Pegasuses-XL

Alright, Pegasuses-XL... These guys... Are... Uh...

OK, so this band is INSANELY difficult to describe, they're a super group consisting of Mark Dale of Disband, Jeff Tobias of We Vs. The Shark and Dark Meat, Joel Hatstat of Cinemechanica, and Jeff Rosenstock of Bomb The Music Industry! But their music is nothing like the music of their members other projects, It's sort of fast paced synth-hardcore inspiration taken from riff based 70s rock, Trans Am, and 80s post punk. Each of their EPs is like a journey into your own psyche in a way, because everyone can read something different into their music, I love the band, but i have to be listening to them at the time to describe what the hell it's like, its like an acid trip in a way, but sped up to about 15 minutes per EP, just comes and goes. I definitely recommend these guys if you like hardcore synthesized music or even post punk, even if you don't you might like them, an acquired taste, but if you do get into them, i will vouch that you will love them

The Midnight Aquarium On QuoteUnQuote

XL on QuoteUnQuote

Self titled on QuoteUnQuote

Crywank

So this guy friended me on last.fm and I listened to his demos. Apparently, he read(s) this blog! It fits in with much of the stuff on this blog. He barely plays guitar and sings about his emotions and cites influences like Andrew Jackson Jihad and Paul Baribeau. I'd recommend it to any fan of heart-on-the-sleeve lyricism. From the Myspace bio:

"I say I'm anti-folk inspired by punk and outsider music, if you want though you can just call me out as just some guy who can't play guitar very well. I wrote these songs out of frustration and sadness and they ended up making me feel a lot better, I hope they have a similar effect on you."

Myspace

Last.fm

James Is Going to Die Soon

Playlist #2: I'll Never Fully Understand Hip-Hop

1. "Daylight" by Aesop Rock (Listen!)

Aesop Rock is one of those white rappers that I frequently hear people cite when they say "I don't like rap except for (rapper)." I hear that about Eminem a lot too. Although the only similarity the two they have is their skin color and their occupation.

2. "Distorted Prose" by dälek (Listen!)

The beat of this song is so noisy and industrial and gives it this really eerie post-apocalyptic feel, which isn't something I often expect from a hip-hop song. But then again, I don't know anything about hip-hop. This is definitely mood music.

3. "Magic Number" by De La Soul (Listen!)

I love Schoolhouse Rock, and the fact that much of this is lifted from "Three Is a Magic Number" made me ecstatic on the first listen of it. I made sure to play it for everyone who knows Schoolhouse Rock. Oh and De La Soul were this seminal hip-hop group from the late eighties and they're pretty darn influential on the whole darn thing.

4. "99 Problems" by Danger Mouse (Listen!)

Jay-Z rapping and The Beatles sampled for the beat. I shouldn't have to explain anything about this. "99 Problems" has the catchiest chorus ever and has been embedded in our culture since its release.

5. "9 to 5" by Lady Sovereign (Listen!)

If introducing this woman's music to someone I describe her as that "British teenage lesbian. How's that for averting rap stereotypes?" but that really marginalizes how enjoyable this is. It's catchy and she's funny. Kinda upset that she didn't develop at all.

6. "E.R." by Dark Time Sunshine (feat. Maggie Morrison) (Listen!)

Vessel is one of my favorite albums so far this year. Just needed a track from it as an example of its excellence.

7. "Dark Skin Girls" by Del tha Funkee Homosapien (Listen!)

I don't actually agree with the views presented in this song but it has me singing, "Dark skin girls are better than light skin; Light skin girls ain't better than dark skin," all day long when I hear it. Del is impressive in that he can find four minutes of reasons why dark skin girls are better. In rhyme.

8. "Inherited Scars" by Sage Francis (Listen!)

This song is about cutting and came out in 2002 so Francis got labeled as an "emo rapper" for no good reason. I mean the whole mainstream emo trend led to people not realizing that self-harm is kind of a big fucking deal. The song is probably the most personal of everything on this playlist. Everything this guy says just makes me go, "Shit that's tough."

9. "Accordion" by Madvillain

10. "Bird Flu" by M.I.A (Listen!)

I think M.I.A. is at her best when she's doing bizarre incorporations of world music in her raps. The percussion on here is so good.

11. "Purexed" by P.O.S. (Listen!)

P.O.S. was into hardcore punk before he started rapping and that intensity definitely carries over from his previous musical interests into his hip-hop. This song's message is something to consider too.

12. "Plastic" by Prefuse 73 (feat. Diverse) (Listen!)

Glitch and guest rappers. It just sounds too cool to ignore.

13. "Rhinestone Eyes" by Gorillaz (Listen!)

Easily my favorite song on Plastic Beach. Hope it's released as a single. Not a rap tune. The vocals are just a little creepy, which is my favorite thing about Damon Albarn in Gorillaz' stuff.

14. "I Luv U" by Dizzee Rascal (feat. Jeanine Jacques) (Listen!)

Dizzee Rascal is just awesome. His British accent allows him to slur just about anything and make it rhyme. There's some pretty original social commentary here. The beat is loud and incessant and I love it.

15. "Future Dads (Platinum Edition)" by Super Mash Bros. (Listen!)

Mashups are made to amuse pop music consumers. And it works. These guys get lots of understandable comparisons to Girl Talk: the samples fly by as they try to combine everything with everything. I favor Super Mash Bros. slightly since they're so obviously in it for the novelty of the genre. I laughed out loud on first listen.

16. "Juicy-r" by wait what (Listen!)

"Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G. vs. "VCR" by The XX. I like both of those artists. Make of this what you will.

17. "Thou Shalt Always Kill" by Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip (Listen!)

This is a little dated. I don't care; I only recently discovered it. Scroobius Pip is more of a spoken word poet than a rapper, and Dan Le Sac provides glitchy beats for him. Scroobius kinda just throws a bunch of shit at the wall and hopes that some of it has meaning. It amuses me.

18. "Pursuit of Happiness" by Kid Cudi (feat. MGMT and Ratatat) (Listen!)

Someone put this on a CD they burned for me and I thought, "Wow, this makes a great closing track." The production on Kid Cudi's stuff is more interesting than the lyrics.

If anyone wants me to upload this playlist, just ask. Too lazy to do it now.

Color the Lifeline

I befriended James (Color the Lifeline) on an emo forum a few years ago. We never really had similar taste but we discussed music with each other somehow. He's written a few posts for this place too. I haven't actually heard from him in a couple months, and I miss him, so if you're reading this James get the fuck on AIM.

So he kept me up to date on this EP he was writing for months and of course like many indie artists the release kept getting pushed back and back and then finally, one day, my preordered copy of Absinthismic came in the mail. I have no idea what the title means. You'll have to ask him.

His Myspace page lists his influences, some of which include The Beach Boys, Hellogoodbye, The Academy Is... and Motion City Soundtrack, and he wears all of these on these on his sleeve. The whole album is streaming on last.fm so give it a listen.

Myspace

Last.fm

Buy This Shit from CD Baby

Sorry to my three followers that I haven't posted any full albums for download recently. I promise the next post I write will have some stuff.

Full-Length Review #2: City of Glass by Love Ends Disaster!

If anything, I can commend this band for giving me a hard time to form a consistent opinion on them.

When I got first emailed their single I thought it was a good indie rock song, and nothing more. I expected the album to be yet another boring instance of a band whose success will come from comparisons to other band. See: pretty much every indie rock album review that mentions a band's influences (which is damn near all of them). So I wrote a review like that last night. My thesis was Love Ends Disaster! are a talented band that sound like a lot of other talented bands. I still stand by that, but I was more cynical about it in my original draft.

There are a ton of ideas on display here, and too many to list all of them. "Knight Takes Queen" has some electronics, "Pigtails" is a minute-long song more frantic than any Johnny Foreigner track, and closer "Knight Takes Queen" is an obvious take on Beach Boys harmonies and SMiLE-like sound effects. (There are two different tracks titled "Knight Takes Queen.") None of these ideas are new, though. You're sure to find something you'll like on this album. Too bad the rest of it doesn't follow that up. Love Ends Disaster! are the millionth band in an age of Pandora, Last.fm, and other personalized music recommendations hoping to get fans by listeners saying, "Hey, these guys are cool like (band)."

Myspace

Last.fm

City of Glass comes out July 26th.

Going to close on some conversation between me and PirateSquid about this:

[13:15] tom: so anyway I have mixed feelings about Love Ends Disaster!
[13:16] tom: Album really picks up in the second half, which totally caught me off guard while I was writing the review
[13:17] tom: I kinda think my positivity regarding them started when I first heard track nine and went "oh yes glockenspiel!"
[13:18] tom:http://www.myspace.com/loveendsdisaster
[13:19] tom: all four of these songs on the myspace are better than the first single
[13:19] tom: especially "Killer Bombs"
[13:23] Gabe Penisington: I can't really make an opinion
[13:23] Gabe Penisington: it's like, at first I was "Eh"
[13:23] Gabe Penisington: then they added a cool part
[13:24] tom: yeah that's how i felt first time
[13:24] Gabe Penisington: so I'm at a loss of opinion
[13:29] Gabe Penisington: To be honest, this music seems humid
[13:29] Gabe Penisington: I don't know what that means
[13:29] Gabe Penisington: but when I think of this music
[13:29] Gabe Penisington: I think of being sweaty and uncomfortable

[13:29] tom: the singer sounds like the guy from the world/inferno friendship society but british
[13:30] tom: I think how I feel about this band right now is how I felt about Los Campesinos! before I fell in love with them
[13:30] tom: moments of frantic brilliance and some creativity counterbalanced by meh midtempo sections
[13:31] tom: but eventually, Hold On Now Youngster became one of my favorite albums so if that's any indication of where this album is going I have to review it positively

The Cast of Cheers

From the same dude who sent me Alright the Captain comes The Cast of Cheers. And you should download this and pump it through your speakers and dance right now. It's angular, it's rhythmic, it sounds like Foals. These guys can play their instruments and their three-minute slices of delicious post-punk will make you move. To be honest, I didn't expect this to blow my mind but then the repeated YING-YING-YING-YING of "Goose" just felt sooooo right. I didn't even get upset about the fact that they describe themselves with the ridiculous-sounding (but surprisingly accurate) tag of "robot rock." Their debut album Chariot is available for free download on their bandcamp so you might not even feel guilty about enjoying this without money.

Myspace

Last.fm

Chariot

Failed Attempts at Facial Hair

This is the project of a hipster with twinkle in his eye, a ukulele in his hands, and a notebook full of name-dropped bands and witty romantic lyrics.

The first time I heard this guy, it was with a song entitled, "Grindcore Girl", a story of love, loss, and The Locust. I think I love this guy so much because of his personal and hilariously blunt lyrics, or it could be I feel my heartbeat race when I hear a band that I know mentioned in equally obscure music. But either way, I'd recommend this guy. I've heard of him being described as a hipster Never Shout Never by my friend. Then I told my friend to shut the hell up and to listen to some more Crass.

Myspace - You can get the entire album here for 3 bucks. Shipping/Handling included. If you're smart you'd buy this.
Last.fm
Girls, Friends, and Girlfriends

Paul Baribeau

In the past few weeks this man has become my favorite songwriter. His music is mostly basic: acoustic guitar, untrained voice, blunt lyrics. It's raw and sincere and his stories don't sound fudged to me like I think a lot of lyricists do. That last part is just speculation/ wishful thinking though. Anyway, he's on Plan-It-X Records, and he fits right at home with the likes of Ghost Mice and Kimya Dawson. I ordered Grand Ledge before writing this post. I got Unbearable two weeks ago and have been listening to it almost nonstop. I also can't pick just one song to post in YouTube form, so here are two, and the other stuff I usually post when I write for this blog like I used to do all the time three months ago.

Myspace

Last.fm

Paul Baribeau

Split with Ghost Mice

Grand Ledge

Unbearable

Buy This Shit from Plan-It-X Records

I think this quote from the above link describes it best: "He will destroy you, if you're a human."