Ask a Ninja - Question 8 "Roger"

This guy is HILARIOUS! Check it out on iTunes as a video podcast for the other episodes.
I am ninja, your are ninja...catchy tune.

Electric Birds - Gradations

I discovered this disc laying on the coffee table of a neighbor. Of course, my first words were "I like the name and the cover art, I wonder what kind of sound they have..." figuring that likely I would enjoy it just from the clues I had seen so far.

Well, guess what. I loved it. Very simple, yet tuned, electronic music. Warm, layered and soothing with some very interesting elements swirled in. Electric Birds is a man named Mike Martinez who is also co-owner of Deluxe Records. Apparently, he has been releasing a steady stream of homemade electronic music for a couple of years now, at first in San Francisco, and now from his home in Seattle.

Good stuff, take a spin with Electric Birds, you will be glad you did.

3njoy

phusemail

I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey

I gotta get this....(In Stores 2/14/06).
Just peruse the artists and you will see why

Track Listings

1. Death of the Clayton Peacock - Fruit Bats
2. Sunflower River Blues - Pelt
3. Variation on "Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion at Magruder Par - Sufjan Stevens
4. Sligo River - Devendra Banhart
5. Dance of Death - Calexico
6. Singing Bridge of Memphis, Brooklyn Bridge Version: The Coelcanth - Lee Ranaldo,
7. Bean Vine Blues #2 - M. Ward
8. Portland Cement Factory at Monolith, CA - Cul de Sac
9. Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Phillip XIV of Spain - Granddaddy
10. Joe Kirby Blues
11. Medley: John Hurt Shiva Shankarah
12. When the Catfish Is in Bloom - Peter Case
13. My Grandfather's Clock - Howe Gelb

MySpace link

3njoy

ephuse

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Master and Everyone

Well, this guy not only looks like Sam Beam, but his music is very similar. Very soothing, downtempo folkish-rock like we all have come to love. If you like Iron & Wine, then you will enjoy Bonnie 'Prince' Billy aka Will Oldham. If you have ever listened to Palace Music, Palace Brothers, Will Oldham, or Palace then you know the sound. Will's recorded this album with his brother Paul and it features a couple of members of the band Lambchop, which is another favorite of mine.

Take a listen via the Domino Music Player:

1. The Way Listen

2. Ain't You Wealthy, Ain't You Wise? Listen

3. Master and Everyone

4. Wolf Among Wolves Listen

5. Joy and Jubilee

6. Maundering

7. Lessons From What's Poor

8. Even If Love

9. Three Questions Listen

10. Hard Life

The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun

The Elected is a band that I ran across on another blog. What really caught my eye was the cover photo of the brand new album Sun, Sun, Sun. I believe that you can often tell a lot about a band by the cover of an album. Of course, this one just happened to be right up my alley. The Elected is on Sub Pop, which is basically one of my all time favorite labels. You can purchase The Elected's new album here.

Sub Pop is the home of some of my all time favorite artists such as Iron & Wine, Wolf Parade, The Album Leaf, The Shins just to name a few. In fact, I don't recall a Sub Pop band I didn't like.

The album Sun, Sun, Sun is releasing tomorrow January 24th and the samples they provide on their site sound great. I just ordered my copy. I am looking forward to listening to more of The Elected. Join me and pick up a copy.

Track Listing:
1. Clouds Parting (8:14 a.m.)
2. Would You Come with Me
3. Fireflies in a Steel Mill
4. Not Going Home
5. It Was Love
6. Sun, Sun, Sun
7. Did Me Good
8. The Bank and Trust
9. Old Times
10. Desiree
11. I'll Be Your Man
12. Beautiful Rainbow
13. Biggest Star
14. At Home (Time Unknown)

3njoy
phuse me

Four Tet - DVD

I have enjoyed Kieran Hebden of Four Tet for quite some time now, but I never realized that they released a DVD with videos for every song on the "Everything Ecstatic" album. This has got to be cool. Apparently, the film-shorts were collected together and released on DVD by Domino on Nov 7, 2005. I think that it may not have released yet in the U.S.

The never-before-seen material* comes as a DVD/CD double-pack with ‘Everything Ecstatic Part 2’, 35 minutes of brand new music, some radical rethinks of material from ‘Everything Ecstatic’, which together represent a current snapshot of Kieran’s ever-changing musical thinking.

3njoy,

phuse this

Arctic Monkeys

Do you like Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand or The Strokes? Well, these guys are right in that class for sure. Maybe even above that class. They hail from the UK, of course, and just notched up their second consecutive number 1 in the UK singles chart with the fantastic When the Sun Goes Down.

Congratulations to Arctic Monkeys take a listen or watch the video here.

3njoy

phusician

Kashmir

Kashmir is four musicians – Mads Tunebjerg (bass), Asger Techau (drums), Henrik Lindstrand (keyboards, guitar) and Kasper Eistrup (vocals, guitar) that seek to combine elements of different media, such as graphics, street art and absurd poetry into music.

Am I the only one who has never heard these guys?

This stuff is incredible. Apparently, they just released a new album recently (their 7th) called No Balance Palace. The first track will be one that by buddy Marc will LOVE the title of. It is called Kalifornia. Originally intended for inclusion on Zitilites (City Lights) in 2002. The remarkable chord changes came about in Mads’ apartment while the two of them were testing whether they could create a strong recording of an acoustic guitar in his living room. The lyrics don’t refer to California the American state. it’s an abstract hymn to restlessness and love.

+enjoy

phusician

Kanine Records

I found this really cool and relatively new, indie label out of NY/Brooklyn called Kanine Records. They have some very interesting bands.

Kanine Started at the beginning of the NY band backlash, they set out to prove there is still plenty of untapped, original talent in the area. The label started with their first release, NY: The Next Wave - a 20 track compilation of largely unsigned bands and unreleased material. Following releases include the dark-punk of The Flesh, the hyper-spasmodic sounds of Oxford Collapse, the almost alt-country rock 'n roll of The Izzys, the noisy-pop-punk of Four Volts, thet dreamy folk-pop of Grizzly Bear, the fun electro-pop of Mommy and Daddy, the dark, layered rock of Rockethouse, and the quirky art-pop of Mixel Pixel. They have a few artists, but a large range of indie music.

I like Grizzly Bear you can here them here.

So check out Kanine Records or Their Space.

Also, episode #14 of the Evilushun Podcast is all Kanine bands.

+enjoy

This Holiday Life

This is a foursome from my home town here in San Diego. They have just released their first full length album called "Friction" and let me tell you it is VERY GOOD. It just so happens that I work with the drummer Mark Nagel, at my everyday job, but lest you think that this would influence my opinion. Good music is just that and if it was not good, I would not be posting this. It just so happens that I get to save on shipping costs for the CD.

THL definitely falls into the indie/post rock genre, although on this album they really mix up the tempo which makes for a fantastic voyage through the 14 tracks. The album starts with an instantly head bopping track called "Don't Stand Up" and ends with a short downtempo soothing track called "Don't Fight the Fricton". If you listen to this album and you don't enjoy it I would be extremely suprised and you are probably not the right person to be viewing this blog. Check them out at www.thisholidaylife.com or on my space.


They are doing a CD release show at Soma on January 28th, tickets are only $10 here.

You can order "Friction" directly from the band here.

phusician

El Ten Eleven

My new found favorite is El Ten Eleven. This is not a brand new band or even a new release, it is from 2004. I was just recently introduced to these guys after listening to the 3hive/Music for Robots podcast. El Ten Eleven is a duo (Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty) from Los Angeles that create some amazing instrumental, non-lyrical indie post rock similar to Tortoise and the likes. The Carvin doubleneck guitar/bass is mighty perty to look at and sounds even better than it looks. Kristian Dunn is basically a musical magician as far as I am concerned and that guitar seems to be his deck of cards.

Try this mp3 of a track called "Lorge". It is pretty simple after that, just grab your wallet.

You can order the CD thru Bar/None Records, iTunes or CD Baby. They also have a MySpace page if you wish to travel there.

Here are a couple of videos posted by the band as well.

Central Nervous Piston 26mb
My Only Swerving 28mb <<< LOVE THIS ONE!

Enjoy.

The Go! Team

What a unique group of individuals here. It appears that regularly this is a 5 piece from the UK from what I have seen. A melting pot for sure and that may help for the cool poppy, hip hoppy sound. "Huddle Information" from their album "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" is is very catchy tune that I found myself tapping my foot too. It was released on October 4, 2005 here in the USA.

You can find their site here. It is a pretty cool flash site, click on Music > Thunder Lightning Strike and then Huddle Information to take a listen. I would be careful though, because the 17 year old girl named Ninja on vocals can be addicting, especially with the accent and slight lisp. Don't say I didn't warn you. Check out the message boards under "Communicate" for more info and some links to tracks. This is really cool stuff that is definitely different....do you like The Polyphonic Spree?

You can buy cd's and stuff at Memphis Industries. Just click on The Go! Team on the left.

Windy & Carl - The Dream House/Dedications to Flea

Here is another new favorite that I recently acquired. It is the latest release from Windy & Carl. If you are not familiar with Windy & Carl, you should be. Carl Hultgren has been recording his own guitar pieces since 1992, Windy Weber joined him in 1993. Windy sings and plays bass, Carl plays the guitar and both play the odd keyboard. In addition to this, the two also run their own label called Blue Flea and their own record store in Dearborn, Michigan called Stormy Records.

This is a double CD that includes the CD EP The Dream House and a CD EP called Dedications to Flea, which was originally released on the Brainwashed Handmade label in an edition of 500 copies. This 2xCD came out November 7th, 2005 on the Kranky label.

If you like dreamy, soothing music to fall asleep to, then this is it. This is the first release from them in 5 years. It is described by Windy as "death and dreams and beliefs and leaving and moving on". Recorded at their home studio in Dearborn, MI, the first album only contains 2 tracks, one of which is 31 minutes long and the other just over 12 minutes. The second disc was aptly named after their dog Flea who has passed on. It too, contains only 2 tracks. One is just over 18 minutes and the other just over 19 minutes. A fantastic addition to my "mellownondramatic aka sleep" playlist.

There are some mp3 samples available here:

Disc One:

1. The Eternal Struggle - [MP3]
2. I Have Been Waiting to Hear Your Voice - [MP3]

Disc Two:

1. Ode to a Dog - [MP3]
2. Sketch for Flea - [MP3]

Here is a really cool video of Windy and Carl. It's an interview and performance segment filmed for Brainwashed's series The Eye. It's classic, because Windy talks about falling asleep everytime that they would go into a studio to record and mix a song and that is one of the main reasons why they record at home...

P.S. They are big fans of LaBradford. You can check them out on Kranky here or Brainwashed here.

Golden Apples of the Sun - Selected By Devandra Banhart

I have been listening to this fantasic collection of underground folk melodies put together by Devendra Banhart a lot recently. It is a wonderfully eclectic mix of music. There are 20 tracks in all and I highly recommend it if you recognize an artist or two. In fact, even if you don't recognize an artist, but you enjoy that alt/folt low fi sounds that has become quite popular this is a treat for sure and relatively hard to find.

Track listing:

1. Vetiver (with Hope Sandoval) - "Angel's Share" (from the "Vetiver" LP)
2. Joanna Newsom - "Bridges and Balloons" (from "The Milk-Eyed Mender" LP)
3. Six Organs of Admittance - "Hazy SF" (previously unreleased)
4. Viking Moses - "Crosses" (from "Crosses")
5. Josephine Foster - "Little Life" (prev. unreleased home recording)
6. ESPers - "Byss & Abyss" (from "ESPers" LP)
7. Vashti Bunyan & Devendra Banhart - "Rejoicing in the Hands" (from the "Rejoicing in the Hands of the Golden Empress" LP)
8. Jana Hunter - "Farm, CA" (prev. unreleased)
9. Currituck Co. - "The Tropics of Cancer" (from "Ghost Man on First")
10. White Magic - "Don't Need" (from the Drag City EP)
11. Iron and Wine - "Fever Dream" (from "Our Endless Numbered Days" LP)
12. Diane Cluck - " Heat From Every Corner" (from "Macy's Day Bird")
13. Matt Valentine - "Mountains of Yaffa" (prev. unreleased)
14. Entrance - "You Must Turn" (prev. unreleased home recording)
15. Jack Rose - "White Mule" (from "Red Horse, White Mule" originally released thru Eclipse, now on VHF)
16. Little Wings - "Look at What the Light Did Now" (from "Light Green Leaves")
17. Scout Niblett - "Wet Road" (from "Sweet Heart Fever")
18. Troll - "Mexicana" (from "Pathless Lord")
19. CocoRosie - "Good Friday" (from "La Maison de Mon Reve")
20. Antony - "The Lake" (from "Live at Saint Olaye's With Current 93")

Check it out at your local record store or online at tone vendor

It sold out of the first pressing of 1000 copies instantly, this is now in it's 2nd pressing, equally as limited.

Welcome all Funkmastas,

Well, it's a rainy day Schedule....A perfect day to explore some new music. If you really want an endless flow of fresh NEW music you should try visiting some of the following mp3 blogs. I know you are probably WAY too busy and may never think that you'll never have time to try any of these, but I feel it is my duty to share the information. How's that for cynicism? Maybe check one out each week...

Do with it what you will, but don’t say I never gave you anything because these links are basically GOLDMINES. Your choice whether to pan or not. Seriously.

http://www.3hive.com/
The podcast URL can be found here: http://threehive.libsyn.com/rss Copy and paste this into your favorite podcast catcher. These guys are great, they sound just like you and I.

http://brainwashed.com/
The podcast URL can be found here: http://www.brainwashed.com/podcast/podcast_rss.xml
They also have a radio playlist .pls file you can just stream.

http://music.for-robots.com/
A friend of the 3Hive guys.

http://radio3.cbc.ca/
The podcast can be subscribed to here: http://www.cbcradio3.com/podcast/standard/
Radio 3's podcast is truly unique: it's full of amazing, 100% Canadian music from new and emerging artists. This podcast is ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!! It is even bookmarked for iTunes so if you don’t like a track you skip it....Wonderful Canadian music! You gotta love the Canadians.

Here is a list of mp3 blogs that I have not even tried yet (hopefullly links are not dead):

mistery and misery http://www.mysteryandmisery.com/
fat planet http://www.fatplanet.com.au/
swen's weblog http://swen.antville.org/
Scissorkick http://www.scissorkick.com/
moebius rex http://www.livejournal.com/users/moebius_rex/
Prancehall http://prancehall.blogspot.com/
smart music http://www.smart-music.net/
radio free polygon http://radiofreepolygon.blogspot.com/
comfort music http://www.comfortradio.org/comfortmusic/
lemon red http://www.lemon-red.org/blog/
benn loxo du taccu http://mattgy.net/music/
Aurgasm http://aurgasm.us/
Disquiet http://www.disquiet.com/
an idiot's guide to dreaming http://loki23.blogspot.com/
said the gramaphone http://www.saidthegramophone.com/
devil in the details http://devilinthedetails.blogspot.com/
checkerboard chimes http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/
the pipe http://www.houseofcuss.com/hocvault/thepipe/
walking on thin ice http://www.throwingthedice.com/blog/
the wirewool http://thewirewool.blogspot.com/
big stereo http://this.bigstereo.net/
cliktrax http://www.cliktrax.com/
catchdubs http://www.catchdubs.com/
soul sides http://soul-sides.com/
moebius rex http://www.livejournal.com/users/moebius_rex/
two and 1/2 pounds of bacon http://fastbacker.blogspot.com/
headphonesex http://www.headphonesex.co.uk/
said the gramophone http://www.saidthegramophone.com/
the tofu hut http://tofuhut.blogspot.com/
stereogum http://www.stereogum.com/
rock insiders http://www.rockinsider.com/
20 jazz funk greats http://20jazzfunkgreats.blogspot.com/
sQuare http://www.squar3.com/site/
bossblog http://www.bolt.com/channel/music

Other Misc sites:
riddim method http://riddimmethod.net/
blackspot music http://adbusters.org/metas/corpo/blackspotmusic/
mudd up http://www.negrophonic.com/words/
the milk factory http://www.themilkfactory.co.uk/
uncarved http://www.uncarved.org/blog/
blissblog http://blissout.blogspot.com/
them finest http://www.themfinest.com/blog/
it's a trap http://www.itsatrap.com/
neumu http://www.neumu.net/
pitchfork http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/
better propaganda http://www.betterpropaganda.com/
bleep http://www.warprecords.com/bleep/
utility fog http://www.frogworth.com/utilityfog/
pojmasta http://www.pojmasta.com/
discogs.com http://www.discogs.com/
it's very pleasant http://itsverypleasant.blogspot.com/
Dreamflesh http://dreamflesh.com/
jeansnow tokyo http://www.jeansnow.net/

Flowin' Mantis Homeskillet