Cry Me An Okkervil River

Okkervil River has been a personal favorite for a while, but at the same time a band I never had huge obsessive periods with. What I do know is their song "Ends With A Fall" is probably the best break-up song ever ("When we met I should have said 'you're like a sister to me' "). I just snagged a copy of their newest album, The Stage Names, and am really diggin it. Their songwriting is just as solid as ever. My favorite song at this point is "Love to A Monster". There's certainly some 'screw you' themes going on:

"I hope you get angry and hurt,
and have the hardest of landings.
And I hope your new man thinks of me,
when he sees what a number I did on you"

or how about this:

"Turn my eyes
to the blonde in the bleachers.
She's a lovely young creature.
I think she's seeking adventure.
I think she's ready to see that the world isn't so sweet or so tender.
I won't break her, just bend her, and make her into my new ringer for you."

Basically this song makes you want to break up with someone just so the song will be that much more intense.

Okkervil River - "Love to A Monster"
Buy it Here

BONUS:
Will Sheff - "Love to A Monster" (Solo Show)

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One Last thing...

Freedom of Speech & Politics Don't Mix

If you haven't heard this already, I'll fill you in. At the University of Florida a student asked John Kerry three questions at a public forum, the third of which was concerning his involvement with the Skull & Bones. At that moment he was arrested. Where was he again? America? What's the first ammendment? Because of the unlawfulness of the arrest the student resisted which lead to even more inappropriate police behavior: tasering the student. If you watch the videos, you can see the student was kind of being, well, a bitch, after being arrested. He clearly was making the point that he was arrested for no reason, but he should have been more vocal about the violation of his rights as an American citizen and less...whiney. Here's a few videos of the incident.

This one's choppy but shows all the questions being asked:


This one shows the aftermath clearer. It's unfortunate to see students clapping as a person's rights are taken away, instead of standing up and saying something. The student was originally being charged with "trying to start a riot". Apparently, questioning the integrity of an elected official is illegal now.

About A Trailer

Here's the trailer for the new Nirvana/Kurt Cobain pseudo-documentary. The trailer features some amazing shots in and around the Seattle area with a Kurdt interview dubbed over it and a Ben Gibbard composition to boot. Not quite sure if the entire movie consists of artsy shots and audio interviews. If so, count me out.

New Found Hatred

I'm not gonna lie, I was a big New Found Glory fan back in the middle school days, before they "sold out" (note: all Drive Thru Records bands were destined to go that direction); after they dropped the "A" from their name. With each release and with each handfull of years absent of a new release, I liked them less and less. With their new covers album, a second installed in their From the Screen to Your Stereo series, I have absolutely lost all respect. It's not that they are doing anything different. It's that they actually redoing songs that were already good. Sure, redoing "My Heart Will Go On" was cute, but redoing Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" could make anyone throw up. More butcherings include personal favorites like the Cardigans "Lovefool" (eek), the Goo Goo Doll's "Iris" (are you kidding me?!), and Tears of Fears "Head Over Heels". I think there are some redeeming qualities to this if you have the right mindset, and I'm a little afraid with more listens I might like it more, but I just can't see the "Iris" lyrics having the utterly heartbreaking effect it originally did. I will admit I like "Promise" featuring Dashboard's own Chris Carrabba. It takes me back to the Drive-Thru days. Regardless, give it a listen. I'm not a fan, but maybe you'll be.

Listen to the entire album on New Found Glory's myspace.

The Consensus is In

The VMA's really freakin' sucked. I've seen nearly a decade and a half of them, and it was embarassing. The most redeeming quality was Kanye's spot on performances of his new songs...seriously. While looking for his VMA performance (all VMA content keeps getting shut down), I found Kanye's new video for "Good Life". It's certainly not your typical rap video:

Click to play video

Kickin' it Old At School

I'm officially back in school on my way to become a bigger, brighter, and better journalist. After a week of settling in, I haven't checked my email one bit, nor done any posts of any sort. Also, since I've moved back to school I need to let you know of my change of address, which i will in a mass email. I enjoy getting your albums. I'm writing a music column for my school's paper and plan on whoring searching for other mediums/entities to work for as well, which means for you more avenues for which i can promote you (artists/labels/etc). Thanks for the patience. And, oh yeah, scew Fifty. Buy Kanye West's Graduation tomorrow!

DeVotchKa - "How It Ends"
Live@Bumbershoot 2007

I was absolutely blown away by this performance on Saturday.

Bumbershoot: Day One

The 'Day One" may be a little deceitful, considering I don't plan on going to day two or three for financial reasons. Regardless, Day One at Bumbershoot was better than I originally expected. I could go on, but to put a trite saying to use, "a picture is worth a thousand words".

Magnolia Electric Co



St. Vincent



The Shins

Yeah...I spose you could say it was packed.

Menomena





Rosie Thomas




Burt Jansch



DeVotchka

Blogged with Flock

Feist on Letterman

Heard about this but forgot to put up the video until now. Feist performed live with members of Broken Social Scene, Grizzly Bear, The National, The New Pornographers, and Mates of State. Oh, and for those who are about to jump at my throat for going back on my convictions, you must have missed when I outed myself as a Feist fan a month or so back. Enjoy.

There is a Ghost!

Found it! Better version of Band of Horses' new single.

Band of Horses - "Is There a Ghost"


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Augie March

I'm gonna be honest. I've gotten pretty lazy at review/promoting albums. I've got a ton stacked up and I've been lovin' and listen', I just haven't taken the time to upload 'em and figure out what to say. So, now that my summer winding to a close, I figure I should get a move on. I recently received the new Augie March album, Moo You Bloody Choir, in the mail. To make a long story short, they are simply a very solid band. Their craftsmanship is wonderful, their arrangements are applaudible, and the mastering and mixing is impeccable. Listen away!

Augie March - "The Cold Acre"

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Big Surprises

If you're a DHH reader, you probably know I'm a huge Iron & Wine fan. I just came across a few great bootlegs. First is his set from Messiah College; the second from the Pitchfork Music Festival.

-Iron&Wine - "Resurrection Fern (Live@Messiah College)"
*Haven't found the entire Messiah bootleg yet, so if you have any idea where to find it, lemme know.

-Iron&Wine - "Love Song of the Buzzard (Live@Messiah College)"
*I like this way better than the studio version. You agree?

-Iron&Wine - "No Surprises (Live@Pitchfork)" (Radiohead Cover)
*The quality's pretty crappy, but seriously, Sam Beam doin' Radiohead. Awesome!


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Band of Horses - "Is There a Ghost"

If the long list of albums proving this is an amazing year for music wasn't enough, Band of Horses has Cease to Begin coming out, 10/9. They've got a new track streaming and downloadable on their myspace. I'd host the mp3 myself but the bitrate is awful and I'll wait until I find a better copy. Here's the cover:

New Kanye West Track Snippets

I'll be honest, as a person Kanye kind of rubs me the wrong way, but as a musician I enjoy what he has to offer. His samples are always pretty great, like Otis Redding on "Gone" and Ella Fitzgerald on "Addiction". "Stronger" is not the music wittiest of moves, but it works...although it seems more like a cool mash-up. Regardless, the album should be good, with Jon Brion helpin' out, plus some good cameos. It drops on 9/11.

How Mainstream Are You?

Came across a website thanks to Burning Oak that figures out how mainstream your musical tastes are based off the music you listen to. Sort of an amusing idea, but ultimately I see it as a not so bold move by music snob wannabes. If you truly had an ear and love for music, you'd be able to find the talent in all types of music, including mainstream and...gasp!...pop. There's only so much garage band albums with bad mastering and garbled vocals one can handle, it's just a matter of when you can face the...music. One of the very best points I've heard in reference to anyone hating the concept of mainstream media was roughly along the lines of "most of the greatest musical artists to date were signed to major labels. Look at the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Stones, Dylan, etc etc etc." As much as I want to praise this falsely valid website, I'll have to shoot it down. Plus, Radiohead's "mainstreamness" is 103%. I'm scared to see what someone like Justin Timberlake gets. Here's my results:

Check out the website regardless. And while you're at it, add me, iwontletgo, on Last.FM

Mixes Ain't Sh*t Vol. 3

You know the drill. A lot of tracks piled up in the inbox and on the desktop. Threw 'em all the good ones together to make a mix. Also, I've been getting a lot of CD's lately, so if you haven't seen anything written up about 'em, don't worry. They're just mingling with the other CD's in my car for a few more listens ie: I keep forgetting to take them out for some uploads and write-ups. Forgive me. Here's the latest mix.

1) The Octopus Project - "I Saw the Bright Shinies"
2) Chico Fellini - "Bridges"
3) Dragons Of Zynth - "Get Off"
4) HEALTH - "Crimewave"
5) Clare & the Reasons - "Pluto"
6) Eulogies - "One Man"
7) The Toxic Avenger - "Stage Divin"
8) The Real Tuesday Weld - "Last Words"
9) Bakers Arms Dozen - "My Architect's Lists"
10) Pieta Brown - "Are You Free?"
11) Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - "100 Days, 100 Nights"
12) Pash - "ABCD"


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Black Light Me

Rilo Kiley's got their latest album, Under The Blacklight, streaming on Myspace. I suggest you check it out. It's definitely a more produced, studio-fied Rilo Kiley, but in this case, that's not a problem at all. What I've heard thus far is a nice change of pace. Sometimes a major label switch can be beneficial beyond the pocketbook. Oh wait, artists make like 9 cents a CD regardless.

I'm the Happiest WoMan Among All WoMen

Found out Joanna Newsom is coming to good ol' Seattle October 29th. Tickets went on sale at 10am and who was there to snatch 'em up? Good ol' Hips, that's who. Did I mention she's playing with a 29 piece/person orchestra? Could this be the best concert I've ever attended? It's possible. Needless to say, I'm excited. To celebrate I've provided you with a full Joanna concert for your listening pleasure. The recording quality is superb.

Joanna Newsom Live @ Bottletree, 11-25-06

1. Bridges and Balloons

2. The Book of Right On

3. Traditional Scottish Song

4. Emily

5. Monkey and Bear

6. Sawdust and Diamonds

7. Only Skin

8. Cosmia

9. Sadie

10. Peach, Plum, Pear

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Walk Hard

I've been waiting for a trailer of Judd Apatow's newest installment, and I've found it. It's called Walk Hard. It's essentially a parody of Walk the Line. Paul Rudd as John Lennon is worth the $8 alone. Oh, and if you haven't been counting down the days all summer like I have, Superbad comes out tomorrow. SEE IT!

Devendra Banhart - "Seahorse" Video

Shortly after some scouring I found a video accompanying Devendra's new track "Seahorse". The video is footage shot around DB's home/recording studio while making music, goofing off, and hanging out with the likes of Gael Garcia Bernal. Oh, and if this track is any indication, this album's gonna be... OFF DA HOOK!