Sorry for the lack of posts, been busy...but we've got some Cold War Kids news I can't pass up.
In anticipation of their upcoming Behave Yourself EP release on January 19, the band has released the track "Audience" for streaming or download at RCRDLBL for their RCRD of the week free download. Go get it now! And let us know what you think. It's no "Hang Me Out to Dry" but I think it will grow on us. We like the hooks, for sure.
Forgive me for being the crotchety 28 year old here, but I don't get kids most of the time these days, what with their penchant for stars like Paris Hilton or music like anything you will ever hear on the radio, but at least there's some kids out there these days doing something that makes sense.
Teenage quartet The Lower 48 is a new band comprised of an eclectic blend of classically trained musicians, singer-songwriters and a smoky-voiced female vocalist. Their debut, Everywhere To Go, is a five-song EP recorded and produced by Chad Weis of The Devil’s Workshop Studio (known best for his work with Mason Jennings, The Bad Plus, and Haley Bonar) in Minneapolis. It is an ambitious and mature debut release for the band’s young musicians, all of whom are under 20.
Upon listening to the included track, "Transmissions Pt. 1", I was immediately impressed by the maturity and the simpleness of their sound. There's no glitz or glam or pretentious lyrics, just a heartfelt and homespun sound that hits you'd expect from the likes of She and Him or Bon Iver. Def take a listen and see if it impresses you as much as it does me:
The wife is sick and laying on the couch watching sitcoms so I'm relegated to my MLB.com audio subscription to listen to the World Series tonight. Hoping Pedro can keep the Phillies in it, despite the New York media's attempts to throw him off - we'll see. On the plus side, that does give me some time to do some blogging...
Ounsworth and Flashy Python to open for Cold War Kids
If you're heading out to catch one of the four Cold War Kids shows coming up, you might want to get there a little early as former Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! frontman Alec Ounsworth and Flashy Python will be opening for the band on those select dates. Ounsworth and Flashy Python will be playing tunes from Ounsworth's new album, Mo Beauty, as well as from Flashy Python's debut Skin and Bones and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's catalogue.\
New video for Muse song "Undisclosed Desires"
If you want to catch the new Muse song "Undisclosed Desires" that will be featured in the new Twilight Saga: New Moon movie but don't want to wait to hear it in the theater, you can head over to MySpace and check out the video and Matthew Bellamy's Bono-esque eyewear. It's some sort of weird-industrial pop that I'm not immediately in love with, despite my huge Muse crush. But then again, it is for a teenage abstinence vampire movie, so....
Veritas Lux Mea favorites Cold War Kids will be releasing a 4 song EP called Behave Yourself on January 19, and will be playing on four shows in January, each of which will have a free recording of each show that can be downloaded with ticket purchase.
The 4 shows set for January are: Los Angeles - The Wiltern - January 22 San Francisco - The Fillmore - January 23 New York - Terminal 5 - January 29 Chicago - The Vic Theatre - January 30
Anybody planning on hitting up one of the shows? Let us know!
You can see and hear a preview of the upcoming songs by checking out the short 1 minute video up now at the band's website
We've been on "the look" for some new music to dig into lately and were happy to stumble upon the Star & Micey self-titled debut record in our inbox.
Harboring a sound that blends Memphis soul with lo-fi indie rock and singer-songwriter introspection, Star & Micey's debut effort is an enjoyable record that is as diverse as it is easy to listen to - with tracks like "Salvation Army Clothes" which twinge and tangle with a certain backwater Bayou bite to softer, sweeter tunes like "Nelson," which features Jody Stephens of Big Star fame.
You can check out a free-3 track album sampler here
I don't bash a lot of music on this blog. Which isn't always easy, because I get a lot of crap emailed to me that I would consider, well, crap. But knowing that most of the artists I get info from are trying to make their way and just looking for an ear or two to listen and maybe a post if you like what you hear I try only to post about bands or music that I enjoy and not give those other bands negative press. Who knows, maybe people actually do listen to Nickelback.
But when it comes to one of my favorite bands, sometimes I feel the need to vent.
So, if you live in San Fransisco, or close by, and feel like watching the career of once-brilliant garage band Weezer continue their downward spiral into mediocrity you're welcome to attend the MySpace Secret Shows Presents Weezer with Natalie Portman's Shaved Head at the Regency on Wednesday, Oct 21.
Doors open at 8 pm and the show is free - first come, first served.
Here's how the press release describes the latest Weezer record, Raditude, due out Nov 3rd: "With its rollicking communal spirit, Weezer's latest offering can be viewed as a natural progression from those impromptu jam sessions from the band's Red Album tour. Raditude sees the band partying with Lil' Wayne, hitting the clubs with Jermaine Dupri and bringing in a host of Indian musicians to push the band into a psychedelic, spiritual dimension. Within these 10 songs lie boundless possibilities and ceaseless excitement, proof that Weezer remains a band that defies easy summations and can never be taken for granted, a band who has grown as they've opened their horizons."
Weezer + Lil' Wayne and Jermaine Dupri? Count me out. I'll continue to tout the Blue Album and Pinkerton as two of my favorite albums of all time, but even the title of their new record - Raditude - sounds lame and pretentious, which sadly, describes most of their recent efforts. Maybe I'm not being fair, since I haven't heard a single note off the new record, but for some reason I think I'm doing myself a favor by just remembering Weezer for the good times they provided me and my friends back in the day with classic tuns and good times.
Been a little under the weather lately but hopefully on the mend now...and back to posting.
We're really excited for the new release from the Athens, GA band The Whigs, set for release in early 2010. We had a chance to catch the band down in Madison, WI last year and they absolutely rocked.
The Whigs in Madison
To tempt us over until the release, the band is releasing the title track from In the Dark for free for all to download, share, and enjoy. You can do so here.
The band is out on tour this fall (no Wisconsin dates, damn) so if you have the chance I highly recommend you take in their set. They're playing with the likes of The Features, The Dead Trees, and Mean Creek on select dates, which you can peep below:
With The Features (from October 28th - December 15th) With The Dead Trees (from October 28th - November 21st) With Mean Creek (October 28th and December 5th - 15th)
October 28th Middle East (Downstairs) Boston, Massachusetts October 29th Funk & Waffles Syracuse, New York October 30th Mohawk Buffalo, New York October 31st Musica Akron, Ohio November 2nd Mad Hatter Cincinnati, Ohio November 3rd Newport Music Hall Columbus, Ohio November 4th Birdy's Indianapolis, Indiana November 5th Cannery Nashville, Tennessee November 6th Bottom Lounge Chicago, Illinois November 7th Triple Rock Minneapolis, Minnesota November 10th Bluebird Theater Denver, Colorado November 13th Media Club Vancouver, British Columbia November 14th Tractor Tavern Seattle, Washington November 15th Doug Fir Lounge Portland, Oregon November 17th The Independent San Francisco, California November 18th Detroit Bar Costa Mesa, California November 19th The Troubadour Los Angeles, California November 20th Beauty Bar Las Vegas, Nevada November 21st Soma (sidestage) San Diego, California December 1st Emo's Austin, Texas December 2nd The Loft Dallas, Texas December 4th The Variety Playhouse Atlanta, Georgia December 5th Rhythm & Brews Chattanooga, Tennessee December 8th Visulite Charlotte, North Carolina December 10th Black Cat Washington, DC, Washington DC December 11th The Fillmore @ Irving Plaza New York, New York December 12th North Star Philadelphia, Pennsylvania December 14th Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina December 15th Pour House Charleston, South Carolina
A band we've really been keeping our eye on, The Heavy, finally dropped their sophomore album The House That Dirt Built in stores today. We don't get all worked up about much around here anymore but I have a feeling this record is really going to cause a lot of buzz.
You can grab a track off the album for free by going here. Like what you hear? Go get the album.
US Tour Dates
10/21 || The Echo || Los Angeles, CA 10/22 || Martini Ranch || Scottsdale, AZ 10/23 || Casbah || San Diego, CA 10/24 || The Blank Club || San Jose, CA 10/27 || Slim's || San Francisco, CA 10/28 || Silver Moon Brewing Company || Bend, OR 10/29 || Doug Fir Lounge || Portland, OR 10/30 || The Crocodile || Seattle, WA 11/2 || World Café Live || Philadelphia, PA 11/4 || Club Metronome || Burlington, VA 11/5 || Great Scott || Boston, MA 11/7 || 92Y Tribeca || New York, NY
We must be in a cover song kind of mood today because in addition to Love in October's cover of Tokyo Police Club's Nature of the Experiment which you can grab in the previous post we've also got a cover of the The Pixie's "Here Comes Your Man" by Relation.
The cover rendition has a John Hughes 80's throwback vibe to it that makes it sound both a little desperate and delicious - like most good Pixies covers. It is the final track on the debut album Fear of Night from the Southend duo Relation. The album is clearly a call-out to the 80's electo pop days of Depeche Mode and New Order but nonetheless a fun spin.
I turned 28 yesterday (woo!) - so I want to share one of my more recent favorite "birthday" songs with you, called "Happy Birthday, Don't Die" by Rhett Miller, below:
Nature of The Experiment (Acoustic) - Love in October ( Tokyo Police Club cover )
"Nature of the Experiment" by Tokyo Police Club is one of my favorite tracks of the past couple years, and here it gets an interesting acoustic makeover by the band Love in October that you just might enjoy as much as I did.
Veritas Lux Mea friends The Good Graces released Bring on the Tambourines! this week. We previously profiled them, but to correspond with the release, they've also released another track off the album, which you can snag below: The Good Graces - "Bad Driver"
WHITE GOLD and GotMilk? have teamed up to help save California high school arts programs with White Gold’s Milkdonculous Giveaway.
California public high schools will be challenged to remake a scene from the rock opera for the chance to win part of a combined $50,000 in funding earmarked for arts programs ($20K scholarship for first place, one $10K winner for second place and 8 honorable mentions at $2.5K each). For more details, go here
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