Arms Around the Stereo

Regina Spektor calculated

2009-07-20T03:27:00.000-07:00

Far.
Regina Spektor has had 4 amazing cracks at making albums. Each one a delightful combination of punky anecdote, melody, piano, and most importantly, Regina.
Far; being Regina's fifth studio album is one immediately identifiable as being one of those that you just instantly know you'll be listening to for a long time, you know that should your iPod ever decide to kill itself after a long battle with depression, it will be one of the albums straight back onto your new one!

Much like the first verse of "far": In half an hour, one can almost know mathematically how much she rocks.

Ok, so for those of you who havent had the fortune of listening to a Regina Spektor song/album, Here's how you do it.

Step 1. Obtain Album
Step 2. Open Mind
Step 3. Make sure you're the only person within audible range,
Step 4. Eliminate all major forms of exciting visual stimulation
Step 5. Play CD

It is imperative for proper listening (in my opinion) to really listen to this album to enjoy and appreciate Regina's beautiful lyrics to their potential.
This is because rather than writing a song, it almost seems like Far's tracks are written as short stories. Short stories, with morals, endings, underlying messages, clear and honest sentences and metaphor, sung over a delicious bed of drums, bass and that all too familiar style of piano.
Poetry and Prose, perfectly matched.

A noticeable difference from Regina Spektor to most other modern day artists is the intense and vivid imagery you get when you listen to her sing.

For example:
"The Wallet", a short story about connection with strangers, is a simple honest song. When she starts singing about finding a wallet, you can instantly see the wallet, you can see the items she describes, you can see how it ends.
But after its done, you have the same sort of satisfaction and closure you have after reading a great book. You don't need to keep listening to the song to appreciate it more or just for the sake of hearing it again.

Above all this, the reason why Far works so well is because Regina doesnt take it too seriously.
Instead of making bold and righteous statements about God, love, war and society, Spektor stands back and decides not to take it seriously.
In some respects, the way she writes and performs is almost a mockery to the uptight and pretentious nature in which we live.

In the midst of everything, 'Far' lulls you off to LaLa-land like you've just been read a bedtime story.

Amazing right? well in comparison to 'Begin To Hope' (2006), 'Far' has got a long way to come.

m4a - The Calculation
m4a - Folding Chair
m4a - Human Of the Year. (by far my favourite)

~Ronan.

Break-time

2009-06-30T01:40:00.001-07:00

Hey sexy blog babes,

We at AATS made an unspoken pact that if Ronan started posting about musical farm objects we’d have to embark on a homicidal rampage ending with a group suicide.
Instead however we’ve decided to just put AATS to rest for a little while and come back in a few months from now all sexified and pimped out ready to fill your minds with our trash talk.
Seeing as though we have been doing this for over a year now, it wasn’t too bad an effort, especially since it has been scientifically proven that our collective attention spans last for only one entire episode of 30 Rock (and that’s only because 30 Rock is so good it’s like a TV’s orgasm).
For those of you who care about us, the reasons we’re taking an official break are as follows:
Ronan is off to Europe for a little while to experience life as a maimed gypsy-woman.
Summer has been forced to go into rehab for her serious addiction to Grizzly Bear, followed by a short stint in a psychiatric ward for admitting to like Lady Gaga (don’t worry folks, her shock treatment will not be as painful as listening to ‘Love Game’).
And I am off to America to buy a gun (because I’m not allowed to do that in Australia) and then off to Canada to get drunk (because I’m not allowed to do that in America).
So sit back, relax (like this fine fellow below us) and we’ll see you very soon.

Catch yer’ later fuckerzzz

Lucy

bow down to the tractor blues.

2009-06-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

for those of you with no musical talent:
in your faces.
HA!

~ronan

New Music Time

2009-05-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

Its been about a month since my birthday, an occasion on which i bought some great new music.
i think its been long enough to give a good shot at how good i think they all are.
and im sure you want to know.

its a long post so if you want to cut down, theres three albums featured, if you want to skip ahead for convenience.
PJ HARVEY | A WOMAN A MAN WALKED BY
the YEAH YEAH YEAH'S | IT'S BLITZ
CONOR OBERST AND THE MYSTIC VALLEY BAND | OUTER SOUTH

Pj Harvey & John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By.
They don't come much more classic than PJ Harvey and this album is by no means an exception.
Now i don't proclaim myself by any means a Huge Polly Fan, her albums are notorious for having a few tracks that are a little weird, her songs often don't exactly fit into the pop - easy listening category and often require intense listening, but its something else that always draws me in.

A Woman A Man Walked By is one such album. Debuting with its single 'Black Hearted Love', one doesnt have to look far to appreciate PJ's talent and consistent inconsistency.

if you're a fan; go for it, you'll never look back.
if not, you might find yourself on a pretty weird trip - probably not knowing what to think.
__________________________________

The Yeah Yeah Yeah's - Its Blitz.

like my old time fav' Bertie Blackman, the Yeah Yeah Yeah's newbie 'It's Blitz' has gone with the trends of todays music and turned rock into Electro.
I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all - for me it highlights how adaptive a band can be - whilst still maintaining a high level of awesomeness.

It's Blitz is pumped with songs that make you want to crush eggs and dance on the broken shells, then comes the next track and you've come to your senses; but before the next song has begun, you're pashing the person next to you.
its a wild trip.

Karen O's howl is as great as ever, except now its in a place complemented by synthed beats and electro melodies.
a balance of dance anthems, and comparitively slow paced, balladic tunes is exactly what i look for in this type of album.
The Yeah Yeah Yeah's deliver flawlessly.

_______________________________________

I must admit, i bought this album as soon as i identified the lead musician,
Conor Oberst, - Hailed as the next Bob Dylan (insultingly enough while the current one is still alive)

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band | Outer South.

to cut it clean, its a little bit country, its a little bit rock and roll.
its a little bit folkey, and shit I love it!

if you asked my (even if you didn't) i'd tell you that good folk music is hard to come by these days, and its all the sweeter because of it.
Even though you'd probably disagree that its folk at all, my point remains the same.

im not quite sure what the connection is between the mystic valley band and conor oberst is exactly - but i think its great how its not like CONOR OBERST and the mystic valley band
even though thats why i bought it, the reality is that the mystic valley band are a great band in their own right. Conor doing most of the singing and (presumably) some of his famous writing, doesnt take over, and if anything - his prescence will shoot them into further popularity.

stand out tracks are : The Air Mattress, Slowly (Oh So Slowly) and Ten Women.
as well as the myspace track 'Nikorette'.

_____________________________
thats all for today kiddos.
im half way through Little Birdy's amazing new one 'Confetti'. it should be done soon.
when i finish that i'll upload some tracks from the other ones here

Coming up also - june 23rd is Regina Spektor's upcoming album - which i am eagerly awaiting.
its gonna be a busy season.

Also, Also, Lucy has been at Lily Allen this weekend, and im sure she's gone and got herself up to no good. hopefully she'll give you the speil.

~Ronan

Today is the Day

2009-05-26T01:30:00.000-07:00

In lieu of a review (because seriously, I could gush about this record for a whole lot longer than you're willing to read), I'll just say that Veckatimest is one of the best records I've heard since Kid A.

[MP3] Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks (Fred Falke Remix)

-Summer

I Died. Twice.

2009-05-23T01:40:00.000-07:00

So, this is my friend Marny and this is her amazing cover of "Karma Police":

You can hear more of her songs (which are really, really good) and a few covers on her MySpace page. I recommend that you do that now.

-Summer

PS: Marny wanted me to mention that she was "laughing at the interwebz and Christopher Walla's tweets...not just spontaneously laughing."

An Kaki

2009-05-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

I love Kaki King and I love An Horse, but you know what I love more than Kaki or An Horse?

Kaki covering An Horse:

That's about it for today.

-Lucy

P.s if anyone is keen to help accommodate myself (a very friendly Aussie) (and two other very friendly Aussies) anytime during the 25th-29th July (in L.A)
or 1st- 10th Aug (NY or Montreal)
or has any accommodation tips/ suggestions, please email me at: lucy.dayman@gmail.com. Thanks! no filthy creeps, please

It's Gonna Be Okay

2009-05-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

Once a year, I fall in love with a pop star. Last year it was Rihanna, this year it's Lady GaGa.

I can only listen to Radiohead and Grizzly Bear so much before I start to feel unbearably sad. I need an upbeat, carefree little pop record to balance it all out. This is where GaGa comes in. I've been quite stressed out the past two weeks, worrying about being a failure, ect, ect...and each time I feel like this, I find myself reaching for my iPod and playing "The Fame" from start to finish. And, amazingly enough, I'm able to have a bit of fun and completely forget about my problems for 57 minutes and 12 seconds.

So for that and that alone, I am asking that you ignore the fact that it's the complete opposite of what we all listen to and just trust me on this one: Lady GaGa is someone you need in your life.

Oh, and by the way, it feels nice to be back.

-Summer

i didn't join twitter

2009-05-04T04:07:00.000-07:00

Because this video more than suffices for every other site in the entire internet.
Twatter? Fuckface? Myshit?
I want to fuck you. (by Mr P.)

holy fuck this is funny.

~ronan

And that's why I joined 'twitter'

2009-05-04T03:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah so I too (like Summer) have signed away my life/ personal details/ soul to twitter.
But unlike a lot of twitter users I try not to be a complete narcissist, I use my account mainly for stalking purposes as opposed to self-wankery.
Anyway whilst stalking I came across this:

(I hope this 'embed code' thing works) it's pretty much the only remix of 'Back In Your Head' that I actually like. Most of you guys have probably heard it, but fuck you I'm gonna post it anyway 'cause you're not the boss of me and I can do whatever I want ok?

oh and check this out, links to sites like these are the REAL reason I joined twitter: http://whythefuckdoyouhaveakid.com/ (the kid in the sex shop is the best)

-Lucy

Another Reminder

2009-05-03T03:56:00.000-07:00

I am not dead.

I have not forgotten about you.

I am just slacking off in every single aspect of my life, the main one being Arms Around the Stereo.

Excuses for why this happened: Twitter and Grizzly Bear have taken over my life. I've developed a gigantic crush on Christopher Taylor and had a minor emotional breakdown over the fact that I might be wrong about my sexual orientation (turns out it's just a silly crush). After I got that all sorted out, Daniel Faraday was killed off on LOST. Faraday was tied with Benjamin Linus as my favourite character. His death was pointless and I'm still upset. Just as I was recovering from that (to be honest, I'll never fully recover from losing my bb Faraday), I discovered that Andrew Kenny of the American Analog Set has a new band called The Wooden Birds. This band left me a bit speechless and I haven't been able to post anything on the blog since. So yes, you could say it's been a rough couple of weeks for old Sammertime.

But, I am not allowing myself to wallow. No. I am giving myself until next Monday (April 11, 2009) to have my shit together and return to my regularly scheduled blogging.

And of course I have some MP3's to hold you over until then.

[MP3] The Carpenters- Rainy Days and Mondays

[MP3] Grizzly Bear- Fine for Now (sidenote: "Veckatimest" is the best record of 2009.)

[MP3] The Wooden Birds- False Alarm

yours truly,

Summer

PS: the last few seconds of "Rainy Days and Mondays" skips...I'm sorry. It adds to the charm though.

Just a reminder

2009-04-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

http://armsaroundthestereo.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-was-aimlessly-trawling-though.html

yeah I'm starting to re-get-my-shit-together

-Lucy

I think I'm gonna cream.

2009-04-25T00:55:00.000-07:00

Hey all, just keeping you posted on one of the most exciting events of this year:
NEW PEACHES MAY 4TH!!!!!!!!!

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH FFFUUCCKK-YYYYAAAYYYYYYYYYY

It's called 'I Feel Cream'. And it's gonna rock your jocks.

Here's the video for 'Talk To Me', one of the tracks off the album. If you don't love it, I don't love you.

visit www.peachesrocks.com to view the mini-doco: a brief history

and remember MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU

-Lucy

P.S while you browse, may i suggest you listen to this:

Music: suddenly your eyes care.

2009-04-22T04:32:00.000-07:00

You've all watched it.
You can't un-watch it.
Susan Boyle,

TV shows have described her as the 'ugly duckling' of the discovery industry, she's generally perceived as 'that ugly one who has the good voice'.
A stigma which I'm sure is doing wonders for her self-esteem.

Is it not possible that instead of focusing on her looks, she could be heard as a beautiful person?

I know I'm taking it upon myself to care about a media issue more than usual, but since when did It matter about a person's looks? Last time I checked, (just minutes ago) one LISTENS to music. Appearance doesn't seem to matter. Music isn't pretty, and nor should it be.
Sound should be the only factor by which singing talent is judged, irrespective of looks.

my problem is that:
she'll be forever remembered as 'that ugly one' who could sing well.
instead of being recognized for her exceptional voice.
if Susan Boyle (and her unfortunate last name) was a normal looking pedestrian with an amazing voice; we'd not be talking about her.

~ronan, sorry that was shit

Hey, I Never Said I Wasn't a Jerk!

2009-04-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Hey kids, look! Look what that is! It's a mixtape! Remember when I used to post one of those once every two weeks? Yeah, I know. I miss it too. I promise I'll try and start posting them more frequently.

Here's a brief description of what the above mixtape is about:
It has been brought to my attention as of late (and by as of late I mean I realized this two days ago) that when it comes to girls....I can be kind of a jerk. I lead them on, I never answer my phone, I cancel plans, ect. Two years ago, my therapist told me this was a defense mechanism of sorts: by pushing people away, I can't get hurt. After she told me this, I thought, "Bitch please, how dare you say such a thing!" But then I went home and thought about it and realized that she was exactly right. I probably should have tried to fix the problem then, you know, talked it out or something. But as you might have guessed, I didn't. If anything, it's gotten worse. So friends, in short, this is a mixtape about how fucked up I am and why you should never, ever date me.

Enjoy!

-Summer

PS: I love that I don't post anything personal on the blog for almost a month and then when I do, it's wayyyyyyy too much information.

Lee Rosser, Mr Rambunctious

2009-04-20T01:54:00.000-07:00

"Finally"
I use it to describe the arrival of very few things!
- The ads to stop,
- getting to bed on a late night
- the end of 'fast and furious'
- downloading stuff.
- the opening act to stop.
its all the same really.

This time, Lee Rosser's departure from roots band 'Rambunctious' and now, the public release of his solo album 'Giving Yourself Away' much warrants such an adverb.

Being one of my new-time favourite artists, its quite hard to not exaggerate this groundbreaking performer. He has a 3 octave voice- most people stretch the limits of their vocal range at the end of the 2nd octave. musically its quite an extraordinary range, especially significant since he can belt just about every note in it.
The album was made with only Lee's voice, Percussion (Nicky Bomba, reggae extraordinare), and some 'overdubbing'. A small selection of techniques, brilliantly harmonised and complimentary.
The simplicity of what goes into the album, doesnt at all reflect the complex manouvres your feet make when you hear a song like "Breathe".

According to his website, "many of the ideas and philosophies contained in “Giving Yourself Away” are based on the process of supporting yourself and the compromises needed to do it. "

a self sufficient lifestyle to inspire such wonder as 'Giving Yourself Away' is worth looking at in my opinion.

I imagine he lives like this:

step 1. start with a tank of fish, which shit nutrients into the water, with which you water your plants which grow vegetables which you eat, the scraps get put into a worm farm which feed the fish, and supply soil for your plants. sometimes you eat the fish, but don't get too greedy. EASY.

step 2. Play the guitar, shower occasionally. Release sweet album.

i don't know if i've talked it up enough, but hopefully you get the point.
http://www.myspace.com/leerosser has a few songs from the album, but not as many as you get if you buy the whole thing.
I'm sorry, i wont be uploading any for the rest of you.
this is a truly impressive album, and i reccommend that you go and see Lucy to buy it.

___________________________________________________________________

on that note, im pleased to tell you locals, that as part of North East Victoria's 'Across the Arts' event (which Wangaratta is conveniently hosting this year), Lee Rosser will be performing with Nicky Bomba and Mal Webb.

Wangaratta. 2nd of May (King George Gardens)
7:00 pm (for further details go to www.acrossthearts.com.au or call 0403 219 188)

i'll see if i can't get an AATS interview or something :Dciao ragazzi
~Ronan

Captain Polaroid

2009-04-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that Captain Polaroid is about to take over my last.fm chart, my iTunes, and my MySpace page. And hopefully yours too.

But instead of writing about how much I love the music and how much it reminds me of my beloved Pavement, I'm just going to post his lovely handwritten bio that says it all a bit more eloquently than I could.

If that isn't enough to win you over, here's a few MP3's:

[MP3] Captain Polaroid- Pro Action Replay

[MP3] Captain Polaroid- Better Works of Fiction

[MP3] Captain Polaroid- A Dream Is a Dream Is a Dream Is a Lie

If you like what you hear, you can head on over to Filthy Little Angels and download two EP's for free. I recommend you do this now. Also, stop by his MySpace page and send him friend request.

hope all is well with you and yours,

Summer

You call that a genre? I call it Secrets & Lies

2009-04-02T01:41:00.000-07:00

Before i begin to express my gratitude to lucy (who works in a record store....) for doing her job -
we decided to take a little break from this here blogging. - as you might of noticed.
because me and lucy just do soo much of it anyway.
But we justified it because, honestly, we were running out of things to write and ways to be new.
so we weighed it up and decided a small 1 month break might rejuvinate our creative libido, instead of risking writing about miscellaneous nothings...

wait. no..but that's what...

BERTIE BLACKMAN
I did tell you about this girl once.
i do hope you listened. because now she's at it again.
with the release of her new album 'Secrets & Lies' in line for May this year, Bertie is throwing yet another thrilling bomb-shell at all genre based preconception.

heres the quickie:
in 2004 after the release of 'Headway' (a whiney but lovable folk inspired album) Bertie was hailed the 'Underground Queen'. a title attainable by so few of us.

After touring and promotion, Bertie went on to record her 2nd album 'Black'.
seemingly as far detached from the style of 'headway' as my life is from society;
The album was a feisty, rock and roll inspired disc of concentrated kitchen dancing and blissfully ignorant driving.

She went on to record a song for the soundtrack to 'Hey, Hey its Esther Blueburger' with Silverchair collab - Paul Mac

Now, in 2009; she's done it again. Miss Blackman is recording with the Lee Groves (Gwen Stefani, Goldfrapp etc.. etc..boring...) - She's cut & dyed her hair, and this time round draws her inspiration from dark roots, whilst still maintaining her desire to make a perfectly modern Pop record.
Ladies and gentlemen, the result being Electro.
again, quite far removed from her previous styles - but still perfectly lovable.

The album is great. the electro isnt overdone, and she still sings quite a lot, her lyrics are honest, the melodies are catchy, and overall, it's mesmerising. if anything, the new effects complement her style rather than changing them. one play just doesnt seem to be enough.
highlights for me:

her Myspace single release 'Heart'.
White Owl (the opening riff of which is uncannily similar to the white stripes' 'Icky Thump')
and Baby Teeth (my apologies. Mediafire decided to time out on this one...another day)
or you could just wait till may. GEEZ way to be impatient)
here is the album cover - as i know it now.
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR IT

~Ronan - who still loves you. our relationship is just ambivalent. that's all

I Swear, I'm Not Dead

2009-03-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hello friends, I hope this finds you well.

I haven't posted anything for entirely too long. I have absolutely no excuse as of why I am such a slacker. Actually that's not true, I have quite a legitimate excuse but you would probably think less of me for it. Let's just say that I have been acting my age lately and we'll leave it at that.

But just because I have kind of sorta totally stopped blogging does not mean that music has stopped being great.

Disco Nap posted a few new songs. For those of you who don't know, Disco Nap is a new band fronted by one of our favourite musicians, Mr. Ross Hope. The songs aren't quite finished yet but they sound excellent and I'm terribly excited to hear more from them. Head on over to the MySpace page and introduce yourself before things get crazy.

In not so current news, "Veckatimest", the upcoming Grizzly Bear record leaked a full two months early. I refuse to listen to it. But after seeing their performance on Letterman, I broke down and downloaded "Two Weeks". Very rarely do I become as obsessed with a single as I am with this one. I wish that I could be professional and try and describe it in detail...but all I can say is that it's nothing short of flawless and that I'm counting the days until the album version is released.

Speaking of flawless, I think I was the last one on Earth (or at least the blogosphere) to discover Frightened Rabbit. Have you heard them? Please tell me you've heard them. If you have not heard them, head to your local record store and pick up a copy of "The Midnight Organ Fight". If the clerk looks at you funny, just check in the alternative section...it might be under the "f" tab. I promise you it's worth every bit of effort to track it down.

There is so much more I want to fill you in on: my new found love of ABBA and my inexplicable crush on Stevie Nicks (omgomgomgomgomgomg); the Telekinesis interview; how Kristine Tuna's medley of Tegan and Sara's "You Wouldn't Like Me" and Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" blew my mindddddddddddd. But all that stuff is going to have to wait because it's 7:15am here in the States and I have yet to fall asleep.

And since I feel guilty for never posting my "Hey, It's Spring!" mixtape, here's a mini-mix of the songs I've had on repeat since we've last spoke:

[MP3] American Analog Set- Cool Kids Keep (Demo)

[MP3] ABBA- S.O.S.

[MP3] Frightened Rabbit- Head Rolls Off (Live)

[MP3] Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks

[MP3] Kristine Tuna- When I Get Up (Tegan and Sara)

I hope that will hold you over for a while.

yours,

Summer

Brian Heim

2009-03-29T04:32:00.000-07:00

Last week here at AATS HQ we received an email from a very talented young man/ musician (musician-man?) by the name of Brian Heim.
Usually I wouldn’t just use an email we have received as a blog-post (because that is pathetically lazy), but my excuse is that the letter pretty much covers everything I have to say, also as someone who was throwing up on a couch in a pub last night (from a few too many fruit tingles) I am probably not in the best state to write a insightful and clever post about such an insightful and clever upcoming musician (not that I’m ever really good at that anyway).
So here you are… enjoy reading our mail you creeps:

‘Hey guys. I saw that you like this american life. I have a complete man crush on Ira Glass. I wish he could speak/read me bedtime stories. Creepy? Perhaps.

Now onto the original reason of the email...

My name is Brian Heim. I am an 18 year old from Goldsboro, North Carolina who has been playing shows in libraries, living rooms, and local parks since 2007. After seeing Paul Baribeau and Matty Pop Chart at the Pikeville Community Centre during the summer of 2006, I decided that writing and performing music was something I had to do. I didn't put a pen to the page until I felt like I had something to write about, which was about half a year later. Since moving to Chapel Hill as a student, it is my goal to become a part of the indie music scene which I look up to so much. My EP, Heim Brian, contain six tracks I recorded with my friend Brandon William's in his bedroom. The recordings are identical to what you'll hear live: simply a guitar and my words. Don't worry, the 13 track symphony and theremin solos will be added to the full length alongside a singing saw quartet led by some really important guy who wrote some really important thing for some commercial on tv or something sometime. Cowbell very well may also make an appearance, although its union has been pretty stingy lately on appearances.

Some of my biggest musical influences are Paul Baribeau, The Mountain Goats, Weatherbox, and The Weakerthans.

My EP is available for free download through a link on my myspace, so the hosting is covered and everything. I'm just looking to spread the word around before hitting the road this summer.

Thank you!
-Brian Heim’

Check him out and become friends at:
http://www.myspace.com/brianheim

And to get your greasy mitts on Brian’s EP click here, it’s totally worth it! Would I lie to you?

-the drunken Lucy

Telekinesis

2009-03-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Will you guys allow me to gush for ten seconds please? Thank you.

Every once and a while, a band will come along and I will fall completely and totally in love with them. I will listen to their music on repeat for hours, like a 12 year old would listen to Miley Cyrus. I will compile all their music onto a CD-R and make copies and give them out to anyone with ears. I will put their music on mixtapes...hell, I will base mixtapes around them. I will drive three hours to see them play a 30 minute set.

This year, that band is Telekinesis. Now I know that I told you about Michael Benjamin Lerner a few weeks ago, but this was before I saw him with a full band. Onstage, the demos that I'd listened to for the past two months became complete. Hearing songs like "Imaginary Friend" and "February 5th 2008" (I will admit, I lost my mind when they played that...) in all their live glory made me realize that not only is Telekinesis! one of my most anticipated records of the year, but that they're my number one band at the moment. And I never, ever chose favourites.

The self titled LP will be released on April 7th, but until then you can head over to Spin and stream "I Saw Lightning" and fall in love faster than Sam Weir fell for Cindy Sanders.

And because I love you kids:

[MP3] Telekinesis- Rust (live from One Shot at the Croc)

sail safely everyone,

Summer

Michael Jackson Announces Tour!

2009-03-05T16:13:00.001-08:00

Why can't this be an SNL skit gone horribly wrong?! The man that made "Thriller", one of the most flawless records of all time, cannot be the same man in ~~the mirror~~ that video. That man in the video not the man that introduced me to the term "P.Y.T." or taught me how to dance when I was five. This man in the video is a wreck. He can't perform! He can't moonwalk in that state!

And Michael, I'm not trying to be mean. I love you too. I really do. You have to know that. I love you so much. Really. From the bottom of my heart. I'm in love with your dysfunction.

Anyway, get your tickets kids!

[MP3] Michael Jackson- P.Y.T.

xxoo,

Summer

PS: The last two seconds of this video? P-R-I-C-E-L-E-S-S.

Telekinesis

2009-03-03T18:03:00.001-08:00

Hello friends,

Please watch this video:

Telekinesis are still on tour. Go and see a show, clap over your head and sing along and throw headbands onstage. It will be worth the driving time, I promise.

Check Mr. Lerner's MySpace page for dates.

Record Store Day

2009-03-02T02:41:00.000-08:00

Seeing as I am now employed by a record store, it appears that it is my responsibility to notify you all of:

(go on, don't be scared, it's a link, click it).

So go to your nearest indie record store and spend all your money!

More info when I get my shit together.

Also Ronan and i are in the midst of a collaborative post about Kaki King's gig from a week ago.

-Lucy

Hesta Prynn

2009-02-24T16:28:00.000-08:00

I have received a few excited emails from friends about Hesta Prynn's new EP. I figured it must be great because my friends rarely use exclamation points as often as they did when trying to explain how much they liked Hesta's music and how much different it was from her band Northern State. I gave it a listen to see for myself and they were right, it is worthy of exclamation points and maybe a few sentences typed in all capital letters.

Now that you're good and interested, head over here to pick yourself up a signed copy of the EP...and while you're at it, check the tour dates on Hesta's MySpace page to see if she's coming to a town near you. She is a force to be reckoned with onstage too- I have seen dozens and dozens of shows but Northern State was the only band besides Radiohead that made me shake my terribly uncoordinated hips.

Because you've been such good boys and girls today:

[MP3] Hesta Prynn- Seven Sisters

with love,

Summer

PS: Scott Kanberg, stop stalling.

PSS: "Paul's Boutique" is officially twenty years old. Goddamnit.