So much going on, and yet I find myself constantly pressed for time. So here is a quick and dirty, non-complete run down of some things which have crossed my mind, my desk or my social media filters....
1. RIP Patty Andrews - the last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters.
2. The Great American Novel have released a new single...
3. Couch by Couchwest is about a month and a half away. Bands: Submit your videos to Couch by Couchwest - "Where the beer is cheaper and the only hipster is you."
Well, it's Friday again, and we've reached what will likely be the final Morning Shuffle of 2012. As I mentioned yesterday, I loaded up my new memory card with a random sampling of my digital music collection. I left some space for all of the great new music to come in 2013. UPDATE on Band of the Year Voting: As of the time I am writing this post, we've had in the neighborhood of 1750 votes. Brooklyn based The Disappointment are holding a 5% point leave over Skeletons in the Piano who are from Upstate New York. Currently, New York band The Great American Novel are running third. You've got a couple more days to vote. Voting will end just before Midnight (Central Time) on Sunday December 30. Also, we need about 200 more votes to surpass our total vote count for last years inaugural Band of the Year poll. So keep the votes coming. Here is where to vote: CLICK HERE Now for the shuffle which is pretty mind-blowingly eclectic and includes some songs I probably heard for the first time today. After the JUMP!
Well, we're still and here and hopefully you are, too. How about some seriously cool tunes to celebrate the continued existence of this world which is clearly broken but still capable of awesome beauty when it puts its mind to it.
Quick summary of voting in our Band of the Year Poll. Total Votes: 534 Currently leading: The Disappointment Skeletons in the Piano Currently 2nd: Skeletons in the Piano The Disappointment -7 Currently 3rd: The Great American Novel -31 Voting continues until 11:59:59 on December 30 cause even I am not music nerd enough to be checking results on New Years Eve* *okay actually I am, but I don't want you to know that.
Another week started... Hope all if well in your worlds.
This week, we continued to highlight some of the more recent additions to our MP3 player.
First up, we have an excellent country/garage band from right here in Music City USA. Those Darlins play lovely, gritty music for the new South. We have the title track off their latest album, Screws Get Loose. From what I understand, the band first met at the awesome Southern Girls Rock & Roll camp, which makes this an excellent time to give a shout out to that outstanding organization. We had the chance to speak to them briefly at Record Store Day and we've had the chance to read up on them since. SGRRC have been around for ten years, and they provide a valuable and empowering service to our community.
Next up, we have Asbury Park, New Jersey band The Parlor Mob with a song from their 2008 album And You Were a Crow. The song today is Can't Keep No Good Boy Down.
And finally, we dig deeper into the Sondre Lerche album we recently found at the Goodwill store. Faces Down came out in 2002, and our song today is called Sleep on Needles.
Good morning, we are back after a three day holiday weekend. We've reloaded the May playlist with about 30 songs, and we have four songs today.
Before we get to the shuffle - some reminders, we announced last week that with our Band of the Week post about South of Ramona, we are discontinuing the Band of the Week feature which has been a staple on this site almost since we began. Stay tuned because on Friday, we will unveil what comes next - hint: I think it will be a good thing both for the blog and for the bands we spotlight.
To the shuffle:
First up we dig deeper into the Resurrection record by our good friends The Dead Exs. Come Down Easy is another rough and ready bluesy rock number by this outstanding band.
Here's The Dead Exs doing All Over You & Nolita Stomp
Next, we go deeper into the Asterisk EP by recent Band of the Week, The Joy of Painting with a track called The Bird.
Here's The Joy of Painting doing The Bird live:
Next we have Rhode Island band, Brown Bird with a track off of 2011s The Sound of Ghosts called Ragged Old Town.
Here is a performance of Ragged Old Town from the classroom
And, we close things out with a track off of Sondre Lerche's 2002 album Faces Down. The song is called, You Know So Well. It is early 21st Century European Alt-Rock at it's finest.
