My Vinyl Weekend

What a successful weekend it was! If one measures the success of a weekend by how many awesome records one buys. And everyone does, so, again, what a successful weekend it was!

What with finances being tight, I haven't wiled away as many hours searching for records as I might like these days. But on Saturday, my roommate and I took a walk down to Bedford Avenue and the first stop was naturally Academy Records. I love this place. It's 95% vinyl and 100% awesome. They even have an adorable cat!

Anyway, I wasn't planning to buy. That is, of course, unless I found Combat Rock, the only Clash LP I didn't yet have (Cut the Crap doesn't count as a real Clash LP). And I did find it. Along with the single for Rock the Casbah. And then I found Thriller, and I HAD to get that too! (I also found a HILARIOUS record that I can't post about just yet, but I will soon, promise). My roommate came away with a $4 big band-y Frank Sinatra record.

Monday, finding ourselves with another day off, my roommate and I headed down the block to The Vortex, a great junk/thrift store across from the Montrose L station (after egg sandwiches at our favorite cafe, natch). I was actually looking for a nightstand, but we ended up looking through the vinyl crates anyway. I was pumped to come across Black Market Clash, a B-sides and rarities LP. And I was THRILLED when I found Hunting High and Low, by A-Ha featuring, you guessed it, "Take on Me." AND THUS RETURNS THE DINOSAUR IN BROOKLYN TAKE ON ME PROMISE. Missed it, didn't you? To finish off the story of my great vinyl weekend, my roommate found a copy of Boston's self-titled (with "More Than a Feeling") that I informed her if she didn't buy, I would. And she did.

Ch-ch-ch-check it OUT:


Why yes, I did buy Rock the Casbah almost exclusively for that amazing cover.

Anyway, I spent way too much much money, but dancing with my roommate to "Take on Me" or sitting here now listening to "Straight to Hell," I am way too much happy. So it's worth it.

On a related note, Insound is having another Wharehouse sale coming up on October 23-24, in case you also want to stock up on some vinyl (or CD's or free beer). Here's the flier with details.

The Band That Brought Me Back to Blogging

I have a new favorite band. And I just had to tell you about it. Their name? Awesome New Republic.


[in the interest of full disclosure, before I begin, I should first say that the PR firm I'm interning for represents this band. Also, I know my supervisor has a google alert on the phrase 'Awesome New Republic' (Hi Andy!). But rest assured, I'm writing about them from a place of pure, unadulterated love, and nothing else. MOVING ON!]


So it's been awhile since I wrote about anything. And it's been a combination of a truly soul-crushing job search and a post-job search i'm-working-two-jobs-and-the-band-has-started-up-again schedule. But it's also been because, as I tweeted to a friend a few weeks ago, I haven't found anything that really excited me in awhile. Since my Clash phase was plateauing to an appropriate (and not crazed) level of appreciation, and I can't expect a new Pharmacists album till the Spring, I was stuck in a playlist of a few exciting tracks that quickly wore themselves out.

Enter Awesome New Republic.

The Miami duo are not only masters of the dance-floor beat but true musicians who experiment with laptops and synthetic sounds as well as interesting instruments and various styles. And they are able to do this without having strained vocals or an at times alienating weirdness (I'm looking at you MGMT!), or without having substance-less lyrics or a too serious attitude.

Their style seems to be in interesting juxstapositions. Take the introduction of their EP Rational Geographic, Vol. I, "National Insecurity/Rotary Clone." The first track is a brief ragtimey piano tune that abruptly transitions synth-driven, dance-floor burning track, complete with a spoken, auto-tuned shout of their own name, "A. N. R."And it works. OR take the very next track, "Birthday," a standard dance tune about falling in lust in a club. But it's sung entirely from the girl's perspective (sexy falsetto included). I mean, they describe themselves as Punk/Soul/R&B, things that you would never think would go together, but magically, in them, do.

Should I take a moment to mention that I'm completely in love with Michael John Hancock's voice? I want to take it out behind the middle school and get it pregnant, so to speak.

So, being familiar with their three most recent recordings, Rational Geographic, Vol. I & II, and the soon-to-be-released full-length Hearts, it's REALLY HARD to pick my favorite tracks. But here we go:

"Digital World"
(appears on both Rational Geographic, Vol. I and Hearts)



Slow-building, thought-provoking, and stick-in-your-head-worthy. Great example of what they do, and an obvious stand-out among their tracks.

"Dances When"
(but ONLY the version on RG, I NOT the version they re-recorded for Hearts (bad decision, boys...))

I can't understand a word, but damn if I don't sing along.

"Alleycat"
(lead single off Hearts)



Upbeat song about a hot-and-cold relationship is extremely infectious.

"Wheels No Engine"
(Hearts)
I love how they sing about riding their bikes (see also: "Magic City" on RG I). It's adorable. Plus this song is gorgeous (though it did have to grow on me a little). The breakdown toward the end gets me every time. I won't post it, cause the album hasn't come out yet, but when it does...

"Florida"
(and pretty much the entire rest of Rational Geographic, Vol. II)

Epic. and awesome. The entire EP is so cohesive. Thematically and musically. I love it.




So there you have it. My new faves. What I've been listening to non-stop. A few weeks ago, RG I & II were available for free from their website, www.anrmiami.com, but I don't see that they are anymore, which is sad for everyone.


so.... WHO'S COMING WITH WITH ME TO SEE THEM DURING CMJ???

I clearly watch too much TV...

... cause that's where I've been getting all my new music recently.

You've doubtless seen this fabulous Bacardi mojito ad:



He's walking through every era's parties! How cool! But what caught my attention even more was the rocking piano jam that every era is dancing too.

Turns out it's Matt and Kim's "Daylight," and it's my new favorite song. It's the only song of theirs I know so far, but it has encouraged me to want to explore their work. And let me tell you, I could listen to this song over and over. It's like happiness with a great beat and killer riff. Pop perfection.

Here's the video for the tune in its entirety. It's very "this is our lives as a cute couple! we play music i weird places! we smile a lot!", which is a bit obnoxious, but the song itself saves it from being too sugar-sweet.




side note: I was at Insound's warehouse sale last thursday and after picking a sweet copy of The Clash Live at Shea Stadium on vinyl, i checked out the free-with-purchase bin. Not only did I find a poster of a robot walking through the country shooting laser beams out of its eyes, but there was a 7" single of this very song! sweet!

Some Musics of My Summer (so far)

I find that my summers are often defined by my tunes. Last summer, for me, was all Voxtrot and Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin. I haven't found that one defining sound yet, but there are some tunes that I'm enjoying.

1. Crocodiles
Their trendy sound is at times a little too much, but I really like a couple tracks."I Wanna Kill" constantly gets stuck in my head, and is much more pleasant and summery-light than the title suggests. "Neon Jesus" is another gem, and the video is kinda sick!



You can have your Passion Pit, I'll take Crocodiles.

2. "Two Weeks"
Grizzly Bear is everywhere these days, what with the new album. And honestly, I'm not that into them, even after seeing them. Granted, their entire performance was wiped from my memory by be so thoroughly rocked by The National. So maybe it's not fair to judge yet.

Two Weeks


But I am definitely a fan of this track (even if the vid is less than inspiring until the 3:00 mark). I think it's the chunky piano and the smooth harmonies. It makes me want to be on a roof drinking wine and watching the sun set over Manhattan.

You can find an mp3 of this track almost anywhere. if you can't, you're not trying.

3. Discovery
... is bound to be the trendy thing this summer. I mean, memebers of Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot teaming up? Hipsters everywhere are wetting themselves. Most of it is ignorable. HOWEVER, "Carby (feat. Ezra Koenig)" is immensely fun and engaging (and I promise that's not just cause I'm in everlasting love with Ezra Koenig).



LOVE IT. I'm also going to highly recommend "Swing Tree" (it's SOOO summer) and "I Want You Back," yes, the Jackson 5 "I Want You Back," but a very unique take.

4. "I Fought the Law"
Classic.





Unfortunately, being so busy has inhibited my discovering new music, but I'll share as I find it....

PEACEEEEE.

getting my life together

I'll be back on track soon, I promise.

Things to look forward to? A few interesting things I came across while looking for an mp3 of "Single Ladies," an interesting Harry Potter find (relevant, I promise!), and probably more Clash (I did just watch Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten and am in the middle of reading A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash, so, you know)

For your enjoyment, a framed poster of Asia!

It was the heeeeeeeeeeat of the moment...

new favorite song

i wish i could have seen them live....

Video Flashback: Punk

The fruits of my labor; or, what I found while researching my presentation on punk.

Notice how Iggy alienates his audience.... the blood! such style! you gotta love a band that can tell you to fuck off and still rock your shit.



And the Clash... god, if i was a teenage girl in '83 (instead of not alive) I would have been so in love with Joe Strummer. He's so dreamy. Like, he just doesn't give a fuck what you think. How cool is that?




Now THAT is what it means to be a fucking rock band.

oh baby. i would nail him so fast...