am/fm

This is local indie kids The Cloud Room with their breakout (only) hit "Hey Now Now." (via stereogum)

Norwegian band 120 Days tore it up at CMJ this fall, and now they have a Jag commercial on their resume. "Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)."

I just heard this guy on this week's NPR: All Songs Considered, and it's an interesting listen. ASC host Bob Boilen is right on when he says that Reuben's rapping is "pretty slow, but [has] decent words." In fact, Reuben says some pretty interesting stuff about the commodification and scene striation of music (a subject on which I tried to author a post and failed miserably) in his song "Word of Mouth" (which you can stream here).
He's a Christian rapper, which oftentimes provokes a knee-jerk reaction against the music in non-Christian rock/rap listeners, but he's not prostlytizing.
Anyway, it's something different. His new album "Word of Mouth" drops Feb. 6.

TPC is actually a young Toronto quartet with a lot of energy and almost no police training. They made a small splash last spring with their first New York appearance at the Mercury Lounge. Since then, they've been tapped by SXSW as a band with potential.
Hear for yourself: "Nature of the Experiment"

They play at the Plug Awards at Irving Plaza, Feb 10. Unfortunately for those not so quick on the draw, the show is sold out, but they will be releasing 50 tickets at the door, starting at 7pm. If you don't feel like chancing it, the band will be back for a gig with Cold War Kids, April 6 & 7.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

Everyone knows "Down Under" ("where women glow and men plunder") and "Who Can it Be Now," but you just don't hear that much Men at Work these days.
Unless, of course, you just had the weekend that I had. My friend is currently obsessed with the MAW song "Overkill," and he was either singing it or demanding that it be played at every opportunity all weekend. And it actually is a fantastically catchy song.
Lead singer Colin Hay (who has his own solo career), performed the song in the season 2 premiere of "Scrubs" way back in 2002.

So nothing about this entry is new, but I heard this song a lot this weekend, and I thought that everybody else should too.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

For many people, The Cardigans conjure up "Lovefool," the silly little girls who loved that song because it was in Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo and Juliet," and not much else. The song was even the basis of a (great!) joke on "The Office" earlier this season. The character Andy even asks, "Whatever happened to those guys?"

Well, discerning music fans know that "those guys" are actually awesome, and they just released their latest album in the states in September, "Super Extra Gravity." For those of you who bought the import in 2005, this is old news. But for those of you who never got past "Lovefool," check out the new album. Here's a taste:
"Godspell"

And if you just can't get it out of your head, "Lovefool" video after the jump.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

My first reaction upon listening to the first song of the new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album: This bootleg sounds awful. I wish I had the actual CD ... oh, I do.

This is on purpose their publicist confirmed, but it just sounds like a decent song buried in really bad production. Fortunately, though, by track 2, they've gotten over the "extreme lo-fi" (and so have I). For the rest of the album, the sound is more fuzzed-out Kinks-y than "it would have sounded nice if they hadn't recorded in an alleyway with a microphone that they found in a garbage can."

And I really like it. Lead singer Alec Ounsworth, who in the past I thought had kind of a Billy Corgan whine, does a kind of David Bryne impression here (esp. on "Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles in the Air and Burning?").

The band played a well received secret show last night in anticipation of their album dropping on Tuesday.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

As my cowoker Lauren pointed out, Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On" was used last spring in a Jaguar commercial.

(This is the video, BTW, not the commercial).

More after the jump.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

She's garnered mentions on Idolator , Stereogum and The Modern Age recently (and I'm pretty sure I remember seeing her on fluxblog a while ago, but I can't find the link), and I'm going to go "me too" on the love shown for British singer Charlotte Hatherley.
She's not coming to the U.S. any time soon, but her new album, "The Deep Blue," will reportedly be out in March.

Miss Modernage posted this video today, and while the song took a while to grow on me, I can't get it out of my head now. And I love the anime fighter pilot storyline.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

Their album dropped today, and the group has acquired quite a buzz (Brooklyn Vegan has an mp3). Check 'em out when the come to town March 28.

Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz) is back with yet another project, The Good, The Bad and The Queen, whose self-titled album drops today. And iTunes is offering single "Herculean" for free download this week.
The new band sounds a lot like the old bands, dark pop with a little bit of funk, but for Albarn's fans, that's only a good thing (Jamie Hewlett fans will miss the cartoons, however).
The band hasn't announced any New York tour dates yet, but you can get your fix tomorrow night with the All England Club. They take over Lolita Bar for a night dedicated to TGTBTQ and Albarn's other work. See below for details.

We <3 Damon
Lolita Bar, Wednesday 9pm, FREE. The All England Club celebrates the release of Damon Albarn’s latest project, “The Good, The Bad and the Queen” by playing a full night of his music. 266 Broome St at Allen St (F to Delancey St; J, M, Z to Delancey-Essex Sts) 212-966-7223

UPDATE: Like an idiot, I forgot to tell you the other reason this project is so cool. The rest of the all-star lineup is: Paul Simonon (The Clash), bass, Simon Tong (The Verve), guitar and Tony Allen (Fela Kuti), drums.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

It has always been my dream to get paid to listen to music, and, bully for me, it's come true and I love it. My biggest worry has been that going to concerts, and the like, would start to seem like work, but fortunately that hasn't happened.
There are, however, some unforeseen downsides to my job. One of the more annoying things is whenever I meet new people and tell them what I do, their first question is always, "So what's new? What should I be listening too?"
I hate this question.
First off, I don't know you, I don't know what you like.
But secondly, it takes me a really long time to integrate new music into my regular rotation. Yeah, I can tell you who the latest flash in the pan is, and which style from the '80s they're copying, but finding really good new music takes some time and reflection.
It's basically a process of osmosis, for me. Now there is the rare album that I'll put on and immediately love, but usually it works like this. I'll start hearing about a band — from blogs, magazines, publicists, friends, or because they're playing in town and I put them in the listings — and maybe download a track or load up their CD (from my stack of promos). Then, I forget about it. I'll remember the band next time I read about them, or they play in town, or their music comes up randomly on my iPod. And maybe they stick in my mind a little more, or maybe they don't. And this process repeats itself until I either say, "Yuck, what are these guys doing on my playlist?" or "Hey, these guys are pretty good." If the latter, the band is absorbed into my mental collection of "music I've always liked." So I never actually feel like I'm listening to new music. Of course I've adopted new favorite groups over time (otherwise my musical development would have stopped with The Beatles, which was the only music I listened to in 7th and 8th grade). But my answer to the above question is always, pretty much word for word, "Oh, I don't know. I haven't really heard anything that impressed me lately."

I'll share a secret with you after the jump.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

These kids are crazy! If you have a high tolerance for noise and experimental music, go see The Magik Markers tomorrow night at the Knitting Factory. If not, just stay home and know that you're missing out on something pretty special. In addition to being joined by Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the band is performing an improvised soundtrack (and providing commentary) for animated films by Brent Green. Sure beats staying home and watching "Gilmore Girls."
BTW, you can check out the band's Web site, but it's pretty bare bones. The best thing to do is just go see them in person.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

Apparently I'm not the only one annoyed by the Of Montreal/Outback Steakhouse collaboration.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

It's only six notes, but the new HSBC commercial features the song Gatekeeper, by Broken Social Scene clique member Leslie Feist.

When she plays the song live, she usually has the audience sing that six-note chant. She must have had an ad exec at one of her shows.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

Friday night, I went to see One Ring Zero at Barbes. They're a local group that I've been a fan of for a while, ever since I stumbled onto their "author project" album, "As Smart as We Are," which features songs with lyrics by just about all of my favorite authors. (They also have a newer album featuring their own lyrics, "Wake Them Up," which is also quite good.)
The band's sound is quirky and literary, although it always seemed to me like an act that wouldn't catch on outside of their Brooklyn home. It occurred to me this Friday that I was probably dead wrong (and a bit of a snob).

Read why after the jump.

Batman and the Robins is a side project by members of Spinto Band. Now you know.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

Back in 1998, you couldn't get Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" out of your head. It was catchy and punky, but something about it said "one hit wonder." The band broke up in 2000, after the release of their sophomore album, "King James Version," And faded into music history.

Except that they didn't. In 2005, the band reunited (Harvey Danger isn't an actual person, you goof) and released "Little by Little..."

And why am I telling you this now? The album came out more than a year ago and the band's not currently touring. Well, I just heard the track "Cream and Bastards Rise" for the first time, and I instantly liked it, which is really rare. So I thought I'd share it. Enjoy.

The line up of the night was O'Death + Mahogany + Daylight's For The Birds + Relay.

I caught a little bit of the opening band Relay during their sound check. The Philadelphia quartet sounded very big, the soundman looked a little spooked when the band plugged in. Their sound is glistening and spacious, poppy melodies weaved into layered harmonies, at a magnificently loud volume. Here's the mp3 of "context" from their debut LP Still Point Of Turning from Bubblecore. Jeff Zeigler (guitar, wurlitzer, farfisa, synthesizers, sampler & vocals) played with Swirlies and recorded Cats Of The Wild: Volume 2 in 2003.

O'death

I went to the show mostly to see O'Death, but the highlight of the evening turned out to be Mahogany. The Brooklyn band played an impressive set and I have not been able to stop listening to their record since, I will talk more about them and their set in my next post.

Mahogany

O'death played an energetic set to a packed room, the crowd danced, thrashed about and the room was literally shaking. Their reputation of giving great live shows is well deserved. The sextet were furious and captivating on stage, delivered their Country/Bluegrass influenced music without sounding bombastic or contrived.

My favorite moment from their set was probably during “Only daughter”. With Gabe Darling’s melancholic banjo, together with Greg Jamie’s affected vocal, it started out as a hauntingly beautiful ballad, and then slowly built up to foot stomping "ho-down" madness. As David Rogers-Berry's relentless drumming propelled the hell-raising fiddle and banjo into frenzies, Jamie retreated from raging trill to mournful harmonies. Their unique approach in bridging the bleak with the uplifting is truly refreshing. It is the ingenious arrangements in their songs and sheer energy on stage that have elevated them above plain old anachronism.

O'death @ Sin-e 1/13/07

They will be playing on 1/31 @ Europa.

Listen to a sound clip of “Only daughter” from the show >

See photos from the show below the jump >

--Siemond Chan, amny.com

So this has been around a minute, but I really like the song in this Geico commercial:

I liked it so much so that I was inspired to look up the original (which is by Royksopp, a Norwegian electronica group that released their debut album in 2002).

Which got me thinking about pop songs in commercials. It's been said that in this day and age, there is no such thing as selling out. Which I may or may not agree with. I have found a few bands I like by seeking them out after hearing them in the commercial -- The Walkmen after Saturn used "We've Been Had," and Nick Drake (I am incredibly embarrassed to admit) after those Volkswagon commercials. But the Outback Steakhouse adaptation of Of Montreal's "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games" is just dreadful. Listen to the original.

In the end, I'm ambivalent. It's nice for musicians to get exposure (and money), but it's incredibly annoying when a big corporation ruins one of your favorite song (by tampering with it or overexposure). Not to mention the pain caused to rock snobs everywhere when the unwashed masses become fans of a good band. I don't even want to talk about those drunk girls shrieking along to The Shins' "Know Your Onion" at the bar last Thursday night.

It's not a new argument, I know. Art and commerce have been inextricably linked since the Medici's patronized Michelangelo. But with the state of the music distribution industry as it is, maybe we should be a little wary replacing the old model with a system of corporate sponsorship (if the only money to be made is by selling your song to a commercial). Because, to be honest, I don't want my listening-to-music-time underscored with subliminal reminders that I should be out shopping.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

Swedish band Dungen released one of my favorite albums of 2004. They did a small tour of the U.S., although they didn't get a whole lot of play, because they sing in, well, Swedish. According to an interview with Pitchfork, lyrics are really important to frontman Gustav Ejstes, and he's singing stuff that's really personal and important to him. I guess that's to bad for me, because part of what I find so appealing about Dungen is that their music sounds like psychedelic gibberish.

But whatever this means to you, there's more of it on the way, as P'fork is reporting Dungen's latest album (as yet untitled) is due out in the States on Kemado Records May 1.

-- Emily Hulme, www.amNY.com

It was a sad day for the Lower East Side music scene when Luna Lounge shut down in 2005. It was kind of a dumpy little bar, but it was cozy and friendly. Elliot Smith spent many a night there, and even wrote "XO" at the bar. Local bands Interpol and Stellastarr* got there start there, and it wasn't uncommon to catch comedians like Janeane Garofalo and Sarah Silverman doing there thing.
Well, look out folks, 'cause Luna's back. They open their doors at their new Brooklyn digs Friday with a show featuring Falcon and The Comas. It may be a new location, but the bar owners still have the same commitment to new music and local bands. Although, as booker Rob Sacher noted on Gothamist, Live Nation will be booking one or two shows a week.

-- Emily Hulme, amNY.com

Local pop group Overlord (and, no, they are not at all a metal band, even though they have kind of a metal name) has announced a surprise show at NorthSix this Wednesday. They're playing with a band called Batman and the Robins. Why do you care? Because B and the Rs are actually "an infamous indie rock combo," according to Overlord. They're not saying who, but my money's on The Shins, who were just in town for SNL. Any guesses?

UPDATE: It is not The Shins, but it is someone you've heard of. They're not saying any more than that.

--Emily Hulme, amNY.com

So I was out last night at my favorite bar, Revival — which does not have a jukebox, but the bartenders there always play the best music (Beulah, The Shins, Apples in Stereo, etc.) — and I they played a song that I had really liked but hadn't heard in a really long time (thanks to the great Impromptu Hard Drive Reformatting of 2004). I meant to remember what it was so that I could blog about it today, but try as I might, all I remember is the whistled outro, which is difficult to Google. But while straining all of my synapses, trying to will the song back into my head, I remembered that the song was on a playlist with "A Hymn for the Alcohol," by a group called Hefner.
So today I introduce (or reintroduce) you to Hefner, a quirky little project from the late-'90s/early-'00s. Darren Hayman (who, for all intents and purposes was Hefner) sings mournful tunes of loves lost, and while listening, you either want to grab a beer and wallow in the sadness or thank your lucky stars you're not that guy (depending in the state of your own love life at the time).

Rumors are starting to fly as to who is going to play at Austin's SXSW this spring, but an official list of bands has yet to come out. Brooklyn Vegan and Austinist have put together some pretty solid guesses. The lists are long, however, and you might miss some of the biggies mixed in with the unknowns: Bloc Party, Emmylou Harris, Interpol, Les Savy Fav, Morrissey, Pete Townsend, Scissor Sisters, The Stooges, The Walkmen and David Byrne (!). Start working your connections now if you want to see these shows, although, remember, this is mostly speculation.

Being in a tribute band is tough work. You've got to actually be able to play to have any success, but you're assuming some other band's identity so you get absolutely no personal glory.
Pearl Jam tribute Ten, which was the subject of our weekend feature story today, works really hard to sound like Vedder and co. They even go so far as to emulate the band in which charity they support: Both the real Pearl Jam and Ten are active supporters of The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. Ten donates 100% of the proceeds they get from merchandise sales to CCFA.
Yes, you say, but do they actually sound like Pearl Jam? Well, hear for yourself: Ten - "Betterman"

I spoke with Ten's bassist Todd Kaczorowski for the story, and unfortunately only about a third of what we talked about made it into the article. After the jump, a few choice tidbits about Ten and the tribute scene in general.

I like them and they're playing Sat 1/13 @Sin-e.
http://www.myspace.com/odeath

Busted Old Church
(mercury lounge 12/10/06)

The CD slush pile on my desk is overwhelming. I really, really, really want to listen to everything that crosses my desk, but there's just so much music out there, and much of it just plain sucks. And after listening to five really awful albums in a row (or at least tracks 1, 5 and 7; these tend to be my favorite on any given CD, don't know why that is), it really makes me question why I listen to anything recorded after 1995. And I don't want to be that girl, i.e., the old and cranky one.
Which is not to say that I haven't found some gems this way. I found some lovely albums by just picking a disk from the stack and hitting play, among them Britpoppers Maximo Park, L.A. songstress Inara George (check out her new project, The Bird and The Bee), experimental-classical ensemble Ethel, Brooklyn geek rockers One Ring Zero. So it's a short and eclectic list, but it's evidence that delving into the pile can be fruitful.

Maximo Park - "I Want You to Stay"
Inara George - "Genius"
Ethel - "Lighthouse"
One Ring Zero - "Here Come the Mannequins"

After the break, we play a little sonic Russian roulette.

There’s a rumor going around that the Police will reunite for a tour this summer, just in time to mark the 30th anniversary of their formation, but nothing is definite.
The following artists have albums coming out in the next year, meaning that tours are highly likely. Of course, none of this is written in stone. Keep your eyes peeled.

The Shins “Wincing The Night Away” (Jan. 23)

Bloc Party “Weekend in the City” (Feb. 7)
Ted Leo “Living With The Living” (March 20)
Guns ’n’ Roses (March, but don’t hold your breath)

more after the jump...

They may not be the Grammys (or even the Teen Choice Awards), but the PLUG Awards (for independent and underground artists) know how to throw a good concert. This year, the awards ceremony/concert features Stephen Malkmus headlining and David Cross hosting. Other performers include Silversun Pickups, El-P, Tokyo Police Club and Deerhoof.

Last year's event was notable for the bizarre ramble by former Pitchfork writer, then-Village Voice scribe Nick Sylvester. The weirdness was compounded by the fact that weeks later Sylvester was fired from the Voice for fabricating details for a front page article.

Here's hoping for a mishap-free show this year. The show is at Irving Plaza on February 10, and more information (including a ballot, so that Time Magazine Person of the Year, You, can participate in the voting as well) is available at the Plug Awards Web site.