Sorry for the Delay!

Hello friends,

I'm sorry we haven't been posting much lately. I won't speak for the other bloggers, but I know that I've been extremely busy with Christmas shopping and watching 5 hour marathons of Rock of Love: Charm School (did you see Brandi spit in Destiney's eye?!!!!), leaving very little time for the blog. On top of all that, I just haven't had anything to write about. I've already told you about all of my favourite bands, I've made you enough mixtapes to fill an iPod shuffle and I keep avoiding my review of An Horse's "Rearrange Beds" because I can't think of anything else to say about it other than "brilliant" and "my favourite record of 2008". 

However, this Saturday, I'm making the nearly four hour trek to Costa Mesa to see my favourite band in America, Artichoke Heart Souffle. Hopefully when I come back from that, I'll have a bunch of fun stuff to tell you guys and possibly an interview (that depends if Kristine "hardcore-superstar-in-the-making" Tuna agrees to it). And if you're in the area, stop by and see AHS! It's a FREE show and half of my nerdy group of LA friends are going to come, so it'll be fun! There's more info about it on their MySpace page!

Now, for sticking through this horribly written mess, you get a treat. Lucy has been out drinking and partying it up the past few weeks, so I decided to make her a soundtrack to those long nights. It's a nice little mix, so I'm going to share it with you guys. Click here to download it, the track list is inside the .zip. It'll probably sound better if you're drunk like Lucy. Hahahah.

sail safe and love your lovers,

Summer

Holy Mother of Fuck, I Love Joy Division!

I haven't written about a new band in over a month, simply because they're aren't any new bands that interest me. Not as much as Joy Division do.

For me, Joy Division is without a doubt, the best band of all time. Most people who listen to the amount of music that I listen to would probably agree with that, or at least agree that they're in the top three bands of all time. I can't think of anyone else that has managed to stay relevant and influential for as long as Joy Division has. 

In their four short years as a band, they released two records that are still as flawless now as they were in 1979 and 1980- if anything, they've gotten better with age. Over the past few months, I've slowly started going back and listening to "Unknown Pleasures" and "Closer", simply because the first time I heard them, I didn't get it. Ian's voice kind of spooked me out and I thought they were a bit depressing. But now that I finally get the records and I finally understand where Ian's lyrics were coming from, I haven't been able to stop listening. And my favourite part about Joy Division and probably the part that amazes me the most is that everything still sounds new; their records don't sound severely outdated like most records that are thirty years old do. I still get excited when I hear Peter Hook's ridiculous bass line in the first 10 seconds of "Heart and Soul" and my heart still breaks for Ian when I hear him sing, "I never realized the lengths I'd have to go, all the darkest corners of a sense I didn't know. Just for one moment, I heard somebody call. Looked beyond the day in hand, there's nothing there at all."

 

But Joy Division, sadly, aren't known for any of that. They're known for two things: "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and for their lead singer committing suicide. However, if you take some time and really listen to them, you'll realize why their records are still fawned over today and why Thom Yorke started Radiohead because of Joy Division. It's because they were a brilliant band with an endless amount of potential who were years ahead of their time. A band that ended way too soon, a band that would have gone on to take over the world if they could have just held on a bit longer. And in the end, they were a band that left a bunch of kids like myself wanting just one more record. 

So guys, that's why I haven't written anything about new bands in over a month. It's because I'm realizing that the band that I've been looking for all year, that breaking band- well, I already found them.

regards,

Summer

PS: In other 80's post-punk news, there's a phenomenal article on Echo & the Bunnymen in this month's SPIN magazine. Check it out, kids.

life is good.

Sometimes it takes someone who is completely ignorant about your life to remind you how good it is.
Like me, someone found out that i would soon be living by myself - and said "wow 18 and living like a bachelor!".
and it made me realise that "wow yes, i am" and when you put things in perspective, the things you have, the people you know, and the life you live are all great.

i know what your thinking.
"But Ronan, I'm depressed and want to slit my arteries open. My boyfriend of 6 years just left me and took my car. My fish George, and Fleetwood just passed away, I have no money or a job, and the lawn out the front of my rickety cold house is dead and prickly.
please don't preach to me about how good things are"

well this is true, but also a little pessimistic of you.
your life may be shit, but the point of this post is that you still have one thing:

music.

And it will serve you well


I made you a mix-tape to celebrate.
(fucking scanner - doesn't work - here is a simple photoshop cover)
click it for the link to the download yes?



now im very pleased, because i found the thing that counts how many downloads there were of my last mixtape, which came in at a great 23. so thankyou. but it also means, that i want you to download this.

because it will make you happy, and it will make you dance around your kitchen...


thanks again.
enjoy. (oh also, im sorry as i was making it, it sort of turned into a white stripes-a-thon. but still good. also its a little short...quality > quantity yeah?)


~ronan...who says that if you want pain...try living in a 3rd world country...

Artichoke Heart Souffle: Show Announcement!

Yes, friends, you read the flyer correctly! My favourite band in the United States are playing a show on December 6th! I'm making the three hour drive down there and it'd be a shame if I didn't see all of your pretty little faces there! So come and clap and be awkward with me!

More info about the show and excellent music can be found at Artichoke Heart Souffle's MySpace page!

love and side-hugs,

Summer

...the best post title ever.

yes, ronan, i have been doing stuff.

since the above mentioned is able to self advertise here, i figure i should feel no shame in doing likewise. After a fair bit of procrastination i finally decided that with all the time i have to study for my exam (tomorrow, 9am) i should make myself a little blog of my own.
its called http://almostasinteresting.blogspot.com and although it only has 2 posts so far i feel that your time will not be wasted in checking up on it once in a while.
Now AATS need not worry, for unlike THIS blog (a super blog about music), my blog is a piece of shit, about shit. although i do have something worthwhile to share with you....
MY FIRST MIXTAPE EVER!!!!

Yeah, i smell you getting all excited in your pants.

it doesnt have a theme, and some of the songs you probably already got from summer, but there are a few newies in there too i think. just click the tape that looks happy and you are good to go! i tried to get them in order, but in case your computer decides to be a difficult arse, there is a typed up playlist in the folder (because my handwriting is just that shit, and not even quirky kind of shit like summers, its just shit.)

click me!

enjoy!

eloise

some shameless self promotion

ok, so never mind the lack of recent AATS blogging.
we've (me and lucy) have had exams,
but now they're pretty much over,

however, i've been working on a few gems of my own,
and i feel like i need to promote it because it is sort-of music related.

www.comporre.blogspot.com

is an archive of lyrics written by yours truly.

no its not God, it was only me. Ronan.
the new blogger on the block.
however.

don't let that deter you from this wonderful site. (its not a link, you're already here.)

soon to come:

the AAA's (woops, nearly forgot about that one :/ )
new posts by me,
probably more mixtapes by summer,
i'm sure lucy and eloise is doing something too...

so remember, vote in the AAA's --------------------------------------------------------------->
categories will be up soon.
and thank you for all your support.


we love you;

Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong

If there's one thing we do well on this blog, it's talk about our love lives. Lucy asked for your help to make a mixtape for a crush she had (which turned out amazing), I made a crush mix as well, and I even threw in a break-up tape even though I didn't break up with anyone. And since it's been a while, I figure I'd upload the fourth installment in our "tell the internet about our love lives" series.

This tape (technically, it's not a tape, but if I type "mix" one more time, I'm going to shoot myself) in particular is made for how you feel when you meet someone who within five minutes of meeting, you want to sneak away from your group of friends and talk for hours and hours and exchange top 5 lists until two in the morning. But sadly, when I was put in this situation, I didn't get to go off and talk with her like I wanted and because it happened like that, you get to have this lovely little mix. Do you realize how much you benefit from me being shy around nerdy indie girls?

Click the tracklist....well, you know the drill by now:



Oh, and before I go, it should be said that Rachael Cantu is one of the best musicians in indie rock. Run All Night is in my top three EP's of all time (right behind An Ideal for Living and Kristine's unreleased masterpiece that I'm contractually obligated to mention) and all of my friends know and love her, but I don't think I've mentioned her on the blog, so I'm asking all of you (especially you, Chris Bailey!!!!) to please send her a friend request on MySpace and stop by the iTunes store and pick up her EP. Seriously, she's amazing...even if she did almost run me over.


regards,
Summer

*My Little Pony=An Horse

The Word

Friends, I know that my last four posts have been related to this election, but I promise this will be my last one.

I just want to extend my deepest thanks to those of you who went out and voted for Barack Obama. I'm absolutely beside myself with glee and can honestly say that I haven't been this optimistic in a really, really long time. Who would have thought America would have pulled through?!! I certainly did not.

Take this lovely Walkmen song that I've been listening to all night and go celebrate the fact that Sarah Palin won't be going to the White House and that the Obama kids finally get to go get their puppy:

[MP3] | The Walkmen- In the New Year

yours,
Summer

PS: On a not so happy note, it looks like Prop 8 might pass and that all of the brides I had lined up in LA will have to wait. That totally sucks.

Electioneering

Tomorrow is election day. I've been worried about November 4th for the last six months. Below is the mixtape that got me through that worry. I would listen to it while watching John King play with that huge map of his or while Rachel Maddow made me blush with her wit and adorableness. Sometimes, it made me worry more about who would be elected, and sometimes I'd hear Jonny Greenwood's guitar and I'd feel better. Either way, this mix is much better than John McCain and much smarter than Sarah Palin.




After you download it, go out and vote for Obama. We don't want the mavericks loonies taking over.

with love and a whole lot of nervous energy,
Summer

PS: This record will be perfect for tomorrow. Don't worry about downloading it either, I've given Radiohead enough of my money to cover a few extra downloads....