Music from My Mailbox

Could I just copy the words to The Sun Also Rises, throw in some fresh adjectives and updated references and get it published as the remixed version? Honestly, I’m so tired of remixes. I go through my inbox and see remix after remix after remix. Are you serious? Make your own damned music if you’re so talented. And not to be hateful, but I don’t even care if you disagree.

So, that said, here’s what I found that wasn’t just someone else’s music with a couple of echo effects and a drum loop thrown in: While this mailbox purge is short on my beloved garage punk, there are still a few interesting things here. The first I want to mention is The Emotron. I’m not sure what’s up with this guy. He lights his pubic hair on fire during live performances and claims to be some kind of synth-punk G.G. Allin, a feat I’m sure no one could really pull off. This song, “Drink A Beer for Me,” sounds more like a novelty song than it does anything from G.G.’s catalogue. See what you think.

There are a couple of reggae-type bands represented: 10ft. Tall Ganja Plant (ha! Like you wouldn’t have guess they were reggae!) and Indofin. Both are great for a relaxing on a summer evening.

“Neon for You” comes from My First Earthquake’s just released EP Crush. The disk hearkens back to 80’s pop and is very enjoyable. In a wide-open field, this track is one of my favorites.

As always, follow the links for more information.

My First Earthquake
Indie / Electro / Rock
From: San Francisco, Calif.
Band MySpace
Neon for You.mp3

10ft. Ganja Plant
Reggae / Dub / Roots Music
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Bonny & Clyde.mp3

Love Crushed Velvet
Rock / Alternative / Pop
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Love Crushed Velvet.mp3

Electric Tickle Machine
Indie / Alternative
From: East Village, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Honest Injun.mp3

Joy Ike
Indie / Soul / Pop
From: Pittsburgh, Penn.
Band MySpace
Sweeter.mp3

Indofin
Reggae / Ska / Punk
From: Austin, Texas
Band MySpace
Bluelight.mp3

Imagine Dragons
Indie / Pop / Rock
From: Las Vegas, Nev.
Band MySpace
Selene.mp3

Upstation
Pop / Indie
From: Moscow, Russian Federation
Band MySpace
No More Promises.mp3

The Emotron
Punk / Rock / New Wave
From: West Fuckin’ Philly/Georgia/Pennsylvania
Band MySpace
Drink a Beer for Me.mp3

Eagle Winged Palace
Acoustic / Indie / Classical
From: The Deepest Darkest Corners of California
Band MySpace
Movin’ on to Avalon.mp3

~~~~~
(pictures, top-to-bottom: My First Earthquake, Joy Ike, The Emotron)

~~~~~
As a reminder, there is a little less than two weeks left on my host, so if there is anything you want to hear, you need to act quickly.

Labels: "alternative", acousticness, indie, new wave, pop muzik, punk, reggae, rock, ska, soul

posted by aikin @ 12:16 PM 3 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 month has probably been the most prolific month for me since I’ve started this blog. I’ve blasted out 20 posts (21 counting this one) and cleared out my mailbox three times. By my own low standards, that’s amazing. I think I deserve a vacation.

Items of note for you to note: Amanda Zelina makes a third appearance on these hallowed pages. This go ‘round, she has released an album of gritty blues under the name The Coppertone. It’s very much in the vein of the Dead Weather. I’ve liked everything I’ve heard from Amanda and this is no different.

When I opened the e-mail from These Guys and read all the typical raves, “These Guys are the second coming, blah, blah, blah,” I almost hit delete and just moved on. Instead, something made me click the link to watch the video for “Pete’s Sweet Sixteen.” It is just auto-tuned, cross-dressing hilarity: “You’re like a sister to us, bro.” I can’t let you miss out on this.

In a similar vein are the Deli Boys, whose indictment of Sex & the City culture is neatly wrapped up in “P.R. Girls.”

And if you’re tuning in for some regular ol’ rock ‘n’ roll, try Shellshag, The Enthusiasts, or Tomorrow’s Tulips. You know I ain’t gonna steer ya wrong.

As always, follow the links for more information.

The Coppertone
Blues / Rock / Soul
From: Ontario, Canada
Band MySpace
Nighttime Wishes.mp3

Thought
Rock / 2-Step / Funk
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Echka (I Like to Party).mp3

Shellshag
Punk / Rock
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Crashing Rockets.mp3

PackFM
Hip-Hop / Rap
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
I F*cking Hate Rappers.mp3

These Guys
Rock / Comedy / Grunge
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band Website
Pete’s Sweet Sixteen.mp3

The Enthusiasts
Garage / Blues / Pop
From: Ardsley, N.Y.
Band MySpace
In the City.mp3

Hot Hot Heat
Indie / Minimalist / Showtunes
From: Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Band MySpace
Zero Results.mp3

Moving Castles
Indie / Rock / Progressive
From: Tyler, Texas
Band MySpace
Wives (You’re Near Me Always).mp3

The Deli Boys
Electro / Crunk / Comedy
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
P.R. Girls.mp3

Thank God
Punk / Experimental / Jam Band
From: Columbia, Atlanta, Charleston
Band MySpace
Ice Age.mp3

Monarques
Pop
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Angel Eyes.mp3

Tomorrow’s Tulips
Minimalist / Pop / Shoegaze
From: Costa Mesa, Calif.
Band Myspace
Eternally Teenage.mp3

~~~~~
Pictures, top-to-bottom: The Coppertone, These Guys, The Deli Boys

Labels: "alternative", blues, comedy, hip-hop, indie, rap, rock

posted by aikin @ 1:11 PM 0 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

I just realized that the last time any of you heard from me I was on my way out of town to see BugGiRL. For all any of you know I never made it back. But I did. The BugGiRL show was great – they gave it their all despite the small crowd. If you get a chance, definitely you need to see them live.

I’ve really had a lack of posting inspiration lately, so I thought the best solution would be to hit up the mailbox. It turned out there were a few gems hidden there. Straight away I need to mention Long Island’s Roast Beef Curtains. The band’s name alone is hilarious if you realize what exactly a roast beef curtain is. Besides that, there are the lyrics to “5th Base Girl”: “My fifth-base girl likes Diet Coke and glory holes.” I actually laughed out loud the first time I heard that.

The Burnt Ones wear their Johnny Thunders influence proudly, with reverby, echoey vocals and the almost patented Johnny Thunders lo-fi recording style. As a matter of fact, I like these guys so much I tossed in a bonus track, a cover of Motörhead’s “Damage Case,” which was a special Record Store Day download.

A couple of other things: I saw Ke$ha on SNL last night and I wasn’t really impressed. I’m sure she’s this summer’s Kelis. The Clucks’ cover of “Tik Tok” is interesting and at least as good as the original. Also check out garage rockers Thick Shakes for more of that tasty lo-fi rock ‘n’ roll I know you love.

As always, follow the links for more information

Thick Shakes
Garage / Punk / Pop
From: Jamaica Plain, Mass.
Band MySpace
(Baby) You’re a Starfish.mp3

Midnite Theory
Alternative / Hip Hop / Other
From: Los Angeles, Calif.
Band MySpace
Angel On Sunset.mp3
** now with correct links! **

Clucks
Indie / Rock / Garage
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
Tik Tok (Ke$ha cover).mp3

The Roast Beef Curtains
Reggae / Dub / Punk
From: Long Island, N.Y.
Band MySpace
5th Base Girl.mp3

The One AM Radio
New Wave
From: Los Feliz, Calif.
Band MySpace
Credible Threats.mp3

Norman
Indie / Folk / Rock
From: Willamette Valley, Ore.
Band MySpace
Hell, If I Love.mp3

Terese Taylor
Experimental / Black Metal / Folk Rock
From: San Francisco, Calif.
Band MySpace
My Shine, Doesn’t Shine.mp3

The Futureheads
New Wave / Indie
From: Sunderland, UK
Band MySpace
Struck Dumb.mp3

Burnt Ones
Minimalist / Psychedelic / Rock
From: Indianapolis, Ind.
Band MySpace
Gonna Listen to T-Rex (All Night Long).mp3
Bonus: Damage Case (Motörhead cover).mp3

~~~~~
(pictures, top-to-bottom: Thick Shakes, The Roast Beef Curtains, Terese Taylor)

Labels: acousticness, covers, folk, garage rock, indie, new wave, pop muzik, rock

posted by aikin @ 1:29 PM 2 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

I figure the last day of the month is as good a time as any to dump out the mailbox. Start fresh next month and all that.

A lot of stuff from bands that are going to be at SXSW next month. I’ll be not attending again this year, so who plays or doesn’t play isn’t going to much affect me. Just send me good music if you want me to post it. Kthx.

I’m gonna jump right in with my pick of the litter. The Pack A.D., from the home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, are a duet – guitar and drums a la Jack and Meg – and take a similar, garage/blues approach to their music. Singer Becky Black has garnered more than a few comparisons to a certain legendary 60's whiskey-throated blues shouter. I really liked this band and look forward to hearing more of their music.

A couple of other things that are interesting: Patrick Bower’s “The Dark Lord (of Love)” has a weird, dark sound to it and made me want to hear it more than once. Moneybrother’s “Born Under a Bad Sign” is another of those tracks I almost passed on, but, after a couple of listens, decided to include. It’s a sort of poppy, dancey, type of thing. Maybe like something from the first Killers album or something. Just know that it’s not a cover of the Albert King classic.

The very last song on today’s list, “Sleepwalking,” I decided to include sight unseen. That is to say, I didn’t even care if the music was up to my usual rigorous standards. Everything Is Made In China, or EIMIC as their friends call them, come from Russia. When was the last time you heard a Russian pop band? Exactly. So they get a mention just for that.

As always, follow the links for more information.

Blunt Mechanic
Indie / Folk / Punk
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
Less Beat.mp3

Becca
Rock / Pop / Acoustic
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Kickin’ & Screamin’.mp3

Nick Jaina
Folk / Pop / Indie
From: Portland, Ore.
Band MySpace
Sleep Child.mp3

Cast Spells
Acoustic / Country / Folk
From: Chicago, Ill.
Band MySpace
Pioneer Scalps.mp3

Patrick Bower
Indie / Folk / Pop
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
The Dark Lord (of Love).mp3

The Pack A.D.
Garage / Rock / Punk
From: Vancouver, Canada
Band MySpace
Crazy.mp3

Resonant Soul
Alternative / Rock / Indie
From: Toledo, Ohio
Band MySpace
House of the Rising Sun (Animals cover).mp3

Velvet Davenport
Psychedelic / Pop
From: Minneapolis, Minn.
Band MySpace
Get Out.mp3

The Dig
Rock / Indie / Pop
From: New York, N.Y.
Band MySpace
You’re Already Gone.mp3

Shellshag
Punk / Rock
From: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Band MySpace
Resilient Bastard.mp3

Friday Mile
Indie / Rock / Pop
From: Seattle, Wash.
Band MySpace
FYI.mp3

Moneybrother
Rock / Pop
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Band MySpace
Born Under a Bad Sign.mp3

EIMIC
Rock / Other
From: Moscow, Russian Federation
Band MySpace
Sleepwalking.mp3

~~~~~
(Pictures, top-to-bottom: Becca, The Pack A.D., Shellshag)

Labels: "alternative", covers, folk, garage rock, indie, pop muzik, pop-punk

posted by aikin @ 12:02 PM 1 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