Music

Song of the Day

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PORTISHEAD
Glory Box (Live Session Version)

DOWNLOAD: Glory Box (Live Session Version)

It seems like a million years ago that Portishead released ‘Dummy’…an album that combined tape loops with orchestral flourishes, creepily Gothic synthesizers, electronic beeps & blips and a pure Angel singing the storyline of a tormented, melodramatic nightmare…that quite literally invented ‘Trip-Hop’ and to this day remains an alarming…if intensely paranoid…listening experience. I can still remember shortly after it was released, in the studio on a wintery day in 1995 during a blinding blizzard, I was hitting the ‘repeat’ button all day long listening to Beth Gibbons’ mournfully gloomy vocals again and again and again…my assistants were ready to kill me…..but everybody else in the studio that cold, grey day loved it. The people in front of my camera included (Mrs. Trump of the moment) Marla Maples, fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, personal trainer Harry Hanson, Ad-Man Jerry Della Femina and actor, author, dramatist and camp legend Charles Busch…and all of them were diggin’ the dark & murky vibe the intimate collection of songs gave off…..after the shoot I actually sent copies of the album to Marla, Cynthia and Jerry…..

Anyway, this morning, as I was jumping around the music blogs, I stumbled across this unreleased, raw & stripped-down, live session cut of one of the stand-out tracks, Glory Box…and maybe it’s ‘cuz I haven’t cranked up the original in a long time, but the new version brought all those intense feelings back again. Gibbon’s slow bump and grind style…the reedy organ trilling in the background…the haunting wah-wah guitar riffs…..it’s got me floating away in a heroin haze…..

Visit Portishead on their website

Song of the Day

THE HEAVY
How You Like Me Now?

DOWNLOAD: How You Like Me Now?

I’ve had this funky number rolling ’round my head ever since I heard it on the season finale of ‘Entourage’, so the natural thing to do is to send it out to you guys. The song is a wonderful kiss-on-the-cheek homage to the Godfather of Soul right down to the Detroit horn section, crunchy guitars and Kelvin Swaby’s bloody brilliant raspy soul man vocals. It’s prolly ‘cuz I just saw the new musical, Memphis, on Broadway earlier this week (and trust me…if you can get tickets, get ’em now, ‘cuz after opening night on October 19th, it’s gonna be sold out for years!) and I’m appreciating the vintage R&B vibe, but this bad-ass, funk-soul wall of sound has me bobbin’ in my chair Big Time!!!

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The House That Dirt Built dropped this week and you can follow The Heavy on MySpace or over on The Heavy Website

Song of the Day

MASSIVE ATTACK
Splitting The Atom

DOWNLOAD: Splitting The Atom

It’s been more than five years since Massive Attack has released a new album, so it’s understandable that the music blogs are all aflutter over the release this week of ‘Weather Underground’, a four song taste from what is said to be recordings destined for the trip-hop supergroup’s long-awaited fifth album. Word is the boys have been working with an A-List group of artists including Damon Albarn from Blur, Mazzy Star vocalist Hope Sandoval, Martina Topley-Bird and Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio. With that kinda talent this is gonna be one of THE albums you gotta get this year! The first song on the EP, Splitting The Atom, is an electronica lullaby that features the always outstanding vocal contributions from Horace Andy and Daddy G that is both comforting and creepy at the same time…..but it’s probably the most Massive Attack-sounding song since 1994’s ‘Protection’. Keep your eyes and ears open for more news about when the new album is due out by checking out Massive Attack on MySpace or on the Official Massive Attack Website

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Song of the Day

SPIDER
Petal Song

DOWNLOAD: Petal Song

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Jane Herships calls herself Spider and she spins shimmering webs of delicately crafted poetry with a whispery, vibrato-laced delivery. Her tender delivery and heartfelt emotion on ‘Petal Song’, from her new album, Things We Liked to Hold, is eerily reminiscent of Victoria Williams but also has me thinking of Tanya Donelly and Margo Timmins from Cowboy Junkies. She comes across so real…so true…and so completely intimate. And while the music spends most of it’s time meandering around shuffling, acoustic scales and a softly brushed snare drum, it’s the hard-driven electric flourish at the end that really makes this one special.

Check out Spider on MySpace or over on her Website

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Song of the Day (Post 50 Edition)

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SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
Iamundernodisguse (alternate version)

DOWNLOAD: Iamundernodisguse (alternate version)

Mr. Song of the Day turned 50 yesterday, so to celebrate we’re gonna toss out a few gems from one of my fave local bands, School Of Seven Bells. After announcing their recent signing with Vagrant Records, a deluxe edition of their first album, Alpinisms, will be released digitally on October 13. The Alpinisms Deluxe Edition will have nine bonus tracks on its re-release comprised of demos, live versions and different mixes of songs from the original, including ‘Iamundernodisguse’. Any long-timers to The List surely remember that SVIIB made the 2008 Songs of the Year with ‘Connjur’…..


DOWNLOAD: Connjur

…and a few months later, they went back to the well and came up with the Alpinisms Decomposed Sessions…acoustic versions of some of the songs…..


DOWNLOAD: Connjur -Acoustic Version

So if we’re counting, I guess this newest version of Alpinisms will make three times they’ve re-invented themselves. Is it possible for a band to make an entire career outta re-recording the same stuff over and over…?!!

They’re on tour now and will be back in New York October 23rd, playing Webster Hall during the CMJ Music Marathon. You can check our School Of Seven Bells on MySpace or on their Official Website

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Song of the Day

TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET
Skate Or Die

DOWNLOAD: Skate Or Die

You might not think so given the high amount of soft & fuzzy music I can drop on this place, but I really love fast, tight, dirty punk rock! GImme some power chords and a skinny dude in a motorcycle jacket doin’ a Joey Ramone impersonation and I’m sold. So when I heard the latest from Teenage Bottlerocket this morning, with it’s Green Day-fast delivery and snarling delivery I suddenly had a big smile on my face. Skate Or Die is off of their latest album, They Came From The Shadows (click on that link to download ‘Don’t Want To Go’…just as good!), that dropped last week and you can follow their fast & furious schedule (39 dates in 41 days!) over on their MySpace page

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Song of the Day

UNKLE
Heaven

DOWNLOAD: Heaven

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A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times Magazine ran a fascinating cover story on Spike Jonze and his struggle bringing Where The Wild Things Are to the screen, but near the end of the piece, in describing his ‘Go Big or Go Home’ and ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if . . . ?’ attitude when directing music videos, and that “…his music videos don’t tell stories; they capture a feeling…”…..and went on to describe how he took this trippy, dream-pop song off of the ‘Fully Flared’ Soundtrack by James Lavelle & Pablo Clements, otherwise known as UNKLE, and turned it into a big-budget extravaganza of slo-mo effects & explosions…just ‘cuz he can!!! Well, I have a feeling Andrew Hetherington read the story too and just like me, was thinking of Heaven, because in his blog post yesterday he accompanied a stop-action video of his recent on-assignment travels with the song as background music…..and it got me thinkin’, I should send this beauty out to the rest of you.

Check out what’s up with UNKLE on their MySpace page and make sure to watch the ‘Heaven’ video below….it’s guaranteed to blow your mind!

Song of the Day

LISA GERMANO
The Prince Of Plati

DOWNLOAD: The Prince Of Plati

Lisa Germano has always been an artist that’s been hard to pin a label on. The violinist, pianist and vocalist first popped up on John Mellencamp’s 1987 album The Lonesome Jubilee and was a mainstay of his band for seven years. Since then, she’s gotten rid of the tag ‘John Cougar’s fiddle player’ and hooked up with a string of A-List talent including Sheryl Crow, David Bowie, Neil Finn, Bob Dylan, Simple Minds, Indigo Girls and Iggy Pop and all the while, occasionally drops little gems of her own…her album Geek, The Girl, was even included in the list of the top alternative albums of the decade compiled by Spin magazine. Yet for all the success she’s had and her obvious talent, she has still managed to remain largely unnoticed outside of the coffee shops and small clubs where her kind of music shines. Today she releases her twelfth solo recording, Magic Neighbor, a melancholy collection of her truly unique songs that will surely keep the coffee house crowd happy.

Go makes friends on MySpace or check her out on her website

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Song of the Day

MELODY NELSON
The Other Side

DOWNLOAD: The Other Side

Melody Nelson is the fictional subject of Serge Gainsbourg’s concept album, Histoire de Melody Nelson, based on the Nabokov novel, Lolita. It’s also the name a psychedelia-lovin’, feedback-heavy trio of Gainsbourg aficionados from London’s East End have dubbed themselves. Fronted by Irish-Jamaican-Londoner Aidan O’Connell on vocals and guitar, with Birmingham-born bassist Ben Edwards and an Israeli known only as ‘Kapi’ on drums, they’ve been getting all kinds of notices for what all the kidz say is a killer live show and are building a reputation as being London’s loudest band. They may be loud, but the body of work they have already put together is impressive and their debut disc, Torch Songs, is due out this fall. If I can trust the press releases (and my own ears) we can expect intense harmonies, walls of he aforementioned noise, anthems about love, loss & confusion, all wrapped up with edgy production handled by the likes of David Roback (Mazzy Star), Mike Bennett (The Fall,The Stranglers) and Jerry Kandiah (Gang of Four, Killing Joke)

Go make friends on MySpace and keep your eyes open for the album!

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Song of the Day

LEVI FULLER
Colossal

DOWNLOAD: Colossal

I first time I’d ever heard of Levi Fuller was when fellow Seattleite and Song of the Day good-luck charm, Kate Tucker, sent me one of his ‘Ball Of Wax’ compilation CD’s…a quarterly collection of obscure music that features some of Seattle’s bestest indie bands. BofW Number 17 was released last month, and if you haven’t jumped on the Ball of Wax bandwagon, I suggest you head on over to his site and pick up a few right now. And Levi’s got his own new album about to come out, too. ‘Colossal’ drops October 27th and you can learn more over on MySpace or on The Official Levi Fuller Website !!!

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Song of the Day

THE RADIO DEPT.
David

DOWNLOAD: David

It’s been a long time since the Swedish Dream-Pop/Shoegaze outfit The Radio Dept. has graced the list, but they’ve tossed out this little taste of happy aural fuzz from Clinging To A Scheme, their album that’s set to drop early next year. I’ve been a fan of their loopy, whispery, languidly distorted music ever since I heard ‘Keen On Boys’ off of the Marie Antoinette Soundtrack…..

THE RADIO DEPT.
Keen On Boys

DOWNLOAD: Keen On Boys

Now I’m not sayin’ this stuff is gonna cure cancer and the blend of shoegazer pop with feedback-heavy psychedelia ain’t for everyone and some of you might think that Johan Duncanson’s vocals get a little syrupy at times, but I like the ethereal and almost hypnotic final effect…and besides…it’s my blog and I can post what I want!

Check out The Radio Dept. on MySpace

theradiodept

Song of the Day

PARLOUR STEPS
Little Pieces

DOWNLOAD: Little Pieces

Vancouver’s Parlour Steps gets all kinda press up North, but I can pretty much guarantee they’ll be new to everybody reading this South of the 49th parallel. But if you’re a fan of that hard to define music category affectionately known as alt-country, then you should give ’em a listen…..front man Caleb Stull can really spin a catchy pop song, filled with brainy lyrics, toe-tapping arrangements and wonderfully layered harmonies. Their new album, The Hidden Names, comes out next month, but in the meantime, head on over to their MySpace Page and check ’em out.

parloursteps

Song of the Day

LOVE OF DIAGRAMS
Stones Throw

DOWNLOAD: Stones Throw

We’ve had a lotta ‘pretty’ music lately on The List, so before the some of the more militant types get up my ass for wimping out, it’s probably time for a wall of fuzzy, distorted, feedback-drenched guitars. Love Of Diagrams is a trio from Melbourne and in case ya didn’t notice, they ain’t copying ‘Men At Work’…they spit out an urgent, post-punk attitude and keep it simple…guitar, bass, drums, vocals. On ‘Stones Throw’, angular guitar runs and cannonball bass lines push along Luke Horton’s stripped-down, monotone vocals that seem so devoid of human feeling it’s almost like they’re computer generated, but the effect is wonderfully hypnotic. Nowhere Forever was released in Oz a couple of weeks ago and so far all I can find are import CD versions, but be industrious….use Google and find this thing…you’ll thank me! Check out more Love Of Diagrams on their MySpace page

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Song of the Day

ORENDA FINK
High Ground

DOWNLOAD: High Ground

Back in March I told you all about the Orenda Fink/Scalpelist project called O+S and now I found out that the Azure Ray singer/songwriter has yet another solo album set to drop in a few weeks. “Ask The Night” veers 180 degrees from the electronic vibe of O+S and her earlier work in Azure Ray and instead she seems focused on using spare, acoustic instruments to highlight her beautiful songwriting. The album was apparently recorded live to 8-track in Stephen Bartolomei’s basement and Andy LeMaster’s living room and features a wide variety of players and singers, including Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching), and Adrianne Verhoeven (Dri, The Anniversary, Art In Manila). And the news gets even better…she got back together with with Maria Taylor as Azure Ray over the Summer and a new Azure Ray album will apparently be showing up next year. Give her a look on her MySpace page

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Song of the Day

WAX TAILOR
Say Yes

DOWNLOAD: Say Yes

When I heard the new single from Jean-Christophe Le Saoût, or Wax Tailor as the tres cool French hip-hop DJ/knob-twiddler prefers to be known, I was sure it was a cut off of the new Mos Def album, but no, those guys doin’ the spot-on Mos Def impersonation is actually the international Hip Hop collective known as ‘ASM’, or ‘A State Of Mind’. The funky vibe, sultry horns and booming bass lines also kinda reminds me a little of Mocean Worker, but it’s all good…to me, this revives the tradition of Motown soul with an updated style and mixes in a touch of French grooviness. ‘In The Mood For Life’ drops September 21st, and you can check out Wax Tailor over on MySpace

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And for those of you who like this sort of thing, here’s the music video…..

Song of the Day

THE BLAKES
Basket

DOWNLOAD: Basket

Hard to believe it’s been two years since The Blakes have been on The List, so when I heard they had a new album set to drop in a few weeks I figured I would put Google to work and find something to toss out to you guys. And they’re hitting the road this fall, too…they’re gonna be in New York playing three gigs during CMJ, so if you like this kinda stripped-down, swaggering, vintage rock ‘n’ roll sound (Iggy does), mark your calendars now. Souvenir is out October 13th, but until then, give ’em a look on their MySpace page

blakes

Song of the Day

THE HAPPY HOLLOWS
Faces

DOWNLOAD: Faces

After teasing the L.A. music scene with three EP’s, The Happy Hollows are ready to drop their first full-length album in October. You just gotta love Sarah Negahdari’s trilling, high-register vocal…it sounds kinda like a wilder Tanya Donelly from Belly, or maybe a sweeter Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs…and the almost DIY quality of the production with the buzzy, crunchy guitars and cascading bassline keeps her grounded, even when she pleads in the chorus, “I cannot fake it, I can’t even pretend…”. The new album, ‘Spells’, is due out October 6th, but you can head over to Bandcamp Dot Com and stream to entire album right now…then go make friends over on their MySpace page

happyhollows

Song of the Day

JET
She’s A Genius

DOWNLOAD: She’s A Genius

I’m willing to bet the ranch that the first time any of you heard of Jet was when Apple featured their song ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ in an iPod commercial a few years back…they milked that to death, but it morphed them from being a small indie act outta Melbourne into a major act playin’ arenas and everything! After taking a couple of years doing victory laps over their newfound fame, they finally got back into the studio to record their third album, Shaka Rock, that dropped last week. The reviews for the album have been kinda mixed, but I still kinda like ‘She’s A Genius’, even if it does sort of lift the guitar riff, bass line and percussion from The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’ ….. wait a sec ……. it is ‘My Sharona’…!!! Give it a listen and tell me I’m wrong and you can head over to Jet’s MySpace page to see who else they’ve ‘borrowed’ from!

jet

Song of the Day

JANA HUNTER
Two Cocks Waving Wildly at Each Other Across a Vast, Open Space, a Dark, Icy Tundra

DOWNLOAD: Two Cocks…..

I’m breaking one of my own rules today by taking a request. Francesco Ferorelli (whom I’m pretty sure I met when he was two years old!) has been holding my feet to the fire for years wondering why I never feature any of his bands on The List, but the simple fact is that most of the stuff he’s sent to me over the years has made my ears bleed before I even get to the chorus, so when he gave me the latest EP he put out featuring Jana Hunter, I was pleasantly surprised at what I heard. The spare, meandering guitar intro takes almost two minutes to get to her vocal, but when it does, the haunting Siouxsie Sioux-like quality of this song becomes evident…but then, I always liked the Banshees better when they wandered off on an arty tangent. And let’s not kid ourselves, with a title like ‘Two Cocks Waving Wildly at Each Other Across a Vast, Open Space, a Dark, Icy Tundra’, I think Ms. Hunter is firmly in the art-rock camp. She has toured with Tara Jane O’Neil, Rasputina, Deer Tick, Marissa Nadler and perhaps most notably, Devendra Banhart, who she also has also recorded with. Check out her MySpace page and then why not head over to Heart Break Beat Records and give a listen to some of Francesco’s other bands.

JanaHunter

Song of the Day

METRIC
Gimme Sympathy

DOWNLOAD: Gimme Sympathy

If you’ve been paying any attention to the way the Song of the Day operates, then you probably know I find a lotta new music from listening to some of my fave channels on the old Sirius…Alt Nation, Underground Garage, Sirius/XM U (the indie channel)…but I also frequent one terrestrial radio station that after all this time still pushes out great new music on a regular basis…Fordham University’s WFUV. New York radio has pretty much sucked the entire time I’ve lived here, but FUV has been the one welcome exception. I was listening yesterday when this new cut from Metric’s latest album, Fantasies, came on…I got so wrapped up in the hook-filled piece of synth-pop that I didn’t even realize I was listening to a heart-wrenching breakup song until I came home, downloaded it and listened a few more times. Emily Haines’ raspy vocal blends in beautifully with the dreamy synths and fuzzy guitars. But hey, I understand if you’ve had your fill of electro-synth and you wanna just listen to some great songwriting…that’s cool…then check out the stripped-down acoustic version on YouTube…

And then head over to their MySpace page and listen to a bit more and if you wanna stream WFUV, click here!

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