Friday, March 31

Irving / Athens this weekend

L.A.-based quintet Irving doesn't sound at all like an act from the City of Angels. At least my glam/punk stereotype of one. If you read music blogs regularly you've probably seen them mentioned time and again, but this is the first they've appeared on C&T. I think they're more than worth the space. They play indie pop/rock along the lines of The Beatles (am I allowed to compare bands to the Beatles?), Belle and Sebastian, or Jens Lekman.

The most difficult part of authoring this post, honestly, has been to select which tracks to post. I seem to feel about Irving how Confessions of a Music Addict feels about The Films -- each new track I hear becomes my favorite. However, I found that three tracks I rather liked are hosted on the Eenie Meenie site. Those are linked below. Their new album Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers is due out April 4.

Irving - Situation
Irving - Turn of the Century
Irving - I Can't Fall in Love

They are currently in the middle of a lengthy tour, and you can see the dates (and check out more tracks) on their MySpace page. You can pre-order their forthcoming album from Insound.

Notably (I guess), their video for "Situation" will also debut on the Subterranean show (I've never seen) on MTV2 (which I don't have) this weekend. Apparently it's on April 2 at midnight, which I guess means late at night on Saturday. Like, during SNL. I think. You can also view it on their homepage. It's kinda cool -- reminds me of those recent Of Montreal videos I posted, only if they had a bit more of a budget to work with.

-------------------------

Yesterday I neglected to mention a couple shows of note in Athens, GA, this weekend:

Psychic Hearts 7" release party tonight (3/31) at Caledonia Lounge:


Also in Athens:
3/31 I Am The World Trade Center/The Whigs @ 40 Watt
4/01 Russian Spy Camera, Cars Can be Blue, Subersivo, Heros Severum @ Tasty World

If there's more going on, just say so in the comments. Hope to see some of you out and about this weekend. Spring has sprung in Georgia, and it's downright gorgeous. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, March 30

The Jupiter Watts / ATL weekend preview

The Jupiter Watts are a quartet from here in Atlanta. They play guitar-driven rock along the lines of Guided by Voices, Built to Spill, or Superchunk. Some moments also remind me of R.E.M. or Cracker as well. Perhaps unsurprisingly, their MySpace page lists a number of classic rock and '90s indie rock bands among their influences. Their current (and second) album, Let It Lie, has received rave reviews from both Stomp and Stammer and EvilSponge. It's ten tracks of new millenium rock with clear roots in the tradition of their indie rock predecessors. "Standing on the shoulders of giants" is the relevant phrase, right? I don't believe they've gotten much exposure beyond the Atlanta market, so here's a chance for folks to check out a couple of their tracks. Thanks to the band for giving me a chance to listen!

The Jupiter Watts - Strange Things Happen Every Day
The Jupiter Watts - Atom Mine

They have upcoming Atlanta shows on March 31 at Lenny's (with The Orphins, The Blue Hour, and Club Awesome) and April 8 at The EARL (with The Liverhearts and Moresight).

You can buy the album from CD Baby. For more info, see their official site or MySpace page.

-------------------------------------


Atlanta weekend preview

Here's a peek at the goings-on in Atlanta this weekend (though far from comprehensive). I've provided mp3 samples where I could find 'em. The shows with stars are where you can find me and my mic stand. Come say hi if you want.

3/31 @ Lenny's, $6
The Orphins, The Jupiter Watts, The Blue Hour, Club Awesome
The Orphins - Camp Cryotop
The Jupiter Watts - Strange Things Happen Every Day

3/31 @ Variety Playhouse, $14*
Mates of State, Magnolia Electric Co. , Destroyer, Maria Taylor
Mates of State - Fraud in the '80s
Magnolia Electric Co. - The Dark Don't Hide It
Destroyer - European Oils
Maria Taylor - Song Beneath the Song

3/31 @ The EARL, $15
The Books, Grizzly Bear
The Books - (link to Hype Machine)
Grizzly Bear - Fix It

3/31 @ Hard Rock Cafe, $7
Sovus Radio, Elevation, Manchester Orchestra (Elevation CD release party)
Sovus Radio - Love as a Bruise
Elevation - FaceDown
Manchester Orchestra - Alice and Interiors

4/1 @ Vinyl, $6
Tora Tora Tora, AutoVaughn, Boulevard
Tora Tora Tora - Last Call
Boulevard - Octane Lovers

4/1 @ Lenny's, $7*
The Selmanaires, Anna Kramer, The Judies, The Roy Owens Jr.
The Selmanaires - Images
Anna Kramer - I Can't Take It
The Judies - Rainyday Roads
The Roy Owens Jr. - Nearly Perfect

4/1 @ The EARL, $7
The Clash on Flat Shoals
(local bands play Clash covers all night!)

For more on this weekend's shows, see Confessions of a Music Addict.

Wednesday, March 29

Thom Yorke - Bridge School Benefit, Oct. 26, 2002

In October 2002, Radiohead's Thom Yorke (solo & acoustic) played each night of the annual Bridge School Benefit shows. As you may know, these are organized each year by Neil Young (yes, that one) to aid The Bridge School in its mission to assist children with severe speech and physical disabilities. Each year they manage to assemble an amazing lineup of artists eager to perform for such a good cause. Today I share Thom's set from the first day of the 2002 edition of the shows, and I plan to provide the set from the second day in the near future. FYI, this is a damn good digital audience recording reportedly done with handy little Audio Technica 831's.

Thom Yorke
October 26, 2002 - Bridge School Benefit
Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA

01. introduction
02. Everything in its Right Place
03. I Might Be Wrong
04. Sail to the Moon
05. Like Spinning Plates
06. There There
07. Pyramid Song
08. Lucky
09. After the Gold Rush [Neil Young cover]

For more on this show, see the relevant entry at Green Plastic Radiohead.

You can donate to The Bridge School at this link.

Please let me know if the filehosts act up. I'm using both EZarchive and File Lodge to host these, so we'll see if any bandwidth issues emerge. Enjoy!

Bonus mp3:
Pedro the Lion - Let Down [live Radiohead cover]

UPDATE: 6:25pm, 4/3, rehosted tracks 6-9 on EZarchive. Sorry FileLodge crapped out.

Tuesday, March 28

The Lovely Sparrows


The Lovely Sparrows are one of several very good bands currently on the roster of San Francisco-based Abandoned Love Records. As you can probably tell by looking at the picture above, they're a four-piece. As you may not be able to tell from the pic, they're from Austin, Texas, and they play darn good pop music. To date I have only sampled the three tracks available in this post -- two appear on the "Glad Rangers" 7" release and all three are available on their MySpace page. This is infectious stuff in the mold of New Pornos, GBV, or Destroyer. Principal songwriter Shawn Jones handles most of the vocal duties on the songs below, but they do also feature occassional guy/girl harmonies. They have an EP due out later this year titled Pulling Up Floors, Putting on (New) Paint. I'll be sure to post an update when the release date is announced.

The first track below, "I Have a Need You See", begins by saying that "I have a need you see/to exceed your expectations." Well, I can say they've certainly done that. I'll be looking forward to checking out the EP when it becomes available. For now, give these a listen:

The Lovely Sparrows - I Have a Need You See
The Lovely Sparrows - If Love is a Sparrow
The Lovely Sparrows - Glad Rangers

You can also read a write-up on the band and listen to an interview on the website of Austin's own KUT.

Ursula 1000 - Here Comes Tomorrow

In life, we make many choices. Some of these work out for the best, while others do not. Recently, I made what turned out to be a rather poor choice. I've been intending to listen through the current release from Alex Gimeno's project Ursula 1000, Here Comes Tomorrow, for some time and finally did so. That, however, was not the poor choice. My mistake was doing so while sitting at Java Vino, a lovely little coffee/wine bar in Virginia Highlands. Why? Because it's slightly embarrassing to boogie your ass off while sitting in a coffee shop. And I do not believe it is humanly possible to listen to this album without shaking one's hindquarters.

I had no idea what to expect from the album, but within minutes could only think of that classic line from the Beastie Boys' "Root Down" -- "Oh my God that's the funky shit!" There's a variety of sounds on the disc, ranging from what sounds like the background music in a Tarantino flick ("Kaboom") to full-on homages to Prince ("Elektric Boogie") and David Bowie ("Here Comes Tomorrow"). Other tracks are infused with funk, salsa, jazz, and Spanish guitar. The album features a number of guests including members of Tower of Power and Los Amigos Invisibles. This is fun and funky stuff. Here are a couple tracks:

Ursula 1000 - Kaboom
Ursula 1000 - Boop

If you'd like a monster file to play for an hour or so and have your own private Ursula 1000 dance party, that's available via his/their website as well: Ursula 1000 - MegaMix [86mb!]

You can learn more and download more tracks from Ursula 1000's official site or MySpace page.

Buy the full album from ESL Music.

Monday, March 27

The Beatles - The Decca Tapes (1962)

So, a little while back I featured the final known Beatles performance from the rooftop at Apple in '69. Today we explore the opposite end of Beatles' history. Here are a dozen tracks cut by the Beatles in January 1962 while in search of a label. These tracks are reportedly among 15 the band cut that day for Decca Records as part of an audition. Apparently the other three tracks were all Lennon-McCartney efforts, while the dozen below are all covers. Like the rooftop tape, this is also taken from some sketchy bootleg. I should point out that there is some debate among Beatles scholars about the origins of this recording, so take that into consideration if you care. Also, a word of warning to the audiophiles -- these mp3's are ripped at 64kb/s rather than the usual 192 or better. I got it this way, and I think it still sounds fine considering what it is. Either way, enjoy 'em!

The Beatles
The Decca Tapes
Recorded Jan. 1, 1962

01 - To Know Her is to Love Her
02 - Crying, Waiting, Hoping
03 - September in the Rain
04 - Besame Mucho
05 - Searchin'
06 - Sheik of Araby
07 - Till There Was You
08 - Take Good Care of My Baby
09 - Memphis
10 - Sure to Fall
11 - Money
12 - Three Cool Cats

Front cover
Back cover

The back cover also includes songwriting credits for the songs. Some great standards here -- I keep playing "Till There Was You" over and over. Good stuff.

Saturday, March 25

Live, from Sweden... it's Saturday night!

Limited time for blog stuff today, but wanted to share with everyone a couple videos by some great Swedish popsters. Clearly following the bold leadership of Nicolai Dunger, the Swedes continue their conquest of C&T.

First up, a live performance of "Funeral Face" by Suburban Kids with Biblical Names. Deriving their name from Silver Jews' "People" this band's sound is akin to that of Magnetic Fields, Mountain Goats, or da Joos. They feature fun instrumentation and harmonies, and I've been digging their album #3 for a while now.



You can also download the song courtesy of the band:
Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - Funeral Face

Three more (along with this one) can be downloaded at their MySpace page.

Buy the album here.


Next up is Jens Lekman's video for "You are the Light" from Oh You're So Silent Jens. Jens has received a good bit of attention lately, so I'm going to refrain from much explanation. Great pop sensibilities, quirky lyrics, and hand claps while in police custody. And, uh... why is he wearing armor?



You can also download an mp3 of this song thanks to Secretly Canadian:
Jens Lekman - You Are the Light

Buy Jens Lekman material here.

Friday, March 24

The more you know...

Built to Spill have rescheduled their upcoming tour, and will be out in the fall rather than the spring/summer. Dates here, including these in the local area:
10-13 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10-14 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
10-15 Birmingham, AL - Zydeco

Speaking of BTS, Tower Records is offering autographed copies of You in Reverse for pre-sale. $10 plus S&H.

The 33 1/3 series of books has announced its forthcoming volumes. Some great stuff on there. MBV, GBV, Beasties, Mag Fields, G'nR, and so on.

Lots of Elephant 6 and HHBTM news. Too much to summarize, really. Just go to Optical Atlas and look. There's a documentary, forthcoming reissues, an of Montreal DVD, and more.

Pitchfork Music Fest added Devendra Banhart, Destroyer, and Band of Horses to the lineup today. Nice.

Orchestre Fantastique - "Stars on the Sea"

Have you ever heard of Orchestre Fantastique (not to be confused with Bell Orchestre)? If you have, odds are you're a little too into bands associated with Elephant 6. That's cool though. I feel ya.

Orchestre Fantastique is yet another project of Robert Schneider, frontman of Apples in Stereo, Marbles, and Ulysses. However, while those other projects have resulted in a series of excellent releases over the years, the grand total of Orchestre Fantastique's released output is the lone track linked below. It's an instrumental ditty composed and produced by Schneider that appeared on the Dean Quixote soundtrack (2001). If you're a Schneider or E6 completist, I imagine you'll want this. For everyone else, it's a fun little dreamy lounge track on the big band tip (featuring solos by Merissa Bissinger and Jon Hegel).

Orchestre Fantastique - Stars on the Sea

I believe there might be one other OF track floating around out there, and if you have it I'd love to hear it. Please?

The CD's booklet say the soundtrack was conceived as a mix tape for the listener; it includes such notable acts as The Olivia Tremor Control, The Minders, Guided by Voices, The Apples in Stereo, Songs:Ohia, Bevis Frond, and Bettie Serveert. It can be purchased from Amazon.

Bonus mp3:
Marbles - Out of Zone
Ulysses - The Falcon
The Apples in Stereo - Please

Elsewhere...

Optical Atlas has news on the forthcoming deluxe reissue of Neutral Milk Hotel's On Avery Island album. The release date is April 10. Just what I needed, more music to spend money on. OA also has lots of video of E6 bands at SXSW.

I'm still guest blogging over at MyExBestFriend. Today I posted on The Ex over there. Seemed appropriate.

Also, I bought a ticket to the Pitchfork Music Festival in July, so now I have both it and Bonnaroo on my calendar. I heart summer. The season, not Summer Wheatley.

Thursday, March 23

The Living Blue


Like another band recently featured on C&T, Headlights, The Living Blue are from Champaign, Illinois. They are signed to Minty Fresh Records, and are currently on tour supporting their newest release titled Fire, Blood, Water (2005). Formerly known as The Blackouts, the band earned national attention by excelling in Little Steven’s Underground Garage Battle of the Bands before releasing their current album. Interestingly enough, my first exposure to them was as the music playing on Joe's MySpace profile. It was the opening chords to "Serrated Friend" that first piqued my interest, and I've since ordered the album.

The Living Blue - Serrated Friend
The Living Blue - Tell Me Leza

For more info, music, and tour dates visit their official site or their MySpace page.

You can also stream their entire current album via the Minty Fresh store by clicking on the album cover. You can buy the album from either Minty Fresh or Amazon.

Tenement Halls

Confessions of a Music Addict today published a run-down of shows this week(end) here in Atlanta. Although she didn't list them, I'm planning to hit Of Montreal in Athens (Friday) and Jenny Lewis in Atlanta (Saturday). However, just today I received confirmation of another fun event on Saturday afternoon (3/25). Brass Castle and Tenement Halls will be playing a free outdoor show at 97 Estoria here in Atlanta (Cabbagetown, specifically). The show starts at 2pm, and I'm told there will be lots of beer and BBQ. I approve. On that note, I thought it might be an appropriate time to give Atlanta's own Tenement Halls a mention.


Pop/rock act Tenement Halls is primarily the project of Chris Lopez, formerly the frontman for Rock*A*Teens. The band has gained a reputation for lush, hook-laden pop and is establishing itself as a worth successor to Lopez's prior vehicle. Their current album is Knitting Needles and Bicycle Bells (2005), which is available from Merge Records or Amazon.

Tenement Halls - Plenty is Never Enough
Tenement Halls - Charlemagne
Tenement Halls - When the Swifts Come Home

You can also stream a couple other tracks on the Merge Records website.

Tuesday, March 21

The Clutters



A band rockin' Nashville these days is a quartet known as The Clutters. They describe their sound as "too messy for polite company, but too fun to keep to yourself." Well, you can see that at least the latter part rings true. Their current album is titled T&C (2005), which an astute reader will recognize is C&T in reverse (ahem), and is available from Chicken Ranch Records. Paste's review of the album noted that "most impressive is the sense one gets that this band is simply doing what it wants to do, and doing it in a city that plays host to lightly fluffed pop and glossy production." The Clutters' sound is distinguished from most of its garage rock counterparts by the presence of a Farfisa organ, surely a rarity among such straight-ahead rock acts. I'm really looking forward to their May 26 show in Nashville; they're on the same bill as both Ghostfinger and How I Became the Bomb at the Exit/In. Hell yes.

The Clutters - Clash City Girl
The Clutters - I Wanna Live
The Clutters - Oh!
The Clutters - Calling Her Name
The Clutters - Are You Ready for the Country [Neil Young cover]

For more information, tunes, and tour dates see their MySpace page or official site.

You can order The Clutters' T&C from Chicken Ranch Records. They also have a 7" release available from Wrecked 'Em Records.


On a side note, I'm also guest blogging at MyExBestFriend right now, so you can stop in there to see what else I've been up to. There will be a fair bit of cross-posting, but I'll try to get some original material up there too. We'll see what time permits.

Monday, March 20

The Gossip

FYI, ATLANTA FOLKS: Tonight's Magic Numbers/The Elected show at The Loft is apparently cancelled due to illness. See here. All the more reason to go see Man Man, right?


Also, I wanted to draw Atlanta-area readers' attention to the fact that Oregon-based The Gossip are playing a free in-store at Criminal Records tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6pm before their evening show at Drunken Unicorn. This was a recent addition to Criminal's calendar, so I wanted to make sure folks were aware. I suppose I'd call them a soulful punk band, if that makes any sense. Further examination of their MySpace page reveals that they describe themselves as a punk/soul/experimental outfit, which seems about right to this listener. They're currently touring in support of their recent release, Standing in the Way of Control. Here are some of their tunes for the uninitiated:

Courtesy of Kill Rock Stars:
The Gossip - Ain't It the Truth
The Gossip - Fire Sign
The Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control
The Gossip - Sweet Baby

For more info and music, visit their MySpace page or their official site.

You can buy materials from The Gossip here directly from Kill Rock Stars.

Upcoming tour dates:

March 2005
20 - Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds w/ Panther
21 - Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn w/ Panther
22 - Greensboro, NC @ Gullford College Underground w/ Panther
23 - Washington DC @ Black Cat w/ Panther
24 - Philadelphia, PA @ Starlight Ballroom w/ Panther
25 - New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
26 - Boston, MA @ Middle East w/ Panther
27 - Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse w/ Panther
28 - Montreal, QUE @ La Sala Rossa w/ Panther
29 - Toronto, ONT @ X Space w/ Panther
30 - Chicago, IL @ Abbey Pub w/ Panther
31 - Madison, WI @ Annex w/ Panther

April 2005
01 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock w/ Panther
02 - Fargo, ND @ Aquarium w/ Panther
05 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos w/ Panther

Headlights - Enemies EP

Thanks to C&T buddy Joe for alerting me to these guys recently! Headlights is a trio from Urbana-Champaign, IL, and includes former members of both Absinthe Blind and Maserati. In what was a major step forward for the band, they signed with Polyvinyl in November 2005. The lineup consists of Erin Fein (keys/vox), Tristan Wraight (guitar/vox), and Brett Sanderson (drums). They have also brought multi-instrumentalist Nick Sandborn (of Decibully) on board for the current tour to play bass and various things that jingle and jangle. Fein and Wraight share the vocal duties. Fein's lovely voice is reminiscent of either Frou Frou or Cat Power, while Wraight's reminds me a bit (though not altogether) of Grandaddy's Jason Lytle. They describe themselves as "indie pop with a shoegazey aftertaste" and that strikes me as a decent characterization of their sound.

In their relatively short time together they have played alongside a variety of distinguished acts including Saturday Looks Good to Me, The Delgados, Magnolia Electric Co., Earlimart, and Mates of State. They cite Grandaddy, Mercury Rev, Bjork, and My Bloody Valentine among their influences. Here's the opening track from their current EP:

Headlights - Tokyo

For more on the band, you can check out an extensive recent interview with Under the Radar or a post last month on Chromewaves. You can also hear two songs from the forthcoming album on MySpace. I highly suggest doing so, as the lone track featured here is only a taste of their material. I actually like some of the songs on their MySpace better, but I'm hesitant to post any more tracks from an EP that includes only four.

You can purchase Headlights' EP, Enemies, from Polyvinyl or Amazon (hint: check the latter for used copies -- I got one for $1.75!). It can also be purchased on vinyl from Mi Amante Records with a bonus track. They also have a 7" due out in April and are currently working on a full-length album for an August 2006 release. Keep an eye out for that one, as I'm sure we'll hear more about it this summer.

The band has an extensive spring tour underway, which unfortunately does not include any dates here in the southeast. Complete tour dates can be found on their MySpace page.

By the way, this is about the fourth or fifth band Joe has suggested that I've really liked. Such suggestions are always welcome from anyone, so feel free to comment or drop me a line if you know something I should check out. For real, yo.

This is probably my only post for Monday, as I have a busy day ahead of me and Man Man at The EARL tonight. I plan to tape the show, so we'lll see how that goes. If Man Man does entirely blow my mind, someone please notify my next of kin.

Sunday, March 19

Grand Palace Records unleashes new blog

Good news for those of us in the southeast -- the kickass Grand Palace Records in Murfreesboro, TN, has joined the blogosphere. I first posted about their store and space (and Ghostfinger) back in mid-February when they hosted a Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin/Catfish Haven show in their live room. Their new blog, Bucket City is Burning, highlights music releases and events in the Murfreesboro/Nashville area. They're off to a good start, featuring such acts as Silver Jews, Ponys, Liars, The O'Jays (!), and I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness. Check out their homepage as well.

They also have the exact same image of David Berman on their site that is currently my desktop wallpaper. Coincidence?

Grand Palace Records is also on MySpace. If you're in or near Nashville or Murfreesboro, I highly recommend checking out their shop and/or attending some of the shows they host. These are great guys with a great facility.

While we're at it, here's some audio by great Murfreesboro/Nashville-area acts:
Ghostfinger - Shine a Light
Lone Official - Central Avenue
Heypenny - Secreterror
The Clutters - Calling Her Name
Bad Friend - Lemonhead Loser (live)
The United Front - Silk Chocolate
Velcro Stars - Another Winter
The Mattoid - Shiny Woman
The Carter Administration - The REM Speedwagon
Hands Down Eugene - Denise
Glossary - Lonesome Stray
Oh No! Oh My! - Walk in the Park (well, 2/3 of them live in Nashville now...)

Man Man mania!

So, Man Man is at The EARL on Monday (3/20), and I'm pumped. Six Demon Bag is one of my favorite releases of the year so far and I've heard that the live show is a sight to behold. As the band has received a great deal of coverage online (e.g. Pelican's Perch, rbally, MOKB), I won't spend much time laying out the bio. Basically, they're a boisterous quintet from Philly. Their music has been described as difficult by some, but I think they're downright badass. For more information check out the website of their label, Ace Fu Records. You can sample some related wares below.

This is pretty cool - it's a fan-made video for "Engwish Bwudd" that uses footage from a 1974 Jack and the Beanstalk cartoon:


I don't know who compiled it, but that's pretty nifty.

In addition, here are some audio tracks to check out:
Man Man - Van Helsing Boombox
Man Man - 10 lb. Moustache
Man Man - I, Manface

You can stream more of their tunes on MySpace. If you're gonna be at the show, feel free to say hello. I imagine I'll be in customary spot at The EARL next to the pole between the bar and stage.

Elsewhere...

Optical Atlas has a great little interview with Robert Schneider of Marbles/Ulysses/Apples in Stereo.

Confessions of a Music Addict has a nice run-down of several Atlanta-area pop acts.

Good Weather for Airstrikes
and You Ain't No Picasso feature C&T favorites Heypenny.

Saturday, March 18

The Happy Bullets - "Drinking on the Job" video

I'm home from a night of debauchery and not feeling like writing much. However, I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware that the terrific Dallas indie pop band The Happy Bullets have just released a video for their song titled "Drinking on the Job" from The Vice and Virtue Ministry:



If you dig that you can also check out the guys' recent (2/26) appearance of "Mr. Gray" at a Tower Records in-store, also archived on YouTube (but beware not-so-good audio):



Bonus audio:
The Happy Bullets - The Vice and Virtue Ministry
The Happy Bullets - If You Were Mine

Hope everyone had a safe and fun St. Patrick's Day.

Friday, March 17

It's St. Patrick's Day -- let's get pissed!



I'm not an Irish lad (or lass), but like many Americans I'll be using today's holiday as an excuse to go out and drink. To celebrate and get everyone in the proper frame of mind, today I offer an assortment of related tunes. I suspect this post would have the full approval of both Darby O'Gill and the little people.

How about some Irish punk drinking songs to get the holiday going? Raise a glass and rock out:

Dropkick Murphys - Finnegan's Wake
Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabyes
The Mahones - Drunken, Lazy Bastard
The Bloody Irish Boys - Drunk Tonight
The Mahones - A Drunken Night in Dublin

If Irish punk isn't your thing, maybe hip-hop floats your boat. Here are some fine malt lyrics by House of Pain. It's in effect, y'all:

House of Pain - Danny Boy, Danny Boy
House of Pain - Top o' the Morning to Ya

In addition, here are some live Irish tunes by those lovely JLC gents from Charleston, South Carolina (from St. Patrick's Day 1999, no less):

Jump, Little Children - Banish Misfortune (live 3-17-1999)
Jump, Little Children - Irish Tune > Speed the Plough (live 3-17-1999)

Since Janet from Out the Other can't be the only history lover in the blogosphere, you can also read a bit about the history of St. Patrick's Day on the website of the History Channel. It'll surely give you tons of random trivia to impress your friends and foes.

Have a drunken, safe, and snake-free St. Patrick's Day! If you're in Atlanta, look for me at the James Joyce Pub and probably later at Brick Store. You better be wearing green though, because I will pinch your ass. Well, not necessarily your ass, but it's possible. Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, March 15

Nicolai Dunger - Here's My Song...

In a recent post on Spanish electro-pop duo 6pm, I remarked that I hadn't given props on C&T to the recent string of Swedish artists who have taken the blogophere by storm. Today, that no longer rings true. In what is surely a moment of great pride for the Swedish people and parliament, Nicolai Dunger today becomes the first Swedish artist to be featured on C&T.

Of the new music I've sampled recently, Dunger's is among the most impressive. This is polished stuff, and his voice is strong, commanding, and distinctive. For what it's worth, the artists of whom Dunger most reminds me are David Gray and Ryan Adams. This strikes me as the sort of musician that Lizzy from Come Pick Me Up might create in a lab if given the opportunity. I won't call Dunger an alt-country artist, but his sound certainly ventures into that territory. Other media outlets (is this a media outlet?) have compared him to Jeff Buckley and Van Morrison.

To date, Dunger has played with Calexico, Sufjan Stevens, Will Oldham, and Mercury Rev. In addition, he has gone on to work extensively with the latter -- Mercury Rev collaborated with him on his current album and acted as his band during studio sessions (with various additional musicians providing horns and strings). The album was recorded both in Dunger's home base in Stockholm and the Rev's turf in New York. The result was Here's My Song/You can have it... I don't want it anymore/Yours 4-ever, 11 tracks written in the wake of an unwelcome heartbreak that evolved into a damn fine album (see also Beck, Sea Change, etc., etc.). Coincidentally, it was officially released yesterday. I've grown to like this one even more with repeated listens, and it's made me curious about hunting down some of his back catalog. This is good stuff.

There are probably more slow songs than upbeat rockers on the album, but because of my personal tastes you're gonna get to sample more rockers than ballads. No sense bringing down the mood so close to the weekend, eh?

Nicolai Dunger - My Time is Now
Nicolai Dunger - Way Up High
Nicolai Dunger - Tell Me

Now crank up "Way Up High" and dance around your living room. You know you wanna.

Nicolai Dunger is currently at SXSW, and on Monday begins a tour with Leah's future boyfriend Rhett Miller (of Old 97's fame). Here are the Miller/Dunger tour dates (thanks to Brooklyn Vegan!), including an April 5 stop in Atlanta:

Mon Mar 20 '06 (9:00 PM) Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
Tue Mar 21 '06 (9:15 PM) Park City, UT Suede
Thu Mar 23 '06 (9:00 PM) Seattle, WA The Showbox
Sat Mar 25 '06 (9:15 PM) Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Mon Mar 27 '06 (8:00 PM) San Francisco, CA The Independent
Tue Mar 28 '06 (8:00 PM) Santa Ana, CA Galaxy Theatre
Wed Mar 29 '06 (9:00 PM) Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre
Sat Apr 1 '06 (9:00 PM) & Sun Apr 2 Dallas, TX Sons of Hermann Hall
Wed Apr 5 '06 (8pm) Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
Thu Apr 6 '06 (9:15 PM) Washington, DC Black Cat
Fri Apr 7 '06 (9:00 PM) Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of Living Arts
Tue Apr 11 '06 (9:15 PM) New Haven, CT Toad's Place
Wed Apr 12 '06 (8pm) Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
Thu Apr 13 '06 (9:00 PM) New York, NY Webster Hall
Fri Apr 14 '06 (8:15 PM) Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater
Sat Apr 15 '06 (9:00 PM) Louisville, KY Headliners Music Hall
Tue Apr 18 '06 (TBA) St. Louis, MO The Gargoyle
Wed Apr 19 '06 (8:30 PM) Indianapolis, IN The Music Mill
Thu Apr 20 '06 (8pm) Chicago, IL Park West
Fri Apr 21 '06 (9:30 PM) Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Sat Apr 22 '06 (8:00 PM) Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre

Sweden and Texas, together at last.

Buy Nicolai Dunger's current album here. He also has quite the back catalog, as you can see on his official website.

For more on Rhett Miller's new release, see Leah's 2/28 post at Confessions of a Music Addict.

Tuesday, March 14

The Selmanaires @ Aurora Coffee, Jan. 7, 2006

Image hosting by Photobucket
Photo by Alex Adan

After the Silver Jews shows brought a flurry of visitors to C&T from around the world, I thought it was time to deliver some goods to (and by) the local folks. On that note, I humbly submit for your listening pleasure a rare acoustic performance by The Selmanaires. This set was part of the acoustic performance series sponsored by Criminal Records and Aurora Coffee here in the Peachtree City. Only a few people around town are actually aware that I taped this, but many of them have been asking me to release it for some time. I've been putting it off until shortly before their next Atlanta show. Now The Selmanaires are due back in town to play at The EARL on March 21, so I figured it is as good a time as any.

This was a mostly acoustic show, with the guys switching instruments and singing sans microphones in the back of a coffeehouse. For those of us accustomed to seeing them play rock clubs, it was great to see the band show its stuff in a different setting. C&T readers unfamiliar with the band should be aware that this is not what The Selmanaires usually sound like. This is definitely a toned-down take on a number of their usually rockin' songs, and you even get to hear them experiment with an improvised drum machine/keyboard during "Selmanaire Rock." The crowd included a number of local musicians who wanted to see what the band would do, and you can hear from the tape that everyone was having a darn good time. It's also evident on the recording that the show was in a coffee shop -- banging doors, espresso machines, and the like can be heard. In fact, I'd neglected to bring a mic stand to the show so my mics were taped to the top of a coffee bean dispenser against the wall about 10' from the band. Locals, I hope you dig this. Everyone else, give these guys a listen. Hope to see a bunch of at The EARL next week for the show with The Joggers. FWIW, they're also at SXSW this week so check 'em out if you're in Austin.

The Selmanaires
January 7, 2006
Aurora Coffee, Atlanta, GA (Virginia Highlands location)

~* (mostly) acoustic show *~

01. intro/tuning
02. Build My Palace
03. Images
04. Day Tripper^
05. Cerulean Sky
06. Tennessee Farm
07. High Tide
08. "It Starts All Over With a Different Number"?
09. Take It Slow With Me
10. Selmanaire Rock*
11. banter/thanks
12. Mid-afternoon Motionless

^The Beatles cover
*with Jason on drum machine thingy

Download the full show here packaged in a .zip file
(via Rapidshare).

You can download "Day Tripper" and "High Tide" above to check out the quality. If anyone knows the track names I'm missing, speak up.

Alex Adan's photos from this show can be seen via Photobucket.

Tourdates (including SXSW) and additional info on their MySpace page.

For more on the Selmanaires or to download some studio tracks, see this old school C&T post from early February. You know, back when this blog was in diapers. Last month.

Elsewhere...

Isaac Hayes has quit South Park. Booo.

An Aquarium Drunkard posts on Wilco off-shoot The Autumn Defense, whose in-store in Athens I missed by 20 minutes last Thursday. D'oh.

Come Pick Me Up features New Order and Guillemots. Something old, something new...

Monday, March 13

Matt Pond PA/Youth Group ATL ticket giveaway at MEBF

A quick note for the Atlanta/Athens area readers -- C&T BFF MyExBestFriend is giving away two tickets to Thursday night's (3/16) Matt Pond PA/Youth Group show at The Loft in downtown Atlanta.

To enter, see her post here. It's not my contest, so don't write me about it. Hope one of you wins the goods. The deadline to enter is Tuesday at noon. Good luck!

Silver Jews @ The EARL, Mar. 11, 2006

By now many of you have downloaded the Silver Jews show from the 40 Watt. Today I follow up with show #2 of the tour, a great set from The EARL in Atlanta. The vibe in the crowd was much as it was the night before in Athens, with a lot of very excited folks in the venue. There were also a number of people at The EARL who had also been at the 40 Watt the night before (myself included).

While I'd expected the band to follow the Athens show with the same setlist, etc., they surprised me by offering several additional songs they'd left off the setlist the night before. The second show seemed to be a little more streamlined than the first, and the band played two additional songs in almost exactly the same amount of time (67-68 minutes). David Berman, Cassie, and the band did a darn good job last night. There were a few tech issues with the vocal mic, but they were intermittent enough not to be altogether annoying. Also notable is that Will Oldham was in the house to watch the show. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

Silver Jews
March 11, 2006
The EARL
Atlanta, GA

Black and Brown Blues
Random Rules
Smith and Jones Forever [download mp3]
I'm Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You
Trains Across the Sea
Inside the Golden Days of Missing You
Dallas
Horseleg Swastikas
How Can I Love You (If You Won't Lie Down)
New Orleans
Sleeping is the Only Love
Slow Education
Punks in the Beerlight
The Poor, the Fair, and the Good
How to Rent a Room
Buckingham Rabbit
- encore -
Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed


Once again, I taped the show. Huzzah. You can download "Smith and Jones Forever" above to sample the quality.

As with the 40 Watt show posted below, you can download the full show in a couple ways:

Lossless (.flac) via dimeadozen.org here.
or
High-quality mp3's via Rapidshare:
Part 1
Part 2

What a weekend. I'm exhausted. Time to settle, watch Adult Swim, and relax. Ahhhh.

Have a great week, y'all.

Saturday, March 11

Silver Jews @ The 40 Watt, Mar. 10, 2006

As I've mentioned here a few times lately, last night I attended the first official show of the Silver Jews' inaugural tour (there was a surprise rehearsal gig in Nashville last week as well). It was a sold-out appearance at the 40 Watt in Athens. Rarely have I attended a show in which the crowd was so filled with anticipation and electricity. Everyone in line outside was excited by the significance of the evening, and many indicated that they had traveled long distances (from California and Virginia, not Atlanta) to be there.

The band took the stage at midnight and played a 15-song set about 68 minutes in duration. The entire evening had the feel of attending a revival. A selection of tracks from throughout their history was played, as was a cover of TG Sheppard's "I Loved Them Every One." It was obvious that the band was still feeling its way through some of the songs, and Berman did flub some lyrics. Berman had a music stand with lyric sheets on stage to help him through the set, and indicated that he has long had trouble remembering the lyrics to even his own tunes. Despite the fact they weren't polished, it was a hell of a treat getting to see the band play live after all this time. Bob (Nastanovich, ex-Pavement) sat in on a few songs, and is serving as the band's road manager for the tour. I really enjoyed the show, and it'll be interesting to see how the band improves over time as they tour and get accustomed to playing live. The setlist was as follows:

Silver Jews
March 10, 2006
40 Watt Club, Athens, GA

Random Rules
Smith and Jones Forever
I'm Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You
Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed
Trains Across the Sea
New Orleans
How Can I Love You (If You Won't Lie Down)
Inside the Golden Days of Missing You
Dallas
Horseleg Swastikas
Sleeping is the Only Love
Slow Education
Punks in the Beerlight
I Loved Them Every One* [downloadable mp3]
- encore -
Buckingham Rabbit

* TG Sheppard cover

This was the first show of Silver Jews' first tour.
Spiritual Family Reunion opened the show.

As it'll be new to just about everyone, you can download the TG Sheppard cover above. I have also made mp3's of the full show available for download via Rapidshare. It's packaged in two .zip files available here:

Part 1 (61mb, via Rapidshare)
Part 2 (69mb, via Rapidshare)

For those who prefer lossless audio, you can download the show in .flac format via dimeadozen.org here. I'll try to leave my torrent software open for a while as additional seeders and leechers jump on.

You can read more about the tour in an interview with David Berman here.

Silver Jews at The EARL tonight. I can't wait.

Friday, March 10

Velcro Stars / Black Lips / Cordalene

I said I'd try to preview a few of the lesser-known bands in Atlanta this weekend, so here ya go. Last night's Wilco show in Athens and my sleeping in today have left me a bit short on time, so I'll have to offer an abridged profile for each. I'll certainly try to give more attention to some of these acts in the future:

The Velcro Stars

The Velcro Stars are a quintet from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. They play catchy pop/rock with overtones of Superchunk or Rock-A-Teens, although they can be more punky or poppy than either. The band utilizes both male and female lead vocals, providing welcome diversity within their sound. They are currently in search of a label to distribute their forthcoming LP titled Hiroshima's Revenge. They sent me an advance copy of the CD, so here are a few tracks for you to check out:

The Velcro Stars - B-Side of Love

The Velcro Stars - Like a Storm
The Velcro Stars - Another Winter

The Velcro Stars play at Lenny's on Memorial Drive tonight, March 10.

MySpace.


The Black Lips

The Black Lips are Atlanta locals and have earned a reputation as a hard-charging garage/thrash/psychedelic/punk band. They recently released their third album, Let it Bloom, which consists of 16 tracks you'd think might have been snipped directly from Rhino's Nuggets compilations. Their sound is raw, but manages to remain interesting. Their current album is Let It Bloom on In the Red Records.

The Black Lips - Gentle Violence

The Black Lips - Hippie, Hippie, Hoorah

They're at the Drunken Unicorn on Ponce de Leon Ave. (next to MJQ) tonight, March 10.

MySpace.
Buy.


Cordalene

Cordalene is a quartet from Philadelphia that has been playing together for a few years now. They're a rock band, and the tunes I've sampled are bright, punchy, and infectious. They've shared the stage with Weezer, Phantom Planet, Ben Lee, Rooney, and others. They have also recently completed their forthcoming LP, The Star Ledger, to be released on Dalloway Records.

Cordalene - Kissed Awake

Cordalene - Underwear

They're at the 10 High in Atlanta (under the Dark Horse on Highland) on Saturday night, March 11.

Official Site.
MySpace.
Buy.


I have also just been informed that The Instruments and The Gerbils (both of the E6 ilk) will be playing at Little Kings in Athens tonight. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- this weekend is ridiculous. Wow.

Wednesday, March 8

The Wedding Present @ Criminal Records, Mar. 3, 2006

Last Friday, I went down to Criminal Records at about 6:15 for an in-store performance by The Wedding Present. The show was a free treat before their show that evening at The EARL in East Atlanta. A decent-sized but very enthusiastic crowd turned out for the show, with some attendees telling me they'd come as far away as north Florida for the in-store and evening performance. I had driven about four miles from my apartment. The setup was just David, Terry, and Chris playing a stripped-down set about 20 minutes long. David Gedge ran the show, offering some humorous banter along with a selection of choice tracks. It was a fun set, even if it was tainted somewhat by some technical difficulties. But don't take my word for it -- you can hear it for yourself.

You can download the entire set via Rapidshare by clicking here. You can also grab "Click Click" below to sample the quality. Here's the relevant show info:

The Wedding Present
March 3, 2006
Criminal Records
Atlanta, Georgia

Source: SP CMC-4's > batt box > Nomad Jukebox 3
Transfer: Nomad JB3 > Inspiron 6000 > Cool Edit Pro 2 > CDWave

1. intro/false start
2. Brassneck
3. I'm From Further North Than You
4. banter
5. Aprés Ski [Cinerama "cover"]
6. tech issues/banter
7. Click Click
8. banter
9. Ringway to Seatac

This was an in-store appearance at Criminal Records in Little 5 Points.
Some distortion and tech problems were present throughout the set.

Visit The Wedding Present on MySpace.

ONE MORE THING:
Atlanta indie faves The Selmanaires are looking for a house party or other event to play on their day off in Austin, Texas, on March 16 (next Thursday). You can contact them via MySpace. Otherwise you can write me with contact info and I'll send it along via MySpace.

Tuesday, March 7

Atlanta/Athens weekend preview

Can you tell I'm looking forward to this week's run of shows? I'm putting this together on Tuesday night. Heh.

Well, we've got a hell of a lot of good music in the area this weekend. I'll be going to Wilco on Thursday, Silver Jews on Friday, and Silver Jews again on Saturday. Woohoo. However, there's even more good stuff going on. In fact, there's a ridiculous amount of stuff going on. Here's a rundown of some highlights, with links to some of the artists:

Thurs
3/9 Wilco @ Classic Center (ATH)
3/9 Brilliant Inventions @ Eddie's Attic (ATL)
3/9 G. Love and Special Sauce @ Georgia Theatre (ATH)

Fri
3/10 The Black Lips @ Drunken Unicorn (ATL)
3/10 Untied States @ Eyedrum (ATL)
3/10 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Variety Playhouse (ATL)
3/10 Slush Co/Velcro Stars @ Lenny's (ATL)
3/10 Murder Beach @ Tasty World (ATH)
3/10 Silver Jews @ 40 Watt (ATH)
3/10 Harry and the Potters @ Masquerade (ATL)

Sat
3/11 Maserati @ Caledonia Lounge (ATH)
3/11 Silver Jews @ The EARL (ATL)
3/11 Mogwai @ Whirlyball (ATL-area)
3/11 Cordalene @ 10 High (ATL)
3/11 Tin Cup Prophette/Liz Durrett @ 40 Watt (ATH)

Sun
3/12 Mogwai @ Whirlyball (ATL-area)
3/12 Cassavetes @ The EARL (ATL)
3/12 Kristian Bush/Matthew Kahler @ Eddie's Attic (ATL)

Um... holy crap. If I missed anything, feel free to say so in the comments. I didn't dig all that deeply.

Bummed I'll have to miss Tin Cup Prophette, as I've been meaning to check out Amanda K.'s solo act for a while. I plan to feature Velcro Stars, Cordalene, and hopefully The Black Lips before their shows this week. What a weekend, eh?

The Brilliant Inventions


Here in Decatur we're blessed with one of the nation's best venues for performing singer-songwriters, Eddie's Attic. The place has been a Decatur mainstay since 1992 and has served as the launching pad for such artists as John Mayer, Shawn Mullins, and Sugarland. In my mind, it is without a doubt the best-sounding and most respectful room in Atlanta to watch live music. So what, you ask? Well, this Thursday night, March 9 ($8, 7:30pm), Eddie's is featuring one of its most prominent local artists -- The Brilliant Inventions.

The Brilliant Inventions are Eliot Bronson and Josh Lamkin, two singer-songwriters who joined forces a couple years ago after relocating to Decatur/Atlanta. I first saw them at Javamonkey in May 2004, and they've since grown into regularly selling out their local shows and opening for artists like Jump Little Children, Martin Sexton, David Mead, and Howie Day. They were also named "Best Local New Music Act" in 2005 by readers of Creative Loafing. They usually perform as an acoustic duo, although they sometimes include other musicians in their shenanigans. Their sets include songs both sentimental and silly, with plenty of banter in between. They sing about bad relationships as well as going commando and longing to be lesbians. You get the idea. Below is a sampling of their wares, including both the sweet and the ridiculous.

From Standing Room (2005):
The Brilliant Inventions - Dream About Your Girlfriend (via Rapidshare)
The Brilliant Inventions - Narcoleptic Nymphomaniac (via Rapidshare)

Courtesy of tbi.com:
The Brilliant Inventions - In Dreams (live at Eddie's Attic, Feb. 2004)
The Brilliant Inventions - You Don't Even Know (live at Eddie's Attic, Feb. 2004)
The Brilliant Inventions - Naked (live at Eddie's Attic, Feb. 2004)

Buy Standing Room from CD Baby.
The Brilliant Inventions homepage.
Hear more songs and be their friend on MySpace.

Sunday, March 5

Hipster Bingo

Oops! Looks like the Hipster Bingo card is permanently hosted by The Catbirdseat.

You can click here if you haven't seen it yet. It's worth a chuckle.

Apologies to good ol' Catbirdseat for hosting it without attribution for a day. If you don't already you should be reading that site every day.

New Elephant 6 blog

Fellow Elephant 6 junkies... your attention, please.

Jeff, one of the fine folks at the E6 Townhall, has recently started a blog entirely devoted to the recordings, travels, and adventures of artists connected to the Elephant 6 collective. Great idea, eh? I sure as hell think so.

The blog is titled Optical Atlas, which not-quite-coincidentally also happens to be the name of an Olivia Tremor Control track. Oh, this is gonna be good. You can find it now linked in my sidebar.

So far they have already provided an entire Guppyboy album (proto-Essex Green) and a number of Masters of the Hemisphere rarities. Hell of a start, if I do say so myself. They have also just posted an interview with Derek Almstead, who is a current or former member of many E6 bands including Of Montreal, Circulatory System, Elf Power, and others. Derek discusses the forthcoming M(arshmallow) Coast album, the progress of Circulatory System's current effort, his experiences with Of Montreal, among other topics. Go check it out!

In other E6 news, Marshmallow Coast have made their entire OOP album Timesquare available for download track by track. A few E6 bands have also announced new tour dates, including a small run of reunion shows by Masters of the Hemisphere. As their last show together was in 2002, those of us within driving distance ought not miss out. That information can be found on Optical Atlas. Time to go add that Athens date to calendar...

Saturday, March 4

CYHSY on Letterman

Well, I'll be darned. C&T has surpassed 10,000 hits. Hard to believe that number of people voluntarily put up with my inane ramblings and questionable taste in music. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by this month!


The CYHSY appearance from Letterman is on YouTube now. Here 'tis:




Tonight at Vinyl in Atlanta, $7:

Thursday, March 2

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The EARL, Oct. 15, 2005

I released a few tracks from this recording (the new songs) to You Ain't No Picasso back in the fall, but an e-mail from Malcolm R. motivated me to post the full show. It's the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah appearance from The EARL last October. It was a sold-out show and my first taste of live CYHSY. They've garnered a reputation as an inconsistent live act, but I rather enjoyed this set. Fun fact: they were originally scheduled to open for Ambulance LTD at this show, but the bill was flipped about three weeks prior due to CYHSY's surge in popularity.

I don't think Clap Your Hands really requires a write-up at this point, so I'll just provide the show info and leave it at that:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
October 15, 2005
The Earl, Atlanta, GA

Taped and converted by Rich Vining
Live recording: AT831's > batt box > Nomad Jukebox 3
Transfer: Nomad Jukebox 3 > Dell Inspiron 6000 > Cool Edit Pro 2.0 > CDWave > dbPowerAmp

1. Me and You Watson
2. Yellow Country Teeth >
3. Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)
4. audience/tuning
5. Details of the War
6. audience/tuning
7. Graceful Retreat >
8. Is This Love?
9. audience/tuning
10. Cigarettes
11. audience/tuning
12. In This Home on Ice
13. Gimme Some Salt
14. Satan Said Dance
15. Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood
16. audience/tuning
- encore -
17. Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away
18. audience/tuning
19. Heavy Metal

Ambulance LTD opened the show

You can download "Yellow Country Teeth" and "Satan Said Dance" to sample the quality. If you would like the full show, it is available here packaged in a .zip archive (107mb).

For more CYHSY info, tour dates, or to buy merch, visit their homepage. The Atlanta show is sold out.

Studio tracks courtesy of the band:
CYHSY - Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood
CYHSY - Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)

By the way -- they're on Letterman tonight (Thursday). Neat, huh?

Wednesday, March 1

The Beatles Rooftop Concert - Jan. 30, 1969

I bought my first "bootleg" when I was about 15. There was always a wall of them at the CD Warehouse, and I'd often see them among the used CD's at Vintage Vinyl. Bootlegs seemed to the best thing going, as they were stuffed with live shows, b-sides, demos... the sorts of things that we often dig up online now without a second thought. There was, however, a problem. Each was often in the neighborhood of $30, which kept them out of my youthful reach. Fortunately, I started trading tapes shortly thereafter and learned that many "liberated" bootlegs were available for just the price of a Maxell XLII tape and postage. Later I moved on to CDR's, and we all know how the Internet has since transformed the sharing of music.

One liberated bootleg that I recently reacquired is one of the most famous ever produced -- a recording of The Beatles' final public performance paired with outtakes from the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. Many of you probably already have it, but hopefully a few of you don't. The rooftop concert took place on the afternoon of January 30, 1969, on the roof of the Apple Building on Savile Row in London. The band was in the studio to record what would eventually (after much drama) become Let It Be and had the bright idea to play a show on the roof of a five-story building in January. More power to 'em, I guess. A soundboard recording of the "show" was made, and resulted in the material here. The performance was filmed as well, with segments later released in the Let It Be film. I wouldn't argue that this material is anything approaching polished, but it's a cool peek into the exploits of perhaps the greatest rock band ever. There's more to say about this show, these sessions, and their significance, but you can read that on the sites linked below. FYI, here's the material on the bootleg:

The Beatles
January 30, 1969
Rooftop at Apple, London, England
Get Back (rehearsal), Get Back, Don't Let Me Down, I've Got a Feeling, One After 909, Dig a Pony, I've Got a Feeling, Don't Let Me Down, Get Back (with cops)

Demos/outtakes:
The Walk, Oh! Darling, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Lotta Lovin' > Across the Universe, Gone Gone Gone, Because I Know You Love Me So, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Medley, Stand By Me, Hare Krishna Mantra, Two of Us

Much to the dismay of some sleazy bootlegger, you can download the entire bootleg here as a .zip archive (LINK REMOVED). If you'd like to sample the quality first, here are a couple tracks:

The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down (1-30-1969) (LINK REMOVED)
The Beatles - Two of Us (Let It Be outtake) (LINK REMOVED)

Cover art:
Front cover
Back cover

For whatever reason, the last two tracks listed on the bootleg's back cover are not included on this version. Much more information on the original bootleg can be found here. More information and pictures from the rooftop show are here and here.