Pretty Girls Make Graves Say Goodbye

Wow. Can I just say, :'(

In a news posting on their website this morning, the band wrote:

"We are sorry to announce that our upcoming tour in May will be our last. Nick quit the band and the rest of us feel like it wouldn’t be right to continue on without him. The 5 of us feel very lucky to have met and worked with some truly amazing people over the years. Thank you all so much…"

Even if I didn't totally love their last record, Pretty Girls Make Graves have been one of my favorite bands for a long time. I'm going to miss them immensely, but at least I'll get to see them one last time. The band will indeed finish the tour in May for which all the dates have not yet been confirmed. I do know however, that they will be making a stop at the Black cat in Washington, DC on May 20th!

*MP3 LINK UPDATED*
One of my favorite PGMG songs ever, hell, one of my favorite songs ever, period:
[MP3]: Pretty Girls Make Graves :: Speakers Push The Air

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The Besties: "Rod 'N' Reel"

Marisa is hiding!

Since The Besties' last release, Singer (which I loved), they've done away with the "Shit Kicker" (their nicknamed drum machine), in exchange for living and breathing drummer Frank Korn and it seems to have been a fantastic decision. The songs on their brand new 7" single on Hugpatch Records sound much more full and exciting than most of what we heard on Singer. See what you think. I'm saying this is one of my favorite songs of 2007 so far.

[MP3]: The Besties :: Rod 'N' Reel (Highly Highly Recommended!!!)
You'll notice right away that this is a new Besties. You hear those drumsticks? Those are new! Real drums are new! Where Singer relied heavily on keyboards, "Rod 'N' Reel" looks more to the drums and guitar to drive the melody into your head. The girls' harmonies aren't really anything new, but oh man, Marisa and Kelly sound so great here. Don't you just love how they sing "Alamanda Avenue" ?!?! Oh yeah, Good song!

Pick up the "Rod 'N' Reel" 7" single from Hugpatch for $5
Be the The Besties pal on MySpace

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Also: Please give my pals Brown Recluse Sings your attention:

Philly Car Share, which is a wonderful non-profit organization that has successfully decreased the number of cars in our city by providing a sort of rental service to those that drive occasionally but do not want the hassle of owning a car, is sponsoring a battle of the bands. This is where you come in! You can go to their website and vote for Brown Recluse Sings. The top twelve bands in Philadelphia will be included on a compilation CD that will be freely distributed across the city, and the top six will compete in a battle of the bands at the World Café Live on February 22nd.

In order to vote, you need to go to the voting site and register an account (it's easy, and only takes a couple of seconds). After logging in, can click "vote," find our name, and vote for us! Thank you for your support!

Click here to vote!

Also, please check out Brown Recluse Sings this Friday, February 2nd at the Pi Lam House at 3914 Spruce Street. Come by for a night of indie-pop and psychedelia with us, Golden Ball, Creeping Weeds, and Arc in Round. The show starts at 8:00PM and is $5. We will have our newly (re-)pressed Black Sunday EP available at the show. Hope to see you there!

Warmest regards,

Jesse Brown Recluse Sings

Please take a few minutes and go vote for them!!! :)

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Embedded Tweepop Video Fridays!

man I just love that baby duck!

It's Friday! You know what that means! More Embedded YouTube videos to slow down my site! Woo! Today I've only done three videos, but I think they're all pretty great. Check below for videos from: Free Loan Investments, Beat Happening, and The Cat's Miaow!

OH, and by the way, you can just type skatterbrain.org to get here now! Cool, huh?!


Free Loan Investments: "Bomb The Bourgeoisie"


Beat Happening: "Black Candy"


The Cat's Miaow: "Third Floor Fire Escape View"

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The Capstan Shafts: "Bluejean V. Debs"

Cover art from Her Versus The Sad Cold Eventually

We've been big fans of The Capstan Shafts for quite a while now, ever since we first heard them back in December of 2005. Months and months have gone by since then and they've released a few more records, including the brand new Her Versus The Sad Cold Eventually, released by the always fantastic Asaurus Records on January 13th. It might be a bit early to call, but Her Versus... seems to be The Capstan Shafts best album to date. Everytime I listen to this record I keep skipping back to this track every couple minutes, it might be my favorite Capstan Shafts song ever.

[MP3]: The Capstan Shafts :: Bluejean V. Debs (Highly Rec'd!)
[MP3]: The Capstan Shafts :: The Trilateralist Told You Not To
That Capstan Shafts love their guitar distortion and on "Bluejean V. Debs" they're only able to hold off on it for about 16 seconds before turning up the fuzz and shouting parts of the album's title into the mic. But it get's even better at the end with electronic beeps shooting in every direction beneath the screaming guitar. Who says pop needs to be quiet?

Pick up Her versus The Sad Cold Eventually over at Asaurus for $5

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Days: "Downhill"

Days getting their croquet on.

Another band helping bring Shelflife back to life in 2007 is Gothenburg's Days. Like their new labelmates, A Smile and A Ribbon, Days' Shelflife debut will be a limited edition 7" and CD combo in one package. This seems to be the case with Shelflife's first three records, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the release dates. Here's a track from Days' forthingcoming record, "Downhill."

[MP3]: Days :: Downhill (Highly Recommundo!)
It's no surprise Shelflife grabbed these guys up, as it seems to me they've always been pretty set on bringing 1980s England back to life. So what better than a band that's already done that for them? This song is classic jangly pop at probably it's finest, perfect for your most lazy of days. These guys are definitely headed uphill...haha...ha...ha...?

Again, their Shelflife debut is "coming soon!" I'll let you know when I get release date details!
Check out Days on MySpace

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ALSO: The super-awesome Hugpatch Records have just put out their first two releases ever! Check out their shop and order your very own beautiful Besties and Nosoträsh 7"s. The packaging is fantastic and the Besties 7" features all brand new songs, so how can you not get it?! I just love Hugpatch, yknow? You should, too!

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The Royal Court Of Twee: Results!

The Final Top Ten!

The results are in! First of all, I just want to thank all of you that contributed. I never expected to have that many nominations/votes, it was just fantastic! So thanks! But enough of that, below is the Top Ten you've all been waiting to see. You all chose these bands, and thusly, according to you, this is the Royal Court Of Twee!

If you're unfamiliar with these bands, or wondering why they, out of all the bands, belong in the spot they're in, please refer to the MP3 below each band. These songs should more than prove the greatness of each band in the "court." Okay, well here it is!

1. The Field Mice (48 votes!)
[MP3]: The Field Mice :: Sensitive

2. Beat Happening (46 votes!)
[MP3]: Beat Happening :: Indian Summer

3. The Pastels (43 votes!)
[MP3]: The Pastels :: Truck Train Tractor

4. Heavenly (42 votes!)
[MP3]: Heavenly :: Shallow

5. Tullycraft (40 votes!)
[MP3]: Tullycraft :: Twee

6. The Lucksmiths (34 votes!)
[MP3]: The Lucksmiths :: Adolescent Song Of Mindless Devotion

7. Tiger Trap (27 votes!)
[MP3]: Tiger Trap :: For Sure

8. Talulah Gosh (24 votes!)
[MP3]: Talulah Gosh :: Talulah Gosh

9. 14 Iced Bears (21 votes!)
[MP3]: 14 Iced Bears :: Come Get Me

10. Cub (20 votes!)
[MP3]: Cub :: New York City

I also asked you guys to tell me what "twee" means to you, and a few of you were kind enough to humour me. Except, you more than humoured me, you expressed yourselves perfectly! Here's what some people wrote:

Karen Jeannette wrote,
"When I think of twee, I think of a few things:

* "Sensitive" by The Field Mice. The idea of that song, basically being militantly sensitive and proud of it, is kind of revolutionary.

* Beat Happening and subversive naivete.

* Postpunk like the Raincoats and the Marine Girls. People, including women, including men who don't fit a rock & roll mold, making music in an honest way with what resources they have. Looking at big ideas and trying to make them your own without being intimidated.

* Keading the K Records catalog in high school and reading slogans like "Punks Not Dead" next to the picture of the K Records kitty cat. Realizing that playing simple, kind of goofy songs about playing house really is punk rock.

* Sunday records bands with sweet voices singing cute songs about things like bitterness and betrayal (and about some other nicer things, too).

All in all, the idea that it could be subversive and revolutionary to be pretty / cute / childish / feminine / sensitive / vulnerable / yourself. That in order to be punk in the best possible sense of the term, not only did you not have to be aggressive and hard but in fact it would be more brave and more punk not to be either of those things."

David Lush of The Airfields wrote,
"I've never understood why "twee" is a such a universally applied synonym for "indie-pop", especially when it essentially means "cute". Cute music is usually quite boring and good indie-pop is never boring and is much more than cute sounding. Most songs by The Wake or The Field Mice, for example, are much too gloomy at heart to be cute."

Ken Norcross wrote,
"Like everybody, I listen to different kinds of music for different reasons, but I'm mostly drawn to songs that are bright, quick, and jangly. I like bands that play these songs with honesty, passion, and sincerity. Happy or sad, mad or glad, in love or heartbroken - I want the emotion to be real. I don't like posturing, I don't like anger without a point, and I like things to be genuine. I like music made by people that seem to be like me and the people I know, not some pasteboard caricatures. I'm glad that 14 Iced Bears recorded "Balloon Song" in 1987 and that the Math and Physics Club recorded "Darling, Please Come Home" in 2006. I like it when me, my wife, and my four-year old daughter all enjoy the same song for entirely different reasons. I like it when I get to share a song with a friend - something that they would probably never find on their own. I don't like music that's engineered for a mass appeal, but it's nice when a good song gets some attention. I like songs that are clever and literate. I like it when someone I don't know recognizes the band on my t-shirt. I like it when the same song can be part of the soundtrack to a bad day or a great day. Cuddle-core, dream pop, jangle pop, power pop, indie pop, shambling, C86, or Twee, - whatever you call it - does it make the world a better place, can pop music really make a difference? Yeah, it makes a difference in my world everyday."

You guys had some great insight to share, so thanks again for taking the time to write it all down. I guess that's pretty much it. Nothing left to do but look back and say, "Hey, we did this together, that was pretty cool." Please feel free to comment and discuss in the comments. I'd like to hear what you all think of this.

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Butcher Boy: "Girls Make Me Sick"

Butcher Boy

Since we heard Butcher Boy's "Days Like These Will Be The Death Of Me" on the How Does it Feel To Be Loved? comp last year, we been dying to hear some more; and now we finally will. The debut full-length from Butcher Boy, Profit In Your Poetry will be released March 5th on the UK label How Does It Feel To Be Loved? Here's the first single from the record. Highly recommended for fans of Felt, The Smiths, and pretty much any other late 80s indiepop.

[MP3]: Butcher Boy :: Girls Make Me Sick (Highly Rec'd!!)
It's a simple enough sentiment. Girls make Butcher Boy's John Hunt sick. I'm sure they make him jump for joy, too, but on this particular occasion, he's not feeling too good about them. Oddly enough, it's hard to grasp this message from the lyrics, because, unless I'm missing something, "it means the world to me to see you fall asleep, to feel your breath against my cheek" doesn't exactly agree with the song's title. Words aside, this song's just great. The bright, Felt-y keyboards and chirping guitar seal the deal for me. Sign me up for the full-length.

You can preorder Profit In Your Poetry here.
Butcher Boy on MySpace

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Hi, yeah, sorry. I was working all weekend, and then it snowed and stuff, but anyway, the Royal Court Of Twee results won't be up until tomorrow. But, man, it's gonna be so great!

Also, Indie MP3 has posted a bunch of demos and live recordings from Another Sunny Day, Brighter, and The Field Mice. Hurry over there and grab them!!!

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What does "twee" mean to you?

There won't be a legitimate post today as I'm pretty swamped at work, unlike almost every other Friday I've ever worked. Anyway, I just wanted to take a minute to present a little something. I'll be tallying the results of the "Royal Court of Twee" this weekend and since it seems like a lot of you have had some strong opinions to share in the comments, I thought perhaps it would be neat to include some of your thoughts in the results post. I'd like to know what "twee" means to you. Sooo, if you feel so inclined, please send me an email at 83in05(at)gmail(dot)com letting me know what you think. Thanks! If you send me something it will definitely end up in the post, so if you don't want your thoughts presented publicly, then please let me know in your email.

Have a great weekend! :)

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Back To School

OMG polar bears!

As noted in the title of this post, today is indeed the start of spring semester. I don't have much time today, so in honor of this most wonderful of occasions, I present you polar bears and two old songs that are really sad! Sweet!

[MP3]: The Orchids :: Blue Light
[MP3]: Another Sunny Day :: Rio

Go grab a tissue have a good cry :'(

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My Teenage Stride: "Heartless & Cruel"

My Teenage Stride

I like Brooklyn's My Teenage Stride a lot. They make pop music in the vein of The Wedding Present, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and, at times, sounding pretty Smiths-esque. Their forthcoming album Ears Like Golden Bats gets better and better each time I listen to it, and I'm starting to realize how great of a songwriter Jedediah Smith really is. Ears Like Golden Bats is out February 23rd on UK label Becalmed Records. I've been listening to this song from the album a lot, I think it's my favorite.

[MP3]: My Teenage Stride :: Heartless & Cruel (Highly Recommended!)
I like how this song starts with basically no intro at all, just right into motion from the first second onward. The jangling electric guitar is probably the first thing that'll catch your ears, and then you'll realize how great it meshes with the strummed acoustic guitar playing right under it in the mix. The drums are perfect, too. They remain pretty much subtle and in the background save for the moments when they pop in for a roll and then step back down, but that works just great, really great, actually.

My Teenage Stride on MySpace

Okay bye!

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The Royal Court Of Twee: The Final Vote

The Final Vote!

First Off I'd just like to say I was pretty blown away by the amount of response (both good and bad) that this project has gotten so far. I had tons of nominations to tally, but I eventually got through them all. The next step is, obviously, the FINAL VOTE. Please choose a total of FIVE bands from the ballot below and post them in the comments. After tallying the final votes, the top ten bands will be crowned the Royal Court Of Twee next Monday! Again, thanks for nominating before, and thanks for voting now!



Feel free to discuss, argue, or fight in the comments. Just don't get blood on anything.

ALSO: Never seen this before, but this post on the supposedly defunct blog, Yarn and Glue, describes "twee" perfectly, at least in the way that I percieve it. You may want to check it out if you're feeling a bit confused. Thank you Marta!

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Embedded Tweepop Video Fridays!

Alright! Cool! Friday!

Woohoo! We've made to another week of Embedded Tweepop Video Fridays. If you don't like the word twee, feel free to replace it with the word of your choice. I suggest perhaps "salad," "shovel," or maybe even "burlap." Have a nice Friday!


Another Sunny Day: "You All Should Be Murdered"


Cub: "My Chinchilla"


Velocity Girl: "Sorry Again"


Tiger Trap: "Sour Grass"


The Pastels: "Crawl Babies"

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The Bridal Shop: "From Seas"

The Bridal Shop's From Seas EP coming soon!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love MySpace. If you look hard enough on there, a wealth of great music can be found, say for instance, The Bridal Shop. Though it normally requires some diggi ng to find something great, it wasn't too difficult to stumble upon these guys, as they were on the friends list of The Electric Pop Group (who are also fantastic). As you might notice if you head over to their page, there's really isn't alot to see. The word "barren" would be a good way to describe it. However, the songs are anything but barren. If you're a fan of almost anything Sarah Records put out, especially bands like Blueboy and Brighter, then you'll probably love this song, the title track from their From Seas EP.

[MP3]: The Bridal Shop :: From Seas (Recommended! like always...)
The song opens with some subtle, yet, bright sounding keyboards and then a nice drum loop. Then once the guitar and vocals come in it just turns into a perfect indiepop dreamscape. The angelic female vocals make for a wonderful contrast against those of the male (sorry, but I have no idea who in the band does what). Wait for the surprise right near the end, it's beautiful, isn't it?

The Bridal Shop on MySpace

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Kate Nash: "Caroline's A Victim"

Kate Nash is so cute. New video for her song "Caroline's A Victim".

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A Smile And A Ribbon: "Pebbles"

Martin and Rebecca of A Smile And A Ribbon

This was supposed to go up yesterday, but it, uh, didn't.

A Smile and A Ribbon are a tiny little pop band from, you guessed it, Sweden. The Duo of Rebecca Mehlman & Martin Lindqvist make lighthearted pop songs about love and love lost, employing catchy melodies and a delicate vocal delivery. Sometimes they play with their friends The Budgies, and sometimes they don't.

After a three-year long hiatus, the legendary Shelflife label will jump back into action early this year to release A Smile and A Ribbon's debut The Boy I Wish I Never Met. The album will come as a multipackage containing a vinyl single with two new songs ("Then I Felt Your Cheek" & "Sugar Daddy"). Here's a song from the album!

[MP3]: A Smile and A Ribbon :: Pebbles
Rebecca's soft vocals paired the equally soft guitar make this song a perfect addition to any afternoon napping soundtrack. This song's got a real Softies-esque charm to it that's really got me interested in hearing the whole record now. Now go get napping! And take this with you!

A Smile and A Ribbon on MySpace

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Vote For The Royal Court Of Twee!

Vote For The Royal Court of Twee!

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.

By fairly popular demand, here it is, the first step to deciding the by-no-means-official-but-fun-anyway Royal Court of Twee: The Nominations! Okay, so I thought about it a little bit and here's what I decided will happen. First, there will be The Nominations (this post), where in the comments, you will nominate a total of FIVE bands. These will obviously be your top five favorites and you can nominate any band you wish. I will let this go for probably a week, as to let enough nominations come in. Please tell lots of people to come and nominate and vote because a vote with no voters in no fun!

Next, I will tally up the nominations and will choose what will hopefully be something between 20 and 30 of the most highly nominated bands and those will be the bands you will ultimately voting from. The post following this post will be the VOTING post and I will let you know then how many bands you will be allowed to vote for at that time. Okay so, go make your nominations! Think your choices through and tell everyone you can to come and nominate/vote! Yay!

Umm, for reference, I think Nitsuh Abebe's "Twee As Fuck" article published by Pitchfork in 2005 is probably the best, most comprehensive piece ever written on the subject of twee.

*EDIT* Due to arguments in the comments concerning the legitimacy of the word "twee," I thought I'd mention this out here: I chose "twee" for the title because it sounded fitting. Feel free, however, to chose any jangle pop/indiepop/shambling bands of your liking, if that's what you would rather call them.

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Embedded Tweepop Video Fridays!

Fridays should be relaxing!

I would truly love to have this really be a weekly thing, but the fact is I'll just probably forget. But this should be fun -- probably even more fun if I actually keep it up! There will be like, four, maybe five videos, typically. Again, assuming this becomes a typical thing. Okay, go!


Elliott Smith and Rose Melberg: "The Biggest Lie" (Live @ Stinkweeds 2/13/96)


Heavenly: "Our Love Is Heavenly"


Beat Happening: "Bewitched"


Sambassadeur: "New Moon"


The Lil Hospital: "I'm A Lil Hospital" (Live)

Yay! Have a good Friday everyone!

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LSD and the Search For God: "Starting Over"

LSD and the Search for God and their mountains of pedals

Here's what you need to know:

LSD and the Search for God are really really awesome.

These days it's becoming more and more difficult to find a solid shoegaze band that's actually worth your time. There's tons of them popping up these days, but only a handful of them are truly worth listening to and that's why a band like LSD and the Search for God is such a treat. You're either gonna love or hate their name and even if they do sound remarkabley similar to early My Bloody Valentine, the fact is that every song on their soon-to-be-released self-titled debut can stand up to just about anything off Loveless. That's not a hyperbole and I do believe this song backs it up.

[MP3]: LSD and the Search for God :: Starting Over (Highest Rec!!!)
I'm too tired to break the song down. Just listen to it and break it down yourself. Okay?

The record will be released by Mind Expansion Records on January 16th.
You can order it here or here.
LSD and the Search for God on MySpace

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The Electric Pop Group: "Walk Away"

The Electric Pop Group

As you read on, this post may seem a little overbearing in it's praise, but it's because I'm just so completely smitten with this record right now and I have nothing but amazing things to say about it. If it weren't for it's late end of the year release, the debut self-titled record by The Electric Pop Group would have surely been in my top five of the year. Yet another one the fantastically great pop bands coming out of Sweden as of late, The Electric Pop Group seem to be some miraculous millenium reincarnation of The Field Mice, what with their popping drum machine and sweetly plucked guitar. I've been saying this a lot the past few days, but hey, I'm gonna go ahead and throw this song in the group of some of the greatest pop songs to surface in a while.

[MP3]: The Electric Pop Group :: Walk Away (C'mon, do I even need to say it?!)
What this band lacks in a name, they more than make up for in their completely genuine emotion. I'd even go so far as saying "Walk Away" is this generation's "Emma's House." Now, that's saying a lot since: A.) I am part of this generation B.) "Emma's House" is one of my favorite songs ever written. Just listen to those opening notes, it just sounds so terribly sad. If you're not in love immediately, just wait for the chorus: "You say come on with me / stay with me for a while / and I don't mind / I can come with you tonight / and I do / and we do all things we used to do / but tomorrow / I'll just walk away from you." I mean, come on. COME ON. It's just too good.

Buy the record from Fraction Discs
The Electric Pop Group on MySpace

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Springfactory: "As Winter Gives Way To Spring"

Springfactory! (Photo credit)

Springfactory is Peter Gunnarson (Suburban Kids With Biblical Names) and Lina Cullemark. Realizing they had a shared love of pop music, Peter and Lina finally got together back in 2004 and began recording what would eventually become their first self-titled EP of cute, yet complex, pop songs. Their second EP As Winter Gives Way To Spring, released in 2006, followed in the debut's footsteps, somehow becoming even catchier than the first. This song, the title track from the second EP, has been stuck in my head since I first heard it just a wee five days ago.

[MP3]: Springfactory :: As Winter Gives Way To Spring (Highly Recommended!!!!!!!!)
Man! That bassline! It's not even like, "Wow! What a great bassist!", it's more like, "Wow! They're so lucky for coming up with that!", because it's just catchy as hell. Then on top of that you've got Lina's vocals, sounding like some sort of Swedish Jenny Lewis, and her annuciation is just so spot-on that every word she utters just make's you fall in love with her. But they don't stop there, as the vocals head out the door a duo of horns enters, slowly winding the song down. It's 100% perfect up to the last second, in my opinion.

Kindly direct an email to HERE if you'd like a copy of the new EP.
Springfactory on MySpace

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Lost Summer Kitten: "Lovesong No. 1"

Lost Summer Kitten

First off, Happy New Year! I had a wonderful new years and I hope you did too!

Now I'll introduce you to the music that I've listened to more over this Winter break than all other music combined. That music is the music made by Lost Summer Kitten. When half of their first band decided to leave and move out of Sweden back in 2005, what originally began as a side project for Lisa Westerlund and Matilda Hjärtstam, had now become their main project. Left with nothing but sad feelings and some acoustic guitars, the two girl did what anyone would do. They made up an almost overbearingly cute name, wrote some songs and made a really great ep about their sad feelings. It's like depressed tweepop. I think you'll really like it. This song is from that ep about sad feelings called Yeah Oh Wow.

[MP3]: Lost Summer Kitten :: Lovesong No. 1 (Really Really Recommended!)
The song opens with fragilest of fragile picked guitar, slowly becoming more and more audible beore it's met by equally fragile vocals. This song is just really beautiful and really sad, that's really all I can say about it. It's a lovesong, obviously, with lines like "keep me in mind, when you're heading down that line" able to melt the hearts of anyone with a heart to melt. Will it melt yours? Who knows.

Buy Yeah Oh Wow from Popkonst
Lost Summer Kitten on MySpace

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