TOKYO POLICE CLUB: LIVE AND REMIXED

I’m sure you all know who Tokyo Police Club are by now. If you don’t, you must have been living under a rock somewhere. They’re a brassy, punky, little band who began tearing up the blogosphere about a year ago. I posted this show when I was at my old site, but it’s been a while and I found some rare and remixed stuff by TPC, so I thought it was time to repost and share it with you all. It’s pretty much them doing most of their entire first album live. The album is pretty short, but that just means it’s not overstuffed with filler. It’s a definite must-buy–Berkeley Place’s highest recommendation.

The show:

Cheer It On (Alternate Link)

If It Works (Alternate LInk)

Citizens Of Tomorrow (Alternate Link)

Shoulders and Arms

Nature Of The Experiment

Be Good (Alternate link)

Other cool stuff:

Cheer It On (Tre Told Em Remix)-Tokyo Police Club

Citizens of tomorrow (space ballad version) (Cheer It On B-Side)

Cut cut Paste (From the Smith CD Single)

Shoulders in Arms (rare single version)

Cheer It On-Acoustic

Cheer It On-The Video

Also: Go to Bradley’s Almanac for an ‘06 Boston show.

THE ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE-No Need to be Downhearted (+ 10 Reasons My Blog Has a Heart Full of Links!)

The Electric Soft Parade are essentially brothers Alex and Tom White. Their name is obviously of Doors-like origin (they added “Electric” when a Doors tribute band called “Soft Parade” threatened to sue them), but their music isn’t.

Ahem.

Now, as for Electric Soft Parade, the tunes are really interesting and varied. It doesn’t always hit, but when it does hit, it’s quite good.

Stream it here.

Or check out these mp3s:

If That’s the Case.

Appropriate Ending.

For fans of: The Kinks, Badly Drawn Boy

10 Reasons My Blog Has a Heart Full of Links!

1. Big O just updated, and they’ve got a cool Blondie bootleg from 1977, featuring Heart Full of Soul (Yardbirds) and Moonlight Drive (The Doors). Get it all here.

2. Thriller (Michael Jackson cover)-Petra Haden. Alternate link.

3. House of the Rising Sun-Cat Power.

4. Big O also has The Prince Superbowl set, for those who missed it the first time. It’s got a smokin’ (but short) version of The Best of You (Foo Fighters cover).
Check out Wolfgang’s Vault! A great new place to buy live music!

5. My blog is awesome because if you go here you can be part of history, helping the blog world pick the best indie rock albums. Also, browsing the comments makes for a neat little shopping list.

6. Yesterday, I posted that The QTip J Dilla mixtape is available for download. Today, I’m giving you a reason to get it: Common-I Used to Love H.E.R. (J Dilla mix).

7.

8. Come Pick Me Up (Ryan Adams cover)-Counting Crows.

9. Because after this reason, you’ll be at the last one, which is the end of this post!

10. Frankly, I’m out of reasons today. I’m tired. Goodnight.

WE INVENTED THE RECYCLING REMIX LINKS (A Hip Hop Post)

mc lyte, gza, missy – breaker, breaker

raekwon, tash & queens of the stone age – curious

missy elliot vs. supergrass – work it

elastica, diana ross, kelis – all-nighter

steve albini – my house (rick james cover)

nas & eazy-e – nas mix, hitting switches

wu-tang clan, talib kweli & zap mama – da mystery of chessboxin, yelling away

OUtkast-Ms. Jackson

Look Of Love-Q-Tip and Statik Selektah’s Tribute to J Dilla (Mixtape)

Thanks to Blak’s Lair

SNOWGOONS – JOINING FORCES mixtape ft. JMT, Ghostface, Sean Price, Supastition, more.

Jagged Edge w/Ludacris-Little Thrill Cut Somethin’

FINEST WORKSONGS: ATHENS BANDS PLAY THE MUSIC OF R.E.M.

Finest Worksongs: Athens Bands Play The Music Of R.E.M. is being released on May 29, 2007, on Iron Horse Records and athensmusic.net. It’s a recording of a September 12, 2006, charity tribute concert that raised money for the Community Connection of Northeast Georgia and Family Connection/Communities in Schools.

It’ll have stuff by lots of folks, including Liz Durrett, Tin Cup Prophette, Patterson Hood (of Drive-By Truckers), and some actual members of R.E.M. (oooooh! A Stipe Sighting!)

This is a Warner Bros. Records release, but I’m making an exception to the indie-only rule because this is for charity.

I for one, am psyched by the track list and tastes provided below.

Track Listing:
1. Liz Durrett – The One I Love*
2. Claire Campbell – Wendell Gee
3. Tin Cup Prophette – Leave
4. Modern Skirts – Perfect Circle
5. Bain Mattox – Finest Worksong
6. Bain Mattox – (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville
7. Bain Mattox – Fall on Me
8. The Observatory* – Underneath The Bunker
9. The Observatory – Pilgrimage (w/Vanessa Hay of
Pylon)
10. The Observatory – Feeling Gravity’s Pull
11. Patterson Hood – So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)
12. Patterson Hood – Burning Hell
13. Patterson Hood – Second Guessing Intro
14. Patterson Hood – Second Guessing
15. Patterson Hood – Belong (w/Mike Mills)
16. Five Eight – Fiver 8
17. Five Eight – Leaving New York (w/Scott McGaughey
of The Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows)
18. Five Eight – Radio Free Europe (w/ Peter Buck, Mike Mills)
19. Five Eight & Everyone – It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (w/ Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills)
20. Patterson Hood – (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville

FIELDS-C.D. GIVEAWAY!

Hurry hurry! We got a free CD to give away! Fields are a British band who make folk-rock, of a sort. Actually, it’s a little fuller than that. I haven’t head a chance to really review the record yet, but I’m listening to the stream of it (samples only–which you can find here), and it’s really cool.

The new album, Everything Last Winter, comes out on May 8 on Black Lab Recordings.

But you can get a copy now, for free, simply by e-mailing me your name and mailing address. One winner will be chosen on Sunday night.
E-mail me here: ekalett@yahoo.com

On Tour:

4/28 Indio, CA – Coachella*
4/30 San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord
5/2 Portland, OR – Berbati’s Pan
5/6 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
5/8 New York, NY – Webster Hall*
5/9 Boston, MA – Paradise*
5/11 Toronto, ONT – Opera House*
5/12 Montreal, QUE – Club Soda*
5/14 Toronto, ONT – Amp’d Mobile Studio
5/15 Detroit, MI – Lager House
5/16 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
5/18 Brooklyn, NY – Union Hall
5/19 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
*with Blonde Redhead

TOP 25 INDIE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

Thanks to all who’ve e-mailed or commented with entries to the list.  Because this is a transparent, D.I.Y. blog, I need to clarify a few things and change it a little.  These are the amended rules:  If you’ve already submitted a list, you don’t have to submit again (but you can if you like).

1.  The album must have been released on an indie label. Check the album or label on the RIAA Radar on my sidebar to be certain.

2.  You can list up to 25 entries. But the idea here isn’t to drive yourself nuts, it’s to have fun.

3.  The order of the entries doesn’t matter. I can’t figure out a good algorithm to make the order of the entries matter.

4.  Enter by dropping a comment to this post or by e-mailing me at ekalett@yahoo.com.

5.  Get the entries to me ASAP. I’m gonna close the rolls when I feel like I’ve gotten a healthy amount of entries.

CARY BROTHERS . . . AND PARTS AND LABOR

Hailing from L.A., Cary Brothers Is probably best known for his contribution to the classic, Grammy-winning indie-sounding soundtrack to Garden State. Mr. Brothers’ debut album is exactly what you’d expect from the songwriter of “Blue Eyes:” Gentle pop, light ballads, easy on the ears.

For fans of: Bright Eyes; old Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; KT Tunstall; and Zach Braff movies.

Cary Brothers will release Who You Are on May 29th.

Who You Are.

Ride.

Dates:

5/02: Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
5/04: Portsmouth, NH @ Music Hall
5/05: Boston, MA @ Paradise
5/07: Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
5/08: Cleveland, OH @ Cambridge Room – House of Blues
5/09: Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark
5/11: Chicago, IL @ Schubas
5/12: Chicago, IL @ Schubas
5/13: Chicago, IL @ Schubas
5/15: Indianapolis, IN @ Music Mill

PARTS & LABOR – “Mapmaker”

I think it’s been a week since we mentioned Parts & Labor . . . Time for an update! If you haven’t yet, I urge you to check out these boys from Brooklyn, who are currently on tour with ADULT. “Mapmaker” is their second Jagjaguwar/Brah album.

By their own account, they make music for fans of: Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, Boredoms, Minutemen, Neutral Milk Hotel and Amps For Christ.

Fractured Skies

A Great Divide

Tour Dates:

04/21/07 Denton, TX – Hailey’s w/ ADULT.
04/24/07 Hollywood, CA – Safari Sams w/ ADULT. + Erase Errata
04/25/07 San Francisco, CA – Bottom Of The Hill w/ADULT. + Erase Errata
04/27/07 Portland, OR – Holocene w/ Erase Errata
04/28/07 Seattle, WA – Chop Suey w/ ADULT. + EraseErrata
04/29/07 Missoula, MT – The Laboratory
05/01/07 Fargo, ND – Aquarium w/ Nudity
05/02/07 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry w/ADULT.
05/03/07 Milwaukee, WI – Stonefly Brewery w/ADULT. +Tussle
05/04/07 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle w/ ADULT. +Tussle
05/05/07 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick w/ ADULT. + Tussle

A WHITE STRIPES MESSAGE

This is odd. One of our regular media contacts fowarded us the message below. I get it: Icky leaked and they’re trying to get ahead of it, and good for them. But “Hellow Children”? Since when is Jack White like Mariah Carey?

Subject: The White Stripes’ first single, ‘Icky Thump’, available Thursday, April 26th

Hello Children

The White Stripes’ first single, ‘Icky Thump’, will be available exclusively online through the iTunes music stores (US and Canada only) starting at 12:01 am this Thursday, April 26th.

Third Man Records/XL Recordings will also be releasing CD and vinyl versions of the ‘Icky Thump’ single on June 11th in the UK. The formats and track listings are as follows:

White vinyl 7″ (companion to the NME distributed record that will be given away with copies of the magazine on stands June 6th)

A. Icky Thump
B. Etching (no audio)

Standard 7″
A. Icky Thump
B. Baby Brother

CD single
1. Icky Thump
2. Catch Hell Blues

Check out the artwork

HERE.

Thanks,
The White Stripes

THE TOP 25 INDIE ROCK ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

Inspired by Passion of the Weiss (see my previous post), I’m gonna see if I can get y’all to help me compile a list of the top 25 indie rock albums of all time.

(“Indie” means the album must have been released on a label that was independent of the RIAA.  If you’re not sure, use the RIAA radar on my sidebar to check.)

What you need to do:  Send me a list of your top 5.  Put ‘em in order, 1st being best, 5 being 5th best.

Send your list to my e-mail (ekalett @ yahoo.com)  or drop them as a comment below.

I’ll run this for a couple weeks and see what we get.

Have at it!

TOP 25 RAP ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

I know this is an indie blog and all, but I was so inspired by this post that I’m doing a list with RIAA albums on it. I’m not reviewing them, and I’m not posting mp3s, so surely they can’t get pissed about this, right?

My top 25 Rap Albums of All Time (Only one entry per artist):

25. De La Soul-3 Feet High and Rising
24. Late Registration-Kanye West
23. Farrenheit 1/15-Lupe Fiasco
22. Grandmasters-DJ Muggs vs. GZA
21. O.G.-Ice-T I just love this album for personal reasons–it was the first rap album I got after listening to nothing but Grateful Dead for a year. So it’s sentimental. Plus, I love when he says F-you to all the censors.
20. 3d Bass-Derilicts of Dialect
19. Pauls Boutique/Check Your Head (tie)- Beastie Boys
18. Disposable Arts- Masta Ace
17. Operation Doomsday-MF Doom
16. Momma Said Knock You Out/Radio (tie)- LL Cool J
15. Death Certificate – Ice Cube
14. Supa Dupa Fly-Missy Elliot
13. ATLiens-OutKast
12. FishScale-Ghostface. I’m sure I’ll catch hell for this one, but I really like this album the most of all his solo joints.
11. The Marshall Mathers Album-Eminem
10. Raising Hell-Run DMC
9. The Chronic-Dr. Dre
8. Ready to Die-B.I.G.
7. Makiavelli-Tupac.
6. Illmatic-NaS
5. Enter the 36 Chambers-Wu Tang
4. Nation of Millions-Public Enemy
3. We Got It 4 Cheap 1 & 2-Clipse
2. St8 Outta Compton-NWA
1. Vanilla Ice. Just kidding. Reasonable Doubt/The Black Album (tie)-Jay-Z

Okay, now yell at me everyone.