The Letter L

Oh, Lucero! They got a new album, Women & Work, coming out March 13!


Every time I listen to this band I am 25% happier than before. I also get bummed because it makes me want to work out, and then I think about how little I work out. However, there is that 25% happiness. It all equals out. Very bouncy UK indie pop!
Los Campesinos! - Death to Los Campesinos!


I want it to be a sunny Saturday afternoon in the winter. I want a roller rink, roller skates (not roller blades), and Cherry Coke. I want this song to be playing.
Little Dragon - Ritual Union



Smokin' hot cover! I love how full force this song is, then you have the funky intro and outro.
Linda Gayle - Maggie s Farm (Bob Dylan Cover)




Awesome mashup! This guy has a ton of em', check it out here.
Lenlow - Mercedes Beck


Liz Phair never got the recognition she deserves. Sure her music is very female based, but that has never stopped me before. It's not all sappy though, it's tough and raw both lyrically and musically. She had a small hit back in the 90's with Supernova, which is from the album Whip Smart. It's a great record. This song is from that album as well. I love that bass line and the drums!


Horns a plenty!
La Cherga - Ciganka


I know these guys have been around for a long time, but I never heard them before. Judging from this song, I foresee that I will be checking them out further. A new addition to the road trip mix!
Les Savy Fav - Let's Get Out Of Here

Yup, I'm a big nerd!

2129

The Letter K

I like this song, because it makes me smile.
Kyle Andrews - You Always Make Me Smile (Remix!)


The kooks are an English pop band that hail from Brighton, East Sussex. They have been making music since the early 2000's. They first came across my radar with their excellent acoustic cover of Gnarls Barkley's hit song Crazy. The band has ventured into many different genres but always retain that catchy pop sensibility. This is an alternate version of their song See The Sun. You can find the original on their 2008 album titled Konk.
The Kooks - See The Sun (Alternate Version)


I LOVE Kid Cudi! Awesome video.


I have known about this band since I became interested in music, and I hold them in pretty high regard. Karate (Awesome name for a band!) is one of the main reasons I got into indie music. At the time I was listening to a lot of emo and punk bands, as much as I loved those bands, they didn't offer much variation in sound. A friend of mine played this song for me and it was like a breath of fresh air. It was so different, yet still held that emo sound I was used to. This caused me to explore other more experimental bands like Joan Of Arc and Pavement. I especially love the jazzy laid back feel of Karate. The band broke up in 2005, however singer Geoff Farina has released a few solo albums, and been in numerous other bands. Definitely worth checking out.
Karate - Airport


A long time ago I was a subscriber of the BMG music club. It was a mail order CD club, you'd pay a penny for 5 CD's and then had to buy a few at club prices within a certain period of time. I remember countless Sundays going through the ad in the newspaper circling the albums I wanted. One of those albums I bought was the soundtrack to the movie Mortal Kombat. It was filled with techno and industrial songs which is how I came to know of KMFDM. If you have never seen any of the bands album artwork they mostly use the amazing work of artist Aidan "Brute!" Hughes. I am not a huge fan of this type of music anymore but I still really dig this song.


I found this band through South By Southwest or SXSW website. If you don't know what SXSW is, it's a music festival where lesser known bands can get their shot at getting their name out there. SXSW has branched out in recent years to not only music but also film and other forms of media. It's a really great avenue for discovering new media. I don't know much on the background of Kitten so I'll stick with what I know from the song. This song is fronted by a strong female voice, great lyrics, and a power punch of twinkly fuzzed out guitar and all kept together by tight drumming.
Kitten - Kill The Light


How about some indie hip hop? I use this as one of my "Get Motivated" songs. Great on a workout playlist. You can stream their album Eraser for free at their website.
The Knux - Bang Bang

2074

This is how I work it out....

I was let go from my job today. It sucks, but at the same time it is sort of a relief. I wasn't happy at that job. I don't feel totally down because I know I did my best to try and keep my job, even at the end when I was pretty sure I was going to be on the outs. I remained professional, didn't act a fool. It still doesn't feel very good. However, disliking my job has given me plenty of time to think about what I would do if this day ever came, so I have a game plan all set up. Tonight though, I am getting drunk, which has already accomplished, and post some work/sad bastard related music. Enjoy!

Quite the fitting song, sometimes you can lose track of what day it is when you are unemployed. Who better to help you remember than, The Might Be Giants?!


This song is superb, cool jazz blues fusion mixed with a dark overtones. I love that organ!
Magnolia Electric Co. - Little Sad Eyes



I would have never known about this band if it wasn't for Youtube. Fantastic lyrics!


Plants And Animals - Bye Bye Bye


The Clash wrote this song about the way people, especially young people, in late 1970's Britain were forced into dead-end jobs due to the economic slump that brought mass unemployment at that time, forcing people to accept whatever employment they could get. Hmmm....sound familiar?


"I'm workin' but I'm not workin' for you..."
Superchunk - Slack Motherfucker


and now a little something for those working...

Don't let The Man gert you down.


Time away always seems so short.
Screeching Weasel - Beginningless Vacation


"Tell em' Steve Dave!"



We all have to deal with some shit every now and then, just hum this tune and you'll be smiling in no time. Read the story of the song here.
Ze Frank - Goose's Whipass Remix


The man in black tells it like it is.

This reminds me of Elliot Smith, which is a good thing, a very good thing. Beal just got signed to XL Records, which has been cranking out some great albums the past few years. I can't wait to hear what will come next from this guy! Beal’s debut LP Acousmatic Sorcery is set to drop on March 19.
Willis Earl Beal - Evenings Kiss


Radical Face - All Is Well (Goodbye, Goodbye)


A bonus track from the Suburbs featuring David Byrne of the Talking Heads. Noice!
Arcade Fire - Speaking In Tongues (Feat. David Bryne)


The Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit released their new album titled The Lion's Roar this past week. I had a chance to hear the album and it might should come as no surprise that I love it. These sisters know how to make mountian man folk songs with beautiful harmonies. If you are a fan of Mumford And Sons you'll definitely want to check these girls out.
First Aid Kit - The Lions Roar


Unknown Mortal Orchestra - How Can U Luv Me


Deeming her sound as Doom Soul, Al Spx makes delightful haunting music. Anyone who lists Tom waits and James Carr as influences, gets instant cool points in my book.
Cold Specks - Holland


This is one of those "I found about them while on youtube" bands. I really dig this band for it's angsty emo punk rock feel. They also manage to set themselves apart from the norm with a lot of tempo changes which makes it fun to listen to. Had I known of this band at age 21, there is not a doubt in my mind, they would have been my favorite band. I do really like the band, but I was way more into the whole emo/punk thing back then. Favorite line "I've been collecting resin with your bobby pins"
Grown Ups - Three Day Weekend

2063

The Letter J

Jonathan Richman - I'm A Little Dinosaur



It snowed like crazy here the past few days. I don't mind the snow, but I hate driving in it, especially when nothing has been plowed. However it does have it's advantages! Here is a cool little instrumental from Jamaican keyboardist Jackie Mittoo. Mittoo, was the founding of the 60's ska band The Skatalites.
Jackie Mittoo - Stereo Freeze

This song is in French, so I don't understand what the lyrics are. All I know is that this song is a psychedelic garage rocker from the 60's that will leave you coming back for multiple listens. I will post a link to his official site, but it's in french, so I'll link to his Wikipedia entry.
Jacques Dutronc - Le Responsable


You may not recognize the name Jim Carroll, but you have may have seen a movie based upon a book he wrote called The Basketball Dairies, staring a young Leonardo DiCaprio. The book/movie is a dark and gritty autobiographical look into Carrolls teenage years in New York City, that focuses primarily on his heroin addiction which started at age 13. You might recall this about 10 years ago this film came under fire with the Columbine shootings for it's violent scene of a fantasy school shooting. If you haven't seen the movie I really really recommend it, it's a fascinating story. Be warned though it's not a family feel good movie. Other than the movie, Jim Carroll also was a poet and musician.
The Jim Carroll Band - People Who Died

The Jags were not around for very long, but they did make some pretty good power pop.
The Jags - Back Of My Hand

The Jezabels hail from Australia. I haven't had a chance to hear much of their music but, I really like this song.
The Jezabels - A Little Piece

Sometimes it's a struggle when searching for the words...

The past two weeks have been a struggle because I have been without my iPod. I got a e-mail about a month ago to let me know that Apple was recalling it's first generation iPod Nanos because of a potential fire hazard. They explained that they would replace it for no charge but it would take about 6 weeks. I have had my Nano for over 5 years so I jumped at the opportunity to get a replacement. The letter said it would be an exact replacement, however doing a little research I discovered that people had turned theirs in and received the newer generation Nano. I don't believe everything I read, so I am not getting my hopes up, but if it is true that would make it well worth the wait. Still though, the wait is killing me. Seriously, being without my iPod is like being away from your best friend. I use that thing EVERY day. I feel so lost without it. This one is for you Titanic (that is the name of my iPod)!
Wildbirds & Peacedrums - My Heart

Today as I was wasting time surfing the seas of the interwebs, I was doing some Facebookery and came upon the game Words With Friends. I had heard a lot about the game, and I love word/puzzle games so I decided to dip my toe into the gaming waters. I have to admit that I never really played scrabble before, It just seemed sort of boring. However, I now have 6 games going on and I am proud to say that I am pretty damn good. I got a 102 point score for using the word "Just". I thought that this amazing song from the masters of slowcore, Low, seemed appropriate.
Low - Words


The past few weeks I have been watching through the TV comedy series Community. I remember I watched the first episode or two and wrote it off as not being very good. As things tend to happen with me, I later decided to give it another chance and became a huge fan of the show. My favorite character is definitely Abed (Danny Pudi) the emotionless movie quoting cool dude. His partner in crime on the show, Troy, is why I am writing about the show. The actors name is Donald Glover and besides acting he is also a very gifted rapper. He goes by the name Childish Gambino. He's not a rapper to sleep on either, his flow is impeccable, he drops so many pop culture references it's hard to keep up, and the beats he uses are original and amazingly produced. Now that I think about it, this song is the reason I decided to give Community another chance.
Childish Gambino - Lights Turned On

Alarm goes off, break of dawn. Smell of sea and the sound of crashing waves beckons me from afar. Eggs and bacon, fruit in a bowl, coffee. Waxing down in cold damp wet suits. Grab the keys and run out the door. My baby's uptop. Blue water and white crests are gonna carry me on through. I will ride.
Male Bonding - Weird Feelings

I love Will Oldhams voice! At first I had trouble with his warbled singing, but it definitely grew on me. There are a TON of Will Oldham albums out there. Oldham is a great lyricist and I find his music is great for doing creative projects or reading. I would say if you never heard a Bonnie "Prince" Billy album you owe it to yourself to check one out. I'd suggest the album this song came from, it's called Superwolf. This is actually a team up with Matt Sweeney who has worked and recorded with many indie musicians. Side note: This song features a clip from the 1977 movie Rolling Thunder.

Matt Sweeney & Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Blood Embrace

No Music Just Links

This web site has been one of my favorite ways of finding new music. It's simple, just enter in a band you like and not only do you get videos from that specific band, but you also get tons of recommendations. Click on a recommendation and you go deeper into the forest of good unknown music. Give it a try, get lost for a while, find something new!
Musictonic: Music Video Awesomeness


Lets pretend you are a robot, a super intelligent robot, who has the ability to read super fast and comprehend what you read in a matter of seconds. Lets say you don't know what music is. This is the website for you. Seriously whoever wrote this went super technical and decided to take a deep look at music as a whole. Maybe, it wasn't a human who wrote this...hmmmm. More Input!
Music Theory Lessons

I recently discovered this band called The Gits. They are a female fronted punk rock band from Yellow Springs, Ohio but gained their following in the 1990's in Seattle. The band is really friggin' good and has a sad yet fascinating story behind them. I won't go into much detail, but they are no longer a band due to a very unfortunate and unjust circumstances. If your interest is piqued you should click here to read the Wiki page for the band. Then I would suggest watching the documentary, which I have yet to see myself. From what I have read it is a very powerful and moving band documentary. I will be watching it tomorrow for sure.
Watch The Doc for free here.

This is one of the coolest things I have ever heard of. The Yellow Bird Project is a Montreal-based organization who works with various indie bands to create unique band t-shirts and the proceeds go to a charity that the band chooses. The t-shirts are pretty badass looking and each band chooses their own charity. Sure they are a little more expensive, but what's an extra couple of bucks to know you look great and feel great because you know you did something good.
The Yellow Bird Project

If you haven't noticed I love to to make themed posts and mixes. Seriously if you could see my iTunes playlists you'd mock me ("Cry Me A River: the Smalles Violin Plays" a mix filled with depressing emo songs). Here is a link I came across that makes me feel a little bit less nerdy.
Weeblesue's Playlist Bonanza


Have you ever been watching TV or a movie and heard a song and heard a really great song in the background and wished there was a place you could go and try and look it up? There is always the internet but sometimes it ends up being a bust. Well, save yourself some time and frustration and stop wishing and start here. Even if you don't have a particular song in mind it's a great place to find some great tunes.
Tunefind

As always here are some non music links just for fun...

Easter Eggs: an intentional hidden message or an in-joke in a work such as a computer program, web page, video game, movie, book, or crossword. The term was coined — according to Warren Robinett — by Atari after they were pointed to the secret message left by Robinett in the game Adventure. It draws a parallel with the custom of the Easter egg hunt observed in many Western nations as well as the last Russian imperial family's tradition of giving elaborately jeweled egg-shaped creations by Carl Fabergé which contained hidden surprises.
I especially like the DVD easter eggs section

Get ready to waste a lot of time reading random notes people found in various places. Very interesting!
Found Magazine
Since finding things is so much fun...
FFFFOUND!