've seen them give yet. Maybe that's not super-high praise, as it was only the fourth time I've seen them live. It's probably a lot more impressive when I say something like, "Oh, that was the BEST I've seen OK Go play," because I've seen them a million and three times so if I say "this was the BEST," it really means something. But I digress.

It had a lot do with the fact that it was a hometown show. The last time I'd seen them had been a hometown show, too, but that had a much more relaxed, "We're just playing to our friends and family" feel. Here, Justin pointed out that "we live around the corner from here...a lot of songs were written about places nearby..." That's what spurred them on.

And it wasn't that the band played with unusual enthousiasm, energy, or technical skill. It was the build in the songs and the set that was spot-on. Listen to classic Bishop Allen tracks like "Flight 180" and "The Monitor." There's an emotional build that enhances, or perhaps even creates, the power of those songs. You don't just go from "Once a great ironworks stood at the end of my street..." to "And we're singing la da da da da da da, but what then?" without moving upwards in feeling. The song just wouldn't work without it. And that's what they did so well : balancing and creating the build of emotion within their songs and within the set as a whole. The setlist didn't feature heavily from their recently-released Grrr..., either. I didn't expect that it would, as their set in April was a good mix of new, old, and older stuff, but less than half the setlist was dedicated to their latest record, leaving room for songs like "The Same Fire" (one of my favourite love songs ever), "Like Castanets," "Click" and, of course, "The Monitor" and "Flight 180."

It's hard, after so much time, to really describe what made this such a wonderful performance. Saying, "The build, the build! The build was incredible!" doesn't really point to something concrete that someone who wasn't there might understand. Let's put it this way - you all know that certain Bishop Allen songs ellicit a, um, certain emotional response from me. When I saw them at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last November, I cried through nearly half the set. This time, I figured I was over that, but that didn't stop me from being caught in the gut and tearing up a whole bunch. Lame? Maybe. But when the wave of emotion and power sweeps up and over like that, it's hard not to be caught in the swell.* A performance doesn't need to be particularly enthousiastic, cloying, balls-to-the-wall, contrived, or in-your-face to be remarkable. It just requires the right songs played the right way.

And some local inspiration. That's what we got that night. If you weren't there, that's what you missed.

Later that night, I caught the end of April Smith and the Great Picture Show's set at...well, I don't remember where it was honestly. But she was fantastic and cheeky with an incredible voice. I wish I could do her justice here, but that's for another post.

*(Wow, now that's a lame sentence...sorry for the tired analogy, guys.)

Hello, world. I'm in France.

2009-10-26T07:53:00.002-04:00

They won't stop playing this song.

Last time I was here, it was "Smile." Gah.

Ta da. Now that I'm more or less settled, expect some updates. How y'all doing out there?

I'm not dead! I just want brains.

2009-08-04T01:09:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone,

So, without total conscious decision, I somehow decided to take the month of July "off." There's a lot I still want to write about - I mean, there's ALWAYS a lot of stuff I still want to write about - but somehow, things got really bogged down between work and vacation and all that I just didn't feel like sitting down and sussing out what needed to be said and what didn't.

I should be back this month, even if updating will be spotty for the next two - I'm about to move back to Paris in about a month and a half, so life will be hectic 'til I'm settled in there. But I absolutely, positively promise to write. Okay? Okay.

Two updates you can expect soon :

- Northside, Day Three and The Best Set I've Seen by Bishop Allen (mainly done in bullet-form, except the part about Bishop Allen because that'd be criminal)
- My First Earthquake, a video by them, and their MJ tribute / mash-up (Go do your homework and look them up now, okay? Okay!)

Also maybe soon : the new Nightmare of You record, Finding Fiction, and maybe some other stuff.

Love y'all lots,
Katy x

Northside Festival, Day Two : EarFarm at Spike Hill, PTST at Public Assembly (pow wow!, Shilpa Ray, Palomar, and more)

2009-07-01T15:53:00.002-04:00

Day two of Northside featured some show-hopping – well, a little bit of show-hopping. My main focus that evening was EarFarm's showcase at Spike Hill, although I had my eye on a few other shows, too. Unfortunately, my notes on this night are rather meager, so you're going to have to enjoy all the pretty pictures instead.

Before the festival started, members of Coyote Eyes contacted me and sent along some songs, which is a generally lovely thing to do, and so I looked forward to seeing them live. Alas, we got to Spike Hill in time to hear the last three of their set (that commute is a bitch), although I liked what I heard, and Jonathan was enthused – after the all-girl, all alt-folk show the night before, he was happy to hear something rock-oriented.

pow wow! All photos by Jonathan Costa.

pow wow!, who played a whole mess of shows during the festival thereby making themselves the unofficial Northside Fest poster band, were up next, and I really enjoyed their set. After the night before (it had started to wear on me, too), pow wow!'s sunshiney pop sensibilities layered over dancey rock was wholly welcome. I don't have much to say beyond that, but I wish that I'd caught one of their gazillion other shows so that I could.

The Secret Life of Sofia mellowed things out a bit. A lot. The music felt sparser and yet...it didn't. That doesn't tell you much about them, but I definitely liked the last song of their set, "Gone."

After saying "hi" to Matt of EarFarm (hi, Matt!), we headed over to Public Assembly for Pop Tarts Suck Toasted's showcase in hopes of catching Palomar. We were early enough to catch Murder Mystery, and my notes literally read : "<3 Pretty much. Hard to say much beyond that." So I won't.

Anyway, I only have one song from Palomar (their cover of Brian Eno's "I'll Come Running"), which I adore, but I've also enjoyed everything else from them that I've heard online and not bothered to download onto my iPod. It was pretty much based on this one song that I decided to go to this show, and I was actually pretty excited.

I'm not sure it was worth it, though. Vocally, frontwoman Rachel Warren sounded rougher than she does on record – I'm not sure if she had some sort of cold or if her voice differs that much between real life and record. Also, I was put off by the fact that seemed a little...short. Not height-wise. Short to the point of almost being abrasive. It was off-putting. I only found myself enjoying about every other song as well. I hate giving bad reviews (what if it was just a bad night? What if I just didn't know enough of their songs to fully enjoy the set? Is it necessary to know a band's catalogue to enjoy them live, though?), I think, in the end, Palomar is a band I enjoy thoroughly more in mp3 form than onstage. Or maybe I just need to see them again, I don't know.

We wandered back to Spike Hill to catch some of closers Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers' set before heading some. Wow! I love a woman who screams like that, who puts that sort of raw energy into her performance, and it carried over to the rest of the band. I heard later that this band played one of several "impromptu" street shows throughout the festival, and I'm kind of bummed I didn't catch that, or get to stay for more of their set. Jonathan, however, was wearing sandals and sulky that everyone was stepping on his toes and besides, we were tired. So homeward we went.

Coyote Eyes - "Kahlen"
pow wow! - "23 19"
The Secret Life of Sofia - "Moon on the Sea's Gate"
Murder Mystery - "Love Astronaut"
Palomar - "I'll Come Running" (Brian Eno cover)
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers - "Coward Cracked The Dawn [radio edit]"

Also, can I say that Spike Hill, despite its somewhat inconvenient set-up, is my new favourite venue? Any place that bothers to put out a pitcher of water and cups for its patrons get the thumbs-up. Really, it's the little, tiny things that count.

Northside Festival, Day One : Uncensored Interview at Union Pool (Ivana XL, Sharon van Etten, Lisa Li-lund, Emilyn Brodsky)

2009-06-27T00:45:00.001-04:00

All right, so, this is a little late. About two weeks late. Okay, maybe a week and a half late. Still. Sometimes it takes me a while to get my shit together, ya' know? Also, I'm lazy.chrome://foxytunes-public/content/signatures/signature-button.png

ANYway, even though most have moved on and the debates about the interesting debacles of the weekend have more or less ended, here's my coverage of Day One at L Magazine's inaugural Northside Festival.

After hitting the press lounge, getting shoes, and eating pricey-but-tasty burgers (note to schedule-writing staff : burgers =/= barbeque. For future reference.) at Studio B (which is supposedly shutting down for the millionth time – I'm amazed by the propensity of city folk to be like, "OMG NOISE COMPLAINT." YOU MOVED IN NEAR A ROCK CLUB. BUY SOME EAR PLUGS AND DEAL. Obviously things should be reasonable, but really.), Jonathan, my brother who willingly accompanied me to take pictures, and I headed down to Union Pool to catch Uncensored Interview's night of alt-folk.

All photos are by Jonathan Costa. Sorry they're so tiny.

First up was Ivana XL, whom I'd heard of a week or two prior to the show, the main impetus for having gone. She was nervous, charming, apologetic. She talked about how it was her first time playing at Union Pool and how nerve-wracked she was, and then later talked about her planned outfit for the night that had to be nixed on account of the rain and gloom : "I had an awesome outfit planned...it was like, booty shorts." Apparently booty shorts inspire confidence.

Even sans assurance-sparking booty shorts, her raspy vocals, oddly-pronounced vowels à la Regina Spektor, and driven acoustic ditties were enchanting. Yeah, she messed up once or twice, but I like when that happens. Some of the songs started to sound alike after a while, but her lyrics are constantly stellar – in "The King," she declares, "So fuck having babies and staying at home / I'm going to the movies and drinking martinis," sentiments I can get behind. At the end of the night, Jonathan declared her his favourite, and I agreed – shame that she couldn't have performed later in the night.

Between sets, I mentioned to my brother how I was glad to be at a show where I didn't have to wear ear plugs. And then along came Sharon van Etten, with her electric guitar big enough to overwhelm her petite frame and stronger voice. Reluctantly, the ear plugs went it. (That's what you get for being half-deaf in one ear already.) I guess I wasn't inspired to note too much about her performance. I liked her; Jonathan found a lot of her songs to sound the same. Inspired journalism, ta da!

After her first or second song, Lisa Li-lund explained to the audience, "I just finished a record where there's a lot of noise, so now I'm trying to turn them into songs," a task I didn't envy her having to do all by herself onstage.

But what an odd child. Switching between her acoustic and a keyboard, she would be angelic at times, get the audience shouting at other, and then say awkward things like, "You're all like 'blood blood blood!'" at others. Which, um. I don't remember any of us being like, "Blood blood blood!" It was an...interesting insight into her mind. The bizarrerie didn't change the strength of her work, with lines like, "I'm tired of guys who cry before I've even held them once."

The handwritten bill at the door said that François Virot was to be up fourth (I think...), but instead was Emilyn Brodsky. We contemplated leaving before her set (I had to be at work, in Jersey, at 9 am), but I'm glad we stayed, even despite the crazy. She was emotive, manic, and, frankly, weird, declaring early on, "Everyone who's interesting is a little batshit crazy." (She calls herself Emilyn "cupcake punk" Brodsky on her MySpace, if that says anything.) She's the first artist I've ever seen tell off – REALLY tell off, like, "Okay, well, you all just keep talking with your friends while I sing this song...I love playing in loud bars..." – her audience for talking mid-set, which others (read : my brother) found obnoxious and off-putting, but I respected her sentiments. (She had a point – if you want to chat with your friends, go in the other bar. There's two of them.) She talked about getting her period the night before and signing contracts in menstrual blood. Oh, and she burped into the microphone mid-song at one point. So make that emotive, manic, odd, brazen and unashamed, all of which make for an interesting performance, in the very least. But beyond that, I genuinely liked a good portion of her songs, played out on a ukulele (apparently she "couldn't bring herself to learn how to play the guitar"), especially "Ebony (Bread Helps)," a song about a woman whose life is falling apart ("Bread helps with anxiety /...Bread helps when men leave"). Like Mama says, "You can always bake a cake."

Ivana XL - "Happy Birthday"
Sharon van Etten - "For You"

We unfortunately did not stay for Olof Arnalds' set - we decided to head out "early," only to have to sit on the train back home for a million hours. Stupid Amtrak signaling problems. *shakes fist*

Stuck In My Head : The / Les Plastiscines, "Barcelona"

2009-06-18T23:42:00.002-04:00

So the only song I had by The Plastiscines (otherwise known as Les Plastiscines in their native pays) was a remix of "Loser" by Les Petits Pilous that I grabbed from some place around the webbernets and that has seriously been making me dance for...however long I've had it. Over a year, at least, because I put it in this mix a while back.

Anyway, so, Nylon magazine has recently launched Nylon Records because...I don't know why, but they handpicked ces filles to be their first act signed, which makes sense as Nylon seems to be generally obsessed with things that are French, perceived as "hip," and / or both (see also : Phoenix, but that's totally warranted). (Not that I'm saying this is a bad thing, in and of itself...)

All right, point is, The Plastiscines, who seemingly dance around in heels and like to channel Brigitte Bardot, are now "on" Nylon, they've released both an EP and an LP (titled About Love), and the lead single is stuck in my head. That's my whole point. It's catchy. It makes me want to dance. And songs about Barcelona are good for summer mixes. Sometimes I'm not really picky about this sort of thing.

The rest of the above-mentioned LP can be streamed over here.

Tally Hall to play ON A BOAT with April Smith, and I'll miss out.

2009-06-17T21:07:00.003-04:00

So the world seems hell-bent on preventing me from seeing Tally Hall this year. So far, I've missed their Mercury Lounge show because I was too dumb to realise I could have parked somewhere that would have allowed me to take a later train back from the city. Last Friday, they played at the Bell House in Park Slope, and I missed that, too, because I thought it was on Saturday night and also I was at Northside.*

Now, they're playing a Rocks Off Concert Cruise show on 8th July, aboard the Half Moon, which is a Wednesday night and would be fantastic - if I weren't going to be in Florida that week. Bah!

More details :

Wednesday July 08th 2009
Rocks Off Concert Cruise Series
TALLY HALL
APRIL SMITH AND THE GREAT PICTURE SHOW
* ROCKS OFF CONCERT CRUISE - Aboard the Half Moon
* 7pm boarding / 8pm departure / 11pm return
* $25 adv / $30 day of show
This cruise is onboard the HALF MOON and will depart from Skyport Marina - 23rd & FDR Drive (EAST side). Boarding will begin at 7pm and the cruise will depart at 8pm SHARP. Don't be late - it ain't pretty to be standin on the dock, watching the party sailing away!

More information is here. For the record, I caught the last two songs of the amazing April Smith's set at the Cameo Gallery for Northside (for which Ross Federman of Tally Hall played drums, making it the third time this year I've crossed his path, including earlier that day on Bedford Ave. and at the OK Go show at MHoW where I was sitting RIGHT NEXT TO HIM and couldn't figure out where I'd seen him before - one day I'm going to actually go up to this kid and be like, "I see you EVERYWHERE" and then realise how creepy I sound), and was wholly disheartened that I didn't see more. Seriously, check the girl out.

*Speaking of Northside, I have three days of coverage to, um, cover, but my notes are currently stashed in my brother's iPod Touch and the photos in my other brother's Rebel XT. So when I get both elements I'll be sure to get that posted.

Help Polyvinyl save records, get a bunch in return. It's win-win, really.

2009-06-17T19:52:00.002-04:00

Discovered via Idolator : Indie label Polyvinyl Records - current home to Joan of Arc, of Montreal, and near-and-dear Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin - are downsizing - actually, their distributor is, and in order to avoid having 10,000 records destroyed in the process (and / or having them sit around in their office, creating another problem of its own), they're asking you to donate, and in return, they'll send you a bunch of stuff.

What you get varies by how much you pledge :

$5 Pledge gets you:
Mates of State "Two of Us" DVD

$10 Pledge gets you these 2 CDs + 1 DVD:
Architecture in Helsinki "Places Like This" CD
Rainer Maria "Long Knives Drawn" CD
Mates of State "Two of Us" DVD

$15 Pledge gets you these 5 CDs + 1 DVD:
Architecture in Helsinki "Places Like This" CD
Hail Social "Hail Social" CD
Kyle Fischer / Mike Kinsella / Caithlin DeMarrais "Open Ground" CD
Mates of State "Twoof Us" DVD
of Montreal "Icons Abstract Thee" CD
Rainer Maria "Long Knives Drawn" CD

$20 Pledge gets you these 8 CDs + 1 DVD:
AM/FM “The Sky Is the New Ground” CD
Architecture in Helsinki "Places Like This" CD
Hail Social "Hail Social" CD
Joan of Arc “The Intelligent Design of Joan of Arc” CD
Kyle Fischer / Mike Kinsella / Caithlin DeMarrais "Open Ground" CD
Mates of State "Two of Us" DVD
of Montreal "Icons Abstract Thee" CD
Raner Maria "Long Knives Drawn" CD
Saturday Looks Good to Me “Cold Colors” CD

$30 Pledge gets you these 13 CDs + 1 DVD:
Aloha “Some Echoes” CD
AM/FM “The Sky Is the New Ground” CD
Architecture in Helsinki "Places Like This" CD
Audible “Sky Signal” CD
Hail Social "Hail Social" CD
Joan of Arc “The Intelligent Design of Joan of Arc” CD
Kyle Fischer / Mike Kinsella / Caithlin DeMarrais "Open Ground" CD
Mates of State "Two of Us" DVD
of Montreal "Icons Abstract Thee" CD
of Montreal “The Early Four Track Recordings” CD
Picastro “Metal Cares” CD
Rainer Maria "Long Knives Drawn" CD
Saturday Looks Good to Me “Cold Colors” CD
ZZZZ “Palm Reader” CD

$50 Pledge gets you these 26 CDs + 2 DVDs:
31Knots “Curse of the Longest Night” CD
Aloha “Some Echoes” CD
AM/FM “Getting Into Sinking” CD
AM/FM “Mutilate Us” CD
AM/FM “The Sky Is the New Ground” CD
Architecture in Helsinki "Places Like This" CD
Audible “Sky Signal” CD
Collections of Colonies of Bees “Customer” CD
Decibully “City of Festivals” CD
Friction (ex-Braid) “Discography 1991-1994” 2xCD
Hail Social "Hail Social" CD
Joan of Arc “Joan of Arc, Dick Cheney, Mark Twain” CD
Joan of Arc “The Intelligent Design of Joan of Arc” CD
Kyle Fischer / Mike Kinsella / Caithlin DeMarrais "Open Ground" CD
Mates of State "Two of Us" DVD
of Montreal "Icons Abstract Thee" CD
of Montreal “The Early Four Track Recordings” CD
Paris Texas “Action Fans Help Us!” CD
Pele “Elephant” CD
Picastro “Metal Cares” CD
Rainer Maria "Long Knives Drawn" CD
Rainer Maria “Anone in Love with You (Already Knows)” CD+DVD
Rainer Maria “Ears Ring” CD
Rainer Maria “Rainer Maria” CD
Saturday Looks Good to Me “Cold Colors” CD
ZZZZ “Palm Reader” CD

So if you donate $50, it works out to like, less than $2 a record. Seriously.

So far, they seem to be doing fairly well - their goal was $1000 by 14th July, and they're already up to $6204 (up about $2000 from when I check this morning).

To donate and score some awesome records, or for more information, you can go here. And let your friends know!

Don't forget, Northside starts tonight!

2009-06-11T15:51:00.003-04:00

The now complete schedule is posted over here.

The kick-off BBQ party (for press and badgeholders only) is tonight, 5-8 pm, at Studio B.

Going to the Uncensored Interview Transatlantic Alt-Folk Showcase tonight at Union Pool? Gimme' a holler and I'll come say "hi."

Sounds Like... : Run Toto Run covers "Sleepyhead"

2009-06-06T01:10:00.002-04:00

Oh goodness.

And I thought the original version was really stuck in my head.

Rachel Schain is playing in Baltimore tomorrow.

2009-06-02T21:39:00.003-04:00

Hey guys,

Just a reminder that I'm playing in Baltimore tomorrow night at 8pm as part of the Ottobar's open mic night. I'm only on for 20 minutes so I promise not to keep you out too late on a school night, and besides, I will definitely be worth the visit.

See you tomorrow!

RSx

Wilmington, DE-based Rachel Schain is one of my best friends, my co-hort, and an inspiration. She'll be making her Baltimore debut tomorrow at Ottobar, and if you're free, you should go support her. In fact, even if you're not free, you should break your plans and see her.

Here's one of her latest tracks, "Rockstar Bitch," live at Mojo 13 in Wilmington :

And here's a rock band, The Promise, doing a cover of the same song :