daytrotting some original tunes

now this is a cool idea.

daytrotter.com is an indie music website that gets bands to perform songs just for them, then offers the songs to readers free for download. the songs seem all to be specific sessions just for daytrotter, which makes the site that much cooler. they even have someone still loves you boris yeltsin on their homepage today. bomb diggity.

other interesting daytrotting sessions:

deertick <|folk, alternative, acoustic|>

andy hull (manchester orchestra) <|folk, pop, indie|>

not playing - music for cool people

although i want to write about things i like to listen to, i came upon a free sampler of music online that has caused me take pleasure in doing otherwise.

it's the intended play sampler from matador records that has reminded me that there is just not enough internet space for the amount of crap being loaded onto it. i came upon only one song in this twelve song catastrophe that i marginally enjoyed (and decided to keep to see if there's any lasting value).

i'll admit, i didn't give it much of a chance. i am an advocate for letting music sink in before making any assessments, but i just can't help myself right now. it just happens to be that kind of music that instantaneously makes me desperately search for the skip button.

it's that "in your face, i'm too good for your ears" type of indie that coolly meanders about not caring what you, the listener, wants to hear. it's the pretentious, overly repetitive nature of these scenesters' obsession with their own "amazing" instrument playing abilities that makes me want to stop using the internet all together and take up knitting lamps.

<|don't bother listening|>

but here's the link anyway

riyl: licking a hot frying pan, swimming in a dumpster, getting a toothpick lodged between the roof of your mouth and jaw

now playing - the everybodyfields

the everybodyfields is a folk-country tinged indie group that puts out quite a sound.

both male and female vocals do an admirable job lollygagging over violin, acoustic guitar, drums and piano. they're a pretty laid back band, no huge crescendos (i don't really know what that word means), no back breaking melodies (nope, not that one either) and nothing out of the ordinarily normal. it's a good band to leave playing around in the background. like a small dog. or child with a small dog. or a big dog. if you find that sort of thing funny.

i feel like i should be living in the midwest (and that i should figure out what some of those musical vocabulary words mean).

<|folk, indie, country|>

mptrees:

lonely anywhere.mp3 (hear/download)

by your side.mp3 (hear/download)

official site

riyl: putting on a pair of warm socks when your feet are super cold, always denying that you might actually like country music

quick post - d_rradio

just a short one today, i'm a bit strapped for time tonight.

while writing a short paper in german, "born" by d_rradio came on the ol' itunes. it's a simple drum and bass, electronic song. the best part comes when the little boy's voice comes on. it gets me every time.

i'm going to post it through last.fm on their embedded player and see how it works. just click the play button to stream it right here on the page.

d_rradio – Born (download the .mp3)

recs of the moment

long day today. simply perfect for a round up of songs that will make me forget all about it.



paper rival - "pacing the cage" (stream on myspace)

d_rradio (death row radio) - "come to light" (stream hear or download the .mp3)

the bird and the bee - "birthday" (download the .mp3)

esbjoern svensson trio - "tide of trepidation" (stream hear or download the .mp3)

pinback - "fortress" (download the .mp3)

cue homer simpson's gargling noise.

interesting article - questioning authority

this post isn't much about music, but seems pretty important nonetheless.

i like this guy's website. he writes mainly about personal finance, and does a great job with it. i've learned quite a bit from him, and although i'm not in a position right now to test out a lot of what he writes about, i think most of what he has to say is great advice. one of his more interesting articles, 12 things i learned by 42 that i wish i knew at 22, puts some important things into perspective for me.

this one in particular isn't about finance though. he took some time to write this short article about questioning the status quo, and the following video is thought provoking. i believe it is a trailer for a documentary, but i'm not entirely sure.

this sort of thing is a very sensitive topic, and rightly so. questioning people, especially those you love and respect, is a hard thing to do. it is, however, very necessary.

it can also put you on one side of an argument or the other in the eyes of others, with or without you intending it to do so.

read on.

music video - edison glass

edison glass has a new album out called time is fiction which is full of consistent mediocrity. it wasn't a terrible album, but didn't excite me as this single song "let go" did... at least the video's good.



myspace hear

official site hear

riyl: (new) saosin, conventional punk/emo rock

anathallo

this is one of those bands that i can't compare to any other. no single band reminds me of anathallo. their sound is completely their own, combining traditional instruments with both male and female vocals into a truly untraditional masterpiece. they are one of the few bands able to paint their music.

their first full length, floating world, explains perfectly how music is anything but just an aural experience. the physical compact disc itself is not something that should be missed. the visual artwork within shows the meticulous nature of the band through it's unique cover and pages. the music speaks for itself. the lyrics are based upon a japanese fairy tale and can be followed like a storybook throughout the booklet.

floating world is an hour long film recorded without cameras. it wants you not just to hear it, but make use of every part of your mind along the way.

they've just put a new song to their myspace called noni's field which comes off of their yet to be released second full length canopy glow due out soon.

mptrees (right click and save as to download)

a great wind.mp3

yuki yuki yuki.mp3

myspace hear

official site hear

riyl: driving through heavily wooded areas, the scent outside just before snow falls

nintendo sixty four remix

i have to admit, as crazy as this kid looks opening this thing, my brothers and i acted very similarly when we opened ours. i sure hope it's on tape. i don't think we're going to get any remixes done for ours though. this one's just too funny.

overwhelming opinions

the conundrum will always exist.

there's the reader, the person looking for something new, something to satisfy a desire.

there's the reviewer, someone who releases his thoughts of that something for a reader to see.

the reader expects to get something he will like, and the reviewer wants the reader to like what he is writing about. both have a general need for one another, but there always exists a rift between them.

the system of rating an album, book, website, camera, chair, episode of scooby doo, empty beer bottle, and/or color is up solely to the reviewer. most of the time, the system simply boils down to a numerical/star/thumb-up grade. it's the easiest way to garner any sort of response from the reader.

more often than not, there are explanations (which can be either confusingly short or mind numbingly long) that will attempt to prove to the reader what the author "really means" behind his rating. the ratings can be broken up even further into sub-categories ranging from originality to production values to what the singer put in his hair at the photo shoot for the promos.

while all this information is very interesting, seeing it on the computer screen will have little to no affect on one's true opinion of the music.

listening is what matters.

a writer can not express the same emotion that purges through the speakers on any level. the genre can be named, the other artists that they sound like can be listed, descriptive language can try to paint the picture... but nothing will get the point across better than putting an ear (preferably two) between those headphones.

reviews should be taken as they are. they're important for everyone who enjoys music. no one would be able to find much without a recommendation. they shouldn't, however, be trusted blindly. tastes differ. people like what they like and there's not a single way in the world to explain that fact. the reader needs to know where his interests lie before taking a reviewers word to heart. he should be familiar with the reviewers previous works to know where he's coming from with what he has to say.

now playing - tiger lou

this stuff has been kicking around in my playlist of playlists for a few weeks now.
tiger lou released their album the loyal through eyeball records back in 2005. it's been under the radar until recently, but it's unclear why... their music is concise, melodic, technical but non-pretentious indie rock. the loyal is up for full stream on their official site, and is worth the listen. and listen on, i say.

mptrees:

the loyal.mp3

nixon.mp3

until i'm there.mp3

official site:

tigerlou.net

type: melodic indie, beat oriented technical rock

riyl: minus the bear, paper rival (vocals), dancing in your mind without anyone watching.

recs of the moment

here's a short list of random tracks i can't quite get enough of at the moment.
(band name - song title) (right click->'save as' to download)




the colour revolt - mattresses underwater.mp3

foreverinmotion - invisible child.mp3

the national - fake empire.mp3 (thanks pauline!)

oh no! oh my! - oh be the one.mp3

the panic ensemble - spring in your heart (myspace)

amen to that

runner's high

it's a drug. it really is.

i spent an hour this afternoon running through stuttgart with my ipod in my ears. it was the first warm day in a while, and i feel lucky to have experienced it.

i ran through the farm fields and made it to the distant tv tower that watches over the grand city. i had made an addicting list of songs that was my fuel. every single song that came on was perfect. there were fast ones to keep my pace, slow ones to help take in the new surroundings. everything from some raw and gritty old offspring tracks to the inundating melodies of sir andrew bird.

i just kept going. everything, at that point, was perfect.

andrew bird's myspace

offspring's myspace

now playing - balmorhea

what is it about piano that always reels me in? i don't get it. the instrument has an overwhelming ability to sneak up behind me, put a bag over my face, tie me up and take me wherever it wants. it shows me ways to see things that i never would have imagined. it is true beauty.

this exact phenomenon is demonstrated succinctly in balmorhea's newest album rivers arms. i don't have to say much more, just that they meld instruments (piano, acoustic guitar, violin) together seamlessly. their delivery is top-notch. please, just let yourself get sucked into this stuff.

mptrees:

if you only knew the rain.mp3

stream the whole rivers arms album hear (last.fm)

myspace

official site

type: instrumental, ambient, acoustic, a little bit of jazz (but not a lot)

riyl: album leaf, the six parts seven, being told subtly that you need to rethink everything

free download - silent ballet compilations

i just found these things wandering around the internet. they're compilations done up by a website called the silent ballet which focuses mainly on post rock, ambient, instrumental and electronic music. there are some great bands in these releases, and they're all free. they have 7 volumes so far, all up on their site.

compilation site hear

reviews, articles, recs hear

type: post rock, ambient, instrumental, electronic

riyl: balmorhea, pg.lost, caspian, keeping your mind active while falling asleep

soon to come - someone still loves you, boris yeltsin

i'm finally excited, and ever more increasingly excited about this band.

i've begun my courtship with their previous effort, broom, but have yet to see whether the relationship will bloom. i'll just have to give it more time.

it seems however, that two new songs (from an upcoming album called pershing) found upon the united states of the internet explain that they are well up to the task of making me try harder to make it work between us. they seem to have retained that raw, unpolished sound, (that makes their older stuff intriguing) although at the same time... sound... ear-blindingly shiny. hard to explain, especially with letters.

their new album pershing, of which i'm so overly elated, is out on polyvinyl records sometime soon, i hope.

mptrees:

glue girls.mp3

modern mystery.mp3

oregon girl.mp3 (from broom)

myspace (check out "house fire" from broom)

official site

type: indie pop, lo-fi, general sweet combinations of sounds

riyl: (old) weezer, saying woah incessantly in different ways

now playing - paper rival

these guys seem to be releasing a new album soon... yeaaaasssss. i had never heard of them before a month or so ago, but they seem pretty promising. they're a mix of really interesting and nothing great, with vocals that border the nations of barely annoying and absurdly catchy, but lean luckily toward the latter. their latest self titled ep is interesting from the nashville natives, and they never seem to overstep their bounds. give it a test drive up on their myspace. hope that full length is goooooooooood.

mptrees (from nicorola musikblog):

you're right.mp3

myspace
(check out "alabama")

official site

type: indie pop, self made, tinge of folk and southern rock

riyl: northstar, paper route (strange name correlation there), being on a train watching things go by thinking that this is the soundtrack to your life.