Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Something's wrong, but you don't know


The Artisans (photo stolen from Roque)

Today is a great day! Why, you ask? Because about a week after posting a new mix featuring a song by the fantastic band The Artisans, whom I've fallen in love with over the past month (only hearing just two songs!), I come to find out that Roque will be releasing a 3" CDr compiling their entire career output. Now, "entire career output" here only means six songs, but that's four more than I'd ever heard before, so I'm pleased as punch! More pleased than punch, to be honest!

[MP3]: The Artisans :: Jazz Serenade (Sooooo Rec'd!!!)

My first exposure to The Artisans came via Slumberland's Why Popstars Can't Dance, which included their songs "Start Again" and "Tolerance" which, for me, are still perfect pop songs. The Artisans sound more than a bit like The Popguns or Velocity Girl, to me, which is in no way a bad a thing, but they've also got a softer side, reminding at times of perhaps The Shapiros or The Castaway Stones. Either way, if you're still looking for a better point of reference, I feel like these guys should have totally been on Sunday Records and released a lot more stuff, because I want more.

The compilation CDr is out now on Cloudberry Records as part of the new Cloudberry Classics series – which may I add, is an amazing idea. Especially in this case, because I imagine it would've been a while before I tracked down a copy of The Artisans one and only record self-released "Jazz Serenade" 7". Cloudberry's outdone itself once again!

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

One Happy Island on Chic-A-Go-Go!

Real quick, you have to watch this, it's adorable and great.



Thanks to William Skipping Stones for pointing this video out!

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

:'(

How sad is this? Lost Music has come to an end.

Sometimes, life is about knowing when to stop.

Over the past month or so I’ve had to question my love for doing Lostmusic. A few times I’ve found myself not enjoying it as much as I used to. These doubts made me decide that it was better to end Lostmusic rather than let it linger. The easy option would be to continue and let it become something I do, rather than something I love. It was when I realised this that I decided to email Tom saying that I wanted to call a halt to Lostmusic.

I have invested a lot of love, time and effort over the past 4 and 1/2 years in Lostmusic, be it the blog, the shows and records we have released. I always said I was doing this because it was fun. And it has been so many kinds of fun. And I think it’s best to end while it still is fun. Looking back it’s been an incredible thing to have been involved with and I’ve got to meet so many wonderful people and see some very special performances during the years we’ve been putting on shows. I’ve got many great memories, far too many to mention and single out in this little messages. But the way Lostmusic grew from a humble webzine, to a regular night with top bands fills with me pride. That pride also burns fiercely within me when I think of the 4 7″ singles and 3 CDr releases we have released over the past 18 months (all but one are still available to buy - from our shop! - I guess it never hurts to plug your records!) - so I’d like to thank the bands we’ve released for making the great music that fires me up: so thanks Manhattan Love Suicides, The Fischers, Pete Green, Moscow Olympics, The Morning Paper, Knight School, The Candy Twins and The Wendy Darlings.

Tom and I merged Indie-mp3 and Lostmusic blogs as we were covering the same ground. Now that Lostmusic is coming to it’s end - Indie-mp3 will be returning with Tom at the helm - I may well pop over and post about some indiepop bands or other in the future.

Our official last day comes in July when we host The Smittens, One Happy Island, The Melting Ice Caps and Standard Fare for our final hurrah just a few days before Indietracks. I think that is a fitting way to go out – with 4 cracking bands and the excitement of Indietracks being only days away. We still have a few more shows between now and then and we aim to make these the best shows we’ve ever put on.

A few more thank you’s at the end - it’s been a pleasure to work with Savo and Tom on Lostmusic over the past 2 years – for it was Savo and I that started putting on shows and Tom joined shortly afterwards. I’d also like to thank anyone that read the blog, came to a show or bought one of our records.

Trev


I'm going to miss Lost Music a lot. I was ever able to ever actually attend any of the shows they put on, nor have I ever even met Trev or Tom, but they released some fantastic records and I just really admired what they did with Lost Music. Congratulations on everything you did with it, guys, you should be very proud. Now, as sad as I am to see Lost Music go, it will be nice to see Indie-MP3 up and running again. The show must always go on!

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Monday, March 23, 2009

NYC Popfest 2009 lineup announced!


Another year and no popfest for me! Yay!

The lineup for this years NYC Popfest has finally been announced and it's as amazing as anyone could have possibly hoped! Unfortunately it's been scheduled smack dab in the middle of finals week, so I (along with, I would assume, many other popkids in college!) won't be able to make it! Fantastic! Hopefully this scheduling conflict will be taken into consideration next year! Anyway – my peril aside – this year's popfest WILL be amazing for those of you actually going. After an initial scan of the lineup, my personal highlights would be Knight School, Liechtenstein, Cats On Fire, The Metric Mile, Burning Hearts, Pants Yell!, and of course, the lovely Rose Melberg! Though, I would be pretty excited to see each and every band on the schedule. God, I was upset about having to miss it before I knew the lineup, but now I figure I might as well just die...

Without further adieu, the schedule!

Thursday May 14th
Venue: Cake Shop

Knight School (NYC)
Soft City (NYC)
Dream Bitches (NYC)
The Metric Mile (NYC)
My Teenage Stride (NYC)
THE BALLET (NYC)

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Friday May 15th
Venue: Don Hills

Don Lennon (NYC)
The Tartans (CA)
( secret band )
Liechtenstein (SWEDEN)
CATS ON FIRE (FINLAND)
+ Mondo Indie Dance Party

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Saturday Afternoon FREE show!
Saturday May 16th
Venue: Cake Shop

Hidden Ghost Balloon Ship (MI)
The Hat Company (OH)
Strega (NYC)

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Saturday May 16th
Venue: Bell House

Computer Perfection (MI)
Eux Autres (CA)
The Secret History (NYC)
Pants Yell! (MA)
THE RADIO DEPT. (SWEDEN)
+ Indiepop Dance Party

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Sunday All-Dayer
Sunday May 17th
Venue: Cake Shop

Boy Genius (NYC)
Afternoon Naps (OH)
Very Truly Yours (IL)
The Smittens (VT)
Rose Melberg (CANADA)
The Icicles (MI)
Casper and the Cookies (GA)
BURNING HEARTS (FINLAND)

Ticket info and etc will be available on the NYC Popfest Facebook group in the coming days and weeks, so go join it and keep your eyes peeled for updates!

So who are you excited to see???

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Years went by and I never heard you cry


Cats On Fire

My copy of the new Cats On Fire record Our Temperance Movement hasn't arrived in the mail yet (it should be showing up soon, along with Pocketbooks' Flight Paths!), but between listening to "Horoscope" over and over and now watching this new video for "Tears In Your Cup", I'll be very surprised if Our Temperance Movement doesn't end up being one of my most loved records of 2009. I'm not sure what to say about it at the moment as I have yet to hear it all, but I imagine I'll be at a loss for words then, too. Now if I could only get a chance to see them play live!



Our Temperance Movement is out now on the HDIF label! Order it here!
Cats On Fire on MySpace!

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Friday, March 20, 2009

The Springtime Is Killing Us


Pete and Pete = Springtime. Right?

The Springtime Is Killing Us! Well, not really – to be honest, I'm on spring break right now and the entirety of the week here was dreadful and wet, but today just happens to be the nicest day we've seen so far around here! Now, what's a spring break without a new mix celebrating the (late) arrival of Spring?! Why that's no spring break at all! So, since it's just beginning to turn into spring outside and I haven't made a mix since, well, a while, I made a new spring mix! Eeeeeeee! Aside from my thinking that Pete and Pete are synonymous with spring, I also feel that spring is best when paired with fast, noisy pop songs! I hope you guys feel the same way, because this new mix is chock full of them, from beginning to end. If I still had a car you bet I would be blasting this down the road, with the sun shining nice and bright! Instead I'll just settle for walking around in the sun at a brisk pace. Enjoy this one! Hopefully I'll be posting more mixes this Spring and Summer than I did this past Fall and Winter. Hopefully I'll to get to post more in general, for that matter!

TRACKLIST:

01. The Cannanes & Steward :: Hey Leopard
from Communicating At An Unknown Rate, Yo-Yo Recordings, 2000
02. Dear Nora :: Second Hand
from Three States: Rarities 1997-2007, Magic Marker, 2008
03. Shumai :: Are You Jeff Corwin Experienced?
from Tastes Like Summer, Total Gaylord, 2004
04. The No-No's :: Jupiter Girl
from Secret Luminaries, Chromosome, 1997
05. Kristallin :: Flashback
from Station, Marsh-Marigold, 2001
06. Javelins :: I Was Raised As A Polar Bear
from Terrific Times & Unrehearsed Crimes, Melodrama, 2006
07. The Artisans :: Start Again
from Why Popstars Can't dance, Slumberland, 1994
08. Crayon :: Small
from Brick Factory, Harriet, 1994
09. Comet Gain :: Orwell Liberty Dance
from Red Menace 7" EP, Piao!, 1999
10. Moped :: Window Shopping
from It Won't Sound Any Better Tomorrow, Summershine, 1996
11. The Steinbecks :: Apollo
from At Home And Abroad With The Steinbecks, Summershine, 1996
12. Velocity Girl :: Forgotten Favorite
from My Forgotten Favorite 7", Slumberland, 1991

DOWNLOAD IT!
The Springtime Is Killing Us [.ZIP, 12 MP3s, 77mb]

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Three more things of note!
1. The Pains are going to be on TV! Holy shit! On April 1st they'll be performing on Last Call w/ Carson Daly. This is just too much, it seems like just yesterday that they mailed me a copy of their first EP, in turn winning my heart forever – now they're winning hearts around the entire world. Anyway, I wish them the most luck and I hope it goes great! Don't forget to watch! Hope it's not an April fools joke!
2. Colin Clary has got a new record out on WeePop! that no one seems to really be mentioning – myself included, I guess – even though it's totally fantastic! I'll admit, I wasn't super into the recent Smittens album, but this new solo one is the bees knees! Perfect for warm Summer lazing. Listen to "Phone Me, Phone Me"
3. If you live in DC, go and see Comet Gain at The Black Cat on April 8th!!! There is no excuse good enough to justify missing this show. I don't care who's funeral you have to go to, this is more important.

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Cold-hearted lovers get warm under covers


The Hermit Crabs

The new Correspondence Course EP from Scotland's Hermit Crabs – which I only just heard very recently – has become an integral companion for me as I'm beginning to welcome the Spring season back into my life. The EP (out on Matinee Records) is four tracks of sugary-sweet indiepop that seems to just cover your whole body with sunshine! The best part? Melanie's immensely catchy vocal melodies – and they're made even better against the backdrop of the bouncing, almost surf-y lead guitar. In my opinion, these guys and gals should totally be as big as Camera Obscura. Listen to "I Don't Know How" and just try not to smile!

[MP3]: The Hermit Crabs :: I Don't Know How

Go pick up Correspondence Course from Matinee today!
The Hermit Crabs on MySpace!

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Monday, March 09, 2009

Bad news bears and good news bears


Tullycraft

When stopping by the Tullycraft blog today, I was greeted by some very saddening news. It seems that Tullycraft have decided to throw in the live show towel! Noooooooooo! Now, as much as I can understand their reasons, I'm still quite broken up about this because I've never had the opportunity to see them live. They are still going to be playing a final show at this year's San Francisco Popfest, but I simply don't have the mean$$$ to make it across the country this Summer. I guess there's always YouTube :( Fortunately they will still be recording music – had I read that they were 100% done for good I just don't know how I would have coped.

These will be Tullycraft's last two shows:
Saturday, April 4 at The Crocodile (Seattle, WA)
Tullycraft w/ "Awesome", BOAT, iji

Saturday, May 23 at The Richshaw Stop (San Francisco, CA)
Tullycraft w/ My Teenage Stride, Northern Portrait, The Magic Bullets, The Smittens

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In other less-sad news, One Happy Island are touring en route to SXSW! and they're playing in Baltimore this very Friday the 13th! Scary! If you happen to live in or around Baltimore, MD like myself, you would do very well to not miss this!

The Dates!
Thursday March 12, New York City, NY - Piano's; 11pm, www.pianosnyc.com
Friday March 13, Baltimore, MD - El Rancho Grande, 9pm, www.myspace.com/itsabigranch
Saturday March 14, Indianapolis, IN - Birdy's, 9pm, http://www.birdyslive.com/
Sunday March 15, Chicago, IL - The Darkroom, 7pm, http://www.darkroombar.com/
Monday March 16, St, Louis, MO - CBGB, http://www.myspace.com/cbgbstl
Tuesday March 17, Memphis, TN - The Buccaneer,
http://www.myspace.com/buccaneer_memphis
Wednesday March 19, Houston, TX - Sound Exchange,
http://www.soundexchangehouston.com/
Thursday-Friday March 20-21, Austin, TX - SXSW*
Saturday March 21, Austin, TX - Waterloo Cycle, 3pm
(w/the Besties, Casper and the Cookies, etc.), http://www.waterloocycles.com/

*They will be playing various private parties at SXSW. If you are interested in seeing them, email Brad at brad [at] onehappyislandmusic [dot] com for details.

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I'm romantic by design


Pocketbooks

"I'm overwhelmed sometimes, by all the rational types who just dismiss coincidence and instinct and perception, as a trick of the mind" sings Emma Pocketbooks on "Fleeting Moments" – the second track on the London pop group's debut LP, Flight Paths. I just ordered my copy this past weekend, so I haven't gotten a chance to hear the whole thing yet, but I've heard wonderful things from all corners of the world and the one new song I have heard is a gem, so my expectations are pretty high right now! I have a good feeling that they'll be more than met though. Ian's fast-paced guitarwork is quite a lovely surprise on "Fleeting Moments" and my feeling is that had Stuart Murdoch been singing vocals for the track, it wouldn't feel a bit out of place on The Boy With The Arab Strap. Of course, Stuart isn't actually singing, but Andy and Emma are – and as usual, harmonizing beautifully. Pocketbooks' songwriting has always been above the top notch and Flight Paths is likely to only further their reputation as some of the finest songwriters in indiepop today.

[MP3]: Pocketbooks :: Fleeting Moments

You can order Flight Paths now from the How Does It Feel To Be Loved? label! I would highly suggest that you do so or you might end up missing out on what could be some of the year's best indiepop!

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