do you KOLF? no i kill.

dear readers,


i am not wise in the ways of html, but i am wise in music. so google these bands:


black bear- a jaunty indie rock band you cant help but snap your fingers to.


born ruffians- a jantier indie rock band.


devendra banhart- the king of freak folk, perfect for those winter days full of scarves and hot tea.

the snow keeps falling(in wenatchee, washinton), but the volume keeps going up.

Hiatus and yellowed hiatusks

Hello brothers, lovers, friends, random web viewers. I hope you are well.

Because I've been alright. Obviously, this site hasn't seen much activity in...forever. But it remains a useful resource. Hopefully in months to come, as issues start to cool down for a lot of the members (many of us, myself included, are undergoing an intense period of college searching/appeasement, high school, extracurriculars, and socializing).

Maybe in the near future we'll see some action up on these pages. I know that in spite of other commitments, my friends and I have still been actively seeking new sounds.

But in any case, here's a warm hello from this side of Thanksgiving day.

<3 Sean

That X Flavor

There are some bands and musicians that play music that has a kind of feel or 'flavor' too it. Sometimes it is delicious.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela are 2 guitarists that add that delicious latin flavor to exciting rhythm and melodic guitar excersizes that are as innovative as they are fun. Their dynamic playing personalities come through in the form of technical ability, a bit of that latin flavor, and beating the shit out of their guitars.

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Tamacun
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Diablo Rojo
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Stairway To Heaven

There are other bands that have a more "party" flavor. The kind of band that makes one want to jump around and have a good time. A combination of happy 70s sunshine rock, funk, hip-hop, with an interesting use of a couple of samples, some great harmonica solos, it sounds like a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack having a crazy fun party time. The Go! Team is a barrel of fun.

The Go! Team - Panther Dash
The Go! Team - Junior Kickstart
The Go! Team - Bottle Rocket

Additional Links:
Radrigo Y Gabriela Site
The Go! Team Site

Modest, mouse colored folk

These tracks range from fairly recent, to mid-90s old, from a band most are by now well acquainted with. A good friend got me into them around the release of The Moon and Antarctica, and I've been off and on with them ever since. Theirs is a growth and development in sound that, I think, seems more sideways than forwards or backwards. They've certainly changed since these few tracks. And increased popularity has correlated to change, for them. But I find earlier Modest Mouse speaks to me more personally. Maybe you do, too?

Modest Mouse - 'Dramamine'

Modest Mouse - 'Never Ending Math Equation'

Modest Mouse - 'Here It Comes'

Modest Mouse - 'Other People's Lives'

Modest Mouse - 'So Much Beauty in Dirt'

Am the Upsetter

What's in a sound? It's something like that boom booming of the rhythm and the beat beat of the pulse. The chop of the skank and the flow of the voice, oh so smoothe and indiscreet, a primal feeling that resonates with the limbs and the mind. One big drum, skin drawn taught by social pressures, ready to let loose in one big release.

The roots of the reggae sound find themselves beneath the political rollers and musical whirlpools of the 1960s. For the likes of Desmond Dekkar, Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, the Skatalites, and many others, including avid crowds of fans in Great Britain the new sound that emerged was different from the rest. Producers like Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, and King Tubby helped to cultivate and spread it. Its realm of association has come to include many names, with ska, dub, dancehall, and reggae being amongst them. Despite their notable differences, each name bears some similar connotations. That strong offbeat skank and those wailing singers. That soul and that beat to connect to.

Burning Spear - Sneakmove
Desmond Dekkar - 'Fu Manchu'
Lee 'Scratch' Perry and the White Belly Rats - Panic in Babylon
Toots and the Maytals - 'Funky Kingston'
Lee 'Scratch' Perry - 'Scratch the Dub Organ'
The Skatalites - 'Skaraven'
Lee 'Scratch' Perry - 'The Upsetter'
The Upsetters - 'Live Injection'
The Skatalites - 'Garden of Love'
Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley - Move!
Desmond Dekkar - 'Music Like Dirt'


Kexp.org, a la link from the side bar, airs a wonderful set of Jamaican beats every Saturday from 9am - 12pm. It's called Positive Vibrations, and you can access it either by using the live radio streaming feature, or accessing their streaming archive. Well worth your time when you're feeling the beat.

Song song song...

...for song's sake.

Final Fantasy - 'Song song song'

Page France - 'Jesus'

Minus Story - 'Joyless, joyless'

Arcade Fire - 'Maps'

Kyle Andrews - 'Sushi'

Close your eyes and begin to relax. Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. As I count back from 10 to 1 you will become completely relaxed.

10. Sometimes there comes a song so beautiful, yet simple, that it cannot be just ignored. The subtle beauty draws you in and holds you there, in a warm little place, just feeling content. Or perhaps, it brings you to tears. 9. Sometimes a sweeping dramatic string melody atop a lovely piano counter melody brings life into focus.

8. The Album Leaf - The Outer Banks

Imagine the soft trickle of a stream in a beautiful woodland area. 7. The autumn wind rustles teh autumn leaves while the sunlight pans through the bare branches. Gentle cold breezes push your clothes against you.

6. The Album Leaf - Shine

The keys are stroked, a somber melody is played and the room goes dark. A gust of wind through the window brushes the curtains outwards. 5. The moon shines in, spilling white light all over the floor. Cool and calm, drift... drift...drift.

4. Agalloch - The Misshapen Steed

A lizard scampers across the sand in the waning moon as the earth turns from blue to orange. 3. A single voice draws one to a deep pool. Fall. Drift. Sleep.

2. Elfonia - Eldalinale

Before you is an endless sea of stars. Two shine brighter. Looking into the eyes of the universe.... find the peace you seek.

1. Motoi Sakuraba - Rena of Arlia Village

Shut up, I'm dreaming

"'It was a great evening,' said Thomas.

'I'm glad to hear it,' said Jesus.

Then they were silent for a while. Downstairs, Louis Armstrong played his trumpet.

'Jesus?' asked Thomas.

'Yes, Thomas?'

'Can you help Papa?'

'I am afraid not.'

It was a pity, but Thomas understood that some people are hard to redeem. You couldn't ask the Lord Jesus for the impossible.

'Do you think Eliza will wait for me?'

'I would think so.' said Jesus.

'Is it scary when she takes her leather leg off?'

'Of course not,' said Jesus. 'You've faced worse things.'

That was true. In his young life, he had already seen quite a few scary things. A bottombiter, Granddad's artificial teeth, a wooden spoon, a swollen nose, a carving knife, and a woman with outboard teeth. And even so, he was going to be happy later.

'Because I am going to marry her, you see,' said Thomas.

The Lord Jesus put a hand on his head and said, 'You have my blessing.'

Then Thomas fell asleep and Jesus ascended to heaven.

The angels were waiting for him anxiously, heaving deep sighs.

'How are things with Thomas?' one of them asked.

'Yes, how is he?' at least a hundred others asked him in unison. They were all hopelessly in love with him, you know.

'He will be alright,' said Jesus.

'Are You going to call him to You soon?' asked a pitch-black angel. 'I would so much like to play trumpet for him.'

'No,' said the Lord Jesus. He smiled. 'Anyway, none of you would have the slightest chance with Thomas.'

'Why not?' the angels asked, appalled.

'None of you has a leather leg that creaks when you walk,' he said.

That was too much for them. Every single one of them was extraordinarily beautiful, but none had a leather leg. You can't have everything."

--from the end of The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer

Sunset Rubdown - 'Shut Up I am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings'


This track is from the wondrous Daytrotter archives. In travelling between shows, bands happen across Daytrotter's Rock Island, Illinois stuidios, and they leave behind gems like this in their wake. Rubdown is itself one of many side projects that includes the oft-mentioned Spencer Krug, who is better known for his singer/songwriter/keyboardist role in Wolf Parade. Their sound makes me stop and listen. Makes me want to cherish the leather legs of my lovers.

Birds to Fly, You & I

When fall rolls around, all I want to do is cuddle up with a good book, a cup of java, and a cozy wool sweater. Music fades in and out of my perception, along with the sound of rain rolling off the skylight. After all of the brittle leaves have turned to mush, music is my shield against the grey and the rotten, the decrepit and the decaying, the dingy and the tarnished. This is my sound track. It's eclectic, drawing from the roots of Etta James, John Coltrane and Louis Armstrong, and flowering to the young innocence found in La Cha-Cha, Devotchka, and Bears.

Spider Silk Dress- "Too Bright"
Bears- "Over It"
John Coltrane- "Naima"
La Cha-Cha- "Papercuts"
Louis Armstrong-"Black and Blue"
Devotchka- "Lunnaya Pogonka"
Etta James- "Trust In Me"

Rock Opera Revival Pt 2: Side Projects! What?

Hello again kiddies. I am back with more things about the great Arjen Anthony Lucassen and his many projects that encompass many genres. First, more of the same, and then, SO MUCH SIDEPROJECT. Okay, not really so much.. but a little bit. Also, some of these files are in .mpc format. If you use winamp, you can find various plug-ins to play these files from winamps plug-in website. Just google .mpc files and your media players name. It should work.

In 2000, Arjen released the Universal Migrator in 2 parts. Part 1, The Dream Sequencer, and Part 2, The Flight of the Migrator. While part 1 was more electronic and atmospheric, part 2 was extremely heavy. Originally Arjen intended only female vocalists on the first part, and only male on the second, but it didn't work out that way. Though there is still extreme variation in the 2 releases. Especially in the vocals and the way the music feels. The album is about the last man on mars. Humanity had migrated to Mars because it was impossible to live on earth. He is the last survivor. He uses the Dream Sequencer to go back in time and re-live his past lives in the Dream Sequencer, and in The Flight of the Migrator, he goes back to the dawn of time and the beginning of the Universe.

Part 1:
Ayreon - One Small Step
Ayreon - Carried by the Wind
Part 2:
Ayreon - Dawn of a Million Souls
Ayreon - Into the Black Hole

One year following the release, Arjen somehow came across a young singer named Astrid Van Der Veen. She was only 14 at the time, but he was so impressed with her voice, that he developed a side project just so he could work with her. Generally, the way Arjen selects vocalists for his projects, is if they give him a certain feeling. Like, they make the hair on the back of his neck stick up, or give him chills. So for this project, he re-worked previously made Ayreon songs, and mixed them so they would be more subdued and ambient. He let astrid write all the vocal lines and lyrics, so it was a collaborate effort, which is rather unusual for Arjen. It was a good follow up to the Universal Migrator part 2, in the sense it was it's opposite. As you will soon find out, Arjen likes to do opposites.

Ambeon - Cold Metal
Ambeon - Ashes
Ambeon - Dreamer

Just one year after Ambeon, Arjen released a straight-forward heavy metal project called Star One. If featured 4 singers: Russell Allen, Dan Swanö, Damian Wilson and Floor Jansen. If you don't know who they are, that's okay. If you do, good for you, you get a cookie. Russel Allen and Damian Wilson handled of the powerful rocky vocals, Dan Swanö handled the deeper more creepy vocal melodies, and Floor Jansen did a lot of higher register vocal stuff. Combined, It sounds very interesting. All 4 singers are amazing in their own rights. The various songs on this project are based on Arjen's favorite sci-fi series or movies. Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Dr. Who, Dune, and even Stargate are featured. It's a little cheesier (eh?) and completely different from Ambeon. In fact, it was mostly a reaction to Ambeon that he made Star One. SPACE METAL! YEAH! WOO!

Star One - Set Your Controls
Star One - Songs of the Ocean
Star One - Sandrider

2 years later, in 2004, Arjen put together one of his most, in a sense, star-studded release. He recruited such big names as James Labrie(dream theater), Mikeal Akerfeldt(Opeth), and Devin Townsend.(hey it's that guy again) The Human Equation spans 2 discs, ranging from folky to heavy to electronica, it is by far the most diverse and bombastic Ayreon releases. The story is a little different as well. A man is in a car accident, and goes into a coma. The events surrounding the accident seem kind of odd, as there were no other cars nearby, and nothing at all in view. He just smashed right into a tree. 11 singers play out a story where they take on the role of a specific emotion or idea. Agony, Reason, Pride, Love, Passion, and Fear are all present. The 5th Ayreon release takes you into a man's mind to face his troubled past, foolish pride, and ruthless nature. It's pretty neat.

Ayreon - Day 3: Pain
Ayreon - Day 8: Hope
Ayreon - Day 14: Pride

Arjen's latest project, entitled Stream of Passion, was brought about by a contest for the Human Equation. He held a contest for a young female singer to send an audition tape or recording of somekind, and he would let them sing on his project. A young Mexican singer named Marcela Bovio won the contest hands down. Arjen liked her singing so much, he started a side project just to focus on her voice. He allowed her to write the vocals and lyrics, and he recruited a band of young musicians from various places. Mostly out of nowhere. Another interesting choice is the lead guitar role was given to an American woman currently living in sweden named Lori Linstruth. Also, he finished with a young dutch drummers, and the piano/keyboard player is Marcela's boyfriend Allejandro. It's the last thing he's released, and now all we can do is wait for more.

Stream of Passion - Passion(Music Video)
Stream of Passion - Out in the Real World(Music Video)
Stream of Passion - Calliopiea

Other Links:
Ayreon's Website
Stream of Passion Website
Ayreon Wiki

Rock Opera Revival Pt 1: Arjen Anthony Lucassen

I can't quite remember anything about 1995. Sure, I was alive at the time, but I was young and events around me didn't seem very important. If only I knew! If only I could have guessed that the revival of that ancient form of musical expression, the rock opera, was about to be revived/reinvented/made more metal. At least, eventually.

Let's start things off with some knowledge. Arjen started his musical career in a small rock band called Bodine. They released 2 albums together, and Arjen grew as a musician and started to play bass at this time. In 1984, he joined a hard rock band called Vengeance. He was in vengeance for awhile, and then, in 1995, he released his first CD under the name of Ayreon: The Final Experiment.

The Final Experiment is a concept album about a blind minstrel named Ayreon that lived during the middle ages. Scientists from the year 2085 or 86 or something, have developed a new technology that allows them to send telepathic messages through time. Mankind has virtually destroyed themselves. They are attempting to send the messages back in time to change the FUTURE! However, Ayreon goes and sings about these terrible events of the future, and is banished by the wizard Merlin. So the final experiment fails, and mankind is doomed. How uplifting. There's more to the story/characters, but I don't want to spoil too much.

The sound of The Final Experiment can best be described as a hard-rock romp through a medieval fair. There are multiple singers, and Arjen basically plays every instrument on the album. Keyboards, guitars, bass, flute. There is also some electronica elements in it. It's a very unique approach to a fantasy rock opera with sci-fi elements.

Ayreon - Sail Away to Avalon
Ayreon - Computer Reign (Game Over)
Ayreon - Charm of the Seer

Just one year after The Final Experiment, Aryeon's second album, Actual Fantasy, was released. It was more a collection of short sci-fi/fantasy stories than a single story. It is the only Ayreon release that is like this. Some of the story themes expanded in later releases, like the song "computer eyes" is about a device called "The Dream Sequencer," which Ayreon's 4th release deals with exclusively. This release had a lot more electronica elements then the last release, and the keyboards play a more prominent role in many songs.

Ayreon - Actual Fantasy
Ayreon - Abbey of Sinn
Ayreon - Computer Eyes

Arjen, at this point, waited until 1998 to release his next rock opera. This one... was a SPACE OPERA. It involved time travel, aliens, and an experiment for a highly advanced race of beings to rediscover their emotions. By taking stereotypical characters as portrayed by old movies, Arjen created over-the-top silly characters. A barbarian, a futureman, a hippy, a highlander, a crusader, an egyptian, and an indian. And some other characters I probably forgot. Into the Electric Castle is an attempt to analyse emotions through ridiculous characters. Successful? Well, I'm not sure. It's a fan favourite. The sound for this album is a lot more of a "psychadellic rock" feel than the other ones. It's not quite as heavy as some of his other projects.

Ayreon - The Hall of Isis and Osiris
Ayreon - The Decision Tree (We're Alive)
Ayreon - The Castle Hall

Now, for the sake of making this a little more edible, I am going to divide it into chunks. Probably 2. This is chunk 1. Chunk 2 will probably be done by tomorrow. I plan to go from the 4th Ayreon release to Arjen's latest side project, Stream of Passion.

It should be fun!

Eux Autres.They're French?

Boy and Girl bands have become something of a trend nowadays (what with Viva Voce, White Stripes, Mates of State and...well...i guess i don't really have any more examples, but whatever). The newest old band out of that group is Eux Autres. I say newest old because while they've only recently become popular on a more than local level (due to their finally getting it bumped up from self releasedom and now being on Grenadine Records) their cd is actually more than 2 years old. so. This should be a lesson to all you indie bands out there.

heh.













Anyway, the real reason that i called you all here today to hear about this wonderful wonderful band is due to the fact that they will be playing at the (newly relocated) Vera Project on Saturday Nov. 18. The headlining band is Math and Physics Club, which makes the show noteworthy already, and the fact that Eux Autres is opening is just the icing on the cake!

Now for what all you soulless bastards came for; the music (or does the fact that you came for music mean that you do have a soul? ...sigh...i don't even know anymore):

Eux Autres- Patrick Nil (my personal favorite)

Eux Autres-Ecoutez Bien

Eux Autres-Salut Les Copains

Eux Autres-Other Girls

Eux Autres-The Things They Carried

Math and Physics Club-Weekends Away

Math and Physics Club-Movie Ending Romance

Interconnected

This is a selection of past items and references from across the mp3 blogosphere. I'll start off with this selection of old old Neutral Milk Hotel cassette recordings. They emerged shortly after I had begun to peruse the web for mp3 blogs, and promptly affirmed my conviction that they are a unique and unequaled source in spreading and networking music that people love.

Regarding this set, I believe Shannon was a neighbor and friend of Jeff Magnum, the lead singer and mind behind Neutral Milk Hotel. Living in a room near to his in the same apartment building, Shannon would hear the band rehearsing and composing material. As a parting gift, Magnum gave Shannon some unpolished tapes with songs on them, and half a year ago decided to release them on the web for all to hear. They're rustic, yes, but they're oh so sweet in that way that only NMH can achieve.

Neutral Milk Hotel - "Dead Dog (unconfirmed title)"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Now I'm Going Down (unconfirmed title)"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Gardenhead"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Circle of Friends"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "Say Goodnight (unconfirmed title)"

Next up is a link from (yet another) local group: Harvey Danger. These guys, especially lead singer Sean Nelson, have been at it for years and years by now. Nelson in particular is an exceptionally active and important guy in Seattle city culture. He hosts a local music show on KEXP called Audioasis and regularly writes for local indie weekly "The Stranger," all in addition to making the odd show with his band at The Croc. The group's latest album, "Little By Little," was released free in its entirety online, in an interesting experiment with album marketing. It's still up (and has been since July), and as I've enjoyed it immensely, I hope to make it available to those who haven't yet experienced it.

Harvey Danger - Little By Little

Finally, a number by The Desks. A granular and rough outfit themselves, their album is also available entirely free online. Much to love in their intrumental distortions and blood-curdling vocals.

The Desks - Calendars

---
Image is courtesy of Sylvia Ji. Today has been outstanding for finding artists of the visual kind...my new favorites include Ytje (who did the album art for "Little By Little," and MWM's works.

Reclusive fall psychedelia

Since my recent discovery of King Crimson from the depths of my father's dusty record collection, I've been more and more intrigued with that genre-spanning psychedellic sound. It permeates 'post-rock' and electronica, seeps into nu jazz outfits and wraps up independent musicians in a blanket of distortion and experimentation. And the likes of Pink Floyd and King Crimson indicate that it's been around awhile, too. An attempt of sorts at weaving modern and early-modern psychedellic sounds. A crimson set for a crimson season.

Pink Floyd - 'One of These Days'
Silversun Pickups - 'Waste It On'
Pink Floyd - 'Welcome to the Machine'
Incubus - 'Pistola'
Silversun Pickups - '...All the Go Inbetweens'
Incubus - 'Under My Umbrella'
King Crimson - '21st Century Schitzoid Man'

Exploring an artist: Devin Townsend

In 1993 Steve Vai released a CD called Sex & Religion. Albiet incredibly cheesy and terrible, it was a young Devin Townsends first foray into the realm of rockin' music. Even if it was with Steve Vai. From this experience, Townsend acquired a distaste for the music industry and for major record labels. However, his first musical "project," if you will, was done through Century Media. In 1995, the first taste we had of his work came in a little package called Strapping Young Lad. A combination of thrash, industrial, and progressive metal, it featured a very dense synth laden romp through extreme music, coupled with a keen sense of irony. Titled "Heavy as a Very Heavy Thing," it introduced the bitter, sarcastic, yelling side of, as he would be affectionately called by fans from this point on, "Hevy Devy."

2 Years Later, Devy would metaphorically drop his own personal atomic bomb on music. Entitled "City," the second SYL album was a multi-layered romp through a desolate urban landscape. It is quite possibly one of the heaviest albums made in the last 10 years. Even though on the surface the album is just loud, angry vocals and banging guitars, underneath it all is a very fine attention to detail. It is not just random noise. Devin created the closest thing to calculated madness that has ever been released.

SYL:
Strapping Young Lad - SYL
Strapping Young Lad - Happy Camper
City:
Strapping Young Lad - Oh My Fucking God
Strapping Young Lad - Detox

The best part about Townsend is his unique style that constantly evolves, but never seems unnatural. Not satisfied with the music industry and tired of being angry, he set out to create a new sound. While SYL's City was negative and angry, his next release, entitled Biomech, went in a completely different direction. So Devy constructed a new band. Ocean Machine: Biomech is the complete opposite of everything SYL represented. It was an atmospheric boat ride through happier lands with a brighter outlook on life.

From late 1997 to 2001, Devin released 4 solo albums. Along with Biomech was Infinity, Physicist, and Terria. While each was very different, they all had the sound of "Hevy Devy" on them. Devin assigned "Colours" to each album. While SYL would be considered red, Biomech is blue, Infinity is white, and Terria is Green. Physicist is more of a failed attempt to work with a member of metallica, which may or may not be viewed as a good thing.

Devin Townsend - Life
Devin Townsend - Christeen
Devin Townsend - Bad Devil
Devin Townsend - Namaste
Devin Townsend - Canada

2003 was a year that changed how Devin worked. Almost simultanesouly, Devy released a new self-titled SYL album, and an album entitled Accelerated Evolution. Accelerated Evolution was the first time an album was released under the moniker "The Devin Townsend Band." The two bands toured independantly for each of their releases, and while most SYL fans were not so fond of the self-titled release, Accelerated Evolution recieved widespread acclaim. In 2005, SYL made another release that many fans considered "sub-par." (whatever fans. I like them.)

Strapping Young Lad - Force Fed
The Devin Townsend Band - Storm
Strapping Young Lad - Love?


In early 2006, The Devin Townsend Band released Synchestra. The album is meant to be listened to as a whole, and follows a "story." Later, in July, Strapping Young Lad released their latest, and perhaps final, album, entitled The New Black. They toured with ozzfest(ew) to support it. Devy, according to various quotes, is sick of SYL.

The Devin Townsend Band - Vampira (Video)
The Devin Townsend Band - Gaia
Strapping Young Lad - You Suck
Strapping Young Lad - Wrong Side (Video)

Additional Links:
HevyDevy Records
SYL Myspace
DTB Myspace

Stand Up Children, It's Time For GBV!

'Nuff said?

Not nearly. Starting in 1984 and breaking up in 2004, Guided By Voices has been an influential and integral part of the independant music scene for generations now, shitting out many many records, generally with over 20 songs on them. The two main members of the band that always remained constant were Tobin Sprout and Robert Pollard. While they tend to be inconsistent, they have 5 CD's that are amazing the whole way through. These are; Bee Thousands, Alien Lanes, Hold on Hope EP, Propellor, and Under the Bushes Under the Stars. Ironically that's less than half of all of their music.
Guided By Voices-Alien Lanes-Blimps Go 90

Guided By Voices-Alien Lanes-My Valuable Hunting Knife

Guided By Voices-Hold On Hope EP-Fly Into Ashes

Guided By Voices-Hold On Hope EP-Tropical Robots

Guided By Voices-Hold On Hope EP-A Crick Uphill

Guided By Voices-Hold On Hope EP-Hold On Hope

Guided By Voices-Propellor-On The Tundra

Guided By Voices-Under The Bushes Under The Stars-The Official Ironmen Rally Song


The band had a small breakup in the late '90's, and Robert Pollard at that point started a Solo carreer. I've posted an example of his solo work below.
Robert Pollard-From A Compound Eye-Dancing Girls and Dancing Men

A Pressure Difference

"I used to be 25 years old, living in Gothenburg. I used to wish I was living on a tropical island with my grandmother. I used to play in other bands. I used to care about who I really was. I used to have a girlfriend. I used to take long walks. I used to think I was special. I used to bake. I used to be an agnostic. I used to groom myself.

None of that really matters anymore.

Now I am Agent Simple and I dance to my own tunes."

Agent Simple - Brother

Below is Dan's (from Said the Gramophone) original description of the following tune. It's a tune that's been captivating me lately, and the warmth in the words is a good reflection of the song.

"You play the shaker on this one. And never, never stop. This is the kind of song that the mushrooms in the forest sway in unison to; singing harmony while the squirrels play flutes so small you can't hear them. It will make everything around you sing. And it will make you want to go home. Even if you're sitting at home right now, it will make you want to go to your favourite place in your home, one you always loved but have forgotten about. It'll make you realise why you have to leave every day, and why you might eventually have to leave for a long time, but the squirrels, the mushrooms, they'll still be there if you want to come/go back. I try not to swear on this thing, but holy fuck this song is good."

Agent Simple - Make a Right At Jordfallsmotet

Readymade are an odyssey of chimes and organ and piano. Their dark whimsy fits well with the Agent Simple selections.

Readymade FC - "Rehearsed Disaster"
Readymade FC - "The Fake But No Finish"
Readymade FC - "Simple Appareil"

---

Agent Simple's homepage and MySpace

post-?

When I see someone use the genre label 'post rock' in a sentence, I have to ask myself "post what?" Are we already beyond rock? Did I miss the memo and get stuck back in that era-ancien, Arctic Monkeys time period? The title itself makes me think of a great ideological leap in musicality. Though it's almost pretentious in nature, it causes me to stop for while. And consider. What's become of the ole' rock/pop unigenre? Not too long ago it was restricted to a few bands fortunate enough to make it onto labels, and through successive decades of marketing and fashion, it's beginning to shatter into fragments, empowering those smaller local labels.

Maybe it'll all come to a sudden stop one day. Musicians will put down their instruments and become lawyers and real estate salesmen. But what would fill the gaping artistic hole? Would we revert back to Elvis and Zepplin? Maybe it'd be more like the mass sobering of western society in the aftermath of World War II. Classical music and post rock will be all that is left in the wake of change...Like music's own existentialist revolution.

It'll be that throaty French woman's voice, trailing from the dusty radio in Saving Private Ryan, that saves the art. Maybe then we'd be post-something. Or maybe we'd just have outdated ourselves.



Mono - 16.12
The Evpatoria Report - Cosmic Call
Chopin - Nocturne in Eb major (Op 55 No 2 performed by Donald Betts)
Explosions in the Sky - Day Six
Chopin - Etude in Ab major (Op 25 No 1 performed by Donald Betts)
The Evpatoria Report - CCS Logbook
Foxhole - Forgiving Monarch
Joy Wants Eternity - From Embrace to Embrace
Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto

Squeak Squeak Squeak

The Bicycles have come! Straight out of Toronto, this band can rock! They also demonstrate an ability to write quite beautiful songs that make you want to dance all the same. With a sound that is reminiscent of I Was Born A Unicorn by The Unicorns, they are one of the...happiest...bands that i've ever heard.

The new album The Good The Bad and The Cuddly aspires to measure up to old bubblegum pop like The Kinks and Beach Boys and succeeds admirably- not to mention their CD has 17 songs, which is pretty cool if i may say so myself.

Take a gander:

The Bicycles-Longjohns and Toques

The Bicycles-B-B-Bicycles

The Bicycles-I Know We Have To Be Friends

The Bicycles- Gotta Get Out

I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

New Yo La Tengo album out. For its title, see above.



From the new album:

Yo La Tengo - Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind
Yo La Tengo - Beanbag Chair

From elsewhere:

Yo La Tengo - Little Eyes
Yo La Tengo - Don't Have to Be So Sad
Yo La Tengo - The Love Life of the Octopus
Yo La Tengo - From Motel 6 [live]

edit:

Almost forgot about this gem...

Yo La Tengo - Speeding Motorcycle

Image by "Mr. Asami of San-X"