For some reason I always think that this song is done by Okkervil River, however the singer sounds nothing like Will Sheff. I am pretty sure the connection stems from the fact that Okkervil's faster songs usually have a rowdy feel, similar to this one. The Old Canes - Little Bird Courage
How about some funk that will make you say "O'ma god, that's funkay!" Orgone - Who Knows Who?
I hate it when I leave the oven on, but I love it when I leave the Ovens on. Ovens - Movin' On
Hello and welcome to another post on RopBop. This one is going to be a short one, the reason for this is because I have been working on this blog like mad the past few days. What have I been doing you might ask? Well, I went through all the posts and updated the songs that were no longer available and directed them to the songs youtube link and I also updated every band name so it now directs you to a link for the band! I tried as much as I could to post to official music videos or live performances, I'd say about 70% should go to something you can watch. There will be some that just aren't there, but look close cause sometimes I link to a different song by the band. Also don't worry I'll still leave the past few posts up for a while before converting the links to strictly youtube. I hope you have just as much fun going back through the old posts as what I did (even though it was a daunting task). I'll be back next week with the normal sized post. Time to get a victory sandwich!
Rock on,
-Brad-
I am sure that I have talked about the ADD mashup master Girl Talk before, and I am about to give him critical praise once again on his latest release All Day. Weather you love to dance, love music, or need something to get the party started this should be an immediate go to. Where else can you hear Biggie rapping over Smoke On The Water, or Missy Elliot gettin' her freak on over Blitzkreig Bop. Listening to this album is so much fun and will have your head bobbing until the end. Oh did I mention the album free? Why wouldn't you at least give it a try!? As a side not I would definitely suggest Girl Talks other albums. Girl Talk - Oh No
I recently made a mix for a friend of mine, because I'm a nice guy like that, and I included a lot of rap and R&B stuff and other geeky songs that I knew he would like. This friend works with developmentally challenged kids at an inner city elementary school. He is always telling me how he is breaking up fights, or sending kids to the principals office for being bad. It sounds like a tough job but he's a cool guy with a level head so he's perfect for the job. In the mix I gave him I added this song called Manners by indie rapper Big Don. He called me a few days later telling me that he is going to use it in one of his lessons. First of all it made me happy that I finally made a mix that he liked, secondly I am thankful for people like Big Don who decide to make a sweet rap song and keep it on a positive level. We need more of that in this world. Big Don - The Manners (No Longer Available)
As I have mentioned on this blog before I listen to a lot of Podcasts. I am particularly addicted to The Preston And Steve Show on 93.3 WMMR. They have this great game that they play called Crackshot. Basically each member of the morning show has a category that they are "experts" in. Someone is an expert in Saved By The Bell trivia, someone else is an expert in 80's movies and so on. The listening audience calls in and tries to stump the DJ. If they do they get a prize and the expert gets shot in the ass with a BB gun. They roll a die to see how many times the gun gets pumped. If you roll a six you can pass the shot to someone else. It definitely makes for some interesting and hilarious listening. At the beginning they always play this song. Roger is also a cousin to Jackass's Johnny Knoxville Roger Alan Wade - B.B. Gun
It feels like forever since I have done a post here, however it's only been ten days. I guess that is because I have been busy with other nerd activities. I recently bought a copy of World Of Warcraft, which has been taking up some of my time. My hat goes off to the makers of that game because, damn, it's insanely intricate. A few weeks ago I also discovered Reddit which is one of my favorite websites at the moment. If you haven't checked it out, do so. Just make sure you have a few hours to kill, and look up subreddits. There is a subreddit for pretty much everything! The latest time taker has been a program called XBMC. It's a media center program that is leaps and bounds beyond what you have on your computer. In the simplest terms it lets you stream media (movies, tv shows, music, pictures) from websites or from your computer. For example if you use Hulu, there is a plugin that will create a list of everything you can watch on Hulu and organize it into a easy to sort list. That way you don't have to go to the site and click all over to get to what you want. Now imagine being able to do that with National Geographic.com or G4tv.com or whatever other site you like. It's pretty customizable, and best of all it's open source (meaning anyone can write code for it). Anyway, all that on top of putting in applications for jobs has kept me pretty busy. This is a song by Swedish indie pop group Suburban Kids With Biblical Names. It's a really great song about computers and music! Yay! Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Loop Duplicate My Heart
The other day I was cleaning my closet and I came across my comic books. I haven't looked at them for years, it was a fun trip down memory lane. I used to get this comic book magazine in the mail called Wizard. I think it's still around but the format has changed drastically from what I remembered it to be. Looking back I got a lot of cool magazines in the mail. I used to have a stack of Nintendo Power magazines from the early 90's. I was always super excited to get the mail, hoping the new issue was there. The pure jubilation seeing it there waiting for me to rip open the plastic bag, smell the fresh newsprint scent, taking my time leafing through the pages like it was something to be cherished. I wish I still had some of those magazines. To this day I still love getting the mail or receiving packages in the mail. In fact... Pree - In the Parlor
I love the 90's. This song is pretty heavy and dark, but I love the chorus, especially near the end. I also like the way he says water. Emmet Swimming - Jump In The Water
I rearranged my CD collection this week, by that I mean I cleaned and organized. It took a long time and created a lot of sneezes but it was well worth it. As I was going through it all I pulled out a few songs from older compilations I had. You can expect to see a few older songs in the next few entries, because I found a ton.
This song is from San Jose's Korea Girl. You probably won't find a ton of info about them. They had only released one album and a 7". On top of that they broke up nearly 12 years ago. Regardless, of all of this they still made some pretty damn good tunes. You can still get their album through Asian Man Records. Buy it through there, because the guy who runs the label, Mike Park, is a really great guy. I would also recommend checking out their song "Reunion", for a chilled out bitter song about a high school reunion. Korea Girl - B-Side
Phantasmic were one of the first bands that I featured on this blog. If I remember correctly (and I do cause I just checked) I posted a cover song by them as well. A Misfits cover song no less! Well this time Ms. Wiley and company bless us with a wonderful version of Billy Idol's "Eyes Without A Face". I dig the distorted guitar so much in this song, especially toward the end. Super grindy! Phantasmic - Eyes Without A Face (Billy Idol Cover)
I first came to know of this song from a little indie magazine I would pick up back in the 90's. The magazine, CMJ used to have a magazine and compilation CD of the bands featured in the magazine. Back then I was all about getting free stuff with magazines. Probably why I have so many comic book trading cards. Anyway this is a little instrumental by µ-Ziq (pronounced like the word music). It's like a lullaby only a little faster, very twinkly. It would make a perfect night time driving song. µ-Ziq - Phiesope
Do you remember the big ska craze of the 90's? I really miss ska music and would love to see it reflected more in music. It was just so happy and fun. This song by The Slackers isn't necessarily super upbeat, but it does manage to tap into that laid back Jamaican Ska sound. On a side note, if you ever see a CD called Give 'Em The Boot Vol.1, you best pick that shit up! It's a great compilation. The Slackers - Watch This
RIYL (Recommended If You Like): The Rentals. This is a great indie band that is driven by power pop, keyboards and guy/girl vocals. More rock than you can shake a stick at. Their first album, Designing a Nervous Breakdown is one of my personal favorites. The Anniversary - The D In Detroit
Be on the lookout for a few mixes coming soon. As well as a podcast??? (This is still in the works, so it might be a while.)
This track comes from one of the best split EP's I have ever heard One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels. I love the lazy laid back vocals. I remember reading an interview with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes (The other artist on this split) where he was asked which album was his favorite written or collaborated piece of work that he had done, and without hesitation he said this EP. I might have to agree. Neva Dinova - Poison
Quick little gem from Nashville Tennessee rockers Natural Child. Natural Child - Dogbite
How about some 60's psych rock? Dig that fuzzed out guitar solo, man!
L.A.'s underground darlings No Age make great instrumental tracks! No Age - Eraser
Thew New York Dolls were an important band that paved the way for the New York punk scene which spawned bands like the Ramones. This song was originally released in 1973, a much more fast and punked up version. This, much slower version is off the bands 2009 album Cuz I Sez So New York Dolls - Trash(2009)
I guess technically this should go under the letter C, if you want to be a dick about it. I don't care though, I LOVE this woman and she is under the n's in my iTunes.
Canadian Indie pop. I think those canucks are on to something folks. I have yet to hear a really crappy Canadian band. P.S. If you know of one please refrain from informing me and ruining my love of the great white north. No Kids - Beaches All Closed
French is one of my favorite languages. I don't speak it. I just like to hear it. Tricot Machine are a boy-girl duo from Quebec. They aren't that well known outside of Canada, and it's a shame. Even though I don't understand the lyrics, I love the music composition. It's bright and poppy music that makes you want to lay back in the sunshine. The vocals are soft and fluffy with playful melodies. If you are a fan of bands like She And Him, Regina Spektor, or Iron And Wine, you might want to check these cats. I just looked up the lyrics in english and like the song even more! Tricot Machine - L'Ours
Do you like sci-fi psychedelic rock? The you'll love this song. Chappos's music is like and interstellar space cruise with David Bowie, Neil Young and The Flaming Lips. Chappo keeps it unique by floating in between trippy rock and jam band blues. His new EP Moonwater was released a few days ago. Chappo - Sweet Sigh
If you're not a complete music nerd, like I am, you might have missed out on the name Youth Lagoon, or maybe you have, as I am pretty late on writing about him. Real name Trevor Powers is Boise, Idaho resident who dropped his bandcamp debut last summer. He gained quick notoriety amongst the music crowd; Pitchfork included it in it's top 50 albums of 2011, and with good reason. Youth Lagoon's music has an ethereal air to it that leaves the listener in a haze of catchy melodies and reverberated vocals. It's got an electric computerized feel like many bands in the indie scene but it's not completely saturated to the point where it blends in with all the others. I would highly suggest this if you are a fan of Bon Iver. You can find his album The Year of Hibernation on Fat Possum Records. Youth Lagoon - July
Back in January lead singer of The Hold Steady, Craig Finn, released his solo album Clear Heart Full Eyes on Vagrant Records. Being the huge Finn fan that I am, I am ashamed that I just now got the chance to give it a listen. I had heard a song or two before the release but I wasn't impressed at the time. Now that I actually have heard the whole album, I am happy to announce that it did not disappoint me. Hold Steady fans might be a little turned off by the record. The raucous celebratory themes aren't present, instead Finn has taken a more soft and bottom of the world feel. That's not to say that it is slow and depressing. It does have it's upbeat moments and Finns lyrics never fail to tell a vivid story. Pitchfork did a really good interview with him on the new album. Craig Finn - No Future
I'm really digging this band lately. Especially this song.
Morning Teleportation are a fairly newer 3 piece from Bowling Green, Kentucky. They had a very psychedelic feel good rock sound that is really refreshing in this computer saturated day and age. I love the quick drumming and singing in this song. It makes it a really fun listen. This has been in a little morning playlist I have been listening to for a few days. Excellent motivation song. Morning Teleportation - Expanding Anyway
This gem from 1971 comes from Scottish pop band Middle Of The Road. They never really hit it big in the States but were well received in Europe and Latin America.I like this song a lot, very bubblegum 60's sort of sound. It'll put a smile on your mug. Middle Of The Road - Soley Soley
Lead singer of alt-country band Two Cow Garage (I know, great name), Micah Schnabel put out a solo record. The music reminds me lyrically of Frank Turner, by that meaning it touches heavily on issues of the 20 somethings. Musically it's got a folksy emo feel to it. I'm not saying I don't like it and that it's not original, I'm just saying it might not appeal to everyone. You should definitely give it a listen and decide for yourself, you can stream the album at Suburban Home Records. I especially like this track, it's got that to young to feel this old mentality. Lord knows I've been there. Micah Schnabel - Throwing Rocks At The Sun
Boston's mashup master Lenlow has a brother, Messy James. Messy James made a mashup of his own, which is amazing. The mash up is a perfect blend of "No More I Love Yous" by Annie Lennox and "Under Pressure" by Queen with a little "Hella Good" by No Doubt for flavor. Makes me want to create my own mash up. Messy James - No More I Love Yous (No More Pressure)
Alright, lets round this post out, and by round I mean underground...that didn't really work did it? And now were moving on. MC Paul Barman has been in the underground hip hop scene for nearly 13 years. He's put out a few album of his own and been a guest on many tracks with big underground rapper names such as MF Doom, Deltron 3030, and Prince Paul. Here is a track from his 2000 EP It's Very Stimulating with, one of my favorites Princess Superstar. P.S. you might not want to play this at work, unless you have headphones. MC Paul Barman - MTV Get Off the Air, part 2 (feat. Princess Superstar)
Ooooo it looks like we are going to have a battle of the old men in this post...
