Podcast!!

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***Something's very wrong with my iTunes feed. I tried another podcatcher (Juice) and it downloaded just fine. I haven't been able to access my feed on iTunes for a month now, and I've even tried two different computers.

I screwed up something :( I e-mailed Libsyn, but so far nothing they've suggested to me has helped. If anyone has any ideas, please e-mail me at ceruleanlobster@gmail.com***


Brad Sucks, Making Me Nervous (from his site)

He also has a Myspace

Voom Blooms, "Thoughts of Rena" (from KEXP)

Voom Bloom's Myspace and their Website

Chris and Thomas, "Take These Thoughts"
(IODA Promonet asks that I include the following information in exchange for posting the mp3)

Download "Take These

Thoughts" (mp3)
from "Land of Sea"
by chris and thomas
Defend

Music Inc.

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at
  
  eMusic
• Buy at
  
  Napster
• Buy at
  
  Rhapsody
• Stream from
  
  Rhapsody

More On This Album



Jenny Toomey, "Inarticulate Boyfriend" (from her label's site) She has a website, but no Myspace is listed.


Stars, "The Night Starts Here"

IODA information:

Download "The Night Starts

Here" (mp3)
from "In Our Bedroom After the War"
by Stars
Arts &

Crafts

More On This Album

Ballboy, "I Hate Scotland" (from their website) They also have a Myspace.

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

**Before I begin, I wanted to let y'all know that regarding my podcast, I've been having issues with my iTunes feed for the last month. I've been e-mailing Libsyn, where I host my podcast, but so far no solution. If anyone is familiar with accessing podcast RSS feeds through iTunes, I would sure appreciate some help**

The Raveonettes,"Dead Sound" (Direct link. I originally got the link from In House With Jeremy Petersen).

The Raveonettes always come in fast and furiously. They purposefully limit the number of chords they use, and the vocals stringently stay within the same guidelines. It's like a pop version of the punk motif, though they're limiting themselves as a style choice, not because..cough cough...they only know three chords, like some punk bands (I love the punk, but it be a true a statement.)

The Raveonettes goal with the quick and dirty approach to is to knock us over and leave us with something branded on our memory; we know something hit us, but we're not really sure what.

Myspace
Website


The Raveonettes

The Radio Dept., "The Worst Taste In Music " (Direct Link)

I've been listening to The Radio Dept. for years--I posted one of their songs somewhere around the time I first started this blog. Their music is overlaid with fuzzy feedbackness (which I love), but underneath is always a top-notch rock song, complete with dramatic piano and amplified guitar. The singer's voice glides over the dramatic music as if he's trying to blend his voice in with the fuzz, as if he knows that there's already so much going in the song that he needs to pick a side and go with it, rather than trying to add another layer to a song that's already close to becoming a "wall of sound".

Myspace
Label Site


The cover for the Radio Dept.'s Pet Grief

<Elk City, "Los Cruzados" (Direct link. I originally got the link from In House With Jeremy Petersen).

There's something very timeless, as in outside-of-time, about the singer's vocals. Is it Patti Smith from the 1970s? The song could easily be from this era; it could come on the radio right after a Fleetwood Mac song. Her voice is as smooth and as slick as the singer's from 80's band, The Motels. Where The Motels were gorgeously and richly harkening back to the romanticism of the 40s (especially with the singer's attire), I get the sense that the singer for Elk City is letting her vocal style fall where it's destined to fall; whether she's aware of any anachronistic qualities or not. The song even has a little spaghetti-western guitar in it, which means if it had been released a few years ago, it would've been a great candidate for one of the Kill Bill movies.


Myspace
Website


Huh...instead of bed head, we now have the term "Elk Head".

Bonus: Jamming in the Middle East

Cool video from The Chemical Brothers, "Do It Again" (Ok, well the first five seconds are more distressing than cool, but the rest of it is great).

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

St. Vincent, "Now Now"

This song is an interesting, incongruous (but very clever) mix of assured, mature, emotionally engaging vocals and lyrics and very nursery-rhymish, child-like instrumentation and backing vocals. It's almost like the adult is having a conversation with her "inner child" (sorry for the new age reference.) The music fades in on a few simple, very twinkling notes. Then, what sounds like a children's chorus comes in like a sub-conscious Greek Chorus, echoing the singers very mature, very assured assertations that comprise the lyrics. The singer (Annie Clark, who's really the whole band) says she's not "the carpet you walk on...the feather at your feet..the pawn to your king...", and more. The chorus agrees, until it breaks in with "You don't mean that, say you're sorry". Ow! Rough having your inner children discounting every positive statement you say! Despite the dichotomy, though, I know I'm going to have the Greek Chorus running through my head all day, in addition to the part where she says "I'm not any, any, any, anything". I hope that line doesn't seed in my head or something. I might end up having some problems with my inner children.

Myspace
Website


Teri Hatcher gone wild (no, really it's Annie Clark of St. Vincent)

Jenny Toomey, "Charm City"

This is from her 2001 album Antidote (though I'm planning on putting one of the songs from her 2002 album Tempting on my podcast next week). I realize 2001 isn't exactly new, but I just heard these songs and I think they're awesome. The one rule for getting into Cerulean's Love of Music: Awesomeness*. This song has a bluesy quality that I love, but that I expect more from Bonnie Raitt--someone who came from a roots-music perspective. Y'know, though, I'm not really surprised. The music I love (the "indie" music, the eclectic music) delves into all genres. I'll post a straight-up country song sung by a girl with tatoos all over her (yes, The Duhnks, I'm referring to you). That's one of the things I hate about the label "indie". It means nothing regarding the style of music. It could be any style, but some people think it means "Bright Eyes". And I hate those people.

Anyways, I've gone way off track. The point is, this is its own song; categorization isn't easy, and so it shouldn't be. She's got a gorgeous, very plaintive voice and the song moves along with speed and the ease of knowing it's doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing--rocking (yes, I said it). Also, the ending is awesome--violin seems to collide with violin. It's violin on violin violence. I love it.

*speaking of which: Barney from How I Met Your Mother totally got nominated for an Emmy, totally due to awesomeness and rockitude!

Website
Good (but older) article on Jenny Toomey
Label she co-created (and co-ended) in the 90s, Simple Machines.
(No Myspace listed)


Jenny Toomey and friend

Kicksville, "Sansun" (see below)

Trying to find information about this band is daunting. Their website has very little but a few links, most of which lead to a record label that they're not listed on under "artists". Then there's a link to their page on a social networking site that I can't decipher because for some reason my computer mangles some social networking pages. There are also links to other mp3s.

It's appropriate that the band is enigmatic, because their song "Sansun" is so flowing and at ease that's it's almost intangible. When I finish listening to it, the only thing I'm aware of is complete relaxation, and the memory of a melody sung fluidly in a completely (to me) foreign language. I'm completely ignorant when it comes to African languages, but the vocals in this song remind me of the African vocals in Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes", so I'm just going to display my unlearnedness and claim that the language seems to be of African origin. Of course, I will be completely embarrassed if someone says "Lola, he's singing in English". Then I will profess to not being able to understand spoken English, though I am quite proficient in written English. Not understanding the lyrics at all doesn't harm my appreciation of the song. It's hard for me to listen to this just song once; I want to put it on repeat and recline in a hammock somewhere reading the new Harry Potter book I got yesterday. I don't have a hammock, though, or anywhere to hang a hammock.

Kicksville's Myspace is no help in understanding their origin. In fact, I feel more like they're from another planet. The Citizenry of Kicksville has a Myspace. I know--I don't understand anymore, either. Even the guy from their label can't put it into words. They're an experience.

(I found this page through the magic of googling. It has credits for all the songs and mp3s. I still don't know what language "Sansan" is in, though).

Download "Sansan" (mp3)
from "Enter The Flavor Hut"
by Kicksville
Ropeadope Digital

• Buy at iTunes Music Store

More On This Album

Podcast shownotes (better late than never)!

(By the way--I forgot to change the date on it. It's supposed to be July 16th, 2007.

I'm annoyed b/c my podcast isn't downloading in iTunes (yes, I subscribe to my own podcast. How else will I know it's (not) working?) I e-mailed Libsyn. We'll see what happens. I've never gotten my podcast to be searchable on iTunes; I had to manually subscribe. I'm really perturbed that it's not downloading, though.

Augustus Sweetheart, "Eagle Dad" (from their Myspace)

Their Label Site (a lot of people in that there band).

**Coincidence alert! One of their many influences is Aden, who's coming up**

**Disclaimer alert. Oh, and, er, according to their website the band members all play in other bands now. Oops. Hope you didn't get too excited. Serrry...**

Through The Sparks, "Falling Out of Favor With The Neighbors" (from their label site)

Okay! This band is still around! Let's give them a hand for that! (I've been burned so many times by finding a band and finding out they're kaput. Anyhoos, yay for bands that are still together).

Website
Myspace

Yo La Tengo, "Detouring America With Horns"

IODA, where I got the mp3, asks I include this information:

Download "Detouring America With Horns" (mp3)
from "May I Sing With Me"
by Yo La Tengo
Alias

More On This Album



Aden, "Scooby-Doo" (from Last.fm)

Website
Label Site

Okay, I loved them. It appears they're not together anymore, though. This has not been a banner musical week! I'm sleepy. I need to go to sleep.

A Sunny Day In Glasgow, "5:15" (from KEXP)

Website
Myspace

One more:

The National, "Fake Empire" (from Salon's Audiofile)

They are still around. They just had an album recently.

Website
Myspace

Time for bed now.

Podcast!!!

Direct Download

Rss Feed

(Oh, and I was wrong about that song being from that album. Oops.)

I'll post the show notes tomorrow night. I'm just too gorram tired.

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

Okay, so today was a horrible day at work. They put me on the phones for the first time, and the phone calls were constant. I don't really feel comfortable doing what I'm doing yet, and I'm very slow at it, and here's person after person wanting to know something quickly or wanting something done quickly. So, I'm very tired and my brain feels mushy (more so than usual). All this means is that this post might not be as well-developed as usual. I apologize before hand, and then I attempt to stop the leaking from my brain.

Palomar, "Our Haunt"

I featured this band a few months ago. "The Planiac", on SXSW's '05 site, is still a great song and one of my favorites I've heard from them. I'm hoping to get permission to put their song "Bury Me Closer" on my podcast, but I'm not sure I will. This week, though, I'm posting another great song of theirs-- this one available on their label's site--"Our Haunt". The vocals are purposefully a little off-kilter and acerbic, bringing to mind a strange, un-thought of combination of the sunniness of the Aisler's Set and the rawness of Hole. The music is definitely played hard; the piano and guitar funnel an intensity that explodes during the chorus.

Myspace
Website


Palomar, breaking bread

Through The Sparks, "Mexico (Every Last Buffalo)" (Direct Link)

I'm not biased because they're from my first adopted hometown, Birmingham, Alabama. That is not a criterium for getting into my good graces. Okay, so it helps get my attention, that's for sure. Then after that, the quality of the music determines if they get a hallowed, glorious spot on this webpage. This song is just completely engaging. The singer eerily sounds like David Bowie from the 70's, and honestly, this song wouldn't have been out of place in Ziggy Stardust's repetoire--early 70's. Very Velvet Goldmine. The lyrics even contain the phrase "space age" and mention the 70's. Unrelated, the singer also mentions "polymer" which sounds like "palomar" which is just weirdly coincidental. The music is playful: a keyboard plays slightly spacy organ music and the bass guitar punches each break between the vocals with a cute succession of notes. Towards the end, they add several more instruments which fills out the song a bit more, but the song still retains it's great space oddity-ness.


Myspace
Website


Through The Sparks

Rose Melberg, "Time Has Come " (Direct Link)

Her music is as lovely as she is. Light vocals overlay a slightly alt-country acoustic lament. If I didn't know otherwise, I might think this is a long-lost Cowboy Junkies or Mazzy Star (Oh God--I miss Mazzy Star so much) song. Mazzy Star would be the best comparison--the music isn't as prone to twang as Cowboy Junkies (no disrepect to twang--I love twangy country, too) and her voice is heart-chillingly sad. Her voice echoes, like she's in the most acoustically hollow space ever. It's simply gorgeous, and if I weren't so fond of the indoors and unhappy with insects in general, it might make me want to sleep under the stars in a New Mexican desert (which I've done before, and would love to do again.) Never mind that she's Canadian and further from the desert than I am.

Myspace
Unofficial Website


Rose Melberg

Podcast later

Oot. Blog post will be done tonight-- podcast too. I misjudged how long shopping, Harry Potter and Hookah (hookah!) would take. I apologize.

***

Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By

Lola is broadcasting to you from Drivel, housed on Ubuntu, a Linux variant. I'm having a helluva time getting used to all this new software. I'm going to attempt to use Audacity next week to do my podcast. Yeah, new is scary. I'm attempting to extricate myself from Windows' megalomaniac grasp, though. The conversion may take a little long than I thought to complete, though--especially since Ubuntu has frozen twice already this morning.

Nina Nastastia and Jim White, "In The Evening"

I've written about Nina Nastasia before; the song I posted a few months ago is still one of my top favorite songs: "Treehouse Song". Every time I hear a song from her, though, it becomes one of my new favorites. In this song, I'm struck by the trepidation and sad acceptance in her voice. She says "after we darken up our home, you see my hands are trembling from an uneasy knowing." Okay, that's just sad, but honest. Jim White, the drummer for the band Dirty Three, is co-credited as her collaborator on the entire album You Follow Me, as also her previous album On Leaving.

Label Website
Myspace


Nina Nastasia


The Icy Shores, "Backseat" (see below)

On their website, there's a Q and A with the members of the band. One of the questions is addressed to the two members from Alabama (the band is Minneapolis-based). They're asked what the differences are between Alabama and Minnesota. One of the band members replied "people here [in Minnesota] wear pants". Hee! I spent the 90's in Birmingham, and I miss it very much, but I'm not above finding that funny. For the record, though, since I moved to Florida I'm less likely to wear pants. This song gets a little emo at the end, but that doesn't stop me from bopping out on most of it. Yes, I said "bopping out". That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm just bopping my little (newly Ubuntu-d) heart out. "Backseat" is from the album "What You Get and How You Get It", and it has thrashy guitars like I love.

Stuff IODA Promonet wants me to say:

Download "Backseat" (mp3)
from "What You Get And How You Get It"
by The Icy Shores
Catlick Records

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at eMusic
• Stream from Rhapsody
• Buy at Rhapsody
• Buy at Napster
• Buy at GroupieTunes

More On This Album
Myspace

Cajun Dance Party, "The Next Untouchable" (see below)

I want to go to a cajun dance party! I miss cajun food. When I lived in Alabama, there was a bit of a cajun influence, being not far from Looziana. There was a great lunch-type place that served gumbu, dirty rice, all the great cajun stuff. They had a wonderful buffet. I miss that place. There's also a live music venue called Zydeco, but I don't remember them ever playing any zydeco music.

Anyways, this song has nothing to do with Zydeco or food or anything I just mentioned. It is very infectious, though, and I would definitely dance to it if it played at a cajun dance party (or anywhere). Oh yeah, and they're teenagers, but I don't hate them for it.

Website
Myspace


I had to use the video instead of an actual mp3 because I can't figure out where I got the mp3 from, and I'm trying to do that whole "legal" thing. I know--how limiting.


Cajun Dance Party are wondering where the Cajun disco ball is

Okay, so Ubunto has frozen several times. It looks like I'll have to have a 2nd computer open to look up websites.

Update: The Ubunto experiment ended in me crying.

Podcast!!!

(One day I'll learn to balance the volume. Also, one day I'll learn to make little icons for iTunes and other podcatchers.)

RSS Feed
Direct MP3

My Teenage Stride, "To Live and Die In The Airport Lounge"

Website
Myspace

Meowskers, "Name To A Face"

Website (Leads to their Myspace)
Myspace

Southerly, "Dreams That Make Men Free" (From Fanatic Promotions, but not for me to redistribute).

Website
Myspace

John Doe and Kathleen Edwards, "The Golden State"

Website
Myspace

The Contrast, "Can't Stand The Light"

Website
Myspace

Thanks for reading/listening! New podcast in two weeks and new blog post in one week.Podcast!!!