If you have an eMusic subscription, be sure to download the free Curve Records sampler. There are 6 bands on there, all of them are great.
One of my favorites is Grand:PM. I was all ready to buy their record after hearing both of their efforts on the sampler, but unfortunately it’s not available yet. In the meantime, you can download an mp3 of “God Save the Scene” here, and listen to more tracks on their official MySpace page.
Well, it’s about that time now. Classes are out and Greg Graffin can quit his side-job of teaching at UCLA and get back to what he does best – rocking out with the legendary Bad Religion.
Bad Religion are releasing their 14th (yes, fourteenth!) full-length album on July 10th called New Maps of Hell. You can download a free mp3 of the short (but sweet) first single “Heroes and Martyrs” at their website found here.
Bad Religion is playing all summer long at The Warped Tour. Check their site for more info.
You know it’s summer time when you hear the Mister Softee theme song, and what better way to kick off the start of the summer than a remix version of the tune we’ve all come to love.
Twink is Mike Langlie from Boston and he collects toy pianos. With those toy pianos he creates (and re-creates) some very interesting music that appeals to anyone aged 1 to 100.
Check out his track “Softee” here, and visit his beautiful website here.
One of my most favorite bands, The National, recently recorded a “White Sessions” show which broadcast over French radio today. For those who have never seen or heard this band live, you are really missing a treat. Hopefully a listen to this will inspire you to purchase tickets and see this band the next time they come to a city near you.
For those of you in the NYC area, The National is playing 5 (yes, FIVE) sold-out shows in a row at The Bowery Ballroom.
28 MAY: New York, NY / BOWERY BALLROOM w/ The Broken West // SOLD OUT
29 MAY: New York, NY / BOWERY BALLROOM w/ Doveman // SOLD OUT
30 MAY: New York, NY / BOWERY BALLROOM w/ My Brightest Diamond // SOLD OUT
31 MAY: New York, NY / BOWERY BALLROOM w/ Elysian Fields // SOLD OUT
01 JUN: New York, NY / BOWERY BALLROOM w/ The Philistines Jr. // SOLD OUT
Download and enjoy The National’s “White Sessions” here.
Well it’s finally happened; the full version of “Tarantula” has made it’s way on to the web and this song ROCKS beyond belief.
To all those naysayers that thought “The Smashing Pumpkins 2.0″ would never be able to live up to the original is about to be proven wrong. (Siamese Dream was all Billy and Jimmy anyway!)
“Tarantula” - Removed at label’s request.
Anyone that’s interested in downloading a :30 tease of The Smashing Pumpkins new single “Tarantula” can head over here for an mp3.
Update: Link removed per label’s request.
I was very upset when Tim Booth, lead singer of one of my all-time favorite bands James, announced he was leaving to pursue other projects. They never officially announced a “breakup” but it pretty much went without saying. Tim went on to release a solo record which was less-then-stellar to put it nicely, and us James fans were left reminiscing of the good ‘ol days.
James have been releasing records since 1986 and seemed to just get better as they got older. Their claim to fame in the US is the song “Laid.” (She only comes when she’s on top…come on…you know the song.) While “Laid” is a great song, it doesn’t come close to defining the talent this band possess.
Rather than type out a whole history lesson on this seminal band, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Fresh as a Daisy - The Singles, which is a career-spanning retrospective of the band’s music. It’s the perfect introductory into one of our generations best, and most under-appreciated bands. Unfortunately, some of their best songs never were singles, but then again, some of them were!
In the meantime, here are a few James tracks to help get you started…
One of my favorite bands of the 90’s was Grant Lee Buffalo. Mighty Joe Moon is an absolute classic album and its follow-ups, Copperopolis, and Jubilee is one of the best 1-2-3 punches by a band I’ve ever experienced.
Needless to say, when news of the band’s split came, I was very upset. The only saving grace was that it’s founder and frontman, Grant-Lee Phillips was planning a solo career.
GLP’s first solo effort was Ladie’s Love Oracle, and to say I was disappointed in it would be an understatement. At best, it sounded like a collection of acoustic b-sides. I feared the glory days were gone; that was until Phillips’ second record, Mobilize, was released. Mobilize is a phenomenal record from start to finish. Tracks such as “See America,” “Spring Released” and “Humankind” have that old Grant Lee Buffalo energy behind them that fans such as myself had loved from the start. Phillips 2004 effort, Virginia Creeper, was also wonderful, in a more hauntingy beautiful way. “Mona Lisa,” “Lily-a-Passion” “Josephine of the Swamps” are some of the records stand-out tracks.
With 3 albums of original solo material, Phillips hit us up with 2006’s cover album, Ninteeneighties. Ninteeneighties is a collection of some of Grant-Lee’s favorite 80’s tracks including Echo & the Bunnymen’s “Killing Moon,” R.E.M.’s “So. Central Rain” and The Cure’s “Boy’s Don’t Cry.” (Grant-Lee and I have very similar taste it appears!)
Next week, Grant-Lee will release his most recent album, Strangelet. I’m only a few listens in but I’m really loving what I hear so far. If you are not familiar with Grant Lee Buffalo or the solo work of Grant-Lee Phillips, you’ll really be doing yourself a service by getting familiar with it. Not only is Grant-Lee a brilliant songwriter, but his voice is one of the most unique and wonderful around.
Listen to “Soft Asylum (No Way Out)” from the soon-to-be-release Strangelet.
I’ve also included “Arousing Thunder” from 1996’s Copperopolis. This song sends chills down my spine!
iConcertCal is a wonderful iTunes plugin for both Mac and PC that shows you which artists in your libarary are playing in your city. It’s free and an absolute must-download for any live music fan.
Download iConcertCal here.
Strange to think that Kurt Cobain would’ve turned 40 today. Whether you like Nirvana or not, they played an integral part in shaping music more than any band of my generation. Stereogum posed the question of what Kurt would be doing today should he still be alive. Thinking of all that could’ve been is just as sombering as the realization that he’s been dead for 13 years now.
R.I.P. Kurt.
Here’s one of my favorite non-album Nirvana tracks: “Spank Thru.“