Indie Rock Cafe

The Best Indie Albums of 2008, Vol. II: Deastro's Keeper's

2009-01-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

While receiving some blog acclaim in 2008, Deastro's release Keeper's failed, in some respects, to stir up the excitement that we believe it deserves. An example of this: We were stunned to find that Deastro's MySpace page, at the time of this printing, has received only about 125,000 profile views. WTF!? Talk about head scratchers.

One way to describe the man behind Deastro is that he is this musical prodigy who has been mixing music in his parent's basement since age 12.

Deastro is one moniker - another is Our Brother The Megazord - of indie electronica-pop artist, engineer and producer Randolph Chabot, a native son of Sterling Heights, Michigan. Chabot is not an unknown in the indie music spectrum, especially after the release of his 2007 double album Young Planets/Time The Teenage Twister.

Last summer, Chabot released his follow-up album, Deastro's Keeper's, as an Emusic exclusive digital download. Keeper's is a continium of one masterfully arranged track after another - an eclectic collection of wonderfully-written, well executed songs.

Keeper's is full of driving, lush beats and instrumental embellishments, sprawling and swirling compositions that are transcendental, harmonic and inspirational. Other songs, like the pop acoustic ballads "Child of Man, Son of God" help solidify Chabot's reputation as an amazing artist and technician.

Sprinkled throughout Keeper's are songs that range in style from German electronica, post-punk, new wave rock, shoegaze and psycho-pop. There is no template to pigeon hole Chabot's music - which is one of his strengths - other than a predictability that whatever he puts out has been impressive so far.

It very likely that once you start listening to this album, you won't stop. It might just grow on you, and songs like "Songs like "The Shaded Forests" "Open Up Ye Dark Gates!", "Light Powered", "The Goodman of the House" are hard to turn away from repeating. In fact, just about every song is

Thematically, it's hard to miss an overarching theme - nature, energy and an ode to another time and place. If there is a special place you would like to transcend to, chances are this album will take you there, and you might just find yourself going back to it time and again because "there" is a good place to be.

The entire album is a celebration of one man's ability to make a great record pretty much all by himself, from the writing, playing instruments to engineering and even drawing the album cover art. That makes Keeper's even more impressive, and definitely a keeper.

Enjoy the journey.

"The Shaded Forests" - Deastro

"Light Powered" - Deastro

Stream songs from the album at Deastro's MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/deastro and at http://www.purevolume.com/deastro/

Randolph Chabot on Facebook

The Best Indie Albums of 2008, Vol. I

2009-01-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

Over the next month, IRC will publish our choices for the best indie releases of 2008.

There are too many great releases for 2008 to put out a rushed list. With that in mind, IRC will not rank the best albums for 2008 as so many reviewers do. Instead, we'll just publish what we think were the best indie albums of 2008 and let you decide which are your favorites.

For the actively curious, you can get a good sense of what our favorite albums will be by checking out the songs featured in our Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008 playlist series, but that's just a sampling.

So many other albums, the more we listen to them, are emerging on to the list, including releases from bands and artists like The Little Ones, The Rural Alberta Advantage, School of Seven Bells, Atlas Sound, The Tallest Man on Earth and others to be revealed in the coming month.

"Morning Tide" - The Little Ones from their debut full-featured album, Morning Tide

Download two other WMA music files from The Little One's previous releases and if you dig the band, we encourage buying their music - it's definitely worth it.

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. XV

2008-12-17T18:36:00.000-08:00

Wow, we made it to volume No. 15 in the Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008. No matter what, it'll never be a full sampling of what's out there. A few months ago we said that we were a bit disappointed by the indie releases of 2008 compared to 2007.

In a way that's still true, but the point is 2008 is turning out to be another stellar year for new indie rock albums and artists (or at least artists that somehow got under our radar in previous years).

Albums of 2008 that rise in the top echelon of our playlists include The Walkmen's You & Me (absolutely freaking amazing), The Little Ones' Morning Tide, White Denim's Workout Holiday, TV on the Radio's Dear Science and Plants and Animals Parc Avenue.

"In The New Year" by The Walkmen from You & Me

"Morning Tide" by The Little Ones from Morning Tide

"Golden Age" by TV on the Radio from Dear Science

"Sitting" by White Denim from Workout Holiday

"New Kind of Love" by Plants and Animals from Parc Avenue

Well, the holidays are upon us and folks at the cafe are busy with festivities and family and everything else that clobbers us during this time of year. This, Vol. 15, of the Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008 playlist series, may just be the last for this topic.

But check back in case we decide to belt out a couple more of these lists. If you've missed any of the previous playlists, check out the series while all the songs are still available for sampling. And if you really like something buy it as a gift for someone special or just for yourself (you're special too!).

Peace on earth (better chance once the Bush regime finally leaves) and happy holidays everyone.
Cannot resist: "Hey Bush, we've got shoes for you."

Best of Alternative and Indie Rock Christmas Songs

2008-12-16T09:18:00.000-08:00

People have commented and asked why we are not running a series of playlists of alternative and indie rock Christmas music this year. Answer is two-part: not enough time, but more importantly, what for? IRC ran a long and popular collection of alternative Xmas songs playlist last year that are still up and available for your listening pleasure.

There are a total of more than 100 Christmas-theme songs. Check them out and enjoy at the We Wish You a Very Indie Christmas series. As always, if you like an artist or label in particular, go check out their official websites, happily purchase their music for your permanent music collection and see them at shows near you.

Here are a few of the spotlight songs from the series:

"Put The Lights On The Tree" by Sufjan Stevens

"Silent Night" by Low

"Blue Christmas" by Bright Eyes

"Last Christmas" by Jimmy Eat World

Listen to more Christmas songs here.
Note: Some songs linked to indie rock songs website are not working at the moment. We're working on fixing those.

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol XIV

2008-12-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite indie duos that we don't write enough about is San Francisco's Mates of State. The husband and wife team of Kori Gardner (keyboard/vocals) and Jason Hammel (drums/vocals) have put out some awesome music in during the past decade and were presented to a much larger audience in recent years, especially following a 2007 feature in an AT & T commercial (ugh, we know) for their song "For The Actor".

But reaching that level of commercialism hasn't put a damper on their musical creativity as evidenced by their latest release, Re-Arrange Us, which officially came out earlier this year on Barsuk Records. The album is making many best of 2008 album lists on the web and in print. It's a great record, perhaps one of their best, which is saying a lot.

"My Only Offer" by Mates of State from Re-Arrange Us

"Our Darkest Days and Nights" by Love is Chemicals from Song of the Summer Youth Brigade

"Half Japaneez Girl" by Wild Years from Wild Yearz

"I Never Want To Go Home" by The Whigs from Mission Control

"Prickly Pear" by Woven from Designer Codes

Bonus: "No Hiding Place" by Elvis Costello from Momfuku

New Indie Releases, December 2008

2008-12-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

The new releases stack is growing out of control so if you wanna help, we're all ears. Seriously. Some of the noteworthy new releases include albums by Black Lips, Get Up Kids, Deastro, Mark Kozelek, All American Rejects, Justin Vernon, That Was Something, The Firemen (with Paul McCartney) and Artist Vs. Poet.

Newly available EPs from Luv Lux, Third Eye Blind and Cat Power are out and Christmas themed albums from Backseat Goodbye and Gentlemen Auction House are perfect for right this time of year.

Alternative rock and post punk fans might want to check out special editions from artists like Pavement and Husker Du, not to mention live concerts and studio sessions from Foo Fighters, Belle and Sebastian, Paul Weller and Long Winters.

MP3: "Sweet, Sweet Magdalene" - Justin Vernon from For Emma, Forever Ago

Yesterday we featured the Illinoise pop band Headlights as the IRC Artist of the Month.

So it only makes sense to let you know that Headlights has released a new remixes album containing some creative covers of songs from their previous two full lengths and one EP. The album, strangely titled Remixes, features remixes from artists like

The following list of new releases over the past few weeks was taken in part and parcel from our blogger friends at Music Under Fire and other sources.

Avant - Avant (Official) (MySpace)
Backseat Goodbye - A Christmas EP (Official) (MySpace)
Black Lips - We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers (Official) (MySpace)
Busta Rhymes - B.O.M.B. (Official) (MySpace)
Cat Power - Dark End of the Street EP (Official) (MySpace)
Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile (MySpace)
Harmonic 313 - Dirtbox 12" (Official) (MySpace)
Headlights - Remixes (Official) (MySpace)
Long Winters - Live at the Showbox DVD (Official) (MySpace)
Luv Lux - The Brave Kids In Color EP (Official) (MySpace)
Mark Kozekel - The Finally LP (Official) (MySpace)
Paul Weller - Weller at the BBC (Official) (MySpace)
Pavement - Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition (Official) (MySpace)
That Was Something - Down But Not Out (MySpace)
The Magnificents - Year of Explorers (Official) (MySpace)

Alaska in Winter - Holiday (Official) (MySpace)
All-American Rejects - When The World Comes Down (Official) (MySpace)
Artist Vs Poet - Self Titled (Official) (MySpace)
Belle and Sebastian - The BBC Sessions (Official) (MySpace)
Deastro - Keeper's (download only) (Official) (MySpace)
Foo Fighters - Live at Wembly Stadium (Official) (MySpace)
Gentleman Auction House - Christmas In Love (Official) (MySpace)
Husker Du - Candy Apple Grey (vinyl reissue) (Official) (MySpace)
The Fireman - Electric Arguments (Official) (MySpace)
The New Regime - Coup (Official) (MySpace)
Third Eye Blind - Red Star [EP] (Official) (MySpace)
You, Me, And Everyone We Know - So Young, So Insane (Official) (MySpace)

IRC Artist of the Month: Headlights

2008-12-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

When we first heard the opening tracks to Champaign, Illinois indie pop band Headlights, we thought, 'wow, this is great stuff.' The more we play it here in the cafe, the more we like it. And so do many other people.

We are guilty of not knowing about Headlights prior to their latest 2008 release, Some Racing, Some Stopping, the follow-up to their 2006 debut Kill Them With Kindness.

But it wasn’t really until this year’s album that the band got on serious mojo from not just the blogs, but the mainstream music press as well. SPIN magazine recently hailed the band's new album: ""Calling Headlights "nice" sounds like a backhanded compliment, but Some Racing wears the tag proudly: It's charming, but never boring.”

That’s so true. Headlights are definitely one of the ‘break-through’ bands of 2008. There's not much of an argument to be made here that Headlights is one of the best 'new' bands of 2008, even though they’ve been around for a few years. Their inspired sound is full of blissful choruses that lift and pop jams that drive. The talented band members include Erin Fein (vocals and keyboards), Brett Sanderson (drums) and Tristan Wraight (vocals, guitar and bass).

Headlight’s sound is unquestionably pop. But there are variances of interwoven elements that add extra layers of flavor and richness to their songs. The songs feature all kinds of instruments, including organs, keyboards, bells, tambourines and an array of strings, as represented on tracks such as “Towers” and “Get Your Head Around It,” the latter song having been featured in the thirteenth installment of this blog’s Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008 series.

The song "School Boys" exemplifies indie pop in a celebratory orchestra-infused fashion, moving along merrily while maintaining a discipline that ultimately makes it one of the best songs on the album. The pace livens even more in the next upbeat song, and one of their standout tracks, "Cherry Tulips” (watch video below).

Some people have said that Headlights is comparable to bands like Arcade Fire, Stars, Rilo Kiley and Belle and Sebastian. While true in some respects, it is still far from pinning the essence of a sound that is pretty much original.

An example of this would be the tracks "Get Year Head Around It” and has a driving, jangly feel that you want to keep going on and on. "Catch Them All" is one of the album's best tracks (listen below). If there is one downfall it is that the songs could be longer. Headlights makes awesome pop tunes full of personality, excitement and hooks that we find ourselves wishing would keep parading for five or six minutes.

You know that feeling, when you’re listening to a great song and it winds down sooner than you want it to and you are like, "no man, keep that shit going." And if you are like that when you listen to Headlights, there’s a remedy. The band has released a clever album of remixes, oddly titled Remixes, a few months ago featuring some of their best songs from their latest album and previous releases.

Headlights is the real deal, especially for fans of indie pop who enjoy the 'feel good', dreamy type of sprawling and enthusiastic music that has become so popular
in recent years.

Music critic Tim Sendra of the All Music Guide put Headlights up near the top, writing recently: “There are a lot of bands playing indie pop in 2008, but very few do it as well as Headlights do on Some Racing, Some Stopping.”

There are albums that get spun over and over again at the café. Some Racing, Some Stopping is definitely one of them. Even more, it is likely to become a must-have release for indie pop music enthusiasts in the years to come.

Listen to Headlights music:

"Get Your Head Around It" - Headlights

"Catch Them All" - Headlights

Visit Headlights' MySpace page

Buy Headlights' records and merchandise from their label site at http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/store/

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol XIII

2008-12-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we double posted some of the 'best indie songs' of 2008 that came from the first installment of this series. Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing that out. Today we promise there are no duplicates in this list, but there are more songs featured from some of our favorite indie albums of 2008.

Take British Sea Power for example. The band's album, Do You Like Rock Music?, is on the shortlist of many blogs for one of the best albums of 2008. And, it's no wonder - it's fantastic!

In an early installment of the best indie songs of 2008, we posted a song from The Ruby Suns. The album, Sea Lion, we likes so much that we're featuring another track here - "Oh, Mojave."

Sea Lion, we thinks, is one of the most overlooked best indie albums of 2008. Also featured are songs from Air France, Beach House, British Sea Power and Headlights. Enjoy and visit the bands' websites and MySpace pages for more.

"Waving Flags" by British Sea Power from Do You Like Rock Music? (sign up on BSP website for two free MP3s)

"Get Your Head Around It" by Headlights from Some Racing, Some Stopping

"Gila" by Beach House from Devotion

"Oh, Mojave" by The Ruby Suns from Sea Lion

"Collapsing At Your Doorstep" by Air France from No Way Down

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. XII

2008-12-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

Toronto's indie rockers Tokyo Police Club have hacked their way into the indie rock arena with stylistic chord chunks that emulate the edginess of The Strokes and the story-telling appeal of bands like The Decemberists. While their 2006 EP Lesson in Crime put Tokyo Police Club on the indie rock map, it was their 2008 album Elephant Shell that caught the attention of many fans, bloggers and the established rock media.

Apart from being featured in an Apple commercial, The Submarines released a wonderfully ambitious and enjoyable album this year, as did fellow indie artists like San Francisco's The Botticellis, Swedish indie pop sensation Lykke Li and Syracuse, New York's exuberant pop masters Ra Ra Riot.

"In A Cave" by The Tokyo Police Club from Elephant Shell

"I'm Good, I'm Gone" by Lykke Li from Youth Novel

"Old Home Movies" by The Botticellis from Old Home Movies

"You, Me & The Bourgeoisie" by The Submarines from You Me & The Bourgeoisie

"Dying Is Fine" by Ra Ra Riot from The Rhumb Line

Under Appreciated Debut Indie Albums, Vol. I

2008-12-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about collecting lots of indie music over the years is that you can create all kinds of lists. Our collection contains thousands of songs in dozens and dozens of different kinds of playlists. Everything from great songs about colors, names and places to genre-specific mixes of pop, rock and jazz.

Today's theme kicks off another playlist series. This one features songs from some of the best, but largely overlooked and under appreciated, debut indie albums of all time.

Songs featured in this playlist installment include killer tracks from 1980's post punk group 14 Iced Bears, LA's indie pop outfit Western States Motel, South Dakota singer/songwriter Nick Thomas as The Spill Canvas, the mysterious solo act Moco Nell and the remarkable debut from Robert Smith sound-alike Matt Pond PA.

"Green Grass" by Matt Pond PA from Measure

"The Night Will Go As Follows" by The Spill Canvas from Sunsets and Car Crashes

"Powerlines" by Western States Motel from Western States Motel

"In Your Foreign Land" by Moco Nell from Culture Reject

"Like A Dolphin" by 14 Iced Bears from In The Beginning

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. XI

2008-12-03T22:48:00.000-08:00

illustration by Sam Harang

As you read this post, IRC is putting together a playlist of some of the greatest songs of 2008 from albums that were just recently released, and a few that took some time to "come around" to. We are also starting to feature artist web links (by default to MySpace) so you can get more from your favorites.

In this installment, Volume XI of the Best Indie Songs of 2008 playlist series, we bring you stellar songs from recent releases by better known indie and alternative bands like San Francisco's The Dodos, Germany's The Notwist and Minneapolis' Cloud Cult. Also featured in this mix are songs from 2008 releases by lesser known artists such as Sweden's Moto Boy and LA's You Me & Iowa.

"Tommy Hall" by You Me & Iowa from The Adventures of You Me & Iowa - You Me & Iowa - MySpace. Another fabulous song by the band, "Dress The Stage" was featured in Vol. 5 of The Best Indie Songs of 2008 (so you know we like this band a lot!)

"Everybody Here Is A Cloud" by Cloud Cult from Feel Good Ghosts - Cloud Cult - MySpace

"Young Love" by Moto Boy from Young Love - Moto Boy - MySpace

"Good Lies" by The Notwist from The Devil, You and Me - The Notwist - MySpace

"Walking" by The Dodos (photo, right) from Visiter - The Dodos - MySpace

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. X

2008-11-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

There are so many great songs that we keep discovering from 2008 that we could do this almost continuously until the end of the year. In playlists to come we will feature Portishead, Cut Copy, M83, Secret Machines, Sigur Ros, Vampire Weekend, Girl Talk, Travis, Tilly and the Wall, Headlights, Okkervil River, British Sea Power, Lykke Li and many others.

Today's playlist of the best indie songs (in our humble opinion, of course) of 2008 features indie and alternative artists like Throw Me The Statue, The M's, Why?, Weezer, Sprengjuhollin and The Week That Was.

"The Airport Line"- The Week That Was from The Week That Was
"Lolita"- Throw Me The Statue from Moonbeams
"Big Sound" - The M's from Real Close Ones
"The Vowels, Pt. 2" - Why? from Alopecia
"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived"- Weezer from The Red Album
"Sumar i Mula"- Sprengjuhollin (photo, right) from Sprengjuhollin

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. IX

2008-11-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

Some people have asked if this series of best songs is also a representation of the best indie albums as well. The answer is yes. The songs are in no particular order, but they are favorite songs selected from each of this year's best albums. At the end of the series, we'll publish the entire list of IRC's favorite album releases of 2008.

For those of you wondering why we present only six songs at a time, it's just a format we contribute to six-packs; yup, corny, but hey, it's the music that counts.

Today's best of 2008 indie includes artists The Hush Now, Unicycle Loves You, No Age, Santogold, The Magnetic Fields and Rainbow Arabia.

"Traditions"- The Hush Now from The Hush Now
"Dangerous Decade"- Unicycle Loves You from Unicycle Loves You
"Eraser"- No Age (photo, right) from Nouns
"Starstruck"- Santogold from Santogold
"Till the Bittend"- The Magnetic Fields from Distortion
"Watchout"- Rainbow Arabia from KVRX 3x5 2008

Bonus Track: "All of My Love" American Music Club from The Golden Age

Guitar Hero: South Korean Teen Guitarist is One of YouTube 's Biggest Hits

2008-11-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

It's a risky assumption to some degree, but chances are most of you have seen or heard of one of YouTube's biggest 'indie' hits - the guitar video by South Korean teenager Lim Jeong-Hyun (aka, funtwo).

In the self-made video, viewed on YouTube alone over 52 million times since its December 2005 debut, all you see at first is a guy with a guitar and a hat covering his face as bright light shines through a window behind him.

Then you see and hear the first few seconds and realize something rare and sensational is happening. Immediately recognizable as one of classical music's masterpiece works - "Canon" by Pachelbel - Hyun does it justice by playing guitar along with a pre-recorded up-tempo rock rendition.

It's electrifying, for sure. The style played by Hyun is reminiscent of 1970's and 80's guitarists like Dwanye Allman, Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen and Jason Becker.

There's an interesting revival in recent years of a classical music inclusion in modern rock music. Bands such as Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Ra Ra Riot, Vampire Weekend and many others are integrating classical instruments into their songs and shows to great success.

Part of the rising popularity of classical music influences on modern rock music, most especially in the so-called 'indie rock world', is due in large part to the Internet, as will continue to be the case for years to come.

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. VIII

2008-11-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

Proving to be one of the best indie-electronica albums of 2008, Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours has received lots of praise from fans in the states and overseas, as has the band's increased visibility at various music festivals during the past two years.

The Ravonettes' 2008 album Lust, Lust, Lust from Vice Records is a big improvement over their last release in 2005, Pretty in Black.

Lust helps recreate some of the band's brilliant and brassy garage rock-pop sound from their 2003 sophomore release, The Chain Gang of Love.

Other artists featured here include The Ruby Suns, Titus Andronicus, Wool Strings and Final Fantasy.

"Feel The Love" - Cut Copy from In Ghost Colours
"No Future Part One" - Titus Andronicus (photo, right) from The Airing of Grievances
"Aly,Walk With Me" - The Ravonettes from Lust Lust Lust
"Shirley Poppy" - Wool Strings from Eardrums Autumn Compilation
"Tane Mahuta" - The Ruby Suns from Sea Lion
"The Butcher" - Final Fantasy from Spectrum, 14th Century

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. VII

2008-11-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

Admittedly, this next installment of the Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008 contains more songs from so-called 'mainstream indie' artists. Some are indie and alternative music artists that broke through in 2008, like The Dodos and Firewater, and others, such as The Stills and The Black Keys are no strangers to the 'scene', if you will.

Even more, including Wolf Parade and Secret Machines, have gained a solid following in the more mainstream indie channels. So far, we've featured dozens of artists and bands in this series, from Ra Ra Riot and Radiohead to Hospital Ships and Fleet Foxes, to name a few.

Of course, not everyone will always like our music picks, but we try to keep it as eclectic as possible, picking up on the 'blogger buzz' as well as being uniquely independent in featuring great indie artists that are so good it's hard to believe we are one of the few indie-focused blogs that strive to be a conduit between the artist and the indie/alternative music fans. As we like to say, "awesome music rarely heard".

It's awesome when you all participate and say what you think about the choices and ones we should have included. There's still time to influence what is spun on these playlists :)

To leave any kind of feedback, click on the Comments link below (doesn't require logging in to anything and has fields to put in a name or mark anonymous).

Today's installment of the year in indie rock music features Wolf Parade, Firewater, The Stills, Secret Machines, The Dodos and The Black Keys. Enjoy.

"Soldier's Grin" - Wolf Parade from At Mount Zoomer

"Some Kind of Kindness" - Firewater from The Golden Hour

"Being Here" - The Stills from Oceans Will Rise

"Strange Times" - The Black Keys (photo, middle right) from Attack & Release

"Now You're Gone" - Secret Machines from Secret Machines

"Jodi" - The Dodos from Visiter

Most Popular Posts on IRC:

- Best Indie Rock Songs 2008 - Full series

- Indie and Alternative Christmas Songs

- Shearwater Releases New EP, Snow Leopard

- Artist of the Month: Goh Nakamura

Note: To everyone who has sent music to us recently, we do our best to listen to it all, especially when it is sent meeting the guidelines/requirements. :)

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol, VI

2008-11-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

Today's six-pack of the best indie songs of 2008 includes great tunes from artists and bands like PlusMinus, Port O'Brien, Sunfold, Hooray for Earth, The War on Drugs and MGMT (formerly Management).

If you missed any of the previous installments, check out the previous five editions.

"I Woke Up Today" - Port O'Brien (pictured above) from All We Could Do Was Sing

"Sara The American Winter" - Sunfold from Toy Tugboats

"Snowblind" - PlusMinus from Xs on Your Eyes

"Take Care" - Hooray for Earth from Hooray for Earth

"Taking The Farm" - The War on Drugs from Wagonwheel Blues

"Weekend Wars" - MGMT (pictured top right) from Oracular Spectacular

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. V

2008-11-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

Athens, Georgia eccentric indie pop band, Of Montreal

Many music sites, blogs, newspapers and magazines are publishing their best albums and songs of 2008. In all, there is a pretty good consensus on what are some of the greatest indie albums of the past year. They include releases from Radiohead, Conor Oberst, Fleet Foxes, Portishead, Okkervil River, REM and Vampire Weekend, among many others.

During IRC's Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008 on-going playlist series, we've made a deliberate effort to include songs from releases by lesser known, but equally as note-worthy, bands and artists like Goh Nakamura, The Dodos, Titus Andronicus, Mates of State, Ra Ra Riot, Magnetic Fields,The Annuals, Goh Nakamura Unicycle Love You and Afternoon Naps.

Today's Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008 - volume no. 5 - features You Me & Iowa, The Very Most, Of Montreal, Afternoon Naps, Crystal Stilts and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

"Dress The Stage" - You Me & Iowa
"Good Fight Fighting" - The Very Most
"Id Engager" - Of Montreal
"Postcard" - Afternoon Naps
"Shattered Shine" - Crystal Stilts
"Think I wanna Die" - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (photo: right)

Up Next: Port O'Brien, The War on Drugs, Hooray for Earth, Sunfold and PlusMinus. Check out the complete series of The Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008.

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. IV

2008-11-10T01:34:00.001-08:00

If you've been following this series, you know that the playlists feature an eclectic mix of artists and sounds. This next installment for our favorite indie music songs of 2008 features more 'popular' indie artists and those who remain famously yet-to-be-discovered.

You never know when you'll find you favorite new artist or song. Hopefully, you've agreed with many of our choices through this series.

"Heads Roll Off" - Frightened Rabbit from The Midnight Organ Fight

"White Winter Hymnal" - Fleet Foxes from Fleet Foxes

"Empty House" - Paper Route from Paper Route

"Lost Coastlines" - Okkervil River from The Stand Ins

"Year of the Dog" - The Lovely Sprarrows from Bury The Cynics

IRC Artist of the Month: Goh Nakamura

2008-11-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

Goh Nakamura is not only our pick for Artist of the Month, but also one of our favorite 'surprise artists' of 2008.

Nakamura, a San Francisco native born singer/songwriter, describes his music "Dreamsicle pop " as "ditties about parking tickets, impossible crushes and faraway dreamlands."

Although Nakamura has had a loyal following for a few years now, his popularity is picking up momentum in the past six months or so. Nakamura's music video for "Embarcadero Blues" has been viewed over a million times on YouTube:

Nakamura's sound is catchy, wonderfully produced acoustic pop. Music lovers who enjoy artists like Matt Pond PA, Matthew Sweet, Elliot Smith and Neil Finn are likely to have Nakamura's music playing again and again.

That said, it's fair to say that Nakamura can easily appeal to a larger segment of music lovers. His music is the kind that you will probably find yourself liking the more you listen to it.

His 2004 debut Daylight Savings was received well by the indie music press. Yet it is the release of Ulysses - not to mention the fact that it's available for free - is a contender for one of 2008's best 'under the radar' singer/songwriter releases of 2008.

Here are two MP3s from Nakamura's Ulysses:

Suitcase - Goh Nakamura
Hangman - Goh Nakamura

You can Download Ulysses for free or purchase the CD extra edition.

All downloads/purchases of Ulysses includes a specially selected collection of songs by some of Goh's favorite bands:Odessa Chen, The Invisible Cities, Scrabbel, Michelle Amador, Adam Shulman, Nyles Lannon, Grand Hallway, the Botticellis, Picture Atlantic, Annie Lin, Love is Chemicals, The Lofty Pillars, Lucien Lamotte, David Rhodes.

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol III

2008-11-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

Today's playlist featuring the best indie rock songs of 2008 arguably includes a couple of bands that are more 'mainstream'.

It's impossible not to feature Radiohead's In Rainbows. The veteran alt indie rockers' latest release has quickly become one of the most popular alternative/indie rock albums ever, and perhaps even more so because it was initially available as a free download worldwide.

Along with Radiohead, here is the latest playlist of the best indie songs of 2008 by less-known independent artists like Goh Nakamura, White Denim, Cassandra Castaway, Annuals and Love is Chemicals.

Listen to the songs by clicking on the titles. IRC supports and promotes great music by highlighting it for tens of thousands of people each month.

Please click on the link below to see IRC's MP3 policy.

"Tell Me Why" - Radiohead
"Suitcase" - Goh Nakamura
"Sitting" - White Denim
"Our Darkest Days and Nights" - Love is Chemicals
"Confessor" - Annuals
"Clytamnestra" - Cassandra Castaway

Check back for more playlists featuring the best indie rock songs of 2008 from now until the end of the year.

Related posts: Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. I and Vol. II.

Election of President-elect Barack Obama Inspires Millions Worldwide

2008-11-05T20:20:00.000-08:00

(photo by the UK Telegraph)

Usually this blog is all about music. But we cannot let a transformational moment like November 4, 2008 pass without some words.

From every corner of the earth, people have reacted to the election of America's first black president, Barack Obama, with jubilation, hope and wonder. From Montreal to Beijing, Paris to Cairo, Kogelo to Baghdad and Tokyo to Buenos Aires, hundreds of millions of people know one thing today - a monumental, positive thing has happened in America that will change the course of history.

Most Americans, and people around the world, have never before witnessed such clear affirmation of the creed "all men are created equal" as the election of Barack Obama to the U.S. presidency.

When the elite colonists with their powdery wigs and feathered pens wrote those famous five words two centuries ago in the Declaration of Independence, they were wise to qualify their pronouncement with the words that followed; specifically, that all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The election of a black man to the presidency of the United States was likely never envisioned or conceived by the authors of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. But that is one of the great things about our imperfect, troubled and triumphant journey - we continue to work towards fulfilling the promise of America, and to a larger extent, humankind. Despite all of the barriers he, and we, knocked down along the way, Barack Obama was elected because he is exceptionally qualified for the job. Plain and simple.

Last evening before a crowd of tens of thousands of people in Chicago's Grant Park, President-elect Obama made it clear that America is the place where all dreams are possible:

"If there is anyone out there," he said, "who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

As President elect Obama made clear during his campaign, and again in his victory speech last evening, the days ahead will not be easy; "there will be setbacks and false starts," he said. Yet it is undeniable that Obama has ignited, in America and throughout the world, a new age of optimism, hope and inspiration rarely fulfilled in history.

After centuries of slavery, segregation, racism, hatred, fear and discrimination towards people of color, tens of millions of Americans said yes to a black president, and in turn, sent a clear message to the world: no matter who you are, what you look like or where you come from, if you work hard, uphold common values, do the right thing, and strive to make the world a better place, you can accomplish anything, including becoming president.

Obama's election to president is a calling to all people: live up to your potential, pursue your dreams, work together for common goals, help your neighbors, care for children and the earth, and stand up against hatred and injustice.

Like an echo from the past, the words of Martin Luther King Jr. 45 years ago, ring out more loudly now than ever before that we must not judge people by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

There is no question that President-elect Barack Obama is an extraordinary individual with a wonderful, smart wife, Michelle and two adorable young children. Anyone who has taken the time to learn about him in-depth and who has watched him over all these months can not reasonably dismiss his values and his fundamental belief that America is a great nation.

Barack Obama is a natural born leader and he has the opportunity to be a force that can change the world. Right now the world, starting with we Americans, need to change the way we do things, not just for the future of our children and the planet, but for ourselves.

Novemeber 4, 2008 and the election of Barack Obama as 44th president of the United States is a day etched into the minds of billions and a historic day that will be written into history in every language and culture on this planet for as long as there is human civilization.

It is a day that many people alive will remember for the rest of their lives. It is a time in history when we have the opportunity to come together as one world, one people for a common cause - to live in peace and prosperity without destroying our precious planet in the process.

The days that follow will test us all, and hopefully bring out the best in all of us. With so many people feeling hope again, the chances are good that great things are going to happen.

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol II

2008-11-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, nymag.com

Nowadays a lot of people think of indie rock as more mainstream that what it actually is. Hopefully, this blog does a good job in representing artists and bands that make great music.

Yet we're also suckers for great music from well known artists like Radiohead and Death Cab for Cutie, to name a couple. But most of the time, you'll find music on IRC that reflects the 'more indie' side of indie rock music.

In featuring the 'best indie rock songs' of 2008, let's be real; this is not an actual accounting of the 'best indie songs', but instead our list of the best 'indie' and alternative rock music of 2008.
IRC seeks to be an outlet for mainly unknown music that deserves to be heard by a larger audience.

There is no methodology or ranking in these best of 2008 playlists; they are simply songs released in 2008 that we think rise above the rest of the 'indie' indie music scene.

"Cape Canaveral" - Conor Oberst
"Broken Calculator" - Royal Bangs
"Can You Tell" - Ra Ra Riot
"Hawaii!" - Unicycle Loves You
"Honor Amongst Thieves" - These United States
"Sleepyhead" - Passion Pit
"Stumble In" - Sleepercar

In case you missed it, here's volume one of the Best Indie Rock of 2008. Stayed tuned, there's much more indie and alternative songs from 2008 coming up.

Best Indie Rock Songs of 2008, Vol. I

2008-11-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

We had a blast near the end of 2007 putting together the best indie rock music of the year, and from the reaction, many of IRC's regular and new visitors enjoyed the series.

This year will hopefully be no different, except there is more of an emphasis on band's whose labels are more friendly, or straight up encouraging, to offering some free music to their fans from the label sites or the artists' official websites.

Overall, 2008 didn't offer the volume and breadth that 2007 had. Nevertheless, there are plenty of album releases, and memorable songs, that emerged during the year, and worth noting.

To kick off the series, here are six songs from Tilly and the Wall, Wild Years, Tokyo Police Club, The Botticellis, Goh Nakamura and Hospital Ships.

The Best Indie 2008 series will run continuously until the end of this year, which is, as hard as it is to believe, two months shy of a new year. Let's just hope it's a better year than most of 2008 has been.

Best 2008 Indie MP3s:

"The Shots I Drank" - Hospital Ships
"Section of the Sky" - Goh Nakamura
"Old Home Movies" - The Botticellis
"In A Cave" - Tokyo Police Club
"Half Japanese Girl" - Wild Years
"Cacophony" - Tilly and the Wall

Next installment features bands and artists such as Ra Ra Riot, Unicycle Loves You, These United States, Passion Pit, Sleepercar and The Royal Bangs.

New Release: Hooray for Earth's Self-Titled Debut

2008-11-01T21:08:00.001-07:00

Boston's Hooray for Earth is one of the most exciting breakthrough indie bands of 2008, but have yet to receive the name recognition that they very well could get in 2009.

Since their debut album in 2006, it's clear that the band's music appeals to indie fans who like like poppy, keyboard and vocal driven music. The song "Take Care" from the band's debut album is the type of songs you listen to when you're in a good mood, or want to be in a good mood.

From their newest release the song "Want Want Want" is yet another memorable song that helps solidify the band's talent and promise. There are other tracks on the band's EP Cellphone, including "Warm Out", that make us think they could be a band to watch in 2009.

MP3: "Take Care" - Hooray for Earth from
MP3: "Want Want Want" - Hooray for Earth

While the band may be labeled as a pop band, some of their songs have a clear influence of 80's style rock and new wave. To hear more, check out two additional free downloadable tracks from the band's official website and purchase the album to get all of the songs from Hooray for Earth.