Records Purchased 011009

Finally Punk Hypertension EP 7" (M'Lady Records)
Lover! No More Reasons 7" (Hozac)
The Wax Museums Magnet Part II 7" (Fashionable Idiots Records)
Tyvek Needles Drop 2x7" (What's Your Rupture?)
caUSE Co-MOTION! Baby Don't Do It 7" (What's Your Rupture?)
Wicked Witch s/t LP (EM / Honest Jon's)
Les 5 Gentlemen Plus Grands Succes LP (Belle Amie)
Pandit Prannath Earth Groove LP (Mississippi)
Various Artists Oh Graveyard, You Can't Always Hold Me LP (Mississippi)
Quincy Jones Plays Hip Hits LP (Mercury)
The Oh Sees/The Intelligence Split 12" (Mt. St. Mtn.)
Comet Gain Beautiful Despair 12" (What's Your Rupture?)
Gentleman Jesse & His Men s/t LP (Douchemaster Records)
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou Volume ONE "The Vodoun Effect" - Funk And Sato From Benin's Obscure Labels 1972-1975 CD (Analog Africa)

Franz Ferdinand "L. Wells"

This might be my favorite Franz Ferdinand song. And its not even on a damn album!

Ugh...eBay here I come...

The Bees "Chicken Payback"

Right after returning to Seattle from Boston, my storage space was broken into. My entire CD and DVD collection (along with my guitar gear and DVD player and TV and a bunch of other stuff) was stolen. As crushed as I was I was wholly relieved when I discovered that NONE of my LPs had been touched. I supposed that the thieves thought the vinyl was worthless.

As time goes on it has become more and more apparent that ONE box of LPs was stolen. And that box contained the records that I used to DJ at the Bus Stop. Thankfully, back then I was mostly using CDs to DJ, having yet to realize that the only real exercise I'll ever get is by walking huge bags of records to sundry DJ appearances.

I had a promo 10" of this track by a British band called A Band Of Bees (they are only called Bees in the UK because people in the UK are far too busy to be bothered to pronounce all those extra words). A Band of Bees are a classic British band in the sense that they have like, 4 albums and a sound that goes down about as well in the US as a collaboration between Jay-Z and Linkin Park (oh wait that actually happened).

In any case, I'm wishing I had that 10" right now as this jam is a total keeper even if it is just a soul pastiche. The video is quite clever as well.



And the b-side had a goddamn Madlib remix (of course). But through the magic of the internet you can and listen to it without having to buy it out of the back of some meth head's van.

Download The Bees "Chicken Payback (Madlib Soul Distortion Vocal Remix)"

Top Top Ten Lists for 2008

The “I WORK IN THE INDIE ROCK INDUSTRY” Top Ten of 2008 List:
1. Tallest Man on Earth – “Shallow Grave”
2. Born Ruffians – “Red, Yellow and Blue”
3. Dr. Dog – “Fate”
4. Dutchess & The Duke – “She’s The Dutchess, He’s The Duke”
5. Vivian Girls – “Vivian Girls”
6. Kanye West – “808’s & Heartbreak”
7. Jay Reatard – “Matador Singles ‘08”
8. Spiritualized – “Songs in A & E”
9 . Throw Me The Statue – “Moonbeams”
10. Young Rival – “Tour EP”

The “HEY LOOK, WEIRD/OLD STUFF” Top Ten of 2008 List:
1. John Baker “The John Baker Tapes Vol. 1 & 2”
2. Rodriguez – “Cold Fact”
3. Natural Snow Buildings – “The Snow Bringer Cult”
4. Fennesz – “The Black Sea”
5. The Shop Assistants – “Will Anything Happen”
6. Porter Wagoner – ‘The Cold Hard Facts Of Life/Soul Of A Convict”
7. Chico Magnetic Band – “s/t”
8. All Those LPs I Bought on Mississippi Records esp. “Fight On Your Time Ain’t Long”
9. Scott Walker “’Til The Band Comes In”
10. Wavves “Wavves”

The “BEST FORMAT IS THE 7”” Top Ten of 2008 List:
1. The Barbaras – “Summertime Road” b/w ”Day At The Shrine” & “Flow”
2. Wounded Lion – “Carol Cloud” b/w “Pony People”
3. The Strange Boys – “Woe Is You & Me” b/w “Baby Please Don’t Go”
4. Ruben & Lacey – “Jackson” b/w “Let The Good Times Roll”
5. Times New Viking “Stay Awake EP”
6. Sexy Kids – “Sisters Are Forever” b/w “Drown Me”
7. Jacuzzi Boys – “Island Ave.” b/w “Dream Lion” & You Should Know”
8. caUSE Co-MOTION – “I Lie Awake” b/w “You Don’t Care” & “Cry For Attention”
9. Demon’s Claws – “Fucked on Ketamine” b/w “Always Be My Friend”
10. Dirtbombs “Sherlock Holmes” b/w “Nothing To Do”

The “REALLY REAL” Top Ten of 2008 List:
1. Girls
2. Beers
3. Records
4. Friends
5. Voting
6. Sleeping
7. Not Sleeping
8. Internet
9. Puppy Cam!
10. Fun

Nobunny on Chic-a-go-go

Seriously, his show at the Funhouse in January can't some soon enough.

Wounded Lion "Pony People"

I love this song deeply and bizarrely. Probably my favorite single of the year.

Fucking great pile of weird in the video too.

Something Else Mix #3

This was going to be a simple "this sounds like this" post about the similarities between 80's/90's pop group The Shop Assistants and the new dirty garage pop group Vivian Girls. But the more I listened to the two groups the more I realized that there are a hell of a lot of new bands that sound a hell of a lot like classic C86 groups (not to mention the shambolic glory of The Modern Lovers).

And then the news came this morning that the Shop Assistants singles collection Will Anything Happen is FINALLY getting reissued. And so, in a fit of productivity, I got this mix together.

Tracklist:
1. Love is All "Wishing Well"
2. The Modern Lovers "I Want To Sleep In Your Arms"
3. 14 Iced Bears "Come Get Me"
4. Orange Juice "Love Sick"
5. The Close Lobsters "Just Too Bloody Stupid"
6. Josef K "Chance Meeting"
7. Fire Engines "Candyskin"
8. caUSE Co-MOTION! "Who's Gonna Care?"
9. The Shop Assistants "I Don't Want To Be Friends With You"
10. Vivian Girls "Where Do You Run To"
11. Black Tambourine "Black Car"
12. Kurt Vile "Freeway"
13. The Honeydrips "I Wouldn't Know What To Do"
14. Tallulah Gosh "Tallulah Gosh"
15. Loft "Why Does The Rain"
16. Crystal Stilts "Converging in the Quiet"

It should be noted that many of the older tracks on this mix come from the wonderful CD86 compilation.

Download Something Else Mix #3 (M4A version for iTunes with artwork and chapter titles) here.

Download Something Else Mix #3 (MP3 version with artwork) here.

"The Walkmen Are An Indie Rock Band"

YACHT "Summer Song"

YACHT - Summer Song from Jona Bechtolt on Vimeo
Nothing like a little frame story to enable you to get away with a real low budget video. Also, for some reason, I find the guy who plays the "video company boss" or whatever to be oddly charming. Someone get him in a bit part in a Wes Anderson film.

Something Else Mix #2

A unique and decidedly mopey mix featuring: "OMGZ THAT ZOMBIES SONG FROM THAT RUSHMORE-GUY'S MOVIE ABOUT BEING UNDERWATER!", a maybe more beautiful version of an already beautiful song, my favorite vocalist of all time, a song of calm, groovy 60's country, one of Dylan's simplest and most elegant lyrics rendered with a bit of soul, a Spiritualized song that repeats the same thing over and over and over an what's with that because it gets better everytime, a song deceptively simple from my favorite record as a child, "I heard and old girlfriend/has turned to the church/she's trying to replace me/but it will never work", a great song with a better title, soul/lounge explosion (or as much as something like that can explode), my 100&, all-time favorite "loser" song, the best song on my least favorite B&S album, and a song displaying an almost depressing level of devotion.

Tracklist:
1. The Zombies "The Way I Feel Inside"
2. Jens Lekman "A Little Lost" (Arthur Russell Cover)
3. Scott Walker "Duchess"
4. Bill Fay "Be Not So Fearful"
5. Porter Wagoner "Lonely Comin' Down"
6. Rod Stewart "Mama, You Been On My Mind" (Bob Dylan Cover)
7. Spiritualized "Baby I'm Just A Fool"
8. Harry Nilsson "Think About Your Troubles"
9. Pulp "Bad Cover Version"
10. Beulah "My Horoscope Said It Would Be A Bad Year"
11. The Sapphires "Let's Break Up For A While"
12. Frank & Nancy Sinatra "Somethin' Stupid"
13. Belle & Sebastian "Don't Leave The Light On Baby"
14. Eef Barzelay "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire" (Live) (Ink Spots Cover)

Download Something Else Mix #2 (M4A version for iTunes with artwork and chapter titles) here.

Download Something Else Mix #2 (MP3 version with artwork) here.

Two Songs. Same Subject.

Topic: No Homo Man-love.

The Sincere Version:
Of Montreal "Tim, I Wish You Were Born A Girl"

The Funny Version:
Flight of the Conchords "Bret, You Got It Going On"

Sub Pop 20 Weekend

Hey! Sub Pop turned twenty this weekend! They even did a thing about it on Evening Magazine! John Curley talked about Wolf Parade! And they listed Patton Oswalt's name as "Oswalt Patton!"

I was lucky enough to know someone who is important enough to be invited to the super fancy party at the top of the Space Needle on Thursday night (yeah, I'm bragging a bit...so what?). The party was pretty great. Free foods. Free drinks (if you were willing to stand in line for about 20-30 minutes to get one). Bands played (Death Vessel, Sera Cahoone, Kelley Stoltz). Bands were there (SHINZ!). I went with Sarah from Hardly Art and she took some pictures...but she seems to think its 1968 and took them with real film, so we'll see if i ever get a gander at them.

I also went to the Sub Pop comedy show at the Moore Theatre. Everyone was pretty great (Todd Barry, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal) except David Cross, who was clearly having an off night or something, and Patton Oswalt who was the funniest person ever in the history of time. Patton came out and did an ENTIRELY NEW 40 minutes of material. And, as my good friend Joan pointed out to me, it takes most comedians at least a year to write that much new, hilarious stuff. This guy is like the filthy Bill Cosby. A comedy machine.

Now is a probably a good a time as any post my most favorite, least talked about Sub Pop release.


Download: Zumpano Look What The Rookie Did

Released during the dizzy ascent of "alternative" music, Look What The Rookie Did's gawky, nervous pop music was part of Sub Pop's shift away from being a "grunge" label. This is pretty much the standard template for almost every pure pop band for the last 14 years. Sentimental, self-deprecating, straight-forward and a wee bit quirky. You know, all the things I like. This record also features the songwriting talents of one Carl Newman who would later go on to staggering success with The New Pornographers. But, honestly, I think this record is better than at least half of the New Porno's stuff.

Something Else Mix #1

Here it is. A mix that I totally made with my bare hands. On a computer. I've never used GarageBand to make a mix before, so it might seem a little rough as I'm still figuring everything out.

The mix itself must be pretty great because I listened to it about 10 times while putting it together and I don't hate it. It's mostly comprized of stuff from the Nuggets boxsets and some new, like minded bands. It's also all one continuous track which I like because it sort forces the listener to listen to every single song without skipping around. And that makes me feel a bit like a supervillian who controls people's iTunes. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Tracklist:
1. Coconut Coolouts "(Please Don't Break Me Out Of) Party Jail"
2. Van Morrison "I Can Only Give You Everything"
3. The Move "I Can Hear The Grass Grow"
4. Count Five "Psychotic Reaction"
5. Reigning Sound "Your Love Is A Fine Thing"
6. 13th Floor Elevators "You're Gonna Miss Me"
7. The Sonics "The Witch"
8. The Deadly Snakes "Closed Casket"
9. King Khan & The Shrines "Land of the Freak"
10. We The People "Mirror of Your Mind"
11. Chocolate Watchband "Sweet Young Thing"
12. The Monks "Complication"
13. Pop Levi "Sugar Assault Me Now"
14. April March "Chick Habit"
15. King Khan & BBQ "Too Much In Love"
16. The Black Lips "Boomerang"
17. Jay Reatard "Always Wanting More"

Download Here

Miracle Fortress "Five Roses"

Last year everybody made a really big stink about that Panda Bear album. It was pretty poppy and kinda weird and it was made by one of the guys in Animal-Collective, who are the official "band-that-everybody-likes-for-no-explicable-reason."

But everybody was so busy jumping on that bandwagon (pun!) that no one bothered to mention that the Panda Bear album has exactly TWO (okay, maybe THREE) actual living/breathing/pleasurable-to-listen-to songs on it. The rest of it consists of a guy hitting a drum while turning some knobs and hooting and hollering into a toilet paper tube. Don't, get me wrong, I love a toilet paper tube hollering session as much as the next guy, but is this really ALBUM OF THE YEAR stuff?

That's where Miracle Fortress comes in. Miracle Fortress is the Beach Boys to Panda Bear's...um...less good Beach Boys. I suppose it's really more of a yin/yang thing. Panda Bear is the wild, unshaven artist and Miracle Fortress is still unshaven but at least he combed his hair and buttoned his shirt.

Five Roses was one of my favorite records of 2007 and I really can't think of a better new-ish album to be listening to when it's sunny out.

Oh, and if you live in the Seattle-area and watch television, you probably hear the song "Maybe Lately" about 20 times a day because it's in an advertisement for the Clean Forest and Rivers Initiative or something similarly Northwest-y.

Download the album here

Wall-E

Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E
Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E Wall-E!!!!

Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!!Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!! Wall-E! Wall-E!! Wall-E!!!

It was awesome! And there was a new Peter Gabriel song at the end!