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This is cross-posted from my blog. I figure I better cross post music stuff from there, or I'll never add anything to Mog, because I am lazy.
Aaron Schroeder: Woah, this kid is absolutely amazing to me. I literally cannot get enough of his songs. I downloaded a few off of the Sixeyes blog and played the song “Between Drags” into the ground. It’s one of those songs I can listen to over and over again. Perhaps it’s the plaintive voice, the honest lyrics, the perfect combination of instrumenation, or the delicately bouncing pop of it all. But I can say that my ears perked up from the first line: “Fuck it, I never promised you I’d try…” Since then, I ordered his self-released first record, Southern Heart in a Western Skin, through PayPal (which he sent directly to me and included a cool map that my dog subsequently ate). After playing that over and over again, I’ve broken my rule never to use MySpace and have continued to download the new demos he keeps posting there. (Since then, I’ve found that most of those files are also available on his web page.) He’s quite literate (he works in a bookstore!) without being showy or pretentious, and he lists Billy Bragg, Destroyer, The Smiths, Silver Jews, The Kinks, The Mountain Goats and Otis Redding as influences.
Illinois: I just downloaded two of their tracks from a trusted MP3 blog, My Old Kentucky Blog. This fairly new band seems now to be popping up throughout the music blogosphere, so let’s cross our fingers that they don’t become the next “Clap Your Hands and Say Over-Hype.” I haven’t gotten the EP yet, but the two songs I’ve heard are pretty outstanding and getting heavy rotation on my various music players.
Ladyhawk: I think this band is pretty much the domain of 2006 when almost everyone was writing about them. But I was a little resistant. Who really knows why? Actually, I do. It’s because lots of folks were comparing them to older Southern rock, which doesn’t conjure up lots of excitement for me. Sure, that kind of thing has its place, but that place is usually not in my music collection. However, Ladyhawk turns out to have much more of an Archers of Loaf feel than anyone ever let on, and I appreciate the ramshackle hooks of their music, which I distinguish from the jam-miness of Southern rock. So don’t be afraid of them (even if they look like hippie stoners who spend too much time obsessing over My Morning Jacket). Also, they’re on Jagjaguwar, one of my favorite labels these days. So, if you haven’t heard anything from their debut record, Ladyhawk, I encourage you to download a few tracks and give them a try. Best of all, they’re on eMusic.
Also, who wants to place bets now that the music blog world will utterly reject the new Wilco record, Sky Blue Sky, in a massive backlash. I’m not ready to make my own judgments on the record yet, though I will say that I’m glad Jeff Tweedy seems to be returning to his lyrical strongsuits (honesty and concreteness, rather than abstractions of the rock “philosophy/poetry” vein). May we never have to suffer another “Theologians” again.
Has anyone around these parts heard the earlier Oxford Collapse records? I love "Please Visit Your National Parks," the song from their new record Remember the Night Parties coming out on Sub-Pop Oct 10. Yet I just went to e-music to check out clips from earlier records in order to see if I wanted to download one of the other albums, and I was underwhelmed. It sounded dangerously close to a lot of the other Brooklyn/Williamsburg bands who apparently just discovered Gang of Four. Granted, I only listened to 15-second snips, so I just wanted to find out what anyone who had given those records a real chance might think of the band.
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i've had the exact same experience with them. i'm reserving my judgement for the full-length.
Yeah, I'm curious to see what the Oxford Collapse sound like live. I'm going to check them out at the Sub Pop showcase at SXSW. Is anyone else headed down to Austin? I'm also especially excited to see The Apples in Stereo, The Faintest Ideas, Clem Snide, The Watson Twins, The Manhattan Love Suicides, John Doe, The Pipettes, Maritime, and Tullycraft.
Sad to read about Don Walser's passing yesterday.
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I think I would probably recommend starting with Texas Top Hand. Walser has a big, old-styled voice. He plays traditional dance hall country music, so if that is what you are interested in, you will likely love it. As a personality, he was amazing because he just seemed to enjoy playing music so much. He started performing relatively late in life, and he appeared to be thrilled just to be up there.
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I had my doubts about "Sky Blue Sky", but after listening to it a half dozen times, I have to admit it's pretty good. When I first heard it I was about to write it off, but it grew on me, and I think its a strong, albeit dramatic, release by Jeff Tweedy and company. Give it a shot, its better than a lot of stuff out there.
Thanks for the comment!!! I'm actually pretty sure that I'm really going to like Sky Blue Sky, which is why I referenced the more grounded lyrics (as well as my dig on "Theologians," which I think has abysmal lyrics). I do think--and early comments have indicated this--that there is going to be a backlash among the hipper blogs. I might be wrong, and I'd be glad if it turns out I am. I love Wilco, even if I haven't been as impressed with Ghost is Born. Still, early talk seems to have that feel these days, and given the way hipsters like to take their beloved artists down a peg, I can't help but wonder when that might happen to Wilco.