New releases and, what, the JAMC?

Just a few links today.

*Sixeyes lists new releases for May - I'm looking forward to this week's Dinosaur Jr and Frog Eyes and, later, of course Sky Blue Sky and Voxtrot.

Can you see the sunset from the southside? gets featured in the Chicago Tribune. It's actually a very lovely article on the MP3-blog phenomenon - one of only a thousand, anyway.

Stylus gives us A Guided Tour of Sarah Records' First 50 Singles. As a self-professed obsessive of record labels and vinyl collecting, I love these types of articles. I can't wait for the rest!

Berkeley Place is looking for yr input on the top 25 indie albums ever.

Finally - what you've all been waiting for - the Mary Chain at Pomona. [Login needed.]

Plenty o' news

Sorry for the long delay - I've been writing a paper. Anyway, links:

EachNoteSecure reviews Pela's new LP, Anytown Graffiti. I've been a fan of theirs since I heard "Episodes (Diphenhydramine)" from their debut EP, All in Time, so I'm very excited about what they sound like on a full-length. Doubtless it's fantastic - I'll definitely be picking it up once I have a bit more money.

I was completely unaware that Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü had formed a new band, but it appears to be true - here he is with Gang Font on Minneapolis' 89.3 The Current.

Pitchfork dishes up some interesting news:

• The Pipettes are set to release their debut EP and LP in the States in June and August, respectively. Also a North American tour. I'm also super excited about this - "It's Not Love (But It's Still a Feeling)" and "Pull Shapes" have been in heavy rotation on iTunes for awhile, but I've never been willing to pay enough for the import.
  
• Interpol... has a new album! July 10 - Our Love to Admire. Includes a tracklist. Such great summer releases! Now I just need a source of income.
  
• The JAMC are everywhere. Tour dates in NYC ... a rarities boxed set ... now they just need more dates and I'll die of happiness. I mean, hearing "Cherry Came Too" or "Between Planets" live might be a dream come true.
  
• The world's favorite sweet Swede, Jens Lekman, is discussing a new album as well. Hooray!

Aversion mentions the Shins' new digital live EP. I had no idea this was even happening, but it certainly seems a worthy addition to my iTunes library.

The Ottawa Citizen reviews Les Breastfeeders, Malajube, and other Francophone bands of Quebec.

CMJ reports the Comas' opening for the Broken West. That's definitely a show I would catch! Can't wait for the rest of the dates.

I guess I should have known.

At the tender age of approximately twelve, I received a battered VHS tape of MTV's 120 Minutes from my brother. All videos were taped sometime in 1989, and watching it for the first time sincerely changed my life. I was a little college rock fan, crushing on Tommy Stinson and enamored of anything left-of-the-dial; here, then, was a goldmine. I tend to revisit that tape every summer or so, and a few of those videos have stuck with me ever since.

Cartoon from Soul Asylum (Hang Time, 1988)
See a Little Light from Bob Mould (Workbook, 1989)

The most influential, however, would have to be Miracle Legion's "You're the One Lee". I'm not sure quite what it was about that song or that video, but it cast a new light over my high school years and I haven't looked back since. (I've been exceptionally unsuccessful at finding any of their albums in stores, however. I believe they're all out of print. I did find the 12" single of that very song once, to my delight [featuring the Sugarcubes on one b-side, "Ladies From Town"] and 1988's Glad, but nothing else.)

Others that similarly affected me were Soul Asylum [again!] with "P-9" and Camper Van Beethoven's "Good Guys & Bad Guys", but I'm unable to find either online.

Elsewhere:
*Sixeyes lets us in on the new Beirut album.

The Globe and Mail watches Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Another charmingly-written article, though I'm not entirely sure what makes them "conjunction-hating".

Dependent, undisciplined, sleeping late

mp3: Teenage Fanclub - Star Sign

[Buy: Bandwagonesque]

This came on a mix CD I'd made a few summers ago and dug out again today and I'm still impressed at how much I continue to love it almost five years after originally hearing it. (Sixteen years after its original release, no less!) This is a great great summer song (to follow the trend, I guess) and it's basically brilliant. This is the cut-down version with a shorter intro. Perfect harmonies with enough noisy guitar and charming bass to remind me instantly of "Green Eyes" by Hüsker Dü when I first heard it. Why? I dunno, but it's still seems to sound strangely Grant-Hart-esque.

Not much tonight. I'm tired and a little lazy.

*Sixeyes interviews Finn Andrews of the Veils. Me, I'm still shocked that Nux Vomica has been released in other parts of the world for months and months and is only next week getting a proper release in the States. What a shame. I'm definitely buying it, though! (She says, as she finally buys Cassadaga...)

Everyone gets excited about Dinosaur Jr. Well... Chromewaves and Can you see the sunset from the southside? do. I know I am. I've heard mixed reviews of Beyond, though, but I think I like what I've heard. Anyway, Frank links to the video for "Been There All the Time" which I am mainly linking to due to its featuring Thurston Moore and his lovely daughter, who is basically the cutest rock chick since, well, her mother. Coco's got a good future. (But she's already cooler than me.)

Weird shit: Amazon has started a "Go Indie" campaign. I'm not sure what exactly it's for, other than a new way to show off their use of the phrase "indie cred". I like that they sent me an email about it though... Anyway, their "150 for $9.99" isn't that sweet of a deal, although I did manage to score the deluxe version of Slanted & Enchanted for half-price.

We come in doing cartwheels

Awww, spring. Today reached a high of 75 degrees, which was very much welcomed. Around this house warm weather is generally acknowledged by Doctor Who reruns and ice cream, but I also tend to stick something cheerful on the old turntable and open the window. Today (doubtless prompted by the single release and their appearance on the Tonight Show) it's been

mp3: The Shins - Australia

[Buy: Wincing the Night Away]

This song is becoming the new definition of summer (last year it turned out to be Yo La Tengo's "Tom Courtenay", to be raved about in another post - and the year before that Sugar's "If I Can't Change Your Mind" - the year before that The Replacements' "Alex Chilton" - and the year before that, actually, the Shins again with "New Slang") - anyway, just the right amount of jangly guitar, sweet harmonies, "la la la la la" and vocals that seem to simultaneously recall Morrissey and Alex Chilton himself. But the real star here is, of course, James Mercer's characteristically verbose lyrics, bringing back some of his favorite words... How many times has he mentioned 'ordinary', 'potions', 'night skies'... etc? Either way, you can't help but fall in love with lines like "faced with the android's conundrum". Finally, Mercer announces his last challenge - "Oh, dare to be one of us, girl"... "So give me your hand and let's jump out the window."

(The line lending itself to my subject line has always reminded me, somewhat, of that line in "Teen Age Riot" about "You come running in on platform shoes...")

Elsewhere: Chromewaves discusses new stuff involving Son Volt and Wilco. Including those creepy little dolls.

Links and new purchases

No mp3 tonight, since I'm ridiculously tired, but here are some quick links:

• The Independent gives Bright Eyes' Cassadaga 5 stars. Still haven't picked that up - I'll get it tomorrow, I guess. Looking forward to it, anyway; I love the Four Winds EP (I think I mentioned that earlier) so I'm hoping for similar quality on the full record.
• Rolling Stone (really) gets excited about the Springsteen tribute show. It sounds amazing - particularly:
  

  Immediately afterwards, Brooklyn indie rockers the Hold Steady took the stage and played the most joyous version of “Atlantic City” I’ve ever seen. Dancing around like Talking Heads-era David Byrne on speed, frontman Craig Finn delivered the sorrowful tale of a desperate man like it was “Joy to the World.” If not for the show’s finale, it would have been the greatest performance of the night.

Along with aforementioned finale, of course.

• Hot news of the week: Indie rock compilations. Why hasn't this happened before? I'm vaguely excited, though I'm not sure if I see myself buying a lot of these.
• The Louisville Courier-Journal reviews the Decemberists. I'm a bit baffled - where are all these guys who apparently chat up girls in Sufjan Stevens t-shirts? Granted, I don't live in Kentucky, but I've certainly worn my Sufjan shirt plenty of times and never run into any Decemberists-listening, huge-bearded men. (Also, where are all the cute girls in Sufjan shirts? I guess they're in Kentucky.)
  
• Pitchfork hangs out with Ted Leo. Great interview. Another record I haven't managed to pick up yet...

But here's what I did find this weekend! Mostly cleaning up stuff I didn't manage to buy last year, with some other strange picks in-between:

CD:

• The Dears: Gang of Losers (Arts & Crafts, 2006)
• The Decemberists: The Crane Wife (Capitol, 2006)
• Frog Eyes: The Golden River (Absolutely Kosher, 2002)
• Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl, 2007)

Cassette:

• The Chameleons: John Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit, 1990) [I can't tell if this is a bootleg or not. It might be, but it was only $3.]

Vinyl:

• Band of Horses: Everything All the Time (Sub Pop, 2006)
• Devendra Banhart: "Heard Somebody Say" b/w "La Pastorcita Perdida" (XL, 2005)
• Camera Obscura: "If Looks Could Kill" b/w "I Love How You Love Me" (Elefant [Spanish import], 2007)

Pretty excited about all of these!! OH, and I also ended up getting a burned copy of Sunset Rubdown's Shut Up, I Am Dreaming from one of the clerks. Haven't listened to it yet though.

Weekends aren't my strong suit.

First and foremost, I have to apologize for not posting in several days - illness and papers tend to do that to you. Whatever, I'm sorry, and I won't be around during Easter weekend either!

mp3: Old 97's - Designs on You

Buy: Old 97's - Satellite Rides

I just recently rediscovered this track and I'm as in love with it now as I was three years ago when I first heard it. The Old 97's are masters of sweet power pop and 'charming' could be the best description of this track. Filled with hooks, "Designs on You" almost sounds as if it were ghostwritten by Paul Westerberg (street corners, girls getting married, "I won't tell a soul", nightclubs...) and manages to smile all the way through a sad song.

• Stereogum reviews the Hold Steady's cover of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". I hate to say it, but I have to agree with half of the comments - it is pretty painful to listen to, as excited as I was upon reading the initial article.
  
• Pitchfork chats it up with Carl Newman of the New Pornographers. I'm a big fan of theirs, so I'm duly intrigued at the prospect of a new album. It sounds as if it will be great - I loved the power-pop punch of Twin Cinema, but I'd happily listen to anything they release.
• Just announced: Joy Division sneakers. My only possible response to this is What? I wasn't impressed with J Mascis' Nikes, but these might be even worse, if that's possible. I'm actually kind of sad that this wasn't an April Fool's joke, because that would be brilliant, but seeing as it was a day later I suppose it wasn't. (I am amused by "FACT 10" and "Step inside...", and I guess the sole design is cute, but... I wouldn't buy any.)
• Omaha's TheReader talks to Conor Oberst. This is a pretty nice interview, if you excuse the fact that it's all in one skinny column. I'm not sure what happened to their layout designer.
• Band to watch: Leeds' The Rosie Taylor Project. Fine, they're friends of a friend, but I'm sure I'd still find them as incredible if I had no idea who they were. Brilliant country-tinged indie rock that's like nothing else coming out of Britain at the moment.
• TV: The Office is doubtless my favorite show on television right now, so I was pretty pleased to read this Onion A.V. Club interview with writer/actress Mindy Kaling. Speaking of which, tonight may have been my favorite night for NBC ever, what with new episodes of both the Office and Scrubs - both being surprisingly phenomenal.
  
• Final TV note - and following on the Office theme; last night's episode of Conan O'Brien featured fellow Office writer/actor B.J. Novak along with none other than Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! It was rather exceptional.
• The Tampa Bay Online talks to Colin Meloy about his "English Lit Major lyrics". I'm particularly fond of his quote on growing up with "a steady diet of Morrissey, Robyn Hitchcock, Hüsker Dü and The Replacements". Sometimes I wonder if we weren't actually separated at birth.
  

Oh no, is it really Monday?

mp3: Thrushes - Heartbeats

Let me tell you a little story about about Thrushes. I came home one day to find a MySpace friend request from them in my inbox (doubtless due to our mutual friends A Sunny Day in Glasgow and the Sky Drops) and, curious, listened to a few tracks - including this one. So, I ordered the album and was first surprised to receive a personal email from guitarist Casey Harvey thanking me for my order. I waited a few days, and then the CD arrived in a handwritten envelope, stuffed with not only a beautiful record, but two badges, a sticker, and a greeting card thanking me (again) for my support. Thus did Thrushes win my heart.

(That is, if they hadn't already with this song.) "Heartbeats" is a gorgeous single, opening with a spot-on "Just Like Honey" pastiche. Anna Conner's vocals enter, then, dancing round waves of sound and kindling an excitement not seen since, well, the Mary Chain. And it's that excitement which makes Thrushes and "Heartbeats" so incredible. Listening to it - particularly the opening and the resurgence at 3:30 - renews any faith in music I ever had; faith that there are still kids who spent high school with Psychocandy superglued into their Walkmans; faith that there's still room for black-and-white photographs of corners and suitcases worthy of Lou Reed; and, really, faith that these sort of musical references can still be made with the knowledge that it can be appreciated.

[Buy: Thrushes: Sun Come Undone, out on Birdnote Records (Morphius)]

Now for some (mostly) old news:

-Wired Listening Post speaks to Maggie Fost, album designer at Merge Records.
It's a fascinating insight into what exactly goes into a medium I've always been interested in - and how that's being affected by digital music.

-The Guardian discusses The Shins.

-Meanwhile, the Manchester Evening News actually attends a gig.
This is a cute review! Particulary banteratgigs.com/Manchester.

-EachNoteSecure gives us Calexico covering Arcade Fire!, courtesy of Merge Records.