Wednesday, November 29, 2006

All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone


All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone cover art by the amazing Esteban Rey

Familiarize yourself with the graphic above, because it's going to be the cover art for what is likely to be the best album of 2007. I mean, it's entirely possible that it might not be, but Explosions in the Sky have never let me down before and I don't expect them to anytime soon. All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone will mark the fourth full-length by the band, the follow-up to 2003's The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, which is their best record to date, in my opinion. It's pretty hard not to have my expectations through the roof for this album, but I'm trying my best to keep them under control so when I finally hear it I'll be blown away.

The new album will be released with a limited edition bonus disc of remixes by the likes of Four Tet, Eluvium, The Paper Chase, and more. It will be out February 21st in double disc CD format as well as beautiful double gatefold LP, with an etching on the fourth side. The first 2,000 copies will be colored vinyl, and all of the first pressing (5,000 copies) will come with the remix CD. The new record will be available at both NY shows this coming February, so if you want it a few days early, you better make sure you get tickets. Album details are below.

All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone:
1. The Birth and Death of the Day
2. Welcome, Ghosts
3. It’s Natural To Be Afraid
4. What Do You Go Home To?
5. Catastrophe and the Cure
6. So Long, Lonesome

The bonus remix disc:
1. The Birth and Death of the Day [Jesu Mix]
2. Welcome, Ghosts [Adem Mix]
3. It’s Natural To Be Afraid [The Paper Chase Mix]
4. What Do You Go Home To? [Mountains Mix]
5. Catastrophe and the Cure [Four Tet Mix]
6. So Long, Lonesome [Eluvium Mix]

For those of you who havent heard it yet, "Welcome, Ghosts" is pretty damn phenomenal, so if you're lagging behind you better listen to it right now.

[MP3]: Explosions In The Sky :: Welcome, Ghosts (Highly Recommended!!!)

Also, for those of you who dig not only EITS, but high-quality audio as well, you might wanna check out this absolutely amazing .flac recording of the November 14th show at L.A.'s El Ray Theatre. It includes two new songs. One of which is "Welcome, Ghosts" and the other is still unidentified. I highly recommend checking it out. Note: the files are pretty huge.

Buy all Explosions in the Sky records from Temporary Residence.
Seriously, don't buy them anywhere else.
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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Brand New Ramona Cordova Video!

We here at Skatterbrain are big big fans of Ramona Cordova, in fact we pretty much gushed over the song "Giver's Reply" from his The Boy Who Floated Freely album this past Summer. So when I found out that his Italian label Sleeping Star finally got around to making a video, I was hoping and praying it would be for "Giver's Reply." Well guess what?! It totally was! And it's fantastic! Check it below:



Be Ramona's friend on MySpace!
or better yet, pick up a copy of his album from ECA Records!
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New Phantom Buffalo song: "Lightbulb Slave"


Phantom Buffalo

I've talked about Phantom Buffalo several times here before, so if you don't dig them by now, then you only have yourself to blame. However if you happen to already be a fan of this fantastic Portland, Maine band, then here's some good news and a brand new song to go with it. While still not set up with U.S. label, the band do indeed plan to have the new album Take To The Trees, the follow-up to 2002's Shishimumu, released by Spring 2007. So if you're a fine-looking U.S. label looking to pick up a few sexy boys, then check them out. RIGHT NOW! Until that time though, chew on this.

[MP3]: Phantom Buffalo :: Lightbulb Slave (Recommended)
Now, the problem with a band like Phantom Buffalo releasing a song as good as "Wilamena," is that as hard as I may try, it will always be the song to beat. Unfortunately for "Lightbulb Slave," "Wilamena" is a really damn good song, and as such, it doesn't quite measure up. That's not to it's not a great song though. It's just saying it's not an outstandingly amazing song. So while it's not groundbreaking, the familiar AIH-esque keyboards and signature strange lyrics I come to love -- "Chase another lightbulb to the shade / make another lightbulb be your slave / and if it gets burned out like before / make another lightbulb be your whore" -- make for a good preview of what's to come.

Bonus [MP3]: Phantom Buffalo :: Be The Boss (Recommmmmended)

Buy Shishimumu from Amazon.com
Check out Phantom Buffalo on MySpace!
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Monday, November 27, 2006

Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 13 & 14


Fall is really cool. Even when you're broke from fixing your car.

Well due to at least four or five of you still being psyched on the Chilly Fall Mixtape Project, I will indeed ride it out until the end in true Mixtape Project Fashion. Niether of these songs were originally intended to be included when I first got all of the songs together, but I've been listening to both of them quite a lot lately and I guess that means they must be good Fall songs? Right? Maybe? Whatever, I think so. You'll probably like them. They're both very good songs.

13. [MP3]: Kiss Me Deadly :: Groove
I've still yet to hear their album, but I've always held their first Alien8 EP very close to my heart. It was the first piece of music I ever bought off the internet and I actually still listen to it quite frequently these days. Something about the really breathy vocals just bring about images of foggy windows and steam come out of mouths. You might also notice the lovely bass work in the song, particularly a little bit before the three minute mark, where it takes the spotlight for a minute. I'd like to believe that where the song get's it's title, but who knows really. The songs main repeating lyrics "It doesn't matter if you're not alone. All alone. You're awesome" are some of the most completely pointless lyrics I've ever heard; yet, I really genuinely love them for some reason. It could be the way she sings them. Hmm, this got kinda long and run-on-ish didn't it? Oops.

14. [MP3]: Halifax Pier :: Lightly Noise
This song doesn't really have much in common with the previous song other than the fact that I like them both. The song opens with a steady stomping bass kick, eventually joined by plucked acoustic guitar, then vocals, then finger snaps... you get the idea. As this song moves through it's near seven minutes, it is continually adding sound upon sound until it cant stack any higher. Following right on the tail of the finger snaps is a angelic chorus of "oohs," which is soon joined by some strings, that, at first sound like fiddling, but eventually transform into gentle violin. When the vocals finally come around for the second time, they're much more commanding, with multiple voices chanting "Sing a song! Sing along! Sing for a long long time!" while violin saws back and forth in the background.

Previously:
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 1 & 2
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 3 & 4
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 5 & 6
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 7 & 8
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 9 & 10
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 11 & 12
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I can't let go of Rainer Maria


Rainer Maria

Thank you to all of you who wished me well in light of my deer accident fiasco. I've gotten it all pretty much taken care of as of now and I got a rental care that's better than the car I own, so that's pretty cool I guess. But yeah, I'm relieved to have most of it behind me.

Okay well, I've been thinking pretty hard about my end of the year list choices lately and it's funny how certain albums have creeped up so high on my most played lists lately, especially when I didn't really listen to them very much when they first came out earlier this year. One such album would be Rainer Maria's Catastrophe Will Keep Us Together. I love Rainer Maria, and while I do remember liking this album when I first heard it, I guess it just sorta slipped away from me somehow.

However, about a month ago I was listening to music on shuffle and a song called "Clear And True" came up, and since then I've just been pretty much lost in this album all over again, which is great, I think. Anyway, moral of the story... this song is just wonderful, and the album is just as fantastic as the song. Unfortunately, the band has since announced their break-up and I'll really miss em.

[MP3]: Rainer Maria :: Clear And True (Highly Recommended!)
I blows my mind how anyone can hear Rainer Maria and truly admit that they don't like them, because they're just so damn likeable, or so I think. This song's a prefect example of that: a super catchy chorus, feel-good lyrics, and Caithlin's voice, is just, well, wow; just like it's always been. It doesn't have quite the bite of say, "Ears Ring," but it's powerful and though it's not the closer on the album, I think it's a pretty fitting finale to a more than wonderful career. Seriously, how could you just not want to listen to this over and over again? It just feels so good.

The winding lanes . . .
and the fields on the left and the right . . .
and through my awkward life . . .
the same refrain.
I always wished it might have been recorded.

But now memory
has distorted your light.
Sing me something clear and true
in some otherworldly tune.
I'll make it up for you.

The day we played
as kids among the headstones
we pretended we had died.
But now something's changed.
We don't play games
and time has proved you right.

And now memory
has distorted your light.
Sing me something clear and true
in some otherworldly tune.
If you were here
I'd make it up for you.
Yeah, I'd make it up for you
with the song I loved the most.
I know you're here
and I'm not afraid of ghosts.

I'm not afraid,
I'm not afraid of going out alone.
(we lay down on the stone just like we died)
I'm not afraid,
I'm not afraid of ghosts.

(Whooooooo....)
Sing me something clear and true.
(Whoooo....)
And I'll make it up for you.
(Whooooooo...)
Sing me something clear and true.
I'll lay down on the stone right by your side.
(Whooooo.....)
Sing me something clear and true.
(Whooooo....Whooooo.......)
Sing me something clear and true.


Yeah, so when I hear a song I like for the first time I always like to go look at the lyrics, so I thought I'd put the lyrics here too. I think this might be interesting to do everytime, since I just post normally one song at a time. You guys think that would be cool, or unecessary?

Buy Catastrophe Keeps Us Together from Amazon.com

P.S. I noticed no one's really been responding to the last couple mixtape posts I did. Is anyone really interested in the rest of it? I was gonna do maybe two more, I think, if anyone wants the rest.
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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Aw Dang.

Hey. I was in a car accident with a deer. Very traumatic, as you may imagine. Posting will resume when I return to my normal stress-free state. xoxo. Matthew.
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Monday, November 20, 2006

Central Services: "Fun (While It Lasted)"


Central Services are from Seattle! Nice! LOL!

Kevin Emerson of Seattle's Math & Physics Club (whom we've mentioned here several times before) is quite the pop enthusiast. So much so that just one pop band was apparently not enough to satisfy his catchy pop melody needs. Thusly we have Central Services. Birthed from the dream of high school friends Jeff Blancato and Kevin Emerson to one day make great pop music together, they eventually got together with keyboardist Eric Goetz, bassist Mark Livingston, and rhythm guitarist Ethan Jones, who shares membership, along with Kevin, in Seattle band Math & Physics Club. It's an indie-pop dream come true.

The band self-released their debut self-titled album back in September and we've been playing the hell out of since we got it a couple weeks ago. You can pick it up at CD Baby and we highly suggest you do. It's obviously highly recommended for fans of the Math & Physics Club and the like.

[MP3]: Central Services :: Fun (While It Lasted) (Highly Recommended!!!)
As you might expect, there's not a very big difference between Central Services and MAPC; at least not on this song. I'll admit, the better part of this album does set them apart from MAPC in as much as the album as whole feels, let's say, a bit more "rollicking" than MAPC. This song however, not too different from your standard MAPC tune, which isn't exactly a bad thing because I LOVE this song. Anyway, just listen to it, okay?

Central Services on MySpace
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Thursday, November 16, 2006

Anni Rossi: "Safety of Objects"


Anni Rossi

Let me go ahead and preface this by saying you're either going to really love Anni Rossi or you're going to hate her. I can't think there'd be too many people straddling a the middle line on her. Obviously I love her, as given away by the fact that I've taken the time to tell you about her.

On her myspace she calls herself a "classical kid gone viola pop wunderkind" and I'd say her voice is similar enough to the lovely Joanna Newsom if not a little croakier and squeakier. Croakier and squeakier though, that's not a bad thing at all, it just adds to her charm and that's why we love her. Plus, I mean, she was born in Maryland so that gives her tons of extra points in my book. Check out this track from her album, Scandia.

[MP3]: Anni Rossi :: Safety Of Objects (Recommended, Highly)
This song is folk-pop at it's core, but instead of the staple acoustic guitar we get plucked, bowed, and sometimes delightfully dissonant viola. Anni's voice is so unique and quirky that, like I said above, you'll either love it or hate it, but when she squeaks out those cute little "oohs" at the end of what eventually seems like every other line, it's nothing near grating, they are in fact, my favorite singular moments of the song. Maybe you'll love them too? I don't know. Why don't you give it a listen and let me know.

Buy Scandia from Folktale Records
Anni Rossi on MySpace

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I hurt my toe yesterday and it still kind of hurts.
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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Daylight's For The Birds: "To No One"


Daylight's For The Birds

I think I remember downloading this song from Chris quite a while ago, but since Daylight's For The Birds' debut was finally released (October 31st, actually), I figured it was fine time to revisit it. Plus, it's just a really great song anyway, so if you haven't been acquainted with it yet, I suggest you do so now.

For those of you unfamiliar with Daylight's For The Birds, they're a dream pop/shoegaze band with hauntingly beautiful female vocals courtesy of the late On!Air!Library!'s Claudia Deheza. The band also features Phillip of On!Air!Library!, Jay Giampietro, and ex-Boggs drummer Brad Conroy. Um, yeah, I guess that's pretty much all you need to know. Oh, and their debut record Trouble Everywhere (I don't really care for the album title) was released on the wonderful This Generation Tapes label.

[MP3]: Daylight's For The Birds :: To No One (Highly Rec'd dudes)
Oddly enough, my favorite song by Daylight's For The Birds -- this song -- is one of the tracks where Claudia is actually NOT on vocals. Amanda Garret takes over the singing duties on "To No One" and does an extraordinary job, adding to already etheral sounding track. My heart kinda melts a little when she sings "I do, I do, I do, I do" near the end right before exploding into the titantic of vocal finalies. Maybe shoegaze is making a comeback afterall.

BONUS [MP3]: Daylight's For The Birds :: World's Away
Claudia does however appear on this track, which is almost as great as the one above.

Pick up Trouble Everywhere from Amazon.com
Daylight's For The Birds on MySpace

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Matt's got a bunch of new Modest Mouse tracks for your downloading pleasure! I've made a commitment to myself to not listen to any live versions until the album either leaks or is released. I want to be completely surprised. I still haven't heard any new Shins material either. I'm very very excited for both of them though. However, much more excited for Modest Mouse than The Shins. Anyway, if you're interested, he as well as many other bloggers, I think, have got em.
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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Math and Physics Club Videos!


Math and Physics Club

Last time we made a post on the Math and Physics Club we ended up getting somewhere around 80 comments and a lot of arguing. Hopefully that won't happen this time. Well, at least the arguing... we do indeed love comments. Anyway, we've been super-obsessed with MAPC's self-titled debut full-length since we got it in our hands. I can guarantee that it will be placing pretty high in our forthcoming end-of-the-year-list.

New album aside, the boys and girls of MAPC recently played a lovely little instore at Sonic Boom Records and someone was kind enough to upload a few pretty good videos on YouTube. Check them out below.

[MP3]: Math and Physics Club :: Darling, Please Come Home

Pick up the new record from Matinee Records

Video 1: "Darling, Please Come Home"


Video 2: "Such A Simple Plan"


Video 3: "April Showers"


Math and Physics Club on MySpace (Unofficial)
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Los Campesinos!: "Death To Los Campesinos!"


The Campesinos Bunch

If you scroll down and around here you'll probably notice the huge abundance of exclamation points lately. While completely unintentional, some might say it really enhances the mood. Some might also say that exclamation points are prententious, but some might also say that those people can get the hell out.

Functional punctuation aside, we love love love Cardiff's Los Campesinos! We first posted on their song "You! Me! Dancing!" back in July, and since then they've opened for Broken Social Scene, recorded a BBC session, and I would venture to guess they've had a lot of fun. This track comes from their Maida Vaile session and is well, pretty damn awesome.

[MP3]: Los Campesinos! :: Death To Los Campesinos! (Highest Rec!)
Much like "You! Me! Dancing!," this song starts out with a period of silence. But, where the former opted for a feedback-laden build up, "Death To Los Campesinos!" jumps from the dark straight into a layered frenzy of jangly guitars, organ, ride-heavy drums, and of course Aleksandra's fantastically sweet vocals. The cute playful back and forth vocals between Aleksandra and Gareth, come off as exactly that and that's why I love these guys so much. You can genuinely tell that they have more fun doing this than anything else in the world.

Los Campesinos! on MySpace

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Pretty much completely unrelated:
I've never liked Kanye West at all and this is just further proof of what an huge egotistical ass he is. He lost for "Best Video" at the MTV Europe Music Awards and decided to come out on stage and make a fool of himself. I'm not sure how many of you have seen this video yet. it keeps getting deleted off of YouTube, but I managed to find it on iFilm. "This video cost a million dollars, maaaaan, I Had Pam Anderson baby!" God, what a idiot.


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Monday, November 13, 2006

Amateur! Oh dang!

I came upon this awesome little video today and after watching it probably 15 times, I can safely say it's still really really awesome. I'd say more, but it's pretty self-explanatory.

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Foxes!: "6 O'Clock"


Foxes! Foxes! Foxes!

Since I'm a big fan of highly recommending everything around here, it's sometimes hard to distinguish things that I'm more than psyched on. Such is the case with Oxford's Foxes!, who I'd venture to say are probably the most exciting band I've ever come across solely because of myspace. I forget how exactly how I came upon them, but Kayla Bell, Adam Bell, and Daniel Pacrami make some of the most refreshing indie pop I've heard in a while. After noticing their list of influences including Skatterbrain favorites like Talulah Gosh, Beat Happening, and even Modest Mouse, I was immediately intrigued. Then, after listening to this song just once, I was hooked.

[MP3]: Foxes! :: 6 O'Clock (Very Highly Recommended!)
[MP3]: Foxes! :: Art Girl (also Highly Recommended)
On "6 O'Clock," guitarist Adam Bell opens the track with some awesome fast picking skills before being joined by the rest of the band. Then the vocals come in, and I don't know about you, but I was fairly surprised at first as I wasn't really expecting such a great voice. I don't believe they noted them as an influence but I can definitely hear more than a bit of The Field Mice in this song, especially in the guitar. What do you think? Anyways, it's super-catchy just like a good pop song should be and "Art Girl" is pretty much right on par with it.

If you'd like a copy of their 46a Appleside Drive EP, please send them an email or shoot them a message on MySpace. Note: Their MySpace says, "We currently have a substantial back log of people wanting the cd. Apologies if you have been waiting a long time - we are in the process of making a new batch which will become available in the near future (once we finish cluing all the cases together!)."

Foxes! on MySpace!

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Now if you'll please excuse me for a minute, my friend Jay has something to say:

Hey Skatterbrain readers -- I'm exploiting my pal Matt here to find three people to help me form a mighty and unstoppable and frightfully dashing new team of bloggers for my site, Resounder. So, if you like talking about music, and LOVE typing about music, please email me!

That's all. Have a nice day kids!
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Friday, November 10, 2006

New Deerhoof: "+81"


The new cover art for Friend Opportunity is pretty awesome.

We here at Skatterbrain don't get too too overly excited about upcoming releases, but as Deerhoof's upcoming album Friend Opportunity draws nearer and nearer we can't help but let our inner fan-boy run wild. Friend Opportunity will be out January 23, 2007 on Kill Rock Stars! That's still a ways away, but it's never too early to ridiculously excited about it. Another reason to be ridiculously excited about it is this new song, set to appear on the new album.

[MP3]: Deerhoof :: +81 MP3 removed by request
If this isn't old school Deerhoof then I don't know what else would be! "+81" opens with huge trumpet blasts and marching band snare rolls which are soon abruptly cut off by a sharp guitar, and then a few more, and then a couple after that. The trumpets make another appearance before Satomi begins the chorus what else but "CHOO CHOO CHOO CHOO BEEP BEEP" over and over again. Friend Opportunity is just going be amazing. No other word for it.

Deerhoof on MySpace

Want to talk more about Deerhoof? Head over to the newly created "Friend Opportunity Forums" and sign up!
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Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: Eleven and Twelve


I'm still enjoying Fall quite a lot. I can even wear mittens now!

Hey guys, sorry I missed you yesterday. I had some internet connection issues and was on the phone all day with Verizon trying to figure it out. Turns out you have to basically lie to them to get them to tell what to do to fix your problem. Anyway, as you can see, the problem was obviously fixed. In other news, A Cinderella Story (yes, the one with Hilary Duff) came in on NetFlix yesterday and it was pretty good. I may have mentioned it before, but I like my movies to lack any shred of action, adventure or depth, so I can safely say that I thuroughly enjoyed it. Okay well, here's two more tracks to add to the Fall Mixtape.

[MP3]: Velocity Girl :: There's Only One Thing Left To Say
I like this song a lot because it's the kind of song that just makes you want to get out and enjoy the day. A lot of songs on this mix could be considered "inside" songs. They're best suited for listening to, sitting inside, watching the scenery unfold outside your window. This song however, it best suited for running through fields or, say, rolling in piles of leaves. It's a Summer song made for Fall.

[MP3]: Statuesque :: Serpentine
I've been singing the praises of Stephen Manning, aka Stauesque, ever since I started this blog and unfortunately, I'm not too sure whether anyone's ever really been into it or not. This is one of my favorite songs by him though, one of the few glimpses we get of his softer side. The lyrics are beautifully sad , as is the fantastic solo towards the end, actually the guitar is quite pretty the entire song. I first heard this back around this time last year and listening to it now is just like a flashback. Funny how that works, huh?

Previously:
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 1 & 2
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 3 & 4
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 5 & 6
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 7 & 8
Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: 9 & 10
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Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Lullabye Arkestra: "Unite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


Toronto's Lullabye Arkestra

One of Constellation's newer signees, Lullabye Arkestra, are a bass and drum duo who've been playing and self-releasing glorious slabs of distorto-soul for several years. They've finally recently released their debut Constellation release, Ampgrave. The title alone suggests that this hardly something I'd typically find myself listening to, but I must say, it's been hard to put down. I really can't even begin to say how awesome it is, but I'm pretty sure this track does it justice.

[MP3]: Lullabye Arkestra :: Unite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (HIGHEST REC!!!)
This song opens up quietly, feeling like perhaps something out of Godspeed You! Black Emperor's catalogue, but it quickly gives way to a throbbing bass driven cacaphony (definitely don't get to use this word enough) which in turn eventually gives way to a chorus of angsty voices shouting "Gentle hearts will win the fight!" over another bass, horn, and drum freakout. This is the defintition of anthematic.

Buy Ampgrave on CD or LP from Cnstellation
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Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Chilly Fall Mixtape Project: Nine and Ten


Mixtape Project is now back. We're now on tracks nine and ten.

It's been a while since the last Mixtape Project post, but what with school and hosting and bandwidth issues, we hit a rough spot there for a week or two, or three. But who's counting? Anyway, no more time to waste, I'm kinda hungry and I believe there's some midnight cereal waiting for me in the kitchen.

9. [MP3]: The Olivia Tremor Control :: Marking Time
Now I wouldn't quite consider this one of my very favorite OTC tunes ever, but that's alright because this is a Fall Mixtape and not a favorite songs mixtape. So, while it's not a huge favorite, it does have a certain "Fall" feel to it. What is that certain Fall sound though? Well, I really don't know, it could be the acoustic guitar, it might the be the harp at the beggining of the song, but you'll know it when you hear it, and then you'll say something like, "Damn, he's right."

10. [MP3]: Radiohead :: The Amazing Sounds of Orgy
Most all of the songs I'm choosing for this have already been pre-planned for this project, but after thinking about it for a while, I decided to add this song to the mix. The main reason I thought about not adding it at first was because it's so creepy. If I had a "creepiest songs ever" list, this song would surely be very near the top. However, I went for a walk the other night and decided to listen to this (I finally have an iPod!) and it just seemed to be the perfect soundtrack to the cold fall air and the leafless trees all around me. Thing is, anything that would typically appear normal, now seemed suspiciously scary. Note: This song also just so happens to feature some of my favorite lines Thom Yorke's ever written:

I want to see you smile again
Like diamonds in the dust
The amazing sound of the killing hordes
The day the banks collapse on us

Cease this endless chattering
Like everything is fine
When sorry is not good enough
Sit in the back while no-one drives

So glad you're mine


So awesome, yet so extremely unnerving.

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The previous Mixtape posts are all probably dead at this point due to Ezarchive's upgrade, so if you missed any of the previous posts, let me know and I will reupload them. Also, as noted above, I've been pretty into really creepy sounding songs lately. I'll take some recommendations if you got em.

Also, if you're having any problems with these MP3 links please let me know. They should be fine, but I just wanna make sure. Thanks.
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The Brother Kite: "Get On, Me"


The Brother Kite

Word on the street is that the rebirth of shoegaze is upon us, and if that's true than The Brother Kite seem like they could be a strong force in this "rebirth" of sorts. Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, The Brother Kite make dreamy pop songs that sound a bit like if Ben Gibbard led The Cure instead of Robert Smith. Their new album, Waiting For The Time To Be Right, was released on September 12th by Gainsville, FL label Clairecords. We've been listening to this track from the album almost nonstop lately. It's a mystery to me as to how these guys haven't blown up yet, as it seems many blogs have been jumping on the shoegaze wagon as of late.

[MP3]: The Brother Kite :: Get On, Me (Highly Rec'd!)
If you have ears you're likely to immediately notice the Cure influence in the spacey sounding guitar and even the subtle tambourine every now and then. The song moves through fairly well beaten territory, but then around the two minute mark they start to pile on a few more layers before just laying on the distortion about 22 seconds later as whispered vocals try to peek through the noise.

Buy Waiting For The Time To Be Right from Tonevendor
The Brother Kite on MySpace

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The stupid, retarded, and completely utterly useless "deluxe edition" of St. Elsewhere comes out today. Sweet, you better go buy like six copies before NO ONE buys them.
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Monday, November 06, 2006

Rainer Maria, We Bid You A Sweet Farewell


Rainer Maria

As Pitchfork reported around 4:00 today, Caithlin De Marrais, Kyle Fischer, and William Kuehn of the seminal midwest indie-emo band Rainer Maria, have decided to finally call it quits. The band released this following statement:

"We are grateful to our new listeners and especially our longtime fans for their endless support and attention. We feel incredibly fortunate to have come up during a unique time in rock music, in a community that grew with us from the Midwest to Brooklyn and beyond. Making records has always been a revelation, and walking onto stage together we found a vision we could share.

"For us, this transition can be nothing short of heartbreaking. But for reasons both musical and personal, the three of us have chosen this time to move on."
We here Skatterbrain are big big fans of the band and this is truly saddening news. Rainer Maria have released a handful of fantastic albums since 1997, ending with this year's Catastrophe Keeps Us Together. The band's also responsible for what I would would consider one of my favorite songs ever; "Ears Ring."

[MP3]: Rainer Maria :: Ears Ring (Highly Recommended)

Rainer Maria have two more shows lined up for this coming December and plan to call it quits following their last show, at New York City's Bowery Ballroom. Go cry for them if you can, really.
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Phantom Buffalo: "Wilamena"

I am tickled to announce that we're now back in business! Like almost everyone else, this past week we ran into more than a few issues with our previous hosting service Ezarchive and decided it was best to just discontinue working with them. After searching around for new hosting solutions we found that it's very expensive. Things were looking grim, but due to the awesomeness of the music blogging community, Eddie from Another Form of Relief has offered us a plot of bandwidth over on his server so we can continue to do what we love over here on Skatterbrain. I thank him for being so very awesome, and you should all go check out his wonderful blog. Okay, well, onward and upward.


Phantom Buffalo

I talked about Phantom Buffalo before, back in January of this year, but I found their amaaaaazing album Shishimumu on vinyl last week and so I've gotten reaquainted with them recently and I really forgot how great they are. Highly recommended for fans of the more Elf Power-ish side of the E6 collective and maybe even The Shins. As a sidenote, they released the vinyl as The Ponys, as it came out before they eventually changed their name to Phantom Buffalo. The cd version of Shishimumu however, was released as Phantom Buffalo.

[MP3]: Phantom Buffalo :: Wilamena (Recommended like you wouldn't believe!)
"Wilamena" opens with twinkling picked guitar and light cymbal taps, but the interesting thing is bassline. At first it follows the guitar exactly, mimicking it's melody, but when the guitar changes, the bassline stays the same, riding under what is now two guitars, which gives an awesome effect in my opinion. My favorite part of the song is right after the lines "If I was that small, we'd talk aboutt he craziest things in the world" when the softest drum roll starts in the background and slowly gets louder and louder before changing time with snare and crash all over the place. I think you'll agree, it's a very very awesome song.

Buy Shishimumu and other Ponys/Phantom Buffalo releases from Time-Lag Records
Phantom Buffalo's pretty little faces on MySpace!

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Our pals over at Both Sides of the Mouth are currently running a contest to win free tickets to see The Grates at their November 14 show at Los Angeles' Spaceland. We here at Skatterbrain love The Grates more than they know so we couldn't encourage you more to go and enter. Their live show is apparently "not to be missed!"

Also, it's just like, we really love Patience, yknow, and so we really love this picture.
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Friday, November 03, 2006

My Three Songs: Week #1


I originally had a My Three Sons image, but my instinct told me to change it to a cute kitten at the last minute.

If you've been around this cozy little space of internet long enough, you've probably noticed by now that I like to come up with neat weekly feature ideas. They pretty much never stick and I just forget about them eventually. I'm going to try my best to stay on top of this one if only to be able see that kitten every week.

My Three Songs is a totally awesome small collection of my three most played, favorite, whatever-you-want-call-them songs of the week. This is an attempt to shine a bit more light on my personal tastes and to let you in on what we're really listening to. These songs probably won't ever have a centralized theme, and while they may sometimes be new, it's likely that they typically won't be. Here are My Three Songs. xoxoxo.

[MP3]: Tiger Trap :: Words and Smiles
I hadn't listened to this song for a while and then about a week or so ago, my good pal K.B. (The Up Set) covered it and after revisiting it again I haven't been able to get it out of my head. Tiger Trap, as some of you may know, is one of the many bands the amazing Rose Melberg was at one point involved in. Save for a few fantastic Go Sailor tracks, I think Tiger Trap yielded most of the best songs of her career. This song is also holds one of cutest choruses ever. "I won't tell you, but if you only knew. Words and smiles and we're like a dream come true."

[MP3]: Postal Blue :: Weather Sensitive
Since I heard Postal Blue for the first time last Fall, they've always been one of my go-to morning drive bands. Their songs just have this extremely soft and delicate feel to them, with lyrics and vocals along lines of Belle and Sebastian. If songs were paintings then this would be what you would get after painting a light coat of white over someRocketship.

[MP3]: Frog Eyes :: Masticated Outboard Motors
Like I said above, these songs will likely never have a centralized theme. We had a bit of a theme going there for a little bit, but I'm pretty sure Frog Eyes doesn't really have much in common with twee-pop. This song however is absolutely incredible. The tension in the vocals paired, the creepy shaking guitar, and the way the lyric "anyone who is for the disconnective gestures of the frontline blue blood pedlars" is spun off. It's just...wow.

Okay well I think that went well. I hope you like these songs as much as I do and um, I guess I hope I remember to keep doing this, it was kinda fun. Have a nice friday and stuff. If you want to know more about these bands, I would suggest typing their name in Google.
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Thursday, November 02, 2006

give us money lol

give us money lol.
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Apples In Stereo @ The Black Cat 10/30/06


Robert looking incredibly sexy as always.

When we walked up to the Black Cat Monday night we were met with a very strange situation. We went a little bit early because we didnt have tickets yet and we didn't wan't to take any chances. Well, when we got there there was already a line down and around the corner. Now, I was under the assumption that the Apples have a pretty solid fan base, so we shrugged it off, got in line and complained for a while. Also strange was that there was a very high percentage of "Dad" in the line. That doesn't stand for anything, there were just a lot of Dads in the line, and I found it to be somewhat peculiar.


Some dude's hair totally ruined the lower left corner of this photo.

Well eventually I turn around to the guy behind us and I'm like, "This is the line for Apples In Stereo, right?" and the dude's all like "Nahhhh bro, this is for the secret Beck show." Secret Beck show?! What the hell? Turns out he wasn't lying, but we still wen't to see the Apples instead. That turned out to be a very good choice, as Robert and the boys were awesomely awesome in every way possible. Even better, they played a bunch of new songs, including "Energy" (Yesssssss). This show was also their very first with new drummer John Dufilho of The Deathray Davies. He seemed to fit in perfectly and had all the songs down, I think he'll work out just fine. In addition to that, they were also joined on stage by keyboardist/vocalist John Ferguson (Ulysses, Big Fresh) and Elephant 6 co-founder Bill Doss (Oliver Tremor Control, Sunshine Fix). So yeah, it was totally fantastic.

[MP3]: The Apples In Stereo :: Please


He eventually lost the jacket and rocked out Hawaiian style.

Setlist:
Rainbow
Can You feel It? (NEW)
Same Old Drag (NEW)
What's The #?
Skyway (NEW)
Energy (NEW)
Please
Play Tough (NEW)
Defiant Dynasty
7 Stars (NEW)
Do You Understand?
Go!
Sun Is Out (NEW)
Open Eyes (NEW)
Ruby
Strawberryfire


Look how hot and sexy that bass drum is.

The Apples in Stereo on MySpace
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