08

March
2010

Special Monday Morning Tape - #40

category: Special Monday Morning Tape
by The Beat, 2 Comments »

Totally Nebular - green tops
(taken from their 2010 release Boat Boat)
The New Pornographers - your hands (together)
(taken from their 2010 release Together)
Daniel, Fred & Julie - the gambler and his bride
(taken from their 2010 release Daniel, Fred & Julie)
Snowglobe - love
(taken from their 2010 release Little More Lived In)

Gray Goods - closet trash
(taken from their 2009 release Blue Skies/Closet Trash 7″)
Bill Callahan - bowery
(taken from his 2010 release Rough Travel For A Rare Thing)
Girls - end of the world
(taken from their 2010 release Morning Light 7″)
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - let’s go fucking mental
(taken from his 2010 release Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?)

Nada Surf - electrocution
(taken from their 2010 release if i had a hi fi)
We Were Promised Jetpacks - a far cry
(taken from their 2010 release The Last Place You’ll Look EP)
She & Him - thieves
(taken from their 2010 release Volume Two)
The Gifted Children - hotflash backrooms
(taken from their 2010 release Please Freeze Me)


05

March
2010

Under The Rug

category: Commentary, The Best Things In Life Are Free
by The Beat, 2 Comments »

I’ve grown a little tired of my current aggregator (Bloglines) so my switch to Google Reader means I’ll need to clean out some notable links before assimilating to the new digs. I’m not sure if anyone else using Bloglines noticed its gradual decline in performance the past few months but there were several RSS feeds not being read, leading me to believe that some of my favorite blogs had been inactive. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to research so if there are any readers out there faithful to their current program, please do chime in. So far Google Reader seems to be solid in performance and layout. You have Bloglines to thank for the serious linkage below. Enjoy!

All-things-music-design-art blog, Yewknee, has posted several mixes since we last spoke. You are already familiar with some of his song selections thanks to my pilfering them for my own usage on the monthlies. Don’t leave without grabbing The Grip and Good Pollution and Sad Songs, Not Waltzes and finally, the obligatory Best of 2009 mix. Just in case you’ve really been asleep this whole time - Yewknee Records has also released 4 albums since I last covered the Uncle Skeleton LP. They can all be consumed freely by clicking on the number tabs at the top of the page. My favorite of the bunch, Slowmotions, was featured on BTID’s January mix.

Not to be outdone but two of my other favorite mix curators, Paige from Flux-Rad and Jeremy Okai Davis have 2 recent mixes each - She Was A Vision & Strangled By The Radio and What’s Done Is Done & Move Around respectively. These are all excellent primers for discovering new sounds for yer ears. Praise be to Michael @ Yewknee for the initial heads-up as always.

Connor @ I Guess I’m Floating blog posted an excellent Winter ‘09 Mix a while back featuring several of my favorite artists of the year. The mix definitely contains a fine balance of powerful and graceful tunes to gear you up for this cold and wet winter thus far.

There aren’t as many posts over at Sixeyes as we’d like these days but occasionally Alan drops his own batch of hand-picked tunes to satiate our need for sounds. His most recent posted on Feb. 15th is top-notch - not like it’s ever otherwise. i also really enjoyed his 6-volume Christmas mix set. You can still grab all of those to store away until the next holiday season. It’ll be here before you know it..

Holy pop glory! - a ridiculously informative article about the Elephant 6 Collective, drummed up by Jeff from Optical Atlas.

More Americans than you think are still stinging from Team Canada’s gold medal beatdown in olympic hockey - let Line Of Best Fit’s 8th installment of Oh, Canada ease your pain….a little.

Byrdhouse always has a knack for smooth underlying melodies in their song selections for the CHIRP mixtape series. Download the latest: Winter ‘10.

Hopefully now that I switched away from Bloglines I won’t miss an entire month of posting from Built On A Weak Spot. Jonathan’s February mix is up for grabs here.

The latest Musical Alliance Pact compilation is available for download. I never want to see this concept die. And in case you missed January’s edition - BLIZOW!

Last, but not least, a completely ukelele-fied version of Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - front to finish. You should know its one of my very favorite records of all-time. In fact, you can find some of the cover art inked on me. It goes without saying that I would not post about this if I didn’t think there was a good bit of merit to be awarded. It’s quite endearing, doesn’t try to overshadow the original album in any way and Madeline Ava knows her way around a ukelele. If you dig this check out her other albums available for free on the CLLCT site.

Madeline Ava - Holland, 1945


03

March
2010

Mini-Beats - February 2010 - Edition 13

category: Mini-Beats
by The Beat, No Comments »

Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring (2010, Arts & Crafts) ♥♥♥
-doesn’t stray too far from previous efforts though this had fewer memorable moments than usual-
Here Here - A Boy With An Orange (2007, self-released) ♥♥♥♥
-superbly executed indie-pop with gang vocals, banjos and hooks galore that reminds me a great deal of the first Arcade Fire EP-
Tiny Masters Of Today - Bang Bang Boom Cake (2007, Great Society) ♥♥
-couple of young bucks bang on instruments, sing politically-charged punk-influenced rock songs; perhaps a little too kitschy for its own good-
The Magnetic Fields - Realism (2010, Nonesuch) ♥♥
-Stephin bounces around all over the place on this release; felt like a collection of disposable b-sides-
Malory - Pearl Diver (2010, Club AC30) ♥♥♥
-capable it not completely immemorable shoegaze pop from Germany-
Broken Bells - Broken Bells (2010, Columbia) ♥♥♥½
-most notable output from Mercer since the debut Shins record; a few of these songs put me in a really great place…like fields of daisies and shit-
The Dirty Sleeves - Pretend My Hand Is A Vector (2006, Wizard Rock) ♥♥½
-mellow folk-type rock; lyrics can get a little corny and cliche-
The Recital - The Succulent Leftovers EP (2009, Suburban Sprawl) ♥♥½
-the band has called it quits and left behind this EP of so-so b-sides and alt takes-
Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own (2010, Rough Trade) ♥♥♥½
-Bulat and crew put on a great live show and this release finds Basia ‘growing up’ as a songwriter-
Eels - End Times (2010, V2) ♥♥♥
-it’s hard to not to like E’s self-deprecating efforts but lately its been hard to love them-
Juana Molina - Segundo (2000, Domino) ♥♥♥½
-a rather unique take on folktronica though some would argue Juana was one of the earliest torchbearers of said genre-
Avey Tare & Panda Bear - Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished (2000, Animal) ♥♥½
-some great drumming, a few horrificly unlistenable moments (not unlike your favorite mid-period Flaming Lips albums) and you have the beginning stages of one of the 00’s most influential groups-
Galleries - Galleries EP (2010, Slow Receiver) ♥♥♥½
-well executed dream-pop from Scotland and it’s free….; RIYL Appleseed Cast, There Will Be Fireworks-
Phoenix - United (2000, Astralwerks) ♥♥♥½
-if you think Phoenix began with Wolfgang you’re pretty damn wrong; this is pleasing aside from a few jock-rock missteps-
Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago (2010, Matador) ♥♥♥½
-these guys have been quite consistent throughout their catalog; this is no exception-
Postdata - Postdata (2010, self-released) ♥♥♥
-the brothers Wintersleep create a quiet, introspective album in memoriam to their deceased grandparents; I expected more but this will get better on repeated listens-
The Legendary Pink Dots - A Perfect Mystery (2000, Caciocavallo) ♥♥½
-my first experience with an entire LPD album left me wanting more music and less vocals-
Xiu Xiu - Dear God, I Hate Myself (2010, Kill Rock Stars) ♥♥½
-I think the Xiu Xiu schtick might be getting a little tiresome….-
Bevis Frond - Valedictory Songs (2000, Rubric) ♥♥♥
-Nick’s 17th(!) album is my virgin experience with BF; you can expect sloppy, but melodic college rock that reminded me of The Lemonheads and Buffalo Tom; 71 minutes was a bit long though….-
The Album Leaf - A Chorus Of Storytellers (2010, Sub Pop) ♥♥♥
-pretty/dreamy post-rock but not enough so to leave a lasting impression; you’ll dig it if you liked earlier albums-
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor (2010, FrenchKiss) ♥♥♥½
-mild-mannered but catchy indie-rock; another fine FrenchKiss release-
Field Music - Measure (2010, Memphis Industries) ♥♥♥½
-psyche-pop powered by classic-rock guitar riffs; unique sounds in the vein of Dungen-
Land Of Talk- Fun and Laughter EP (2009, Saddle Creek) ♥♥½
-a mellowed down shell of their past; there are a few shoegazey moments here but nothing to write home about-
The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack (2010, Kemado) ♥♥♥
-tuneful, modern-style post-punk that gets a little better with each spin-
Rocky Votolato - True Devotion (2010, Barsuk) ♥♥½
-aside from the opening track this falls into the endless abyss of Elliott Smith’s sensitive folk-core but without the conviction-
Dark Mean - Music Box (2010, self-released) ♥♥♥
-not as immediately pleasing as their debut EP but worth a few listens-
Robert Pollard - We All Got Out Of The Army (2010, Guided By Voices) ♥♥♥
-as is the case with most of Bob’s recent solo efforts - 2 killer opening tracks and the rest merely ‘ok’-
The Go Find - Everybody Knows Its Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight (2010, Morr) ♥♥½
-perfectly alright indie-electronic; a few nice melodies but mostly bland-
Midlake - The Courage Of Others (2010, Bella Union) ♥♥½
-I really wanted to like this more but the only thing that kept popping into my head was the M.A.S.H. theme song…-
Frightened Rabbit - The Winter Of Mixed Drinks (2010, FatCat) ♥♥♥½
-more epic and full-sounding than MOF but this type of maturation elicited welcome results; will get even better upon repeated listening-
First Aid Kit - The Big Black and The Blue (2010, Wichita) ♥♥½
-these girls got great country-mountain-soul voices but the songs on this did much less for me than their previous EP-
Ghost Buffalo - Ghost Buffalo (2006, Suburban Home) ♥♥
-sappy female-fronted emo type stuff that appealed to me like 9-10 years ago-
Citay - Dream Get Together (2010, Dead Oceans) ♥½
-is that Trey Anastasio on guitar?-
Race Horses - Goodbye Falkenberg (2010, Fantastic Plastic) ♥½
-this is what happens when Lucksmiths-style indie-pop derails-
Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love - Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love (2005, Other Electricites) ♥♥♥½
-endearing indie-pop with harmonies galore RIYL Fruit Bats-
Ol’ Snakey’s BlueJass Ramblers - Snakey’s Rant (2007, self-released) ♥♥♥
-warm and cozy ol’ timey music; mostly (if not all) traditional songs covered-
Deyarmond Edison - Deyarmond Edison (2004, self-released) ♥♥♥½
-Joe Cocker-inspired Americana that I wanted to hate but the vocals and heartache within them are quite genuine sounding; Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon’s old band-
The Amps - Pacer (1995, 4AD) ♥♥♥½
-the first 3 songs are some of Kelley’s best workbut the rest of the album is patchy at best-
A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Nitetime Rainbows EP (2010, self-released) ♥♥♥
-a couple new tracks and 3 remixed versions of the title track; not essential-
Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire De Melody Nelson (1971, Mercury) ♥♥♥
-I can see how this appeals to some but as it stands it’s got a few psyche freakout moments but the kitsch is tough to get over-
Half Light - Sleep More, Take More Drugs, Do Whatever We Want (2008, self-released) ♥♥
-dream-pop that tried a little too hard to fit in this genre; not a fan of Danya Smith’s vocals-
Rogue Wave - Permalight (2010, Brushfire) ♥♥♥♥
-yep, its a new angle for Zach and its not original in the least bit but damn if this isn’t catchy; this is basically the pompless Of Montreal album I’ve been waiting for-


01

March
2010

Special Monday Morning Tape - #39

category: Special Monday Morning Tape
by The Beat, 1 Comment »

Apollo Ghosts - library card amulet
(taken from their split 7″ release with Role Mach)
Red Sparowes - giving birth to imagined saviors
(taken from their 2010 release Fear Is Excruciating But Therein Lies The Answer)
The Apples In Stereo - dance floor
(taken from their 2010 release Travellers In Space and Time)
The Antlers - two
(taken from their 2009 release Hospice)

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - the mighty sparrow
(taken from their 2010 release The Brutalist Bricks)
Land Of Talk - may you never
(taken from their 2009 release Fun and Laughter EP)
Bettie Serveert - semaphore
(taken from their 2010 release Pharmacy Of Love)
Los Campesinos! - there are listed buildings
(taken from their 2010 release Romance Is Boring)
Phosphorescent - it’s hard to be humble (when yer from alabama)
(taken from their 2010 release Here’s To Taking It Easy)

The Young Sinclairs - tribe
(taken from their 2010 re-issue of Songs Of The Young Sinclairs)
Frog Eyes - frog in a glove
(taken from their 2010 release Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph)
The Open Letters - stupid but strong
(taken from their upcoming 2010 release)
Nick Jaina - sleep child
(taken from his 2010 release A Bird In The Opera House)


26

February
2010

BTID Presents - Snowed Inn

category: The Best Things In Life Are Free
by The Beat, No Comments »

In dedication to the current snow day I’m enjoying I’ve decided to post a snowy/wintry mix I threw together years ago (2004 to be precise). I expect all northeasterners to participate, it’s been a tough winter so far. See the tracklisting below. Happy Snow Day!

01 - Summer At Shatter Creek - Home For The Holidays
02 - Gregor Samsa - 0
03 - Lift To Experience - When We Shall Touch
04 - Isolation Years - Cold Morning In Minusinsk
05 - Diastemata - Idiot Savants
06 - Camera Obscura - Sound
07 - Matt Pond PA - New Hampshire
08 - Delgados - Coming In From The Cold
09 - Continental OP - Faster
10 - Carissa’s Weird - Some Days Are Better Than Others
11 - Daniel Lofgren - If
12 - The Mind Sirens - Alaska
13 - Shannon Wright - Avalanche
14 - Aarktica - Aura Lee
15 - The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up - Burning Flag (Piano)
16 - Absinthe Blind - Antarctica
17 - Seata - Fear For Your Return

Click on the pic or get your aural frostbite on here.


24

February
2010

Free: We Are Very Excite

category: The Best Things In Life Are Free
by The Beat, No Comments »

I’ve been a participant in the Spy Island routine ever since sampling their Little Fires EP on CDBaby ‘way’ back in 2003. I was happy to see the mostly-Portland based group still chugging out releases after finding a link to download their latest effort, At The Vegan Witch Trials, in my inbox. The band has made most(?) of their catalog available for free download (or minimum donation) via their Bandcamp page. SI really bust out the hooks on this - highly recommended if you’re down with melodic boy/girl indie-pop. Um, who isn’t?

Spy Island - Hot Weather Anatomy

The ever-prolific Hussalonia has already begun an assault on 2010 with two new (and rather unusual) releases. Know Your Eastern European Anthems is exactly what it implies - a lesson in Eastern European national anthems, revisited and reworked by Hussalonia himself. I can’t say I’ve ever come across such an endeavor before but I quite enjoy the concept of national anthems being covered/manipulated/deconstructed. Hussalonia’s 30th release(!) finds him setting music to imagined letters sent from animals. If you enjoyed the Robot Singer releases you’ll find yourself smiling through this EP as well. May he continue to be as prolific throughout the year.

Hussalonia - Poland - Dabrowski’s Mazurka
Hussalonia - Geese Are Filthy, Vile Beasts

Faithful readers will recognize Dark Mean from appearances on monthly mixes or the fact that their debut EP found itself in high regards on my top 50 albums of 2009 list. The Frankencottage EP was wrought with melody and genuine musicianship, especially notable for a band with seemingly no press or web presence whatsoever. They’re back with a follow-up EP that more or less picks up where Frankencottage left off. Music Box is not as immediately impressionable as the debut and it might have something to do with more polished production values and the melodies are a bit subdued. Regardless its well worth your time to grab it - free, of course, on their Bandcamp page. Definitely pick up Frankencottage while you’re there if you haven’t already.

Dark Mean - Acoustic
Dark Mean - Lullaby



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