OH SHIIIIIIII

My computer (aka my girlfriend's computer... lol) IS FIXED! FINALLY. So yeah... I recomend not using geek squad, as they are probably the most freakin disorganized bunch of social cast-outs I have had the pleasure of dealing with. At least they don't falsely advertise themselves... they are, in fact, a squad of geeks. Good news: I have a TON of stuff I want to share and a decent amount of time to post it. Bad news: I have yet to upload it all to mediafire. Give me a day... check back and I should have at least a few things posted. Ahhhh... good to be back... tomorrow... good to be back tomorrow. PAYCE!

Singin' in Japanese

Here ya go Kim. This album, minus the first track, is all sung in japanese... and the thing about this, that is different than most other japanese music, is that THIS IS ACTUALLY GOOD. I did a big post of Deerhoof awhile back. So if you like it, go backwards and download more. Sweet.





Deerhoof-Greem Cosmos EP

Cold Cave x 2

Electro noise? Dark wave? Noise pop? Electro punk noise pop? Experimental synth pop? I don't really know what to call it... besides FREAKIN AWESOME. Baaazzziiiiinnng! (I can't believe people read this shit.) Hyperbole and stupidity aside, this is some pretty interesting stuff . Cremations is a collection of rarities, demos and live tracks that explores the more abrasive fuzzy, hissing, distorted side of Cold Cave. Their new debut LP, Love Comes Close, is quite different, in the sense that it explores the lighter, pop side of their sound more than their previous efforts. On a weird side note, I have heard that Fall Out Boy plagarized some lyrics from a previous Wesley Eisold (Cold Cave frontman) hardcore punk project. He won an out of court settlement and is now listed in the liner notes of two of their albums. How hilarious is that? Almost as funny as Fall Out Boy is bad. Also, one of the members of Cold Cave, Caralee McElroy, is part of the indie group Xiu Xiu. Now you know some stuff about the band... don't you feel cooler? Wait til you hear the music... it makes you like +10 cool.





Cremations





Love Comes Close

Jay Dizzle fo shizzle x 2

I recently got a request for some J Dilla from blogger bud, Shaun (see my blogroll for his blog "A Blog Ain't Too Much To Love")... I didn't know if wanted to do a post or not because his stuff notoriously gets pulled down fairly fast 1. Because his record label cares A LOT and 2. because his hardcore fans know that his mother (Ma Dukes) can barely pay her bills and she gets (a small amout of) money from every album sold, thus the fans report the posts to blogger.com or to the file sharing network out of respect to the memory of Dilla and his mother. I TOTALLY understand this sentiment, trust me... but hear me out. If people out there who don't know about Jay Dee come to listen to his stuff by downloading it for free... they will NO DOUBT be hooked and want to buy MORE J Dilla merchandise. It's happened with me hundreds of times. This is how it usually goes: I don't know who an artist is... I go download a few things... If I like it I go out and buy ALL of that artist's albums or my favorite albums in their catalogue. Now... the artist would have NEVER had my money if I hadn't sampled it for free at first, because I will not buy an album without knowing that I already am going to like it (unless I REALLY know the artist well). That's how most people work on these music blogs. Sure, some people are going to just download it and not pay for anything and that's that. But those people are in the minority in my experience, plus they would not have paid for it regardless of whether or not they can find it for free. Okay, end rant.

Shaun asked for his best stuff, but honestly his best depends on what you like most about specific albums. I'm not a huge fan of hip-hop so I don't like his albums where there is a lot of rapping. I appreciate Dilla more as a producer and beat maker/DJ.... so my favorite albums are of his stuff with the LEAST amount of rapping over it. I mean, Donuts is such a good record in general, I think all fans of his work will recognize it as the most cohesive and focused product he ever released... even if you are a fan of his rapping. This is probably the most essential album in any Dilla collection (and the last album he release himself before his death) with all others being preferences of what style of J Dilla you like most. Also, if you watch adult swim every night like I do, you will also hear like 5 of his songs off of Donuts on their "bumps" in between shows. It's kind of annoying because I now associate a lot of his best stuff with strange transitions from shows to commercials. Damn them and their good musical taste! I also included the new Jay Stay Paid with this post because I was happily surprised by the amount of really amazing material in this disc. Yeah, there is rapping on it. Most of it is totally chill... so I was okay with it... but where the album truly shines (as usual) is with the instrumental tracks. So start with these two and see where this takes you... and especially with Dilla... if you like it, PLEASE PLEASE go buy it and support his mother, whom he wrote Donuts for on his deathbed (literally) so that she wouldn't be stranded financially after he was gone. God damn. This post is way too serious... haha

Donuts

Jay Stay Paid

Modest Mouse: No One's First and You're Next

Sup brohammers? It's been a while since my last post, partially because I have been busy with work and partially because I am insanely lazy. But I recently came across some new leaks that I've been really anticipating and I wanted to share my joygasm with the rest of you. This little ditty is Modest Mouse's new EP that has B-sides from their last two albums. If you still like Modest Mouse (I've gone through some fallout with this band after their Good News album)... then this is definitely worth a listen. There are some really amazing gems on here. "King Rat" is such a fucking awesome song... I am incredibly surprised that it didn't find it's way onto any album. Like previous B-side efforts like Building Something Out of Nothing, this ends up being just as good or in some cases better than their LPs. Sure, it's not perfect... but for the most part an incredibly successful tease to grease up my desire for another LP, which, I'm sure, is exactly what they were aiming for.

P.S. The file doesn't have artist name or album title, so you will have to add them yourself after you download.




No One's First and You're Next

Swans: Love of Life

Since the last Swans album did so well, I figured I would put up another one of my favorites. I think this one has actually surpassed WLFTMOI as my new favorite Swans album. So if you liked the other one, please pretty please try this one. It's in the same vien as the other really... it's all "hey we used to be super metal but now we are all organic folkish other-worldy new wave rock pop... but don't worry we kept the dark lyrics" and whatnot. Like the last album, this one is also out of print. So, feel no guilt... download and check out another brilliant gem.




Love of Life

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue

HEEEEYYYYY... I can't sleep so here is one more for tonight. I randomly heard this when it leaked a little while ago. Kind of put it off and then my friend reminded me about it (he was gushing about how good it was) so I came back and ACTUALLY listened to it, and gee gosh golly I am glad I did. Like the title, the music for the album is also ambivalent in the sense that it is content where ever it ends up. Some songs are folkish, some songs are totally glitched out electro, some sound like they could be pulled off a madlib/j-dilla album. It's totally all over the place, yet for some reason it all fits together so wonderfully. This one is definitely a grower... it's getting better and better the more I listen to it. I've never heard an album that's so indecisive with it's direction but holds together as whole more than this one. This album is like a family, with the tracks as the relatives... some are your crazy as hell uncle, some are your loving mother, some are your edgy cousins... but for some reason they all share a common bond and generally belong together (provided you weren't molested by one... and even if you were, don't worry because music can't rape you...yet. Well maybe financially and emotionally. Unless your music of choice is Michael Jackson, then it can do all of the above... RIP by the way) Wheeeew... I've never thrown that many non-sequitur jokes in to one parentheses before. I need a nap.




Ambivalence Avenue

Lightning Bolt: Wonderful Rainbow

I figured it was time for some melt your face, brain hemorrhaging, ear drum exploding "music". Lightning Bolt... hmmmm... I don't know exactly what to say because there is SO much to say. Well first they are a duo... one dude plays crazy as fuck drums and occasionally screams into a self constructed megaphone face mask (so his crazy as fuck drums are unhindered, like they would be with an actual microphone in the way, I imagine... and it sounds cooler too) and the other dude plays distorted insanely loud bass guitar (you would never guess just by hearing it). What makes these guys so great is while they are making crazy, fast, loud, distorted music... they are doing it in such an artful and jazz oriented way that it's almost like structured chaos. It's like these guys sat down and said, "how can we write jazz/classical music in the most abrasive hardcore way possible with only two instruments?". Don't get discouraged if it sounds too intense (even though it is)... there are moments of beauty and actual melody more often than not (skip to the second track if you don't believe me). These two are literally virtuoso musicians.. and that's what makes it so interesting... because you know they could make any music they wanted, but they chose to do something in your face and compelling. This is by far their most accessible album... and trust me... it's a good thing. I've heard that they will play a show anywhere if you call them and promise them 200 bucks... they play basements, garages, lawns... pretty much anywhere. The only price you pay (minus the 200 bucks) is losing your hearing, pissing off your neighbors or shaking your mom's china off the shelf. Seriously... they are that loud. Look up any youtube video of them live and the people next to the front are all rocking out... with their fingers in their ears. Check it and DIIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!




Wonderful Rainbow

HOLY SHIT

Fucking Amazing. I might just buy an Xbox for this.

Swans: White Light From the Mouth of Infinity

If you know anything about Swans, you know how crazy their career has been. They started as this slowed down hardcore metal band with brutally violent lyrics that inspired none other than the likes of Kurt Cobain (see his journal of 50 favorite albums and you'll find "Young God" at #50...On a side note, I think he got the idea for "Rape Me" from that album).... But more than that... they have changed more as a band over the course of their career than almost any band I've ever heard. This album is a great example. They ditched the deep growling chanting, screaming, and heavy metal for acoustic guitars, melody, world music elements and ACTUAL SINGING. It's almost an entirely different band... but still really really great. This is probably the album that best blends both worlds of their style. Heavy handed lyrics, guitar noise, pop, folk, and acoustic elements mix together better than I could have ever imagined. It's always fun to see what a band does when they get bored with their style and HAVE THE BALLS to actually change it to what they want. It makes you wonder what some other bands would sound like if they weren't so afraid of losing all their fans. This is a personal favorite of mine although most of their discography is incredible. This album is actually out of print... so don't feel bad about downloading, because it's the only way you can have it! Check it.




White Light From the Mouth of Infinity

The Sleeping Sea - Sun Drips EP

I don't get a lot of requests for uploading unsigned bands stuff, but I will gladly do so if someone wants me to. It's not guaranteed that I will enjoy it or say glowing things about it... but it will at least get out there. This has the happy coincidence of actually being pretty damn good. It kind of sounds like Vampire Weekend and Islands meets Panda Bear. Think tropical with a bit of indie folk. I wish I had bands like this playing around here. If you are in Cincinnati you should at the very least purchase this at one of their shows. Or if you own a venue, you should let these guys play. But for now... be the cool kid who knows about a good band that no one else really knows about. Download this sucka. Oh...and drop by their myspace and say hi HERE.




The Sun Drips EP

OMG YES! NICE MUSCLE!

I want them to release this in the U.S. SOOOOOOOOO bad. What the hell is this game!!!!????

Sin Fang Bous: Clangour

Here is one that totally slipped under my radar a few months ago. But wow... I'm glad I found it. This may be my newest favorite album. ( I know I have a lot of those) SOOOOOO tight though. The dude is from Iceland (why do they get all the good eclectic musicians?) and is a part of another band called Seabear. Some tracks are so crazy... glitched out 8 bit sounds, galloping drum machine parts and melodic vocals... kind of reminds me a bit of Apostle of Hustle, or Andrew Bird with a little bit more flair for blissed out production. It feels a bit repetitive on first listen... but I thought the same thing about a lot of my favorite albums before they became my favorite albums. It's hard NOT to like it though... try it. Try not to like it. You will fail.

Clangour

Cymbals Eat Guitars: Why There Are Mountains

Here is another great new band making a splash lately. I was kind of angry that these kids are younger than me yet are making such cool music. WTF man. I mean... they aren't breaking any new ground creatively. They are just writing really great songs. Think Black Mountain jams (only interesting) mixed with a bit of Pavement shenanigans and a touch of Built to Spill enthusiasm. It's pretty great, especially coming from a band so young and new. Now if only I could keep my jealousy from hating them so much. Grrrrrrr no no no.. it's okay. I enjoy my life as a waiter. THANKS COLLEGE. *sigh* I should have kept rocking.





Why There Are Mountains

Shhhhh... don't tell anyone.

Hey... it's Wilco's new album, "Wilco" (genius!). These guys are MAJOR major label so I didn't want to draw too much attention to this post. All I have to say about this one is... THANK GOD they didn't make another "Sky Blue Sky" because I almost swore them off as shit after that "dad rock" album. So Wilco will never make another "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" ... I've come to terms with that. I am fairly sure, even though he is probably a dick, Jay Bennett was the driving creative force in Wilco when that album was made. And now that he is gone they won't be able to make anything like that album ever again. Honestly I'm just glad that this album definitely takes a step in the right direction. They dropped the pretentous "we're not pretentious, so we are gonna make uncomplicated straightforward soul folk rock songs" attitude and actually TRIED to make a layered, complex album. The result: IT WORKS!



Wilco

Ducktails- ST

Ducktails 2009 selt titled. Psyched out surf drone rock. DUCKTAILS, WOO-OOO! (remember that show?) I don't really get why they only sing on one song... because it kind of detracts from the feel of the album. These guys are the new cool style of music to like along with Wavves and other drone fuzz bands... not exactly my thing, but interesting enough. Good music to chill to.



Ducktails

EDIT***
This version is the Vinyl version of the release. The CD version has an extra track. I can't seem to find the CD version floating around so if someone has it let me know where it's at... otherwise I think this is a complete album as they intended it to be heard.

Woods x 2

If you can describe something as "freak folk"... it's almost a guarantee I will like it. Woods most recent album is garnering attention from critics.. because well... it's freakin great. These guys share a label with Wavves, Crystal Stilts and Vivian Girls... and those are some tough acts to stand up to. But they do more than that.. they stand apart.. because instead of drowning in fuzzed out distortion you can clearly hear every little sincere moan, twinged guitar chord and haunting melody. It's the music I would want to make if was in a folk band. I wanted to include their last album in this post too because it's near impossible to find (at least not in MP3 format). For that album they became a trio and called themselves "Woods Family Creeps". Apparently they change their name a lot with some variation of "Woods" in the title. It IS folk in a way... but it's folk with a drop of haunting, droning, crooning, clackity clanging amazing-ness. Great lyrics too. It's beautiful. I think I'm in love.

Woods Family Creeps

Songs of Shame

Starts with DEER ends with HOOF x 4

I've been in a pissy mood over getting a few of my posts pulled. Record companies are bitches sometimes... if someone actually requested removal of an album I would gladly oblige... but no, it's automatic deletion for me apparently. So now that I've figured out how to avoid most detection (by disguising the title, so no general search turns up my blog) I'm going to post some stuff I was fairly sure I would never post. Once when "Offend Maggie" came out someone asked for more Deerhoof... and I said no because I was sure it would be taken down within minutes of me posting. Well dude... if you're still there then it's your lucky day.. cause here is a bunch of shit. My personal favorite is "Friend Opportunity" followed by "Milk Man" .. but honestly every album has some amazingly good songs. Unfortunately all of em are in 128kbps... that's all I have. If someone has better quality let me know... I think they still sound pretty good. Besides... they are free samples really. If you like any particular one a lot... go buy it. Unless you want to join me in saying bollocks to the MAN! (I know you do).... Take THIS status quo!




Apple O'






Milk Man





Runners Four





Friend Opportunity

Prefuse 73- Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian

Here is the new Prefuse album. It's an interesting trip to say the least. If you know his earlier stuff you realize that his style for glitch-like hip hop beats is minimal on his latest releases. Now his focus is more on composition and harmony. This album in particular strings together tracks that rarely break the 2 minute mark in a fashion that requires the listener to not skip around at all. The point is to experience the album as a whole. The end of one track bleeds into the beginning of the next track and so on (in this case sometimes ad nauseum). I personally prefer when he was jazzing it up with static vinyl beats... but at the very least I commend him for trying to make a concept album where it's virtually impossible to like just one track... it's either all or nothing for this one. That being said... I feel like you can accomplish that in a different fashion. Look at the new Fields album... he does the same thing but has tracks that break the 8 minute mark and longer. Instead of throwing a bunch of mediocre tracks together in an inconsistent vision in order to further the concept of the album, he opted for a very few tracks that were complex and expansive yet when strung together make one clear vision. The journey is clearly more enjoyable and less scattered than on ESTTA while at the same time the album retains the same ideology... I dunno. To each his own. I still enjoy this... just not nearly as much. Cheers.





Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian

DNOTS

DNOTS stands for Dark Night of the Soul... which as far as I knew was a famous treatise written by a Spanish poet now used as a metaphor to describe the phase of person's spiritual life that is filled with desolation and loneliness (okay so maybe I didn't really know all that).... But more recently it has been used to describe this crazy unknown side project of really great artists. It also sounds a lot like Dark Was the Night, and it actually IS a lot like that in sense it's a compilation of kick ass artists (plus the artwork is done by the uncanny David Lynch... how cool is that shit?). It's production was shrouded in mystery... all people knew about this thing was that it was some weird side project between Dangermouse and Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. Some of the artists on board are: Flaming Lips, Black Francis (The Pixies), Jason Lyte (former singer of Grandaddy), Iggy Pop, Gruff Rhys from Super Furry Animals, and Julian Casablancas from The Strokes.... just to name a few. Okay okay okay.. get ready.... THIS IS FREAKIN AMAZING... this shit seriously blew my mind... it's so damn good. Jason Lyte totally redeems himself of his mediocre solo album with his songs on this. I mean, you can only expect so much from compilation albums as far as consistency and innovation, but this is seriously the BEST compilation of artists I've ever heard. I can't even talk about it anymore because I'm just gonna keep on repeating how good it is. Just download it and listen already. What are you waiting for? DO IT NOW!

Dark Night of the Soul