Monthly Archives: December 2008

Deerhunter – Weird Era Cont.

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Artist: Deerhunter
Album: Weird Era Cont
File Under: Ambient Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, Atlas Sound
Featured Track: ‘Operation‘

Oh happy day!  Weird Era Cont., the second disc from Deerhunter’s October release, Microcastle, is out now.  I’ve been listening to it non-stop since yesterday and it more than holds its own as an album, unlike many bonus discs.  Both albums are on heavy rotation. I couldn’t be more excited about the music Deerhunter is putting out right now. And you should be too. As fellow blogger, This Recording, put it:

‘Bradford Cox is the indie rock Jesus, ready to die for our musical sins. This guy is gay, possibly a virgin, and frighteningly skinny due to Marfan Syndrome which will likely lead to a premature death. Is there anyone you could root for more? On top of that he put out what is arguably the best album of the year, and he helped reinvigorate a genre that was drifting into irrelevance – indie rock.’

What else is there to say?

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Rafter – Sweaty Magic Videos

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I loooove Rafter.  Mostly because he’s a bona fide freak who makes really compelling, interesting and fresh music. Fast on the heels of ‘Sex Death Cassette‘ (one of my favorite albums) comes his new EP called ‘Sweaty Magic’. A distinct shift from his prior work, this album is quite bootylicious.  As his label, Asthmatic Kitty, so aptly put it:

“Sweaty Magic is Rafter center stage in a gold Speedo (American Apparel banned at the door), firing lasers of love from his eyes. If you’re not shaking your booty by the second track, you might want to look behind you to make sure it’s still there.”

Asthmatic Kitty recently held a video contest and here are the winners to two of my favorite ‘Sweaty Magic’ tracks.  Go ahead and ‘put a little salt in it!’

Juicy Video

Salt Video 

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Blitzen Trapper – Furr

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Artist: Blitzen Trapper
Album: Furr
File Under: Americana
Recommended if You Like: Dr. Dog, Pavement, Band of Horses, Bob Dylan
Featured Track: Furr


Portland’s Blitzen Trapper has been stirring up quite the buzz for the past year.  Their last album, Wild Mountain Nation, made my ‘Best of’ list last year and was a darling in the indie music blogosphere.  While some people didn’t take to that album’s lack of focus, I adored their schizophrenic romp through musical genres.  It was very reminiscent of Pavement to me – weird and whimsical, which is a good thing.

The sound from their fourth album, Furr, is much more refined, honed in and mature.  They seem to have grown up and figured out what works for them. And it works very well.  Furr is like Bob Dylan meets Dr. Dog.  They’ve taken the folk/Americana genre and played it out beautifully. No longer does the group sound like a bunch of teenagers trying every passing trend on for size. This album is cohesive and exudes a kind of confidence and talent that comes with maturity.  It’s the real deal.

Blitzen Trapper plays tonight at The Independent in San Francisco.

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From the Basement: White Denim

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From the Basement is a UK-based music TV show that has launched a series of live performances from an impeccable collection of indie artists – like Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, The Kills, Andrew Bird, Beck and lots, lots more.  The program is featured on the Sky Arts channel in the UK, Rave in the US and, starting in January 2009, the IFC channel.

Until then, you can catch sneak previews of some performances.  Like this one from my current obsession White Denim. Click here to check out this blistering rendition of ‘All You Really Have to Do/ Mess Up Your Hair’. Oh yeah, these guys rock! Well worth the jump, I promise.

Watch White Denim now.

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Introducing MBV – The First Blog Conglomerate?

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No friends, this is not a My Bloody Valentine blog, though that was where my mind first went as well.  This appears to be perhaps the first indie music blog conglomerate, so to speak.  MBV is a new website bringing together five great indie music blogs:  Said the Gramophone, Fluxblog, Large Hearted Boy, Catbirdseat and Chromewaves.  All of their sites will be syndicated here and will include additional content as well.

An interesting concept and possibly an emerging trend?  Let’s watch and see.

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