Fitz and Dizzyspellers Mix

Now that the TV season has ended, the national spelling bee is probably the most exciting thing on television.  The idea is to take the most socially awkward age group (middle school) and get weirdest kids from that age together into a room and have them spell ridiculous, mostly foreign words that define things like “dressing rooms in an ancient Greek baths” and “certain avenging deities or spirits”.

As you can imagine, the results are riveting (just remember how great Spellbound was) and there was a kid from my hometown, Peoria IL, on this year which was fun to watch.  So here’s a mix dedicated to those mini orthographers, many of whom have little chance at a normal life outside spelling competitions (sorry kids), and their quest for nerd glory.

MP3 Andrew Bird – Fitz & Dizzyspells
MP3 Animal Collective – Did You See The Words
MP3 Doves – Spellbound
MP3 The National – Brainy
MP3 The Softies – Me and the Bees
MP3 This Show Is A Rainbow – How Do You Spell Success?
MP3 Belle & Sebastian – We Rule The School

NPR has a great article about the “oddly addictive spectacle of the National Spelling Bee”. Check it out here.

FREE ENERGY

Props go to Music For Robots for introducing me to this ridiculously catchy glam-pop track from Philly’s Free Energy.  The band are playing a few shows this summer (including a couple in NYC at Mercury Lounge) and with fantastic songs like “Dream City”, I’m sure they’ll won’t have a problem earning fans.  The song is T. Rex rock riffs meets 60’s soul meets Polyphonic Spree-like jubilance with a saxophone solo thrown in for good measure. It’s one of the instantly gratifying, genuine fun songs I’ve heard in a while.

MP3 Dream City

Another tidbit, this band is James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem) approved, in addition to be a recent signee to his label, DFA Records, he does some guitar playin’ / knob twiddling on the album. Sweet!

3 Doors Down is the worst

I expected this to be a bit more even of a match-up, but the people have spoken and named 3 Doors Down the definite worse of the two alt-rockers (that “Citizen Soldier” ad really did them in).  Some sound bytes from commenters: “unlistenable”, “pathetic”, “cring-worthy”, “makes me want to rip out my own eardrums” and “straight up, man’s man, wearing my work-boots to school, talkin’ ’bout huntin’, anti-intellectual ‘rock'”.

They racked up 89% of the votes while Rob Thomas and his crew have seemingly earned a lot of cred after that It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia cameo and only earned 3 votes. Leave ideas for the next match-up in the comments.

Of Birds, Wooden and Bower

Two albums that I’ve been spinning this week are Bowerbirds sophomore album, Upper Air, and the debut of American Analogue Set / Broken Social Scene’s Andrew Kenny’s new project, The Wooden Birds. In addition to both having avian-influenced monikers, the bands both have a beautiful organic folk sound, which have provided a very enjoyable soundtrack for this sunshiny week.

Bowerbirds are a band I’ve been meaning to check out for a while after seeing them open for The Mountain Goats a couple years back and being impressed with their show.  Their new album Upper Air, is full of exactly the kind of harmonic, mesmerizing folk tunes I needed to hook me in. I especially love the vivid sounds of  “Northern Lights” with it’s rich instrumental layers of lightly strummed acoustic guitar and playful piano tinkering and eloquent, colorful lyrics .

MP3 Northern Lights

The Wooden Birds also specialize in folk songs, and while their songs are more intimate and minimalistic in nature, they are still quite lovely, evoking the lighter side of Neil Young (especially on first single “Sugar”). The songs are presented with tranquil arrangements and introspective lyrics.  It’s definitely not music you’ll want to blast out the car, but for those quiet moments inbetween (best experienced on headphones), these songs are very effective and moving.

MP3 Sugar
MP3 Choke

(I’ve been working double shifts at work all this week and next so sorry if the posting is a bit lighter than normal)

Track Review: Grizzly Bear, Iron & Wine, Twilight Sad

MP3 Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks

This song (and the rest of Grizzly Bear’s fantastic Veckatimest) leaked a couple months ago and the track was around a while before that in live form from the band’s performance on Letterman, so while the song has just been officially released within the last week it already feels like a tried and true classic. It certainly will go down as one of the best songs of 2009. The song is absolutely lovely in every way, the vocal harmonies are a revelation and the keyboard line that plays throughout is a complete breath of fresh air. If you had a hard time getting into the band’s debut album Yellow House, as I did, this is the perfect entry point to the band.  A song that’s wonderfully accessible as well as vivid, dynamic, and strikingly expressive.

MP3 Iron & Wine – Belated Promise Ring

This gem was originally released as a Japanese-only bonus track on Our Endless Numbered Days, and is being featured on Iron & Wine’s new comp. Around The Well. The song differs from the majority of its original album in that it includes additional instrumentation (drums, bass, piano) from Sam Beam’s vocals and acoustic guitar, and in that way it fits very nicely with his most recent output.  The song is beautiful, thoughtful, melodic, all the things that you would expect from Iron & Wine and it doesn’t lose any of his intimacy that made Our Endless Numbered Days so captivating.

MP3 The Twilight Sad – Reflection Of The Television

On The Twilight Sad’s new single, the band continues to pound out a militaristic beat on the drums, mumble lyrics in a heavy Scottish accent, and play their guitars really loud and turn the feedback up. Of course, this is why we fell for them in the first place and we wouldn’t expect any less. The band’s sophomore album is titled Forget The Night Ahead and if this song is any indication it will be something to look forward to.

One For The Team

One For The Team is bedroom pop in the purest sense of the word, not only do they make intimate, charming pop tunes, but their EP, Build A Garden, was recorded/produced entirely in lead-singer Ian Anderson’s bedroom (he also writes one of my favorite music blogs, Minneapolis F**king Rocks). I’ve been known to love boy/girl indie pop with great melodies and harmonies so this music is definitely up my alley. The largely acoustic-based tracks showcased on the EP are sweet, delicate, and cheerful.

“Garden” is the title track of the EP and perhaps the best showcase for the wonderful harmonizing that the band produces. The song keeps is deceptively simple, especially lyrically (the song has less than 20 words total).  The track never loses your interest, though building from Ian’s voice and dual acoustic guitars to a stomping finish with multiple voices, guitars, and percussion. Lovely song. “Best Supporting Actress” is another delightful, forward-looking tracks with some crunchy electric guitars and a ridiculously catchy chorus. Download both tracks below and purchase the EP at Afternoon Records.

MP3 One For The Team – Garden
MP3 One For The Team – Best Supporting Actress

The band also remixed Phoenix’s “1901” recently. Take a listen:

MP3 Phoenix – 1901 (One For The Team Remix)

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Also, The music video for “1901” the premiered on mtvU today. Check that out here.

Lost: Can they change the future?

This is the big debate about the nature of time travel going into the LOST season 6 finale.  I’d like to know what side you are on, because if you’re like me you’ll spend most of the day anticipating / speculating on the finale. Here’s some background on both sides of the debate.

“What Happened Happened” (The Constant)

This is the prevalent time traveling theory on LOST. It’s what Daniel Faraday told us from the beginning was true and what Miles and Hurley spent a whole episode (which was called “What Happened Happened”) debating. Most of the things we’ve seen thus far (such as Ben being taken to the others after being shot) seem to favor this theory.  Time travel in this theory is paradox-free and actually makes the most scientific sense.

“We can change things” (The Variables)

This is theory that Faraday explained two episodes ago after having a revelation about time travel.  The best way of explaining it is that time is like a river.  Throwing pebbles into the water can create ripples but doesn’t essentially change things, but dropping boulders (like an H-Bomb) changes the course of the whole river. When Jack got shot, Faraday took this theory and ran with it. This theory makes sense on a human level, the idea of free will is prevelant in Back to the Future (Doc always said “The future has yet to be written”) and in the film “Minority Report” (Tom Cruise can change what happens because he’s seen his future).

The “Course Correction” factor

The first exposure to time travel on LOST was in the episode “Flashes Before Your Eyes” when Desmond met with Eloise Hawking (when she was still just the creepy ring lady) and she explained to him course correction.  She said that you can not prevent the inevitable from happening because the universe will course correct. Desmond wasn’t able to change that Charlie was going to die, but he was able to change when he died, and he was able to prolong Charlie’s life till the point where he pushed the button, which allowed the freighter came to the island. So really he did change things (unless you think that button would have been pushed no matter what, another course correction).

So maybe the real answer lies somewhere in between.  Certain things must happen and can not be changed because of the rules of course correction, but how and when those things happens maybe can be changed.  If destiny can be escaped completely has yet to be seen.

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So what’s it going to be? Tell me your stance in the comments. Here’s some related MP3s to listen to while you’re making up your mind:

The Magic Numbers – Forever Lost
Beck – Timebomb
Wilco – In A Future Age

Also read more speculation about tonight’s episode at The Rawking Refuses to Stop, You Ain’t No Picasso, and Doc Jensen’s LOST Blog.

New Ruins

I consider Champaign/Urbana, IL to be a second home of sorts for me, primarily because it’s the only place that I can drive to in an hour or so that frequently has good live music.  So I always get excited when a Champaign band puts out  great album and such is the case with New Ruins‘ sophomore effort, We Make Our Own Bad Luck. I saw New Ruins open for José Gonzalez as a two-man band a couple years back, and I can say that this full band suits their rustic Americana sound much better (plus now there’s a couple more beards to look at).  The ringing guitars, rootsy steel pedal, and delicate string flourishes provide wonderful atmospherics for the Elzie Sexton’s formidable baritone. Their sound is brooding and melancholic but not in an overly bleak way but moreso thoughtful and reflective.

“Lake” is the first song I heard from the album and still my favorite.  It’s a strongly affecting track about nostalgia that puts  focus on the good times and the bad times. A droning electric guitar plays the main riff while densely-layered acoustic instrumentation gives the song a grand-scale chamber folk feel.  Sexton’s vocals are wistful and poignant and draw you into the bittersweet world the band has created.  “As Far As We Know” is another highlight of the album continuing the band’s foray into the melodramatic and making skilled use of a bellowing cello during the inspired bridge.

MP3 Lake
MP3 As Far As We Know

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I’m surprised that Matchbox 20 are not getting a lot of votes in the latest “Who’s Worse?” poll.  There’s gotta be some people at there who hate the band. If you’re one of them, go voice your opinion.  “Disease” and “If You’re Gone” are really bad songs if you need somewhere to start.

I'm on BreakThru Radio!

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady once said “everyone’s a critic and most people are DJs”. I’ve done my share of critiquing and today I tried my hand at DJing for a show called “Anatomy of a Blogger” on BreakThru Radio, an online station that boasts over 1 million listeners. I picked out a bunch of music I’ve been listening to lately and did some introductions / talking between (which you’ll have to sit through if you want to hear the tunes… sorry).

If you’ve been reading this blog you’ll be familiar with most of picks – Cymbals Eat Guitars, The Antlers, Harlem Shakes, Phoenix, Love Language, Passion Pit Rural Alberta Advantage, etc. All good stuff. Click here to go to BTR homepage and click on the “Anatomy of a Blogger” link to listen. Enjoy!

Here’s the radio playlist with some MP3s:

1. Lisztomania – Phoenix MP3
2. The Heartbreak Rides – A.C. Newman MP3
3. Idiot Heart – Sunset Rubdown MP3
4. Wind Phoenix – Cymbals Eat Guitars MP3
5. Now We Can See – The Thermals
6. Strictly Game – Harlem Shakes MP3
7. I’m Confused – Handsome Furs
8. I Was Only Going Out – Lonely Dear
9. In The Sky – Asobi Seksu
10. Moth’s Wings – Passion Pit MP3
11. Don’t Haunt This Place – The Rural Alberta Advantage MP3
12. Two – The Antlers MP3
13. Lalita – The Love Language MP3
14. Blood Bank – Bon Iver

Thanks for listening!

Who's Worse? Matchbox 20 vs. 3 Doors Down

I brought back Who’s Worse? contests earlier this year (where the worst bands are pitted against each other to find out who’s the most awful) and with a little help from the twitterverse (thanks guys!) we have a new match-up today. This edition features two of the worst bands of the early 00’s, both of which revel in water-down lite-rock ballads and have dumb names with numbers in them (almost always a sign of a bad band). Votes go in the comments and I’ll post the results in a week or two.

If you look up the terms boring, uninventive mainstream rock in a dictionary then I imagine you’ll see a picture of Rob Thomas and the rest of Matchbox 20 staring up at you looking douchey as ever. This is music that was created for middle-aged parents who hate rock music but want to appear cool in front of their kids (sorry, it’s not working moms). The songwriting and lyrics are atrocious and they are constantly one-upping themselves on how bland and lifeless they can make their music. But hey, at least they inspired one of the funniest Onion articles ever.

Y2B Matchbox 20 – If You’re Gone

3 Doors Down came on the scene slightly after Matchbox 20 and produced song after song of vomit-worthy ballads like “Here Without You”, “Be Like That”, and “When I’m Gone” (whose song title is eerily close to M20’s “If You’re Gone”). Their music is what I imagine lumpy, wet gravy sounds like and their attempts to grunge up their songs with middling guitar riffs is pathetic. After cornering the formulaic, corporate rock market now it seems the band has begun writing songs for the U.S. Army. I’ve had the misfortune of having to sit through the insipid “Citizen Soldier” (it plays in theaters before movies start) which sounds like a song created for the sole purpose of being added to the Torture Playlist.

Y2B 3 Doors Down – Here Without You

As always, cast your votes in the comments section and be prepared to argue your claim.