Serendipitous Mixtapes

Are the new viewers gone yet?

Thu, 14 May 2009 18:59:16 -0400

Are the new viewers gone yet?

In Case You Didn't Notice

Tue, 05 May 2009 14:23:56 -0400

Serendipitous Mixtapes is on triple-AAA super secret hiatus until May 17th. I apologize for the lack...

Lessons Learned - Matt & Kim -

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:03:28 -0400

Lessons Learned - Matt & Kim

| Up and Coming | 1993 - Dananananaykroyd Like Casiotone For The...

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:48:00 -0400

| Up and Coming |

1993 - Dananananaykroyd

Like Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, I was attracted to this band purely because of the name, at least initially. They made the trip from Glasgow, Scotland to deliver some high-calibur live performances at SXSW and have picked up a lot of buzz from it. They’re part of the indie rock revolution of bands with rhythm. Their tempo changes, usually from fast to really fast, remind me a lot of Bad Brains, and the searing guitars and shouted choruses echo the epic feel of The Plastic Constellations. They’re all about the drums, bass, shouting, hand-claps and high-fives. Everything you do when you listen to them becomes a bit more fun. Dananananaykroyd is touring all over Europe to support their very well-reviewed new album, and hey, the lead singer’s World of Warcraft character just hit level 80.

credit | Amy Brammall

Hey Everyone is out in the UK and out of stock on Amazon, but check out their blog.

| Up and Coming | Instructions - The Peekers The Peekers are...

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:42:55 -0400

| Up and Coming |

Instructions - The Peekers

The Peekers are part of the Park The Van family, that esteemed label I coverd a few weeks back, and represent their newest addition after the move back to New Orleans. They’re from Shreveport, Louisiana, and have just released their first full-length, Life In The Air. It’s a pretty impressive debut, full of summery pop, laid-back jams, great singing, and a very retro atmosphere. Good harmonies and tube amps are a classic combination, and just because its been honed to perfection by labelmates Dr. Dog doesn’t mean the Peekers don’t bring some freshness to their retro-indie niche. “Instruction” is a good example. It’s a Beatles song in minor key with a great breakdown. What’s not to like?

Life In The Air is out now on Park The Van Records

| Folk Sunday | Lucky Man - Sun Kil Moon This album was one of...

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:44:13 -0400

| Folk Sunday |

Lucky Man - Sun Kil Moon

This album was one of my favorites last year. It can really fit a certain mood quite well. I’m going to keep this brief because I’m not sure why I like April so much. I just want you to enjoy it.

Follow-up Link: David Lynch Interviews Moby about Factories(?)

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:55:43 -0400

Follow-up Link: David Lynch Interviews Moby about Factories(?)

| Friday Preview | Shot In the Back Of The Head - Moby I was...

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:48:00 -0400

| Friday Preview |

Shot In the Back Of The Head - Moby

I was pleasantly surprised to find out earlier this week that Moby has been laboring away at a new album in his Lower East Side studio, where all his best work has been done. Moby did a lot of DJing to great acclaim last year, and I think it’s put his head in a good place. What I love about Moby’s music is that its headphones+bedroom music, because that’s exactly where it was made. It’s slightly impersonal, does not easily reveal the methods with which it was made, and this song in particular has some great, off-kilter samples.

I’m posting a video instead of the mp3 today because the video is amazing. It was released along with the track on the same day and was created by David Lynch, apparently the result of a fruitful collaboration between the two artists. Unlike a lot of “artistic” music videos, Lynch closely follows the beat, and makes the video very watchable while still retaining a bit of his twisted outlook.

Wait For Me will be released on Moby’s Little Idiot label on June 30th.

| Foreign Artist Spotlight | Ever Fallen In Love - Nouvelle...

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:21:58 -0400

| Foreign Artist Spotlight |

Ever Fallen In Love - Nouvelle Vague

The idea behind the Nouvelle Vague series is so simple in concept that once you hear it explained you instantly recognize how good it will sound. Marc Collin, who came up in the same fertile neighborhood of Paris as Daft Punk and Phoenix, took a varied and interesting selection of early-80s English New Wave and re-interpreted it through Brazilian New Wave, bossa nova. This is the second album in the series, which shifts the focus somewhat to the Carribean, allowing a wider array of influences, from calypso to salsa to Jamaican ska. With this song in particular, I love how the artist retains the strong regular rhythm of the original, so you move through it with the intensity of the Buzzcocks classic but without any of the rancor. The album is by no means new, but its new to me, and worth looking up.

Bande á Part was released in 2006 on Luaka Bop

Indie Label Wednesday: 4 Awesome Labels Started By Artists

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:54:44 -0400

Merge Records - Merge was started by Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of Superchunk, who actually...

You Can Make Him Like You (Live) - The Hold Steady The Hold...

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:25:14 -0400

You Can Make Him Like You (Live) - The Hold Steady

The Hold Steady just released A Positive Rage, their attempt to document a slice of a truly amazing tour. The Hold Steady is easily one of the most impressive, loud, rockingest, badass live bands you’ll ever see, and of course you’ll never hear that on a CD. But this one comes pretty close in spots - how many bands immediately start clapping along and singing the lyrics to a song that the band never even released? The sold-out crowd couldn’t be more into the band, singing along with the choruses, the roar of the applause getting louder as the post-song sustain fades on Tad’s guitar. This is a band taking unmitigated joy in the proud realization that they can fill up a club anywhere in the country with dedicated fans that really appreciate what they’re doing, even the one I saw them at during this tour, The Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA. This live album does a nice job of reminding me and showing others why this is a band that you want to go see every time they’re on tour, to buy everything they release, learn all the lyrics to all their songs. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to watch the accompanying DVD yet, but seeing as the DVD is essentially free, I hardly feel the need to before I can endorse this offering - the album itself is more than enough.

A Positive Rage is out now on Vagrant.

| Folk Sunday | He Woke Me Up Again - Sufjan...

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:14:00 -0400

| Folk Sunday |

He Woke Me Up Again - Sufjan Stevens

Today’s Folk Sunday is also that most Jesus-y of days, so I figured I’d acknowledge that through one of Stevens’ more overtly Christian songs - he’s very serious about his religion, and it’s always been a theme in his music. This of course comes from Seven Swans, the album of mostly-acoustic, quieter, simpler songs he record in between Michigan and Illinois. It has a rough-hewn, warm quality that stirs up all kinds of good associations in me. I should note that one thing he does not take seriously is his press photos:

Seven Swans was released by Ashmatic Kitty Records in 2004.

| Foreign Artist Spotlight | Kaounding Cissko - Toumani...

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:19:48 -0400

| Foreign Artist Spotlight |

Kaounding Cissko - Toumani Diabate

Toumani Diabate comes from what is perhaps Mali’s most distinguished musical family. He plays the kora, a traditional African musical instrument most popular under the pre-colonial Mandé empire. Diabate’s father recorded the very first album of kora music back in 1970, and since then, Toumani and many of his relatives have gone on to become ambassadors of the kora to the world. Diabate appeared on Bjork’s last album and in the Sony game LittleBigPlanet, for which his inclusion of Qu’ran passages in his track sparked a controversy that led to the game’s recall. Though a keen lyricist, Diabate’s messages take a back seat in this album, The Mandé Variations, which is simply an album of unadorned kora compositions. The stark simplicity of this album is breathtaking primarily because the recording is unbelievably pristine. In making this album, Diabate has preserved the sound of the kora in a way that few other instruments besides the piano can boast. The recording is so good that I wish the producer had been around to record the great classical guitarists of the 20th century, whose extant recordings can be of very poor quality. Every complex part of the kora’s soundmaking apparatus rings out clearly and all of its 21 strings make an impact. I feature Diabate partially because I’m gearing up for an African show next week in my radio program but partially because I want to point out the strong connection between this traditional Malinese music and the way the Malinese play guitar. The kora is essentially a harp-like instrument, and I’m always amazed at how Malinese guitarists like Sidi Touré can replicate that harp sound on the electric guitar.
This album is taking a prominent spot in my instrumental recordings rotation. I find that having a good selection of instrumental music is essential. I play it often when I’m doing something that requires concentration, like writing (unless I’m writing about music, in which case I listen to the band I’m writing about), or when I just want to relax. Though I like instrumental music for this task, I hate background music. Thankfully, Diabate is arresting and interesting enough to avoid that.

The Mande Variations is out now on Nonesuch

Five Great Music Videos

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0400

I like to reserve Tuesdays for when there’s something a little different I’d like to...

| Up and Coming | Buriedfed - Miles Benjamin Anthony...

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:49:32 -0400

| Up and Coming |

Buriedfed - Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson

I’m going to start this off with a quote from an interview in The Gothamist that Miles did:

Please share your strangest “only in New York” story. I don’t think the statue of limitations is up on that one yet, sorry. Also, really, after living my entire adult life here I find the rest of America much MUCH stranger.

I am glad that the Brooklyn indie scene has the capacity to recognize the talent of a guy like this. Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear produced the self-titled album from which the track you’re listening to comes from and does a remarkable job of it. The techniques in this track are in fact one of the most interesting. Besides being a great songwriter, Miles draws you in and allows the lyrics to wander to whatever he’s thinking about with some almost-overlapping vocal tracks. This song is a sing-along waiting to happen. In fact, it’s a good time at a bonfire on the beach waiting to happen. I’ll be listening to this album all summer. Does Robinson need any warmer endorsement than that?

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson is out now on Say Hey Records

| Folk Sunday | Giraffe - Wyatt Sikora This week’s Folk...

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:03:00 -0400

| Folk Sunday |

Giraffe - Wyatt Sikora

This week’s Folk Sunday differs from most in that the artist recorded the song and video entirely with a Macbook. And there’s really only so much you can expect from the Macbook’s onboard mic. That doesn’t take away from the fact that Wyatt can give me chills by harmonizing with himself. I love how the video echoes the lyrics - even though the song sets out to do some serious introspection, the way Wyatt grapples with the laptop shows the discomfort that he must feel laying bare these emotions. I also appreciated how the minimal production allowed me to focus on the lyrics, which really tie the song together. I think you’ll find yourself humming this in coming days. Check out more of Wyatt’s work here.

| Friday Preview | I Called Out Your Name - The...

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:24:56 -0400

| Friday Preview |

I Called Out Your Name - The Thermals

I’m not really a fan of power pop. I think its kind of boring. But The Thermals are not power-pop, it’s post-power-pop. “Because adding ‘post-’ to any genre AUTOMATICALLY MAKES YOUR MUSIC SOUND SMARTER,” so says the band itself. That sense of humor does a great job of taking the preciousness out of the music. Yes, Now We Can See is redolent of the 90s, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own character. More importantly, it’s fun music with great hooks. The formula stays simple - I doubt they use more than a few pedals with their guitars - with some solid chord progressions and drumming that makes up for the lack of bass. I never had the feeling that the music was lacking anything, despite its minimalism, which is an impressive feat. When you make this kind of music, you need attitude in spades, and the lead singer Hutch Harris definitely has it - I could definitely listen to this guy all day. Now We Can See marks The Thermal’s defection to Portland from Seattle and consequently to Kill Rock Stars from Sub Pop, and also their fourth studio release. By the way, you definitely should read The Thermals Wikipedia page, since it’s pretty clear they wrote it themselves. Self-aware hyperbole is definitely their strong suit.

Now We Can See comes out on Kill Rock Stars on April 7

| Foreign Artist Spotlight | Ce N’est Pas Bon - Amadou...

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0400

| Foreign Artist Spotlight |

Ce N’est Pas Bon - Amadou & Mariam

Amadou and Mariam are a husband and wife duo from Bamako, Mali. They took a strange and fortuitous path to the American indie music scene, from gaining popularity in France in the late 90s to playing last year’s Lollapalooza and releasing a new album called Welcome To Mali, which I suppose reflects their awareness that they have been exposed to a scene which doesn’t hear a lot of Malinese music. As rooted in their home country as they are, Amadou & Mariam can hardly just be called “Malinese” music, though. Elements of a wide range of cultures can be heard on this album, with singing in at least four languages, Middle Eastern strings, Latin flute, blues-rock style organ playing, all carried along and sustained by Amadou’s incredibly distinctive and captivating Malinese electric guitar playing. You would never guess that the couple has been playing music since the mid-70s by this album, which sounds very contemporary and innovative, not least of which the collaboraters that pop up like K’Naan and Damon Albarn. In fact you could say they’re making the best music of their career right now. Welcome To Mali is going to influence any musician who looks outside our borders for inspiration - or anyone who’s blind, for that matter.

Welcome To Mali is out now on Nonesuch Records

Bob Effing Dylan on RCRD LBL

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:30:45 -0400

Bob Effing Dylan on RCRD LBL: Bob Dylan’s new single is up on RCRD LBL, the terrific music...

Indie Label Wednesday: Park The Van Records

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:00:00 -0400

Park the Van was located in Philadelphia for about three years following Hurricane Katrina, and...