Okay, so, I missed a week... big whoop... wanna fight about it? Hey, at least I'm updating.
It's been hot here. Not just your run-of-the-mill hot... but HOT. Think of something hot, like a hot pocket, or hot tamales. Then, multiply that by a billion and you might understand what it's like. Two people died over the weekend and a bunch more have been without electricity and AC. Yeah, I'd call that hot.
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Anywho, without further ado:
Songs I'm Currently Obsessed With: Long Distance Call - "Phoenix" Link
These guys are French. They play what could easily be classified as 'soft rock'. If you haven't already deleted the track you just downloaded, go ahead and listen to it. I bet you didn't know you liked French soft rock.
These guys are fun. There's really no better way to describe them. Each of the songs off their debut self-titled LP has a feeling of pure, unpretentious glee and this track is probably the best example of this. I can't help but smile everytime I hear it. If you need some cheering up (and who doesn't from time to time?) pop this one on.
Bands like Sonic Youth are a rare beast. Most acts hit their peak sometime early in their career and then either retire with dignity and glory, or slowly fizzle out. Sonic Youth formed a year before I was born, hit their supposed 'peak' nearly a decade later and yet, unlike many of their peers, continued and continue to make interesting, challenging, and flat-out good music. Their newest album Rather Ripped is much more accessible than their usual fare, but it's still pretty freaking fantastic. I hope these guys keep playing as long as they can stand up, and maybe even afterwards... I'm sure they could dish out some mean wheelchair rock.
Okay okay, I know what you're thinking; there's no way he'd actually post again. Well, kids, I'm here to tell you that you may put your fears to rest. I've got a week old glass of Charles Shaw and a couple cigs worth of nicotine in me, so here comes the second post... and probably the last.
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Songs I'm Currently Obsessed With:
"Soft & Warm" - Voxtrot Link "Fast Asleep" - Voxtrot Link
I don't remember the last band that charmed me as quick as these dudes. Okay, so they're not exactly doing anything new... but what they are doing they're doing very, VERY well. Hooks? Tons. Literate lyrics? Webster approved. Fun? Fuck yes. Yeah, you could sit around and play Name-the-Influences all night long, but you'd be missing out on a great band making great music. They've got two EPs out right now and they're both awesome. Can't wait for the LP. "Cold White Christmas" - Casiotone For The Painfully Alone Link
It shouldn't work. The name of the band not only reeks of emo, but it also basically describes the band (guy on a Casio keyboard). It should suck... and it should suck hard. Well, I'm here to tell you something.... it doesn't. Yeah, okay, so Owen Ashworth writes about 20-something issues; issues that only 20-somethings really care about. The difference between this and the slew of other bands that try the same thing is that he knows how relatively small and trite these matters are. He doesn't try to glamorize and dramatize that shit... and, paradoxically, it makes it mean so much more. His new album is much more produced than his earlier albums, but it only helps to cement the idea that he's more than just a kitschy concept. It's good, people... and I'm not just saying that cause I'm a 20-something.
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Gah, I really wanted to post one more, but I'm beat. Instead, I'll leave you with one hell of a fantastic video. I have to thank Rosie for this one:
Well, kids, it's been a long time since I've touched this thing. Not sure why... I guess I just got busy... or lazy.... probably lazy. Anyway, I don't think I'll be doing the whole 'Blog' thing anymore, since I doubt most of you are actually interested in what I had for breakfast (coffee and red vines) or how bad traffic is on the way to work (it's bad).
Instead, I think I'm going to use this thing to share some good music I've been listening to. At least then people might have a reason to read this. So, without further ado....
Songs I'm Currently Obsessed With: "Let's Get Out Of This Country" - Camera Obscura Link
So this little gem is the title track from Camera Obscura's new album. I'd gotten into them a while ago after they released Underachievers Please Try Harder (great album btw) but this new one is something else. They've grown out of their BelleAndSebastianWithGirls phase and are really starting to sound like themselves. The whole album is quite fantastic and it's tough to pick a favorite track, but this one will have to do. If you don't fall in love immediately, I'm afraid to say you have no heart.
Junior Boys and I have always had a strange relationship. It's never been 'love' per say, but there's definately been an attraction. Last Exit was an undeniably good album, but it always felt a little cold to me. I know that's what they were going for, but it's tough for me to be in a relationship where I don't feel loved. Well, I think those days are over. I feel the love now. They haven't compromised their sound but they've definately allowed themselves to feeeeel. It's okay, Junior Boys, I knew we could work it out.
God, why do I like this song so much? Is it because it's endlessly catchy? Is it because The Pipettes are 3 gorgeous Brits? Wait, why do I even care? Someone hit 'Play' again.
So, there's round one. Comments welcome. I'm really going to try to keep this up.... really... I swear.
Oh yeah, and I'm hosting these tunes using the increasingly suckified YouSendIt. So if the links are dead, I apologize. If anyone knows of a better (read: free) way of doing this, please let me know.
In non-soul-selling news, I love San Francisco. The fact that I don't
have to drive in the city (if I don't want to) is fantastic. Downtown
is 30 minutes away by streetcar, Amoeba is 15 minutes by bus (if I'm
too lazy to walk), a half a dozen venues just as close. Good stuff I
say.
Speaking of shows, the city has many. In summary:
The Decemberists: Fan-fucking-tastic.
I've seen them once before in SD a couple years ago and they were
great. Saw them at the Fillmore a couple weeks ago and they were
ridiculously amazing. One of the best shows I've ever seen. If you
wanna hear the long version, I'd be happy to tell you (I don't feel
like typing it out now (I have a hard enough time updating as it is)).
Bloc Party/The Kills: These
ones were 2 of my favorite bands at Coachella this year, so I was
really excited to see them again. The Kills were damn good, kicking
just as much ass as they did at the festival. Unfotunately, I can't say
the same for Bloc Party. The lead singer's voice was shot, and he
mucked through most of the slow songs, although fared slightly better
when he had to scream more. For the rest, the whole band was either
playing way too fast or completely out of sync with each other (Helicopter
was a total disaster, and it's one of my favorite tracks -_-). All in
all, quite disappointing, since they were so good at Coachella. Oh
well, hopefully this was just a fluke.
The New Pornographers: So,
I had been checking Craig's List daily for tickets to this show (they
had been sold out for months). Between the exorbiant scalper prices and
the hoards of other ticket seekers, I had pretty much given up. Then
the day before the show, I checked the venue's website on a whim, only
to find that they had released more tickets. After tearing my credit
card out of my wallet and frantically pounding my information into the
computer, I had one ticket waiting for me at the box office. The show
itself was a blast. These guys were admittedly drunk and still managed
to play for an astounding 1 hour and 45 minutes. They started with
mostly new songs, but then switched to older (and some of my favorite)
songs during their 2(!!!) encores. I danced my ass off and had a grand
old time. One more reason Canada = awesome (others including Broken
Social Scene, Arcade Fire, those mounted police guys).
I also have tickets for Broken Social Scene in November.... Excited? Oh you betcha.
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I had some other stuff to say, but I'm tired of typing... and I'm sure
you're tired of reading (major kudos if you actually made it this far).
I should really learn to break these things up...
