Atlas Sound

As some of you may know, I've really been digging everything Bradford Cox of late. I've been listening to his group, Deerhunter, nonstop since seeing them a few months back. Since then, he has released 4 EP's under the alias Atlas Sound. The 4 EP's are one collective piece- Bedroom Databank.

The Bedroom Databank collection is a bit more subtle and low key than Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest but it's equally awesome. The harmonica on "How To Pass Time" and "Green Glass Bottles" is just about perfect. Listen below.

Glasser Ring

While waiting for my coffee at Loop on Tuesday, I took a gander at their CD's on display. They usually have some best selling new releases in their display bin with a few not so typical CD's. The Glasser ring album cover caught my interest, so I decided to take a look at it. The workers at Loop stick very informative album reviews written on post-it notes on certain CD's (one of the main reasons I love the place). The Glasser Ring write up said that they have toured with The xx and Sigur Ros. I was intrigued, but not enough to sack up and buy the CD without a listen first.

I got my coffee and went to work on some CPA problems. When I needed a break, I started surfing the web and saw that Glasser Ring was featured on one of my favorite music blogs, Stereogum. I went straight up to the register and bought the CD.

Upon first listen, Glasser Ring is much more Florence and the Machine than The xx or Sigur Ros, but they are very good. Below are some of my favorite songs of theirs.

Fleet Foxes (EP)

Just found a copy of an EP by the Fleet Foxes. The release predates their eponymous 2008 debut hit. Here is a link to the track listing and some boring information. Below are the two songs that caught my attention during the first run through.

Pink Floyd

While driving home tonight, a familiar song came on the radio that I hadn't heard in awhile- Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". The song tells the tale of the bands' loss of former friend and guitarist to schizophrenia.

I forgot how much I love everything about this song. I love the longing in David Gilmour's voice, the hurt in his guitar riffs, and the brilliance of Roger Water's lyrics. Enjoy!

Deerhunter

Sorry it took so long, but I'm finally posting about the Deerhunter show I went to last Thursday. It was super loud and not what I was expecting at all, but in a good way. Real Estate opened up. Their lead guitarist and drummer were super talented and everyone else was a bit lackluster. "Fake Blues" and "Beachcomber" were definitely the highlights from their show. They also played some of their new songs and they seemed much more upbeat than the songs on their debut album.

Deerhunter came out next. My first impression was that Bradford Cox was very skinny. They rocked. Hard. Jocy and I both really enjoyed their bassist for being subtly awesome. Also, Bradford Cox is one of the greatest guitarist I've seen live, second to only David Longstreth of Dirty Projectors. The best songs from their show were "Revival" and "Helicopter" off their new album, Halcyon Digest and "Agoraphobia" off of Microcastle. The version of "Agoraphobia" below is the best video I could find that depicts how awesome the show was. Hope you enjoy!

Unemployment

As most of you probably know, I am unemployed for the month. I am using this time to travel, sleep and catch up on some movies. I had been wanting to see 500 Days of Summer for awhile now. And yes, my obsession with Zooey Deschanel has something to do with it. The movie was decent but a bit cheesy. I really liked the style of the movie, but it's definitely a chick flick.

This is a music blog so enough about the movie. The clip below is from the movie and coincidentally one of my dad's favorite songs. When our family used to go on road trips, there were many traditions. A) Bologna sandwiches on white bread, B) My mom needing to stop every two hours on the dot to use the restroom, and C) My dad listening to horrible music the whole way there. My dad's favorite bands (in no particular order) are Boston, Kansas, Chicago, Styx and Hall & Oates. I have always loved the memories surrounding this, despite my musical tastes telling me to hate it. The song below, "You Make My Dreams Come True" by Hall & Oates is a tribute to my father. Enjoy.

Yukon Blonde

Been digging this band a lot this past week. I don't know if it's just the awesome harmonies, but they remind me a lot of Fleet Foxes. Below are two of the best jams of their self titled debut album. Let me know what you think and enjoy!

Roots

Roots/John Legend covering Arcade Fire's "Wake Up". A bit funkier than the original but not quite as good.

Kanyeezy

Check out the new Kanye song, "So Appalled", on this website.

Brandon Flowers

Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, has recently released his first solo album, Flamingo. I've just given it a once over and I really enjoyed it. It really doesn't sound all that much different than the stuff he's done with The Killers which, in my opinion, is a very good thing. Check out "Only the Young" below.

Ingenuity Fest

For all you Clevelanders out there, this weekend is Ingenuity Fest! It's a weekend long festival of art, music, cinema and theater. It's located on the lower level of the Detroit-Superior Bridge that connects Ohio City and Downtown. I'm super excited to go see Zee Avi tonight and will most likely be popping in and out to see other shows throughout the weekend. Here's the link to the website for the festival. There you can find parking information, a schedule of events and a layout of the venue. Below is a video of how to get to the festival. Hope to see you all there!

Stripped Down

Just found a video of one of my favorite Ra Ra Riot songs stripped down. "St. Peter's Day Festival" is a tremendous song and it's shown in all of its beauty in this performance. I particularly love the lyrics of the second verse. The lyrics to said verse and the video are below.

If the heather is wet then
I might be accustomed to walk
It might bet he way that we talk
The river and the rock that fell there
It all falls apart

When I arrive
Will you wake if I open the door
A tone that was taken before
The cusp and the fjords we wade through
It all falls apart

Infadels

I found this jam on my old iPod that I've been using to rock out while showering. This is a catchy tune from The Infadels that I originally found via and Indie Rock Playlist torrent that I used to download every month.

Mayer Hawthorne

My buddy Todd has been hounding me to write about Mayer Hawthorne for awhile now. Todd, here it is. This dude definitely has a funky vibe for a white dude. Check out the videos below.

Also, I'm going to see Best Coast tomorrow with Jocelyn (if I'm not still sick or if I didn't get her sick yesterday). Check out their website here and listen to this jam. They are going to be in Cincinnati and Columbus later in the week. All of you readers that are in the southern part of the greatest state in the union have no excuse not to see them!

Jenny and Johnny

Two members of Rilo Kiley, lead singer Jenny Lewis and guitarist Johnathan Rice, have teamed up as a duo and released the album, I'm Having Fun Now. While I think Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight was really good, I prefer the more basic sound of the duo as opposed to the full band. If you like She & Him, you should definitely give this album a once over here.

In completely unrelated news, I just stumbled upon my copy of Wilco's Sky Blue Sky and have been listening to it a lot recently. Below is my favorite song from the album. Note: Be prepared to be amazed by Nels Clines' brilliance.

Cee-Lo Strikes Again

All done studying. The big day is tomorrow, wish me luck. I thought I'd share the newest of Cee-Lo's tunes. It's titled "F*ck You", but is actually a pretty upbeat song. It almost sounds like a cover from the Motown era. Hope you all like it.

Beach House

Today's jam comes from Baltimore's finest duo, Beach House. "Zebra", the second single off of Teen Dream is a beautiful song that evokes Grizzly Bear. Busy studying so that's all for now. Enjoy.

Middle East

I've been meaning to share this one for awhile now. My buddy Pete told me about the band, The Middle East, while he was in France this past winter. After hearing "Blood", I immediately bought their EP, The Recordings of the Middle East, on iTunes. The EP isn't terrible, but "Blood" is by far their best song. Check it out below.

We Used To Wait

I drove down to Columbus this afternoon and used the time to further explore The Suburbs. It's absolutely brilliant. Great from front to back. A couple of new favorites are below. "The Sprawl II" reminds me a lot of Blondie. This may or may not have something to do with the sweet synthesizer in the song. "The Suburbs" is the opening track and is way more poppy than what Arcade Fire has come to be known for, but the lighthearted song is a welcome departure. Last and certainly not least is my favorite jam from the album, "We Used To Wait". If you haven't already procured this album, do it now! Enjoy.

Arcade Fire

I just got the new Arcade Fire album and it's pretty epic. Right now, I'm really digging "Rococo". I also finally got the Mumford and Sons album. My buddy Freddy has been telling me about them for months and I have just forgotten/neglected to download their album. I finally got to listen to their album while driving out to Pete's cottage in Vermillion on Friday night. "The Cave" and "Winter Winds" are both awesome tunes. They remind me a lot of The Avett Brothers due to the banjo being prominently featured in a lot of their songs. They definitely have a more polished sound than The Avetts and I think that suits both bands just fine. Pete's brother, Dan, told me that "The Cave" is based on Pluto's "Allegory of the Cave". It makes sense after listening to the lyrics a little more. I'm sure I'll post more Arcade Fire the more I listen to it. Until then, enjoy the tunes.







Also, I want to take this time to thank Pete for having us all out at his cottage Friday. It was a blast and without his hospitality, we would've all missed out on this awesome moment captured by Jocelyn Vivona. Viewer's Discretion: Do not watch this at work or anywhere else where laughing uncontrollably is frowned upon.

The Kurt.

Hipsters

I found this on LATFH. Check it out.

Cee Lo Green

I was first introduced to Cee Lo Green back in my high school days. My buddy Dan McCallum drove me to school sophomore year and listened to Cee Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections on the regular. While Dan enjoyed rocking out to "Under Tha Influence" while sitting in traffic on Hilliard Blvd at 7:20 AM, I preferred the more low key "Bass Head Jazz" (below). I have been an avid fan of Cee Lo and everything he's done since first hearing of him.

While sipping on delicious beers last night with some good friends, I got to talking to one of my good friend's boyfriend, Noah. We were talking about a bunch of things but discovered we have very similar taste in music. (I believe Mott the Hoopel was even involved in the convo). He mentioned that he had been listening to a lot of Band of Horses and let me know that on Cee Lo is doing a BOH cover on his next album, out a week from Tuesday. I checked it out immediately when I got home last night. It's amazing. I even find the video very intriguing. Cee Lo definitely puts his own style on the song while maintaining the original's integrity. Check it out below.

Raphael Saadiq

Today's jam comes from Levi's Pioneer Sessions. It's by an artist that I had previously never heard of and one that I know am dying hear more of. The man is Raphael Saadiq and the song is "It's A Shame", originally by the Spinners. Enjoy.

Older Jams

While driving to Starbucks this morning for a morning study session, I found an old mix from a couple years back. It had a bunch of different tunes on it, but majority were from Kaiser Chief's 2008 release Off With Their Heads. Although their most mainstream songs from the album were "Never Miss A Beat" and "Addicted to Drugs", my favorite was a little jam with witty similes called "Tomato in the Rain".

Ra Ra Riot

The new Ra Ra Riot album, The Orchard, has officially been slate for release on 8/24 and they are starting to leak some tracks. Their first single and some details about their album, tour, life, etc. is now on Stereogum. The first single, "Boy", sounds similar to their stuff from the debut album, The Rhumb Line. I'm glad to see that they've maintained their unique brand of power pop. Check out more album details at the band's website.

Matt Hires

I know it's been awhile and for that I am truly sorry. I went to a show on Saturday when I was visiting Wendy in Pittsburgh. One of her friends and coworkers was opening for The Benji Davis Project. We didn't stay for that act, but we did catch a bit of Matt Hires. He's a singer songwriter with a pretty cool vibe. He did get negative points for rocking skinny jeans, but his music is still pretty legit. Enjoy

Avetts again

I really haven't been listening to too much new music recently. I've listened to Sleigh Bells, The National and Broken Social Scene here and there, but I've been listening to the Avetts far more often. One of their songs that I had never really listened to all that much is "Backwards with Time" off of The Gleam. It's a simple song with great lyrics that really resonate with me. The harmonica intro reminds me a bit of Neil Young or Bob Dylan. Listen to it below and enjoy.

I keep singing my song, won't you sing along

Today's jam comes from Ivan and Alyosha, an up and coming band from Seattle. They've only released an EP so far (to the best of my knowledge) but it's pretty good music to chill to. My favorite track from The Verse, The Chorus is "Beautiful Lie". Listen to it below and enjoy!

VW+RH

Once again, I've been slacking. Sorry. Today's jam is a mashup between Vampire Weekend and Rupert Homes called "Pina Horchata". I realize that it's pretty goofy but it puts a smile on my face so back off! Go America!

The Shins

The Shins have come out with a cover song for a Levis commercial. You can find it, as well as other cool covers by the Dirty Projectors and She & Him, here. Enjoy!

Twilight

I never thought I'd get sucked into the whole Twilight obsession. After reading the track listing for the soundtrack, I am now officially enthralled. You can stream the whole album on the link above.

Tracks include artists I've featured on MJOTW including Florence and the Machine, The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend and Band of Horses. I'm also really looking forward to the Cee-Lo tracks and the track by Beck and Bat for Lashes.

Kanye

New song from Mr. West. Check it out here.

The Bird Man

Below are two videos by singer/songwriter Andrew Bird. I personally like the first song, "Heretics", much better than the second, but the video for "Spare-Ohs" was too good not to put on here. Enjoy!

Multi-part Jams

I have always been a huge fan of songs that have two or more distinct parts. Until recently, I never really understood why I liked these songs, I just thought it was pretty cool to have completely different styles, tempos, and instruments mixed on the same track. When I was home for my dad's birthday last weekend, I realized why I love these songs so much. Two of my dad's favorite songs of all time, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel and "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" by Paul McCartney, are songs with two or more distinct songs on one track. These songs bring me back to my childhood.

Two of my favorite tracks that have different sections on one track are "Come Downstairs and Say Hello" by Guster and "Ragged Wood" by Fleet Foxes. I know I have put "Ragged Wood" on here before, but it deserves to be on here again. The song is just that good and Robin Pecknold is my idol. "Siberian Breaks" by MGMT came in a close third for today's entry, but I didn't think many of you had the dedication to sit around for 12 minutes and listen to that one. Enjoy!

Stream BOH new album

At this website. Not only is the music great, but it takes me back to one of my favorite childhood memories- The View Master!!

Girls

Don't really have much time to post about this band but I wanted everyone to listen to them anyway. Girls' self titled album is really awesome. The most well known songs are "Lust for Life" and "Hellhole Ratrace". Both are MJOTW worthy, but I instead chose the Beach Boy-esque "Big Bad Mean Mother Fucker". The band is really interesting (one of the members was raised in a cult), I suggest you read more about them.

Oldie but Goodie

I recently found my copy of Illinois by Sufjan Stevens and it's been stuck in the CD player of my car ever since. This is a concept album based on the history of the state of Illinois. Stevens has planned to make an album about each of the 50 states in the union. Illinois was released in 1995 and was his second such album (the state up north was the first). He has failed to release the next volume of the collection.

Although "Chicago" is by far the most well known song on the album, I prefer "Decatur". It's very subtle and simple but the melody and soft spoken lyrics are pretty stunning. Enjoy!

Modest Mouse

This song has been stuck in my head for the past few days, so I'm putting it on here in hopes it will do the same to you! Modest Mouse's No One's First and You're Next EP followed their previous releases that gained them mainstream success. "Satellite Skin" is the opening track off this offering and it's pretty awesome. If you're looking for more the classic Modest Mouse sound, check out "Guilty Cocker Spaniels".

Annuals

I'm up early to study for the CPA. It's crazy to think the first part is only two and a half weeks away. I feel like I'm not prepared at all yet, but I have two weeks of review built into my study plan so I should be fine.

This morning I'm rocking out to a band from North Carolina, Annuals. They're a six piece band that relies heavily on harmonies, nonsensical emo lyrics, and strange electronic noises. I listened to this band a ton last year during my internship and it kept me sane while I was doing tax returns 13 hours everyday. I really enjoy their earliest work. It's much more upbeat and edgy. Their most recent full release, Such Fun, is more mainstream and has a few great tracks. Below is a song from both stages of their career. "Dry Clothes" is off of 2006's Be He Me and "Confessor" is the title track off Such Fun. If you like these songs, check out "Brother", "Hardwood Floor", and "Complete, Or Completing".

Pearl Jam

I'm sure everyone out there is surprised that I'm not only alive but actually coherent enough to write after the mayhem that was the house warming party last night. Thanks for everyone who came out and brought very generous gifts. I hope everyone had as much fun as DeFrances did.

Tonight I'm heading to the Band of Horses/Pearl Jam concert with Pete, Tommy, and Dan. I figure that I've posted enough stuff about Band of Horses on this site in the past few months, so I'll put a video of Pearl Jam instead. Have a happy Sunday and Happy Mother's Day!

Happppy Friday

Today's jam is "The Right Place" by Monsters of Folk. It's a great tune by a great mega group. It also has a significant meaning to me right now as I have quickly grown very fond of my new home and neighborhood. Special shout out of the day goes to Brooke Bockelman. She's responsible for my first phone call from the Bier Markt (aka my new second home) as she gifted to our house warming party mass quantities of delicious beer. Gracias Senorita B.

Upbeat Thursday

Hey all! I apologize for my recent lapses between posts. I've been pretty busy lately with moving into my new apartment and studying for the CPA. Today I'm rocking out to one of my favorite songs by Animal Collective. The song "Fireworks" was the bands first taste of mainstream success before they blew up with Rolling Stone's 2009 Album of the Year Merriweather Post Pavilion. Enjoy.

Wasted State of Mind

Below is a song I rediscovered this weekend while moving. I put in an mixtape from my buddy, Mike Rocco, who listens to some really odd music. Mike is a strange child, which I was reminded of when reading the name of the mixtape, Baby Snack Delights and other prospects of interest, Volume 1. Anyways, the CD is a collection of Animal Collective's older stuff and other random tunes. This song, "Wasted State of Mind" is the opening track of the compilation. Enjoy!

Low v. Diamond

I had my iPod on shuffle this morning on my ride into work and a band I hadn't listened to in a few months popped up. Low vs. Diamond's 2008 self titled debut album was a pretty solid collection of songs but the Killers-esque "Don't Forget Sister" stands out as the best track. Other good tunes by Low v. Diamond include "This Is Your Life" and "Heart Attack". They have yet to release their plans for the future, but in the meantime enjoy a CD101 Columbus exclusive performance of "Don't Forget Sister".

Oh Josephine

While listening to some music while studying for the CPA today, I came across "Oh Josephine" by The Black Crowes. I listened to this jam incessantly at this time two years ago. It brought back a lot of good memories from what was an excellent spring quarter (minus the whole mono thing). I had a really hard time finding a video of the whole song that was pleasant on the ears. Below is the best I found.



Lastly, I was informed this weekend that the color scheme and layout for the blog isn't perfect. I plan to play around with different formats and make some changes so stay tuned!

More Band of Horses (sorry)

Sorry to bother you again about BOH, but they're streaming their album (on vinyl nonetheless) online at this website. Everything I've heard so far sounds really good so far. Check it out at http://www.livestream.com/bandofhorses

Also, the dude that's in the stream looks a lot like Steve Turk with facial hair. Thoughts?

Best 90's song you (possibly) haven't heard

I came across an old mix tape I made in high school and was reacquainted with The Beta Band. Their 1998 release The Three EP's was so epic that Radiohead said they wanted to make a Beta Band record to follow what would end up being the best album of the 90's, 1997's OK Computer. The greatest song off of The Three EP's is a 6 minute song named "Dry The Rain". This song was made (semi) famous by John Cusack in High Fidelity.

Also, I want to give my good friend Pete a shout out. He's back in the states after spending the past 9 months teaching English to students in Nantes, France. I can't wait to slam beers with him this evening.

Have a nice weekend all!

fun.

fun. is the new band of former Format lead singer Nate Ruess. Their 2009 debut album, Aim and Ignite, was a bit of a letdown for me. There are glimpses of genius on the album but I don't see Nate every topping his first major release, The Format's Interventions and Lullabies. Below are my favorite songs by fun. and The Format.

Martha Wainwright

Is the daughter and brother of singer/songwriters Loudon and Rufus Wainwright, respectively. Her raspy voice and simplistic instrumentation reminds me a lot of a female Bob Dylan. Below is her song, "Bloody Mother F*****g A*****e". This song is actually about her father, whom she said, "..wrote songs about his children instead of raising them." To read more about their tumultuous family, click here. And thanks for the jam Brooke.

NEW BAND OF HORSES SONG!!

Click here.

Studying

I just started studying for my CPA exam this afternoon and I've been listening to a lot of Norah Jones while reading these exhilarating passages. I had forgotten how awesome she was until Sabo started talking about how badly he wanted to see her live. Below is one of my favorites by her, "Wish I Could" off of 2007's Not Too Late.




I also thought I'd share an awesome picture from the weekend. This picture is of Doug, myself, Brooke and Eric (from left to right) after the show on Saturday. Thanks to the strangers that made sure we had a perfect picture!

Broakland

I had an amazing weekend thanks in large part to my great friends Eric Sabo and Brooke Bockelman and their TFA Bay Area associates. I was privileged to meet a bunch of very interesting and accomplished individuals with whom I hope to keep in touch. The show on Saturday was amazing. I raided Brooke's computer for music so I should have some crazy new tunes popping up on here in the near future. For the time being, I'll leave you with one of my favorites from the weekend. I wish I could recreate the scene of Sir Lancealot, one of TFA's finest, "gettin' it" to this song but the youtube video will have to suffice.

Real Estate

My vacation tune for the weekend is "Beach Comber" by Real Estate. They're a band from New Jersey that reminds me a lot of a more laid back Foreign Born. Check out the song below, I especially like the instrumental bit that starts off with the guitar solo at 2:50.

Real Estate- "Beach Comber"


Foreign Born- "Winter Games"

Double Post

First things first, I went to a concert on Tuesday night with my buddies Colin Quinn and Tom Haas. We saw the Crash Kings and they were actually a lot better than I thought they were going to be. They're a three piece band and they play without a guitarist. It's just a dude on the piano belting out the high notes, a guy getting funky on the bass and a Travis Barker wanna-be on the drums. Below is their single and best song, "Mountain Man".



The next song is "California Waiting" by Kings of Leon. It sort of sums up my mood right now and I'm also going to Cali so it's fitting. (Check out Caleb's sweet ass haircut in the video).



Enjoy the weekend!

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

My good friend Lauren Fulton sent me this song yesterday and I've been listening to it non-stop since. Thanks Walio!

Miike Snow

From the brilliant minds behind Briney Spear's "Toxic" comes the band Miike Snow. Their 2009 release Web is an interesting mix between indie pop, emo and upbeat dance. Check out the song "Animal" posted below.

TVOTR

This probably isn't mind blowing to any of you out there, but Brooklyn's (finest) TV on the Radio is an outrageous band. They rock out pretty hard while painting vivid pictures with their poignant lyrics. Posted below are my two favorite songs of theirs that I've been listening to again recently. Enjoy.

The Music You Should Hear

I was sent a link last night to a pretty cool website by my friend Lindsay. The site has the same basic premise as this blog, to publicize good music that is often overlooked by the masses. I really enjoyed this tunes in this post, check it out.

Also check out their post about Discovery. They're a pretty cool band that's a collaboration of two bands I've talked about previously in the blog, Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot . The music you should hear's post leaves out two of Discovery's best songs, "Orange Shirt" and the trippy cover of Jackson 5's "I Want You Back".

She and Him

I mentioned last week that I was going to write about the new She & Him album, Volume Two. I loved their 70's pop influenced debut album, particularly "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" and was very excited to hear their latest effort. I finally put it on my iPod last night and dreamed of lead singer Zooey Deschanel all night in anticipation of hearing her soothing voice to brighten my morning. I was so underwhelmed while listening to it today on my commute to and from work that I instead am going to write about two similar artists that I believe are much better.

Camera Obscura's 2009 release, My Maudlin Career, is a great album from front to back. It was one of my favorites last spring as it rarely left the CD player in my car. My favorites from the album are "French Navy" and "The Sweetest Thing". Most of the tracks off this album are sappy love songs with interesting twists, quirky lyrics and great vocals. I especially like the horns on the closing track, "Honey In The Sun".

Another really good band with a similar sound is Providence's Death Vessel. I know what you're thinking, but Death Vessel really doesn't live up to their name. I first heard about them while they were out on tour with Fleet Foxes (if you click on one link in this whole post, it should be this one. Seriously, click it. NOW!) in the fall of 2008. Their 2008 release, Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us, is quite an impressive album. My favorite tunes on this CD are the folk and bluegrass inspired "Obadiah in Oblivion" and the calm and soothing track "Jitterkadie". Fun fact about Death Vessel, although the lead singer looks and sounds like a woman, it's actually a man.

Sorry for all the links, but hopefully you enjoy the songs!

Band of Horses

Band of Horses just released their first single from their upcoming album. It can be found at the band's website. If you like that song, check out some others from their previous albums. I think this band's about to blow up. They were recently covered on some horrific MTV show that I'd undoubtedly watch if I were still in high school and are opening for Pearl Jam on their upcoming tour.

I'm in Indianapolis for the weekend for the Final Four with my Pop and my father. It should be a really fun weekend and it could get a bit rowdy in Indy if Butler takes home the title. I'll post some pictures from the weekend when I get back on Tuesday.

Radio Moscow

Radio Moscow is a band I stumbled upon while on Pandora last fall. I really don't know too much about them, but I do know that they're really freaking good. They remind me a lot of the aforementioned Black Keys and some earlier Kings Of Leon stuff.

Their album Brain Cycles was released almost a year ago now and features some absolute classic tunes. There's no doubt in my mind that if this album was released in the late 60's or 70's, it would've been an absolute smash, but in 2009 it can't even make it on the radio. Anyways, so good tunes include "The Escape", "Hold On Me" and my favorite "No Good Woman".

The live versions of these songs are much more appeasing, at least for me, because the singer sounds much better live than on the record. The entire record has some distortion thing going on with his voice that makes him sound like a robot. I was relieved to find that he can actually sing when I found some videos of them live.

Lastly, I just added my cousins blog to the links page on your right. He's a badass photographer and a super cool guy. Check it out.

Quickie

While driving to and from Columbus the past few days, I got around to listening to some old favorites that I had forgotten about. The band that I appreciated the most this morning at 6 am was Rilo Kiley. Rilo Kiley is a pop alt band led by sultry vocalist Jenny Lewis. Their 2007 album Under the Blacklight is a relatively short album but it's packed with great tunes. My absolute favorite is the jazz inspired "15". The most popular track off this release is "Silver Lining" and "Dreamworld" is also worth a listen. As I'm sure you can judge by these tracks, the album is very diverse but is all around really solid and definitely worth a listen.

I just got the new Gold Frapp and She & Him CD's today so I'll be posting key tracks from those respective artists later in the week as well as talking about Radio Moscow.

Stuck at the airport

While stuck at the airport, I could give you some kind of cliche song, but instead will get you excited for MGMT's upcoming album with a couple of links I found on Stereogum while surfing the web trying to waste time. First is a slowed down cover of "Time to Pretend". It's not nearly as good as the original, but is definitely an interesting take.

Also on Stereogum was an review for the new MGMT album. Congratulations comes out April 13.

Lastly, props to Southwest Florida International Airport for providing free Wifi. I wish more airports would follow suit ( ahem Cleveland Hopkins).

Vacation

The jam of the week for vacation is "Fallin and Flyin" by Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell from Crazy Heart. Although it's country, it's a great tune and a pretty sweet movie as well.

Julian Casablancas

Julian Casablancas was/is the brainchild behind The Strokes. Last year he released his debut solo album, Phrazes for the Young, which is quite remarkable. The song I haven't been able to get out my head recently (and thus is my jam of the week) is "11th Dimension". This song has a great beat and an synth-induced dance vibe, but the lyrics are pretty insightful. The whole collection, this song in particular, mirrors the title of the album. He's trying to be the voice of his generation and impart his wisdom on others to open their eyes. The other really great song on this album is "Out of the Blue".

If you like Julian, check out more of The Strokes and Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr.

Also, I'm super excited about Band of Horses announcing their new album will come out on May 18th and they're opening up for Pearl Jam in Cleveland on May 9th.

Plastic Beach

The Gorillaz new album, Plastic Beach, comes out on Tuesday. I've listened to it a couple times through so far and it's fantastic. A couple songs that you should check out before you purchase it are "White Flag", "Rhinestone Eyes" and my favorite so far, "Superfast Jellyfish". It's pretty much a rap collaboration album with cameos by Mos Def, Snoop Dogg and De La Soul, but it's by far the best rap collaboration I've ever heard. Plastic Beach and the very similar Broken Bells album should keep your ears should be very happy this week.

Heartless Bastards

What's up everyone, hope you're all doing well on this Wednesday evening. Tonight I want to tell you a bit about a band from beautiful Cincinnati, OH, The Heartless Bastards.

I first heard about The Heartless Bastards from my sister friend, Walt. Walt was in charge of all the design elements of the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati where this band headlined. By the way, Walt is a bad ass designer (check his stuff out here) and a great guy, to boot.

Although The HB have released three albums, I have only listened to their most recent, The Mountain. The influences of classic rock are pretty evident through the rustic, heavy sound of their guitar, while I find their melodies to be similar to mid 90's pop/rock bands like Collective Soul and Deep Blue Something. The lead singer, Erika Wennerstrom, has an awesome voice and is pretty cute as well (pictured above). My favorite track off of the album and today's jam of the week is "Sway", but "Hold Your Head High" and "The Mountain" are great tracks as well. Other songs worth a listen to off this album are "Out at Sea" and "Early in the Morning".

Bands that you should listen to if you like The Heartless Bastards are labelmates The Black Keys and Dan Auerbach.

Photo from: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/6JJO-cDirqf/2009+Points+West+Music+Arts+Festival+Day+1/hfzT71VGDdl/Erika+Wennerstrom

A jet plane and a big idea

Happy Sunday All. The much anticipated Avett Brothers concert was last night and it was an absolute blast. They put on one of the better lives performances I've ever seen, I can't wait to see them again in May. The setlist was a perfect balance of fast and slow, old and new. Highlights included "Salina", "Please Pardon Yourself" and "At The Beach".

It was the first time I had been to HOB and I was very impressed with the venue. I assumed it would be highly commercialized due to the fact that it's a chain, but it was a pretty intimate setting that had lots of character and charm.

Also, while out apartment shopping with Defrances yesterday, we stumbled across a little place called McNulty's Bier Markt in Ohio City. If you live in Cleveland, you must plan a visit to this bar immediately. If you don't live in Cleveland, you must plan a visit to this bar immediately. They have something like 367 beers on their menu and had a bunch of really good IPA's on tap. We also got some delicious steamed mussels. Peruse their website and you'll see that it's actually pretty affordable. Pete, this is where I'm taking you for your first beer back in the states.

That's it for now, I look forward to telling you all about someone other than the Avett Brothers this week.

Avett Bros Part Tres, two days away!

Today's Avett Bros session will cover key tracks from 2007's Emotionalism. This best song off this album is "Salina", solely because of the nod to my hometown of Cleveland, OH. Some of the better upbeat songs on the album are "Will You Return", "Go To Sleep" and "Pretty Girl from San Diego". Slower but equally awesome songs are "I Would Be Sad" and "Living of Love".

Day Off

I had the day off and still forgot to post about the Avett's. Instead, I'll post the song I'm listening to now, "Yankee Bayonet" by the Decemberists. If you don't own The Crane Wife, buy it. NOW! (Only $6.99, you won't regret buying it. trust me)

Avett part two

Sorry in advance for making this post short, but I'm exhausted. A few jams from the Avett's Carolina Jubilee that I really like are "Pretty Girl from Locust", "Sorry Man", and "I Killed Sally's Lover". These songs are much more country than those on Mignonette.

Also, my friend Lauren told me about a band that's similar to the Avett Brothers, called the Felice Brothers. I've checked out a bit of their stuff, and she was dead on when she said they sounded a lot like Bob Dylan. More to come tomorrow.

Also, huge shout out to Brooke Bockelman. Thanks to the cutest darn TFA'er California has ever seen (sorry Sabo), this guy will be going to see the Avett Bro's again in Columbus in May... FOR FREE. Muchas gracias Bockelman!

Avett Bros

Hey all- I'm back again after a fun weekend in Columbus. I'm going to try and do something new this week so hopefully the few of you who read this will like it. Feel free to leave some feedback.

Throughout the week I'll be giving out tid bits of information and some vital songs for you guys to listen to from a band I'm really psyched to see this Saturday. This band has recently been getting the respect that they've deserved since they released their first LP in 2002. This band teamed up with Rick Rubin, most famous for bringing rap to the mainstream, on it's first major label release, 2009's I and Love and You. The band is the Avett Brothers, a three piece band that I'd describe as a mix between Charlie Daniels Band and Coldplay.

Today I'm going to talk about my favorite Avett Brother album, 2004's Mignonette. This album, their third, is a perfect blend between the country twang and indie rock. Some of the more country songs on the album include "Signs", "Nothing Short of Thankful", and my favorite cut, "Please Pardon Yourself". All of these songs are pretty heavy on the banjo but still have a sentimental singer song writer vibe to them that reminds me a bit of some of John Mayer's better work. If you're more interested in acoustic love songs then check out "Swept Away", "New Love Song" or "One Line Wonder". For more upbeat songs, tune into "At the Beach" or "Pretty Girl from Cedar Lane"(sidenote to follow). Sorry if I overwhelmed you with links on this post, but I absolutely love this album and I want to get as much of this material out there as possible. Realistically, you should just buy the album and listen to it on repeat.

Sidenote: Something that I find really witty and cool about The Avett Brothers is there "pretty girl" songs. These albums are about girls they know, presumably current or former love interests. Instead of addressing the girls by name, they just give them a description in the song title. On every album they released before I and Love and You, they had at least one pretty girl song.

More Avett Bros and pretty girl songs to follow tomorrow.

Dog Days Are Over

I'm back again to tell y'all about some tasty tunes. Sorry about the gap between posts, I was in Chicago over the weekend visiting my sister and grandparents.

This week's jam is "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence and the Machine. I first heard Florence and the Machine's cover of Cold War Kid's "Hospital Beds", but didn't listen to any of their original material until my friend Lindsay mentioned it to me a couple months ago. I've had their album, Lungs, in heavy rotation on my iPod ever since. Florence has an amazing voice and is hot to boot. Other songs worth a whirl include "You've Got The Love" and "Rabbit Heart", but my favorite off the album "I'm Not Calling You A Liar"

If you like Florence and the Machine, you might also want to listen to Bat for Lashes (lead singer is also very sexy) and Cold War Kids.

Look for a post later in the week focusing on Hot Chip's new album. Until then, enjoy one of this interesting bands epic songs from 2008's Made in the Dark.

Broken Bells, Part 2

"The High Road" has been chosen as the iTunes single of the week and can be downloaded for free here.

Good Winter

Here it goes again...

We've been inundated with snow in Northeastern Ohio so I decided to make a post dedicated to the cold darkness that is winter in Cleveland. Lately I've been listening a lot to Justin Vernon's latest effort, Volcano Choir's Unmap. Vernon burst onto the scene under the moniker Bon Iver, which is French for good winter. (Sorry for his misspelling of hiver, Peter) He recorded the tremendously depressing For Emma, Forever Ago in his father's cabin in Northern Wisconsin by himself in the dead of winter. The most well known track off Bon Iver's debut is "Skinny Love", but Peter Gabriel's cover of Bon Iver's "Flume" is also worth a listen.

After finding success on his own, Vernon teamed up with members of Collections of Colonies of Bees to form Volcano Choir. I really enjoy the first tune off the album, "Husks and Shells". The raw guitar definitely steals the show on this song.Vernon's falsetto voice is off pitch just enough as he makes indistinguishable noises that play as a back drop to the repetitive guitar riff. The most mainstream song on this album is probably "Island, IS". This album is more of listen as I read, study or fall asleep as opposed to getting pumped up to go out for a night of heavy drinking.

Another winter song I wanted to tell you about is Ra Ra Riot's "Winter '05". This song is off the band's 2008 near flawless effort, The Rhumb Line. This band is an interesting mix of power pop and classical music. They rely heavily on the feminine vocals of their male lead singer and their electric piano, but mix in a violin and an acoustic bass. I believe their best song to date is "Too Too Too Fast" or the Kate Bush cover, "Suspended in Gaffa". The creative mind behind much of their debut album was their drummer, the late John Ryan Pike. Pike wrote the haunting song "Ghost Under Rocks" and ended up drowning shortly after. It'll be interesting to see the direction they take in the future.

If you like Ra Ra Riot, check out The Virgins and Phoenix.

Just a side note here but how sweet is that electric version of an acoustic bass in the Winter '05 video? That's the first time I've ever seen anything like that. I'm sure Jocelyn will get a kick out of it. Also, Pete and Defrances both sent me some tracks today that I'm really looking forward to listening to. I'll let you guys know what I think.

Until next time....

Broken Bells

So I know that the blog is titled Jam of the week and that I just made my first post two days ago, but this is my blog and I can post when I want to! I want to let you, the three people who read this, know about a new band coming out.

Broken Bells is a collaboration between DJ Danger Mouse, of Grey Album and Gnarls Barkley fame, and James Mercer, lead singer of The Shins. Although it sounds like a really strange pairing, everything I have heard from the duo so far sounds really good. The first single is "The High Road", an interesting mix of hip-hop/video game beats with James' ridiculous vocals.

Also worth checking out is the band's website. It's pretty interactive and a lot of fun to play around with. I don't want to say too much because I want you to actually click on the link and check it out for yourselves!

Anyways, their debut self-titled album comes out on March 9. I think I'm going to voice my distaste for releasing the album a week AFTER my birthday to the band and see if they wouldn't mind moving the release up a week. I'll let you know how it goes.

In unrelated news, I'm pretty psyched that the Saints won the Super Bowl. I went down to New Orleans in 2008 and really enjoyed the city and their jovial citizens. I felt a strong connection to the city because my family and I were in the Caribbean when tropical storm Katrina rolled through. Little did we know as we sat through the rain for two straight days that the storm would go on to destroy one of the most historic cities in America. Not only does New Orleans have the best jazz music, food, and best party scene in America, they now have the best football team to boot. Congrats!

Thanks for reading guys and check back later in the week for a new post.

Intro

Hey all,
I had the idea to start a blog about music the other day as I was driving home from Cincinnati. While driving, I came across a song that I hadn't heard in awhile and immediately thought of my friend Dan who said he was in search of new music. I realized that I try to get my friends to listen to new music that I've been enjoying in hopes that they enjoy it as well and I often forget to tell some people about bands they might like. This blog will be my way of getting the music out to those who are interested. I'll try to post pictures and links to the bands and songs that I list on here to make it user friendly, but be patient as I'm new to this whole blogging thing.

The jam of the week is derived from a couple of friends from Ohio State, Herm and Allison. Herm the Jew was my roommate for two years and a neighbor for another year. He likes to make fun of the fact that I have a new favorite band weekly. Allison finds it peculiar that any song that I like, I consider my jam. She believes that one is entitled to claim only one song as "my jam". So hear goes my first jam of the week.

Lately I've been listening a lot to the new Vampire Weekend album, "Contra". I first started listening to Vampire Weekend a couple years ago after reading about them in The Rolling Stone. Their self titled debut album was nothing like I had ever heard before. This genre bending group of graduates from Columbia College mix punk, power pop and western African beats to form a unique sound that is all their own.

The album, "Vampire Weekend" remains one of my favorites of all time and although their latest album isn't on the same level, it's still getting heavy rotation from this guy. My favorite jam on this album is Run. It's one of the most upbeat cuts off the album and most resembles their first album that I enjoyed so much.

If you enjoy Vampire Weekend, I'd suggest checking out Foreign Born, Discovery and The Very Best.

That's about it for now. Feel free to leave comments.

Oh, and buy Contra.