Great MP3's

Muzzle of Bees has My Morning jacket B sides.
My Old Kentucky Blog and
You Ain't No Picasso both have unrealeased Neutral Milk mp3's.
Also check out
Indie Connection for a Sufjan Christmas.
Think Tank has new Belle and Sebastian tracks from their new album.

When Pitchfork Stabs Itself

Sometimes the experts are just wrong.
Pitchforkmedia is sometimes just flat out wrong. I am not sure if they do it for dramatic effect or what. To start off, it gave Belle and Sebastian's The Boy With the Arab Strap a 0.8 Review. I mean come on. This album is actually very good. The fact that they could give this a 0.8 and give, for instance, the new Sinead O'Connor album a 6.8 is baffling. I don't care if they are doing it for emphasis this is ridiculous. The song "Sleep the Clock Around" should in and of itself give it over a three. This album has many other songs such as "The Boy with the Arab Strap," "Rollercoaster Ride" and many others that are amazing.


Another mishap is their problem with Kings of Leon. For some random reason, they do not really like any sort of Southern music. They gave both albums terrible reviews. Reviews They gave each albums 4.2 and 4.9 respectively. Both of these albums are very different from any other albums. They poke fun at the song "Soft" calling it basically GRODY. This song is a very clever song and very good. Hey pitchfork, get over the Southern rock thing. It's much better than rap.











Another stabber comes with Bright Eyes Lifted. This is one of the best albums I have ever heard. They give it a mediocre 7.7. Review. I think Conor pissed them off with his line "I do not read the reviews, I am not singing for you." This album deserves a 10.0. It is very creative and completely different. The lyrics are amazingly written.




Pitchfork hates Death Cab. Transatlantacism is their masterpiece. Pitchfork gives it a terrible 6.4. Review. This is yet another very creative very different albums that is groundbreaking. Pitchfork has a hatred for Ben Gibbard because they are too cool for him. Although he did sell out by going major label, this album was before that.




Then we come to an undeserved pitchfork 10.0. Review.Bonnie Prince Billy - I See a Darkness. I mean come on. The album starts off with a bang with "Minor Place". Soon after this song end, break out the sleeping bags and teddy bear. The rest of the album is very boring. Although he is a lyricist, he needs to speed it up a bit. Don't get me wrong it is a good album, but not even close to a 10.0.

Next, we come to the My Morning Jacket Z. Here we go again with Southern rock. This album is a daring different album by one of the most underrated bands out there. Exactly what Pitchfork usually loves. They love a different follow up album. Well they give it a whopping 7.4. Review. "Wordless Chorus" should be enough to push it over eight just by that one song. The whole album is incredible.



Lastly, the clever Sun Kil Moon's Tiny Cities. This album consists of Modest Mouse covers sung by Mark Koselek's Sun Kil Moon. This is a great album. Pitchfork gave it a 3.0. ReviewAre you kidding? Every song on the album is solid. Modest Mouse without the lisp. Can you beat it?

The Sweet Sound of Humility: Bright Eyes in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium November 14, 2005

The Opening Acts: I accidentally missed The Magic Numbers but I caught most of Feist. She put on an amazing show. She sounded amazing and really captured the audience. I thought it was going to be too slow, but it was far from that. She put on a great show.

The Venue: Obviously the Ryman is an amazing venue. Conor kept talking about how much he could not believe he was playing on that stage (it is where the Grand Ole Opry used to be). Also, the place was packed.
Bright Eyes: Conor was a little drunk but nonetheless put on a hell of a show. He sounded great and was really into the crowd. He communicated the whole time with the crowd. I started out on the balcony and then noticed two empty seats on the front row. I spent the second half of the show about 3 feet from him. Aside from his spitting everywhere, he has great stage presence. He did not meat out about anything which was good and was very very appreciative about everything: the crowd, Nashville, the opening bands etc.
The Setlist: The Setlist was pretty solid. It was very diverse. He played stuff of almost all of the albums with a little lean towards the greatest album Lifted. Gillian Welch and her sidekick David Rawlings came out for the encore which was Long Black Veil it was truly amazing. When Conor said this is the last song I yelled out, "Let's Not Shit Ourselves" and he pointed at me and set let's play that and yelled for a timpany roll. I was very excited. Then we got a copy of the setlist, and I realized he was already going to play it so it wasn't as cool but oh well. At the very end he jumped up on the bass drum and then jumped off of it and fell down. It was pretty cool. All in all the show was amazing.
Sunrise, Sunset
You Will You Will
Calender Hung Itself
False Advertisements
Hit the Switch
Napoleon's Hat
I Won't Ever Be Happy Again
Old Soul Song
No-one Would Riot for Less
Falling Out of Love at This Volume
True Blue
Encore:
Long Black Veil*
Lua*
Revelator (Gillian Welch Song)*
Let's Not Shit Ourselves$
*With Gillian Welch and David Rawlings on Vocals and Guitar
$With Gillian Welch on tambourine and David Rawlings on guitar

The make out mix.

Mcphail's make out mix. For they shall chant his name.
1. Sigur Ros' - Staralfur
2. Chris Isaac - Wicked Game
3. Ben Harper - Sexual Healing
4. Mazzy Star - Fade into You
5. My Morning Jacket -Steam Engine
6. The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
7. Im0gen Heap - Hide and Seek
8. Coldplay - Fix You
9. My Morning Jacket - I Will Be There When You Die
10.My Morning Jacket - Wordless Chorus
11. Beck - Lost Cause
12. Sufjan Stevens - Casmir Pulaski Day
13. The Jayhawks - All the Right Reasons
14. My Morning Jacket - Just One Thing
15. Pete Yorn - Simonize 

Death Star: Death Cab for Cutie and Stars in Nashville, TN 10-28-05

Stars in Top Left. Death Cab in Others. Bottom Right is when Stars came out for Trans- atlantacism.

The Venue:
First of all War Memorial Auditorium was great. The sound was perfect and anywhere you were was a good spot. They had three bars set up, so no big lines. Also, we were probably the oldest people there. The place is like an old courthouse with huge columns in the front. Very nice place.
The Crowd:
I thought the crowd was going to be a let down. During Stars, they were dead. Nobody knew much of it. Most of the people were under 21(not that that is bad just weird). Indie kids are not very good fans. However, when Death Cab came out the crowd went crazy. They were very loud and singing.(probably because of the OC)

Stars:
I did not realize that Stars is a seven piece band. They sounded excellent. They played probably like the first 6 or seven off of Set Yourself on Fire. They also played some off of Heart. Afterwards, we met the band who were just hanging out in the side of the auditorium. They were very nice. All in all they put on an amazing show.

Death Cab For Cutie:
Death Cab exceeded my expectations ten folds. Luckily, this time Ben did not meat out about politics and what not. They played many songs off Plans but failed to play my favorite song: “Your Heart is an Empty Room.” Oh well. Transatlantacism made up for it. Stars came out and sang, “Come On” at the end. It was amazing.

Setlist:
Marching Bands of Manhattan
New Year
Why You’d Want to Live Here
Title and Registration
Photobooth
Soul Meets Body
Summer Skin
For What Reason
Company Calls
Crooked Teeth
Different Names for the Same Thing
Amputations
Movie Script Ending
What Sarah Said
Brothers on a Hotel Bed
Expo 86’
Sound of Settling
Encore:
I Will Follow You into the Dark
Tiny Vessels
Transatlantacism*
*with Stars

Spoon with Super Diamond at New Daisy Theater at Memphis, TN

Super Diamond is on the top left picture. Spoon is in the remaining ones.
















The Venue:
As always the New Daisy Theater was perfect. The place was decorated with Sin City theme which was obviously done by Spoon's agent or record company. All in all it was pretty funny though. They had pole dancers and casino tables everywhere with a Las Vegas backdrop. I think it was sponsored by Camel cigarettes.

The Opening band:
The opening band was hilarious: A Neil Diamond Coverband called Super Diamond. Many of us were singing along to all of the cheesy favorites such as: Coming To America, Love on the Rocks, Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon, Sweet Caroline. One cool part was at the end of Sweet Caroline they broke into "Sweet Child O' Mine." and sang the lyrics to Sweet Caroline. All in all they were amazing.

Spoon:
Spoon satisfied every need I had. They played every single song I wanted to hear. Off of
Girls Can Tell they played
"Me and the Bean,"
"Beleiving is art,"
"Lines in the Suit,"
"The Fitted Shirt" and
for encore my favorite "Anything You Want." and possibly others.
Gimme Fiction:
They started of with "The Beast and Dragon, adored," others they played on
"Sister Jack,"
"I Summon You,"
"Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine,"
"I Turn My Camera On" and
my favorite "Mathematical Mind" which they absolutely rocked out.
On Kill the Moonlight, they played,
"The Way We Get By."
"Two Stakes"
"Jonathon Fisk" among others.

The Crowd:

We decided that "Indie" kids are not very cool. They are too afraid to have fun at concerts. I miss the hippie crowd in my hippie phase. My friends and I were probably some of the oldest there and probably dancing the most. Indie kids just stare at the band.....More on this later with the Death Cab in Nashville review.

Scare-D Cat......Cat Power in Memphis.

Last Wednesday, I ventured up to Memphis for a concert. Cat Power was playing. I recommend never going to see her live. First of all, only one blue light shined upon her. You could barely see her. Then, she asked lighting guy to turn off that one “bright light” that was shining on her. The light was like a small blue flashlight and was the only means of seeing anything on stage. Cat Power live is entirely too slow. She was by herself and while her voice is amazing, I found myself bored. She alternated from guitar to piano. Then, the losers in the back kept being loud, and she started singing about how much of a boring bitch she was. Strange. After her sobfest, she started hammering on the keys, and then ran off the stage never to return. Don't get me wrong, she is an amazing musician. Her music is beautiful but a terrible live show. She has major social anxiety issues which is fine. But, come on, you are a musician. If you are that much of a freak, don’t tour. Someone please tell me why power is in her name. Excuse the dark picture for obvious reasons it was not my fault.

I Turn My Daisy On.

Spoon is playing at New Daisy in Memphis, TN on Wednesday. Who knew? I will be there. Stay tuned for pics and a review. 

Shake Your Rattlesnake Skin and Become a Part of Society

Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah! is still by far the cd of the year so far. Sorry for the repetition, but it is just too good not to re-emphasize. Go buy it if you don't have it.

Sun Kil Mouse

SUN KIL MOUSE

On November 1, Sun Kil Moon’s Mark Kozelek will release an album of Modest Mouse covers. Kozelek claims he went and saw them and was blown away. During their last tour, they would randomly play modest mouse covers and finally he decided why not make an album. WOW! Modest Mouse with no lisp!!! (please don’t kill me Isaac).
01 Exit Does Not Exist
02 Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
03 Neverending Math Equation
04 Space Travel Is Boring
05 Dramamine
06 Jesus Christ Was an Only Child
07 Four Fingered Fisherman
08 Grey Ice Water
09 Convenient Parking
10 Trucker's Atlas
11 Ocean Breathes Salty 

GO BUY THE NEW MY MORNING JACKET.
Anyone having trouble burning or ripping to your computer SEE BELOW
The Man will never beat us. PS ATO records was too lazy to make software for a mac. So if you have a mac you can rip/burn with no trouble.Anyone having trouble burning or ripping to your computer http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~jhalderm/cd3/or download software: http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

or download software:

Sufjan Stevens Nashville, TN September 24, 2005

Sufjan Stevens, Nashville, TN September 24, 2005 Mercy Lounge

I don’t mean to go on a rant or anything but, the evening started out as a bust.  As we pulled up to the Mercy Lounge, I thought we had arrived at Bonnaroo.  Doors were supposed to open at 8:00, and we arrived at 9:00.  In a sea of indie haircuts and tight vintage shirts, a line existed literally about 700 yards long.  I could not believe it.  I also noticed a many Michigan and Illinois T’shirts.  I went and asked the security guard who told me there was only two people checking ID’s.  Anyway, we stood in line for about 45 minutes and did not really move.  I decided something had to be done.  So, I conveniently eased into the front of the line like I knew what I was doing.  Then, I proceeded to get on the phone and act like I was giving directions so my five other companions who were “on their way to the venue.” 30 minutes later we entered the venue.  However, there was only one person checking ID’s for a venue that holds over 1000.  As we entered Wally World, excuse me Mercy Lounge, we find the place about a quarter full.  PS it is about 10:30 at this point.  Then, we skipped merrily up to the bar only to find that they could not sell alcohol for lack of security guards (shocker).  However, we were informed that we could go upstairs and drink but could not bring them downstairs.  We proceeded upstairs and pounded shots of tequila and whiskey.  I eased downstairs and found that the problem was a tranny (no kidding a man dressed like a woman) was the ABC officer who was in charge of this debacle.  Anyway, they finally figured out the deal, and they could serve.  The venue is nice but has many pylons throughout the place that obstruct your view.  The place is also very level so Napoleonic people are very discriminated against.  This is just my opinion I could be wrong. Enough pessimism.  On to Sufjan.  Sufjan came out dressed in stars and stripes with a Cubs hat, and his band had pom-poms and headbands dressed to a T as cheerleaders.  Wow, an eight piece band full of guitars, women, drums, a trumpet, a banjo, and a xylophone.  He really put on a show. He began the concert with his 50 states song which can be heard at INSERT HERE.  Then, he went into Illinoise full force. Songs ranged from Decatur, Come and Feel the Illinoise, Chicago, Casimir Pulaski Day, Jacksonville, Man of Steel, ETC ETC.  He did not play UFO or John Wayne Gacy, Jr, but oh well it was amazing.  One funny part of the night was someone who kept yelling Lord God Bird (the song he did for NPR) and some guy yelled out, “Way to Be That Guy!”  Everyone got a good laugh.  Other highlights of the night was Sufjan doing a cheer before each song.  They all would do a cheer about the particular song.  Sufjan could barely keep a straight face while doing them.  All in all it was an amazing show. I would highly recommend anyone seeing him.  He truly made it sound like the album with all the instruments and voices.  I never thought he could pull it off.  

Sufjan In Nashville 

Sufjan In Nashville 

Sufjan In Nashville 

Sufjan In Nashville 

Kings of Leon / Secret Machines / The Helio Sequence Live

Kings of Leon and Secret Machines and The Helio Sequence Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium August 20, 2005

Wow. First of all what a lineup! The Ryman Auditorium is an old church turned into a concert venue. The Ryman has great acoustics and does not have a bad seat in the house. We sat in the balcony, which I highly recommend. My only negative experience was the beer lines. Jeez lou EEze it took at while to get a beer. However, they had 32 ounce beers so not many trips were required. We got there a little late missing part of the Helio Sequence. But, I will say that they were very good. Who knew it is only two people in the band? Anyway, soon after they finished the Secret Machines graced us with their presence. I only have the cd Now Here is Nowhere, but they played many off of that album. They basically rocked. They were all dressed in white and flashed many white lights on the stage. Great scene. The last song they played First Wave Intact was amazing. It lasted like 8 minutes, but the crowd did not want it to end. Towards the end the lights were absolutely amazing because they were blasting with the guitars. But all things must come to an end, and by that time we were ready for KOL. As the Kings walked out on the stage, I could do nothing but laugh. Not that I am a fan of the sagging, baggy, Girbaud’s (Ja-Bows – for whoever was in a cave in the 80’s), but they came out with basically leggings. Thankfully, I was not too close to because my girlfriend would have probably left me, and I would have been disgusted. Tight is an understatement. Oh well, they still filled the rock star role. They began with Molly Chambers and ended with Slow Night, So Long. KOL were amazing. They rocked loud and hard. The crowd was very into it as well, with everyone singing and dancing. The only negative things I have to say is they only played like an hour and a half. I know all of their songs are short but come on. Also they did not play Joe’s Head or Talihini Sky which are two of my favorites. Re-Memo, Tranny, and Soft were highlights. Anyway, I would highly recommend the venue and the bands. Here are the setlists
Secret Machines Set listNow Here is NowhereSad and LonelyPharaoh's DaughterDaddy's in the DoldrumsLightning Blue EyesHarmoniaDe Luxe (Immer Wieder)I Hate PretendingGirl From North CountryChainsThe Road Leads to Where It's LedFirst Wave Intact Kings of Leon Set listMolly's ChambersTaper Jean GirlPistol of FireWasted Time RazzBucketSoftMilkRememo4 KicksVelvet SnowKing of the RodeoWhere Nobody KnowsCalifornia WaitingSpiral StaircaseHappy AloneTraniHoly Roller NovocaineHead to ToeSlow Night, So Long
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Secret Machines Live in Nashville

Secret Machines

Kings of Leon Live

Kings of Leon Live in Nashville