If you live in the northeast than you've probably survived a blizzard this weekend. But have you survived Blizzard Man??
Ok so that was parody, and um be forewarned this isn't. The lovely boyfriend and I are taking up a collection to get the Mountain Goats to sing this at the next Zoop:
Looking to get rid of your crappy old albums (not that any of our readers own crappy albums, no, of course not) and get something less-crappy in return? Oh and want to see some awesome bands AND help combat AIDS and homelessness? Well I sure do. Therefore this Thursday I be at Housing Works Bookstore.
I will plunk down my five bucks, a donation to the aforementioned causes of course, and a bushel of old CDs and pick one that is hopefully a lot better than those crappy promos I've accumulated over the past three years. (All albums that aren't claimed will be donated to the non-profit shop.) And I will see the Morning Benders!
ALL THE DETAILS ARE HERE
OH and did I mention I WILL SEE THE MORNING BENDERS! Their upcoming album Big Echo, out in March is pretty damn awesome and has lots of sha-la-las and ooh-ooh-ahhs and other monosyllabic sounds of delight. (It's also produced by Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor and you can definitely hear a smidge of the Grizz in the moody atmospheric production.) This is a long rambly way of saying its occupying all of my ears' time lately. Take a listen:
Excuses - The Morning Benders
SO GO GO GO! All the cool kids will be there!
Looking for something to do tomorrow (it's a Friday in New York, so of course you are)
All proceeds go to help some cool kids write a pretty cool book. Basically they're take a road trip across America and Mexico next month in search of where music and the music industry stands in 2010, how we got here, and where we're going.
The book is called Sound through Sight. Here the deets.
Here's a beautiful way to start your weekend. In honor of a pre-murderous Phil Spector, The Morning Benders perform their song "Excuses" with choir of their friends. It's just that their friends all happen to be a who's who of the San Fran music scene. We got the Nicest Guy in Indie Rock (TM), John Vanderslice, plus the guy from last years breakout band of choice, Chris Owens' of GIRLS and the Mumlers. Together they call themselves the Big Echo Orchestra. Basically your ears will be in heaven for the next six minutes. Enjoy!
Yours Truly Presents: The Morning Benders "Excuses" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.
You know what I did instead of watching the Superbowl last Sunday? I saw MC Frontalot rap his ass off. To the uninitiated he is the reigning king of nerdcore. That basically means he raps about Star Wars and internet and it is all sorts of awesome. Here is a video of a song on his upcoming album, the brilliantly entitled "First World Problems":
So I hung out in this adorable comic book shop last night. While perusing the shelves I stumbled upon this book entitled "Ballad of the Two-Headed Boy". That has got to a be a Neutral Milk Hotel reference, right? I mean it came out in 2000 and even the black and white sketches seem Aeroplane-esque.
Just thought I'd throw that out there and if anyone knows for sure, hit us up in the comments. Also I'll take any excuse I can get to post this song:
Two-Headed Boy - Neutral Milk Hotel
Two-Headed Boy - the Mountain Goats (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)
I'm probably the only one who likes Joanna Newsom but does not love Ys. Sure, it's alright I guess. I mean I dig the harp and even her girly sometimes overly affected vocals. But with the exception of maybe "Emily" I simply didn't enjoy the overly ornate orchestral arrangements and rambling song structures. It was a total 180 from the homespun charm of her debut album The Milk-Eyed Mender and I missed the folksy twang of it all.
BUT hope is not lost. This week Drag City unveiled two new tracks off her highly anticipated TRIPLE(!) album Have One on Me out February 23. And I like them both. One is long. One is short. Yet the production is definitely a return to the old and the melodies are tight. There's even some banjo thrown in for good measure. Check 'em out:
'81 - Joanna Newsom
Good Intentions Paving Company - Joanna Newsom
