Macktronic: July 2006

Update/Travel: Germany/Europe

Hey friends. So I'm off to a land of beer gardens and brats. The posting will be less frequent (read: nonexistant) for the month of August. But, don't go away, as I plan on returning with all kinds of new/exotic sh*t. At least that's the plan.

Want to hang in Berlin, Prague, Munich, or anywhere else in the viscinity? Shoot me an email. Know of a good show? I'll be there. So, for now, take care and stay IN trouble.

[Photo credit goes to microabi.]

MUSIC: Mofro

Ok, so here's another Macktronic favorite that I haven't gotten around to posting for one reason or another. First caught hold of Mofro at the High Sierra Music Festival a couple years ago and haven't stopped spinning their "Blackwater" release since. The most recent album, called Lochloosa, continues the tradition of backwoods blues rock that Mofro has become known for over the last number of years. For fans of The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, The Drive-By Truckers, and other contemporary blues/country/rock acts (not to mention their numerous predecessors), I present to you some Mofro awesomeness.

::: Mofro - Lochloosa
::: Mofro - Six Ways From Sunday
::: Mofro - That Boy

You can buy all of Mofro's albums from Insoun d, and I suggest that you do just that.

[Photo credit goes to Yoshihiro; i love his shots.]

MUSIC: The You

Here's a band out of Pittsburgh that has recently released an album produced (in majority, at least) by Brian Deck (of Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine fame). The You play a pretty straight forward brand of rock 'n roll.... polished, but not too much so. Pretty good songwriting combined with very live feeling instrumentals (you know, with energy and what not) make for a really enjoyable album.

Here are a couple tracks off of "For The Masses", and you can get another from their myspace page.

::: The You - I'm Going To Kill Myself (highly rec'd)
::: The You - Back Her Scene Up

You can order the album from cdbaby here.

[Photo credit goes to liechtenrose.]

MUSIC: More Lucero Updates

The pre-order for the new Lucero album (Rebels ,Rogues, & Sworn Brothers) is finally up and running at their website. Not only do all of the proceeds go directly to the band, but you can get the album in digital format within a couple days of ordering. Not to mention some limited edition pins, access to a special t-shirt, and early shipping of the album. Can't beat that, really.

The YouTube video above is from a Lucero recording session, with Ben singing an unreleased track called "Crystal Blue"..... And, here's an old demo version of the title track from their That Much Further West release (which you can buy for 8 bucks at Insound).

::: Lucero - That Much Further West (demo version)

MUSIC: The Polish Ambassador

Really, I have no idea how to classify The Polish Amabassador. Aside from a hilariously awesome website and some of the best song titles I've seen in a long while, this dude lays down some funky synthesizer tunes. How can you beat a song title that references The Yaz? How can you beat this entry:

My peeps and I recently put some spinners on the wheels, but because of the vacuous nature of space, they wouldn’t spin, so we just returned them for some dope grillz and fish sticks. Occasionally we’ll drop this track into our MP3 player while scheming for some honeydips around Pluto.

I posted on instrumentals earlier here on Macktronic, and this definitely should have been included. Enjoy:

::: The Polish Ambassador - Where Have You Gone Carl Yastrzemski?
::: The Polish Ambassador - Infiltrating The UN
::: The Polish Ambassador - London Telecommunicating

MF Doom and this dude need to sit down and have a couple beers.

[Photo credit goes to giljimenez.]

MUSIC: Forget Cassettes

Here's a sweet little band out of Nashville that's sure to make you recall the tones of recently-disbanded Sleater-Kinney (among other excellent bands). Forget Cassettes is a three piece (see evidence in photo, exhibit A above) with lead female vocals and a knack for constructing songs that consistently push and pull. I like the Nashville Rage's write-up:

Nashville's Forget Cassettes was born from the ashes of Fair Verona when guitarist/vocalist Beth Cameron and drummer Doni Schroader decided to push on in a more adventurous direction. For some time the duo has been a hot commodity live. The fact that Schroader often drums with one hand and plays lines on a Rhodes electric piano with the other makes his ferocious drumming all the more spectacular. Beth's tiny frame belies the angst she's capable of projecting both through her voice and guitar.

If anything, Forget Cassettes first full-length, Instruments Of Action (out now on local Theory 8 Records), is a refutation of the premise that bands that are so dynamic live are impossible to capture on tape. Instruments of Action not only catches the energy the band gives off live, but also gives the band the space to explore their minimal instrumentation.

In the title track, you can hear the room noise around the drums and guitar. As a result, Beth's voice sounds as if she's standing right in front of you. And while Ms. Rhythm and Blues exudes a definite Sleater-Kinney influence in its rhythm and voice, A Legacy's Demise pushes the band into its own undiscovered territory - winding guitar lines and electric piano around a haunting, quiet voice. Bruce Wayne begins with a chilling scream, proving Beth's voice is the sort of expressive instrument for which most bands would kill.

Every song on the record benefits from complex, twisting arrangements that frustrate the verse-chorus-verse standard. This combined with the band's ability to switch from quiet meditation to full-on rock riff show off their careful musicianship and will to make rock music just as complicated and expressive as the subjects of their lyrics.

Take a listen for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

::: Forget Cassettes - Quiero, Quieres (highly rec'd)
::: Forget Cassettes - Venison
::: Forget Cassettes - The Catch

You can buy their debut album ("Instruments of Action") here or pre-order their new album ("Salt", out on August 8) here.

MUSIC: Lions In The Street

Following an apperntly disastrous turn of events involving a major label, Lions In The Street did what any band worth their weight would do.... DIY! Recorded in their basement in Vancouver, the end result of their efforts is the Cat Got Your Tongue EP, an infectious collection of pure rock and roll. For musical comparisons, think of a cross between Jet and Kings of Leon. Here's the whole EP, which they're giving away for free on their website. Check out their myspace page for tour dates.

::: Lions In The Street - Already Gone
::: Lions In The Street - Lady Blue
::: Lions In The Street - Mine Ain't Yours
::: Lions In The Street - Feels Like A Long Time
::: Lions In The Street - You're Gonna Lose

[Photo credit goes to ruzz.]

MUSIC: Song Of The Day (Ghostland Observatory)

Typically, I'm not a huge fan of electro-tinged stuff, but this song does a little something for me. Based out of Austin, Ghostland Observatory play some funky electronica kind of stuff.... more polished than my normal preferences (for example, I think DFA / LCD Soundsystem stuff has some more dirt on it). But this song here has a little Rapture in it, a feel of desperation, a wanting; that's what makes it good.

::: Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City

Listen to more songs on their myspace page. You can buy their albums and some other merch from their official website.

[Photo credit goes to mirelamiada.]

RECAP: Top 10 EP's of the Recent Past

Ok, so the deal about the last week or so is that I've only been playing EP's. Not, it gets tiring to keep heading back to my CD player, but these things are killing me. Seems like there's been a rash of excellent (mostly debut) EP's hitting the floor these days. And, to top things off, all these bands have come to me through the interweb. Music blogs are the best, no? Anyhow, without further ado, I present a little list of my top EP's of recent past. Most of 'em have been released in the last year or so; most of 'em only cost about 5 bucks, so do yourself (and the bands) a favor and pick a couple up. Enjoy.

1. Cold War Kids - Up In Rags EP
Hospital beds is probably my favorite song right now, but the amazing thing is that every song on the EP is incredibly solid. I'm just impressed with these guys, in and out. From what I've been hearing, they held their own on the recent Tapes 'N Tapes tour (and some might say blew TNT off the stage). Wow.
::: Cold War Kids - Hospital Beds
::: Cold War Kids - Saint John
buy the ep

2. Colour Revolt - s/t EP
I'm losing sleep at night trying to figure out how a sound like this comes out of Mississippi. It really makes no sense to me whatsoever. Again, just a super sold 6 song debut EP that blows my proverbial skirt up.
::: Colour Revolt - Matresses Underwater
::: Colour Revolt - A New Family (Remix) [original on EP]
buy the ep

3. Tel Aviv - Lay Me Down EP
Check out the two songs below, which comes off Tel Aviv's debut (and home-made) EP. A sense of urgency I wouldn't normally associate with Little Rock comes through loud and clear. You can check out a couple more songs on their myspace page.
::: Tel Aviv - Black Marketeering
::: Tel Aviv - Sunburned LA
buy the ep

4. Matt & Kim - to/from EP
First, download these songs. Second, listen to these songs. Third, imagine them playing live. In a kitchen. Now, head on over to YouTube and see for yourself. I said this earlier this week, but I just can't let it go.
::: Matt & Kim - Silver Tiles
::: Matt & Kim - Verbs Before Nouns
buy the ep

5. Cold War Kids - With Our Wallets Full EP
What, two EP's on this list for Cold War Kids? Well, if it's good enough, why not? This one was recorded in November 2005 and is just a step behind the Up In Rags release.
::: Cold War Kids - Tell Me In The Morning
buy the ep

6. Professor Murder - Professor Murder Rides The Subway EP
Just a blurry, jerky mess of beats and chants and hand claps and cowbells and everything that makes a song damn catchy. And it happens again and again on this EP. What's the story behind their name, though?
::: Professor Murder - Free Stress Test
buy the ep

7. The Paper Hearts - Hard To Smile EP
A pretty drastic departure from a couple other groups on this list, but sometimes a good country song just feels so right. Leaning on the indie side of country, this crew out of the South plays their souls out on this beautiful EP.
::: The Paper Hearts - Hard To Smile
buy the ep

8. Sunset Rubdown - s/t EP
It's a wreck, but a brilliant wreck.
::: Sunset Rubdown - A Day In The Graveyard II
buy the ep

9. Arms - Shitty Little Disco EP
Fantastic songwriting skills, a knack for interesting composition, and some earnestness are all over this EP from Arms. If you're into this song, send'em an email from their website to get the rest of the album.
::: Arms - Tiger Tamer
buy the ep

10. DeVotchKa - Curse Your Little Heart EP
Where in the world does this music come from? I love it.
::: DeVotchKa - The Last Beat Of My Heart
buy the ep

BONUS. Wolf Parade - s/t EP
When this EP came out last year it blew my mind. Then, the full album came out, and it doubly blew my mind. Then, I saw them live at The Independent in SF, and was triply in trouble. I get it; these guys are good.
::: Wolf Parade - Shine a Light
buy the ep

So those are the EP's that are spinning here at Macktronic. Got any others I should know about? I'm always looking for more..... let me know.

[A large number of these EP's available from Insound, who are having a summer special. For 10% off any order, use the code "ilovesummer10" at checkout. For 15% off any order over 50 bucks, use the code "ilovesummer15" (with free shipping with orders over 30 bucks).]

[Photo credit goes to the extremely talented Kimicon.]

MUSIC: Backyard Tire Fire

Another excellent band that came out of my High Sierra experience is Backyard Tire Fire. I have to admit that I wasn't familiar with their work and stumbled across their show one hot afternoon..... only to find some honest, sweat-drenched rock 'n roll. Throw in some pedal steel and some songs about drinking beer and losing loves and you've got me pretty much hooked. Their sound is something along the lines of Drive-By Truckers or MOFRO, so if you're into the whole rock/blues/country thing then definitely check out these tracks from their 2005 release called Bar Room Semantics.

::: Backyard Tire Fire - Tryin' To Get Paid
::: Backyard Tire Fire - 31st Fall
::: Backyard Tire Fire - If It Make You Feel Good

A new EP is in the pipeline for October and a brand new LP is on the way in early 2007. In the meantime you can check out their official website for more info or cruise on over their myspace page for more music. Also, take a look at the "Dates" section of the website.... current tour covers the midwest and south, runs through October.

Their album is available from Insound, which is having a summer special. For 10% off any order, use the code "ilovesummer10" at checkout. For 15% off any order over 50 bucks, use the code "ilovesummer15". And, free shipping with orders over 30 bucks. So buy something.

[Side note: I got to see the lead singer of BTF, Ed Anderson, do a solo set one late night at the festival. He did a fantastic job and seems like a genuinely good fella; the whole crowd seemed to respond to him.]

[Photo credit goes to CinemaCowgirl; just another great polaroid shot.]

MUSIC/VIDEO: Matt & Kim

Taking a page out of an excellent blog, I Guess I'm Floating, I think it's finally time I get around to posting about Matt & Kim. I actually found out about this band from a couple of friends in Brooklyn who went to one of these hosue party / concert affairs. Check out the YouTube video above. I want them to play at one of my parties.

Although it's just a two-man drum 'n keys set-up, I'm so down with it. Here's a couple of tracks straight off their myspace page.

::: Matt and Kim - Yea Yeah
::: Matt and Kim - Silver Tiles
::: Matt and Kim - Verbs Before Nouns

Now, run on over to their official website, enter the online store, and pick up one of their demo cd's for only 5 bones. All the cool kids are doing it.

MUSIC: Apollo Sunshine

Another band that rocked my world at High Sierra Music Festival was Apollo Sunshine. Though outside the typical sound for the festival, they were able to win over a number of souls at their two shows over the weekend. With two albums under their proverbial belts, these Boston-area rockers are shaping their multi-instrumental, multi-faceted sound into one that calls out to many bands, but reminds me of (a more experimental) Tapes 'N Tapes. (One dude in the audience said they sounded like the Beatles, but I think his facilities were mightily impaired). Here are a couple tracks off their latest release, but their debut (Katonah) rocks just as well.

::: Apollo Sunshine - Lord (highly rec'd)
::: Apollo Sunshine - Phyliss (highly rec'd)
::: Apollo Sunshine - Magnolia

You can get another song from their myspace page (and listen to three more, if you so desire). Their albums are available from Insound, which is having a summer special. For 10% off any order, use the code "ilovesummer10" at checkout. For 15% off any order over 50 bucks, use the code "ilovesummer15". And, free shipping with orders over 30 bucks. So buy something.

[Photo credit goes to Lucille; super bonus points for the Interpol reference in the title. Can you guess it before looking?]

MUSIC: Lucero (Rebels, Rogues, & Sworn Brothers)

It's an exciting time around here at Macktronic, as we all await the release of Lucero's new album titled "Rebels, Rogues, & Sworn Brothers". The anticipation reached a dangerous point when Kiss Atlanta and Muzzle of Bees posted a new song slated for the album called "I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight" (a brilliant track that highlights a new use of keyboards) as well as their thoughts on the whole album. It's textbook (awesome) Lucero, but the new keyboards give it a different feel similar to the strings in Attic Tapes. Here's my favorite track off the new album:

::: Lucero - San Francisco

How could I not pick a song called "San Francisco", being from the Bay Area and all. I started listening to the album this morning, made it three times through already and this track is stuck in my head. (And I agree with so many of you out there.... Why in the world hasn't this band taken off? Why isn't this music played in every bar in America? It absolutely blows my mind.) Lucero is slowly building an incredible catalog of albums, racking up miles upon miles on the road winning over fans, and conistently pushing themselves as a band. Seriously, my hat is off to these guys.

Here's a complete tracklist to "Rebels, Rogues, & Sworn Brothers", due out on September 26.

01 - What Else Would You Have Me Be
02 - I Don't Wanna Be The One
03 - San Francisco
04 - I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight
05- 1979
06 - Cass
07 - The Mountain
08 - Sing Me No Hymns
09 - The Weight of Guilt
10 - She Just That Kind of Girl
11 - On The Way Back Home
12 - She Wakes When She Dreams

If you want to check out some more music by Lucero, check out some of my other posts (here, here, and here). There'll be a pre-order for the new album set up through the band's website pretty soon, but if you're in the need for some Lucero right now you can order albums through Insound. For 10% off any order, use the code "ilovesummer10", or for 15 % off any order over 50 bucks, use the code "ilovesummer15". And, free shipping with orders over 30 bucks.

[Photo credit goes to trossmantle.]

MUSIC: Bridgetown Breaks

One of the more interesting albums to come across my world these days comes from Portland and is called Bridgetown Breaks (Volume 2). Check out their excellent website. Basically, it's a collection of original drum tracks from 10 drummers coming from Portland (Oregon, not Maine)..... Just drums, ranging in style from hip-hop to indie to jazz to anything your heart desires.

Drummers on the project include Kevin Robinson (Viva Voce), Danny Seim (Menomena), Kevin O'Connor (Talkdemonic), Amanda Spring (Point Juncture Washington), Drew Shoals (Fiction Junkies, Chris Mosley Trio), Charles Neal (QuiVaH), Mike McKinnon (Wet Confetti), Sam Schauer (Modernstate, Humans), Paul Alcott (Binary Dolls), and beatboxer Fogatron (Luminous Fog, Manic-D, Fogatron).

Since I'm by no means a drum expert, I put the album in front of two of my drummer friends and had them choose their favorite tracks. They overlapped on these four, but the whole album is quite excellent. Enjoy:

::: Amanda Spring - Shims (f/ Bridgetown Breaks V2)
::: Danny Seim - Courtney Taylor-Taylor (f/ Bridgetown Breaks V2)
::: Amanda Spring - Roboroboto (f/ Bridgetown Breaks V2)
::: Drew Shoals - Magnatite (f/ Bridgetown Breaks V2)

Those of you who enjoy drum tracks, sampling, drum-n-bass, or anything of the sort will really enjoy this record. Order the CD or LP from their website.

[Photo credit goes to Jan Tik. Found using Flickr, keywords "portland oregon bridge".]

WRAP: Tuesday's Good Sh*t

Busy weekend highlighted by (what i thought was) a great World Cup final. Ran across the picture above while cruising FlickR, which is where I get most the images for this blog. Sometimes the accounts don't share the images so I can't link to the pictures directly, which sucks. So, I thought this'd be a good chance to float a couple great Flickr Photo Gallery links your direction:

gAntico ---> fanatastic italian victory shots
merkley ---> shoots some dang pretty girls (bay area!)
roidrage ---> dude takes tons of awesome polaroids
suzanna ---> weird taste, great photographs
kelco ---> some beautiful shots in here

And, what would this blog be without music? After all, it is a music blog of sorts.....

Got referred to Professor Murder from Insound's newsletter. Damn, it is some catchy stuff. I'm a sucker for punchy techno rock sometimes (in addition to smoky voices, bass intros, and knee-high socks). Their EP is available now, and some live tracks are on their website. Here's a song, which rocks accordingly.

::: Professor Murder - Free Stress Test

Spoon's another Macktronic favorite, if you're keeping tabs on such things. Here's a track off their Soft Effects EP and another from the Telephono EP. These are being reissued (out on July 25) but I don't see the "Mountain of Sound" song on the tracklist (what gives?). Credit goes to largehearted boy for these tracks.

::: Spoon - Idiot Driver
::: Spoon - Mountain Of Sound

Here's a great track from a new Bay Area band called The Parish. They play a great brand of indie/country/rock (as described by their myspace page), which you can see for yourself on the track below. According to the myspace page, where you can also listen to three more songs, they've just finished recording and mixing their debut album so it'll be coming down the pipeline sooner rather than later. I'll see what I can do on getting some more of the tracks.....

::: The Parish - Land Of Wires

That's it for now, kids. Enjoy. And buy some new music. (use the code "ilovesummer10" at Insound for 10% all purchases!)

[Photo credit goes to Kaptain Kobold.]

MUSIC: Ill Lit (Tom Cruise)

Came across Ill Lit recently and it took me a couple days to put my finger on who they sounded like. Some of you might be familiar with a band called The Format (who came out with an excellent little album called "Interventions and Lullabies" a while back; now with a new album called "Dog Problems"); that's who Ill Lit sounds like. Now, for those of you not familiar with The Format, the sound is loose and bright, highlighted by a great (and comforting) lead singer. It's an extremely American sound in my mind. Here's what a couple other sites had to say about their newest album (titled "Tom Cruise").

"Somewhere squarely between Wilco and the Flaming Lips (though these two bands could use a little of what Ill Lit is selling), Ill Lit delivers a deceptively upbeat message of heartbreak and loss of hope, complete with broken electronics and layers and layers of sweet harmonies"
Indieworkshop.com

"Where the realms of lush, sonic abundance meld with eroded, acoustic, weathered rawness...any way you look at it, this is an album worth making a fuss about"
CDBaby.com

Couldn't have said it better myself. Anyhow, onto the music!
(from the album "Tom Cruise")

::: Ill Lit - Across Country
::: Ill Lit - The Bridge In Tracy
::: Ill Lit - The Homewrecking Ball

You can listen to more tracks at their myspace page. To buy the album, go on over to CDBaby here and pick yourself up a copy.

[I'm not quite sure why they called the album "Tom Cruise"..... We all know he's a crazy bastard, but what does he have to do with pop/americana/folk music?]

[Photo credit goes to davif; lots of awesome shots on his flickr pag e.]

MUSIC: Brightblack Morning Light

Brightblack Morning Light.......This little band from Northern California has been generating some digital heat over the last couple of weeks. Nationally, it probably all started with the Rolling Stone blurb (expanded interview found here), but we've been catching bits and pieces over the last couple months here in the Bay Area concerning their new album (self-titled). They're currently on a pretty extensive tour, hopefully you can catch them.

Getting down to the nitty-gritty, BML's music has somehow worked itself into my daily routine; which happens to be a very important indicator of awesomeness, actually. Beautiful, sparse, and somewhat hypnotic...... truly a unique sound. Here's some sample songs:

(from their self-titled sophomore release)
::: Brightblack Morning Light - Everybody Daylight
::: Brightblack Morning Light - Friend Of Time

(from their debut album, Ala.Cali.Tucky)
::: Brightblack Morning Light - True Bright Blossom
::: Brightblack Morning Light - Wildshiney Stars

As always, you should buy this albums if you like the music. One good place to do this is Insound, which is having a summer special. For 10% off any order, use the code "ilovesummer10" at checkout. For 15% off any order over 50 bucks, use the code "ilovesummer15". And, free shipping with orders over 30 bucks.

[Red Blondehead has a good post about Brightblack, plus some more tracks; Plus they're an excellent blog you should read.]

[Photo credit goes to mirelamiada, just a wonderful shot.]

THEME: "Monster" Tracks

Who doesn't love a good monster? And who doesn't love a good monster song (and I'm not talking any of that Monster Ballads mularkey)? Not me, that's for dang sure. Hit it.

::: Les Savy Fav - Tragic Monsters
::: Band Of Horses - Monster
::: Mogwai - 1% Of Monster
::: Sound Team - Movie Monster
::: King Geedorah - Monster Zero

As always, you should buy these albums if you like the music. One good place to do this is Insound, which is having a summer special. For 10% off any order, use the code "ilovesummer10" at checkout. For 15% off any order over 50 bucks, use the code "ilovesummer15". And, free shipping with orders over 30 bucks.

[I can't resist posting Les Savy Fav tracks; just plain awesomeness. Also, the King Geedorah album is sick. Get it.]

[Photo credit goes to massdestraction.]

THEME: Math Related Tracks

According to the all-knowing Wikipedia's article on math:

"The evolution of mathematics might be seen to be an ever-increasing series of abstractions, or alternatively an expansion of subject matter. The first abstraction was probably that of numbers. The realization that two apples and two oranges have something in common, namely that they fill the hands of exactly one person, was a breakthrough in human thought. In addition to recognizing how to count physical objects, prehistoric peoples also recognized how to count abstract quantities, like time — days, seasons, years. Arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), naturally followed. Monolithic monuments testify to knowledge of geometry."

Now, that's some learning for a Friday morning. Not only is math a "series of abstractions" or such, it's a damn good motivation behind song titles. Here are some of Macktronic's favorite math-related tracks, let me know if you've got some more.

::: Modest Mouse - Never Ending Math Equation
::: The Pixies - Distance Equals Rate Times Time
::: Radiohead - 2+2=5
::: Broken Social Scene - 7/4
::: Ima Robot - 12=3
::: Les Savy Fav - One to Three
::: Rogue Wave - 10:1
::: The Willowz - Equation #2
::: Kings Of New England - The Future Minus

As always, you should buy these albums if you like the music. One good place to do this is Insound, which is having a summer special. For 10% off any order, use the code "ilovesummer10" at checkout. For 15% off any order over 50 bucks, use the code "ilovesummer15". And, free shipping with orders over 30 bucks. Just FYI. To order the Kings of New England album, contact the band through their myspace site.

[Photo credit goes to aaroneous; let's hear it for the quadratic equation!]

MUSIC: Colour Revolt (Thursday Song of the Day)

Now, here's a song that made me immediately buy a whole album. Seriously, five minutes after hearing it, I bought Colour Revolt's debut EP. Just a crushing, melodic, beautiful, crashing, bleeding, wonderful mess of a sing. You gotta listen to it.

::: Colour Revolt - Mattresses Underwater

You can also listen to a couple more songs on their myspace page. To buy their album for less than 7 bucks, go to Insound her e and order it by using the special discount code "ilovesummer10" at checkout for an additional 10% off. (You also can get free shipping if you order of 30 bucks worth of stuff).

[This spontaneous buying of albums has happened twice recently. Once with Cold War Kids (blogged here) and again with The Good Fear (blogged here); all purchases highly recommended.]

[Photo credit goes to Yoshihiro. Dude takes some amazing shots.]

MUSIC: My Morning Jacket (Live @ High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, California)

This weekend's High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, California was a rousing success. Many, many excellent bands, lots of amazing folks, and some memorable moments. At the top of my list sits the performances of My Morning Jacket (which isn't a big surprise). They played two sets, one late-night on Friday (June 30) and then again on Saturday (July 1) evening. Both ran around 2 hours and it was consistently mind-blowing. The Saturday night venue suited MMJ perfectly, as they played on the main stage situated in a valley among the Sierra Nevada mountains. The sound was epic and it seemed like they played with a little extra energy, even though they rarely leave anything on the table. Here's the setlists from the two shows:

Friday, June 30, late night show
1. Steam Engine
2. Gideon
3. The Dark
4. Lowdown
5. One Big Holiday
6. Off The Record
7. Evelyn Is Not Real
8. What A Wonderful Man
9. Heartbreakin' Man
10. Golden>
11. Jam>
12. Dondante
13. Lay Low
14. Phone Went West
15. Mahgeetah
ENCORE
16. Bermuda Highway
17. The Bear
18. O Is The One That Is Real
19. Anytime

Saturday, July 1, Main Stage
1. Wordless Chorus
2. It Beats 4 U
3. Gideon
4. What A Wonderful Man
5. One Big Holiday
6. I Will Sing You Songs
7. The Way That He Sings
8. Masterplan
9. Golden
10. Hopefully
11. Just One Thing
12. Xmas Curtain
13. Off The Record
14. Lay Low
15. Dondante
16. Dancefloors
17. Run Thru
ENCORE
18. At Dawn
19. Anytime
20. Mahgeetah

Many of the bands allowed High Sierra to record the shows and then sell the live performances, but MMJ didn't do this. I'll keep an eye out for any recordings, and if you see them please let me know. I'll be posting some other thoughts in the festival and introducing some new bands that found me throughout the week.

And, not to leave you all empty-handed, here's a couple of my favorite live MMJ tracks.

[Live @ The Quest Club in Minneapolis, 2005-10-29]
::: My Morning Jacket - Lay Low (live)
::: My Morning Jacket - Off The Record (live)
::: My Morning Jacket - Dondante (live)

You can buy all of MMJ's stellar albums at Insound, who are incidentally having a little summer sale of their own. Here's two discount codes, so order away:
ilovesummer10 (10% off any order)
ilovesummer15 (15% off any order over 50 bucks)
Free shipping on orders over $30 as well, which is icing on the proverbial cake.

[Photo credit goes to me and my flickr account. Check out the awesome pose Jim James hits as the show comes to an end. Awesome.]

Monday, July 31, 2006

Update/Travel: Germany/Europe

MUSIC: Mofro

MUSIC: The You

MUSIC: More Lucero Updates

Thursday, July 27, 2006

MUSIC: The Polish Ambassador

MUSIC: Forget Cassettes

Friday, July 21, 2006

MUSIC: Lions In The Street

Thursday, July 20, 2006

MUSIC: Song Of The Day (Ghostland Observatory)

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

RECAP: Top 10 EP's of the Recent Past

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

MUSIC: Backyard Tire Fire

Monday, July 17, 2006

MUSIC/VIDEO: Matt & Kim

MUSIC: Apollo Sunshine

Friday, July 14, 2006

MUSIC: Lucero (Rebels, Rogues, & Sworn Brothers)

MUSIC: Bridgetown Breaks

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

WRAP: Tuesday's Good Sh*t

MUSIC: Ill Lit (Tom Cruise)

Monday, July 10, 2006

MUSIC: Brightblack Morning Light

Saturday, July 08, 2006

THEME: "Monster" Tracks

Friday, July 07, 2006

THEME: Math Related Tracks

Thursday, July 06, 2006

MUSIC: Colour Revolt (Thursday Song of the Day)

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

MUSIC: My Morning Jacket (Live @ High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, California)