A Shower with Norman Bates

I read earlier that today is the 50th anniversary of the release of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and I thought it might be appropriate to make mention of that before I go shower.

Psycho is now, of course, considered a classic, but I was surprised to learn that it opened to not-so-great reviews: “There is not an abundance of subtlety or the lately familiar Hitchcock bent toward significant and colorful scenery in this obviously low-budget job,” Bosley Crowther wrote in a June 17, 1960, New York Times review.

Like now, though, even bad reviews didn’t keep the public away; the film broke box office records all over the world and would ultimately become Hitchcock’s most successful movie.

Some random Psycho trivia:

Anthony Perkins was paid $40,000 for his role, which is exactly the same amount of money that Marion Crane embezzles.

Marion’s white 1957 Ford sedan is the same car (owned by Universal) that the Cleaver family drove on “Leave It to Beaver”

Psycho was the first American film ever to show a toilet flushing on screen.

In the murder scene in the shower, there are only two split second frames of the knife actually touching the body.

And some random music about Norman Bates:

Norman Bates.mp3 ~ Utopians
Norman Bates.mp3 ~ Bright Light Fever
Norman Bates.mp3 ~ The Tailgators
Norman Bates.mp3 ~ from a German electronica collection titled Cyberworld II
A Shower with Norman Bates.mp3 ~ Etienne & Moi

Labels: "alternative", electronic, movies, rockabilly

posted by aikin @ 8:41 PM 0 Comments

Music from My Mailbox and Other Important News

OK. Important things going on, so please don’t skip the first part of this post. I have slightly less than a month left on my web host. When that time is over, I am not planning to renew. What that means to you is, in all likelihood, I will bring this blog to an end. I’ve learned to never say never, but I’d say there is about a 99.9% chance Licorice Pizza will cease operations in about a month.

The reason for this decision is two-fold: First, while Dreamhost is an excellent host, I do pay quite a bit for that service. Quite frankly, I have never donated to anyone else’s blog fund and don’t feel you need to contribute to mine. This is something I do for fun and if you’re going to pay for my fun, well, there are other things you can buy me. But understand it’s not just about the cost of the host, which brings me to my second point:

I have been at this for four years and my interest has waned a bit, although I still go on posting jags once in a while (see last month). I can tell by the quality of some of the posts I’ve made recently that I’m forcing them and I don’t want to continue doing that.

Although this post has been on my mind for some time, it makes me a bit sad to actually write it. I may at some point decide I miss doing this and I’ll start up again. In the meantime, I assume that once my host expires, so does access to anything on that host. I encourage you to look back over the past couple of years for anything you wanted to hear but put off listening to. If you find something that is no longer available, drop me a note and I’ll do my best to re-up it.

I’ve started a Tumblr page, in case I feel like there’s something I need to say. You can up music on those pages, but you can’t share it, which is a disadvantage of sorts. Feel free to check it out if you care to; there’s not much there now but I may get more active with it in the future.

As always, follow the links for more information....

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Indie / Alternative
From: Vermont, USA
Band MySpace
Things I Never Needed (acoustic).mp3

Soft Tags
Indie / Shoegaze
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
The Pine Barrens.mp3

22-20s
Alternative
From: United Kingdom
Band MySpace
Latest Heartbreak.mp3

Ashton Nyte
Alternative / Folk / Indie
From: Johannesburg, South Africa
Band MySpace
Jennifer.mp3

Horrorfall
Electronica / Industrial / Shoegaze
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Necroplasm Fix.mp3

Nada Surf
Rock / Indie / Pop
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Electrocution.mp3

The Constellations
Psychedelic / Ghettotech / Showtunes
From: Atlanta, Ga.
Band MySpace
Setback.mp3

Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio)
Acoustic / Indie
From: United States
Band MySpace
Frog Went a-Courtin’.mp3

Nadia Kazmi
Pop / Rock / Soul
From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Band MySpace
Mother.mp3

Burnt Ones
Minimalist / Psychedelic / Thrash
From: Indianapolis, Ind.
Band MySpace
Gonna Listen to T. Rex (All Night Long).mp3

The Public Good
Rock / Powerpop / Indie
From: Washington, D.C.
Band MySpace
My Pre-existing Conditions.mp3

~~~~~
(pictures, top-to-bottom: Grace Potter, Horrorfall, Nadia Kazmi)

Labels: "alternative", acousticness, electronic, folk, indie, pop muzik, rock

posted by aikin @ 12:02 PM 3 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

This seriously has to be one of the largest mailbox dumps I’ve ever done. Sixteen songs – and that’s after I deleted a good number I didn’t want to post. What’s funny is I started off thinking this was going to be an unusually small post because I had to go through about 20 e-mails before I ran across something I liked and wanted to post.

Like always, I was happy see big names like the Dead Weather and MIA reaching out to bloggers to help promote their respective albums. I’ve seen both of these tracks posted on other blogs the last few days, so I apologize I’m a little slow getting them to you.

Besides the Dead Weather, of course, some other tracks you should pay particular attention to: The Ex-Girlfriend’s Club and Best Coast both fit loosely into the garage / psycho-fuzz genres I like and can recommend.

A lot of bands sending out music seem to be shooting for summertime pop-hit type of stuff. Sometimes that can come across like they’re trying too hard, but the couple I picked here – The Like and Sonny and the Sunsets – are bearable, if not downright decent. The Like also went for a purposefully lo-fi sound, recording their album direct to analogue tape.

Finally, I usually shy away from remixes, but I went with this remixed cover of Ice T’s “Colors,” from the movie of the same name. I was just talking with someone the other day about the 1988 flick, a classic directed by Dennis Hopper and starring Robert Duvall and Sean Penn. If I still have the soundtrack, I may get that up as an OST OCD post soon.

Like always, follow the links for more info.

The Dead Weather
Rock / Blues / Gothic
From: Nashville, Tenn.
Band MySpace
Die By the Drop.mp3

Sonny and the Sunsets
Indie / Beach-Pop
From: San Francisco, Calif.
Band MySpace
Too Young To Burn.mp3

Pearly Gate Music
Tropical / Concrete
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
Big Escape.mp3

MIA
Other
From: London & Southeast U.K.
Band MySpace
XXXO.mp3

Ganglians
Showtunes / Celtic / Roots Music
From: Sacramento, Calif.
Band MySpace
My House.mp3

Pete Covington
Alternative / Psychedelic / Pop
From: New South Wales, Australia
Band MySpace
Balloons.mp3

The Like
Pop / Garage
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Fair Game.mp3

Sleigh Bells
Electronic / Rock
From: Brooklyn, N.Y. & Florida
Band MySpace
Infinity Guitars.mp3

The Ex-Girlfriends Club
Garage / Rock / Glam
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Your Prescription.mp3

Lana Del Ray
Glam / Surf / Hawaiian
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Diet Mtn. Dew (demo).mp3

Yelawolf
Hip Hop / Ghettotech / Southern Rock
From: Gadsden, Ala.
Band MySpace
Good to Go (ft. Bun B).mp3

DJ Troublemaker / King Fantastic
Punk / Funk / Crunk
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Colors (Ice T cover).mp3

Best Coast
Surf / Pop / Gospel
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Far Away.mp3

Katelyn Dawn
Indie / Pop / Acoustic
From: Toronto, Canada
Band MySpace
Puzzle Pieces.mp3

Luna is Honey
Pop / Rock / R&B
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Who Wouldn’t.mp3

Lisa Jaeggi
Soul / Folk / Freestyle
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Oh Lady You Shot Me!.mp3
~~~~~

(pictures, top-to-bottom: Dead Weather, MIA, The Like, Lana Del Ray, Best Coast)

Labels: "alternative", acousticness, blues, covers, electronic, folk, funk, garage rock, glam, hip-hop, indie, Jack White, pop muzik, RnB, rock

posted by aikin @ 6:02 PM 1 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

There is, if I say so myself, some pretty high-power stuff in this purge of my mailbox. Big names like Julian Casablancas, MIA, and Atari Teenage Riot don’t usually go to the blogs to promote their wares. I like it.

Speaking of MIA, “Born Free” is sort of unusual territory for this blog. I liked “Paper Planes” – the mix of the Clash, gunfire, cash registers, and MIA’s original style made it interesting and new. “Born Free” continues in a similar vein with an intermingling of styles – rock, hip-hop, etc. Also, the video, if you haven’t seen that, is worth your time. I’m sure her intention is some deeper message, but it’s like a more violent version of the South Park “Gingers” episodes. You can see it on her MySpace.

Some other key tracks: Semi Precious Weapons seem to be some sort of mad mash up of Hanoi Rocks and Lady Gaga. Whether these guys can extend the act into a career remains to be seen, but “Magnetic Baby” is a glam-ish song that isn’t going to make your head hurt.

Scott Morgan is a Detroit rock legend whose band The Rationals had the MC5 open for them and almost landed a young Iggy Pop as their drummer. He also formed Sonic’s Rendezvous with Fred “Sonic” Smith and Scott Asheton. “Fallin’ For You” continues the legend with a nice slice of Motown rock ‘n’ soul.

And I gotta show a little local love – AluKarD come from here in Miami. Don’t let the “rock / hip-hop” tags fool you: There’s no Limp Bizkit going on here.

As always, follow the links for more information.

AluKarD
Rock / Alternative / Hip Hop
From: Miami, Fla.
Band MySpace
44 Kaliber Love Letter.mp3

Julian Casablancas
Rock / Alternative
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Old Hollywood (live).mp3

MIA
Other
From: London & Southeast U.K.
Band MySpace
Born Free (album version).mp3

The Pipettes
Pop / Powerpop / Glam
From: United Kingdom
Band MySpace
Stop the Music (Will Eastman remix).mp3

Semi Precious Weapons
Visual / Garage / Rock
From: Brooklyn, United States
Band MySpace
Magnetic Baby.mp3

DeVotchKa
Indie / Rock
From: United States
Band MySpace
Clockwise Witness (live).mp3

Scott Morgan
Soul / Rock
From: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Band MySpace
Fallin’ For Ya.mp3

Atari Teenage Riot
Electronica / Experimental / Hardcore
From: Berlin, London, Tokyo, New York
Band MySpace
Activate.mp3

The Joy Formidable
Other / Other / Other
From: United Kingdom
Band MySpace
Whirring.mp3

Inside the Black
Rock
From: Hollywood, Calif.
Band MySpace
Adult Movies.mp3

~~~~~
Pictures, top-to-bottom: AluKarD, Semi Precious Weapons, The Joy Formidable

Labels: "alternative", electronic, garage rock, hip-hop, indie, pop muzik, rock

posted by aikin @ 9:06 PM 0 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

Wow. I just can’t get the motivation or inspiration lately to post. I look through my CDs and the stuff on my computer and think, Nah, that’s all been done. Then I look through the 100-plus emails clogging my inbox and think, There’s gotta be something interesting in there. So out of those hundred-some emails, this is what I culled. Can you see why I’m not feeling too inspired these days?

My pick of the litter this go-round is Univox’s “Pi,” which I think I had attempted to post before but there was a problem with the link they sent me. Whatever the issue, I’m glad it showed up again, because it’s a rockin’ little number.

A song I almost passed on is Marc Robillard’s “Butterscotch High.” I’m glad I didn’t. I don’t know much about Marc, but there’s something about this song that I really like and it reminds me of someone else, but I can’t quite put my finger on who.

And just to mix things up a bit, I also want you to check out Dominique Young Unique. This is something you might hear thumping in your local strip club this summer.

As always, follow the links for more information

Science Fiction Theater
Rock / Indie / Melodramatic Popular Song
From: Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Band MySpace
Gasoline.mp3

Marc Robillard
Pop / Rock / Acoustic
From: Venice, Calif.
Band MySpace
Butterscotch High (acoustic).mp3

Univox
Glam / Soul / Folk
From: Philadelphia, Penn.
Band MySpace
Pi.mp3

Thought
Rock / 2-step / Funk
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
The Hardest Thing.mp3

Lloyd’s Garage
Rock / Indie / Blues
From: SF Bay Area, Calif.
Band MySpace
Return to Sender.mp3

Hunters & Runners
Rock / Indie
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Sociology.mp3

Dominique Young Unique
R’n’B / Hip-Hop / Electronic
From: Tampa, Fla.
Band MySpace
Show My Ass.mp3

~~~~~
(pictures, top-to-bottom: Science Fiction Theater, Lloyd's Garage)

Labels: acousticness, electronic, hip-hop, indie, pop muzik, RnB, rock

posted by aikin @ 12:48 PM 0 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

Happy SXSW week to you and yours. Once again I will not be attending, although I recently wondered if I could have gotten a record label or PR firm to cover my airfare and bar tabs while I whore myself for whatever bands they have in attendance. On the other hand, I harbor a dislike for much “indie” music and can see where it may have ended up as a “Fear & Loathing on 6th Street” type of occasion. “We were somewhere over Louisiana when the drugs began to take hold...”

Anyway, as you might guess, my inbox was full of notices about appearances at SXSW. Probably the majority of the bands in today’s post will be there, but I can’t be arsed to dig up schedules for you. If you like the band and you’re going to be in Austin this week, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

This is a pretty small inbox purge because a lot of the stuff I received was electronica or whiney, self-indulgent indie/emo stuff or some mash-up/remix of the two genres, and I’m really not in the mood to hear that.

The top stuff today is easily The Choke and The Ex-Girlfriend’s Club. Both bands bring the garage rock sound that I so enjoy. Also, if you think back to my last mailbox post, you’ll recollect Pack A.D. Well, as the fates would have it, The Choke are on tour with Pack A.D. You’ll definitely want to check out that bill if they come to a town near you. The Koot Hoomi track comes from a Hall and Oates tribute album the group did. It’s called The Dark Side of Hall and Oates and is bizarre enough that it warranted inclusion here.

As always, follow the links for more information.

The Choke
Garage / Punk / Soul
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Tuff Kids.mp3

Shaka Ponk
Rock / Electro / Experimental
From: Berlin, Germany
Band MySpace
Do.mp3

Cary Ann Hearst
Folk Rock / Southern Rock / Roots Music
From: Charlotte, S.C.
Band MySpace
Are You Ready to Die.mp3

April Smith
Melodramatic Popular Song / Pop / Folk Rock
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Movie Loves a Screen.mp3

Koot Hoomi
Experimental / Indie / Acoustic
From: Tempe, Ariz.
Band MySpace
Maneater (Hall and Oates cover).mp3

The Ex-Girlfriend’s Club
Garage / Rock / Glam
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Devil Eyes.mp3

~~~~~
(Pictures, top-to-bottom: The Choke, April Smith)

Labels: acousticness, covers, electronic, folk, garage rock, glam, indie, pop muzik, rock

posted by aikin @ 12:40 PM 0 Comments

Music From My Mailbox

Cleaning out the mailbox for the first time this month. Once again I let it get full enough that I could skip over most of the really wretched “indie” stuff and the various remixes of songs I’ve never heard of. Something I saw for the first time is an email from a band’s promo person directing me to another blog to download the music. I can’t tell if that’s lazy promotional work or outstanding blog work.

A pretty fair amount of rock comes up with this purge: Burn the Evidence, Throwing Seven, and Gangcharger all crank up the electric guitars and pay homage to some combination of Metallica and Jesus and Mary Chain. Karnivool was kind enough to send me an actual CD. Their music is reminiscent of Tool – very much prog-metal. If you’re into that, you’ll definitely want to check Karnivool.

One song I almost passed on, but ended up liking after a couple of listens, is Paper Tongue’s “Ride to California.” It’s almost-but-not-quite rap-rock, which isn’t yet far enough in our past to make us nostalgic. The singer screams like a rocker, but the music, which emphasizes electronics over guitars, keeps this track from lapsing into Limp Bizkit territory.

As always, follow the links for more information.

Karnivool
Rock
From: Perth, Australia
Band MySpace
Set Fire to the Hive.mp3

Visqueen
Rock
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
Beautiful Amnesia.mp3

Borrowed Eyes
Folk Rock / Indie
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Slaves.mp3

The Soft Province
Indie
From: Canada
Band MySpace
One Was a Lie.mp3

Twin Tigers
Rock / Shoegaze / Tropical
From: Athens, Ga.
Band MySpace
Passive Idol.mp3

City Light
Indie / Alternative / Rock
From: San Francisco, Calif.
Band MySpace
Someday Maybe.mp3

Paper Tongues
Rock / Electronic / Hip Hop
From: Charlotte, N.C.
Band MySpace
Ride to California.mp3

Dana Falconberry
Visual / Tropical / Melodramatic Popular Song
From: Austin, Texas
Band MySpace
Singing Lullabies.mp3

Throwing Seven
Alternative / Post punk / Experimental
From: Los Angeles / Inland Empire, Calif.
Band MySpace
Let it Bleed.mp3

Gangcharger
Visual / Experimental / Rock
From: Denver, Colo.
Band MySpace
Apparition.mp3

King Khan and the Shrines
Psychedelic / R&B / Hardcore
From: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Band MySpace
Land of the Freak.mp3

Burn The Evidence
Alternative / Rock / Metal
From: Worthing/Brighton Area, U. K.
Band MySpace
New Disease.mp3

~~~~~
pictures, top-to-bottom: Visqueen, Twin Tigers, Dana Falconberry, King Khan

Labels: "alternative", electronic, folk, garage rock, hip-hop, indie, rock

posted by aikin @ 3:52 PM 0 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

I suppose one advantage in taking so long to clear out my inbox is the large selection to pick from. I’m able to weed through all the “indie” stuff and skim the cream off the top.

A couple of items of note from this purge session: Kandi Coded keeps the Seattle grunge tradition alive on their debut Fell for the Gift, which is out next month. Check out their amped-up take on Johnny Cash’s tribute to a lost Viet Nam vet, which is just as meaningful now.

In case you weren’t aware, there is a Spinal Tap tribute album floating around (I think you can download it here for free or voluntary contributions or something.) Lapdance Academy Records founder and Dogs of Winter front man Brian Grosz contributed “Gimme Some Money” to the release.

And of course there’s the almost-obligatory Wolfmother remix track. There were actually three versions in the package I received – this was, in my opinion, the best of the lot.

As always, follow the links for more information.

Wolfmother
Rock / Psychedelic / Metal
From: Australia
Band MySpace
White Feather (Burns remix).mp3

Doug Keith
Rock / Acoustic / Alternative
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
The Lucky Ones.mp3

We Be The Echo
Progressive / Experimental / Metal
From: San Francisco, Calif.
Band MySpace
Droid Poem.mp3

Phantogram
Concrete / Other / Big Beat
From: Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Band MySpace
When I’m Small.mp3

Kandi Coded
Rock / Alternative / Grunge
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
Drive On (Johnny Cash cover).mp3

Pierced Arrows
Rock / Garage / Punk
From: Portland / Clackamas, Ore.
Band MySpace
Paranoia.mp3

LANTERNS.
Punk / Punk / Pop Punk
From: San Diego, Calif.
Band MySpace
Midnight Psalms.mp3

Year Long Disaster
Rock / Rock / Rock
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Show Me Your Teeth (radio edit).mp3

Brian Grosz
Indie / Acoustic / Ghettotech
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Gimme Some Money (Spinal Tap cover).mp3

~~~~~
pictures, top-to-bottom: Doug Keith, Kandi Coded, Year Long Disaster

Labels: "alternative", acousticness, electronic, garage rock, grunge, indie, pop-punk, rock

posted by aikin @ 12:41 PM 0 Comments

Music From My Mailbox

Say you’ve got four lanes of traffic, all going the same direction. The far outside lane exits, the next one over has the option to exit or go straight. What the hell is that causes Miami drivers in the two inside lanes to come to a complete stop? During my commute I go through these traffic jams daily and I cannot, for the life of me, understand why it happens. Please, if you can explain this mystery, drop me a note.

In other more relevant news, there turned out to be some pretty decent things in my mailbox. Particularly, I want to mention Acrassicauda. These guys were featured in the 2007 film Heavy Metal in Baghdad. Acrassicauda formed in Iraq, fled that country because of the war, first going to Syria then to Turkey. Earlier this year they were resettled in the U.S. with assistance from a relief agency. The song here, “Garden of Stones” will be on their debut EP, Only the Dead See the End of the War, which is scheduled for release in March.

A couple other things worth mentioning: The Getdown! offers up the oft-covered “Leave My Kitten Alone,” a tasty slice of garage rock from their forthcoming EP. I also sorta liked the tracks from The Stone Foxes and I’m Not A Band. There’s also some other pretty decent things here. Have a listen and see what you think.

As always, follow the links for more information.

Acrassicauda
Metal / Rock / Death Metal
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Garden Of Stones.mp3

Bear Ceuse
Rock
From: St. Louis, Mo.
Band MySpace
American Wit.mp3

iChoRa
Alternative / Rock
From: Western Australia, Australia
Band MySpace
Lunafire.mp3

Codeine Velvet Club
Alternative
From: United Kingdom
Band MySpace
I Am the Resurrection (Stone Roses cover).mp3

Le Corps Mince de Françoise (LCMDF)
Pop / Pop / Pop
From: Helsinki, Finland
Band MySpace
Something Golden (Zebra and Snake remix).mp3

Zambri
Rock / Soul / Other
From: New York, New York
Band MySpace
From the Starts.mp3

The New Fidelity
Powerpop / Soul
From: Long Beach, Calif.
Band MySpace
2nd Once in a Lifetime Girl.mp3

Blackmarket
Rock / Indie
From: Lake Havasu, Ariz.
Band MySpace
Tongue Twister Typo.mp3

The Stone Foxes
Rock / Blues / Soul
From: San Francisco, Calif.
Band MySpace
Sweep a Road.mp3

Gooding
Rock
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Make the Devil Cry.mp3

Church
Indie
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Opposite People.mp3

The Getdown!
Rock / Rock / Rock
From: Denver, Colo.
Band MySpace
Leave My Kitten Alone (Little Willie John cover).mp3

I’m Not A Band
Electro / Indie
From: Berlin / Leipzig, Germany
Band MySpace
Crazy.mp3

~~~~~
pictures, top-to-bottom: Acrassicauda, LCMDF, The Stone Foxes, I’m Not A Band

Labels: "alternative", electronic, garage rock, indie, metal, pop muzik, rock, soul

posted by aikin @ 6:17 PM 1 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

My first post of October – five days in – and my first mailbox purge. The inbox filled up insanely quick over the last couple of weeks. I was already trying to decide whether I should dump everything at once or split it into a couple of posts. But after I culled through everything, deleting the invites to things I can’t attend and the music you don’t want to hear, I was left with this single, decent-sized post.

A lot of this music veers toward the “indie” side of things. I’ve mentioned before that, as a general rule, I don’t care much for that genre. Using that admittedly flexible guideline, I’ve done my best to not subject you to a lot of things I wouldn’t listen to myself.

A couple of recommendations – for those who don’t want to sample a little of each: I like Red Cortez. “Fell on the Floor” has a sorta-U2 feel, for part of the song, then other parts go in another direction altogether. The Electric Tickle Machine, in addition to having a cool name, is a decent sounding psychedelic-cum-garage band from New York’s East Village. I also dig “Bare Hands, Bare Feet” from The Bright Hour Social Hour. It’s an up tempo rocker with a groovy riff.

But really, you may as well check out all the music; it won’t cost you anything extra and you’re likely to find something else you like even more.

As always, follow the links for more information.

City Light
Indie / Alternative / Rock
From: San Francisco, Calif.
Band Myspace
Apologies.mp3

The Bright Light Social Hour
Rock
From: Austin, Texas
Band Myspace
Bare Hands, Bare Feet.mp3

Chris Kirby
Blues / Pop / Soul
From: St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Band Myspace
Don’t Forget About Me.mp3

My Tiger My Timing
Pop / Idol / Visual
From: London, U.K.
Band Myspace
I am the Sound (Hook And The Twin Remix).mp3

Real Ones
Indie / Folk / Rock
From: Bergen, Norway
Band Myspace
Every Dog Has His Day.mp3

Electric Tickle Machine
Psychedelic / Garage / Pop
From: e. vill, N.Y.
Band Myspace
Gimme Money.mp3

Loch Lomond
Folk / Experimental / Pop
From: Portland, Ore.
Band Myspace
Wax and Wire.mp3

Mau
Electro / Alternative / New Wave
From: Lisbon, Portugal
Band Myspace
Toboggan.mp3

Lackthereof
Emotronic / Folk / Healing & Easy Listening
From: Portland, Ore.
Band Myspace
Safely in Jail.mp3

Red Cortez
Other
From: California
Band Myspace
Fell on the Floor.mp3

Flood of Red
Rock
From: Glasgow, Scotland U.K.
Band Myspace
Paper Lungs.mp3

~~~~~
(pictures, top-to-bottom: The Bright Light Social Hour, Electric Tickle Machine, Red Cortez

Labels: "alternative", electronic, garage rock, indie, pop muzik, rock

posted by aikin @ 9:26 PM 0 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

I’m getting this post out early this morning then heading out the door for my last week of work before a week of vacation. Well, more like time off, really – not like I’m taking a real vacation; I will unfortunately be staying in and around town.

This go-round with the mailbox yielded up a couple of artists I’ve written about before: Sir Salvatore and Leerone have both previously graced these pages and both have new music out that you should be aware of.

I’ve also gotten a handful of country contributions lately. That kind of strikes me as odd, because I really don’t post much in the way of that type of music. My taste in country, as documented here, runs to the old-school and hardcore, Hank III variety. In keeping true to my tastes, I’ll only ask you to listen to a country song if it’s something I would listen to myself. “The Prettiest Girl in Walmart” is just such a song. It’s not hardcore twang, but there’s a certain white trash charm to it that I liked.

Something I almost passed on was Steven Mark’s take on Supertramp’s “Logical Song.” But I wasn’t sure and the more I listened, the more I liked it. He’s more or less stripped down the original, which makes it even more of a cry for recognition in a world of facelessness: “Please tell me who I am.”

As always, follow the links for more information.

Livan
Pop Punk / Alternative / Rock
From: London and Southeast UK
Band MySpace
Happy Returns.mp3

Leerone
Indie / Folk Rock / Experimental
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Here on Earth: The Opening.mp3

Roy Jay
Rock / Americana / Folk Rock
Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Prettiest Girl in Walmart.mp3

Sir Salvatore
Experimental / Indie / Rock
San Francisco, Calif.
Band MySpace
Fireflies, Reading Books.mp3

Bad Veins
Indie
Cincinnati, Ohio
Band MySpace
Gold and Warm.mp3

The Divorcees
Country
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Band MySpace
Mining Man.mp3

JJ Soul Band
Jazz / Blues / Fusion
Oxford; Akureyri and Reykjavik, Iceland
Band MySpace
That Kinda Man.mp3

Amanda Blank
New Wave / Electronic
Philly, Penn.
Band MySpace
Make It Take It.mp3

Steven Mark
Indie / Alternative
New York, NY
Band MySpace
The Logical Song (Supertramp cover).mp3

~~~~~
One last note: I appreciate and love the artists and their reps that send me music, but if it’s something you want me to share with my readers, please send it in MP3 format. I've gotten a couple of things in WMA format, and while I enjoyed the songs, I’m not able to easily pass them along. Thanks!

~~~~~
(Pictures, top-to-bottom: Leerone, Bad Veins, Amanda Blank)

Labels: alt.jazz, country music, covers, electronic, indie, new stuff, pop-punk

posted by aikin @ 7:15 AM 0 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

Tons of stuff in this early month mailbox purge. Even as I compile this, more music is flooding the LICORICE PIZZA inbox, so with luck and proper organizational skills, I may actually get out another mailbox post this month. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

You’re going to see a couple more than usual electro-dance sorta things. Everybody wants to be the next Lady Gaga. I usually just delete these and move on unless I think the song is catchy or somewhat interesting, or if I just happen to be in a good mood. Two of the more interesting are the tracks by Ze! and Emma. Ze’s in particular has an 80’s synth vibe to it.

On the rock side of the street is where you’re going to find my pick of the litter, which goes this time to The Perms for their solid indie rock – not a ZZ Top cover – track, “Give Me All Your Lovin’.” I’m also liking the county-tinged tracks by Leslie and the Badgers and the interestingly named Donny Hue and The Colors.

As always, follow the links for more information.

The Perms
Powerpop / Indie / Rock
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Band MySpace
Give Me All Your Lovin’.mp3

Ancient Astronauts
Down-tempo / Funk / Hip Hop
Cologne, Germany
Band MySpace
Everybody.mp3

Zé!
Electro / Pop / Disco House
Kuala Lumpur / Brussels / London, UK
Band MySpace
I Am Glam.mp3

Leslie and the Badgers
Indie / Folk Rock / Country
Pompadourous Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Los Angeles.mp3

Jessie Murphy In The Woods
Indie / Lyrical / Glam
New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
In the Woods.mp3

EMMA
Rap / Electro / Club
Essen // Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Band MySpace
Couch Potato.mp3

Donny Hue and the Colors
Other / Experimental / Country
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
I speak of the Hayseed Cousins.mp3

Jeannine Hebb
Pop / R&B / Rock
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Things Haven’t Been So Bad Lately.mp3

The Plastic Revolution
Pop / Rock / Electronica
San Diego, Los Angeles, Calif., & New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Sex-Crazed.mp3

TPF!
Electro / Punk
Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
143.mp3

new numbers
Indie
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Whatever I Want.mp3

~~~~~
pictures, top-to-bottom: Ancient Astronauts, Emma, TPF

Labels: alt.country, electronic, funk, hip-hop, indie, new stuff

posted by aikin @ 11:39 AM 1 Comments

Music from My Mailbox

Hey – this is my second mailbox dump this month, not including the things I’ve posted individually. You can’t say I’m not right on top of things!

Alongside the something-for-every-taste-bud tracks, there are a few goodies here: Telling on Trixie and Ash are both solid “indie” bands; the songs here are catchy and stuck in my head even after the first listen.

The Rest is soothingly creepy. They kind of remind me of a lo-fi Jesus and Mary Chain. My pick of the litter is Radical Sons, out of St. Louis. They sound a little like the Strokes’ first album and I like the subject matter of this track (“I’m feeling nostalgic for things I’ve never known).

In any case, there is plenty of variety – give this stuff a listen and, as always, follow the links for more info.

Cas One
Hip Hop / Soul / Rap
From: Evansville, Ind.
Band MySpace
Masked Moniker.mp3

Radical Sons
Indie / Rock
From: St. Louis, Mo.
Band MySpace
I’m So Sick of The 21st Century.mp3

them:youth
Indie / Electronic
From: London and the Southeast United Kingdom
Band MySpace
F.R.A.N.C.E..mp3

Will Dailey
Rock / Acoustic / Roots Music
From: Boston, Mass.
Band MySpace
How Can I Make You Happy.mp3

The Rest
Pop / Soul / Tropical
From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Band MySpace
Drinking Again.mp3

Solid Gold
Tropical / Black Metal / Chinese pop
From: Minneapolis, Minn.
Band MySpace
Bible Thumper.mp3

Ash
Indie / Rock / Alternative
From: Downpatrick, Ireland
Band MySpace
Return of White Rabbit.mp3

Lori Lieberman
Folk / Indie
From: Santa Monica, Calif.
Band MySpace
New York Mining Disaster (Bee Gees cover).mp3

All Smiles
Minimalist / Other / Rock
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
The Ones I Want to Live.mp3

Telling on Trixie
Rock
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Crash Me Up.mp3
~~~~~
(pictures, top-to-bottom: Radical Son, The Rest, Lori Lieberman)

Labels: "alternative", electronic, folk, hip-hop, indie, new stuff

posted by aikin @ 7:11 PM 0 Comments