Disappears: LUX

I don't know what it is!? I have been really focusing on music that makes me bob my head, pout my lips, and (please help me) throw out the arms and strike an air-guitar pose. It's rather childish (yes) but I just keep hearing so many bands in the month of March that allow me to be such a fool.

Take Chicago's Disappears for one. They have a full length debut set to be released April 12th, on Kranky no less, and their song Magics has got me seriously hooked. I feel like dancing around the living room spilling beer on my parents rug. Great band that is just full of everything, I can't wait for this full length.

Disappears - Magics

Possessed by Paul James

The incredible talent that is Possessed by Paul James (aka: Konrad Wert) is undeniable. He is definitely an established musician that seems to of mastered the craft of performing the banjo, fiddle, and guitar. He has a voice that consumes you and eerily brings you back to a time when music was recorded in a mud-floored barn. How this guy is not a household name is beyond me because he is so incredibly talented.

I have been stuck on his myspace page today and I can't wait until I get my hands on his new album Feed the Family which is due in April or May. If you have never heard of Possessed by Paul James, go right now and have a listen. Look around for links where you can purchase all his other stuff because it is so worth it.

Possessed by Paul James - No Windows
Possessed by Paul James - Come to the Water

Finders Keepers Records

I came across one of the most incredible finds I have ever experienced in music today. I am sure a lot of people know about Finders Keepers Records but experiencing, and exploring, their site for the first time has made this day amazing. I don't know what album to purchase. I have been listening to :30 second snippets all day and every album sounds amazing.

Please, do yourself a favour and go get lost in, and I quote: "… Japanese choreography records, space-age Turkish protest songs, Czechoslovakian vampire soundtracks, Welsh rare-beats, bubblegum folk, drugsploitation operatics, banned British crime thrillers and celebrity Gallic Martini adverts…" You will not regret it!

Huck Notari

I have always been a fan of subtle, beautiful, guitar. I came across Huck Notari the other day and I have to admit that I am very impressed. What is in the water in Portland?

Huck Notari - I Want to Win

Oh, and here is a great cover of Little Lies by Anna Ternheim:

Anna Ternheim - Little Lies
Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies

Yay: Vancouver to Become Even More Boring

The live-music staple known as Richards on Richards will officially be closing it's doors as of July 21st, 2009. How upsetting is it that these great venues keep shutting down in this city? I am really going to miss that marvellous brick backdrop and the stage that has been home to some of the best shows I have ever seen. So long to a real gem.

Pedro The Lion - Bands with Managers (Live @ Richards on Richards)

Michael Jackson

Today, I sort of feel like writing a music round-up. I have come across quite a bit of music lately and very few have caught my interest.

That said, here are a couple of songs that did grab me with their hook and I feel like they should be shared here. There is a theme... death.

R.I.P. M.J.







Obits – Two Headed Coin
The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers - Billie Jean (Drunken Bombast One Take)
Johnny Cash - I Hung My Head
The Chatham Singers - All Who Cheated And Lied
Múm - Small Deaths are the Saddest
Windsor For The Derby - The Melody of a Fallen Tree

Joe Pug

If there is one performer that I am really looking forward to seeing at this years Vancouver Folk Festival, it is this man, Joe Pug. He has that songwriting sensibility that grabs and drags you into a hypnotic abyss. Put simply, I am a fan.

He is offering up a free e.p. on his website and I highly recommend that you go and grab it. Well worth a listen.

Joe Pug - Hymn #101

Adjective

You know, this is a little overdue and it should have been posted last week. However, the old adage is always true: Better late then never! Congratulations to my friends, Adjective, for their cover story in Georgia Straight last week.

Cheers!

Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Wire - Ambitious

*Please note, the songs are completely tongue-in-cheek and are in lieu of material inside the article. You can read it here.

The Sarcastic Dharma Society

If you do not know about The Sarcastic Dharma Society (aka Mat Vuksinich) I highly recommend that you check him out. As mentioned a while back, there is nothing I appreciate more than a great voice and Vuksinich's is incredible. There is something so mature, yet unfocused, about it that just grabs my attention.

I was introduced to his voice when a friend sent me a collection of cover songs that Vuksinich had completed with some Portland based musicians. He titled the project Other Peoples Songs and I was floored as to how he managed to generate new life in the collection that he had chosen to cover.

Being quite familiar with most of the songs made me that much more aware of the talent that Vuksinich has. In fact, I think that was part of what intrigued me most about The Sarcastic Dharma Society. The songs that were chosen to cover were songs that I had grown up with; they were songs that I had purchased and had listened to countless times. They were songs that I loved and he was pulling off the seemingly impossible by making them sound original and distinctive. He wrote a great letter about the project and I have included it here:


"... from september 29th to october 7th, via the use of many unemployed hours, and the combination of an unclaimed magnus chord organ and an unclaimed bedroom, both in the house whose couch i sleep upon, i recorded a new cover song every day. they are here presented in chronological order to represent those 9 ridiculous days. the idea was to record one a day for thirty days, but on the 10th day, drained of all creativity, imagination, and interesting ideas, i drank a bottle of wine whilst stumbling through an uninspired rendition of At Night's "Catch The Moon" in the bathroom and realized the recording was a mess, and an obvious indication that i could no longer force myself into such prolific production. well, i could, but it would stop being good.

so i took a break, focused on writing, played a few shows, and a couple months later started working on "don't let me down". that one took me a lot more than a day--i couldn't figure out how the 5/4 part in the bridge came in/went out for weeks. i was making it a lot more complicated than it had to be, but it took the musical competency of my dad to help me see that. seriously, the guy's a pro.

i think it was (is) a good project, and i've learned a lot. it is beneficial to force yourself to work even when you're not feeling "inspired", but only to a point. when you pass that point, you make crap. also: i work well in one day increments.i'm going to continue to do covers, and have already started working on volume two, but i also need to record/finish writing the next record of original sarcastic dharma society stuff, and i want to do some recording/production for some other people, and i want to get a live band together, so we'll see about all that. much love, -mat"


The Sarcastic Dharma Society - First Day of My Life (Bright Eyes Cover)
Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life

Gracious Sub Pop

Ye' olde Sub Pop Records has offered up a nice summer (cybersex) mix on their website for free. You can go and download it here.

In fact, you should go look regardless at the website to see how fresh and amazing it is. Nothing flashy or bothersome at all!

Flight of the Concords - Hurt Feelings

Sprechen Sie Deutsch

I often find it really interesting to go into realms of music that I have never explored before. In this case, I decided to take a trip down memory Straße to the 1980's and German (Language not Country) New Wave.

Now, I have had Grauzone (awesome) in my collection for some time and it they have always intrigued me. Were there bands singing in German that were as good at the time? Well, after a little digging I came up with a couple.

I don't know if this is a "who's who" of German New Wave but, if anyone out there can put me onto some more, I would really appreciate it.

Siglo XX - Factory
Der Plan - Alle Sieben Jahre
Palais Schaumburg - Wir Bauen Eine Neue Stadt
Rheingold - Dreiklangdimensionen (Very Cool Song!)
Pyrolator - Gespraech Mit Der Erde

A. A. Bondy Releases New Track

Yes, the wait is over for one of my personal "most anticipated" next releases. A. A. Bondy has released a tune from his latest effort, When The Devil’s Loose, which is set to hit shelves at the beginning of September. This time around there is definitely the presence of a backing band as there seems they have been brought to the forefront of the song, wrapping his voice.

Check out the Title Track:

A. A. Bondy - The Devil's Loose

Bike for Three

It's very rare that the Anticon label releases something I don't like. 13 & God and Dosh were at one point my favourite acts on the label however, the label's line-up just continues to get better and better.

For instance, the latest collaboration between Buck 65 and Belgian Producer Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê (aka Greetings from Tuskan) entitled Bike for Three is simply stellar. Although the two have never met, they certainly have created a moving and brilliant album.

Bike for Three - All There Is To Say About Love

Scott H. Biram

For those of you who missed the Scott H. Biram show at the Media Club 2 weeks ago, I just need to say... that is really too bad. The man is absolutely amazing and easily one of the more talented individuals I have ever seen live. If you get the chance to see him in your own home town I would highly recommend it. As for me, it might just be worth the trip to Austin for the deep down dirty sludge blues!

Scott H. Biram - No Way
Scott H. Biram - Been Down too Long