Always Make a Good First Impression
42 Minutes and 34 seconds later and I’ll admit that the new Radiohead record In Rainbows is worth every pence of the £5.45 I paid for it. Immediate standouts are “Nude”, “Bodysnatchers” and “Faust Arp”. Quirky and challenging, this record will take a few listens to fully appreciate, but it makes a stunning first impression. Anyone else enjoying this record this morning?
Buy In Rainbows
Stop Whispering, Start Shouting
So Radiohead announced that they are putting another nail in the music industry’s coffin over the weekend by releasing their new album digitally (DRM free, no less) in 9 days for however much you are willing to pay. So the question is, how much are you willing to pay?
Personally, I will pay $10 USD. Why $10 you ask? Here’s the breakdown of my logic (and be careful, this might get complex), there are 10 tracks on the new record, so I’ll gladly give the band a dollar per track for the right to listen to it on my iPod. Could I legally download it for free? It certainly appears so, but I want to support an act that I’ve enjoyed over the years. So what would you pay for a download of new music from your favorite artist?
Pre-Order In Rainbows Here
Link: Official Site
Ickmusic Inbox: Intensive Care
Montreal based quartet Intensive Care show a great deal of promise in their debut EP 2805. While the recording itself lacks a certain depth you can see past it for the clarity of the group’s vision in songwriting. Complex and moving, the band clearly knows its identity and has little difficulty sharing it. The multi-layered vocal crescendo of the epic 7 minute-plus “K” builds to quite the satisfying resolution with vocalist Philippe Manasseh pleading in earnest with an unseen spirit looking into his soul. There are missteps along the way, but this band appears to be at its best when they’re at their most epic and glorious. I’d recommend this to fans of Radiohead or Sigur Rós. I look forward to hearing more from this group.
Intensive Care –
Break Me Up, Machine(MP3)Purchase 2805: CD Baby |
Link: Official Site | MySpace
Taken by Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga
Hey, look! It’s the Spoon bandwagon coming down the road! Wait, hold on, out of my way! Ouch. Jerk! Let me on! Let me on! *runs along side, and jumps on the bandwagon*
It all started when I heard Spoon’s single, “The Underdog”, from their new album, Ga Ga Ga Ga.There’s a catchy and shall I say, summery-ness about it (even though I’m stuck in 110 degree desert hell, so summer isn’t pleasant like it should be). But I can enjoy a good summer song in the car with the AC cranked, or in a friend’s pool (note to self – next house, pool).
So off I went to eMusic to see if their new album was there. It was. I downloaded it. I played it all the way through. I played it all the way through again. I burned a disk for the car. I put it on my iPod. This album makes me happy. It is laden with catchy hooks, pleasant melodies, and a wide variety of infectious tunes.
“The Ghost of You Lingers” is wacked out dream music (a good thing). Then the 3-4-5 song combo of “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb”, “Don’t You Evah”, and “Rhythm and Soul”pack a BAM BAM BAM punch. Cool sounds pervade the album: tamborines, handclaps, horns, cool bass lines, and fresh acoustic guitars.
It’s a solid album from start to finish. And it’s no secret. I’m about the 1,000th music site to rave about this album. So consider this highly recommended with the Ickmusic *ding* stamp of approval.
Pick up Ga Ga Ga Ga on Amazon
Listen to “Don’t You Evah” over at Said the Gramophone.
Check out some more Spoon toons on Elbo.
Watch the video for “The Underdog”…
Oh No! Oh My! – Drink up the Party Punch
More new music coming your way. This song by Austin band Oh No! Oh My! qualifies as a perfectly fine summer song. Their tunes, according to their MySpace write up, are “chocked full of sunshine, wit and feel good energy, which translates into lively, interactive performances that will get your head bobbing and hands clapping.”
Oh No! Oh My! –
The Party Punch(mp3) – from the upcoming EP, Between the Devil and the Sea; check out their previous release on.
Check out their Official Site and their MySpace.
Ford Pier goes Organ Farming
If you’re north of the border in Toronto or Vancouver, you may be familiar with Ford Pier. Ford plays a variety of instruments, and has played with a load of different bands up in Canada…the Hard Rubber Orchestra, the Buttless Chaps (yes!), the Sadies, the Rheostatics, and many others. He was actually a member of Vancouver punk legends D.O.A. in one of their incarnations in the 90’s.
I got a hold of Ford’s new EP, Organ Farming. While he plays most everything you hear by himself, also playing on the EP are members of Fembots, the Weakerthans, and the Ron Sexsmith Band.
This EP was released electronically on June 5th. Later this year, he’ll release a full length album entitled Adventurism.
Take a listen to Ford’s punk-indie blend.
Ford Pier –
Maybe It Came At the Wrong Time(mp3) – from Organ Farming (Six Shooter Records)Ford Pier’s MySpace
Forecast for Tuesday: Sky Blue Sky
For my favorite artists, I’m still a “have it / hold it” kind of guy when it comes to new albums. I have the need and desire to venture out to my local record store (can I still call it that?), pay my money down, and walk out with the new CD in hand.
Wilco is one of those artists for me. I’ve even shown some restraint in this digital age of album leaks and streaming previews, and avoided listening to their new album, Sky Blue Sky. I’ve only heard “What Light” and “Side With the Seeds”.
Like a lot of you, I like the butterflies in my stomach when I finally get through the plastic wrap, pull off those annoying little tabs, extract the CD, and insert it into my car’s CD player. Weird to think, but even CD’s feel old school these days, much like albums did when CD’s took over my life in the late 80’s.
So yeah, I’m a bit excited to listen to Sky Blue Sky all the way through. So if you can’t make it to the local record store, and you want that CD in hand, go ahead and pick ’em up here.
Buy Sky Blue Sky.
Photo credit: TBD
A new Mac and some good Blow
PC or Mac? As my Dell PC (c. 2004) began to slow down a bit, and the 80 gig hard drive neared its capacity, it was time to start the search for my new computer. For once, it was a calculated decision, quite unlike the impulsive trips to Best Buy “for a quick look,” only to walk out with a new PC 45 minutes later. This upcoming computer will be my fourth since 1997, not too bad in computer years I guess.
So this time around, I’ve decided to jump across the great divide and go with a Mac for the first time. An iMac, to be precise. 20 inch screen. 500 gig hard drive. A gig of memory. It should be shipping tomorrow. The anticipation builds… a new era! My wife said she’s way more excited about the steam cleanin’ vacuum that’s on its way from Costco. I – I just don’t get that.
So thanks to my friend Jim for being the answer man for all my Mac vs. PC questions. I’m pretty pumped about this if you can’t tell already. Thing is, I haven’t found a Mac owner who hasn’t raved about them. And they’re just – so – damn – cool! Sleek, slick, simple.
So, on to some music.
The Blow is the brainchild of Portland, Oregon based performance artist Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt. Artsy fartsy indie rockin’ performance artists – with a good beat. And the kids can dance to it.
The Blow’s Official Site.
Buy their latest, Paper Television.
I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Certain albums can draw you to them simply based on the title.
‘I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass’.
Magic, isn’t it? I just picked this latest Yo La Tengo album up from eMusic (screaming deal). I still make the utmost effort to listen to albums all the way through, like a lot of you I’m sure. Even in the download age, where it’s easy to cherry pick songs from iTunes and eMusic, I think it’s still important to buy the artist’s full release of work, like they intend you to hear it. All tracks, in sequence. Many times, it’s not so easy, whether due to time constraints, just not being “into it”, or if it’s quickly reached a magnitude of major suckitude. Well, long story short, this is one of those albums that carries you along on a journey, from beginning to end. I found it impossible to stop listening.
And it’s this song, the 10 minute opener with another classic Yo La Tengo title, that draws you in with it’s infectious and alluring groove.
Yo La Tengo:
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind(mp3) – from I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your AssThe only other Yo La album I have is 1997’s I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, which I also really enjoy. If anyone out there has recommendations for other good Yo La albums, speak up below.
Pandora offers up Destroyer
Have any of you checked out Pandora? I first read about it in Time Magazine several months back. It’s a site based on a project called the “Music Genome Project”. You basically start by typing in an artist you want to hear. It plays a tune by that artist, then goes off on its own and finds music it thinks you will like. You give the tunes a thumbs up or thumbs down as you go, and Pandora keeps offering up selections based on what you like. It’s pretty cool to play around with. I punched in The Boss, and it eventually played this Destroyer tune for me.
Destroyer was created as a solo project by Vancouver’s Dan Bejar in the mid-90’s. His releases have garnered many comparisons to early 70’s Bowie. This tune comes from a 2001 release. A nice tune with very interesting lyrics… “No man has ever hung from the rafters of a second home.” And the song is named after a book publisher. U-nique.
Destroyer:
Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Sea of Tears)[mp3] – from Streethawk – A SeductionDestroyer’s Web Site.
Check out Pandora.
Here’s what the interface looks like (from when I was rockin’ the Cameo Radio)…
