Fun, New Apple Products / Maria Taylor

Steve Jobs did another of his famous keynote speeches announcing what he called “fun, new products” . The specifics are still coming in but so far we have

– a new Intel Mac mini
2.5x – 3.2x faster
Six button Apple remote and IR Sensor
Can hook up to your television set.
Comes with Front Row

– Front Row with Bonjour
Find music, TV, movies, photos on any computer on the house (Mac or Windows) and play it with Front Row on your television sets through your Mac Mini.

– the iPod Hi-Fi. (picture above)
“Home stereo. Reinvented”
Controlled with the Apple Remote.
Great bass, doesn’t distort when cranked up.
Power it off of six D-size batteries if you want. “Several hours outside.”

In musical news:

I’m adding Mates of State and Mariah Taylor to my concert schedule and I’m listening to Maria Taylor now and I really like her (and not just for her great last name). I found out that she was one half of the band Azure Ray, which is a group I like but I wish I had gotten into more. Finally, she’s on Saddle Creek Records which has always produced great artists/records. Here’s two tracks from her.
MP3 Song Beneath the Song
MP3 Speak Easy

Mocking Music loves Mates’ new CD. They also have a cool new layout.

More Arrested Development News (from TV Guide):
SHOWTIME FOR THE BLUTHS?: Hmm, maybe the fat lady should shut her mouth and take a seat. The New York Post hears brand-new buzz that Showtime has not only picked up Fox’s canceled Arrested Development but has ordered a full 26 episodes.

MC Lars

I don’t usually write about hip hop acts, but I felt that I needed to make an exception for MC Lars. He plays a unique brand of music that he calls Post Punk Laptop Rapping. Basically its hip hop, created on his Apple Powerbook (good choice), that pokes fun at every aspect of pop culture. Imagine a Family Guy episode as a hip hop album. He namechecks Craigs list, iPods, Captain Kirk, Devo, Bill O’Reilley, and Lamb Chop. He slams MTV, Crunk Rap, consumerism, Internet Relationships, emo, and (especially) the RIAA.

Like a Family Guy episode though, MC Lars can get a bit redundant. There’s probably only a few songs that I’d listen to multiple times. Maybe it’s just because of my inexperience with hip hop. I’d still rate this album favorly and I definitley recommend that you listen to the next two tracks. “Download This Song” features an awesome use of Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger” and the lyrics on “Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock” are very accurate (sample lyric: Rob Zombie lunchboxes are not punk rock…SpongeBob wristbands are not punk rock).

MP3 Download This Song
MP3 Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock

kind musicians who write stories

There is a guy named Paulo that asked a number of his favorite artists to write a story for him on a notecard last year. Most of them complied and the results are sometimes fantastic. Sufjan‘s story is by far the best (of course). It amazes me that someone can come up with stories on the spot about an ace boy archer and a terrible storm that affected a dutch doormouse and a nearsighted animal lover.

There’s quite a few other stories from the Arcade Fire, Ben Folds, Andrew Bird, the Polyphonice Spree (yes, all of them), Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, Explosions in the Sky, Clem Snide, Wayne Coyne (of the Flaming Lips), and many more. This is a great project, definitely take a look at these.

To look at all of them go here. To look at any of the individual artists click one of the links above.

String Quartet Tribute – Red Hot Chili Peppers / Lollapalooza

Sorry for the late weekend post, I’ve been getting hammered at work lately. MTV confirmed that Red Hot Chili Peppers are playing Lollapalooza, which is reason enough for me to do a string quartet tribute post on them. The song I have from the album is Under The Bridge, and the quartet do a good job of reproducing it, as usual. Here it is:

MP3 Under The Bridge

Back to Lollapalooza – I am extremely excited for this concert and (if the rumours hold true) the lineup is going to be fantastic. This is what I’ve read (from wikipedia):

The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, The Dave Matthews Band, The Flaming Lips, The Strokes, Morrissey, Hole, Sleater-Kinney, The Crystal Method, The White Stripes, The Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, and Andrew Bird.

Buy The String Quartet Tribute to Red Hot Chili Peppers

Take Cover!

Yesterday I was linked to by Copy, Right, which is numero uno when it comes to MP3 cover blogs. So to keep that cover-lovin’ audience, here’s a few of my favorites.

MP3 Ben Gibbard – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cindy Lauper Cover)
Ben Gibbard’s goal is to cover every 80’s song ever created. Not really, but sometimes it seems like it.

MP3 Radiohead – Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)
This song is funny because 1) they don’t know the words 2) they cut the cover short and say, “Is this dismal or what? it’s always fun to make fun of Oasis”

MP3 Copeland – Coming Around Again (Carly Simon Cover)
Copeland is an criminally underrated Indie Rock band. They released an EP full of 80’s covers a couple of years ago and this one is my favorite.

MP3 Muse – Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (Frankie Vali Cover)
It’s amazing how well this pop standard works for Muse. They completely rock on this song in every way.

MP3 Nada Surf – If You Leave (OMD Cover)
I’m seeing Nada surf in about a week, so I’ve been listening to alot of them lately. This song was featured on the OC when that Anna girl left.

Buy:
Copeland – know nothing stays the same
Music From The OC – Volume 2
Muse – Coldstar/in Your World EP

Arrested Development Breaking News!- I just read this site saying Arrested Development has been picked up by Showtime. A couple people that supposedly work there confirmed it. Kirsten from E! Online says the deal hasn’t been finalized but theres a much better chance now. There’s discussion going on here and here. Sorry I don’t have time to flesh this out but I’m off to work.

Columbus

Columbus is a band from Canada that plays California-style pop music with hooks that are impossible to ignore. I’ve had their EP on my iPod for some time now and I find myself singing to their songs everytime I shuffle to them. They’ve been described as a “mix between the New Pornographers, The Zombies, and The Smiths,” which seems pretty accurate, since they seem to combine British Pop of the 60’s with the Indie Pop of today. Here’s a couple of tracks from their EP (courtesy of their website).

MP3 Free Girl
MP3 Christian Girls

Just for fun (I noticed there was a theme with their song names):
MP3 Billy Joel – Uptown Girl

Buy it from Pop Echo records!

Irving

Irving is a California band full of pop sensibilities. They’re influenced by bands such as the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Velvet Underground and they play a fun brand of Sunshine Pop that’s good for dancing. Their new album is due out in April and from the songs if these songs are any indication, it’s going to be fantastic:

MP3 Situation
MP3 If you say jump, I will say no

While I was writing this post, I got an email from Irving sending me another song from their new album. How convenient! Here that is:

MP3 Jen, Nothing Matters To Me

The presale on Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers is coming soon.
Be Irvings friend on myspace.

Page France

I just exhausted my entire emusic 50 downloads last night and filled out my music collection with selections from Of Montreal, Eagle*Seagull, Architecture in Helsinki, and The National, but by far my favorite artist that I downloaded was Page France. There’s been alot of talk about the Christian influence in the band and Sufjan comparisons were inevitable, but what everyone can agree on is that they rock, especially if you like addictive songs with strumming acoustic guitars and chimes.

Matt has been posting a ridiculous amount of Page France lately over at You Ain’t No Picasso and you’d be a fool not to go there and download some of their new material. Before you do that, though, download a couple of these tracks from their fabulous 2005 album, Hello, Dear Wind:

MP3 Chariot
MP3 Junkyard

In Other News:
-I’ve added a section on my blog roll for fresh and new blogs. If you’ve just started up a blog in the last couple of months or know of a good one, leave a comment and I’ll probably put it up there.

-Me and this blog posted the exact same track yesterday. Their blog name is making me hungry.

Petra Haden & Bill Frisell

Petra Haden is a multi-talented vocalist/violinist that has worked with many artists, including most recently, a tour with the Decemberists. Bill Frisell is one of the best known jazz guitarists of the last decade and recently won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. What seems like an odd pairing turns into a great album based on the vocal prowess of Haden and the sparce and moving guitar of Frisell. Their cover of Yellow was on the OC recently (you know, the one where they’re trying to figure out where to go to college). Here’s a couple of sample tracks:

MP3 Yellow (Coldplay Cover)
MP3 Moon River (Henry Macini Cover)

Petra Haden also did a project where she sang the entire album, The Who Sell Out, including the instrumentation, vocally. Although it’s not as good as her other work, it’s an interesting listen at least. Here’s a track from that album –

MP3 I Can See For Miles

Buy Petra Haden and Bill Frisell
Buy Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out

In Other News:
I have my first blog ad up today! Make them feel welcome by clicking on it (right under my archives) and finding out about William Orbit’s new album, Chill Out.

String Quartet Tribute – Weezer

Now for another edition of my String Quartet Tribute posts (which is becoming a regular weekend feature), this time featuring the much-loved and much-hated, Weezer. Personally, they’re one of my favorite bands of the 90’s, although their last three albums have been, for the most part, unmemorable.

Come On and Kick Me features some different approaches then most of the other String Quartet Tribute albums. For example, on the song “Undone” they actually do the drum beat and conversational voices at the beginning of the song and they add a ton of guitar fuzz at the end. Here’s a couple sample tracks:

MP3 Buddy Holly
MP3 Undone (The Sweater Song)

Buy The Album!

In Other News:
Speaking of 90’s bands i Guess I’m Floating has one of the coolest 90’s mixes you’ll ever find on their site right now. Check it out!