2011 – Page 7 – INDIE ROCK CAFE

Kevin Spacey Serves Cassettes Won’t Listen With Cease and Desist Order; Upcoming Album Title Drops the “K” and Two Free Tracks

Posted on 05/09/201104/18/2018 by Max Hammer

Jason Drake, better known as Cassettes Won’t Listen, is not a stranger to cease and desist orders. In 2008, Drake was served with a cease and desist order from the RIAA for his Guns N Roses/Ludacris mashup titled “Ludacris Democracy.” The release matched up the yet-to-be-released Chinese Democracy with Ludacris acapellas. Needless to say, GNR nor RIAA liked the idea. The mashup was removed from the internet, left exclusively to the savviest of internet searchers.

Fast forward three years later, and Drake goes out on a limb again, this time naming his new LP, brand new album titled KEVINSPACEY, to be released June 21st, only to ruffle the feathers of the award-winning actor, who proceeded to file a cease and desist. In an effort to avoid what could turn out to be a costly court case and ruling, Drake decided to rename the album, EVINSPACEY, which is set to drop on June 21st. Here’s are two advanced tracks from the album. Check back later tonight or early tomorrow for a brand new batch of Fresh Tracks.

“Perfect Day” – Cassettes Won’t Listen from EVINSPACEY

“The Echoes” – Cassettes Won’t Listen from EVINSPACEY

Sounds of Spring, Vol. II – Fleet Foxes, Midlake, Flaming Lips, The Kinks, Annuals, The High Llamas, The Beatles, The Morning Benders

Posted on 05/08/201112/18/2019 by Max Hammer

Last week IRC presented the first springtime mix for 2011 (see 2010 and 2009) as part of the weekly Sunday 25 Mix. As we indicated then, there will be at least one, perhaps, two more springtime mixes, in addition to today’s mix, before it’s time to unleash a new set of summer-themed playlist mixes.

We doubt though that there will be 14 installments of summertime mixes this year like we put together in 2010. IRC’s Songs of Summer mixtape series, from everything we can see, is the largest, and most extensive, accessible collection of on the web. We will have new summer mixtapes for 2011 coming soon, but in the meantime, you can access, and download, hundreds of songs from the 2010, and 2009, mixtapes.

So, since last week’s springtime mix was sprung, it has received over 3,000 views, plus however many via the podcasts and RSS feeds, not to mention the various affiliate websites that publish IRC mixtapes on a daily and weekly basis. Because it’s Mothers’ Day (love you Mom!), so it only made sense to dedicate part of this playlist mix to songs about Moms, including tracks from The Beatles, Sufjan Stevens, The Kinks, and a cover track of Paul Simon‘s “Mother and Child Reunion” by The Morning Benders. We went a bit over the supposed 25 (for Sunday 25 Mix concept) tracks, but, we think it’s worth it.

And of course, we have some great spring-time songs in today’s mix as well from Fleet Foxes, Beirut, Annuals, Midlake, The Flaming Lips and Akron/Family. Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful Moms around the world.

[zbplayer]

“Your Mother Should Know” – The Beatles

“Ragged Wood” – Fleet Foxes

“Mother and Child Reunion” (Paul Simon) – The Morning Benders

“Springtime” – Annuals

“Something New” – The Airborne Toxic Event

“Mindless Child of Motherhood” – The Kinks *

“We Gathered In Spring” – Midlake

“Can’t Stop the Spring” – The Flaming Lips

“Tropical Island” – Melpo Mene

“Someone Heavenly” – The Margarets

“Some Mother’s Son” – The Kinks

“Sun Will Shine (Warmth Of The Sunship Version)” – Akron/Family

“First-Time Mother’s Joy (Flying)” – Mercury Rev

“Spring Hall Convert” – Deerhunter

“Not Looking Back” – The Lyres

“This Old Spring Town” – The High Llamas

“Momma’s Boy” – Chromeo

* The Kinks‘ “Mindless Child Of Motherhood” was the B-side to The Kinks’ hit record, “Lola.” We also included another “mother” song from The Kinks, titled “Some Mothers Son,” which is applicable, alas, for too many mothers in the United States over the past decade. Listen to the lyrics of Ray Davies, which are, like most of this brilliant compositions, heartfelt and profound.

So, on this day, we also think of all of the mothers, who have lost sons, and daughters, in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as all of the mothers in Iraq and Afghanistan, where so many have lost children who too often were in the wrong place at the wrong time when either U.S. or terrorist bombings took place. A mother’s love is a universal truth throughout every culture, every country, and every form of life on Earth, and every era of history.

Best New Releases – Fleet Foxes, Beastie Boys, Vandervelde, Les Blanks, Jason Forrest, Dave Depper, Freelance Whales

Posted on 05/04/201107/22/2021 by Max Hammer

The long-awaited Fleet Foxes‘ follow-up LP to their widely acclaimed 2008 self-titled debut officially drops today, although there have been plenty of leaks of the album online over the past month or so. Either way, Helplessness Blues, is one of May’s most anticipated releases. It will be interesting in the coming weeks to see what the consensus is among critics, bloggers and fans.

“The Plains/Bitter Dancer” – Fleet Foxes from Helplessness Blues

“Grown Ocean” – Fleet Foxes from Helplessness Blues

“Helplessness Blues” – Fleet Foxes from Helplessness Blues

* Thanks to DailyBeatz for “The Plains/Bitter Dancer”

beastieboyshotsauce — Is the Hot Sauce Committee, Part 2, the Beastie Boys' best album since 1998's Hello Nasty?

It seemed like a lot of critics, even some bloggers, pretty much wrote off Beastie Boys some years ago. But the die-hard fans didn’t, they just learned how to eventually embrace, and celebrate, a band that was maturing and changing. They’re definitely not the break-through white boy rappers now they once were, but it’s fair to say, at least from our perspective, that their long anticipated new album, Hot Sauce Committee, Part 2, is a welcomed treat.

While it is still too early to know how we feel about the album overall (need more spins because there’s so much happening), there are definitely a good number of stand-out tracks that we liked right away – the most impressive among them being “Make Some Noise,” the album’s opening track, which would have likely been a hit record for the band some 20 to 25 years ago. The only criticism is that we think the cowbell, especially towards the end, is out of place. “Make Some Noise” was first released as a special limited edition 7-inch vinyl last month on Record Store Day. You can stream Hot Sauce II now via Spinner, for at least a few more days, or click on the album title below to buy it now.

“Make Some Noise” – The Beastie Boys from Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2

The track that is perhaps more likely to be a hit nowadays is the reggae dub groove, “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win,” featuring Santigold; as MixtapeMaestro put it, the song boasts “…an enslaving light island-ska gallop, some mighty fine Santigold B-girl toasts, and the Boys offering their old-school-laced wordplay wizardry usual under a muffled gauze. ” Although there are varying opinions, Hot Sauce Committee, Part 2, is probably the Beastie Boys best album since 1998’s Hello Nasty.

We are also really digging the new double single from David Vandervelde, an artist that we’ve definitely heard of before, and recall making a mental note to add him to the eventually-to-listen-to list, which if you’re a real music fanatic is a perpetually growing list. (See end of this post for more on the dilemma of a music fanatic.) Therefore, these two new songs, one brand new this week, and the second from his 2008 LP, Waiting For Sunrise. On the Secretly Canadian website, and the new album cover, it looks like he’s dropping his first name from his official artist name to instead go by Vandervelde.

“More Than You Can Feel” – Vandervelde

“Someone Like You” – David Vandevelde from Waiting for Sunrise (2008)

This first week of May (that has come so fast) also brings us new releases from Architecture in Helsinki, Les Blanks, Det Vackra Livet, Dave Depper, The Jolly Boys, Dead Rider, and artist Jason Forrest who’s magnificent instrumental track, “Raunchy,” has a trademark 1960’s surf rock feel to it, a track that could be cool on the soundtrack of Pulp Fiction 2 (which is unlikely to be made at this point).

{mp3 links expired}

The Franz Ferdinand Covers EP officially dropped this week, featuring some amazing covers from Stephin Merrit (Magnetic Fields), LCD Soundsystem, Peaches and the track, “Live Alone,” featuring FF with Blondie’s Debbie Harry. You can get the EP on vinyl via Amazon.

Freelance Whales Release New EP for Japanese Disaster Relief Initiative

Freelance Whales recently reached out to Sweet Relief Musicians Fund to offer support in their ongoing fundraising campaign for the Japan Disaster Relief initiative. Their collaborative efforts resulted in a new Freelance Whales’ Benefit For Japan EP. 100% of the funds raised from the EP will be donated to the Japan Society Earthquake Relief Fund. The Benefit For Japan EP will be available for purchase starting Tuesday May 3rd, on the official Freelance Whales’ website.

Listen to Ra Ra Riot‘s remix of Freelance Whales’ single, “Hannah.”

Benefit for Japan EP Tracklisting
“Hannah” – (Peter Wade of MNDR Remix)
“Hannah” – (Ra Ra Riot Remix)
Killer Whales – (Darby Cicci of the Antlers Remix)
“Generator^First Floor” – (Aislyn Remix)
“Hannah” – (Lightwaves Remix)
“Ghosting” (Daytrotter session)
“Location” (Daytrotter session)
“Broken Horse” (Daytrotter session)
100% of the net proceeds go to Japan aid through Sweet Relief

Sounds Under Radio Continue to Roll; Release New LP

Sounds Under Radio, we think, could turn out to be a Band to Watch in 2011; they sure have a sound that reaches out to the masses, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you start to hear much more about them in the months to follow. Recently, Entertainment Weekly declared: “I don’t know who these Sounds Under Radio folk are trying to fool, but that is a big-time rock ‘n’ roll band masquerading as some unsigned indie-emo whatsits.” Since 2007, the band’s music has been featured in film and TV, including Spider Man 3, The Wolfman, and CW’s The Vampire Diaries.

While the band’s style is definitely not indie rock, but more alternative/emo rock, we still think they’re worth mentioning in this week’s Best New Releases based on the few songs we’ve heard from their new album, Where My Communist Heart Meets My Capitalist Mind.

“Sing” – Sounds Under Radio from Where My Communist Heart Meet My Capitalist Mind

A tribute album was released with cover songs of the Sex Pistols, The Damned and The Clash from bands that most people haven’t heard of. The album’s lead single is nothing special, but we’re including it anyways.

“Melody Lee” (The Damned) – Leatherface from No Future: A Tribute To The Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Damned

The Dilemma of a Music Fanatic

(continued from top of post)

At some point you get to a place where you wish you could just clone yourself three times, and then maybe, maybe, you’d be able to keep up with all the terrific music coming out all of the time – and that’s just speaking to the music that is basically “known.” But then there are always the albums and bands that you’ve never heard of before that end up – through one means or another – on your list because you heard a song or two. It’s the opposite of a drug addict who’s always running out of dope. The music addict has more “dope” than he or she can ever consume. Geez, hope that didn’t sound too cheesy. (It did? Well, please accept our apology).

And also unlike the dope head, we love music because we love to share it with people. That’s why our posts are usually long and loaded with music, and then there are all the songs we hear that we only post to Twitter and Facebook in order to get them out faster. So, we hope to keep in order to share it with othersand now are imprinted in memory as “newmust have more. music; we come across the “unknown” great music all the time and do our level best to get it out somehow – via a post, one of our mega MP3 playlist mixes, Twitter or Facebook, for as many people to hear as possible.

And then of course if you add in all the music you love from your music collection dating back years, maybe particular bands or albums that you haven’t heard in ages, it’s overwhelming. But there’s just something special and refreshing about hearing good new music from bands and artists you’ve never heard of before.

7 Bands You’ve Gotta Hear, Vol. I: The Golden Dogs, Rec Centre, Smoke & Feathers, Boogie Monster, The Wind, El Santo Nada, M&JC

Posted on 05/03/201105/07/2021 by Max Hammer

As we disclosed earlier this year, we got behind on the In Dee Music series for one simple reason – the number of submissions coming in has nearly tripled in the past 16 months, which almost perfectly coincides with the rise in overall monthly visitors during the same time period. IRC is receiving up to 400 submissions a month, and we’re backlogged.

So, here we are playing catch up, and for very good reasons. We have received a practical treasure chest of good to absolutely fantastic music to share with you from bands and artists most of you have never heard of before. Although it is tempting to just bite the bullet and scrap the backlog, that would be a disservice to our readers, the artists who sent in their music, and ultimately, to ourselves. The music that is coming in dee mail is, again, simply that good, and we think that not to share it would be just wrong all around.

Rather than using the rather non-descript, but ‘creative’ post title, In Dee Mail, we decided to make it more luring by creating a title that creates an immediate connection to readers, listeners and visitors. If you love hearing new music from talented artists you are unfamiliar with, we think we have a treat just for you today.

In this special edition of In Dee Mail – 7 Bands You Should Hear – we’ve put together profiles with music of seven bands that stood out for one reason or another among hundreds of music submissions. To some degree, some of these bands, perhaps all of them, could be Bands to Watch, but we want to make the distinction that they are known to us only because they sent us their music.

The Golden Dogs – Toronto, Canada
Rec Centre – Vancouver, Canada
Smoke and Feathers – Austin, Texas
The Wind – Long Beach, California
Boogie Monster – Vancouver, Canada
Me And Joan Collins – Cambridge, Massachusetts
El Santo Nada – Pescara, Italy

<a href="https://elsantonada.bandcamp.com/album/tuco">Tuco by El Santo Nada</a>

El Santo Nada – Pescara, Italy

El Santo Nada is a collective of musicians from Pescara, Italy which forged an eclectic identity through their exploration of Ennio Morricone‘s spaghetti western soundtracks, Mexican traditional music, instrumental and surf rock of the late ’50s and early ’60s, italian and balcanic popular music as well as British psychedelia and contemporary alternative rock.

In addition, they blend styles of sci-fi sound effects with instrumental guitar, bass and drum work that by themselves would be great for the soundtrack of a Quentin Tarantino flick with the flavor of Ennio Morricone and spaghetti westerns. Anyone who knows well the award-winning work of Tarantino as a director, and Morricone as a composer, will be able to easily hear the musical styles that appear in many of Taratino’s films, most especially Kill Bill.

The collective have opened for artists such as Damo Suzuki, Gang Of Four, and Stan Ridgway, to name just a few. He lists among his biggest influences Ennio Morricone, Santo &Johnny, Ry Cooder, Marc Ribot, Calexico, Earth, and Wall Of Voodoo. The released the album Tuco in December. We will keep an eye and ear out for more of El Santo Nada.

The Golden Dogs – Toronto, Canada

Toronto indie pop band, and Nevado recording artist, The Golden Dogs, caught our attention right away after sending in these two terrific singles – “Cheap Umbrellas,” followed by a second single, “Darkroom.” Both songs are off their most recent album Coat of Arms and were sent to IRC unsolicited.

It wasn’t much of a surprise when we found out that The Golden Dogs have opened for an impressive list of bands, to say the least, including Feist, Sloan Zeus, Bloc Party, Razorlight, Thurston Moore, Roky Erikson, and The Libertines. You know how many bands out there would kill to open for just one of those big-hitters? Thousands.

The band have been praised in The New York Times, Q Magazine, various Toronto weeklies and a number of blogs like Pop Matters. But, they haven’t really “broken out” yet in the U.S. in the big way that they deserve to. So, we’re going to do our best to help that along.

The Golden Dogs’ musical influences range from alternative and indie rock – Radiohead, Ween, Wilco, New Pornographers – to classic rock giants like The Beatles, The Kinks and Neil Young.

We’re really interested to hear if you knew of The Golden Dogs before, or if this is your first time, what you think. Oddly, the band has been around for 10 years – a bit surprised they’re not well-known. First up, is the Spoon-sounding rocker, “Darkroom,” a song that we’ve played over and over again in recent weeks. And, of course, the fascinating tack, “Cheap Umbrellas,” helps make the case further as this being a band to watch in 2011 and beyond.

In Their Own Words: “We have a great live band made up of our dearest friends who are insanely talented musicians and incredibly impressive to watch. We’re sort of known in Canada for our wild live performances.”

Rec Centre – Vancouver, Canada

Rec Centre is the moniker of Eh Jay, a ‘bedroom musician’ from Vancouver. We’re opting to let Jay tell the story of Rec Centre himself: “I had been playing folk music in my bedroom for years, and got tired of writing cutesy acoustic music that sounded nothing like the music I listened to. So I start programming electronic beats, ditched my acoustic guitar for an electric, and used a vintage Casiotone that my friend found in a Salvation Army.

“I recorded on my computer and made everything loud. I was aiming to make a C-86-sounding indie pop record, but I think the results probably sound closer to ’90s slacker rock. I’ve been working with a keyboardist and a drummer to turn Rec Centre into a real band, but up until now it’s just been a solo project.” Long Weekend! is a free EP, and Eh Jay is apparently working on new material now.

Rec Centre include among musical influences of The Velvet Underground, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, early Weezer, Apollo Ghosts, Little Girls, Black Tambourine, the Cure, and Pavement.

https://soundcloud.com/frenchiesmithrecords/blue-skies

Smoke and Feathers – Austin, Texas

Austin based psychedelic rock/southern indie rock band Smoke and Feathers sent in a couple of very good tracks from their recent self-titled, debut album. We were floored. This band rocks! Sorry for the cliche, but it’s so applicable, both in the actual music itself, and in the way to describe the band to others.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that Smoke and Feathers are gaining ground in the local Austin alternative rock scene, which says much when you consider that great bands are a dime a dozen in one of the musical capitals of the world. So, to standout in Austin, is a huge deal for any band.

And it brings along with it many opportunities. Aside from the annual SXSW music fest, and Austin City Limits, not to mention an array of other music festival and events in the city, rising bands in Austin often get a chance to open for some well-known, international artists. Smoke and Feathers have ceased those opportunities, opening for bands like The Black Angels, The Whigs, Sleepy Sun, Dead Meadow, Alberta Cross, Indian Jewelry, and The Entrance Band.

In Their Own Words: “Smoke and Feathers takes you carelessly away on heavy guitar rifts to a place in your psyche, where the angel and devil inside argue; soulful human drama, eerie, compelling wizardy, desire, temptation – nothing close to innocent, but perfectly and beautifully balanced contradictions.”

On “Blue Skies,” we dig the lo-fi guitar punk sound that’s going on, and on “Wicked Ways,” the track has an appropriately southern rock style with a bit of swagger and some definite Led Zeppelin influences. We recommend Smoke and Feathers if you like bands such as Cage The Elephant, Wolfmother, and Them Crooked Vultures.

<a href="https://thewindtheband.bandcamp.com/album/harum-scarum">Harum Scarum by The Wind</a>

The Wind – Long Beach, California

What is this? Another promising DIY band that almost no one has ever heard of? Yes, it does look that way. And it’s no surprise that they, who call themselves The Wind, are based by the oceanside in Long Beach, California. It’s also fitting that their most promising single, “Hathor,” sounds like a spring or summertime song.

The second track, “Monsters,” isn’t as menacing as the title suggests; instead, it’s a kind of day-dreamy type of mellowed out track flushed with globs of Beach Boys-style harmonies, and interludes of background voices and slow-hand mini-guitar solos. The Wind have opened for awesome bands like Delta Spirit, Local Natives, Dawes, and Cold War Kids and include among their major influences – and not surprisingly – The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Band, Grizzly Bear, Radiohead, Danny Elfman, The Kinks, and Cat Stevens. Their debut double CD, Harum Scarum, was released in November of 2010.

<a href="https://needsmoreram.bandcamp.com/album/zechimechi">Zechimechi by Boogie Monster</a>

Boogie Monster – Vancouver, Canada

Calling all head bangers and noise rock lovers; the Boogie Monster is real, frantic, and loud. At least in Vancouver.

Woven in between the searing guitar riffs, floor-thumping bass, dynamo drum explosions, and lack of vocals (instrumental only band), there are tiny hints of classical music that jump out as if from behind corners and trees as the song plows forward through your mind and body.

From the first few seconds of “Lost in Bollywood,” Boogie Monster comes at you with an all-out blitz and barrage of metal, rock, and experimental sounds that are heavily charged, aggressive, and immensely noisy – great stuff; let it rip.

We also dig, “Castle In The Clouds,” a more tamed outburst, and like all of the band’s songs, completely instrumental.

Like bands such as The White Stripes, The Raveonettes and Japandroids, this Canadian duo consists of just a guitarist, Ben Fussel, and drummer, Tony Dallas (of the SSRI’s, Supercassete and “at least five other bands”).

They tear out tornado riffs inspired by many disparate artists (At The Drive-In, Rage Against The Machine, Lightning Bolt) and many different styles (from “metalic bhangra” to “proggy celtic jigs”).

Me and Joan Collins – Cambridge, Massachusetts

This Cambridge, Massachusettes band does get some attention with its alluring name – Me and Joan Collins. But gimmickry is not the measure of a good band (although some have done well at it, and not much else, for whatever reasons). Full of 60’s-pop-by-way-of-80’s-college-rock hooks, Me and Joan Collins exhibit a love for prickly post-punk, glam rock riffing, and shoegazing grandeur, and have been compared to groups likes Spoon, Pulp and Of Montreal. And on top of all of that, we have yet another boy/girl rock duo.

As evidenced by the first single here, “Crime of the Century,” the band has a quirky rocking attitude reminiscent in a way to the B-52s or Southern Culture on the Skids. And yet the song is addictive, in a kind of half-cool, half-geek way; it’s hard to explain (obviously – lol). The second track also has a gimmick-like aspect to it, but also does well in standing on its own merits. Every teenager can probably relate to any song with the title, “(I Masturbate) A Little Too Much.”

Me and Joan Collins has opened for The Cliks and Bettie Serveert, and include among their influences Bowie, T. Rex, Velvet Underground, Phil Spector, Blondie, Pulp, Spoon and the Zombies.

“Crime of the Century” – Me and Joan Collins from Love.Trust.Faith.Lust.

“(I Masturbate) A Little Too Much” – Me and Joan Collins from Love.Trust.Faith.Lust.

Sounds of Spring, Vol. I – Kaiser Chiefs, Fredrik, Animal Collective, Jesus & Mary Chain, Modest Mouse, Tuneyards

Posted on 05/01/201112/18/2019 by Max Hammer

It’s spring, and time for the Sounds of Spring mixtape for this week’s Sunday 25 Mix. We spent some time picking the songs for this mix that consists of mostly indie, but some classic rock, music as well. There are a fair amount of tracks that are all or mostly instrumental, including songs from Animal Collective, Atlas Sound, Fireflies, Afternoon Naps, and No Gold.

Other tracks are from artists new to us, including Fireflies, J. Irvin Dally and Therapies Son, and a few songs that don’t have a title that connotes springtime, but a sound that does – at least to us; for example “Mighty” by Lord Huron – it just has that great sunny spring afternoon feel to it.

Another example is the track “Coconino” from Ennui. While it is a region of the Grand Canyon in geographical terms, a county of Arizona in government terms, the Astronomical Society considers “coconino” as “the fruit of the coconut palm, consisting of a thick fibrous oval husk.”

And yet another example of a song that doesn’t represent spring by it’s title, but does with its music and lyrics is Animal Collective‘s track, “De Soto De Son,” from the album Campfire Songs. We’ve also included great songs from The Decemberists, Kaiser Chiefs, Modest Mouse, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Annuals, Frederik, The Vandelles, Pandit and many others.

And so we celebrate spring with this first part of a two or three part mixtape series of The Sounds of Spring, which will run concurrently as the weekly Sunday-25 Mix for the next couple to few weeks. Plus, you might want to listen to our other springtime mixes from past years before or after you listen to this one. We checked the older springtime mix posts and all of the MP3s are working, so enjoy – Songs of Spring Vol. I; Songs of Spring Vol. II; Songs of Spring – Celebrate The Days; Songs of Spring, Vol. II, and More Song of Spring.

You might also notice an old demo track (circa 1966) from The Kinks called “A Little Bit of Sunlight,” a song that was never officially released by the band. And this is definitely a demo, as you’ll notice from the lack of instrument fills and mastering. Also, check out Kaiser Chiefs‘ cover of The Move‘s 1967 hit single, “Flowers In The Rain,” which itself has a very interesting history, not to mention that the original was the first song played on the BBC‘s famous Radio One broadcast that launched in 1967. We hope you enjoy this mix as much as we have putting it together, and listening to it again and again.

[zbplayer]

“Flowers in the Rain” – Kaiser Chiefs, unreleased cover of The Move

“Argyle Spring” – Afternoon Naps from Sunbeamed (2009)

“Kites” – Geographer from Animal Shapes (2008)

“Sun Room” – J. Irvin Dally from Sun Room 7″ (2011)

“April Skies” – Jesus & Mary Chain from Darklands (1987)

“A Little Bit of Sunlight” – The Kinks, previously unreleased demo (circa 1966)

“Rainin'” – Pandit from Pandit Demos (2010)

“Worms Vs. Birds” – Modest Mouse from Sad Sappy Sucker (2001)

“Sunlight” – Tuneyards from Bird Brains (2009)

“Rain Soaked Shoes” – Fireflies from Strange EP (2010)

“Coconino” – Ennui from Formation of Tides (2011)

“Sunshine” – The Decemberists from Billy Liar (2004)

“It’s Raining Again” – Supertramp from Famous Last Worlds (1977)

“Rites of Spring” – Fredrik from Flora (2011)

“Springtime” – Annuals from Such Fun (2008)

“Mighty” – Lord Huron from Mighty (2010)

“Sunlight” – Mean Creek from Hemophiliac (2011)

“Rainforts” – No Gold from No Gold (2011)

“Water Hymn” – Painted Palms from Canopy (2011)

“Touching Down” – Therapies Son from Over The Sea (2011)

“Lovely Weather” – The Vandelles from Del Black Aloha (2010)

“Lilac” – Blue Hawaii from Blooming Summer (2010)

“Butterfly” – Delicate Steve from Wonder Visions (2011)

“Tough Talking the Tulips” – BOAT from Setting The Paces (2009)

“Your Spring” – Hey Rosetta! from Seeds (2011)

“De Soto De Son” – Animal Collective from Campfire Songs (2010)

continued from above

Spring is about sunshine and rain showers, outdoor recreation and vibrant flowers, warmer and longer days, the budding of trees and shrubs, and some nights that can still be a bit cold. Springtime for many parts of the country, is the break between the brutal and unforgiving winter (for the northern central and eastern regions at least), and the oppressive heat and humidity that many areas of the country don’t necessarily look forward to each summer.

Spring, not surprisingly, is a favorite season for many people, and has some interesting similarities, yet stark differences, from her older brother, autumn, a time when there is relief from the hot, searing days of summer. But fall is also the predecessor of winter, the season of the year most people, even those in warmer climates – like the south and the west – dread. Exceptions are made by a few avid winter sports enthusiasts, and some folks who strangely love the winter, and we don’t mean because of Christmas. Winter nowadays, for many Americans, means ridiculously high gas and oil prices that is strangling many already stretched budgets.

But spring. Ahhh, spring. It remains the most glorious time of year, it is often all too brief, a time when when life is new, things start fresh again, the air is crisp and clear, the sunshine is warm, and not yet vicious; springtime is renewal, the season of the poet, the artist and the love maker.

Recent Releases We Almost Missed, Vol. XVIII – TV On The Radio, Little Scream, Vessels, The French Horn Rebellion, Honey Pies

Posted on 04/28/201112/18/2019 by Kate Stevens

The lead up to Coachella (see the Coachella Mix) and Record Store Day (extensive RSD mixes with rare songs), meant that we didn’t get to all of the Best New Releases for the week of April 12th. In addition to the regularly scheduled releases that week, there were the hundreds of limited edition vinyl releases as well coming out for Record Store Day. For the serious music enthusiast – especially the indie and alternative rock vinyl collector – it was a huge week, not to mention it was also the week of Coachella.

So, as a result of everything that was going on, we missed out on a few big releases that week, most notably, TV On The Radio, plus recommended releases by lesser known bands that we like, including Little Scream, Moonlight Towers, Old Calf. While we covered most of the releases for that week – including Panda Bear, Foo Fighters and Crystal Stilts – this edition of Recent Releases We Almost Missed starts out basically with volume two of the Best New Releases for the week of April 12th.

If The New York Times calls your band “the next big thing” (in ‘electro’) that’s a pretty darn good place to start. And since that high-tail nod, and many other accolades that have piled up or the past year or so, The French Horn Rebellion have been on a roll. Well, they released their debut album, The Infinite Music of the French Horn Rebellion, a few weeks ago with a stream premiere on MySpace.

On the back of just three EP’s to date, these two unassuming brothers, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, have already toured and played with the likes of Hot Chip, Sleigh Bells, The Drums, Cut Copy and Sebastian and have been tipped by everyone from Q Magazine, The Guardian, Time Out and French music bible Les Inrockuptibles to hometown publications such as The New York Times and NY Daily News.

The Brooklyn-based duo already had an illustrious pedigree; David produced MGMT‘s indie release, Time to Pretend EP for New York indie Cantora Records, and with previous single “Up All Night” they scored a Record of the Week on BBC Radio 1 and an opening slot on the influential Kitsuné Maison compilation series. The band have also remixed the likes of MEN, Two Door Cinema Club, OMD, Young Empires and Alex Winston, the later resulting in JPlatt of New York producers du jour The Knocks madly tweeting “its like the hottest thing I’ve ever heard”!

The album’s lead track, “The Moment” is interesting, but we wouldn’t necessarily call it indie rock. Still, it’s great stuff, and the album itself is quite a spectacle of rock mixed with classical influences. Pitchfork called it “irresistible, panting synth-pop, with fat new wave key tones and ecstatic vocals.” Yes.

The French Horn Rebellion from The Infinite Music of the French Horn Rebellion

Another release we almost missed during that busy second week of April was Little Scream‘s awesome album, The Golden Record.

Little Scream are pretty much a new band from Montreal that we think are set to break out this year or next; right now, they seem to be less known than we expected, considering that their MySpace page – which has only been open for about a year – has only about 47,000 profile views. That’s not bad in one year, but it’s less than we expected. With so many awesome bands coming out of Montreal over the years, it’s harder, no doubt for good bands from Montreal to stick out. Plus, check out Moonlight Towers, Bass Drum of Death, and Bell X 1.

“Cannons” – Little Scream from The Golden Record

“The Heron and the Fox” – Little Scream from The Golden Record

“Heat Lightning” – Moonlight Towers from Day Is The New Night

“Young Pros” – Bass Drum of Death from GB City

Jayme Dee, Mothers of Gut, Vessels, Airborne Toxic Event, The Sundelles, and Snowblink

But it doesn’t end there, with the most most recent releases we almost missed. There are others from over the past few months that we have been saving, and are compelled to share with our readers because we like them a lot. Check out these singles from great rarely heard 2011 tracks, featuring bands like

This is like a big ‘let’s play catch up’ post. We’re not going to say better late then never, but it’s along those lines; the end point being it doesn’t really matter when the music came out in 2011 – these are simply songs from recent releases that shouldn’t be forgotten. In order to get through it all, we don’t have the time to review or provide additional information about all of the releases. Sorry guys, but we have so much other newer, and coming up, music to cover. All we can say is that if you really dig a particular band, we’re sure you’ll Google them anyways.

Although we pretty much don’t post remixes anymore – there’s too many of them; and too much original music to listen to – we found this RAC mix of “Love Whiplash” from Jayme Dee too irresistible to pass up. Plus, Mothers of Gut delivers with “Wizard Tree,” Vessels arrive with “Recur,” Airborne Toxic Event do it “All At Once,” (are they trying to sound like Kings of Leon? that would be SO tacky), and The Sundelles play the perfect metaphor with “Kiss The Coast.”

“Love Whiplash” (RAC Mix)” – Jayme Dee – March 14th

“Kiss the Coast” – The Sundelles from Georgia Swan – March 15th

“The Tired Bees” – Snowblink from Long Live – Feb. 15th

Noteworthy Tracks from Peter Elka, The Honey Pies, Broken Gold, John Vanderslice, Two Tears

Next up, you’d swear the track “Cool Thing To Do” by R&B musician Peter Elka was one of the many wonderful Motown hits of the 50s and 60s. Instead, Elka, is a young man who obviously has great appreciation and reverence for that sound and era of music, and it’s hard not to if you’ve ever spent a few hours listening to any one of many Motown Greatest Hits compilations. Elka embraced this uniquely American music form and made it his own on this lead track from his February album release, Repeat Offender. Plus, great singles from Recent Releases We Almost Missed by The Honey Pies, Broken Gold, and John Vanderslice.

“Cool Thing To Do” – Peter Elkas from Repeat Offender – Feb. 22nd

“Ambulance Faces” – Broken Gold from Recovery Journal – Feb. 22nd

“Get it Right” – The Honey Pies from Think of England – Jan. 10th

“Sea Salt” – John Vanderslice from White Wilderness – Jan. 25th

Kerry Davis, formerly of Red Aunts, is now making music under the moniker of Two Tears. In February, Kerry release three garage rock track that were written and recorded in three locales – Paris, Dubai and New York City. Here are two of the three tracks that really got our attention. Two Tears is a new-to-us band that is now at the very least a blip on our very crowded music radar screen.

“Eat People” – Two Tears

“Heisse and Hex” – Two Tears

The Rural Alberta Advantage, Bridges and Powerlines, Hey Penny and More

For this next batch of songs, we’ll let the music speak for itself. Many of you are likely already familiar with The Rural Alberta Advantage, but for whatever reason, we simply missed their latest release when it first dropped. And while the album is still on our ‘listen to list’ along with many other 2011 albums, the lead single, “North Star” is a good indication of what we hope the rest of the LP sounds like. Plus, try these singles from early 2011 releases by Bridges & Powerlines, Hey Penny, The Windupdeads, Ocean Carolina, Pena, Hands and Kness, The Twilight Singers, Eux Autres, Junk Culture, and others.

“North Star” – The Rural Alberta Advantage from Departing

“Water” – Heypenny from A Jillion Kicks – Feb. 22nd

“Sitting at the Piano Disappearing” – Hands and Knees from Wholesome – Jan. 25th

“Summer Friends” – Junk Culture from Summer Friends – Feb. 1st

“Blackbird and the Fox” – The Twilight Singers from Dynamite Steps – Feb. 15th

“We Will Spin Forever” – The Echelon Effect

“Whale” – Yellow Ostrich from The Mistress – Jan. 11th

“Mirabell” – Bridges & Powerlines from Eve – Jan. 11th

“Don’t Let Go” – The Windupdeads from Army of Invisible Men – Jan. 4th

“Cardo O Ceniza” – Peña from Volume II – Feb. 22nd

“Night and Day” – Ocean Carolina from Leave On EP – Feb. 15th

“Go Dancing” – Eux Autres from Broken Bow – Jan. 22nd

“Can’t Win” – The Sundelles from Georgia Swan – March 15th

“Noise Floor” – Seafarer from Hiding Places – Jan. 11th

“Don’t Know About You” – Bardo Pond from Bardo Pond – Jan. 11th

“New Growth” – Southeast Engine from Canary – Feb. 15th

The Owsley Brothers Bring Gothic Country-Folk to Song

The Florida band The Owsley Brothers will probably be new to most people, but we wanted to share two tracks from their new album, Separated At Birth, set to drop next month. We really like the band’s organic, gothic folk/country sound evident in the song “Under The Shade of A Live Oak Tree.” Despite the apparent, implied optimism in the song’s title, “Faith In Me” paints a gloomy and sinister mood. These two fine tracks are from The Owsley Brothers’ forthcoming album, Separated At Birth, which apparently drops sometime in April.

“Under the Shade of a Live Oak” – The Owsley Brothers from Separated At Birth – April 10th

“Faith In Me” – The Owsley Brothers from Separated At Birth

The Owsley Brothers on MySpace

Best New Releases – Times New Viking, Painted Palms, Of Montreal, Golden Dogs, The Globes, Girls Names, Ezra Koenig

Posted on 04/28/201101/29/2022 by Max Hammer

Today’s mix is a really interesting and impressive assortment of fantastic singles from new releases out this week that we’ve put together as part of the weekly Best New Releases mix tape series. There’s such a wonderful variety of known, but mainly relatively obscure, bands and artists with new releases this week. We think you might just see what we mean by first streaming this entire playlist mix uninterrupted (by clicking on the first song and letting the auto Y! Player run).

Among our favorite releases this week are new EPs and LPs from bands like Times New Viking, Painted Palms, Of Montreal, David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights, Matt Pond PA, Julian Lynch, Should, An Horse, Antony and the Johnsons, and many others listed throughout this post. We’re especially interested by the rising status of the relatively new electro-pop/chillwave/Panda Bear-sounding band Painted Palms. They are definitely one of our Bands to Watch in 2011. There are a few other bands in today’s mix that are at the very least blips on our music radar screens, including bands like Should.

“Ever Falling In Love” – Times New Viking from Dancer Equired

“Black Lion Massacre” – Of Montreal from thecontrollersphere

“Sex Karma” – Of Montreal from thecontrollersphere

“All of Us” – Painted Palms from Canopy EP

Double-shot (via IGuessImFloating) –“Canopy” – Painted Trees from Canopy EP

“Cheap Umbrellas” – The Golden Dogs from Coat of Arms *

* Check back tomorrow – we will be featuring The Golden Dogs as one of our ten favorite new, or new-to-us, relatively unknown artists and bands for the In Dee Mail series. This series is specific to highlighting usually obscure artists and bands who send us music and other details using our submission form. We really like this band, and we think you’ll also like the other nine artists as well, including Rec Centre, Smoke and Feathers, Me and Joan Collins, and others.

“Diamond Mine” – David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights from Left By Soft

“Love To Get Used” – Matt Pond PA from Spring Fools EP

“Trains and Tracks” – An Horse from Walls

“Terra” – Julian Lynch from Terra

Note: Album title links are clickable to make it easy to purchase an album and get the MP3s, plus free storage on the Amazon cloud. We use Amazon because they have the best prices, are easiest to use, and have many extra services like the cloud.

Seattle's The Globes are a rising indie band; Photo by Ben Blood via SoundOnTheSound

Also this week are plenty of notable debut releases, including the long awaited debut album from Seattle indie rockers The Globes, and check out the new single (via Altered Zones) from Belfast lo-fi, shoegaze rock trio Girls Names, who dropped their debut album this week. And the interesting music duo, Thao & Mirah, featuring Thao Nguyen of the Get Down Stay Down and pop artist Mirah, have an album out this week as well.

“Stay Awake” – The Globes from Future Songs

“Seance On A Wet Afternoon” – Girls Names from Dead to Me

“How Dare You” – Thao & Mirah from Thao & Mirah

The more you dig into this week’s new releases, the more you find plenty of notable releases from new and DIY bands this week. Dag for Dag are getting buzz from their hot single from the new album, BOO, followed by Jookabox, Jason Forrest, Police Teeth, The Bynars, and Explosions in the Sky. Another great block of rock.

“I Am the Assassin” – Dag för Dag from BOO

“Drops” – Jookabox from The Eyes Of The Fly

“Raunchy”– Jason Forrest from The Everything

“Who Wants to F*ck a Millionaire” – Police Teeth from Awesomer Than The Devil

“How Does It Feel to Be in Love” – The Bynars from Today is Your Day

“Postcard From 1952” (Live, Pittsburgh 4/8/11) – Explosions in the Sky from Take Care

Get Other EITS fresh tracks:
“Trembling Hands” – Explosions In The Sky
“Let Me Back In” – Explosions In The Sky

The Fresh and Onlys are a great studio and live band

The Fresh & Onlys, Fu*ked Up, Ezra Koenig, M.T. Bearington

Here are new singles from The Fresh & Onlys’ latest EP, Fu*ked Up‘s new album, David Comes to Life, plus a Paul Simon cover song from Vampire Weekend‘s lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, a great track, “Dark Night,” from an artist that is new-to-us, M.T. Bearington.

“Do You Believe in Destiny” – The Fresh & Onlys from Secret Walls EP

“Papa Hobo” (Paul Simon Cover) – Erza Koenig from the Ceremony soundtrack – see film trailer.

“Dark Night” – M.T. Bearington from Love Buttons

Kingston and Young God Pair Up; Great Singers and Songwriters; New LP from Poly Styrene (RIP) Day After She Passes Away

Producers Kingston and Young God, aka, Blue Sky Black Death, return with a new album of hip hop and instrumental music. Plus, check out the double-header of new singles from terrific folk singer songwriters Cass McCombs and Chris Bathgate, and Seattle indie duo Thousands. The former X-Ray Spex lead singer, Poly Styrene, sadly passed away from cancer on Monday, the day before her solo, self-titled debut album was released.

“And Stars Ringed” – Blue Sky Black Death from Noir

“County Line” – Cass McCombs from Wit’s End

Double-shot: “Dreams Come True Girl” – Cass McCombs from Catacombs (2009)

“No Silver” – Chris Bathgate from Salt Year

Songs from via Potholes in my Blog, ThanksCaptainObvious, PrettyGoesWithPretty

The Donkeys’ Release Debut LP with Sweet Lead Single; Baltimore Band Should and Others

Ya know, it takes some donkey-sized balls to decide on naming your band The Donkeys. Others would say it has nothing to do with bravery. Seriously, such a name is an open invitation to endless ridicule and jokes, not exactly easy for publicists and marketers to plug the band, but some others would say it’s good just for that reason. Well, alright. But, at the end of the day, most people could give a sh)t what a band’s name is – if they’re good, genuine and have something important to contribute – that’s really all that is important, especially to their most loyal fans. Based just on this single from their new album (and the Soundcloud link too), all we can say is that we are interested to hear more from this band.

“Don’t Know Who We Are” is a chill, lofty track with a neat little rhythm and melody to it that begs for subsequent spins. Sounds like some influences here are Modest Mouse, Sonic Youth and a bit of Pavement. We really dig this track, and can’t wait to listen to the rest of it. Don’t be surprised to hear more about The Donkeys in the future, because we think they’re going to prove to be more than just typical jackasses.

“Don’t Know Who We Are” – The Donkeys from Born With Stripes (exclusive version)

Stream Born With Stripes (we’re spinning it next) via Spinner.

The Baltimore indie band Should dropped their first album in 13 years this week, titled Like A Fire Without Sound. As a gesture to fans, and those who’ve never heard of them before, the band has offered two spectacular free tracks for download via their Band Camp page. The first song, “Turned Tables,” left us a bit awe-struck with its melodic, dreamy pop and gorgeous vocals. mellow second track, “Glasshouses,” is not as engaging, but still a great song dripping with melody and romanticism. Keep an ear out for this band

“Turned Tables” – Should from Like A Fire Without Sound

Okkervil River Will Perform New LP Live Wednesday Night During KUT and NPR Broadcast

Posted on 04/27/201112/18/2019 by Max Hammer

For what we think is a web first, Okkervil River are not releasing their new album, I Am Very Far, today, but instead will perform it live, song for song, on KUT in Austin in collaboration with NPR. You can listen to the live cast at 7 pm EST Wednesday evening. The Foo Fighters recently performed their entire new album, Wasting Light, on a special web-only live cast, which you can still stream here. However, Foo Fighters had already released Wasting Light prior to the performance.

Although the new Okkervil River album doesn’t officially drop until May 9th (pre-order here), it will mark the band’s first album since 2008’s The Stand Ins. So, it has been a long time and waiting for fans of one of the best indie folk rock bands of the past decade.

Compared to a relative blitz of releases early on in the band’s career, Okkervil River has released just two LPs in the past six years. But the idea to perform the album live first is a great marketing event, and also a nice treat for hard-core fans. Here’s the first single from the album.

“Wake And Be Fine” – Okkervil River from I Am Very Far (2011)

Okkervil River formed when former high school friends from New Hampshire, vocalist Will Robison Sheff and drummer Seth Warren decided to meet in Austin after college to work on some music they had been discussing. The duo added bassist Zachary Thomas soon after and recorded several EPs, including Stars Too Small to Use, in early 2000. About the same time, multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Meiburg joined the band just in time for the band’s SXSW debut in March 2000.

Producer Brian Beattie agreed to produce the band’s debut LP, Don’t Fall in Love with Everyone You See. During the recording of the album, Warren left the band to move to California and was replaced by drummer Mark Pendini. The band then signed to Jagjaguwar Records who released the debut LP in 2002. The next year, the band released their sophomore LP, Down the River of Golden Dreams. In 2005, Okkervil River broke out big time to the national stage with the release of Black Sheep Boy, and several months later, the Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP. In 2007 and 2008, the band released The Stage Names and The Stand Ins, respectively.

“Lost Coastlines” – Okkervil River from The Stand Ins (2008)

Okkervil River will officially drop I Am Very Far on May 9th. The following week, the band will headline at Heaven in London, and then at Gota Kallare in Stockholm on May 20th. On May 31st, the band will kick off their 2011 summer tour at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta.

The three week tour, according to the band’s MySpace page, will take the band across the U.S. (and Canada), but no shows are scheduled for California, which is a bit bizarre. The tour will end up at the magnificent Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon – yes that gigantic room up the top of the stairs with the bouncing floor. We saw Panda Bear there last fall during MFNW. If you’ve never seen a show there, this would be a good reason to go, and you might just get to see the ghosts.

The Royal Wedding Songs Mix – The Smiths, Sufjan Stevens, Bright Eyes, Kinks, Iron and Wine, Wilco, Beatles, Bjork, Paul McCartney

Posted on 04/24/201101/09/2020 by Max Hammer

In a world full of troubles, news and chatter about the Royal Wedding 2011 are useless to most people, but welcomed distractions for millions of others, regardless of the innate elitism, pomp and circumstance – even silliness – of the British royals and their trumped up social events. This coming Friday, Prince William and Kate Middleton will wed at Westminister Abbey in London. The royal wedding date is set for April 29th. And, you’ll never believe what Will and Kate’s favorite song is – in a million years.

Also, see the royal wedding guest list, plus news with royal wedding coverage, the official royal wedding webcast, royal wedding process map , official royal wedding websites and more.

Apparently the biggest Royal Wedding Twitter hashtag is #rw2011. That is not an insignificant piece of information when you consider that the royal couple of William and Kate announced their engagement to the world via Twitter.

Anyways, we thought it’d be cool to pull together themes – like kings, princes, princesses, queens, royalty, weddings, marriage, love, and so on – to make a royal-sized music mixtape of songs for the royal wedding mania. Afterall, we haven’t seen any other interesting mixtapes for the royal wedding online – just a few mixtapes of ho-hum, predictable songs (“Chapel of Love” or “When A Man Loves A Woman”), mostly in lists that are not even playlists that you can easily listen to it.

So, we thought, we make mixtapes that people seem to like; we’ll do it. Unlike our other mixes, we’re not splitting up the mix with photos of bands and album covers. So, now there’s something reliable on the web for people to go to a search engine like Google and search for “royal wedding mixtape” or “royal wedding playlist” or even “alternative wedding songs.” *

“Kate” – Sambassadeur from Coastal Affairs (2006)

“William” – Love Like Fire from William (2009)

“This Charming Man” – The Smiths from Hatful of Sorrow (1984)

“Woman” – John Lennon from Double Fantasy (1980)

“The Dress Looks Nice on You” – Sufjan Stevens from Seven Swans (2004)

“The One” – Pains of Being Pure at Heart from Heart in Your Heartbreak 7-inch (2010)

“First Day of My Life” – Bright Eyes from I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (2005)

“Love and Some Verses” – Iron and Wine from Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)

“Your Song” – Elton John from Elton John (1970)

“Almost There” (with Lauren Hillman) – Opus Orange from Opus Orange EP (2010)

“Victoria” – The Kinks from Arthur (Or The Decline and Fall of The British Empire) (1969)

“Kate is Great” – The Bouncing Souls from Bouncing Souls (1997)

“Padriac My Prince” – Bright Eyes from Letting Off The Happiness (1998)

“In The Twinkle of An Eye” – Eerie from Eerie EP (2004)

“Friday I’m in Love” – The Cure from Wish (1982)

“Country Before Kings” – Hallelujah The Hills from Country Before Kings single (2011)

“William It Was Really Nothing” – The Smiths from The Sound of The Smiths (1988)

“When I’m 64” – The Beatles from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

“Tar Hani (My Love)” – Bombino from Agadez (2011)

“For Kate, I Wait” – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti from The Doldrums (2004)

“Unconditional Love” – Tupac from 2Pac’s Greatest Hits (1998)

“Dear Kate” – Dynamite Hack from Superfast (2000)

“Celebrate The Days” – The Rassle from The Rassle EP (2010)

“God Save The Queen” – Sex Pistols from Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols (1977)

“All Is Full of Love” – Bjork from Stigmata (2002)

“Kings” – Blackbird Blackbird from Summer Heart (2010)

“Love You Madly” – Cake from Comfort Eagle (2001)

“Say Yes If You Really Love Me” – Acid House Kings from Mondays are like Tuesdays and Tuesdays are like Wednesdays (2006)

“I’m The Man Who Loves You” – Wilco from Yankee Foxtrot Hotel (2001)

“Say Yes” – Elliott Smith from Either/Or (2000)

“I Do” – J. Geils Band from Monkey Island (1977)

“Hoppipolla” – Sigur Ros from Takk… (2005) *

“Forever & Ever Amen” – The Drums from The Drums (2010)

“Marriage” – Gold Panda from Marriage EP (2011)

“The Marriage” – Billy Bragg from Talking With The Taxman About Poetry

“I Really Love You” – Paul McCartney **

* The inclusion of this awesome track from the legendary Icelandic band Sigur Ros was suggested in an article on Squidoo, and here’s the video to go with it.

** This is a rare Paul McCartney demo tape – which seems additionally fitting since he’ll be attending the wedding – and of course the song is about love. Afterall, this is the king of silly love songs; he said so himself. “Really Love You” is a real jam if there ever was one, and as McCartney explains in the intro, he just started out with a simple one-two bass line and became something bigger.

Currently, there is a waiting list on Amazon when the rare vinyl import, Twin Freaks, of which this song (not sure if the same version as above) is from, will be available. Sony has said this will be the last vinyl pressing of the Twin Freaks import.

Royal Wedding 2011 Website, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Websites, Wedding Resources and Links

See the official royal wedding 2011 website with news, photos, information on the service, the royal wedding procession and William and Catherine’s wedding reception.

View the official Royal Wedding Procession map via Google Maps and the official royal video wedding guestbook.

Stream the official Royal Wedding live webcast on Friday at 5 am EST.

View the Royal Wedding video invitation via YouTube.

Follow regularly updated Google royal wedding news coverage

Follow the royal wedding on Twitter via #rw2011 or the #royalwedding hashtag.

See the Facebook royal wedding coverage and the Facebook Royal Wedding Drinking Game

The U.K. Daily Mirror put together an extensive official royal wedding 2011 guest list – see who’s going to the royal wedding and who is not.

View Prince William of Wales official website and Prince William’s official Facebook page. Interestingly, the prince only has a little over 64,000 Facebook fans.

We also found what we think is the real official Kate Middleton Facebook page, but only by searching Google for ‘Catherine Middleton Facebook page’. That page, which really does seem to be the official one, mostly based on it’s customized Facebook web address URL, which is . That page has a more believable 35,000 fans/friends. If you search for Kate Middleton Facebook page, you’ll get a link to the Kate Middleton’s ‘Official’ Facebook page, but that page has barely 4,000 fans/friends. Facebook, still a young company, has kinks to work out, that’s for sure.

Seriously Will and Kate? Your Favorite Song?

According to U.K. Telegraph, the royal couple’s favorite song is “I Like The Way You Move.” Really? Seriously? With all of the amazing music out there, this is the song? That’s what they said. Well, ummm, alright.

The track is by the Australian dance/house duo Bodyrockers, consisting of Dylan Burns and Kaz James. In April of 2005, the song peaked on the U.K. Singles Chart at #3, and later become a top dance charts hit in the U.S. after being featured in a Diet Coke commercial.

People are still talking and joking about this in the cafe; they’re coming up with some funny answers to the lingering question(s) we yearn to ask the royal couple about their favorite song. For example: “If you will please, Prince William and Kate, tell us the story behind why you chose ‘I Like The Way You More’ as your official favorite song? What is it about this rather insignificant, and not very good, song that makes you pick it above all of the other great songs to choose from. Is there some special moment tied to that song, and that’s why? Was it something that was always the case, or just what you came up with because you were not ready for the question and couldn’t think of anything else? Do you want to change your answer?”

We’re dying to ask those questions, but we doubt Kate and Will are going to talk to us now because we’re making fun of them. British royals are fun to make fun of. We’re Americans for Pete’s sake, so naturally, it’s a joy to poke fun at British royalty. But still, the song. The song. Anyways, here it is, by the ‘Bodyrockers’. OMG. LOL.

“I Like The Way You Move” – The Bodyrockers

How We Approached Creating a Royal Wedding Mixtape

The songs we looked for, sifted through, listened to again and again, and ultimately picked for this week’s S-25 mix are not intended at all to be literal or autobiographical of either William or Kate; it’s just a mix of songs we like that kind of fit the over-arching theme of the royal wedding. We broke the presumed 25-song limit (again) because we didn’t want to cut out any more of the songs we ultimately picked for inclusion in this mix.

Plus, we’re not trying to be formal or appropriate either – that’s up the folks at the palace; this is just an experiment in mix-taping, nothing more. While the songs are obviously not literal, they are meant to tell a story altogether, and with some free-roaming imagination. Essentially, it’s just another opportunity to share music we love with you, and which is not restricted to indie rock, both of which are what we love about the weekly Sunday Mix.

The Kinks’ Kronikles, Vol. I – Rock and Roll’s Most Famous Feuding Brothers, Ray and Dave, Hint At Possible Kinks’ Reunion

Posted on 04/21/201112/18/2019 by Max Hammer

As wild and crazy Kinks‘ fans since childhood, the latest chatter out this past week regarding a possible Kinks’ reunion is somewhat nerve-racking when it should be cause for jubilation. But hard-core Kinks’ fans know the fragile relationship of brothers Ray and Dave Davies, could snap expectations of a reunion into pieces, as it has done in the past.

Interestingly, but certainly not surprisingly, the latest Kinks’ reunion talk arises from yet another less than brotherly love controversy in the press, especially so in the U.K., and one which some fans and critics blame on Dave for being unnecessarily sour and resorting to name-calling via the press.

In a recent interview in the current edition of Rolling Stone magazine, Ray, the Kinks’ legendary lead songwriter and vocalist, told RS that he was for a reunion if his equally legendary lead guitarist, vocalist and brother Dave was.

But Ray’s comments came only after the latest round of drama set off a couple of weeks ago when Dave told the U.K. Independent that Ray was an “arsehole,” and “I love him to death” in the same breath. As he’s done many times, and who knows, perhaps understandably, Dave resorted to telling the world how he feels about his brother.

“I don’t know when it happened, but at some point Ray kind of lost the ability to share,” he told the Independent, adding: “Emotionally – not just with money. Even though that [money] would help. A lot.”

He added: “But having said that Ray is a vain, egocentric, narcissistic arsehole, I won’t have anybody call him that except me. Because I love him to death. He is my brother.”

“Brother” – The Kinks from Sleepwalker (1977)

The latest immature remark by Dave is just a glimpse into decades long, notorious, and feuding love-hate relationship between the rock star brothers. Seriously, to talk about your own brother like that, and then say you love him, through the press at the age of 64 is just plain childish and petty. Another way to look at it too may just be that Dave expects a reunion and is just drumming up publicity for an expected announcement.

And, Ray, who usually is the more passive-aggressive one in these squabbles that have gone on in public for 47 years now, at least appears to have opted for being adult about it by proclaiming that he is willing to do the long-awaited reunion (15 years in the making) if Dave is.

Apparently, the brothers have met, or will be meeting, at Dave’s residence outside of London. The exact date of the meeting seems to be a mystery. Ray told Rolling Stone, “I’m seeing Dave next week,” sometime before April 11th, so that would have put the meeting at sometime in the past week or two. Yet, from everything we’ve been able to gather, there is no news at the time of this posting (Friday 4/22) from the Kinks’ brothers’ recent summit, or if it has even taken place at all.

The volume of the Kinks’ reunion chatter has been growing in intensity from fans, press and bloggers worldwide for the past few years, especially, as the Kinks’ are regularly cited as a major influence by many of today’s popular indie rock bands.

One would have naturally expected that after all of these years, the two brothers would have patched things up and stopped the squabbling by now, especially Dave, who is usually the instigator.

And yet not even Ray getting shot (by a mugger in New Orleans in 2004), or Dave’s stroke just eight months later have seemed – at least from everything we can tell – to stop the non-sense. For 15 years, millions of Kinks’ fans around the world have had to suffer since these two brilliant, but combative brothers, have wasted their talents by not collaborating since 1997, when the band officially disbanded.

Since then, there’s plenty of evidence that recognition of the Kinks’ music has increased, as a younger generation has embraced the band, other bands started because of them, and their songs start are appearing everywhere you turn in the past 15 years, from popular movie soundtracks and commercials to high rated television series and radio play. The Kinks’ have one of the most extensive discographies of any band in the history of rock, spanning from 1964 to 1997. Another sign that demand for Kinks’ music is strong is the fact that their earlier albums from the 1960’s are being remastered and reissued throughout this spring and summer, with the reissues of the Kinks’ first three album having already dropped on March 22nd.

A Kinks’ Reunion Might Only Mean Two Out of Three

If there would be a Kinks’ reunion, it’s not clear if the reunion would go beyond just the Davies’ brothers. Sadly, the Kinks’ original bassist, Peter Quaife, passed away last year at the age of 66 in Demark. Quaife’s involvement in a reunion if he were still alive would have almost certainly been a definite no; he had said repeatedly over the years, he never would, and there was no reason to think otherwise.

The original Kinks: Ray Davies, Dave Davies, Peter Quaife and Mick Avory (circa 1965)

Quaife left the band in 1969, right before the Kinks’ were thrust back onto the world stage with the release of “Lola,” which went to #2 in the U.K. and #9 in the U.S. in June 1970.

The song also became a #1 hit in The Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, and New Zealand. “Lola” is also one of the top rock and roll songs of all time, with yet another

Kinks’ riff that is recognized around the world. The hit single paved the way for the Kinks return to America after a four-year ban from the States, the reason for which remains unclear, even to the band.

(More on “Lola” in volume two of what will be our permanent new series, called The Kinks’ Kronikles, which was the name of a special double LP compilation of Kinks’ music, including B-sides and previously unreleased songs, from the ‘Golden Era’ of 1966-1970.)

“Lola” – The Kinks, unreleased version (with words “coca-cola”)

Quaife did reunite with the original Kinks only once – for the band’s 1990 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If a Kinks’ reunion were announced, there is the question of whether the band’s original, and long-time (20 years) drummer, Mick Avory, will take part. Avory has performed on and off again with the tribute band, Kast Off Kinks. Avory left the Kinks when their huge hit single, “Come Dancing,” was on the charts in 1986 in the U.S., U.K. and countless other countries around the world.

Avory said in an interview that he felt that was a great way to part from band, because the song made the band once again, hugely popular, but also reaching audiences that were not normally their usual fans.

“Come Dancing” – The Kinks from State of Confusion (1984)

Message to Ray & Dave: Please Listen to Your Own Songs While Pondering Kinks’ Reunion

We’re integrating into this post Kinks’ songs that follow a theme of getting along, turning a page, looking forward, being optimistic, and reaching for ‘better things’ (‘I hope tomorrow you’ll find better things..’) and songs in general that are optimistic and upbeat. Maybe, just maybe, the old bros will plug into what they loved about making so much memorable, iconic music together for over a 30 years, and will realize how many fans want to see them back together.

Ray and Dave, here are your own songs that we hope will allow you to put your differences aside, and reunite the Kinks. There’s an entire generation of young music lovers out there who are discovering your music like you’d never imagine. Every time we’ve put up a Kinks’ song on IRC over the past four years, it’s almost always been the top song of the week.

“Better Things” – The Kinks from Give The People What They Want (1981)

“This Time Tomorrow” – The Kinks from Lola vs. Powerman And The Money Go Round – vinyl (1970) *

“Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy” – The Kinks from Kinda Kinks (1966)

“Something Better Beginning” – The Kinks from Kinda Kinks (1966)

“This Is Where I Belong” – The Kinks from Face to Face (1968)

Lola vs. Powerman, as it’s called for short, has 68 5-star reviews from Amazon customers. If you won’t have it in your collection, we strongly recommend it – the entire thing is a fabulous album, and of course contains the original master recording of the No. 1 hit record, “Lola”

As soon as we hear something about the possible Kinks’ reunion – most likely through the U.K. press – we’ll let you know through our Twitter, Facebook or RSS feed.

Note to Ray: Dude, we love you, man. Please hire the best people in the business to help you with planning and executing the reunion tour; we’re talking about the real top-of-the-line production folks, lighting and sound engineers, managers, booking agents, audio and visual tech geeks, and so on. A really amazing light and film show featuring a montage of live and studio footage of the Kinks through the years – there’s quite a bit of it just on YouTube alone – would be sahh-weet.

“Tired of Waiting For You” – The Kinks from Kinda Kinks (1966)

Best New Releases from The Head and The Heart, Tuneyards, I’m From Barcelona, High Llamas, Heavenly States, O’Death, Bombino

Posted on 04/21/201107/22/2021 by Max Hammer

headandheartband — Seattle band The Head and The Heart

Unlike many week’s this year, this would have to be one of the most insignificant in comparison as far as new music releases. There are simply no “big” releases this week as we’ve seen for other weeks over the past few months – like Radiohead, The Strokes, Panda Bear, Foo Fighters, The Decemberists, Bright Eyes, R.E.M., and so many others, which you can view and listen to from the Best New Releases page.

That said, there still are some definitely note-worthy releases, including The Head and The Heart, I’m From Barcelona, The High Llamas, Tuneyards, Head and American Babies. There are also releases we’re liking from bands that are new-to-us, including Heavenly States, O’Death, The Unthanks, American Babies, and more.

Tuneyards gets things really moving with the uplifting African music inspired track, “Bizness,” that takes you to another place. The relatively new band, Futurebirds, definitely got our attention with the excellent single, “Dirty D” from their debut, self-titled EP. Plus, a marginally known indie band, I’m From Barcelona, that we’ve liked for years, has a new album, as does the electro swirly-pop band The High Llmas. And Dengue Fever has the silly titled “Cement Slippers” from their new LP, which you can stream here.

20 Gigs of Free Space on Amazon Cloud: Click the album titles for any release you want to buy from Amazon, and you’ll get 20 free gigs of space on the new Amazon Cloud, meaning you’ll be able to access up to 20 gigs of your music from anywhere and with any device that can connect to the web.

“Bizness” – Tuneyards from Whokill

“Dirty D” – Futurebirds from Futurebirds EP

“Get In Line” – I’m From Barcelona from Forever Today

“Fly Baby, Fly” – The High Llamas from Talahomi Way

“Cement Slippers” – Dengue Fever from Cannibal Courtship

Although Record Store Day (last Saturday) is over, there’s still plenty of buzz that came from it, and in some cases, there were releases that were dropped – but in limited edition vinyl, for the most part – three day earlier than standard Tuesday release date that traditionally most new albums are issued on.

One of those was from the sort of new Seattle band, The Head and The Heart, who released their self-titled debut album this week. We’ve only heard a few songs from the band so far, including the tracks below.

“Lost in My Mind” – The Head and the Heart from The Head and the Heart

“Chasing A Ghost” (Chapel Session) – The Head and the Heart from The Head and the Heart

Also get “Lost In The Valley” from the band’s website for free.

On first listen, we kind of like their sound kind of, but it’s one of those things where we’re not sure yet. It could turn out to be a good album, or one that we forget about, especially compared to all of the other releases that have come out, and those still yet to drop. Pitchfork panned The Head and The Heart’s debut, slapping it with a 3.5 (out of 10) rating.

It’s not usual that a band on the Sub Pop roster is creamed by PF, but there it is. Then again, we really think it’s up to everyone to make their own decision. We’ll know by the number of times the songs are played and downloaded what songs IRC readers like the most, as is evident on the Top Ten Songs page.

Also, on Record Store Day, French Horn Rebellion, which The New York Times recently called “the next big thing”, streamed their debut album on MySpace, although it was officially available this week. There is a free sampler of the album available on their MySpace page for your email, and currently on sale via Amazon for only $7.99, which also gives you free access to all of your music on the Amazon Cloud, with a total of 20 gigs of space.

“This Moment” – The French Horn Rebellion from The Infinite Music of The French Horn Rebellion

This week’s other interesting new releases come from talented artists and bands that we – and imagine many of you – never heard of before and some of which we can say are now, at the least, on our radars, including talented indie bands Heavenly States and The Unthanks, the alternative folk and country rock influences of bands like O’Death and American Babies, and the post rock sounds of Rain Over St. Ambrose. Of course, we’re always interested to see what you guys think. Plus, don’t miss Quiet Parade and Bombino.

“Model Son” – Heavenly States from Oui Camera Oui

“Queen of Hearts” – The Unthanks from Last

“Bugs” – O’Death from Outside

“Dance All Night” – American Babies from Flawed Logic – (listen to album stream)

“DG Gold Paint” – Rose Over St. Ambrose from Rain Over St. Ambrose EP

“I Never Have Wanted Love Like That” – Quiet Parade from Please Come Home (We Hate It Here Without You)

“Tar Hani (My Love)” – Bombino from Agadez

Sunday 25 Mix – Best of Coachella: Bright Eyes, The Strokes, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Foals, The National, Lauren Hill

Posted on 04/17/201112/18/2019 by Max Hammer

by Max Silver
Indio, Calif.
Filed: 4/16 8:00 p.m.

Finally, the desert of southern California is twisting away from the blazing sun, and a nice coolness is settling in. As night descends, everywhere you turn to look there cellphone lights on, like thousands of futuristic glowing jelly fish floating on the dark and calm sea. The colors of the sky, way off in the distance, fade from wisps of oranges and reds to shades of blue, purple and black.

Overhead, and seemingly closer than the night before, the magnificently bright full moon pours out its milky glow on every surface of the valley, along the edges of the sloping camel back mountains and against the towering palm trees, like ancient pillars to the gods.

Night time is falling on this the second day of the music mecca known as Coachella. Tens of thousands of people sleeping under the stars by night, and dancing, eating, drinking and listening to music by day. The majestic Ferris wheel off in the distance gets brighter as the long expanse of the heavens above turn darker, a much welcomed relief from the searing sun.

The sounds of electric, wood, and wind sail over this massive configuration of people, stages, vendors, skyward artworks, and palms. The air changes from odors of pizza and BBQ chicken to cannabis and incense.

The experience of being at a music festival in the middle of the desert, at the mercy of the sun by day, but under the Milky Way by night, is thankfully not a once-in-a-lifetime event. (continued at end of page)

On the main stage, Broken Social Scene were on earlier, and now Bright Eyes is rocking the masses. Coming up are Animal Collective, Mumford & Sons and Arcade Fire. That’s a pretty sweet chunk of time featuring an A-list of indie bands, gratefully, all from the same stage. So, in celebration of Coachella, this Sunday’s S-25 Mix is dedicated to the bands, fans, and crew that make Coachella a blast to last.

“Shell Games” – Bright Eyes from The People’s Key (2011)

“Taken For A Fool” – The Strokes from Angles (2011)

“My Girls” – Animal Collective from Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

“Black Gold” – Foals from Total Life Forever (2010)

“Tighten Up” – The Black Keys from Brothers (2010)

“Sprawl II” – Arcade Fire from The Suburbs (2010)

“Afraid of Everyone” – The National from High Violet (2010)

“Your Hands Together” – New Pornographers from Together (2010)

“Do You Want It All?” – Two Door Cinema Club from Tourist History (2010)

“Obstacle” – Interpol from Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)

“Never Follow Suit” – The Radio Dept from Clinging to a Scheme (2010)

“Round and Round” – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti from Before Today (2010)

“Lover’s Spit” – Broken Social Scene from The Reminder EP (2008)

“Not In Love” (with Robert Smith) – Crystal Castles from Crystal Castles II (2010)

“You Know What I Mean” – Cults from 7″ single (2010)

“Ex-Factor” – Lauren Hill from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)

“Stay Close” – Delorean from Subiza (2010)

“Around My Head” – Cage the Elephant from Thank You Happy Birthday

“Bushwick Blues” – Delta Spirit from History from Below (2010)

“Frank, AB” – The Rural Alberta Advantage from Hometowns (2008)

“Santa Ana Winds” – Cold War Kids from Behave Yourself (2010)

“A Place We Like”- Twin Shadow vs. Hooray for the Earth

“Four Score and Seven (Part One)” – Titus Andronicus from The Monitor (2010)

“Take Me Over” – Cut Copy from Zonoscope (2010)

“Undertow” – Warpaint from The Fool (2010)

“Helena Beat” – Foster The People from Torches – out May 24th

“Can’t Tell Me Nothing” – Francis and the Lights from Guilt By Association, Vol. 2 (2008)

“Great Pan Is Dead” – Cold Cave from Cherish the Light Years (Bonus Track)

The Coachella Experience

In a few hours, the last day of Coachella will have arrived. It’s always strange how fast it all goes by, but it’s always a blast. For so many people, there’s the sense of dread when late Sunday afternoon rolls around. It means the last few hours of Coachella for another year. We will all go back from sharing this amazing experience to our regular lives

Coachella is, for some people, the ultimate experience, even a religious experience, not simply for all of the great music, but also because is shows that, for the most part, tens of thousands of different people from different lives, places and backgrounds, can come together and celebrate a common love for music and good times, to get along and respect one another, way out in the middle of the desert, detached from the ‘real world’ for a few days. Sure, it sounds really cheesy, but I think it’s what a lot of people love about Coachella.

You’ve really got to give it to all the folks that make Coachella such an awesome experience each year. And year after year, it gets better as the organizers and crews, security and operations people learn, tweak, evolve, and improve. Just for a logistical stand-point, it’s an enormous undertaking.

The one thing that we hear the most is how great the music sounds. That’s for sure – the folks that set up and manage the sound systems at Coachella are the best in the outdoor sound arena. Sure there have been glitches and imperfections, but it’s amazing to see how far music festivals like Coachella have come in the area of sound quality over the past decade.

But ultimately, it’s the bands and the fans that make the whole thing possible. And if you think about it, live performances are really the one leg of the “music industry” that remains firmly intact. You just can’t enjoy a concert or a festival sitting on your ass streaming it on YouTube.