Good Weather For Airstrikes

Ladies and gentlemen, live from Good Weather For Airstrikes headquarters in your nation’s capital (alright fine, I’m in Charlottesville right now, but it doesn’t have quite the same ring), we present to you: the new Snow Patrol single, “You’re All I Have”. I’m kind of nervous because this is the first time I’ve done the whole “first-to-post-a-hotly-anticipated-single” thing, but here it goes. I just got it and have only listened to it once, but my initial impression leaves me somewhat underwhelmed, though not outright dissappointed. It’s very catchy and is highly reminescent of “Chocolate”, from the group’s 2003 masterwork, Final Straw, and definitely has the potential to grow on me in the coming days/weeks.

“You’re All I Have” is the lead single from the band’s highly-anticipated fourth full-length, Eyes Open, which is due out on May 1st in the UK and May 9th in the US. Go here for more details and the full tracklisting for Eyes Open, which features a duet between frontman Gary Lightbody and Canadian songstress Martha Wainright. If you’re an Interscope record label executive representing Snow Patrol and you’d like me killed for posting this, I simply ask that you send me an email requesting that I take it down (which I will do without resistance) before you send your snipers in. You can view the album’s cover art above and download the song below, and be sure to pick up Eyes Open when it drops in May.

NOTE: Interscope was all, “Take that file down immediately”, and then I was all, “Okay”.

Exclusive MP3: “You’re All I Have” - Snow Patrol [removed]

[NOTE: I owe major thanks to Ben from Work For It, as he was the one who found the single, but was reluctant to post it due to fear of record-label backlash. I, being more naieve than he, got his permission to post it in his stead, so be sure to roll over to Work For It and thank him.]

Yesterday saw the surprisingly hushed US release of Royksopp’s new live EP, appropriately titled Royksopp’ Night Out. The EP was recorded at the Rockefeller Music Hall in front of an ecstatic hometown crowd in Oslo, Norway at the tail end of their 2005 international tour last November, and culls tracks from their stellar debut album, Melody AM, which sold 1,000,000 copies worldwide and 500,000 in the UK alone, and 2005’s equally-fantastic The Understanding. Royksopp is made up of Torbjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge (if you’re looking for a pronunciation key, sorry, I’ve got nothing for you), and they’re easily my favorite electronica group, so be sure to go here to check out the artist profile I ran on them last December for more info and mp3s (that unfortunately don’t work). Anyway, as for the EP, it’s a great listen, even for fans who already have all of Royksopp’s recorded material.

Live albums often prove to be only of interest to extreme fans and completionists only, but the electronica duo absolutely rocks it here, and Royksopp’s Night Out is definitely worth your time, regardless of who you are. Royksopp, which means”smoking mushroom” in Norwegian, completely reinvent their songs in the live setting as many electronica acts do, and even throw in a completely unexpected - but completely awesome - cover of Queen of the Stone Age’s “Go With The Flow” on the EP. The first two tracks, “What Else Is There?” and “Only This Moment”, are two of my favorite Royksopp songs on record, but remain mostly unchanged here, though Karin Dreijer’s (of The Knife) incredible vocals on “What Else” remain absolutely stunning live. “Remind Me” is supercharged with a pounding beat not found on it’s Melody AM counterpart, while the languorous pace of the original version of “Sparks” is exchanged in favor of a much more danceable, club-approved rendition of the song. The duo takes a similar approach on the live version of “Poor Leno”, choosing to play the remixed and vocal-less “Poor Leno” (Istanbul Forever Take) instead. However, the main attraction of this EP for most will be the only new content, Royksopp’s excellent cover of “Go With The Flow”. Here they strip away all of the organic elements of the original and deliver a pulsing, electrified version of the song, over which Svein (or is it Bjorn, I’m not sure) delivers a surprisingly faithful vocal rendition. Below is the complete tracklist, where you can download their cover of “Go With The Flow” and the other highlights from this excellent live album.

Royksopp’s Night Out (Live in Oslo):
1. “What Else Is There?” [highly recommended]
2. “Only This Moment” [highly recommended]
3. “Remind Me”
4. “Sparks” [highly recommended]
5. “Poor Leno” (Istanbul Forever Take)
6. “Go Away”
7. “Aplha Male”
8. “Go With The Flow” [highly recommended]
9. “Teppefall” (Outro)

I’ve also included some bonus mp3s and videos for your enjoyment. My only qualm with Royksopp’s Night Out is with the glaring lack of “Eple” from its tracklist. “Eple” is Royksopp’s best work to date and is a huge fan-favorite (so much so that they actually played the same version of it twice at their last NYC show), so it’s exclusion from this live EP is both inexplicable and frustrating. Annnnd I’ve re-uploaded the mighty Trentemoller’s remix of “What Else Is There?”, which held the #6 spot on my Top 10 Remixes of 2005 list and is a true remixing marvel. I’ve also uploaded the duo’s fantastic remix of Coldplay’s “Clocks”, which despite not altering the original too much, manages to still have that signature Royksopp feel. Finally, I’ve also included Royksopp’s two best videos, for “Poor Leno” and “Only This Moment”, the latter of which I named the third best video of 2005.

MP3s:
“Eple” - Royksopp [highly highly recommended]
“What Else Is There?” (Trentemoller Remix) - Royksopp [highly recommended]
“Clocks” (Royksopp Trembling Heart Remix) - Coldplay

Videos:
“Only This Moment” - Royksopp [highly recommended]
“Poor Leno” - Royksopp [highly recommended]

UPDATE: Loyal reader Anjali sent me another great “Banquet” remix, which I’ve uploaded and added to the end of the remixes disc below.

Hopefully this should please a lot of people, as I know I was pretty thrilled when I found this. I originally grabbed Always New Depths off of the old (pre-Red Light Glow) Glass Danse, but I’ve modified the tracklisting, added some newer b-sides, and rearranged the structure, though the great original artwork (in typical Bloc Party style) wasn’t done by me, so I can’t take credit for that.

Always New Depths (complete title - Always New Depths: The Complete Silent Alarm B-Sides & Remixes) is exactly as the name states - the most comprehensive collection of Bloc Party b-sides and remixes available (on the internet), all bundled together with a nice, organized tracklisting and some appropriate/cool cover art. Though the original came with all of the tracks from Bloc Party’s debut self-titled EP and some remixes that were eventually released on the Silent Alarm: Remixed album, I’ve removed those in favor of newer b-sides and more remixes.

I’ve uploaded the complete album to Rapidshare, divided into two discs - one for the remixes and one for the b-sides - for convenience purposes, but you can download the best of the individual tracks below. Generally, there are two kinds of b-sides: 1) the b-side that is cut from the album because it’s not as good as the rest of the tracks, and 2) the more elusive and sought-after b-side that doesn’t make the album not because it’s not as good as the rest of the tracks, but merely because it doesn’t fit in with the general sound and feel of the album (good examples of the latter are AC Newman’s incredible “Homemade Bombs In The Afternoon” and Stars’ wonderful “Petit Mort”). Fortunately, nearly all of the Bloc Party b-sides on this album fall into the latter category, and many of these songs are just as good as the bulk of Silent Alarm.

“Skeleton” is the best of the bunch, featuring more of Kele Okereke’s wonderfully urgent lyrics and a central riff as catchy as any other on Silent Alarm (save maybe “Helicopter”). “Always New Depths”, which attracted some attention and recognition at the end of last summer in those weird Target commercials is another great, well-produced track with an addictive, soaring chorus, and all of the b-sides prove to be enjoyable listens at the very least. “Tulips”, which was featured as a b-side on the “Little Thoughts” single, but then released on it’s own as it’s own single, is another great Bloc Party track, albeit a slower one, more in the vein of “This Modern Love” than the more upbeat tracks on Silent Alarm, and is accompanied by it’s dancier “Club Version” counterpart on the compilation. “This Is Not A Competition” is one of the less-polished songs on the album and one of Bloc Party’s more sub-par b-sides, but provides an interesting listen as it shares similar lyrics (”if you fall sick, if you pass out”) to “So Here We Are” and is possibly an early build of the song, though the final product was drastically reworked if that is indeed the case. Bloc Party has also produced two instrumental tracks, the so-so one minute mini-track “American Kids” and “Every Time Is The Last Time”, the latter of which is a hauntingly beautiful instrumental track written by guitarist Russell Lissack that’s a bonus “hidden” track on Silent Alarm. The two newest b-sides are “Hero” and “The Present”, the former the excellent b-side to the recent Two More Years single, and the latter a new track written for and featured on the HELP: A Day In The Life War Child compilation. Finally, two acoustic tracks find their way onto the compilation courtesy of the Pioneers single, both of which are excellent, especially the stripped-down acoustic rendition of album-track “Plans”. I’ve also concluded on Disc 1 two excellent covers of Bloc Party’s “The Pioneers”, from Mystery Jets and Tunng. Mystery Jets stip down the song and give it a much more organic feel, while Tunng takes it in the opposite direction, giving the song a decidedly electronic polish, injecting the original with their unique brand of folktronica.

Disc 2 compiles all of the official Bloc Party remixes not included on Silent Alarm: Remixed, as well as the best of the unofficial remixes, and gets started with the Minotaur Shock remix of “Tulips” a fairly mundane remix that for the most part leaves the original structure alone and just spruces up the mix with some dancier electronic beats. Next up are a series of “Banquet” remixes, courtesy of The Glimmers, The Streets, Cornelius, and Divide & Kreate, the best of which are Mike Skinner’s semi-mash up Streets remix, on which Skinner raps over that ridiculously catchy “Banquet” riff and some cool drum effects, and “Somebody Stole Your Beat”, a mash-up in which Divide & Kreate combine “Banquet” (slowing it down a bit) and The Killers’ “Somebody Told Me” in the most-holy of dance-rock unions. Next up are Allen’s incredible “Helicopter” remixes, which both found their way onto my Top 10 Remixes of 2005 list, and two more “Helicopter” remixes courtesy of Diplo (good) and Weird Science (not as good, featuring Peaches) from the recent Helicopter remix single, released last month in the states. Also on the “Helicopter” portion of the remix disc is the awesome “Bloc of Nails” mash-up, courtesy of “Tim G”, which mashes up NIN’s “Hand That Feeds” with the always-incredible “Helicopter”. “Positive Tension” gets the official remix treatment as well, getting reworked by Johnny Whitney and The Go! Team, and TG!T take the song and make it their own, creating their signature whirlwind of sound, complete with that twinkling xylophone that seems to make all of their songs better. Finally, MSTRKRFT’s “Two More Years” remix is easily the best of the bunch, on which MSTRKRFT take the morose, Joy Division-esque stylings of the original, transplant a dirty, DFA1979-signature guitar riff and a disco beat over it and transform the slower, more contemplative original into a bona fide party jam.

There you have it, the complete Bloc Party b-sides and (official) remixes. You can download each disc in it’s entirety from Rapidshare below, and I’ve also made the best of the individual songs available for download as well. Hopefully everyone will enjoy this as much as I did.

Download: Always New Depths: Disc 1 (B-Sides) [follow link]
Download: Always New Depths: Disc 2 (Remixes) [follow link]

DISC 1: B-Sides
01. “Little Thoughts” (Extended Version) [highly recommended]
02. “Tulips” [highly recommended]
03. “Storm and Stress” [highly recommended]
04. “Skeleton” (7″ Version) [highly recommended]
05. “Always New Depths” [highly recommended]
06. “Tulips” (Club Version)
07. “Hero” [highly recommended]
08. “The Present”
09. “This Is Not A Competition”
10. “She’s Hearing Voices” (Original Demo)
11. “Storm and Stress” (Acoustic)
12. “Plans” (Acoustic) [highly recommended]
13. “Pioneers” - Mystery Jets [highly recommended]
14. “The Pioneers” - Tunng [highly recommended]
15. “American Kids” (Instrumental)
16. “Every Time Is The Last Time” (Instrumental)

DISC 2: Remixes
01. “Tulips” (Minotaur Shock Remix)
02. “Banquet” (Glimmers Version)
03. “Banquet” (Cornelius Remix)
04. “Banquet” (The Streets Mix) [highly recommended]
05. “Somebody Stole Your Beat” (Bloc Party vs. The Killers) [h.r.]
06. “Helicopter” (Allen’s Breakneck Mix) [highly recommended]
07. “Helicopter” (Allen’s Santa Monica Mix) [highly recommended]
08. “Helicopter” (Diplo Mix)
09. “Helicopter” (Weird Science Remix ft. Peaches)
10. “Bloc of Nails” (Bloc Party vs. NIN) [highly recommended]
11. “Positive Tension” (The Go! Team Remix) [highly recommended]
12. “Positive Tension” (Johnny Whitney Remix)
13. “Price of Gas” (Jus Ske Remix)
14. “Two More Years” (MSTRKRFT Mix) [highly recommended]
15. “Banquet” (Apathy Remix ft. Mike Shinoda & Styles of Beyond)

UPDATE: I’ve uploaded and added Apathy’s “Banquet” remix, courtesy of loyal reader Anjali, and the beat Apathy drops on this is absolutely ridiculous, but just do your best to ignore the fact that the remix features Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park (besides, that synth line from “Faint” was fucking awesome and you know it).

Sunday night I managed to temporarily overcome food poisoning (though I paid for it Monday) and attend The Go! Team’s first-ever DC show at The Black Cat, which was - needless to say - incredible. The Go! Team’s live show is all kinds of awesome, and to give you all a little taste of that while I finish up my review of the show I’ve uploaded a live sampler (full title: Audio Assault Course: The College Radio Sessions) I picked up for free at Revolution Records this past weekend. The disc contains six songs recorded over a course of three different performances at three different college radio stations (KXRW, KEXP, and WERS), plus one bonus track, Kevin Sheilds’ (of My Bloody Valentine fame) surprisingly awful mash-up/remix of “Ladyflash” and “Huddle Formation”, titled “Huddle Flash”. The Go! Team’s live recordings are an especially rewarding listen, as it’s an entirely new experience, since the vocals are brought to the front of the mix and you can actually decipher their lyrics for once. I’m posting the entire Audio Assault Course and since it was basically a free giveaway to generate publicity in the first place I’m sure no one will mind. So while you await my review of the show, be sure to grab these hot live tracks to tide you over in the meantime.Course Curriculum:
1. “Huddle Formation” (Live @ KCRW)
2. “Junior Kickstart” (Live @ WERS)
3. “Bottle Rocket” (Live @ KEXP)
4. “We Just Won’t Be Defeated” (Live @ KCRW)
5. “Lady Flash” (Live @ KEXP)
6. “The Ice Storm” (Live @ KCRW)

Extra Credit:
7. “Huddle Flash” - Kevin Shields vs. The Go! Team

ALSO, I’ve decided not to change the header, or at least to postpone the change, despite the fact that the voting’s been pretty much split and only slightly in favor of the old header (24-20 as of right now). After visiting the site with the new header in place I’ve realized I actually prefer the old header, or at the very least the size of that one was more convenient. Soooo, I’m going to keep the old header for now, rework the other header into a more convenient size, maybe draft up some other potential candidates and try out this whole voting thing again somewhere further down the line. Thanks to everyone for their insight and comments, and I’ll be consulting you guys again at a later date.

UPDATE: I’ve decided not to change the header, or at least to postpone the change, despite the fact that the voting’s been pretty much split and only slightly in favor of the old header (24-20 as of right now). After visiting the site with the new header in place I’ve realized I actually prefer the old header, or at the very least the size of that one was more convenient. Soooo, I’m going to keep the old header for now, rework the other header into a more convenient size, maybe draft up some other potential candidates and try out this whole voting thing again somewhere further down the line. Thanks to everyone for their insight and comments, and I’ll be consulting you guys again at a later date.

Well, I’ve got this huge Bloc Party post I was going to drop for you guys today but in an extremely unfortunate turn of events my internet died right as it was about to finish uploading to Rapidshare, which I had been waiting for it to do for over an hour, and I have neither the patience, nor the resolve to upload it again tonight. So, you’ll all have to hold out for that until tomorrow, but I assure you it will be worth the wait.

However, I did re-work the layout of the site a little bit today, as I have replaced the old header with this shiny new one that I just designed recently. BUT, I can’t decide which one I like more, so I’m asking you all to vote for the one you prefer (or let me know in the comments) in the new poll I’ve added to the left sidebar of the page. Personally, I’m really torn between the two, so your input would be greatly appreciated. You can view the old header here and the new header here (or at the top of this page), so consult those to help you make your decision. Thanks in advance for your input and keep an eye out for a huge Bloc Party post tomorrow.

photo courtesy of Secret Unicorns Forum

Many of you probably know that one of the most unique bands of the past few years, The Unicorns, have been disbanded for some time now. Their album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone, is truly an indie masterpiece, with a wider variety of genres covered than most albums I can think of in recent memory. The breakup of The Unicorns was very tragic, especially because I never got the opportunity to see them live; I can only begin to imagine the energy the band surely put in to its live show. On Thursday, March 9, Austin from All Things Go and I came as close as possible to seeing the Unicorns live, when I went to see the band who rose out of the ashes of the Unicorns: Islands.

If you do not know what I mean when I say that Islands has a distinctly Canadian sound, listen to them. They epitomize, for me, what Canada’s indie scene sounds like, while differentiating themselves from their contemporaries with generally superior musicianship and arrangements. Islands includes two-thirds of the Unicorns (Nick “Niel” Diamonds and Jaime Tambour), with the rest of the band filled out by a revolving door of members. Their debut release, Return to the Sea, is still largely unavailable in the United States [UPDATE: Return to the Sea is being released in the United States on April 4], but it was leaked to torrent sites across the internet last December. Though I hesitate to call it comparable to Who Will Cut Our Hair…, many of the songs are indeed similar. Imagine the Unicorns with stronger vocals and with orchestral strings replacing the electronic sounds that permeate Who Will Cut Our Hair…, and that is the general sound of Islands.

photo courtesy of Leslie Hartman

In concert, Islands are a band of few words and much music, and I think most of the audience appreciated that. They played a strong set full of selections from Return to the Sea; I cannot remember the full setlist but I know they got to album highlight “Rough Gem” and nearly ten-minute album opener “Swans (Life After Death)”, and still had time for “Volcanoes”, “If”, “Jogging Gorgeous Summer”, and, if I remember correctly, a rushed rendition of “Don’t Call Me Whitney, Bobby”, another highlight of Return to the Sea. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to play “Humans”, my personal favorite song from Return to the Sea, but given their situation I can’t blame them for not getting to all their great songs. The show itself was fast-paced, as Island seemed to be trying to fit as many songs in to the pre-set 30 minute time slot they were alloted as an opening act. Thankfully they were allowed to break that time slot some, as they were the whole reason I was at the show in the first place. No offense to Metric, and I’m obviously very appreciative towards the band for bringing Islands with them on tour, but I am a much bigger Islands fan than I am a Metric one. Also incredible was the first band on the bill, Men, Women & Children. I had never heard any of their material before, but they put on one of the most energetic and fun performances I’ve ever witnessed. Watch All Things Go for more information on them, as Austin has a joint artist profile and live review of them on the way.

If you get a chance to see Islands live, I definitely recommend it, as I was also able to pick up a physical copy of Return to the Sea at their show. Islands is coming back to the Washington, DC area on April 25, and I can guarantee you I will be at that show. To further entice you to investigate Islands further, I’ve included some downloadable content for you. Make sure to go to the show and buy the album there, I assure you that you will not be disappointed. Below, as a sample of what you may hear at an Islands show, I’ve included the studio recordings of some of the highlights of their live performance.

Islands, Rough Gem [highly recommended]
Islands, Don’t Call Me Whitney Bobby
Islands, Volcanoes

EVERETT: Today is a milestone day in the world of Good Weather For Airstrikes. You may ask yourself why this is, and I will explain. The reason for today being so special is this: it is officially the eleven-day anniversary of our Good Weather For Airstrikes trip to see Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers! Now, you me ask yourself, why does this guy feel it is so important that today is the eleven day anniversary of this concert? And again, I will explain: this is the day that our review of the show finally gets posted! Why did it take so long? Because we’re lazy! YEAH!

So, on to the magical night of music and passion and smiling and no quesadillas (touchy subject): Two Mondays ago, on March 6, the Good Weather For Airstrikes staff saw Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers at Washington, DC’s 9:30 Club. We were accompanied by All Things Go’s Zack, Austin, and Adrian, the lovely underage duo of Claire and Suzanne, and the slightly less lovely but equally lovable Avi. The night began with us being unfortunately late to The New Pornographers (we missed their first two songs, “Twin Cinema” and “Use It”), so I’m going to summarize briefly their performance below.

The New Pornographers performed without guitarist Dan Bejar (off promoting his band Destroyer’s excellent new album, Rubies) or vocalist Neko Case (off promoting her excellent new solo album, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood), so it was not exactly the best ever New Pornographers show, if you catch my drift. Of course, I don’t mean to take anything away from A.C. Newman, who is arguably my favorite pornographer new or old, but the evening’s lineup did seem to have a little something missing. Neko’s absence was felt the most, as keyboardist Katherine was supposed to take over her vocal duties, but she had lost her voice and was unable to answer the call to duty. Anyway, the band sounded great regardless, but I couldn’t help but feel like I could have gotten the same experience just playing one of their albums really loudly in my room, especially due to the fact that the female vocals were just Neko’s recorded voice brought to the front of the mix and played through the P.A. They mimicked the sound of their album almost too well, and though I must admit that is an accomplishment in its own right, I go to shows with the expectation of seeing something a little bit different, a little more spontaneous, and the closest A.C. Newman and crew came to that was when Newman started whining about a cut on his finger. Though Newman did provide some much-needed comedic relief when he went on a rant about Fall Out Boy, Hawthorne Heights, and the state of music today. Anyway, they were fun, and their entire set can be downloaded here and here (credit to So Much Silence for those tracks).

No disrespect intended towards the New Pornographers, but Belle & Sebastian was the real reason we all went to the show, and we were not disappointed. They played a great set, playing many old favorites (”I’m A Cuckoo” and “If You Find Yourself Caught In Love”, to name a couple), a less common live song (”Your Cover’s Blown”), and of course, all the favorites from The Life Pursuit (”Another Sunny Day”, “Funny Little Frog”, “White Collar Boy”, etc.). I was skeptical at first when they chose to open the show with “Expectations”, but by the end of it I could safely say it had become one of my favorite Belle & Sebastian songs. They immediately launched in to “Another Sunny Day”, and to be honest the rest of the performance was basically a blur of musical ecstasy for me. Highlights for me were “Electronic Renaissance”, “Funny Little Frog”, “Your Cover’s Blown”, and “I’m A Cuckoo”, though I genuinely felt that every song choice was impeccable and translated excellently live. I apologize for my inability to describe the experience as eloquently as Belle & Sebastian deserve, but to make up for it I’m offering you, the readership, my usual penance for my various writing blunders: downloadable content!

NPR continued their excellent Live Concert Series, recording a variety of shows that go through the 9:30 Club, by taping, and later offering for mp3 download, the Belle & Sebastian and New Pornographers performances in their entirety (read what NPR has to say about the show here). Austin from All Things Go took on the difficult task of breaking up the hour and a half mp3 into individual tracks for easier public consumption, so keep an eye out for ATG’s review of the show with those downloadable tracks and be sure to thank him when they eventually get that post up. However, we’ve got some special Belle & Sebastian-related treats for you as well, so I’ll let Derek do what he does best and bring the downloadable hotness for you all.

DEREK: Available for download below is what is recognized in B&S fan circles as the band’s best live bootleg out there, titled Our Favourite Party Songs, which was recorded live in Holland on March 31st, 2004. The sound quality is stellar, after all it is technically a liberated bootleg (basically just a high-quality, mass-produced bootleg, typically released illegally by a pseudo-record company), and the setlist is equally fantastic as well, which you can see for yourself below. I’ve made every song available as an individual mp3 below, and I also uploaded the entire file to Rapidshare (available for download HERE), so as to make it easier for people to download the whole thing if they’re so inclined. But that’s not all! Also included for no additional charge is a fantastic bonus B&S rarity, “Meat and Potatoes”, which was featured as the b-side to the “Funny Little Frog” single. Download away:
DOWNLOAD (.zip file):
Our Favourite Party Songs [follow link] - Belle & Sebastian

DOWNLOAD (individual mp3s):
01. Passion Fruit
02. Expectations
03. Step Into My Office Baby
04. Wrapped Up In Books
05. The Model
06. I’m Waking Up To Us
07. You Made Me Forget My Dreams
08. You Don’t Send Me
09. You’re Just A Baby
10. Dog On Wheels
11. Slow Graffiti
12. I’m A Cuckoo
13. If You Find Yourself Caught In Love
14. Stay Loose
15. Wrong Girl
16. Dirty Dream Number Two
17. Sleep The Clock Around

BONUS MP3: “Meat and Potatoes” - Belle & Sebastian

UPDATE: So turns out the blogosphere is not “bereft of any mention” of Heypenny; a couple other blogs are already on the Heypenny bandwagon. Cable and Tweed have a nice little write-up of them here, Nashville-based Out The Other featured them here, and I Guess I’m Floating, who seem to just be doing everything right these days, featured them here. Check those out for more mp3s and info.

Audacious claim: Heypenny are the best band you’ve never heard. But I don’t mean that in the way the mainstream media gives any band on an indie label and not on the radio this title. Yeah, The New York Times called The Hold Steady the best band you’ve never heard in 2005, but face it; nearly all of you have heard The Hold Steady and whatever other band these major publications assume you’ve never heard. But Heypenny deserves this title, because, due to what must be the result of some astronomical error somewhere in the solar system, Heypenny are not only unsigned, but - with the exception of Zack’s post on them last month on All Things Go - even the omnipresent blogosphere is bereft of any mention of them.Thus, chances are, unless you’ve had the luck of stumbling across their MySpace page or have seen them perform in the Nashville area, your ears have never been graced by the glory and brilliance that is the music of Heypenny. Heypenny are the product of creator, lead singer, co-producer, and all-around mastermind Ben Elkins (pictured above), who began writing what would become the songs on Heypenny’s incredible debut, Use These Spoons, in 2003. Use These Spoons, unofficially released in 2005, is an absolutely remarkable album, and had I heard it last year I can assure you it would have been firmly entrenched towards the top of my Top 25 Albums of 2005 list. Elkins cites Wilco, The Beatles, and Iron & Wine as some of the artists that influence Heypenny, who get their name from those “Give a penny, take a penny” trays at American convenience stores (called Ha’penny in the south), but many of the songs on the album conjure up more accurate comparisons to The Decemberists, The Unicorns and at times even shades of Bends-era Radiohead. That said, the diversity of the songs on the album is Spoons’ finest strength. First track, “Dooley”, sounds like The Beatles singing lyrics borrowed from Colin Meloy’s songbook, while “Let It Rain” and “Walnut St. Bridge” (both of which are available for download here at All Things Go) slow things down and reflect the Iron & Wine influence, and standout track “Brave” was immediately reminescent of Radiohead’s “Just” for me, though I can’t necessarily pinpoint why. However, I by no means wish to give the impression that Heypenny are merely stealing and rehashing the styles of other bands, as that is most definitely not the case. No two songs on Spoons’ better exemplify the undeniably unique style of Heypenny than “Secreterror”, on which Ben plays a ceiling fan as an instrument, and “Parade”. The latter of these two masterpieces is easily one of the best songs of the last few years, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable five minutes of music anywhere (seriously). You know what, this just in: “Parade” is so good it gets it’s own paragraph.

“Parade” opens with a slow, brief intro, before erupting into a cacophony of exuberance and enjoyment. Though the instrumentation is unique and the top-notch production sets it apart from other songs of the lo-fi indie-pop genre, Elkins appears to channel the whimsical stylings of The Unicorns in the vocals and lyrics here (sample lyric: “I. Like. Chocolate cake./Bring me a few pieces… Make a fist, cram the chocolate in/Yeah, it tastes bloody, but you keep mashing it down”… brilliant). “Parade” and the aforementioned “Secreterror”, as well as “Seems So Small” (which features a strings section), are great testaments to the astounding production of the album, which was produced by Elkins, who worked along side Charles Allison, and is some of the finest lo-fi production in recent memory, on par with Isaac Brock’s recent work for Wolf Parade on Apologies To The Queen Mary.

As you’ve probably gathered, I really like Heypenny and think they’re pretty great. Unfortunately, Ben and the gang have no formal plans to tour outside of the Nashville area until at least mid-to-late April, but in Zack’s excellent interview with him he described the Heypenny live experience as a cross between “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood on PBS and avalanches on Discovery Channel”, so you should definitely do everything you can to see them if the opportunity presents itself. I can’t [highly recommend] buying Use These Spoons enough, and you can do so here or at select indie record stores in the Nashville and Chattanooga area. Though relatively unknown now, Heypenny have world domination on their to-do list, and with a debut album like this, you can expect them to follow through.

MP3s:
“Parade” - Heypenny [highly highly recommended]
“Brave” - Heypenny [highly recommended]
“Secreterror” - Heypenny [highly recommended]

Indie bands covering Top 40 hits get all the love (because who doesn’t love the ironic cover?), but things can work just as well the other way around. Case in point: Sultry female three-piece Sugababes, one of the UK’s most popular acts, have recently covered UK “it”-bands Arctic Monkeys and Hard-Fi (though “it”-band is a pretty huge understatement in the case of the former, considering the absolute frenzy of hype surrounding Arctic Monkeys) for the admirable purpose of providing stimulating b-side fodder for their fans. Their cover of the Arctic’s “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” appears as the b-side to their “Red Dress” single and has received praise from all across the blogosphere, and many have gone as far as to say it actually eclipses the original (including Pitchfork). With their cover, Sugababes, “transform what was sloppy post-punk into music for tube tops”, polishing the rough guitars to a glossy finish and tidying up the instrumentation, all the while keeping the manic pace of the original (Pitchfork).

Sugababes have since set their sights on another group of UK dance-punk rockers, Hard-Fi, and just released their cover of the group’s “Living For The Weekend”. Though not quite as perfect as their Arctics cover, Sugababes deliver a serviceable rendition of the Hard-Fi original, but my lack of enthusiasm could merely be do to the fact that Hard-Fi’s music doesn’t really excite me in the first place. Setting my disposition aside, download the tracks below and decide for yourself.

MP3s:
“I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” - Sugababes
“Living For The Weekend” - Sugababes

I’m well aware that Everett made a huge post on those wonderful Guillemots less than two days ago, but thanks to reader Iain, who runs Delete As Appropriate and recently posted a review of Guillemots’ live show, it’s come to my attention that the band have just today released their US debut EP, available on iTunes and elsewhere, which compiles all of the tracks from Guillemots’ UK debut EP, I Saw Such Things In My Sleep, and the Trains To Brazil CD-single, plus one new song, “Sake”. However, it’s a bit of a curious release because From The Cliffs, which until this point I had thought to be the band’s debut LP, isn’t released until 3/27 in the UK and bears the same cover art. So in essence, Polydor (Guillemots’ label) are inexplicably releasing From The Cliffs to little to no publicity two weeks before it is released in the UK, which is odd considering that Guillemots are a UK band signed to a UK label. I’m a bit confused, but I’m not going to argue as that just means more Guillemots goodness for us Americans, and I don’t think anyone can be upset with that. Purchase the From The Cliffs EP/mini-album on iTunes (here), as it’s pretty incredible and will easily find a spot near the top of Good Weather For Airstrikes’ Top Albums of 2006 list.

Also, Everett got to write their profile, but I’d like to make it perfectly clear that I am in complete agreement with his lavish praise of Guillemots, so much so that if the year ended today, “Trains To Brazil” and “Who Turned The Lights Off, Baby” would be #1 and #2 on my Best Songs of 2006 list, with “Made Up Love Song #43″ not far behind. I know there was a lot of downloadable content in Evro’s post and some of you might have felt overwhelmed, but just to make absolutely sure you all download these three tracks I’m re-posting them here. Enjoy (again).

MP3s:
“Trains To Brazil” - Guillemots [highly highly recommended]
“Who Left The Lights Off, Baby” - Guillemots [highly highly recommended]
“Made Up Love Song #43″ - Guillemots [highly recommended]