October 31, 2009

Cover songs mixtape – Halloween 2009

The search for a new mixtape service (among other things) continues. 8tracks.com works, but it’s not the greatest. Enter mixtape.me, which ALMOST does the job, but I sorta hate the way it looks. Anyway, this playlist isn’t full of Halloween songs – just covers. You know, disguises. Like costumes.

HIGHLIGHTS

• David Yow of Jesus Lizard with Shellac as the Sex Pistols, from a show on Halloween in 1998.
• Hairdresser on Fire featuring the vocal stylings of Durutti Column’s Vini Reilly. Yeah, he’s kind of a shitty singer but it’s still pretty rad.
• Marilyn Manson’s version of Rock N Roll Nigger – you know, that Patti Smith song that isn’t racist.

So there you have it. Happy halloween, and don’t get pissed if I steal your candy. Also, don’t skip out on your girlfriend to go shoot dope and then call her from the hospital after another overdose, cause she’ll probably be out trick or treating. Translation: be fucking safe. Please.

DOWNLOADS

Morrissey – Hairdresser On Fire (Vini Reilly Version)
David Yow & Shellac – Holidays In The Sun (Halloween, 1998)
Sublime – Badfish
Marilyn Manson – Rock ‘n’ Roll Nigger
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Deanna (Oh Happy Day)

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cmrpf8btzv Post tags: cover songs, david yow, free downloads, halloween, marilyn manson, morrissey, patti smith, sex pistols, shellac, sublime, vini reilly

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October 27, 2009

NEW YEASAYER IN 2010

Yeasayer have confirmed details about their second album release; the follow-up to their highly acclaimed 2007 debut ‘All Hour Cymbals’. The new record is called Odd Blood and will be released on February 8th of 2010. STOKED. Hope it’s as good as the last one was. Yeasayer are also set to play a special show, headlining New York’s Guggenheim Museum on October 30. “Special Show” huh? Wonder WTF they mean by that.

TRACK LIST:
‘The Children’
‘Ambling Alp’
‘Madder Red’
‘I Remember’
‘ONE’
‘Love Me Girl’
‘Rome’
‘Strange Reunions’
‘Mondegreen’
‘Grizelda’

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cmrpf8btzv Post tags: new york, odd blood, upcoming releases, upcoming shows, yeasayer

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October 21, 2009

WORLD PREMIERE OF ‘NIRVANA LIVE AT READING’ ON FUSE

**Official Press Release**

On November 2 at 11 p.m. ET, Fuse, the national music network, will televise the worldwide premiere of Nirvana Live at Reading, the band’s legendary, never-before-released 1992 Reading concert. The show, marking the first time that Nirvana fans will experience the epochal August 30, 1992 headlining appearance at UK’s Reading Festival, will debut as an hour long broadcast the night before the limited edition 90 minute CD+DVD Deluxe Edition is by Geffen/UMe.

Featuring 25 songs including “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “All Apologies” and “Come As You Are,” Nirvana’s performance at Reading ranked No. 1 in Kerrang Magazine’s “100 Gigs That Shook The World” chart and was voted as “Nirvana’s No. 1 Greatest Moment” by fans in a recent NME poll.

“Fuse is excited to provide Nirvana fans with the first opportunity to witness this historic music event since the concert 17 years ago,” said David Weier, vice president, programming, Fuse. “Not only are we airing a highly anticipated, never-before-seen concert in more than 65 million homes, we are providing Nirvana’s loyal fan base with companion programming for a comprehensive and unique viewing experience.”

Leading up to the premiere of Nirvana Live at Reading, Fuse will air “Loaded: Nirvana,” a half-hour of Nirvana’s greatest music videos at 10 p.m. ET, followed by “Videos That Rocked the World: Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a celebration of the legendary music video which was a breakthrough for music, entertainment, culture and society.

While the show’s centerpiece was a performance of nearly the entire Nevermind tracklist, also noteworthy were early performances of three as yet unrecorded songs which wouldn’t be released until 2 years later on In Utero: “All Apologies,” “Dumb,” and in its first ever public performance, “Tourettes.” The career-spanning setlist also reached back to the band’s 1989 Sub Pop debut album, Bleach, for “Blew,” “About A Girl,” “School,” “Negative Creep” and first single “Love Buzz,” and even further back to the mid-’80s for “Spank Thru.” Other songs from the Reading set would appear in studio form on the Incesticide compilation later in the year: “Aneurysm,” “Been A Son” and “Sliver.” Additionally, the band played a pair of beloved covers by two bands that helped shape the formative Nirvana sound– “The Money Will Roll Right In” by Fang and “D-7″ by The Wipers.

Nirvana Live at Reading will be issued in a limited edition CD+DVD Deluxe Edition as well as DVD-only and CD-only configurations mixed in 5.1 on November 3, 2009, followed by a 2-LP version on November 17, 2009. For more information visit, www.hereisnirvana.com.

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October 20, 2009

Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms

82% – “Damn Good Record.”

Ok, so you’ve heard it, I’ve heard it; it’s been all over the blogosphere lately.  The hip thing for the past 3-6 months has been chillwave.  You know what I mean, hopefully: indie pop music of the more “laid-back” variety.   It was absolutely huge this summer, with its hazy undertones and minimalist grooves.  I hadn’t really been interested in a lot of it, mostly because the majority of that particular genre just tends to meander without much purpose or sense of melody.

Surprisingly enough, there is one artist that avoids the ever-so-prevalent trap in indie music of being so avant-garde that it’s incredibly boring.  This is Neon Indian, and his debut album Psychic Chasms.  It’s an undoubtedly strange affair, but deftly balances between too straightforward and too ostentatious.

At times channeling some of Daft Punk’s mellower side – most evident in the all-too-brief “(If I Knew, I’d Tell You)”, which somehow evokes the French duo’s “Veridis Quo” and “Voyager” simultaneously – Psychic Chasms successfully manages to blend elements of funk, disco, lo-fi, and modern electronic sounds.  It sounds delightfully retro and futuristic at the same time.   Opener “(AM)” squelches and beeps its way for 25 bizarre seconds, firing off synth laser beams and overdriven modulation with drums and loops pushed to the back of the mix, then launches immediately into the fuzz-funk of “Deadbeat Summer,” which kind of sounds like a downtempo Van She.  If one listens hard enough, they can certainly catch the mix of European indie-electro; especially in “Ephemeral Artery,” which almost becomes a borderline house groove, but teasingly never gets there.

The most traditionally pop point of the record is likely “Terminally Chill,” which bops along riding a slow dance beat, incorporates bird chirps, and features tastefully reverberated lead and backing vocals.  A close second is lead single “Should Have Taken Acid With You,” whose ambiance sounds exactly like the song would suggest, essentially repeating the same vocal pattern with heavily layered synth washes and a ring modulation mindfuck that sounds like it was created on the Asteroid Belt.  With a good pair of headphones on, it’s positively spellbinding.

That isn’t to say there isn’t a drawback or two.   “Mind, Drips” lumbers at a super-slow tempo, as if it knows where it wants to go, but doesn’t actually arrive at a destination that’s all too memorable aside from the sonic flourishes.  “Psychic Chasms” as a track has some interesting instrumental hooks going on between the verses (and the ending carries a nice twist as well), but could have stood to have its middle cut out by about 30 seconds.  At certain points during the second half of the record, it almost becomes too much; songs start to blend together, which could leave the listening wondering where they were in the record.  This isn’t all bad, as the art of listening to an album as a whole is dying (as we all know).  But call me a stickler: I like knowing which song I’m listening to.

Ultimately, Psychic Chasms should be a crowning achievement for Neon Indian.  Most impressive for a debut album, it keeps a decent pace, has some excellent hooks, and only rarely steps over the dreaded “being weird just to be weird” line.  Album of the Year?  Not quite.  But it’ll definitely shake up some Top 10 lists.

DOWNLOADS

Neon Indian – Terminally Chill
Neon Indian – Should Have Taken Acid With You
Neon Indian – Ephemeral Artery

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cmrpf8btzv Post tags: electro, FANTASTIC PICKS, free downloads, neon indian, psychic chasms

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October 17, 2009

The Funniest Man In America: Neil Hamburger

I don’t really remember how we found out about this guy, but it’s (kinda) true what they say – that he’s “the funniest man in america” – actually, right now I don’t agree with that at all but if I did this would be my proof:

He has a few records out but a couple years ago he put one called Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners and it’s basicaly the funniest thing ever. Los Angeles (and other parts of the country),
Neil Hamburger will be performing at Spaceland on November 29th, and he’ll be doing some comedy stuff, also at Spaceland, on October 25th. I’m tired so I’m gonna go to sleep now (yes at 9:45pm on a Saturday) – but dig all this other stuff….

Neil Hamburger – Jugtown

DOWNLOADS

Neil Hamburger – Jugtown
Neil Hamburger – At Least I Was Paid

TOUR DATES

Tue Oct 20 – BELLINGHAM, WA – The Wild Buffalo (Pabst Blue Ribbon tour)
Wed Oct 21 – SEATTLE, WA – Sunset Tavern (Pabst Blue Ribbon tour)
Thu Oct 22 – PORTLAND, OR – Mississippi Studios (Pabst Blue Ribbon tour)
Fri Oct 23 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Hemlock Tavern (Pabst Blue Ribbon tour)
Sun Oct 25 – LOS ANGELES, CA – Spaceland (Pabst Blue Ribbon tour)
Fri Nov 6 – ALLSTON, MA – Great Scott*
Sat Nov 7 – NEW HAVEN, CT – Cafe Nine*
Sun Nov 8 – PROVIDENCE, RI – Jerky’s Live Music Hall*
Mon Nov 9 – BRATTLEBORO, VT – TBA*
Tue Nov 10 – ALBANY, NY – Valentine’s*
Wed Nov 11 – BROOKLYN, NY – Knitting Factory*
Thu Nov 12 – ASBURY PARK, NJ – Asbury Lanes*
Fri Nov 13 – PHILADELPHIA, PA – Johnny Brenda’s*
Sat Nov 14 – CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Southern*
Sun Nov 15 – WASHINGTON, DC – The Black Cat*
Tue Nov 17 -SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Capitol Theatre #
Wed Nov 18 -SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Capitol Theatre #
Fri Nov 20 -DENVER, CO – Paramount Theatre #
Sat Nov 21 -DENVER, CO – Paramount Theatre #
Tue Nov 24 -DALLAS, TX – McFarlin Memorial Auditorium #
Wed Nov 25 -DALLAS, TX – McFarlin Memorial Auditorium #
Fri Nov 27 – HOUSTON, TX – Jones Hall for the Performing Arts #
Sat Nov 28 – SAN ANTONIO, TX – Majestic Theatre #
Tue Dec 1 – EL PASO, TX – Abraham Chavez Theatre #
Thu Dec 3 – PHOENIX, AZ – Orpheum Theatre #
Fri Dec 4 – PHOENIX, AZ – Orpheum Theatre #
Thu Dec 10 – GAINESVILLE, FL – Common Grounds
Sat Jan 9, 2010 – TEMPE, AZ – Yucca Tap Room

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cmrpf8btzv Post tags: comedy, free downloads, los angeles, music videos, neil hamburger, spaceland, upcoming shows

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October 17, 2009

Ezra Furman & the Harpoons = Violent Femmes v.2

I’ve been waiting forever to find the right time to post this. Once someone asked me, “Are there any CURRENT bands that I could go see now that are awesome and rock like Violent Femmes?” I had a really hard time coming up with an answer, and finally settled on Tapes n’ Tapes, but still didn’t feel like it was the right answer. A few months later I heard this fucking fantastic song on the radio, and if someone asked me who was like the femmes that they could go see now, I’d tell ‘em Ezra Furman and the Harpoons. These guys are fucking awesome. Watch:

Am I right or am I right? If you live in LA you can check ‘em out at Spaceland on October 22nd (FINALLY!). They’re touring with BRAKESBRAKESBRAKES and Rachel Goodrich, both ALSO really good. Check out all the tour dates on Ezra Furman’s myspace page.

DOWNLOADS

Ezra Furman & The Harpoons – Take Off Your Sunglasses
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons – I Wanna Be Ignored
Rachel Goodrich – Dope Song
BRAKESBRAKESBRAKES – Crush On You
Violent Femmes – Prove My Love (Demo)

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cmrpf8btzv Post tags: brakesbrakesbrakes, ezra furman, free downloads, harpoons, los angeles, rachel goodrich, spaceland, upcoming shows, violent femmes

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October 17, 2009

Ezra Furman & the Harpoons = Violent Femmes v.2

I’ve been waiting forever to find the right time to post this. Once someone asked me, “Are there any CURRENT bands that I could go see now that are awesome and rock like Violent Femmes?” I had a really hard time coming up with an answer, and finally settled on Tapes n’ Tapes, but still didn’t feel like it was the right answer. A few months later I heard this fucking fantastic song on the radio, and if someone asked me who was like the femmes that they could go see now, I’d tell ‘em Ezra Furman and the Harpoons. These guys are fucking awesome. Watch:

Am I right or am I right? If you live in LA you can check ‘em out at Spaceland on October 22nd (FINALLY!). They’re touring with BRAKESBRAKESBRAKES and Rachel Goodrich, both ALSO really good. Check out all the tour dates on Ezra Furman’s myspace page.

DOWNLOADS

Ezra Furman & The Harpoons – Take Off Your Sunglasses
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons – I Wanna Be Ignored
Rachel Goodrich – Dope Song
BRAKESBRAKESBRAKES – Crush On You
Violent Femmes – Prove My Love (Demo)

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cmrpf8btzv Post tags: brakesbrakesbrakes, ezra furman, free downloads, harpoons, los angeles, rachel goodrich, spaceland, upcoming shows, violent femmes

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October 13, 2009

Unseen Nirvana Footage From 1992

Checkout this clip of Nirvana performing “School” at the 1992 Reading Festival – I guess it was recently made available for fans and comes from the CD+DVD Nirvana Live At Reading which hits stores November 17th. (CD only version arriving on November 3rd.) Nirvana’s performance at the Reading Festival in 1992 was one of the greatest Nirvana shows of all time (not that I’ve actually ever seen them live on anything other than video/tv) – but it was the one where Kurt Cobain came on stage in a hospital gown. Ring any bells? If not, don’t fret – fans can now own a color-corrected video from the original film with audio sourced from the original multi-track masters. Thanks to the guys at totalassault for sending this over.

Songs on Nirvana Live At Reading DVD:
1. Breed
2. Drain You
3. Aneurysm
4. School
5. Sliver
6. In Bloom
7. Come As You Are
8. Lithium
9. About A Girl
10. Tourette’s
11. Polly
12. Lounge Act
13. Smells Like Teen Spirit
14. On A Plain
15. Negative Creep
16. Been A Son
17. All Apologies
18. Blew
19. Dumb
20. Stay Away
21. Spank Thru
22. Love Buzz*
23. The Money Will Roll Right In
24. D-7
25. Territorial Pissings
* not included on CD/LP

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cmrpf8btzv Post tags: festivals, kurt cobain, live performances, music videos, nirvana, reading festival, upcoming releases

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October 11, 2009

Sunday Mixtape is back!

Mixwit has been dead for some time now, and today I spent like 3 hours trying to make it work on my server – unfortunately, it was to no avail. Enter 8tracks.com. Mixes can only be 8 songs long, they play in random order, and don’t look like tapes at all, but they’ll serve the purpose until I find one as cool as mixwit was – anybody have any suggestions/know how to fix it??!?! Please lemme know!

Anyway, here’s a mix I’ve probably re-distributed 10 thousand times to 20 thousand people, but after spending 3 hours with the other one I don’t really feel like changing the tracks. Plus it’s a good one. Enjoy.

Track List
1. Big Black – The Model
2. Psychic TV – Just Like Arcadia
3. My Bloody Valentine – Drive It All Over Me
4. Os Mutantes – A Minha Menina
5. Half Japanese – 1,000,000 Kisses
6. Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls – Dream Sequence 1
7. A Certain Ratio – Du The Du (Peel Session, 1979)
8. Afrika Bambaataa – Planet Rock

DOWNLOADS

My Bloody Valentine – Drive It All Over Me
Half Japanese – 1,000,000 Kisses
Pauline Murray & the Invisible Girls – Dream Sequence 1

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cmrpf8btzv Post tags: free downloads, half japanese, my bloody valentine, pauline murray and the invisible girls

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October 10, 2009

Sublime Reunion (Again) – at Smokeout 2009

Bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh are hitting the stage as Sublime, just like they did in February – only, now everyone knows about it so FANS will actually get to go. The show is part of Cypress Hill’s Smokeout, and while Sublime might get the most attention, the lineup includes a ton of your favorites. Scheduled to hit the stage on Oct. 23 and 24 are the following:

Slipknot, DEFTONES, Cypress Hill, Sublime, Pennywise, Method Man and Redman, Kottonmouth Kings, the Geto Boys, Goodie Mob, Bad Brains, Hieroglyphics, Living Legends, Devin the Dude, Mix Master Mike, Afrika Bambaata and more. I’m pretty stoked about like 5 of those bands. Ok maybe more than five. The show goes down at the San Manuel Amphitheatre in San Bernadino on October 23rd and 24th and is hosted, appropriately, by Cheech and Chong. Sweet weekend! Buy Tickets from livenation.com

Other links:
guerillaunion.com/smokeout
smokeoutfestival.com
Smokeout on MySpace
Smokeout Festival on Facebook
Smokeout_Fest on Twitter

DOWNLOADS

Afrika Bambaataa – Plantet Rock
Deftones – Pink Maggit

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cmrpf8btzv Post tags: afrika bambaayaa, cheech and chong, cypress hill, deftones, festivals, free downloads, reunion shows, smokeout, sublime, upcoming shows

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