Moving elsewares....

Putting posts on blogger is a bit of a pain and I feel like I don't have all that much to say. So, I've moved to an easier format that's more conducive to short posts. I like it better and the music links stay up longer. Check it out at:

The Velvet Frog

I hope you like it.

Okkervil River

The band Okkervil River is most definitely worth checking out. Unlike more disappointing bands like The Cold War Kids and The White Rabbits this band is able to put out music that doesn't annoy. Not only do they not annoy, they do whatever the opposite of annoy is. On their album The Stage Names they combine hints and traces of music genres that compliment each other into a musical chili where one ingredient does not overshadow the others. Their ability to mix and not annoy sets them apart from other more hyped bands who released music in 2007. Although they will undoubtedly never be as famous as they deserve they will be remembered fondly 20 years from now by music obsessive types; which is more than you can say about than most groups.

Okkervil River iTunes

Stand out track - John Allyn Smith Sails

Bob Dylan's genius is often taken for granted. Truly, sometimes it takes talented musicians doing a cover of his music for us to appreciate how good it really is. The Black Keys are one of the most talented and kick-ass bands of our generation. Here is their cover of his Wicked Messenger for the movie soundtrack I'm Not There, the Bob Dylan biopic. Oh, and a Rod Stewart led Faces cover too.

Wicked Messenger - The Black Keys
Wicked Messenger - The Faces

The Zutons

The Zutons are awesome. This song Valerie is incredible. It's so cool that even a crazy drug addict like Amy Winehouse decided to do a cover of it. Normally that would be a borderline insult but Amy Winehouse is awesome and most musicians are drug addicts to some degree or another. Here's two versions the Kick Ass Zutons version and the pretty awesome Amy Winehouse version.

Valerie - Zutons Version
Valerie - Amy "Crazy Drug Addict" Version

Cake

Here is a song off of Cake's recent Rarities album; it's their version of Barry White's Never Gonna Give You Up. It's pretty awesome. The album has 5 different scratch and sniff smells, that is less awesome. This song should have been on one of their regular albums. A few years back when they were more popular, that way more people could have been jamming out to this song. It's strength is in how funky and crazy sounding it is. The lead singer sounds like he wants to fight somebody in the song. Maybe he wants to fight his woman that he doesn't want to give up. And, as he says in the song, he's not going to give her up because quitting just ain't his shit.


Cake - Never Gonna Give You Up

Andrew Bird

This guy is wicked cool. The album I really like right now is 2001's The Swimming Hour. He mixes all sorts of music styles throughout the album making sure that each song is unique. This is the last album that Andrew Bird plays with Andrew Birds Bowl of Fire. According to Wikipedia this guy is proficient with the Violin, Guitar, Glockenspiel, and Whistling. Being an outstanding whistler sounds really dorky, but somehow it's actually a lot cooler than it seems. Here's my favorite song Dear Old Greenland (no whistling). Do yourself a favor and check out the rest of the album. If you're feeling extra crazy check out one of his other albums The Mysterious Product. It is also most excellent.

Andrew Bird - Dear Old Greenland

The National

I've never heard of these guys before but they seem really cool. There is a lot of stuff going on in this song, including some drums and horn business after the halfway mark. Their album, The Boxer, just came out recently. I haven't heard all of it yet, but I am excited to see what else these guys are all about. The lead singer has a sort of Leonard Cohen voice which is good, especially if you like Leonard Cohen.

Fake Empire - The National

iTunes