I'm going to see Radiohead

I don't know how I missed it, but there's a Radiohead date on August 3rd in Noblesville, Indiana, which Google Maps tells me is a mere 4.5 hours drive. Are any of you fair readers going? Is my life going to be changed in ways I'm not quite ready for? Should I bring smelling salts and the jaws of life in case I pass out or die from an overdose of awesome?

[mp3] Radiohead - There, There
[mp3] Radiohead - Last Flowers to the Hospital

Of course, see the rest of the dates here.

Buy Radiohead stuff here.

Bon Iver announces dates w/ Wilco, AA Bondy, Bowerbirds

Venerable, bearded, woods-dwelling, soul tinged folk singer Bon Iver has announced a lot of tour dates. Poor guy seems to live on the road this year, but his exhaustion is your gain! You can catch him on a series of dates pretty much covering the entire country, and you should. We were quite blown away with his show here in the spring, and I feel quite certain you'll be too.

Bon Iver 2008 Tour Dates

06/21/08 Minneapolis, MN - Walker Art Center w/ The New Pornographers
07/20/08 Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival
07/21/08 Detroit, MI - Crofoot Ballroom w/ Bowerbirds
07/22/08 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace w/ Bowerbirds
07/23/08 Montreal, QC - Cabaret Music Hall w/ Bowerbirds
07/25/08 Portland, ME - SPACE Gallery w/ Bowerbirds
07/26/08 Boston, MA - Museum Of Fine Arts w/ Bowerbirds
07/27/08 Dennis, MA - The Cave Cinema w/ Bowerbirds
07/29/08 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom w/ Bowerbirds
07/30/08 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall Of Williamsburg w/ Bowerbirds
07/31/08 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church w/ Bowerbirds
08/01/08 Washington, DC - Black Cat w/ Bowerbirds
08/02/08 Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theatre w/ Bowerbirds
08/03/08 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center w/ Bowerbirds
08/04/08 Indianapolis, IN - The Lawn At White River w/ Wilco
08/06/08 Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theatre w/ Wilco
08/07/08 Charleston, NC - North Charleston Performi w/ Wilco
08/08/08 Cary, NC - Koka Booth Amphitheatre w/ Wilco
08/10/08 Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light w/ A.A. Bondy
08/11/08 Nashville, TN - Exit/In w/ A.A. Bondy
08/12/08 Bloomington, IN - Waldron Arts Center w/ A.A. Bondy
08/14/08 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre w/ A.A. Bondy
08/15/08 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue w/ A.A. Bondy
08/24/08 San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
08/25/08 Los Angeles, CA - Troubador w/ A.A. Bondy

[mp3] Bon Iver - Flume [Live - HTFAF's Backstage Sessions]

Buy Bon Iver's music here.

A Mixtape for Lost : Volume 3

Oh, LOST. How I love to bask in thy glorious mystery and serial drama! How I experience an unnatural feeling of fondness for Thursday evenings because of your wonderful pixels! I'm not even a TV watcher, besides news & The Office you're the only reason I turn one on! And now you're winding down again - just three episodes to go.

I'll miss you. Please hurry back.

[mp3] M. Ward - Helicopter (Live)
[mp3] Hot Hot Heat - Island of the Honest Man
[mp3] Weezer - The World Has Turned & Left Me Here
[mp3] Wire - Map Ref. 41 Degrees N, 93 Degrees W
[mp3] Pinback - Hurley

Death Cab for Cutie - "Narrow Stairs" Analysis

At the beginning of Stars' 2005 album, Set Yourself on Fire, a voice chimes in with histrionic theatrical timbre, "When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire." At some point between their record from the same year, and Narrow Stairs, Death Cab for Cutie took those words to heart.

There is an instantly noticeable difference between Plans and Narrow Stairs: where the former opted for over-direction, glossy production, and lots of overdubbing, the latter tends to replace those tendencies with raw-sounding vocal performances, walls of feedback and noise from Walla's delay pedal, and almost entirely live tracking.

Bixby Canyon Bridge starts the record much like Marching Bands of Manhattan started Plans. A stripped down guitar line, building percussion, and an eventual explosion. However, this time the first thing you hear is a wall of delayed and distorted sixteenth notes, and the last thing you hear is Gibbard's vocal run through a rig of trinkets creating an amplified, dirty, fuzzbox of a melody. Probable single, No Sunlight makes good on a strong riff, focused drum beat, and one of Gibbard's most hooky melodies to create a pop masterpiece for those of you who hated Soul Meets Body. Talking Bird is a wonderful regression towards early DCFC, precisely what Bedhead would sound like if they made pop music, while the timpanis and organ line of You Can do Better Than Me, race towards the finish line while recalling the California pop that much of the album was penned in close proximity to .The thickly overlapped riff of Cath sets the stage for a classic Death Cab narrative which could easily replace Company Calls : Epilogue, on 2001's fan-favorite We Have The Facts...

The second half of the record flows much like a live set, with the three tracks in the middle linked by gapless transitions. Grapevine Fires is a beautiful tale of of the earth's woe, padded by low-range wurlitzer, slowly descending lines of bass and guitar, and one of the more interesting melodies on the album. The song is about wild fires on the surface, about something much more below that, managing to sound simultaneously paranoid and nihilistic. A light-hearted melody but heavy-handed story of aging alone unfolds on Your New Twin-Sized Bed while the allbum's emotional climax is brought out in superb production during a strong bridge which hearkens back to The Photo Album's Kaleidoscope in sound. Long Division uses a strong mathematical metaphor and an even stronger mathematic drum track which interweaves effortlessly with the pop synths and guitars of the hook; a shoe-in for a second or third single. Pity & Fear will throw your ears off a bit - the almost middle-eastern percussion and riff feel a bit clunky, perhaps the album's only miss. This won't matter, however, once you get to The Ice is Getting Thinner, easily a contender for the best lyrics Gibbard has ever penned, and a minimal sound that veteran Death Cabbers will know and love from the band's early EP Stability.

It's hard to imagine that Death Cab could've made a more well-executed bridge between fans of their early catalogue and those introduced to the Northwesterner's by Plans. And while that may make it tempting to call it a compromise of sorts, that would be decidedly wrong. There's little compromise on this album: from the eight-minute single to the minimal production and general lack of overdubs. The sound would be more comparable to the band's limited-run live EP than any of their prior studio albums in some places, and that's an exceptional thing. Gibbard's voice briefly topping out during the high-range refrain of Talking Bird, the slightly off kilter guitar lines towards the end of The Ice is Getting Thinner, McGerr's audible drum counts - all of these are good reference points for what seems to be Narrow Stairs' modus operandi - Play the songs with all the fervor you can muster, don't worry about doing it perfectly, and don't stop if you screw up.

It's a refreshing thing to hear from a band following up a near-platinum record on a major label, and while the control room might have moved from a living room in Bellingham to four studios across the U.S. - the heart and soul behind the operation is as sincere as it was in 1998.

See Death Cab's tour dates here.

Buy Narrow Stairs here.

[mp3] Death Cab for Cutie - No Sunlight

New Backstage Session : Sea Wolf

We're quite pleased to announce another Backstage Session; this one with the wonderful Sea Wolf. The show goes down on May 23rd at our favorite club, Exit/In, an it's on a Friday, so if you're in Nashville you have no excuse not to be there.

Check for the date closest to you here.

[mp3] Sea Wolf - Sea Monuments

Buy Sea Wolf records

Via Audio & Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin : Hard to Find a Friend's Backstage Sessions

Via Audio & Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

The Hi-Tone
Memphis, Tn
April 29, 2008

This was the funnest session we've ever done. We spent 2 days in Memphis: seeing movies, trying to find vegetarian food (apparently hard to do in Memphis - one girl responded with "yeah, we have salad...and chicken), going to the park, Stax, and watching music. The sessions were crazy, Via Audio & SSLYBY performing each other's songs together as a super group of sorts, banging on pots and pans, cheese graters, basketballs, guitars, and singing into fans. We shot a lot of footage which we'll edit into a mini-doc of sorts soon. There are also some fun covers to enjoy below...

Lizard [Via Audio - unreleased]

Stream the HD version here

[mp3] Via Audio & Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltin- Lizard [Live - Backstage Session]

I Can't Focus [Via Audio]

Stream the HD version here!

[mp3] Via Audio & Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltin- I Can't Focus [Live - Backstage Session

Oceanographer [Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin]

Stream the HD version here!

[mp3] Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin & Via Audio - Oceanographer [Live - Backstage Session]

The Beach Song [Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin]

Stream the HD version here!

[mp3] Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin & Via Audio - The Beach Song [Live - Backstage Session]

Heart Shaped Box [Nirvana Cover]


Stream the HD version here!

NOTE: Vimeo seems to be confused and saying the video does not exist: it does. Click on the HD link to watch it.

[mp3] Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin & Via Audio - Heart Shaped Box (Nirvana) [Live - Backstage Session]

Bonus mp3:
Via Audio & Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin - Weird Fishes (Radiohead)

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Buy Via Audio Records
Buy Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Records

Cotton Jones Basket Ride (Ex-Page France) Tou, Release EP's

Michael Nau, the man behind Page France is embarking on his first us tour (with band) as The Cotton Jones Basket Ride - a more psychedelic, fuzz-soul outfit. This is great news to these ears - Michael easily places among my favourite songwriters (he also contributed a track to Peace on Earth) and it's been too long. Additionally TCJBR will release a 3-ep series on label home Quite Scientific - all limited runs with special hardback covers and artwork, the first of which will be released tomorrow! You should definitely invest in it and you should definitely see a show - coordinate your plans below.

Cotton Jones On Tour:
Sat May 10 - Frostburg, MD - Rite Aid Benefit for the Children's Miracle Network
Tues May 13 - Baltimore, MD - Talking Head
Wed May 14 - Hamden, CT - The Space
Thurs May 15 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
Fri May 16 - New York, NY - Pianos
Sun May 18 - Philadelphia, PA - The M Room
Mon May 19 - Arlington, VA - The Iota
Tues May 20 - Norfolk, VA - The Boot
Wed May 21 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
Thurs May 22 - Charlotte, NC - The Milestone
Fri May 23 - Charleston, SC - The Village Tavern
Sat May 24 - Athens, GA - Caledonia Lounge
Mon May 26 - Lexington, KY - The Dame
Tues May 27 - Nashville, TN - The End
Wed May 28 - Cincinnati, OH - Southgate House
Fri May 30 - Charlottesville, VA - Tea Bazaar
Sat May 31 - Fredericksburg, VA - The 3rd Floord
Wed Jun 11 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
Thur Jun 12 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern
Fri Jun 13 - Bloomington, IN - Bear's Place
Sat Jun 14 - Champaign, IL - Mike N Molly's
Sun Jun 15 - St. Louis, MO - Bluebird
Mon Jun 16 - Lawrence, KS - The Replay Lounge
Tue Jun 17 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room
Wed Jun 18 - Fargo, ND - The Aquarium
Thur Jun 19 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry
Fri Jun 20 - Iowa City, IA - The Picador
Sat Jun 21 - Dekalb, IL - The House Cafe
Sun Jun 22 - Madison, WI - Cafe Montmartre
Mon Jun 23 - Chicago, IL - Schuba's
Tue Jun 24 - Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club
Wed Jun 25 - Detroit, MI - Alvin's
Thur Jun 26 - Toronto, ONT - Silver Dollar
Fri Jun 27 - London, ONT - London Music Club
Sat Jun 28 - Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox

[mp3] The Cotton Jones Basket Ride - Midnight Monday & a Telescope

Buy Cotton Jones Basket Ride music here.

Frightened Rabbit add dates to tour

Riding the waves of success from their wonderful new LP, The Midnight Organ Fight, Frightened Rabbit has extended their tour of the US! The Scottish quartet will bring you the r-a-w-k this summer with French Kicks & Oxford Collapse picking up support duties. Nashvillians take note of the Exit/In show!

Frightened Rabbit 2008 Tour Dates

May 24 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ M Room

May 26 - Allston, Mass. @ Great Scott

May 27 - New York, N.Y. @ Pianos

May 28 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Grog Shop*

May 29 - Chicago, Ill. @ Double Door*

May 30 - Madison, Wis. @ High Noon Saloon*

May 31 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 400 Bar*

June 2 - Kansas City, Mo. @ Record Bar*

June 4 - Dallas, Texas @ Granada Theatre*

June 5 - Austin, Texas @ The Mohawk*

June 6 - Houston, Texas @ Walters*

June 7 - Baton Rouge, La. @ Spanish Moon*

June 9 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Bottletree*

June 10 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit/In*

June 11 - Columbus, Ohio @ The Basement*

June 14 - Omaha, Neb. @ The Waiting Room+

June 15 - Denver, Colo. @ Hi Dive+

June 18 - Seattle, Wash. @ Nectar+

June 19 - Portland, Ore. @ Holocene+

June 21 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Independent+

June 22 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Roxy Theatre

June 23 - San Diego, Calif. @ Casbah+

June 24 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Rhythm Room+

June 30 - Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat+

* With The French Kicks

+ With Oxford Collapse

[mp3] Frightened Rabbit - Keep Yourself Warm

Buy The Midnight Organ Fight at insound.

I don't want to complicate it, I just wanna play my songs

There are some bands that I can forgive for blatantly wearing their influences on their sleeves, because they do it too well for me to care. One of these bands, a recent discovery, is The Silver Seas. I'd heard the name alot, apparently they're fellow Nashvillians, but I'd never paid it any attention for whatever reason. Then I heard the song Country Life - oh my god, does it get better than this in a pop song? I don't think so. Big, reverberating 12 string guitars, claps, a real life bridge, and a harmony section that would make the early 70s very jealous.

[mp3] The Silver Seas - Country Life
[mp3] The Silver Seas - Broadway Lights

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Jeremy Enigk + Damien Jurado Tour

Masters of sad, and sharers of the Pacific Northwest, Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate) & Damien Jurado will embark upon a brief tour of the midwest/east coast later this month. Buy advance tickets, grab some tissues, and get ready to be saddened - in a really good way.

In other news, Jurado has finished his new full-length for Secretly Canadian, with a release date of sometime this fall.

Damien Jurado & Jeremy Enigk - 2008 Tour Dates
05/24 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
05/27 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
05/28 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
05/30 - Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar
05/31 - Allston, MA - Great Scott
06/01 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
06/03 - Vienna, VA - Jammin' Java
06/05 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
06/06 - Charlotte, NC - Amos' Southend
06/07 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
06/10 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
06/11 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord
06/13 - Portland, OR - Dante's

[mp3] Damien Jurado - Denton, TX
[mp3] Jeremy Enigk - Don't Go Racing

Josh Ritter @ The Belcourt Theater, Nashville, TN

At the climax of last night's show, Josh Ritter joyously commented on how amazing it was to play in such a historic place, asked that all the lights in the entire theater be taken down, and played, arguably the most striking song in his catalogue, The Temptation of Adam, to several hundred silent listeners. There are no windows or places for light to escape in the big, old, haunted original home of the Grand Old Opry. Ritter's voice and acoustic guitar slowly filled the corners of the historical space, as a narrative about Cold War lovers, hiding from WWIII transported the audience to a completely different place in time, if only for a few short minutes. No one made a sound, it was perfect.


[mp3] Josh Ritter - The Temptation of Adam

Buy Josh Ritter's music at insound.