Marnie Stern, Okkervil River and Pontiak...gasping for air

So it certainly has been a struggle keeping everything straight this past couple of months. Can barely keep my head above water. Lemme tell you, Paste:Local Atlanta has me running in circles most of the time. (SO YOU SHOULD PROBABLY READ IT EVERY DAY AND LEAVE COMMENTS.) I don't even get much time to listen and digest new music.


A couple of new things I've stumbled upon, despite the fact that I basically live in a cave (and by "a cave," I mean "stressed out alone in my living room"...pity the lonely freelancer):

1. Marnie Stern, who rocks. I mean really rocks. I don't have the album, but I will most certainly be buying it or stealing it from Geoff soon. Have a listen to the song that converted me.



2. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
I got a record player! And this was my third vinyl purchase! I just got into their previous record, The Stage Names, a couple of months back, and while their specific sound aesthetic doesn't speak to me automatically, Will Sheff's lyricism is truly second-to-none. He paints poetic pictures-- I love it. The new album hasn't totally sunken in for me, but I'm spinning it on the turntable over and over...maybe I'll wear out my first record!



3. Pontiak played at one of Have You Heard's Monday night shows at 97 Estoria about a month back, and their set was so compelling that I bought their CD. Have a listen!



Enjoy, and reciprocate. Needs the new musics! (And all these press release emails are starting to hurt my head.)

Have You Heard Ep. 10

Have You Heard's tenth episode is up! I helped out again, and will be joining the podcast every two weeks from now on. I also might be blogging a bit for them in the near future, so have a look at their site from time to time!

This week, me and the guys reviewed Xiu Xiu's Women As Lovers and Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut.





I recommended The Avett Brothers' Emotionalism and Adam and Bradley teamed up to recommend Ambulance LTD, LP.

A good time was had by all. Go listen!



Also, if you like The Black Lips and haven't seen this, you should watch it.

Also, there's this, and this.

Legs legs legs legs

Check out this ad for Monster.com!

That's serious leggage...

Monster.com: Legs
Uploaded by hourigan

Also, episode 8 is up at Have You Heard! I guest-hosted with Bradley in Adam's absence and had a great time! Listen here.

(Edit: Have You Heard got hacked yesterday, so bear with them as they return their site to normal. The episode is still there and listenable! Do it!)

I Podcasted!

"You're whating a who?" my friend indignantly replies when I inform him I am recording a podcast with Adam and Bradley Sunday afternoon. "I think you just won the hipster Olympics."

Well. Olympian or not (I still maintain my t-shirt isn't ironic enough to qualify me for such a high honor), I had the infinite pleasure of being a guest on Have You Heard yesterday. The episode (number six) hit haveyouheard.net this morning, and clocks in at a little over an hour.


















We go over music news, review Biirdie's forthcoming record Catherine Avenue, and all three of us make an album recommendation. My recommendation was...shocker...Fishboy, with Albatross: How We Failed to Save the Lone Star State with the Power of Rock and Roll. If you're any kind of regular reader of this blog, you know I've mentioned them several times, but I really think it's a record that deserves much wider attention than it's gotten so far. I just enjoy it.



















And just for clarification purposes, I really like the Biirdie record. I know it got run through the ringer a little on the podcast, but I seriously recommend it. I've enjoyed having it and listened to it repeatedly, and I encourage you to buy it when it comes out on the 22nd and support this California group. In retrospect, I wish I'd defended it a little more, uh, vehemently.

Go listen! Have You Heard is quality every single week, and I'm honored to have been a part of it.

"Triumvirate of Awesomeness"

Adam and Bradley at Have You Heard are chugging along and amassing listeners by the day, and deservedly so! Their latest episode is their 2007 top 20 countdown, and an excellent rundown of music of the year. If you've got an hour and 22 minutes, hit it up! They have several selections I agree with completely, and several they're talking about so glowingly that I'm starting to change my mind. Especially their bit on Menomena. I had trouble dealing with the majority of the Menomena record, except their song "Rotten Hell" which I effing love! Observe, and PLEASE listen all the way to the end:

A&B talk about a different track which they really like, as well as the origin of the band's name (muppet-based, no kidding!), and I may be starting to come around to a wider liking of the band. I'm easily convinced, perhaps.

They also talk about Of Montreal, which as we all know, I adore. And they mention my trip to the 40 Watt to hear/see them play (the review of which appears in January's? SEP.) Thanks, boys :)

And the National. Oh, the National. Can't. Stop. Listening. Have. Tried...Can't.
The guys call Boxer "a grower" and they're dead right. This is my absolute favorite song right now, and it's not the one in the podcast:

Here's the Take Away Show with The National. It's pretty much incredible.

The guys talk about tons more, but I won't ruin it for you. Have a listen!

I'm going to be a guest on Have You Heard next week, as far as I know. (If they ever let me know about those albums...ahem.) So be sure to listen in! This is the Atlanta independent music criticism community at its best, y'all!

What are Y O U doing tomorrow?

Deadline at SEP has kept posting to a minimum (or, you know, nonexistent) this week. But fear not, reader! It was worth it. In the February issue, we'll have Y O U on the cover, which kicks a good bit of butt, not to mention a beautifully-written spotlight on The Selmanaires by yours truly. It's going to be lovely.

To hold you over until I can convert my lengthier handwritten ideas to fantastic multimedia blogging form, here's a couple of extremely amusing webistes.


Y O U's MySpace features several videos (including Christmas ones!), versions of crappy XMas covers they've done lately, and actually cool videos of their actual songs. I especially enjoy the one made completely out of Lite Brite stop animation and the one done by the Brothers Chaps (of Homestar Runner fame).


The photo shoot for their Performer cover is tomorrow (Sunday) in Piedmont Park on the concert lawn. They need extras, so if you've got a spare minute around 3:30, drop on by. I'll be there, so... These guys have assumed several alternate identities over the years (and still do, I'll grant you), and I think the concept for the shoot involves something to that effect. It should be a good time.

Ok, other amusing webiste involves you once again visiting Have You Heard? and clicking on the Christmas card. Best use of gorilla I've seen all year. Worth a minute of your time, guaranteed.

I promise, the breath-holding while waiting for a meaty FOA post will desist soon.

Have You Heard....Bees?

Bradley and Adam have thrown down their second episode of Have You Heard? Check it out. They talk about FOA again! Thanks, fellas! Couldn't be happier. You're welcome, Bradley! I had no idea a badly-labeled Band of Bees album that haplessly found itself in Adam's music library would cause so much inter-roommate strife. (It wasn't labeled because I had trouble figuring out if it was the UK or American version of Sunshine Hit Me, and finding correct track titles was a bit sticky, by the way...) They talk about it in depth, and very favorably, with which I heartily agree. A Band of Bees is great! (And they have a new record out called Octopus. Click on band link above for info.) It's a discovery I can thank my friend Bryan for, someone who has the weirdest music taste ever. (Which I mean as nothing other than the highest compliment.)

Speaking of Bees, the aforementioned band, A Band of Bees, goes by the name The Bees in the UK, which is where they're from. Now that they've gained a good bit of international popularity, they caused a serious semantics problem for American group The Bees, which has subsequently renamed themselves The Silver Seas. We covered them last month in Southeast Performer. I like 'em. They're almost old-timey. I don't know what I mean by that. 'Cept that it's good.

Here they, um, bee.

Have YOU heard music?

When some friends of yours decide it's time they started their own music criticism podcast, I think many people's natural tendency would be to err on the side of skepticism. I'm sure lots of people still view every upstart blog and independent critical or journalistic venture that way. Most of my friends still roll their eyes every time I say the words "my blog." (My eyes roll a little, too, I know.)

So when dear musical dude Adam Trimble (and my own personal provider of all albums I should have but don't) confided to me that he and his roommate Bradley Occhipinti were starting just such a blog and podcast, I was intrigued but unconvinced. I wanted to reserve judgment until I heard it.

Well, I just heard it and thoroughly enjoyed it. And I'm not just saying that because they're my friends (or because they thanked me and plugged my blog at the very end, which made me giggle...a lot). They're well-spoken, knowledgeable, and structure the segment in such a way that it includes all the music they're covering and flows extremely well. I learned a lot listening to them and laughed at their banter all the way. There's more to come from these folks, who plan on podcasting weekly and doing live reviews and the like. These two have also recently formed a band we should look for as they amass material and start recording and performing, called Prove Your Love.

So here's me saying truthfully that this podcast is worth a listen. Their inaugural show covers releases from British Sea Power and Gorillaz, and is an effective introduction to their project. Way to go, boys!