No posts yesterday/today. Cuz I'm sick, sick, sick.

Queens of the Stone Age "Sick Sick Sick"

GREAT NEW MUSIC: White Rabbits

I was just sent the new White Rabbits album "Fort Nightly" recently, and I have to say it's quite a foot-stomper. It has that same "I wanna dance drunkenly all-night with strangers" kind of vibe that you get from bands like Squirrel Nut Zippers, DeVotchKa, Gogol Bordello or any two-day long gypsy wedding. Feel-good indie rock...and I do mean rock. Grab these songs below and crank 'em. Loud. No, louder than that. Your neighbors need to hear this too.

[MP3] White Rabbits - The Plot from "Fort Nightly" (via Box.net)
[MP3] White Rabbits - Kid On My Shoulders from "Fort Nightly" (via Box.net)

White Rabbits - website | Myspace
| Say Hey Reccords

Electro Fused Indie Dance Party "Fuck Yesss!!"

Attention Atlanta! Every first Thursday over at The Drunken Unicorn, Le Castle Vania (DJ DJ Dylan) will be spinning an out-of-control indie-dance-tastic party called "Fuck Yesss", all in the hopes of getting that ass shaking!! The mayhem starts this Thursday, June 7 over at The Drunken Unicorn: 736 Ponce De Leon Place, Atlanta GA, 30306. It's 18+ to enter, and 21+ to drink. I'm pretty sure he'll be spinning some of his own stuff as well as all things Ed Banger, Kitsuné Maison + more!!

[MP3] Snowden - Black Eyes (Le Castle Vania remix) from "Fuel of the Celebration (The Remixes)" (via Box.net)

Fuck Yesss - Myspace | Le Castle Vania - Myspace
| The Drunken Unicorn - website

Throw your hands up in the air and say...Yeasayer!!

Got this music tip from Said The Gramophone
a couple of weeks ago, and it's taken me this long to finally get around to listening to it. I should have listened to it sooner because it's REALLY GOOD. But now I'm stuck with only a couple of songs because that's all there is right now. Yes there's a label, Monitor Records, but it has no info just yet. Yes there's a band website, here, but it's only a splash page saying "Coming Soon". So you can join in my frustration/joy by listening to these two songs, plus two more on their Myspace until an actual album comes out.

Arghhhhhhhhhh.

[MP3] Yeasayer - 2080 from "TBD" (via Box.net)
[MP3] Yeasayer - Final Path from "TBD" (via Box.net)

St. Vincent Summer Tour Dates w/ Scout Niblett

St. Vincent (Annie Clark from Polyphonic Spree) will be making her rounds this summer with fellow indie rock cutie, Scout Niblett. Her new album "Marry Me" has been showing up quite a bit in the ol' iPod over the last couple of months. I'm real excited to see it translated into a live set.



The dates:
07-06 Denton, TX - Hailey's *
07-07 Austin, TX - The Parish *
07-09 New Orleans, LA - The Parish (House of Blues) *
07-11 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *
07-13 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 *
07-14 Washington, DC - The Rock and Roll Hotel *
07-17 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
07-18 Cambridge, MA - Middle East *
07-28 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue *
07-30 Vancouver, British Columbia - Lamplighter #
07-31 Seattle, WA - Neumos #
08-03 San Francisco, CA - Cafe du Nord #

* with Scout Niblett
# with Death Vessel

St. Vincent - website | My Space

NEW song from Zach Condon (Beirut)!!

The new Believer: 2007 Music Issue comes with a CD. On that CD is an unreleased Zach Condon tune titled "Venice".
Here it is.
Enjoy.
Oh, and it's good.

[MP3] Zach Condon (Beirut) - "Venice" from "Believer: 2007 Music Issue" (via Box.net)

Believer Magazine - website

Happy Belated 40th Anniversary, Sgt. Pepper.

This weekend was a jammed/packed one with friends of mine graduating from college & all of the usual craziness...like Deerhunter @ Whirlyball!!! (I'll be posting a review of that show tomorrow) Amid all the hustle and bustle, I totally spaced on my post for the 40th Anniversary of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" which made it's mark on the world, June 2, 1967. Since Saturday, I've read/listened to quite a few peoples' comments on the album. Most touched on how innovative and groundbreaking it was, which I totally agree with. My opinion, which is different than that of someone who actually listened to the album when it first came out, is tainted by the slew of musicians who came after & were influenced by The Beatles and their groundbreaking album. So I won't give an opinion of the album per say, I'll just share my memory of truly listening to it for the first time. I first heard Sgt. Pepper's around 1981 (I was six), my dad thought it would be a good idea to school me in the ways of great rock music through vinyl copies of The Who, Led Zeppelin, 13th Floor Elevators, Can, Yes, Hendrix, and The Beatles. I didn't quite understand how amazing the music he was introducing to me was...at least at the time. It wasn't until after my "I only listen to metal/punk/death metal" phase (around 15) that I started to get back into some of my dad's LPs. One of the first records I put back on was Sgt. Pepper's, I distinctly remember listening to it with my headphones on for almost an entire day. I ditched hangin' out with my friends that day, and very loudly told my mom that "No, I don't want dinner right now, mom! Yes! I'm sure!". I couldn't help playing certain tracks over & over before moving on to the next one. The title track alone kept me lifting the phonograph needle for like an hour and a half! All culminating in what I can only describe as an epiphone/mini-breakdown during one of the many listenings of "A Day In The Life". I suddenly felt like there was so much I needed to be thinking about that I'd been neglecting, like if I died tomorrow the regrets would be countless. Of course I was 15 and everything seemed to be overwhelming and dramatic. But I can't help thinking that it was somewhere in that moment, that day I spent with this album, that my mind woke up and every thought since then has been built upon that foundation.

I recently did an animation for a series of short films based on this album, called "Return to Pepperland". I'm going to try and see if I have legal permission to post it here (it uses a cover of the title track). Hopefully I can, I'd love for everyone to see what it is I actually do (besides blog incessantly).

EDIT: Here ya' go!