MP3 & Video: Turbo Fruits and Bad Cop to Release Split 7" on Jeffery Drag Records

via Audible Treats:

Critical Praise for Turbo Fruits:  "When he's excited (like on the spastic album opener, 'No Drugs To Use'), Stein sounds like a hoarse Henry Rollins. When he's feeling mellow (as on the proto-grunge 'Volcano'), a hint of Mark Arm's cultivated ennui creeps into his voice." -Pitchfork "Stein's endlessly engaging melodic style gives nods to Bowie and even Elvis, plus there's a sprinkling of psychedelic dynamism now and then." - The Guardian Critical Praise for Bad Cops:  "It's a soulful, greasy, howlin' whiteboy kind of rant-rock that's even greater than the sum of all its crazy parts, a frantic, no-holds-barred, 'fuck the rules' kind of album that we desperately need right now..." - Impose The 7": Nashville garage rockers Turbo Fruits and Bad Cop are proud to announce the release of a split 7" on Jeffery Drag Records, which is available for pre-order now. The albums will ship on July 15 and be in stores on July 31. There is a limited edition of 300 on clear vinyl. The tracks will be available on iTunes on July 15. The Turbo Fruits track "Love Tennessee" is an anthem of sorts for the radical music scene currently bursting out of Nashville (JEFF the Brotherhood, Pujol, Natural Child) as exemplified by the lyrics, "Whiskey and Coke / Telling our jokes / This is the place to be / We love Tennessee / No place we'd rather be / No place like Tennessee / That's where we'll always be." Like their previous music videos, the video for Bad Cop's single "Wet Lips" also stars an attractive femme fatale and is slightly NSFW. The sixties garage rock sound is amplified by the swirling psychedelic footage- it's a wild rock n' roll party you'll want to be invited to. Turbo Fruits have been on tour with Deer Tick since April and Bad Cop recently toured with Cage the Elephant. Both bands will have full-length LPs out later this year. Attention vinyl junkies: We have a limited amount of 7"s available for review-let us know if you're interested and we'll send you a copy. Check out the premieres at Prefix: http://www.prefixmag.com/media/bad-cop/wet-lips-prefix-premiere-video/66649/ http://www.prefixmag.com/media/turbo-fruits/love-tennessee-prefix-premiere/66641/ Check out the "Wet Lips" video here

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Wind Blown Mix

By the way, it's not windy here today - just a random bit of words floating through my brain.

It looks like our friends, Those Mockingbirds ended the contest in 1st place!  As I  understand it, the final decision is now in the hands of the movie's producers. I still don't understand completely what happens now, but when I know you will know.


Let's go... it's Friday before a long holiday weekend here in the States, and I am expecting readership to drop significantly today because everyone is getting a jump start on their holiday plans. In any event, I've been focusing exclusively on the May 2012 playlist this week, but to wrap up the week, I thought I would go to one of our randomly selected playlists.

NUMBER ONE

We begin with a track off legendary British band, The Psychedelic Furs' self-titled debut album. Susan's Strange is classic Furs music, but did you know this song was not on the original UK release of  the album?

 

NUMBER TWO

Next up with a cover song.  Long-lived California band, Social Distortion have recently done some arena dates opening for The Avett Brothers, which at first glance seemed like an odd combination, but Mike Ness and company have a long-held affinity for classic county music.  They covered June Carter Cash's Ring of Fire on their self-titled Epic records debut, and here we have a song off their second Epic release, Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, this one is a cover of a song which topped the Country charts in 1955 for Ms. Kitty Wells. Making Believe was written by Jimmy Work.

 

NUMBER THREE

Finally, we have a track from one of our 2011 Band's of the Week.  The Hunting Accident are an Indie Rock band  based in Los Angeles.  The band is made up of former members of the bands Piebald and Arlo.  The song Aubergine is available now via Soundcloud using the widget below, and will be included on  Trees and Parks, a 10" which will be released in July.

Here is an Amazon link to an earlier EP by the band

 

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Country Music Hall Of Fame Series: Kitty Wells For everything you do, there's a song that hits the spot. MOG brings them all to you: a world of music on demand, unlimited mobile downloads and ways to discover music free from the limitations of Pandora. The music you love, with you everywhere you go.

Here Came The Psychedelic Furs: B-Sides & Lost Grooves Here Came The Psychedelic Furs: B-Sides & Lost Grooves

Piebald: Nobody's Robots - A Farewell to Piebald - This documentary caters to fans of the emocore ensemble Piebold (Travis Shettel, Andrew Bonner, Lucian Garro, Jon Sullivan, Aaron Stuart and Alex Garcia Rivera) by chronicling the group's colorful history, from their inauspicious beginnings in the Northern Massachusetts community of Andover circa 1994, through their final concert in the late 2000s. The mix includes interviews, glimpses of the musicians in high school, performance footage shot over the years, and much more. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Gibson Arlo Guthrie LG2 3/4 Acoustic Guitar with Case Gibson Arlo Guthrie LG2 3/4 Acoustic Guitar; A Guthrie Family Gibson The luthiers at Gibson Acoustic were approached in 2002 by Arlo Guthrie and asked to embark on a very arduous task, reconstructing an acoustic given to him by his legendary father, Woody Guthrie. This acoustic was no ordinary guitar, it was an old Gibson LG2 3/4 sized acoustic that was literally in pieces. Gibson undertook the delicate task of restoring this instrument passed on to him from his father and after completing the restoration and presenting the rebuilt guitar to Arlo, Gibson decided to reissue the Arlo Guthrie LG2 3/4 as part of its Signature Series line of acoustics. It is a painstaking reproduction of a classic Gibson guitar, yet remaining true to Arlo’s original in every way including an aged-like vintage replica finish. Gibson Arlo Guthrie LG2 Features AA-grade Sitka spruce Top Honduran mahogany back and sides Hand-scalloped, radiused top Bracing Rosewood fingerboard with rolled edges and dot inlays Nickel Gotoh White Button Tuners Tapered Dovetail Neck Joint Handcrafted Rosette Nitrocellulose Finish Gibson Logo Includes Case Nickel Gotoh White Button Tuners Gibson’s Arlo Guthrie LG2 3/4 features Gotoh’s SD91 white button tuners. With a gear ratio of 15:1, the Gotoh’s deliver precision tuning in a durable housing that provides maximum protection for the gear and string post. All moving parts are cut for exact meshing, eliminating the possibility of slippage, and a special lubricant inside the gear box provides smooth and accurate tuning stability. Pickguard The tortoise pickguard on the Arlo Guthrie LG2 3/4 is a small teardrop shape designed especially for the 3/4-size acoustic guitar. As with all Gibson’s pickguards, the coloring, inlay, binding, and engraving are all done by hand. Rosette A rosette is the beautiful, hand-crafted circle around the soundhole, and can be one of the most ornamental elements of any acoustic guitar. It is also one of the most subtle and complicated woodworking decorations on any acoustic guitar. The rosette on the Arlo Guthrie LG2 3/4 is a single-ring rosette consisting of three-ply binding, adding a stylish, understated elegance to the Arlo Guthrie LG2 3/4. Rosewood Fingerboard with Rolled Edges and Dot Inlays, the fingerboard of Gibson’s Arlo Guthrie LG2 3/4 is constructed from the highest grade rosewood on earth, which is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled experts before it enters the Gibson factories. The resilience of this durable wood makes the fingerboard extremely balanced and stable, and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. The LG2’s dot inlays are made of genuine mother of pearl, and are inserted into the fingerboard using a process that eliminates gaps and doesn’t require the use of fillers. The fingerboard also sports a rolled edge, instead of the usual right angle where the fingerboard surface meets the neck. Gibson Acoustic’s rolled edges are slightly

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Questions? Mix

First off this morning, I can going to attempt to answer some of our most frequently asked questions.*  Some of these have been covered before, but we've recently added a bunch of new readers so...**

Q:  What's with the Shuffle?
A:  I  have a ten to fifteen minute walk to my office every weekday.  I listen to music during my walk up the hill in the morning and I use the shuffle feature on my music player to determine the songs for the day. I do create various playlists and yes, I do sometimes shuffle a couple of times to get "better" mix, but I try to keep it as random as possible.

Q:  How can I get my band's music on your blog?
A:  Bribes help... just kidding.  Contact me (Put Ear to the Ground in the subject line) and include a link where I can at least hear some of your music.  If you have music I can download, I will try to get you in the mix.  If I really like what I hear, I will feature your band as Band of the Week or some equivalent feature. Be patient but feel free to follow up after a few weeks.  

Q: What kind of music do you like to receive?  
A: Anything good.  If you stick around long enough, you will notice that I feature a pretty diverse range of music.  Personally, I think the concept of genres is pretty dumb, although I understand (sort of) why band's have to use them. For me though, I try to judge the music on the music not which pigeon-hole it does or doesn't fit into. But, that is just me.

 * Okay - these are the questions I think people may have.  In actuality our most frequent asked question seems to be "Did you hear what she is saying about you?" followed by a indecipherable link. 


** Readership tends to vary over time and depending on what is going on. Still, to be the best of my ability to understand blog stats, I think Readership is increasing.  Mainly, though, I just included that statement to make you think very highly of me.... ;-)

On to today's shuffle:

Make Believe  is by The Holograms  featuring Galen Wade (who we have featured before and who is also a great supporter of Ear to the Ground along with Wade Walker.  Wade x Wade get it?  It's some great guitar-driven electronic music.  Below we have the song on Soundcloud.
 
  Make Believe by The Holograms

Okay so I couldn't find a video for The Holograms (they are too new) so I've posted Jem and The Holograms for your... um enjoyment. No connection between Galen and Wade's band and Jem's band is implied. :-)

Next, we have an awesome cover of Sweet's classic Fox on the Run.  This cover is by 80s California punk band, Nip Drivers and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1984 low-budger film Desperate Teenage Lovedolls.

Nip Drivers Cover here:

   

Check out Sweet's original here:

 

Finally, we have Scotty's Lament, the opening track from the 1987 Mitch Easter produced album Boylan Heights by The Connells. 

 

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Desperate Teenage Lovedolls - A comically punky version of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls , Desperate Teenage Lovedolls tells the story of three disaffected young girls who leave home to become rock stars. Lead singer Kitty Carryall (Jennifer Schwartz), whose mother is played by a shrill, hysterical man in a dress, runs away to Venice, CA, where she and a friend shoot heroin and meet a drummer named Patch. Kitty joins Patch in beating a Dylanesque tramp to death with his own guitar and battles a tough girl-gang called the She-Devils on a beach, stabbing one of them to escape. Despite raping one of the girls at his Brentwood condo, sleazy agent Johnny Tremaine engineers the Love Dolls' rise to the top, off a hot album called Electric Catbox. Soon, the band is at the top and decides to drop Johnny, so they drug his wine, setting the scene for a hilarious "bad trip" segment involving stuffed cats and a suicidal plunge from a building. The tragedy continues in grand rock-movie style as the band's guitarist is murdered by the She-Devils and Kitty shoots one of them to death in retaliation. We next see Kitty a year later, wandering the train tracks as a derelict. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Leap Day Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Not Ready Mix

It's Leap Day - it only comes around once every four years, and it's way cooler than the Presidential Elections.

So let us leap (yes, I did that) into a nifty little shuffle...

Kafka (no not the early 20th Century German writer, this Kafka is a alt-rock singer/songwriter from Burnley, Lancashire UK.   He writes passionate and driving songs.  The song is Jump Down from the album Mysterious Skin..  Give Kafka a try.

  <----- Mysterious Skin - Kafka - (Amazon.com)

The Drums are a Brooklyn-based band.  On Valentine's Day, they released a cover of The Ronettes Do I Love You.  They have new music coming soon, but below is a link to last year's Portamento album.

  <----Portamento by The Drums @ Amazon.com


Band of Skulls are a UK band. They rock out on the track Death by Diamonds and Pearls from 2009's Baby Darling Doll Face Honey.  They have a brand-spanking new album available now called Sweet Sour.

 <-----Baby Darling Doll Face Honey by Band of Skulls on Amazon (once you check out this album navigate around Amazon to check out Sweet Sour.


Finally, we have Just Stuph from our main man, H.C. representin' the 6-1-5 via the 2-5-1.

  Just Stuph by Hayden Coleman Music

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RUDERS: Kafka's Trial (Proces Kafka, Prozess Kafka) For everything you do, there's a song that hits the spot. MOG brings them all to you: a world of music on demand, unlimited mobile downloads and ways to discover music free from the limitations of Pandora. The music you love, with you everywhere you go.

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Zombie Apocalypse Mix

It really isn't a question of if... it's a question of when... are you prepared... the CDC has some tips.

And but so, we move forward.  Colder air has arrived, but it's not too bad.

You may have heard or noticed that some sites including Wikipedia are blacked-out today in protest of the proposed SOPA regulations. Here's some information about SOPA/PIPA.  One thing that sucks is that in the three or four seconds Wikipedia comes up, I noticed that the article of the day is about Nick Drake. So, tomorrow, be sure to click back to the Nick Drake article.

On we go...

First up, Stephen Malkmus & the Million Dollar Bashers cover Dylan's Maggie's Farm for the I'm Not There Motion Picture Soundtrack. (check out this very cool soundtrack below).

Next is another awesome, trippy track from the forthcoming Beyond Beyond is Beyond compilation from Bang Bang Boogaloo. This time, we have Cincinnati-based Buffalo Killers with a track called Lily of the Valley. Below you can check out their album 3.

Ear to the Ground favorite Don Ryan is next with another great song from his Tangle Town album.  This one is called Crystal Star.  Use this as an excuse to check out Tangle Town...

And finally, via Soundcloud comes a song called A Narrow Sky from 80s era Nashville legends Raging Fire:

Raging Fire - A Narrow Sky by Allen in Tennessee


And check out their classic EP A Family Thing below.






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Bob Dylan Concert Tours, Including: Rolling Thunder Revue, Never Ending Tour, Bob Dylan and the Band 1974 Tour, Bob Dylan World To Hephaestus Books represents a new publishing paradigm, allowing disparate content sources to be curated into cohesive, relevant, and informative books. To date, this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing, although as Hephaestus Books continues to increase in scope and dimension, more licensed and public domain content is being added. We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge. This particular book is a collaboration focused on Bob Dylan concert tours.

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Stinkin' Badges Mix

Ha! It's Friday. My first Friday at work in at least three weeks.  I decided to spin some tracks from my Ear to the Ground-related playlist which features Bands and Artists who have been featured here in some way (Bands of the Week, ETTG Recommends, etc.) I'm up to 83 songs on this list and hope to increase that number soon.

Band o' the Week alum Brother Howe are up first with the title track of the EP linked to below.  Heaven is My Retirement Plan.  The EP also features a cover version of the Weezer song Undone (The Sweater Song).

Next,  friends of the blog, Valerie Giroux and James LeMay (aka You & Me), get funky with Head Up High. Check out the song and download it for free at Bandcamp by using the widget below. Black Moon  is a Wilco cover by Joseph Mooradian who was featured on a Soundcloud sampler some months ago. I need to do another one of those.  He is a first year college student and the younger brother of 1/2 of Forest Mountain Hymnal (who have also been featured here.)  Here a widget thingy from the cloud....

Black Moon (Wilco Cover) by Joseph Mooradian

 

It's You & Me back again and showing off their bluesier side with Running Like Hell. Finally, this morning, it's BenSem aka Ben Semmens with a track from his album Western Lights which you can add to your collection by purchasing and dowloading at the pic-link below. The song is called Free. The album it comes from will set you back about 9 bucks (totally worth it!)

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