What I've been listening to recently

hermance — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 21:17:12 GMT

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.

Collapse?

hermance — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 15:16:50 GMT

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.

Pavarotti of the Plains

hermance — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 13:43:28 GMT

Sad to read about Don Walser's passing yesterday.

Music Blogs

hermance — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:47:50 GMT

I'm not trying to call anyone out, really, but I find it depressing and disheartening when a prominent music blog can't recognize a f'ing Big Star cover--from Third/Sisters Lovers no less.

Oh well, at least Okkervil River knows their stuff.

This post reminds me of my favorite Big Star cover ever, and it's not everyone and his uncle's solo acoustic version of "Thirteen." Those Bastard Souls used to do an amazing version of "Stroke It Noel." (This makes me think about how much I miss Dave Shouse's contributions to music.) Apparently, Grand Champeen has also covered "Daisy Glaze," which could be my favorite Big Star song, but I've never seen them do it.

MOG - hermance's Posts

What I've been listening to recently

Collapse?

Pavarotti of the Plains

Music Blogs