Tuesday, February 28, 2006

In My Ear Podcast #5

Running Time: 34:47

00:00
Nine Black Alps – "Not Everyone" from Everything Is (1)
04:11
P.O.S. – "The Kill in Me" from Audition (2)
07:32
Revolting Cocks – "Ten Million Ways to Die" from Cocked and Loaded
12:38
Laura Veirs – "Galaxies" from Year of Meteors
16:07
Low – "When I Go Deaf" from The Great Destroyer
20:45
The Frames – "Dream Awake" from Burn the Maps
24:57
Nearly – "Step into the Light" from Reminder (3)
28:56
Fig Dish – "Sinking Feeling" from When Shove Goes Back to Push (4)


(1) Target Ad for Black Alps
(2) Envelope, Blueprint, Atmosphere, Wonka Vision Magazine, The Hold Steady
(3) 12 Rounds, The Twilight Singers,
(4) Schuba's


MP3: Download "In My Ear Podcast - Episode 5

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Popvert


Jolie Lindholm met Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba in a college math class. When the former Further Seems Forever singer decided to record a solo album, he asked Jolie to provide some background vocals. You’d think this would have boosted Jolie’s career but, unfortunately, her band The Rocking Horse Winner never took off the way that I expected they would.

The Rocking Horse Winner put out two records, played some dates on the Warped Tour, and then quietly broke up.

Surfing around MySpace, I looked up Jolie Lindholm, to see what she has been up to since RHW’s breakup and to my surprise actually discovered that she is singing with a new project (um, NOT project, new BAND) called Popvert.

The voice (beautiful) is still the same but the music style is a tad bit different – Popvert has more of a new wave pop feel than RHW, very fitting considering the musical world we live in in 2006.

A Popvert EP, Drive Thru Happiness, is available through CDBaby.

MP3: Subculture (New Order cover)
MP3: Grey (new demo)
MP3: The Big Show (from Drive Thru Happiness)
MP3: Tahiti Girl (from Drive Thru Happiness)


Thursday, February 23, 2006

Men Women & Children


I'm either WAY early to the Men, Women & Children party or one of the last (MP3 bloggers) to arrive. Somebody (publicist? label?) sent me an advance copy of their new CD which comes out on March 21 via the Warner Bros. label. I finally got around to listening to it today. The current buzz bands are busy aping Morrissey or Joy Division or Duran Duran while MW&C have decided to follow a different retro path - disco. I mean, make no mistake about it, these kids are total hipsters as their tour schedule implies (dates coming up with Action Action, Metric, Motion City Soundtrack, Panic at the Disco!) but they've tapped into a previously untapped market - at least I've never heard anything quite like it.

Influences would include Donna Summers and the Bee Gees.

Here are two demo tracks to tide you over until the full length hits shelves.

MP3: Dance in My Blood
MP3: Lightning Strikes Twice in NY


Monday, February 20, 2006

In My Ear #4

Show notes: I've noticed on the past few podcasts that the volume on my commentary and song introductions was a little low so I held the microphone a little closer and talked louder. I think I may have held the mic a little too close as it sounds a bit muffled. I'll keep working on that to come up with a better solution.

MP3: In My Ear Podcast #4

Running time: 40:28

Playlist:
00:01
White Rose Movement - "Girls in the Back" from Kick (1)
03:32
Gyroscope - "Beware Wolf" from Are You Involved? (2)
07:45 We are Scientists - "Great Escape" from With Love and Squalor (3)
11:02 Taylor Hawkins and The Coattail Riders - "It's Ok Now" from Self-Titled
16:31 Jimbo Mathus Knockdown - "Let Me Be Your Rocker" from South (4)
20:01 Epicycle - "Crash" from Swirl (5)
26:46 Guajiro - "Simpatico" from Self-Titled (6)
31:28 Danko Jones - "Don't Fall in Love" from Sleep is the Enemy
35:46 Knut - "Wyriwis" from Terraformer

References
(1)
SXSW is an annual music festival held in Austin, Texas every March
(2) Damone is a Boston band featured on In My Ear Podcast #3
(3) Subterranean is an hourlong MTV2 show that shows "alternative" rock videos
(4) Used Kids is a used CD store that I've been going to near the OSU campus since 1989
(5) Kevin Tihista, formerly of Triple Fast Action, is a favorite singer/songwriter of mine from Chicago
(6) Wonka Vision is a magazine based out of Philly that I write for

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

In My Ear Podcast #3

Running Time: approx. 30 minutes

00:04 Archer Avenue – "Radio" from We Watched the Headlights We Watched the Stars
02:34 Shawn Mullins – "Beautiful Wreck" from 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor
07:52 Howie Beck – "Sometimes" from Self-Titled
11:48 People in Planes – "Rush" From As Far As the Eye Can See
16:25 Miranda Sound – "Close Calls" from Western Reserve
19:48 MC Lars – "Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock" from The Graduate
23:02 Damone – "What We Came Here For" from Out Here All Night
26:53 Warrant – "The Hole in My Wall" from Dog Eat Dog


MP3: In My Ear Podcast Episode 3



Full White Drag

I can't say the band name Girls Against Boys without following it up with "they are THE post-apocalypse house band." They sound retro-futuristic with sing-speak vocals by Scott McCloud (who, sayeth some, sounds like The Fall's Mark E. Smith). GvsB put out some really fucking great CDs, my favorite being House of GvsB, but have been inactive - at least as GvsB - since 2002. McCloud and Johnny Temple have done some side project work with New Wet Kojak which sounds like GvsB but not as futuristic.

So what the hell does this have to do with Full White Drag? Well, Scott McCloud of GvsB and NWK has produced material by the Canadian band and Full White Drag's singer Dave Mueller could front a GvsB cover band and nobody would have any idea that it wasn't McCloud singing.

Full White Drag is offering up a 5 songs from their 8-song Internet only EP (City of Roses, City of Smoke) for free on their website. Dig it.

MP3: Kill the Cool Rules
MP3: Renaissance
MP3: Red
MP3: Tonite
MP3: Slo Capo

Girls Against Boys
MP3: Click (from House of GvsB)
MP3: Kicking the Lights (from You Can't Fight What You Can't See)

New Wet Kojack
MP3: Sophia Loren (from No.4 EP)
MP3: Miramax (9-minute remix)

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Cleaning out the In-box

The Swizzle-Stick mailbox has been filling up with press releases from publicists. I went through the good and bad and found some music that might be worth sharing.

> nearLY“All is Lost” (streaming; not an MP3) - nearLY is the solo project from ex-Nine Inch Nails/Howlin' Maggie drummer Jerome Dillon. He's been working on a solo album for years and it's finally about to see the light of day. 12 Rounds vocalist Claudia Sarne contributes vocals throughout the release.

> Caspian“Further In” Massachusetts instrumental band that name drops a number of my favorite bands including Mogwai and Mono.

> Pinetop Seven“Fringe” Pitchfork gave the new Pinetop Seven album an 8.4 and says that the band should be placed alongside Iron & Wine and Calexico.

> Wilderness“Emergency" Some people have some pretty strong feelings about the vocals on the new Wilderness album

> Centro-Matic“Triggers and Trash Heaps” The guys in Two Cow Garage call Centro-Matic the greatest live band in America. I didn't get a chance to see them at SXSW last year (I tried but the club was too packed) so I can't confirm this but I'll try again this year.

> Damien JuradoWhite Center Not a brand new song (it was released last year) but Jurado is working on new material and is getting ready to go on tour so, hey, here's a song that maybe you haven't heard.

Monday, February 06, 2006

In My Ear - February 6

Gonna have to face it, I'm addicted to Podcasting!

I don't think I'm a great "radio" personality but since I love talking about music and playing new music for friends of mine, the idea of putting up a weekly Podcast is something I'm really jazzed about doing. I'm trying to do one every Sunday night and I'll post the link here on Monday.

MP3: "In My Ear" Podcast #2, February 6, 2006

Just a reminder, the songs played on these Podcasts are songs that I listened to a lot during the previous week, stuff that was "in my ear". Some weeks I go on a retro listening spree so you'll be subjected to bands like The Police, Led Zeppelin, Warrant. But, most weeks I'm listening to new stuff, stuff that I need to review for various outlets.

This episode features music by The Willowz, Pavement, The Kyle Sowashes, Jason Quicksall, Jessi Colter, and In Flames. I put In Flames last because I know many of you will hate it (it's metal .... HEAVY metal ... SPEED metal ... THRASH metal). The running time is 25 minutes.

Friday, February 03, 2006

Knut

It's 4:50pm on a Friday afternoon. You're packing up your gear, ready to head home from work for the weekend when somebody swings by your cubicle and says, "Hey, listen, I know it's last minute but I have this proposal going out to a prospective client on Tuesday and I really need some help with the writing and editing of the proposal. I have an outline and have jotted down some thoughts. Now, if you can put together a 1,000 word document by Monday morning, that would be great. It'll give me a day to go over it and study it for my Tuesday morning. Thanks. Have a great weekend." You know that heat that fills your body, the same heat that magnified 100 times causes postal workers to go apeshit and gun down their co-workers? Swiss hardcore band Knut (pronounced "kahNOOOOT") knows that feeling and has managed to turn it into music - brutal, brutal music.

Now, these songs won't be for everybody. They are intense, powerful and, well, very jarring. But if you've ever had one of those days where things just pile up and you are screaming on the inside and wish you could let it out, you'll understand these songs and maybe even toss them on the iPod so that when you feel another "heatwave" approaching, you can get yourself in the zone and ready for it.

MP3: "Torvalds" (from Terraformer)
MP3: "Bite the Bullet" (from Challenger)
MP3: "The Whip" (from Bastardiser)

BROOTAL. LETHAL. HARDCORE.