Tallest Man Tonight

Tonight I am off to see Tallest Man play in Boston.  Extremely excited.  To honor the events of tonight, I am sharing with you his new EP entitled Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird.  This quickly followed the amazing The Wild Hunt.  This includes one of my new favorite tracks by Tallest Man, "The Dreamer," which is his first recorded song on electric guitar.  The whole EP is great, so I hope you enjoy.

Tallest Man On Earth - Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird by Tills

Expectations Growing

I have been looking forward to seeing Ra Ra Riot live for a few weeks, and I finally got to check them out tuesday night.  They played a solid set at Toad's Place in New Haven, CT, which consisted of mainly new stuff off of The Orchard and a few from The Rhumb Line. 
Impressed?  Somewhat.  Satisfied?  Absolutely.  Overall, I loved their show.  They have a legit sound playing their stuff live.  Lead singer Wesley Miles has an amazing voice.  Kind of reminded me of better Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit, you know with out any effects or dependence on falsetto.  If you get a chance to see them, definitely do. I expect these guys to really bridge into main stream at some point.

I have to apologize, again,  for some static-y feedback in the videos.  Still working out the kinks.   I hope you enjoy what you can.

Do You Remember
Boy
Shadowcasting
You and I Know
I Can Tell
Too Dramatic

The Acorn Doesn't Fall Far...

I was hoping The Acorn's No Ghost would make my album of the week criteria, but unfortunately that is not the case.  I actually really like this band and enjoy No Ghost, but it isn't much of a step up from Glory Hope Mountain.  When that album came out, I was much more open minded as they were new and their sound was unique.  As their second album cropped up, I was much more observant as to how they had changed.  Well, they didn't.  If you liked Glory Hope Mountain you will most likely like No Ghost.  It's more of a B-Sides album, than a new LP.  I do hate to knock these guys though, as I am a fan, but as a fan I wanted more.  So, instead of album of the week, I am giving you a mini-album.  Here are some good tracks off No Ghost.  If you like, then I suggest you get both Glory Hope Mountain and No Ghost.

The Acorn - No Ghost by Tills

Tallest Man Grows Taller

Love this dude. Going to see him Friday night and hope to have my own live footage. For now, shhhh, listen and watch Kris cover "Journey to the Sky" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe


The Tallest Man on Earth from High/Low Film on Vimeo.

wikiHow: Cover an R. Kelly Song

How To Dress Well is getting a lot of praise.  Tom Krell's first release entitled Love Remains is touted as being a great album for 2010.  Pitchfork seems to think so at least.  I haven't heard too much from him, but am looking forward to hearing this album.  I did stumble upon a sweet video though. This video came out on yourstru.ly  today. At first you may want to think this is a joke because it's a cover of R. Kelly's "I Wish."  Ballsy move, but he is actually singing this song for someone he lost.  Dude shows some serious emotion while killing this cover.  Poor choice of words, but enjoy none-the-less.


HOW TO DRESS WELL "WAKING UP TO LIFE SOMETIMES SEEMS WORSE" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

A Not So Delighted Person

So, I will admit it. I have had a man crush on Sufjan Stevens. There was a time when I believed he could make anything sound good. With his new EP All Delighted People, I feel like that feeling is fading.  I wouldn't call his new EP bad, but I wouldn't compare it to his previous works.  I mean, in all honesty, Illinoise is probably in my top ten albums of all time.  So, my expectations for Sufjan are fairly high.  My disappointment in All Delighted People is that it is, well, boring.  It seems like Sufjan hasn't grown that much.  Sure he's done some different kind of work with his BQE project and some cameos on compilation albums, but this album just seems stale.  I am hoping that when a full length album finally comes out, which will be his first true full length album since Illinoise (discounting Avalanche), it will change my life just as Illinoise did.  So, here is the title track off All Delighted People, which I like and believe to be the best track there.  I have also included the alternate version which comes on the EP.  To compare to, also take a listen to the two versions of "Chicago." This what I want from Sufjan.  Enjoy.

Sufjan Stevens by Tills

Album of the Week

This week's Album of the Week isn't exactly an album. A month or so ago, Arcade Fire played Madison Square Garden and the concert was filmed. It was an awesome show from what I saw from the video. I have taken it upon myself to convert those videos to mp3s which makes for a pretty amazing, ten track album. The songs are in order from beginning of the show to the end of the show. Obviously, the concert was longer than ten songs, but they only recorded ten videos. Arcade Fire may very well have the best album of 2010 and if you haven't heard The Suburbs, you are missing out. I hope you enjoy the live set by Arcade Fire and apologize for no new album, but it's been a slow week as far as new music that is good. (Remember, Album of the Week is at the bottom of the blog, or you can click the link at the top left). Go To Album Of The Week

A song for Friday

Who doesn't like a little Kanye on Friday? New song: "Good Friday." Enjoy the weekend!

Kanye West - Good Friday (Feat. Common, Pusha T, KiD CuDi, Big Sean, Charlie Wilson) by Tills

The Little Intimidators

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., that's right two juniors, is a duo from Detroit.  They are a must hear.  "Nothing But Our Love" was an immediate favorite when I heard it.  Their first release is an EP entitled Horse Power, which contains four solid tracks, one of which is a Beach Boys cover of "God Only Knows."  They have a good electronic, folky sound with some whimsical vocals, especially on "Vocal Chords."  Clearly these guys are serious about their music, but not too serious about life, as you can tell from their name and their hilaroious video for "Nothing But Our Love," which plays on the NASCAR theme.  Enjoy Horse Power EP as well as the video for "Nothing But Our Love."

Horse Power EP by Tills

Hungry for Dinner Belles

This is killing me. Blogotheque has had this take-away show up for a week or so now, and I still can't find any music from Dinner Belles. "Til The Dawn" has been stuck in my head for days.  It's a great song.  I just wish these guys would make an album or something.  It seems as though they just live in the woods, in Ontario and jam.  Clearly, that is the life, but the fans want more.  Dare I say, they are ringing the dinner bell for Dinner Belles.  Sorry.  Here is "Til The Dawn."



Dinner Belles - Til The Dawn from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

"It's Hoodie, It's Hoodie..."

Hoodie Allen, one of my new favorite artists, put out a mixtape today.  Love this guy.  White MC from Long Island.  He has an awesome flow which reminds me of a better Little T and One Track Mike.  Sort of an easy-listening rapper.  What makes him unique are his beats.  He is taking indie rock songs and mixing them up or just plain rapping over them.  Like "Tighten Up," which is a Black Keys song.  "Get it Big Time," a Yeasayer mix.  My personal favorite is "Words of Wisdom" which is a Too Door Cinema Club remix.  I like him enough to give him some love and share his mixtape with you.  Here is Pep Rally.  Enjoy the free download while it lasts...

The Pep Rally Mixtape by HoodieAllen

Anything you can do, I can do, better

So, there is some irony in the title of this post in regards to the subject.  Last night I was lucky enough to experience a Broken Social Scene (BSS) concert at Toad's Place in New Haven, CT.  The irony here is that BSS is probably the most humble, crowd pleasing, love sharing band out there.  The thing is, they may also be the best live band out there.  I have seen my fair share of shows, and some good ones at that.  Last night's show has just taken the crown.  Best Show I Have Ever Seen.  For those of you who know me, and have seen shows with me, know that I will not throw this title around.  I feel confident enough to say that if you think you have seen a great show; you haven't.  If you think someone has more energy live; they don't.  If you think, as an audience member, you were involved; you weren't.  If you think a band loved performing for you and left everything on the stage; Nope.  So, yes, a message to bands out there:  Anything you can do, BSS can do it better; and did.  I witnessed this first hand last night.
This was one of those experiences where your favorite band played almost every song in their catalog, for nearly three hours, without a break, in a tiny-ass venue.  Could not ask for anything else.   A set list that included all the highlights from You Forgot it in People, Broken Social Scene, Forgiveness Rock Record, and even a way back track from Feel Good Lost. For the fans of BSS out there, think of a song you know and love, and they played it.  It was sort of a Best of BSS scenario.  They even took requests! Their ability to make all of their songs sound even more perfect than on an album is incredible.  Even off-the-cuff tracks, shouted out by audience members, were nailed. Some of the highlights were the opening song "7/4 Shoreline," "Hotel," "Texico Bitches," a Lisa Lobsinger lead "Anthems For a Seventeen Year-old Girl," an audience driven "Lover's Spit," "Superconnected," and a ten minute version of "Meet Me In The Basement" to end the show.
For those of you that don't know Broken Social Scene, you need to.  The crowd at the show was by no means a fandom. The over all exiting thoughts of those leaving the show were "Wow, I need to go back and listen to their other stuff." or "Who were those guys again? That was amazing." Literally, those are quotes I heard.
I have always loved this band, and have seen them live before, but I have a new found respect and admiration for what they do.  They knew why we were there, what we wanted to hear, and how to give it to us in the most selfless, energetic, and genuine way.

Here are a few videos from the show.  (These are the first videos I have taken from a show, so I apologize for some of the crackling in the sound quality. I hope to get better):

Sweetest Kill
Fire Eye'd Boy
Cause = Time

Album of the Week

I hope you all enjoyed last week's album.  It didn't actually last a week, but it's time to move on to bigger and better things.  (If you are looking to still listen to Relayted by Gayngs, the lucky few following my "album" soundcloud page can find it there).
This week's album is one that has been on repeat for the past couple weeks.  For those of you who know me, songs and albums don't usually last with me past a few days before its time to move on to something else.  Ra Ra Riot's The Orchard broke my usual cycle.  For this reasons, and many others, I have been anxiously waiting to share it with you.  If you are not familiar with Ra Ra Riot, there sound reminds me of a softer, poppier Vampire Weekend with strings.  That may sound good and bad to you.  Sure, Vampire Weekend can be pretty poppy, and to get poppier may be off putting.  I am right there with that line of thinking.  However, The Orchard is so well crafted and produced, that your hesitation to enjoy a pop album is erased.  I want to call  The Orchard perfect, but that is my excitement about this album running over.  In actuality, this album has many tracks that have great potential to be radio worthy and video worthy, if MTV still showed videos.  In today's world, I expect blogs to hype this album for the next month as well as Ra Ra Riot becoming a YouTube favorite.
The Orchard is the band's second full length album, and  compared to their previous albums, it is much more subdued and refined.  This band has seen a lot of change, from signing to a major label record company to losing their drummer, who drowned in some mysterious accident.  (This may be an explanation for their connection to Massachusetts, as that is where the terrible accident occurred).  In any case, from all their ups and downs, the band has a bright future.  I am officially a fan for a long time after hearing The Orchard. I hope you enjoy The Orchard as much as I do.

A Jukebox I would put money in

You probably haven't heard of Jukebox the Ghost.  They haven't been much of a headlining band or blogged about phenomena; however, they have a chance.  Their new album, Everything Under The Sun,came out last week. Like the band, the album is nothing spectacular.  That's not to say they don't have talent or a sound that will catch your ear.  The band itself is comprised of three guys: a guitarist, a piano player, and a drummer.  The main problem for the band is that of the three, only one has talent.  The piano player, Ben, has some serious singing chops and can tickle the ivories as good as anyone.  I would compare him to a working man's Ben Folds with a sprinkling of Billy Joel.  Clearly that may be an exaggeration, but this is my attempt to compare this piano player to the few that I know.  In any case, if Ben started his own band, I'd invest.  Tommy, the guitar player, just plain sucks.  He would not win a high school talent show.  So, here lies the problem.  They both sing on the album. The benefit of Everything Under The Sun, is that Tommy only has a few songs.  Compared to their last album, Let Live and Let Ghosts, where they split singing duties.  If they could just realize that they would be greatly more successful if Tommy took a backseat, they would be touring with some bigger names and possibly be the headliner themselves.  Now, I must say their record label is pushing for them to be big regardless of Terrible Tommy.  They did do Letterman last month, and their new album was produced by Peter Katis who worked with the likes of Interpol and The National (two of my favorite bands).  The new album will probably grow some legs and end up in some thirty-somethings iTunes collection.  Hopefully, the future will bring good things to Jukebox.  As long as Ben is the only singer and their record company has them stay with high quality producers, these guys could be a largely accepted band.
Watch them live on Letterman playing "Schizophrenia." "Schizophrenia" - Letterman
Listen to "Nobody" from the new album Everything Under The Sun.

Jukebox The Ghost - Nobody by Tills

What's going on here?

One of my goals for this blog is to post a new album weekly for your listening pleasure, as well as a great song or two.  My original plan was to post the new album The Orchard from Ra Ra Riot, but a friend had a request.  So, enjoy Relayted by Gayngs. - http://www.jagjaguwar.com/onesheet.php?cat=JAG165

The Beginning

Welcome to your friendly, neighborhood, music blog.  I hope to keep up with this blog as much as I keep up with the music scene.  Clearly this is tailored to the few.  Yes, that's you.  Enjoy what you read and what you hear.