The Best Thing Ever...

Conor Oberst,

M. Ward,

& Jim James of My Morning Jacket

are all coming together to make

A SUPERGROUP ALBUM PRODUCED BY MIKE MOGIS CALLED

"M O N S T E R S O F F O L K",

aaaaaaaaaaaand

Now you can download

their 1st single,

"Say Please",

HERE!

Read, Kindly Light...

FREAKY-DEAKY MUPPET DISCO!

Sorry, folks, for the obvious lack of postage. I've been tryin' to be more "responsible" this last week, tryin' to get one of those coveted "J-O-B's" or whatever. But you know me: I always put responsibility on the back-burner for crazy muppet musical numbers.





Read, Kindly Light...

"there's a green one & a pink one & a blue one & a yellow one..."

"...and they're all made out of ticky tacky, and they all look just the same."

Recognize those lyrics? That's the last four lines of the first stanza of Melvina Reynolds' ironically cheerful ditty, "Little Boxes," which was made famous as the theme of my new favorite TV show, Weeds. However, that odd, quirky, dark soccer-mom-drug-dealer dramedy deserves a whole 'nother post -- a whole score of other posts, in fact. As you may have already guessed by now, we're just concerned with the Weeds theme song today. You see, one of the many brilliant little details of the show is that during its 2nd and 3rd seasons, each episode began with a different cover of Melvina's "Little Boxes." It is truly an addictive song, a fun and simple melody with catchy lyrics, the kind that get stick in your head forever...but in a good way. Anywhoo, below are a dozen or so of the afore-mentioned covers from some spectacular artists, including Elvis Costello, Regina Spektor, The Shins, Jenny Lewis, Johnathan Rice, and the Decemberists. My only regret is that Zooey hasn't done one as She & Him, seeing as she was the special guest star of 3 or 4 episodes.


Melvina Reynolds - Little Boxes

The original - a happy-go-lucky little tune about cookie-cutter suburban houses (i.e. ticky-tacky little boxes) and the frighteningly happy & squeaky-clean WASP clones that inhabit them. It makes you want to whistle while you work.


Pete Seeger - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

Pete was a good friend of Melvina Reynolds, who at one point said that he played "Little Boxes" so well that most people thought he was the original composer. Listen to all the goofy laughter of his audience in the background.


Roger Scime - Little Boxes (soooooorta loosely covering Melvina Reynolds)

It's obvious that Robert's uh...expanding upon Melvina's song (more like putting a little of his spin to it). I do love the bit about "The Wal-Mart & the Wal-Mart & the Sam's Club & the Wal-mart" and the rent-a-cops. Tarnation, is this not the most whistlable tune ever?


Elvis Costello - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

It's Elvis Costello. Need I say more?


Regina Spektor - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

I love this here piano gal and her rendition of "Little Boxes." It doesn't get much more melodic than this.


Christopher O'Riley - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

Speakin'a pianos, here's the only instrumental version of "Little Boxes" on the list. I was unable to get the string orchestra version, which is of course lovely as well.


The Shins - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

I like the Shins a lot. [sarcasm]I know, I'm original. No one else likes them. That's why I like them so much. No one has ever heard of, much less liked, the Shins. This is a good cover by this young upstart band, a relative unknown.[/sarcasm]


Jenny Lewis & Johnathan Rice - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

I keep tellin' my friends we should play "Six Degrees of Conor Oberst" as he is the indie music equivalent of Kevin Bacon. I first listened to Bright Eyes 4 years ago, and through a love of him, all his collaborators, and their gorgeously unique work, I began seeking out the music of Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley, The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie, M. Ward, Neva Dinova, Maria Taylor, Johnathan Rice, She & Him, etc., etc, etc. So, Conor Oberst is connected to Melvina Reynolds, Elvis Costello, yadda, yadda, blah, blah, blah. Okay, I'm done.


Linkin Park - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

One tiny shiny bit of poppy goodness. Not a big fan of Linkin Park, but they do a great cover here.


As The Crow Flies - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

Right now, I am in heaven. That is all.


Nara Leão - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

A cover from the only Brazilian singer on the list, and coincidentally, it happens to be in Brazilianese. A beautiful, beautiful version, to be sure. I love hearing "ticky tacky" surrounded by a bunch of exotic-sounding foreign words.


The Decemberists - Little Boxes (covering Melvina Reynolds)

Well, my friends, I have saved the best for last. I mean, my absolute favorite band here in Fort Worth is The Theater Fire, and TTF is basically The Decemberists with a heaping dose of old-school country and a dash of mariachi added to their big group dark folk. This, my friends, is the best cover on the list, the best version of "Little Boxes" aside from the original. Hands down. And here's why, in Chris Funk's own words:

we thought it would be appropriate to have the chord progression shift to a minor key, suggesting a bit of tension and more directly, a darker tone. The song really isn’t that cheery when you dig a little deeper and get past that sweet voice and melody, in reality quite depressing…ah life.

True dat, true dat.

(Hit the jump for the full set of lyrics and one scandalous promo photo of Mary Louise-Parker [the show's star]).


Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.


Read, Kindly Light...

Black Cab Sessions - Cabbies Never Had It So Good

A few days ago I was catching up on a bunch of the music blogs I follow on Google reader, and one of them mentioned some band or another being featured on some website called the "Black Cab Sessions." I was intrigued, so I checked it out. And wow. Just wow. This site is the best little slice of indie pie since Daytrotter, and that, my friends, is saying something, something serious. When I first happened upon the the site, I spent a good hour just cramming and cramming as much musical goodness as I could handle in one sitting. And now I keep coming back for more.

So, what are the Black Cab Sessions? Well, in their own words:

"THE SESSIONS ARE ALL ABOUT GREAT MUSIC AND THE VENUE STRIPS THIS TO ITS ESSENCE."

What, then is this great venue? Why, the back seat of a little black cab, of course! What these people do is this: they get in touch with some of the best (and I mean the best) up-and-coming indie bands and catch them just before or after they play a gig. Then they share a cab ride to wherever the bands are headed, and along the way they record the artists as they play a one-song one-take stripped-down acoustic session. I am always in favor of 'stripping down' a set. I figure if a song is really good, then the live acoustic version will probably be even better. That's the Black Cab Sessions' above-mentioned philosophy: stripping a song down to its bare and beautiful essence. And let me tell you, they have be-a-utiful songs to start out with. I mean, Fleet Foxes, Peter and the Wolf, Death Cab For Cutie, Bon Iver, Dawn Landes, Calexico, Daniel Johnston, Spoon, My Morning Jacket, The New Pornographers, Damien Jurado, Doves -- these are just a few of the amazing artists with whom they've shared a taxi. Hell, it almost makes me wanna become a taxi driver just for the off chance that I might get the opportunity to see some of these guys perform some of their best material just a foot away from me. In fact, it makes me go "Oo0o00oOOooO0Oo00OoOoh!"

Long story kinda short, you should go there. Nowish. In fact, you should go RIIIIGHT NOW.

Read, Kindly Light...

"Yooouuutuuube" -- another solid choice in addicting time-wasters

"Yooouuutuuube" sounds like something Craig Ferguson would say during his opening monologue (accompanied of course by Salvadore Dali's crazy portrait and obligatory "OOooOooOOOooh!" noise), but it is in fact a real website, albeit a strange, psychedelic sort of website that defies most descriptions.

If you follow the first link, you will be asked to enter a youtube video URL or a youtube word search. You can also simply click for a random video. Then you choose what height and width you'd like to see the videos in, and choose the "shuffle" effect or the "spiral" or neither. Then just click the big ol' "DO THIS" button at the bottom, and you're done. What happens now? Well, now yooouuutuuube turns the video or videos you've chosen into a quirky, fascinating, and often stunning collage of stop-motion footage. It doesn't work well with every single youtube video, but given the right kind of video and the proper parameters, and yooouuutuuube can produce something truly beautiful. It's the kind of thing that makes a straight arrow like me see the appeal of certain eh...... "pharmaceuticals."

To demonstrate this, here are the links to a few new yooouuutuuube videos created by Yours Truly:


---------->
"All Souled Out" - Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band


---------->
"Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" - She & Him


---------->
"Summer Grof" - The Spinto Band


---------->
"Pork and Beans" - Weezer


If you make any compositions of your own, please post the links in the comments. "I want to see your skills of an artist!"
Read, Kindly Light...

The Spinto Band at Futureappletree Studio 1

It's been forever and a day since I did a Daytrotter session! But fret not, dear readers. That's what I'm here to do.

[T]here’s young and out-of-control puppy love, there’s serious-found-the-one love, there’s adoration for the tickly impulse that happens when a familiar song makes you want to sing louder than an airplane, there’s splitting a six-pack, there’s all-night drives, and there is a wealth of good times arranged for all to have inside of every Spinto song. ---Sean Moeller, founder of Daytrotter

I had heard a couple of songs from The Spinto Band floating around the internet, and yeah, at the time I thought they were OK, but nothing special. Their latest session at Daytrotter destroyed that false impression completely. If I had to describe their music in one phrase, it would probably be something like "Electroshock Molasses!" or maybe even "Coked up cotton candy Energizer Bunny." Confused? So am I. But let me explain myself. The Spinto Band's songs are catchy and sweet -- hooky even, but make no mistake: they are hardly "sugar and spice and everything nice." No, there's more than a bit of a bite to their music, a raw intensity and a surprising maturity that belies the poppy exterior of their songs. I'll definitely be looking for more of their music. How could you not like a band that throws together an oddly addicting medley of "Give Me Just A Little More Time" by the Chairmen of the Board, "The Boys Are Back In Town" by Thin Lizzy, and "The Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani? I find that to be quite a feat, maybe even a feat-and-a-half. And I dare you not to join in with their frantic and ecstatic "La la la's!" on 'Pumpkins and Paisley'. Just try not singing along. Try it!


"LAlalalalalalaLAlalalalaLAlalalaLALALALA!"

The Spinto Band - Welcome to Daytrotter
The Spinto Band's encore Daytrotter session
The Spinto Band - Give Me Just a Little More Time / The Sweet Escape / The Boys Are Back In Town
The Spinto Band - Later On
The Spinto Band - Pumpkins and Parsley
The Spinto Band - Summer Grof
Read, Kindly Light...

Sunday Already?

Since half of everything good on this site is something I have stolen from better bloggers like Whitney Matheson, I thought, "Hey! Why not steal more?" So here's my version of Whitney's "my week In Pop" review:

------>

Best TV show I saw:
Burn Notice, which is perhaps the most entertaining show on television, and the season finale ("Lesser Evil") was no exception. Season 2 definitely went out with a bang, a looot of bangs. If you haven't yet seen any of this hilarious and addicting spy dramedy, I urge you to rent Season 1; it'll be the best 5 bucks you spend this week.
I also enjoyed: Life -- it's always funny, surreal, and suspenseful. This episode ("Hit Me Baby") was particularly good and Zen-y. Dollhouse -- it took me a few episodes to get into it, but Joss Whedon never fails to hook you. His new series is thankfully getting better and better. Speaking of Joss (and shaky starts and becoming better and better), I've also been catching up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am in Season 3 and am now quite obsessed, as my friends and family can well attest.

Best movie I saw: Sadly, I only saw one movie this week, so Watchmen is the best (and the WORST) by default...
Best album I heard: It's pretty much a toss-up between Matter and Light, the new album by my favorite local band (a colossus of weird folk, bluegrass, and alternative country), The Theater Fire, and Blood Bank, the new EP by singer/songwriter indie-sensation, Bon Iver. I'll hopefully jot down a little album review on each of these shortly.
I'm also listening to: Alela Diane's two albums, The Pirate Gospel and To Be Still, as well as lots and lots and lots and LOTS of Daytrotter sessions -- too many to count, in fact.

Best book I read: Um...prob'ly Moby Dick, which, while I hope it isn't really "The Great American Novel", is damn good. Thanks, Dr. Shank, for helping us wade through it.
I'm also reading: Slayer Slang - a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon, by Michael Adams, and I am only half as ashamed as I should be for reading that. But hey, go easy on me; it was a gift!

Ok. There be my list. So what's on yours?
Read, Kindly Light...

Ron Sexmith at Futureappletree Studio 1

Ok, I need to get something off my chest: I have not been faithful in providing a Daytrotter session a day. In point of fact, I've been quite feckless. Now, I figure, I could certainly cover a Daytrotter session whenever I want. So, from now on, I'm reducing the Daytrotter sessions to a minumum of whenever I feel it. So there.

Now, on to Ron Sexmith:

Ron Sexsmith is an inexplicably sweet force of nature. [...] Sexsmith, with his economical and slightly warbling crooner’s voice, is able to mine many of the beautiful sights and sounds of a stroll through the park or a picnic by the lake for the kinds of universal dialogue that he’s still able to process from pure cane into an edible sugar or salt from the veins into the table salt that goes on our mashed potatoes. He dresses these very tender, everyday moments into timeless thoughts that feel like wispy cloud systems emblazoned across an otherwise clear blue sky.
---Sean Moeller, founder of Daytrotter

It would not be very fair to Sean if all I did in these posts was rip off his writing and links, so that means I should probably say a few words of my own on the artist. Ron Sexmith has a smooth, lush voice, ripe with strains of joy and sorrow that have been folded over one another over and over again, ever shifting, up and down, up and down, a perfect medium of conveying life's many ups and downs. As with all the artists I have featured thus far on this site, Ron is a singer who writes simple but evocative songs. He stopped in at Futureappletree Studio Number One to record four songs from his latest album "Exit Strategy Of The Soul" ( a grrrreat name, by the way). My favorites from the session are "Impossible World", in which he croons and serenades us into thinking that perhaps this life isn't quite so bad as we imagined, and the song "Chased By Love", in which he sings these child-like lyrics: '...Who from way back when, / I'm the same boy that you knew then. / I just want to be chased by love, / Embraced by love, / Just like you."


Ron Sexmith's Daytrotter Session

Ron Sexsmith - Welcome to Daytrotter
Ron Sexmith - Impossible World
Ron Sexsmith - One Last Round
Ron Sexmith - Chased By Love
Ron Sexsmith - Poor Hopeless Dreams
Read, Kindly Light...

Evening Buzz: Zooey Deschanel and Burger Beds and Dresses

Ingrid Bergman wants you to join her in lighting up the collective pop culture cigarette. Here is your Evening Buzzzz!


!!BUZZ!!
Well, first off, Fox has picked up the remaining Narnia movies since Disney copped out. I'm glad C.S. Lewis's books are being adapted to film and not TV, 'cause we all know how Fox treats its best shows (*cough* Arrested Development *cough*cough*).

!!BUZZ!!
Are you a big fan of He-Man? Yeah, I'm not gay either. But apparently Warner Brothers, Joel Silver, and John Stevenson are teaming up to remake "Masters of the Universe". Actually, I suppose it's not bad timing, as Skeletor is being nominated for an Oscar this year.

!!BUZZ!!
You should watch the trailer for "500 Days of Summer", an indie film starring Joseph Gordan Leavitt and Zooey Deschanel. I liked Leavitt a lot in "Brick", and I'm straight-up in love with Zooey Deschanel. I've loved her ever since her bit in "Elf", and she's just wowed me more and more in each new flick (not to mention her musical work with the brilliant M. Ward, especially her band She & Him!). Apparently, 500 Days of Summer has blown everyone away at Sundance. Yay!

!!BUZZ!!
Here's some more good news: Neil Jordan is gonna direct a live-action movie adaption of Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book" (a ghostly retelling of The Jungle Book). I have to say, Neil Gaiman is winning me over; I'm coming around to his Sandman comic books, Coraline is shaping up to be really good, and now this.

!!BUZZ!!
Amy Poehler's new government sitcom finally has a name -- "Public Service". This will be one to watch; besides the presence of the ever-funny Poehler, it's from the creators of the Office, and will also feature Aziz Ansari and Rashida Jones (of Office fame). Public Service airs in April.

UPDATE: It's called "Parks and Recreations", and the pilot was BAD. Here's hoping the show gets a looooooot better.

!!BUZZ!!
And finally, here is a fun, provocative, and even -- dare I say it? -- yuuummmyy dress. Hint: It's a HAMBURGER dress. This is the best thing to happen to hamburger-themed non-hamburger products since The Hamburger Bed!
Read, Kindly Light...

Can you write 10 songs in 4 weeks???

I'm gonna try.

The RPM challenge

UPDATE: Whoops. Well, *I* failed. How 'bout you?
Read, Kindly Light...

Ben Taylor at Futureappletree Studio 1

Ben Taylor gives off some of the same vibrations that his father started giving off back in the late 60s and early seventies – there’s no avoiding that in his voice – but he lends more of the sea salt laze that must make up the other percentage of people calling the Vineyard home that wasn’t already accounted for by water. It’s a committed, but lackadaisical flair for being able to keep things in perspective and to keep the blood pressure at all-time lows. Here he sings about America, a country that he grew up seeing from one angle and has since discovered in all its warts, shadiness and overriding splendor on his own, in a way that Simon & Garfunkel sang about it, while adding to the description (mostly a love in spite of the black eyes and sour reports) a carefree tonality that’s vaguely of a reggae feel, where the drinks are helping.
---Sean Moeller, founder of Daytrotter

Welcome back, dear readers. Today's Daily Dose of Daytrotter gives us Ben Taylor, who certainly has music in his blood, as he is the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon. His voice sounds a lot like his dad's; to compare his music to to that of other contemporary artists, I think Ben's sounds like Jack Johnson and Ben Harper finally had a baby after touring so long together, and that baby grew up loving James Taylor and Carly Simon and so he changed his name to Ben Taylor....I understand if you didn't follow that; neither did I. The important thing to understand is that Ben Taylor makes amazing music, and if that's not enough, he writes great lyrics to boot. Any guy who makes an album called "The Legend of Kung Folk, Pt. 1: the Biting Kiss" is a guy I want to listen to. "Kung Folk" is the coolest silly album phrase I've heard in a while. Ben crafts fun and meaningful songs that stand up to the acid test of constant (and I mean constant) loop replays. He can even keep you very entertained just by telling a hilarious anecdote, or reading a short poem (a surprisingly good poem!).

My favorites from his Daytrotter session are "Wrong", "Turn On The Lights", and "Wicked Way", though "America", "After It's Over It's Over", and his untitled "Poem" are all great too.


Ben Taylor's Daytrotter Session
Ben Taylor - Turn on the Lights
Ben Taylor - Wrong
Ben Taylor - Wicked Way
Ben Taylor - America
Ben Taylor - After It's Over It's Over
Ben Taylor - Poem

Buh-bye. As always, happy sounds.
Read, Kindly Light...

from the Local Corner

-locallocallocal-
HERE is a very interesting article on Fort Worth's music scene--its past, present, and future.

-locallocallocal-
Apparently there's such a thing as "Radio Shack de Mexico". And now we OWN IT. *Devilish laugh, followed by awkward cough*

-locallocallocal-
Well, I've only eaten there a few times, but it was a pretty fun place while it lasted. The Downtown La Madeleine is closing for good.

-locallocallocal-
Six Flags will soon be serving booze, unless TABC does something TABC-ish. I swear, those guys are d**ks. (note: I only called them "docks". Really.)

-locallocallocal-
Some Fort Worth artist got some reward or other. His stuff's not half bad, considering how modern it is.

-locallocallocal-
Finally, here's an amazing gallery of local artsy photos. Here are my favorites:





...and this one just blew me away.



Til next time...you stay classy, Fort Worth!
Read, Kindly Light...

Early Morning Buzz: Gran Torino, Flight of the Conchords, and DAY MAN!

Clark Gable getting a buzz. Am I classy, or am I classy?

!!BUZZ!!
I Watch Stuff has the latest box office results. It is kind of amazing that 'Gran Torino' won over films like 'Bride Wars' and 'Marley & Me'. Maybe audiences have finally discovered the indescribable beauty that is Clint Eastwood singing.

!!BUZZ!!
Speaking of singing (and jokes), the AV Club has just had an exclusive interview with Brett and Jermaine of Flight of the Conchords fame. They're discussing Season 2 of their hit show, and pretty much just how amazingly awesome they always are.

!!BUZZ!!
Speaking of amazingly awesome (and funny songs), here is a youtube video of an Of Montreal concert in which the band covers "Day Man" from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia! Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good has the original MP3s as well as Of Montreal's live cover.

(this made my day)


!!BUZZ!!
And finally, speaking of music videos (and Music For Kids Who Don't Read Good), Music For Ants also has a great list of "the top Music Videos of 2008". Some are cool, some are funny, and most are weird.


Alright. That's it. Thanks for choosing Cowtown & Coolage, the finest in pop culture tobacco.
Read, Kindly Light...

Fleet Foxes at Futurappletree Studio 1

You might already be gone, to where they’ll take you. It’s not about the if, it’s about the when of it all. Just take it all in and appreciate the things that Robin Pecknold can show you with his choir of accomplices. It’s nothing short of breathtaking for those who make music the way that Fleet Foxes make it are not guided by anything other than invisible hands, attached to the longest arms imaginable, which connect to the ground at some point, but that junction and those directions are completely mysterious. They cannot be traced back to any known heart and that just adds more to the sensational dizziness.
---Sean Moeller, founder of Daytrotter

I'll come right out and say it: I swear I had heard Fleet Foxes and enjoyed them long before they started turning up near the top on every dang hip blogger's "Best Of 2008" list. I had even written the opening of a new screenplay to one of their songs. I swear! Thus I must confess, this little post is not merely for your reading/listening pleasure; I do have something of a hidden agenda. I am establishing the fact that I love the Fleet Foxes' debut album right here and right now (before there is, say, a prominent iPod commercial featuring their song 'White Winter Hymnal').

Now that all of that is out of the way, you should listen to this band's music immediately. I won't bother describing what it sounds like; there are two dozen beautiful descriptions from bloggers far more talented than I. The best description was from a certain infamously harsh online reviewer, who referred to their sound (derogatorily!) as "The Shins doing covers of 'O Brother! Where Art Thou?' songs." That just made me love them more.



Fleet Foxes: Free Music From Daytrotter
Fleet Foxes - Drops In The River
Fleet Foxes - Sun It Rises
Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant
Read, Kindly Light...

Matt Cliff: "YOU CAN DANCE!"

These were the words he shouted in the middle of one of the first guitar solos last night. This was the rallying cry that would be raised again and again.

Sadly I can't---dance, that is.

But if I could, Matt, I promise I would've absolutely danced the pants off of everybody else. Instead, last night I was the awkward guy standing in the middle with everybody and nobody, smoking, then sitting in the dead center of the room, right on the floor, smoking (even more awkwardly). But even so I still salute the fact that you gave all of us awkward indie music-goers the go-ahead, the freedom, the--I dare say--carte blanche, to dance. It might not sound all that important, but it is.


A little background info: I went to see Matt Cliff and Friends play at the Aardvark last night. They were supposed to play the 11:00 slot, but they arrived to find out they were headlining at midnight, which is lucky, because I only got there around 11:59. Man am I glad I didn't miss them.

Whenever you go to any show, the knee-jerk reaction of "I gotta look cool, gotta look cool; I can't look lame for these perfect strangers!!!" inevitably kicks in, but the intensity of this feeling/behavior depends upon many different factors: how many friends accompany you, how well you know the venue, how well you know the band, etc., etc. Luckily, I'd been to the Aardvark multiple times, and I'd seen Matt Cliff play once before and gotten to chat with him a few times. However, this time I had to go alone 'cause I had invited too few friends too late. Thus the need to be "super-uber-mega--ultra-COOL(-and-NOT-LAME!)" was in full gear at the start. But Matt Cliff and Friends, though they certainly rock the house, still exude a care-free low-key mellowness that is blessedly infectious.

So, once they started playing such old favorites as "Shine On Through" and "Captain", some of us danced, more of us sang along, still more tapped their feet and swayed...and yes, a sad few still stood stiffly, drinking their beer and staring awkwardly. But at least there were some who danced, despite the old rule that "Indie Don't Dance."

Therefore, although I didn't 'bust a move', I'm happy to say how quickly I came out of my shell and just enjoyed the music, doing the best I could with clapping, rocking back and forth, and tap-tap-tapping with my foot. So, to repeat: "You CAN dance! You Can! You can DANCE!" But if you don't, if you just sing along, or mouth the words, or sway side-to-side, or tap your feet, or clap your hands, or even just stand there, there had still better be a dumb grin of appreciation on your face, and a few "Whoot!"'s and "Yeah!"'s better escape your lips. 'Cause Matt Cliff and Friends are here for you!

Read, Kindly Light...

Tonight: Matt Cliff at the Aardvark

I'm going out tonight to The Aardvark to see Matt Cliff and...some other I'm-sure-they're-cool-ish bands play.

So, wanna come with?


Read, Kindly Light...

Afternoon Buzz: Steve Martin, Anne Hathaway, Sex Panther

Oh Audrey. Why can't you explain to this generation why smoking is good for you?


!!BUZZ!!
In 15 or so words: Steven. Martin. Plays. Banjo. Makes. Bluegrass. Album. It's. Called. "The Crow". Coming. Out. Jan. 27.
In one word: BADASS!

!!BUZZ!!
Heroes, everyone's favorite love-to-hate TV show, is supoooooosedly gonna stop sucking and get better soon. We'll see about that. (Hint: Don't get your hopes up. It's prob'ly not.)

!!BUZZ!!
I'll bet you 100 bucks right now that Anne Hathaway is gonna win a Golden Globe this year. Hands down, man. Oh wait. That's right. She already has. Congratulations, Miss Hathaway.

!!BUZZ!!
Here's a pretty simple but pretty cool poster for the upcoming Transformers sequel. Personally, I wish it were for a movie about a dark scary dragon with scary red eyes. The dragon's name is REVENGE!

!!BUZZ!!
Who doesn't love SXSW? Well, they've just posted up a list of some of the bands they're showcasing this year. I wish I could go...

!!BUZZ!!
Does this ring a bell? "Sixty percent of the time, it works everytime!" That's a real product now. Really. Wow.


Ciao.
~Tylooh~
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The Maccabees at Futureappletree Studio 1

Do young men still woo young women by tossing small pebbles at the panes of room windows, soft enough to be detected by the sleeper in the identified room, but silent to all those throughout the rest of the home? Do these pebbles peck off of the glass and carom at 45-degree angles, falling to the flooring of a hanging balcony that recalls settings from important scenes in the plays of Shakespeare? Do young men spend their time gathering sweaty palms still, lying awake making nights worrisome with doubt and unrequited love that almost makes them burst like a water balloon? Do they picture themselves climbing up trellises to take their fair maidens into their arms and really just love them truly, not in the sticky, commercialized, lustful way that you see in the big pictures and on the little screens? If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, or I believe so, then The Maccabees could be the rightful chroniclers of these uncorrupted feelings of innocent love – the kind that Meredith Wilson wrote and Judy Garland sang about.
---Sean Moeller, founder of Daytrotter

The artist we're looking at today is Orlando Bloom, the head singer of the Maccabees. I guess I've been in something of a mellow mood the past few days, because these songs, like Alela Diane's, are calm and acoustic; the music itself is quiet, almost hushed, but the words to which the music conforms are nothing short of the boyish heartstrings-on-your-sleeves realization that "I'm in love, but I don't know exactly what that means or what do about it."

Also, I've recently decided I'm a sucker for British accents; I think it's part of being here at the College of St. Thomas More--you can't come unless you are capable of becoming an anglophile. So then, let's indulge in a little anglophilia and a little star-gazing and boyish crushes, and let's listen to Orlando Bloom of the Maccabees try and lull us into love. (First I strongly suggest you read Sean's full review below; it is spot on, and has a lot to say about the different types of loves sung of in songs.)


The Maccabees' Daytrotter Session
The Maccabees - Welcome to Daytrotter
The Maccabees - First Love
The Maccabees - Good Ol' Bill
The Maccabees - Precious Time
The Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses
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Evening Buzz: Iron Man 2, Jim Carry, Bosque Brown...

Time for a little late evening buzz.

!!BUZZ!!
Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are in talks to play the villains Whiplash and Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2.

!!BUZZ!!
Since when is Jim Carry the right guy to play Scrooge? And why are we letting the dude who directed Beowulf(*involuntary gag*) get within twenty feet of A Christmas Carol?

!!BUZZ!!
The blog "Music For Kids Who Don't Read Good" has some nice best of '08 lists. Here are their picks for tv shows, albums, and songs. Some of the goodies mentioned therein: Fleet Foxes, Of Montreal, Mountain Goats, Headlights, Vampire Weekend, Sun Kil Moon, Fringe, 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Lost.

!!LOCAL BUZZ!!
And lastly, coming from the local corner, here is weshotjr.com's interview with Texas folk/country singer/songwriter Bosque Browne. Her new album, Baby, comes out in March!
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Alela Diane at Futureappletree Studio 1

OK then, before we get started, a little introduction:
"Daytrotter" is a recording studio and a website site run by Sean Moeller in Rock Island, Illinois. Hundreds and hundreds of up-and-coming indie bands of all shapes, sizes, and sounds flock here to record new songs and new versions of old songs. Every day Daytrotter receives a new band which will record 4 songs; every week there are 7 new bands and 28 new songs. On the Daytrotter website, you can download literally thousands and thousands of songs LEGALLY and FOR FREE! I myself have already added nearly seven hundred songs to my iTunes library.
Let me explain how cool this all is to you in another way -- Whitney Mattheson of Pop Candy placed Sean Moeller, the founder of Daytrotter, at # 77 on her "Top 100 People of 2008" list!

Now, in the website's own words:

What Daytrotter is attempting to do is to not kid around with you and tell you that we found something that you never knew existed. We are going to contribute to the musical landscape, not just toss it around like a used book or a stolen pick-up line. We’re going to give you something that you truly have never heard. We are not giving you songs from someone you love’s record album, thereby stealing from someone you love. We’re giving you exclusive, re-worked, alternate versions of old songs and unreleased tracks by some of your favorite bands and by a lot of your next favorite bands. (...)
These fine people – as they’re traveling through America’s heartland – take two hours out of their travels between shows to stop in for a Daytrotter Session at Futureappletree Studio One in downtown Rock Island, Ill. The name of the city is not ironic. They use borrowed instruments, play with their touring mates, utilize an often unkempt toilet, eat some food and then cram back into their vans for the last half of the drive. What they leave behind is a pile of ashes, sometimes a forgotten stocking hat and four absolutely collectible songs that often impart on whomever listens to them the true intensity that these musicians put into their art, sometimes with more clarity than they do when they have months to tinker with overdubs and experiments. These songs are them as they are on that particular day, on that particular tour – dirty and alive. We want you to make this your new home as it is ours. We promise that you will love it here. (...)
The Daytrotter recordings are made with minimal mic’ing, through discrete preamps and with some limiting to the mixing console, where they are printed to 1/4” analog tape running at 15 inches per second (usually BASF 468). The analog master is later transferred to a computer and converted to MP3.
There is no set formula or pattern to the recordings, no specific mic setup, etc. They are all live, no overdubs, straight to tape. What you hear is what happened in the room that day.

{about Daytrotter}

Now that that little intro's out of the way, let's commence with the first installment of Your Dayly Dose Of Daytrotter, featuring Alela Diane! I highly recommend her; she is a folk singer/songwriter who uses simple, understated intstrumentation to better emphasize her beautifully lilting and haunting voice and her full-wrought lyrics. My favorite song on the first session is "White As Diamonds"; on the second my favorites are "Age Old Blue" and "Oh My Mama", which I think are her best songs to date.


Here's Alela Diane's 1st Daytrotter Session (May 11, 2007)
Alela Diane - Welcome to Daytrotter
Alela Diane - My Brambles
Alela Diane - The Rifle
Alela Diane - To Be Still
Alela Diane - White As Diamonds


Alela Diane's 2nd Daytrotter Session (September 27, 2007)
Alela Diane - Welcome (again) to Daytrotter
Alela Diane - Age Old Blue
Alela Diane - Dry Grass and Shadows
Alela Diane - Oh My Mama!
Alela Diane - The Alder Trees

Ciao, folks. Happy Sounds.
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