Music is My Girlfriend

Go Here Now

2011-04-23T23:25:00.000-06:00

Yup, inactivity. Go here now.

Electricity + Drums

2010-01-14T19:04:00.003-07:00

1/11/10 Show
Check out the full playlist.

Of particular note this week:

- Finally got around to playing The Shout Out Louds new track "Walls", which is the lead song from their upcoming album Work (out 2/23). Can't decide if this is just a little to schmaltzy for me, but if I liked "Ambling Alp" I probably have to like this...

- The Apparitions' "Electricity + Drums" was recently unearthed by I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, and I'd second her recommendation.

- Young Man appeared again on the playlist this week. Check out "Playtime".

- Many moons ago, I saw Pit Er Pat open for Tortoise, and I enjoyed the disheveled & playful prog-rock openers more so than the headliners. It seems as though Pit Er Pat has abandoned Chicago in favor of the warmer climes of L.A., and has decided to adopt M.I.A. as their muse. I don't fully approve of the change, but maybe you will: "Water"

Just A Growin'

2010-01-05T09:17:00.002-07:00

January 4, 2010 Show
Check out the full playlist from yesterday's show.

Of particular note this week:

- Nice mellow jam from Young Man, complete with some African-inspired guitar licks: "Just a Growin'". Wait till the last 45 seconds if it doesn't grab you right away.

- Totally unrelated to yesterday's show, but I just saw this posted to My Old Kentucky Blog. Haven't listened yet, but the post contains the words "Free" "DFA" & "Mixtape", so you should go download it now.

On New Year's Eve I received two wonderful bits of news that pretty much guarantee I will be having a pretty rad 2010:

1. I was honored as "Best KBUT DJ in the Butte" as voted by town citizens & visitors in a totally unscientific manner. I'm not sure how official these things are, but I'll take it as a compliment (as opposed to the people who call in to my show and tell me to stop playing "Dentist-chair Muzak").

2. I am now a paid employee of KBUT, serving as Music Director for the station. I'm incredibly excited & honored. What does this mean for this blog? I don't know yet, but I will be posting music updates to kbut.org in the near future. I'll keep you posted.

Best Albums of 2009

2009-12-28T11:23:00.003-07:00

Music is My Girlfriend's Best Albums of 2009
Counted down via radio on 12/21 & 12/28

In addition to the 25 LPs below, you should also check out the EPs released by Suckers & Airwaves this year.

25. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Summer of Fear
24. Papercuts - You Can Have What You Want
23. Jookabox - Dead Zone Boys
22. The Dutchess & the Duke - Sunset / Sunrise
21. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below
20. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
19. The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa
18. Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
17. St. Vincent - Actor
16. Yacht - See Mystery Lights
15. The Thermals - Now We Can See
14. The Antlers - Hospice
13. Dan Deacon - Bromst
12. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
11. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
10. Music Go Music - Expressions
9. Memory Tapes - Seek Magic
8. Girls - Album
7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
6. Handsome Furs - Face Control
5. Generationals - Con Law
4. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
3. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
2. Cotton Jones - Paranoid Coccoon
1. The xx - The xx

Check the playlists here and here. Astute listeners/readers may notice a mistake made on my part...

Second One to Know

2009-12-15T13:45:00.003-07:00

12/14 Show
With 2009 winding down, I tried to put together a show filled with many of my favorite songs of the year. Unfortunately, two hours was not nearly enough time to fit in all of the good stuff, so don't read the playlist as a definitive list. If you listen to the show regularly, you've heard most of these tunes before, but that doesn't mean you don't need to hear them over and over and over.

There was also some new music played this week:

- Ridiculously late on this one, but if haven't yet heard Charlotte Gainsborough's "IRM" (with help from Beck), follow the link(s) to download it now. It's really good.

- Fast, loose, fun: Harlem's "Friendly Ghost". And their album is named Hippies. What could be better?

- Surf, garage & punk rolled into one. Nothing new, in fact it almost sounds like a Soft Pack song (see below). Dirt Dress: "Sonic Death"

- The Fresh & Onlys, yet another band that can't afford a proper recording studio this year: "Second One to Know"

- Denmark quintet Oh No Ono will release their self-produced album Eggs early next year. Put it on your list. "Helplessly Young"

- Belle & Sebastian influences all over this one, with even more of a 60s pop sound: Gigi's "The Old Graveyard". The second song on this post to sing about graveyards.

- I'm a fan of the Soft Pack, and now we have a studio recording of "C'mon" to go with that Laundromatinee session a while back.

- Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett is preparing to release Rat a Tat Tat this coming March. Check out the R&B influenced "Love is a Dirty Word".

Coming soon... Music Is My Girlfriend's Top Albums of 2009

Careful With That Hat

2009-12-09T09:24:00.004-07:00

12/07 Show
Of particular note this week:

- Spoon unveiled (via NPR) the first new single from their upcoming Transference LP (out 1/19/09 in the US). The excellent "Got Nuffin" is on the album, but I guess that didn't count as the first single for some reason. Here's a live version from last summer if you're so inclined. Anyhow, "Written in Reverse" is pretty much the fuzzy, catchy, slightly cryptic power pop we've come to expect from Spoon. Not their finest, but it won't stop me from eagerly awaiting their new album.

- Citay isn't afraid to write 7 minute long songs with a wealth of instrumental solos & a dearth of lyrics: "Careful With That Hat". Bravo to them, we need more of this.

- Said the Gramophone recently posted their Best Songs of 2009. Artists I played off this list today: Micachu & the Shapes, tUnE-YaRdS, Bear in Heaven, Burning Hearts, & Bombadil. Absolutely worth checking out. In this day and age, Best Song lists seem more relevant than Best Album lists, even though we all love making them anyway.

- Both Air Waves & Neon Indian had Daytrotter sessions released this past week, and they're both worth your time.

- Van She cover Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper", and I guess I'm thankful they didn't take Christopher Walken's advice. (This "remix" did, and it makes me want to throw up).

- I have some close ties to the Portland, OR hip-hop outfit Good Biz, so I'm excited to see them coming to Crested Butte this Saturday. Should be a good time.

Check out the full playlist.

Birthday Radio

2009-12-09T09:11:00.003-07:00

11/30 Show
In celebration of my girlfriend Heather's birthday, I played a whole lot of music that she enjoys today. Among them: Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire, The Knife, Radiohead, Red Cortez, The National, Jonathan Richman, Cut Copy & many more. Awesomely, that's also a bunch of music that I like.

Check out the full playlist.

Also, this; because "music videos are so much easier to digest than movies":

What's In It For?

2009-11-24T10:06:00.004-07:00

11/23 Show
Of particular note this week:

- One of the great joys of the internet is that you get access to widely prolific songwriters like Bradley Cox, who seems to have another wonderful release every week. His Atlas Sound alias covers the Five Discs' doo-wop gem: "Doctor"

- This has been around for a little while, but somehow it crossed my radar recently: Avi Buffalo "What's In It For?". Reminiscent of Band of Horses, but with a little less cliched yearning.

- The new single from Beach House surfaced this week: "Norway". It might be my favorite of their work, but I'm still not sold on this band.

- Aquarium Drunkard's most recent rare-find: Kim Fowley, who incidentally produced some of The Modern Lovers early work. Check out "International Heroes".

Here's a wealth of lo-fi goodies for the week:
- Sandwitches: "Back to the Sea"
- Magic Kids: "Superball"
- Light Pollution: "Oh, Ivory!"
- Andrew Cedermark: "Hard Livin'"
I'm starting to get sick of this sound. Maybe I just need to quit going to Gorilla vs. Bear.

Check out the full playlist.

Filled in for Monday's late night "Drinking in Bed" program last night. Here's the all-jazz playlist.

Albums of the Decade

2009-11-24T09:58:00.003-07:00

A recent round of emails between friends prompted us all to list our favorite albums of the decade. Here's my rather quick list in chronological order (I'm sure I'm forgetting several)...

Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica (2000)
The Stokes - Is This It (2001)
White Stripes - White Blood Cells (2001)
Wilco - Yankee Hotel (2002)
Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (2002)
Beck - Sea Change (2002)
The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)
Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise (2005)
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)
The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine (2006)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - self titled (2006)
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (2007)
MIA - Kala (2007)
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (2007)
The National - Boxer (2007)
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours (2008)

Compilations:
Belle & Sebastian - Push Barman to Open Old Wounds (2005)
Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08

As for 2009? You'll have to wait till the end of December to see what tops this year's list.

Traveling With Moving

2009-11-07T21:31:00.005-07:00

I'll be back in the heartland for the next week+, so there will be no Music is My Girlfriend shows on November 9th & 16th. Look for a triumphant return to my normal slot on the 23rd. I'll also be filling in later that night (10:30pm-12:30am MT). Perhaps a proper "DJ" set???!!!!

Anyhow, thanks for your undying support.

In other news, here are some roadtrip thoughts after the ~20 hour drive to Chicago:
- Iowa's "Modern" Rest Stops are outstanding. The entire Interstate system should have wireless. (The non-Modern ones are not so great, but I did urinate on some corn stalks).
- Why do people build nice houses in the country within yards of the interstate?
- Hotels are overrated. Bring a sleeping bag & nap in your trunk!
- David Sedaris solely accounted for 5+ hours of wonderful drive time listening.
- Mike's Mexolina is not nearly as delicious when it's room temp. Same goes for Green Chile Pesto.
- How did it take me so long to jump on the podcast bandwagon?
- Caribou makes a mediocre cappuccino.
- Traveling with a french press is severely underrated.

Stick Up For Yourself, Son

2009-11-04T13:48:00.007-07:00

11/2/09 Show
Of particular note this week:

- Loving this new track from Brooklyn's Yeasayer. Seriously, check it out. Add their album to 2010's growing list of releases to potentially wet yourself over.

-Indianapolis' own Jookabox had quite a torrent of videos & music at MOKB last week. "You Cried Me" is a terribly fast acoustic stomp (thus, altogether different from the previously posted "Phantom Don't Go"). KBUT just the album, I'll let you know what I think...

- This kind of lost outsider rock seems be unearthed every week, and its almost always amazing. Psychedelic funk from early 70s Nigeria: The Strangers "Two to Make a Pair"

- Fuzzy girl-group rock courtesy of The Sandwitches: "Marry Me" & more...

- Air France adds a nice old school hip-hop feel to this dance floor ready track: "Spring (Air France remix)". IF I had any DJ gigs planned, you might hear it.

- Hadn't heard of NoahJohn until this Aquarium Drunkard post. Good for an alt-country storytellin' fix.

- The White Rabbits stopped by the Daytrotter studios recently. Also, The Antlers session is perhaps more worth your time, even if I didn't play any of their tunes on Monday.

- LO-FI WARNING: Wild Nothing "Confirmation"

Check out the full playlist

Little Bird Courage

2009-10-26T15:45:00.003-06:00

10/26/09 Show
Of particular note this week:

- Here you have Ernie Graham, a man whose self-titled LP from 1971 deserves some time with your ears. The two songs available at Aquarium Drunkard are the kind of soulful, bluesy ballads that no one seems to be making anymore.

- Surf City display a slighty new sound with the swirling guitars & effects on this hazy jam: "Autumn". My brother's friend's blog, Someday I'll Be Dignified & Old, first informed me of Surf City, and I couldn't thank him enough. Chad, KBUT's music director, saw these guys at CMJ in NY last week and said they were great.

- Terrificly rumbling folk-rock (complete with trumpets!) from the lead singer of The Appleseed Cast: Old Canes - "Little Bird Courage". This is really good.

Check out this week's full playlist.

Only Wide Eyes For You

2009-10-21T11:21:00.005-06:00

10/19 Show
Of particular note this week:

- Devendra Banhart has been on a bit of a roll lately, what with his stellar remix of Phoenix & a few of the sampler tracks from his upcoming album What Will We Be (Oct. 27th). I especially like this propulsive, sing-a-long track that seems tailor-made for driving: "16th & Valencia Roxy Music". I'm officially looking forward to the release date.

- Woods stopped by the Daytrotter.com studios to record some sterling songs. Especially check out "Suffering Season".

- Really liking the new track from Local Natives: "Wide Eyes". These guys have a promising future ahead of them.

- The Tallest Man on Earth also recently recorded at Daytrotter, notably covering Bob Dylan's "I Want You".

- "Plodding, space-jam" sounds about right for this one: check out Tickley Feather's "Don't Call, Marilyn"

- Summer Camp covers a song The Flamingos made famous 50 years ago: "I Only Have Eyes for You". Interesting, but I'll take the original.

Got two requests today: MGMT's "Kids" & The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done" (you know, the "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier" one). I heard Phish is considering covering MGMT's Oracular Spectacular for its Halloween show this year. I politely ask them to reconsider, seeing as there are only 4 good songs on the album.

Also, I helped reunite a lost dog with its owner, thus illustrating the power of community radio. Makes you feel all warm & fuzzy inside.

Check out the full playlist

Sci-Fi Chefing

2009-10-11T12:00:00.002-06:00

No Music Is My Girlfriend this week (10/12), as I'll be out of town cooking for the film crew of a lo-budget sci-fi film in New Mexico. Yea, you read that right.

Luv Goon

2009-10-05T17:13:00.004-06:00

10/5/09 Show
Of particular note this week:

- Free Energy has already released one of my favorite tracks of the year in "Dream City", so I was excited to see another song of their's emerge onto my radar. "Something in Common" wears its Strokes & Phoenix influences on its sleeve, which isn't a bad thing. Still, its no "Dream City", but I just bought the EP on iTunes anyway.

- Vampire Weekend created quite a stir today. A countdown clock appeared on their website, and upon striking zero (roughly 12:30pm MT), a new song was available for download! Check out the intriguing "Horchata" at their website. Their album Contra sees official release on January 12th in these parts.

- The upcoming Los Campesinos! release keeps getting better. Stream the terrific new single - "There Are Listed Buildings". I can't wait till "early 2010".

- Julian Casablancas, (former?) lead singer of The Strokes, drops his Phrazes for the Young album in a couple weeks. Check out the quite good lead single "11th Dimension", which finds him crooning over surprisingly complex electronic instrumentation Stream it here.

- Pearl Harbor are shaping up to be among the most consistent and best of the lo-fi wave. Aren't we all just Luv Goons?

- Brilliant Colors shared this noise-laden pop ditty with the world: "Absolutely Anything"

Check out the full playlist

Too Much Love?

2009-09-28T18:31:00.006-06:00

9/28 Show
Of particular note this week:

- You may have heard of The XX by now, but if you haven't given their music a chance I'd implore you to do so right now. Four kids out of London shouldn't be making music this mature and emotionally charged. We finally got their debut album at KBUT and it's fantastic. Check out "VCR" and "Basic Space", then listen to more at their Myspace.

- Devendra Banhart, surprisingly, turns in my favorite Phoenix remix to date with this slowed-down, wistful take on "Rome" from this year's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart = Rome (Neighbours with Devendra Banhart remix)

- Sufjan Stevens is doing a short tour (stopping in Bloomington tomorrow night!) and has been performing some new material. Check out "Too Much Love", featuring a very new sound from one of today's most innovative artists.

- The blogs are all over this one: Nathan Williams of Black Lips & Jared Swilley of Black Lips got into quite a fracas this weekend in Brooklyn. As My Old Kentucky Blog astuted noted, this gives the Black Lips song "Short Fuse" a whole new meaning. Also, I still think "Short Fuse" would be perfectly rad for a ski movie segment (maybe I'll get on that this winter!). Read all about it and try and make sense of what happened: GvB / Pitchfork / Brooklyn Vegan

- Superior lo-fi garage rock from The Mantles = "Don't Lie". Guess I should track down that album.

- Pulsating, slightly dark tune from Brooklyn's Bear in Heaven = "Lovesick Teenagers". I like it.

- Sometimes language gets in the way of things. Let [ingenting]'s "Halleluja!" make you happy.

- New stuff from Alec Ounsworth, the frontman for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Interesting stuff here: "That is Not My Home (After Bruegel)"

Check out the full playlist

And, yes, I'm still working on that Monolith Festival recap...

Monolith Recap

2009-09-23T18:42:00.015-06:00

Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Here's my long awaited recap of Saturday at this year's Monolith Festival, held every September at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater just outside of Denver, Colorado...

Heather and I got to Red Rocks at about 11:30, half an hour before the gates were supposed to open. It was a chilly, overcast day that eventually turned into a raining mess. Neither of us had enough clothing to stay warm nor dry for the entire day, but we had food and enough money for a long afternoon of beers to keep us warm. For reasons still beyond my understanding, our particular gate didn't open until 12:30 (half an hour after they were supposed to). Much to my chagrin, Generationals had already started playing at the underground Woxy.com stage by the time we made it down there. I'm still bitter at festival organizers &/or Red Rocks security for this mishap.

Generationals

Anyhow, Generationals proved to be a wonderful opening act at Monolith. Four youngsters out of New Orleans treated us to energetic, well-crafted indie pop-rock. The two male singers/guitar players were clearly the heart of the band, as the drummer and keyboard player stuck to simple beats and chords that, nevertheless, provided a steady backdrop for each song. Clearly, Generationals know how to write quality songs & I reckon they will only get better as a band. All the highlights from their debut album Con Law sounded great, although I wasn't too keen on their down-tempo version of "Wildlife Sculpture."

Feeling pretty great after the exuberance of the Generationals show, Heather and I wandered into the nearby Radius Earphones stage (the other underground venue) to check out Stars of Track and Field. Hoping they were named after the Belle & Sebastian song, I figured they couldn't be half bad. I couldn't have been more let down. Three aging, smug L.A.-types burst onto the stage and started pounded out heavy alternative riffs that would've sounded dated 10 years ago. Heather and I looked at each other, laughed, and decided to go get a beer. I decided the lead singer of Stars of Track & Field was probably the last person at the entire festival I would've wanted to hang out with.

While getting a quick drink, we caught a song or two of Autovaughn, and while they weren't as terrible as SoT&F, they didn't inspire us to stick around and listen in the cold weather. We also noted their lead singer as the arrogant guy we saw fighting with the security guards earlier. What is it with terrible guitar rock bands that have over-arrogant lead singers?

The Antlers

The Antlers played the indoor Woxy.com stage to a packed house. Whether this was due to the souring weather or their recent "Best New Music"-stature courtesy of Pitchfork.com is up for debate. At first, I was taken aback by their loud & powerful sound that seemed a departure from their often acoustic & gentle album. The resulting sound slightly reminded me of The Walkmen. Once I got past the new sound, I was treated to one of the most openly emotional and heart-wrenching shows in my memory. Sure, the album itself is devastating, but its all the more so powerful in a live setting. "Two" in particular was intensely amazing. Seeing The Antlers live made me want to revisit their album, which is one of the better & more practical compliments of a live show I can think of.

Thao With the Get Down Stay Down
While the weather briefly let up, we headed down the myriad stairs to check out Thao With the Get Down Stay Down on the main stage. I only caught a couple Thao songs, but they all sounded pretty darned good. Her ecstatic on-stage presence & expertly malleable voice propelled their intricate pop-rock on the main stage. Worth checking out, especially at a smaller venue I would imagine.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

My friend Alex had turned me onto Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros during his visit to Colorado a month ago, so I was somewhat excited to see their hippie collective in person. The large, free-wheelin' band provided perhaps the most carefree & energetic live show of the day despite their repeated claims of being frozen (they're from L.A. and seemed to have every piece of clothing from their tour bus wrapped around themselves). The crowd lapped up their positive, genre-spanning songs that seem to be a fusion of Arcade Fire & Devendra Banhart. An elderly gray-haired couple in front of me held their hands to the sky during the whole show, earning themselves a place on my short list of heros. How could you not love this guy?:

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have released one of my favorite albums of the year to date, so excitement was high going into this set. They didn't disappoint as they played most of their album cuts and few new songs that all sounded great live. I was pretty pumped after their set, but I couldn't help but wonder how I would have felt if I knew none of their songs and had just stumbled onto their show.

Cymbals Eat Guitars
It was too cold & wet outside to check out The Walkmen, so Heather & I stayed inside to view Cymbals Eat Guitars, another Pitchfork "Best New Music" recipient.

Let's check the notes: "I like 2/5th of each song" - "Talented, but not my bag" - "Don't want to give their album a 2nd chance". That pretty much sums up their live show for me. Sure, they have the chops, but shouldn't that make me give their album another listen? My buddy Chad (KBUT's Music Director) added, "Too much screaming", while my friend Kelly (another KBUT DJ) thoroughly enjoyed their show. Decide on this band at your own peril.

Cotton Jones

Cotton Jones have quietly released one of my favorite albums of the year, so I was sure to get a front row spot at the Woxy.com stage for their show (it didn't hurt that it was cold & wet outside, and due to fire capacity, we probably could not have left the underground and been let back inside in time for their performance). All in attendance were treated to great songwriting combined with woozy country & blues inspired indie rock. In retrospect, this was probably my favorite performance of the day. These videos of them performing live for My Old Kentucky Blog / Laundromatinee don't quite do them justice (where's Whitney's organ?), but they're worth checking out to hear their accomplished sound. Their debut Paranoid Cocoon is the kind of album I'd like to own on vinyl.

Girl Talk

Yep, it was raining. Having seen Girl Talk before in a small venue, I was somewhat disappointing in how his act translates at a big venue. Sure, the weather sucked and I wasn't close to the stage (or dancing on it), but the energy of his party atmosphere just didn't translate for me. Furthermore, he seemed to be doing more actual "DJ-ing" since I saw him last summer, which is to say that he mixed up his pre-made vocal & instrumental tracks rather just slapping together things that worked on his albums. I'm not sure if this procession towards more live control is a good thing or a bad thing in his very unique case.

Of Montreal
It wasn't quite as enthralling as their show at the Ogden last fall, but I'll take a live Of Montreal show over pretty much any other every day of the week. It was a crazy, silly, loud, & energetic set featuring a short version of the bizarre stage theatre from their last tour (tiger-headed tuxedo men, scarlet-robed demon priests, bejeweled ninjas, & body-suit muscle men all populated the stage). The set list centered heavily on their last two albums, with "She's a Rejector" providing the climatic spirit needed to send the large crowd into a frenzy. Who cares that it was bitterly cold & raining, or that my ears were practically bleeding? It was a great time. Go see Of Montreal.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Headed down to see Saturday headliners the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the main stage after Of Montreal. They sounded incredibly polished & professional as they played a nice mix of both new & old songs. My only complaint: pretty much every song utilized a repeating, pedal-looped guitar pattern from Nick Zinner which sounded great until everyone else stopped playing and all you heard was the repetitive buzzing until he walked over to his pedals and turned it off. This seriously happened on every song. Can't they get someone backstage to fade out his pedals? It got to be really annoying & made for poor segues in between songs. Still, they sounded great overall & Karen O was a joy as a jubilant & mildly out-of-control front woman.

Final Thoughts
While last year's Monolith festival left me with wider questions about electronic-based bands in a live setting (which I never did write about, dang), this year's fest left me wondering about the future of the festival. Don't get me wrong, its a great event, but its almost getting too big for its venue, and the venue is one of its strongest selling points in the first place. What are they going to do about the constant fire-capacity issues at the underground stages? How are they going to book "indie" bands that are fully capable of a transcendent performance on the massive main stage? How can they better handle the ever-present Colorado-in-September weather issues? Can they figure out anyway to allow on-site camping? How about re-entry (its an 11 hour festival and they won't even let you go back to your car, which is a real issue when the weather is bad)? It seems as though the Monolith Festival is going through some growing pains, and I surely hope the good people that run the event can come up with some creative ways of solving these issues which will only get worse in coming years.

I Felt Stupid

2009-09-23T10:34:00.002-06:00

9/21/09 Show
Of particular note this week:

- It's snowing in Crested Butte, but if you're still soaking up summer's rays I'd recommend "I Felt Stupid" by The Drums as a soundtrack. It's not exactly "an altogether new thing" as the track-ending sample suggests, but it might be the song of the week.

- The Soft Pack: they play fast, clean punk-pop that is more reminiscient of early Green Day than, say, The Thermals. Plus, they have a rad stand-up drummer. Check out a couple new songs and videos at My Old Kentucky Blog. Saw them at Monolith a couple years ago (I think they were still calling themselves the Muslims back then), and they were great.

- A new song from Brooklyn's Suckers has surfaced, and sadly, its my least favorite of their efforts to date. Too much buildup for a song that goes nowhere on a stately beat.

- Basic, happy, affirmative pop rock from the Parson Red Heads. Nothing revelatory, but nothing to scoff at.

Check out the full playlist

All Yr Songs

2009-09-14T18:08:00.003-06:00

9/14 Show
Of particular note this week:

- Los Campesinos! explore a darker subject & sound on this new title track from their upcoming album. Great to see them experimenting and growing as a band - "The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future"

- Havn't seen his new album at KBUT yet, but I may need to seek out AA Bondy's When The Devil's Loose on my own. Check out "I Can See the Pines Are Dancing", a nice, more upbeat number from the gifted songwriter.

- Arresting little love song from Diamond Rings: "All Yr Songs". I'm a big fan.

- Not my favorite track yet from The Very Best, but M.I.A.'s vocals fit well with their sound: "Rain Dance (ft. M.I.A.)"

- Grampall Jookabox is now just Jookabox. He added a full band and seems to be recording the best music of his career with "Phantom Don't Go". Good to see something innovative coming out of Indianapolis.

- Looking forward to hearing the new album from King Khan & BBQ Show, as this title track is thoroughly pleasant (if less frantic & rough than some of their other tracks): "Invisible Girl"

- This week's buzzy lo-fi entry: a lovely ditty from the Smith Westerns: "Imagine Pt. 3"

- Two different worthwhile tracks, one link. First, listen to Heavy Trash's heartfelt & slightly silly bluesy-garage-rambler "Gee, I Really Love You". Then, try the pop sing-a-long "Flaming Arrow" by Jupiter One.

- Great sound on this new track from The Swimmers: "What This World Is Coming To". Love the keyboards & the handclap sound of the drums.

Check out the full playlist.

Monolith Festival Preview

2009-09-01T14:09:00.004-06:00

8/31 Show
Colorado's best music festival is rapidly approaching, so I spent the entire 2 hours of my show on Monday playing bands that will be performing that glorious weekend of September 12 & 13th. (Why this week and not next? Well, I'll be on a pontoon boat and not on the radio on Labor Day.) I may only be attending Saturday of this year's festival, but that one day has a loaded lineup while Sunday only has 2-3 bands I would actually be excited to see (Phoenix & the Thermals). Saturday's eagerly anticipated performances include: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Of Montreal, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Girl Talk, Generationals, M. Ward, Walkmen, DOOM, Edward Sharpe & The Magnificent Zeros, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, Starf*cker, Cotton Jones, Antlers, & Cymbals Eat Guitars. Not a bad day right there.

Check out all the pertinent info right here: Monolith Festival. Hopefully I'll get some notes up on this site after the show this year.

Check out the full playlist from Monday's show.

Jackhammer Friends

2009-08-25T14:51:00.004-06:00

8/24/09 Show
Of particular note this week:

- Started the show off with three 60s French girl groups. What could be better than that? All three songs I played are available at Aquarium Drunkard.

- Surprised I haven't linked to this song yet, but if you follow any blogs you've probably heard it before. Still, its a pretty sweet melancholy tune from San Francisco's Girls (who released the awesome "Lust for Life" earlier this year"). Give this one some time to win you over: "Hellhole Ratrace"

- The Very Best are up to it again, providing us internet-types with the B-side from "Warm Heart of Africa". Can't wait to hear this song remixed (not that it needs to be). "Yalira"

- New song from The Spinto Band, who seem to fit the Park the Van Records sound very well. Not my favorite track of theirs, but we'll see the rest of this EP turns out. "Jackhammer"

- The title track of Luke Top's Friends is a nice folky sing-a-long affair. Evidently Luke Top was also behind that Fool's Gold song I liked so much last week (it's on the LSTN #6 compilation).

- Feels like it has been used in a Wes Anderson movie, but I'm quite certain it hasn't: Scott Walker - "30 Century Man"

- In need a good roller skating song? Washed Out - "Belong". Unfortunately, Washed Out doesn't know how to end a song (have a listen).

Check out the full playlist

My Will is Good

2009-08-25T12:14:00.003-06:00

8/17/09 Show
Of particular note this week:

- My friend Alex turned me onto Edwarde Sharpe & the Magnificent Zeros during his visit to Crested Butte. As many others have said, they have sort of a Devendra-Banhart-meets-Arcade-Fire sound. I'd say their album Up From Below has a number of standout tracks you should listen to, including "40 Day Dream", "Janglin" & "Home". NPR has a short article on them.

- Another track from Port O'Brien's new album Threadbare is making the rounds. I'm rather excited about this one: "My Will is Good"

- Excellent new song from Volcano Choir, featuring Wisconsin's most popular cabin-dweller, Bon Iver. Good stuff here: "Island, IS"

- Pulsing, beautiful acoustic jam: Taken By Trees - "Watch the Waves"

- Another quality free mix from Urban Outfitters = LSTN #6. Be sure to check out Fool's Gold & Fortune Teller, among many other artists you've already heard about on this site.

- Awesomeness ensues when two of the best "garage" acts around (Black Lips + King Khan) combine to form The Almighty Defenders. Download two tracks from their upcoming release here (scroll down a bit).

- Another lo-fi, psychedelic summer jam from Family Portrait = "On the Floor"

- Evidently no one can afford quality sound recording equipment this summer:, making lo-fi the true sound of the recession. Check out this hummable tune from Small Black: "Despicable Dogs"

- Gentle Friendly are some London dudes drawing comparisons to Animal Collective, which doesn't immediately spark my interest. This song, however, does ever so slightly: "RIP Static"

- Quality americana-folk-rock storytelling: These United States - "I Want You to Keep Everything"

Check out the full playlist

Summer Pledge Drive, Vol. 2: The Garage Bands

2009-08-15T12:03:00.005-06:00

8/10/09 Show
For my second Summer 2009 Pledge Drive show I decided to follow through on a show idea I'd had for years: 2 hours of vintage 60s garage band rock. I'd been putting it off because I wanted to do it right (lots of research, creating a good show "flow", plucking out the best 2 hours out of the many hours of fitting music, etc.), and I think it worked well as a pledge drive show. Strangely, I got more positive comments than possibly ever for a show, but I also only raised $85. Oh well, I had a blast.

I could go on and on about how much I like this genre of rock, but this quote from influential rock critic Lester Bangs pretty much says it all,

What is more American than the garage band? Call up a bunch of your buddies, get some six-packs or some weed, plus a guitar or two, a bass or drum kit, and you've got instant fantasies about instant stardom. Of course, at certain times and places, fantasy and reality have intersected, and that is part of what rock is all about. Given that the greatest garage bands could barely play, we may assume not only that virtuosity has nothing to do with the form, but also that the utopian dream of everyman an artist can come true right here, in our suburban land of opportunity-the ultimate proof that rock & roll is the most democratic and all-American of art forms

Many of the songs on the playlist came from the famous Nuggets compilation, but you also heard tracks from MOJO Magazine compilation and several vinyl tracks from The Sonics and also The Vampires. Check out the full playlist

Summer Pledge Drive, vol. 1

2009-08-04T10:07:00.004-06:00

8/3/09 Show
Of note this week:

- The Summer Pledge Drive started at 8am on this day. Thanks to all my friends and family who pledged during my show and helped me raise $620! There are some awesome thank-you gifts this year for different pledge levels, so check them out and donate at kbut.org. Or call 970-349-7444 during my show next week!

- Death is amazing. Death being the unheralded early-70s Detroit proto-punk band that is starting to make a comeback (sans one original member who passed away before they recently garnered praise and appreciation). Check out the NYTimes articles that GvB links to above.

- Sunny indie-pop that could be done by any number of bands: Portugal. The Man - People Say. Still, its done well and I'm curious to hear the rest of the album.

- Another new track from Yo La Tengo's Popular Songs, which gets released September 8th. Here to Fall is more orchestrated, spacey, & wandering than the previously posted Periodically Double or Triple.

View the Full Playlist

Everything Absent, Departed

2009-08-02T17:43:00.003-06:00

7/27/09 Show
Of note this week:

- Sadly, another promising Denver band has broken up. However, before they truly leave us, Everything Absent or Distorted will release a free 4 song EP as a parting gift. Read more and grab an mp3 from the EP.

- The Thermals stopped by the Daytrotter.com studios. How could that be a bad thing?

- The Gary would like you to keep your Damn Machines, modern-day John Henrys that they are.

- Sybris kindof sounds like Sonic Youth with a powerful & dynamic female lead singer: Sybris - Oh Man!

- The Big Pink provides a nice addition to any summer playlist: Dominos

- Still Playing Free Energy & lots of Mark Mulcahy (and covers). See the post below for links on those...

View Full Playlist

Dream City

2009-07-21T11:18:00.002-06:00

7/20/09 Show
Of particular note this week:

- I love this song, which is almost a given because it comes out on DFA records. In a wonderful change of pace, however, its not a danceable electro song, but instead a classic 70s rock throwback that makes me want to drive nowhere in particular with someone in particular. Free Energy - Dream City

- Hadn't heard of Mark Mulcahy until this week, but I can tell I've been missing out on his expert songcraft for far too long (I'm downloading one of his albums on iTunes are I type). What looks to be an awesome tribute/compilation record comes out in September, featuring a long list of prominent artists that are all in it for a heartbreakingly good cause. Listen to songs and read more about the story & artists after the jump. There's two of his original tracks, and an excellent cover by the National included (and you can stream the Thom Yorke cover too!). This will be one of those albums you have to buy (instead of, you know, downloading it for free).

- There's a new Spoon single, which is always cause for celebration: Got Nuffin

- Richard Swift hit up the Daytrotter studios this week, and its all good: Richard Swift @ Daytrotter

- The interwebs are certainly abuzz about this collaboration between artists who, in my opinion, are fairly overrated. Still, its a good song: Atlas Sound w/ Panda Bear - Walkabout

- Have been getting a good rash of positive phone calls lately during my shows, which always buoys my spirits when I start to feel uninspired about doing this every week. This week requests for Iron & Wine and the Clash made it onto the show.

View the Full Playlist

The Sun is Out

2009-07-21T10:21:00.005-06:00

7/15/09 Fill-In Show
Charging ahead with the updates and new format... I switched shows with my friend and softball colleague Kelly Jensen last week, which allowed me more time to hang out with my parents while they were in CB. His Wednesday show is similar enough in format to mine that I didn't feel any pressure to change the normal routine, as you'll see below. There are certainly some promising links this week.

Of particular note this week:
- The Brooklyn band Suckers continue to catch my ear. When will they get around to releasing a proper full length? Check out their Daytrotter Session, which features several new & fantastic songs.

- The new Jay Reatard album comes out on August 4th, and I couldn't be more excited. The second track we've heard from Watch Me Fall is this little gem: Wounded

- This could almost be another Jay Reatard track: A Grave With No Name - Sofia

- Can't stop playing this equally sad and joyous new track from Local Natives: Airplanes

- Another terrificly dusty, lo-fi summer jam by a band with a wonderfully nostalgic name: Reading Rainbow - The Sun is Out

- Cheery & slightly funky new song from The Clientele: I Wonder Who We Are

View the Full Playlist

Computer Blue

2009-07-21T09:55:00.005-06:00

7/06/09 Show
Yep, I'm way behind in posting this, but July has been a remarkably busy month. I'm going ahead and tweeking the post format a bit, so I won't have to waste time retyping all of my playlists. Instead, a link is provided below to the full playlist on the KBUT website. MP3 links from each week will be posted, allowing me to spend more time on those than on needless retyping of playlists. Let me know what you think.

Of particular note this week:
- Be sure to check out the Generationals, who share a label and some sonic qualities with Dr. Dog. All of the tracks available are really enjoyable and worth downloading.
The Generationals - Angry Charlie, etc.

- Of Montreal cover Prince! Computer Blue

- Promising new single from this Austin quartet, who have already made some solid tunes in recent years: The Octopus Project - Wet Gold

- Part tropicalia pop, part epic indie songwriting with a dash of electro = I like it: Daestro - Spritle

- Played it on the show, but you can probably skip this one unless you are really in the mood for an overly poppy/cheesy Cat Stevens soundalike: The Voyces - Kissing Like It's Love

- And finally, a fitting and very worthwhile MJ tribute: Erykah Badu w/ The Roots - I Wanna Be Where You Are

View the Full Playlist

Halfway There

2009-07-06T09:46:00.015-06:00

6/29 Show
I find it hard to believe that half of 2009 is in the books, but so it is. With this in mind I tried to play some tracks from some of my favorite albums of the year so far. A short list of said albums is below, but I shall resist putting them in numerical order until the end of the year.

In No Particular, Space-Consuming Order...

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Dan Deacon - Bromst

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Cotton Jones - Paranoid Cocoon

Richard Swift - The Atlantic Ocean

Handsome Furs - Face Control

Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

The Thermals - Now We Can See

Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic

Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

Papercuts - You Can Have What You Want

Vetiver - Tight Knit

Dark Was the Night Compilation

Suckers - Suckers EP

the Playlist
Artist / Song
Generationals / Angry Charlie
Generationals / When They Fight They Fight
Little Joy / The Next Time Around
Little Joy / Brand New Start
Richard Swift / Lady Luck
Richard Swift / Would You
Grizzly Bear / Cheerleader
Cotton Jones / Blood Red Sentimental Blues
AA Bondy / When the Devil's Loose
Megafaun / Kaufman's Ballad
Vetiver / Everyday
Yo La Tengo / Periodically Double or Triple
Wilco / Wilco (the song)
Wilco / Bull Black Nova
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / The Tenure Itch
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Young Adult Friction
Handsome Furs / All We Want, Baby, Is Everything
Sunset Rubdown / Idiot Heart
Papercuts / Dictator's Lament
Camera Obscura / French Navy
Here We Go Magic / Tunnelvision
The Thermals / Now We Can See
Phoenix / Girlfriend
Dan Deacon / Snookered
Jonathan Richman / Time Has Been Going By So Fast
Jonathan Richman / Old World
The Modern Lovers / Ride on Down the Highway
Jonathan Richman / Dodge Veg-O-Matic
The Modern Lovers / The Mixer (Men & Women Together)

The Radio's Hot Sun

2009-06-23T10:57:00.004-06:00

6/22 Show
Only one link this week, but its to a Daytrotter session featuring Little Joy. Certainly worth your time.

Artist / Song
The Shaky Hands / I'm Alive
State Bird / I Saw the Light
Little Joy / No One's Better Sake
Spoon / Back to the Life
Spiritualized / I Gotta Fire
Wilco / You Never Know
Grizzly Bear / Two Weeks
Suckers / Easy Chairs
Yeasayer / Sunrise
Black Moth Super Rainbow / Born on a Day the Sun Didn't Rise
Sunset Rubdown / Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!
Handsome Furs / The Radio's Hot Sun
Wolf Parade / I'll Believe in Anything
Kurt Vile / Freeway
Viva Voce / Octavio
Jonathan Richman / Parties in the USA
The Modern Lovers / Roadrunner
The Velvet Underground / Lonesome Cowboy Bill (live)
Television / Marquee Moon
Talking Heads / Don't Worry About the Government
Eels / That Look You Give That Guy
Apostle of Hustle / Soul Unwind
White Rabbits / Rudie Fails
The Strange Boys / Untitled
Phoenix / Lisztomania
The Phenomenal Handclap Band / All of the Above
Passion Pit / Sleepyhead
Shout Out Out Out Out / How Do I Maintain, Pt. II

This Must Be The Place

2009-06-16T11:31:00.004-06:00

6/15 Show
Music is My Girlfriend went well this week. Lots of new stuff, some older tracks, previewed upcoming concerts, no bad requests or hate calls, etc. The show was generally mellower than most MIMGs with mostly acoustic stuff taking the place of the danceable electro I sometimes play at the end of the show.

This Thursday the 18th, KBUT is presenting the classic Talking Heads concert film "Stop Making Sense" at the Majestic Theatre. Thus, you may notice a couple live Talking Heads tracks in today's playlist.

Hey! Guess what! Links are back. Dara Puspita kicks ass. Also, Peter Bjorn & John's "Nothing to Worry About" is 320x better without the screaming kids chorus.

Artist / Song
Talking Heads / Life During Wartime
Fanfarlo / Finish Line
Fruit Bats / My Unusual Friend
Heavy Hometown / Hold Hands Plans
Apostle of Hustle / Eazy Speaks
Au Revoir Simone / Shadows
Still Flyin / Good Thing It's a Ghost Town Around Here
Architecture in Helsinki / Do the Whirlwind
Get Back Guinozzi / Police & Thieves
Peter Bjorn & John / Nothing to Worry About
Violens / Doomed (MGMT remix)
Highlife / F Kenya Rip
Dara Puspita / Believe Me
Smith Westerns / Be My Girl
Mark Sultan / Hold On
Talking Heads / This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
The Fiery Furnaces / The End is Near
Belle & Sebastian / The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner
The Felice Brothers / Penn Station
AA Bondy / Witness Blues
Radiohead / House of Cards
Amanez / Khala My Friend
Bill Callahan / Faith/Void
Antony & the Johnsons / Fistful of Love
DeVotchKa / Transliterator
Drummer / Diamonds to Shake
Talking Heads / Once in a Lifetime

From Blown Speakers

2009-06-13T11:12:00.003-06:00

6/08 Show
Lots of "older" tracks this week that I was profusely spinning a couple of years ago. Not too many new releases were moving me this week.

Artist / Song
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists / Parallel or Together?
The New Pornographers / From Blown Speakers
Dr. Dog / Heart it Races
Sufjan Stevens / Casimir Pulaski Day
Zee Avi / Kantoi
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele / 26 Miles
Jens Lekman / A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill
Boy Least Likely To / Be Gentle With Me
Architecture in Helsinki / It's 5!
Beirut / Elephant Gun
Grizzly Bear / Cheerleader
Here We Go Magic / Only Pieces
Kurt Vile / Freeway
Black Moth Super Rainbow / Twin of Myself
Savoir Adore / Bodies
Jay Reatard / It Ain't Gonna Save Me
Love Language / Lalita
Micachu & the Shapes / Lips
Spirit Spine / How Soon?
Patrick Wolf / Bluebells
Phoenix / Girlfriend
Real Estate / Old Folks
Dana Jewell / Baby Come On
Electrelane / To the East
Toro y Moi / Talamak
Passion Pit / The Reeling
Phoenix / 1901
The Phenomenal Handclap Band / 15 to 20
Cansei Se Ser Sexy / Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above
Starfucker / Medicine
Royskopp / Happy Up Here

Frazzled Rock

2009-06-03T09:45:00.004-06:00

6/1 Show
I rolled into Crested Butte about twenty minutes before my show on Monday feeling somewhat discombobulated. Although I spent most of the drive from Denver to CB listening to new music in preparation for the show, I still felt clueless. As such, you may recognize many of the below tunes from previous weeks.

I got to see Menomena, Handsome Furs, White Rabbits and Dent May & Magnificent Ukulele while in Chicago last week. Order of preference? (first to last): Handsome Furs, Dent May, Menomena, White Rabbits. All four were enjoyable though.

Artist / Song
Grizzly Bear / While You Wait for the Others
Here We Go Magic / Collector
The National / Fake Empire
The Rural Alberta Advantage / Don't Haunt This Place
Akron/Family / River
Cotton Jones / Chewing Gum
Woods / September With Pete
Family Portrait / Mega Secrets
Leichtenstein / Postcard
Love is All / Last Choice
Marmoset / Peach Cobbler
Menomena / E is Stable
Menomena / Evil Bee
Handsome Furs / Evangeline
Handsome Furs / All We Want, Baby, Is Everything
Dire Straits / Sultans of Swing *by request
Grizzly Bear / Two Weeks
Kurt Vile / Freeway
Love Language / Lalita
Throw Me the Statue / Lolita
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele / Oh, Paris!
White Rabbits / Percussion Gum
Spoon / You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Soft Shock
Starfucker / Medicine
Phoenix / Lisztomania
Phoenix / 1901
The Magic Kids / Hey Boy
Girls / Lust for Life
Surf City / Free the City
Suckers / Beach Queen

No Time

2009-06-03T09:37:00.003-06:00

5/18 Show
Forgot to post this playlist before I went on vacation...

Artist / Song
John Vanderslice / Too Much Time
The Balky Mule / Range
Here We Go Magic / It's a Surprise
Papercuts / Once We Walked in the Sunlight
Family Portrait / Mega Secrets
Marmoset / Peach Cobbler
Surf City / Free the City
Deerhunter / Circulation
Leichtenstein / Roses in the Park
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Everything With You
The Magic Kids / Hey Boy
Camera Obscura / French Navy
Belle & Sebastian / Wrapped Up in Books
Cotton Jones / Gotta Cheer Up
Liam the Younger / Country Wide
Elvis Perkins in Dearland / Shampoo
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele / You Can't Force a Dance Party
Neko Case / This Tornado Loves You
Cloud Cult / Journey of the Featherless
Harlem Shakes / Sunlight
Foreign Born / Early Warnings
Woods / To Clean
The Soft Pack / Extinction
King Khan & the Shrines / No Regrets
New York Dolls / Personality Crisis
Art Brut / DC Comics & Chocolate Milkshakes
Crocodiles / Soft Skull (In My Room)
Suckers / Beach Queen
Richard Swift / Lady Luck
Thao & the Get Down, Stay Down / Fear & Convenience
Starfucker / Medicine
The Whip / Trash

We'll See the Sun

2009-05-12T10:30:00.004-06:00

5/04 Show
Sorry for the late posting of last week's playlist/links, but here it finally is. Some fun stuff this week, including Wilco's cover of Woody Guthrie's "Jolly Banker" & Joel P West's new model of music distribution. I also fully enjoy the new single from Sunset Rubdown. See below for links.

Furthermore, you may have noticed I wasn't on air yesterday (5/11). I was getting my wisdom teeth yanked, but I'll be on next week!

Mp3 links are up.

Artist / Song
Wilco / Jolly Banker
Billy Bragg & Wilco / Walt Whitman's Niece
Joel P West / 28th & NE Davis
Houses / We'll See the Sun
Little Big Adventure / Happiest Times
The Papercuts / A Dictator's Lament
Thao & the Get Down, Stay Down / Bag of Hammers
Elvis Perkins in Dearland / Send My Fond Regards to Lonelyville
Margot & the Nuclear So & So's / As Tall As Cliffs
BLK JKS / Lakeside
Akron/Family / River
The Helio Sequence / Hallelujah
Hearts of Palm / No Water
Hearts of Palm / Valentine
Crocodiles / I Wanna Kill
Surf City / Canned Food
Spirit Spine / How Soon?
tUnE-YaRdS / Sunlight
Suckers / Afterthoughts & TV
Art Brut / Mysterious Bruises
Sunset Rubdown / Idiot Heart
Pomegranates / Svaatzi Uutsi
Still Flyin' / The Hott Chord is Struck
Camera Obscura / Honey in the Sun
Peter Bjorn & John / It Don't Move Me
The Faint / Forever Growing Centipedes
Dan Deacon / Paddling Ghost

Happy Up Here

2009-04-27T16:58:00.005-06:00

4/27 Show
Spring in Crested Butte, with all its unstable tendencies, has sprung. Four days of sunshine and 50 degree weather followed by two days of cold, clouds and snow? Yea, that's life, but it makes the nice days that much sweeter. In a rather unrelated correlation, there are a vast amount of worthwhile new releases coming into the studio these days. Art Brut, Akron/Family, Bat for Lashes, The Bicycles, Camera Obscura, Elvis Perkins, Jack-O & the Tennessee Tearjerkers, Junior Boys, Rhett Miller, The Whip & more all found their way onto my harddrive (and, for the most part, my playlist) today. Also, there's a bunch of links this week too!

By the way, Portland was great. If I had to live in a city, I could see myself there. As a bonus, I even got to attend "Independent Record Store Day" and pick up a limited edition Thermals/Thao 7" vinyl. Score!

Check out this Atlas Sound link (or below) for the excellent "Springtime Instrumental" which didn't officially make my playlist today. Its the jam. I should also say the new Suckers EP is really exciting (link below). Further more, I can't believe the Spirit Spine song (also below) was crafted by a Freshman in his dorm room at IU (my alma mater).

Mp3 links are up and running.

Artist / Song
The Cave Singers / Seeds of Night
Japanese Motors / Spendin' Days (acoustic)
Jonathan Richman / The Lovers Are Here & They're Full of Sweat
Richard Buckner / Canyon
Papercuts / Future Primitive
Camera Obscura / French Navy
Atlas Sound / Time Warp
Still Flyin' / The Hott Chord is Struck
Bishop Allen / Dimmer
The Acrylics / Molly's Vertigo
Harlem Shakes / Sunlight
Passion Pit / Moth's Wings
Suckers / Beach Queen
Suckers / Afterthoughts & TV
Black Moth Super Rainbow / Born on a Day the Sun Didn't Rise
Pulp / Mile End
Jarvis Cocker / Angela
Art Brut / Summer Job
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Ramona
Woods / Rain On
The Bicycles / Won't She Be Surprised
Thao With the Get Down, Stay Down / DId You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?
Strange Boys / Untitled
Spirit Spine / How Soon?
The Whip / Frustration
Neon Indian / Deadbeat Summer
Empire of the Sun / Walking on a Dream
Royskopp / Happy Up Here
Junior Boys / Bits & Pieces
Dan Deacon / Snookered

Portland Bound

2009-04-13T18:48:00.005-06:00

4/13 Show
I'm headed to Portland, OR for a long weekend in a couple of days, so it seemed a good time to highlight that city's blossoming indie scene. The first hour+ of the show I dedicated to Portland bands (starting with 2 classic garage tracks and ending with Glass Candy). After that I previewed many an upcoming concert, of which I'm hoping to attend The Thermals/Shaky Hands show in about 2 weeks.

I'll still be in Portland next Monday, so I won't be on the radio.

Mp3 links are up, but there's only 2 this week.

Artist / Song
The Kingsmen / Louie Louie
Paul Revere & the Raiders / Just Like Me
Blitzen Trapper / Furr
Horse Feathers / Albina
Elliott Smith / Waterloo Sunset (live)
M. Ward / One Hundred Million Years
M. Ward / Never Had Nobody Like You
Viva Voce / Octavio
The Decemberists / Annan Water
The Helio Sequence / Can't Say No
The Dandy Warhols / She Sells Sanctuary
Menomena / E is Stable
Lackthereof / Last November
The Joggers / Era Prison
Wet Confetti / Dazzle of Dynamite
The Thermals / I Let it Go
Blind Pilot / We Are the Tide
Glass Candy / Life After Sundown
Dirty Projectors / Stillness is the Move
Mates of State / My Only Offer
Black Kids / I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You
Franz Ferdinand / Come on Home
Chairlift / Bruises
Heartless Bastards / All This Time
X / Johnny Hit and Run Pauline
Black Lips / Again & Again
Black Lips / Not a Problem
The Shaky Hands / I'm Alive
The Thermals / Power Doesn't Run on Nothing
Junior Boys / In the Morning

Vacationing People

2009-04-07T17:47:00.007-06:00

4/6 Show
Offseason has arrived! With the ski area closing on Sunday, Crested Buttians are free to become vacationing people & not play host to them. Town is slowing to a crawl & I couldn't be looking more forward to summer.

The new Urban Outfitters LSTN #4 compilation is pretty terrific, even if many of its tracks were already available around the internet. Its free, so why complain? Download a .zip of the compilation

Mp3 links are finally up and running (as of 4/17).

Artist / Song
Black Lips / Short Fuse
Birdmonster / Born to Be Your Man
Donora / I Think I Like You
Richard Swift / The First Time
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele / Oh, Paris!
The Shaky Hands / Why and How Come
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year (RAC mix)
Handsome Furs / Evangeline
The Whip / Frustration Urban's LSTN#4
Foreign Born / Vacationing People Urban's LSTN#4
Jay Reatard / See Saw
Cola Freaks / Arbejd
Wavves / No Hope Kids Urban's LSTN#4
Strange Boys / Poem Party Urban's LSTN#4
Fergus & Geronimo / Tell It In My Ear
The Vaselines / Son of a Gun
Akron/Family / River
White Rabbits / While We Go Dancing
White Rabbits / Percussion Gum
Here We Go Magic / Tunnelvision
The Dutchess & the Duke / Reservoir Park
The Boy Least Likely To / A Balloon on a Broken String
Telekinesis / Coast of Carolina Urban's LSTN#4
Lissy Trullie / Boy Boy Urban's LSTN#4
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Soft Shock
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Young Adult Fiction
Drummer / Diamonds to Shake
Pomegranates / The Southern Ocean
The Thermals / Now We Can See
The Thermals / Here's Your Future
Neon Indian / 6669 (I don't know if you know)
Neon Indian / Should Have Taken Acid With You
Jack Penate / Tonight's Today Urban's LSTN#4
The Apples in Stereo / King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2

You Hear Colours

2009-04-01T09:52:00.007-06:00

3/30 Show
Perhaps I'll write more later, but for now there is powder to ski... Now I am writing more: new albums from The Thermals, Boy Least Likely To, Pomegranates and Peter Bjorn and John have me excited with plenty to listen to. Also, KBUT scored the Merge records SCORE! compilations featuring cover versions of classic Merge tracks by newer Merge artists. Ballin'.

If you havn't yet, you must watch this trailer for "Where the Wild Things Are".

Mp3 links are up and running.

Artist / Song
The New Pornographers / All For Swinging You Around
Pomegranates / Beachcomber
Viva Voce / Octavio
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / A Teenager in Love
The Shins / Plenty is Never Enough
Arcade Fire / Wake Up
The Walkmen / Wake Up
The Thermals / When We Were Alive
The Thermals / When I Was Afraid
Harlem Shakes / Sunlight
CFCF / You Hear Colours
Realpeople / My Night With the Prostitute From Marseille
Starf*cker / Medicine
The Apples in Stereo / King of Carrot Flowers Pt 2
Tough Alliance / Hung Up on a Dream
The Boy Least Likely To / Saddle Up
Sam Roberts / Them Kids
Everything Absent or Distorted / Aquariums
Mighty Mighty / Law
Peter Bjorn & John / It Don't Move Me
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Dull Life
BLK JKS / Summertime
Dirty Projectors / Stillness is the Move
Richard Swift / Lady Luck
The Decemberists / The Rake's Song
The Mary Onettes / Dare
The National / So Far Around the Bend
Spoon / It's Gonna Take an Airplane
White Lies / Death
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / 103

More of This

2009-03-23T23:27:00.005-06:00

3/23 Show
KBUT finally received the new albums from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (right after I purchased it on iTunes) and The Decemberists, so it was a mildly exciting day at the studio. Among the endless photo blog posts from SXSW, there were some good new tunes posted, so enjoy the links this week. Thanks to Kyle's friend Bill who started the Someday I'll be Dignified & Old blog that inspired the first 4 songs of the day.

Mp3 links are up.

Artist / Song
Surf City / Canned Food
Disappears / Magics
American Princes / Open Letter
The Modern Lovers / Dignified & Old
Girls / Lust for Life
The Strange Boys / Heard You Want to Beat Me Up
Jack Oblivian & the Tennessee Tearjerkers / Night Owl
Fanfarlo / Harold T Wilkins
Vetiver / More of This
Bishop Allen / Rain
Grizzly Bear / Cheerleader
Clues / Perfect Fit
Mumford & Sons / The Cave
Voxtrot / Trepanation Party
The Rural Alberta Advantage / Don't Haunt This Place
Elemeno P / Baby Come On
Richard Swift / The Atlantic Ocean
Melanoid / Under the Covers
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / This Love is F*cking Right!
The Spinto Band / Oh Mandy
The Spinto Band / Give Me Just a Little More Time
Donora / I Think I Like You
Throw Me the Statue / Lolita
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Zero
Architecture in Helsinki / That Beep
Tune-Yards / Sunlight
Menomena / Wet & Rusting
The Decemberists / Annan Water
Ratatat / Shempi

Wishing I Was in Austin

2009-03-21T10:26:00.003-06:00

3/16 Show
Yep, I'm totally missing out on the fun in Austin this week. Maybe next year when I don't have an epic backcountry ski race to prepare for. I did, however, DJ at a crazy Robot Dance Party on Monday night that almost made up for not being at SXSW.

Played lots of "older" tracks this week, meaning songs I might have played a year or two ago but haven't since then. Check out the new EP from Surf City, hosted by Kyle's friend on his new blog "Someday I'll be Dignified and Old".

Mp3 links are up.

Artist / Song
Surf City / Free the City
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Everything With You
Crystal Stilts / Love is a Wave
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)
Here We Go Magic / Surprise
Zee Avi / Slow Hands
Vetiver / Everyday
Architecture in Helsinki / Do the Whirlwind
Pomegranates / Whom/Who
Matt & Kim / It's a Fact (Printed Stained)
The Thermals / Now We Can See
Handsome Furs / Radio Kaliningrad
CSS / Beautiful Song
Peter, Bjorn & John / Nothing to Worry About
Real Estate / Old Folks
Black Lips / Cold Hands
Black Lips / Short Fuse
Yeasayer / 2080
Zookeeper / Ballad of My Friends
M. Ward / To Go Home
Kentucky Nightmare / Caroline & I
Flight of the Conchords / Robots
Phoenix / 1901
I Was a Teenage Satan Worshipper / Bomb the School
Faunts / Feel.Love.Thinking.Of
The Notwist / One With the Freaks
Fujiya & Miyagi / Ankle Injuries
Hot Chip / No Fit State
The Beta Band / Dry the Rain
Menomena / Muscle'n Flo

Cutdown

2009-03-09T16:41:00.004-06:00

3/9 Show
Bad news found its way to Music is My Girlfriend headquarters Monday morning as I learned the upcoming Cut Copy ("MIMG's Best Album of 2008" winner) show in Denver had sold out. Chances of scoring free tickets through KBUT are dwindling, so I may be standing outside the Bluebird on Sunday night pestering concert goers for tickets. Naturally, I mourned this development by playing several Cut Copy songs.

On the bright side, KBUT's home page will now display the Song Title and Artist of each song I play in real-time. Its a pretty cool feature, and I was happy to be the Guinea Pig for it today during my show.

Mp3 are up and running.

Artist / Song
Architecture in Helsinki / That Beep
Elemeno P / Baby Come On
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / Take Off Your Sunglasses
Gordon Gano & the Ryan Brothers / Wave and Water
Violent Femmes / I Held Her in My Arms
Handsome Furs / Evangeline
Handsome Furs / Talking Hotel Arbat Blues
Matt & Kim / Cutdown
Cut Copy / Strangers in the Wind
The Broken West / Eat at Home
The Broken West / Perfect Games
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Statues
Tap Tap / Way to Go, Boy
Malajube / Porte Disparu
Black Lips / Body Combat
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Sheena is a Punk Rocker
Television / See No Evil
The Velvet Underground / Rock and Roll
The Modern Lovers / Foggy Notion
The Jam / In the City
The Kinks / Big Sky
Spoon / Stay Don't Go
Vetiver / More of This
The Soft Pack / Red-Headed Girl (acoustic)
Belle & Sebastian / Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / The Tenure Itch
Wine & Revolution / Eager to Sail
Tune-Yards / Sunlight
Cut Copy / Out There on the Ice
Cut Copy / Far Away

Again & Again

2009-03-05T10:19:00.005-07:00

3/2 Show
More of the same old, same old. KBUT just received the new Black Lips album, among other highlights. Also, the new Architecture in Helsinki single is quite promising. 2009 is shaping up to be a good year for music.

Mp3 links are up.

Artist / Song
The National / Apartment Story
The National / So Far Around the Bend
Mike Bones / One Moment's Peace
Vetiver / Everyday
Cotton Jones / Blood Red Sentimental Blues
Jens Carelius / The Heat
Jose Gonzalez / Down the Line
Donora / I Think I Like You
Jonathan Richman / Give Paris One More Chance
Jonathan Richman / Parties in the USA
Jonathan Richman / I'm Straight
The Morning Benders / Nohing in This World Can Stop Me Worryin Bout That Girl
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / The World is Alive
The New Pornographers / Hey, Snow White
Spoon / You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
Pomegranates / Coriander
I Was a Teenage Satan Worshipper / Bomb the School
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Young Adult Fiction
The XX / Teardrops
Here We Go Magic / Fangela
Starf*cker / German Love *by request
Bodies of Water / Dear Boy
Architecture in Helsinki / That Beep
Thieves Like Us / Drugs in My Body
Phoenix / 1901
Handsome Furs / All We Want, Baby, Is Everything
TV on the Radio / Heroes
Black Lips / Short Fuse
That Ghost / I Crossed Out the Options
Black Lips / Again & Again
Malajube / Luna
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / The Tenure Itch
White Lies / Death

Jump in the Pool

2009-02-25T14:08:00.003-07:00

2/23 Show
Post-pledge drive shows always feel easy. Fewer things to read, no phones to answer, no begging for money. In this spirit, Monday's show was a breeze and a pleasure to DJ. I chiefly highlighted the new Pains of Being Pure at Heart album and the Dark Was the Night Compilation. I'm falling into a nice routine of previewing upcoming record releases (this week: Pomegranates (4/14), Papercuts (4/14), Thermals<4/7), Phoenix (5/25)) and concerts (this week: Modest Mouse, Andrew Bird, Loney Dear, Young Coyotes).

Mp3 links are up and running.

Artist / Song
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / The Tenure Itch
The Maccabees / No Kind Words
White Lies / Death
Morrissey / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / A Teenager in Love
The New Pornographers / Hey, Snow White
Arcade Fire / Lenin
The National / So Far Around the Bend
Spoon / Well-Alright
Sufjan Stevens / You Are the Blood
Modest Mouse / Baby Blue Sedan
Modest Mouse / Other People's Lives
Young Coyotes / When I Was in the Fire
Andrew Bird / Not a Robot, But a Ghost
Loney Dear / Violent
Murder Mystery / The World (Badmammal remix)
Friendly Fires / Jump in the Pool
Woods / The Dark
Thao & the Get Down, Stay Down / Fear and Convenience
Pomegranates / Coriander
Papercuts / Future Primitive
The Thermals / Now We Can See
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Everything With You
TV on the Radio / Heroes
The Spinto Band / Give Me Just a Little More Time
Faunts / Feel.Love.Thinking.Of
Empire of the Sun / We Are the People
Phoenix / 1901
The Rapture / Olio

Everyone Gets a Star

2009-02-17T11:20:00.004-07:00

2/16 Show
KBUT's Winter 2009 Pledge Drive continues to roll on, smashing expectations as we reached $23,565 by the end of my show on Monday. While Music is My Girlfriend was not quite as prolific as the shows before mine on Monday, I am still quite happy with the $250 raised during my show. Thanks to all my friends and family who pledged!

A bevy of worthwhile albums saw their US release today (February 17th): Hold Time by M Ward, The Blue Depths by Odawas, Tight Knit by Vetiver, and the compilation Dark Was the Night. I played tracks from all of the above, as well as tracks from the highly anticipated new albums from The Thermals & The Decemberists. You might also notice a small Strokes/Strokes-side-projects set.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the new self-titled album from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Its terrific.

Mp3 links are up.

Artist / Song
Appleseed Cast / February
The Vox Jaguars / Swagger
The Thermals / Now We Can See
The Decemberists / The Rake's Song
The Helio Sequence / Can't Say No
The Phenomenal Handclap Band / Testimony
Of Montreal / Suffer for Fashion
Little Girls / What We Did
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Come Saturday
Red Cortez / All the Difference
Jamie Lidell / Another Day *by request
The Morning Benders / Mother & Child Reunion
Vetiver / Everyday
M. Ward / Rave On
Nickel Eye / Brandy of the Damned
The Strokes / The Modern Age
Albert Hammond Jr. / Everyone Gets a Star
Little Joy / No One's Better Sake
Blk Jks / Lakeside
Dirty Projectors w/ David Byrne / Knotty Pine
The Felice Brothers / Frankie's Gun
Everything Absent or Distorted / The Exit Parade
Bon Iver / The Park (Feist cover)
Laura Gibson / Spirited
Odawas / Harmless Lover's Discourse
The Thermals / Test Pattern *by request
Hot Chip / Boy From School

People C'mon

2009-02-16T09:35:00.004-07:00

2/9 Show
KBUT's Winter 2009 Pledge Drive kicked off at 8am on Monday, Feb 9th, making my show the 4th of many to tackle the challenge of raising money for our great radio station. Thanks to many generous folks out there, I raised $370 during my show and had a blast doing it. Call in today if you would like to support KBUT Community Radio!

Artist / Song
The Black Lips / Short Fuse
The Strange Boys / Heard You Want to Beat Me Up
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / We Should Fight
Port O'Brien / Is This Really What Its Come To?
Radiohead / 15 Step (ft. USC Marching Band)
Cotton Jones / Blood Red Sentimental Blues
Phosphorescent / I Gotta Get Drunk
M Ward / Never Had Nobody Like You
Mike Bones / What I Have Left
The Delta Spirit / People C'mon
The Heartless Bastards / Sway
Andrew Bird / Fitz & the Dizzyspells
DeVotchKa / Transliterator
Handsome Furs / Evangeline
Faunts / Feel.Love.Thinking.Of
Metric / Help I'm Alive
Matt & Kim / Daylight
NewVillager / Rich Doors
Loney Dear / Airport Surroundings
Thieves Like Us / Drugs in my Body
Woolfy / Oh Missy
Rainbow Arabia / Holiday in Congo
Blk Jks / Lakeside
GIrls / Lust for Life
Dirty Projectors w/ David Byrne / Knotty Pine
The Decemberists / The Rake's Song
Odawas / Harmless Lover's Discourse

Wake Up

2009-02-05T13:42:00.004-07:00

2/2 Show
More of the same great new music this week as we at KBUT get ready for the upcoming Winter Pledge Drive. It starts next Monday morning at 8am and continues until we have raised our goal of $36,000. Check out www.kbut.org for more information.

The new releases from Andrew Bird, Beirut, and Matt & Kim are all worth checking out.

Mp3 links are up and running. My Old Kentucky Blog was certainly worth reading this week. Enjoy.

Artist / Song
Dirty Projectors w/ David Byrne / Knotty Pine
Princeton / Shout it Out
The Broderick / Gold in the Fire
Andrew Bird / Fitz and the Dizzyspells
Arcade FIre / Wake Up
Odawas / Harmless Lover's Discourse
Great Lakes Swimmers / Pulling on a Line
Dodos / Swimming
The Cave Singers / Seeds of Night
My Morning Jacket / Mahgeetah *by request
J. Tillman / New Imperial Grand Blues
Bon Iver / Blood Bank
Beirut / The Akara
Realpeople / The Concubine
Phosphorescent / Reasons to Quit
Spirit Spine / Crashers (Highs and Lows)
Animal Collective / Summertime Clothes
Blk Jks / Lakeside
Black Lips / Short Fuse
Black Lips / Starting Over
The Howlies / Smoke
Girls / Lust for Life
Those Darlins / Wild One
Matt & Kim / Good Ol' Fashioned Nightmare
Handsome Furs / Radio Kalininbrad
!!! / Yadnus
The Rapture / House of Jealous Lovers
LCD Soundsystem / Us V Them

Lust for Life

2009-01-30T11:14:00.004-07:00

1/26 Show
Last week, the always excellent blog Gorilla vs. Bear diagnosed a startling trend in indie band names. A plethora of groups with "Girls" in their title are appearing, and for the most part they all make credible, lo-fi, & hummable tunes. San Francisco's Girls is perhaps my favorite so far. Check out the audaciously-named "Lust for Life" (not an Iggy Pop cover) below.

Mp3 links are up. A number of the songs I played this week I linked to last week, so check them out in the previous post if you haven't yet.

Artist / Song
Red Cortez / All the Difference
M. Ward / Never Had Nobody Like You
Marissa Nadler / River of Dirt
Real Estate / Old Folks
Real Estate / Suburban Beverage
Women / Black Rice
Girls / Lust for Life (myspace)
Little Girls / Youth Tunes
Fungi Girls / Crystal Roads
Vivian Girls / Where Do You Run To
U.S. Girls / O What a Nite
Animal Collective / My Girls
Travels / Favorite People
Matt and Kim / Cutdown
Boy Eats Drum Machine / Planets & Stars
Jens Lekman / Your Arms Around Me
Dirty Projectors w/ David Byrne / Knotty Pine
The Decemberists / The Rake's Song
Eternal Summers / Fall Straight Back
The Modern Lovers / The Mixer (Men & Women Together)
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele / You Can't Force a Dance Party
The Tallest Man on Earth / I Won't Be Found
Odawas / Harmless Lover's Discourse
Andrew Bird / Oh No
Belle & Sebastian / Judy and the Dream of Horses
Loney Dear / Airport Surroundings
Animal Collective / Summertime Clothes
Cassettes Won't Listen / Paper Float
NewVillager / Rich Doors
Handsome Furs / Evangeline
Cut Copy / Far Away

It's Never That Easy Though, Is It?

2009-01-21T10:22:00.005-07:00

1/19 Show
Sometimes people are annoying. Especially when they thieve the cables needed to connect my new laptop to the audio board at KBUT. Fresh from making a couple of turns on the ski hill, I arrived at the studio psyched to do my first show with the powers of my new Apple. Instead, I had to perform a makeshift first half hour while Chad, the program director, graciously when out and bought a new cable. Ok, so it wasn't that terrible, but the flustered mood it put me in lasted for much of the show.

Regardless, there is some decent new music this week. The "Of Great and Mortal Men" Presidential song project released its final recording: a song for Obama. Its timely, if nothing else. Be sure to check out: the Dirty Projectors/David Byrne collaboration, the new Decemberists track, Those Darlins, Odawas, Dent May, Real Estate, and especially NewVillager. The new Matt & Kim album is pretty terrific as well.

I also learned that Wilco's "Hummingbird" now unfotunately reminds me of the vastly overrated film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". I don't know if I can ever listen to A Ghost is Born again.

Artist / Song
Matt and Kim / Daylight
Matt and Kim / Good Ol' Fashioned Nightmare
Totally Michael / Don't Stop
Los Campesinos! / It's Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song for the Other Kurt)
The Helio Sequence / Hallelujah
French Kicks / So Far We Are
Dirty Projectors w/ David Byrne / Knotty Pine
Little Joy / How to Hang a Warhol
M. Ward / Never Had Nobody Like You
Odawas / Harmless Lover's Discourse
Noah and the Whale / Five Years Time
Those Darlins / Wild One
The Tallest Man on Earth / Pistol Dreams
Jose Gonzalez / Down the Line
Belle & Sebastian / She's Losing It
The Decemberists / The Rake's Song
A.C. Newman / Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer
Christian Kiefner (ft. Will Johnson) / Someone to Wake (the Obama song)
Elvis Perkins in Dearland / Shampoo
Wolf Parade / Shine a Light
Handsome Furs / All We Want, Baby, Is Everything
Handsome Furs / I'm Confused
The Heartless Bastards / The Mountain
The Heartless Bastards / Searching for the Ghost
My Morning Jacket / Bring It On Home to Me (live)
The Henry Clay People / You Can Be Timeless
WIlco / Hummingbird
Real Estate / Suburban Beverage
Eternal Summers / Fall Straight Back
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele / You Can't Force a Dance Party
NewVillager / Rich Doors

We Need More Parties

2009-01-13T13:55:00.005-07:00

1/12 Show
January is typically a slow time for new releases, so I made my work easy this week by playing two songs from each artist (or a related act). The new Handsome Furs album is a pleasure (as expected), so pick up Face Control when its released 2/3/09.

Only a couple links this week, but they're all worthwhile.

Artist / Song
Handsome Furs / Evangeline
Handsome Furs / Radio Kalininbad
TV on the Radio / Golden Age
Fake Male Voice / OMG!!!FMV!!!
Man Man / Black Mission Goggles
Man Man / Top Drawer
The King Khan & BBQ Show / Blow My Top
King Khan & the Shrines / No Regrets
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears / Gunpowder
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears / Snatch it Back & Hold It
Spoon / The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine
Spoon / The Underdog
Belle & Sebastian / Me & the Major
Belle & Sebastian / Like Dylan in the Movies (BBC Session)
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / Take Off Your Sunglasses
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / I Wanna Be Ignored
Vivian Girls / Wild Eyes
Those Darlins / Wild One
The Modern Lovers / Back in the USA
Jonathan Richman / Parties in the USA
Jens Lekman / Maple Leaves
Jens Lekman / The Opposite of Hallelujah
Architecture in Helsinki / Wishbone
Architecture in Helsinki / Same Old Innocence
Beirut / Postcards from Italy
Beirut / Nantes
Okkervil River / Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe
Okkervil River / Calling and Not Calling My Ex
the 757s / Crash & Fade
the 757s / Surely MacLaine

Space is Cool Again?

2009-01-08T00:56:00.003-07:00

1/8 Show
January has been a relatively slow month for new music as we wait for more albums to start seeing their release dates in the coming weeks. A few new gems from the Black Lips & Dan Auerbach did, however, find their way into the mix this week.

A humorous aside: After reading about the upcoming NASA album, "The Spirit of Apollo", and its many guest stars, I briefly thought the space agency was cool again. Ten minutes later, I learned its a project from Squeak E. Clean & DJ Zegon and it rather moronically stands for "North America South America". It would be cooler if it was sponsored by the folks who brought us Tang. (A roundabout link to one of the tracks is posted below).

Mp3 links are forthcoming. I hope.

Artist / Song
Man Man / Van Helsing Boombox
Women / Black Rice
Here We Go Magic / Tunnelvision
The Black Lips / Starting Over
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / Take Off Your Sunglasses
Hacienda / She's Got a Hold on Me
The Black Keys / Psychotic Girl
Dan Auerbach / I Want Some More
The Thermals / Here's Your Future
Jay Reatard / An Ugly Death
The Muslims / Bright Side
Love is All / Rumours
Los Campesinos! / Ways to Make it Through the Wall
Arcade Fire / Burning Bridges
Arcade Fire / Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Everything Absent or Distorted / A Form to Accommodate the Mess
Emily Wells / Symphony 1: In the Barrel of a Gun
Sufjan Stevens / Chicago
Belle & Sebastian / Your Secrets
Little Joy / Brand New Start
Coconut Records / Microphone
Rainbow Arabia / Holiday in Congo
Friend / Black Keys
The Polyphonic Spree / Light & Day
The Helio Sequence / Hallelujah
Lykke Li / Knocked Up (Kings of Leon cover)
Hot Chip / No Fit State
NASA / Gifted (ft. Kanye West, Santogold, Lykke Li)
The Tough Alliance / A New Chance

Top Albums of 2008, Pt. 2

2008-12-29T16:30:00.004-07:00

10. Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
9. Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances
8. Santogold - Santogold
7. Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us
6. The Dutchess & the Duke - She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke
5. The Envelopes - Here Comes the Wind
4. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
3. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster...
2. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
1. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours

12/29 Show
See the full playlist here. I added Jay Reatard's "Matador Singles '08" as an honorable mention in the middle of the show. If it weren't a compilation it would have placed highly on my year-end list.

Top Albums of 2008, Pt. 1

2008-12-25T22:48:00.004-07:00

12/22 Show
Here it begins, the long-awaited Music is My Girlfriend Albums of the Year list! Monday's show saw me counting down #'s 25-11. Tune in next Monday (the 29th) to hear my top ten.

You can preview nearly all of these songs using the new playlist widget in the left column (Love is All was not available).

(song titles under each album were played on the show)

25. Ratatat - LP3
Shempi

24. Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow & Blue
Hummingbird
Foxes Mate For Life

23. M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Kim & Jessie

22. Sun Kil Moon - April
Lost Verses

21. Jamie Lidell - Jim
Another Day

20. The Mae Shi - HLLLYH
The Melody
Run to Your Grave

19. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Ragged Wood

18. Love is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
Last Choice
Rumours

17. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
Each Year
Dying is Fine
Oh, La

16. The Dodos - Visiter
Winter
Fools

15. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Courtship Dating
Vanished

14. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Breaking it Up
Little Bit

13. Little Joy - Little Joy
The Next Time Around
No One's Better Sake

12. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
In Step
Let Me See You

11. Man Man - Rabbit Habits
Mr. Jung Stuffed
Hurly / Burly

Some Songs I Have Enjoyed

2008-12-18T09:32:00.004-07:00

12/15 Show
Following is a playlist full of some of my favorite tracks of the past year. I tried to exclude songs that will be featured during my albums of the year countdown, so don't read this as any sort of year-end best songs of the year list. At the same time, some of these may sneak into my top 20 albums list, so be prepared to hear them again over the next couple weeks.

Next Monday I'll start my albums of the year countdown, probably featuring #'s 20-11. The top ten will then fill my show on December 29th. I have a lot of records to re-listen to before Monday.

Artist / Song
Wolf Parade / Language City
The Mae Shi / Run to Your Grave
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / We Should Fight
Jay Reatard / You Mean Nothing to Me
War on Drugs / Taking the Farm
Spiritualized / I Gotta Fire
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson / Woodfriend
Everything Absent or Distorted / The Exit Parade
Blitzen Trapper / Furr
Grizzly Bear / While You Wait for the Others
Ra Ra Riot / Oh, La
Lykke Li / Dance Dance Dance
Birdmonster / Born to be Your Man
The Republic Tigers / Buildings & Mountains
The Felice Brothers / Frankie's Gun
State Bird / I Saw the Light
Dr. Dog / Heart it Races
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Alejandro Escovedo / Always a Friend
The Notwist / Boneless
Parts & Labor / Nowheres Nigh
Hearts of Palm / No Water
Stephan Malkmus & the Jicks / Cold Son
The French Kicks / Said So What
Hercules & Love Affair / Hercules Theme
The Very Best / Get It Up
The Cool Kids / Bassment Party
Passion Pit / Sleepyhead
Empire of the Sun / Walking on a Dream
{{{Sunset}}} / Man's Heart Complaint

December Doldrums

2008-12-11T10:54:00.004-07:00

12/8 Show
December is looking to be a slow month for new music, both in album and mp3 releases. You might notice a wealth of older tracks on today's playlist.

I'm working on various year-end lists, so expect to see and hear about those in the coming days and weeks. I'm looking at Monday, December 22nd for a show featuring my favorite songs of the past year. Monday, December 29th's show will feature my top albums countdown. Program/Music Director Chad Reich will do his album countdown from Noon-2 on the same day.

Not many mp3 links this week, but I have installed a new working playlist on the lefthand column. It plays snippets of each song unless that song is labeled as "featured" (wherein it will play the entire song).

Artist / Song
The Felice Brothers / Frankie's Gun
Billy Bragg & Wilco / Walt Whitman's Niece
Brazos / Mary Jo
Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos / As Tall As Cliffs
Her Space Holiday / Sleepy Tigers
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood
Gringo Star / All Y'all
The Muslims / Bright Side
Love is All / Rumours
The Willowz / Something
Vivian Girls / Where Do You Run To
The Dutchess & the Duke / Mary
Sun Kil Moon / Neverending Math Equation
Modest Mouse / Gravity Rides Everything
Schneider TM / Reality Check
Wolf Parade / You Are a Runner & I Am My Father's Son
Arcade Fire / Headlights Look Like Diamonds
The Walkmen / Little House of Savages
Los Campesinos! / Ways to Make It Through the Wall
Everything Absent or Distorted / A Form to Accommodate the Mess
Shugo Tokumaru / Sanganichi
The Felice Brothers / Radio Song
Belle & Sebastian / The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner
The Decemberists / Days of Elaine
Spoon / Something to Look Forward To
Little Joy / Brand New Start
Takka Takka / The Takers
Rainbow Arabia / Holiday in Congo
Of Montreal / Gallery Piece
Totally Michael / Don't Stop
The Tough Alliance / Neo Violence
Gang Gang Dance / House Jam

The State I Am In

2008-12-04T01:34:00.006-07:00

12/1 Show
It sure felt nice to be back in the air chair on Monday. I had planned to go skiing Monday morning before my show, but instead spent most of it preparing for my show. I like to think that it was a quality program. You might notice that in the middle of the show I highlighted some tracks my mother rated highly the week prior during the Second Annual McFarren Matriarch CD Challenge (see the post below).

Mp3 links are up as of 12/7. As you'll find out, "I am Fuel, You are Friends" was on fire the last couple weeks.

Artist / Song
Passion Pit / Sleepyhead
Gang Gang Dance / House Jam
Rainbow Arabia / Holiday in Congo
Starf*cker / German Love *by request
Friend / Black Keys (demo)
The Tough Alliance / Miami
Yelle / Ce Jeu
The Umbrella Sequence / Urban Lull (At Once Charmed)
Little Joy / The Next Time Around
Hush Arbors / Water II
The Decemberists / Days of Elaine
The Broken West / Perfect Games (Daytrotter)
The Dutchess & the Duke / Scorpio (Daytrotter)
The Felice Brothers / Frankie's Gun
Matt Pond PA / In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Jonathan Richman / Parties in the USA
Jens Lekman / Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo
David Byrne & Brian Eno / Life is Long
Jamie Lidell / Another Day
Belle & Sebastian / The State I Am In
Vampire Weekend / The Kids Don't Stand a Chance
Elbow / Grounds for Divorce
The Features / GMF
Gringo Starr / Don't Go
Vivian Girls / Damaged
Love is All / Big Bangs, Black Holes, Meteorites
Jay Reatard / See Saw
Parts & Labor / Nowheres Nigh
The Hands / Nothing
El Ten Eleven / Jumping Frenchmen of Maine

the Second Annual McFarren Matriarch CD Challenge

2008-12-01T11:58:00.003-07:00

The Challenge:
My brother Kyle and I selected 15 tracks that we thought our Mother would enjoy. Our brother Adam compiled and randomized the songs, replacing any duplicate selections with a track of his choosing. Mom graded each song on a scale of 0 to 5 (including half points). Highest total score wins.

The Songs:
Mom's score follows each song title. G or K indicates whether it was a Grant or Kyle selection. Running score totals are provided, along with number of tracks scored. Mom's comments are provided below each song.

1. Skinny Love - Bon Iver - 3 (G=3/1)
"I enjoyed the music more than the words (later: it sounded like guys trying to sing too high)."

2. Big Easy - Raphael Saadiq - 3.5 (K=3.5/1)
"motown-esque. I could understand the words"

3. As Tall as Cliffs - Margot & The Nuclear So & Sos - 3.5 (G=6.5/2)
"we haven't gotten to the very last note yet...i didn't like the end, the very end"

4. Awake My Soul - Mumford & Sons - 3 (K=6.5/2)
"Parts were a 2.5 and parts were a 3. I liked the instrumental more than the words"

5. Blue and Gold Print - Mates of State - 3 (K=9.5/3)
"All these songs are falling between the 2.5 - 3.0 range. It grew on me."
Kyle in a note to Grant: "I think mom decided if she gives bad scores she won't have to do this again next year."

6. Another Day - Jamie Lidell - 5 (G=11.5/3)
"That was my favorite song so far. I understood the words and I liked the musicality (that's a big word on Dancing With The Stars)"

7. Not on my Side - Cameron Mcgill - 3 (G=14.5/4)
"Too folk-songish."

8. Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo - Jens Lekman - 4 (K=13.5/4)
"I like the beat...could understand most of the words. It was a happy song."

9. A King and Queen - Okkervil River - 4 (K=17.5/5)
Grant: "Shocking!" Mom: "Why? I enjoyed it." [grant didn't think it was poppy enough]

10. Buildings & Mountains - The Republic Tigers - 3.5 (G=18/5)
"I was going to give it a 4, but the instrumentality at the beginning and end went on too long."

11. Lights Out - Santogold - 3 (K=20.5/6)
Mom: "reminds me of someone else." Dad: "wasn't this in a commercial somewhere?" [Yes: the Bud Light Lime ads this past summer]

12. Keep Me On - Bodies of Water - 2.5 (K=23/7)
Mom: "It was a very dreary song, but I liked some of the guitar parts and I pictured the people in all black clothing drearing along" Dad: "It was a dirge"

13. Auctioneer - The Broken West - 3.5 (Adam's filler song)
Mom: "It was happy" Dad: "It wasn't slow and they weren't in black"

14. Parties in the USA - Jonathan Richman - 5 (K=28/8)
"I'm torn...ok, a 5! I enjoyed the familiarity of it"

15. Always a Friend - Alejandro Escovedo - 5 (G=23/6)
"I liked that song...it reminded me of Huey Lewis and the News"

16. John Saw That Number - Neko Case - 2.5 (K=30.5/9)
"2.5...too twangy. The beginning reminded me of my least favorite part of "O, Brother Where Art Thou?" down by the river with the muses and those sirens. But, it had a good beat."

17. You Came Around - Nico Stai - 3.5 (G=26.5/7)
Mom: "3.5" Grant: "It's not over yet." Mom: "oh" "Yes, 3.5. Here's what I say: if they're playing it live, people will start clapping because they think the song is over." Dad: "The music was louder than the words."

18. Foux du Fafa - Flight of the Conchords - 2.5 (K=33/10)
"Soup du jour? It was hard to sing along to, but I liked the music."

19. Hitten - Those Dancing Days - 3 (G=29.5/8)
"Umm, 3. It had a good beat, you could dance to it." [a car from hawaii almost caused 2 accidents during this song]

Intermission: Mom: "I generally prefer songs by guys, and not a lot of pre and post instrumental."

20. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She and Him - 5 (G=34.5/9)
"I liked that song (I know I just contradicted myself)"

21. Keep Sending Me Black Fireworks - Of Montreal - 3 (K=36/11)
"Too many changes in the tempo, it was alright. Parts I didn't like but I liked the chorus."

22. Walking on a Dream - Empire of The Sun - 2.5 (G=37/10)
At the start of the song: Kyle: "whoa" Grant: "Yeah, I'm not sure how this is gonna do." Mom: "2.5" Grant: "Better than I thought!"

23. Darling Be Here - Bodies of Water - 2.5 (K=38.5/12)
"This was an angry black Paso Doble song. Was that the same group [as earlier]?" Grant: "You were lucky to get 2.5 out of that song." Later: "It reminded me of Warren Sapp in black leather stomping around." [another Dancing With The Stars reference]

24. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes - 2.5 (K=41/13)
"Hmm...that was just an average song. Maybe the one before it should've been lower."

25. Would You - Richard Swift - 5 (G=42/11)
Dad: "I knew she'd like that song." Mom: "It sounded like Little Anthony and the Imperials."

26. Airline to Heaven - Wilco - 4 (K=45/14)
"Bob Dylan-ish. It grew on me."

27. Born to be Your Man - Birdmonster - 3 (G=45/12)
"Easy to understand the words, but I heard something about blood and when your uncle died."

28. I Stand Corrected - Vampire Weekend - 3 (G=48/13)
"I say 3"

29. Life is Long - David Byrne & Brian Eno - 5 (Selected by both Kyle & Grant, so not counted in totals)
"easy to sing along with" Mom to Dad: "Do you agree with me most of the time on these songs?" Dad: "nope."

30. Neverending Math Equation- Sun Kil Moon - 3.5 (G=51.5/14)
"Better than some, not as good as others."

Final Score (14 songs counted for each):
Grant - 51.5 total - 3.68 average
Kyle - 45 total - 3.21 average

Grant wins for the second year in a row!

Analysis:
Songs with that "Motown" sound generally score very well (see: Jamie Lidell, Jonathan Richman, & Richard Swift). We have also learned that Mom prefers: male vocals, intelligible lyrics, shorter & less instrumental songs, and a general lack of dissonance.

Both Kyle and I took more risks than last year, with varying results (but more fun!). Kyle's stubborn love for Bodies of Water didn't do him any favors (although a controversy arose when it was discovered that Adam had failed to replace one of the Bodies of Water tracks, as per Kyle's instructions, with the Heartless Bastards' "Piano Song". It would not have made a significant difference in our final scores). I put Empire of the Sun's "Walking on a Dream" on the mix for a laugh, fully expecting it to score a 2 or below, so I was pleasantly surprised with the 2.5 it received.

Gallery Piece

2008-11-22T11:18:00.004-07:00

11/17 Show
So, basically, the Of Montreal show was ridiculous. A great show and a great roadtrip to Denver. I drove back early Monday morning in time to do my show, and as you can tell I was a lot influenced in my song selection. I got a chance to play my entire interview with Bryan Poole (the guitarist from Of Montreal) as well. The transcript of that interview is below.

I'm travelling right now for Thanksgiving and won't be on the air this Monday. For the same reason, links may be slow to appear for this playlist. Hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving!

Artist / Song
Mogwai / The Sun Smells Too Loud
Little Joy / No One's Better Sake
The Strokes / Soma
Albert Hammond Jr. / GfC
Parts & Labor / Nowheres Nigh
The Boat People / Born in the 80s
The Rosebuds / Cape Fear
Wolf Parade / Language City
Yeasayer / 2080
David Bowie / Changes *by request
David Byrne & Brian Eno / Life is Long
The Kooks / Kids (MGMT cover)
Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos / I am a Lightning Rod
Belle & Sebastian / Lazy Line Painter Jane
Of Montreal / Nonpareil of Favor
Interview with Bryan Poole of Of Montreal (pre-recorded)
Of Montreal / Gallery Piece
Of Montreal / Gronlandic Edi
Of Montreal / Smells Like Teen Spirit (live)
Jay Reatard / You Mean Nothing to Me
The Mae Shi / Lamb and the Lion
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson / Woodfriend
Arizona / Swimming Hole
Blitzen Trapper / Furr
Okkervil River / Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe
Icy Demons / Miami Ice
Fake Male Voice / OMG!!!FMV!!!
Fujiya & Miyagi / Knickerbocker

White Horse Crap & Double Neck Guitars: An Interview with Bryan Poole from Of Montreal

2008-11-13T12:33:00.003-07:00

Of Montreal's traveling circus is rolling into Denver this Sunday, and I was lucky enough to interview guitarist Bryan Poole ahead of their arrival. Bryan talks about this crazy tour, future acoustic shows, Kevin Barnes' recording process, and how seated venues are terrible.

So how’s the tour going so far?

Great. We’ve been having really excited crowds and everybody seems to dig what we’re doing. So far so good.

Great. I recently read that Kevin [Barnes, Of Montreal ringleader of sorts] said the band views this round of touring as a once in a lifetime opportunity. Would you say that’s a fair assessment?

Yeah, we’ve kind of done this prog rock, excess tour, you know? I used to get Mojo magazine and for those who don’t know what Mojo is, its just like this British magazine that’s kind of like the rock historian mag. They were talking about all these prog rock bands that had these lavish tours in the early 70s and were spending millions of dollars on these tours only to find out that they didn’t have the money to back it up and lost their shirts trying to do these tours. For this tour, Kevin, and the band, we’ve always wanted it to be bigger, better, and more extravagant and, you know, as big as we could get it, as big a spectacle as it could possibly be, but on kind of a budget. I mean, definitely, you look at a band like the Flaming Lips or something like that and you really admire what they do because they definitely are setting up all the stuff themselves and they are making the props. They’re not just paying some company, like “Let’s get the fancy laser light thing!” for the tour where some set designer designs your tour set. We’re trying to do the same thing but at the same time to have extra people with us, like we have two vehicles and we have all these extra performers and set pieces and all these things that we have to load into the club. We have to start getting stuff in at around 11am or at Noon. That’s when the day begins and, you know, working right up until the show starts basically getting things ready to go and then our show is like a two hour show. You have all that stuff happening, then you have to break it all down, put it back in, and drive to the next town. So, it’s a bit expensive to do that and we’re not really, or this tour’s not about making money. It’s more about having this celebration or this weird spectacle that we and Kevin have always wanted to do. By hook or by crook it was going to happen. Kevin was not going to be denied, you know? (laughing) “But Kevin we’re going to loose money!” He’s like “Ah, we’re going to do it!” So we saved up a bunch of money. We played some festivals earlier this year that paid pretty well and instead of putting that money up we put it back in to do this tour.

Great. Yeah, the photos and reports I’ve seen have been pretty ridiculous. How was having a white horse on stage in New York?

It was good! Luckily it didn’t do its business on stage. It did right before it went on supposedly. That was the funniest comment of the whole show. After the show we played and were behind the stage and stuff like that, and there’s this security woman back there who is probably like 55 or something. She’s just sitting in her chair, that’s all she did the whole night was sit in her chair. She was like, and I’ll edit it for radio, but she said, “Yeah I didn’t see any of the show, but I saw that horse take a crap on stage!” (laughter) So that was pretty funny. But the horse thing was a great thing, but it was just for that one show. It was just a big blowout because it was available. That was pricey, I won’t even tell you how much it cost to get that horse. So it was a little bit cost prohibitive. Plus, PETA, they weren’t too happy with us using the horse either, which is understandable. I have no ill will towards PETA, but they wrote us a letter about it. And I was like, “Yeah, probably a horse shouldn’t be on stage.”

Well, do you guys have anything special planned for Sunday’s show in Denver?

Well, we bring our show the same, I mean the only thing that’s missing from the show in Denver versus the one in New York is there won’t be a horse and probably Andrew Van Wyngarden is not going to be on stage. But, you know, who knows what other luminaries might appear? So if people want to see what our show is like there’s lots of stuff up on YouTube and pictures around, stuff like that. It’s a lot of time, and it really is kind of a once in a lifetime Of Montreal show, at least for now. I know for our next tour we’re scaling it back because we actually have to pay bills. (laughter)

You can’t do something like this every time I guess.

Yeah, we’ll go back to something more intimate I think, we’re hoping. We did some things in Europe where we played, basically acoustically, and we all had a great time doing it. So we might do a scaled-back, more intimate tour next time.

Yeah, I saw some videos of you guys playing acoustic in some parks in London…

Yeah! That was a little bit odd but it worked out. It was a bit cold and kindof strange and the wind was blowing. It was like one o’clock which is dreadfully early for us.

So, I guess the Elephant 6 collective has some roots in Denver and Boulder. Do you or any Of Montreal members have any connections to the area?

Not per se. Of course, Apples in Stereo, Dressy Bessy and the Minders, even Andy Gonzalez, who played in Of Montreal for a while, of Marshmallow Coat. He’s from Denver and he made friends with Julian and played in music tapes initially and came out to Athens. So that’s the closest thing, we have Andy, Andy from Denver as he’s now called. You should check out his stuff. Yeah, its unfortunate, you know, the Minders and the Apples [in Stereo] have left town, but we always love to hang out with them and go get Indian food. There’s an Indian restaurant I can’t remember where it is, but we always go there. So yeah, we like Denver a lot. I like Colorado, it’s beautiful.

It’s a good place to be. So I’m wondering if, since Kevin did pretty much the whole album by himself, did you guys have any problems turning his studio productions into stuff that can be performed live? How’s that process work?

As far as getting the songs that are recorded, to be able to perform them?

Yep.

Yeah, well we put a lot of time into that because a lot of times with Kevin’s recording methods, like let’s say the thing with bass… it’s not one bass line. Its not like he sat down and recorded the bass line in one go. He’ll start with a simplistic bass line, it might be just one little riff. And then he’ll overdub on top of that bass line another bass line and then, maybe, a third bass line on top of that. So when you actually hear the record it sounds like a crazy bass line but its basically impossible to play for one person. A lot of times that’s kindof the main thing. There’s times where three… I have a new double neck guitar slash bass, so in the middle of one part of the song I play a bass line, and then in another part of the song I play a guitar line. So there’s things like that, yeah, there’s a lot of technical things that we have to get through. But we practice really hard everyday, I mean, really, probably like 6-7 hours a day for about a month from the middle of August until the middle of September. And then after that we had to have stage rehearsals where it was like, ok, all the stuff. We had rented out this place in Athens that was basically a mini-arena and we set up everything in there just to see what’s going to work and what’s not. [So we’re] not going to the first gig with everything being raw. So, yeah, it was a lot of time and professional rock band stuff. Our friend Heather McIntosh is played with Lelain these days and she said they have 13 hour practice days with a short lunch break.

That’s a full-time job.

It could be. (laughter) Its an experience.

Does Kevin ever seek advice or feedback while he’s in the recording process from the rest of the band or is it pretty much a solo effort?

No, not really. He’ll send me sketches that he’s working on and I might comment, “Oh, I really like this thing” or whatever. I’ve kindof learned not to say negative things because then he’ll stop sending them to me. That’s about the only insight I have is that I can comment on it and occasionally get to play on a song if it just happens to be that day that I’m over there. It’s like, “You want to play guitar on this?” “Yeah, I would like to play guitar on this.” But generally he works by himself and he can play everything and I don’t begrudge him that. It is a bit frustrating, I’m not going to lie about that, but I don’t begrudge him for the way he goes about it. He’s like Prince. He can do it and he knows what he wants to play. He knows what he wants so it’s a bit frustrating for him to have other people parts that are not quite what he wants. And he has to wait for them to do it, instead of “Oh, I recorded this track. I’m gonna pick up the guitar.” And then’s he’s recorded something within twenty minutes instead of [saying] “Hey Bryan, can you learn this thing and come up with a part?” Waiting around. So it stops his creative process and he likes being in that world with the headphones on. I think anybody that does a lot of four-tracking, or starts there, can identify with that creative process. Staying up until four or five in the morning and just kind of being in awe like, “What in the world have I just created?” You know, you’re refining it and you’re sculpting it and you just become a really good sculptor of songs. You feel you should be in the guild of songwriters I think.

Do you have any advice for people, like myself, who will be seeing you for the first time on Sunday?

Come to have fun. Don’t just stare. Get involved, you know? We really want to it be a band party. I can’t remember the place we are playing in Denver if it has seats or not…

It’s a standing venue. It’s the Ogden Theater.

Good, because the seated venues are terrible. Everybody’s just kindof static, watching you. You know, I watched Neil Young on some BBC thing from ’71 that I downloaded. I’ve actually seen it about 500 hundred times, but this is a cleaner copy and I brought it on the bus and watched it. Its kindof like MTV Unplugged before MTV Unplugged and everybody’s sitting down. And that’s great for him to be playing acoustic or whatever, but that’s not what we’re doing. We’re a big spectacle rock show. Its like a dance party, so come to dance.

Well I look forward to the spectacle. I know you have a busy day Bryan so I’ll let you get back to what you are doing. Have a good show tonight in Houston.

Thanks! Have fun up there in Crested Butte. I hope you don’t have to put the chains on to make it down to the show.

------------------------------------

Thanks to Bryan Poole for the interview and for Chad Reich at KBUT for setting the whole thing up for me. Go see Of Montreal at the Ogden Theater this Sunday in Denver (or whenever they roll through your town). I know I'm ridiculously excited. Buy their new album Skeletal Lamping while you're at it. Its good.

Of Montreal official website
Skeletal Lamping @ Polyvinyl Record Co.

Daytrotter.com Appreciation Day

2008-11-10T16:32:00.007-07:00

11/10 Show
November 10th was officially declared "Daytrotter.com Appreciation Day" by yours truly. Thus, below you will find a substantial selection of live-in-studio tracks from that delightful website. Luckily, many bands visiting Denver in the next week had Daytrotter songs available, so everything fit together quite nicely.

Also of note is Of Montreal's upcoming concert at the Ogden in Denver this Sunday. I am quite excited to see the spectacle in person.

Mp3 links are up and running!

Artist / Song
Parts & Labor / Nowheres Nigh
Built to Spill / Car (live)
Jay Reatard / An Ugly Death
The Boat People / Born in the 80s
Mason Proper / Fog
Wavves / Weed Demon
Vivian Girls / Damaged
Gang of Four / Damaged Goods
Wire / Mr. Marx's Table / Daytrotter
The Republic Tigers / Buildings & Mountains / Daytrotter
Architecture in Helsinki / Like it or Not / Daytrotter
Cave Singers / Seeds of Night / Daytrotter
Born Ruffians / Foxes Mate for Life / Daytrotter
Earlimart / For the Birds / Daytrotter
Beck / Debra *by request
Fake Male Voice / OMG!!!FMV!!!
Of Montreal / Jimmy
Of Montreal / Gronlandic Edit
Of Montreal / Nonpareil of Favor
Blitzen Trapper / Wicked
The Rosebuds / Border Guards
Au Revoir Simone / Sad Song / Daytrotter
Bishop Allen / Rain
The Castanets / You Got Lucky / Daytrotter
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson / Woodfriend
Arizona / Heath
Frightened Rabbit / Good Arms vs. Bad Arms (live)
O'Death / Lowtide
Extra Golden / Obama

Electioneering

2008-11-07T08:41:00.003-07:00

11/3 Show
Being November 3rd and all, you might notice a subtle "election" / "change" theme running throughout my show this week. I tried not to make it too obviously political as some other KBUT DJs have done that more successfully and controversially than I ever could. I got a great deal of interested phone calls during the show, and probably the best random listener request to date: The Dodos' "Fools". The Ween request was not nearly as enjoyable.

Didn't use any link-able songs that I havn't linked to before, but you can expect a good dose of those next week now that my internet at home is up and running.

Artist / Song
TV on the Radio / Golden Age
The Very Best / Tengazako
The Tough Alliance / A New Chance
Cut Copy / Out There on the Ice
Cassettes Won't Listen / Change
Starf*cker / Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second
The Seedy Seeds / Changes Less the Moon
Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos / As Tall As Cliffs
Pete Yorn / American Blues Vol. 1
The Spinto Band / The Carnival
Radiohead / Electioneering
Parts & Labor / Nowheres Nigh
Japanther / Change Your Life
Jay Reatard / See Saw
Hacienda / She's Got a Hold On Me
VIvian Girls / Where Do You Run To
The Replacements / Election Day
Mason Proper / Lock & Key
Marc Bolan & T-Rex / Change
The Dodos / Fools * by request
The Umbrella Sequence / Urban Lull (At Once Charmed)
Matt & Kim / Daylight
The Notwist / Boneless
Little Joy / No One's Better Sake
Golden Animals / Beautiful Stranger
Billy Bragg & Wilco / Christ for President
Blitzen Trapper / Not Your Lover
David Byrne & Brian Eno / Everything That Happens
Ween / Freedom of '76 * by request
The Delta Spirit / People C'mon
Empire of the Sun / Walking on a Dream * by request from Kyle
Holy F*ck / Super Inuit (live)
Of Montreal / Id Engager

Wild Eyes

2008-10-28T19:36:00.004-06:00

10/27 Show
As you might notice below, Halloween's impending spookiness had no effect on my song selections. Instead I opted for the tried and true blend of new and semi-new indie rock (along with one classic VU track).

Really enjoying Jay Reatard's new "album" Matador Singles '08 right now, as well as Of Montreal's new album Skeletal Lamping (which also just arrived in my PO Box on vinyl!).

Wow! There are links this week!

Artist / Song
Jay Reatard / You Mean Nothing to Me
Jay Reatard / My Shadow
Harlem / South of France
Black Lips / O Katrina
Art Brut / Pump Up the Volume
Vivian Girls / Wild Eyes
Arthur & Yu / Lion's Mouth
The Velvet Underground / Pale Blue Eyes (alternate closet mix)
Au Revoir Simone / Oh! You Pretty Things
Mates of State / Fluke
Matt & Kim / Daylight
Starf*cker / Laadeedaa
Interpol / Stella Was a Diver And She Was Always Down
The Walkmen / In the New Year
Grampall Jookabox / Air Penance
French Kicks / Abandon
Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos / I am a Lightning Rod
Backyard Tire Fire / The Places We Lived
Prabir & the Substitutes / Bad Days Are A' Comin
Dr. Dog / My Friend
King Khan & the Shrines / Outta Harm's Way
Sebastian Grainger / American Names
TV on the Radio / Shout Me Out
The Faint / The Geeks Were Right
Apes & Androids / Nights of the Week
Passion Pit / Sleepyhead
Of Montreal / For Our Elegant Caste
Of Montreal / Touched Something's Hollow
Of Montreal / An Eluardian Instance
Hockey Night / Dark Trance
American Football / Never Meant

Laadeedaa

2008-10-25T19:01:00.004-06:00

10/20 Show
As I detailed a couple of weeks ago, Music is My Girlfriend has perservered and perhaps even improved despite the fact that my technological world is crumbling around me (add my iPod to the list of malfunctioning devices). I will admit, however, that my posting frequency has certainly been hurting without a home internet connection.

Walter Brennan made a special late-show appearance this week, courtesy of my uncle.

Artist / Song
The Notwist / Boneless
Starf*cker / Laadeedaa
The Umbrella Sequence / Urban Lull (At Once Charmed)
Matt & Kim / Daylight
Envelopes / Freejazz
The Mae Shi / Lamb & the Lion
Jay Reatard / Painted Shut
Vivian Girls / Where Do You Run To
The Bicycles / B-B-Bicycles
The White Stripes / I Can't Wait
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson / Woodfriend
Women / Shaking Hands
The Splinters / Splintered Bridges
Hacienda / She's Got a Hold on Me
Golden Animals / Beautiful Stranger
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists / Sons of Cain
Titus Andronicus / My Time Outside the Womb
War on Drugs / Taking the Farm
Little Joy / No One's Better Sake
Her Space Holiday / Sleepy Tigers
Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos / As Tall As Cliffs
Sam Champion / Always the Same
The Spinto Band / Later On
Birdmonster / Born to Be Your Man
Jay Reatard / You Were Sleeping
Blitzen Trapper / Black River Killer
Ra Ra Riot / Winter '05
The Rosebuds / Cape Fear
TV on the Radio / Crying
Beck / Hot in Here (Nelly cover)
The Clash / The Guns of Brixton
PVC Street Gang / Cutlass
Of Montreal / Gallery Piece
Walter Brennan / Suppertime

Hit It and Quit It

2008-10-18T18:10:00.004-06:00

10/16 Fill-In Show
Filled in for my buddy Josh Thursday evening as he headed to Wisconsin for the weekend. He should have fun watching the Colts destroy the Packers on Sunday. (edit: perhaps I spoke too soon...)

Started with some classic punk, then a good dose of new track and a heaping helping from Of Montreal's excellent new album. Closed things out with some uptempo stuff before I shut it down a half hour early at midnight (hence the "hit it and quit it"). Thanks to Zach for stopping by and picking out some tracks.

Artist / Song
Richard Hell & the Voidoids / Blank Generation
The Clash / Career Opportunities (live at Shea Stadium)
The Ramones / 53rd & 3rd
Sex Pistols / Holidays in the Sun
TV on the Radio / Golden Age
Matt & Kim / Daylight
Jay Reatard / See Saw
Shaky Hands / We Are Young
Kings of Leon / Sex on Fire
Hacienda / She's Got a Hold on Me
Mountain Goats / If You See Light
Say Hi to You Mom / Let's Talk About Spaceships
Of Montreal / For Our Elegant Caste
Of Montreal / Touched Something's Hollow
Of Montreal / An Eluardian Instance
Of Montreal / Gallery Piece
Holy F*ck / Super Inuit (live)
Ratatat / Shempi
Roots Manuva / Witness (1 Hope)
Gang Gang Dance / House Jam
Passion Pit / Sleepyhead
Mercury Rev / Senses on Fire (Fujiya & Miyagi remix)
Cut Copy / Far Away
Empire of the Sun / Walking on a Dream
Cut Copy / LIghts and Music

Stay Hungry

2008-10-13T17:08:00.004-06:00

10/13 Show
Free 6th row tickets to David Byrne in Denver was more than worth the 10+ hours of driving required in the last 24 hours. I had planned to get my radio show covered, but I was so inspired and excited by Byrne's live show that I decided to wake up early and drive back to CB in time for Music is My Girlfriend. Obviously the concert is the reason for the glut of Talking Heads and Byrne/Eno tracks in this playlist.

I came back to KBUT to find loads of new and exciting albums in the studio. To name a few: Of Montreal, I'm From Barcelona, Margot & the Nuclear So & So's, among others. I should be digging into these during the next week, so expect to hear more tracks off them then.

Links will be up soon, hopefully.

Artist / Song
Talking Heads / Artists Only (live 8/8/79)
Talking Heads / Stay Hungry (live 8/8/79)
David Byrne & Brian Eno / Strange Overtones
Of Montreal / Mingusings
Delta Spirit / People C'mon
Talking Heads / Houses in Motion (live)
Talking Heads / Heaven (live)
Margot & the Nuclear So & So's / O' What a Nightmare
Matt & Kim / Good Ole Fashioned Nightmare
Ratatat / Dura
David Byrne & Brian Eno / Life is Long
Broken West / Perfect Games
Elvis Costello / (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea
the Brazda Brothers / Lonely Time
Nick Drake / Pink Drake
Elliott Smith / Angel in the Snow
Gangi / Fire in Cairo
Miniature Tigers / Cannibal Queen
I'm From Barcelona / Headphones
Peter, Bjorn, and John / Up Against the Wall
Ratatat / Can You Tell
Spoon / Back to the Life
Her Space Holiday / Sleepy Tigers
Pete Yorn / American Blues, Vol 1
Birdmonster / I Might Have Guessed
Beck / Loser (live London 2003)
Mercury Rev / Senses on Fire (Fujiya & Miyagi remix)
Weird Tapes / TV Romance
Cut Copy / Unforgettable Season
Hercules & Love Affair / Hercules Theme
Ratatat / Wildcat

Loosen Up

2008-10-09T11:14:00.005-06:00

10/6 Show
Technical difficulties have taken their toll at Music is My Girlfriend Headquarters. I moved into a new house at the beginning of the month and don't have an internet connection as of yet, thus limited my web-based trolling, downloading, and show preparation. Even worse, the CD drive in my laptop has decided to stop reading CDs, meaning I can't rip endless amounts of new music from KBUT during my show. These technical issues have severely altered my radio show preparation, but I feel that may have produced a more well-rounded show on Monday.

Of note this week is Beck's live version of "Guess I'm Doing Fine" from the Union Chapel, London show in 2003. You can find the entire show by following the link. And yes, I played Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead" again.

A couple mp3s are up and running. I may stop linking repeat mp3s (songs that I have played and linked to in previous weeks). Any thoughts?

Artist / Song
Birdmonster / Born to Be Your Man
Little Joy / No One's Better Sake
Vampire Weekend / I Stand Corrected
The Morning Benders / Mother and Child Reunion
Okkervil River / Singer Songwriter
Sam Champion / Always the Same
The Broken West / Perfect Games
The Strokes / Hard to Explain
The Shaky Hands / Loosen Up
Wild Sweet Orange / Either/Or
Delta Spirit / Children
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Is This Love?!
French Kicks / Said So What
The Dutchess & the Duke / Mary
Earlimart / Face Down in the Right Town
The Spinto Band / Summer Grof
Band Marino / Every Time I Make a Girl Cry I Know I've Done My Job
Starf*cker / German Love
the Notwist / Pilot
Fujiya & Miyagi / Pussyfooting
Prefuse 73 / One Word Extinguisher
Beck / Guess I'm Doing Fine (live in London 2003)
Blitzen Trapper / Furr
Richard Swift / Would You
Young Coyotes / When I Was in the Fire
The Kooks / Kids (MGMT cover)
TV on the Radio / Golden Age
The Faint / Forever Growing Centipedes
Hot Chip / Hold On
Passion Pit / Sleepyhead

I Shall Be Released

2008-10-01T17:35:00.004-06:00

9/29 Show
This week: the usual mix of new tracks with some older gems. The Booker T track at the end of the show was to promote Thursday night's Booker T Jones concert here in Crested Butte. Sadly, I think I have to work.

Be sure to check out the free Wilco / Fleet Foxes download below. All you have to do is promise to vote in the upcoming election and the song is yours. Also, the Empire of the Sun track is a pretty ridiculous MGMT-esque jam.

Artist / Song
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson / Woodfriends
Wolf Parade / Language City
TV on the Radio / Halfway House
Passion Pit / Sleepyhead
Brendan Canning / Hit the Wall
War on Drugs / Taking the Farm
Broken West / Auctioneer
Hacienda / She's Got a Hold on Me
Architecture in Helsinki / Like it or Not, Version 2
Donkeys / Nice Train
David Byrne & Brian Eno / Life is Long
Kooks / Kids (MGMT cover)
Wilco / I am Trying to Break Your Heart
Wilco w/ Fleet Foxes / I Shall Be Released
Gringo Starr / All Y'all
Shaky Hands / We Are Young
Hives / The Stomp
The Muslims / On My Time
The Sonics / Strychnine
Band Marino / Everytime I Make a Girl Cry I Know I've Done My Job
Blitzen Trapper / Furr
Restaurant / Home
Mason Proper / Fog
Chad Van Gaalen / Phantom Anthill
Fujiya & Miyagi / Knickerbocker
Passion Pit / I've Got Your Number
Empire of the Sun / Walking on a Dream
Cut Copy / Far Away
CSS / Beautiful Song
TV on the Radio / Golden Age
Booker T & the MG's / Green Onions

A-Z, 4.0

2008-09-22T23:43:00.003-06:00

9/22 Fill-In Show
What? Another show today? Indeed. The venerable King of Soul himself (aka Arvin) had a concert to attend in Denver, so I filled in for him tonight from 8:30-10:30. Having already played my weekly load of new music and whatnot a mere 4 hours prior, I went with an old standard: the A-Z show.

No links, 'cause its all old (or I've linked to it many times prior).

Artist / Song
The Avalanches / Since I Left You
The Beatles / Lovely Rita
Cat Power / He War
Dodos / Winter
Everything Absent or Distorted / The Exit Parade
Franz Ferdinand / Come on Home
Ghosthustler / Only Me to Trust
Hercules and Love Affair / Blind
I Love You But I've Choosen Darkness / According to Plan
Jonquil / Whistle Low
Kinks / Autumn Almanac
Low / Breaker
The Mae Shi / Run to Your Grave
The Notwist / One with the Freaks
Of Montreal / A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger
Passion Pit / Better Things
Quiet Village / Circus of Horror
Ratatat / Lex
The Shins / Fighting in a Sack
Tap Tap / Way to Go, Boy
U2 / Sunday Bloody Sunday
Velvet Underground / Pale Blue Eyes
The Walkmen / The Rat
X / Johnny Hit & Run Pauline
Yo La Tengo / Autumn Sweater
Zookeeper / Rosemarie, etc.
Cut Copy / Out There on the Ice
Esau Mwamwaya, etc. / Get it Up

First of Fall

2008-09-22T21:05:00.005-06:00

9/22 Show
Its the first day of fall, and my song selections have absolutely nothing to do with that fact. Enjoy the new music.

Mp3s will be up soon?

Artist / Song
Passion Pit / Sleepyhead
MGMT / Weekend Wars
Fujiya and Miyagi / Knickerbocker
Memory Cassette / Surfin
Birdmonster / Born to be Your Man
Broken West / Perfect Games
Pomegranates / Appreciations
Mason Proper / Lock & Key
Frightened Rabbit / Square Nine
Okkervil River / Starry Stairs
Rosewood Thieves / Silver Gun
Benoit Pioulard / Idyll
Benoit Pioulard / Brown Bess
Joose Keskitalo / Saimaan Ramallan
Morning Benders / Mother and Child Reunion
Spiritualized / Soul on Fire
Spiritualized / I Gotta Fire
Dr. Dog / The Rabbit, the Bat, the Reindeer
Dr. Dog / Heart it Races
Band Marino / Every Time I Make a Girl Cry I Know I've Done My Job
Susumu Yokota / Golden Years
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds / Death is Not the End
Pivot / In the Blood
Johnny Foreigner / Hennings Favorite
TV on the Radio / Golden Age
Night Marchers / I Wanna Deadbeat You
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / We Should Fight
Shaky Hands / World's Gone Mad
Mates of State / The Re-Arranger
Santogold / L.E.S. Artistes

Sleepy Head

2008-09-22T08:57:00.006-06:00

From 9/15 show
A sprinkled a few post-Monolith thoughts into this show, but you can expect a fuller, written recap very shortly. Its been a busy week/weekend, so please excuse my tardiness on the matter.

If you haven't checked out Passion Pit's new jam "Sleepyhead," you're missing out on one of the best tracks of the year. Expect to hear to it often in the coming weeks (as was the case in the previous weeks).

Mp3 links should be up later today after my show.

Artist / Song
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year
Matt + Kim / Good Ol' Fashioned Nightmare
Mason Proper / Fog
Birdmonster / Born to be Your Man
Broken West / Auctioneer
Alejandro Escovedo / Always a Friend
Calexico / House of Valparaiso
Okkervil River / Calling and Not Calling My Ex
Kooks / Kids (MGMT cover)
Shaky Hands / We Are Young
Wolf Parade / Modern World
CSS / Rat is Dead (Rage)
Cut Copy / Lights and Music
Fujiya and Miyagi / Sore Thumb
Fandeath / When the Money's Right
Weird Tapes / Home
Blitzen Trapper / Furr
Lackthereof / Last November
Foals / Ballons
Everything Absent or Distorted / The Exit Parade
Ra Ra Riot / Dying is Fine
Arcade Fire / The Well and the Lighthouse
Zookeeper / Snow in Berlin
Vampire Weekend / M79
Ben Folds / You Don't Know Me (ft. Regina Spektor)
The Muslims / On My Time
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists / Sons of Cain
Hearts of Palm / No Water
Passion Pit / Sleepyhead

Monolith Preview

2008-09-10T18:06:00.005-06:00

From 9/8 Show
With Colorado's best music festival looming on my weekend calendar, I did my best to get listeners just as excited about the Monolith Festival. My summer thus far has been relatively void of good concerts, so I figure a weekend of about 60 bands ought to make up for it all. I'll see what I can do about posting some post-Monolith thoughts (hopefully more detailed than last year's reports: Day One, Day Two). Anyhow, all of the bands below are playing at the Monolith Festival (although a couple are only appearing at special VIP events).

Mp3 links are up and awesome.

Artist / Song
CSS / Patins
Pomegranates / Whom/Who
Hearts of Palm / No Water
Vampire Weekend / A-Punk
Blitzen Trapper / Not Your Lover
Morning Benders / Mother & Child Reunion
Handsome Furs / Cannot Get, Started
Band of Horses / General Specific
John Vanderslice / White Dove
The Whigs / Right Hand on my Heart
Avett Brothers / Paranoia in Bb Major
Holy F*ck / Lovely Allen
TV on the Radio / Staring at the Sun
Akron/Family / Ed is a Portal
DeVotchKa / Transliterator
The Muslims / On My Time
Cameron McGill / Not on my Side
KaiserCartel / Oh No
Rock Plaza Central / My Children, Be Joyful
Grampall Jookabox / Take Me from Diamondhead
The Dutchess & the Duke / Back to Me
White Denim / Shake Shake Shake
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Cloud Cult / Hurricane & Fire Survival Guide
Cut Copy / Feel the Love
Passion Pit / Sleepy Head
Justice / Phantom Pt 1
The Presets / Talk Like That
TV on the Radio / Wolf Like Me
Hood Internet / Superbowl Jesus
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings / My Man is a Mean Man
White Williams / New Violence

Labor Day

2008-09-01T18:17:00.004-06:00

From 9/1 Show
As you may notice, many of the songs below have a "labor" theme (or at least song title) in honor of today's holiday. You may also notice a completely unrelated stretch of "on fire" songs. iTunes is really great for these things. (I think a long weekend of working has taken its toll on my writing ability).

Mp3s links are up. Check out the new track from Of Montreal's forthcoming release Skeletal Lamping.

Artist / Song
Devo / Working in a Coal Mine
Maureen Tucker / Work
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / I Wanna be Ignored
Port O'Brien / Close the Lid
The Clash / Working and Waiting
Working for a Nuclear Free City / Asleep at the Wheel
Wolf Parade / This Heart's on Fire
Bruce Springsteen / I'm on Fire
Spiritualized / Soul on Fire
Kings of Leon / Sex on Fire
Talking Heads / Love -> Building on Fire
Oh No! Oh My! / Go to Work
Zookeeper / Rosemarie, etc.
Ra Ra Riot / Ghost Under Rocks
The Walkmen / In the New Year
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / We Should Fight
Prince / Let's Work
Of Montreal / Nonpareil of Favor
Fandeath / Veronica's Veil
Esau Mwamwaya, Santogold, MIA, etc / Get it Up
Passion Pit / Sleepy Head

Safe for the Time Being

2008-08-29T08:49:00.004-06:00

From 8/25 Show
Yes, I am still alive. Last week I took a short reprieve from my DJing duties in order to play in a golf tournament and I neglected to post a note about my absence. Regardless, the extra week gave me abundant time to put together a healthy slate of new music and some older classics. There should be plenty of mp3 links this week.

Artist / Song
Hearts of Palm / No Water
The Broken West / Auctioneer
Bodies of Water / Water Here
Calexico / Two Silver Trees
Mason Proper / Safe for the Time Being
Lykke Li / Dance Dance Dance
Fryars / the Ides
Ezra Furman & the Harpoons / We Should Fight
White Denim / Sitting
Wilco / Sunny Feeling (live in Indy 8/4/08)
The Dutchess & the Duke / Mary
Mason Proper / Lock & Key
Everything Absent or Distorted / The Exit Parade
Talking Heads / A Clean Break (Let's Work)
Passion Pit / Sleepy Head
Esau Mwamwaya, Santogold, MIA, etc / Get it Up
Peter, Bjorn and John / Inland Empire
The Jam / In the City
Wilco / Ever Fallen in Love (live 10/30/97)
Belle & Sebastian / Your Cover's Blown
Chester French / My Party
Ra Ra Riot / Oh, La
Arcade Fire / Rebellion (Lies)
Arthur + Yu / Lion's Mouth
MGMT / Electric Feel
Gang Gang Dance / House Jam
YACHT / The Summer Song
The Rapture / Sister Saviour (DFA Dub)

Summer Pledge Drive, Vol. 2

2008-08-11T22:56:00.007-06:00

8/11 Show
I was actually kind of nervous going into my new timeslot (2-4pm) today. It wasn't the first time I've done a daytime show, but it was the first time I've done one during a pledge drive where you are actually expected to raise some money. During my former nighttime slot it was a surprise everytime someone called to pledge. I planned quite a bit for this show, bringing two mix CDs and several pages of notes with me into the studio. Pledging went slowly, but it ended with a bang for a show total of $390. Thanks to everyone who called in and pledged. It will be nice to get back to normal radio in a day or two when we meet our pledge drive goal of $35,000.

All the mp3 links are up (as of 8/15 pm).

Artist / Song
The Dutchess & the Duke / Armageddon Song
Dodos / Winter
Pomegranates / Whom/Who
The Seedy Seeds / The Push
State Bird / I Don't Love You Anymore
The Cave Singers / Oh Cristine
Grizzly Bear / Two Weeks (live on Letterman)
Daniel Rossen / Too Little Too Late
Richard Swift / Would You
Blitzen Trapper / Furr
Those Dancing Days / Hitten
I'm From Barcelona / Music Killed Me
The Muslims / On My Time
Jonathan Richman / Roadrunner
Hearts of Palm / No Water
Young Coyotes / When I Was in the Fire
Everything Absent or Distorted / The Exit Parade
The Chain Gang of 1974 / The Dirt
CSS / Beautiful Song
Esau Mwamwaya, Santogold, MIA, etc / Get it Up
Alejandro Escovedo / Always a Friend
The Dutchess & the Duke / Mary
Velvet Underground / We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together
Lackthereof / Last November
Takka Takka / Everybody Say
Matthew Ryan / Drunk & Disappointed
Dr. Dog / The Rabbit, the Bat, the Reindeer
Fiery Furnaces / Duplexes of the Dead

Big News

2008-08-07T20:18:00.003-06:00

Effective immediately, my radio show is moving to 2-4 pm MT on Mondays. Tune in Monday to hear me play great new music while the sun is still up and people are actually listening. Hopefully some of you easterners will be able to listen more regularly now. Its all very exciting.

Summer Pledge Drive

2008-08-07T19:43:00.003-06:00

8/4 Show
KBUT's Summer Pledge Drive is upon us once again. It began last Tuesday morning, making my show the last of the first week. KBUT's goal this season is $35,000, and my show was able to contribute a slightly respectable $175 towards that goal. The choicest premium being offered (only during my show of course) is 6 months worth of new music mix CDs from yours truly for a scant $75. I had one taker Monday night. Visit www.kbut.org for more info about pledging, or give me a call.

Unfortunately my Teo double delayed the start of my show by about 15 minutes, so sorry if you tuned in and didn't hear me right away. The last half hour of the show I solely played bands that will perform at the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in a couple of weeks.

My brother Adam is in town and was nice enough to hang out during the show (and also pledge a bit of coin). Also thanks to Josh for sticking around and answering phones for me.

Artist / Song
Lackthereof / Last November
The Seedy Seeds / The Push
Matthew Ryan / Drunk & Disappointed
The Knew / By Yourself
The Black Keys / I Got Mine
My Morning Jacket / Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, Pt. 2
The Dutchess & The Duke / Bring You Back
The Velvet Underground / Who Loves the Sun
Spiritualized / Yeah Yeah
Matt & Kim / Yea Yeah
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Maps
King Khan & the Shrines / No Regrets
Mates of State / My Only Offer
The Mae Shi / Run to Your Grave
Albert Hammond Jr. / Borrowed Time
Wolf Parade / Language City
DeVotchKa / Transliterator
Vampire Weekend / A-Punk
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Grampall Jookabox / Take Me From Diamondhead
White Denim / Shake Shake Shake
Tokyo Police Club / In a Cave
TV on the Radio / Wolf Like Me
Cut Copy / So Haunted

On Repeat

2008-08-01T09:33:00.005-06:00

7/28 Show
Mondays in the summer are such a distraction. Work till 4:30, a quick round of disc golf, then the free Alpenglow concerts at 5:30. If I linger tossing a frisbee at the concert (which I usually do), my radio prep time is totally shot. For this reason, this week's playlist might look a lot like the last couple playlists. I figure I'll let myself slide this once since these songs don't get enough airplay the rest of the week. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the studio and hung out during the show this week.

As always, you can go here during or anytime after my show to view playlists. I generally update it live during my show, so if you can't wait for the blog post, that's the place to go.

Artist / Song
King Khan & the Shrines / No Regrets
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Lackthereof / Last November
Menomena / Muscle n Flo
Shaky Hands / Why and How Come
The Dutchess and the Duke / Reservoir Park
Decemberists / Engine Driver
Dr. Dog / The Rabbit, the Bat & the Reindeer
Albert Hammond Jr. / Feed Me Jack, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Peter Sellers
Bodies of Water / Gold, Tan, Peach & Grey
Radiohead / House of Cards
Wolf Parade / Language City
Beck / Gamma Ray
CSS / Beautiful Song
Mates of State / My Only Offer
Mates of State / Help Help
Hercules & Love Affair / Hercules Theme
The Cool Kids / Bassment Party
Santogold & Diplo / Guns of Brooklyn
Andre Williams & the New Orleans Hellhounds / Never Had a Problem
The Mae Shi / Run to Your Grave
Spiritualized / I Gotta Fire
Envelopes / Calypso
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band / Your Cousin's on Cops
Endless Boogie / Smoking Figs in the Yard
Modest Mouse / Paper Thin Walls
LCD Soundsystem / Us V Them
TieDye / Nothing

DMB?!

2008-07-23T19:15:00.004-06:00

From 7/21 show
I was excited to see new albums from Bodies of Water, CSS, and the Black Kids in the studio, and as you might expect they received significant billing during my show. You may notice a Dave Matthews Band track on this playlist. Rest assured it was a call-in request, although I do have some fond memories of Under the Table and Dreaming back in 6th grade.

Mp3s are up as of 7/25.

Artist / Song
Bodies of Water / Gold, Tan, Peach & Grey
Mates of State / Help Help
Port O'Brien / The Rooftop Song
Porlolo / Tear You Down
Sunset / When Perfect Flames Expire
Bon Iver / Flume
Duke & Dutchess / I Am a Ghost
Fleet Foxes / Your Protector
Colin Meloy / Engine Driver (live)
Spiritualized / Soul on Fire
Dr. Dog / The Breeze
Patchwork / Spaceships
Dave Matthews Band / Ants Marching
CSS / Beautiful Song
Black Kids / Hurricane Jane
Bodies of Water / Darling, Be Here
King Khan & the Shrines / Welfare Bread
Titus Andronicus / My Time Outside the Womb
the Hold Steady / Joke About Jamaica
Matthew Ryan / Drunk & Disappointed
Alejandro Escovedo / Always a Friend
The Mae Shi / Run to Your Grave
Envelopes / Calypso
Lackthereof / Last November
Wolf Parade / Language City
TieDye / Nothing

Face Down in the Right Town

2008-07-17T21:24:00.004-06:00

7/14 Show
Nothing too special this week, just highlighted some upcoming concerts and played some new music.

Mp3 links are up! (as of 7/20)

Artist / Song
Titus Andronicus / My Time Outside the Womb
Wolf Parade / Fine Young Cannibals
King Khan & the Shrines / Outta Harm's Way
Spiritualized / I Gotta Fire
Lackthereof / Last November
Notwist / Gloomy Planets
Walkmen / Waltz (Red Moon)
Beck / Gamma Ray
Mates of State / Get Better
Feist / Past in Present
Low / Breaker
{{{ Sunset }}} / Man's Heart Complaint
Earlimart / Face Down in the Right Town
Dr. Dog / My Friend
The Dutchess & The Duke / Mary
Andrew Bird / Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left
Porlolo / Breakdown
Morning Benders / Mother & Child Reunion
Alejandro Escovedo / Always a Friend
Hold Steady / Sequestered in Memphis
Bodies of Water / Gold, Tan, Peach & Grey
Hercules & Love Affair / Hercules Theme
Girl Talk / In Step
HEALTH / Tricerotops (Acid Girls remix)
Daedelus / Make It So (XXXxhange remix)
Goodbooks / Leni (Crystal Castles remix)
Knife / We Share Our Mother's Health

Best of 2008, Part One

2008-07-08T08:37:00.004-06:00

From 7/7 Show
2008 is just over halfway crossed off on our calendars, meaning its time for my mid-year best-of list. It has been an interesting year in releases. Often I would think an album was top 10 worthy, but there was no clear number 1 or really even a clear top 5. For this reason, I have a feeling this list might shake up quite a bit by the end of the year.

I intended to do a Top 15, but once in the studio I realized I had listed two #12's. Whoops.

A recording of the show may be up in the near future if I deem it acceptable. I included myspace links for each band if you would like to get more familiar with their music.

Top 16 Albums of the Year Thus Far
16) Wolf Parade / At Mount Zoomer (myspace)
Language City

15) Bonnie "Prince" Billy / Lie Down in the Light (myspace)
Missing One

14) Hercules & Love Affair / Hercules & Love Affair (myspace)
Hercules Theme

13) Mates of State / Re-arrange Us (myspace)
My Only Offer
The Re-arranger

12) Girl Talk / Feed the Animals (myspace)
In Step
Hands in the Air

11) Dodos / Visiter (myspace)
Fools

10) Jamie Lidell / Jim (myspace)
Another Day
Little Bit of Feel Good

9) Port O'Brien / All We Could Do Was Sing (myspace)
I Woke Up Today
Stuck on a Boat

8) Born Ruffians / Red, Yellow & Blue (myspace)
Foxes Mate for Life

7) State Bird / Mostly Ghostly (myspace)
I Saw the Light
The Golden Glowing Mask

6) Titus Andronicus / The Airing of Grievances (myspace)
My Time Outside the Womb
Arms Against Atrophy

5) Los Campesinos! / Hold On Now, Youngster (myspace)
You! Me! Dancing!
Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats

4) Man Man / Rabbit Habbits (myspace)
Hurly / Burly
Top Drawer

3) Envelopes / Here Comes the Wind (myspace)
Smoke in the Desert, Eating the Sand, Hide in the Grass
What's the Deal?

2) Vampire Weekend / Vampire Weekend (myspace)
A-Punk
M79

1) Cut Copy / In Ghost Colours (myspace)
So Haunted
Feel the Love

Honorable Mention - some of these I just didn't get to spend enough time with, so you might expect to see a couple of these climb my charts by year's end
Beach House / Devotion
No Age / Nouns
M83 / Saturdays=Youth
Mae Shis / HLLLYH
Notwist / The Devil, You + Me
Crystal Castles / Crystal Castles
Quiet Village / Silent Movie
Santogold / Santogold
Spiritualized / Songs in A & E

the Green Room

2008-07-03T07:51:00.004-06:00

From 7/1 "Green Room" Fill-In Show
Back in Crested Butte for less than 24 hours after a nice jaunt through the Midwest, I found myself in the DJ chair once again filling in for Faith's "The Green Room" show on Tuesday nights. It was a good time, with most of the tracks coming from the plethora of interesting new releases in the studio (thus the lack of mp3s for you guys).

Artist / Song
Wolf Parade / California Dreamer
Envelopes / Calypso
Mates of State / Re-Arrange Us
Earlimart / Hymn & Her
Fleet Foxes / Your Protector
Nico Stai / You Came Around
Albert Hammond Jr. / GfC
Modest Mouse / A Life of Arctic Sounds
Sun Kil Moon / Neverending Math Equation
Silver Jews / Aloysius, Bluegrass Drummer
Gentlemen Caller / The Radio On
King Khan & the Shrines / Took My Lady to Dinner
Vivian Girls / Where Do You Run To
Velvet Underground / What Goes On (live 1969)
Dr. Dog / The Rabbit, the Bat, and the Reindeer
Built to Spill / Broken Chains (live 1999)
Vetiver / Roll on Babe
Kinks / Stranger
Bonnie "Prince" Billy / Where is the Puzzle
Grizzly Bear / While You Wait For Others
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Menomena / Wet & Rusting
Arcade Fire / Keep the Car Running
Hercules & Love Affair / Hercules Theme

last night

2008-06-17T08:49:00.005-06:00

From 6/16 Show
Just wanted to get a quick playlist up. Nothing too special tonight, except that I helped the Mashall's Office (next door to the radio) test their new breathalyzer machine. I passed!

Artist / Song

The 13th Floor Elevators / You're Gonna Miss Me
Wilco / Radio Cure
Tim Fite / Big Mistake
Benoit Pioulard / Palimend
Aimee Mann / It's Over
Wolf Parade / Language City
Modest Mouse / A Life of Arctic Sounds
Mates of State / My Only Offer
the Fiery Furnaces / Single Again
the Fiery Furnaces / Here Comes the Summer
the Fiery Furnaces / Evergreen
Earlimart / Face Down in the Right Town
Spiritualized / I Gotta Fire
Elf Power / Spiral Stairs
Spoon / Peace Like a River
Santogold, Casablancas, NERD / My Drive Thru
Santogold / Lights Out
the Notwist / Gloomy Planets
LCD Soundsystem / All My Friends
The Republic Tigers / Buildings & Mountains
Vivian Girls / Tell the World
Nico Stai / You Came Around
A.A. Bondy / Witness Blues
Women / Black Rice
Matthew Ryan / Drunk & Disappointed
Ra Ra Riot / Suspended in Gaffa
Vetiver / Standin'
Ting Tings / Great DJ

Heart it Races x3

2008-06-10T08:43:00.006-06:00

6/9 Show
I rather enjoyed last night's show. Plenty of new music in a mix that started out very mellow and acoustic, then got some country influence, followed by a nice dose of indie rockers and a finish of techno remixes. The trio of "Heart it Races" tracks was a highlight (the original by Architecture in Helsinki, then Esau Mwamwaya's cover, then Dr. Dog's cover). I really don't like turning down caller's requests, but when they select "Laffy Taffy" by D4L, I kind of have to.

*mp3 links added 6/14

Artist / Song

Bonnie "Prince" Billy / For Every Field There's a Mole
Nico Stai / You Came Around
Tim Fite / Big Mistake
Spiritualized / Soul on Fire
Vetiver / Blue Driver
Matthew Ryan / Drunk & Disappointed
Old 97s / Here's to the Halycon
Liam Finn / I Will Explode
Fleet Foxes / TIger Mountain Peasant Song
Born Ruffians / Hedonistic Me
Mason Jennings / Fighter Girl
The Clientele / Share the Night
Architecture in Helsinki / Heart it Races
Esau Mwamwaya / Kamphobo
Dr. Dog / Heart it Races
Vivian Girls / Where Do You Run To
Women / Black Rice
Bodies of Water / Under the Pines
Music Go Music / Light of Love
Santogold / Lights Out
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year
Crystal Castles / Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs. HEALTH)
Lykke Li / I'm Good I'm Gone (Black Kids remix)
Ocelot / Our Time (Tom Neville remix)
Young MC / Bust a Move (Don Rimini Ravekid remix)

A-Z, Take Three

2008-06-04T17:25:00.006-06:00

6/2 Show
Inspired my Music Director Erin Roberts' show earlier in the day, I decided to trot out the A-Z format for a third take. My goal was to squeeze in as many bands that are/were playing upcoming concerts as I could, and I think I succeeded.

I am now also uploading playlist on the KBUT.org website. Go here and click on "View Grant's Playlists". Next Monday I am going to try and update the playlist live during the show, so you can refer to the KBUT website from 10:30pm-12:30am MT to see what song I am playing at that particular moment.

Artist / Song
Amanaz / Khala my Friend
Black Lips / Cold Hands
CSS / Rat is Dead (Rage)
Datarock / Fa-Fa-Fa
Explosions in the Sky / It's Natural to be Afraid (Paper Chase mix)
Fiery Furnaces / Duplexes of the Dead
the Go! Team / Keys to the City
Helio Sequence / Can't Say No
Icy Demons / Miami Ice
Junip / Chickens
King Khan & the Shrines / No Regrets
Jamie Lidell / Another Day
Modest Mouse / Grey Ice Water
National / Mistaken for Strangers
Old 97's / the Easy Way
Porlolo / Breakdown
Queens of the Stone Age / No One Knows
Ra Ra Riot / A Manner to Act
She & Him / Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
Times New Viking / Teenage Lust
U2 / Numb
Vetiver / The Swimming Song
Walter Meego / Girls
Xiu Xiu / Crank Heart
Yeasayer / 2080
Zookeeper / Ballad of my Friends
Benoit Pioulard / Palimend
Bon Iver / Skinny Love

Brother

2008-06-04T17:13:00.004-06:00

5/29 Show
May 29th's radio show was somewhat of a special occasion, as my brother Kyle and his friend Tito were in Crested Butte and in the KBUT studio. They both did a wonderful job reading PSAs when called upon, and several of the songs below were their requests. Thanks to all my friends who also stopped by that evening. At first I thought it wasn't such a great show, but looking back there were many memorable moments. Most notably, the musical hindenberg that is Weezer's "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived". The brief and terrible snippet of Natalie Portman's Shaved Head's "Beard Lust" provided many laughs (although I don't recommend actually listening to the song).

Artist / Song

Neil Diamond / Home Before Dark
Vetiver / Houses
Old 97's / Here's to the Halycon
Dr. Dog / Heart it Races
The Republic Tigers / Buildings & Mountains
State Bird / Golden Glowing Mask
Castanets / City of Refuge
French Kicks / Abandon
Ra Ra Riot / Ghost Under Rocks
Ting Tings / Great DJ
Santogold / L.E.S. Artistes
Los Campesinos! / 2007, The Year Punk Broke (My Heart)
LCD Soundsystem / Big Ideas
Cut Copy / Hearts on Fire
M83 / Kim & Jessie
Times New Viking / Mean God
Titus Andronicus / My Time Outside the Womb
Wolf Parade / Language City
Titus Andronicus / Titus Andronicus
Weezer / The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
Hot Chip / Hold On
Princeton / The Waves
Those Dancing Days / Those Dancing Days
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head / Beard Lust
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / The Skin of my Yellow Country Teeth
Frank Black / Threshold Apprehension

Up Nights

2008-05-23T20:20:00.006-06:00

5/19 Show
Tons of new music this week, many of it in the way of downloadable mp3s for all y'all. It was a pretty good show, you should have listened. I won't be on next Monday, but I will be on next Thursday (the 29th). My brother will be in the studio helping out, so it should be a good time.

Artist / Song

Ha Ha Tonka / Up Nights
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin / Modern Mystery
Wolf Parade / Language City
Princeton / The Waves
Castanets / City of Refuge
Vetiver / Roll on Babe
Mason Jennings / California Pt 2
Mason Jennings / Memphis, TN
State Bird / The Golden Glowing Mask
Lykke Li / Little Bit
Dr. Dog / Heart it Races
Nik Freitas / Sophie
Tokyo Police Club / In a Cave
Deadly Syndrome / Wolves in the Garden
Old 97s / The Fool
Backyard Tire Fire / Sick of Debt
Backyard Tire Fire / Lost in Durango
Santogold / Lights Out
Ting Tings / Great DJ
Beck / Chemtrails Streaming here
Times New Viking / Mean God
The Republic Tigers / Buildings & Mountains
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Cut Copy / Midnight Runner
Hot Chip / Wearing My Rolex
Hercules & Love Affair / Blind
Cut Copy / Hearts on Fire (Midnight Juggernauts remix)
Crystal Castles / Crimewave (CC vs HEALTH)
Broken Social Scene / Lover's Spit

Dear Wilco,

2008-05-23T15:46:00.002-06:00

Notes from Wilco @ Pikes Peak Center, Colorado Springs, 5/8/08

Dear Wilco,

I was worried about you guys. Your latest album, Sky Blue Sky, was nothing short of a letdown for me. After the greatness of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and the slightly less impressive but still memorable A Ghost Is Born, you decided to play it safe. Too many easy rockers, too many by-the-book songs. Nothing inventive or abstract. And to top it all off, you got what I like to call "noodley"! How could you?! Many of your guitar solos (provided by new member Nels Cline) reminded me of the kind of terrible & soulless white-boy blues riffs often relied upon by subpar jam bands. Needless to say, I was distraught about your direction going into your performance at the Pikes Peak Center earlier this month.

I had seen you live once prior, in London during your supporting tour of A Ghost is Born. It was a great performance. The abstract, lingering songs from that album sounded terrific live, even from the balcony. You made my friend cry out of sheer joy. After a disappointing album whose songs don't lend themselves to extended live performances, how could you match that show and experience?

At first, you came nowhere close. Opening songs "Either Way" and "You Are my Face" (both from Sky Blue Sky) only confirmed my worst fears. Boring, stodgy and noddley. Thankfully, you broke into "Sunken Treasure", bringing back some country flavor from the Being There album. In retrospect, it was pretty much all uphill from that point on. As songs from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born worked their way into the set, I got more and more excited. I started taping my foot, singing along, and most importantly, smiling. It wasn't quite like seeing you a couple of years ago, but your performance became moving and memorable just the same.

At times I loved Nels Cline's guitar playing for the obviously & immensely talented musician he is, but perhaps more often (and especially at the beginning of the set) I was annoyed by his playing. Much as described above, I thought his solos were obvious and a gross detour from what made your previous work so great. On the other hand, Tweedy's limited solos brought me back to those days when Wilco was progressive and not regressive. Tweedy's stage banter was engaging and humorous, and served to loosen up a somewhat stoic crowd. He opined that both this show's and the previous night's (in Grand Junction, CO) crowds were mostly from out of town (which was met with a roar). He also bragged that Colorado Springs has a higher mountain than Grand Junction, making it a superior location. Perhaps the star of your live performance was drummer Glenn Kotche, who is easily the most talented drummer I have ever seen live. He is a joy to watch, especially for an aspiring drumbeater like myself.

In the end, I am still a fan of Wilco, Probably more so than I was before your performance. Your older songs still rang true an got my heart racing, even if the set did drag on through 2 encores (lacking of hits) and lasted over 2 1/2 hours. I sincerely hope Sky Blue Sky was brief detour for the band rather than a new direction.

Sincerely,
Grant

Show Set List

Wilco Official Site
KBUT Music Director Chad's thoughts on Wilco in Grand Junction 5/7/08(scroll down to "LIVE MUSIC REVIEW!!!)
Pitchfork's review of Sky Blue Sky
Pitchfork's review of A Ghost is Born
Pitchfork's review of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Dear Ra Ra Riot,

2008-05-14T19:24:00.009-06:00

Notes from Ra Ra Riot @ the Black Sheep, Colorado Springs, 5/9/08

Dear Ra Ra Riot,

I've seen you perform live twice now, and I'm as enthralled as ever. Your musical talents are certainly evident in the live setting, but your group dynamic is what makes things so compelling. After seeing you at the Monolith Festival last September I couldn't stop talking about how much fun you were having on stage (I also kept your EP on my car stereo for days). It was an infectious performance. The merchandise tent afterwards was proof enough that you stole the festival from the bigger acts. That performance brought me to a dingy club in Colorado Springs last Friday Night. Once again, you put on an incredibly memorable show. It was a great night with an intimate audience, although I'm sorry only 30 or so people showed up to witness it. Nevertheless, you played your asses off and were humble and entertaining between songs.

My constructive criticism is very short: don't loose your passion for each other and for playing together. There could be hundreds of external factors (especially including your crowd size), but the love you showed each other during your performance dropped slightly from when I saw you at Monolith to the Black Sheep. On that make-shift stage underneath Red Rocks in September you were constantly smiling and making physical contact with each other anyway you could. At the Black Sheep I saw the same actions, just to a lesser extent. Don't let the grind of touring wear out you enthusiasm. Also, it would be amazing if you lengthened some of the songs in the live setting (such as "Dying is Fine").

Normally I single out certain band members for their performances, good or bad, but with you guys I just can't do it. You define the most collective definitions of the word "band" and you are all great performers. If there was only one young, up-and-coming band that I could champion, it would be you guys. Expect to hear your songs on my radio show regularly for some time to come.

Sincerely,
Grant

P.S. I'll see you at the Westword Music Festival, June 14th in Denver.

Ra Ra Riot official site
my thoughts from the Monolith Festival
Dying is Fine video
Each Year (RAC remix)
Pitchfork's Monolith Photos

Set List: (thanks to the band for filling in the new song titles)
Manner to Act
Everest
Too Too Fast
St. Peter's Day Festival
Can You Tell
Oh, LA
Winter '05
Ghost Under Rocks
Each Year
Dying is Fine
Hounds of Love (Kate Bush cover)

Still Snowing

2008-05-13T18:14:00.004-06:00

5/12 Show
I'm continuing to highlight upcoming concerts during my radio shows, so this week that meant playing Tapes 'n Tapes, White Denim, Nik Freitas, Margot & the Nuclear So & So's, Cloud Cult, M.I.A., and Stereolab (who just announced a show on 10/14 at the Bluebird). I got a couple calls last night, which is a couple more than normal, so that was nice. Enjoy the mp3s.

If you were curious, huge snowflakes are still falling from the sky here in Crested Butte.

Artist / Song

Santogold / L.E.S. Artistes
Ratatat / Shiller
My Morning Jacket / Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, Pt 2
Stereolab / Three Women
Ting Tings / Great DJ
Holy F*ck / Jungle
Tapes 'n Tapes / Just Drums
White Denim / Shake Shake Shake
Lykke Li / Dance Dance Dance
Shivers / Beauty
Nik Freitas / Sun Down
Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos / Whiskey Jingle
Hayes Carli / She Left Me For Jesus
Gentlemen Caller / The Radio On
Vetiver / Thing of the Past
Calico Horse / Idioteque
Department of Eagles / No One Does it Like You
Jonquil / So Far So Good
She & Him / Should Have Known Better
Cloud Cult / Living on the Outside of Your Skin
Nortec Collective / Tijuana Sound Machine
M.I.A. / Paper Planes
Lykke Li / Everybody But Me (Diskjokke remix)
Hood Internet / Beauty Flies (Lykke Li vs. Gui Boratto)
Daedelus / Make It So (XXXxhange remix)
MANDY ft. Booka Shade / Body Language (Physical Music remix)

Early Monolith Preview

2008-05-06T17:57:00.006-06:00

5/5 Show
A theme was fairly easy to come by this week, with the recent announcement of the Monolith Festival's 2008 lineup (see below). I featured songs from many of these artists, along with some newer stuff in the KBUT studio or that I have downloaded. It was the first time in many months that I have had friends in the studio during my show, so it was equally fun and distracting. Things got a bit soulful in the last half hour, and ended with a shout out to all those Neil Diamond fans out there (we just got his new single at KBUT).

Artist / Song
** = Playing at the Monolith Festival

Black Lips / Not a Problem (live in Tijuana)
Vampire Weekend / Oxford Comma **
Pas Chic Chic / En Chaine et En Vogue
TV on the Radio / Wolf Like Me **
Santogold / L.E.S. Artistes
Holy F*ck / Lovely Allen **
CSS / Rat is Dead (Rage) **
DeVotchKa / Transliterator **
Ra Ra Riot / Ghost Under Rocks
Akron/Family / Ed is a Portal **
Cut Copy / So Haunted **
LCD Soundsystem / Big Ideas
MGMT / Time to Pretend
M83 / Kim & Jessie
Justice / Phantom, Pt 2 **
Ting Tings / Great DJ **
French Kicks / Abandon
Kooks / Mr. Maker
Colin Meloy / Engine Driver (live)
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Jamie Lidell / Wait for Me
Jamie Lidell / Another Day
Modern Lovers / Womanhood
Gabo Brown & Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo / It's a Vanity
Five Stairsteps / Ooh Child
Friends of Distinction / Grazin' in the Grass
Arnie Love & the Lovettes / We've Had Enough
{{{ Sunset }}} / Man's Heart Complaint
Neil Diamond / Pretty Amazing Grace

Monolith Lineup Announced

2008-05-01T14:07:00.003-06:00

This week saw the lineup announcement of Colorado's best music festival: the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks. I must say that at first glance it looks very promising. I'm most looking forward to: Devotchka, Cut Copy, Neko Case, Vampire Weeked, Holy F*ck, White Denim, the Hood Internet, Justice, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Sharon Jones, CSS, Akron/Family, and Grampall Jookabox, among others. Last year's festival was a great event, but I'm sure they learned some things that will make this year's run even smoother. Hopefully turn out grows so this thing can continue to bring joy to all us indie kids in Colorado.

Official Website
My thoughts from Monolith 2007 Day One
My thoughts from Monolith 2007 Day Two

Maybe I'll actually write a full report of the festival this year...

Things are Looking Up

2008-04-29T18:02:00.003-06:00

4/28 Show
I was starting to worry about what could possibly make my mid-year best of list, as there have only been a limited number of albums that I really enjoy so far this year. Luckily, things seem to be taking a turn for the better. New tracks from Wolf Parade and CSS show promise, and new albums from French Kicks, Santogold, Jamie Lidell, and the Breeders are growing on me. Add to that a new release from perennial favorites the Old 97's, and I'm feeling optimistic again. As for the playlist, the frontloading of live Wilco tracks was intending to get people excited for their visits to Colorado next week.

Artist / Song

Wilco / I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (5/4-7/05)
Wilco / Hell is Chrome 9 9/15/04)
Wilco / Jesus, etc. (9/24/04)
Andrew Bird / A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left
White Rabbits / While We Go Dancing
Wolf Parade / Call it a Ritual
French Kicks / Said So What
Of Montreal / Feminine Effects
CSS / Rat is Dead (Rage)
M83 / Graveyard Girl
LCD Soundsystem / Big Ideas
Jamie Lidell / Wait for Me
Santogold / L.E.S. Artistes
Lykke Li / Dance Dance Dance
Old 97s / Early Morning
Breeders / Walk it Off
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Kooks / Mr. Maker
Nat Baldwin / Dome Branches
Colin Meloy / We Both Go Down Together (live)
No Age / Eraser
Man Man / Poor Jackie
Santogold / Lights Out
Strange Boys / Nothing
Titus Andronicus / Landscape with Icarus (MySpace)
Titus Andronicus / Titus Andronicus (MySpace)
Titus Andronicus / Josef of Nazareth Blues (MySpace)
Quiet Village / Circus of Horror

Dear Yeasayer,

2008-04-25T19:47:00.002-06:00

Notes from Man Man / Yeasayer @ Bluebird, Denver 4/20/08

Dear Yeasayer,

I was quite excited to see you on the bill with Man Man, and you didn't let me down. You didn't blow me away either, but you did put forth an entertaining and engaging set. Your "hits" 2080 and Sunrise came across sounding clean and exciting live, although I was hoping to see a kids' choir appear during the chanting climax of 2080. Alas, you were an opening band and such lavish stage theatrics just don't come with the territory. I also have fond memories of your live performance of Germs, whose Eastern-inspired licks and band-encompassing, chanting melody got the crowd's attention. No Need to Worry and Wintertime were memorable as well. Actually, now that I think about it, I didn't dislike any of your set.

While providing unremarkable vocals and capably pressing buttons, lead singer Chris Keating seems to enjoy flailing around, approximating what I imagine Thom Yorke would look like in concert. Drummer Luke Fasano does a great job recreating your beats in a live setting. I was initially disappointed to see him using so many electronic apparatuses, but as the set went on a nice balance was struck between the traditional drum kit and its digital brothers. (At one point during a staccato, electronically-driven beat accompanied by Keating's bob-happy keyboard playing, I was oddly reminded of Devo and how great it would have been to see them live. Sarah Jessica Parker was a lucky girl).

On a non-performance related note, it was nice to see several of you taking in Man Man's set from the wings. I don't recommend that you strictly follow their live energy (as it wouldn't wholly mesh with your sound), but I'm sure you could learn a thing or two.

Sincerely,
Grant

P.S. Your bassist Ira Wolf Tuton is a creep.

Pitchfork review of All Hour Cymbals
Yeasayer photos from Brooklyn 2/14/08
Man Man / Yeasayer photos from Minneapolis 4/18/08

Concert Hangover

2008-04-23T22:09:00.005-06:00

4/21 Show
I think I was still on a musical high from the Man Man / Yeasayer show the previous night, but I did manage to resist playing 2 straight hours of Man Man tunes. The drive to and from Denver gave me plenty of time to preview new music and revisit some old favorites, so that's what you heard Monday night. A concert review should be up soon!

Artist / Song

French Kicks / Said So What
Breeders / Walk it Off
Man Man / Mr. Jung Stuffed
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Colin Meloy / Engine Driver (live)
Decemberists / O Valencia
Quiet Village / Circus of Horror
Billy Bragg / I Keep Faith
Fleet Foxes / White Winter Hymnal
Lykke Li / Dance Dance Dance
M83 / Kim and Jessie
REM / Houston
Jonathan Richman / Time Has Been Going By So Fast
Modern Lovers / Womanhood (live)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin / Think I Wanna Die
National / Squalor Victoria
Nat Baldwin / Lake Erie
Port O'Brien / Stuck on a Boat
Jamie Lidell / Another Day
Cut Copy / Feel the Love
LCD Soundsystem / Us V Them
Hot Chip / One Pure Thought
Strange Boys / Nothing
She and Him / I Was Made For You
She and Him / I Should Have Known Better
Benoit Pioulard / Palimend
Kevin Drew / Safety Bricks
Datarock / Fa-Fa-Fa
Gang of Four / Damaged Goods
Oh No! Oh My! / Walk in the Park
Of Montreal / The Past is a Grotesque Animal

Summer Concert Season

2008-04-15T18:19:00.005-06:00

4/14 Show
The coming months are chock full of splendid concerts down in Denver and the front range. To highlight all of these shows, I played music from artists who are coming to the area this summer. I think it was a successful show, and one that spawned the new feature in the left column. The "Upcoming 'Local' Concerts" will simply be a list of my approved upcoming concerts (basically shows I would attend if I always could). The venues should be self-explanatory, as most are found in and around Denver. If not in Denver, the city follows the venue. Hopefully this will be useful to some.

A full list of the concerts is below in the playlist.

Artist / Song

4/20 - Bluebird
Man Man / Mr. Jung Stuffed
Man Man / Van Helsing Boombox
Yeasayer / 2080

4/21 - Hi-Dive
Dodos / Horny Hippies

5/8 - Pikes Peak Center, CSprings
Wilco / I am Trying to Break Your Heart (live 9/14/04)

5/1 - Bluebird
Spring Creek / Fiddler's Banjo

4/21 - Boulder Theatre
Minus the Bear / Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse

4/28 - Fillmore
Raconteurs / Consolers of the Lonely

5/9 -Black Sheep, CSprings
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year

5/15 - Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Flight of the Conchords / The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room) (live)

5/17 - Bluebird
Tapes n Tapes / Hang Them All
White Denim / Shake Shake Shake

5/22 - Bluebird
Tokyo Police Club / Tessellate

5/22 - Ogden
Mason Jennings / California Pt II

5/27 - Ogden
Dresden Dolls / My Alcoholic Friends

5/28 - Red Rocks (opening for Death Cab)
8/17 - Red Rocks (opening for Jack Johnson)
Rogue Wave / Bird on a Wire

5/17 - FIllmore
M.I.A. / Paper Planes

5/28 - Ogden
Breeders / Bang On

5/31 - Bluebird
White Rabbits / While We Go Dancing

6/2 - Bluebird
Jamie Lidell / Little Bit More
Jamie LIdell / Little Bit of Feel Good

6/3 - Red Rocks
REM / Orange Crush (live)
REM / Supernatural Superserious
Modest Mouse / Convenient Parking
Modest Mouse / 3rd Planet

7/15 - Fillmore
Feist / I Feel It All

7/16 - Bluebird
Low / Breaker

7/26 - Fillmore
Rancid / Olympia, WA

French Kicks / Abandon
Colin Meloy / Dracula's Daughter

One Year Anniversary

2008-04-15T18:02:00.005-06:00

4/7/08 Show
The first ever official "Music is My Girlfriend" radio show took place on April 2, 2007, making this monday's show an anniversary of sorts. I celebrated by playing a bunch of new music. Enjoy.

Artist / Song

Dodos / Fools
Cloud Cult / Journey of the Featherless
Man Man / Hurly / Burly
I Love You But I've Choosen Darkness / According to Plan
Los Campesinos! / Death to Los Campesinos
the Muslims / On My Time
Jonathan Richman / Time Has Been Going By So Fast
Modern Lovers / Foggy Notion (live)
Velvet Underground / Pale Blue Eyes (live)
the Muslims / Bright Side
Born Ruffians / Foxes Mate for Life
Wolf Parade / Modern World
Black Keys / Strange Times
Dodos / Ashley
Radiohead / Nude (Holy F*ck remix)
Raconteurs / Salute Your Solution
These Dancin Days / Hitten
Grizzly Bear / While You Wait For Others
Man Man / Poor Jackie
Nick Cave / Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Amanaz / Khala my Friend
Mission of Burma / That's When I Reach for my Revolver
Devo / Gut Feeling
LCD Soundsystem / Big Ideas
Fujiya & Miyagi / Collarbone
Crystal Castles / Crimewave (CC vs. HEALTH)
{{{ Sunset }}} / Man's Heart Complaint
Girls / God Damned
Girls / Lust for Life

Rounding out March

2008-04-01T18:12:00.003-06:00

3/31/08 show
Artist / Song

Sparrow House / When I Am Gone
Tom Thumb / Preach
Spring Creek / Hello Operator
Spring Creek / That Dog'll Hunt
Spring Creek / Fiddler's Banjo
Billy Bragg / O Freedom
Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin / Modern Mystery
Grampall Jookabox / Take Me From Diamond Head
Stephan Malkmus & the Jicks / Cold Son
Why? / Simeon's Dilemma
Born Ruffians / Hedonistic Me
Wolf Parade / Modern World
Cloud Cult / Everybody Here is a Cloud
Arcade Fire / Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
MGMT / Time to Pretend
Architecture in Helsinki / Do the Whirlwind
Cloud Cult / Journey of the Featherless
Belle & Sebastian / Your Cover's Blown
Vampire Weekend / A-Punk
Man Man / Mister Jung Stuffed
Man Man / Whale Bones
Dodos / The Ball
The Acorns / Flood Pt. 1(scroll down after jump)
Mixel Pixel / Sinking Feeling
David Dondero / Rothko Chapel
Nik Frietas / All the Way Down
Kills / Alphabet Pony
Working for a Nuclear Free City / Get a F*cking Haircut
Born Ruffians / Barnacle Goose
{{{ Sunset }}} / Man's Heart Complaint

Plenty o' Links

2008-03-30T09:13:00.002-06:00

Nothing too special to report about this week's show. A bunch of newly downloaded songs made up the bulk of it, so you all can reap the rewards with the plethora of links below.

No Bad Album Cover this week. Its getting hard to find the really good ones in the vinyl section.

Artist / Song

Man Man / Top Drawer
Jay Reatard / Always Wanting More
Fiery Furnaces / Duplexes of the Dead
Born Ruffians / Little Garcon
{{{ Sunset }}} / Man's Heart Complaint
Stephan Malkmus & the Jicks / Cold Son
Jonathan Richman / Modern World
Jonathan Richman / Old World
John Vanderslice / White Dove
State Bird / Hollerin' Mountains
Beirut / La Banlieu
Man Man / Ballad of Butter Beans
Whigs / Like a Vibration
Blakes / Don't Bother Me
Black Joe Lewis / Gunpowder
Amanaz / Khala my Friend
Esau Mwamwaya / Chalo
Esau Mwamwaya / Tengazako
Kevin Barnes / Jimmy
Walkmen / The Old Revolution
Walkmen / Tonight Will Be Fine
Sparrow House / When I Am Gone
Grizzly Bear / While You Wait For Others
She & Him / Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
Born Ruffians / Hedonistic Me
She & Him / I Should Have Known Better
Belle & Sebastian / If You're Feeling Sinister
Antarctica Takes It! / Circuits
Afternoon Naps / Clean Bill of Health
These Dancin Days / Hitten
Stricken City / Tak o Tak
Jonathan Visger / Fish Eyes

St. Patrick's Day Bliss

2008-03-18T20:02:00.006-06:00

St. Patrick's Day snuck up on me a bit, leaving me relatively unprepared for last night's show. On the bright side, it seems many of my unprepared shows go over well and feature a better mix of songs than my researched shows. I was elated to find a new album from Jonathan Richman in the studio, so I played a couple of songs from that CD. I also got my hands on a copy of Man Man's new album, so it was a good week in new music for me. I had a bit of fun mixing together 3 different versions of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes". I am looking into some DJ mixing software for my computer, so I thought I would play with some of the equipment in the studio in preparation.

No bad album cover this week. It was St. Patty's Day, and I was distracted.

Song mp3 links will be up shortly...

Artist / Song

DeVotchKa / Transliterator
Fiery Furnaces / Duplexes of the Dead
State Bird / I Saw the Light
Born Ruffians / Barnacle Goose
Man Man / El Azteca
Man Man / Top Drawer
Jens Lekman / Maple Leaves
Jonathan Richman / Because Her Beauty is Raw and Wild
Jens Lekman / Friday Night @ the Drive-In Bingo
Jonathan Richman / The Lovers Are Here and They're Full of Sweat
Vampire Weekend / Walcott
Tom Thumb / Preach
Phosphorescent / Worried Blues
Nat Baldwin / Lake Erie
Of Montreal / Lysergic Bliss
Los Campesinos! / Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats
Die! Die! Die! / Sideways Here We Come
The D'Urbervilles / Hot Tips
Prototypes / Je Ne Te Connais Pas
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks / Cold Son
M.I.A. / Paper Planes
M.I.A. / Paper Planes (Holy F*ck remix)
M.I.A. / Paper Planes (DFA remix)
Matt and Kim / Yea Yeah
MGMT / Time to Pretend
Patrick Wolf / Bluebells
Crystal Castles / Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs. HEALTH)
Juan Maclean / By the Time I Get to Venus
Crystal Castles / Vanished
Vitalic / Pony Pt 2
LCD Soundsystem / Yeah (Crass Version)

Late Afternoon Snack Show

2008-03-18T19:32:00.004-06:00

Got the chance to fill in for the "Late Afternoon Snack Show" on Thursday, March 13th. Its normally an upbeat electronic/hip-hop show, so I got to chance to get some of my techno tracks out of my system. Started off with a heavy dose of DFA related tracks and then played some darker, more house style songs. Its not really this valley's cup of tea, but I didn't get any hate calls, so that was nice. Some of you have probably heard all of these songs before, mainly because I don't keep up on the new house stuff like I used to.

A few song links appear below.

Artist / Song

Ghostland Observatory / Holy Ghost White Noise
Hot Chip / Hold On
Rapture / I Need Your Love
Radio 4 / Dance to the Underground (DFA remix)
YACHT / The Summer Song
M.I.A. / Paper Planes (DFA remix)
LCD Soundsystem / Tribulations (Lindstrom remix)
Liquid Liquid / Bellhead
Hercules and Love Affair / Blind
Rapture / Sister Saviour (DFA dub)
Nine Inch Nails / The Hand That Feeds (DFA remix)
LCD Soundsystem / Yeah (Pretentious Version)
Crystal Castles / Courtship Dating
LCD Soundsystem / Daft Punk is Playing at My House (Soulwax Shibuya remix)
Joakim / Drumtrax
Goodbooks / Leni (Crystal Castles remix)
Soulwax / Krack
Fischerspooner / Emerge
Royskopp / What Else is There? (Vitalic remix)
Freeform Five / No More Conversations (Mylo remix)
Peter Bjorn and John / Let's Call it Off (Girl Talk remix)