Music News

Where else are you going to get blithe-New-Year greetings?

Click here to hear: Happy New Year!

PLAYLIST

RINGING THE OLD YEAR OUT–DESCRIPTIVE (L. Currie)–Prince’s Orch., 1911.
AULD LANG SYNE–Jeri Shannon, w. the Ralph Berger Orch. (Record Pak I-539)

Lee

Where else are you going to get blithe-New-Year greetings?

Click here to hear: Happy New Year!

PLAYLIST

RINGING THE OLD YEAR OUT–DESCRIPTIVE (L. Currie)–Prince’s Orch., 1911.
AULD LANG SYNE–Jeri Shannon, w. the Ralph Berger Orch. (Record Pak I-539)

Lee

…

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[This feed will only display the headlines to let you know our blog was updated. Please click the link below to visit the blog for the full article.]

It’s hard to believe the year is already over, where did the time go? It was just yesterday when I was happily kicking off 2009 spinning Merriweather Post Pavilion and eagerly anticipating all of the year’s excellent albums. Now a new decade is upon us, another 10 years have passed and I cannot believe what was once the crazed Y2K bug is only a distant memory. As we prepare to watch the giant ball drop in Times Square and make (failed) resolutions, I’ve compiled another short list of ten tracks to help countdown ’til 2010. It’s by no means an extensive “best of” list, just a handful of songs I found myself spinning time and time again – click the artwork images for album info:

---

[10] Dirty Projectors and David Byrne – Knotty Pine
       In the history of musical collaborations, the coupling of Byrne and the Dirty P’s is definitely one of the better sounding combos to date. It’s the perfect meshing of new age pop with classic, quirky Byrne – whose compositional influence can be heard heavily in “Knotty Pine”, way before he ever opens his mouth.

---

[9] Fanfarlo – Harold T. Wilkins or How To Wait For A Very Long Time
       This track is more contagious than the swine flu, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve played it this year. It’s catchy from start to finish, has me singing along by the chorus and has me shouting with them at the end. On all of Reservoir, a catchy album itself, it’s the one tune that my ears always gravitate toward and the one my finger always presses “repeat” for.

---

[8] Atlas Sound – Shelia
       Was “Walkabout” the catchiest track on Logos? I’d have a hard time disagreeing with anyone making that claim – it’s lovely – but “Sheila” has a classic zeal that’s haunting. It’s the rarely seen simple side of Bradford Cox content with moving melodies and truthful lyricism that consistently brought me back to this song.

---

[7] Kid Cudi – Pursuit Of Happiness (Feat. MGMT & Ratatat)
       Kid Cudi certainly broke through to a bigger audience this year, including listeners from other genres. Getting MGMT to sign on for the chorus was a great move, yet even greater was having Ratatat produce the track. Ratatat really makes this song (and “Alive”) stick out from the rest, I’d love to see them produce even more hip hop tunes in the future.

---

[6] Here We Go Magic – Fangela
       There’s something almost tribal about this song, starting from rough and sparse origins only to blossom into an eerie pop song with handclaps to boot. There are so many instrumental up-and-downs, it’s like riding on a climatic rollercoaster with a ton of hills. I admire how Luke Temple catapults eardrums from an ambient daze into pop bliss with “Fangela”.

---

[5] Holiday Shores – Bradley Bear
       It takes just one spin and this song is etched into my ears for days to come. From the undeniable vocal melodies and hook at the beginning, to the underlying 50s theme that explodes into a hip-shaking ending – “Bradley Bear” is driven by contagious bass impossible to ignore.

---

[4] Grizzly Bear – Ready, Able
       If this wasn’t such a strong year for singular tracks, “Ready, Able” would be at the top of my list. The entire first half of the song is a giant tease, with fluttering guitar and near minimalist instrumentation. Grizzly Bear do well in lighting the fuse and slowly letting it burn until the 1:47 mark, thereafter exploding into a thing of beauty. At that part, every single time, it feel like my ears are cut loose and left to float above my head on pieces of string.

---

[3] Sunset Rubdown – You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)
       Dragonslayer is still growing on me, months after listening, but “You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)” needed all of a few minutes to position itself into the upper echelon of Krug compositions. It’s an amazing track that tip-toes along, changes pace frequently, and ends up exploding into a rock opus toward the end.

---

[2] Animal Collective – What Would I Want? Sky
       This is the quintessential Animal Collective song. They send you through nearly three-minutes of chaotically fuzzy build-up before seemingly snapping their fingers and pulling the plug in favor of pop perfection. And just how incredibly brilliant is the flip-flopped Grateful Dead sample? Listen to “Unbroken Chain”, fast-forward to the 1:15 mark and see if you don’t exclaim “Wow!” — they take something so small and make it sound so big.

---

[1] Yeasayer – Tightrope
       I’ve never been blindsided by a track like I was when first listening to “Tightrope”. In between albums and merely contributing to Dark Was The Night, Yeasayer crafted a song that’s been in my head all year long. It’s simple and short, yet so inviting that resisting singing along is near impossible. The memorable melody has made this quite the shower song, a guilty pleasure I’ll freely admit for band getting better with each release.

---

When you’re counting backwards from 10 tonight, you now have a great track that could go along with every second! Hope you have a safe and happy New Year – drink a toast to fine music and pop a bottle for me! See you in 2010..

It’s hard to believe the year is already over, where did the time go? It was just yesterday when I was happily kicking off 2009 spinning Merriweather Post Pavilion and eagerly anticipating all of the year’s excellent albums. Now a new decade is upon us, another 10 years have passed and I cannot believe what was once the crazed Y2K bug is only a distant memory. As we prepare to watch the giant ball drop in Times Square and make (failed) resolutions, I’ve compiled another short list of ten tracks to help countdown ’til 2010. It’s by no means an extensive “best of” list, just a handful of songs I found myself spinning time and time again – click the artwork images for album info:

---

[10] Dirty Projectors and David Byrne – Knotty Pine
       In the history of musical collaborations, the coupling of Byrne and the Dirty P’s is definitely one of the better sounding combos to date. It’s the perfect meshing of new age pop with classic, quirky Byrne – whose compositional influence can be heard heavily in “Knotty Pine”, way before he ever opens his mouth.

---

[9] Fanfarlo – Harold T. Wilkins or How To Wait For A Very Long Time
       This track is more contagious than the swine flu, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve played it this year. It’s catchy from start to finish, has me singing along by the chorus and has me shouting with them at the end. On all of Reservoir, a catchy album itself, it’s the one tune that my ears always gravitate toward and the one my finger always presses “repeat” for.

---

[8] Atlas Sound – Shelia
       Was “Walkabout” the catchiest track on Logos? I’d have a hard time disagreeing with anyone making that claim – it’s lovely – but “Sheila” has a classic zeal that’s haunting. It’s the rarely seen simple side of Bradford Cox content with moving melodies and truthful lyricism that consistently brought me back to this song.

---

[7] Kid Cudi – Pursuit Of Happiness (Feat. MGMT & Ratatat)
       Kid Cudi certainly broke through to a bigger audience this year, including listeners from other genres. Getting MGMT to sign on for the chorus was a great move, yet even greater was having Ratatat produce the track. Ratatat really makes this song (and “Alive”) stick out from the rest, I’d love to see them produce even more hip hop tunes in the future.

---

[6] Here We Go Magic – Fangela
       There’s something almost tribal about this song, starting from rough and sparse origins only to blossom into an eerie pop song with handclaps to boot. There are so many instrumental up-and-downs, it’s like riding on a climatic rollercoaster with a ton of hills. I admire how Luke Temple catapults eardrums from an ambient daze into pop bliss with “Fangela”.

---

[5] Holiday Shores – Bradley Bear
       It takes just one spin and this song is etched into my ears for days to come. From the undeniable vocal melodies and hook at the beginning, to the underlying 50s theme that explodes into a hip-shaking ending – “Bradley Bear” is driven by contagious bass impossible to ignore.

---

[4] Grizzly Bear – Ready, Able
       If this wasn’t such a strong year for singular tracks, “Ready, Able” would be at the top of my list. The entire first half of the song is a giant tease, with fluttering guitar and near minimalist instrumentation. Grizzly Bear do well in lighting the fuse and slowly letting it burn until the 1:47 mark, thereafter exploding into a thing of beauty. At that part, every single time, it feel like my ears are cut loose and left to float above my head on pieces of string.

---

[3] Sunset Rubdown – You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)
       Dragonslayer is still growing on me, months after listening, but “You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)” needed all of a few minutes to position itself into the upper echelon of Krug compositions. It’s an amazing track that tip-toes along, changes pace frequently, and ends up exploding into a rock opus toward the end.

---

[2] Animal Collective – What Would I Want? Sky
       This is the quintessential Animal Collective song. They send you through nearly three-minutes of chaotically fuzzy build-up before seemingly snapping their fingers and pulling the plug in favor of pop perfection. And just how incredibly brilliant is the flip-flopped Grateful Dead sample? Listen to “Unbroken Chain”, fast-forward to the 1:15 mark and see if you don’t exclaim “Wow!” — they take something so small and make it sound so big.

---

[1] Yeasayer – Tightrope
       I’ve never been blindsided by a track like I was when first listening to “Tightrope”. In between albums and merely contributing to Dark Was The Night, Yeasayer crafted a song that’s been in my head all year long. It’s simple and short, yet so inviting that resisting singing along is near impossible. The memorable melody has made this quite the shower song, a guilty pleasure I’ll freely admit for band getting better with each release.

---

When you’re counting backwards from 10 tonight, you now have a great track that could go along with every second! Hope you have a safe and happy New Year – drink a toast to fine music and pop a bottle for me! See you in 2010..

[MP3] Idiot Glee – Ain’t No Sunshine

Here’s your bizarre music fact of the day – when Bill Withers originally recorded “Ain’t No Sunshine” he was working at a factory making toilet seats for airplanes (how’s that for a day job?). Since the song went on to become one of the all time greats, it should come as no surprise it’s been covered by nearly everyone under the sun. Now the IGIF discovered and loved Idiot Glee has taken a stab at the original, creating a sparkling rendition complete with crazy vocal harmonies and looping toward the end of the track.

[MP3] Holiday Shores – You Ain’t Goin Nowhere

Daytrotter posted a pleasant Christmas gift in the form a session with Holiday Shores last week – featuring a terrific cover of a cover. Originally written by Bob Dylan during his infamous basement sessions in Woodstock, New York, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” gained notoriety from the The Byrds when they released it on their rock/country album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Considering the original features a mean pedal steel guitar, Holiday Shores do an excellent job capturing the twang of the original without the conveniences of Nashville instrumentation.

[MP3] Justin Vernon – Rocks in My Bed (feat. Addie Strei)

Earlier this week I highlighted the jazz set Justin Vernon conducted with his former high school band. Aside from playing a few delicious Bon Iver tracks, most of the set featured an array of covers from Duke Ellington. One of those songs was “Rocks In My Bed”, which originally featured the timeless vocals of Ella Fitzgerald – a song my grandmother loves. The Eau Claire Memorial Jazz Band does a great job flushing out the song but hearing Vernon shift genres and do his best Fitzgerald is priceless.

[MP3] Idiot Glee – Ain’t No Sunshine

Here’s your bizarre music fact of the day – when Bill Withers originally recorded “Ain’t No Sunshine” he was working at a factory making toilet seats for airplanes (how’s that for a day job?). Since the song went on to become one of the all time greats, it should come as no surprise it’s been covered by nearly everyone under the sun. Now the IGIF discovered and loved Idiot Glee has taken a stab at the original, creating a sparkling rendition complete with crazy vocal harmonies and looping toward the end of the track.

[MP3] Holiday Shores – You Ain’t Goin Nowhere

Daytrotter posted a pleasant Christmas gift in the form a session with Holiday Shores last week – featuring a terrific cover of a cover. Originally written by Bob Dylan during his infamous basement sessions in Woodstock, New York, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” gained notoriety from the The Byrds when they released it on their rock/country album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Considering the original features a mean pedal steel guitar, Holiday Shores do an excellent job capturing the twang of the original without the conveniences of Nashville instrumentation.

[MP3] Justin Vernon – Rocks in My Bed (feat. Addie Strei)

Earlier this week I highlighted the jazz set Justin Vernon conducted with his former high school band. Aside from playing a few delicious Bon Iver tracks, most of the set featured an array of covers from Duke Ellington. One of those songs was “Rocks In My Bed”, which originally featured the timeless vocals of Ella Fitzgerald – a song my grandmother loves. The Eau Claire Memorial Jazz Band does a great job flushing out the song but hearing Vernon shift genres and do his best Fitzgerald is priceless.

When I look below at the list of my Top 10 Albums from Northeast, Ohio in 2009, I find it notable for both who is included and who is missing. Notable albums released during the past year include Unsparing Sea’s sophomore release, In the Diamond Caverns, a band and an album both deserving of more ears, as well as Mystery of Two’s, self-titled second release. Again, I find Mystery of Two to be a case of the right band in the wrong zip code. While their blend of art-punk is distinctly Cleveland and can be traced quickly back to Cleveland legends like Pere Ubu, it’s another case of what does a band have to do in this town to get noticed, and I don’t mean just Clevelanders, but the listening public at large.

Also, you’ll find some familiar names in unfamiliar places. There’s Dan Auerbach’s solo album, Keep it Hid, recorded with the aid of his partners is old time sounds, Hacienda, is an album which answers the question, “What if the Black Keys were more than a two man band?” The answer of course, is that they’d still be treading in that muddy, blues-rock sound.

Blakroc, on the other hand, answers a question no one had bothered to ponder, “What if the Black Keys were the house band for a rap album?” If you haven’t heard, guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney are a more than capable backing band, easily transitioning from ragged, rave-ups to deep, smooth grooves.

Conspicuous by their absence, (Besides a proper release from The Black Keys) is all the new talent in town. Bands like Casual Encounters, Freedom, and Prisoners are all starting to gain some underground buzz, but their recorded output has been sparse and hard to find. Hopefully, that’ll change in ‘10.

And speaking of ‘10, if the early releases are any indication of what Northeast, Ohio has in store for us, then next year may be one of the best years for local rock in ages. February will mark the official release date for This Moment in Black History’s latest long-player, Public Square (It’s available now at Music Saves in Cleveland and through the Smog Veil Records website). I’ve heard it, on marbled green vinyl, nonetheless, and in one word, it shreds. Plus, we’ll have a new Black Keys album, and an album from Sweet Apple, the project which pairs John Petkovic and Tim Parnin of Cobra Verde with Dinosaur, Jr’s Dave Mascis and Witch’s Dave Sweetapple. From early indications, and one pre-release MP3, it sounds as if that one is gonna shred.

2009’s Top NEO Albums:

1. Unsparing Sea – In the Diamond Caverns
2. Mystery of Two - S/T
3. Dan Auerbach – Keep it Hid
4. Keelhaul – Triumphant Return to Obscurity
5. Other Girls – Perfect Cities
6. Blakroc – S/T
7. Hot Cha Cha – The World’s Hardest Working Telescope…
8. Coffinberry – S/T
9. Beaten Awake – Thunder$troke
10. Afternoon Naps – Parade

When I look below at the list of my Top 10 Albums from Northeast, Ohio in 2009, I find it notable for both who is included and who is missing. Notable albums released during the past year include Unsparing Sea’s sophomore release, In the Diamond Caverns, a band and an album both deserving of more ears, as well as Mystery of Two’s, self-titled second release. Again, I find Mystery of Two to be a case of the right band in the wrong zip code. While their blend of art-punk is distinctly Cleveland and can be traced quickly back to Cleveland legends like Pere Ubu, it’s another case of what does a band have to do in this town to get noticed, and I don’t mean just Clevelanders, but the listening public at large.

Also, you’ll find some familiar names in unfamiliar places. There’s Dan Auerbach’s solo album, Keep it Hid, recorded with the aid of his partners is old time sounds, Hacienda, is an album which answers the question, “What if the Black Keys were more than a two man band?” The answer of course, is that they’d still be treading in that muddy, blues-rock sound.

Blakroc, on the other hand, answers a question no one had bothered to ponder, “What if the Black Keys were the house band for a rap album?” If you haven’t heard, guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney are a more than capable backing band, easily transitioning from ragged, rave-ups to deep, smooth grooves.

Conspicuous by their absence, (Besides a proper release from The Black Keys) is all the new talent in town. Bands like Casual Encounters, Freedom, and Prisoners are all starting to gain some underground buzz, but their recorded output has been sparse and hard to find. Hopefully, that’ll change in ‘10.

And speaking of ‘10, if the early releases are any indication of what Northeast, Ohio has in store for us, then next year may be one of the best years for local rock in ages. February will mark the official release date for This Moment in Black History’s latest long-player, Public Square (It’s available now at Music Saves in Cleveland and through the Smog Veil Records website). I’ve heard it, on marbled green vinyl, nonetheless, and in one word, it shreds. Plus, we’ll have a new Black Keys album, and an album from Sweet Apple, the project which pairs John Petkovic and Tim Parnin of Cobra Verde with Dinosaur, Jr’s Dave Mascis and Witch’s Dave Sweetapple. From early indications, and one pre-release MP3, it sounds as if that one is gonna shred.

2009’s Top NEO Albums:

1. Unsparing Sea – In the Diamond Caverns
2. Mystery of Two - S/T
3. Dan Auerbach – Keep it Hid
4. Keelhaul – Triumphant Return to Obscurity
5. Other Girls – Perfect Cities
6. Blakroc – S/T
7. Hot Cha Cha – The World’s Hardest Working Telescope…
8. Coffinberry – S/T
9. Beaten Awake – Thunder$troke
10. Afternoon Naps – Parade