03 Jul

Tings x 2

*PS (Pre-script!) I originally wrote this back in December, but never published it. However, I am posting it now for Bootsy. Okay Bootsy, have at it!

Hailing from trusty old Manchester, the two members of Ting Tings originally formed the band Dear Eskimo back in 2006 with a 3rd member. After having lost the 3rd, Jules De Martino and Katie White became simply, The Ting Tings.

For some reason I am drawn to the single That’s Not My Name; it’s a bit grating and repetitive, but it’s poppy and it’s catchy as hell, and I’ve finally figured out why it stands out to me so much. Approximately midway through the song, what started out as the chorus sinks down into the mix, and the infective backing vocals slowly rise up to prominence. With such a simple maneuver, it transforms the song into something slightly different and much more memorable. I like it.

And now that I have the whole record, I will post my other favorites here as well. It’s a perfect summer record.

The Ting Tings- Great DJ

The Ting Tings- That’s Not My Name

The Ting Tings- Be The One

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24 Jun

Mystery Jets from the UK

Mystery Jets Team PhotoI’ll admit it, I chill on the Hype Machine most of my work day. It is a great site to find out what is hot at the moment. And even better, once you know what is hot you can find a ton of remixes of their songs. And a lot of the remixes are for indie rock songs, which makes it even that much more special.

The latest band ruling the charts at the Machine (other than Girl Talk) is a little band out of the Uk called Mystery Jets. I’m posting a couple of their songs today. The first of which is by far their best song, which you can find a very very great lounge version of on Hype. The second song they released this last Christmas. But they also included it on their latest album (sophomore effort) which came out a month or so ago. The whole album fits somewhere in between the mood of these two tracks and will finally bump Coldplay out of my car stereo.

I hope you enjoy the tunes, I know Bootsy will!

Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down

Mystery Jets - Flakes

Mystery Jets - Twenty One

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17 Jun

We Are Back and We Came For Your Car

Holy Shitake. Wolf Parade is back. The actual band. I am super exicted about this.

It has been 3 years and at least 6 other bands since the B.C./Montreal band debuted with Apologies to Queen Mary. Their new LP At Mount Zoomer (named after their studio) has been released today by Sub Pop Records. The renowned Sub Pop also manages to have Band of Horses, Shins, Rogue Wave, and many more find indie acts on their lable. Not too shabby indeed.

Even though Apologies was well-received (and kick ass in the author’s opinion) the band set out to explore new ground with countless hours of experimentation. This is highly evident on the second track “Call It a Ritual.” The trippy sound and wicked vocals were not present on their first album. Another positive: some of the sessions occurred in the Montreal church owned by Arcade Fire. How does one own a church by the way? We are going to have to look up the etymology of “church” and figure this out. Crap…

The rumor is that the band specifically warned Sub Pop “no singles.” Hallelujah. The ablum was recorded and engineered by drummer Arlen Tompson (no relation to Arlen Spector) and features 9 songs, “some short, some long.” Yes, it seems that way. After listening to some of the new tunes I can already tell there will be some heavy faux guitar playing going on in my car. Please don’t get me into an accident Wolf Parade sirs. Oh hombre! I knew it! They came for my car… Concordia Discors

Wolf Parade - Call It a Ritual

Wolf Parade - California Dreamer

Post Script: I am plugging the movie Control, if you have not seen it rent it as soon as possible.

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15 Jun

The Winston Jazz Routine and Parking Enforcement

Let’s just say at this moment I am not a huge fan of the government, But I am a big fan of The Winston Jazz Routine, but I will get to that later.

I just got through giving the government a nice chunk of my salary, which is of course on top of the chunk that they like to take on a monthly basis.

Me and some friend play volleyball every Saturday at Venice beach and we were talking about how often this weekly routine ends up costing us more than we planned because of parking tickets. Last week my friend Jason was hit with a $75 ticket for having a sliver of his bumper hanging into the red. And yesterday we walked back to another friend, Rome’s car, who had missed renewing his parking meter by a couple of minutes and he was hit with $25. And I of course had a $25 ticket of my own that day because my tags were expired. Not to say my registration is out of date, but they just never got around to sending me my new tags. And of course I have to physically go into the DMV to get my latest tags now. But the DMV only operates during the same hours that I am trying to make enough money to pay for their insesint ticketing.

My most memorable experience with parking enforcement was shortly after I got my new car. I was parking on the street at the time. I had switched my back license plate to the one registered to me, but couldn’t switch the front one yet because the bolts were very strange and needed some assistance from the dealership to switch them.

So one night I parked my car on the street and awoke to find a ticket for having the wrong front license plate. I was grateful though because they had also done me the favor of removing the front license plate too. I wish I had left the correct plate on the curb with a kind note to put it on the car because I guess the city had the magic wrench for these strange bolts. Well low and behold the next night I parked in the same spot, not having time to get the new plates on in that 24 hour period. When I awoke that morning I had another ticket, this time for not having a front license plate; touché!

I also have a bad habit of having some kind of romantic notion that I will fight these tickets. But then I end up living my life and the next thing I know the $25 ticket is now $100. And to add insult to injury I received a letter a couple weeks ago saying they were sending me my $600 economic stimulus payment on 6/13. I regret to inform the faithful reader that this never came. I guess they have their priorities in order, but I kinda hoped I could use my stimulus check to stimulate the building of new roads, or a stronger police force, or whatever the fuck they use all my money for.

So now in a mood I would call ‘bummin” I present you with some mellow tunes to help you get through your own struggle with civic obligations. I don’t know too much about The Winston Jazz Routine other than they had a song climb the Hype Machine charts last week. It was a weird selection to make the list amongst the latest in electronic music and cool remixes. The album came out a couple years ago, so I imagine the song must have been in some new movie or possibly on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, or any one of those shows that combs the internet to find what us bloggers are discovering.

The Winston Jazz Routine - A Ghost Beneath The Tower

The Winston Jazz Routine - The Bridge Of Sighs

The Winston Jazz Routine - Sospiri The Winston Jazz Routine - Sospiri

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12 Jun

My Best Solution for a Brisk Morning

I have been anxious in anticipation for this moment. Abiding through what seemed to be an endless interim between albums, my building tension has been thankfully relieved. Jim James has reached down from the Heavens and placed a gem in my hands as My Morning Jacket has done it again. Two years eight months and six days I have been stranded at sea without a new MMJ studio album. Granted, most of my time in the waiting room was occupied listening to their previous studio work, Z (2005), and a tasty little nugget called the Okonokos Live Album (2006). If it had not been for my witnessing some new material at Coachella 2008, I may have lost all hope, but I knew something exciting was on its way into my headphones.

To tell you the truth, not much, musically at least, gets me more excited than seeing Jim James galloping about the stage in his Skull Boots while reminding everyone why he is such a brilliant musician.

I remain reluctant to brief you on the history or make-up of this band as I do with the newer, more unknown bands I write about, because I feel as though everyone should already know the facts. For the one or two of you that don’t know bout it however, here’s the quick version. My Morning Jacket is from Louisville, Kentucky and has been gracing the world with rock music for ten years now the last five with ATO Records. Jim James (singer/guitarist) and “Two-Tone” Tommy (bassist) are the standing founding members of the band along with Patrick Hallahan (drums), Bo Koster (keyboard) and Carl Broemel (guitar).

See them live. MMJ is one of the top live performing bands that I have ever witnessed. As I quoted a very musically informed friend of mine within my Coachella 2008 review, I shall once more reiterate that statement where he claimed, “Jim James sounds like Heaven”. If you appreciate jam bands, look no further. If you seek stage energy, here it is. If you want to be blown away and re-evaluate your purpose on this earth, see My Morning Jacket live (I’m beginning to sound like James Lipton from Inside the Actor’s Studio).

(photo - Brendan Foote)

Here are some upcoming opportunities.

Sep 19 2008 8:00P
Greek Theatre San Francisco, California
Sep 21 2008 8:00P
Greek Theatre Los Angels, California
Sep 23 2008 8:00P
Marquee Theatre Phoenix, Arizona
Sep 24 2008 8:00P
The Joint Las Vegas, Nevada
Sep 25 2008 8:00P
SDSU Open Air Theatre San Diego, California

Right, the new album. Evil Urges (2008). It has a different sound to it, but is blended with the same great MMJ consistency. Some songs are a little more country-ish. Some are, well, let me throw a few down for you so you can judge. After listening, I fully expect you to buy this shee on itunes or Amazon. Enjoy…

My Morning Jacket - I’m Amazed



My Morning Jacket - Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt.2

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