more music

in other music news: thanks to a certain gangsta, i have been enjoying the sounds of pre-pavement malkmus with the legendary lakespeed demos? album? i am not certain what to call it.

all the i know is that it's good.

if you want to read what rabid fans have to say about this, then please click this link (<--link!) and you can see for yerself. they're legendary. apparently.

mise en place

apparently, this should be good.

Location:	Java Jack's Coffee Cafe (Basement) 818 46th Street W., Minneapolis, MN
When:	Saturday, October 15, 7:30pm
Phone:	612.825.2183
Your presence is humbly requested at a special evening performance of music by Mise en Place, a recently formed quartet from Edina. If you have received this invitation, then either (1) the band thinks favorably of you, or (2) the band is using you. It is equally possible that Mise en Place collectively feel "obligated" to ask you. In any case, come take part in history and witness Mise en Place's debut performance in the basement of Java Jack's in South Minnie. DISCLAIMER: This is not for the meek-hearted (or minded), i.e., some of you may want to bring earplugs. Feel free to bring your requests, and Mise en Place will feel free not to play them. Join the band after the show at the Bryant Lake Bowl for a post party. Post-post party location yet to be determined. M Forrester - guitar Drew Patrick - guitar, vocals Cory Rath - bass, vocals Shaun Westphal - drums “Mise en Place is an overly melodic noise outfit from the notorious post-prior Edina scene. Think of a blank canvas marked by a red X, a black X, and some other stuff.”

then again, it could be crap. i'm just trying to be a good sister here. you know?

u.s. maple - talker

last night, as i took an inventory of all my albums, i remembered that i own and quite like all of u.s maple's albums. they're kind of weird. not my normal "thing" (i.e. they're not pretty), but they're good. i think that partially the reason that i like them is because once upon a time at a david grubbs show in chicago, my brother and i had an hour or so long conversation with one of their guitarists and he was really nice. so, i like to give nice people a chance... i did, and i started to actually like their deconstructive rock.

here is their third album talker, for you to try to enjoy.

1. bumps and guys
2. running from kabob
3. go to bruises
4. more horror
5. apollo, don't you crust
6. breeze, it's your high school
7. stupid deep indoors
8. [untitled]
9. so long bonus

for what it's worth, breeze, it's your high school is probably my favorite track.

music overload

dear fans of the bad arts (all two or so of you):

i have been operating on music overload the past few weeks. probably, and more accurately, i should say past month or so. this is both a good and a bad thing. good in that i am trying and searching and scouring the wide world of music to find rare gems to pass along to you, my loyal reader(s). bad in that, in all my searching and scouring and listening and buying and acquiring, i have found myself in that rare position of too much music to listen to to even make sense of any of it.

there have been some standouts in the recent acquisitions. oh, just fantastic stuff in general. however, i have not had time to properly digest and dissect any of the albums enough to even attempt to give one of my craptastic reviews. i mean, let's face it here, my reviews are a bit craptastic, even when i have listened to an album numerous times. but i couldn't even attempt one of those at this moment. i'm still absorbing everything and need to revisit at least twelve albums before i can pass along anything to you.

in the meantime, there is one song that has stood out more than most and that is the song "man on a string" (<--link!) by arizona amp and amplifier, which is really just howe gelb. oh, silly howe. and the only reason that i even feel okay in passing that along is because i have found myself listening to it on repeat over and over and over again (oh wait, that is the definition of repeat, isn't it?) in car rides here and there in my meanderings in greater minneapolis.

so, i give you that. for now. chew on it. think it over. hopefully, love it. if not, then that's fine, too. to each his own, as they say.

i will work on overcoming my music overload problem. and, someday, have some proper recommendations and reviews to dish out.

love,
erin

we'll build them a golden bridge

because i'm super nice and just uploaded this whole incredibly rare album for a destroyer community, i thought that i would be super super nice and share the love with any and all of you.

so, i give you "we'll build them a golden bridge" by destroyer. this album is super hard to find. but, because i am awesome, i have a copy of it. (of course!)


1. revolution
2. j. tailor
3. smith
4. i, as mccarthy
5. mending song
6. leave little fiddler (alone)
7. the pornographers
8. war on jazz
9. islands in the stream
10. saddestroyer
11. streets of fire
12. rose fleched this
13. breakin' the law
14. whistilin' dixie (she shoots)
15. riota
16. knowing when to leave (slang mix)

acoustic guitar

how do you feel about acoustic music? the other night, my fake brother was telling me that acoustic music is the worst thing in the whole wide world, and is actually a killer of rock music. i like acoustic music done properly. i mean, elliott smith? uh. some others? his stance was that people like frank black can put an acoustic guitar in a song and make it sound good, but that the whole MTV unplugged phenomenon was the worst thing to happen to music. ever.

but, anyhow, without boring you with random stupid details, during the whole debate, the following song was going through my head and i would have started singing it except that i don't think that fake brother knows this song.

so, here you go:
acoustic guitar - the magnetic fields

this is from disc three of 69 love songs, and though the file name may say something like "how to say goodbye" it's NOT. my computer sometimes is stupid and misreads and misnames files or whatever, so, you know, just know that it is the song i intended for it to be. regardless of name.

and then, tell me how you feel about acoustic music. i'd really like to know.

we have arrived....

the more and more i listen to twin cinema, the more and more i like it. in fact, it's actually taken the place of the newest flavor of the month, "clap your hands say yeah" as the album that is most likely to be listened to in my car. this is kind of a huge honor. probably not, actually.

a large part of the liking has been the song the bleeding heart show, which could be and often is listened to on repeat, over and over and over again. there is just something about it...

so, i give you the bleeding heart show by the new pornographers; maybe you will love it as much as i do.

naked, if i want to

2 versions.

naked, if i want to - moby grape

naked, if i want to - cat power


this is always a good song. doubly so, now!



if there are linkage problems, let me know. somehow. they always work for me, but that might not mean anything.
[/technodolt]

unofficial canada day

yesterday, the new pornographers, in conjunction with matador records (US), released twin cinema.

now, i have to confess, i was not anxiously anticipating this album. not even a little bit. however, my loyalty to dan bejar of destroyer and neko case of neko case was too strong to not buy this album. and, you know what? after one listen, it's quite good. i still don't think that AC newman is all he's cracked up to be, but this is a far better album than their last album, electric version, which up until this morning, i had not listened to since shortly after its release in 2003.

in celebration of the new new pornographers and all things interconnected in that tangled little web those indie musicians weave, i have decided that i am going to celebrate an unofficial canada day and will only listen to canadian stuff, namely stuff involving neko case (an unofficial canadian herself), dan bejar, and the new pornographers peops.

the most exciting part of the day is that i stumbled across a destroyer rarities compilation and downloaded it and finally, finally have the version of "the music lovers" on CD that i previously only had on a 7" single that i could not play since i have no record player.

so, here you go...
the music lovers - destroyer (alternate version, of course!)

if i get 'round to it, i'll post more fantastic canadian tracks. but for now, this will do.

carry on.

rarity

new monkey - elliott smith

from the either/or sessions. maybe someday, when i'm feeling super nice, i'll post the whole lot. well, at least disc one of the lot, since i don't have the second disc or whatevz.

(the sound quality is not the best, mind you, but that is just something you will have to deal with.)

home, vol. 4

i'm feeling nice.

here you go, the one time that i will ever ever ever willingly and ablingly listen to conor oberst, and that is only because he is playing with [my fake rock star boyfriend who doesn't actually know that i exist but who i brushed shoulders with once] britt daniel.



spent on rainy days
you get yours
southern state
let the distance bring us together

now, mind you, i still can't handle conor even a little bit, but i'll tolerate him for britt.

fake autobiographical

south dakota - liz phair

call me mommy - make up



and, just because i like this song:
the loneliest duet - the secrets

this. and a little bit of that.

wow. my last post was so fantastic that i don't even know that i can top it. ever.

riiiiiiiight.

today, i rediscovered the magic of pavement (did i ever really undiscover it? nope, don't think so.) and am slowly working on turning my daughter into the world's largest little pavement fan. though, her favorite song still is "the beast and dragon and dog" (aka the best and dragon, adored, by spoon). i'm working on it. spoon are great, but pavement are greater.

and yes, i know i refer to bands in the plural. i'm a fake brit. have i never mentioned this before? when your daughter's father hails from scotland, then these things tend to infiltrate the vocabulary.

no songs today, as, once again, i am at home and on dial-up, but tomorrow there should be more. should be being the operative words there. there is a fantastic old giant sand song that i may post and i need to expand my horizons and find some new things for all you lovelies to listen to, because i still am pretty certain that my taste in music is tops. it just needs to be expanded.

and, if you can't get sarcasm in writing, then there may be no hope for you.

photo journey

today is a day off, so there are limitations as to what i can post. a girl can only do so much with dial-up, y'see? so, today is a day for random photographs and, also, a very sad tale, indeed.

first. the everchanging cast of the magnet band. forgive me if you've seen these pictures before, or if you are one of the lucky few who have seen these fantastic creations in person. as i said, i have my limitations today, so do what you will with that.





i have some more. i have some on my fridge here at home, too. in fact, with the magic of digital photography and instantaneous upload, i present you with this:



please ignore non-rock star magnets, as, i have quite a little soft spot in my hahhht for magnets. i like them. they're fun. this, however, is NOT the magnet blog (if it were, though...oh, if it *were*!), so focus instead on the rock star magnets. steve albini! kim deal! neko case! elliott smith! stephen malkmus! jesus! oh, wait, not jesus.

and now, for my tales of sadness and woe.

firstly, i present you with the following cleverly doctored photograph (i am very clever.):



my aforementioned copy of hisser, that, indeed, i scoured the stores of glasgow, edinburgh, dundee, stirling, and other places in scotland for before finally obtaining in one fantastic record store in london whose name now escapes me. oh, london.

but, to the point, as you can see from my mad paint skillz, he spelled erin with an A. that is just not right. as much as i love you, howe (and i do i do i do!), this is incorrect. however, his high fives are solid and he's still a nice man. and, though the new giant sand pretty much blows, his old work with john convertino and joey burns (oh, those pesky calexicans) is pretty fantastic. it truly is. and his solo work ain't too shaggy, either.

also, i took a photo of a photo the other day as i do not have a scanner and i wanted to show how howe kind of does resemble joey fatone (and, plus, i quite liked this picture of me). unfortunately, my photography skillz are not as good as my paint ones, at least in terms of figuring out how to avoid flash, but here you go anyhow. see the resemblance? i do!



unfortunately, this original photograph, along with a book that i truly love, were accidentally released into the universe at a random stop at a convenient store yesterday afternoon; the purpose of which was to pick up the new issue of entertainment weekly, which has a snippet about my favorite band about books, harry and the potters, in it. this is a sad, sad, sad, but true story and i am very sorry to know that some random person has probably one of my favorite photographs ever along with my copy of "half asleep in frog pajamas" by tom robbins.

this is a far more personal bad arts post than normal, as you may have noticed. cherish it. i'll be back to my old tricks tomorrow, or, at the least, soon enough.

long songs

notorious lightning - destroyer
9 min. 51 sec. from notorious lightning and other works ep, 2005, merge records.
this is far superior to the version of notorious lightning that opens up 2004's your blues. far superior.

have i ever mentioned that i love destroyer?



from her to eternity - nick cave and the bad seeds
5 min. 33. sec. from from her to eternity, originally released 1984.

not my favorite nick cave song, but pretty fantastic nonetheless. he's great.



oh comely - neutral milk hotel
8 min. 18 sec. from in the aeroplane over the sea, 1998, merge records.

long song. i love this album.



shangri-la - the kinks
5 min. 20 sec. from arthur, or the decline and fall of the british empire, originally released 1969.

the kinks are the best british band of the sixties, and possibly, in my opinion, ever. EVER.




that should do.

(apologies for the random picture sizes. and apologies, too, because two of those are not even that long and i was too lazy to upload any more.)

edit: okay, how could i not put another nick cave song on this post? i couldn't not, so here you go. bonus!

the mercy seat - nick cave and the bad seeds
7 min. 17 sec. from tender prey, released 1988.

this is actually one of my favorite albums of all time.

rainy day song

it's not raining!

4 door maverick - howe gelb


that should work. i've been having the worst experiences with my protected media content and my technological ineptness.

but, howe gelb = fantastico!

apparently, according to some, he looks like joey fatone's long lost dad. i've seen joey fatone's dad on the other half and howe gelb is not even remotely a look-alike. though, i do see an odd resemblance to joey fatone. i guess. whatevz.

howe is also really nice. and he likes scotch. and if you go to him with your rare copy of "hisser" that you scoured the UK for, he will appreciate your stories about this and sign it for you and even give you a high five. it's true.

he may, however, spell your name wrong.

word is out on the street....

this is probably my third favorite song ever, if i were the type who rates these things, of course.

rise up - bobby conn

i love bobby conn. he's so weird.

song of the day

pretty eyes - the silver jews

in keeping with my pretty theme of the past two days, i am presenting you with probably my favorite silver jews song. i love it. it's PRETTY.

lyrics:

Everybody wants perspective from a hill
but everybody's wants can't make it past the window sill
I can see you in yourt room at night
the pictures on your walls
little forest scenes and high school halloweens
but they don't come to you
they don't come to you at all

All houses dream in blueprints
our house dreams so hard
Outside you can see my shoeprints
I've been dreaming in your yard

One of these days these days will end
Thru the kitchen window the light will bend
You'll be carving a pumpkin with a knife
when someone at the table says
"that's not what I call a life!"

The elephants are so ashamed of their size
hosing down I tell them "you got pretty eyes"
Out in the backyard I used to make like I was a cowboy
I'd set my dog before a hoop and say "now boy, now boy!"

When the governer's heart fails
the state bird falls from its branch
Icicles on hell's higher hills
Meanwhile back home at the ranch
I still get up early in the morning
and I never knew a better place

I believe the stars are the headlights of angels
driving from heaven to save us
to save us
Won't you look at the sky?
They're driving from heaven into our eyes
and though final words are so hard to devise
I promise that I'll always remember your pretty eyes
your pretty eyes

(lyrics janked from the corduroy suit)
d.c. berman is a genius.

i am anxiously anticipating tanglewood numbers' release in october. i actually have already downloaded this album, but, you know, i like to wait until i get the complete package. i'm a bit of a "needs the actual object" type of girl.

enjoy the song. it's......pretty. of course!

songs that are good

today is a day for pretty songs.

pretty ballerina - the left banke
i first heard this song on a mix tape that the father of my daughter gave me many many years ago. i still love this song, even though i no longer love him.

ventricle - ponies in the surf
this is a brother/sister duo from boston whom i am quite enamored of, even though they only have one short ep out and have never played here and sound a bit unpolished at times. they're still quite good. i like pretty music. what more can i say?


i wanted to treat you to more songs, but yousendit is being a bit of a pain, so i will leave you, instead, with really truly wonderful descriptions of pretty songs and why i like them. and maybe, someday, yousendit will stop being a balginey and will actually start uploading tracks and i can make these into pretty little mp3s for you, too.

edit: two more songs uploaded. excellent.
waterloo sunset - the kinks
I LOVE THE KINKS. LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM, even. they're fantastic. this song is really beautiful and sometimes, on somedays, it can even make me cry. though this is not my favorite song of theirs, it is fantastic and everyone should listen to it.

clam, crab, cockle, cowrie - joanna newsom
another lovely song. when joanna played this live last summer, i almost cried. that was a lie. i did cry. it's a really beautiful song and the lyrics are fantasticly fantastic.

all her favorite fruit - camper van beethoven
okay, i know that cvb are maybe a bit out of date. but, dude, this song is so good. the first time i heard it was when my brothers first learned to play guitars and started a little band and played covers at my small town moonlight madness in 1994. we still have the video tape. and their performance is still pretty awesome. but, i digress...this song? super good.



pretty!

second edit: yousendit is fantastic today. just so you all know.

excellent news

destroyer/new pornographers tour has finally been extended to minneapolis.

this might be the best news ever.

october 22. first ave.

(big. thumbs. up.)