new animal + monday music

This animal was found in Borneo. No one knew it existed. Someone then drew a picture of it.

Here's a single Kings of Convenience remix for your Monday enjoyment.

[mp3] Kings of Convenience- Drop (remix)
(originally by Cornelius)

destroyed laptops

Jason Forrest is playing at the UICA in Grand Rapids tonight. You should go see him for sure. I'll be tending bar but you should be head nodding to his gorgeous sample drive laptop-tech-classic rock.

Check out this incredible video for his song War Photographer.

I think he has a viking/warlord/wizard obsession.

apples and others

If you haven't hear the most recent release from The Appleseed Cast, I'm really sorry, but for your enjoyment I've posted my favorite from the album.

[mp3] The Appleseed Cast- The Clock and The Storm

Here's one of my personal favorites from the Low Level Owl two disc series. If you do not yet own these two albums now would be a good time to get them.
If you're in the Holland area call The Full Circle @ 616-392-9899
If you're anywhere else click.

[mp3] The Appleseed Cast- View of a Burning City

"It's time to herald The Appleseed Cast for what they are now, and what they're about to become: ground breaking." - Pitchfork

Indulgent

Say Anything is true emo/pop punk and it's indulgent when you claim to love "good" music. It's like anything else, when you get into it, you just want more. (By more, I mean air guitar and lip syncing.)

Just give it a try and move on if you hate it.

[mp3] Say Anything- Belt
[mp3] Say Anything- Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too (not so much emoish, but catchy as hell)

finally some music

I know it's been over a week and for those of you who actually check this, I'm sorry. Hey, but at least you're getting free tracks. . .right?

Most recently, I've been enjoying an obscure 2004 release by Grizzly Bear titled Horn of Plenty. If you dig a little you can get the record re-release from 2005 with the remix disc included for only a few more bucks.

[mp3] Grizzly Bear- This Song
[mp3] Grizzly Bear- Eavesdropping (Simon Bookish remix)

your new favorite dance track

Sample the danceable, rock-twinged house of The Juan McLean courtesy of the Astralwerks sampler disc.



[mp3]-The Juan McLean- Give Me Every Little Thing

2 tracks

I'm posting two mp3s your sampling pleasure today by two great groups both from their most recent releases.


Indie rock with a guitar riff heavy classic rock feel and ruff-edged drumming

[mp3]Tapes n' Tapes- crazy eights


Smooth, drifting alt-country with female vocals full of melody and lush feeling

[mp3] Neko Case- at last

the future

This video of computer touch screen interface is incredible. Think of the computer in Minority Report and that's about it.

watch in quicktime here.

Guillemots

After Destroyer, Guillemots is likely the best I've heard recently. They've got great Flaming Lipsesque base lines with poppy almost Coldplay vocals. They remind of The Verve, but really fun to listen to.

2 tracks here.

remix

Dreams of Horses is offering a great Hot Chip remix of Bright Eyes Easy/Lucky/Free.

click here

listen

If you haven't heard the folksy yet rock-twinged sound of Destroyer yet, you should soon.


or you can right here.

what now?

Although I was not able to confirm this on any site, it seems Tapes 'n Tapes new song "Manitoba" was heard on the OC twice last nite. My information comes from iguessimfloating, so go there for more. The record is barely out and they're already on that horrible show. Either credit is due to the show's music director or something's fishy.

listen to Manitoba.

take the indie test (or don't because taking it wouldn't be indie).

worth buying

Now that you know how bad Lovedrug is, here are my current picks for the best of whats new-or at least new to me.



1. Tapes 'n tapes- gorillavsbear has been touting this great band for a while and their most recent release, the loon has recieved a Best New Music Distinction from pitchforkmedia, that's a pretty big deal. Samples available on their homepage.

2. The Research- this UK-based three piece play some really nice synth-based almost new wave pop. The two girls and one guy all take turns singing. These songs are just basic, easy going pop for everyday listening. You'll like it. I found them on saidthegrammaphone, but the band has an incredible site with a nice music player. listen to "Lonley hearts still beat the same" first.



3. Grizzly Bear- Although this album came out in 2004, it's still great. This Brookly group can be filed under almost freak-folk with a twinge of electronic. The 2004 release "Horn of Plenty" is full of flute, heavy drums, far away singing, experiemental sounds and antique guitar chords. I love this record. There is even a full remix disc. It's the disc everyone should be listening to, but I'd be so mad if they were. . .
4 tracks at their myspace page.

not so good

The band Lovedrug has been getting a bunch of press lately. Iguessi'mfloating has some free tracks today from them. They sound like Radiohead before they knew what they were doing, which I guess if a compliment, or like the Doves if they had only half the talent. They play the kind of songs, over-sung quasi emo ballads about the healing process and people being angels that I don't think are cool anymore, I did when I was 19 or 20. I can understand why Lovedrug is popular, but they aren't doing anything interesting. If you like Copeland, Mae (whom Lovedrug is touring a number of Christian colleges with . . .hmmmmmm?)then you'll like Love drug. At least check out the free songs and judge them for yourself.

free and nice

Prefix magazine has some some nice mp3s available right now. They may be those time sensitive ones which stop working after a while after downloading, but they're good.

If you haven't heard Mylo yet, you're really late to catch on and have been missing out. He's making what might be the best electronic music out right now-and it's Scottish, not French. . hard to believe, I know.

The song by The Joggers is really nice as well. It's sound like The Strokes forgot about melody and are a little drunk.

local talent

Nate Boylan, aka DJ Freddy Boylan, has been putting some serious work into his production and his mixes are really beginning to take shape. He's truly a breakbeat, trance, hardhouse addict. I really like to spastic and heavy nature of his mixes. Check out a whole bunch of his stuff here.

He also loves donkeys and donkey basketball.

mainstream credit

The incredible Appleseed Cast of Lawrence, Kansas finally recieved credit from mainstream media in a article on MSNBC. There are three songs available for streaming on the same page.

must read

Pitchforkmedia.com has an article describing Best Buy's new $7.99 sale of indie artists such as Arcade Fire and Danger Doom, it's cause and implications. A good read for those who want to keep local records shops afloat.

J Dilla/Jay Dee (updated)

listen to more samples here at NRP.org and listen to a podcast remembering him there as well.

I'm late to catch on here, but at least I did finally. The late producer/artist James Yancey created some of the most original and smoothest hip-hop to come out of not just Detroit, but anywhere. This post is much too short for the credit he is due and I'll add more later but for now check out his myspace page for 4 tracks and buy his last release "Donuts". The second track "Workinonit" is truly a work of musical art.

-His page on the great Stones Throw Records site.
-Pop Matters article
-massive free mp3 tribute on hiphopmusic.com

hot chip

Now that I've decided to focus the music section of Silverwagon on electronic and its many forms, the London-based, new wave, dance rock group Hot Chip seems like a good start. (As well as the fact that they're the top post on a bunch of other music blogs recently.)

Let's start with the name. As soon as I read it I thought of chip beef on toast. When I think of chip beef on toast and then think of British electronic music, I laugh. So then I checked them out on itunes and I laughed at them again, this time because the album cover art work made me think of a person with a emotionally devestating IQ attempting to build a keyboard and then I thought of chip beef on toast and kept laughing. So I played some samples. . .
Hot Chip makes really authentic electronic music. They don't make any really memorable music, it's just fun to listen to. As I'm listening to No Fit State, hearing one singer repeat "I'm in no fit state," while the other lists reasons why he's in no fit state in a sort of call and response thing, I keep thinking: I hope this song keep going for around an hour. This is all sung over a droaning synth-pop keyboard and drooping base line, but it makes sense. Hot Chips songs would make the perfect soundtrack to a dream about playing video games at a friend's house afterschool in fifth grade. Sitting there on the couch with a bag of doritos open, shoes off in dim light. The clicks and gliding pops of Hot Chip's songs and their joking lyrics are the right sounds for listening alone or with a few friends-this isn't really dance floor fare.
Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor write this on their myspace page in an effort to explain their music. . .

"we started making music because we were bored with alot of other music. We loved the idea of 'pop' music but not the people who make 'pop' music now. We loved Phil Spector and the Beach Boys, Kraftwerk and Robert Wyatt, timbaland and Madlib, Brian Eno and Devo, Anti-Pop Consortium and Aphex Twin, Will Oldham and Royal Trux. We decided to make our band different from most electronic music by playing everything live- no backing tracks, no computers. We decided to make our music different from most indie music- 4 keyboards and a drum machine, not all guitars. We decided to write folk songs and record them on old synthesizers. We decided to sing honest words about food and love, and try to make people laugh the way you laugh at richard pryor in the same song too. We made one album in Joe's bedroom for Moshi Moshi records, then we made another album for EMI still in Joe's bedroom (this one is coming out next spring). We used a computer to make them but almost everything on them was played by us with a keyboard on our lap whilst sitting on the bed."

On their most promising song, Over and Over, Hot Chip sings "Over and over. . .like a monkey with a minature cymbal, the joy of repetition really is in you." That sums it up, but the repetition is infectious.

-4 tracks available on Hot Chip's myspace page
-2 more at Palmsout blog

"Hot chip will break your legs, snap off your head."