Thursday, February 14, 2008

Ten Years of "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea"

To say that Neutral Milk Hotel's "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" is one of my favorite albums of all-time, is not an overstatement. I've spent the last 26+ years feeding what can only be described as a "music addiction"; I have relatively short relationships with certain albums, others will always be good for various reasons, while a small group are still capable of pulling the strongest of emotions out of me even upon the thousandth listen. "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" is most definitely among the latter. It was released on February 10, 1998, during my sophomore year in college (a friend introduced it to me right around it's release). I can still remember him telling me how he thought this album was the start of a whole new era in music, and how cool it was that they lived in our home state (GA). At the time I thought it was a pretty over-dramatic statement, but of course, looking at that statement now I'd say I would have to wholeheartedly agree. It's hard to go too in depth about how I truly feel when I listen to this album, mainly because it effects me on such a deep & personal level (let's just say that this post would get way too long, and probably a little embarrassing...so I'll spare everyone).

Pitchfork has a really great column about this album, with quite a few indie-rock elite sharing their take on this envelope-pushing (and perfect in every way) album, including: Dan Snaith (Caribou), Tim Kasher (Cursive), Josh Jones (Evangelicals), Randy Randall (NO AGE), Kevin Barnes (Of Monteral), and more. You can read it here.

Here's to an album that will blasting in my earphones/speakers for the rest of my life, and thank you Neutral Milk Hotel for giving me an album that is capable of taking me to the highest highs each and every time.

VIDEO: The New Pornographers "Myriad Harbour"

Here's the video for my favorite track off of "Challengers", which is an odd thing to say since Dan Bejar's voice normally grates my last nerve (I love his writing, which definitely helps me to tolerate the voice). It's a stunning example of animation...plus, it shows lots of people living in Dan's hair, which explains a lot.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

FOLKLORE: Spring Tour & New Album!!

For those of you outside of Athens, GA, who may be unfamiliar with Folklore; the band was formed by Elf Power guitarist Jimmy Hughes in 2004. Jimmy and a relative who's who of the Athens music scene (including members of I Am the World Trade Center, Wee Turtles, Gerbils, Masters of the Hemisphere, Bugs Eat Books, Circulatory System, Elf Power, and Neutral Milk Hotel) created last year's "The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman", a folk/pop/psychedelic concept album which takes ghost stories based in the mountains of upstate New York and dissects them into the myths and rumors from which they are based. Upon first listen one might be drawn in by the curiously beautiful & lush folk/pop (and rightfully so!), but with further listens the story starts to unfurl revealing yet another delightful layer ready to be peeled back.

As a follow-up to 2007’s The Ghost Of H.W. Beaverman, Folklore have released "Carpenters’ Falls", a companion piece telling peripheral stories to the Beaverman tales, 12 songs divided into two sections: Ghost Stories and Ancestry.

You can purchase both albums from the band on tour, or from their website, here. For those of you low on cash, or unable to catch the band on tour, Folklore have generously put "The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman" available for free download, here. You can also download two albums from label-mates, Titans of Filth, for free there as well (they are also worth checking out!). Folklore will be touring in February and March of 2008 to celebrate the release of this new chapter in the Folklore discography, tour dates below:

Folklore Tour 2008:
February 28th ~ The 40 Watt Club ~ Athens, GA (!! FREE SHOW !! bumbleBEAR Showcase with Titans of Filth, Quiet Hooves, Christopher's Liver, My Unborn Children, Big Gray, Gemini Cricket, The French Toasts)
February 29th ~ The Milestone ~ Charlotte, NC
March 1st ~ Frankie’s ~ Toledo, OH
March 2nd ~ The Beachland Ballroom ~ Cleveland, OH
March 3rd ~ Mike ‘N Molly’s ~ Champaign, IL
March 4th ~ High Noon Saloon ~ Madison, WI
March 5th ~ Vaudeville Mews ~ Des Moines, IA
March 6th ~ The Beat Kitchen ~ Chicago, IL
March 7th ~ The Art Hospital ~ Bloomington, IN
March 8th ~ The Icehouse ~ Lexington, KY

[MP3] Folklore - The Vet from "The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman" (via Box.net)
[MP3] Folklore - Lake Bonaparte from "Carpenters’ Falls" (via Box.net)
[MP3] Folklore - The Carpenter from "Carpenters’ Falls" (via Box.net)

Folklore - website | Myspace | bumbleBEAR - label website

MAN MAN & YEASAYER: Spring Tour Dates

I was pretty stoked to see that Man Man had scheduled a March 8th show in Athens, but now I might have to wait until May to be able to catch them with Yeasayer (whose recent show at The Earl, I missed). Which is good, because this show will be taking place a little closer to home, as they will be playing Lenny's in Atlanta on May 3rd. I can't wait...I do love me some Man Man action. Wait, that sounded....ah, fuck it.

Man Man ::: Yeasayer
04-12 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
04-13 Montreal, Quebec - Le National
04-14 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
04-15 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
04-16 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
04-17 Madison, WI - The Annex
04-18 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre
04-19 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
04-20 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
04-21 Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue
04-23 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
04-24 Santa Barbara, CA - Soho Restaurant & Music Club
04-27 Phoenix, AZ - Brickhouse
04-29 Dallas, TX - The Loft
04-30 Austin, TX - Emo's Outside
05-02 Birmingham, AL - Workplay Theatre
05-03 Atlanta, GA - Lenny's Bar
05-04 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle

(You can check out my previous post, here, for Man Man's dates sans Yeasayer.)

VIDEO: Beach House "You Came To Me"

Here's the video for my favorite track off of the new album, "Devotion". This album has been draining the battery on my iPod for awhile now, highly recommended!

RADIOHEAD: North American Tour Dates!!!

I am one super excited motherfucker.

May 5 - Cruzan Amphitheatre - West Palm Beach, Florida
May 6 - Ford Amphitheatre - Tampa, Florida
May 8 - Lakewood Amphitheatre - Atlanta, Georgia
May 9 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre - Charlotte, North Carolina
May 11 - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge - Bristow, Virginia
May 14 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - St Louis, Missouri
May 17 - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - Houston, Texas
May 18 - Superpages.com Center - Dallas, Texas

Pre-sale for the above dates will begin February 14 via W.A.S.T.E. with general on-sales following on February 16.

The second half of the North American tour will follow the band's summer tour of the UK and Europe.

Monday, February 11, 2008

CONTEST / GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets - Fuck Buttons, Caribou @ The 40 Watt Club, 4/02

To help promote the upcoming (and bad-ass BTW) debut full length from Fuck Buttons, "Street Horrrsing"(which comes out 3/18 via ATP Recordings), ICTH will be giving away a pair of tickets to see the Fuck Buttons, Caribou show at The 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA on 4/02/08. Just email itcoversthehillsides (at) gmail dot com with your full name and FUCK BUTTONS GIVEAWAY as the subject and that's it. I'll try to pick a winner by the end of next week.

I can only describe the material contained on "Street Horrrsing" as electronic/psyche/noise/drone/spazz/fun. It is not for your grandmother. It IS however, for fans of Jesu/Ministry/Animal Collective/Mogwai (which I am). Wrap your head around the extremely alluring track "Bright Tomorrow" streaming below.



FUCK BUTTONS ::: CARIBOU :: 2008
Mar. 18 – The Casbah - Hamilton, ONT
Mar. 19 – Starlight Lounge - Waterloo, ONT
Mar. 20 - Lee’s Palace - Toronto, ONT
Mar. 21 - Lee’s Palace - Toronto, ONT
Mar. 22 – Babylon - Ottawa, ONT
Mar. 23 – La Tulipe - Montreal, Quebec
Mar. 24 – Strafford Room - Durham, NH
Mar. 25 – Iron Horse - Northampton, MA
Mar. 26 – Paradise - Boston, MA
Mar. 27 – Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
Mar. 28 – Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
Mar. 29 – Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA
Mar. 30 – Rock and Roll Hotel - Washington, DC
Mar. 31 – Satellite Ballroom - Charlottesville, VA
Mar. 01 – Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, NC
Mar. 02 – 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA
Mar. 03 – Common Grounds - Gainesville, FL
Mar. 04 – The Social - Orlando, FL
Apr. 05 – Culture Room - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Apr. 06 – Crowbar - Tampa, FL
Apr. 07 – Club Downunder - Tallahassee, FL
Apr. 08 – Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN
Apr. 09 – Wexner Center - Columbus, OH
Apr. 10 – Illini Union Courtyard CafĂ© - Urbana, IL
Apr. 11 – Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
Apr. 12 – Triple Rock Club - Minneapolis, MN
Apr. 13 – Royal Albert Arms - Winnipeg, Manitoba
Apr. 14 – Amigos - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Apr. 15 – Starlite Room - Edmonton, Alberta
Apr. 16 – Grand Theatre - Calgary, Alberta
Apr. 18 – Biltmore Cabaret (two shows) - Vancouver, BC
Apr. 19 – Sugar - Victoria, British Columbia
Apr. 20 – Chop Suey - Seattle, WA
Apr. 21 – Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
Apr. 23 – The Independent - San Francisco, CA
Apr. 24 – El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Apr. 25 – Plush - Tucson, AZ
Apr. 26 – Club 101 - El Paso, TX
Apr. 27 – Emo’s - Austin, TX
Apr. 28 – Palladium Loft - Dallas, TX
Apr. 29 – The Continental - Tulsa, OK
Apr. 30 – The Record Bar - Kansas City, MO
May 01 – The Bilken Club - St. Louis, MO
May 02 – Waldron Auditorium - Bloomington, IN
May 03 – Oberlin College - Oberlin, OH
May 04 – Big Orbit’s Soundlab - Buffalo, NY

Fuck Buttons - website | Myspace

VIDEOS: Gringo Star "All Y'all" & "Not a Sound"



TOUR DATES: British Sea Power

I've been really digging the new EP, "Krankenhaus?", as well as the new full length, "Do You Like Rock Music?" from British Sea Power...and I'm sure I'm not the only one whose super-excited to see them live, dates below:

BRITISH SEA POWER ::: TOUR DATES 2008

Feb 25 San Diego, CA @ Casbah @
Feb 27 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo @
Feb 28 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland @
Feb 29 Visalia, CA @ Cellar Door @

Mar 01 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (NoisePop) @
Mar 03 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir @
Mar 04 Seattle, WA @ Neumo's @
Mar 05 Vancouver, BC @ Plaza Club @
Mar 08 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive @
Mar 12 New York NY @ Late Show w/David Letterman
Mar 13-16 Austin TX @ SxSW
Mar 19 Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room @
Mar 20 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews  @
Mar 21 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock  @
Mar 22 Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club  *
Mar 24 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle *
Mar 25 Pontiac, MI @ Eagle Theatre  *
Mar 26 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop  *
Mar 27 Columbus, OH @ The Basement  *
Mar 28 Louisville, KY @ Phoenix Hill Tavern  *
Mar 29 St. Louis, MO @ Billiken Club  *

Apr 12 Austin, TX @ Club Deville
Apr 13 Houston, TX @ Engine Room
Apr 15 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
Apr 16 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
Apr 17 Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder - Florida State University
Apr 18 Orlando, FL @ The Social
Apr 19 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
Apr 20 Mount Pleasant, SC @ Village Tavern
Apr 21 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Apr 22 Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
Apr 23 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone

May 1 Columbia, MO @ Mojo's $
May 2 Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry's $
May 3 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge $
May 4 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle $
May 6 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle $
May 7 Charlottesville, VA @ Satelite Ballroom $
May 8 Washington, DC @ Black Cat $
May 9 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's $
May 10 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom $
May 11 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg $
May 13 Boston, MA @ Paradise $
May 14 TBC May 15 Montreal, QUE @ La Sala Rossa $
May 16 Toronto, ONT @ Lee's Palace $
May 17 Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf $

* w/ 1900's
$ w/ The Rosebuds
@ w/ Colourmusic


[MP3] British Sea Power - Waving Flags from "Do You Like Rock Music?" (via Box.net)

British Sea Power - website | Myspace