Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)

Randomly stumbled upon this cover of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). The artist is Meg Myers, this is my first time hearing her. I'm a Kate Bush nerd but I'm not above anyone covering her. She sings my heart and she inspires. I like this cover. I like that it's so aggressive and I like this video, it's super fucking cool. Check out more Meg Myers at her official website, here.

Decadeology II

Ten years ago, my friend Joseph came up with the Decadeology challenge. He made a 20-track mix featuring two songs from each year of the decade. It's pretty fun, you really have to make some difficult choices. I've gone ahead and made my own Decadeology II mix for the 10s, screenshot as you can see, and posted here for anyone who wants to check it out (I'm unable to post a Spotify widget on this page, please let me know if you know how). If you end up making your own mix, please list/link it in the comments!

Monster

So, R.E.M.'s Monster is now 25 years old. There's a new bells-and-whistles reissue out that compiles the album with a bunch of demos, a live performance from the tour and a new Scott Litt mix of the album. Apparently he wasn't happy with the original finished product and had wanted to remix it for like ever, and this reissue gave him that opportunity.

After living with this album for 25 years, yeah the new mix sounds very different. It's a lot cleaner. The vocals are pushed more to the front. A lot of the fuzziness and reverb are dialed down or gone. After one full listen, I think I prefer the original but, like I say, that's the version that's been in my head for all this time. It just feels raw and dirty, more rough around the edges. The new mix provides an interesting juxtaposition as to what might have been. But don't just take my word for it, you can hear it for yourself right here (it's disc 3).

Happy Halloween!

WRONG TURN, from Kim Petras' very fun Halloween album, TURN OFF THE LIGHT. It came out just a couple months ago, check it out here. I'll be trick or treating in my BoJack sweater with my brother, SIL and nieces tonight. Be safe, y'all.

Don't Feed the Trolls

Because absolutely nobody is dying to know, I basically killed off my fb because of their latest moves regarding "trusted" news sources. I had been thinking about ditching fb for a bit and my heart literally sank when I saw that news last week. Nazis. Jesusfuckingchrist. 

And yes, I realize that there's pretty much something wrong with practically every platform. I'm a heavy Twitter and Reddit user (I'm pretty much an internet addict, really) but this seems particularly egregious to me.  So I'm back to this space, which is weirdly comforting. Music still excites me. I like thinking about it. I like reading about it. I like writing about it. I wish there were more discussions about it and, in that way, I kind of miss that old message board (you know the one). But, as Beatrice Horseman says, time's arrow marches forward. This is my space and I'm good with it. 

Jupiter 4

The way Sharon Van Etten sings

Baby, baby, baby, I've been waiting, waiting, waiting my whole life for someone like you...

So spooky and haunting. One of my fave tracks (and albums) of the year. 

Check out her album, REMIND ME TOMORROW, here.

PJ Harvey - Red Right Hand

Piggybacking off Snoop's cover of RED RIGHT HAND, it's been announced that a PEAKY BLINDERS soundtrack shall be released next month. Looks like Snoop's track didn't make the cut BUT...a PJ Harvey version of RED RIGHT HAND will be on it. It's eerie, kinda like WHITE CHALK-era PJ. Super cool. And the soundtrack tracklist looks solid.

Check out PJ's version (and the tracklist below that): 

LP1 - Side A

Tommy: 'It’s Not A Good Idea…'
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand
The White Stripes - St James Infirmary Blues
Truce - From 'Peaky Blinders' Original Soundtrack / Series 1 (Score)
Tommy: 'Right I Have Bought You Hear Today…'
Dan Auerbach - The Prowl
Polly: 'There’s Only One Thing…'
Jack White - Love Is Blindness
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love

LP1 - Side B

Alfie: 'I’ve Heard Very Bad, Bad, Bad Things…'
Black Rebel Motorcycle - River Styx
Post Irish Meeting - From 'Peaky Blinders' Original Soundtrack / Series 2 (Score)
PJ Harvey - Red Right Hand
Laura Marling - What He Wrote
Arthur: 'Do You Wanna Tell ‘Em…'
Royal Blood - Come On Over
Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?

LP2 - Side A

Tommy: 'I Love You…'
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Breathless
Radiohead - You And Whose Army?
Polly: 'A Woman Of Substance…'
PJ Harvey - This Is Love
Sons - From 'Peaky Blinders' Original Soundtrack / Series 3 (Score)
Tommy: 'You Can Change What You Do…'
Queens Of The Stone Age - Burn The Witch
The Last Shadow Puppets - Bad Habits
David Bowie - Lazarus

LP2 - Side B

Tommy: 'Sex, Freedom, Whiskey Sours…'
Savages - Adore
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat (Live From KCRW)
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - I Wish
Ballad Of Polly Gray - From 'Peaky Blinders' Original Soundtrack / Series 4 (Score)
Tommy: 'I’m Not A Traitor To My Class…'
Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes - Devil Inside Me

LP3 - Side A

Foals - Snake Oil
Polly: 'It's In Our Gypsy Blood…'
Radiohead - Pyramid Song
Laura Marling - A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Ada: 'So, Tommy Shelby, MP…'
Black Sabbath - The Wizard
Anna Calvi - Papi Pacify

LP3 - Side B

Joy Division - Atmosphere
Tommy: 'You Need To Understand…'
Anna Calvi - You’re Not God
Arthur: 'There’s A Bentley Outside…'
Jehnny Beth - I'm The Man
Idles - Never Fight A Man With A Perm
Tommy: 'I Will Continue…'
Richard Hawley - Ballad Of A Thin Man

Late Night Confidential #25

Since 90s bands are reuniting as nostalgia acts, I'm pushing for a Jellyfish reunion. New album, tour, whatever. I'll take whatever I can get.

Late Night Confidential #24

Five live songs that I like. Listen as I cough my way thru this one. I say "umm" a lot, as well.

Late Night Confidential #24 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #23

Happy New Year!

Late Night Confidential #23 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #22

The Death Cab For Cutie episode. Timothy, Lily and I play some DCFC (and related) songs and also chat about DCFC and other various subjects.

Late Night Confidential #22 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #21

This is a Beatles cover songs episode. 20 artists. 20 songs. Maybe some you know. Maybe some you don't know. Artists include Elton John, Al Green, Aimee Mann & Michael Penn, Adrian Belew, Belle & Sebastian, Kristin Hersh, The Breeders, Nick Cave, Jason Falkner, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Donnas, Gomez, Ben Folds, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple, Lowell Fulson, Esther Phillips, Husker Du, FSK and Meeks.

 

Late Night Confidential #21 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #20

Another thrilling edition of Late Night Confidential. Artists this go round are Kaela Kimura, The original cast of Book of Mormon, The Primitives, Pixies, Kathryn Calder, Bat For Lashes, Marina and the Diamonds, Concrete Blonde, Eluvium, Faith No More and The B-52's.

Late Night Confidential #20 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #19

Back, though not by any sort of demand; popular or unpopular. Listen as I cough and hack my way through this (it's not that bad, really). Artists include, PUFFY, The Go! Team, Kathryn Calder, Grimes, Pinkshinyultrablast, Franz Ferdinand, Calexico, Pops Staples and Tweedy.

Late Night Confidential #19 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #18

This is the Songs About California edition. For my friend Lily who left California and moved to England. We did a Songs About England one last week but my computer crashed. This is the apology.

Artists include Public Enemy, Tool, The Ramones, Albert Hammond, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Beulah, Cracker, The Kinks, The Lucksmiths and R.E.M.

Late Night Confidential #18 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #16

8 tracks that might be best heard at night. Another quick episode here, this is just over a half hour. Artists include Fever Ray, Radiohead, Underworld, Chromatics, Carissa's Wierd, The National, Choir of Downside School Purley, and Sparklehorse & Fennesz.

Late Night Confidential #16 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #15

5 Songs Monday. This is a quick one, 5 tracks, just over half an hour. I really felt bad about the lengthy running time of the last one. I happened to have a day off and felt like doing this, so here it is. Artists are Eluvium, Elliott Smith, Sweet Trip, Joanna Newsom and Jessica Curry.

Late Night Confidential #15 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #14 - End of the Year Edition

This is the year-end edition of Late Night Confidential. Everybody loves a good list, or loves to hate them, and this is my entry. I go over about 40 or so of my favorite tracks from 2014.

Artists include St. Vincent & Nirvana, The Cry, Bob Mould, Esben and the Witch, Ex Hex, Robyn, Caribou, The Juan MacLean, White Sea, Charlie XCX, Taylor Swift, Javiera Mena, iamamiwhoami, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, First Aid Kit, Laura Cantrell, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Sharon Van Etten, Ryan Adams, The Haden Triplets, Sun Kil Moon, Angel Olsen, Inventions, Jessie Ware, Royksopp & Robyn, Lykke Li, St. Vincent, Cibo Matto, La Sera, The New Pornographers, Hamilton Leithauser, The History of Apple Pie, Ariel Pink, The Understudies, The Secret Sisters, The War on Drugs, Jenny Lewis, Tweedy, Afghan Whigs and Grouper.

Happy new year and hope you enjoy.

Late Night Confidential #14 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #13

The Xmas edition of LNC is here. Listen as @lilyvanilli, Jedi Rick and I join forces (like Transformers) and play some pretty sweet Xmas tunes. Click on for the tracklist.

Late Night Confidential #13 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #12

We're back with more cover songs! Last week, I realized I had a bunch more covers I wanted to play, so this show is a part two of last week's show, I guess. Artists include: Petra Haden, Annie, Karen O & Trent Reznor, Chvrches, The Bird & The Bee, Curve, Asobi Seksu, The National, Danny Malone, Theoretical Girl, Fever Ray, Fiona Apple, St. Vincent, Belle & Sebastian, David Ruffin, Ivy, Valerie June, Laura Nyro, Emmy the Great and Shugo Tokumaru. Enjoy!
 

Late Night Confidential #12 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #11

The Too Many Cooks episode! Sorry, I'm kidding, this is a cover song show. Artists include Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Austra, Beak>, 50 Foot Wave, Aimee Mann, Gillian Welch, Laura Cantrell, Iron & Wine, Beck's Record Club, Gemma Hayes, Ada, Austra (yes, twice), Chromatics, Minipop, Shonen Knife, Katie and Allison Crutchfield, The Innocence Mission and Four Tet. Enjoy!

Late Night Confidential #11 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #10

This week, I hang out with @lilyvanilli and she plays some of her new favorite songs. I play a few songs I've been into. Artists include Robyn, iamamiwhoami, Yelle, Laura Cantrell, X Priest X, Charli XCX, The Secret Sisters, Contact, Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, Neko Case, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes and Grouper. Sort of in that order. Enjoy!

Late Night Confidential #10 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #9

We're still here, surprisingly! Artists this time include The Veils, Kelly Willis, Gillian Welch, I Was a King, Alice in Chains, Adding Machine, Takako Minekawa, The History of Apple Pie, Blood Diamonds (feat. Grimes), Wilco and Adrian Belew.

Sort of a random assortment, mostly just stuff I've been spinning lately.

 

Late Night Confidential #9 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #8

In which I reminisce about Kate Bush one final time (because I think everyone is sick of it) and move on to other artists, such as I Speak Machine, Cuts, Weezer, The New Pornographers, La Sera, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Fleeting Joys, Lali Puna and Mogwai.

Late Night Confidential #8 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #7

The Labor Day edition. And I actually recorded this while the sun was still out, but it still retains the Late Night Confidential spirit. Talking 70s tonight. Artists include Cyndi Grecco, The Emotions, Squeeze, The Ramones, The B-52s, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Carole King, The Jackson 5. IN THAT ORDER.

Late Night Confidential #7 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #6

In this episode, I chat with @chump_change about her favorite Ryan Adams songs.

 

Late Night Confidential #6 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #5

In this episode: some songs from my childhood, I bitch about my encounter with the Magnum Force cops, I bitch about a guy from eBay who sold me PJ Harvey tix in 2001 and then bailed on me. I think I complained about something else, too. Anyways, artists include the aforementioned PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, Ministry, The Temptations, Thin Lizzy and Tom Jones. Probably not in that order.

Late Night Confidential #5 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #4

In this episode, I delve into the world of alt-country. Artists include Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, Old 97s, Anna Ternheim, Whiskeytown, Neko Case, Danny Malone, Okkervil River, Calexico/Iron & Wine, Sparklehorse and Gram Parsons. But not in that order.

Late Night Confidential #4 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Late Night Confidential #3

Late Night Confidential #3 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

90 minutes of me butchering the names of people, bands and the English language in general (and a bit of French) while I talk over some of my favorite songs from the first half of 2014. This episode features White Sea, Royksopp & Robyn, The Both, The Knife, Cibo Matto, Inventions, St. Vincent, The Haden Triplets, Agalloch, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Cry, EMA, Coeur de Pirate, Mark Kozelek, CUTS and Kawehi. BUT NOT IN THAT ORDER. Enjoy!

Late Night Confidential #2

Late Night Confidential #2 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Seeing as how I'm booked to go see Kate Bush live in London this fall, I decided to ramble on about some of my favorite Kate Bush songs. Also musing a bit about the prospect of going to see her live in 2014 after being a fan since about 84 or 85.

Late Night Confidential #1

Late Night Confidential #1 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

This episode is R.E.M.-themed. I've been listened to the R.E.M. rarities collection for the past few days (it was released last week) and I thought I'd run through some R.E.M. album cuts and b-sides.

Not that anyone cares, but I've changed the name of the show to Late Night Confidential. The name comes from the San Jose Sharks playoff run of 2011, when broadcasters Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda would do informal analysis in their hotel rooms after the games and post the videos online. It was kinda cool and amusing to see them with their hair down and their ties loosened, so to speak. It didn't last long, however, and they were shut down, presumably because the team/network/cable company wasn't able to monetize it. Speaking as a long-time Sharks fan, Late Night Confidential is probably the best thing to come out of any Sharks playoff run, so far.

Robot Cast #5

Travel back to the 80s with me in this week's edition of the Robot Hero podcast. It won't let me post all these as tags, so here are the bands and artists we'll be spinning: King Crimson, Kate Bush, Adrian Belew, Electric Light Orchestra, Tahnee Cain/Tryanglz, Art of Noise, Jean Michel Jarre, The Go-Go's, The Primitives, The Darling Buds, They Might Be Giants, Tin Machine, Fishbone, Todd Rundgren, The Innocence Mission, Book of Love.

Robot Cast #5 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Robot Cast #4

The return of the podcast. I bribed @chump_change into talking cover songs with me while I recorded the conversation. It's slightly less than an hour long, so give it a spin if you're so inclined.

Robot Cast #4 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

Lay your head where it burns

The new Lykke Li album, I Never Learn, is out and I love it. Seriously, with track titles like I Never Learn, Heart of Steel and Sleeping Alone, brutal heartbreak never sounded so good.

Check out Love Me Like I'm Not Made of Stone, then go track down the album and listen to it on repeat all day. You can thank me later.

Sweatin' to the Oldies

So, I've been going to a gym for the past month. I made a little mix of uptempo stuff to keep me company while I sweat and attempt to extend my life. A little rock, a little electro, a little dance and even some Jpop. One mp3, 20 tracks and it's just over an hour long. Please excuse the terrible title, it was all I could conjure up.

Tracklist and dl link after the jump.

Black Sabbeth

Beth Gibbons and UK metal band, Gonga, have teamed up for a cover of Black Sabbath's Black Sabbath. This version is cleverly titled, Black Sabbeth. I love Beth Gibbons, it's nice to hear her voice again. Check it out.

Before the Dawn

It's been over a year hiatus around here and it took Kate Bush to bring me back.

If you're somewhat familiar with her, you may have heard by now that Kate Bush is playing nearly a month's worth of shows, entitled Before the Dawn, in London this coming fall. If you've read this blog with any sort of regularity, you probably know that I've been a fan of Kate Bush for quite a long time. Outside of the odd appearance here or there, she hasn't done a proper concert or tour since 1979, now 35 years ago. I first discovered her music around 1985, when Hounds of Love was released, which makes about 29 years of pining for a live show. Seriously, it's been a long time.

Long after the Red Shoes (1993), but before Aerial (2005), I had pretty much given up any hope of new Kate Bush material. Thankfully, I was proven wrong. From 2005 to 2011, She's put out two albums of excellent new material. Three albums, really, if you count 2011's Director's Cut which is not really new material but, you know, something. That averages out to an album every two years in that time span.

Fast forward to 2014. There had been rumblings of Kate Bush news, but nobody knew what it was. Myself, I figured it might be a new album or song. That was probably the best I could and would hope for. Imagine my surprise. 1.30am, the morning of 21 March. I was about to go to bed when I see a cryptic tweet aimed at me that said "Wake up dude! You're not dreaming!" I didn't get it. Then, after a few moments of confusion on my part, I see some other tweets saying that Kate Bush has just announced London dates.

No. Fucking. Way.

I had been texting with my girlf right at that moment, who quite possibly is a bigger Kate fan than I. I texted something like "OMG KATE BUSH AT HAMMERSMITH", to which she replies "They're finally releasing the DVD?"

After my fingers fumbled a couple times, I finally got my point across.

Tickets went on sale last week. We were lucky enough to have presale codes and, after a few harrowing phone calls with our respective banks, we secured tickets for a few of the shows.

It's still a while away, the Kate Bush residency doesn't begin until the end of August and the shows we've booked are in the middle of September, but it's sort of like a dream that hasn't really sunk in yet. We checked our bank statements and the money has been debited (this will be the single most expensive ticket I've ever bought for a concert, not even counting the travel dollars that will be spent), but we don't have the tickets in our grubby paws yet and it's too early to work out a travel itinerary.

I suspect it'll become slightly more real once the tickets arrive. Baby steps, man. I've loved Kate Bush for nearly 30 years, so the wait from now to mid-September shouldn't be that bad. I mean, you know; theoretically. Right?

In any case, you can read more of my Kate Bush ramblings from over the years here, if you're so inclined.

Happy new year, peeps

For anyone that reads this page with any sort of regularity, I've decided I'm gonna take a little break from it. It may be a month, it may be twelve months, it may be forever; I don't know. I just feel like I need to unplug from some stuff. I'll be elsewhere, just...probably not here. It's not necessarily goodbye, it's more like see you later.

Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler - See You Next Year

Happy holidays!

Now that Christmas is upon us, I have a few gifts for whomever reads this page. I've taken the liberty of uploading Theoretical Girl's previous Advent Calendars. I've posted 09, 10 and 11. These files are all mp3s, as I like to burn mp3 discs to play in my car.  I'm pretty sure I've updated all of the metadata, but let me know if something is amiss.

This year's Advent Calendar is readily available on the Theoretical Girl Soundcloud page (and check out her album here), it should be easy to grab those.

Then, there is my Xmas mix which I posted about here. Check the comments if you're interested in hearing it.

Finally, there is the mix of my favorite songs from 2012 that I concocted, right here. Again, check the comments.

All this stuff, and this page on the whole, I mostly do it for my own amusement and it gives me something to write every once in a while. Even if it's just a couple sentences about some song I like. And, that's that.

Happy holidays from Robot Hero!

Wish I had all that money I used to spend on dope

One of the greats covered by one of the greats.

Neko Case - Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis

From Coney Island to the Sunset Strip

You'll have a yule that's cool! I love this.

Louis Armstrong - Cool Yule

All your words, they fall like snow

One of the bleakest Christmas songs ever, with lines like "It's so cold tonight, I know I'll die in your embrace." From their album, Songs About You. Check it out.

Language of Flowers - Christmas

Ode To Joy

Just came across this trippy New Order artifact which was ripped from a 1982 flexi-disc called Merry Xmas From The Haçienda And Factory Records.

You can get the lowdown on it if you click here.

New Order - Ode To Joy

Last Christmas

This one just popped up a couple days ago. A lot of peeps seem to like it, but it isn't doing much for me. I love a good, sad song but this one just feels too much like a funeral dirge to me.

The xx - Last Christmas

Christmas Mix

I'm fairly certain I've posted most (if not all) of these before. I just decided to make one big mix out of it. Happy listening!

Couldn't miss this one this year!

A classic from 1981. The Waitresses' tale of missed connections ends happily for all involved. It's a very catchy tune, as well.

The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping

You're on my mind

Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler - Home for the Holidays. From their album, This is Christmas (which is really good!).

A Robot on the Dance Floor

If you're interested, here is a collection of some of my favorite songs from the past year. As it goes with things like this, I've probably overlooked a few titles (it's so difficult to keep up!), so don't judge me too harshly.

Random thoughts:
Grimes actually shows up twice, once with her own song Oblivion and she guests on Blood Diamonds' Phone Sex. Call Me Maybe might raise an eyebrow or two, but I don't care because that song is so catchy and I didn't hear it often enough to get sick of it. I originally included PSY's Gangnam Style, but hearing it at the SF Giants' World Series parade effectively sounded the death knell; it was just too much overkill for me. It's practically a parody of itself now.

I also included Where The Wild Roses Grow from Kylie Minogue's Abbey Road Sessions album because it was re-worked plus she and Nick Cave recorded new vocals for it. I guess that qualifies that for a cover, even if it's being re-done by the original artists.

There are a few other covers; Tara Jane O'Neil doing Rainbow Connection, The National covering The Rains of Castamere which originally appeared in the Game of Thrones books (sorry, Song of Ice and Fire series). Jessica Paré covered Zou Bisou, Bisou which was in Season 5 of Mad Men and was also released on red 7" vinyl. Boris and Asobi Seksu released a RSD 7" on which they covered each other. I really love the Boris cover of New Years (they spell it Neu Years), so that one found its way onto the list. I also very much enjoyed Austra's cover of Radiohead's Paranoid Android.

Finally, I'm guessing the Songs from "Friday Afternoons", Op.7 - Cuckoo! by the Choir of Downside School, Purley is an old song (I haven't bothered to look it up), but it was featured on the Moonrise Kingdom soundtrack from earlier this summer and that's good enough for me.

iamamiwhoami's Play might be my favorite song of the bunch. It's like a siren-song lullaby from an alien world. What a jam.

In any case, this is it, for better or worse. I tried to sequence it for flow or what felt best to me, hopefully you'll enjoy on some level.

Tracklist after the jump.

How suddenly the Christmas magic dims

The lovely Kathryn Calder checks in with a new Christmas tune and drops a bit of heartache and a dash of hope into our collective stocking. Listen to Little Ones, which you can download here, along with the rest of TLOBF's Canadian Christmas compilation, for free. If you like this, check out more of Kathryn Calder's music here.

Kathryn Calder - Little Ones

Theoretical Girl's Advent Calendar 2012

In what has become one of my favorite Christmas traditions, Theoretical Girl is posting a song a day up to Christmas as part of her Advent Calendar series. Some of them are Christmas-y, some of them are just good old-fashioned covers, but they're all really cool and free. This is her fourth year doing it, I believe; I first stumbled onto her way back in 2009. Check out her Soundcloud page and get thee to downloading. She's on Day 8 as of this posting. I might actually post the previous three projects as .rars if I can get motivated at some point.

In any case, you can also keep up with the current Advent Calendar by stopping by the Theoretical Girl Facebook page and/or you can follow her Twitter feed. Her album, Divided, is very good as well, if you like what you're hearing and want to check out her original material.

If only I had wings

Man, I love this song. It's not Christmas unless I hear Kate Bush's Home For Christmas.

I'm Christmas-ing with you

The sweet, sweet voice of Karen Carpenter. I also like how she turns "Christmas" into a verb. And dig that sax solo.

You breathe the air

Stepping away from the Xmas tunes for a moment; I recently came across the new single, Dead Film Star, from Team Ghost (Nicolas Fromageau's post M83 project). I really like this song and its accompanying video. Watch the entire video, it's a trip. Their new EP (same title) is out now.

A little goes a long way

This is a pretty fun little Xmas tune by the punk band, MxPx.

The gift you give yourself

The always great Calexico with a somber, yet hopeful, Xmas tune called Gift X-Change.

Thanks for the Christmas card

Like most relationships, it didn't end amicably. She said she still wanted him to be in her life, that she wanted to be friends, but it's never that easy. She spouted platitudes and cliches so effortlessly, like she'd seen in a thousand terrible romantic comedies; almost as if the words actually meant something. Man, if only life were as simple as a terrible romantic comedy.

At first, the texts and emails were fairly frequent and regular; full of polite banter and small talk, as if they had just met. As the months passed, the messages dwindled into silence. She had completely cut him out of her life, but he still felt the pain, the heartache. There had once been a time when he thought she was the one, but she obviously didn't receive the memo. He finally realized he was no more fleeting or anonymous than a rest stop along her life's highway. Get out, stretch her legs, admire the view; then it's time to hit the road. "Yeah, yeah," the words echoing in his mind as he eyed her return address, "Thanks for the Christmas card." He lifted the glass to his lips and closed his eyes...

No presents for Xmas

Digging out a classic from nearly 30 years ago, it's King Diamond's 1985 gem, No Presents for Christmas. Man, I used to love Mercyful Fate.

You guys know what time it is?

From the ridiculous to the sublime. It's The Boss and his take on Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Vintage from 1975, I believe.

It's Christmmmmmaaaaassss!

Alright, peeps, Christmas season is upon us which means it's time for Christmas songs. Starting off with one of the worst Christmas songs I've ever heard, it's Jive Bunny's Let's Party. I thought I'd exorcised this demon from my consciousness, but it somehow popped into my head the other day. Click play and witness the horror.

Kill, kill, kill...

Kill the turkey.

A little Thanksgiving love from The National.

Four more years

Well done, America. Keep on rockin' in the free world.

Celebration Day

Tonight, I went to a screening of Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day. Disclaimer: I've never been a huge Zeppelin fan, I heard way too much of them in high school, but I certainly like them. I totally respect them and will pull out an album from time to time, but the stoners in high school pretty much killed off most of my enthusiasm for the band.

I remember reading about this show when it was first announced and didn't think much of it back then and never really heard anything after it happened. I read about this screening the other day (it would be a one-time screening) and again, I was skeptical, but I decided to check it out anyways. Imagine my surprise. It's absolutely jaw-dropping, start to finish. Seriously.

Yeah, Robert Plant can't hit the high notes like he used to but he still commands the stage. Jimmy Page shows up in a big way, showing he's still a master. John Paul Jones' bass and keyboards are excellent and Jason Bonham more than fills in for his late father, John Bonham; he plays like he belongs up there with those three legends.

They looked loose and playful while the musicianship was immense and tight. There was a moment before the first encore when Jimmy Page affectionately rubbed Jason Bonham's head. It made me think of how those three guys saw Jason as a child so many years ago and now there he was, a man honoring his father.

This wasn't the cash-in that I originally thought it might be. These guys played their hearts out while honoring (Atlantic Records founder) Ahmet Ertegun, John Bonham and their own legacy. They had fun and it showed.

The crowd in the theater was sparse, maybe around 20 people. There was a kid to my left, early to mid 20s, fist-pumping throughout the entire film. There was an older woman in front of me, easily in her 60s, her head nodding along to every song. There were a couple burnout looking hippies. There was a 20ish girl sitting alone at the other end of my row. Nearly everyone cheered and clapped after each song. A couple people would yell out in appreciation during a Page solo or when Plant would somehow find that extra gear and ratchet up the intensity. Standard concert behaviour. It was almost like being there, probably as close as I'll ever get to seeing Led Zeppelin live, and perhaps one of the very few times where you wouldn't mind people making that kind of noise in a movie theater. It was definitely a riveting experience.

If you like rock n' roll. If you think you like rock n' roll. See this now. They may be older now, but Led Zeppelin will show you how it's done.

Check out the trailer below. The BD, DVD and CDs will be out next month, on November 19th.

We could be the greatest

One of my favorite songs of 2012.

 

It Came from the 70s!

One of the benefits(?) of being unemployed is that I can spend lots of time making mixes. I've previously done the 80s and 90s, and now here is my version of the 70s. This one took me nearly a couple months of tinkering, adding and deleting and re-adding. It was kinda fun, really, there was a lot of stuff I'd forgotten about. Some of it for good reason. In any case most of these are just songs I loved as a kid, a few of these bands I've gotten into late; but they're all from the 70s in all their glory. Tracklist after the jump and check the comments for the r*a*r files. Enjoy.

Ascend

In case you've missed it, Godspeed You! Black Emperor are back with a new album called Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!. Despite the unwieldy title, this is another fine entry in the GYBE catalog. Apparently they've been selling copies of the album on their current tour, although they weren't available when I saw them last April. In any case, someone was kind enough to post the entire album and you can listen to it in full without even leaving this page. (You wouldn't want to leave this page, right? Right?)

Somebody isn't faking, someone's heart is breaking

Reading a really good article about power pop, I was recently reminded of Utopia's self-titled 1982 album. Chock full of great, catchy pop songs; man, I used to play this album to death. I love the way they really thrown themselves, vocally, into the songs. It's like they think these might be the last songs they'll ever sing.

Utopia - Bad Little Actress

I'm tired of feeling like I'm fucking crazy

I like this video, the opening monologue has a David Lynch feel to it. The song itself is magnificent as far as I'm concerned. You'll be able to find this on the Paradise Edition of Born To Die, which is coming next month and features 8 new tracks.

You make me feel like I'm the enemy

Minutes turn into hours into days into months. We used to have fun, now you make me feel like I'm the enemy.

The Raveonettes - The Enemy

Show me your scars

Frankie Rose's Pair of Wings is by far one of the loveliest songs I've heard this year. Frankie is a she, and she's ex Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts and Dum Dum Girls, if you need a pedigree. Check out her album, Interstellar, it's worth the time.

Frankie Rose - Pair of Wings

These are old blues

I've been having a Joanna Newsom sorta weekend, though I don't know what that says about how I'm feeling. Nevermind that, though. Today, I remembered this cover of Joanna Newsom's Sadie I heard some years ago, by this guy called Danny Malone. I don't know much about him except that he's from Austin, Texas. He turns Sadie into a sprawling alt-country number and it comes off remarkably well, in my estimation. Check out more of Danny Malone's music here.

Danny Malone - Sadie

I came back for more

Good news, everbody! Aimee Mann's new album, Charmer, was released today, and it's a gem. Subtle pop hooks mixed with biting wit and self-deprecating lyrics. So, typical Aimee Mann, then. And with the new album, comes a new video. This video for Labrador is very amusing and a nod to her old 'Til Tuesday days, if you remember them.

Lyrically, she compares herself to a dog who just keeps coming back for more no matter how bad you treat it. Visually, the video is sort of an update (remake?) to 'Til Tuesday's Voices Carry. And look for Jon Hamm in the vid! You can check out both videos below and you can pick up Charmer here.

It Came from the 90s!

For some reason, I felt like doing this decade as well. I suspect I'll probably do 00's and 70's mixes at some point as well. It's kinda fun, actually. Like the 80's mix, I stuck with one track per artist (which can be incredibly difficult) and tried to keep it under 700mb, which is the size of one blank CDR. So, for better or worse, this list is my version of the 90's.

As a friend said, it would be easy to be revisionist about it, but I did love bands like Oasis and Sarah McLachlan at one point. There are more than a few of these bands that I've outgrown, I haven't listened to some of this stuff in ages before undertaking this task, but these songs still touch me; or at least bring back some memories. In any case, it's all in good fun. As usual, feel free to mock me or praise me in the comments. I can handle it. Tracklist after the jump and R*A*R*s are in the comments.

30 years ago today

Man, I can't believe the US Festival was 30 years ago today (3/9/82). I totally wanted to go to this, but, believe it or not, this was actually a time when I was too young to do stuff like that. C'est la vie. Oh, and long live the Ramones! This video has their full 20-minute US Festival set. The sound is impeccable. 1-2-3-4!

Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?
Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment
Rock 'n' Roll High School
I Wanna Be Sedated
Beat on the Brat
The KKK Took My Baby Away
Here Today Gone Tomorrow
Chinese Rock
Teenage Lobotomy

I Belong in Your Arms

This is pretty sweet. A Japanese version of I Belong in Your Arms by Chairlift. There is a limited edition 7" of this version available here, in case you're interested. You can find the original version on their excellent album, Something, which was released earlier this year.

Chairlift - I Belong in Your Arms (Japanese Version)

Play

I recently discovered iamamiwhoami's Kin. It's pretty great; kind of like what you'd pour out if Bjork, Fever Ray and Portishead were all dropped into a blender. But whatever, the comparison is just to give you an idea; this album stands on its own.

I ran into Play about two weeks ago and I can't stop listening to it. This song is like a joyous celebration of life, love; whatever. It's like magic.

She's done up videos for each of the 9 songs on the album, you can check them out if you click here.

iamamiwhoami - Play

Faustian Echoes

I'm finally going to see Agalloch this coming weekend (at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco). I got into them a couple of years ago when they gave us Marrow of the Spirit. I remember looking up more info after first hearing the album and being disappointed that I missed their show which was barely a couple weeks prior to my discovery of them. But, you know, that's just the way it goes.

2012 brings us a new Agalloch EP, Faustian Echoes, the title track of which is a 21 minute epic that I'm looking forward to hearing in a live setting. I'm also looking forward to hearing my favorite song, Black Lake Nidstång, another epic (17 minutes!) which you can find on the aforementioned Marrow of the Spirit Album. I can't wait! In the meantime, check out Faustian Echoes.

Agalloch - Faustian Echoes

Robot Hero in Print

I've been meaning to scan this for ages and have only now just gotten around to it. This is the only time anything I've ever written has been printed in an actual, physical magazine. It was 2005 and I reviewed Kate Bush's Aerial for Slow Graffiti, which was a zine that was published by people from the now defunct Bowlie message board. Upon re-reading the review, I still feel the same way about the album although I would worded some of my thoughts a bit differently at this point in my life.

Also, I feel compelled to say that I've been learning to love The Red Shoes. Well, maybe not love it, but at least enjoy it on some level. It's not as bad as I make it out to be, it's just a departure from what she had been doing up to that point. In any case, the aforementioned review is pictured below. If you feel like reading it, you can click on the image to enlarge it.

Spring of Life

I've been so busy being unemployed, I missed a Perfume single that dropped a few months ago. So this new song, Spring of Life, is pretty much more of the same with Perfume, which is not a problem for me because I like the formula. Electro/dance music with sparkling production and the auto-tuned voices of gorgeous Japanese girls; what's not to love? It's simply a good time.

What really puts this song over the top for me is the video. I love the robot theme. It sorta makes me think of Blade Runner and all the little "friends" that are created by J.F. Sebastian. And the girls' electric light dresses are pretty spectacular. Check it out.

Perfume - Spring of Life