Ciarán Flynn - Irish Folk-Rocker is Ready to Be Heartbroken

Dublin folk-rock singer-songwriter Ciarán Flynn started his career singing classic ballads as well as "attempting Dylan, Donovan, Simon & Garfunkel, Planxty, Neil Young, Woody Guthrie, Tracy Chapman and Radiohead".

The work of poet Patrick Kavanagh made an impression; so did the music of Nick Drake, and others. Flynn started playing the guitar, and writing songs, many fed by his experiences while traveling. He says "his version of political and social commentary reflect intimate moments in his own life or adopt the circumstance of others close to him."

At some point down the road, he developed his current sound, which is refreshing and distinctive. While Flynn doesn't sound just like anyone else, at times his music evokes some of the influences he names — like Bob Dylan, clearly, surprisingly, and charmingly. On a similarly charming note: there's a sweet shoutout to Suzanne Vega in "Girl Living In New York City" ("A toned cathedral bell,/Just like Suzanne said/From Tom's Diner")

Flynn's music also draws thoughts of some artists he apparently hasn't named as influences. The addition of a violin on songs including the earnest "Stay The Night" brings Seth Lakeman, another emotional Irish singer, to mind, but Flynn's music is more modern. On "Good Friday?", he delves into religious subject matter with a fearlessness and intensity reminiscent of Billy Bragg and Lloyd Cole.

Flynn's songs are compelling, often addressing matters of the heart with a tender vulnerability and a sense of quiet resignation that still leaves the door open to hope. His beautiful and delightfully Irish voice also merits a mention.

Music from his sold-out New York Sessions EP and several live You Tube clips are available at Flynn's website.

He's playing two different concerts in New York City in April. April 19th is Part 1: The Orphaned Set at Rockwood Music Hall. The following night, Pianos hosts Part 2: The HalfLight Set. This is a great concept. Dublin concerts are upcoming.

Ciaran Flynn - Stay The Night (on the New York Sessions EP, which is sold out. A new EP will be available soon.)

Seven more songs are available on the download page of his website, along with several live YouTube clips. The 64 bitrate on many of the MP3s isn't optimal, and it's on one song identified as "CD quality", which must be a slip. The lower bitrate doesn't especially bother me because he's generously giving so much music away and because he's not a very well-established artist, for lack of a better turn of phrase. ("Stay The Night", the MP3 I posted, is at a 128 bitrate, which is keen.)

Ciarán Flynn's Upcoming Shows:

April 19 - New York City - Rockwood Music Hall (Part 1: The Orphaned Set) - from 7 PM

April 20 - New York City - Pianos (Part 2: The HalfLight Set) - from 8 PM, according to his website. According to Pianos, his set starts at 7 PM, in the lounge. Another artist has a set scheduled for 8 PM, and for what its worth Pianos asks people to "Please note that all listed set times are actual onstage start times".

A couple of concert clips:

"Stay The Night":



"Good Friday?":

Hafdis Huld - As Evil As Snuggling?

There's no U.S. release date yet for Hafdis Huld's alt-pop Dirty Paper Cup (first released in October 2006), but these things take time. In some European countries, the former Gus Gus singer has already released her fourth single from the album ("Diamonds On My Belly").

This Wednesday, March 28th, Huld plays London's ME Club, with Eg White, (doors are at 7:30). April 20th, she's part of the Camden Crawl line-up, again in London. On April 24th she plays Le Mandala in Toulouse, France, with Tara King Theory.

The setting will be mostly France, with one stop each in London and Brussels when Huld joins the line-up of the French festival Les Femmes S'en Mêlent ("The women who interfere?" "The meddling women?" Maybe it's meant more like "The troublemaking women" -- it seems proudly mischievous.)

The Festival runs April 18 to May 10th, but Huld isn't playing every date of Les Femmes S'en Mêlent and has scheduled other shows during the Festival's run.

Babel Fish Translation doesn't perfectly convey the meaning of the Festival's write-up about Huld, but the imperfect translation is rather charming:

"It returns to us today with its first project solo, ' Dirty Paper Cup', a semi-sparkling album, concentrated small pop-folk parts, with arrangements as malignant as cêlins."

As for that tricky word "cêlins", a lot of French-English dictionaries are stumped by it. If they meant "câlins", it apparently means means cuddles, or possibly snuggling.

Can we re-translate "malignant" to "evil"? Methinks it works better. The review, made more offbeat by the inevitable "flaws" of translation, is rather well-suited to Huld's quirky music.

"Simple and spontaneous, but of an extreme sensitivity, the 13 refreshing songs which make this first promising disc us melt in the ears like snowflakes to the sun. The perfect wafer to face this painful winter period all carefully."

That's almost certainly a rave, and now I'm picturing her songs as chocolates, some sweet, some bittersweet. In the unlikely event that the Les Femmes S'en Mêlent folks really referred to Huld as "its", it was probably part of some interfering/troublemaking plan.

Hafdis Huld's Les Femmes S'en Mêlent Shows:

April 25 - Bordeaux, France - BT59 (with Electrelane, Au Revoir Simone)
April 26 - Amiens, France - Lune Des Pirates (with Elk City)
April 27 - Vendôme, France - Chapelle (with Au Revoir Simone, Laura Veirs)
April 28 - Nevers, France - Café Charbon (with Elk City)
April 29 - Grenoble, France - Le Ciel (and "guest" TBA)
May 2 - London - Borderline (with Bunny Rabbit, Klima)
May 4 - Dijon, France - Athenum (with Frida Hyvönen)
May 5 - Belfort, France - La Poudrière (with Tender Forever, Maria Taylor)
May 7 - Brussels - La Rotonde (with Frida Hyvönen, Maria Taylor)

Huld's Other Shows:

March 28 - London - ME Club (with Eg White, doors at 7:30)
April 20 - London - Camden Crawl
April 24 - Toulouse, France - Le Mandala (with Tara King Theory)
May 14 - London - Scala (supporting Simple Kid)
July 28 - Huntingdon, England - The Secret Garden Party (the Festival says their website will launch April 1st.)
August 5 - Ledbury, England - Big Chill Festival

The video for "Diamonds On My Belly":

Sonic Hugs from oto and More

Irvine, California ("Art Happens Here!") is a large planned city. It's either the 6th or 1st safest city with a population over 100,000 in the U.S. (depending, on whether you go by "serious crimes" or "violent crimes"). However, if you want to replace your dishwasher, they will make you get a permit.

Taking Irvine's good with its bad are the three members of oto -- Hirotaka Makino (guitar and computer), Bunichi Oshiro (guitar and percussion), and Takeshi Udo (keyboard and vocals) -- who call the city home.

oto's serene, twinkling ambient/electronic music might make the perfect, soothing soundtrack for a city that's both very safe and very regulated. The safety part sounds great, the other part makes me feel in need of a reassuring sonic hug.

The picture's a bit dark, but judging by the sound from this video, the music works well in Long Beach too...



oto - Color (on Sketch #1 EP)

On April 14th, oto returns to Long Beach, for another show at the Portfolio Coffee House.

The group's Sketch #1 is one of four EPs currently available for download, all for free (wherever you live) from Creation Centre. Creation Centre is a division of Music Related, a small record label run by musician Pandatone.

The primary stated motivation for starting the Centre was to help artists avoid the delays inherent in releasing music the old-fashioned way. It's also "an exploration of a new distribution idea, already in use by software manufactures." It's a great idea, and there's some really nifty music both at Creation Centre and at Music Related (like The Sea's lovely shoegaze).

The songs from each Creation Centre EP can be downloaded individually or altogether. You can make a donation to most of the artists (The Number won't let you donate), and all the money goes to them (the artist you theoretically chose to donate to, that is, not to The Number, although that would be quite scandalous.)

The Number - Two Boats (on small EP)

Pandatone's Happy Together is out April 7th. He's playing the Cake Shop in New York City on April 4th with Julianna Barwick and Praveen Sharma.

Pandatone's video for "We F__king Love You":

Uncut's 15-Track Guide to "New" North American "Indie"

The music from a Victrola causes an American flag to burst into flames. Whoa, what an image! Powerful, a little quaint, might make an anti-technology or anti-American statement, and not entirely respectful. What music could cause an American flag to spontaneously combust? (Besides the music of your least-favorite band?) Gotta be punk! Nah. Folk? Bzzz. Why this image was selected to represent new American and Canadian independent music (with fire-themed songs). Oh, those wacky Brits. Yet for the latest Uncut disc, they assembled a collection of music that isn't entirely new (2001's "Know Your Onion"), and it isn't all-independent. Looking for fire songs might have distracted them from the theme of the compilation.

I read the disc's track listing; I didn't buy the magazine. I'm Boycotting the RIAA in March, as is Kofi's hat.

The disc does contain a lot of independent music, but only 4 tracks are from this year. And people music-savvy enough to read Uncut have probably already heard several of the tracks. A real independent music disc would have been swell.

Info about the tracks is listed below. A few of the groups have made these tracks available on their websites; those are posted. An alternate song Uncut perhaps could have used instead of The Decemberists track is also posted.

Track Listing for Wake Up: 15-Track Guide to New North American Indie:

1. Band of Horses - Weed Party (on Everything All The Time, 2006)
2. Broken Social Scene - Fire Eye'd Boy (on Broken Social Scene, 2005)

3. Swan Lake - All Fires (on Beast Moans, 2006), one of two Swan Lake MP3s available for free at their record label website. The free songs are a smart way to spread word about the first CD from the band (which includes Dan Bejar, Carey Mercer, and Spencer Krug). And "All Fires" is good stuff -- moody, quavering vocals are accompanied by a gorgeous mélange of sounds. Bit like Band of Horses.

4. Tapes 'N Tapes - Insistor (Listed with an RIAA warning for a Japanese pressing of this single and Loon the album it appears on, which was first released in the US in 2005.)
5. Metric - The Police And The Private (on Live It Out, 2005)
6. Beirut - Postcards From Italy (on Gulag Orkestar, 2006)
7. TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me (On Return to Cookie Mountain, which was released by an independent label in the UK, which is why it's mentioned here... because it was released by a major label in the US.)

8. Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives (on the Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives EP, 2006). "Mothers" is one of four tracks available for free, all at high bitrates, at Voxtrot's official website. Of the MP3s available at bands' websites, Voxtrot's was at the highest bitrate and they did the best job of tagging their track. And the song is great. It's an irresistibly catchy earworm. Listen once and it will get stuck in your head. Listen much more, and it might infiltrate your dreams. It's great, but beware its mighty power.

9. Deerhoof - The Galaxist (on Friend Opportunity, 2007)
10. The Dears - There Goes My Outfit (on Gang of Losers, 2006)
11. Of Montreal - Suffer For Fashion (on Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, 2007)

12. - a song by The Decemberists which was released by a member of the RIAA - I don't want to identify it because I think that's tantamount to promoting it. If Uncut felt strongly about including a track by The Decemberists, why not choose an older track, from when the band was still with an independent label? "A-ha!" you might declare. You might also add a question on the heels of the exclamation, "Isn't it the Guide To New North American Indie?" Yes. Yes it is. That's a great question. In fact, it's such a great question, I'm not going to answer it right now. I'm going to answer it in just a moment.

* Alternate track: (recommended if you're making a Real Independent Music mix, and recommended in general. It sounds nothing like The Decemberists, but fits well with other songs on the disc): Lying in States - Turn (on Wildfire on the Lake, 2006) One of four songs available on the band's official website. A confident rocker, with a great stop-start rhythm, and angsty but determined lyrics. *

13. Final Fantasy - This Lamb Sells Condos (on He Poos Clouds, 2006)
14. The Shins - Know Your Onion! (on Oh, Inverted World, 2001) The Shins 2007 album was released by an independent label, so what gives? If "new" means "modern era" as in the last ten years or so, then what's fine for The Shins should have been fine for another group too.
15. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Underwater (You and Me) (on Some Loud Thunder, 2007), one of four free tracks available at the band's official website. I like the strong bassline and the interplay of softly chirping and loudly clanging bells, but I find the vocals annoying, and the song too meandering.

Voxtrot Tour Dates:

May:

25 Austin, TX - Emos (CD Release) with Au Revoir Simone All Ages
27 Phoenix, AZ - Anderson's Fifth Estate with Au Revoir Simone
29 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey with Au Revoir Simone and Sound Team All Ages
30 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall with Au Revoir Simone and Sound Team AA

June:

1 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir 21+
2 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile 21+
5 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock All Ages [5 PM]
6 - Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons All Ages
7 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons All Ages
8 - Toronto, ON - Sneaky Dees with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons 19+
9 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa with Au Revoir Simone
10 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons All Ages
11 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons All Ages
12 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons All Ages
13 - Washington, DC - Black Cat with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons and Favourite Sons All Ages
14 - Boston, MA - Middle East with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons 18+
15 - New York, NY - Webster Hall with Au Revoir Simone and Favourite Sons 18+
16 - Philadelphia, PA - Pure (Making Time) 21+

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Tour Dates:

April: (with Elvis Perkins)

10 - Lupos Heartbreak Hotel - Providence - RI
11 - Pearl Street Night Club - Northampton - MA
12 - Higher Ground - Burlington - VT
13 - Metropolis - Montreal - QB
14 - Kool Haus - Toronto - ON
15 - The Town Ballroom - Buffalo - NY
17 - Cannery Ballroom - Nashville - TN
18 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta - GA
19 - 40 Watt - Athens - GA
20 - Freebird - Jacksonville - FL
21 - The Club at Firestone - Orlando - FL
22 - Revolution - Fort Lauderdale - FL
24 - Republic - New Orleans - LA
26 - Warehouse Live - Houston - TX
27 - Granada Theatre - Dallas - TX
28 - Stubb's BBQ - Austin - TX
30 - Kansas City, MO - VooDoo Lounge

May: (opening act TBA)

1 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
2 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
3 - Indianapolis, IN - Vogue Theater
21 - Melbourne, Australia - Hi Fi Bar
22 - Melbourne, Australia - Hi Fi Bar
23 - Sydney, Australia - Enmore
24 - Brisbane, Australia - The Zoo
25 - Brisbane, Australia - The Zoo

July:

29 - Naeba, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival

Larry "Bud" Melman Dies

Larry "Bud" Melman, a longtime featured performer on David Letterman's programs since the first episode of Late Night With David Letterman in 1982, died Monday at the age of 85. An illness of an unspecified nature has been given as the cause of death.

Melman was born Calvert DeForest but embraced the Melman moniker Letterman gave him. Before long, he started using it for other work, including movie roles, appearances on television programs such as Saturday Night Live, music videos, and commercials. He also used the name in an exercise video ("The Couch Potato Workout").

Perhaps there's something appropriate about his success and fame having come with a name chosen by someone other than his parents. His mother, not a stranger to the stage herself, nonetheless, had "forbade" her son from acting. She died in 1959; Melman had said the acting ban was largely honored while she was alive.

He only returned to using "Calvert DeForest" in 1993 when Dave's network switch prompted NBC President Robert C. Wright to use the network's summer press tour to include the famous pseudonym in a public threat to CBS, "There are certain intellectual-property issues that do not travel with Dave".

So Larry "Bud" Melman became Calvert DeForest. Sometimes corporations use their power in such excessive, ridiculous ways that the choice is immediately also a self-destructive one, even if it's also one that brings them benefits. Keeping Melman from using his name gives NBC nothing and shows people just how petty and nasty NBC, Robert C. Wright, and his cohorts are. They took an old man's name away from him, because they could, and they saw the whole situation in terms of power. There's right and wrong. Every situation does not boil down to "whoever takes more away from the other, wins."

Meanwhile, there are precious few Larry "Bud" Melman clips on YouTube because of CBS' greed-fueled lawsuit against the site and the incompatibility of such clips with NBC's desire to use the site purely as a massive promotional tool.

Granted, one classic Larry "Bud" Melman clip - from NBC no less - survived. Late Show With David Letterman is certain to air a tribute tonight, and then CBS will put some clip on the site tomorrow.

There should be tons of great Melman clips to watch, so I could have spared y'all the anti-corporate ranting and posted more funny clips. Melman had requested that there be no services. Those who knew him can remember him Hopefully people will re-post many of the ones that were pulled and both networks will have the decency and respect to let them remain in his memory.

Giving hot towels to tourists at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and interviewing them about their trip:

Efterklang's Numbered Under Giant Trees

Danish experimental, electronic/rock band Efterklang not only collaborates with the likes of Amiina members (half the group played on Efterklang's first album, Tripper), they also signed Amiina to their own, Danish label, Rumraket.

Next up, and ahead of the band's forthcoming full-length album, is a 5-track EP, Under Giant Trees. "Towards the Bare Hill", the track posted today sounds like Psapp met Beirut on that Bare Hill. A similarity to Amiina might be noted in Efterklang's sound as well, and perhaps one to Explosions in the Sky as well... particularly in their songs that move from quiet to loud.

The band says none of the tracks on the forthcoming EP will appear on the next album. Under Giant Trees will be available April 2nd in two limited-edition formats. 4,500 numbered CDs and 1,200 numbered 12" white vinyl copies will be released unto the world.

"Swarming" video:



Artist website: efterklang.net

For Under Giant Trees:

Label website: theleaflabel.com (everywhere except...)
rumraket.net (the band's label, in Denmark)

Debut album Tripper and single "Swarming" were released by Leaf. The Springer EP was originally released by EP and later released by Leaf. Burnt Toast Vinyl issued the One-Sided LP record, which was, yes, indeed, a record, specifically a 12" record. All this info is from the band's discography - ordering info, track listings, and other information is available there. Whew.

Efterklang - Towards The Bare Hill (from Under Giant Trees)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It's hard to know where to turn to for delightful factoids about St. Patrick's Day this year. It seems wrong to rely upon "America's Newspaper", USA Today for information about an Irish holiday, even if the information comes in a colorful chart and/or graph format. And with Wikipedia cyber-hooligans having recently falsely reported the death of beloved former comedian Sinbad, that site's hard to trust... Wait, is he still a comedian? Is he still beloved? Well, how am I supposed to check now? Damn pranksters.

I've got "Bono Outbids Everyone At Charity Auction For Bono-Autographed Guitar" but while the story seems to check out on the surface with its suggestion that he's both charitable and pompous, I suspect it's phony. Mostly because it's from The Onion.

The Onion article is more "related to an Irish celebrity" than to St. Patrick's Day. Yet St. Patrick wasn't even Irish - not by birth or parentage anyway - so I'm guessing everyone has already been pretty much making up their own rules for a long time, way before people started dying rivers green.

~ Happy St. Patrick's Day. ~

Hothouse Flowers - Sí Do Mhamó Í (Live) (on Into Your Heart)

Lyrics, as well as an English translation for this traditional Irish tune, can be found at the band's website.

Roesy - Trailing The True Star (on Live & Rare Vol.1 - 13 exclusive tracks from Ireland's favorite acts)

Duke Special - Portrait (on Songs From The Deep Forest)

The Frames - People Get Ready (on The Cost)

Slacker Aims at a Piece of the Pandora Pie, At Own Pace

A new service for listening to music and getting music recommendations has begun Beta testing and hopes to establish itself as a portable alternative to Pandora. It's not portable or a strong threat to Pandora at the moment, but give them time... maybe a lot of it, given their name. Slacker? It doesn't inspire a lot of faith.

Maybe a few words explaining the concept of the service could instill some confidence in the Slackers... even given, say, their vague six-month window ("second half of 2007") for when satellite broadcast car kits will go on sale. (Car kits, personal players and the premium, ad-free service will cost ya. The basic service is free.)

Dennis Mudd, Slacker CEO says, "Personalized radio is a great way to listen to the music you love without having to work at it." Seems he thinks storing music in our computer is too much trouble... Yet he hopes we'll pay for the premium service so we can, among other things, save Slacker tracks to our computer. Clearly they realize having music in your computer is a convenience, not a burden. Eventually, they aim to charge people US$150-$299 for portable Slacker gadgets, a to-be-determined price for the car kits, and $7.50 a month for premium services.

Fortunately, I find listening to the music I love easy!

I tried Slacker anyway. They have many preset stations, such as: 80s, 90s, classic rock, hip-hop, South by Southwest, alternative, 90s alternative, and adult alternative (I was prepared to write "it turns out that doesn't mean smut", but what do you know, the first song included the word "fucking". It wasn't a very dirty song though). You can ban a song from a station and you won't hear it again, or click a heart if you love it, and the song will be played more often on the station. So you can try, for instance, to make adult alternative more "adult".

There's also an Indie station. I only played it for 5 songs; 2 were RIAA-safe according to RIAA Radar. I liked one a lot but already knew it ("At Conception" by Cursive; it's on Happy Hollow) and the other wasn't quite my thing; possibly I disliked it. That one I hadn't heard before ("Mojo" by Peeping Tom, on the album of the same name).

Slacker should delete the Indie station in its current state; it's misleading. Some of the music is from independent labels; some isn't. A real Independent Label station would be swell, and they say they have the rights to music from "hundreds of independent labels". If they're using Indie to mean a genre, they're misusing the word in a different way. What does "indie music" sound like? Define the genre for me. They played songs from different genres.

Before I tried the preset stations I tried 3 custom stations, initially with 3 songs in mind. I found that Slacker, unlike Pandora, doesn't let you build a station around a song. They're very early in Beta testing, and hopefully will add that feature before long.

I thought a limited amount of songs in the Slacker library might account for only allowing artist-based stations but they say they have "millions of songs with the breadth and depth increasing continuously." Having the songs and programming your service to allow access to those songs are different things. I intentionally didn't choose any really obscure artists, though they're all RIAA-safe.

In fact the first artist, Love and Rockets, is one of those only sometimes RIAA-safe artists. After 6 songs, it looked like I was only getting recommendations for songs I already knew, that were released by members of the RIAA. Out of the 6, I was very impressed with 2 in terms of how well they fit the "mood" of the band. Another song I liked, but don't think of as Love and Rockets-ish. I like that when you first look up an artist it gives you a list of several related artists... For Love and Rockets, the list included Fields of the Nephilim, Sex Gang Children, The Bolshoi, and Peter Murphy (whose recordings on Beggars Banquet are RIAA-safe).

Love and Rockets - Haunted When the Minutes Drag (on Sorted! The Best of Love and Rockets)

Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up (on Wild Birds 1985-1995: The Best of the Beggars Banquet Years)

I next chose a Stars station, where I encountered a pair of tracks from 1 album and a pair from another, out of only 11 tracks. Later, trying a few channels by other artists, I ran into a frustrating amount of repeats. I like Belle and Sebastian already, enough already!

Slacker reckons if you like Stars, Belle and Sebastian's "We Are the Sleepyheads" and "Funny Little Frog" (both on The Life Pursuit) are right up your alley, and likewise Metric's "Monster Hospital" (on Live It Out). I wouldn't have pegged Metric as all that much like Stars but there is a certain similarity... Pandora would point to similar major key tonality and electric guitar riffs or some such thing. They also singled out Klee's "With You", which is an interesting German pop ballad, though I didn't find it similar to Stars. Slacker named Momus, The High Llamas and Club 8 as related artists.

Stars - Petit Mort (B side on "Ageless Beauty" single)

On a Sebadoh station, during 16 songs there were repeat tracks from 3 artists. Plus, 4 out of the first 11 tracks were by Sebadoh!

Oh, for a box you could choose to check -- "don't play songs by my station's artist". Presumably, a lot of people are using the site as a music recommendation service, not to listen to songs by an artist they already know they like. (Really, storing Sebadoh songs on your computer and playing them isn't hard.) If you skip through that artist's songs, trying to get to songs you're not already familiar with, you're punished for it.

Edited: it's been noted in the comments that there is such an option. I'm glad of it; I think it's a big plus.

According to the terms of Slacker's licensing agreements with the record labels (Pandora says they have a similar contract), they're required to only allow users to skip a limited number of songs. You can still mute the songs, and multi-task elsewhere, or leave the site. Once you've decided you don't want to listen to a song, why should a corporate licensing agreement persuade you to change your mind?

The recommendations for Sebadoh move through gentle through bouncy toward rockier music, from Rogue Wave's "Publish My Love" (on Descended Like Vultures) to Pavement's classics "Cut Your Hair" and "Gold Soundz", both on "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain", to Superchunk's "Punch Me Harder" (on No Pocky For Kitty). Iron & Wine's "My Lady's House" sneaks in there, too, though it's not a song I love. Artists on the "related artists list include: Pavement (they're really pushing Pavement), Neutral Milk Hotel, and (Smog).

There were a few good recommendations... some okay ones, and some weird ones. Ballads mixed with rock songs and such. There were a few bugs, which is to be expected. Occasionally the wrong artist's name would pop up before the correct name appeared; the site wouldn't work for me with Firefox. The list of related artists (with biographies) is my favorite feature, and the one I'd most like to see expanded. It's all essentially a form of advertising (is it one that would disappear with the premium plan?), but it was still fun to explore that portion of the site.

Sebadoh - Willing to Wait (on Harmacy) The song I wanted to base the station on, a sad beauty.

Pavement - Cut Your Hair (on Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)

Iron & Wine - My Lady's House (on the Woman King EP)

Sebadoh - Truly Great Thing (on III) Recommended by Slacker; another well-written love song.

Everyday That We Wake Up It's a Beautiful Day: Morning Songs

This seemed like a logical follow-up to the sleep songs post. The occasional use of logic can be a fun and easy way to surprise your brain. You may startle it into releasing old information that was "on the tip of your tongue" years ago. I'm hoping to uncover hidden reserves of pop culture trivia and/or some of the French I temporarily learned in high school.

There's one staying-out-all-night song, one insomnia song, and one twilight song, but they're also all morning-esque.

Morning Songs:

Nouvelle Vague - Friday Night Saturday Morning (on Nouvelle Vague)

Cover of The Specials song nonchalantly describes a typical weekend night dancing and drinking "with mates and dates and friends". Though the singer claims "I don't like life when things get dull", she sounds bored, and disgusted to boot:

I'll eat in the taxi queue
Standing in someone else's spew
Wish I had lipstick on my shirt
Instead of piss stains on my shoes

Tahiti 80 - When the Sun (Sunrise Version) (on Extra Pieces of Sunshine)

Sweetly empathizes with a listener's insomnia. Staying in and bopping along to the horns in this jaunty tune might be a better call than dragging your exhausted self out to go dancing with "with mates and dates and friends", especially if it leads to vomit clean-up later. Or at least try to take a step back if someone looks like they're about to puke.

Gordon Hempton - Georgia Twilight (on Dawn Chorus)

You can chirp and tweet along with the birds on this nature sounds track, if you like.

Better Than Ezra - Daylight (on Before the Robots)

Before the Robots is a rare RIAA-safe album from Better Than Ezra. "Daylight" is about needing someone you wish you didn't, and resenting them for it... or even resenting the intrusive process of falling in love. When you fall in love, you may find many thoughts are interrupted by thoughts of your beloved. Some might find this irritating ("You're a cut that refuses to heal...You're a song I can't get off my mind.") Ultimately, there's acceptance ("I need you finally, I confess") though it isn't perfect ("I love you, but I hate you too"). How romantic.

The Cardigans - Rise And Shine (on Life)

Another sketchy one, I'm afraid. This light, fun tune appeared on an album released by independent label Minty Fresh, but it was also released by RIAA members. So if you'd like Life, and want to buy it from an independent label, just do a bit of research first. The Cardigans are decidedly not always an RIAA-safe band.

Bright Eyes - I Woke Up With This Song in My Head This Morning (B-side of the "Lua" single)

The music is cheerful; the lyrics not so much so. They're good, though.

Fruit Bats - Everyday That We Wake Up It's a Beautiful Day (on Spelled in Bones)

Sweetness and chirping birds, together in one gentle song

$49,000 Bed-Inspired Sleep Songs

Inspired by the announcement that a bed is now on sale for $49,000 -- the price rationalized by the manufacturer dubbing the creation "the most exclusive bed in the world" -- I hereby announce that my bed is not for sale at any price. Therefore it's now the new most exclusive bed in the world.

Unlike the Vividus, my bed does not include a mattress stuffed with horsehair, cotton, and wool (and ew at the horsehair). Hästens Beds, the manufacturer, considers the natural materials a selling point. "We are a part of nature. What could be more natural than sleeping that way?" Wouldn't sleeping outside, without a bed, be more natural? People go camping to get back to nature. They don't buy elaborately constructed, $49,000 beds.

But wait, there's more! Each bed is "signed with the name of the owner" and with that of the "master craftsman" who made it. I don't know who crafted my bed and I'm not a fan of forgery so if I was ever somehow persuaded to part with it, and the new owner wanted graffiti on it, I'd write something more interesting. Perhaps a line or two from an appropriate song. Music is so often appropriate....

$49,000 Bed-Inspired Sleep Songs:

Paul Brill - And So To Sleep (on Harpooner) Poignant, lovely song, awash in piano.

Hammock - Blankets of Night (on Kenotic) Beautiful shoegaze.

Alexi Murdoch - Dream About Flying (on Time Without Consequence) Eloquent rock-pop-folk (if I can add another: bluegrass).

Bernard Fanning - Sleeping Rough (on Tea & Sympathy) Catchy, fun alt-pop with some country flavor (but not necessarily enough to make it alt-country...)

Mogwai - Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep (on Happy Songs For Happy People) Sounds like a cross between "Mogwai" and "lullaby". Imagine a dreamworld that's not your ideal but it's still somehow serene and oddly compelling.

Mark Lanegan - Where Did You Sleep Last Night? (on The Winding Sheet) Dude's "I-just-bought-you-a-non-returnable-$49,000-bed angry."

Shortlist Music Prize Reveals Longlist

The Shortlist Music Prize, dedicated to honoring the "most creative and adventurous" albums of the preceding year to have sold less than 500,000 copies in the U.S., has announced a 60-album (Very) Longlist, the first since taking the previous year off. So perhaps they're sort of dedicated. Or maybe they were too busy with life or with rocking to weigh albums' comparative merits. Toe-may-toe, Toe-mah-toe?

A ten-album shortlist will be announced sometime or other in April (no date has been given); the winner revealed "later in the spring." This is a casual group. It's possible a guy wearing flip-flops will announce the shortlist. Or they could go casual, cutesy, and commercial and have him wear Shortlist Music Prize Shorts™ (thereafter available in a newly-created gift shop).

This year, Shortlist Music Prize Director Greg Spotts (on his own apparently) "decided to make the Listmaker panel somewhat smaller, focusing on artists who are a bit younger and edgier." Eek, way to make the past years' panelists feel ancient and unhip, Greg! What kind of lousy, unedgy selections were they starting to make to merit such concern and need for the publicly-announced change of course? Last time they went for Illinois by gulp, current panel member Sufjan Stevens. Yikes. Awkward.

Besides past winner Stevens, now out-of-favor, and KT Tunstall, the panel inclu- what? You don't consider her edgy? She might not help Spotts achieve his goal ("I want to make sure we stay close to the cutting edge rather than gradually drifting towards the center.")? You might have a good, edgy point. Tunstall only really liked 4 albums that sold less than 500,000 copies this year. Or at least she could have nominated 10, and opted to only nominate 4. And one of them was Joanna Newsom's Ys, so whether Tunstall's helped the Prize drift somewhere sharp or as soft as a knife made of Limburger cheese, it wasn't toward a better-sounding longlist.

The other 2006 "Listmakers" are Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody, Panic! at the Disco, Rev. Moose (the Editor-In-Chief of CMJ New Music Report - as in the industry trade magazine not CMJ New Music Monthly), Toure, the Killers' Ronnie Vannucci, and Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne.

Sufjan Stevens nominated a project he collaborated on, Danielson's Ships (as if to say "Take that, Spotts. Hope it's edgy enough for you."? Hard to say. Not to type, just hard to say as in "guess with any measure of accuracy.)

Stevens' other votes went to albums by The Blow (Paper Television), Dabrye (Two/Three), Kidd Jordan (Palm of Soul), Matmos (The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast), Midlake (The Trials of Van Occupanther), OOIOO (Taiga), and Serena Maneesh (Serena Maneesh).

The Blow seem unlikely to make it to the shortlist, Midlake and/or OOIOO much more so. Midlake received a lot of critical notice for The Trials of Van Occupanther, which could help land them a spot on the shortlist but their absence wouldn't shock. Japanese experimental rockers OOIOO (Taiga) may well have that edgy factor Spotts wants.

Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody opted for Band of Horses' Everything All The Time, a very likely bet for the shortlist. He also tossed a vote to Beirut's The Gulag Orkestar, a critical favorite that would make an unsurprising shortlist pick, especially because Zach Condon, who records as Beirut, is quite young, and this apparently matters.

Franz Ferdinand's choices included The Gossip's Standing In The Way of Control and Country Teasers' The Empire Strikes Back.

The Gossip wouldn't be a cutting edge choice in the UK, but in the States, they probably are still considered sharper than a butter knife.

Panic! At the Disco's picks included Cursive's Happy Hollow, The Hush Sound's Like Vines, and The Velvet Teen's Cum Laude.

Among Rev. Moose's nominations: albums by Against Me! (Americans Abroad Live in London), Mohair (Small Talk) Kimya Dawson (Remember That I Love You), and Vaux (Beyond Virture Beyond Vice).

The Hush Sound - We Intertwined (on Like Vines)

How did I manage to avoid hearing The Hush Sound until last night? Props to Rev. Moose, because I like their album very much.

"We Intertwined", with vocals by co-vocalist/guitarist Bob Morris, is a cheerful, piano-driven, utterly lovable love song, reminiscent of an upbeat Ben Folds Five tune. Also along those lines, another song I love: the bright, toe-tap-inducing "Sweet Tangerine". Another standout, "Lions Roar", reminds me instead of Beirut (the horns, the dramatic storytelling). These songs remind me of other groups I like in a pleasant way, not in a way that makes me think, "geesh, they're totally ripping off other bands."

Co-vocalist/pianist Greta Salpeter sometimes sounds like Paramore's young Hayley Williams in the pitch and sweetness of her vocals (this first struck me during "Lighthouse"). Every so often I think she might be on the verge of singing in too high a pitch ("You Are the Moon", the word "death" on "Wine Red", although it's possible her "death" is supposed to sound like that.) The rest of the time -- definitely the majority of the time -- I find her voice lovely. I've listened to "Sound A Dark Congregation" a few times only focusing on her vocals, which are so well-done.

While I enjoy "Like Vines" enough to have launched into a review of it within this post, I'm skeptical that it has either the critical momentum or the edgy/unusual obscurity to propel it to the shortlist. Try being more weird or incredibly critical popular next time, kids.

Mohair - Keep It Together (on Small Talk) - Grand, dramatic, emotional, Brit. alt rock. Brings Snow Patrol to mind, but rockier, and with horns. "Life" is in a similar vein (minus the horns) and I think it might suffer from trying-too-hard syndrome, but I'm not sure yet; I'll give it more of a chance to grow on me (yes, it's another new-to-me Rev. Moose nomination.) Single "Stranded" is a straight-out super-catchy pop song à la The Upper Room. "L.A. Song" is not working for me. No matter what it professes "every town" is not a "country song title" in L.A. Please don't travel here looking for "Man In Black", "Coal Miner's Daughter", "Achy Breaky Heart", or, heaven knows, "Wide Open Spaces", particularly on the freeways packed with ever-increasing numbers of people who come here looking for that exotic country-song-title-lifestyle. Darn you, British alt-pop-bands! But seriously, a) if you're going to write a song about L.A., British people, please make it really good. b) They bash the money-seeking "rat race" in the song. A shortlist nomination would make them more money. So maybe they wouldn't want it.

OOIOO - GRS (on Taiga)

Kind of a given to write "R.I.Y.L. Liars"; both groups have strong drums and sometimes a similar mood. You can tell OOIOO is quirky right at the name; it totally doesn't even look like a word. It's in all-caps and looks like a sound rather than a word. It's fitting; they mix and blend a wide variety of sounds, and their music doesn't resemble a typical song. They're different, and choosing the album for the shortlist may simultaneously let Sufjan Stevens feel he can identify edgy music and let Greg Spotts feel he has appeased Stevens for implying his Shortlist Prize win is a step toward centrist mediocrity.

Serena Maneesh - Sapphire Eyes (on Serena Maneesh)

Another Stevens pick, also not exactly mainstream. More like a beautiful shoegaze epic (and another international pick; the group's from Norway).

And speaking of epic, this is turning into one. I'll predict Band Of Horses, Beirut, Midlake, OOIOO, and The Gossip make the shortlist, and leave it at that. Happy listening.

Abandoned Love Records' Sweet, Sometimes Bitter Music

Abandoned Love Records uses a picture of someone playing the melodica on their intro page, which could either be a good omen or a horrid trick. And with a name like Abandoned Love, they could be bitter. If so, at least they're not taking it out on other music fans.

At least one MP3 can be downloaded from everything in their website store (except a shirt, but to be fair, it doesn't seem to play music.) I listened to several of the MP3s and found an abundance of great power pop and alt rock.

Plot Against Rachel's "Casual Carpool" sets shared, sweetly sung vocals and romantic, angst-ridden lyrics to music that's initially sparse and soft, then turns up the intensity with denser guitars. And it has something to do with winning bread in exchange for head repair. They encourage carpooling and a bartering-based economy and are likely socialists. That's just an observation; it's a great alt rock song regardless of any political innuendo it may contain. They also encourage the phrase "win the bread" instead of "bring home the bacon", so they're likely vegetarians.*

Hippie vegetarian socialist rockers Plot Against Rachel will release a self-titled EP on March 13th.

*Note for those who may wonder about any of that analysis: Yes, I am joking. They use the phrase "win the bread" but don't necessarily encourage it.

Plot Against Rachel - Casual Carpool (on the Plot Against Rachel EP)

Artist website: Plot Against Rachel

Self released EP, available through Abandoned Love Records

Upcoming Shows:

March 23 - Santa Clara, CA - 6:00 PM - KSCU Radio 103.3 FM - Power Pop Show (interview/performance)

March 24 - San Francisco, CA - Hotel Utah Saloon - 8:00 PM - CD Release Party

April 10 - San Francisco, CA - Make-Out Room - 9:00 PM

April 11 - Stanford, CA - 9:00 PM KZSU 90.1 FM - Wednesday Night Live (interview/performance)

Apr 13 - Palo Alto, CA - Stanford University - 8:00 PM



Within ten seconds of "I Have A Need You See", you can tell The Lovely Sparrows are really, really good. If poignant power pop love songs are your fizzy cup of Coca-Cola, you'll likely enjoy it.

The excellent "Chemicals Change", from last fall's Pulling Up Floors, Pouring on (New) Paint is a much different song. Both are well-written and neither is sunny, but "Chemicals" is much darker and more complex lyrically. The lyrics are full of the sort of too-clever-by-half turns of phrase you can imagine someone turning over in their head and perfecting, just waiting for the chance to use them all on their newly-estranged-lover ("Honey, I spend my life splitting words like hairs"). Except that real people spend lots of time thinking of the most clever things to say and they never end up that clever. The song captures the "bitter" part pretty well ("Can I lay down tonight, and just forget your face?"). The music's beautiful; piano, a swaying flute melody, and insistent guitar also help set an urgent tone.

Artist website: The Lovely Sparrows

The Lovely Sparrows - Chemicals Change (on the Pulling Up Floors, Pouring on (New) Paint EP)

The Lovely Sparrows - I Have A Need You See (on 7" of the "Take Your Hats Off You Godless Bastards" single)

Self-released recordings, available through: Abandoned Love Records

Upcoming Shows:

March 15 - Austin, TX - Spiderhouse - 1:00 PM (SXSW day party)

March 17 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk - Midnight (SXSW showcase - wristband or badge required, w/The Black Angels, and Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter)

March 30 - Dallas, TX - The Cavern - 8:00 PM (w/the Night Game Cult, Karrie Hopper, and Eaton Lake Tonics)

March 31 - Oaklahoma City - VZD's - 8:00 PM

April 2 - Urbana, IL - Canopy Club - 9:30 PM (w/Pulsar47, Small Sails, and New Ruins)

April 4 - Rock Island, Illinois - Daytrotter session - 8:00 PM

April 5 - Chicago, IL - Schuba's - 9:00 PM - (w/The Swimmers)

Lastly, The Capstan Shafts (a.k.a. Dean Wells) uses a winning formula with "Chandelier Of Bad Ideas" -- heavy, seesawing, guitars, lyrics mostly fixated on sleeves (clever, as most people wear them), and catchy backing vocals to lighten things up a bit. Recommended if you like Spoon, The New Pornographers, or sleeves.

The Capstan Shafts - Chandelier of Bad Ideas (on The Sleeved and Grandaughters of the Blacklist)

The Capstan Shafts doesn't have a website, but Dean Wells' Swedish label set up a site with links to a couple articles about The Capstan Shafts. Some of their recordings can be ordered from Yellow Mica Recordings, and they have free MP3s, including one by The Capstan Shafts, but at a 96 bitrate.

The Sleeved and Grandaughters of the Blacklist is the only one of their recordings available (as a "limited edition") at Abandoned Love Records

Land of Gnomes and Ice Leads to Homemade Glassophones

Sigur Rós's keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson is married to violinist María Huld Markan, of Icelandic quartet amiina.com, and that might have something to do with why the groups have recorded and toured together, but Iceland's weird, man. They have a talented ambient music community because it's cold and desolate and there are gnomes everywhere. Therefore, amiina is 1) kind of weird and 2) doesn't need nepotism. And now they're about to release their first full-length album and about to embark on a solo U.S. tour.

I won't pretend to understand Iceland. Maybe when the temperature drops to an extremely low level, people start loving gnomes, and the presence of a lot of gnomes freaks people out and prompts wild bursts of creativity.

I've read Sigur Rós interviews in which they try to explain how the culture of Iceland inspires them. It's fascinating. The temperature, and low population are factors, as are the history and mythology of the place. Where any artist grows up and lives must influence them to some degree. It seems to be serving Sigur Rós and amiina well creatively, though it must cost them a fortune in gloves and hats.

The four women of amiina consist of three violinists and a cellist, but they employ a variety of other instruments as well, including, on their EP AnimaminA, "bells, electronics, harps and a homemade glassophone." (One homemade glassophone sounds like this.) On that EP they sometimes sound just a bit like Psapp (minus the vocals). Fans of Andrew Bird's quirky sound and unusual instrumentation also might like them, especially if they love the beauty in his music. Some of their songs have more of that quirkiness than others, but there's often a soft, ethereal beauty to their songs, at least on the EP.

amiina's debut solo album, Kurr, will be released March 21st on their own Bláskjár Records, although they're "talking to some people who want to make it more widely available". It can be pre-ordered (for £9.99) from their website and will ship "on or before" the 21st.

The "Seoul" offers a first listen at the new album. It's also available from the website shop, as are that 2004 EP AnimaminA and an £5.00 MP3 singles bundle containing 7 tracks.

amiina - Hemipode (on AnimaminA)

Artist website: amiina.com

Label website: workersinstitute.com/artists_amiina.html (The Worker's Institute is their label worldwide for AnimaminA, which was initially self-released. In the U.S. they released "Seoul". See amiina.com for lots of information on who released what where, and where to order what, depending on where you are.)

amiina's Tour Dates:

March 21 - Madison - Café Montmartre
March 22 - Minneapolis - The Varsity Theatre
March 23 - Chicago - Lakeshore Theater
March 25 - Cleveland - Cambridge Room, House of Blues
March 26 - Detroit - Magic Bag
March 27 - Toronto - The Music Gallery
March 28 - Montreal - Le National
March 30 - Philly - World Café Live
March 31 - Boston - The Remis At Museum of Fine Arts

April 1 - DC - 9:30 Club
April 2 - NYC - The Wordless Music Series
April 6 - Cincinnati - Cincinnati Now Festival
April 9 - Seattle - Triple Door
April 10 - Portland - Doug Fir Lounge
April 12 - San Francisco - Swedish American Hall
April 13 - Los Angeles - Silent Movie Theatre
April 14 - San Diego - House of Blues - 5th Avenue Stage

M. Ward Headlines Bruce Springsteen Tribute Concert

M. Ward is one of the headliners for an April 5th benefit concert at Carnegie Hall to benefit Music For Youth, a New York organization that helps fund music education for children. During the "Celebrating the Music of Bruce Springsteen" concert, each artist will perform one Springsteen song.

So far 20 artists are scheduled to perform, including Josh Ritter and The Bacon Brothers.

M. Ward - To Go Home (on Post-War)

Artist website: mwardmusic.com/

Label website: mergerecords.com/

Stars Announce Cover/Remix Album: "Do You Trust Your Friends?"

Posing a question in an album title is risky; it invites rude responses if the music isn't pleasing (and you can't please everyone). Along with asking Do You Trust Your Friends?, Stars turned control of their next album over to some friends.

Trust, which Arts & Crafts will release on May 22nd, is a reworking/remixing of Stars' 2004 album Set Yourself on Fire. That album not coincidentally addresses themes relating to trust, friendship, and love. Artists contributing to Do You Trust Your Friends? include The Russian Futurists, Metric, The Dears, and The Most Serene Republic.

Stars are currently working on a new album, and plan to release it in the fall. One of their two vocalists, Torquil Campbell, is in another band called Memphis, which has an album out now in Canada. A Little Place In The Wilderness will be released in the U.S. on March 27th. Memphis is working on plans to tour the States this summer. Three songs from the disc, "I Dreamed We Fell Apart", "I'll Do Whatever You Want", and "In the Cinema Alone" are streaming at the band's website.

Judging by those titles, Campbell may not trust his friends... or maybe he shouldn't. He's very talented, at any rate. He's so emotive, and both beautiful alt-pop and beautifully cynical alt-pop songs are perfect for him. It also makes sense that he's friends with The Dears; their styles are somewhat similar.

Here's the video for "I'll Do Whatever You Want":



Amy Millan, the band's other vocalist, released debut album Honey From The Tombs last year. I wasn't fond of her switch to country, but the album garnered some praise.

Do You Trust Your Friends? Track Listing:

1. Final Fantasy - "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"
2. Montag - "Set Yourself On Fire"
3. The Most Serene Republic - "Ageless Beauty
4. Jason Collett - "Reunion"
5. Minotaur Shock - "The Big Fight"
6. The Dears - "What I'm Trying To Say Pt. 1"
7. The Dears - "What I'm Trying To Say Pt. 2"
8. Apostle Of Hustle - "One More Night"
9. Junior Boys - "Sleep Tonight"
10. The Russian Futurists - "The First Five Times"
11. Metric - "He Lied About Death"
12. Camouflage Nights with Kevin Drew - "Celebration Guns"
13. The Stills - "Soft Revolution"
14. Young Galaxy - "Calendar Girl"

Stars - Soft Revolution (on Set Yourself on Fire)

Artist website: arts-crafts.ca/stars

Label website: arts-crafts.ca

The Russian Futurists - These Seven Notes (on Our Thickness) Great song, cool, interesting group. They sound somewhat like The Postal Service, but not in a derivative way.

Artist website: TheRussian Futurists.com

Label website: upperclass.to

RIAA, Beware the Non-Idle Fans of March

It's got a good beat, and you can dance to it, romance to it, study, work, play, and fall asleep to it. Yes, I do mean RIAA-free music! How- say, did you peek at the large artwork posted above, which prominently features the words "boycott" and "RIAA"? And the post title as well? Oh, you! Then you'll have guessed that March is Boycott the RIAA month.

The anti-RIAA event is the brainchild of Gizmodo. They note that the RIAA gets money from consumers, and then sues them. The suggestion follows: if consumers don't approve of the RIAA's behavior, they should send a message by not giving them more money. We are the ones in charge, albeit (mostly) in less fancy settings, and behaving less aggressively with our power than they do with theirs (bullies are like that).

We're funding some some pretty sleazy tactics, for instance the launching of a website to trick college students into incriminating themselves. It asks them to sign a notarized affidavit saying they will delete any songs they have downloaded and pledging not to download more songs. If a song is ever found on a computer belonging to anyone naïve enough to sign such a thing, the statement could be a handy tool to try to push them into settling a lawsuit. The blog Recording Industry vs The People is written by lawyers who often represent those sued by the RIAA, and documents other lousy misdeeds.

Gizmodo urges people to buy music from unsigned artists and those on independent labels. They recommend RIAA Radar (it's been in my links list for awhile, and will be sport bold print there during March). It's an American site (I don't know of an equivalent site elsewhere), and isn't perfect, but it's excellent. The site's color-coded system, indicates at a glance whether a recording has been judged "safe" (green), "unknown" (yellow), or given a "warning" (red) because it was released by an RIAA member.

RIAA Radar maintains several lists including an RIAA-free Top 100 List. From the list (or a search result), you can also click on the name of a record label (whether or not it's "safe") and get a list of their releases. So the site can be used both for checking artist/album status and for roaming around looking for new labels and artists to check out.

Gizmodo emphasizes that there are ways to support RIAA artists other than by buying their music. You can go their concerts and buy their merchandise. Billy Bragg and I wish you wouldn't buy their American Apparel merchandise though. Another idea: I've read about fans giving artists money directly, for instance if they've downloaded and liked their work.

Mentioning multiple causes in one post could cause overload, at which point one might be tempted to declare, "Screw this!", put on some blood diamonds and a fur coat and eat foie grois from a bowl made of a human skull.

But you don't even have a bowl made of a human skull do you? Therefore, one more issue. Jennifer Hudson wore a capelet to the Oscars.



She won, which might make some people think her choice is "okay" or even "fashionable", even though it was described as "bizarre" and said to make her look "like she's from another age or dimension", possibly having taken the item from Star Trek's costume closet to achieve the otherworldly effect. Evidently, Andre Leon Talley did this to her, not that I'm suggesting a boycott of Vogue, at this time. I do urge a boycott of capelets and if there's an all-capelet issue of Vogue, yeah, sure, I urge a boycott of that too.

March here: RIAA-and-capelet-safe posts.* Because it's time to take the streets back.

Still working on the slogan.

*Besides that one offending picture of J-Cape.

Freezepop - I Am Not Your Gameboy (on Fancy Ultra Fresh)

Artist website: Freezepop.net

Label website: Archenemy.com

Upcoming Shows:

March:

7 - San Francisco - Elbo Room - 21+. Doors at 9 PM. $7 (according to venue, or $6, according to Freezepop) Tickets only available on the day of the show.

9 - Sacramento - Trauma - 18+ - Doors at 9 PM.

23 - Pittsburgh - Garfield Artsworks, with the Raccoonists. More details TBA.

24 - Wilmington, Ohio - Joe's Java - The Autobahn Festival. Tickets are $15 at the door, $12 in advance.

The Gossip - Coal To Diamonds (on Standing In The Way Of Control)

Artist website Gossipyouth.com

Label website: KillRockStars.com

Upcoming Shows:

April:
4 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
6 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of The Hill
7 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour
12 - Chicago, IL - The Abbey
14 - New York, NY - The Knitting Factory