Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears singing the mantra du jour. Love the 70s homage in this video.
Author Archives: the OCMD
Love and Rockets Tribute Album
Reading the announcement that WOXY was exclusively previewing the Love and Rockets Tribute Album this week was like coming full circle for me. I grew up in Ohio and cut my teeth on WOXY (bam! The Future of Rock-n-Roll). And Love and Rockets was one of those bands they turned me on to, way back when in my formative years. So it’s with great satisfaction that this same station (to whom I hold somewhat accountable for my OCMD) brings these New Tales to Tell direct to my speakers -albeit in California not Ohio (thank god).
And judging by the line up of artists paying tribute, it appears as though Love and Rockets are getting their moment in the spotlight. This is a good thing too. I’m not sure how many more new bands I could take citing The Jesus and Mary Chain in their list of influences. The list of artists paying tribute include: THE FLAMING LIPS, BLACK FRANCIS, THE DANDY WARHOLS, MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN’S band PUSCIFER, A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, FILM SCHOOL, and more.
The Love and Rockets Tribute Album exclusive airs on WOXY, Wed. July 1 @ 9pm, Thur. July 2 @ 6pm, Sat. July 4 @ 4pm, and Sun, July 5 @ Noon, and then on-demand through the WOXY website. The album, New Tale to Tell, a Tribute to Love and Rockets, will be released digitally July 28 and in stores August 18.
Lhasa – “Rising”
So many music videos are produced so poorly and just plain boring. This one was quite the opposite. “Rising“, from Lhasa de Sela’s new self titled album.
Download Fanfarlo Debut Album for $1
Hey, do you like Arcade Fire? Then you’ll definitely like the debut album from Fanfarlo called “Reservoir“. They think so too and they want you to hear it. So until July 4th, the band is offering the entire album, plus bonus tracks, for just $1! Download it now.
But don’t let the cheap price fool you. The album is excellent. And I applaud their viral marketing efforts. I love to see new bands think outside of the box to get the word out and use innovative technologies such as TopSpin to enable those ideas. Bravo!
Video: Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”
7×7 Mag Reports on San Francisco’s All Ages Music Venue Battle
San Francisco’s 7×7 Magazine has now stepped into the mix to shed some light on our city’s battle to keep our cherished all ages music venues alive – such as Bottom of the Hill, Slim’s, The Fillmore and Cafe du Nord.
Stay involved and on top of the latest developments on this issue by joining one of the groups on Twitter or Facebook.
Free Album Download: The Layaways – “The Space Between”
The Layaways – “Keep It To Yourself”
One of the most brilliant things about music is the ability express a mood or articulate a feeling that you just can’t put into words yourself. Chicago indie rockers, The Layaways, do just that for me. I think La Blogotheque expressed it best when they said, “J’aime bien les chansons de The Layaways.” Moi aussi. Their bittersweet, melodramatic indie pop hooks tap into a kind of universal woeful lament that anyone can relate to at some point in time in their lives.
But best of all, the band is giving away their latest release, “The Space Between“, for free! Absolutely no strings attached. Go get it and enjoy.
Album of the Week: She Keeps Bees
Artist: She Keeps Bees
Album: Nests
File Under: Lo-Fi Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: Heartless Bastards, Cat Power, Nina Simone, PJ Harvey, Jack ‘n Meg
Featured Tracks:
No frills, stripped down, raw, lo-fi, bluesy indie rock. You like that kinda music? Me too. And this Brooklyn-based duo, comprised of Jessica Larrabee (vocals, guitar) and Andy LaPlant, gives it up in spades. The first hit I got when I heard their album was a stripped down version of the Heartless Bastards. Like Erika Wennerstrom and Cat Power, Larrabee’s voice has a similar bluesy, soulful quality. And given their relationship status (boyfriend/girlfriend) and blues rock vibe, it’s hard not to draw comparisons to The White Stripes.
Oh, and then there’s the songwriting! Powerful and seductive, it’s hard not to get caught up in Larrabee’s conviction on “Gimme” as she pleads “Gimme, gimme, give it to me daddy/ Work me like my back ain’t got no bone.” And my personal favorite, “My Last Nerve”, where she growls “Lord, I am tired of this same old bullshit…” just gets me every time.
Nests, originally self-released by the duo in 2008, has been reissued this year under Names Records along with their Revival EP. Go get it. You won’t be disappointed.
Thanks See What You Hear for turning me on to this one!
Grizzly Bear + Here We Go Magic at The Fillmore
I can’t emote enough about Grizzly Bear. I truly believe they are one of the seminal bands of our time and will inspire a generation of musicians to come. And they’re so young! But oh so talented. Each of them playing a multitude of instruments and contributing vocally to their beautiful, ethereal harmonies. The sound they create is simply symphonic. Their instrumental and vocal arrangements are so beautiful, well-crafted and of such far grander proportions I have a hard time lumping them into the category of ‘indie rock.’
As much as I love Grizzly Bear, as was just as excited to see Here We Go Magic. On the album, Luke Temple’s voice is on par with that of Ed Droste. In person, there’s absolutely no comparison. Mr. Droste wins hands down. I was actually quite disappointed with Here We Go Magic. Their album is great, it just didn’t translate live for me.
So with that, I’ll leave you with a video I captured from the show. It wasn’t until later did I learn that you’re not supposed to do that. I didn’t know! I don’t get to The Fillmore much. I usually stick to the smaller venues and shoot video no problem. It just seems a shame to let it go to waste. So I put it here with the pinky promise that – cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye -I will never ever shoot video at The Fillmore again.
Sunset Rubdown New Album
Sunset Rubdown, one of the many side projects of Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug, released their fourth LP today, Dragonslayer, on Jagjaguwar. Go get it! This album is all the talk right now. San Franciscans, the band will be playing The Rickshaw Stop Wednesday, June 24.
the OCMD 