Tapes 'n Tapes

Tapes 'n Tapes is an indie band originating at Carleton College in 2003.

Their sound can be closely characterized as a lo-fi muffled, garage-revival style, riff-driven rock. The vocals are not boring, echoing drones common in similar bands. Rather, lead singer Josh Grier uses a mixture of shouting and singing similar to the vocals of Modest Mouse, with lyrics far more poetic than typical shoegazer bands but with a certain garage darkness. The guitar work includes interesting picking patterns, not repetitive chord progressions, creating impressive guitar melodies.

Taken from their wikipedia page: Tapes singer Josh Grier says their first album was recorded "...in the winter time at a cabin in the Winsconsin woods with no running water. It was a lot fun to do it on our own and get a little crazy, but it was also frustrating since we didn't really know entirely what we were doing"

Tapes 'n Tapes - Last.fm

Recommended Album:


The Loon (2005)

Save The Trees

[Harper's Magazine]

Bon Iver

[Last.fm]


[Last.fm]

Bon Iver is made up of Justin Vernon, Mike Noyce, and Sean Carey.
Discography:
Albums
-For Emma, Forever Ago (late 2007, self-released; February 19, 2008, US; May 12, 2008, UK)
EPs
-The MySpace Transmissions (September 12, 2008)
-Blood Bank (January 20, 2009)
Singles
-"For Emma" b/w "Wisconsin" (September 15, 2008) (7" vinyl)
Compilations
-"Brackett, Wi" Dark Was the Night (February 17, 2009)
-"Big Red Machine" Dark Was the Night (February 17, 2009) (As Justin Vernon)
Daytrotter Session
- Bon Iver: Broken Man Makes Lovely

Videos:
La Blogotheque Take Away Show (6 songs)
- Part 1
- Part 2
Wolves Music Video:
- The Wolves
Myspace Transmission:
- Transmission


Bon Iver is my favorite band that I have discovered in the past 6 months. Until recently I had only been listening to For Emma, Forever Ago and I think I will be listening to it for the rest of my life. Skinny Love is the most popular track of the album but my favorites as include Wolves (Act I &II), Re: Stacks, Flume, Creature Fear, & Lump Sum. I prefer to listen to the whole album as one song however. The EP's and comps. are very good as well.
At first I was taken aback by Justin Vernon’s falsetto but then after a few listens I realized how amazing it was. It fits perfectly in with the simple acoustic strumming, and drums and I think is what separates Bon Iver from the mass of very good indie-folk-alternative bands. Once, you learn the melodies of these songs they will play in your head for days on end. It is beautiful.
I also admire the way Bon Iver came to be. Almost all of the record was recorded in Justin Vernon’s father’s hunting cabin on 80 acres of Wisconsin wilderness (see myspace interview for more info.) The record was at first independently distributed, but eventually was signed to an independent record label.
Since then they have released Blood Bank and EP of which I think Blood Bank is the best song, but definitely get the whole thing. Justin/Bon Iver also have two great tracks on Dark Was The Night a sweet compilation album. They play 6 songs on Take Away Shows, which are all amazing.
I don’t think there is much more than I can say about Bon Iver besides for that I want to have a bonfire with all of Bon Iver and stay with Justin Vernon in his Wisconsin cabin.

Ben Folds With Jukebox the Ghost

Venue: The Wellmont Theatre
Price: $38
Date: March 26th, 2009

About an hour and ten minute drive to Montclair, NJ it was certainly worth the drive to see Ben and Jukebox play live. I love Ben Folds and all of his music, but i liked Jukebox the Ghost much more live. I hadn't hear them before the concert, but they really got their songs stuck in my head with their catchy piano riffs and eccentric beats just grabbed hold of me. The lead singer, also the piano player, was really entertaining to watch play live and was constantly joking around like crossing his legs while playing the keys.

Ben Folds played a lot of the stuff from his new album such as Effington, Dr Yang, Cologne, and You Don't Know Me, but he also played a few Ben Folds Five songs and of course Zak and Sara, Annie Waits, and Still Fighting It (actually sang by an a cappella group). He didn't play the Ascent of Stan which was a huge disappointment, but the music was great and Ben was really entertaining and funny. He got the crowd really singing, not jumping, but its not a jumping type concert really after all.

Here are some pics:

Annuals

Annuals. The Annuals. They prefer to drop the "the" and let you choose.




The Annuals are a six person set consisting of: Adam Baker, Kenny Florence, Mike Robinson, Zach Oden, Anna Spence, and Nick Radford. Started by Adam Baker in 2003 out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina as a side project and now has released two studio albums.

Discography

Albums:
Lay Down Dry (Self Released, 2005)
Be He Me (2006)
Such Fun (2008)

EP's
Git' Got EP (Self Released, 2006)
Big Zeus (Ace Fu, 2007) UK-Only EP
Frelen Mas (Ace Fu, 2007) Digital-Only EP
Wet Zoo (Ace Fu, 2008) EP

Daytrotter Sessions:




Videos:
Confessor(Live)
Hardwood Floors(Live)

So far in 2009 they are by far the best new band that i've come across. So far i have the albums "Such Fun" and "Be He Me" as well as their "Daytrotter Session." For a good taste, and because its free i'd start with the daytrotter. But before you go downloading them i'll give you a little description of what they sound like.

When i listen to the song "Confessor" it pretty much sums of what they sound like. Its a combination of soft acoustic strumming, a little electric guitar dancing around in the background, a soft violin, and a piano playing the occasional few notes. A more piano focused song would be "Springtime" which is my first and still favorite song that got me into them to begin with. Some of their songs can feel a little country influenced, which is because they are from North Carolina. They can be compared to Animal Collective, Sunset Rubdown, Noah and The Whale and even The Decemberists.

So far they are my favorite discovery this year and i hope you enjoy them as much as i do.

Modest Mouse

I saw modest mouse on Sunday night. Best concert I have ever been to, although I am not yet an avid concert goer.
Here are some pictures and a video

From an amorphous blog

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Video on Vimeo
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Paris, Je T'aime

For those of you who don't take French such as myself, the title means, "Paris, I Love You." Now you might say, "well that's a silly name for a movie, especially a movie i've never heard of before," but you would be terribly mistaken to judge this movie by the title if you made that assumption.

This is of course a foreign film, but is very much in English as it is in French. It also has some very not so foreign actors such as: Elijah Wood, Wes Craven, Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Natalie Portman.

The movie is a series of different love stories that occur in Paris. The great part about the movie is, its not only about the mushy gushy sorta love with babies and sex and chocolates...its about all the different types of love (including bro love). Its about the love a mother has for her child, the love you feel for a stranger in need, or even the love you feel for a soul-mate (guy or girl) who you truly believe is entirely compatible with you.

Give the movie a chance. It got some great reviews and it kept me laughing as well as feeling all warm and tingly inside. Plus Oscar Wilde's grave is in it. I give it a 9/10 so please enjoy.

I have a copy if anyone wants to watch it, and i also think Blockbuster has it.

This is my favorite scene.