mrshl

Emusic Downloads for August

nobody@vox.com(Marshall) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:28:17 -0700

This month was a pretty diverse, but some of my choices are a matter of course. For example, any time Blonde Redhead or Holly Golightly release a record, I automatically download it.

The new Blonde Redhead has received stellar reviews, and I've found it to be one of their best. Yes, it's clearly very polished and accessible, but that's not a bad thing. I'm glad to hear them avoiding the dirge-like pace of their last effort.

Also, I've been meaning to take advantage of the large collection of classic soul / R & B recordings on Emusic for a while, and Otis Redding is always the place to start for me. Remember Me replaces the cassette tape version of his greatest hits I used to have.

The records from Antelope and Okkervil River are the first I've heard of either, but I've not yet devoted enough listening hours to tell you my impressions.

Finally, The Ponys, well they're a curious case. I now have both their LPs, but I have mixed feelings about them as a band. One the one hand, I love their psych/punk guitar sound. I could seriously listen to their echo-y yet crisp tones all day. Unfortunately I've had a hell of a time learning to tolerate their singer. Dude sounds dumb as a bag of hammers. It's hard to imagine a more typical, or typically annoying punk-rawk frontman. But what the hell? I had 10 downloads left, and Celebration Castle has only 10 tracks. Problem solved.

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Emusic Downloads for July

nobody@vox.com(Marshall) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:57:54 -0700

Here's July's Emusic downloads.

My favorites from this list? Definitely these two:

It's a Bit Complicated

Art Brut

It took me quite a long time to get past the overtly dance-punk meets The Fall sound of Art Brut's first record. But once I let my guard down, I had a blast. This second helping doesn't quite attack the whole idea of being in a rock band like the first one did. But much of the frenetic guitar playing is blow-away beautiful. I might be in the minority, but I think the second one's better.

Ears Like Golden Bats

My Teenage Stride

My Teenage Stride remind me a ton of my fellow Houstonians, Scattered Pages. Like Scattered Pages, My Teenage Stride doesn't break much new ground, but the polished songwriting instincts, multi-layered arrangements, and sardonic lyrics sort of win you over on quality alone. And like Scattered Pages, there's an obvious love for 80s-era Smiths and Cure. It's a sound that's got a lot of mileage. Perfect if you like the following bands (available on Emusic as well):

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Emusic Downloads: May & June 2007

nobody@vox.com(Marshall) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:48:52 -0700

I didn't post my Emusic downloads from May, and now June is almost over. I'm sure you've been wondering about the long delay. I know you're frustrated and upset. But I'm not making you wait any more. Here's what I grabbed from Emusic over the last couple of months.

May Downloads

Anti-Anti - Snowden

Wayne Hancock - Best of Wayne Hancock

The White Stripes - De Stijl

Sally Shapiro - Disco Romance

Kimya Dawson - Hidden Vagenda

Joanna Newsom - Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band EP

American Music Club - Everclear

June Downloads

Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation

Silver Scooter - Tribute To The Phone Calls EP

Edith Frost - Calling Over Time

Nic Jones - Penguin Eggs

Ohsees (formerly OCS) - Thee Oh Sees Sucks Blood

Kimya Dawson - My Cute Fiend Sweet Princess

White Rabbits - Fort Nightly

Apparat - Walls

The Sea And Cake - Everybody

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Emusic downloads for April

nobody@vox.com(Marshall) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 12:46:24 -0700

Emusic Downloads: April 2007

I don't have much to say about this month's downloads. I will say that the most recent PB & J, Writer's Block, has been ruling me. If their earlier stuff is even half as good, I'll be a happy man. Also, Times New Viking fares much better on record than they did opening for Yo La Tengo.

As I did last month, I'm providing a link to my list of downloads @ Emusic.

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Emusic downloads for March

nobody@vox.com(Marshall) — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 14:32:11 -0700

Emusic Downloads: March 2007

This month I'm including links to the recordings on Emusic. And some of my choices deserve a little explanation.

Palace Brothers / Days in the Wake: This was the second Palace CD I ever owned. It's still my favorite of theirs, and it's definitely one of my desert island discs. At least it would be if I hadn't loaned it out long ago, never to be returned. I can't remember who I gave it to but if you're reading this, GIVE IT BACK.
Crystal Skulls / Blocked Numbers: I saw this band at SXSW last year and was incredibly impressed. Then I forgot about them. This month I remembered, and it's been on constant repeat. If you like Sondre Lerche, this record will hit you in much the same way. It's a flawless album, and I can't recommend it enough if you like sophisticated guitar pop.
Mary Weiss / Dangerous Game: Weiss was a member of the 60s girl group, The Shangri-Las. She's returned here with freaking Reigning Sound as her back-up band. Needless to say, it slays.
The National / Cherry Tree
Arcade Fire / Neon Bible: A lot of people really like this band. I think they're good, but definitely not essential. I am intrigued by the strong influence of Bruce Springsteen on this record.
M. Ward / To Go Home EP
All Girl Summer Fun Band / 2: A Non-Alignment Pact post by Ramon Medina reminded me of them, and I realized I didn't have this one. Girl-group semi-twee at its finest.
Bad Livers / Delusions of Banjer: Saw this band live several times in the 90s, but never got around to buying one of their records. This is the debut album for this deranged bluegrass band from Austin.
John Cage / Indeterminacy (Disc 1 & Disc 2): I downloaded this solely on a pal's recommendation. I haven't listened to it yet, but here's what he had to say...

12:52 PM Matt: dude
  emusic recommendation for you
me: yes?
12:53 PM Matt: john cage's indeterminacy
  4 tracks, about 25 minutes each
  it's him and a pianist
12:54 PM he tells about 100 stories from his life, or vignettes, or jokes, or whatever
  each lasting 1 minute, so sometimes he has to speak really quickly or really slowly
12:55 PM while david tudor accompanies on prepared piano (which makes all sorts of bizarre noises)
me: huh.
  wow.
Matt: but
  they're in separate rooms, and the stories are in different orders for each
  so there's usually no correlation between the two
12:56 PM which is all crazy and john cage-y, but it's a really charming listen
me: certainly sounds more interesting than foreigner.
Matt: ha
  you won't listen to it all the time, but it's a lot of fun
me: and only 4 downloads.
  that's entertainment.
12:57 PM my downloads are about to refresh, so i'll check it out.
Matt: word

For once, I've also duplicated this list on Emusic. Here's the link. I'm not sure, but I think you can use it to add me to your Emusic friend list.

Until next time. :)

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My E-music downloads for February

nobody@vox.com(Marshall) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 07:25:48 -0800

Just spent the last of my 90 downloads for February. Click through to take a look.

Emusic Downloads: February 2007

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My first post for the new Emusic group.

nobody@vox.com(Marshall) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 08:30:49 -0800

A little later, I'll be adding a longer post about some improvements I'd like to see to the Emusic service. For now, here's my downloads for the month of January 2007.

Emusic Downloads: January 2007

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