An Owl Made Me Do It: Orillia Opry

The theme of this last weekend was the theme of most of my weekends, ahem -- binge drinking. I had four fun-filled, wild nights, of boozin' it up, kicking ass, and taking names. The secondary theme of the weekend however, was "O RLY?" I saw an owl picture somewhere and underneath it was these words and it became permanently emblazened in my head. I kept saying the phrase and everyone around me grew sick of it. I did it in this adorable little voice that sounded like an owl had just learned how to hit the helium bong and endlessly tease message-board suckers. I cracked myself up.

Then I emailed the little owl to my lady friend and my roomate -- then they got in on the ORLY action. Then we all started doing it, much to the displeasure of everyone else around us. (My roomate doesn't have the voice down, my lady friend most certainly does.) Girls, take note, if you ever get into an argument with me -- cock your head to one side, open your eyes really wide and squawk "O RLLLLLY" and then I'll laugh and love you forever.

Monday morning appears cold and alone on my doorstep this morning, and I start browsing through my usual assortment of music sites and podcasts. Boring, more boring, more boring and most boring (uk indielectro is so daammmmn tired right now). Then Orillia Opry shows up. That's right..... ORILLLLLLIA! The music was good, the name was coooing in my head all weekend and I'd never even heard of them.

It was fate.

So now, dear readers, this fate comes your way. Spend this morning eating cheerios, listening to a fantastic new band, and browsing through Orly Owls. You will live longer for doing so.

• Orillia Opry - It's Rare
• Orillia Opry - Silent Films

Oh yeah... and if you want to hear what this music SOUNDS like, instead of what it has to do with me... check out Said the Gramaphones Write-Up. It involves CSI: Miami, Peter Lorre, parmesean pesto pasta, and the SATs.

Rhyme That With Orange, Hustlers

Hey you bastards fans! I'm not going to have much of a post today, but I just wanted to let you know: yesterdays post KICKED ASS. I'm serious over here. I'm not one to toot my own horn constantly (oh wait..... fawk!) but it was seriously worth every mp3 blogsite in the world to shoot me some love for it. Not only did I drop a $1,000,000 word, but I also poached a killer video and put it on YouTube.

Now... scroll down and leave me a comment so that we can debate whether you think I made that word up or not (I promise I did not). Try as I might, however, I can not find any validation that it is actually a proper word. Someone please either give me the right word for a 29-piece ensemble or else this one is headed to those savages over at Meriam-Webster for inclusion in their next edition. How dare they leave it out?

• Jets to Brazil - Orange Rhyming Dictionary

Todays Word: Icosikaienneatet

Ok so get this -- the word, "icosikaienneatet" returns absolutely, positively, ZERO GOOGLE RESULTS. Yet, I'm confident that it is actually a word. I fully intend to make this page one of the biggest draws on the internet by single-handedly dominating this search term.

Ever heard of the game google-whacking? The object is to put two common words together into an uncommon phrase. You win when you type in a two-word phrase and only get one result. Try "calgarian voluptuary" as an example of how to win.

Well, I don't know what the game I just invented is called, but the goal of it is to put a single, undisputably correct word in your website and have it come up as the ONLY WEBSITE IN THE WORLD that has ever used that word. In fact, not only did I invent the game, but I'm also the first international champion at it, and will be the only international champion for a long, long time.

You see the prefix (ahem.... icosikaiennea) means "29" and the "tet" indicates a musical group (as in octet, quartet, sextet, nonet, etc). Thus, the complete word, Icosikaienneatet: A group of 29 musicians.



That brings us to I'm From Barcelona. An icosikaienneatet from (I'm assuming here) Barcelona. Why did I decide to post this video, dear reader?

Yesterday I received a comment from D. Valentine:

D Valentine said...

I love this group. Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou for posting this. Dude, I haven't run into a lame post from you yet. I'm moving you to the top of my MP3 bookmarks.

5:00 PM

I felt so flattered, that I was all, "well.. I can't let her/him down ... I better get right to it and post something LAME." Then I remembered what I had read on Jesus' page the other day and figured it would be a perfect lame-ass post to steal. (I mean, if you're going to steal a post... you might as well steal it from Jesus, rigggggghhhht?) So I You-Tube'd the video, google-owned a CHOICE word, typed up some garbage in this a-here little box, and BAM: You dear fans now have a lame, lame, lame post.

Of course, it's not that lame at all. I mean, the video is lame in this really cool way. The song is lame in this we-just-totally-one-upped the polyphonic spree sort of way. The fact I stole it from Jesus himself is... well actually... not lame at all. And finally my world-dominance of the word Icosikaienneatet is COMPLETELY LAME.

Ok... enough rambling... onto the video....

The Round-Up

The Old Ceremony at Songs: Illinois : Wow. This band just plain kicks my ass. I wish I knew what genre to call this. He say's it's like Gogol Bordello, but I don't buy it. It's more "avant-garde, old-timey, whatever Andrew Bird used to do but then redone with a fresher style" type of music. Also, they copped their name from a Leonard Cohen record. Holy crap... did I just forget the word iconic? AN ICONIC LEONARD COHEN RECORD (is there any other kind?) Check it.

Beirut at 3Hive : I was going to do a Beirut post last week. Seeing the review pop up on Pitchfork sort of dissuaded me. I knew that someone else in this blog-biz would handle it better than I would be able to. At best you could have expected me to get drunk and make some sort of reference to how I like just about any sort of lo-fi slash indie with trumpets, clarinets, and a Neutral Milk Hotel connection. Oh wait... I guess Shan did the same thing except with waaay less alcohol than I would have. Go, go, go Coherency! (also... are all of 3Hives mp3s legal? DAMN that's cool.)

Beatles vs NIN Mashup at Work for It : I like me some mashups. This one makes me feel like the world is ending. God bless whoever made this. This song is proof that there is a God, that he made us, and that he gave us ears for exactly one purpose: this song.

Live at the Current: Atmosphere

Continuing with my interpretation of Minnesota, comes some fresh joints straight out of the St. Paul Current Studios. (Oh, and by fresh I mean from last October.)

See ... I like Atmosphere. Always have. I used to see Sean spit rhymes out of a tattered notebook at The Artist Quarters open mic night. He was a stand-out performer at that time, and a down-to-earth seemingly good guy. Now he's seemingly a prick, but I guess that is just what comes with moderate amounts of locale-fame and success. He has taken his schtick on the road to fantastic amounts of underground success. He sold out something like 69 shows in 72 nights, ducked major-label interest, created a powerful underground record label (Rhyme Sayers Entertainment) and established the local hip-hop epicenter (Fifth Element Records.) These accomplishments together dropped a big red flag right in the middle of snowy minneapolis that said, "Hip Hop? Yeah, we got your hip hop right here. Ya sure, you betcha."

That sort of achievment really makes you think what Sean knew before any of it happened -- when he was rhyming over some busted-ass beats on Headshots 7 (ahem... 1997). He straight-up SAID that in two to three years he was going to put everything in Minneapolis on the map. He worked hard at it, and I would say that he is largely responsible for much of the Twin Cities music scene that has blown up in the last couple of years. Hip-Hop or not, there has been some serious buzz going on in this city -- and it's well known that Sean runs with the indie-crowd.

Unfortunately, I haven't liked the majority of stuff he's put out since Overcast dropped around '99 (oh, who really can remember?) I haven't liked one of his shows since they started selling out 7 nights in a row at first-avenue. I still, however, think he is incredibly talented and every time I can catch him live on the radio, or at a small venue, he blows me away. Even though I've seen him 20+ times over the years, I still get that heeeby-jeeeby feeling when I listen to these live tracks.

Enjoy, suckers. Feel those background vocals -- damn they're tight.

• Atmosphere - Always Coming Back Home to You
• Atmosphere - Panic Attack
• Atmosphere - Smart Went Crazy
• Atmosphere - Say Hey There

Live: Gogol Bordello

This last weekend I was driving from some pointless place to another when I tuned my radio into NPR. I was maybe hoping to come upon some wicked ways of cooking mushrooms, or some dumb Garrison Keillor story, or who knows what. Imagine my surprise when my car (ahem, and my heart) was filled with the songs of Gogol Bordello.

Now, this is EXACTLY the type of stuff that this blog is supposed to be about. I was doing something, then something else happened, then I connected it all together with a fantastic band. It just so happens that this band is even more fantastic than normal, and in my current spirits, I was even more exposed for a connection -- nay, an AUDITORY RAPING -- nay, a completely consensual HARDCORE GYPSY ROCKING!

Since this experience I have acquired all of the Gogol Bordello material I can get my hands on. These guys just bring it, wow. Next time they come within a days drive of me, I'm going to sell some plasma and go check it out.

Normally I would just post the songs, but these tracks from NPR are so damn good and the interview is soooo damn good, that I just wanted to hang the whole thing out there for you to check out. Anyone have any other Gypsy Punk recomendations? I put this stuff in the same vein as these other amazing guys.

• Gogol Bordello - Interview 1
• Gogol Bordello - Gypsy Wedding Song
• Gogol Bordello - Interview 2
• Gogol Bordello - Avenue B
• Gogol Bordello - Interview 3
• Gogol Bordello - Superconducting Supercollider
  

The 50 States: Minnesota

Minnesota. I consider you my home. I love you a lot. You beam beauty, exude soul, and freeze me to the bone in just the right way. Despite my every effort to escape you, I still continue to live near by. Listen to The Hold Steady and try to seperate Craig from Minnesota. Even though he relocated to NYC -- his songs are still all about his visits to the twin cities and I think that everyone out there can feel that connection to home. These songs represent my connection to home.

Of course, readers that know me might be scratching their heads. See, I actually live in Wisconsin. Well.... geographically, yes.... but my heart belongs to Minnesota. And I could hit the state with a rock thrown from my front-porch.

Minnesota, besides my endless adoration you have also supplied this great country with such things as The Mall of America, Masking and Scotch Tapes, wheaties, bisquick, HMOs, the bundt pan, Aveda, Green Giant, oldest continuously running theater, largest dinner theater, the worlds largest pelican statue, the countrys largest urban sculpture garden, the largest regional playhouse in the country, the skyway system, more golfers per capita than anywhere else, the Metrodome (only facility to ever hold a super bowl, world series, and NCAA final four), more shoreline than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined, first heart transplant and first bone marrow transplant in the US, lutefisk, the Mayo clinic, worlds largest ball of twine, the stapler, the first climate controlled mall, water skiing, worlds first childrens library, the automatic toaster, Rollerblades, armored cars, Tonka Trucks, Hormel Chili, SPAM, super computers, Milky Way, Snickers, and 3 Musketeers candy bars, more boats per capita than anywhere else, Greyhound Bus Lines, the snowmobile, rice cakes, Bob Dylan, F Scott Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Garrison Keillor, Jessica Lange, Sinclaire Lewis, John Madden, Roger Maris, Eugene McCarthy, Walter Mondale, Jane Russell, Winona Ryder, Charles Shultz, Kevin Sorbo, and who could forget Jesse Ventura and Prince.

• The Capstan Shafts - St. Paul
• Happy Apple - Montgomery Wards is Down for the Count
• Lifter Puller - I Like the Lights
• Atmosphere - 7th Street Entry
• Lateduster - Minnesota Plates
• Tom Waits - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis
• Slim Dunlap - Hate This Town
• The Dandy Warhols - Minnesoter
• The Replacements - Hangin Downtown
• The Dictators - Minnesota Strip
• Matt Pond PA - St. Paul
• Soul Asylum - Homesick
• Kid Dakota - 10,000 Lakes
• The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird
• Five Minute Ride - Don't Look Back to Minnesota
• Bill Janovitz - Minneapolis
• Conflict - From St Paul to Seattle
• Gypsy - Travelin' Minnesota Blues
• Husker Du - Find Me
• Mason Jennings - Duluth
• The Mountain Goats - Minnesota
• The Replacements - Here Comes a Regular
• Tom Waits - 9th and Hennepin
• The Suburbs - Drinking
• Pinetop Seven - A Friend to the Minnesota Strangler
• Weird Al Yankovic - Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota
• Lucinda Williams - Minneapolis
• The Clientele - St Paul's Beneath a Sinking Sky
• Converge - Minnesota
• The Replacements - Raised in the City
• Atmosphere - Liquor Lyles Cool July
• Yo La Tengo and Jad Fair - Minnesota Man Claims Monkey Bowled Perfect Game
• Atmosphere - Always Coming Back Home to You
• Slug - I Wish Those Cats @ Fobia Would Give Me Some Free Sneakers
• Prince - Uptown
• Atmosphere - Say Shhh
• Prince - Money Don't Matter Tonight
• Andre Nickatina - Bakin' Soda in Minnesota
• Atmosphere - Nothing But Sunshine
• Bob Dylan - Dinks Song
• Bob Dylan - I Was Young When I Left Home
• The Cows - Bum in the Alley
• David Munyon - Coffee in Duluth
• Dilinger Four - Twin Cities Sinners, United
• The Doobie Brothers - Slippery St. Paul
• Elf - First Avenue
• Eyedea and Abilities - Paradise
• Husker Du - The Biggest Lie
• The Jayhawks - 6 Pack on the Dashboard
• John Prine - Sab Visits the Twin Cities Alone
• Kind of Like Spitting - We Got as Far as Minnesota
• Low - Snowstorm
• Luke Zimmerman - Duluth
• Prince - Sometimes it snows in April
• Rattle Battle - Meltdown in Minnesota
• That Dog - Minneapolis
• The Big Wu - Minnesota Moon
• The Jayhawks - Come to the River
• Thousandaire - Lake Apathy, Minnesota
• Soul Asylum - Sometime to Return
• The Hold Steady - Stevie Nix
  

On the Lam: One Cowboy Dan

I've busted out and headed south. The morning temperatures of this place have driven me to madness. Or perhaps it was the scent of a wayward hare that tempted me to finally liberate myself from these shackles of oppression. I'm sure my owner is hoping for my expedited return, but I have some more smells to seek. It's the year, baby.... the wild swinging ought' six. In dog years I just turned 21 so I better go spread my seed and make a name for myself. Maybe I'll be back.... maybe not. Maybe I'm already in the clink. Drop me a note if you see me on the streets, hustlin' my game. //cd.

and an aside from robert: I'm trying to be optimistic about the disappearance of my dog. I keep telling myself that Hayden knows exactly what is going on.

• Hayden - Woody

update: Hayden was right and my wayward pooch just had some spring fever to get rid of. He wondered into a very nice womans yard and she held onto him for the weekend until she could find our contact information. Apparently she was thrilled to cuddle with him and I have a hunch that she fed him quite well as he returned very fat and very tired. Thanks kids for all of your support in the comments section. It makes me feel somewhat connected in this very lonely internet world.

A Freight Train into a Fireworks Factory

I'm in a good mood today. It's spring. The day is beautiful. The geese are pairing off.

So this is a new idea, rip myself off. I posted a really, really amazing Valentines Mix back in February. Unfortunately for you, dear readers, you missed it. That is because you weren't here; I didn't have any readers back then except for a few friends. Today I was making myself a great mix and I realized that most of these songs would work on a Valentines cd. Then I was all, "Hey Rob -- didn't you already make an incredible valentines mix cd that would drive all the ladies cooookooo?" And I was back all, "Hell yeah, I did! My blog-friends need that!"

Also -- if you haven't listened to the Travis Morrison track in this post -- get to it, fool. It's really fun.

• Clem Snide - I'll Be Your Mirror
• Damien Rice - Amie
• Johnny Cash - Pack Up Your Sorrows
• Kelly Joe Phelps - Love Me Baby Blues
• Mason Jennings - Butterfly
• Jeff Mangum - I Love How You Love Me
• Pedro the Lion - Diamond Ring
• Rhett Miller - Our Love
• Roman - I Found Love
• Ryan Adams - Blossom
• Stuart Davis - Swim
• The Folk Implosion - Someone You Love
• Hayden - Stem
• Jeff Tweedy - I Am The Man That Loves You

The Covered Sound: Hip-Hop

Back today kiddies with another set of covers. Everyone has heard The Gourds Gin and Juice , and that silly white-kid doing his cover of Baby Got back. Sure, there have been lots of posts in the blogosphere (ok, a quick note -- that is the first and only time I'm ever going to use that word. I promise. You guys deserve better than that but I'm nursing a mean hangover and a night of sleep deprivation and just like well... blogosphere it's gonna be until my lazy comes up with a better term) about white-dudes doing renditions of hip-hop covers, but these are a little less common.

Word to your mother, sucka.

• Travis Morrison - What's Your Fantasy
• Ben Folds - Bitches Ain't Shit
• Nina Gordon - Straight Outta Compton
• Bret Runyon - Bring the Noise
• KT Tunstall - Get Your Freak On