A few days of that and you get this – my Sayulita Mixtape. Yup, this suits my state of mind right now. Just add surf, sand and cerveza and hit play. Enjoy.
1. Washed Out – “Feel It All Around”
2. Here We Go Magic – “Tunnelvision”
3. Atlas Sound – “Quick Canal”
4. The Ruby Suns – “There Are Birds”
5. Radiohead – “These Are My Twisted Words”
6. LCD Soundsystem – “Someone Great”
7. Flaming Lips – “Sagittarius Silver Announcement”
8. Built To Spill – “Done”
9. The XX – “Shelter”
10. Speck Mountain – “Angela”
11. The Shortwave Set – “Harmonia”
Whoo hoo! The 8th Annual Budget Rock festival kicks into high gear this week right in my backyard from October 22-25. The Eagle Tavern, Thee Parkside and Bottom of the Hill will play host to the West Coast’s longest running garage rock festival. Don’t miss the opportunity to see some great local garage rock, including The Gris Gris, Thee Oh Sees, The Fresh & Onlys, Nobunny, the legendary Mummies and more! The best line up for sure is Sunday, October 25 at Bottom of the Hill featuring nearly all of the aforementioned bands. Oh yeah, let the shitgaze begin!
Good food, good wine, good friends, good music. Do you need anything more than that? You can get all that and then some this Thursday, October 8, at the hottest restaurant in San Francisco right now – the Mission district’s Flour + Water- where the OCMD will be curating an evening of strictly local music.
This unassuming neighborhood gem has earned the praise of The New York Times, WSJ, and our very own Michael Bauer. Even though the entire town is busting down the doors of this place, the owners remain decidedly laid-back and committed to preserving the hip, low-key neighborhood vibe. Fitting with that theme, I’m excited to share the local love by featuring some of the best up and coming bands San Francisco has to offer. To celebrate the occasion, the restaurant has set aside several coveted tables to bestow on a few lucky readers for this Thursday. First four readers to email me at theocmd@gmail.com wins!
I’ve been long overdue for a mixtape. This is one I’ve been collecting for a while – pulling tracks here and there from the greater garage rock movement that’s exploding right now in San Francisco. This playlist is a subset of that sound that I’m really digging right now….lo-fi, fuzzed out rock with a distinct punk edge and surf riff. Or Surf Punk for short. Yeah, I’m sure I’m going to get a lot of flack for that label but what the hell. There’s a nice south swell in town, and if I’m packing up my long board and wetsuit to go surfing, you can bet this is the mix I’ll be listening to.
My rock-n-roll vacation is just days, hours away. I’ve been combing the line up of 1400 bands for weeks now. My list is made, I’m checking it twice and trying to keep the panic at bay as I struggle to find a way to fit it all in.
SXSW is the equivalent of Mecca for the indie music junkie, like me. It’s the place you go to discover the best new artists everyone else will be listening 6 months or a year from now, depending on where you fall on the music curve. And already I’ve found some gems. Here’s a sample of a few bands I’m particularly excited to see. Believe me, there are many, many more. Some of them are classics reunited – like Echo and The Bunneymen and Red Red Meat – others somewhat establish, but most are new to the scene and trying to break out. Enjoy!
My friend Erin had this print of an old British poster in her house that struck me. It’s a reproduction of an old slogan used to allay public fear during the outbreak of World War 2. The original poster was held in reserve for use only in times of extreme crisis. Although thousands were produced, only a handful ever saw the light of day. (For a reproduction of the poster, go to Keep Calm Gallery.)
Some 60 years later, I couldn’t help but think how fitting it was in this day and age where fear and uncertainty has reached epidemic proportions. It seems as though the world is on the edge of its seat, waiting for life as we know it to end sometime in 2009. Just how bad will 2009 be? The speculation is endless and the anticipation exhausting. It’s only January 1 and I’m already tired of it. And like a bunch of rubberneckers at the scene of an accident, we seem compelled to slow down and look at the wreckage, clogging up everything behind us. Too scared to do anything else. While I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions, I have decided to adopt this as my motto and modus operandi for 2009. I think we can all use a little more of that British ’stiff upper lip’ right now.
So Happy New Year folks. Let’s all just keep calm and carry on. In honor of our wise British brethren, I’ve composed a mix of some of my favorite UK-based artists and songs. Enjoy. And let’s keep on rockin’ in the free world!
Every year I host a music swap with my music geek friends where we share our top albums of the year. This year we spiced it up a bit by adding a new component – a mix of your favorite songs of 2008 by artists not represented in our Best Albums of 2008 list. (Ryan’s rules, not mine.) So here it is, my mix of some of my favorite indie rock tunes for 2008. I was struck by a lot of San Francisco local music this year and have noted those artists with an asterisk (**). I enjoyed the emergence of such good music from my hometown and hope you will too. Enjoy!
