WTF Happened to ‘Sassy Justice’?

Last year at about this time with all of us shuttered and nervous and hospitals overwhelmed and 2,000 Americans dying every day (still hard to wrap our heads around that), we needed distractions and humor to help us through.

What came along just in time was the forward-marching, incredibly funny and just plain stunningly-done short comedy series Sassy Justice.

Founded and created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker – the guys from South Park – Sassy Justice is a deep-fake video series featuring none other than our twice-impeached, one-term ex-president Donald Trump (although at the time he was still president and fighting – against the real numbers – to remain president by almost any means necessary even though he clearly lost the election).

The creators wrote a series of comedy sketches based on the fictional consumer advocate Fred Sassy who reports for the local TV station based in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The realism of the deep-fake is pretty damn good. And yet we all know that in a few years we won’t even be able to tell the difference between a deep-fake and reality. (That’s kind of scary.)

In the meantime, we still have Sassy Justice complete series set embedded below for you to peruse.

However, the team hasn’t dropped a new video in the series since last year, and we couldn’t find (in a quick search) any mentions of when – or if – Sassy Justice will return.

No doubt this series involved a lot of work, time and money.

Perhaps the SJ team is waiting for Trump to run again? But why would that stop the video series? The entire Trump family and all of their associates continue to be in the news all of the time.

If it was intended as a one-off series, well thank you guys for doing it. It really helped relieve anxiety.

Album for Folks That Love Cats

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If you like child-friendly music the concept album, Catastic Odyssey, by the duo, Cats with Nice Faces, documents a day in the life of a house cat, whether they live in U.S. domestic households or human environments around the world.

From songs like “Wake Your People Up” to “Bedtime,” the songs on the album are written by humans, of course, but through an interpretative lens of the perspective of a cat’s daily life, from waking and sleeping to playing and eating. The songs also represent and educate about their moods, needs, and desires.

Other simply-titled and performed songs include the odd, “Feed Me,” (sounds like a Japanese alt pop song sometimes) or the lazy, “Naps,” the sweet “Paws” and the innocent “Playtime, Play Nice.”

The husband and wife musical duo features Chris Valenti and Amber Mattano. Their music is personal, insightful and made up of diverse influences such as alternative rock, acoustic singer-songwriter, Afrobeat and Krautrock.

Mattano’s vocals are safe and somewhat animated while Valenti’s musicianship drives and shines throughout the album with blazing guitars and stylistic solos. In a way, it’s an album that adults and kids can share.

An underlying message of respect for animals pervades the album without being preachy or militant.They wrote and recorded the album over a nine-month period in a spare bedroom with a digital workstation and their instruments.

While Valenti’s first love is rock and roll, he embraces various styles. While one may think this is just an album for cat lovers and kids, the truth is just about anyone can enjoy it.

Listen to the full album here on Bandcamp

Music Submissions and How to Write A Good Song Description

Song descriptions are key to connecting with listeners and getting featured in blogs and the press.

A song description by the artist is not meant to be a review of the song, nor a rehash of the lyrics, nor what the listener can hear for herself.

Instead, the purpose is to tell the story behind (the scenes) the song that the listener cannot possibly know: how it came about; what is the tale of the song; instruments, equipment and software used, and in any interesting or different ways or experimentation; technical methods, effects, and techniques used; how the melody, rhythm, and other parts came about and where put together; what equipment was used; what the instrumental goals were; any difficulties with the song; did it end up different than it started out? How?

That’s a great start to write a solid song description that is aimed to be consumed mosty by the press and other such interests like booking agents and venue managers; licensing agents; festival organizers; and so on.

Also, include who worked on the recording. Also, if the song is autobiographical, please briefly tell the listener the various things going on that they can’t decipher by themselves to provide a window. 

Song descriptions should also be succinct and rich in detail. These are the things that can make the difference between being featured in a blog, on a radio program or in a playlist, or not.

For example: A young new musician and studying doctor from Ohio wrote a terrific song with a sweet melody during a trip to India where he was volunteering and researching health care access in remote villages. While staying in one of the villages, he was even able to record, and later mix in, remarkable choruses of Indian children singing to his melody.

He described as well how it came about that the children began to sing the chorus. He did not plan it that way but the children liked the melody and chorus of his song so much that they learned it and in a couple of days treated the entire village to a performance. Now that’s a story behind a song that gets people’s attention and interest.

Another artist used unconventional recording techniques by capturing everyday sounds in his home and mixing them into his music. Another artist’s song is actually about his mother but he is playing the third person instead of the first person because it’s too painful. 

With song descriptions, we want them to be detail-rich but also succinct. Anything too long will decrease the number of people that read it and the overall success of the track. 


Song descriptions help the artist connect with listeners and fans and evoke emotions, memories, senses, and even actions – such as someone deciding to promote your song themselves on their socials because of what you wrote about it or for other bloggers to pick up and write about you because they have something compelling for the reader in addition to just the track by itself.

Interesting tidbits, facts, stories and triggering emotions are main points that get people to stop, listen and even care – for a minute. That’s hard to do in today’s millisecond world.


The aim is to get the listener not only to stop but to fully absorb the song. If they read the description, become even more intrigued, and start checking out even more music from the artist, that is a touchdown.

The fight for people’s attention is a true and serious one. We now live in a world where 24,000 songs are released every day on streaming services alone, according to a 2018 Gracenote study.

So, to get hundreds, thousands, or oh wow! tens of thousands (not bots, but real folks) listens online is a great thing. But it takes strategy, planning, smarts and knowing the ropes to rise even a little above the noise of 24K releases every day!  

Want help to get there? 

Get more information about professional music publicity, social promotions, branding, and other music services tailored specifically for promising and talented DIY artists and bands.

Rolling Stones’ Ultimate Greatest Hits Release, the ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ Film, Plus, a Stones’ eBook Contest

by Maxwell Silver

Commonly referred to as ‘the world’s greatest rock and roll band,’ the members of The Rolling Stones, all now 65 or older, keep chugging along. Over the years, we’ve all heard comments or jokes that the legendary rock elders are washed up, or should retire, but that sentiment is antithetical to long-held mottos of rock culture, like “long live rock and roll” or “rock and roll will never die.” Chuck Berry, the godfather of rock, has continued to perform into his 80’s. Nevertheless, it’s mind numbing to think that the members of the Stones, who celebrated their 50th anniversary as a band earlier this year, are now seniors. The band’s newest greatest hits compilation, GRRR!, features a comprehensive chronology of the band’s music over the past half century. Plus, enter to win a special collector’s item eBook, 50 Years: The Rolling Stones; Views From the Inside; Views From The Outside.

GRRR! is available now in a couple clicks as an MP3 download; a three-disc CD set; a five-CD super deluxe edition (with all kinds of goodies for fans and collectors), the import CD edition (appears to be no vinyl edition right now) – all of these links lead to direct purchases via Amazon, which is having a special sale to honor the band’s 50th year of rock and roll.

grrrstonesdeluxecd

While new songs like “Doom and Gloom” cannot possibly compare to the volumes of ground-breaking music the Stones released at the height of their stardom in the 1960’s and 70’s, for old-time legends of rock, the Stones can still bang it out. Oddly, the video for “Doom and Gloom,” the band’s first new single in years, does not feature even one frame of the band, which is a bit odd, especially considering it’s their 50th anniversary year. Rather, the video is a lyrics video for all practical purposes, featuring a series of paint and other artistic representations of the song’s lyrics. There is also a non-video, MP3 stream of the song available below.

“Doom and Gloom” – The Rolling Stones from GRRR!

stones2012liveconcert

The Rolling Stones Prepping for Sold-Out Performances in London, Brooklyn and Newark

Next week, the Stones will perform two shows at the O2 Arena in London before coming stateside to perform one show at Brooklyn Barclays Center (Dec. 8th) and the Newark Prudential Center (Dec. 13th & 15th). We wonder what the band will be doing from Dec. 9th through Dec. 12th? All shows, of course, are sold out. Also, the band’s two-and-a-half hour documentary, Crossfire Hurricane, featuring rare footage of the band over the decades, including never before seen interviews with Brian Jones, premiered on HBO last Thursday night, and is also now available on DVD and Blu-ray via Amazon. Here’s the trailer for the film.

Stones’ eBook Contest and Chance to Write for IRC

: Win a collector’s and music lover’s special eBook, 50 Years: The Rolling Stones; Views From the Inside; Views From The Outside, featuring rare photos and interviews, many of which have never been published in the U.S. until now. This contest is also a perfect opportunity for an aspiring writer as well.

To enter the contest, simply pick a song from any post on IRC (or the Top 10 Songs page, from January through October) and write, in the Comments Box at the end of the post, your own mini review (no more than 200 words please) of the song, the album it’s from, and/or the artist in the Comments Box below any post. You do not need to sign up or register to leave a Comment below a post.

After you write and post your mini review in the Comments Box, we’ll review it, publish it, and over the next week to 10 days, review each mini review to pick the winners. You may also write your review on IRC’s Facebook page. In either case, please make sure to reference the song title, album title and the artist you are writing about. You can also copy and paste your review to FB after posting it in the Comments Box. You may wish to also copy and paste into Facebook the URL of the post you’re leaving a comment on.

This is also a great opportunity, and perhaps a unique approach, for aspiring and established writers because the winners of the eBook (plus a secret bonus prize) will also have the opportunity to write a music-related article or post for IRC, giving them exposure to over a half million readers/listeners a month. If you use the Comments Box on IRC, don’t worry, you’re email address is only seen by us. Can’t wait to see what songs you guys pick and write about. Also feel free to Tweet or write on our Wall after if you use the post’s Comments Box to share “here’s my mini review of [song/album/band] on Indie Rock Cafe.”

Best New Releases – Bikini, Cut Copy, Eux Autres, Girls, The Soft Moon, Orange Juice, Home Video, Music Sampler

We’re not clear on why anyone (unless your Kayne) would want to drop a new album two days before Thanksgiving; most people are completely distracted by the holidays. That said, there are nonetheless some fine releases you may just want to scoop up during your Christmas shopping excursions.

In recent months, the Miami duo, Bikini, have been on the rise, and this week they drop a new EP, RIPJDS. Nigel Diamond and Olivier Olivier met at Canada‘s Glen-Lyon Norfolk School of music. The band have become well-known for their electro-pop dance music, and we are lucky enough to have two singles from their new release to share.

“American Mourning”Bikini from EP RIPJDS

“ACheerleader”Bikini from EP RIPJDS

cutcopy

While we are on the electro-dance vibe, check out the just released new track from the popular Austrailian band, Cut Copy. “Take Me Over” has a decidedly funky beat and an addictive, catchy melody and rhythm; more evidence that the band continue to evolve their stellar sound, to the delight of millions of fans.

“Take Me Over”Cut Copy from Zonoscope! – out Feb. 8th, 2011

girls

Now, back to this week’s best new singles from newly minted records. Not by design, the next three artists are all from the wonderful city of San Francisco, which has always been a music mecca, but in recent years, has spawned a very long list of popular indie bands and artists.

Among them is the indie pop duo, Eux Autres, who have been gaining ground locally and across the country. Their debut album, Broken Bow, is out this week via Bon Mots Records. And just in time for the holidays, the band also have a new Christmas album, Another Christmas At Home. The band is comprised of brother and sister pair, Nicholas and Heather Larimer.

“Go Dancing”Eux Autres from Broken Bow

Since the release of their debut LP, Album, San Francisco’s Girls have amassed a worldwide following. That doesn’t happen without relentless touring, so it is a bit surprising that they had time to pump out a new EP, Broken Dreams Club. We have yet to listen to it from start to end, but the single release, “Heartbreaker” is a nice little melodic pop rock track with a bittersweet message.

“Heartbreaker”Girls from Broken Dreams Club

The-Soft-Moon-The-Soft-Moon

Another San Francisco musical artist, multi-instrumentalist Luis Vasquez, aka, The Soft Moon, dropped his self-titled debut LP this week. “Tiny Spiders,” the album’s closing track, is gripping and dark, and marked by chaotic synth notes, a rapid beat and occasional distant vocals high on reverb. With the release of his debut, and series of previous 7″ singles, Vasquez’s style is hard to describe – it’s dark synth, if you will, influenced by post-punk, psychedelic rock, and Krautrock.  Vanquez calls his style “world music.” But it’s not; instead, it’s more accurate, as his record label suggested, to be tagged”post-apocalyptic.”

“Tiny Spiders” The Soft Moon from The Soft Moon

And while we’re on the subject of San Francisco bands, you might be interested in a $1 donation to a homeless cause to get a sampler from True Panther Records, featuring tracks from SF bands like Young Prisms, Girls, Ty Segall, Fresh and Onlys, and Dominant Legs, among others.

Sometimes release dates for LPs can get pretty confusing. There’s the digital release date, in the U.S. and abroad, and there’s the physical (vinyl and CD) release date.

Last week, Home Video dropped their latest album, The Automatic Process, digitally; and this week it is out physically. Here’s a track from their new album, plus a remix from Sweden’s Montauk.

“Smoke” Home Video from The Automatic Process

“Every Love That Ever Was (Montauk’s Vacation Mix)” Home Video

The legendary Scottish band, Orange Juice, dropped their first album yesterday since frontman Edwyn Collins‘ 2005 stroke.  Many of the band’s songs from their peak in the late 1970’s to the early 1980’s were not previously available.

With the new boxset, the band’s fans stateside now have all of the classic tracks in one place.

“Felicity” Orange Juice from Coals To Newcastle


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Amy Heffernan’s “Being Awesome”

Raised in the Canadian Rockies region of Alberta, songwriter and musician Amy Heffernan never doubted that she was born to make music.

From the moment she saw the music video for No Doubt’s song “Just A Girl,” Heffernan was hooked: “that’s what I want to do!” she exclaimed.

Her new album, and debut L.P., Being Awesome, features the radio-friendly party anthem and the title track, “Being Awesome,” and a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.”

Interestingly enough, Heffernan’s first big break was as a drummer touring Canada and the U.S. with Juno-nominated artist Janelle.

When she returned two years later, Heffernan packed her gear and left her oil city home base of Fort McMurray, Alberta for Los Angeles. There she teamed up with her older brother, Doug Heffernan, an accomplished singer and songwriter.

Following her debut in California, she returned to northern Alberta to share what she had learned with local fans and family.

After playing over 100 shows in six months, including her so-called ‘Johnny Cash Prison Tour” – playing to countless work camps across the region – Heffernan decided to move back to sunny California to begin writing her first full-length album.

 

 

Best New Releases from Bear Hands, 1900s, Brian Eno, Ray Davies, Violens, Matt & Kim, Horse Feathers, The High Dials, Impossible Hair

Election Day in the U.S. coincides with the release of dozens and dozens of new albums, EPs and singles from bands and artists around the world. This week we recommend newbies from indie favorites like Bear Hands, 1900s, Violens, Matt & Kim, Horse Feathers, The High Dials, plus new releases from bands and artists you’ve probably never heard of, like, Lelia Broussard, Bjorn Torske, Impossible Hair, Depth & Current, Nightlands, Rubber, One Hundred Flowers, Glass Vaults, Amy Bezunartea, and The Autumn Defense.

Perhaps the most exciting release of the week here in the cafe is Ray Davies‘ new LP, See My Friends, which features covers and collaboration of classic Kinks’ songs with Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Mumford and Sons, Metallica, Spoon, Paloma Faith, Alex Chilton, Bon Jovi and many others. Ironically, though, if you’re in the U.S. you can’t get the album until next March. WTF?! Anyways, in the meantime, the only sampling from the album is a fairly rough audio (and video) clip of Mumford and Sons performing “Days/This Time Tomorrow” with Davies on the UK music show, Later with Jools Holland.

Also included in today’s mix is a single from Brian Eno, the father of electronic indie rock. Eno’s new LP, Small Craft on a Milk Sea, is out now. The album features stand0ut tracks – among many – like “2 Forms of Anger”, and “Emerald And Stone”. We are displaying a different type of  track, “Bones Bomb.”

In addition, we just had to include the Eno song, “Strange Overtones,” with former Talking Heads‘ frontman, David Bryne. The song is absolutely amazing, and incredibly upbeat, full of tropical influenced percussions, high-note mini guitar riffs, Eno’s synths and Bryne’s solid gold vocals.

You may also be interested in a special compilation of one of the forerunners of acoustic indie music, the late, great, Elliott Smith. This CD features a collection of Smith’s best songs. Just had a random, but beautiful, thought: Imagine Ray Davies, Brian Eno, David Bryne and Eilliott Smith recording an album together – wow.

But first, let’s kick-off this mix of the Best New Releases of the week with fresh tracks from new albums by Bear Hands and 1900s.

“What A Drag” Bear Hands from Burning Bush Supper Club

“Babies”1900s from Return of the Century

“Bone Bomb”Brian Eno from Small Craft on a Sea of Milk

“Strange Overtone” Brian Eno (with David Bryne) (2008)

“Satellite”Lelia Broussard from Masquerade (self-released)

“Violent Sensation Descends”Violens from Amoral

“Days/This Time Tomorrow”(live) – Ray Davies and Mumford and Sons*
* The official studio version of this collaboration is featured on See My Friends, due March 2011 in U.S.

Here’s the original version of “This Time Tomorrow” from The Kinks‘ 1970 LP, Lola Vs. Powerman and the Money Go Round

“Twilight”Elliott Smith from An Introduction to Elliott Smith

“Versjon Wolfenstein”Bjørn Torske from Kokning

“Drain You” (Nirvana) – Horse Feathers from Drain You 7”

You Can Own”Impossible Hair from Toast a Dozen (On The Outside) (self-released)

“Don’t Go Away”Depth & Current from Don’t Go Away/Calm To The Sea 7″

“Auto Pilot” – Weezer from Death To False Metal

“Block After Block” Matt and Kim from Sidewalks

“Suzerain”(A Letter to the Judge) – Nightlands from Forget the Mantra

“Rubber”Yuck from Rubber 7″

“Chinese Boxes”The High Dials from Anthems for Doomed Youth

“All The Things We Were Supposed to Be”Amy Bezunartea from Restaurants & Bars

“Rat Trap”One Hundred Flowers from Mechanical Bride

“Forget Me Not”Glass Vaults from Glass EP

Other Releases This Week:

Destroyer: “Archer on the Beach” b/w “Grief Point” 12” [Merge]

Diplo: Blow Your Head Volume 1: Diplo Presents Dubstep [Mad Decent]

Elliott Smith: Introduction to…Elliott Smith [Kill Rock Stars]

Games: That We Can Play [Hippos in Tanks]

The June: Green Fields and Rain [Rainbow Quartz]

N.E.R.D.: Nothing [Star Trak/Interscope]

Sharron Kraus: The Woody Nightshade [Strange Attractors]

In Dee Mail 2010, Vol. V: People On The Moon, The KABBs, Non-Commissioned Officers, Skytone, Kate Martin

In Dee Mail playlists have been one of the most popular features of Indie Rock Cafe for a couple of years now. The series has uncovered an amazing array of talented artists and bands from across the United States, and throughout the world. They are singer and songwriters, shoegaze rock bands, indie orchestra pop collectives, and one man glo-fi introverts with a MacBook and cheap gear.

So far this year, we’ve had SO many great songs sent to us by artists and bands that most people have never heard of, but we’ve also fallen a bit behind. The tremendous amount of work that goes into reviewing dozens and dozens of submissions to pick the best few from each lot is time-consuming, but rewarding. We do our best to keep up with all of the submissions, but it’s time to play some catch up.

Over the next few weeks, there will be a number of In Dee Mail Special Edition posts. Chances are most of the music you hear in these posts you will not hear anywhere else. We also encourage you to click on the In Dee Mail category link above to listen to and download past mixes in this series; full of great songs from bands you’ve probably never heard of.

Crank up the grit and get ready to rock with this freakish mix of Black Sabbath and The White Stripes from Chico, California rock band People on the Moon. The band definitely got our attention with this track, and we’ve spun it already probably half a dozen times. Home-grown, psychedelic  garage rock, tinged with Rush-era keys, is a rare species these days on indie rock blogs and websites. The only issue with have with this band is the name; it doesn’t really match the style of the music.

“Falls”People On The Moon

The KABBs

San Diego’s The KABBs spit bluesy lyrics as a steady romp and angling guitar chords simmer along side a thumping bass. We’ve got them officially on radar now as another band to watch, among so many others. Now let’s see them catch a little fire from all of you out there with the ears for what works and doesn’t.

“Golden and Blue”The KABBs

“Down This Road”The KABBs

Non-Commissioned Officers

Non-Commissioned Officers first came to our attention after we featured the impressive indie rock band The Vermicious K’nids – the latter of was a Band to Watch in February; and which was a big hit with all of you at the time. And for good reason – they rock!  Some of the band members from VK also play hooky with The Non-Commissioned Officers, and they went ahead and sent a couple of tracks that we have to share with you.

“Just North”Non-Commissioned Officers

“Love Will Conquer All” Non-Commissioned Officers

Stockholm

A couple of months ago, we featured a couple of songs from the band Stockholm and they received a positive response from IRC readers and visitors.  Spirited and upbeat, almost epic, perfectly timed transitions, the seedlings of a band to keep an eye and ear out for, even if they do sound a bit too Billboard, teeny bopper oriented.

“Bad By Design” Stockholm

Kate Martin

Set worlds apart from the grit and naughtiness of the first artists in this mix, Kate Martin is the refreshing anti-thesis, with her sweet, well-honed vocals, and nice girl folk pop persona. But there’s a not-so-innocent story here.

“Lua” Kate Martin

River City Extension

OK, so, we’re going to switch gears again here, and take a trip down to New Jersey? (yes) to hear the spirited, full-throttle countryish folk rock with horns on the track “Friends and Family” from a band making a big splash in our little Conor Oberst greets the Avett Brothers pond. For those of you who are really up on their music, you may have seen this band opening at one time for bands from CAKE to Gogol Bordello, and Floggy Molly to Manchester Orchestra.

“Friends and Family”River City Extension

Skytone

This next band brings us back to childhood days of AM pop rock radio. Make us feel shinny, happy and warm. This is a high-octane, sugary summer song that sounds like Seals and Crofts on Planet Cheeky Clean. But, admit it, we all have a little bit of sap in our blood. And, to boot, it has such a charm of unity and love. The band, Skytone, sound like pros, and regardless of this track’s squikie sweet blissfulness, are sure to make some fans among our loyal readers.

“We Are One”Skytone

Backball False, Truth

The following songs are the work of one guy from New York City with the unusual name moniker, Backball False, Truth! We included both the songs he sent in; yet another one man band that impresses us (by the way, we have another installment of One Man Bands coming soon).

“De Rigueur”Backball, False, Truth!

“We Will Be Realized”Backball, False, Truth!

And, others that we simply don’t have time to write about. But the music speaks for itself.

“Cruise That Voice” James Melaugh

“BMX”City of Satellites

“Cabin in the Woods” –  Alarma Man

“Drinking Song”Loveseat

“Machines” Cousin Dud

Best New Releases from The Pass, A Classic Education, The Moaners, The Migrant, Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s

The first few bands included in this week’s Best New Releases include fairly unknown bands; and therein is our point. The Pass are a self-described psychedelic/new wave pop band from Louisville, Kentucky. Earlier this year they crossed our radar when they sent us their first single, “Cross Walk Stereo.” The song made into our  Top Ten songs chart. Later, we got a hold of the second single, “Treatment of the Sun”.

Slowly, The Pass is building a following, and no wonder. We’ve decided to feature both of first singles, plus the band’s latest single, “Trap of Mirror”, released to promote today’s unveiling of their debut LP, BURST.

Next up, Italian orchestra-pop band A Classic Education flashed across the indie radar screens last year, following their apperances during last October’s CMJ Music Marathon in New York. The  band are set to perform a number of shows at CMJ 2010 next month, including an October 20th show at the Trash Bar in Brooklyn. Plus, check out great tracks from Vincent Minor, The Moaners, Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s, and many others.

“Trap of Mirrors” The Pass from BURST

“Crosswalk Stereo” The Pass from Colors

“Colors” The Pass from Colors

“Gone to Sea” A Classic Education from Hey There Stranger EP

“Late Night Show” Vincent Minor from Vincent Minor

“Humid Air” The Moaners from Nocturnal

“New York City Blues” – Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s from Buzzard

“Ready for the World” How To Dress Well from Love Remains

“Wood Block” Joe Gil

“The Organ Grinder” The Migrant from Amerika

“Leave Me to Lie Alone in the Ground”Cold Seeds from Cold Seeds

“The Perfume of Mexican Birds” Cold Seeds from Cold Seeds

“21 Days” Pete Internal Airport from Pete International Airport

“Sung (Not Said)” Magnetic Island from Out At Sea

“On the Bright Side” – Sistol from On The Bright Side

“Black Girls in Dresses” Tony Castles from No Service

“Don’t Do It” Sharon Van Etten from Epic

2010 Songs You Might Not Have Heard: Clubfeet, Dark Mean, Jason Boesel, Old Lights, BLK JKS and More

clubfeetband

This is a new playlist that offers the non-restrictive type of playlist mix in which all of the songs have one thing in common: they are from sweet new releases from a variety of artists and bands that are not necessarily “big” in the alternative music worlds.  All of the songs in this mix caught our attention in one way or another in recent months, and have since converted to keeper status.

“Edge of Extremes” Clubfeet from Gold on Gold

“Hand of God”Jason Boesel from Hustler’s Son

“Catching Me” Alex Mitts from Love and Foolishness

“How Can I Get By”Old Lights from Every Night Begins the Same

“Religion of Me”Drew Danburry from Goodnight Gary

“Outer Limits” – Sleep Over from s/t debut

“Zol!”BLK JKS from Zol! EP

“Runaway”Sonnymoon from Golden Age

“Empire” – Jukebox The Ghost (We have enough bands with the word ‘ghost’ in their name: Ghostly, Apollo Ghosts, Holy Ghost, etc. )

“The Weathermean” Stormy Mondays from s/t debut

“Rolling Paper Airplane” Animal Names from Oh Yes You Better Do

“Dry Bone”A B & The Sea from Boys and Girls EP

“Dot Dash”Tartufi

“Mind Drips” (Neon Indian) – Jesse Woods

“Kids”Pioulard

Local Natives Voted ‘Break-Out’ Band of 2010 (So Far), followed by Surfer Blood, Sleigh Bells, Crystal Castles and Neon Indian

localnativesband

In a tally of 1,000 unique* votes from IRC readers and visitors, the California indie rock band Local Natives beat out a bunch of other bands for ‘Break Out’ Artist of 2010 (So Far). Approximately 23% of poll participants selected Local Natives out of 10 pre-selected artists. The runner up, for Florida ‘beach rock’ sensation Surfer Blood, placed a distant second with 13.7%. The dynamic musical duo Sleigh Bells garnered 13.2%, and Canada’s Crystal Castles – another duoand Brooklyn electro-haze pop artist, Neon Indian, pretty much tied (CC taking it by one vote) to round out the Top 5.

“Sun Hands” – Local Natives

Get a 12-song zip of Local Natives performance at Bowery Room in May 2010 via NYC Taper.

Local Natives on MySpace

“Catholic Pagans” Surfer Blood

“Swim”Surfer Blood

Sleigh Bells is often categorized as a noise pop electronica duo, but their music is more intricate than that.

Derek E. Miller, a singer, guitarist and producer, met vocalist Alexis Krauss while he was waiting tables in a Brooklyn Brazilian restaurant, happened to mention he was looking for female vocalist, and poof, the duo formed, and since last fall’s CMJ in New York have been on fire.

Sleigh Bells released their debut album, Treats, in May 2010.

“Rill Rill” – Sleigh Bells

“Tell Em” Sleigh Bells

Sleigh Bells on MySpace

While we completely agree with people who say that Crystal Castles do not really qualify as a ‘break out’ artist of 2010 (they released a number of lo-fi EPs between 2006 to present day.

“Celestica” –  (Thurston Moore Remix) – Crystal Castles

However, it is safe to say that Crystal Castles have really broken through in the second half of 2009 and especially in 2010, making the cover of top music magazines (see NME cover to right), the praise of bloggers, and most importantly, a swell of new fans worldwide that are turning on to Crystal Castles every day.

Somewhat surprisingly, the five artists who received the lesser number of votes out of 1,001 total votes include some of most talked about bands at SXSW this past March, and CMJ last fall, most notably Free Energy and Real Estate.

We’re not sure what it means that Real Estate only garnered 4% of the total vote and placed last. Even with the consideration that some people may only consider Real Estate as a ‘break out’ band of 2009, however, the same could arguably said for Local Natives and Surfer Blood – all three bands basically hit the radars at the same time, give or take a few months.

“Dream City” Free Energy
“Beach Comber”Real Estate

Ever since SXSW, many of the artists included in the poll have enjoyed widespread approval, sold out shows, bill-sharing with major artists, and frequent coverage in the mainstream music press and the so-called ‘blogosphere’. We’re not asserting that these are scientific polls, but they are interesting and do provide a window through which to get a sense of which artists are creating the most buzz across the indie music landscape in 2010.

With all that considered, we’ve create a ‘part two’ of the same poll but this time featuring ten other artists, not ‘radar’ bands or ‘bands to watch’, per se.  You can see and vote in this new poll located in the right column of this page.

If you feel like you have missed out on any music so far in 2010, we’ve got you covered. You can easily stream and download 2010 songs in various sections of the IRC website, including Best New Releases (a weekly review of the best releases with accompanying free and legal MP3s), Recent Releases We Almost Missed, One Man Bands, Top 10 (for all weeks of 2010), the popular In Dee Mail series, and much more.

Thanks to everyone who voted in this revealing poll; here are the complete poll results:


*Unique visitors means that duplicate voting is blocked

Best New Releases of the Week: Avi Buffalo, Alcoholic Faith Mission, Common Prayer, Ariel Pink, Kisses

This week’s Best New Releases includes new tracks from a bunch of artists and bands that we think more people need to hear. Long Beach, California band Avi Buffalo – one of our bands to watch late last year – drop their self-titled, debut album today after a long build up – the band has been rising on the blogger radars and on the mainstream music websites as well over the past six months.

Next, the Alcoholic Faith Mission have released their terrific new LP, Let This Be The Last Night We Care. Common Prayer drop their new LP, There Is A Mountain, today, and if the single, “Us vs. Them” is any indication of the album, than it’s one to jot down on the “to get” list.

Even though we’ve already featured a number of Ariel Pink‘s new music during the past couple of months, his latest LP officially drops today. Drew Danburry sent us this fantastic country-folk-rock (best way can think to describe it) song, “Nirvana, by Kurt Cobain,” that we’ve played multiple times.

Plus, check out sweet new tracks from The Lights, Sonoi, The Mynabirds, Sonoi, Ceremony, Polock, Frog Eyes, The Pack A.D., Unnatural Helpers, Gogol Bordello, and The Whiskers. We wrap with a new album from Princeton frontman Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson as the duo Kisses. By the way, we could give a rats ass that Hole (Courtney Love) has a new album out today.

“Remember Last Time”Avi Buffalo from s/t debut
Avi Buffalo official website
Stream Avi Buffalo’s debut here

“My Eyes to See”Alcoholic Faith Mission from Let This Be the Last Night We CareAlcoholic Faith Mission on Myspace

“Us vs. Them” Common Prayer from There Is A Mountain
Common Prayer on MySpace

roundroundarielpink
“Round and Round” Ariel Pink Haunted Graffiti from Round and Round 7″
Ariel Pink on MySpace

“Nirvana, by Kurt Cobain”Drew Danburry, single
Drew Danburry on MySpace

ceremonyrocketfire
“Someday” Ceremony from Rocket Fire
Ceremony on MySpace

“Puerto Escondido” The Lights from Failed Graves
The Lights on MySpace

mynabirds
“Numbers Don’t Lie” The Mynabirds from What We Lose In The Fire We Gain In The Flood
The Mynabirds on MySpace

“Sherry Fall”Sonoi from s/t debut
Sonoi on MySpace

polockgettingdownfromthetrees
“Fireworks” Polock from Getting Down From The Trees
Polock on MySpace

“Lear in Love”Frog Eyes from Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph
Frog Eyes on MySpace

“Crazy” The Pack A.D. from We Kill Computers
The Pack A.D. official website

gogolbordello
“Pala Tute”Gogol Bordello from Transcontenential Hustle
Gogol Bordello on MySpace

“Sunshine/Pretty Girls” Unnatural Helpers from Cracked Love & Other Drugs
Unnatural Helpers on MySpace


“Cameras”The Whiskers from War of Currents
The Whiskers on MySpace

“Bermuda” Kisses from Bermuda
Kisses on MySpace

Other Releases This Week (compiled by Pitchfork)

David Holmes: The Dogs Are Parading [Best Of] [Universal] Various Artists: Kitsune Maison 9: The Petit Bateau Edition or The Cotton Issue [Kitsune] Team Ghost: You Never Did Anything Wrong To Me [Sonic Cathedral] Acid Mothers Temple: From 0 to Infinity [Important] B.o.B.: B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray [Rebel Rock Entertainment/Grand Hustle/Atlantic] The Black Swans: Words Are Stupid [St. Ives] Blunt Mechanic: World Record [Barsuk] Chin-Chin: Sound of the Westerway [Slumberland] Eric Copeland: XXXX 7″ [PPM] Frightened Rabbit: Nothing Like You 7″ [FatCat] Iggy and the Stooges: Raw Power: Deluxe Edition [Columbia/Legacy] Juan MacLean: DJ-Kicks [!K7] The Lodger: Flashbacks [Slumberland] Mono: Holy Ground: NYC Live With the Wordless Music Orchestra [Wordless/Temporary Residence] Mount Carmel: Mount Carmel [Siltbreeze] The Mynabirds: What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood [Saddle Creek] Naked on the Vague: Heaps of Nothing [Siltbreeze] Paul Flaherty & Randall Colbourne: A Distant Roar [Family Vineyard] Brian Posehn: Fart and Wiener Jokes [Relapse] Terry Riley: In C (GVSUNME, Live at Le Poisson Rouge, NYC) [Wordless/Ghostly International] The Sadies: Darker Circles [Yep Roc] Various Artists: We Are One, In the Sun: A Tribute to Robbie Basho [Important] The Wave Pictures: If You Leave It Alone [Moshi Moshi] [U.S. release] The Wave Pictures: Instant Coffee Baby [Moshi Moshi] [U.S. release] White Fence: White Fence [Woodsist] Wounded Lion: Wounded Lion [In The Red]