abe vigoda

the black keys

black moth super rainbow, holy fuck, shugo tokumaru

Hand Drawn Dracula just released the Vicious Circles EP featuring Black Moth Super Rainbow, Holy Fuck, and Shugo Tokumaru all covering each others' songs. It's available for FREE on HDD's Facebook page. GET IT

male bonding

Dudes dudes dudes.. Do you heart the 90's as much as me ? Male Bonding put out a new record, Endless Now, a couple months back and its pretty great. Dirty pop punk played by dirty Brits.

This is the video for "Tame the Sun".

mini video/jam

I recorded this jam on a phone voice memo a couple weeks ago (i added a guitar). The footage is stuff from today and yesterday on my Hero HD.

O.H.Q.S.

teenage cool kids

They really are cool. Of all the bands I encountered in my years spent in Denton, Tx none do I admire more than Teenage Cool Kids. Throughout college I saw their shows all over town, and I was even lucky enough to catch them at Danger Danger Gallery when I first moved to Philly. The first time I saw them perform was in Summer of 2008 with Wax Museums at the house on Panhandle St. where some of the members lived. My friends Adam and Jamie invited me after work so I rushed over in my pizza delivery uniform. The house was crammed wall-to-wall with unkempt hipsters that made it smell like an armpit. When they started playing, the energy of the small room burst into an indie a-bomb. It was absolute madness, and I had pushed my way up to the front to participate in it all. People that couldn't fit into the house watched from outside through the living room windows. It may have been the combination of drunken emotion and "girlfriend-just-dumped-me" angst, but this show left a huge impression on me. I couldn't wait for their next show, and their tape (which included the Remember Me as a Silhouette EP & Queer Salutations) did not leave my car tape deck for at least the rest of the summer.

Denton After Sunset was officially released on Tuesday and is likely to be the last TCK album. Guitarist/Vocalist, Andrew Savage, now lives in Brooklyn and performs with his band of Denton transplants, Fergus and Geronimo (also rad). This album is a perfect note for the band to end on. Unlike earlier recordings, where Savage will often sing in a strained high register, his vocals are lower, and the songs (for the most part) a bit more calm. Many of the songs talk about the significant spots and memories from being the road. "Kachina Doll" is my personal favorite; a slow burner with cranked, dissonant guitars that mourns the lost traditions of the American Southwest. "Landlocked State" also talks about being exhausted and miles away from your bed in Texas. I'm also pleased to see they included "Beyond the Grasp of Guilt", one that I was always feelin' when I saw them live, but never knew what the title was.

Earlier TCK records sound as if Built to Spill secretly put out an album before their first one (listen to "Tryna Decide"). These records were comprised of indie rock party starters that produced that raw energy I witnessed on Panhandle St. Listening to Queer Salutations front to back makes you realize that Savage has a knack for writing poignant lyrics that don't sound pretentious or contrived. It's even easier to hear them in the more comfortable, lower octave he sings in on Denton After Sunset. The title of the record alone is a perfect 3-word description of its contents. While Denton has lost one of its finest, the album is a sincere tribute to the college town. Go to their bandcamp and buy it for only $6.66!

http://teenagecoolkids.bandcamp.com/

dulltools.bigcartel.com

the war on drugs

and also

.

bombay bicycle club

Bombay Bicycle Club just announced they will be headlining a U.S. / Canadian tour early next year. My man, Casey Green, told me he saw them a few months back in NYC and that they were rad. I must agree. Here are some dates:

2/14/12 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah (21+)
2/15/12 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre (All Ages)
2/16/12 San Francisco, CA @ The Rickshaw Shop (18+)
2/17/12 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge (21+)
2/18/12 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Café (21+)
2/20/12 Vancouver, BC @ Venue (19+)
2/21/12 Kamloops, BC @ Blue Grotto (19+)
2/22/12 Calgary, AB @ Republik (18+)
2/23/12 Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room (18+)
2/25/12 Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre (All Ages)
2/26/12 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry (18+)
2/27/12 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean (17+)
2/29/12 Columbus, OH @ The Basement (All Ages)
3/1/12 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club (19+)
3/2/12 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Mile End (18+)
3/3/12 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (18+)
3/5/12 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom (18+)
3/7/12 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club (All Ages)
3/8/12 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s (All Ages)
3/9/12 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East Downstairs (18+)
3/10/12 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer (All Ages) ****YEAH******

mix

no work mix:

Toro y Moi - All Alone
Mika Miko - I Got A Lot
maYYors - ghost punch
I Am Oak - Giant
Starfucker - The White of Noon
The Grates - Turn Me On
Warpaint - Set Your Arms Down
Trash Talk - Awake
Wavves - Nodding Off
TV Girl - Baby You Were There (sweet video)

newermind

So I was listening to some of the tracks SPIN put out for the 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana's Nevermind. I hate to say it but they were pretty disappointing. This could be because I've listened to the album so many times but some of the covers are pretty terrible. Some of the up-and-comers SPIN found to cover a song from Nevermind seemed like weird choices, but maybe I just don't know enough about the different bands histories. Bands like The Vaselines and The Meat Puppets come back to cover great songs from a band that was covering their songs back then. But, (hate to say it) the Surfer Blood and Titus Andronicus tracks seem totally pointless to me. Here's my two favorite tracks from SPIN's Newermind.

wavves

What if Green Day had never put on eyeliner or gone all broadway on us? What if after Dookie they only got cooler? Ok, that's how I feel about Wavves. They released Life Sux EP a couple a months ago and I'm about halfway in love with it. Meaning I like half the songs on it. There is a few that sound like terrible versions of previous songs, but "I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl" makes up for them ( minus the "Never gonna stop me"'s. No one is trying to stop you). I am a huge fan of King of the Beach and Wavvves, so Life Sux receives the bronze. It's pretty hit or miss. The idea of putting a live track and some collaborations with other cool bands is great, but I wish Nathan Williams could have experimented more with his songs. It seems he has abandoned all the peculiar and bizarre and stuck with the catchy pop punk that you can't say "no" to. Either way, he's going on the Weezer Cruise. Lucky bastard..

friends

I mentioned this band a couple weeks ago when they played a show in Philly with Ganglians. It's kind of a guilty pleasure (the show too).



This is funny too.