Saturday night’s Sufjan Stevens‘ concert was simply unbelievable. He did perform a new song, called The Maple Tree, which was spectacular, filled with an orchestral arrangement that ended with each of the 17 persons on stage snapping their fingers to Sufjan’s voice. For a lack of better words and pictures, visit BV’s compilation of pics, reviews, and more.
Matt has posted a link to The Boy Least Likely To‘s new video for Be Gentle With Me. It’s pretty fucking cute:
[MOV] TBLLT – Be Gentle With Me (Video)
The White Stripes will be appearing in an upcoming episode of the Simpsons. Little details are known, so I guess you’ll all have to stay tuned and watch every episode until you see the band in yellow-face.
Of Montreal have announced a new US tour. You can view the dates, which start in Hawaii and end at SXSW, here.
That’s all for now…I’ve got a sweet surprise tomorrow for you…make that a couple of them ;-)
This will probably be the only time I’ll ever make a post on a band from
Victory Records, because, generally speaking, VR puts out complete crap (i.e. Bayside, A Perfect Murder, Hawthorne Heights, etc)… but NYC-based
Action Action stands out like Condi at Bush’s white-tie events. Their sound recalls 80s synth pop mixed with today’s indie-pop-punk…think
Interpol or
The National mixed with
XTC or
Pulp. In fact, their upcoming album, entitled
An Army Of Shapes Between Wars, was produced by none other than
William Wittman, famous producer for
Cyndi Lauper, among others. Here are a few tracks off the new LP:
[MP3] Action Action – A Tornado; An Owl (Highly Rec’d!)
[MP3] Action Action – What Temperature Does Air Freeze At?
[MP3] Action Action – Paper Cliché
The new record comes out on January 24th, but you can preorder it here if you can’t wait that long.
Usually, across the pond means we’re getting some form of divine musical intervention from the ole Brits. However, across the pond should also be used to incorporate Ireland. The land of Leprechauns and Guinness Beer isn’t just full of Irish string bands and bag pipes, but some great bands such as The Frames.
Although they’re practically Gods back in Dublin, The Frames are still in the process of making a lot of waves in the American music scene. Being the sucker for live CDs that I am, I picked up their live CD
Setlist only to become very impressed. Although, it wasn’t until I caught them at
Bonnaroo last year that I realized the potential of this band and was
literally blown away by their live set.
Sure, they had awesome Irish accents and senses of humor.
Sure, they had more energy than
Jim Carrey in
The Mask.
Sure, they used a violin that everyone can’t help but love.
These guys rock hard, and if you haven’t heard them yet then please take a listen. They’re supposed to be recording a new CD sometime soon and plan on heading back to the States this summer (Bonnaroo Part 2?).
[MP3] The Frames – Revelate
[MP3] The Frames – Star Star (Pure Imagination Melody)
[MP3] The Frames – Pavement Tunes
Check out their official site for more news and buy some merch from their store.
Man.
It seems like there was a huge race to be the first to locate a copy of the “new”
Shins song. If that is the case, you can call me the tortoise. The hare being Matt at
YANP. However, in this story the tortoise unfortunately doesn’t win the race, but he still manages to cross the finish line.
[MP3] The Shins – New Song
I have a few solo shows of James Mercer and there is some buzz around one of the songs that he plays, Won One Too Many Fights. This could be making an appearance on the album The Shins are currently recording, so here it is.
[MP3] The Shins – Won One Too Many Fights
Since the “New Song” was only performed live, I have some other rare songs that Mercer and crew seem to only play at live sets. You may or may not have them, but the beginning of each song records the band talking to the audience, so ignore that tidbit if it bothers you.
[MP3] The Shins – Eating Styes from Elephant Eyes
[MP3] The Shins – Meike
[MP3] The Shins – Paisely Eyes
[MP3] The Shins – Untitled Really Old Song (Anyone know the name?)
Posting on specific bands can be a science. Many different elements can plague any blogger’s coveted posts ranging from what to say to which tracks to post. Well, that’s not going to be the case for this post. There are a bunch of “one hit wonders” that are circulating in my playlist right now, which isn’t to say (at all) it’s a bands only decent song, just the one I enjoy the most. So this post is for those songs/bands that are playing consistently through my speakers, rightfully earning the right for others to hear the same great music.
[MP3] Way Out West –
Don’t Forget Me[MP3] Poloroid –
So Damn Beautiful[MP3] Tegan & Sara –
Where Does The Good Go?[MP3] Chris and The Other Girls –
Let Go
Look for a post about Chris and the Other Girls in the future, they’re a real treat. Connor is at the Sufjan show in NYC, where Sufjan has supposedly exchanged the Illinoise Maker’s pompoms for nice formal wear? So here are some of his past cheers, in case you missed a show on his last tour.
[MP3] Sufjan Stevens – Jacksonville Cheer
[MP3] Sufjan Stevens – Chicago Cheer
[MP3] Sufjan Stevens – Metropolis Cheer
