Archive for February, 2010


Pledge your Lazy Saturday to the funk

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.27, 2010
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)

I’ve been watching a lot of Olympic curling.  A lot.  I’m sending text messages about the uniform choices of Canadian women’s skip Cheryl Bernard.  I’m peppering my daily speech with curling terms (as in: referring to the last cup of coffee in the pot as “the hammer”).  I’m seriously considering joining a league and making an aggressive run at the 2018 Olympics.  So, yeah, I’ve got a curling problem.  Admitting it is the first step to recovery.

Curling, strangely, is huge in Oregon.  (It’s not; I made that up so that I would have a transition.  It’s LAZY Saturday, remember?)  To celebrate my own love for both curling and the state of Oregon, we’ve got some live Blitzen Trapper today.  We understand that Eric Early, our cousin Marty and the rest of the gang are working on a new record, which we’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of.  To tide us over, we’ve got a Neil Young cover, the Trapper song that most reminds us of Neil Young and a song that we presume will be on the next record.  (All you Trapper fanatics, feel free to refute that last claim in the comments; “The Man Who Would Speak True” may well be an obscure b-side or something.  Until further evidence is presented, however, I’m taking it as new material.)

Blitzen Trapper – Not Your Lover, Live 2009

Blitzen Trapper – Roll Another Number, Live 2009

Blitzen Trapper – The Man Who Would Speak True, Live 2009

While we’re on Sub Pop bands that dabble in the broader folk idiom, we’ll lob out a bizzarely soothing Vetiver remix.  Enjoy.

Vetiver – More of This (Neighbors remix)

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Dick update

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.26, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast)

(Editor’s note: We’ve been absentee landlords here this week.  We’re sorry; we miss you.  As we are periodically wont to do, however, we’ll give you the quick update on our recent whereabouts and goings on.  It’s not like we’ve just been sitting around with our thumbs up our bums; we’ve had legitimate business outside of the blogosphere.  We’re back in the saddle (note the visual pun there people; I’ve still got my fastball) tomorrow with Lazy Saturday and Sunday with Radio Dick.  Next week expect big things.  Word.)

James – In a fit of adolescent pique, James has been skipping school with his high school girlfriend and longtime bro.  Since James does not have a car, the trio had to borrow James’s friend’s father’s Ferarri.  James et al. then took in the sights of downtown Chicago, visiting museums, catching a Cubs game and marching in an impromtu parade.  James’ sister, who recently returned from a summer dance camp with Patrick Swayze, is super pissed that he always gets away with shit.  James is also experimenting heavily with breaking the fourth wall.  We expect James to be back from this festival of truancy soon.

Rob – After being fired from his position as paranormal scientist at a prestigious New York university, Rob started a small business with several other dorks.  The business focuses on the capture and storage of ghosts; business is booming.  Rob is also dating the woman from Alien, who, for a brief period, was possessed by an ancient demon.  A large marshmallow person was also involved at some point.  Rob will return as soon as he sorts everything out with the mayor of the city and the dude from Die Hard, who, we understand, has no penis.

Kevin – To prevent his failure from high school, Kevin is travelling through time and kidnapping famous historical figures.  For some reason, George Carlin wants Kevin to be succesful.  Kevin’s close friend’s step-mother is insanely hot.  Also, critically, the Circle K is a messed up place to hang out.  Assuming he does not get stuck in some sort of inter-dimensional concavity, Kevin will be back soonish.

Brian – Brian is currently building a laser that will exerminate people from space.  Strangely, the same dude from Die Hard who is penis-less is directing the project.  There is some suspiscion that if the project fails, the penis-less one will prevent Brian from graduating and/or securing a job in private industry.  As such, there’s a lot of mostly-naked coffee drinking going on.  After filling that dude’s house with popcorn and shooting it with the aforementioned laser, Brian will be writing again.

Justin – On a trip to California to see his estranged wife, Justin became embroiled in an international plot to steal a bunch of bonds or something.  He lost his shoes and killed a bunch of terrorists.  Predicatbly, the dude from Die Hard was involved.  Justin is planning on participating in  highly similar adventure in an airport at Christmas and will be back following it’s succesful conclusion.  Ben Stiller finds Justin’s plight hilarious, which means that he has no empathy, I guess.

To tide you over until we all return for our hiatuses (Is that the plural of “hiatus?”  Maybe hiati? Hiateses? Anybody?), we’ve got a bit of an aural journey through some of the dancier realms of the pseudo glo-fi.  As I’ve written a lot over the past two weeks, this is all I listen to anymore (well, this and  unreleased Kenyan hardcore punk from the mid-eighties).  Enjoy!

Pictureplane – Goth Star

Pictureplane – 5th Sun (Heliopis Mix by Rainbow Arabia)

Rainbow Arabia – Harlem Sunrise

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C.D. Singles Club #71 – The Pharmacy – Coldest Morning Light/WAYDWL

Filed Under: New Music
Feb.23, 2010
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Rating: 9.0/10 (5 votes cast)

There’s something like three inches of ice coating my driveway this morning, a thick, angry rime of winter caking the windshield of my car.  As I listen to the drone of a thousand ice scrapers (shck, shck, shck), clearing the way for the morning commute, I find my mind wandering to thoughts of warmer locales.  There are places (I understand intellectually) where the sun shines more often than it doesn’t, where “snowstorms” and “freezing rain” are merely ideas from children’s books, where duck boots aren’t required attire for five months of the year.  Staring at the heavily drooping tree branches, long since rid of their verdant foliage, now caked with damnable ice, I ask that age old rhetorical: “Why the hell do I live someplace where the weather is this shitty so frequently?”  Then I remember: Cleveland (Ohio, really, but whatever) is the heart of it all, maybe never more so than in winter.  The intrepid spirits of my friends and neighbors are steeled by our cold winters.  Our museums and restaurants and dive bars and bookshops and parks are all more inviting when winter lets loose his icy blast.  You can’t really relish a steaming cup of coffee at Presti’s, shared with your oldest friend, in Florida, right?  You can’t appreciate the warm glow of summer when it is yearlong, can you?  Californians don’t get that surge of adrenaline and joy on the first warm day of spring, because that day happens everyday.  I’ll keep Cleveland, with its constant reminders that time passes, seasons change, the sun returns.

And.  Inhabitants of colder climes can always cover themselves in sun-drenched records.  On days like these, when it is easy to forget that June is around the corner, there are few things as soothing as a band like The Pharmacy.  We have two tracks from their most recent effort, Weekend (out March 9 on Park the Van) this morning, both of which are packed with a fuzzed out, garage swagger that reeks of warm weather.  The jangly, mildly distorted vocals (vaguely reminiscent of something like The Shondells), the guitar riff on “WAYDWYL,” and the hazy keyboard line on “Colest Morning Light” are all redolent of beaches and scantily clad fillies.  Dig a little deeper and there’s a refreshing layer of self-analysis and ennui that I can definitely get down with as well.  The rest of the record is packed with tracks of similar quality and tone; Weekend gets our full endorsement.  There are some tracks that work in a softer vein (the delightful and delicate “Stoner Girl” springs to mind), some that really push the garage rock influence button (the drum line in “My Business” is straight off a Zombies record), some that damn near sound like early The Who (“Wait in Vayne” would work as  a b-side for “A Legal Matter.”)  All told, you should be in line at your record shop on March 9 for this one.

If you’re someplace cold, wrap these two songs around you like an electric blanket.  If you’re someplace warm, kiss my rosy ass.

The Pharmacy – WAYDWYL

The Pharmacy – Coldest Morning Light

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Radio Dick – Fast Swimmers Edition

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.21, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

As you may have noticed, we’ve been a little weak with the content this week.  You get our sincere apologies.  It’s been a busy few weeks for all of the Dicks and we’re slowly finishing up the circle laps we’ve been swimming.  We’ll keep this short and simple:  There are huge things happening musically and this week has been pretty active.  This week’s list includes some of the best tracks we’ve been hearing of late.  In the meantime, make sure to:

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Oh, and enjoy this week’s list…..

This Week’s Track List

James Vincent McMorrow – If I Had a Boat – This one popped into our submission dropbox earlier this week.  James Vincent McMorrow’s gentle croon is easy to like here.  His debut album drops on February 26th in Ireland and there’s certainly a unique mix of brooding folk and drenching soulful vocal delivery.  Check out his myspace page HERE, and look further into his music.  There’s a distinct maturity that unfolds upon multiple listens.

James Vincent McMorrow – If I Had a Boat

Future Islands – Tin Man – The fine folks at Thrill Jockey just sent over the upcoming Future Islands album, In Evening Air, which is set to be released on May 4th.  This first downloadable track, “Tin Man” bursts into your ears with  heavily chopped percussion and snarling vocals.  Since we’ve just received the album, we don’t have much to report here, other than that this first track has pushed the album up in our listening pile.  Check out the band’s website HERE and stay tuned for more.

Future Islands – Tin Man

AB and the Sea – Bone Dry – We stumbled upon AB and the Sea during our recent research on The Morning Benders.  This Bay Area band is locked and loaded and “Bone Dry” is being offered for free download for registering on the band’s website.  Check out the embedded link below and snag this track.  It’s loyally honest and sincere.  It’s ear candy for a lazy Sunday morning.  The band is releasing 5 free singles and using an interesting “unlock” strategy to get folks to embed the widget on their sites.  Well, damn.  I’m a sucker.  When enough people download “Bone Dry, they’ll unlock the second track.  This process continues until all five free tracks are released.  Check out the band’s website HERE for more information and to catch the next four singles.

Epstein – A Lost Animal – Roberto Carlos Lange goes by quite a few names, most recently Helado Negro, and we absolutely loved his 2009 output.  Also going by Epstein, Lange is hard at work again with a two brand new full lengths on the way, the first being When a Man is Full, He Falls Asleep, due out March 9th.  Additionally, the entire back catalog of his inspired 10 year career will be released for the first time to US store shelves.  This just popped into our email recently, so we’ll spend some time with the new album and write again soon.  In the meantime, enjoy the album’s closing track, “A Lost Animal,” and give us your thoughts.  To me, there’s something incredibly magnetic going on here.  Check out the Asthmatic Kitty website for more information regarding these releases.

Epstein – A Lost Animal (Featuring School of Seven Bells)

Annuals – Loxtep – We had the chance to sit down with Annuals when they rolled through Cleveland in the dead winter of 2009.  When caught in a live setting, this North Carolinian sextet projects enough sound to blow out most arenas.  The tiny Grog Shop atmosphere was, needless to say, restricting.  We’ve been patiently waiting for the next project, and it seems to be close on the horizon.  “Loxtep” is part of an EP named Sweet Sister that will be released on March 30th.  Their 2009 LP Such Fun was quietly one of the better albums of the year.  We’re excited to hear the newest material.  Even if it’s just five songs, it should be enough to tide the old fans over and provide a taste for those just diving in.

Annuals – Loxtep

Follow That Bird – The Ghosts that Wake You – We picked this one up (via You Ain’t No Picasso) and did a little digging afterwards.  We’re fans of the straight-laced rocking energy this track.  They’ve recently done a lounge act at WOXY and you can snag that session by going to The Futurist.

Follow That Bird – The Ghosts That Wake You

Broken Social Scene – World Sick – We don’t have this one linked up for you to download.  You’ll have to go to the band’s website and sign up with your email.  However, is this a difficult thing to decide?  The seminal band is primed for the new LP release and is offering this one up to those who register with the site.  We’re stoked to head up to Toronto to see the Island Concert with Pavement and Band of Horses later on this year.  Get out your old BSS records and go to work.  This one’s going to hit the interwebs hard this year.  Might as well get a head start.   To get the download, click HERE to snag it.

Ted Leo – The Mighty Sparrow – We’ve already got our tickets prepared for Ted Leo’s tour-opening show on March 11th in Cleveland.  With a new full length set to be released through Matador, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists have released the album’s opener for download.  Two days before they hit Cleveland, the full length is getting its proper release on March 9th.  “The Mighty Sparrow” promises that The Brutalist Bricks will stomp and kick with enough jarring energy to make cakes fall in your neighbor’s oven.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – The Mighty Sparrow

The Megaphonic Thrift – Mad Mary – We’ve sorely dropped the ball in recognizing this band.  We posted “Acid Blues” yesterday and discussed the Norse noise rock band’s weekend performances at by:Larm in Oslo.  This six minute track is also from the Acid Blues 7” and moves into poppier modalities but exhibits mature musicianship, as well.  The band is made up of a conglomerate of Norwegian acts of note, including Casio Kids and Low Frequency in Stereo.  Check out yesterday’s POST to snag “Acid Blues” and enjoy “Mad Mary.”  This is 100 percent a band to watch and follow.  Their sound will translate well over here in the US, and the last three minutes of this song provides all the proof you need.

The Megaphonic Thrift – Mad Mary

The Morning Benders – Excuses – Ever since Yours Truly popped the video of The Morning Benders performing the orchestral rendition of “Excuses,” the buzz train has begun to mount fairly heavily across the blogosphere for this band.  We’ve heard Big Echo and it’s as advertised.  As the band marches into indie-darling status, do yourself the favor and hop on board early.  This song maintains all the shifty retro coolness we’d expect after the initial leak of “Promises.” Noteworthy, however, is that the full album sneaks around plenty of corners and rarely leaves listeners stuck in one mode.  Enjoy “Excuses,” an check out the full length in early April.

The Morning Benders – Excuses

CANT – Ghosts (Class Actress Remix) - Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor is crazy busy over at his own Terrible Records, and has just released a remixed version of “Ghosts” out into the world.  That track dropped quietly at the tail end of last year and the remixed version is worth a listen.  Check out the website’s blog for more information on all of the stirring the pot Taylor’s been up to.

CANT – Ghosts (Class Actress Remix)


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By:Larm Update – The Megaphonic Thrift – Acid Blues

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.20, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (5 votes cast)

We’ve been following Joe (WOXY DJ and writer at Each Note Secure/The Futurist) and his exploits over in Oslo, Norway at the by:Larm 2010 festival.  In his highly entertaining video journals, he mentions The Megaphonic Thrift as a “wall of sound” and we concur.  “Acid Blues” has been floating around the internet for the better part of a year, but we’ll post retrospectively, as the video footage from this weekend’s festival has us primed to see this band bust some skulls live.  The swirling noise rock is delicately melodious and hits all the right buttons for me.  I’ve been hunting and have tracked down several of the Norwegian band’s live performances.  Wicked distortion and loudness is all packaged within an accessible wrapper.  Joe’s description of the Oslo performance sums it up pretty well:

“The tide turned in a big way though with our next experience. I had been impressed with the opening night performance of The Megaphonic Thrift and recommended them highly to Larry, who was already firmly seated on the bandwagon. He and I chatted up the band earlier in the day and they remarked that this performance (one of their 5 during the fest) was the one not to miss and was on the biggest stage of their young careers. Yes, the perfect storm was brewing, and then TMT took the stage, the thunder and lightning show was one to remember.”

I’ve had “Acid Blues” on constant repeat this morning, serving as the perfect Saturday jam. Check out part of one of the five by:Larm performances (via WOXY Video) below.

YouTube Preview Image

The “Acid Blues” 7″ also includes “Mad Mary” which we’ll hopefully get onto tomorrow’s Radio Dick post.  The translation of recorded material, as evidenced in the video, must be incredible.  Props to the folks at WOXY for getting this material out to us.  I’m currently interviewing pilots to fly me to Europe to see the next festival this band plays?  I’ll bring sandwiches and whiskey.

The Megaphonic Thrift – Acid Blues

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Waxing and milking all your Lazy Saturday

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.20, 2010
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Rating: 8.3/10 (10 votes cast)

I had this byzantine diatribe on covers planned for today.  (The argument, essentially is this:  it’s fine for Limp Bizkit to cover George Michael, because, on the scale of artistic integrity, the former is a four and the latter is, at best, a six.  It is not, however, okay for Dave Matthews (at best a three and three quarters) to cover Neil Young (a strong nine).  Covers are like relationships; an insanely attractive woman is unlikely to find long term happiness with a dowdy dude (a nine cannot stay married to a three).  As long as the coverer is in the same artistic ballpark as the coveree (let’s say plus or minus three on a ten point scale) things are cricket.  That’s a slightly more quantitative argument than you’ve come to expect from us Dicks, but that’s where I’d planned on going today.)  Happily, Kevin saved me from the rhetorical doom that was my covers thesis by getting me out of the house and into our local record shop.  We hit the inimitable Music Saves and then had a pint at our favorite semi-shady local establishment, Pete’s.  This flurry of commercial activity (my first purely pleasurable jaunt outside of the home since the birth of the littlest Dick) left me with no time to crystallize my covers-based feelings.  I’ll save that for another day and simply regale you with the shit I bought in Collinwood and the shit I’m currently deeply enamored with.

First up, because I’m so recently enamored with the GvBcore, I bought this.  You’ve got to get to your local record shop to buy it, because the website is all sold out.  You can get a reasonable substitute for what it sounds like below, but I’ve opted not to favor you with the remix.  (a. It’s mildly unethical.  b. you can find it for yourself in about three minutes on the Hype whatsis. c.) I kind of like the original better)

Washed Out – You’ll See It

Secondly, I bought this, mostly so I could hear the song below on my vinyl record playing machine.  Also because I am super duper psyched to see these cats on some island in Canada.

Band of Horses – The Funeral

Lastly, I’ve been listening to a ton of Coyote Clean Up this week.  You can download the ridiculously titled Double Trouble Doo Doo Bubble for exactly zero dollars here.  It’s worth spending your bandwidth on because it’s another beautiful crystallization of the zoned out bedroom stoner-fi that is, essentially, all I listen to anymore.  For whatever reason, I just can’t get down with that orchestral pop anymore.  Give me a too skinny cat with a Casio and a four footer and I’m good.  Coyote Clean Up is long on dreamy jams and short on things that suck; can’t ask for much more there.  Enjoy.

Coyote Clean Up – this house boat is making me sea sick

Coyote Clean Up – lackadaisical love xxx f-u

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Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More – Album Review

Filed Under: New Music
Feb.17, 2010
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Rating: 9.5/10 (12 votes cast)

Sometimes I’d like to think US music bloggers are the craftiest of the bunch worldwide.  We’ve got our ears to the field, tilted toward the vast expanses of global music of merit, right? Every now and again, and perhaps I’m simply admitting my own individual oversight, we catch wind of a noteworthy outfit that’s been soaring for sometime in other parts of the world.   London folk outfit, Mumford and Sons, represents this idea perfectly.  We caught wind of the track “Little Lion Man” way back in October of last year, but the reverberation didn’t quite hit us at the time.  Several months later, and with Sigh No More just hitting US shelves yesterday, it’s time to revisit the excellent quality and epic sound of this debut.  I say debut, but merely as denotation, because the cinematic and banjo-frenzied album is easily more mature than most debuts we hear around here.  We’re stoked to see how this translates to a broader audience.  Through each spin of the album, listeners dive into a myriad of styles and musicianship; it’s a bit twee, but not in a way that detracts from the opus-like nature of each emotionally charged track.  Mumford and Sons, to the general US listening audience, is new (although they’re selling out shows by the dozen), but they’ve been pumping life into the English airwaves for over a year.  In the span of time it has taken me to begin this review and complete it, the band has already punched their ticket for a performance at Bonnaroo and the train is rolling.  Sigh No More is nothing short of a blast of big sound, triumphant enough for just about any audience.

The band’s connection with Noah and Whale is well documented, but interestingly, the sound parachute-lands miles away from there, as, for me, Sigh No More is a mixture of chamber folk, cinematic pop, and southern blues that hits crisply and clearly with as much punch as anything I’ve heard in awhile.  Mumford and Sons has concocted an excellent formulaic approach to folk/pop anthems and they complete the equations with feverish gusto.  Tracks like “Little Lion Man” and “White Blank Page” essentially begin as ambiguous motifs that rise in intensity (and banjo frenzy) until listeners are square stuck between hoe-down and all out emotional catharsis.  This formula weaves and pulses through the album sonically in tracks like “The Cave” that at it’s onset is a simplistic finger-picked lullaby delivery that moves into multiple-part harmonies in the chorus and then into a blistering banjo jangle before it dives back and forth into higher octane speeds.  Importantly, the band never sacrifices the underlying warmth and inspirational delivery in these big opus-like tracks.  “The Cave” oohs and ahhs out in full knee-slapping finger plucking and soaring horn arrangements.  While the band occasionally moves into panty-droppers that are sure to get the gushing female applause, it’s a knock to the record’s impressive variety if a pigeonholing of their sound is allowed.  “Awake My Soul” is more a homage to Irish balladry and hearkens to their English roots.  Alternating guitar bass and high notes are plucked as the band arranges jarringly gorgeous harmonies with their pipes.  “In these bodies we will live.  In these bodies we will die.  Where you invest your love, is where you invest your life.” I’ll take that sentiment to the bank, folks.  Through a majority of the album, it’s incredibly difficult not to crank the volume and enjoy what they’re bringing to the table; excellent musicianship paired with a delicious panache for pop anthems.  This can’t be unpleasant, and it never feels so.

To me, the path that Mumford and Sons must blaze as their popularity rises in America involves the left turn they take stylistically in the peak of the record, “Thistle and Weeds.” This more brooding number wedges in at the tail end of the album and hits a melancholy mixture of piano brilliance and full on earth-shattering grandiosity.  As most of the album spins lively and energetic, this is the knee jerk reaction so delicately necessary to make this album tick.  As the band soars into the song’s final minutes, teeth clench and it’s impossible to shake the emotional draining that’s forced in just one listen.  All the musicians came to work the day this track was recorded, and if it doesn’t pop in on year end lists, people are missing the boat. Lyrically, it hits on all cylinders, as well, marking a more tense and bilious approach to the band.  As I’ve spent quite a bit of time with this album (last October), it’s the squirmy and unsettling vibe of this track that makes Mumford and Sons so slippery.  The easy route is to focus in on the cinematic arrangements, but if the band steers outward a bit more like they’ve done with “Thistle and Weeds,” they’re going to make a huge leap toward stardom.   The album just hit the US shelves yesterday, and you’re doing yourself a huge favor by snagging the record and wearing the grooves right off of it.  Enjoy “Little Lion Man” along with a couple BBC recordings (via I Am Fuel You Are Friends).

Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More (BBC Radio 1 Session)

Mumford and Sons – The Cave (BBC Radio 1 Session)

Mumford and Sons – Little Lion Man

Buy Sigh No More now at Insound!

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William Henry Harrison loved remixes.

Filed Under: New Music
Feb.15, 2010
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Rating: 9.3/10 (4 votes cast)

Things I would do immediately if elected president:

1.) Deport Bob Costas, preferably to someplace really unpleasant.  His smarminess at the Olympics reflects badly on all of us.  A vote for me (in a fictional presidential election) would be a vote against Bob Costas, professional douchebag.

2.) Posthumously appoint Richard Prior as Minister of Education.  (Gainin’ on ya!)

3.) Buy several more suits, hopefully at a steep presidential discount.  You’ve got to look right for those state dinners and what not.

4.) Use Pentagon slush fund to buy (wait for it) every American a Slushee.

5.) Repeal the 18th ammendment.  It is insane that you can’t leaglly drink in this country and I’m tired of dealing with mountain men when attempting to purchase moonshine.  While I’m at it on constitution stuff, I’d also give the vote to women.  Seems like they deserve it.

6.) Mandate that all citizens take remixing classes.  We need more of these things.  Imagine the United States cornering the remix market when every American man, woman and child is a certified mixmaster.  The high energy dance clubs of the world would bow to our supremacy!

To kick off my 2012 campaign and inspire the masses to get their spinning fingers ready, we’ve got two killer remixes today.  The first comes from the laptop of one of those Vampire Weekend cats and sounds like an underwater disco run by hirsute eastern Europeans.  The second arrived in our email from a mysterious internet beat chopper and incorporates a line I can’t quite identify from Biggie Smalls.  Enjoy!

Foreign Born – Early Warnings, Rostam Batmanglij remix

Topaloff – Royal Deluxe

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Radio Dick – Happy Valentine’s Day Edition

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.14, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (6 votes cast)

I believe one of our first Radio Dick features was on Valentine’s Day last year.  I vaguely remember hosting a sarcastic discussion about how I was more interested in getting my tax return than in any sort of holiday for lovers.  It’s probably fitting this week that the blogosphere was splattered with so much loving treatment, and of course, I’m alluding to the unwarned shut downs of two of our favorite blogs, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted (NYC) and local favorite, I Rock Cleveland.  I’m not going to offer a detailed explanation of events, but I will throw out two things the music blogging industry might consider in the aftermath of such well advertised slash and burn campaign. For those that are entering this without any background knowledge, Google’s blogger shut down quite a few noteworthy blogs that, according to their very limited email communication, violated their terms of use policies regarding fair use of MP3′s.  Bill (from I Rock Cleveland) posted all over the web in the days immediately following the closure of his own site, protesting that the tracks he posted on site were expressly permitted by PR companies and/or record labels.  Music bloggers make up a huge segment of blogger’s population.  As the majors begin to jump ship over to wordpress, I have to wonder what the future implications must be and what everyday joe music bloggers like us might want to consider.  Here are two areas this whole debacle has forced me to think about.

1.  Record Labels and PR companies could form a more unified communication structure. Bloggers love music and they love writing about it.  We love labels and (mostly) love getting those emailed one-sheets/tracks from PR firms.  Any blogger can tell you, however, is that this isn’t a streamlined process and communication gets skewed all the time.  I think a big portion of this discussion needs to steer toward the effective communication between PR firms and labels regarding what songs are free to post.  Some firms are absolutely top-notch when it comes to this, but it seems like there are about 600 renegade PR startups that are about as disorganized as my junk drawer.  When a dude’s blog is getting shut down because of poor communication between the axe wielders, someone has to stick up for the little man.  Nobody should be flagging down tracks unless, first of all, the labels themselves have an organized way to maintain the tracks they fling out into the ether months before street date releases.  Basically, I think that if a label plans on embracing the music blog philosophy, then they should embrace it thoroughly.  Any firm or label that accepts bloggers as a healthy avenue to spread the word, shouldn’t flag tracks until they have a systematic way to document who’s allowed and who’s not.  I have been reading I Rock Cleveland for several years, and I’m certain it’s on the up and up.  Bill’s not posting full albums or linking to torrent sites.  He’s communicating with firms and doing what they allow him to.

2.  As bloggers, would it be against the grain to form some sort of advocacy group for this type of thing in the future? It was great to see the outpouring after all of this shook down.  The blog at elbows, twitter feeds, and even local newspapers here in Cleveland got into the mix.  I’d imagine that elbows and hypem might be an excellent place to start in this endeavor, but in the future, I think it might be important to unite in some regards to advocate for one another.  I’m not exactly saying that I need Christmas cards from Pitchfork or anything, but the way it stands now, most of us are just dudes expressing our opinion on songs we like.  There is no way we could withstand the machine once it starts chopping.  Eventually, our host sites are going to follow suit, and wordpress will be just as variable when it comes to MP3 posting.  Someone should create a database, shoot out some legitimate emails and sign folks up into some sort of advocacy group.  There has to be a reputable music blogger that also happens to be an attorney, right?  When successful internet media outlets serve to take action away from the biggies, it’ll never be a good thing for folks like Bill and Patrick (from Pop Tarts Suck Toasted).  The best they could do was swing into a crude wordpress design and, thankfully, upload the backed up files they had.

Of course, now I’m about to post a slew of MP3′s on my music blog.  The irony is thick.  As I steer away from the blog shutdown issue and into today’s list, don’t forget to follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER to keep you up to speed.  I hope you’ll notice that I haven’t discussed Valentine’s Day.  This is by design.  I still hate this holiday.

This Week’s Track List

Or, The Whale – Toxic – This is the closest you’ll ever hear me get to even mentioning Britney Spears on my blog.  There you have it.  I went and mentioned her.  Or, The Whale’s cover of “Toxic,” however, is great.  The folked down version is off-kilter and heartwarming.  The slow burn of the track and mellow gold sound of the harmonies are spectacular.  It’s easy to forget where the original came from.  Check out the band’s blog HERE, and if you’re in Austin for SXSW and have a female along for the ride, I can’t think of a better show to hit.

Or, The Whale – Toxic

We Are Wolves – Holding Hands – We received the newest release from Canadian outfit, We are Wolves, earlier this week and wish we would have gotten it sooner.  Their third release,  Invisible Violence, is a conglomerate of rock inspired danceable fuzz.  The band describes their sound as “A post-punk landscape filled with analogue trees. It’s like rock after the post-modern explosion.”  The band is set to play SXSW, as well.  “Holding Hands” is an excellent taste of the album, but the variety in the record is worth noting.  Spin the entire thing to assess its value, witch we recommend completely.

We Are Wolves – Holding Hands

Joanna Newsom – Kingfisher – The buzz surrounding the upcoming Drag City release, Have One On Me is swirling to stratospheric proportions and not without merit.  Joanna Newsom has launched a few tracks from her epic  3-CD collection.  The polarizing nature of Newsom is interesting, but this lengthy narrative track, in our opinion, is the best of the loot so far.  The album is released on the 23rd.

Joanna Newsom – Kingfisher

The Golden Filter – Hide Me – The Golden Filter’s ominous and brooding electronica is complete nourishment for the ears.  A single for “Hide Me” is set to be released on 4/19 to gear up for their April release of their Voluspa full length.  The duo is busy and the release of this track marks the beginning of the hype.

The Golden Filter – Hide Me

Little Girls – 10 Mile Stereo (Beach House Cover) – This cover of Beach House’s original is spectacular and I can’t stop hitting repeat.  This track has been making its rounds as of late, and as is our duty, we include it on today’s list.

Little Girls – 10 Mile Stereo (Beach House Cover)

Japandroids – Art Czars – Japandroids is coming to Cleveland soon, and we were sorely upset we missed their show at Now That’s Class a few months back.  We have early bedtimes, so we’re banking on the Grog Shop show (hopefully) beginning a bit sooner.  Polyvinyl’s re-release of Post-Nothing was a breath of gritty fresh air last year, and the band absolutely blew us away at the Pitchfork Festival, as well.  The duo has been touring relentlessly, but two 7” singles are on the way shortly.  “Art Czars” is the first released single, and if you’re a fan of Post-Nothing, this is candy to the ears.

Japandroids – Art Czars

Pattern is Movement – Light Of The World – We love when artists throw out tracks during the arduous recording process of an upcoming album.  Pattern is Movement is offering up a tour-only EP at their show merchandise tables that includes music they’ve put together in the process of creating their newest album.  “Light of the World” will be paired with other unreleased material.  For those of us who may not be able to make it to the tour, they’ve offered this to help spread the word.  In the wake of the critical acclaim of All Together, we’re excited to hear where this goes next.

Pattern is Movement – Light of the World

The Morning Benders – Promises – A late night on Twitter and a tweet from Chris at Gorilla vs. Bear gave me this great video nugget of The Morning Benders performing unreleased tracks along with an orchestra with folks like John Vanderslice.  I’ve posted this track before, but as their forthcoming album Big Echo, approaches the release date, I’ve been spinning it more and more.  This album is primed to be one of the best of the year, so if you’ve not hopped on board yet, check out the video material at Gorilla vs. Bear and crank “Promises” as loud as you can.  We’ll have a full on review as the release date nears, but this should keep you sated in the meantime.

The Morning Benders – Promises

The Radio Dept. – Heaven’s On Fire – Clinging to a Scheme is set to drop on April 21st, and whether or not you were fans of 2006’s Pet Grief or any of The Radio Dept. back catalog, this newest release from the Swedish pop outfit is fabulous.  We’ve been spinning the album a lot here lately, and it’s jumping outward, with nuances that are sonically different from previous material.  They’re not jumping ship from the formula that works here, but for those that have been waiting patiently, “Heaven’s On Fire” will cure what ails you.

The Radio Dept. – Heaven’s on Fire

Preview of Reviews This Week:

In a new twist to Radio Dick, I’ve decided to, whenever possible, offer up a preview of album reviews we’ve got on tap for the week to come.  Here are three that you can expect on the site this week.

Shearwater – Black Eyes – Shearwater’s The Golden Archipelago is set to hit the shelves on the 23rd via Matador.  I took a trip to Pittsburgh this weekend and had zero problems spinning this amazing album the entire way.  It’s epic in scope, thematic importance, and sound.  It’s been getting a healthy amount of buzz due to 2008’s Rook, and also through the release of “Castaways” what seems like ages ago.  The album doesn’t disappoint.  “Black Eyes” was the second legal download they’ve shipped out.  Enjoy this one and check the site this week for the full review.

Shearwater – Black Eyes

Yeasayer – Ambling Alp – Our writer Justin’s nimble fingers are feverishly wrapping up the review for Oddblood, and you can expect this review on the site early tomorrow morning.  We’ve spent plenty of time with the album, and it’s incredible mixture of varietal sounds is noteworthy.  As the blogosphere continues to laud this year’s Phoenix, we’re pleased to watch the success the band reaps.  “O.N.E” is easily one of the best throwback tracks I’ve heard in a long while, and it’ll be interesting to see exactly how much this thing soars.  Check out Justin’s review tomorrow.

Yeasayer – Ambling Alp

Mumford and Sons – White Blank Page - Since posting “Little Lion Man” way back in October, the flame has ignited slowly (but surely) for English act, Mumford and Sons.  Sigh No More hits US shelves this Tuesday, but the buzz in their own country has already been moving.  They’ve just been signed on to perform at Bonnaroo and, at this point, the sky’s the limit.  The grandiose mixture of chamber folk and cinematic pop is catchy and cathartic.  I’ll man up and have the review by Thursday, so stay tuned.  Plenty to love with this band, and “White Blank Page” is just another taste.

Mumford and Sons – White Blank Page

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Camp Out – Closer – Album Review

Filed Under: New Music
Feb.13, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast)

Eight seconds in to Closer, the new release by San Francisco pop duo Camp Out, and you are immediately dispatched to the mid-90s. And not just the mid-90s, but a very particular time and head space of that bygone decade: the girl rock that charged both coasts, but particularly the left one, and frequently dominated alt-rock radio programming and top tens. Even now, in an era where writing things like girl rock seems offensive and limiting, one cannot but help to get a positive vibe when thinking about bands like Belly, Elastica, Mazzy Star, and Garbage. This is half the reason why I really like this new Camp Out record; the other half is that bandmates Maddy Hanks and Jackie Law execute what they put forward really well, in a way that makes you think of the very finest Veruca Salt ever had to offer.

If I was a publicist writing one-sheets for retail joints and radio stations, I’d say something like “for listeners who like That Dog and Helium” and then name drop acts like Magnapop and Suddenly Tammy later on in the text. This is not to say that Camp Out is merely a 90s revival act., however. Far from it, in fact. While they do possess the shared characteristics noted above, they also pull in sonic influences that have come since and from well before. Much of the album resides in the central grouping of a venn diagram of post-punk, twee pop, and emo, with light-hearted explorations of co-dependence like “Car Crash,” “Bones,” and “Does it Hurt” best threading all three needles simultaneously.

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The distorted fuzz varies elsewhere, from the excellent, Breeders-esque title track to the sludgier and sloppier bass-heavy quasi-dub “Separately.” Hanks and Law even inject a classic folk influence into tracks like “Small Steps” and “Leave a Light On.” Perhaps the album’s best arranged song is “Flying Back,” which calls to mind the vocals and song structure of elusive Texas songstress Jenny Morgan while adding a layer of grungy guitars and metronomic percussion that drops in and out at different times and levels to create a song that is somehow tight yet ever evolving and stylistically dynamic. Also worth laudatory note is “Make Myself Sick,” a driving ditty Justine Frischmann herself would be proud of and one where Hanks and Law show the impressive degree to which the former’s guitar work and the latter’s skill on the kit are in sync. The production element of the track also deserves a shout out to whoever was in the booth when this one was put down.

In all, Closer is an album of conflict and yearning, a good record for couples in a rough patch destined to get rougher to be listening to this long Valentine’s weekend. If I had to guess – and I suppose I will – I’d say this record was written in a period preceding a break-up. Or at least in a period that probably should have preceded one.

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Camp Out’s new full-length release, Closer, drops via Swordfish Records on March 1st and will be available on itunes, cdbaby and through the label.

Camp Out – Car Crash

Camp Out – Make Myself Sick

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No time for Lazy Saturday, Dr. Jones.

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.13, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Step-by-step guide to baby care:

1. Change diaper

2. Provide food

3. Hope baby sleeps for more than four minutes.

4. Try to perform all non-baby related tasks while baby is asleep.

5. Repeat without pause for three to four years.

So, not a lot of time for Lazy Saturday today.  Just three rhetorical questions and related content.  Cheers.

Q. 1: Remember when Weezer didn’t suck? It was only fourteen years ago that they released their masterwork.  Too bad they didn’t get day jobs after Pinkerton.  Although I did love “Hash Pipe.”  Weird.

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Q. 2: Did you know that it’s been almost two months since I posted some live My Morning Jacket? Seems weird, right?  This “Wordless Chorus” is particularly awesome for the participatory aspect of the “whoos.”

My Morning Jacket – Wordless Chorus – Live, 2008

My Morning Jacket – Phone Went West – Live, 2003

Q. 3: Pavement! I know that one isn’t a question.  Suffice it to say that I am stoked to see Malkmus and co. in Toronto in June.  Way more on this later.

Pavement – Box Elder – Live, 1994

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Citizen Dick Exclusive – ØKAPI – Aldo Kapi

Filed Under: New Music
Feb.12, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast)

There is little we Dicks love more than bringing our readers new and exciting music that they can’t hear anywhere else. Add to that the opportunity to premiere an ambitious, impressive, and eminently digable track by a disarmingly talented and novel artist, and, well, you have a red letter day in Citizenland.

Given that brief explanation, you’ll now understand when I tell you that today is about as red letter as it gets around CD HQ, as we are honored to present the premiere of Økapi’s latest advance single off his new album, Love Him. Sample-driven music doesn’t usually get much love around here, and the Italian “Daft Giraffe” unabashedly earns that genre assignment, but sometimes even we have to recognize and celebrate the cream of the crop.

On this new record, Økapi (aka Filippo Paolini) delivers the cream of the cream in the form of an homage/love letter to Kyrgyz composer Aldo Kapi. On the track we present here, named after the composer, Økapi brings together his 100+ sample sources to approximate an island sound that brings in cacophonic perscussion, a nu jazz swing, and a hint of Motown Philly. It is delightful and delicious and light on the soul. And we are pleased to bring it to you.

Love Him, Økapi’s most recent full-length effort, drops via Illegal Art on February 23rd. You can also download the title track of the forthcoming album here.

Økapi – Aldo Kapi

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C. D. Singles Club #70 – Dr. Dog – Shadow People

Filed Under: New Music
Feb.11, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast)

I don’t have to say much about our deep institutional love for Dr. Dog at this point.  I’m about as excited for their soon to be released ANTI debut, Shame, Shame as I am for any other record this year.  The first taste of the record bodes well.  “Shadow People” is a little less ornate than much of the material on Fate, but it maintains the vibe that we’ve come to expect (up to and including the multiple part harmonies that make the whole thing tick).  I don’t think I’m totally off base to note that the track owes something to “A Walk on the Wild Side.” which is obviously also appealing.  If possible, I’m now more stoked to hear the rest of the album.  We’ll have a critical statement on Shame, Shame as soon as we get our ears on the rest of it.  (While we’re here, and since it seems to be a recurring theme today, the erstwhile Jim James sings on the record.  Dude’s been busy.)  For the meantime, put this thing on loud, hit play and repeat.  Good times.  (More details, some tour dates and a nice photograph are available from our friends at Stereogum.)

Dr. Dog – Shadow People

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Mid-week Lazy Saturday

Filed Under: New Music
Feb.11, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (4 votes cast)

Hello internet.  I’m just popping in midweek with a couple of things that are too excellent to hang onto until the weekend.  (This of course implies that I have excellent content for Saturday in my back pocket, that my cup overfloweth.  Let’s assume that to be true.)

First, the good folks at Sub Pop have made the upcoming record from Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore available for streaming in its entirety; it’s good.  I’ve been tinkering with some work stuff this afternoon and it has been a constant companion in the background.  The smooth melodies, precise musical craftsmanship and underlying tone of protest all strike the right chord with me.  Dudes aren’t just rolling out the smooth songs, they’re working to make the world a better place; they’re throwing some of the profits to an organization dedicated to stopping mountaintop removal, a particularly heinous variety of coal mining.  (More info on the charity and the issue here.)  Track five, “Only a Song,” is particularly stirring, even if it acknowledges the futility of trying to influence the broader world with music.  “Try” is a song that might get some momentum for the first dance at weddings; it gives me the goosebumps when the fiddle kicks in.  If you needed more convincing to hit play on the doo-hickey below, it might be interesting to know that the erstwhile Jim James produced the album.  Just saying.  The duo will be on tour, hitting Cleveland in March; if the live act is as well done as the record, it’ll be worth hitting.  I’d endorse grabbing the record when it hits the streets (February 16), but you can give it a test drive for yourself below.  We’ve also got a track to download that you can listen to when you’re not in front of your computer.

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore – Something, Somewhere, Sometime

Second up today is something completely different.  This track from Miami based Lil Daggers (there wasn’t an apostrophe in the e-mail, but I feel like there should be.  Lil’ Daggers is a bit more pleasing to the eye.  Excuse my pedantic streak.) exploded into my email this afternoon.  I switched over from the subdued mountain man sounds of Solle and Martin Moore (by the way, how is it possible that neither of those dudes have a beard?) to the ecstatically sloppy neo-garage fuzz of “King Korpze.”  I love the dirty organ, the semi-indecipherable vocals and the overall vibe of anarchic messiness.  You need both sides of the coin, right?  The meticulous and the harried.  The pristine and the vulgar.  Lil Daggers are a hot mess and I love every second of it; somewhere The Sonics are smiling.  There’s a lot more to love at their myspace, which you should scope immediately.  In the meantime, dig on this track.  Listen to it back to back with “Something, Somewhere, Sometime” to prove to your friends that you are indeed eclectic.

Lil Daggers – King Korpze

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Worker Bee – Tangler – Album Review

Filed Under: New Music
Feb.10, 2010
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Rating: 9.8/10 (8 votes cast)

When the host of releases this week center around infectious vibes and pop nuance, it’s refreshing to look a bit backward to hit the pile of albums and stumble upon a collection of tracks that sparks that slight bit of sludge so necessary in coping with the incessant onslaught of snow here inCleveland. We’re cave dwellers during the winter months.  Skies are a colorless canvas of greys and dirty whites; the overcast and sprawling clouds leave very little room for sunshine and consistent happiness.  This isn’t a bad thing, and I’ve often believed that those that endure consistent weather patterns must undergo mind-numbing psychosis.  I love the wax and wane of weather, emotions, and music.  Call it trite, but music needs to somehow align with our moods, and most certainly, the lengthy host of February album releases are not doing the trick for this particular introspective and brooding Clevelander.  Ironically, Worker Bee hails from sunny San Jose, but the incredibly pliable and varietal shifting of their recently re-released debut album, Tangler is like a healthy wad of winter beef jerky.  It requires contemplative effort.  It’s wicked intelligent, and the spiraling and difficult-to-pinpoint sound is just the brow-furrowing fodder needed for me to chew on this month.  In short, Tangler is what February is supposed to sound like.  It’s unforgiving and entirely confident.  Worker Bee doesn’t expect listeners’ comfort, nor does it make any excuses for faceplanting them into their sonic world.

To formulate an overriding thesis for Tangler is slippery and difficult.  Largely, the entire record is about juxtaposition and the push/pull of sound and silence.  The supposition that this band is blues-based is apt and accurate, probably.  Maybe.  Tracks like “Cold Rats” and “Nesting” are gritty son-of-a-bitches that serve as bluesy statements on the album.  “Nesting” is about all about slimy grit, paired up with rhythmic cymbal crashing and angrily rapt vocal delivery.  This is the slimeball music appeal folks get behind when pounding through early February tax-returns and cracking winter pavement.  The entire record was recorded in the band’s house, and the inclusion of inherent recording flaws only adds to the clanking and brooding appeal of many of the songs.  “Cold Rats” summates the importance of the percussion driven nature of the record.  A tribal vibe erupts.  Pounding drums keep time while reverbed distortion sits alongside the dissonant guitar pummeling.  To begin with, the darker underbelly must be exposed to let Tangler settle in with listeners.  Like a peg in a climbing wall, listeners must first assert that the aura is dark to keep from losing footing.

Besides brooding darkness as the backdrop’s ethos, Tangler is on one hand about a delicate flutter of instrumentation, but equally about the silence that’s intermingled in the bare-bones model of their sound.  This sounds off, doesn’t it?  How can a band be full-on sonorous but quiet and simple at the same time?  It works here, trust us.  “When You Came Through” weaves listeners through a simple premise.  Basic muted guitar chords bop up and down and the slow burn of the song maintains listener attention.  It’s more about the lack of extras in many tracks that make them so intriguing.  Give Worker Bee a hand-shaker, a small drum kit, a guitar, a bass, and they can sprinkle just the right amount of sound into the silent canvas to create gold.  The growling vocal delivery in “All Roads” is at near-breakdown mode, one testosterone shot short of entering into headfirst swearing epithets.  Lip curling intensity and tension is created in the slow cadence that starts the track.  As quickly as an entrancing rhythm is created, cymbals crash and distortion turns up for three second mini-crescendos that slide right back into the quietude quickly.  You can never quite grab solid footing with Tangler, and this mixture of simplistic arrangement and loudness clashing with silence is really what it’s all about here.

On a lyrical tilt, I’ve determined that Worker Bee is purposely ambiguous.  Narrative elements slide into “Frozen Game” and the aforementioned “All Roads,” but there’s never quite enough connection to make the lyrics all fit into a unified statement.  Imagery is dark and cathartic.  People are suffering and paths chosen don’t quite always end up where the protagonists intend.  Importantly, Worker Bee’s lyrical style is inspired by personal experience.  We may never know what spawned the image-cataloging of “Rough Magic” or the introspection in “Surface Eating Acid Bath,” but I don’t think the band really intends their audience to hop on board lyrically.  This is an album for them and, to me, the enjoyment is playing (and replaying) the result of these dudes hammering out their emotions into their art.

Tangler is music that represents the seedy underbelly of urban landscapes.  It’s for whiskey drinkers that know good whiskey.  It’s a musician’s album, and slippery as hell.  Importantly, Tangler is extremely cool and palatable in a whole host of ways, depending on listener angle and attention-span.  One listen requires another, and this, at least for me, has been the cycle since I picked it up late last week.  Do yourself a favor and pick the album up and sink your teeth in.  It’s bound to give you plenty to wrap your brain around.

Worker Bee – No Dreams

Worker Bee Official Site

Purchase Tangler Now!

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C.D. Singles Club #69 – Blimp b/w Small Black

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.09, 2010
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Rating: 9.6/10 (5 votes cast)

(Editor’s note:  That’s not my living room up there.  It’s a photo of The Who on a huge TV in an immaculate entertainment room that I found on Flickr.  Pretty good visual metaphor for the current state of the band that recorded The Who Sell Out, no?

Three quick things on the Super Bowl before we dive into this most recent edition of the singles club.

1. The Who – Let me preface this by saying that I love The Who as much as any other band on the planet.  A cassette copy of Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy was the first “record” that I really owned.  I listen to Who’s Next as much as any other album in the ipod.  That said, I have to be mean for a minute:

They stopped being The Who in 1978 when Keith Moon died.  At least they had a quorum until John Entwistle passed away.  Now they’re just two dudes who used to be in a band called The Who.  Worse, they’re two dudes who are (at best) pseudo-tragic shadows of themselves: Daltrey trying to maintain his impish flair despite the fact that he looks (and sounds) like Jack Lemmon, Townshend flailing through the windmill cause it’s all he has left. If they would have played “My Generation” it would have broken irony for the rest of us.  The whole thing just made me sad.

2. Grizzly Bear – Really?  Volkswagen?  Now when I hear one of the five best songs ever recorded, I immediately think of Stevie Wonder punching Tracy Morgan.  Bastards.  I’m pretty excited to see “While You Wait for Others” in an ad for hemorrhoids cream or some shit.  I get it, Droste et al. will say yes to any offer to liscense their music for anything.  Ugh.

3. Arcade Fire – Good on those guys for a whole bunch of reasons.  They gave the money the NFL spent on “Wake Up” to Haiti and the track is currently #98 on the itunes singles list.  So everybody wins.  The band throws Haiti some love, tons of folks get exposed to an amazing band and (I’d wager) the residuals they’re going to get from increased sales on a six year old song will probably be a pretty penny.  That’s the kind of “selling out” that’s easy to get behind.

The final tally for the Super Bowl musically:  one legendary act continues to shit on our memories of their glory days, one uber-genius indie act continues to shit on our ability to take their art seriously and another uber-genius indie act does the right thing for people in need and themselves.  Hmm.  Not such a bad Sunday, I guess.

On to the Singles Club.  Blimp, the nom de rock of Dave Girtsman, popped into our inbox unexpectedly this week.  The track starts with a mellow acoustic and Girtsman’s oddly captivating vocals luling the listener into a bit of a trance.  Things get really intersting at the two minute mark, when a spaced out slide comes in and the song drops into a slightly higher gear.  Throughout, the song maintains a certain level of cool detachment, kind of dancing three feet away from you, teasing you in, then spinning away.  The hook is the thing that gets me, but the hushed tone keeps me coming back.  You can hear more Blimp here.

Blimp – You Can’t Tell Me

I’m late to warm to the glo-fi thing.  (If, like me, you’re late to the party, read this post from IGIF for the best exploration of the terminology and, to a degree, the genre itself.)  Essentially all I’ve been listening to for the last week is Washed Out and Small Black.  (Quick aside:  Is Small Black a play on Big Black?  If so, it’s one of the best ever names for a band.  If the Small Black dudes are unaware of Big Black, I’ll just be pissed off.)  My new fascination with bedroom psych might be due to my recent foray into fatherhood.  This stuff is the best music possible for babies; mine loves the fuzzed down vocals and mellowed out keys; I’m pretty sure that it sounds like the inside of the womb.  Washed Out’s “New Theory” might be the best lullabye ever written.  True story.  Put that thing on and my little fellow is out like a light.  The track below isn’t far behind.

Small Black – Despicable Dogs

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The Magnetic Fields – Realism – Album Review

Filed Under: New Music
Feb.08, 2010
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Rating: 9.0/10 (2 votes cast)

There is a self-congratulatory element of Stephin Merritt’s work, the kind of which is either explained by fundamental insecurity or mind-blowing self-confidence. Either way, whether it is the heavy-handed ironosincerity of his most recent album titles (69 Love Songs offers just that, while Distortion is a collection of distorted songs and I is an album filled with songs titles that begin with the titular letter of the alphabet) or the adolescent wit of the songwriting, the man behind The Magnetic Fields seems eager for his audience to get the joke and revere him for it.

Unfortunately, at least for this listener, he’ll need to look elsewhere for reverence. What seemed like an inspired and charmed mid-term renewal of a career with 69 Love Songs has devolved into a novelty act. Perhaps that’s why everything on Realism, the artist’s latest release, seems so darn mean.

In Merritt’s defense (kind of), he’s always been a bit of a deadpan jerk, somewhat like that funny yet self-loathing guy who was in your group at lunch in the high school cafeteria, but that you didn’t want to spend large chunks of time with. There are tracks on each of his releases that make you wonder who exactly stepped on his heart and how many times, and this horse beating continues in full on Realism. So, the lashing out and whining is nothing new. It is just now finally stale. The famed morosity that prompted no less a grumpy codger than Bob Mould to declare Merritt the most depressed man in rock (see interview here) comes off one way when one is in their twenties or even thirties; by one’s 44th birthday, which the artist celebrated last month, the blah blah blues, no matter how clever and droll, is tired.

Which is a shame, really, because just as Realism demonstrates Merritt’s stalled narrative progress, it also demonstrates the man’s handiness with a melody and a hook. The thirteen songs on Realism amount well enough to the band’s hipstered approach to folk music, and while it often fails to equal good folk, it is just tongue-in-cheek enough to convince you that Merritt and his album allies could do so if they really dared to put themselves out on the line in a more sincere way. Played out “irony” aside, the arrangements you’ll find on many of the album’s tracks are impressive, from the simple but mobile album opening “You Must Be Out of Your Mind” to winkingly po-mo “We Are Having A Hootenanny,” and you are left with the impression that Merritt is a serious student of numerous genres, able to move at will between them, even if such movement is primarily satirical these days. The Scandinavian pop approach of “Always Already Gone” and the renaissance fest bar croon of “Seduced and Abandoned” further cement this conclusion.

Other tracks, like “I Don’t Know What to Say” and “Walk A Lonely Road”, demonstrate Merritt’s skill set when approaching more traditional Magnetic Fields fare. The artist’s baritone has only improved with age, as has Merritt’s apparent ability to hear himself within the arrangements, the sonic equivalent of an all-pro running back seeing the holes that few others can. One hopes that, as Merritt moves on to his next project he also evolves as an artist, making peace with relational ghosts and trading in the weary reliance on self-saluting irony for a risky challenge.

Realism, the tenth album out by The Magnetic Fields, dropped January 26th via Nonesuch Records. You can purchase it here.

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Radio Dick – Breaking Routine (Part II)

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.07, 2010
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Rating: 10.0/10 (3 votes cast)

Nice to see Brian hit his Lazy Saturday post, even if it’s on Sunday.  In any event, as promised, I’ve got the second installment of this week’s Radio Dick primed and ready to go.  So as y’all overindulge today and watch the Colts take it to the Saints, do it with a soundtrack of new releases just warbling their initial cries to the world.  Here are five tracks to get you moving this morning.  As the hangover ensues tomorrow, stop on back.  We’ll be wide awake (sort of).

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This Week’s List (Continued from Yesterday)

A Weather – Giant Stairs – Portland’s A Weather is releasing Everday Balloons on March 2nd, their sophomore effort.  This track has all of the charm and soft arrangement that made their debut, Cove, so entrancingly great.  As the band gears up for the release, folks are beginning to take notice.  Somewhere amidst the slam we receive of electronica and blipped out largeness, it’s refreshing to dial it back a bit and dive into the world A Weather creates.

A Weather – Giant Stairs

Joe Pug – The Sharpest Crown – We had the opportunity to see Joe Pug here in Cleveland midway through 2009, and his smooth as silk folk crooning left us in awe pretty quickly.  His newest release, Messenger is set to hit shelves on February 16th, and “The Sharpest Crown” is the first released track.  Quiet and melodic, he moves through the track effortlessly, and for all of the Joe Pug fans, the entire album will be a heartwarming treat.

Joe Pug – The Sharpest Crown

Felix Cartal – Popular Music – As far as bouncy dance tracks go, this one’s a monster.  Felix Cartal is dropping his debut LP, Popular Music via Dim Mak on February 23rd and this is the opening track.  Cartal has been making a name for himself in the remix, track-cutting game and this debut promises to be the rave-inspired anthem collection of the month.

Felix Cartal – Popular Music

Frog Eyes – A Flower in a Glove – Dead Oceans will release Paul’s Tomb:  A Triumph on April 27th from Canadian rockers Frog Eyes, and this is presumably the opener to the album.  Carey Mercer, bombastic and energy-charged frontman, collaborated in Swan Lake’s killer 2009 album, Enemy Mine, and his own outfit hasn’t put out an album in three years.  I can usually put my money on Dead Oceans to put out quality material, and this track is really doing the trick for me.  At once, the vocals are standoffish with listeners,  possibly over-emotive.  However, they settle in about two minutes in and the track soars to amazing highs.

Frog Eyes – A Flower in a Glove

Erykah Badu – Window Seat – Badu tweeted out this song yesterday via twitter and ever since, the blogosphere’s lit up.  It’s probably at least in the mode of efficiency and homage that we hit this track today.  James, another writer, has been a part of the Badu fan club for years, as I remember him spinning her albums way back in college.  Look forward to her newest release, New Amerykah Part II:  The Return of the Ankh, which drops toward the end of March.  “Window Seat” includes Questlove settling down behind the drums and finds Erykah in familiar territory.  Smooth as silk, this track promises more from the release.  Get in line.  It’ll be on everyone’s April playlist.

Erykah Badu – Window Seat

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Came out rapping when I was Lazy Saturday

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.07, 2010
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Rating: 9.7/10 (3 votes cast)

Kevin mentioned yesterday that I recently had a kid.  He’s the bee’s knees (my baby, not Kevin), but he certainly has thrown a ratchet in the old sleep cycle.  For those of you yet to embark on the journey of parenthood (which I’m imagining is the vast majority of the expensive-jean clad, indie rock blog cognoscenti), it’s the greatest thing in the world.  I look at the little dude and I feel about as happy as I ever have.  But there is no sleeping.  You know that feeling you get on the third day of Bonnaroo (or its equivalent)?  It’s hot, you’ve seen twenty bands in the last two days, your body is coursing with chemicals, you’re equal parts stoked to see the headliner and completely ready to pass out?  Being a dad is like that, but without the booze.  I feel this constant sense of excitement for what the little dude will do next, paired with an uncertainty about my physical capacity to stay up one more minute.  Mrs. Citizen popped the dude out on Wednesday.  It is now late Saturday night.  In that span, we might have slept four hours aggregate.  I can taste colors at this point.

All that to say that I really haven’t had a second to sit down and write.  I have discovered, however, that the littlest Citizen loves Megafaun.  Since he’s been born, we’ve listened to Gather, Form and Fly straight through once or twice.  It might be a coincidence, some sort of circadian alignment, but he seems to be the coolest cucumber when Megafaun is on the hi-fi.  (That’s kind of a fib.  He’s pretty mellow most of the time.  He more fond of chilling out in Mrs. Citizen’s arms than he is of  listening to records.  All things considered, that is definitely a good thing.)   I stumbled across a great show recording from January the other day, which nicely captures what the band is about live.  My baby is particularly fond of “Drains,” which is probably genetic.

I’m not sure when you’ll hear from me again in this space; I’ll pop my head out of the cave sporadically, hopefully on Saturdays, hopefully on other days with some choice reviews.  I’ll miss some days doing the dad thing, but I’m not ditching the internet completely.  Until we chat again, this should tide you over.  Enjoy.

Megafaun – Drains – Live, 2010

Megafaun – Guns – Live, 2010

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Radio Dick – Breaking Routine (Part I)

Filed Under: General Interest
Feb.06, 2010
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Rating: 9.8/10 (4 votes cast)

Those dudes up there attended Yale.  They’re ambitious and reliable.  If I were forced to hop in a boat with 9 other dudes for my own safety, I’d be pleased to have these young lads at the helm.  We’re not as reliable at Citizen Dick, or at least we haven’t been over the last three days.  As such, our usual Sunday Radio Dick is being hit a bit early this week.  We’ll hit you five tracks today and five tracks tomorrow.  Big things have been going on around our Eastern Campus this week that have forced to go idle for a bit.  Our apologies!  Our writer, Brian, just became a proud papa.  His son, Avi, was born this week, and our sincere congratulations go out to Brian and Mrs. Citizen.  He usually hits you with his weekly Lazy Saturday posts, but he’s a bit busy at the moment introducing little Avi to the world of Megafaun and Phish.  Look out world.  At age 12, we’ll have another writer on the site.

Additionally, with tomorrow being the Super Bowl, we’re guessing that everyone’s going to slow down a bit musically and roll to the party circuit.  As we hang back a bit and look at the last seven days, quite a bit of tracks have been flying through our emails.  This week’s list is divided into two days and includes some just-leaked tracks from upcoming releases.  Check out Radio Dick Part Deux tomorrow morning for five more.

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This Week’s List

Ariana Delawari – San Francisco – The situationally unique issues surrounding the recording of Delawari’s Lion of Panjshir are cool enough to hang your hat on.  The album was recorded partially in Delawari’s homeland in Afghanistan while armed guards stood outside the door of the family home.  It’s produced by David Lynch, as well.  “San Francisco” was a track just cleared for blogger-posting so it’s a no brainer to get it on the site.  Delawari sprinkles this album with a myriad of styles but this track is the one I continually go to on the album.  It’s bluesy and emits a heavy dose of warbly southern growling.  Repeat value written all over it.  Certainly snag the entire album and read our late 2009 review HERE.  Let this track give you a taste if you’ve not gotten the chance.

Ariana Delawari – San Francisco

Yeasayer – O.N.E. (XXXChange Remix) – This week, Yeasayer’s all set to drop Oddblood to the universe with as much fanfare as tomorrow’s Super Bowl.  As bloggers, we’ve received the heavy onslaught of PR emails, tweets, and have run the hype gamut.  The positive thing is that Oddblood holds up to the media frenzy with an incredibly consistent and sonorous collection of 12 tracks.  “O.N.E” was recently shelled out as a download to folks signing up at the band’s website.  This remix wanders into interesting blipped out controlled-chaos territory, and since we’ve got a full abum review on tap for this week, the remix should hold you over.  If you’ve not pre-ordered the album, you can do so HERE and get some cool goodies, to boot.

Yeasayer – O.N.E. (XXXChange Remix)

Esben and The Witch – Marching Song – We snagged this from Pitchfork on their daily Forkcast section, and we’re glad we tooled around over there this week.  This English band has leaked out two tracks recently, including this one.  They’re soon to be releasing a limited pressing 7” that includes the other track, “Lucia” which can be streamed at Pitchfork right now.  We’re digging “Marching Song” for several reasons.  First, it’s got all the brooding spirit of a hollow dirge, and the strikingly varietal percussion drops this somewhere into the realm of ethereal gloom. Super wicked double crooning erupts about midway through, leaving listeners both creeped out and oddly inspired. Sign us up for releases in the future.  This isn’t primed to wake you up this morning, but may do an excellent job scaring the shit out of you.

Esben and The Witch – Marching Song

Cloud Nothings – Old Street – Our very own Cloud Nothings has a blossoming interest in the blogosphere of late and we’re absolutely stoked over here.  The band’s got quite a heavy following here in the rust belt, and it’s always promising to see our home team get some notice.  The band’s SXSW shows are all lined up and we’re giving our ringing endorsement to check them out in Austin.  The vinyl release of Turning On hits shelves on February 23rd, and this track, “Old Street,” is a slice of a stylistically slippery (yet all fabulous) sound you’ll get with the album’s purchase.  The fuzzy undertones slides back a few decades into harmonious hook-driven rock n’ roll.  Big bass lines and addictive distortion make this a track I’ve been blasting in my car for days, attempting to add a jolt of color into this grey Cleveland Winter.  For those of you reading in the Cleveland area, you can check out the vinyl release party at Believeland on 2/13.  Catch that show, because it’ll be the last time they hit Cleveland, presumably, before the SXSW madness wraps up.  Cleveland Rocks, yo.  So does Cloud Nothings.

Cloud Nothings – Old Street

Twin Shadow – Castles in the Snow – Brooklyn-based Twin Shadow, AKA George Lewis, Jr. is set to release his debut EP later this year.  Produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor (which seems to be a recurring news story of late) via his own Terrible Records, the EP promises excellently produced sound.  The taste here in “Castles in The Snow” launches listeners through plenty of the aforementioned sound.  Driving synthesizers and a killer chillwave aura, for some reason, seems louder than some of the other bands dropping this sort of thing recently.  Neon Indian has been touring of late, and I’d think this would be an excellent pairing.  Lewis’ vocals are better.   Catchy in all the right ways and epic in scope, Twin Shadow is certainly an outfit to keep an eye on as 2010 rambles onward.  If you’re not hitting repeat on this track, check your pulse.

Twin Shadow – Castles in The Snow

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