Genre: Math Rock
Buy: Amazon for $21.29, Various Priced Versions on Discogs
In Less Than 10 Words: Insane math guitar licks with silly track names.
Top Tracks: Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse, Get Me Naked 2: Electric Boogaloo, Spritz!! Spritz!!, I Lost All My Money At the Cock Fights
Seeing The Blood Brothers at FYF made me very nostalgic to bands I listened to in High School, and the albums they put out then. One of my favorite bands back then was Minus the Bear. Sadly, my love for them has grown apart, and they have been putting out more and more records. But a few records store days back, when I found Highly Refined Pirates in a sales pile, I had to pick it up. And I have to stay, this record still holds strong. With a mixture of hard math rock like Spritz!! Spritz!!, Women We Haven't Met Yet, and Thanks For The Killer Game of Crisco Twister, to the soft ambient melodies of I Lost All My Money at the Cock Fights and We Are Not a Football Team, this record has something for everyone. The top track by far is one of my favorite drinking songs to date, Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse. The record itself comes in a variety of different pressed colors, from black, blue (I own blue), green, orange, red, tie-dye purple, and many others, making open up a sealed record really fun. If you like great tunes, nostalgia, or bands like Pinback, you'll like this record.
Finally! The much sought after Lonesome Crowded West and This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About are getting released on vinyl again! They will be coming out Nov 4 and Oct 28 for only $14.00 each! EDIT: They Are $22 each. But you can preorders yours now on Modest Mouse official website! Also coming out to accompany the records are a 7" for each, the LCW contains Too Many Fiestas For Ruben and an alt version of Cowboy Dan, while TIALDFSWNTTA (geez) contains White Lies, Yellow Teeth and Buttons to Push Buttons. They will be $10 each.
For the savvy shopper who loves Modest Mouse but doesn't have enough albums, there is also a Re-Issues Pack, that include the two records, The Fruit That Ate Itself, and Sad Sappy Sucker for only $70 (that's a savings of 20%).
Psychedelic rock fans, listen up. eBayer Face Records, a record shop in Tokyo Japan has put up a Japanese pressing of Pink Floyd's The Wall. Right now the album is at $26 with $15 shipping, but it's sure to go up to the $30+ range, so if you are interested swoop in now!
Did you see Arcade Fire at the Forum yesterday? Are you seeing them today? While I love them, I really wished I could be there to see the reunion of the Unicorns, one of my favorite bands in high school. Hopefully will have a headlining show from them soon! Anyways, in honor of those shows, I wanted to share a band that inspired many, including Arcade Fire. Have you heard this cover before?
The Magnetic Fields, a staple of DC rock, are known for their tongue-in-cheek lyrics, Stephin Merritt's distinct lo-fi bassey voice, and ability to make a marvelous album about 69 Love Songs. The Charm of the Highway Strip is the 3rd album from the band and contains the song Arcade Fire covered. Put out by indie power house Merge Records, known for releases from She & Him, Neutral Milk Hotel, Caribou, Camera Obscura, and Spoon.
The album itself is an ode to long drives, road side pisses, and look out the window to the seldom seen beauty of nothing around you. The album is rooted in synth-pop sounds and several odes to country music. Opening is the enchanting Lonely Highway reminds you of the sweet relief of getting out of your city. The bitter sweet feeling of long trips is captured in Long Vermont Roads. It's easy to see why the original inspired the video above, but the dark pop of Born on a Train, reminds us that some people just prefer to be moving. I Have the Moon has Merritt belt like a crooner in what can easily be a song to dance to in a wedding, if it weren't for the fact that it's clearly about vampires (maybe a compromise with your die-hard Twilighting fiancée). Two Characters In Search Of A Country Song really pays homage to historical figures, referencing William tell, Jesse James, and Daniel Webster. On the B-Side, you almost have the negative effects of life on the road and the feeling of be worn out after long distances. The dazed and confused feel of Crowd of Drifters opens. Fear of Trains is a country jam that talks about the other side of traveling, and the people we leave behind. The feeling of highway hypnosis is so perfectly described in When The Open Road Is Closing In, even the songs beat and vocal vibrato is pretty hypnotic. Sunset City reminds us that sometimes you fall in love with a place you're traveling too and it can be pretty hard to move on, it also reminds me of Reno or other subsets of the Vegas life. The album closes beautifully on Dust Bowl, an instrumental that would be the perfect fit for a roadside puppet show (hell they can play it as background music to Tinkertown).
If you like a good traveling album, great for road trips or travel by train (I'm being facetious, please don't bring your record player on a road trip), or love vampires, you'll love this album. Available on Amazon for the low price of $17.24 or $10 used on eBay. And if you can get your hands on 69 Love Songs on vinyl, a RSD release, I'll be mighty jealous (hell even the CD sells for $40).
Popular: *Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP *Sufjan Stevens - Illinois *Madvillain - Madvillainy *MGMT - Oracular Spectacular *Amy Winehouse - Back to Black *Daft Punk - Discovery *Outkast - Stankonia *Modest Mouse - The Moon& Antarctica *Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not *Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me *Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix *Interpol - Turn on The Bright Lights "
I've included with each album, a link to them on Discogs or Amazon, which ever was cheaper at the time of this post, in case you wanted to add any of them to your collection. I know in my own I have Kid A, Funeral, Sound of Silver, Good News, Illinois, Discovery, Stankonia, In Rainbows, and Moon & Antarctica. You bet your buns I am looking to get my hands on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (if I can find it for cheap), College Dropout (lost multi ebay bids), Whatever People Say I am, Turn on The Bright Lights, and Wolfgang Amadeus. If you can get your hands on a copy of Demon Days, I tip my hat you.
Hope these sparked back some past love affairs with artist. Happy hunting!
