nice
Ray Charles does Elenor Rigby:
posted by Patrick @ 7:56 PM, ,
Sunday, October 26, 2008
heart break
Jeff Mangum played in Lexington this week and I missed it. Like my friend Dan put it last night, "It's like having a chance to see John Lennon and missing it."
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 5:32 PM, ,
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
murdered in the city video
Watch the video to the Avett Brother's Murdered In The City here.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 3:39 PM, ,
matt fraction knows stuff
Like a good album when he hears one. Go here to hear him sing the praises of Dear Science.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:04 AM, ,
Friday, September 26, 2008
new tv on the radio
The best track on the new TV On The Radio album:
Song's called Crying, album's called Dear Science. Good stuff!
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:30 PM, ,
Friday, August 29, 2008
you're gonna die!
Go here to read the awesome true story behind Guns & Roses' Welcome To The Jungle.
posted by Patrick @ 11:34 AM, ,
Thursday, August 21, 2008
ben folds + regina spektor
New song from Ben Folds and Regina Spektor. Folds' new album, Way Too Normal, hits stores in late September.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:53 PM, ,
tv on the radio comes to cincinnati!
Just read on their website that TV On The Radio is coming to Bogarts in October. They're one of a small handful of bands that I really want to see live but haven't had the chance to yet. Looks like I might be making a drive to Cincinnati in a couple of months!
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:48 PM, ,
new okkervil river
New Okkervil River track available from iTunes here. Youaintnopicasso.com has a cut from their upcoming album, The Stand Ins, as well here.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:34 PM, ,
Friday, June 20, 2008
album review - my morning jacket
Some string theorist have developed a theory that our universe exists spread across a vast flat membrane, floating peacefully through a gelatinous hyper-dimensional void. Within that void exist countless other universes similar to our own.
It is my own theory that these alternate universes began much like our own, but that their histories diverge from our own at both vital and mundane moments. For instance in one of these alternate universes JFK was never assassinated, therefore sparing the country much of the disillusionment that resulted from the events surrounding his death. In another dimension you don't stop at Starbucks every morning for a caramel macchiato and therefore aren't dreading swimsuit season like you are in this reality.
The most incredible divergence of all, though, happened on a world seemingly no different from our own. In this world southern rockers The Allman Brothers, through some strange cosmic domino effect, became Prince's back-up band.
This bizarre turn of events changed both the musical and socio-economical landscapes of the late 20th century. Fans of widely diverse musical styles were brought together in appreciation for the Purple One and the architects of southern rock. This union ushered in a new age of harmony and musical brotherhood in this parallel universe.
While no such union ever occurred in our reality, our universe sensed the discrepancy and tried to fill the abhorrent vacuum by creating My Morning Jacket.
The Louisville born band is the closest thing to the Allman Brothers backing up Prince that our planet will ever see. And nowhere has this description been more apt than on their latest album, Evil Urges.
Evil Urges continues to prove that My Morning Jacket are greater than their jam-band, hippie-noodler origins. Where their last studio album, Z, showcased the band's ability to mix their southern rock stylings with a more progressive rock vibe, this album shows they can blend their style easily as well with a soulful R&B sound. And since R&B music is all about the hot sexin', MMJ doesn't skimp on the dirty talk. Take for instance these lyrics from the blush-inducing Librarian, "simple little bookworm/buried underneath/
is the sexiest librarian/take off those glasses and let down your hair for me." I'm not going to lie; after hearing those lyrics I headed straight to the library to try and find a hot librarian to stare at. For a report on how that went, google, "Patrick Drury, Lexington Public Library, police reports." It should be the second or third result.
For those philistines in the crowd who may not dig the whole sexy R&B vibe, there are still songs on Evil Urges that hearken back musically to My Morning Jacket's earlier days. The slightly anthemic I'm Amazed could fit easily on the bands break-out album It Still Moves. Likewise, Aluminum Park bears some of the bands earlier trademark guitar sounds. Not to say that they sound stagnant or like throwbacks, but rather they'll tickle the ears of fans who latched onto the bands less experimental days.
Highly Suspicious may be the weakest point on the album. It's obvious the band was having fun recording the song with it's inter-cutting falsetto verses and Cameo-like chorus, but I'm not sure that fun translates completely to the listener. I fear if you're like me, you'll find yourself skipping it altogether more often than not.
The real beauty of any My Morning Jacket album, though, whether it's flirting with prog rock or Prince, is the sheer amount of fun vocalist Jim James seems to be having. Blessed with a distinctive and powerful voice (which he's not afraid to fool around with - see previously mentioned Highly Suspicious), James punctuates his verses with exactly the kind of rock and roll screams and yelps that you know you would totally do too if you were in a band. It's fun and infectious. Like an STD that produces Skittles instead of bumps.
All in all Evil Urges is a very satisfying album. Full of new sounds and interesting tracks, but with a little something there for the less adventurous fans. So thanks to the universe and whatever course correction lead to My Morning Jacket being created. We may never see the Allman Brothers on stage with Prince, but we've got the next best thing. It's nice to see cosmic forces get something right for once!
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:52 AM, ,
album review - Counting Crows
I was recently given two different album review assignments for The Burnside Writer's Collective. Through some strange cosmic conspiracy both albums have had their release dates pushed back by months. So, to fill the void, I've written a couple of unsolicited reviews. Both of these albums were already assigned to other writers, so I don't think Burnside has any use for them - so I've decided to throw them up here.
First off, the new Counting Crows album, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings:
You know how everybody has that one relationship in their past that none of their friends understood and that, on paper, made no sense whatsoever, but for some reason they still kind of look back on fondly? Like maybe you dated a girl who always wore mom jeans and your friends would always point it out and laugh at you. And, yeah, you knew she looked silly, but somehow you saw past her ridiculously high denim equator, into her heart. You knew she was a good person, and loved animals, and always let you pick the restaurant, so you didn't care about her fashion problems.
The Counting Crows are my girlfriend in mom jeans.
I know everything that's wrong with the band. Seriously, I do. I realize a lot of my friends don't get my intense love for their music. In spite of all of their flaws and foibles, though, they are a band that followed me through my twenties and served as a soundtrack for a lot of the high points and low points of my life. So, I love them and there's nothing you can say that will change my mind.
It's because of this intense love that I kept putting off listening to their new album Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings.
See, I'm a big believer in leaving people wanting more; knowing when to get off the stage. Hard Candy, the band's previous studio album, was a great time to get off the stage. It was a good album, but was begining to show signs of the bands eventual descent into self parody.
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings is a runaway train down that hill.
The album is cut into two pieces musically and thematically. It is, in lead singer Adam Duritz' words, "the story of what happens when all the bright lights start to burn instead of glitter and you become more of a part of the shadow they cast behind you than the person you are in front." And, "It's about a flood of sin and liquor and dissolution and insanity and it's about trying to rebuild the life you wrecked in the wake of that flood. It's about the way it feels. It's about me."
Duritz has been struggling with fame and the price it demands on people for over a decade and a half now. I don't begrudge the man his struggles, lord knows I've got my own, but I don't need another album from him about it. What originally felt like a guy making a bold statement about wanting something that he knew would ultimately screw him up on the band's first album, fifteen years ago, now feels like your dad, drunk off his ass and telling your friends stories about how bad his life is.
All the old tropes are pulled out for this album. "You Can't Count On Me" revisits the classic Duritz theme of being completely unreliable,"Los Angeles" has him once again running away from a girl to go find himself, and "Almost Any Sunday Morning" revels once again in his tendency towards self-destruction.
This beating of dead horses is made worse by the fact that musically, the band doesn't seem to have really grown any. It's not a bad album musically, on the contrary, it's really well performed. The Counting Crows have all the polish and precision of a really good studio band. There's simply nothing innovative about what they're doing.
Nowhere are the sins of this album more prevelant than in the song "I Dream of Michelangelo." When my fiancee heard it for the first time she actually thought they were covering one of their own songs.
In reality the song appears to be a knowing sequel to "Angels of the Silences" from their Recovering the Sattelites album. Recurring lyrics and themes are nothing new for Counting Crows. Sometimes it seems like Duritz writes songs using a mad-libs book, going through writing words like "California," "angels," "believe," and "lonely" in the empty spaces. This song, though, is such an obvious throw back to an earlier time that it leaves the listener feeling a bit awkward. Like your drunk dad stopped telling your friends how bad his life is, but went and put on some of his clothes from high school and is now walking around the living room.
Maybe everything I've written here says more about me than it does the Counting Crows' new album. Maybe I've just come to the point where I can't appreciate the band anymore and I'm blaming them for it. Maybe I've just seen the movie one too many times and I should just shut up and let other people enjoy it. Maybe I just miss the way the band used to make me feel.
Maybe not as much as Adam Duritz does, though, it seems.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:41 AM, ,
goodnight to the dame
This weekend sees the closing of Lexington's most popular live music venue, The Dame. I'm beginning to feel a bit cursed in that every bar I love, eventually closes. First it was High On Rose, then Kitty O'Shea's, and now the Dame. If the owners of Shamrock's are reading this, they may want to start worrying.
The Dame was a great club. Since it's opening 5 years ago I got to see a lot of great bands on their stage.
I saw Sunday Valley play there more times than I can count. I got to see them play their final show, get back together for a while, then play another final show. You don't get to say goodbye to many bands twice.
I saw Old Crow Medicine Show at the Dame. It was so crowded that night that I wanted to punch people. Most nights the people who weren't at the Dame to see a show would at least stand in the back and talk. That particular night the talkers stood in the front, scattered throughout the people there for the music. It was infuriating.
I saw Caitlin Carey (formerly of Whiskeytown)play there the night Sara and I admitted that we liked each other.
I saw Chris Whitley play the Dame before he died. Dirty and I were the only two people in the club that night who weren't either college professors or lesbians. We contemplated running out and buying tweed coats with elbow patches so we'd fit in.
I saw Frank Black. What a great night that was. I had dinner out on the sidewalk at the Thai place across the street from the Dame with ET and Vlad, then got in line for the show. It's a really vivid memory for some reason.
I saw Over The Rhine there with Sara a couple of times. For one show the staff had set up tables on the dance floor. It was a nice touch and a nice change from the usual standing-shoulder-to-shoulder stuff.
I saw the Avett Brothers play there last summer. That was a dream come true - to see my favorite band play in a little local bar. It was the best Avett Brother's concert I've ever been to.
I even got to see Charley The Intern and his band Pistol Report play there. I'm glad that got to happen before the place closed.
I saw lots of other little bands and local acts. I'm sure I'm also forgetting some really awesome show that I should remember. My biggest regret is not getting to see Arcade Fire when they played back in 2004.
With the exception of the Frank Black show, I was always at the Dame with people that I loved, so all my memories of great music are accompanied by memories of me and my friends having fun together (and at least one memory of Dirty vandalizing a car).
I hear stories that the Dame is going to relocate. I hope they do and I hope they achieve success they never dreamed of in their old location. If they move, I'll happily attend shows wherever they end up settling. In the meantime, though, I mourn their loss, however long it last.
Goodnight Dame.
posted by Patrick @ 8:11 AM, ,
Friday, June 13, 2008
new wolf parade streaming
Wolf Parade's new album doesn't hit stores until Tuesday, but you can stream it off their Myspace here.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 5:54 PM, ,
Monday, June 09, 2008
new weezer
JC sent Sara and I the gift of an early release of the new Weezer album last week. Now I'm not the best guy to judge a good Weezer album. I liked the blue album, but everybody liked the blue album, right? After that I noticed a stray song of theirs here or there. Passive fandom. The new album seems to be getting panned a lot by critics. Of course who cares what music critics think, right?
I like several of the songs so far. The first single Pork and Beans is fun. I even like the extremely cheesy, somewhat self-indulgent Heartsongs.
But the best track on the whole album has to be The Greatest Man That Ever Lived. It's ten songs in one. It's every terrible awful pop music cliche' that ever existed, forced to live in a house where things stop being polite and start being real. It's kitschy and overblown, but so what? Anyone who demands complete seriousness from their music probably spends way too much time on Pitchfork and is completely insufferable at parties.
Listen for yourself: The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 9:19 PM, ,
Monday, June 02, 2008
new avett brothers track
Check out the new song Murder In The City from the upcoming Avett Brother's EP, The Second Gleam. Really like this one a lot. I can remember hearing them do it live last May in Louisville and scouring their albums trying to find it. Glad to know it'll be available soon.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:12 PM, ,
new okkervil river on the horizon
My good friends the Colonel and Ian both took a second to drop me emails letting me know that Okkervil River have announced a new album and new tour dates. The album is entitled The Stand Ins and was originally conceived as the second half of a double album (the first half being The Stage Names, released last August). The Stand Ins drops in September. More info here.And a little personal note to myself - subscribing to the RSS feeds of sites like Pitchfork and Paste is useless if you don't actually READ THE DAMN FEEDS.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 8:09 AM, ,
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
avett brothers ep coming this summer
From Paste Magazine:
Avett Brothers fans have something to look forward to (beyond the 4.5 quillion tour dates the group is working through currently, natch).
The band of brothers will cap off months and months (and months and months) of touring with a brand new EP on July 22, entitled The Second Gleam. Conveniently enough, it will provide Avettaholics with six brand-new songs just before the siblings headline the Koka Booth Ampitheatre in Cary, NC. Tickets for that show go on sale May 9.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 2:27 PM, ,
Friday, April 25, 2008
okkervil river in covington
There was one point during the show where the room was just filled with noise. It was like a piano being pushed down a flight of stairs, but somehow controlled and purposeful. The ghost of every pot and pan in the world was snaking through the crowd, picking people up by their chest and suspending them above the ground for a few seconds. Dirty and I both admitted to closing our eyes and just kind of letting it all wash over us. I don't do that. I don't close my eyes at rock shows. And if I do, I sure don't talk about it afterwards.Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 9:33 AM, ,
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
i should totally check myspace more
Yesterday my highly neglected Myspace page informed me that Okkervil River is playing in Covington on Thursday night. Dirty, GG, and I are gonna drive over and see them. Thank you Myspace. You may be ugly as hell and full of spam but you are not without your uses.Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe mp3 (via You Ain't No Picasso)
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 8:06 AM, ,
Monday, April 21, 2008
new wolf parade
One of Patchdrury.com's favorite bands is Wolf Parade. According to Stereogum, their new album drops on 6/17. Hooray!Here's a cut from their new album. Click on the title to play it in a seperate window, or click the arrow to play it on this page.
Call It a Ritual
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:32 AM, ,
if i was gonna hit a music festival...
It'd be Austin City Limits. Here's the lineup, bands I'd be particularly interested in are bolded:
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Spiritualized, Beck, Foo Fighters, Gnarls Barkley, N.E.R.D., David Byrne, Jamie Lidell, Man Man, Jenny Lewis, the Raconteurs, Band of Horses, Stars, M. Ward, Drive-By Truckers, CSS, Okkervil River, Iron & Wine, Hot Chip, Neko Case, John Fogerty, Roky Erickson, Vampire Weekend, the Black Keys, Del the Funky Homosapien, Silversun Pickups, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, the Swell Season, José González, Yeasayer, Octopus Project, Against Me!, Erykah Badu, MGMT, Manu Chao, Tegan and Sara, the Mars Volta, the Kills, Mates of State, Antibalas, Gogol Bordello, What Made Milwaukee Famous, and White Denim.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 10:51 AM, ,
Monday, March 17, 2008
playlist 03/17/2008
SeeqPod - Playable Search
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:03 PM, ,
Monday, March 10, 2008
my first album review
The Burnside Writer's Collective is a weekly online magazine that deals with faith, culture, and social justice. It's most famous contributor is Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz and To Own A Dragon. I recently submitted a review of the new Vampire Weekend album to them and they published it on the site. Go here to check it out. I'm really proud.I also received a very nice email from their music editor inviting me to be a part of future reviews - I'll post links as that begins happening.
posted by Patrick @ 8:10 AM, ,
Sunday, March 09, 2008
pistol report at the dame
As reported earlier, Charley The Intern's band, Pistol Report, played Thursday night at the Dame. It was an awesome show. Charley and his guys get better and better every time I hear them play. They're easily better than half the bands that ever make it on stage at the Dame.
The highlight of the show for Sara and I was a new song that Charley said "mentioned" us and some other folks. It was really awesome. Pictures follow. The whole set can be found here.
Labels: jerks, local, playlist
posted by Patrick @ 9:48 PM, ,
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
pistol report - live at the dame
Charley The Intern's band, The Pistol Report (formerly Have Gun Will Travel) is playing tomorrow night (Thursday) at the Dame at 10:00. If you haven't heard Charley play his own stuff before, you should definitely come check it out. It's a completely different experience than seeing him at St. Awesome's. You can check out his music over on his Myspace page.
Labels: jerks, local, playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:14 AM, ,
Monday, March 03, 2008
strangest combo ever
Back when I was in high school I was a big fan Christian music. Since then my taste have changed and a lot of the things I appreciate about music these days I find sadly lacking in most Christian music I hear.
As a former fan of Christian music I was sad to hear that Larry Norman, the man pretty much universally considered to be the father of Christian rock music, passed away.
The news inspired a little googling on my part - which led me to this surprising Pitchfork Media story. Apparently Frank Black of the Pixies is a huge Larry Norman fan - even going so far as to cover his songs and appear on stage with him a couple of times.
Turns out that Black and Norman were working on an album together - along with Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. What an awesome, yet strange combo. The album's due out later this year. Should make for interesting listening.
posted by Patrick @ 1:49 PM, ,
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
don't give up!
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 6:19 PM, ,
Thursday, January 31, 2008
avett's on tv (well, one of their songs, anyway)
According to their email newsletter, the Avett Brothers's song, "If It's The Beaches" (one of Sara's favorites) will be featured on NBC's Friday Night Lights this friday. I dont' watch the show myself, but I know James and No Nick Name Fred do. So keep your ears open guys.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 2:45 PM, ,
Friday, January 25, 2008
last fm just got more awesome
Last FM is a social networking site that revolves around music. You can see my page here. It uses scrobbling software to keep track of what music you listen to on your computer and generates stats based on that information.
As of a few days ago Last FM made it possible for you to listen to full tracks and full albums on their site. They also started paying artist for their music. I'm sure you don't care if some millionaire rockstar gets a few more bucks in his pocket - but apparently Last FM has also developed a means of paying independent artist directly. Theoretically, I could record a song, upload it, and get paid for every time it gets played. I say "theoretically" because I have no musical talent whatsoever. Anyway, that's pretty frickin' awesome.
So kudos to Last FM. If you dont' have a site, you should get one. It's a great way to sample new music. They have "If you like this, then you'll like this" functions to help you find stuff you'll enjoy.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 8:13 AM, ,
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
pygmy rattlers - full set
Here's a video featuring a minute or so of every song Sam & Nathan's band played at their gig in Florida. Special note to No Nickname Fred: There's two songs in their set from Juno - specifically Anybody Else But You and Loose Lips.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:25 PM, ,
playlist 1/22/08
SeeqPod - Playable Search
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 10:56 PM, ,
Sunday, January 13, 2008
the pygmy rattlers
For those of you who don't know, Sara and I are in St. Petersburg, Florida right now visiting her brother. St. Pete was the first extended stop on Sam Handwich and Nathan's tour of these United States.
We made the trip because Sam, Nathan, and a new friend of theirs got an opportunity to play a gig at a local lounge/hair salon called Star Booty (performing under the name The Pygmy Rattlers).
They did awesome. Sara and I were really impressed and proud. I took a little video of each song and I'm gonna compile them into one big clip and post it. In the meantime, here's the only clip small enough that You Tube would let me put it up without compressing:
posted by Patrick @ 10:23 AM, ,
Thursday, December 20, 2007
the colonel's top ten albums of 2007
The Colonel's top ten albums of 2007 is up over on his blog. Go check it out. Then tell him he doesn't know anything about music because he doesn't like John Mayer. He'll love it. Seriously.
Also, can you believe the Colonel listens to Radiohead? He doesn't look like he'd listen to Radiohead.
posted by Patrick @ 10:05 AM, ,
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
free okkervil river ep
Go here to download a free ep of Okkervil River doing cover songs. It's called Golden Opportunities. You can also download a jewel case cover and liner notes. Merry Christmas!
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 2:14 PM, ,
Monday, November 05, 2007
matt fraction on the mountain goats
So you might have read some stuff I wrote here on my blog about Matt Fraction before. He's totally my favorite comic book writer. He's the only one I've ever felt compelled to write an email to, even though I felt dumb and awkward after doing it. You might have seen me list his book Casanova as one of my frequent buys on my pull list posts. I just really like his stuff.
Reading a recent issue of Casanova I noticed a couple of lines of dialogue that appeared to be lifted from a Mountain Goats song that I love. I went over to Fraction's website and, like a nerd, asked him if they were indeed taken from the song. He confirmed that they were and I had a nice little inside moment where my favorite writer borrowed from a band I like and I recognized it and blah, blah, blah...
Anyway, Fraction was recently asked to create a playlist of his five favorite Mountain Goat songs by a website called Cable and Tweed. He spends a little time unpacking why he picked each song and how the band has made their way into his work. It's a really interesting read and showcases a lot of the reasons I love Fraction's voice.
Read it here. And as a bonus, learn about babies and the Startle reflex.
posted by Patrick @ 2:00 PM, ,
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
thirteen days of halloween - wolf like me
I talked a lot about TV On The Radio's album, Cookie Mountain, when it came out. The first single released from the album was Wolf Like Me. This song appears on the Halloween party playlist and has been dubbed Thriller for new millennium. Well, just by me. Nobody else has dubbed it that, but if you don't care what I think why are you coming here in the first place.
posted by Patrick @ 9:32 AM, ,
Monday, October 22, 2007
something old something new
Thrill as The Arcade Fire perform Keep The Car Running with Bruce Springsteen:
Gasp as they also perform one of Sara's favorite Springsteen tunes, State Trooper:
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 3:37 PM, ,
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
okkervil river pics
I didn't get any pictures of the Okkervil River show for two reasons:
1. My camera battery died and I forgot my charger.
2. There was a nigh-impenetrable wall of tall hipsters between the stage and I.
There were some pictures of the show on the NPR site, though. The pictures were taken by Joel Didrikson and are copyright NPR. I'm posting them here and linking back to the site they can be found on. If NPR or Mr. Didrikson would like them taken down, email me at patchdruryatgmaildotcom.
Apparently the entire band was getting sick prior to the show but you couldn't tell. They still shook, and screamed, and flailed about like rock & roll stars in perfect health.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 1:49 PM, ,
Thursday, August 30, 2007
paranoia in bflat major
Finally got some Avett Brothers videos from earlier in the summer up on youtube:
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 10:02 PM, ,
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
today's playlist
Decided to put up an actual playable playlist (I used to post playlist all the time - what happened to me? I used to be cool...). Really digging Seeqpod's embedable player. It's had just about every song I've done a search for so far. Of note on this playlist: I heard Where Is My Mind by The Pixies for the first time in years last night and fell in love all over again. Also - for The Colonel, that's not a typo on that Pete Yorn song. That's actually Pete Yorn doing Young Folks by Pete Bjorn. Weird, huh? Enjoy. Or don't. Whatever.
SeeqPod Music beta - Playable Search
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 8:32 AM, ,
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
okkervil river on tv
Thanks to BP for pointing out that Okkervil River is gonna be on Conan tonight. Double thanks to him for pointing out the video section on the Okkervil River website.
The following video may represent the best thirty seconds of concert footage of any band ever. I've seen Okkervil River play in a small little dive before - but this... this... with the full horn section, the cramped quarters, the framed pictures on the wall, the flashes freezing the room over and over again like a strobe light... You couldn't have staged that any better if you'd tried. It's like a band playing in the middle of a murder mystery. Magical:
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 8:59 PM, ,
new band of horses
You can download a new track called Is There A Ghost from Band of Horses' upcoming album (goes on sale in October)from their Myspace page.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 3:21 PM, ,
Monday, August 20, 2007
done for
If you see Sara sometime over the next... oh... I don't know, lifetime... and she won't stop smiling, it's because tonight she got her picture taken with Scotty Avett of the Avett Brothers.
They played at the Kentucky Theater tonight as a part of the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour. A lot of things that had nothing to do with The Avetts conspired to make it not the greatest show ever. It was all redeemed afterwards when Sara got to share a few words and snap a picture with the other bearded object of her affection.
In the interest of full disclosure, I also got a picture with my favorite Avett:
If you're unfamiliar, check 'em out:
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 11:35 PM, ,
1,2,3,4
Everybody, including Sara, loved this song by Feist months ago. I am slow and stubborn to jump on the band wagon when it comes to songs that involve counting, though. I blame it on the Count from Sesame Street. He was a vampire for crying out loud! Why would I want an undead, blood-sucking monster to teach me how to count? Screw you Sesame Street!
Anyway, this song is awesome. It followed me around all weekend like the learning-impaired little brother I never had.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 2:42 PM, ,
Thursday, August 09, 2007
ellis: partly right
Grouchy comic book writer Warren Ellis delves a little deeper into John Allyn Smith Sails from the new Okkervil River album. He's right in pointing out how well the track works, but completely wrong in his short analysis of the band as unremarkable and overwritten.
posted by Patrick @ 5:04 PM, ,
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
stage names = awesome
Gave the new Okkervil River a listen last night while Sara and I cooked dinner for her family. On the first pass it's fantastic. I need more time to sit with it and drink it in before I can really talk about it in the context of their past albums, but I could see this easily becoming my favorite of their albums.
The nicest bit was listening to the last track, John Allyn Smith Sails, and all of a sudden hearing Sara singing along even though she'd never head the song before. Turns out the last half of the song homages Sloop John B by the Beach Boys. I thought it sounded familiar but wouldn't have been able to put my finger on why as I never really listened to much Beach Boys.
Anyway, good stuff.
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 8:04 AM, ,
Friday, July 27, 2007
last night
The Avett Brothers were awesome last night. I've got pictures and video to put up, but my camera battery died during the show and I was too tired last night to mess with it when I got home. I've seen them three times since April and last night was far and away the best of the three shows. Especially the electric part of the encore. Seeing the almost exclusively acoustic guitar/banjo/upright bass trio move into a drum kit, an electric guitar, and an electric bass was unexpected and really cool.
The crowd was pretty rowdy and made things rough for a couple of the folks in our crew. Even obnoxious morons can't completely ruin an Avett Brothers concert, though, so everybody had a good time ultimately.
Prior to the show I had to speak at a children's retreat in Cincinnati. I was a little worried about making it back in time. Turns out my fears were ungrounded, though, because I was actually at the Dame in time to wait in line with everybody else. Coming back from Cincinnati I drove past Riverbend, where the mystifyingly popular Jimmy Buffet was playing a show. So last night I was momentarily caught in the yin-yang of the concert world. Avett Brothers = the bright, happy word of excellent musicianship and energy. Jimmy Buffet = the dark world of 40-something business types wearing khaki shorts, grass skirts, and smoking their yearly bowl. It almost ripped a whole in my personal space-time continuum.
Labels: dear diary, playlist
posted by Patrick @ 8:15 AM, ,
Thursday, July 26, 2007
tonight!!!
The Avett Brothers rock The Dame! Banjoy!!
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 8:29 AM, ,
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
get your tickets now
From the Avett Brothers mailing list:
Tickets for our show on July 26th at The Dame in Lexington, KY are going really fast. The promoter of the show has let us know that he thinks the show will sell-out. So please get your tickets now! The Corduroy Road kick off the show at 9:00 pm.
Thanks,
The Avett Brothers
posted by Patrick @ 11:45 AM, ,
Monday, July 23, 2007
david bazan @ the southgate house 11/13/07
Wahoo! David Bazan comes to Kentucky in November! To celebrate, enjoy his cover of Radiohead's "Let Down."
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 10:47 PM, ,
Thursday, July 12, 2007
ugh
Mastercard is using a terrible version of the awesome M. Ward song, To Go Home.
Here's what it's supposed to sound like:
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 9:52 PM, ,
Monday, July 02, 2007
avett brothers/cannonball run
Just bought tickets for Sara and myself for the Avett Brothers at the Dame on the 26th. If you're planning on going, you should get your tickets soon. This is an incredible opportunity to see a fantastic band on our home field. You don't wanna miss it.
That night's gonna be like the Cannonball Run for me because I'm speaking at a camp outside of Cincinnati and am gonna have to drive like Tom Selleck to get back in time.
In honor of the proceeding Cannonball Run reference, here's the outtakes from the movie. I wouldn't recommend watching them unless you've already seen them and, like me, have some kind of strange nostalgic fascination with them.
posted by Patrick @ 9:31 PM, ,
Monday, June 18, 2007
harnessing the power of the nerd for good
Seriously, how come I've never done anything this cool with my nerd-power?
Labels: playlist
posted by Patrick @ 10:58 PM, ,
Friday, June 01, 2007
avett brothers @ the southgate house, newport ky
Last night Sara, Sam Handwich, Nathan, Michelle, Charley The Intern and I drove up to the Southgate House in Newport to see The Avett Brothers.
It was an awesome show. Sara even said it surpassed the Damien Rice show that had previously held the title of "Favorite Concert Ever" for her. Michelle and Charley were only peripherally aware of the Avetts but I think they left the show as new devotees.
Here's some pictures.
First up, the Southgate House:
The very fancy marquee:
Charley and Sara waiting for the show to begin:
The Colonel told us to try and get the seats right above the stage on the right side. We snagged them with no problem. At first I was a little concerned that we might be staring at the back of their heads all night - and Charley was concerned about the sound. Turns out, though, we had a really nice view because they didn't stand still very much. And the sound was awesome because we were getting their monitor mix and the actual stage sound. We also got to see a lot of the stage business you miss in the crowd:
The real reason Sara loved the show was because at one point Nathan yelled out a request and the Avett's noticed us above them for the first time. Scott Avett said, "Hey y'all!" and waved at Sara:
As awesome as our seats were, I also thought it'd be nice to see them from the front, so I went to the back of the room to snap a picture:
There was some instrument abuse at the end of the encore:
Including a particularly risky move by the bassist, Bob Crawford, I thought: