Micropost 2

Follow-up of sorts to this post. This is the song I was telling you about. This might be my favorite Ali Harter song and it's all probably true.


Ali Harter - Brandy & Joe





More to come later this week. I have some thangs planned.

Oh, to See It with My Own Eyes

Local Natives are yet another group who I found out about by keeping my dial set to 105.3 The Spy. I was out on my lunch break when the song "Airplanes" came on and melted my heart. Even now, when I hear the phrase "I bet when I leave my body for the sky, the wait will be worth it," it just kills me in the best possible way.


Local Natives - Airplanes

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Not so long ago this band used to call themselves Cavil at Rest and their sound was quite a bit different. The spot-on vocal harmonies were already there, but the music had more of a Minus the Bear meets Drive-Thru Records sound to it. Now as Local Natives, it seems more lush and plaintive. I can still draw some similarities to Minus the Bear, but the emo pitfalls are all but completely gone and they've taken a hard turn toward incorporating more folk influences.


Local Natives - World News

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It seems most of the indie music press has been going gaga over the song "Sun Hands." Admittedly, it was a standout track on their first album as Cavil at Rest, but this rerecorded version on "Gorilla Manor" seems a bit underwhelming to me. I honestly feel it's the weakest song on the record, but to each his own I suppose. So instead of towing the Pitchfork Media line about it being one of the best singles of the year, I'll contend that "Wide Eyes" is one of the best songs of the year so far and easily better than "Sun Hands." I will prove it by posting both back to back. You tell me which you prefer. Feel free to due so on the official Facebook page for this blog if you don't have a blogger.com account.


Local Natives - Sun Hands

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Local Natives - Wide Eyes

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Okay. Opinions. Give them. Here or there. Thanks for listening.

Walls of Giant Waves and Ice Fleets

Last week I was fortunate enough to see mewithoutYou (one of my favorite bands ever) with David Bazan (one of my favorite songwriters ever) at The Diamond Ballroom and experience an overload of amazing. Both will get their own posts in due time, but this post is dedicated to the pleasant surprise of that evening, a boisterous little band called Rubik.

Now, the term "little" is pretty much non-applicable, except maybe when used in reference to their currently modest fan base, but I get the feeling that's going to change very soon. Rubik is currently touring with eight members and can have a pretty big, celebratory sound when they go for it. These cool cats hail from Helsinki, Finland, which I once heard described as "a land without sun." I guess when you live in a city that averages around 9.8 hours of daylight in June and 36 minutes of daylight in December, you have to create your own sunshine (can you tell a did a little research for this post?).

Rubik - Wasteland

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The album opener "Goji Berries" is a fun romp through shifting time signatures and what sounds like an army of recorders (probably keys in actuality) that gives you a fairly good idea of what to expect from their second album, "Dada Bandits." Early on they briefly demonstrate their ability to turn from catchy, melodious passages to jarring blasts of not quite consonant joyful noise on a dime, without warning and to brilliant effect. It's the second track "Radiants" that really starts my toes a-tapping, triumphantly bursting forth with bombastic drums and a veritable wall of guitars and synths. It brings to my mind some of the best bits of Grandaddy and the aural theatrics of The Flaming Lips' masterful "The Soft Bulletin," but is still something quite special in and of itself.

Rubik - Radiants

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Now, there's something about the song "Fire Age" that makes me want to ingest a bunch of psilocybin mushrooms and spend a whole day watching children's television (although given the current state of children's television, that might be a spectacularly awful idea). Thus, I feel compelled to post that song here. Let me know if you get the same urges.

Rubik - Fire Age

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Much of the album has this same upbeat, quirky feel and the high energy doesn't let up often. I can't recommend it enough. However, if you're still not sure that this is up your alley, they do have a free EP available to download from their official website, cleverly titled "Data Bandits." You need to have a WordPress account set up (also free) in order to download it, so sign up and get yourself some sweet free tunes. Or, swing on over to the always reliable Daytrotter and nab that live in studio session. Spend some time with these and I can almost guarantee that you'll be ready to drop some dough on the album. Those of you strapped for cash have officially been warned.

Someone Else's Dream

It seems I'm just bursting at the seams with "full disclosure" here lately, but here we go again. Erin (Lead Vocals/Keys/Enchantress) is an old friend of mine from college and she is fronting this wonderful little band called The Rosen Association these days.


The Rosen Association - Gum of Beauty

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I can't tell you much about their collective history as a band, but I can tell you that I once gave a Deftones button to Erin off of my old satchel for reasons that I can't quite remember. I can also tell you that she and I were both party to a conversation with a gentleman who claims he once took a bath in Bjork's tub. I believe his story to be true.


The Rosen Association - Drones

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Back to the subject at hand. This type of music is right up my alley. The guitars are awash with delay and reverb, the rhythm section is tight and the synths are abuzz with warm, gooey goodness. While I shudder to use the word "darkwave," it does have a hint of that flavor to it, though in all honesty, it's the atmospheric kinship they share with groups like Longwave and Asobi Seksu that draws me into it the most. You could conceivably dance to some of this if dancing is your thang. If not, it's an equally enjoyable listen while simply enjoying a glass or seven of wine. Your call really. It's actually a very soothing record. The vocals are smooth, not very acrobatic as a general rule and really suit the overall sound quite nicely.


The Rosen Association - Emergency Broadcast

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It's only $6.99 on CD Baby for a digital download of the whole thing. It's not perfect, but it's damn good. I mean, I bought it. If that's not a good enough reason for you to follow suit, I don't know what is. Sure, you could be a contrarian ass-master about it, but you'd be missing out. Do the right thing.

Take Cover...

Full disclosure: I've been jamming with these guys on violin, so there might be just the tiniest bit of bias here. Either way, this is another one that I've been meaning to do since before said jamming, so deal with it.

Oklahoma City isn't really the place you'd expect to find a great music scene, much less a great instrumental "post-rock" band. Radio Deception is that non-hypothetical band. A few years ago, when the band was essentially just Ryan & Jake (guitars & drums respectively), they quietly released a self-recorded album that was heard in places as far away as Brazil. And there's a reason. It's really good.

Radio Deception - Hope for a New Light

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The audible influences are the usual touchstones, namely Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai, but they also draw on some not-so-usual sources, such as mid-western post-hardcore and emo (the good kind) and film composers such as John Murphy and Ennio Morricone. It all melds into a concoction that is both familiar and original. Themes tend to be meditated upon and explored until their breaking point, at which point the song either ends or moves to something new.

Radio Deception - Pockets of Resistance

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It's going to be tough to get ahold of the album because it's out of print... and it's not on iTunes. You may be able to sweet-talk Jake in to sending some tracks your way if you're really nice.

Roses, poetry and prose

So far, I've made a point to highlight artists who may not be very well known. Well, today I've decided on a short post about an artist with whom you should already be very familiar. Most of you are probably familiar with Tom Waits' more recent, experimental work. However, most in my generation probably aren't aware that he recorded music before his chain smoking caught up with his voice. Songs from his first album "Closing Time," which is probably his most ballad-heavy record, have been covered by The Eagles, Tim Buckley, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and even Meat Loaf. I wanted to share this particular song with everybody because it's one of my favorite songs of all time.


Tom Waits - Martha

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I promise I'm formulating a more substantive post soon. 

Micropost

Basically, I'm just going to redirect you to Nice People. They're a Norman based label who offer free mp3s on their blog. They have great music for sale too. This song had me in stitches and it will only take up under 2 minutes of your time. I recommend reading the entry on Mr. Kenny Wayne, as it is equally entertaining.


Embedded audio unrelated, but you should enjoy it thoroughly...


The Magic Numbers - Take a Chance

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Happy Weekend!!!