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Birthday music

Music I got for my birthday: The Crucified- The Complete Collection (2 CD/ 1 DVD) The Beatles- The White Album (2 CD) Brown Feather Sparrow- Brave (iTunes gift card) Sojourn- Advent Songs (Free on NoiseTrade) Andy Zipf- The Cowards Choir EP (Free on NoiseTrade) Katie Herzig- Weightless (Free on NoiseTrade) I was led to Andy Zipf because he is in a new band called the Lost Chorus. I became aware of the Lost Chorus because the band was started by Dirk Lemmenes (Stavesacre & Focused), Ryan Dennee (Stavesacre) and Alex Albert (Project 86). They have one song on Myspace, it is pretty good. Apparently those three guys had been jamming for together for awhile now, writing instrumental songs. They added Andy, who I was previoulsly unaware of, to be their lead vocalist. You can learn more about him here. I had been wanting that Brown Feather Sparrow album for awhile now. I have their first two LPs, and they are excellent. I discovered them in 2003 when I saw them perform at Flevo Festival in the Netherlands. They are Dutch, and I would compare them to Over the Rhine or Rosie Thomas. Brown Feather Sparrow has better lyrics than both of those artist though; in fact they have better lyrics than most artists, period. Brave was released in 2008, but I never bought it because it has no US distribution and would have cost me about $30 US for the CD and shipping. It eventually appeared on iTunes, and today I finally took the plunge since I got an iTunes gift card for my birthday. If you like mellow indie rock, no one does it better than Brown Feather Sparrow.

Misc. music news

1. Sixpence None the Richer is set to record their next album in January 2010 with producer Jim Scott. For info on Jim Scott, check this out. His list of credits is at the bottom of that page, and it includes Johnny Cash, Wilco, Counting Crows and Red Hot Chili Peppers. In other Sixpence news, their best album, "This Beautiful Mess," just became available on emusic.

2. Fair finally has a release date for their second LP: February 9, 2010. It has taken them over two years to record, mainly due to the other things their band members are involved in. Fair is of course Aaron Sprinkle, Erick Newbill, Joey Sanchez and Nick Barber. Their debut album was my #1 of 2006.

3. Just found an informative interview with Myk Porter, of Brandtson and now Swarm of Bats. If you don't want to read it, the summary is that Brandtson is dead and Swarm of Bats is the remaining members full-time project. They have samples on Myspace which honestly sound terrible. They have recorded an 8-song EP to be released soon-ish, and I'll probably buy it out of loyalty.

4. Tess Wiley has been recording with the band Leeland P. I have never heard of them until now, but Tess posted two songs on her Myspace page, and they are terrific. The band has apparently been around for awhile, and this new album with Tess will be released next year.

5. My most recent purchases:
Built to Spill- There is No Enemy ($2 on Amazon MP3 with coupon through Friday)
Thao- Know Better Learn Faster (emusic)
Mates of State- Re-Arranged Remixes vol. 1 (emusic)
Led Zeppelin- Mothership (used 2CD set)
Mae- (M)orning EP- (Amazon MP3)
Flaming Lips- Embryonic (CD)
Avett Brothers- I and Love and You (CD)

Album of the Decade?

I am working on three lists to publish before the end of this year- best of 1996, best of 2009, and the top 50 albums of the decade. Would love some feedback on that last one- what is your favorite album of the decade (2000-2009)? Please leave a comment!

Zookeeper (Chris Simpson)

Zookeeper posted four new tracks on Myspace today from an upcoming record (which I knew nothing about until today). The songs are outstanding. From a production sense, they are light years ahead of the the first Zookeeper LP and EP.

If you don't already know, Zookeeper is a folk/country project from former Mineral and Gloria Record frontman Chris Simpson. He has always been one of my favorite lyricists. I have mixed feelings about his solo work though, it has always sounded unfinished in a way. Good songs, but I don't really enjoy the way most of them are recorded.

However, these tracks are more refined, especially the first, "Mama Jean", which musically is the best Simpson song I have heard since the Gloria Record days. (Although it and the other songs sound NOTHING like the Gloria Record.) Anyway, check the songs out here.

Sunny Day Real Estate NEW SONG

Unless you are hiding under a rock, you are well aware that Sunny Day Real Estate is on tour. Here is a great review of one of their shows from the Onion AV Club.

One of the most interesting things I learned from that article is that they did not play any songs from their most recent album, "The Rising Tide". Kind of shocking, honestly. I realize one of the purposes of this tour is to promote the reissues of their first two albums, but still, they haven't played a concert in 8 years, and they haven't played a show with the original lineup in 15 years. "The Rising Tide" is probably the least favorite of the four SDRE LPs for most fans, but even still, the album is terrific. It has it's flaws, but I would rank it as my #1 album of 2000, and probably in my top 10 albums of this decade.

Well, bigger news than no "Rising Tide" songs is that they have A NEW SONG!:

Sunny Day Real Estate ON TOUR

Videos are starting to surface from SDRE's first complete line-up show in over 15 years. Here is a good one from Sept. 16: YouTube

I am seeing them in Atlanta on October 3 and could not be more excited.

On Tuesday the 'Diary' and 'LP2' reissues were released. I got the vinyl versions, and they are gorgeous. Both have extensive, new liner notes which are interviews with the band members along with other musicians. Both are double LPs, 'Diary' is clear red vinyl and 'LP2' is pink vinyl, of course. For Diary they made a large version of the CD booklet, so you get to have the beautiful artwork even larger to hold in your hand. For $40 including shipping from the Sub-Pop website, you can own both of these.

Opus: Why to buy physical music

Great post on the Opus blog about why he still buys CDs. I agree with the post completely, except that I prefer to vinyl. Anyway, check out the post, and check out his website, it is outstanding.

emusic Download recommendations

I just had someone post a comment asking for recent emusic recommendations- great idea! As usual, I have been neglecting this blog, so this should be an easy enough way for me to get a good post in.

1. Thrice. Unfortunately their new album, 'Beggars', has not hit emusic yet, but it will. The CD and iTunes versions are available. I have been meaning to write a detailed review about it, but keep putting it off. In short, 'Beggars' is the most cohesive album they have done since 2003's 'Artist in the Ambulance.' It sounds nothing like that album though, and really sounds nothing like anything they have ever done. It is very raw and lyrically powerful. Back to emusic, download 'The Alchemy Index' if you have not already, all four volumes are there.

2. David Bazan- Curse Your Branches. I'll avoid any comments on the spiritual implications of this release, but I will say musically it is the best thing he has done since Pedro the Lion's 'Control.' (Speaking of 'Control', it is also on emusic.) I actually haven't heard the whole album yet, because I am waiting on the vinyl to arrive. I have resisted the urge to go ahead and get the mp3s from emusic.

3. The Appleseed Cast- Sagarmatha. If you haven't downloaded the album of the year yet, now is the time. Epic, original post-rock. This post is about emusic, but I will say if you are going to only buy one vinyl album this year, get this one. In addition to a bonus track, the artwork is spectacular, from the cover to the vinyl itself. I think the CD and emusic cover for this album is horrible, but the vinyl cover is gorgeous.













4. Metric- Fantasies. Band has been around for awhile, but I did not discover them until this 2009 release. Great indie dance-rock with female vocals. High energy, I would love to see this band live.

5. The Lassie Foundation- Through and Through. Northern Records recently added most of their catalog to the emusic database, including this Lassie Foundation two-disc set. In addition to this, all the Cush albums are highly recommended, although they are all at least 5 years old (ignore the incorrect 2007 labels). Search "Northern Records" under the record label option on emusic.

Thrice- Beggars

It's out today. I'll give comments and thoughts tomorrow.