It is with great sadness we report one of Chicago's treasures and some may say the third Canary (his writings may be too "real" for mass consumption) is departing Chicago for NYC (coincidentally, the same day I move from Milwaukee to CHI). His love for a special lady is sending "M i c h a e l" to New York. As of now, his plans for employment remain uncertain, yet some things are concrete: he will live in Williamsburg, tight jeans will be the norm, his fixie will be his transportation, American Apparel will be the only cotton that touches his skin, and he will partake in DIY projects with any free time he has aside from fixed gear bike polo / jousting. We wish him the best.
Download: Wu Tang Clan - Tearz
Download: The C.O.Ds - Michael The Lover
Download: Al Brown - Love and Happiness
Previously: Ace
Related: Current residents of NYC , please add comments to this post if you have recommendations on quality establishments for back hair removal.
August 30, 2008
Doo Doo Brown
August 29, 2008
just antony
since 2005's mercury prize winning album, i am a bird now, antony hegarty (or just antony) seems to have devoted most of his time to collaborating with friends like bjork, hercules & love affair, & one of his earliest champions, lou reed on various projects...but it's nice to hear recently that he's also been busy in the studio with the johnsons, recording both a new full length album that is due in early 2009, & a five song ep entitled another world that will come out on october 7th...dude's got such an unmistakably heartbreaking voice that it's almost a crime for it to be pushed to the background or hidden behind heavy electronic beats...so, something to look forward to...in the mean time, here's the first track to surface from lou reed's upcoming concert film, berlin (which also finds sharon jones lending her voice to a couple songs & was directed by julian schnabel, whose last film, the diving bell & the butterfly is a must see), as well as antony's absolutely fantastic contribution to leonard cohen's 2006 tribute film, i'm your man.
download: lou reed ft. antony - caroline says, pt. ii (live)
download: antony - if it be your will (live)
August 28, 2008
more songs about coastlines & tides
these two, & their respective albums, have been in heavy rotation the past couple weeks...check 'em out if you haven't already.
download: okkervil river - lost coastlines
download: the little ones - morning tide
related: also check out the various artists, including a.c. newman, david vandervelde & bon iver, who have been taking part in the stand ins cover series at okkervil river's youtube channel.
August 27, 2008
Invasion
The Milwaukee madness has begun. After living through the Harley 100th anniversary and hearing the plans to build on the party for the 105th, I began calling the approaching event The Weekend Milwaukee Burned. Seriously, hopefully riders and festival goers all stay safe...think I'll plan to leave the moped in the garage this weekend. The 105th did come correct with Bruce this year as opposed to the colossal mistake that was the 100th "surprise" talent selection.
Download: Daniel Johnston - Speeding Motorcycle
Download: The Rumble Strips - Motorcycle
Download: The Storey Sisters - Bad Motorcycle
*H-tip to Moistworks on the rare 60s classic from Storey Sisters.
August 26, 2008
Ring Da Bell
Ahhh...School Days. Enjoy these Back to the Books scorchers.
Download: Burning Spear - Dry and Heavy
Download: Dennis AlCapone - Teach The Children
Download: U-Roy - Listen to the Teacher
August 25, 2008
August 22, 2008
golden age
tv on the radio sound like they "wanna be startin' somethin'" on this first single from their forthcoming album, dear, science...due sept. 23rd...nice.
August 21, 2008
thing of the past
thanks to a nice tip from aquarium drunkard, i turned on vetiver's recent covers album last week & haven't been able to turn it off since...the few songs i had heard before, previously from the likes of ronnie lane, loudon wainwright iii, townes van zandt, & bobby charles, all stay pretty true to form, & i imagine the others don't stray too far from the original versions either, but the song selection & sequencing is spectacular, & the laid back performance truly does sound like a thing of the past...not to mention that in the process of putting together this great record, andy cabic & company have helped to turn the listner (i.e. me) on to some wonderfully obscure artists, such as elyse weinberg ("houses"), garland jeffreys ("lon chaney"), michael hurley ("blue driver"), & the english prog-metal group, hawkwind ("hurry on sundown")...the whole thing sounds like some long lost folk lp...& it's great.
download: vetiver - lon chaney
download: vetiver - hurry on sundown
download: vetiver - blue driver
related: a few month's back, vetiver's andy cabic cotributed a playlist to when you awake's wonderful "mixin' with" series...as you might guess, the songs he chose aren't exactly well known, but they are well worth discovering...this fantastic number from john compton closes out the mix.
download: john compton - lookout
download: vetiver - lon chaney
download: vetiver - hurry on sundown
download: vetiver - blue driver
related: a few month's back, vetiver's andy cabic cotributed a playlist to when you awake's wonderful "mixin' with" series...as you might guess, the songs he chose aren't exactly well known, but they are well worth discovering...this fantastic number from john compton closes out the mix.
download: john compton - lookout
August 19, 2008
August 18, 2008
Jerry Wexler
R.I.P.
Download: Aretha Franklin - The Long and Winding Road
Download: King Curtis - Ridin' Thumb
Download: Bob Dylan - Gotta Serve Somebody
August 16, 2008
August 15, 2008
Friday Night, August 15th?
Bonus! Here's a double dose of funk for this week since the title track is so close to nailing the date on the head. I fully agree, sometimes it's tough not to cut loose and party hard on Fridays. George claims this album, 1970's Free your Mind...and Your Ass Will Follow, was an attempt to "see if they could cut a whole album while we're all tripping on acid"
Download: Funkadelic - Friday Night, August 14th
August 14, 2008
sweet baby james
james taylor kind of gets a bad rap...even in that one simpsons episode when homer goes into space & brings a bag of chips with him that end up clogging the instruments & sending the shuttle hurling back towards earth, & mission control brings in taylor to calm down the astronauts with his "unique brand of bittersweet folk rock", but buzz aldrin wants nothing to do with him...well, in the end it's taylor's idea to create a compressor to suck the chips out that ultimately saves the day, so...i guess i don't really have a point, except that that episode's hilarious...& james taylor's laid-back sensitive pop music is a lot better than you think...especially on his first lp, which came out on the beatles' apple label in 1969 (he was actually the first artist signed by apple, if you're looking for a little trivia)...anyway, producer peter asher incorporated strings & brass into taylor's acoustic arrangements & linked the tracks with classical interludes & reprises to create an incredibly fluid feel, which in turn makes for a super relaxing, & rewarding, listen...still, without the great songs, it wouldn't work...i mean, there's a reason your parents love the guy, right...make sure to keep an ear open for paul mccartney lending his bass to an early version of "carolina on my mind", as well...good stuff.
download: james taylor - knocking 'round the zoo
related: to be honest, i probably never would have discovered this album if not for hearing widespread panic's cover of "knocking 'round the zoo" way back...they definitely take it to another level...also, if you couldn't tell, the song is about taylor's teenage stay at mclean psychiatric hospital, outside boston.
August 13, 2008
sing the burning alphabet
august, man...lazy days...haven't really felt like posting much lately, but i've really been digging this debut lp from the broken letters, so i thought i'd mention it...the two man operation out of birmingham play murky, almost gothic, americana that immediately brings to mind the work of jason molina & will probably make you want to lay around & do nothing for a couple hours...now that i think about it, maybe this album is the reason i haven't posted anything in a while...oh well, it's still really good.
download: the broken letters - thunder ode
download: the broken letters - avian blues
unrelated: though their names are somewhat similar, the broken letters should not be confused with the decidedly more upbeat broken west, whose upcoming album will be out september 9th...here's a taste.
download: the broken west - perfect games
August 10, 2008
August 8, 2008
August 6, 2008
set in stone
this new catfish haven track is fantastic...the chicago trio seem to be expanding their garage soul sound a little & moving more in a classic rock direction, but if all the songs on the the new album are as addictive as this one, who cares...damn, that riff sounds good...the album, called devastator, will be in stores on 10/17 & the band will be playing west fest, on the corner of chicago & damen this saturday at 7pm...suggested donation: $5.
August 5, 2008
strange overtones
so, you've probably heard, david byrne & brian eno have released a free track on their upcoming album's website, & it's pretty great...much more in the vein of byrne's later solo stuff than my life in the bush of ghosts...but the bigger news is that david byrne has announced a nationwide tour (complete with weird announcement video), & will be making stops in both milwaukee, at the pabst theatre on 10/15, & chicago, at the civic opera house on 10/26...i can't wait.
August 4, 2008
one wing (wip)
i wasn't there, but wilco unveiled this long, lazy rocker, a self proclaimed work in progress, at lollapalooza over the weekend while decked out in matching nudie suits...nice...you ain't no picasso has the entire show if your interested...anyway, the boys also turned up at wrigley yesterday to sing the seventh inning stretch (in another set of uniforms)...the cubs ended up coming back to win, by the way, after dropping a late lead...finally, pop headwound has been posting some old rarities in preparation for the band's gig next week at mccarren pool that are definitely worth checking out.
unrelated: in other lollapalooza news, apparently chicago soul legend, syl johnson, came out to perform this little treasure with sharon jones & the dap kings early saturday evening...damn.
download: syl johnson - different strokes
August 2, 2008
August 1, 2008
waiting for the sunrise
sounds like david vandervelde has been spending a little more time with his pal jay bennett...while some may say his latest lp is steeped in the sentimental soft rock of the seventies, i'm hearing something much more reminiscent of the mid-nineties alt country scene, of which bennett was obviously a part of...either way, the t. rex boogie of last year's moonstation house band has subsided, & even though catchy numbers like "nothin' no" are definitely missing, the overall flow of the album is so good that they're not necessarily missed...waiting for the sunrise will be out next tuesday...check it out.
download: david vandervelde - california breezes
download: david vandervelde - lyin' in bed
previously: david vandervelde - i will be fine
unrelated: i'm a little bummed i won't be able to attend lollapalooza this year (even if the lineup really doesn't impress me as much as previous years)...but if you are planning on sweating it out in grant park this weekend, you might wanna pregame with this nice little mixtape, care of stereogum.
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