LA to NYC: Road trip mix

I started working on making a road trip mix last summer, trying to find as many songs as I could about places and driving. My wife and I were about to embark on a summer road trip that would cover most of the Eastern United States. I made a mix, but it didn't flow well; I was not pleased with it.

Last year I came up with the idea of making CDs for the graduating seniors at the school I teach at. This year for the CD I decided I would try the road trip idea again, since they are all dispersing from Rome, GA to schools all over the country (if not world).

I started out with about 40 songs and deliberated for awhile, experimenting with different track orders. I am very pleased with 20 songs that made it and I think it flows really well.

LA to NYC

(First link is to band's Myspace site, second link is to a 'related' image.)

1. Elliott- Drive on to Me

2. Arcade Fire- Keep the Car Running

3. Mamas and the Papas- California Dreaming

4. Low- California

5. Death Cab for Cutie- Why'd You Want to Live Here?

6. Mates of State- California

7. Brandtson- Earthquakes & Sharks

8. Jimmy Eat World- Blister

9. Hem- Not California

10. The Weepies- Vegas Baby

11. Counting Crows- Omaha

12. Halo Friendlies- Milwaukee

13. The Anniversary- The D in Detroit

14. Sufjan Stevens- Chicago

15. Fountains of Wayne- No Better Place

16. Rosie Thomas- All the Way to New York City

17. Over the Rhine- Ohio

18. Mindy Smith- Tennessee

19. Patty Griffin- Florida

20. Gomez- Charley Patton Songs

Starflyer 59- Ghosts of the Future

100_0973
Originally uploaded by noseblanket

Another reason to buy vinyl.

I didn't take these pictures, but I have the set, and it is gorgeous. Last year, Burnt Toast Vinyl offered up a pre-order to get a set of 10 7-inches by Starflyer 59, "Ghosts of the Future." It was fairly expensive, $59.59, but I had just gotten a raise, and sounded like a good investment.

As of last week, the set is complete. 10 records, 20 songs, 10 different colors of vinyl, one wooden box, record-covers that create a puzzle, and autographed liner notes. It is far and away the coolest presentation out of all of the music I own.

Click on this picture to see a lot more of the set.

New Mates of State song

Mates of State just premiered the first song on their new record, called "Get Better." Not only is the song shockingly different for the band, it is outstanding. You can hear the song and watch the hysterical video on their Myspace page. The new album, "Re-Arrange Us", will be released May 20 on Barsuk Records.

Here are the song titles:

1. "Get Better"
2. "Now"
3. "My Only Offer"
4. "The Re-Arranger"
5. "Jigsaw"
6. "Blue and Gold Print"
7. "Help Help"
8. "You Are Free"
9. "Great Dane"
10. "Lullaby Haze"

The Alchemy Index

I have been waiting for this day for a LONG time. Thrice's entire Alchemy Index is available for purchse. Fire & Water released last October, Air & Earth released TODAY. Four discs, four styles, 24 songs. One of the most unique music releases I have ever heard. The project exceeded all of the expecations I had for it.

Cheapest place to buy the albums digitally is HERE.
Cheapest place to buy the physical CDs is HERE.

A 4 x 10 inch vinyl set, which will come in a hard-back book, is in the works.

Explosions in the Sky

explosions in the sky
Originally uploaded by jaredswafford

I didn't take this picture, but it is from the Explosions in the Sky concert last night that I attened in Atlanta at the Variety Playhouse. The show was excellent. With the exception of the symphony or something like that, this was the first instrumental concert I have ever been to. For those of you unfamiliar with Explosions in the Sky, they did the soundtrack for the movie 'Friday Night Lights.' They actually sound a lot like their name. The dynamics were awesome, all four of the guys were really passionate and intense.

In case you were wondering, the image in the header of my blog is the artwork for Explosions in the Sky most recent record. You can buy it here.

Explosions in the Sky is in a genre of music called post-rock, which I have recently been getting more into. My brother has liked post-rock for years, and forever has been telling me about Godspeed you Black Emperor! and Mogwai. I have been listening to tons of Mogwai recently, as you can see in my Last.fm playlist to the right of this page. Generally vocals and lyrics are my favorite part of music, so listening to music without those things has been different.

The opening artist was Lichens, a solo guy playing ambient music. He played one "song" that lasted 20 minutes. I have listened to a little ambient music, but never seen it performed live. Very strange but enjoyable.

Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer has a great current interview here. He talks a lot about the reformation of the band and what their goals are. Sixpence recently played a concert in Nashville that was broadcast live on Lightning 100 and streamed live online. Many people recorded it (including myself), and you can find download links on this message board.

The second part of Thrice's Alchemy Index releases tomorrow- buy it!

New Sixpence Songs

More on Myspace...

Sixpence None The Richer @ Smokin' Music, SXSW, Austin, TX, 3/13/08

Sixpence None The Richer @ Smokin' Music, SXSW, Austin, TX, 3/13/08
Originally uploaded by iamdonte

Sixpence None the Richer played their first two shows in 5 years last week, you can find information about the shows here and here. I wish I could have been there! So far there still is no official information about the band now that they are back together, but there is a lot of information that can be found out by following those links and using Google blog search.

Apparently they have a new EP to be released in June and a full-length Christmas album releasing at the end of the year.

This Diminishing West

Those of you who know me at all know that Poor Old Lu is my co-favorite band (along with Sixpence). Scott Hunter, Aaron Sprinkle, Nick Barber and Jesse Sprinkle created some of the most unique rock music I have ever heard.

Since Poor Old Lu's break-up, 3/4 of the band have been super active in the indie music scene. Aaron Sprinkle is the biggest name, mainly due to his production work (MxPx, Demon Hunter, Eisley, etc.). He also has numerous solo albums and work with his two rock bands, Rose Blossom Punch and Fair. Nick Barber is an accomplished bass player, playing in Aaron's bands and also touring with Jeremy Enigk. Jesse Sprinkle is one of the best drummers around, and has drummed for countless bands (Serene, Morella's Forest, Dead Poetic, Demon Hunter, etc.). He also is a producer and has released actually more solo work than Aaron (through his name and the moniker 'The World Inside'.)

Well, as active as Aaron, Nick and Jesse have been, Scott has done pretty much nothing in the music world. Once he came close to singing on one of Jesse's World Inside albums, but that was it until a couple years ago. This was when it was announced on Myspace that Scott was fronting a new band called This Diminishing West. I love Scott's work as a vocalist and lyricist, so I was thrilled.

This Diminishing West had released various demos on Myspace but nothing concrete, until yesterday. This Diminishing West released their first and only EP, and it is FREE. The EP is solid, nothing specatular, and contains a cool Pedro the Lion cover, "Of Minor Prophets and their Prostitute Wives."

The band unfortunately broke up before it even really began, but thankfully they did record this one 5-song EP. You can download it for free here.

New Thrice single is available on iTunes today. The 2nd half of the Alchemy Index releases in about six weeks. As usual I have gotten very busy and this blog has been neglected. I hope to post my 'best of 1994' within the next couple of weeks.

Original memorabilia artwork