The Lemonheads, Before Sunrise

I'm halfway through watching Richard Linklater's 1995 talkfest, "Before Sunrise." I've never seen it before, but so far I love it. Last night I watched the trailer (I am obsessed with movie trailers, I have to see one for every movie I watch. Sorry.) and I noticed a really good song about halfway through. After some thorough Googling and scouring through YouTube comments, I discovered that the song in question is "Into Your Arms" by the Lemonheads.

The Lemonheads is one of those bands that I am always reading about and being told to listen to, but I never get around to doing it. Last night I got their album "It's A Shame About Ray" after also downloading "Into Your Arms." So far, I've given it two listens and I loooove it. This is just the kind of music I like. Really basic alternative rock with hooky choruses and good lyrics. They remind me a bit of The Dismemberment Plan and R.E.M.- definitely a product of the 90's.

Into Your Arms (Live)- The Lemonheads
It's A Shame About Ray (Live)- The Lemonheads

Ten Questions with Joe Pug

I love me a good singer-songwriter, but I'm the first one to admit that sometimes all of those "next-Dylans" start to blur together. Everybody has good lyrics, everybody's got a good-bad voice, and everybody strums their acoustic guitar with their heart on their flannel sleeve.

However, Joe Pug is different. He is not just a good singer-songwriter, he is a great singer-songwriter, and easily the best I've heard in a long, long time. A few years ago, Pug left the University of North Carolina, where he was studying to be a playwright, and drove to Chicago to pursue a music career. His experience as a writer first is very apparent through the weary, earnest lyrics found on his EP, "Nation of Heat." The best thing about Pug's music, in my opinion, is his world-worn voice, which drifts effortlessly from strained despair to smooth, fluid intensity.

On "Hymn #101," my favorite track off the EP, Pug is accompanied only by a finger-picked acoustic guitar. However, this does not keep him from matching the emotional resonance of the most epic anthem.

I had a chance to ask Joe Pug a few questions, so I sent him one of my favorite question sets- James Lipton's from "Inside The Actor's Studio."

1. What is your favorite word? Fortune.

2. What is your least favorite word? Organic.

3. What turns you on? Thighs.

4. What turns you off? Speaking without thinking.

5. What is your favorite curse word? Whore.

6. What sound or noise do you love? The sound of fresh bills being counted.

7. What sound or noise do you hate? Police sirens.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Point guard in the NBA developmental league.

9. What profession would you not like to attempt? Cold-call sales.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? "Bravo!"

Thanks Joe!

For more on Joe Pug, check out his:
WEBSITE
MYSPACE
or....
catch him on tour (for DC folks, he'll be at the Black Cat on May 14!)

Hymn 101- Joe Pug

Warmer Weather

The weather is getting much, much warmer and with sunnier days comes sunnier music. Here's some of what I've been listening to lately, or just general songs I associate with summertime.

Send Me On My Way- Rusted Root
7 Stars- The Apples In Stereo
Strawberry Swing- Coldplay
Ramona- Guster



All At Sea- Jamie Cullum
The Joker- Steve Miller Band
Better Together- Jack Johnson
Semi-Charmed Life- Third Eye Blind
Closet- Pete Yorn

I'm The New Blue Mood, I'm The Great White Hope

Two years after its release, The National's "Boxer" still floors me. I think it's one of the best albums I've ever heard. The songwriting is incredible; not only are the lyrics some of my favorites (I can't decipher them for my life, but the way they put their words together just sounds so good), but I find the composition and arrangements of instrumentals sounds almost classical in form. Rather than being just a guitar band or a keyboard band, The National utilize every instrument in their arsenal. "Fake Empire" is rooted in a rich piano strain, "Mistaken for Strangers" builds on jagged, industrial guitar, "Green Gloves" is atmospheric and acoustic, and thumping, rapid drums fuel "Squalor Victoria."

Anyway, before last year I had never listened to any of The National's music besides "Boxer." I think I loved "Boxer" so much, I was afraid that anything else I heard would not live up it. However, I finally got around to buying the "Cherry Tree" EP and "Alligator." While both are less polished than "Boxer," the roughness does not at all detract from the pure beauty of the music. Off "Cherry Tree," "About Today" is my favorite. Off "Alligator," I have "Mr. November" on repeat. Also, I am obsessed with "So Far Around the Bend," The National's track from the fantastic compilation "Dark Was The Night" (which the band was instrumental in organizing).

About Today- The National
So Far Around the Bend- The National
Mr. November- The National

Lisztomania/Breakfast Club

This is PEEEERFECT.

Your Guide To the Twitterverse: Musician Editions

Since Twitter is apparently taking over the universe, I think it's important that I educate you all on the best musicians to follow. Get a-twitterin'...

Lily Allen: Lily is currently on tour, so her tweets are mostly rhyming riddles leading fans to spots where she has hidden pairs of tickets.

Jay Reatard: Pretty average tweets about his day-to-day routine. Lots of comments about food and music, plus odd punctuation use.

Edward Droste (of Grizzly Bear): Fantasizes about rolling in Wayne Coyne's hamster ball and posts tour/album announcements. Also tweets about strollin' through NYC.

Colin Meloy: Mourns closing book stores, makes up NPR names, celebrates Record Store Day. Pretty much exactly how you would imagine Colin Meloy's mind working.

John Mayer: Enthusiastic, self-absorbed and funny. Lately he's been hosting contests to see the unusual tattoos (and offering signed guitars or handwritten song lyrics as prizes!).

Amanda Palmer: Currently, lots and lots of Coachella updates! Other than that, lots of pictures and sarcasm.

Ted Leo: Favorite songs, pictures of his travels, funny exchanges with other tweeters.

Asher Roth: Weed, sports, and self-promotion.

D.A. Wallach (of Chester French): Pretty much just self-promotion.

Skye Skjelset (of Fleet Foxes): From-the-road tour updates, gets really excited about seeing Natalie Portman walking her dog.

Robin Pecknold (of Fleet Foxes): From-the-road tour updates, favorite movies, puppy-love for Leonard Cohen.

Mates of State: Commentary on favorite cities, cute motivational sayings.

Get On Out for Record Store Day!

It's tomorrow!

Here's some of the goodies that will be on sale at stores...CLICK

more info...CLICK

Neko Case on Letterman

Neko performed "This Tornado Loves You" on the Late Show last night. She killed it and looked awesome at the same time.

Doctor Rosen Rosen Remixes Eminem

For every Top 40 hit there are at least 100 remixes, but only a handful are ever worth giving a listen. Earlier this year when Britney's "Womanizer" was dominating the charts, I heard remixes left and right, but most were stale takes on the already awesome (Don't dispute this. Fact.) original. However, Doctor Rosen Rosen produced one that caught my ears- in fact, I've listened to it more than the original. DRR also produced a remix on a song I felt should never be tampered with- Department of Eagles's "1997." Of course he pulled it off though, and it's awesome.

Anyway, DRR is at it again with a remix of Eminem's latest, "We Made You." DRR's version transforms what was a tacky, carnival tune into a grimy electronic jam splattered with synth jabs and thick beats. Honestly, I hate "We Made You" (Worst lyrics of 2009. Fact.) but DRR's take is so cool and creative I can't help but love it.

Get it off zShare HERE.
To hear Doctor Rosen Rosen's other remixes, check out his MYSPACE.

New Death Cab- The Open Door EP

Death Cab for Cutie's "Narrow Stairs," the muscular, hook-filled follow-up to their major label debut, "Plans," was one of my favorite albums of 2008- and probably my most-listened. It is one of those albums that progresses in a positive musical direction without abandoning what made the band great in the first place.

"The Open Door," the new five-song EP from Death Cab, keeps the robust hooks and textured arrangements that made "Narrow Stairs" such a pleasure to listen to. While many EP's are just throwaway B-sides from an album, the four new tracks on "Door" sound just as strong, if not stronger, than any song off of "Stairs."

"Little Bribes" kicks the EP off with a jaunty march propelled by Jason McGerr's throbbing drums and Ben Gibbard's heart-on-sleeve lyrics. Gibbard is a very skilled songwriter, but his lyrics are usually only recognized on acoustic ballads like "I Will Follow You Into The Dark." On this EP, though, his lyrical ability is on full display, as are his signature lilting vocals. On "A Diamond and A Tether," Gibbard ruminates on his fear of relationships with lines like, "I've got this habit I abhor/ When we go out I'm always watching the door/ As if there's someone I'm gonna see who could outdo the things you could do to me," and "You can't hold out forever/ Waiting on a diamond and a tether/ From a boy who won't jump when he falls in love/ He just stands with his toes on the edge/ And he waits for it to disappear again." Gibbard continues to express anxiety over commitment on the aching, jagged "My Mirror Speaks." Above layers of chugging bass (courtesy of Nick Harmer) and Chris Walla's lushly arranged guitars, Gibbard delivers his lines with stinging lamentation. Death Cab is a traditionally melancholy band, so even their upbeat songs are coated in a Smiths-esque blanket of remorse. "I Was Once A Loyal Lover" epitomizes this with neurotic, diary-worthy lyrics washing over its buoyant sound. Closing out the EP is the ukulele-accompanied demo version of "Talking Bird." On "Stairs," "Talking Bird" was heavy and sluggish, but here it's charming and wistful.

"The Open Door" EP is a perfect follow-up to "Narrow Stairs," so much so that it feels more like an extension of the album than a collection of songs salvaged from the cutting room floor.

Favorite Line: "All my friends are forward thinking/ Getting hitched and quitting drinking." (from "I Was Once a Loyal Lover")

I Was Once A Loyal Lover- Death Cab for Cutie

BUY THE EP
AMAZON
INSOUND