If I had the power...

So it's been a long time (This is becoming the standard start of my blogs). Sorry.

This is also going to be pretty random. Today, despite having an exam, all I could think about on the way to class was tours that I would put together if I had the power. Not only that, but what they would be called. I put these bands together because A) I like them or did at one time, B) Some are influenced by the others, C)I think they have styles that would compliment each other and attract many of the same fans.

Here's a few:

-WHY? / P.O.S. = The Indie R.A.P.? Tour

-The Dismemberment Plan/Local Natives/ The Velvet Teen = The Adjective Noun Tour (Although, is Dismemberment a gerund in this case? I might have to rethink it. Besides, misnomers are hip)

-The Thermals / Matt and Kim / Headlights = The Feel Good Fun Time Tour (Matt and Kim and The Thermals are in fact touring together)

-Broken Social Scene / DFA 1979/ Chad VanGaalen = It's a Tour, Eh?

-Weezer / Smashing Pumpkins = The We Promise to Play the Stuff from Before Our Lead Singer's Went Crazy Tour

-Janelle Monae / Mugison = The Don't Put Me in a Box Tour

-St. Sat B / Nick Miller and the Neighbors / The Static Sea = The Futures Tour

-Grizzly Bear /Local Natives / Bowerbirds / Colour Revolt = The Sweet Harmony Tour (Obviously it'd have to be when LN wasn't on tour withe The Adjective Noun Tour) (Additionally some would add Beirut or Yeasayer, which I would allow, but I have never really listened to their stuff. It's not that I'm against it, it's just I'm poor and have to prioritize purchases sometimes)

-Radiohead / almost any indie band formed after the millennium = The Opening Bands Grew Up Wanting to Be Us (and That's A Good Thing) Tour

-Menomena (original lineup) / Lackthereof / Ramona Falls = The Solo Projects are as Genius as the Band Tour

-DFA1979 / The Black Keys / Local H = The Dinner for Two Tour

-The Strokes / M.I.A. / Liam Finn = The Nepotism Tour (This is in jest, as all the people whose parents were famous in these bands are very talented at would have likely made it on their own)

- Nirvana / Jeff Buckley = The Live from the Next Life Tour (I wish this was possible)

- Mugison /Chad VanGaalen / Liam Finn / tUnE-yArDs = The Kali Tour (A reference to their mult-instrumental, DIY nature. Kali has many arms, and if these artists did, they could do many things. Liam Finn and Mugison especially got their start as multi-tasking solo performers. I'm not sure about CVG's live show, but I know he records all his stuff in a home studio and mostly by himself. tUnE-yArDs, Mugison, and LF all have touring bands now I believe, although again, I'm not sure about CVG)

-Of Montreal / CSS / Bat for Lashes = The Face Paint Tour

-Arctic Monkeys / The Fratellis / The Kooks = The Fight in a Pub Tour

-Phoenix /Department of Eagles /The Dodos / Bowerbirds = The Flock Together Tour

-Modest Mouse / Avi Buffalo / Minus the Bear = The Indigenous Species' of the West Tour

Ok, I think I'm out of them. At the beginning I tried to choose bands that I'd always thought would compliment each others' sounds well, but at the end I think I was just trying to think of plays on names, although I did only put bands that I thought would go well together. There were some that fit the tour name, but I didn't include them.

Some of these bands aren't necessarily the same style, but again, I think the same people would like them. M.I.A. and the Strokes may seem different on paper, but most everyone I know that likes one is a fan of the other. When I saw Dismemberment Plan in Chicago, they played with a 60's-ish soul act complete with horns. People loved it! Sometimes acts you think have nothing in common are perfect compliments.

Most of the tour names should be pretty straight-forward. If you don't get it, it's probably because it's a horrible, tacky joke.

I also acknowledge that some of the opening bands could easily pull off headlining shows. But this is MY fantasy, and if you have a problem with it, imagine them as co-headliners or at a festival or something. Bug off.

Anywho, I know I'm a nerd and I spend a lot of time dreaming about stuff that is probably not productive at all. I acknowledge that. Wow, I feel like I'm getting super-defensive here and justifying myself to a computer screen that seems to be unmoved by my words and just continues staring blankly at me. Good times.

Top Ten Albums of '09.

So it's been a while since I've written (how many posts have I written this year starting off with this sentence?). Education has me constantly working and I think my lack of writing is a good sign. Right now, howeverm I'm practically the only person in Madison since most people will be coming back from Thanksgiving break tomorrow. Things will be busy for me again soon, so I figured I'd get a post in while I have time. So here's my Top 10 albums of 2009, a few honorable mentions, and some albums that were intentionally left off the list. Hit it.

1. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear
This is probably going to be the number one on a lot of lists, and deep inside I don't want to make it #1 just for that reason, but it's too good to not (I can feel better because #2 probably won't be on many people's lists). "While You Wait for the Others" is probably the song of the year as well (the original version, not the one where Michael McDonald sings). It's hard to believe they could top Yellow House, but they certainly did. Daniel Rossen's voice is amazing, the harmonies are great, and even though Ed Droste's "Two Weeks" received considerable airplay, it never gets old. And come on, people, if Jay-z thinks they're cool...

"While You Wait for the Others" at YouTube


2. Intuit - Ramona Falls
Who? I'll tell you, calm down. Seriously, take a step back. I can smell your breath, and it's not charming. Ramona Falls is the side/solo project debut from Brent Knopf of Menomena. Yes, another Menomena band, but until they make a bad album you have no reason to complain. This is Knopf's first, and it's amazing. His angelic voice can get wicked at times. He can serenade you or rip your face off with words. He's always right, but willing to admit he's wrong sometimes (don't worry about the logistics of that sentence). There's not a single weak track on the album. It has not only held me over until the upcoming release of a new Menomena album (date still tentative...), it has furthered my confidence in each member's genius. PS the music video below is probably the coolest of the year in my book.

"I Say Fever" at YouTube.



3. Two Suns - Bat for Lashes
Natasha Khan knows she's good. She knew it before anyone else did. Pitchfork thought her first album was good, but nothing special. She likes glitter and sings about having split personalities. She's weird. It's amazing. Both everything that's good about a female vocalist and a bit of every good female vocalist is in Natasha Khan. You can hear Bjork, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, and PJ Harvey in her music. She's by no means a ripoff, she's a unique bird/flower/butterfly/anything that's beautiful (and maybe a little bit scary and unstable).

"Daniel" at Yahoo!


4. Eskimo Snow - Why?
Despite having horrible pains from pneumonia at their show and having to go to the ER before they played, the amazing-ness-ocity of Why? is undeniable. Eskimo Snow is the calmest child in the Why's discography, but it's also the most introspective. Where Alopecia talks about jerking off in an art museum bathroom, E.S. asks its mother if its failing. If you love the mallet percussion, you'll love this album.


"These Hands/ January Twentysomething" at Pitchfork


5. Never Better - P.O.S.
The rap I had in my collection before P.O.S. was limited essentially to Why? and K-Os. Why? is a Jewish guy who sounds like a cross between that dude from the Decemberists and that dude from Interpol, and K-Os raps about going to church. P.O.S. is still far from "gangster", but it was my first delving into an artist that was primarily a rapper and a little bit angry. I admit, I got this album initially just because The Velvet Teen's Judah Nagler guests on its title track. I had seen P.O.S. on tour with TVT and Minus the Bear, so I knew his stuff incorporated live band. P.O.S. is the epitome of indie rap. The music to his songs is amazing, and his rhymes are enormously clever. If you've never seen his cover of Pearl Jam's "Why Go", I feel sorry for you, and this injustice must be corrected quickly by clicking on this link.

"Never Better" at YouTube


6. No One's First and You're Next EP - Modest Mouse

I thank God everyday that He gave Isaac Brock a lisp. The band has had mainstream success, yet Brock's maintained his lunacy. They'll still put out 8 minutes songs even though the radio stations will search their music for a hit to play. This is a B side album, but it plays like a coherent thought (which might be the first time anyone's used the word "coherent" to describe anything Modest Mouse has done).

"King Rat" at Yahoo!


7. Upper Air - Bowerbirds
Like Andrew Bird? Like Bon Iver? I have a friend that described Bowerbirds as the illegitimate child of those two artists. If that doesn't sound like a beautiful kid, I don't know what is.

"Northern Lights" from Pitchfork's Cemetery Gates


8. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
I've claimed to know a lot of bands before they made it success in the mainstream. You'll never hear me say this about Phoenix. Well, I shouldn't say that. I bought the album about two weeks before it started getting played on the radio and in commercials. But I can't say I was far ahead of the curve on this one. They're so infectious. And while their earlier albums are better, 1901 is probably the best song they've produced, and this is definitely their most mature album.

"1901" at Yahoo!


9. Wildlife - Headlights
Depressing Headlights songs? Where are the four horsemen, cuz this has to be the Apocalypse. Maturity looks good on Headlights. I've heard comparisons of this album to Broken Social Scene's work, and there are definitely a lot more moving guitar parts. If you want them to be their usually poppy selves, then you might be a bit disappointed, but I now look at Headlights less as a "cute" band and more as a creative band.

"Love Song for Buddy" at YouTube


10. Aim and Ignite - Fun.
When the Format broke up I needed a hug. It was just such happy and creative music. Luckily, Fun. is essentially a continuation of the Format, led by ex-frontman Nate Ruess. I'm going to see them in February in Minneapolis and I couldn't be more excited. Ruess has an amazingly pure and flexible voice. Freddie Mercury would approve, as some of their stuff shows shades of Queen.

"All the Pretty Girls" at YouTube


HONORABLE MENTIONS

Now We Can See - The Thermals
This album didn't make it just because no album can ever measure up to The Body, The Blood, The Machine. That album was the right way to do political, societal, and religious commentary in a rock opera (I'm looking at you Green Day...). Now We Can See is a great album, it just doesn't have the venom and message that TBTBTM had.

"Now We Can See" at Youtube


Mean Everything to Nothing - Manchester Orchestra
I think it's definitely a progression after I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child. It's not so one-dimensional. ILVLC was just so depressing. It was a good soundtrack to my sophomore year. But MEN had a great flow and explored a wide range of feeling. You could hear the influence the bands M.O. toured with had, as shades of My Morning Jacket, Colour Revolt and Brand New come out in many of their songs.

"Shake It Out" at Yahoo!


Ordinary Riches - Company of Thieves
Gen has wicked pipes. The guitarist showed his skills on Live from Daryl's House, but he could use them in their music a lot more. I could not get enough of "Oscar Wilde".

"Oscar Wilde" at YouTube


NOTABLE OMISSIONS
Time to Die - The Dodos
Just to show you I don't always agree with Pitchfork (although that should be obvious from previous posts), I thought the new Dodos album was horrendous. Meric Long's interesting riffs died somewhere between albums.

"Fables" at YouTube


Daisy - Brand New
Literally, just nothing special. They were going in a great direction with The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me, but it just seems Jesse Lacey's gotten lazy and gotten mental help, which makes for much less interesting music. TDGRIM was just so genuine. Daisy just seems like an attempt to quiet the people who said TDGRIM was too depressing and not hard enough. I do wish I could see them with Glassjaw, though.

"Vices" at YouTube



There it is.

It's Official: I've Played an Instrument On Stage with a Professional Rock Band

So, it's probably not as impressive as it sounds, but it was one of the most exciting experiences of my summer, so it's still pretty sweet to me.

It was about two weeks ago that I saw that Headlights had posted a concert date in Madison on their Myspace. I investigated and found out it was at the UW Memorial Union Terrace and it was part of the union's free "Hot Summer Nights" series. The Terrace is a sweet place to watch concerts because you can buy pitchers of beer and enjoy the beautiful lake view. Once the band you're there to see plays you'll obviously want to move up, but until then it's nice to kick back and have some nice conversation and maybe get a little alcohol in you. This is what my friend, Jenny, and I did while the opening band, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, played.

The demographic was clearly mostly there to drink. Much of it was middle-aged and unaware of who Headlights was. Even many of the college students there were just there to get drunk and dance to free music that they'd never heard before. Now, I have to mention Kansas-basketball-jersey-mullet-man. Now, the picture to the right was snapped by a young woman named Kayla Clarke, who also captured the video that will be embedded later. KBJMM as I will refer to him later was the sweetest dude ever. Drunk as a skunk and ready to party, he had a beer in one hand and his other hand in the air all night in various hippy symbols. The band loved him. The people loved him. God loved him.

Now on to my story. By the time Headlights played, I had a bit of liquid encouragement in me. It was my third time seeing them, and I had a short conversation with Erin last time they were in Madison at Forward Music Festival, so naturally in my state, I was determined to impress them. So what did I do? After every song I yelled out what album the song was from. I was standing in front of Erin, and I think she laughed a couple times due to it. After a new song, I yelled out "Wildlife, due October 6th!" Erin went, "Woah, who said that?" I raised my hand, and she said, "Come up and say that into the mic". I went up and repeated myself, and the band and a couple people in the crowd laughed. Feeding off that, I grabbed the mic back and said "AND! If you pre-order now for $20, you get a free T-shirt!" The band found this funny, and Tristan said, "That guy is now on the payroll".

Now, even if this had been the only happening of the night, it probably would have been the best story I'd have to tell from a concert, and I've been to a lot of concerts. But two songs later, it was time for the encore. Now's where the video comes in:



Basically, this is the gist of that video:
Headlights called up some people from SYGC to play percussion. Tristan said "Not to discriminate, because I don't know which of you guys (meaning the crowd) has rythym. I know Scotland Yard Gospel Choir has rythym". However, then Erin decided to ask me if I wanted to play tambourine and I replied "YES!". So I jumped up there. Then for some reason, I felt the need to say something, so I go, "It's in 4-4?" as in the time signature. And replied in the affirmative and clapped on the beat as Tristan played the intro. Then I recognized it as "TV", proceeding to say something stupid, which was "Oh, you know this". This was in response to Tristan earlier saying "Trust me, we don't know how to play it any better than you guys do", but Erin probably had no idea what I was talking about and was thinking Uh, yeah, I recorded the song, but she's really nice and would never say that. Interestingly enough, on their last tour I don't think Headlights played TV, probably because they were sick of it because that was there first "hit".

Anyway, what followed was three minutes of me smashing the crap out of my hand with a tambourine. At the end, I try to high five the lead singer of SYGC, which he meets with a drumstick. Then for some reason I keep my hands raised like a dork. Again, liquid encouragement. After the concert we went over to the merch stand and Jenny bought a shirt. I actually had all the merch they had, so I was unable to purchase anything. I thanked Erin for inviting me up and she and Nick both thanked me for the plug of their album. Afterwards I called my girlfriend, who probably couldn't keep up with my drunken school-girl-esque rambling.

So song of the day = TV by Headlights. I'll include the version without the drunk tambourine so you can decide wihether it sounds better with or without me in it.

TV by Headlights at YouTube

Warm Weather Bands

Today, I've been in the best mood. I can't remember the last time I was this happy. After a long period of very little going right, this week nothing can go wrong. The weather was amazing today, and no one can help but be happy. The feeling on the streets is indescribable, everyone's moods have been lifted. In a time like this, your musical choices must go along with your mood to enhance it even more. Today I listened to sunny bands that only made me smile more. There's music that I only whip out during the warm months because they have that warm feeling that you don't want to ruin by bringing out during cold weather. Here are my three choices for music today:

Headlights
The epitome of good-feeling music. For real. You can't help but feel happy when you listen to "TV" or "Cherry Tulips". It's in no way corny either like some poppy, happy-go-lucky music can be. You just want to give people hugs when you listen to it, or dance around in colorful outfits with Leslie Feist.











Kings of Leon
Everything is in a major key and every drum beat and tambourine shake calls for you to run wherever it is you're going. The amped-up bass-lines scream Jet, and the twangy guitars resemble the Strokes. Caleb's 'let-go-of-all-your-
inhibitions-and-yell-out-however-you-want- even-if-it-comes-out-as-something-no-one-can-
understand-just-because-it-makes-you-feel-
good' lyrics make you wish you were in his place. Everyone just sounds like they're having fun.





Minus the Bear
This mostly applies to Menos El Oso. The whole album makes you feel as if you're sitting "on a Beach in the Mediterranean". It's hard not to throw the word "Romanticism" around when considering their lyrics. You can feel exactly what Jake Snider was feeling as he wrote the songs when you hear such lyrics as he says "Is it possible to put this night to tune and move it to you" or "I hope the weather holds / But you don't need the sun to make you shine. / These island towns don't care for city folk / but I think we can starve the city from our minds."

I couldn't hold it in. I felt I needed to share my good mood bands to spread joy.

Music Television as Musical as Taco Bell is Mexican

I am as much a fan of MTV and VH1 as anybody. I am currently fascinated with Celebrity Rehab, and who didn't watch Tila Tequila's Shot of Love. But these shows should not be the death of music television. A more accurate name for MTV and VH1 would be RTV, Reality Television. Let's evaluate the programming schedules of these channels.

Today on VH1, February 12th, 2008 - From 3 am to 11 am was the slot allotted for music videos. Every other time slot (Flavor of Love 3, The Salt 'N Pepa show, My Fair Brady: Maybe Baby?, Free Radio, Scott Baio is 46 and Pregnant, Celebrity Rehab, Rock of Love 2, VH1 presents Britney's secret Childhood (I'm not going to hyperlink all of those because I'm lazy, but they're all on the VH1 website)) is a reality show with the exception of Free Radio (a mockumentary), and the Britney special presentation, which may as well be a reality show. The reality shows aren't even music related! What do a model and Peter Brady have to do with music? (By the way, it's no mistake that VH1 scrapped it's motto, "Music First" in 2003).

But the mother of all "musical networks" is worse. The original. There is less than 5 hours of musical programming on MTV, unless you consider Making the Band and America's Best Dance Crew musical programming. I'm even being generous with that statistic, because I'm considering TRL a music show, even though it shows about a minute of every video they play. Even MTV2, which was originally created for this problem, has shifted to airing the reruns of the shows of MTV as well as original programming.

Although not in my demographic, CMT and BET have also followed suit. However, to be fair, BET doesn't have "Music" in their title.

It's true, I love some of this programming. But shouldn't there have been another channel made for this? Shouldn't music television be left to its own? Aren't the conglomerates that own these channels also the owners of multiple non-music related channels? My love for music outweighs my love for seeing C-list celebs battle their coke addictions. But fear not, there are options music lovers! Unfortunately... most are going to cost you.

There are many music channels on extended digital cable packages. Fuse is very good about playing music in time-slots that normal people are awake. Additionally, they don't limit themselves to mainstream acts. Unfortunately, this often entails a large amount of emo music. Additionally, they have begun to go in the direction of MTV and VH1, with original programming. However, a complete 180 from these channels, they usually air them during weekends and the late night slots. MTV has also thrown us a line with MTV Hits - 24 hours of music videos. This is an attempt to silence the critics, such as myself, but also not readily available. MTVU is also almost solely devoted to music, and this is a personal favorite of mine because it features non-mainstream acts. However, it is mostly limited to college packages and campuses.

Unfortunately for myself, here at my apartment in Madison, we have a digital package that features no musical benefits. The dorms receive MTVU, for which I am extremely jealous. For now, I can only get my music fixes from when I visit home, being awake at unholy hours, and the wonder that is known as the Internet. Oh, well.

To keep with the theme, today's song of the day will be "TV" by Headlights. The line is actually "I cannot stand to watch the TV", so it fits well. For more information on Headlights, see my earlier post on my top five bands with multiple lead singers.

"TV" by Headlights on YouTube.
Headlights on Myspace.

Who's the Boss? My top 5 bands with More Than One Lead Singer

Like variety? Here are my 5 favorite bands with more than one lead vocalist. Each group will include a song or songs featuring each lead singer (except Broken Social Scene, because there are so many).

1. Menomena
I know, I know, this blog so far has been Menomena-dominated, but it really deserves to be. They barely edge out Broken Social Scene for this list, but each member of this band contributes to lead vocals on songs. Admittedly, they are mostly Brent Knopf and Justin Harris, but Danny Seim leads on a couple, has a solo project, and contributes back-ups on many tracks. Seim's got a very low voice but he'll bring it up to a falsetto from time to time, Knopf's is more sweet, vibrato-dominated, and higher than the other two's voices, and Harris pushes his to intensity very well, but can also have a beautiful falsetto.Their styles are all unique, but fit the instrumentation amazingly.

"Trigga Hiccups" at Menomena.com (Knopf)
"Weird (Live)" at YouTube (Harris)
"Strongest Man in the World" at YouTube (Seim)

2. Broken Social Scene
Okay, we all know Broken Social Scene is Kevin Drew's band. He dominates the vocals for the most part. But the female leads know how to steal the spotlight as well. You can't help but fall in love with 2006's break-out star, Leslie Feist, when you hear her voice in these songs. I love her in BSS more than in Feist because for the most part her songs in Feist show off her sweet, beautiful side, but songs such as BSS's "Almost Crimes" (my favorite BSS song) allow her to belt it out, which I think is her most impressive aspect. She almost has a Robert Plant aspect when she sings the best part of the song: "Love and hate is the only way". But she's not the only other lead singer. Amy Millan and Emily Haines also contribute on tracks. Even K-Os has contributed. This spring, Brendan Canning will release Broken Social Scene's second "Presents..." album, and from seeing him in concert, it should prove to be an amazing Dinosaur Jr.-esque album.

"Almost Crimes" at YouTube (Drew and Feist)

3. Tegan & Sara
No, I'm not ashamed that I like Tegan & Sara. Every guy is allowed to like a maximum of five girly bands I believe. But I don't even believe they are a girly band. Would the White Stripes have a hit with a cover of a girly band? I don't think so. Tegan's songs are probably the ones people think of when they call them girly. Her voice is much more normal, the instrumentation on her song normally less intense. However, she can speed it up on occasion as evidenced with "Living Room", my favorite song of theirs. Sara's songs are unique, odd, and impossible not to love. Her voice is weird, but not annoying. Her songs are often repetative, but not boring (See "Walking with a Ghost"). Overall, the two girls' songs are totally different characters from one another. They split cd's, which is a must because both of these girls clearly love the spotlight and are jealous of eachother's talents. I love them for it.

"Living Room" at YouTube (Tegan)
"Walking with a Ghost at YouTube" (Sara)


4. Headlights
Headlights is he epitome of the pop-folk male-female bi-vocal happy-go-lucky indie band. Erin Fein's voice is so sweet and innocent, Tristan Wraight's is chill. They have a new album coming out on February 19th.

(Both sing backings on the other's songs)
"TV" at YouTube (Erin)
"Signs Point to Yes (Outlook Not So Good)" at YouTube (Tristan)



5. The Receiving End of Sirens (Between the Heart and the Synapse only)
Why do I say that? Not because the mixed vocals ended after that album. No, because after the debut album they lost Casey Crescenzo, the strongest part of the tri-vocal attack. Their second album, "The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi", left only Brendan Brown and Alex Bars to contribute weaker, uninspired vocals. Not only that, but it is clear Casey was a large part of the song-writing process, because his solo project "The Dear Hunter" now sounds more like The Receiving End of Sirens than the current Receiving End of Sirens does. Nevertheless, Between the Heart and the Synapse is a fantastic experimental rock record, one of the few albums I still listen to from my high school emo music phase, although I fail to see how this album falls under the emo genre. There's no whining, no talks of cutting oneself, etc. I guess you'll have to listen for yourself.

"Planning a Prison Break" at YouTube (All three)