MOG - JeffHot's Posts

When Soft isn't really soft

JeffHot — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:38:21 GMT

Soft's 'Droppin' has really grabbed me. It's just nostalgic enough to remind me of all the great Brit bands of yesterday at the same time kinda remains current. I'm gonna definitely pick this one up when it come out.

New Duke Spirit

JeffHot — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:56:02 GMT

I'm really enjoying this new Duke Spirit. Looking forward to when the EP comes out later this month.

Skinny Love

JeffHot — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:09:51 GMT

For me I didn't realize it at first but after a few listens dim realization set in and I realized how great a song 'Skinny Love' by Bon Iver is.

New Bloc Party 'Flux'

JeffHot — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:53:27 GMT

And well, it's interesting. There's a definite techno vibe going on. I guess you got to give 'em props for trying new things, even if they don't always work. Here's the radio rip:

And as usual, I like the live version better.

Sort of Broken Social Scene-ish

JeffHot — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:08:39 GMT

Carbon Dating Service, with their many members and their multiple instruments sound a bit like like that other Canadian band with lots of members and different instruments. I suppose it was bound to happen, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that. Funny thing is, what got my attention at first was the artwork.

Odd but addicting

JeffHot — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:57:39 GMT

I ran across Vampire Weekend today and I can't stop listening. They are a weird mix to be sure, and their lyrics are kinda nonsensical. Despite all that a fun listen.

New Pornographers at the Rialto Theatre

JeffHot — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:26:29 GMT

I had a blast last Friday in Tucson seeing the New Pornographers. Seems like they played almost everything from Challengers and Twin Cinema. And then a fair amount of songs from Mass Romantic and Electric Version.They played so much it seemed that A.C. Newman seemed to be asking his bandmates what song to do next during the encore. Everything I've read about The New Pornographers says that Dan Bejar never tours with them, but there he was. Maybe just this tour? Neko Case's vocals are amazing. Now, I'm really looking forward to seeing her solo in November.

They did a awesome version of 'All The Old Showstoppers' one of my favorites off of the new record.

Treasure Island Photo Round Up

JeffHot — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 07:07:01 GMT

Well, Treasure Island was a blast. Some really good shows happened. I took a boatload of photos of both the festival and of San Francisco, but I don't want to bore you with too many of them. Soooo:

Au Revoir Simone was already playing when we got there. I've only heard a song or two from them, but they sounded pretty good. I'm gonna have to check them out further some time.

Two Gallants were next and they're pretty cool. I love the song 'Las Cruces Jail.'

Oh, man. M. Ward put on a great set. Almost better than the time I saw him here in Phoenix last year. He did all kinds of great tunes like 'To Go Home' 'Helicoptor' 'Magic Trick' 'Vincent O'Brien' and 'Chinese Translation' but the kicker for me was when he did 'Four Hours In Washington.'

Spoon's Britt Daniel stood off stage and watched M. Ward's set. I took this after M. Ward's set when he was signing stuff and answering questions from fans.

Some pirate trolling the sea of people at Treasure Island.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, were to me, the worst band of the festival. They took forever to set up. Alec Ounsworth's vocals were hard to hear. I'm just not been impressed by them.

Built to Spill came next. Although I'm not a huge fan, they were very good.

Spoon blew my mind. Modest Mouse played exceptionally well, but Spoon just killed. They had a technical snafu on 'Ghost Of You Lingers' but they played through it and still made is sound awesome. 'The Beast And Dragon Adored' was a surprise, and it was cool that they took a request from the crowd and played "My Japanese Cigarette Case.'

Okay, my camera sucks in low light and I'm not the world's greatest photographer, so I don't know exposure settings as well as I should so these photos are a little shaky, sorry. As I said, Modest Mouse played exceptionally well, even though Issac said that 4 out of 5 of them had colds. That said, they played a great set, including my favorite Mouse song, 'Broke.'

Treasure Island Warm-Up Part Two

JeffHot — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:13:11 GMT

I'm really looking forward to seeing Modest Mouse again. I saw them last May, and with the addition of Johnny Marr, they've never sounded better. Here's one of my favorite Modest Mouse songs.

Looking Forward To Seeing These Guys

JeffHot — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:27:32 GMT

The Cave Signers are really growing on me. And now I've just found out that they're coming to town in October. Just about the time Phoenix starts to cool down which is good because The Modified's AC doesn't work all that great.

Candie Payne

JeffHot — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 22:47:32 GMT

It seems that there's something of a retro-girl movement in England right now. I mean, there's The Pippettes, Amy Winehouse, Lucky Soul and now Candie Payne.

And Now For Something Completely Different

JeffHot — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:33:04 GMT

As I mentioned in my previous post The Most Serene Republic's song 'Humble Peasants' sounds a bit like Esquivel. In fact, that song got me on a Esquivel kick. Juan García Esquivel was a genius, I just don't know if some of his music was toungue-in-cheek or was he trying to be serious? Anyway, here's a few from him.

The Most Serene Republic

JeffHot — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:21:17 GMT

I can't seem to get enough of bands from the Arts and Crafts stable. This time it's The Most Serene Republic. They sound a bit like Broken Social Scene, but what got me was on 'Humble Peasants' was the Esquivel-like whistling.

More New Band of Horses!

JeffHot — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:10:35 GMT

I was going to post something different, but I came across this song and just had to post it. Wow. I think I like this song better than 'Is There A Ghost.' I'm starting to really, really look forward to this one coming out.

Treasure Island warm-up part 1

JeffHot — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:03:00 GMT

Treasure Island is coming up, and I'm getting excited. Especially when a cool band signs up after you've bought tickets. Sea Wolf has done just that. I was looking forward to seeing Modest Mouse, Spoon, et al. But Sea Wolf is an added bonus.

New Band Of Horses!!

JeffHot — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:04:50 GMT

'Is There A Ghost' sounds like BOH picks up where Everything All The Time left off. The new album is called Cease To Begin

A very long song title

JeffHot — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 07:11:59 GMT

Black Kid's EP has been dominating my iTunes a lot this week. The song I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You in particular. They are so damn catchy! With the yelling out of numbers and the Dance! Dance! Dance! they remind me a bit of The Go! Team with maybe a bit of shoegaze thrown in.

They walk in new shoes stuck to aging feet

JeffHot — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:45:06 GMT

Finally! Regina Spektor is finally coming to Phoenix! I had a definite lack of funds when she came through Tucson last year, and I missed Coachella this year (although I've heard that she gets drowned out at festivals from the other stages) I'm posting one of my favorites from her - Ne Me Quitte Pas (which means 'dont leave me' in English)

The Short Stop

JeffHot — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:07:07 GMT

The Short Stop is Greg Dulli's bar in LA. I've wanted to go to it last time I was in LA, but I forgot the address. When we head there for the Peter Bjorn and John show, I kinda hope we have time to stop and check it out. Apparently there's PBR. The Short Stop. And this gem from last year is supposedly about the area.

The Hot IQs

JeffHot — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:19:27 GMT

I've known about Denver's Hot IQ's for awhile, but they haven't really clicked for me until a few days ago. 'Duck and Cover' is my favorite song of theirs. And it doesn't hurt that the IQ's lead singer Eli M, sounds a little like Stellastarr*'s Shawn Christensen, either.

Flying the lo-fi flag

JeffHot — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:02:18 GMT

If there was ever an heir apparent to Guided By Voices' lo-fi ways, it's Dean Wells' The Capstan Shafts. Coming in at a little over 2 minutes, this is one of the Shafts' longer songs.

Now For Something A Little Different

JeffHot — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 03:15:57 GMT

The Licorice Root's 'Hey There Little Love' is a bit off-kilter, but man is it catchy.

New Go! Team!

JeffHot — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:11:40 GMT

I'm a little disappointed of what I've heard from the new Go! Team. It sounds a lot like Thunder, Lightning, Strike. But I suppose when you mix as much stuff into your music, where else is there let to go? Anyway, repetitive or not, the songs are still fun.

New Sound Team

JeffHot — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 23:19:26 GMT

It's cool to hear some new Sound Team. Movie Monster from last year was a favorite of mine. And this song sounds different, yet vaguely similar.

Shake! Shimmy!

JeffHot — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 18:08:10 GMT

Lucky Soul's 'Lips Are Unhappy' is one of my favorite songs of this year. Actually, their album The Great Unwanted is great as well. Unfortunately, The Great Unwanted is only a UK release, so either you shell out major dineros for shipping and exchange rates or you can buy it digitally from iTunes.

One of the best covers I've heard

JeffHot — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:59:34 GMT

This My Morning Jacket cover of Donovan's 'Wear Your Love Like Heaven' is real addictive. I can't stop listening to it.

Bishop Allen in Phoenix

JeffHot — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:23:33 GMT

Man, what a great show last night. They played just about everything I wanted to hear, with the exception of 'Little Black Ache' and a few others. I suppose they couldn't have played everything. I was less than thrilled with the venue, The Paper Heart. It had all these couches and chairs around the stage, like a doggone coffee house. This was a rock show! There's no couches at a rock show! The highlight was Bishop Allen playing 'Busted Heart' and then segueing right into 'Middle Management'

Don't shine before swine

JeffHot — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:29:58 GMT

I've only been a casual Metric listener. And everything that I've heard, hasn't really approached the Emily Haines stuff that she does with Broken Social Scene. Until I heard 'Soft Rock Star.' What a great song.

This self-obsessed sinner

JeffHot — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 05:42:56 GMT

Yet another great Bloc Party b-side. 'Cain Said To Abel' is the best song to come out of Weekend In The City and is a lock for my favorite song of this year. My favorite part is about 2 minutes in where Gordon sings while Kele harmonizes in the background which then segues into Russell's great guitar lick.

All the pennies in the Thames will not make it how it was

JeffHot — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:56:20 GMT

It's kinda a strange phenomenon, but it seems to me that Bloc Party's b-sides/bouns tracks are almost always outstanding. It's like they shouldn't be b-sides at all. The first one to really buck this trend was 'Hero' off of the Two More Years single. And the Weekend In The City bonus tracks are much better than Weekend proper. Listening to these song, I always wonder why they didn't make the cut. Like 'Always New Depths' it's a favorite of mine, I wonder why it didn't make it onto Silent Alarm. Although, I'd be hard pressed to guess what it'd replace on that album. Anyhoo, 'Always New Depths' really benefits from some great Matt Tong drumming.

And speaking of Matt's drumming, here's 'Sunday' a great Channel Four video with Gordon helping out.

It's taken a while to like this one

JeffHot — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:08:45 GMT

There's been a few New Pornographers songs from Challengers floating about on the web. And unlike Twin Cinema I didn't like 'em right off the bat. But 'Myriad Harbour' has finally clicked. Now, I can't seem to stop listening. I'm still not as keen to their other early release 'My Rights Vs. Yours' though. Here's hoping that the rest of Challengers is more like 'Myriad Harbour.'

We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives

JeffHot — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:36:00 GMT

Man, as quirky as they are, these guys certainly have a way of getting into your head and staying there. I haven't been able to stop listening to them. The lyrics really get me. This song We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives is what Los Campesinos call "a whimsical anti-war song."

My favorite lyric has to be: "Team Campesinos trick or treating on your driveway in the middle of August, one of us dressed as a zombie, one of us dressed as a pirate, one of us dressed as a ninja, four of us dressed as school girls"

Of course, "When you play pass the parcel with human body parts, somebody might get head, but someone will get hurt" is a good one too.

The entire album Sticking Fingers Into Sockets is great, but We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives is my favorite.

Bear Hands

JeffHot — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:23:23 GMT

Dodge from My Old Kentucky Blog posted a few demo mp3s from these guys a few days ago. And man, it's some catchy stuff.

New Rilo Kiley Song

JeffHot — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:25:28 GMT

I know that there are a few folks who don't like the new song by Rilo Kiley, but I just downloaded it, and I really like it. It's different, certainly different than RK's previous Alt-County leanings. Looking forward to what the rest of the album sounds like.