What I love in 2010 (so far)

I'm still alive!

Apologies for all but leaving our belov'd blog behind while I ran away to culinary school in Montpelier, Vermont and then home to Seattle, but now that life has some pauses I intend to fully make good with the MP3s and such! So let's find a basic starting point: What're the fresh and ripe picking for ears this season?

Some might say I've taken a turn to the dark side with a newfound affinity for pop, or could it be that suddenly there's actually good pop music out there? Lady Gaga's endlessly changing looks and enviable stage productions take already awesome songs and elevate them further. From personal experience, The Fame Monster is an excellent album to cook or bake to.
Lady Gaga - So Happy I Could Die.mp3

"Broken Bells, sounds like the guy from the Shins with a DJ." Close, it's the Shins' James Mercer with Brian Burton of Danger Mouse. Local station KEXP made a good point: After listening to the album, wait 2 hours, then try to sing one of the songs. You can't, because they completely lack hooks of any kind. The Shins' least-poppy songs are still poppier than anything from BB but don't categorize them with artists like Fiery Furnaces just yet. They hold their own musically and deserve multiple listens. Here's the first track off the album:
Broken Bells - The High Road.mp3

Considering most of my preferred viewing fare is along the lines of Breaking Bad and The X-Files, Glee is a wonderfully refreshing change. The musical dramedy's impeccable attention to detail, the incredibly talented cast, and fresh writing make this show a true gem.
Glee taught me two things: 1, the influence of Bollywood supports the idea that culture doesn't (and shouldn't) move strictly from west to east, and 2, that in recession times people cut back on the serifs and flourishes of life but that singing and dancing will always be popular. Glee does it right with a healthy dose of snark. If you like cover songs as much as we do, then this is a bandwagon you should definitely get on.
Glee - Total Eclipse of the Heart.mp3 (Bonnie Tyler cover)
Glee - Poker Face.mp3 (acoustic Lady Gaga cover... aw yeah)

Now that hipsters have decided to move on from the 80's to the 90's, I'm hoping for a revival of some of my favorite artists from that decade. 20 years ago, Jeff Buckley worked on his first fledgling recordings: the Babylon Dungeon Demos and an album with Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas. Here're two songs from that time:
Jeff Buckley - All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun.mp3 (Rare, high-quality studio recording with Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins)
Jeff Buckley - Unforgiven.mp3 (aka Last Goodbye, this early version is from the Babylon Dungeon Demos)

I love Stephin Merritt. It's too bad that he's a gay 40-something smoker with a tiny dog named Irving Berlin; otherwise, we'd be perfect for each other. I love his lyrics, his gravelly voice, his depressing demeanor and deadpan, dry wit. His straightforwardness in even titling songs is a nice balanced reflection opposing the previous album, Distortion, which was electronica artfully obscuring music. In Realism we have a reprieve, where Mr. Merritt steps away from the keyboard and sits down with his fellow bandmates to bring songs back to their raw element. Even the cover art is almost meta-literal about this. It's one of the best Magnetic Fields albums in some time.
The Magnetic Fields - The Dada Polka.mp3

The classic 1988 punk album Beelzebubba contains the same raw anger and youth passion as albums from a decade before, but with more toxic under-sink solutions (sniffing glue, drinking bleach, smoking banana peels) and hilariously ill-informed attempts to woo through song. Without being overly grating, this energetic album is totally awesome as a soundtrack to working or grocery shopping.
The Dead Milkmen - Born to Love Volcanoes.mp3

I was lucky enough to attend the Mountain Goats show @ Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, Oregon on May 30. It was a bit rough in production but very full of love. JD lived only blocks from the venue at one time, with mixed but intense memories that he shared with the crowd in a high-energy "hometown" show They ran through a nice selection of favorites. JD attempted a new song from the "Going to" series, "Going to Brazil," but he couldn't remember the lyrics so we only got the first line and he moved on to "Going to Bogotá."
Only about a half-dozen pictures of the show are on flickr, from one guy, and nothing you haven't seen before. Tons more are of the Sasquatch festival, which I suspect might be due (in part) to JD complaining in Portland about how there's nothing worse than one really serious guy in the front trying to hold a phone up the entire time. JD said if you're in the mental health field, you just immediately get the urge to help, like "oh you look so sad" and you need to fix them... but mostly it's annoying.
Aand if you don't already have a copy, know tMG have and listen to Hi, We're Not the Mountain Goats, with proceeds going to the purchase of a goat from Farm Sanctuary.
the Mountain Goats - Going to Bogotá.mp3

Sure, I could try to justify why I bother with this bubblegum teen-pop at all. Like cheap candy and butterflies, this 16-year old pop star provides absolutely nothing of value or substance, but is always an immensely entertaining draw nonetheless. Who says guilty pleasures should be guilty? S/He who is without New Kids on the Block or Beatles(!) fandom, cast the first comment.
Justin Bieber - Common Denominator.mp3

Yes, yes I know:

Consider this offering of Mashups an olive branch:

Life's a Bitch, Loser (Nas vs. Beck).mp3
Ghost Beasties (Ghostbusters Theme vs. Beastie Boys).mp3
Seasons Of Juice (Chambaland vs. Rent).mp3
The XX Gon' Give It To Ya (DMX vs. The XX).mp3
Tipsy In The Sun (Weezer vs. J-Kwon).mp3
Tik Tok Seattle (Ke$ha vs. Owl City).mp3
Heartbreaker Baby (Justin Bieber vs. MSTRKRFT).mp3

Thought So!

Thought So craft the kind of music rarely heard from New York buzz bands. You know the kind -sparkling alt-country. The kind of music that's twangy yet still polished but not overly-produced. It's refreshingly untrendy americana much in the vain of the Avett Brothers or old school Wilco. In other words it's the kind of music we here at the Volume Knob rather enjoy. They only have one EP so far but bodes well for their musical future. Take a listen for yourself and stream the tunes at their MySpace page (hey what do you know, MySpace is still good for something!).

Oh and if you live around NY, be sure to catch them at the Mercury Lounge June 11.

Every Eventually - Thought Somp3

CRAZY GIRL!

Here's (half) a new Of Montreal song to get kick off your weekend. Gotta love Kevin Barnes spoken word interludes.

Iron Man has really good taste in music

Hey look, the characters in Iron Man quote the Mountain Goats almost as much as we do!

Not so easy to Google

The Sleigh Bells album, Treats, is finally out! You can get it on iTunes for a whopping $6.90. Go, do, right away! Stream some of it here, on their Myspace. It's really, really good, and I'm not big on Electronica, which is not to say that I'm not enjoying the new LCD Soundsystem album, This is Happening, also out yesterday, and available at the Buy More ... I mean the Buy'n'Large ... I mean the Best Buy for $7.99.

This is what happens when all of one's local records stores go out of business. One has to buy on the Internets and at the Big Boxes. It's strange to me how the Big Boxes are filling the niche. One can only hope that the artists are making some small pittance out of my purchases. If anyone knows of a good analysis of the state of the recording industry today, feel free to point me to it. Touring is probably still king, followed by direct internet sales, maybe? Hmm ...

Narcissistic confession time

Sometimes I buy albums for all the wrong reasons. Instead of buying that album my friend enthusiastically and perpetually recommends or buying the EP from that stellar opening band, I buy the album that has that song that's titled after my name.

I'll admit that's what initially piqued my interest in Avi Buffalo's debut self-titled album. But it wasn't just the beautifully titled track 5 "Jessica". It's that it was sandwiched between track 4 "Five Little Sluts" and track 6 "Summer Cum". Oooh "DIRTY!" was my first reaction. I wondered how my name played into all the sexual sexiness of it all. And thus I plunked down ten bucks for one of the most deceptive listens I've found in a while.

First of all, I was expecting something loud, fast and downright filthy, but what I found was light, acoustic and lovely. Nearly downright dainty. I'm talking shimmering harmonies, mellow melodies, some Grizzly Bear-esque atmospherics and a dash of old-school Wilco twang. Of course this is sort of weird juxtaposition when the lyrics refer to the stains of bodily fluids and "shady deals regarding money and girls". Okay so maybe it's dirtier than I thought. Listen for yourself:

Summer Cum - Avi Buffalo
Jessica - Avi Buffalo

And here's the video for one of their best songs, "What's In It For?":

"The enemy is everywhere!"

I'm not sure what else I can say about Titus Andronicus' stellar album The Monitor that hasn't already been said. It's about the Civil War as much as it is about New Jersey as much as it's about disaffected youth. That is to say it is about a lot of BIG things. That is also to say it's gonna take a lot of listens before I can unpack it all.

But that's a beautiful thing, because it sounds about as big as the subject matter it covers. Not in an overblown way though, more like an out-of-breath way. There might as well not even be a track listing because every song just sort of ramshackle-y unravels, verse piled on verse, and spills into the next, but in the best possible way. It kind of sounds like a much punkier, more youthful version of The Hold Steady, with all the Springsteen worship to boot. (Check out the lyrics in epic opener "A More Perfect Union", "tramps like us, baby we were born to die!") In other words, it's the sound of something exciting looking forward and looking back.

A More Perfect Union - Titus Andronicus

First of May!

This is a Spring anthem of sorts. I won't give anything away, but let's just say its dedicated to all the horny college kids out there. It's a damn beautiful day so grab the one you love (or just the one you think is really hot) and start making out on the quad.

"His smile is like a baby bunny sniffing a flower"

Hipster Kitty is right. The more we talk about it, the less stigma there is. That being said, I have nothing to say for myself. Quod Scripsi Scripsi.

Justin Bieber - Up.mp3

Record Store Day 2010

Just a reminder: today is Record Store Day 2010! Swing by your local independent record store and pick up some goodies, like the Mountain Goats' "Life of the World to Come" DVD which is also released today. Only 1,500 copies were made, and distributed throughout the U.S., so call and visit to snag a copy!

Here's my personal favorite track off the latest album by the same name:
the Mountain Goats - 1 John 4:16.mp3

Glee!

Ah yeah, it's that time again. Today is going to be an all-Glee mix at work. While you're Enjoying Sue Sylvester's spoof of Madonna's iconic "Vogue" video, check out some fantastic amateur tributes to the show. I present to you Seattle's Glee Flash Mob!

VK BFFs 4EVA

Not that this really has to do with music per se, but I stumbled upon this belt buckle that reminds me of this beloved blog:



Oh yes, it goes up to 11 as well!

an open letter to our beloved bands

Dear Music Artists,

As you may/may not know, the recession has hit those of us who do not have "touring" in our job description rather heavily.
The plus side is that all of your lovely VK ladies have since returned to graduate school and/or gotten recession-resistant jobs.
The bad news is that grad school + these jobs suck up almost all our time, and we're still broke.

It's a delight when you tour through town, but the exquisite dearth of disposable income has made it difficult to invest in new music or go to shows. (Spoon, with your $30+ tickets for crappy seats at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, I'm talking to you.)

Suggestion: instead of trying to impress the hipsters with vinyl 7" releases or putting on elaborate shows that are out of the average working woman's price range, do what everyone else is doing and scale back a bit.

The Dimes (@The Tractor Tavern) and The Morning Benders (@The Crocodile) both put on great shows for <$12 in the past fortnight. Maybe the rest of you should look into that sort of thing.

Sincerely,
the struggling music fans who are your bread & butter.

Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre

Of all the new music I got this week, the Weakerthans' Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre CD/DVD is by far my favorite. It would serve as a great introduction to the band, if you happen to need one, or a great rehash of all your old favorites, if you're already acquainted. For me, it serves to make me feel much, much better about the concert of theirs I missed a few years back.

And now, the obligatory video clip:



No, it's not the Weakerthans, but, seriously, how awesome was that?

Guilty on all charges

Via Flavorwire, it's music review bingo! And yes, it totally captures the vocab of VK. Well done, indeed.

RIP Alex Chilton

We are saddened to have to write this blog post about yet another super-talented song-writer dying. Alex Chilton, you know the guy from classic 70s band Big Star has passed at only 59. If the dude only sang "Thirteen" that would have been more than enough to solidify his immense talents. I mean that is THE purest, most innocent declaration of young love EVER. His trembling voice is the encapsulation of adolescent yearning. It was practically written for do-you-like-me?-circle-yes-or-no mixtapes.

BUT thankfully his output far exceeds just one song. Celebrate his life by revisiting his tremendous body of work.

Thirteen - Big Star
The Ballad of El Goodo - Big Star
It gets so hard in times like now to hold on

The cover is so crayon-y!

The best National songs make me want to punch holes in walls. Even when they're elegant restrained there is still such unbridled angst and anger amongst the beauty. And dear God is "Terrible Love" beautiful. The slow-boil crescendo percolates to such awesome heights, I get shivers. Shivers, I tell you! Mark your calendar's for May 11's release of High Violet. We sure have.

Terrible Love - The National

and another live stunner:

Runaway - The National

RIP Mark Linkous

Just Because

I have no timely reason to post this song, except because it's beautiful and got stuck in my head in the shower this morning:

The saddest PSA this side of the Sarah Mclachlan with the puppies one

You guys! The rabbits are sad! I know this because they are in cages and are listening to Morrissey! Factory farming never seemed so cruel.