Live Ted Leo & the Pharmacists (08.25.06)

I don't usually post live shows from bands unless it features new songs. This South Street Seaport (NY) performance does, also I haven't had the opportunity to ever see Ted Leo live and on top of that I'm itching for a new release. The sound quality is pretty good and the show is recent. Thanks to one Matt Casey for taping the show and putting it up on archive.org.

Download or stream all 27 tracks from this show in the flac, mp3 or ogg formats here.

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Who Do You Love?
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Timorous Me

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Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton

My internet has been running slow this week. Atleast I have a connection now, I was with nothing till yesterday. Such is the great excitments/struggles of my life. Did I miss anything on the net? I got back on just in time to grab a listen of the new Rapture album, its pretty good as I expected.

I liked the newest Metric album Live It Out, well I thought it was okay. I loved the debut album, there were so many quality tracks on there, many that wouldn't get out of my head for weeks. I had the feeling that I would like Emily Haines' recent and second attempt at a solo release, an album titled Knives Don't Have Your Back. Its piano heavy and a lot more darker, I think more change ups and variety would of done this album better. With the piano'd songs it has the stench of solo album. I think the thing that always pulls me into Emily Haines releases is her voice, it just flows so smoothly and without effort. More about the album from her:

“When I was a little kid…I would creep downstairs to the piano and write rudimentary songs about imaginary places. I’m told the first song I ever wrote was a love song to a cranberry tree. I always used the mute pedal. I hated the idea of anybody hearing me. Everywhere I’ve lived while working with Metric, I’ve written songs on the piano and played them for no one. On the advice of a friend, I decided I’d better start recording them before they were forgotten. Four meandering years later I ended up with this collection of songs featuring a few of my favorite people, a group I call The Soft Skeleton.”

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Our Hell

Out late September on Last Gang Records

I'm off to some late night basketball, Texas weather finally let up after 19 days in a row of 100+ degree weather. Wish me luck.

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The Thermals

The Thermals new album The Body, The Blood, The Machine is their most ambitious to date. It touches more into politics than their previous albums but thats not say that the entire record is politically themed. This album continues with the previous trend of their discography of improved songwriting and better production with each release. I do kind of miss that insane energy of their first album but this one has its own merits.



The Thermals - A Pillar of Salt

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New Madvillain

Madvillain - Monkey Suit

of course there is also Peanut Butter Wolfs Chrome Mix

Read about Chrome Children out 10.03.06 on Stones Throw

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Mew Acoustic

I've been really digging the new Mew album. I'm not sure if I had posted this track before, I guess I can look but where is the fun in that. Anyway I became aware via Stereogum that Mew did an AOL session performance of some of their songs. Among them, one of my favorite songs of the year, Zookeepers Boy. I was going to chop the whole performance into single tracks and the behold Culture Bully did this already. Saves me some work.



Mews AOL, The Interface performance podcast (mp3)

Mew - Zookeepers Boy (AOL Interface)
Mew - The Zookeeper's Boy

Some other Interface performances that are fairly interesting:

Eagles of Death Metal
Grandaddy
Editors
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
the Raconteurs
Nada Surf

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Yours to keep

I was looking at my Last.fm charts and it seems that I listen to a lot of the Teddybears (Stockholm). Yesterday I saw that preview video of their American debut Soft Machine (September 12) on Pitchfork and noticed that they changed one of my favs by them, Yours to Keep by changing the guest vocalist from Swiss singer Paola to Neneh Cherry and Annie. Awww shucks guys, why'd ya have to go and do that. It lost its Enonesque vibe. Either way, I'm sure they can score a top 40 hit with their track record.

Teddybears STHLM - Yours to keep featuring Paola (updated 12.08.06)
Teddybears STHLM - Hey Boy featuring Swing Fly
Teddybears STHLM - Punkrocker featuring Iggy Pop

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Radiodread

After hearing the promo for Radiodread I got pretty anxious to hear the full length release. Easy Star All-Stars are a group of reggae artists who do cover albums. Their first one was a cover of Pink Floyds Dark side of the Moon titled Dub Side of the Moon. Now they have a Radiohead OK Computer cover album coming out titled Radiodread. It works pretty well, some tracks better than others.



Couple of my favorites...

Easy Star All-Stars - No Surprises
Easy Star All-Stars - Electioneering

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Living Legends

The Living Legends are a crew of 8 MCs and DJs from the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Japan, and Europe, I'm sure I've mentioned them before. Well today they have a new release titled Legendary Music Volume 1. Its a compilation opposed to their last a collaborative effort titled Classic. Here they bring in some guest on some tracks also most noteably Slug from Atmosphere and Felt fame. He is pared up with Aesop (0r is it Asop), not to be confused Aesop Rock who also has worked with Slug. The Aesop/Slug track is the first track and the immediate standout on the album but not the only one.

Aesop Ft Slug - Moving at the Speed of Life

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Oh No : Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms

Oh No's newest album on Stones Throw, Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms hits stores today. Oh No produced the entire album using only Galt MacDermot (Canadian pianist, composer and writer of musical theater like Hair(!)) samples for the whole album. While I was a fan of some of the track on his debut album, I think the tracks on this, his second, has a lot more staying power. It has one of my favorite hip hop tracks of the year featuring Posdnuos from De La Soul.


Oh No - Smile A Lil Bit Feat. Posdnuos (from de la soul)
from spine magazine

Also, has anyone heard the new Madvillian? There is a radio rip floating around but I'm going to wait for a better to surface before I post.

Speaking of MF Doom and De La Soul

De la Soul featuring MF Doom - Rock Co Kane Flow (you tube)
...like tucan sam and em.

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Swan Lake: Bejar, Krugs, Mercer track...Finally

I've been waiting for some kind of preview of this project for sometime. Swan Lake, which includes Dan Bejar (Destoryer, New Pornographers), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes), have their debut album out November 21 on Jagjaguar. That release date seems so long away, atleast we have this one track to drool over till then.



Swan Lake - All Fires

Their full-length record features, among other things, beast moans, starling voices, cobra hi hats and arpeggiating pianos. The songs are great weaves, showcasing the famous and very distinctive songwriting styles of Bejar, Krug and Mercer. The sum is definitely greater than the parts, and at distinct points on the record a new "combined" style emerges that throws whole heaps of magic into the air, sounding like nothing else.

This project reminds me of another indie super group (see here).

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Hip Hop Mix

I haven't been giving hip hop much attention lately so I thought I might just create a mix cd to mend this, the theme: my favorite hip hop tracks from 2006. I wanted to do this early in July but it just slipped my mind, better late than never. I have to make a note that the majority of hip hop that I listen to would be considered indie hip hop but I'm not 100% sure what that means but I have an idea. A link to the download the whole thing in one swoop at the bottom.

-(7L & Esoteric - Perfect Person)The 80s vibe rides strong throughout the album, this track is one of my favorite moments.

-(7L & Esoteric - dunks are live dunks are dead [think-tank edit]) I found gold at the end of this track, I edited out the half of it just to pull this one moment.

-(Aceyalone - Everything Changes) I like MCs that tell stories, it keeps me interested in the track till the end. The production doesn't hurt either, the piano loop caught my attention at first listen.

(Aceyalone - Disconnected) For me this is where RJD2 and Aceyalone find a common ground. This one track is how I thought the whole album would sound like before I heard it.

(Busta Rhymes feat Eminem - I'll Hurt You) This is a b-side from Busta Rhymes' album Big Bang. I'm going to come clean and straight up just say it, I only like the instrumental portion, I could careless of whats being said. The flow is just immitating the strings and why not, its great production.

(Clipse - Mr. Mee Too) I'm a Clipse fan so why wouldn't I like this.

-(Dangerdoom - Korn dogs) This is essential Doom, I'm guessing they recorded this after the Mouse and the Mask because I can't figure out how this wouldn't make the album.

(Ghostface Killah - Be Easy) This is such a party track and my favorite from Fishscales. I always thought this would be a bigger top 40er.

(J. Dilla - Last Donut of the Night) This is more hip hop production but its hip hop. I was debating between this and Stepson of the Clapper but thats mostly just a good beat.

-(Louis Logic & J.J. Brown - Captain Lou El Wino) This track just wakes me up in the morning and makes me laugh too.

-(MF Doom - Vomit) You should always expect MF Doom in any favorites list by me when he has a release during said period. I like that creepy horror movie sample, I always skipped over this track when it was vomitspit.

(Soul Position - Hand-Me-Downs) This album is one of my top hip hop albums of the year, I'm a fan of Blueprint and his lyrical style. Of course there is RJD2. I like what the song is about.

-(Soul Position - I need my minutes) How could anyone not appreciate this song about preserving cell phone minutes. I needed my minutes, back off of my minutes bitch, raise up off my minutes. There are so many lines I can quote.

(Spank Rock - Backyard Betty) Ass-shaking competition champ, what else is there to say.

-(The Coup - My Favorite Mutiny) In a perfect world this song would be blowing up on the charts, there would be video on MTV maybe a performance or two on late night television then in couple of months, played in pro sporting events. I can see the Dallas Mavericks coming out of the lockers, starters being annouced with this song playing.

(The Streets - When You Wasn't Famous) When you wasn't famous you made better music but this will do.

-(Dabrye - Machines Pt. I) While this is probably not the best track on Dabryes newest album this is the song I always think of when I think of the album, also it seems like a nice closer to a mix.

75:09 mins /93.5mb
Burn, listen and enjoy

Download

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