Trees Lounge

Gettin' Fit

2007-03-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

We have a new blog. Change your books. Update your RSS feeds. We're rehabbing ourselves. Aural Fitness

Maia Hirasawa -- A Great Video

2007-03-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I should call this girl the Female Ron Sexsmith or the Japanese Regina Spektor. Actually, I'm not going to call her either because she's Swedish and she sounds closer to Bjork sucking on a jawbreaker (the candy, not the band, fool.)

I love this video. I love the rat. The song is brilliant. Let it shine on you.

Your Action Required

2007-02-23T07:25:00.000-08:00

Hey kiddies -- I know that I haven't been the best about keeping ya'lls updated, but I've been too busy drinking from the bottle and watching the Anna Nicole Smith hearings. Enough about me... let's pretend that this site isn't a giant ode to my ego and instead for a moment that it's about you, the lonely forgotten and blog reader. Your input into my site is crucial because we are at a crossroads. At one time we had us some pretty nice digs to hang with here -- blogger was cool and new, ezarchive was content hosting some great music, I was excited to be writing about the united states and shooting my dirty musical wad on your collective faces. Ezarchive is worthless. Blogger is boring. New music mostly sucks. So those hallowed days are gone. Fly the flag at half mast, celebrate with some jazz and bury me out by the interstate. Then help me decide where we want to go. I like Trees Lounge. I like talking with you. I like writing about new music. Old Music. The United States. My dislike for cats. So I don't want this to completely end. I want this to begin.

Going forward I am considering purchasing myself -- ahem.... ourselves -- a server. A shiny one with lots of fans and plenty of space for my mp3s to squeeze through a tube and then trickle into your ears. A domain. Wordpress. We're talking about Terrabytes and gigaHURTZ, booya! Seeeexxxxxxxxxxxy. So here's where your input comes in -- domain names, site names, etc. I have a few different options:

Stay with the name Trees Lounge and get a Trees Lounge related domain:
trees-lounge.com (ok, but I hate dashes)
treeslounge.net (I equally hate .nets)

Stick with Trees Lounge and get a RELATED domain:
feelinglessandless.com (dig it, but it is awfully emo. Let's not kid ourselves -- it's a music blog -- it's emo. It's probably embarassing to refer to at the bar when others can hear me. Fawk.)
orderonemoreround.com (confusing? beautiful? insane?)
drinkingandbicycles.com (it's about passion. it's not that emo. ??)

Change the name of the site completely:
drinkingandbicycles.com (I like it but I'm not sure I'm ready to abandon Trees Lounge)
youmakeafistimmatakeanap.com (ok, this one isn't serious... but you should tell me in the comments what it should be instead.)

Ok... now all three of you be nice and leave me a comment with your opinion. Stu, Kris, and that mysterious Google.com guy.

edit: We're up to four regulars, now! Thanks, Kathy!

This Chick is Spaced, yo.

2007-02-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Lisa Marie Nowak, Astronaut, drove all night from Houston to Orlando,. She wore diapers so she would not have to stop. Her plan was to kidnap her rival for the affections of another Astronaut. She was caught at Orlando International Airport wearing a trench coat and wig and had a knife, BB gun, rubber tubing and plastic bags. Once U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman arrived, Nowak followed her to the airport's Blue Lot for long-term parking, tried to get into Shipman's car and doused her with pepper spray.

Please read this story while humming America The Beautiful.

Link

From His Kitchen to Yours

2007-01-31T15:16:00.000-08:00

So there have been plenty of requests for new content, and old. I know that you kids are eagerly waiting for the 50-states project to resume -- and I'd love to resume it -- but I have no hosting. EZArchive is worthless and I can't find any other free or paid service that allows direct linking for the embedded player and unlimited downloads. If you know of one, let me know and I'll get right on throwing Mississippi up here for ya'lls.

Thanks for the support. It really helps.

How is this even possible?

2007-01-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

So this new remix of Fat Joe's Make It Rain features R. Kelly and TI (sorry kids, couldn't find the mp3). And you know... it's alright... but it made me really curious about this disorder that I'm convinced I have. I consulted with a friend who is a psychiatry student and she couldn't come up with a name for my problem, but I'm certain that it does exist and that it must have a name -- since it doesn't effect my life that much I've never bothered to really focus on it. The problem is that sometimes I have problems distinguishing my dreams from my reality. Like -- 3 years ago I had this dream that R. Kelly was video taped pissing on a 13 year old girl and the video was released and the future of his career was seriously in jeopardy. The dream was pretty elaborate -- Dave Chappelle even made an appearance on a dream-based version of his show and had a joke about the incident where R. Kelly was singing a song called "Piss On You." For the last 3-years I've been convinced that this actually happened, but then today I start listening to this track and during the chorus I hear R. Kelly singing, "I make it rain/I make it rain/I make it rain on these hoes" and my reality snaps into focus and I realize that I'm so fucked up and this disorder has really gone too far. Yes, I have dreams about R. Kelly pissing on 13 year old girls and then believe that they are real. Fuck.

Also -- I hate the way Lil' Wayne talks out the side of his already crooked ass mouth.

Big Ups 2007 - Brother Ali Drrrrrrops

2007-01-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Brother Ali's first release in 2003 was fah sure one of my favorite albino hip-hop releases of the last five years. The Brother straight up rocks the mic like I flow ridiculous blog entries. When Rhymesayers and the rest of the local outlets started hyping a 2007 Ali release my pants started to tighten. I couldn't wait. So today is the end of that wait.... new tracks... new album.... and it is everything I hoped for. From the curtains to the carpets the beats and the words inspired me to post a blog entry. These tracks are so fly that you need a swatter. (Damn I'm good.)

Also -- could one of you loyal readers that loves me oh-so-much buy me this?

Just for Stu

2007-01-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

I may only have one reader, but he is loyal. I receive comments from him on a regular basis and he usually chides me for my lack of updates. You see -- Stuart has nothing better to do with his time then try and beat me up over not keeping my blog regularly updated. Is it because of this that Stuart is a loser, or is the fact that he's a loser responsible for his comments?

Here is what we do know:

Stuart is very fond of Xtina, Nelly, Staind and Gwen Stefani. (Which would explain why he reads a music blog like this one... sheeesh.... ) Stuart is hung like a "long horse." Stuart is consistently irritating. Stuart is the only reason I even update this damn site.... well... and the chicks.

Fuel My Internet Addiction

2006-12-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

This is exactly the sort of reason I have an internet addiction. And this is almost exclusively for you, Stuart. Do not let anyone from the CONSPIRACY try and convince you that the Long Horse did not exist. Let us bow our heads for such a grandiose creature that fell victim to a cold, heartless, war-mongering, imperialistic and non-long-horse loving vector of modern stampedering.

Recontextualization vs. Reactionarians

2006-11-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

Ok so seriously... watch these two videos. Obviously a joke. How did David Cross get so fucking good? This just takes him to the next level in my mind. If I saw this on Saturday Night Live it would make me shit happiness for days. Oh and damn.... is that Johnny Marr on the accompaniment?

Now watch this. Holy Bicycles! David Cross was just doing a cover! Now Bank of America is suing him and they might actually have a case! GOOD LORD NOW KILL ME>>>

HOLY TECHNOLOJESUS!

2006-11-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

Who's Your Indie Crush?

2006-11-05T17:49:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you guys, but I've been trying real hard to get myself an indie crush for years now. I know, I know: there has to be a better adjective than indie, right? But you know what I'm talking about. Yeah, yeah: Beyoncé's smoking hot; we get it. And Britney Spears did this photo shoot for the New York Times a few years ago that blew me away (there's a good pun in there somewhere). But I'm talking about the kind of crush that has cred.

And it's not that I haven't been looking. I tried Meg White for a while, but she's all knockers, no personality. And I tried Karen O, but she's just not a hottie. (Pictures of her were still scarce for a while after Albert Hammond, Jr. wore that pin on SNL, so for a long time I had a pretty intense aural crush with just a few face-covering photos to aid me.) And what are my other choices... M.I.A.? Lady Sov? Joanna Newsom? Yeah, Newsom's a maybe. And alright, alright, there's always Chan Marshall, but she's a model now (don't believe me?), so I feel like she's up there with the professional hotties. And Regina Spektor is really cute, but I'm pretty sure she's way too old for me. The girls from Fannypack? Uh-uh.

So here comes Uffie. I can't take her seriously, and I can't say that her rapping is any good. But the lyrics are certainly adorable and hilarious, and the electro beats complement their uh, sensuality. She's on Ed Banger records, for all you kids who keep track of that. (Maybe you know labelmates Justice.) Oh, and did I mention that she's a genuine, certified smoking hot girl? Have doubts? That's her up there in that photo. And some Italian magazine that seems really cool, but most of the content of which I can't read has a bad ass photo shoot of her. So go knock yourselves out (that good pun is just too obvious).

She doesn't have an album out, and there are just a handful of singles she's released, but she's my official indie crush. Who's yours? I think girls have a few more options than us fellas, but I'd be happy to get comments from both sexes.

And in addition! I'm going to post what I believe is Uffie's total output to date. If not total, it's certainly the vast majority. Voici:

Uffie - "Pop the Glock (Original Mix)"

Uffie - "Pop the Glock (Sebastian Remix)"

Uffie - "Ready to Uff (Mr. Oizo Mix)"

Uffie - "Ready to Uff (TV Track)"

Uffie - "Hot Chick"

Uffie - "In Charge"

The Farnsworth Parabox of Damien Rice

2006-11-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the theory of parrallel universes. The simple idea that if you were to rotate the earth 180 degrees on it's orbit (landing it directly behind the sun), you would find a planet equal to the earths dimensions but completely opposite in every way. It would serve to balance out the beauty, depravity, poverty, excess, and spirit of this world. It's an anti-earth. It's the idea that a very popular episode of Futurama is based on.

Well -- there was a slip-up here on our own earth and Damien Rice fell into a Farnsworth Parabox. He stumbled out and it was Universe # 10393 or something where the molasses-voiced Damien and his soundtrack ballads came out as Plan B. I call it Grind, but keep in mind that I'm an idiot. Other idiots will call it Eminem with an accoustic guitar and a british accent or Sage Francis covering Everlast. Still even more idiots will go drrrr.... drrr....... Regardless. I do like Plan B. Something tells me that he'll be on less soundtracks next year than the new Damien Rice material -- but maybe in an alternate universe somewhere, the opposite is true.

The first song is the controversial anti-censorship track, Sik 2 Def, and the second track is a live accoustic version of Who Needs Action, When You've Got Words that I've had stuck in my head for a couple of days.

A Moment For You and I (and Joe)

2006-10-31T14:09:00.000-08:00

So the blog has been infused with new life. I am posting again, Joe is posting quality material, and with any luck we will lure some readers back after I left them in lurch earlier in the summer. Why did i abandon you, dear reader? Well it was a combination of several thing.... first of all I am the epitome of lazy. Like seriously.... to even get out of bed in the morning is a task and I haven't figured out how to just THINK of a post and make it happen. Second is that EZArchive (the host for all of my mp3s) basically went TITS UP and left me without a good place to put all these grey-area-legal-wise mp3 files. Like, I couldn't upload -- I couldn't download -- I couldn't email them -- they were just POOF gone.

Today they are back.

So with that, and with Joe's help, Trees Lounge is back.

The good news is also the bad news though -- with the new EZArchive, the old links are all gone. That means everything older than about 4 days ago has now been flushed down the toilet. My dream to complete all 50 states and post them all up together may never happen. That being said, I'm going to continue where I left off in the next few days and jump back into the states project. The good news? We're back. We'll have even more BRILLIANT CONTENT that you can be assured to COUNT ON and we'll be offering a bi-geographical perspective on the music scene with my sorry ass being situated here (ahem... near) the twin-cites, and Joe being cozily tucked away in Irvine, CA. I'll be focusing on my normal themes of drinking too much and not being funny -- Joe will be focusing on his love for Lil' Wayne and all things from Jamaica. Or maybe I'll just let him let you know what he'll post about.

To Welcome myself back I am going to take this opportunity to reiterate something that I've been telling you for years now. This band: I still like them, and you still don't listen to them. The Baptist Generals.

Chris Flemmons plays/writes insanely beautiful melodies, has terrible recording equipment, a drinking problem, a tendency to smash his equipment in the middle of a track, and an ability to play the guitar like a FUCKING DRUM.

Edit: Also if there is any doubt as to whether or not Trees Lounge can be a two man show, can you please click the link below of Joe in the Panda suit. I mean -- he has boozed up eyes, an empty bottle of jack daniels, and he is wearing a god-damned panda costume. If anyone can outdrink that picture and then send me evidence of it glued to the top of a case of Jim Beam and then make quality posts about stolen mp3s -- WELL I'D DAMN WELL GIVE YOU A PASSWORD TO POST, TOO!

Best Song About File Sharing. Ever.

2006-10-31T09:52:00.000-08:00

So at some point this morning I realized that every post of mine thus far is really just a "Best Ever" post. I had the Best Song. Ever.

And I also had the Best Rock Song. Ever.

So in that vein, I want to add the Best Song About File Sharing. Ever.

The Tiny: "Everything is Free"

If you're not yet on the Tiny bandwagon, it's time to get on board. Despite it's diminutive size, there's still a lot of room left up here. As best as I can figure out, The Tiny are a three-piece from Stockholm. They're also great; Rob and I both have an avowed love for them.

But wait! There's more! Now for the Best Song by The Tiny. Ever.

The Tiny: "Closer"

Well that pretty much kicks off my newly-named series: Best Song... Ever.

(Also! One of Rob's favorite comedians, Ze Frank, does a great bit about Worst... Ever that I admit to cribbing a little for the name of my series. Enjoy it here! Err... how the hell do you imbed flash?)

EDIT: As per a comment, "Everything is Free" does look like it was originally a Gillian Welch song. If possible, avoid listening to that version because it may ruin The Tiny's, in so much as it totally blows, and you may not be able to get it out of your head. So kudos to Gillian Welch for writing a poignant song. But bigger ups to The Tiny for singing it and then totally making me cry.

Halloween Is So Last Weekend

2006-10-30T23:43:00.000-08:00

Halloween is Tonight? Well all my parties were last weekend. I don't know how yours went, but I broke a mirror I was wearing, climbed a balcony four times, played a lot of swords (hard to explain), and was an all-around jackass. In commemoration of the fact that I'm still damn tired, I'm posting a song that really gets at the essence of how I felt walking home alone at 4:00 in the morning.

In addition, it's arguably the greatest rock song ever recorded. Not even shitting you.

Rocket from the Tombs - "Ain't It Fun"

And as a BONUS!

What says Halloween more than Black No. 1?

Type O Negative: "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)"

Save a Tree; Write a Blog

2006-10-29T23:00:00.000-08:00

Rob needed to call in some reinforcements, so I’m gonna be helping him out a bit here and there so Trees Lounge doesn’t completely die. The States thing is his, and I’m leaving it to him to keep that up, but I’m adding a series of my own:

Cool Shit from Sometime Not Now

Cool Shit, if you’re into the whole brevity thing. It’ll be songs, albums, discographies… well… it’ll be a lot of things, and I’m not going to pigeonhole myself right now. I don't even know that it needs a name, but it's getting one anyway.

To start it off, I’ll post my favorite song:

Baal – Exuma

That’s right—like a teenage girl—I have a favorite song. Among the mounds of music I listen to, there is actually one song that stands out above the others. And I’m cool with that. In the future I’ll give more context to what I post, but for now, just take my word on this.

Do They Know it's Halloween?

2006-10-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

This post can only come from outer-space or underground, or some nonsensical place. I'm not sure where it comes from. I do know that it is a Halloween song produced by the North American Halloween Prevention Initiative. I do know that it was designed as some sort of fund-raiser. I do not know exactly what the funds were for or how they assembled such an incredible cast for such a seemingly bullshit project -- I do know that the song sounds like what would must exist on the other side of the sun.

The cast includes: Beck, Sum 41, Les Savy Fav, the Arcade Fire, Sonic Youth, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Joey Waronker, Sloan, Peaches, Feist, Devendra Banhart, Wolf Parade, Postal Service, Buck 65, Elvira, Malcolm McLaren, Gino Washington (for more on him, see "Gino vs. Geno" at Complicatedfun.com), Roky Erickson, Rilo Kiley, Sparks, Tagaq, and producer Steven McDonald of Redd Kross

North American Halloween Prevention Initiative - Do They Know It's Halloween?

Pitchfork Media Infinite Playlist RSS Feed

2006-07-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Pitchfork Media began a project called the infinite mix-tape. It's a great idea -- post new tracks in a mix-tape like format on a semi-regular basis. Except -- like most things Pitchfork does they nailed the idea and fumbled the execution. They provided a kickass way of seeing tracks, but a cumbersome, outdated, crappy one of downloading them. They needed a podcast!

I'm not taking credit for this work. I just jumped through some hoops to generate an RSS feed and then a few more hoops to generate the Podcast feed. Now you can add it to your iTunes or (like me) your J River Media Center.

Pitchfork Media - Infinite Mixtape Podcast

I'm not Dead!

2006-06-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

Hey fans -- i appreciate the comments I have recevied lately inquiring about my well-being, and what can I say? I'm well!

I have Mississippi ready to go for you and a handful of new bands ready to make your head spin. So where have I been? I've just been busy living life. The last month has brought full-on summer, drunkeness, heartbreak, redemption, tomfoolery, travel, lust, extravegance, hopelessness, and motorcycles.

So -- if I have these posts ready to go -- why is this here? Well, EZARCHIVE is just blowing goats for the last 10-12 days and I can't upload my files. I've tried everything to get the 90+ files it is going to take to properly toast Mississippi onto the server and I've only been met with rejection. I'll work on it, but I just want you to know that I love you and I appreciate your dedication.

You all make this giant blue rock seem much less lonely.

Also -- if you want some updates just go ahead and browse through the archives. Most of the files are still available, and I think I used to be waaaaaay funnier.

Love

Robert

An Owl Made Me Do It: Orillia Opry

2006-05-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2006-05-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

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.

Live: Gogol Bordello

2006-05-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

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.

The 50 States: Minnesota

2006-05-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

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.

On the Lam: One Cowboy Dan

2006-05-06T05:43:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

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.

The Covered Sound: Hip-Hop

2006-05-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

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.

My Suicide Note: I Will Never Be Eef Barzelay

2006-04-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

That's all the note would say if today I choose to die. He played Minneapolis last night. I think in the process that he possibly earned his sainthood. I counted at least 2 miracles, but I wouldn't be surprised if a third was performed backstage. 1) the notoriously HUGE RIP-OFF called the 400-bar was offering $2 PBRs (trumpets!) 2) He played Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd and it was beautiful (HALLELUJAH) and for his encore he played Christina Aguileras Beautiful, and segued it into two-headed boy and then a very short NMH medley (ANGELS, LIGHTNING, !!!!!!).

I enjoyed me some PBR, I enjoyed me some Eef. I ran into several Jesus Freaks that I knew and I called them Jesus Freaks without even thinking about the fact that they might not be privy to the word on the street. I did not consider that they may not be enlightened about the situation and my mentioning of the term Jesus Freak. My friend Corey (who is now a youth pastor I come to find out) asked me about the term and I explained to him that I didn't mean it as derogatory or spiteful -- I meant it as complimentary and love-filled. It's also incredibly descriptive. Also, for one reason or another I have many friends that are playing for Jesus' team.

So today I'm a little hung over after $2 PBRs and some strangers shots -- but I'm alert and with it enough to post some Clem Snide. You can never have enough folks.

Oh -- and to all of you kids that decided to spend $100/ticket to see Death Cab in a DAMN auditorium last night when you could have seen Clem Snide for $10: you suck.

Also -- I have a dog for pretty much one reason: to meet girls. Since flesh has become obsolete, the dog thing isn't working out so well. If you're a girl and you'd like to meet a cute dog and then have me bother you -- check out his MySpace page. Yes, his name is Cowboy Dan and yes, he has great taste in music.

The 50 States: Maryland

2006-04-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

Back, yet again, with the next in my ongoing series of a musical journey through the 50-states.

Maryland, daughter of the east. I'm sure you had quite a place in the American Revolution, and I toast to you. I've enjoyed every visit I've ever made to you and for that I'm thankful. Baltimore proved to have plenty of songs about it, but I can't help but feel I didn't give the rest of the state a very fair shake. I've also completely forgotten to include songs about oysters or crabs -- but as editor of this I had to make a decision and even though you, sweet Maryland, contribute a lot of those things, it seems like you're not believable as the ONLY producer/supplier/deliverer of these things. Don't hate me too much, such is life. Suffer thee as well, Maryland.

Maryland, you have given us such great contributions as the US Naval Academy, the first catholic cathedral in the united states, the first school in the united states, first DENTAL school in the us, Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken Jr, Billy Ripken, some other baseball guys, Francis Scott Key, The Star Spangled Banner, the National Aquarium, the first hot-air balloon launch, the telegraph pole, recipient of the first telegraph message, workmens comp, Greenbelt, the methodist church of america, more miles of shoreline than any other state (4400miles!), Spiro Agnew, John Wilkes Booth, James Cain, Frederick Douglas, Philip Glass, Billie Holiday, Johns Hopkins, Thurgood Marshall, HL Mencken, Upton Sinclair, Harriet Tubman, Frank Zappa, John Waters, 2Pac.

We love you, Maryland.

Thanks to all of the thoughtful contributors. After I typed up this whole list, I went back and read the comments and realized that I missed quite a few good songs. If anyone would like to continue in the vein of baltimore/maryland -- check my maine post comments for some more songs. You guys are wonderful. Leave me some love in the comments about Massachusets and I'll try to not be so inconsiderate. I love all of you.

Live from the Current: Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos

2006-04-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well this crew does more than just keep their hipster hairstylist busy. They play some super tight and melodic indie rock, man. I'm very impressed by this performance. It sounds good -- that's pretty easy seeing that the current has about $10 billion or so worth of equipment -- but this band PLAYS so damn well together. I'm bummed that I missed this show, because it would have been fantastic. Sure, the Varsity Theater doesn't have the best sound in the world -- but I think these kids may have overcome.

Plus, there is eight of them and it's not just a schtick. They understand what they're doing and it comes off wonderfully.

This Current stuff is like shooting fish in a barrel. Way easier than trying to get songs for all of the 50-states!

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Vampires In Blue Dresses (Live on the Current)
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Skeleton Key (Live on the Current)
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - Dress Me Like A Clown (Live on the Current)

Live from the Current: Josh Rouse

2006-04-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday Morning to you kids. Hope you had a good weekend, because I did. Oh wait -- I ended up with 2 black eyes and a broken nose, sigh. It was still a fantastic weekend and I'm sure that besides that, Mrs. Kennedy did enjoy the trip to Dallas.

My Hometown Hero left me a comment politely making a request -- something that I'm sure my fans know I will always do my best to acoomodate.

Your Hometown Hero said...
Hey, I hope you convert the recently added in studio session of Josh Ritter...

6:32 PM

So then I obviously scratched my head because Josh Ritter hasn't played in-studio. Ever. I mean, I can do my best to accomodate such loyal fans requests, but that would be just too much. I mean, cmon Your Hometown Hero, I'm not THAT big of a magic man. I have limits. I tried waving my magic headphones around my head and wishing for Josh Ritter for about 30 seconds and nothing appeared. Luckily, you came back through as a good little fan.

Your Hometown Hero said...
I'm sorry, I mean Josh Rouse

6:45 PM

Now, alright, that is a name that I can work with. POOF! It was done.

Enough about the blogging type of nonsense. Here's another in the untapped well of live music from MPR Station, The Current.

I'm also collecting the songs from Maryland as we speak. Should be a great state!

Live from the Current: Trevor Hall

2006-04-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Another in my series of live posts copped from the pages of MPR station 89.3 The Current. Trevor Hall stopped by last week and turned me on to the guy that spent the last few months opening for Matisyahu.

I have this passing infatuation with the idea of soul. It's a concept that can't necessarily be defined or fenced in. It's a drive-by abstraction -- a subjective manifestation of capricity. (I'm not sure that capricity is a word, really.) Soul cannot be outlined using the tools of temper, tone, cadence, and weight. It cannot be linked to a physiological interaction.

You have to just hear it, and you'll get it. White guys are rare to find with soul, but I'm pretty sure that Trevor Hall has it.

And that, my fans -- is the next big thing.

The 50 States: Maine

2006-04-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to our next installment of our tour of the 50-states! Maine has a decent helping of hipster indie tracks about it, so that's sort of a nice change of pace.

Maine gives us such great things as the eastern most city in the United States, lobsters, blueberries, the York that preceeded New York, toothpicks, Steven King, Dubya's summer home, LL Bean, Lighthouses, nations first sawmill, nations first incorporated city, the first american ship, the first naval battle in the us, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and this beautiful collection of songs.

Big Ups to all my fans. If you have any ideas about songs from Maryland -- let me know in the comments.

New to You: The Umbrella Sequence

2006-04-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, loyal fans! I'm back in action after a weekend of hardcore, nonstop, unbridled awesomeness. I've brought with me today some grey-market mp3s from a local band that i'm a tad ooooooh ahhhh over. See, they are grey market because they are posted on their website in mp3 form, but it takes a little cunning trickery to actually get them from-ah them to-ah yous. I will guide you past the smoke and mirrors and I will set this music free. They wanted it to be liberated but I'm sure some record label somewhere convinced them it would be a better idea to make them difficult to obtain and obscure the beauty with the frosted glaze of an embedded windows media player, sigh.

The Umbrella Sequence played one of it's first shows at the YMCA blocks from my house in the middle of an incredibly suburban st. paul suburb. See -- I say I'm from minneapolis, but I'm actually not quite there. (Ahem, shut your mouth, minneappleheads -- I'm damn well close enough by my estimations.) Alas, I did not make it to this show because I wasn't 13 and it was "teen-night" at above-mentioned YMCA. I did, by chance, catch them as they opened for Kid Dakota several weeks later at the Uptowner. Now, I've seen The Kid umpteen times and his opening bands are usually snoozers. Umbrella Sequence just absolutely brought it that night, however. They sold me their cd. They could have sold me 10 copies. I was so fricken' impressed.

These kids are young, melodious, synthalogue tweaking geniuses. Oh yeah, and they write a decent song on top of it.

I've heard they now tour nationally since they were signed to OHEV Records (Kind of Like Spitting, Hot Hot Heat, some other bands you probably adore) but on their website it just lists a handful of local upcomings:

04.22.2006 - University of Wisconsin with TBA
05.05.2006 - The Triple Rock with TBA
05.06.2006 - Big V's with The Nina, The Pinta and Heros and Liars
05.26.2006 - The Uptown with Colonial Vipers Attack and Story of the Sea
07.07.2006 - The Triple Rock with TBA

Look for me at a show near well uhh.... me. I'll be the one utilizing the fake mustache in an attempt to obscure my blogebrity. I realize dear reader that the above vignette about the YMCA and my love for the Umbrella Sequence has told you very little about their actual music. There's sort of an idea behind that -- you'll find that I don't actually discuss too much music on this site. Music is for listening. So give it a listen. Move past Sufjan. If I post about it on this site, I am offering my personal GUARANTEE that you'll like it or I will proudly offer you eight times your money back.

Fellow music bloggers -- let's keep the incestous love-fest going. Let me know if you're going to post about the Umbrella Sequence and I'll throw be sure to give you a mention in an upcoming post.

The Covered Sound

2006-04-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yet another installment in my sort of completely random and without any sort of repeated schedule edition of covered songs! I could use this area to write a bunch of nonsense about several bands that you already know, doing several versions of songs by more bands that you already know -- but guess what? I respect you more than that, dear reader. I know that you've got Google and if you were wanting to do further research on whether Elliott was assassinated by people with great interest in whether or not he did a better version of Willie than Willie can do or not, then you can dig it up. You don't need my watchful hand to steer you towards everything on this ever-revolving huge blue rock, now do ya? No -- you just need me to lend a hand here and there on important matters of taste. Do I dictate excellence? Not really, but as long as I can keep you slightly interested while you're ~~stealing music~~ "discovering" new bands, then I must be doing an alright job.

In other news, I was called an Emo-Boy by a girl with a fake british accent last night while accidently attending the strangest "salsa" night that I've ever been to. Lucky for you ladies, I can count the number of salsa nights I've been tricked into attending on one hand, but I can still slay a damn MERENGUE while I count em! Yaaaaaaaah, take that to the bank. The girl with the fake british accent dropped me her digits, but I'm only going to use them to tease her about her accent. Or maybe take her out for some well deserved face-to-face riddlin'.

Yow -- this is starting to sound like a blog. Maybe I am an emo-boy? If I am then I'm one with some fancy feet on the salsa-beats.

Jack Johnson - We're Going to be Friends (White Stripes Cover)
Elliott Smith - Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (Willie Nelson Cover)
David Gray - Buckets of Rain (Bob Dylan Cover)
Kevin Long - I Know (Fiona Apple Cover)
REM - I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor Cover)
Ben Folds - Say Yes (Elliott Smith Cover)
Sufjan Stevens - She Is (Tim Buckley Cover)

In the interest of full disclosure, I know that at least one of the songs above came from a great blog, Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands. Stop by there if you are interested in reading about music or dancing about architecture.

Also, stay tuned for Maine in our great journey through the 'fiddy, kids.

Live at the Current: Ben Harper

2006-04-06T17:03:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. I'm lucky that in this great Twin Cities area we have a fairly new and totally rad radio station. 89.3 The Current is a station from Minnesota Public Radio that plays music that you like. They also have a huge catalogue of live music on their website that you can listen to -- but you can't download it.

I've decided to start a new series of posts that will be enjoyable guests from the Current in mp3 downloadable form. If you want to listen to the interviews, I recommend you check out their stream -- I'm only going to offer the tracks, because I love live music and I know you do too.

First up is Ben Harper from yesterday. You all know who he is, riggggght?

Ben Harper - Waiting for You (Live from the Current)
Ben Harper - Morning Yearning (Live from the Current)
Ben Harper - Don't Talk about Murder While I'm Eating (Live from the Current)

The 50 States: Kentucky

2006-03-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

Hey kids -- Back from the super-long weekend with a post about Kentucky. It wasn't so much that I was being lazy (that did contribute), it was rather that Kentucky is a very musically inspired state and there was too many choices for me to sift through. This may not be a complete list of songs, but it is one that I spent far too much time on for you thievin' bastages!

The in-line mp3 player is gone -- so it's a sad day. What I am going to do for those of you that want to listen to this post without downloading it is offer podcast feeds on the left side of your screen. If you click on the +podNova button then you can listen to this entire feed through a player of your choice (or a flash player) without having to manually download all the songs. Check it out, it's pretty cool.

Now -- onward towards Kentucky.

Kentucky was made a state in 1792. It's been sitting down there representin' the BACKBONE of southern culture for a loong, long time. In that time it has given us things like the kentucky derby, cheeseburgers, corvettes, the first commercial oil well, KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, a wet Christian County and a dry Bourbon County (oh, the irony!), the birthday song, post-it-notes, bluegrass, the unveiling of the electric light bulb, the radio, fort knox gold warehousing, and millions of stereotypical toothless, truck drivin', wife beatin', beer drinking' rednecks (or is that milwaukee I'm thinking of?).

People from Kentucky include Muhammed Ali, Crystal Gayle, her sister Loretta Lynn, Casey Jones, Bill Monroe, Diane Sawyer, and the great great great Hunter S Thompson.

We love you Kentucky!

Thanks again to everyone that submitted ideas in the comments for the last state. They were very much appreciated! If any of you anonymous contributors have blogs or websites you'd like linked -- feel free to make sure it's on your blogger account, otherwise I can't spread the love across my vast and deep collection of fans. Keep it up below -- drop some Lousiana love in the comments.

A Soundtrack for my Weekend

2006-03-24T14:22:00.000-08:00

Hey kiddies -- I'll be back on Monday or Tuesday with Kentucky for the 50-states, but until then I'm going to pack in as much drinking and socializing as possible. I didn't want to think about all of my loyal fans hanging out this weekend with nothing to do so I assembled a little weekend mix. This CD is probably (for better or for worse) pretty much sum up my entire weekend. If I could stretch it out to fill 48 hours, I could really create the mood -- but I'll have to settle for an entire weekend in a 1-hour span. Because of that, you too, fair reader, will have to settle for my entire weekend in an hour.

The only thing I've left out is what's sure to be the highlight -- the new Sopranos on Sunday night. Just butt the end of this mix up with that infectious A3 tune and you'll be gravy, jack. I've also done something new and that is compile the entire mix, ready to burn, in one handy zip-file. HUZZAH!

You Guys are the Tops, Man!

2006-03-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

So I just wanted to gloat here for a second. Every other blog on earth must have failed to update today because I've reached tops on The Hype Machine.

If you don't already use the Hype Machine it's a fantastic site to keep track of mp3 blogs. I use it every day to sync blogs to podcasts in my J-River Media Center, to search for freshly leaked tracks, and to truly decide if I should make a post on a "new" artist -- if I do a search for them and find 200 posts from 3 months ago, then I just decide that i'm late to the bandwagon. If I do a search for lets see .... new Grandaddy tracks... or The Infadels ... and I see that nobody has covered them yet, then I feel like I am the king shit and I post the hell out of those things and then gloat when I see the traffic spike provide a STNNING confirmation my already overinflated ego. Basically this whole site is just an excuse for me to have a fanclub, and you fans have made me proud today.

I'll try and keep up my end of the bargain, if ya'll keep coming back. Here's a couple of new remastered Billy Bragg tracks just so you guys can feel the love that I'm beaming right outta my zig-zag smile.

Love yas,

Robert

The 50 States: Kansas

2006-03-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

// insert some beautiful picture of kansas here, because blogger sure as hell isn't going to cooperate with my desire to make one appear //

Kansas is the heartland. A steady batch of corn and wheat whizzing past our rock-filled bus' windows. Kansas, you have lawrence. Lawrence, one of the coolest college-towns in the country. The town that seems small but draws national bands on a nightly basis. The town that is all coeds and fast-food. I like lawrence.

Kansas has given this country such great things as the nations biggest ball of twine, Amelia Earhardt, Dwight D Eisenhower, nations largest concentration of wild grouse, wheat, wheat, more wheat, Pizza Hut, Fatty Arbuckle, Bob Dole, Dennis Hopper, Stan Kenton, Barry Sanders, oh yeah, and tornadoes.

Kansas -- you seem to be confused as to where Kansas City stops and Missouri begins. Because of that, I am going to assume that all songs about Kansas City are about Kansas City, KS. Actually -- if I were smarter I would assume that they were about Kansas City, MO since that is the bigger more metropolitan part, but I'm not smarter and it's a lot easier to include these songs with Kansas. Plus -- who really cares.

Next up is Kentucky, so you want to drop some science in the comments about Kentucky, I'll do my best to include it in my next post. WORD!

The 50 States: Iowa

2006-03-22T12:21:00.000-08:00

Iowa you low, fat, agricultural beast. I drive through you constantly to get to Kansas. Your roads are straight (except for the most crooked one in the country -- pictured), your balance is strong, and you have a very odd method of influencing your might on presidential elections. I don't dislike you, Iowa.

You've given us the likes of the worlds largest strawberry, covered bridges, the worlds shortest and steepest railroad, quaker oats, a sprint car museum, Herbert Hoover, John Wayne, Glenn Miller, Winnebagos, Johnny Carson, Buffalo Bill, George Gallup, Ann Landers, and Slipknot!

We love you, Iowa.

Stick with me here, these next 3 get a little \../ and try and shake that iowa sound.

So the next songs are probably about somewhere in the UK. Doesn't matter -- let's assume they're about waterloo, ia because that fits my theme much, much better!

Next up, Kiddies, is Kansas. Drop me some Kansas love in the comments if ya'll feeling spectacular.

The 50 States: Indiana

2006-03-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

This locomotive of rock and roll continues to steam across the nation and the next stop is, Indiana.

Indiana, I wanted to comment that I felt like you had lots of interstates. I didn't want to upset your great citizens and it's true -- the only times I've visited indiana is on my way to somewhere else -- but you actually do have more miles of interstate than any other state!. You have also given us such great things as the Indy 500, the beginning of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the P47 fighter plane, Raggedy Anne, the first professional baseball game, James Dean, David Letterman, the only rotary jail in the US, top-quality limestone, studebakers, Van Camps Pork and Beans, a John Dillinger prison escape, the Gatling gun, the center of the underground railroad, Larry Bird, Bill Blass, Jimmy Hoffa, Michael Jackson, Shelley Long, Cole Porter, Kurt Vonnegut, and Wilbur Wright.

I'll also go ahead and say something that actually may piss some people off. Gary is actually the scariest, shittiest city that I think I have ever been to. I never feel safe there. Despite that, we still love you, Indiana!

Next up we have Iowa, so go ahead and contribute some songs in the comments if ya'll feelin' it.

The 50 States: Illinois

2006-03-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

Oh Illinois -- noble displayer of cornfields and silos. You put the heart in heartland, and the plain in plains. Drive east and you'll find the silos keep getting bigger and bigger until they are skyscrapers. Stop before the lake and you're in for a treat. Chicago is a city of the world, one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited and I still make nearly monthly trips. I am in awe of your public library, your giant chrome jelly bean, and the Sears Tower. You're also the only place in the US I have ever been that has a 4am bartime, and for that -- well for that, I salut you!

Illinois, you have such distinguishing features as the worlds first aquarium, the worlds first skyscraper, the tallest building in north america, Metropolis, you were the first state to ratify the 13th amendment, McDonalds, Ronald Reagan, a huge fire, Abraham Lincoln, the ice cream sundae, worlds first silo, countries highest percentage of personalized license plates, the largest public library, Jane Addams, Gillian Anderson, my grandparents, Jack Benny, Ray Bradbury, Jennie Garth, Cindy Crawford, Richard Daley, Miles Davis, Walt Disney, Harrison Ford, Benny Goodman, Dorothy Hamil, Ernest Hemingway, Charlton Heston, Wild Bill, Rock Hudson, James Jones, Quincy Jones, David Mamet, Bill Murray, Bob Newhardt, Richard Pryor, Sam Shepard, Raquel Welch, Wilco, Andrew Bird, The Smashing Pumpkins, and and and, and the Oreo factory. Oh yeah, and you crazy micks in Chicago are going to dye the freakin' river green this weekend!

So -- next up is Indiana -- if you have any ideas of songs about indiana, drop them in the comments.

Later, kids!

The 50 States: Idaho

2006-03-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

So we continue our slow trundle across the plains, mountains, rivers, and streams of this great nation. We've put some controversy behind us (in my Hawaii post I mistakenly referred to a Dutch group as a German group, I don't really care but I made some people upset). We've gained some readers, and several other blogs have given us some great lovin' and fueled my fire for continuing this project. So without further ado: Idaho.

A girl I once knew was driving through the middle of nowhere Idaho with her parents during their spring break, family outing. A bullet came through the door and went into her leg and she almost died of blood loss. That's the only person I know that has ever been to Idaho.

Idaho, you were admitted as a state in 1890. It is still illegal to give someone from Idaho a box of candy weighing more than 50 lbs. Also, your contributions have been slight -- you have given us potatoes, Gutzon Borglum, Harmon Killebrew, Ezra Pound, and Picabo Street.

Never the less -- we love you, Idaho.

So next up will be Illinois. You can be certain that Sufjan will be represented, but if you have any other suggestions that I might miss -- feel free to chip into the comments on this post.

Motorcycle Songs

2006-03-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

So this post is a mixed blessing. Today we received around a foot of snow and I snowboarded all day. It's bitter, however, because it means at least another few weeks before the motorcycle season starts. That sort of bums me out, so I'll have to drown my sorrows in sweet sweet Jim Beam and motorcycle songs.

Also -- it's just a really good excuse to post my current favorite bands motorcycle song. The guy in Baptist Generals plays the guitar the way it should be played -- like a drum. Fuck yes.

The 50 States: Hawaii

2006-03-08T11:01:00.000-08:00

Next up on our tour is sweet sweet Hawaii. Hawaii, you thief of hearts. You are the volcanic topping on a paradise sundae, the ultimate honeymoon destination for crusteceans, coral, and the jet setting japanese. You have a language that is a completely mystery to me, and a joyous mystery at that -- a conundrum of beautiful consonants and diabolical punctuation. I bet you are warm right now, and I bet since it's the ides of March that many of my millions of readers are headed for your basaltic embrace -- to put their feet onto your warm sand and thaw their bones of the cold and misery that is a midwest winter.

Hawaii, you were scooped up in 1959 by the good ole' US of A. You give us all pineapples, and you're the only US state to grow coffee. Honolulu is geographically the largest city in the world, and hawaii overall is wider than any other state including AK and TX. You've given us such things as Hawaiian Standard Time, worlds largest wind generator, macadamia nuts, the only royale palace in the United States, and the worlds biggest telescope.

We love you, Hawaii. You have LOADS of good songs about you, here's a handful.

Also kiddies, thanks for all the comments on the Georgia post. Next up is Idaho -- so if you think there is some songs about Idaho that I'll overlook (and yes... I'm aware of built to spill) then feel free to drop it in the comments below.

New Music: Cameron McGill

2006-03-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Somehow just stumbled upon this guys website. He's everything I hate -- talented, clever, good-looking, and stylish. Unfortunately I can't get away that easy because he's also insanely talented. Think Tom Waits playing piano and throwing dirt at Ryan Adams who is doing his best Buckley (either one, really) impersonation.

The 50 States: Georgia

2006-03-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

Hey kids -- it's another week and I'm up bright and early to bring you the grande state of Georgia.

Georgia, I visited you once and you thoroughly reminded me of that old ladies house in Great Expectations. You struck me as once grand, once dignified, once a beacon of southern money -- but now eroded, blown, struck, toppled, and decayed into dust. Your plantation manors and civil war remnants are now their own special kind of beautiful -- though only relics of what once was, they offer a striking and vibrant example of the leftovers of industrialization. Today, Atlanta is one of Americas landmark cities -- ripe with culture, class, and Ludacris.

Georgia, you became a state in 1788. You are the nations number one producer of peanuts, peaches, and peacans. You can appreciate fried chicken, and in Gainesville you outlawed eating chicken with a fork. You have also given us such great things as Vidalia onions, the Masters golf tournament, Coca-Cola, the bloodiest battle in American history (Chickamuga), the worlds largest sculpture, Jimmy Carter, the first state university, Ray Charles, Ty Cobb, Lawrence Fishburne, Amy Grant, Oliver Hardy, Hulk Hogan, Doc Holliday, Martin Luther King, Jr, Gladys Night, Blind Willie McTell, Otis Redding, Burt Reynolds, Little Richard, Jackie Robinson, Ray Stevens, Clarence Thomas, Travis Tritt, and Trisha Yearwood. Oh yeah, and Outkast.

You've also got about eleventy billion songs about you. I decided to stop after I found 50 (ok, maybe only 49) good ones.

One more idea, kids: in the last post the comments section started overflowing with suggestions on songs that I missed for Florida -- that's ok -- that's good, actually -- but in addition to recomending me songs about Georgia in these comments (and no doubt, I missed a couple hundred good ones) lets use this space to recommend me songs I may overlook for my upcoming post on Hawaii.

Absolutely Brilliant: Toy Story vs Requiem for a Dream

2006-02-27T15:16:00.000-08:00

The 50 States: Delaware

2006-02-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

Let's keep this magical mystery tour jiving. Next stop is Delaware: shaped like a lima bean, I really don't know much about you. You have the appearance to outsiders of being a lonely, misplaced state -- but I'm sure if I cracked you open, you'd be full of love and rasberry flavored chocolates. You've yet to invite me over for blueberry pancakes, but if you were so inclined on some sunday monring (and expressed me some first-class tickets and a bottle of makers mark) I'd be there in a heartbeat.

Delaware, you were admitted to the union on a sunny day in 1787. You were a trailblazer when you were the first to ratify the US Constitution. You brought us such great things as The Methodist Church, log cabins, the automatic flour mill, nylon, Robert Bird, E.I. du Pont, Henry Heimlich, and Julius Johnson.

Delaware, even though are you small -- you still have songs written about you, and for that, I love you.

edit: Ok, I was busted. That David Dondero song is about Wilmington, NC. An anonymous commentor called me out, but maybe... just maybe kids, I make mistakes like this just to see if anyone is actually listening. Enjoy the Dondero track right now, and enjoy it again when we get to NC.

An Avantgarde Saturday: Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen

2006-02-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

"How comes a man by a name?" you ask, With a curiosity shallow. You wish for a simple anecdote, a trifle, an entertainment for you and your fellows. Very well. Have you seen a rock on a cruel headland? Where the winds and the tides ministrations make no allowance, nor follow any plan, yet conspire to expunge imperfection. Is a child in his crib, with his fat little limbs and his doting mother in attendance to be tested, and scarred, and beset as if he were a man in the prime of his strength and endurance? No. Names we have we are given at birth. Some look to genetics to tally their worth -- the offspring of magnates whose power and fame confers elevation and prestige all the same. But a man puts no stock in notriety unearned, the notions unworthy and so must be spurned.

So it was meant to be and so it went with me.

I packed up my pride and struck out on my own. I ran away to sea at the age of 11, in lowly estate you well could imagine. Serving the needs of a harsh and cruel captain -- enduring his scorn and cleaning out his cabin. He called me "his little papito." Ah we sailed the high seas and I grew into manhood, and I was impatient to stand where that man stood -- to be a ships captain, arrayed in my finery, but my plot was uncovered to suceed him by mutiny. I barely escaped with my life in a longboat to the west coast of Turkey, where I was captured by the wild Tsuleots who took me to be a gypsy. It was considered unlucky to kill a Gypsy. They camped along the beach, they danced along a blazing fire. They chided and taunted, and called me a liar when I told them I was a bitter-ships-captain, ill-used by fate and usurped by my crewmen. They drank all the while -- some vile spirit distilled from the berrys of the wretched grass which grew in abundance in the area. And the drunker they got, the more my story seemed to amuse them. So I joined with their band and we rode off to the mountains together. Many fine adventures we had, too.

Awww.. the Tsuleots, they loved me so well, they gave me a horse. I could not ride him, though -- and this added to their general amusement. They called me Muldavio. "Crazy, wild, gypsy who can't ride his horse well" is roughly how the translation went.

"How comes a man by a name?" you ask, the answer is more than you wanted -- and had better remain a mystery than remain so mundane and deflated. Do you think that you now have the measure of me? Is your orb cured by this revealation? Are you happy that romance and mystery have abandoned my bluff constitution? Well it seems you see less the more that you think you know. By the moon and the stars and the tides that flow, I will happily accept the name they bestowed, I'll stand on my pride and I'll reap what I saw. God's in his heaven and the devil below. Receive with your heart what the mind can not show.

I am the great Muldavio.

-- Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlmen.

As far as music goes, this is exactly the sort of thing that I wish I could find more of. The plucking of strings, bellows of accordian, and a wafting of clarinet brings out a unique sound -- something that more bands should concentrate on. Not to say that I want more avantgarde, old time, sea-farer tunes -- I just wish that our music scene had more breadth and depth. Today we have cookie-cutter indie rock, MTV marketed "underground" sounds and even the band names are only aspiring to a mediocre level of conformity. The sentence for most music: boredom. Then Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen slowly crawl onto my playlist -- the world changes. This is the sound of risk. The steam that comes from a boiling pot of tango, waltz, polka, and rock. This is where Andrew Bird comes from. This is where Tom Waits comes from. This is where I found Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen. I can only sit and imagine how fantastically engaging these boys must be live.

Something Special in Thao Nguyen

2006-02-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I do not know anything about this girl except that she has an absolutely adorable voice and pens some equally cute songs. She has a brand new cd out and I've been really enjoying it lately. I promise you could use some Thao Nguyen in your life. Trust me. Plus, her MySpace page describes her:

Somewhere someone said something along the lines of: if edie brickell and cat power had a baby, and you woke it up, and it was still sleepy, and you got it to sing.

(slightly) More Connecticut Goodness

2006-02-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

Well this mornings post was nearly as complete as a Connecticut music post can be. This afternoon though I was shaken by a LIGHTNING BOLT of ideas! That one song..... rarr arrrrr arrrrr..... nope, just another crappy aerosmith song.

Also, a comment worth replying to:

The Trick said...
I'm loving the tunes, but I doubt your research. I'm pretty sure PEZ was a European creation (Austria), i.e., not from Connecticut.

Well dear Tricky -- you are right, but I am not wrong. I said that Connecticut brings us such great things as PEZ, and in fact the US headquarters is in little ol' Orange, Connecticut. I appreciate you trying to keep me honest, however -- if I didn't have loyal readers like yourself I'd probably still be going on about that time I was kidnapped by Congolese rebels.

The 50 States - Connecticut

2006-02-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

Connecticut so curious a place are you. You remind me of the blue power ranger -- you are strong by yourself, but you are mighty when teamed up and in a MEGAZORD configuration! What would connecticut be without New York, New Jersey, and Massachusets? Why it would just be a little bity place where rich kids go to college and that I can never remember where to put it on the map. I will give one thing up to you -- you are one of the only states that refused to ratify the 18th amendment! SALUT!

Connecticut you pioneered statehood in 1788. You brought us such great things as the telephone book, the worlds first nuclear sub, cattle branding, the oldest US newspaper, the hamburger, polaroid camera, the helipcopter, color television, speed limits, lollipops, license plates, the WWF, silverware, PEZ, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, PT Barnum, Charles Goodyear, Nathan Hale, Katharine Hepburn, Annie Leibovitz, JP Morgan, and Noah Webster.

We love you, Connecticut. Now give us some more music with which to celebrate you!

The 50 States: Colorado

2006-02-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

Colorado was giving it's best to break my 50-states project. We were gaining so much momentum. I was riding a wave of success from the the pacific that swished directly over california and was headed for these red rocks. California was HERALDED! I don't know why I was having a difficult time with this Colorado character, but he was a huge pain in my ass. I like the state, I really do -- I just wish there was more than just a couple of good songs about it. Yes, there is a Pavement song called Colorado -- but it's nothing like what we want to feature in this here merry ole' business.

Colorado is on my destination list every year because of it's epic snowfalls. (Let's just ignore that I usually only layover there until I get to the real destination -- salt lake city.)

Colorado was made a state in 1876. It has given us such great things as the US Air Force Academy, Mike the Headless Chicken, the cheesburger, the Valentines city of Loveland, the rodeo, mountains, more microbreweries per capita than anywhere else, the highest suspension bridge in the world, 20 rivers, Jack Dempsey, Tim Allen, and my bitch of an ex girlfriend.

Merry Presidents Day

2006-02-19T22:18:00.000-08:00

Well I'm back with yet another half-assed holiday post (the holiday is half assed, not the post). When it comes to songs about Presidents it appears that we have limited choices -- hip-hop and songs of dissent. I more or less struck out on finding quality tracks that support our current president -- and it would be a hard task to accomplish. I recommend if you are looking for an endoresment of the current administration to try your local country radio station. In the meantime I'm going to post the lazy mans presidents day mix and ask that we all fondly think of our troops that have to spend yet another holiday away from their familys.

Also worth noting is the distinct abscence of Colorado in my 50-states post. Be patient -- I'm going to Chicago but when I return I will be back with some fresh love for Colorado!

Yes it is Ben Gibbard time.

2006-02-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

Oh come all ye search engine travelers. Despite my appearances, I'm really not whoring for your business -- unless you want to become everyday, repeat, respectful, appreciative, and attentive readers/listeners -- I could care less how many hits/listens I get per day. These are honest-to-goodness great tracks from a guy that I really respect. Even though I think Death Cab is caught in a tailspin, I still think Ben has what it takes to write songs that aren't layered in eighteen different kinds of cheese.

I've got bundles of solo, live, rare, accoustic, or otherwise odd Gibbard tracks. This is some sort of strange ep that I just found as a download -- some stuff I've never heard. So here's to you loyal listeners -- and to everyone else -- why not check me out tomorrow and see if you like something besides with what you are already familiar?

Listen to these beauts and see if you can imagine the swide to swide sway that Ben is doing while he strums that guitar. Listen to these and then use them to make super-awesome-mix-cds decorated with your sharpie poetry. Take it and try and meet girls from makeoutclub.com.

Video Post: The Presets

2006-02-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

This video from The Presets is amazing. It makes my eyes want to give up on life. It cures my bird flu.

Link

From the Hood. February.

2006-02-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

Up next is our second monthly feature on the music from the Twin Cities. Today we've got 3 artists on the standby Minneapolis label RhymeSayers Entertainment. There was a time when Minneapolis was known for lakes or cold weather or that stupid cherry on a spoon sculpture -- but these days, it's all about Rhymesayers. The Rhymesayers Record Shop (The Fifth Element) is a landmark in Uptown. The sounds of Atmosphere come pouring out of every cracked car window in South Minneapolis, and out in my suburban town all of the kids are slack jawed when I tell them of one of the numerous times I saw Slug battle someone else in front of about 8 people in a seedy St. Paul jazz club. Ok... enough rambling.... on to Brother Ali.....

To say that Brother Ali is my favorite albino rapper may not be accurate -- he just wins by default. He's also one of the nicest guys I've met in the local music scene. Every time I've run into him at some shitty bar, he's always incredibly gracious and receptive to compliments. But the voice this guy has -- holy hell -- at shows you know when he's picked up the mic. He gets a crowd going like no other hip-hop guy that I have ever seen. It's truly a natural talent. Couple that with some sick rhymes and he makes minneapolis mine.

The next three tracks come from Stuck on AM, an anthology of live Radio K performances. These are from the early days of Rhymesayers. And a beautiful Mason track for good measure.

Our last 2 artists break from the Rhymesayers mold. Some of the best Singer/Songwriter around -- Mike Gunther and Kid Dakota are both helping to put Minnesota on the map.

A Valentines Mix 06

2006-02-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Hey Lovers -- I'm sure most of you thought that I had gotten all of the Valentines day festivities out of me yesterday ... well .... you'd be wrong. Valentines Day brings some baggage. You could be of the hunted or the hunter, of unrequited temperment, of birds -- bees -- butterflies. You might be headed for departure, entanglement, sorrow, revenge, or just another roll in the hay. I'll be headed for the bar.

Valentines Day: Kristofer Astrom

2006-02-13T10:56:00.002-08:00

It was 1998 and a friend of mine gave me a badly dubbed cassette from Kristofer Astrom. He told me that the songs were beautiful and that Kristofer used to front a Swedish hardcore group. He told me that I could listen to the tape and then give it back. I think it might be the only tape that I still own, and for years I didn't even know what the album was called. I would occasionaly find it while cleaning my room or cleaning my car, and I'd pop it in and it would sound glorious. He takes the most basic and simple indie tunes and sprinkles them with some special sort of magic.

Sometime around 2002 I was able to track down a copy of this on cd. I purchased it, and it was every bit as good as I thought it would be. Who exactly this Kristofer Astrom is, I'm not sure. I am sure that he makes beautiful music and Valentines day seems really an appropriate time to post this music. Whatever your hearts status is this v-day, I think Kristofer has you covered.

Away for a few days

2006-02-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

Hey kids -- Just checking in today because I'm sure there are millions of raving fans that are wondering where todays post is. Well, Colorado is going to be more difficult than I anticipated, but on top of that I'm absolutely swamped between my jobs (fighting terrorism and snowboarding). Look for me on saturday when I return with plenty of awesome songs about colorado, and some fresh new music.

In the meantime go check out the new music from Grandaddy, or download the Infadels album and put it on repeat. Yes, it's that good.

Also -- hit up the comments section with whatever new music you are feeling, or whatever new music you JUST CAN'T WAIT TO DROP.

Word, lovers.

The 50 States: California

2006-02-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

So we continue our journey across the great 50. Today the rockin' arrives at California. Will we ever leave?

Oh California, you glutton for publicity. You bastian of public relations and sunshine. The golden rays always cast you in a favorable light. You are honey colored in perpetuem on every map ever made. Until you make that great swan dive into the pacific you will remain the west of which there is no wester. You are always the destination, never the departed. You can shake people, suffocate them, burn them, leave them in the dark, and yet you are still at the top of every kids wish list. In fact, out of every song ever written about you -- only Death Cab for Cutie wanted to get away from your evil clutches.

California was dubbed a state in September 1850. California gives us such great things as really big trees, turkeys, avocados, the Hollywood Bowl, The Walk of Fame, movies, porno, one out of every eight US residents, five-hundred-thousand earthquakes, raisons, grapes, wine, the most beautiful sunset ever witnessed, and the highest and lowest points in north america. Oh, and every major celebrity ever. Aaaaaand the coolest state moto: EUREKA!

No doubt about it, we love you California.

Michael Stipe Birthed You.

2006-02-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

This may seem like a strange supposition, but consider this: Michael Stipe did indeed birth you. He pushed his bald head back, opened his mouth, and out you crawled. It was sometime between 1987 and 1991. He had just signed to Warner Brothers, had recorded a few brilliant records, and you were in the back of your parents station wagon humming along to the melody. You grew older, stronger, and those songs were inside of your bones keeping them strong and spinning you like magnetic north towards better places. You're lucky that he found you or you may have never been.

Here are a few tracks recorded at Austin City Limits. The show was just last month and Michael Stipe came out for 2 songs with the headliner, Coldplay.

The 50-States: Arkansas

2006-02-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

Back here on this beautiful Monday for another edition of our tour of the 50-states. Our wagon of fun and folk-songs is picking up steam and dropping bombs all across the country. Today we'll be making a bee-line right through Arkansas so we can quickly get to whatever is on the other side.

My grandma is from Arkansas. She's between here and completely batshit insane at any given moment. She loves to tell me about her boyfriend named Bill Clinton, but if I bring up Hillary she'll just start crying and telling me how beautiful she used to be before she got evil. I just say, yeah whatever g-ma. Love yas.

Arkansas has given us more than just my crazy Grandma, however. After becoming a state in June of 1836, Arkansas has given us such great things as Wal-Mart, the national duck calling championships, General Doughlas MacArthur, Scott Joplin, Johnny Cash, and John Grisham.

We love you, Arkansas.

From: Portland, To: Elliott

2006-02-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

Elliott Smith is a tragedy that most of my readers should be familiar with. Like so many troubled musicians, Elliott just could no longer bear with the sadness that so deeply affected his music. His sadness was his muse, his sadness was his voice, his sadness was the way he layered his guitars. His drugs were his enemy. I only saw Smith but one time and it was in chicago in the year 2000. He was mumbling and not making much sense, playing every song at the same seemingly 120bpm, and stopping and starting songs in the middle when he forgot the words. It was still an amazing experience.

Portland based Expunged Records has arranged another tribute cd for him. It includes artists such as The Helio Sequence, The Decemberists, Dolorean, and The Thermals doing their renditions of Elliott tunes. The album is available for preorder and comes out next week.

The 50 States: Arizona

2006-02-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

My 50-States project is receiving MAJOR ACCOLADES. (read em and weep, losers.) The DEFINITIVE voice of the Champaign-Urbana music scene's praise is enough to spur us onward -- so we continue our tour of the great 50 with Arizona!

I've begruddgingly traveled a few times to the southwestern furnace dubbed Arizona. My last trip was in the summer of 1998 and I hiked up a mountain in something like 135 degree weather. I'm not sure that this state has any grass outside of golf courses, but they do have the grand canyon which is one of the most awesome things I have ever seen.

Arizona -- admitted to the union on Valentines Day, 1912 it has given us such great things as petrified wood, the second largest depository of retirees, a flippant disregard for daylight savings time, a billion canyons, seventy gazillion cactuses, London Bridge, the worlds largest solar telescope, Ceasar Chavez, Tombstone, The Apache Kid, Geronimo, Charles Mingus, Linda Ronstadt, and Kerri Strug (yup, her.)

We love you Arizona.

The 50 States: Alaska

2006-02-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

We continue our tour of the 50 with Alaska!

The grandest state of them all was admitted to the union in 1959, but the US actually purchased the land in 1867 for 2 cents per acre. If you were to overlay a map of alaska over a map of the US, you would find that Alaska can actually reach from east coast to west coast. It's frickin big, jack! The land was mostly considered worthless until gold was found in 1880 by Joe Juneau. This kicked off a massive Gold Rush and accounts for the reason why anyone at all lives there today. Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands in 1943 which began the 1000 mile war. This state has given us such things as oil, seafood, eskimos, dog mushing, bears, Jack London, and also that really crap dog movie with Cuba Gooding Jr.

Bearded Freaks from the Great Northeast: New Grandaddy Tracks

2006-02-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

Hey kiddos -- the news has been following me around like a stink for the past few days. Grandaddy is no more. The bearded army has disbanded and will offer up only one soon-to-come album. Apparently they were just sick of having to manipulate electronic devices and have all moved into tree houses and will be spending their retirement grooming each others beards. I will be spending my hiatus from their music trying to cram more beard related jokes and puns into every post about them.

I first heard of these guys in late 2000 when they opened for Elliot Smith in Chicago. As soon as that first video-gameish arpegio hit, my heart sank. They played with instruments wrapped in vines, Jasons voice cut like a honey soaked razor blade, and I went from heartbroken to hearthappy.

On this track when he sings, "Summer it's gone and I don't know / Where everyone went or where i'll go" it has this eerie little wind that blows and you know that by the time the birds are singing in the spring again we will be without any new Grandaddy. Shed one tear, kindly.

Yay for 2006: The Infadels

2006-02-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking -- two posts in one day, why.... "Rob you are so dreamy and irresistable. Your dedication and enthusiasm about this site is only exceeded by your superior wit and boyish good looks."

Oh yeah -- and this new album by The Infadels. It is my first 2006 release that is really making me go yeaaaaaaah. Every blog on the scene has been blowing up about the Arctic Monkeys. Yeah, their album is ok, but that is the worst name for a band ever. Name your band something cool like The Infadels and I will give you a listen. I will picture how good you probably are. I will salivate over your knob-twister and your bass players mushy fuzz pedal. Apparently on "Can't Get Enough" they are speaking about the raging Pretty Hate Machine synth mega-fuzz that backbones this song. Ok... I'm going to go back to cracking my nuckles and throwing things now.....

Try to keep your head from nodding when he says "And everywhere my pimp shoes go, I'm effectIVE, irrespecTIVE." This is such fun and great music. Big ups to the UK.

Go ahead and kiss her / You dont know what you're missing

2006-01-31T14:37:00.000-08:00

Belle and Sebastian have sat squarely in that place that they sit for ever. They are the band that was always well known, always embarassing to like, always completely in a league of their own. The production on their last 2 records has become exceedingly gorgeous. The songwriting has held up, the melodies still make ears melt, and yet it is still the music that you're going to listen to alone in your bedroom. You're not going to head out with the friends on an august night and turn it up in your mustang convertible -- you're just going to quietly enjoy it on your own time. If you ever meet a girl that has a belle and sebastian 45 on her wall -- you're going to pretend that you think that they're alright, and then you're going to quote one their songs. Admit, you can't not like these guys.

Their music is so unabashedly good that it can still overcome the embarassment that comes with liking them. You should really have their new album, and you really owe yourself to have a handful of the old ones as well.

From NEW Belle and Sebastian : The Life Pursuit:

Blog-o-rama!

2006-01-31T08:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a selection of interesting blog topics and tracks from the last few days. They tickle me in one place or another --

Songs: Illinois -- 3 Songs from a band I've never heard of, Pigeonbooth. I'm thin on info, but it's sweet lo-fi folk.
So Much Silence -- These guys must have bugged my room. I stumpled upon it earlier today and I was planning on doing both a blueprint post, and a halo-benders post. They beat me to the punch, and did it better than I'll ever be able to pull off. A tip' a the hat to ya, kids.
Killing Floor Blues -- If you're jonesing for old-time blues or soul, this guy knows more about it than you ever will. Holla'

One More Thing to check out this morning..... this is amazing!

2nd Day, 2nd Milestone

2006-01-31T08:10:00.000-08:00

Since Yesterdays BLOCKBUSTER day two other important things have happened. First of all I received my second, and third comment from people that I don't know. How this happened? Well, folks, you are just as baffled as I am. Of course my friends and family are number one, but I'll whore myself out for someone who can appreciate my music any day of the year. That's why BurningOak.com gets a plug here -- check it out if you're interested in the Champaign-Urbana music scene (?).

The second thing -- I got my first link. Mike Cable gave me some love over at his blues site, Killing Floor Blues. Check it out, he has some sweet oldtime blues

Johnny Horton Milestone!

2006-01-30T15:30:00.000-08:00

Today is an exciting post. Following up to my New Orleans thread I received my first comment by someone that I don't know. That means that my words are spreading. Some guy named Chaz Ringo suggested that I include The Battle of New Orleans in my post about that unluckiest of southern towns -- I did him 3 better (count em' one-two-three) and posted a handful of Johnny Horton songs. Keep up the good work, Chaz.

In Support of New Orleans

2006-01-30T14:44:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I've never been fortunate enough to travel to New Orleans. Given their current aquatic plight, it may not happen anytime soon -- the tragedy down there is hard for me to even get my head around. I like to think about what it must have been like to be there before the hurricanes. A place where you can get a drink 24 hours/day in a TO GO GLASS and then just walk around the street with 3 feet of booze in your hand. Oh yeah, and then you get to your happy place and there are naked girls, transexuals, and pickpockets everywhere. Sounds nice, yeah?

Bring the Awesomeness.

2006-01-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

So I just added a new feature -- every link for an mp3 file now has a little play button on it. This will actually PLAY the file -- you can listen without having to download everything.

There are a few other blogs with this feature, but obviously mine is the best.

Later, Kids!

Rockets and Nails in his Pockets.

2006-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

I wake up with bourbon breath and dust in my lungs. The record was doing the cah-tsk, cah-tsk, cah-tsk that it does when it hits the middle, skips, hits the label. I was sore. Tired. Dirty. I need to put more gravel underfoot. I start walking. The wind kicks up and I'm reminded of how much I dislike this place and these people. I need to head west, head south. I catch a train and sleep returns. I dream of the south and the way the wind smells in autumn. I dream of the tin-pan alleyways, bread with gravy, the taste of river-water, and the thumbprinted windows of my parents house. I remember August nights in those dim bars, talking to Maggie and drinking too much. The stage at the back of the bar and the way those skinny old timers would coax those strings into song.

The Back Porch Vipers are a band that I (and it seems like everyone else) found on the SXSW Sampler Collection. There's something like 500+ bands included and this is one of them that really stood out. Their first release, Light Up, is all songs from 1930s Harlem about marijuana. Vocalist Karen Abrahams has incredible range and pure molasses in her throat. They kick ass.

The Hackensaw Boys probably rose to such incredible fame after they played intermission sets during the 2002 Unlimited Sunshine tour. Sir Issac Brock liked them so much that the Hackensaws contributed heavily to both the Ugly Casanova record and Good News for People Who Like Bad News. They travel around the country in a huge old bus called the Dirty Bird. They perform and record with traditional bluegrass stylings and again -- a big fat helping of Kickass and Gravy.

Andrew Bird should need no introduction. He probably has more than one spot on my Top 10 best shows ever. This is some of the old-school Mr. Bird. His voice and lyrics make my stomach feel warm and full. MMMMMM GRAVY!

A Reason for Better Canvas

2006-01-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

My friend and I had an argument one time about stereo equipment. He likened those that care about speakers/headphones/amplifiers/precision sources to someone that can only appreciate paintings on the finest canvas. I conceded that it's not the most important thing in the world, but with the right music, a good set of Sennheiser Cans vs a set of computer speakers can be the difference between an interesting song and having the tune crawl up your spine and ram an icicle into your brain.

Sondre Lerche is this tiny man from Sweden. He's charming. He has excellent stage presence. A survery in Scientific Proof Magazine from 2001 resulted in everyone knowing that 9 out of 10 girls would trade a foot full of toes for the chance just too touch him. He stands on stage and talks very softly and hides behind an oversized Gibson hollowbody. Then he starts to play, then he starts to sing, and then the fainting begins. Oh yeah -- this kid has one of the coolest voices in indie-rock today.

The production on his albums is consistently amazing. Everything just sort of hangs off of his voice in the perfect way. His third album is coming out in a couple of weeks. Check it out, I'm sure it will be brilliant if the song in his new video is any indication.

The Tiny is a band that I stumbled upon because their picture was so interesting. On a good set of speakers, you can hear ever nuance of every instrument that these three can play. The voice is sort of a Beth Gibbons, Bjorkish sort of affair. Her phrasing and melody is among the best, and all of those beautiful sounds make me want to lay down in the sun and smile.

This Bird Has Flown

2006-01-25T10:35:00.000-08:00

These three tracks are from a new Beatles tribute album that came out a few months ago. I haven't seen any mention of this fantastic compilation on any of the other sites, and I'm beginning to wonder why. There is no debate that the Beatles set the template for modern music, of this I feel that everyone is sure. This comp has many of the new-school covering some of the most famous songs of the last decade. I can't imagine that any other comp that featured such current indie-staples as Fiery Furnaces, Low, Sufjan Stevens, Rhett Miller, Ted Leo, or Ben Kweller could be overlooked and/or forgotten.

Then again -- maybe I just wasn't paying attention. I was probably busy working on the new Outkast film.

If you're interested... the album has a website and you can preview all the tracks here....

Mash Ups.

2006-01-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

The Mashup -- Where does it stand in 2006? The DJs/producers are getting more and more talented by the day. They are blending previously unheard of sounds and making things appear out of seemingly thin air. The field is dominated by unheard of artists that wear ninja costumes, spin in the dark, and travel in black helicopters well below the RIAAs radar. How they can take two songs and frankenstein together an all new track is just mindblowing to me -- so I give you my mashup picks for today.

The Lovemakers – Shake That 50 Cent (50 Cent vs. The Lovemakers)

These are what mashups are all about. They take the 50-cent vocals and assemble it with the Lovemakers track into a single cohesive track. This is a great example because the fiddy verses and the Lovemakers chorus have a completely copacetic thing goin.

Loo and Placido - Black Beatles (Beatles vs. Black-Eyed Peas vs. Ludacris vs. Kelis)

This track takes the standard mashup recipe but adds a healthy dose of awesomeness. Whereas the other mashup producers are fairly content just looping some rock bars and shoehorning some hip-hop verses over them, Loo and Placido (http://www.looandplacido.com/) seamlessly fit all 4 artists in without making it sound contrived. These 2 are french remixers that are featured pretty regularly on euro MTV and end up on my playlist from time to time. I would certainly call this my favorite mashup ever.

DJ Muggs and DJ Warrior - Outkast vs Queen

This one also flips the mashup over. It takes the hip-hop track and layers the queen verse/chorus/verse over the top. This one doesn't sound as polished as the Loo and Placido, but I think it's still pretty cool. And that brings us to another example that I think does it even better --

Brat – Big Shot Pimpin' (Billy Joel vs. Jay-Z)

Billy Joels voice sounds fantastic. This mashup goes the more minimal route, but again layers the traditional rocker over the hip-hop beat. I think the Jay-Z track offers a fantastic starting point, but how this guy ever found a vocal only track of the Billy Joel record -- it amazes me.

Jimmi Jammes – Sgt. Pepper's Paradise (Beatles vs. Guns N' Roses)

This brings us full circle all the way to the only mashup that I'm aware of that is rock on rock. How this madman ever made the vocals sound like that is probably somewhere buried with Jimmy Hoffa. This track is straight up creepy, but I can't stop listening.

Distilled.

2006-01-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here's some blog posts from today that tickled my craw:

You Ain't no Picasso - Two Gallants : I read this blog everyday, and this band sounds really cool. They're from So-Cal but don't have that nonsense OC-itude.

MyExBestFriend - Wonderwall : This is a new blog, but coincidently they posted a BETTER version of Wonderwall today then I did yesterday. Still Ryan Adams, but it's like a real studio version where I posted some half-assed live bootleg. Touche.

So Much Silence - The Procussions : Cool hip-hop group that I've never heard of. Bounce, bounce.

M3 Online - The Elected : The other half of Rilo Kiley get ready to release an album, and it is a goodin.

The Covered Sound

2006-01-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

It's really pretty basic -- today I'm going to post some cover songs. If these songs are better than the originals or not is probably up for debate, but they are all beautfiul, and they all interest me in one way or another. I think that cover songs are probably on the way to being illegal which is why several of them exist only as live-versions by popular artists. Let's all hold hands and be friends, ok?

The Magic Numbers - Crazy in Love

So these guys have the audacity to do a Beyonce cover song. This could easily fall right into being a parody of a parody. Could they be trying to sway Beyonce fans to don some cardigans and sweater vests, pick up some black horn-rims and grow some shaggy hair, or do they just recognize that it's a song with some potential and that they could re-do it beautifully? I think that it's interesting that just the fact that it's a cover of an annoying hot-100 song means that it will be met with laughter and it will be assumed that it's just a stunt to generate a laugh. The reality is however, this song would nearly stand on it's own merits. The harmony and phrasing are as strong as the lyrics are thin.

Bright Eyes - Mushaboom (from the March 7, 2005 Black Session)

Everybody knows who Bright Eyes is these days. (Excuse my possibly incorrect verb tenses, please. thanks.) I'm pretty sure that everyone knows who Feist is. A young, talented songwriter covers a young, talented songwriters song. God is smiling.

Ryan Adams. Sigh. Oasis. Sigh. This looks like just the opposite of the Bright Eyes/Feist union. This looks like annoying, cocky songwriter, covers annoying, cocky rock-stars. Except that all is not as expected in who-ville. Something works -- something parts the dark clouds and shines through -- Ryan Adams voice and instinct suddenly pull him out of the tail-spin and for these five or six minutes he glides again. He played this song so well and with so much heart that those silly Gallaghers actually credit him with playing it correctly. Rumor has it that the lads were so impressed that when they play this song now they claim that they are covering Ryan Adams cover of their song. Oh -- and that song "Brown Sugar" -- well, it just kicks ass.

The Shins - We Will Become Silhouttes

This one is easy enough. I don't think I need to explain anything except that The Shins can cover The Postal Service every bit as well as Sam Beam can.

My favorite singer/songwriter offers up two good covers from famous american songwriters. "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Leonard Cohen and "Tell Me Why" by Neil Young. Will this blog ever get sick of posting Hayden tracks? Probably not. If that's a problem than you can just go elsewhere.

These Boots Were Made for Rocking

2006-01-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Also swiped by those nayer-do-gooders the Congolese was my collection of bootlegs that I myself recorded. From time to time as I slay the dragons and recover these collections, I will feature certain tracks.

Sigur Ros -Live in Minneapolis 9.28.2001 - Track 8

Here is a particularly fugged up track. The sound quality is actually incredible good since I didn't have anywhere near good equipment. I had an AudioTechnia 822a with a cheap-ass Sony MD with auto-leveling. It still sounds good. How the Congolese managed to corrupt it into a cruddy 80kbps Mp3 -- I'll never know the extents of their depravity. This was also the last track I was able to record because my MiniDisc technology ran out of space -- hence the sweet fade-out at the end. It was near the end of the show, but it's really the first 10 minutes or so of this track that make me go wheeee.

On The Rebound from the Underground - Pt. 1

2006-01-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

Here's a story. My computer hard drive was stolen by Congolese rebels about a year ago. For some reason they suspected that I had the diplomatic ties to encourage the US increase it's Coltan consumption. I briefly visited the Democratic Nation (hah!) and attempted to retrieve my harddrive but was met with significant resistance. They wiped my entire music collection from it and the drive was never seen again. Luckily, I had backed up some of the music some time earlier on another hard drive. For strictly logistical reasons I can only recover one iPod Nano worth of music at a time.

This feature is going to be me showcasing some odd, rare, interesting, or just regular tracks that I encounter on my mission.

Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire - Candy Shop

Before Andrew Bird was at the top of every indie-kids iTunes Playlist, he was just a skinny kid from Chicago that liked to play a violin. Ok -- I guess he's still just a skinny kid from chi playing violin, but he plays it differently now. I saw him play with Squirrel Nut Zipper some-teen years ago and he blew me away. He released 3 cds with his band, The Bowl of Fire, and each one of them was lightyears away from the previous. This is from the second of these releases -- Oh! The Grandeur -- and really showcases all of his substantial talents. Me loves me some Andrew Bird.

All Time Quarterback - Untitled

All Time Quarterback was Ben Gibbards solo experiment. I don't know if the guy just wasn't content cranking out album after album of sappy love music, but Death Cab for Cutie must not have been providing him enough exposure back in 1999. This song comes from a 5-song ST EP that he released on Elsinor Records. It's Lo-Fi, it's catchy, and it's the reason Ben Gibbard is now an indie household name.

Anomaly - Snuggle (ft Slug)

Anomaly is a dark hip-hop DJ and produces some really black tracks. I can't find very much info on him from the internet, but if I recall I picked up this EP in late 1999/early 2000. The EP featured some really killer production, and cameo tracks by Slug, Eyedea, Abilities, Swift, and Los Nativos. That was pretty much the Rhymesayers Lineup in those days, but I don't recall Anomaly doing much else than this. I'd love to know what name he is working under these days because, as showcased on this track, he really can ride that foundation. Bonus -- his EP artwork was created by a guy that I have a slight obsession with -- Mr. Aaron Horkey (yes, those are hand drawn, kids. Aaron doesn't know how to use a computer.)

Awkward Silence - Blind

This was my friends band in 10th grade. If you listen to the track try to make it all the way through, because I just listened to it yesterday and it still blows me away. This kid is 16 at the time, plays the guitar like he has 11 fingers, layered his voice into his own gospel-ish choir, tells a biblical story that is sort of neat, and still manages to feature his tourettes during the bridge. Incredible, yes?

From the Hood. January.

2006-01-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

So I'm going to try my best and make this a monthly feature. The twin cities is more than just corn-fed girls and too many lakes -- we've got a kicken' music scene, jack. Ever since those first settlers mistook this place for whatever they were looking for, we've been plucking strings and taking names and penning songs about freezing weather. Here are a few local bands that warm me up on these January nights.

Duplomacy - Coppertone

I don't know where Duplomacy came from, but I know that I like them. I saw them a few times over at Big V's and once at the Turf, and they always deliver. Their soft-stated indie-bars are well-written and infectious, and they regularly appear wearing the requisite hooded sweatshirts. Plus, "Coppertone" is a cool title for a song.

The Hold Steady - Stevie Nix

If "The Hold Steady" sound familiar it's because they probably are. Lifter Puller was a minnesota staple for around a decade and then lead-man Craig Finn up and moved to NYC to either follow his habit, or seek fame and fortune. Their new record Seperation Sunday cuts deep and the writing is incredible. It's steeped in this drug-addict-reborn-jesus-freak vibe, but I'm not smart enough to figure out what that means. Most people get turned off that the guy can't really sing or do anything but sort of shout brilliant lyrics. I can't think of another current band that prints all the delicious words on their website and in the liner notes, but that is really what these songs are all about.

Beau Kinstler - Naivete

So Mr. Kinstler is sort of a mystery to me. I've been following his music for about a year, but I have yet to hear his LP or see him live. I've got a few scratchy mp3s of unknown origins, but I like his song-writing, like his voice, and would love to see his Monthly slot at the 400 bar.

Chris Koza - South South Dakota

Chris Koza is a recent NYC transplant. Rumor has it that he heard me say that the Minnesoa scene was about to break, and he hopped a Sun Country jet. He's got a weekly gig somewhere in NE and seems to have positivity flowing in his direction. Enjoy.

The Olympic Hopefuls - Drain the Sea

So this band is no longer known as the Olympic Hopefuls -- they were sued by the Olympics and now they are just "The Hopefuls". They still perform in warm-up track suits, and they still play fun indie-pop. Kid Dakota and John Hermanson bring something for everyone. This is a silly, fun, I-like-you-song.

Page France

2006-01-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

Here is one for the jesus freak in all of us. A shameless plug for the Guy. Page France is one of the only bands that I discovered in 2005 that will probably not be weeded out of my record collection by the time 2007 hits. I found them on Said The Gramaphone and they introduced them with this -- no possible way could I introduce them any better.

If someone were to ask me what kind of music I like, it would probably make a lot of sense to just say "THIS". I suspect that songwriter Michael Nau has precisely the same dreams as me. It's the only explanation for how his songs jolt straight to my brain's gladcentres. Last night he will have dreamed of a strange house with blue walls, where he lived with his parents, only they're not his parents. Who are they? Are they the parents from Buffalo 66? Maybe. And then the night before that he dreamt of math equations. And before that he dreamed of the brilliance of rising vocal lines and sudden thumps, glockenspiel and the harmonies that make one's spine Spring-tingle.

Page France - Jesus

File under Toxic Covers.

2006-01-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

I have a secret. Shhh! No no.... not that.... my secret is that I like Britney Spears. I don't think she's especially good looking, she surely isn't talented, and now that she's got a lil' fella hanging about she's lost all of the appeal she ever had. I'm an oldschooler though, and I wouldn't kick Brit circa 2001-2002 out of my bed for eating crackers. There are only a few things better than her song "Toxic" -- one of them is the video for the song, and one of them is a well-done cover of it. I guess it's not a secret anymore.

Nickel Creek - Toxic

Welcome.

2006-01-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

Hey kids. This is Rob and I now have a blog. I don't have enough exciting things happening to me to really warrant having one of these things, but I'll try to pepper it with lies every now and again just to maintain any sort of interest that you might have.

I really just want to help you learn to like better music. I just got some new headphones and this will be a good excuse for me to more closely listen to music and filter it for you fair people. So for the names sake, we'll start with something obvious:

Hayden - Trees Lounge

My love affair with Hayden began on a December night in 1986. The furnace was broken. The windows leaked cool air so we filled the bathtub with warm water and submerged our apendages because we were worried that fingers/toes would start dropping off. The railroad cars hummed a Hayden song as they sped by in the dark.

The song "Trees Lounge" is from the OST for Booty Call 3. Ok. That's the joke that Hayden would make if you saw him play it live. It would be funny if he did it. It's really from the OST for "Trees Lounge" that was written/directed/starred in by Steve Buscemi. Awesome!