We Have Sound

Tom Vek is my pick for 2005 now that it is 75% done. The album is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Recorded in a garage, it transcends any genre you want to put it in. It's not exactly dance, it's not exactly electronic, and it's not exactly rock. It's not. Because it is Tom Vek.

Download:

A Little Word In Your Ear (m4a)

C-C (You Set The Fire In Me) (m4a)

Direction (m4a)

Cover (m4a)

Videos:

C-C (You Set The Fire In Me) (windows media)

I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes (windows media)

If You Want (quicktime)

If I Had Changed My Mind (quicktime)


Tom Vek performed on Morning Becomes Eclectic during CMJ. Listen to the incredible performance here or watch the performance here (real media).

I've been consistently kicking myself over the past two weeks because I had the chance to interview Mr. Vek but had class. Damn.

Close seconds: We Are Scientists, Editors, The New Pornographers, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Nightmare of You, and The Subways. I'm sure there are more, and we still have another 25% to go.

Worth The Wait

It's that time again. Happens every so often, basically because I like to put off everything else I have to do and sit in front of my computer and make the perfect mix. I don't think it is ever perfect, but I sure as hell enjoy it. So here you go, what I am listening to, as of late. Let me know what you like, dislike, what I should be listening to instead, etc. But nonetheless, enjoy.

Saints + Lovers - Like It Was Yesterday

The Head Set - Last Call Doll

Wolf Parade - Shine A Light

Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen

Beat Radio- Ancient

The Ravonettes - Love In A Trashcan

Village Green - Let It Go

We Are Scientists - Worth The Wait

Spinto Band - Crack The Whip

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Ain't No Easy Way

Mike Doughty - Unsignable Name

Morcheeba - Lighten Up

Alec Ounsworth - Cecil Stick With The Story

The Diggs - Minimum Safe Distance

Ryan Adams feat. Norah Jones - Dear John

Tom Vek - Cover

Cloud Cult - Living on the Outside

Stars - Romantic Comedy

Nightmare Of You - I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard

Smallspace- Right Here

Oh and for all of those who like to hear about the wonders of my "Writing About Pop Music" class (ok maybe only you, Jerry), we've been discussing The Band and their influence on culture. We've had scintillating conversations on darkness and politics in music. Everyone in my class is scared of playing anything current, because they fear it may not be considered authentic. Psha. I think I'm bringing in Bright Eyes' "When The President Talks To God." I think that has some politics in it, or so I've heard. We got into the conversation on whether or not we believe music to have educated us. Has it changed our lives? Do we now go read famous writers because a member of our favorite band said he did? I doodled in my notebook for that conversation, seemed kind of silly to me. But I did write my paper on whether my band of choice was authentic or not. Haven't heard back from my professor yet, so we shall see.

Cheerio.

Wake Me Up...on Friday

This morning's wake-up was rough. Let me give you the recap early this morning, because once the day gets going, multitasking will be out of the question. But what a treat it was last night to see three of my favorite bands, all in one place. It seems silly, but it felt like home walking into Rothko last night -- so many familiar faces. However, I blame Liz for convincing me to drink a bottle of wine with her even before we made it to Rothko. That left me with just enough money for a salad for dinner, hence today I want to crawl underneath my desk and hide.

The Upwelling started things off and proceeded not to blow out a speaker this time. It was an interesting set for the boys, sans computer, creating a raw sound that I happened to quite like. I caught one or two new songs in there (one of which I swear Ari was rapping) and I still wince when they play "Annie on the Rooftop." Too bad it happens to be one of my favorites. But what is really important in the scope of things are Ari's super cool Paul Frank shoes. I told him later I liked them and he said he'd let me borrow them. I think I may hold him to that.

Next up The GoStation. Matt opened up the set with an acoustic version of "Wake Me Up When September Ends." And the show was closed by my favorite number. No complaints here. Liz and I will never be able to stand still during a GoStation show, and we like it that way.



I'm not sure if I'm biased now that I know The Diggs, but each time I see them, or merely listen to one of their songs -- I am consistently impressed. They happen to be super nice guys, and lucky for you and me, make incredible music. I think during the last song, the fantastically haunting "Trouble Everyday" I started yelling to Susan that this is what music is supposed to sound like. It gave me chills and to my recollection I had to cover my mouth because I was gaping. I think I even told Rob that he was authentic. Then I realized it was probably best for me to get home.



We left to the sounds of Nora playing "Oh Mandy" and life couldn't be better. I made my way over to Canal to catch the Q but had to have a smoke before the long ride home (lord knows I don't need another ticket). I happened to bump into my good friend Andrew who I swear I haven't seen in years. As silly as it sounds, I feel like I've got a place in this city now. And as terrible as I feel right now, nights like those make it all worthwhile.

Just a friendly reminder...

Katrina Benefit Show

When: Tuesday, September 27th @ 8pm

Where: Rothko (Suffolk & Rivington)

Why: To benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina by donating all proceeds to Oxfam America’s hurricane relief efforts

Who: “Special Guest” • Other Passengers • The Diggs • The Go Station • The Upwelling • and DJ Nora K

How much: $10 @ the door (cheap!)

Sheesh, what a lineup. And if that doesn't convince you, listen here:

The Upwelling - Annie On The Rooftop

The Upwelling - Worthy Enemy

The GoStation - Wandering Away

The GoStation - C'mon

The Diggs - Stagg

The Diggs - Trouble Everyday

Other Passengers - Bank

Other Passengers - In The Belly

I Want You To Stay

I put myself under house arrest for most of the weekend to get a lot of work done. Instead, I watched documentaries. I don't know why.

But after a mini Lost marathon with Georgia yesterday, we headed into the city to catch the always wonderful Maximo Park at Bowery Ballroom. Last time I saw them it was crowded and hot at Rothko, so this made it an extra special treat.

The Cloud Room opened and seems to be on to big things. While they were a bit awkward on stage (although I geniunely enjoyed the lead singer's humor), the highlight of course was "Hey Now Now." That song still gets me up and dancing. They brought on a bunch of their fans to dance with them on stage, which seemed like a lot of fun.

Apparently the show is going to be broadcast on some website, according to a flyer I received while leaving. However, I lost the flyer, so check them website to see if it comes up. They are off to the UK now for a tour with Editors and We Are Scientists -- reason enough for me to leave all my obligations behind and go back to London, don't you think? You can also catch The Cloud Room host MTV2 Subterranean on October 2. Big things, big things.

But it was time for Newcastle's finest, Maximo Park. Man, I love this band. Paul Smith is hands down the most spastic lead singer, and I love it. They threw out a couple new tunes which are equally as likeable as the ones off "A Certain Trigger." For some reason Mr. Smith really likes to sing while pretending to read a book (which we later found out was about post-modern Paris). I didn't really get that, but I love him anyways. For the encore, the keyboard unfortunately broke. Lukas was ok with it though, it gave him more opportunity to dance like a robot on stage. They premiered their new song for the Warchild charity compilation CD in the UK, entitled "Waste Land." Alas, when the night was over I didn't want them to go, they should stay in NYC forever.











See more pictures from last night's show here.

Downloads (right click, save as):

Maximo Park - Waste Land

Maximo Park - The Night I Lost My Head

Maximo Park - Limassol

Maximo Park - Going Missing

The Cloud Room - Hey Now Now

The Cloud Room - Blackout

Watch The Cloud Room's video for "Hey Now Now" here.

I've got to admit it's getting better, getting better everytime

Ok, blog readers. Let's give you some official business so you can begin to get as excited as I am. Here's the lineup for the seventh issue (!) of Underrated Magazine.

On the cover: Five O'Clock Heroes

Locals:
-Longwave
-Stellastarr*
-Tim Williams
-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
-Onedia
-The Cloud Room
-Nightmare of You
-The Diggs
-M-Labb
-Dirty on Purpose
-Jaymay
-My Victoria
-Kevin Devine
-Saints + Lovers
-Sam Champion
-The Secret Machines
-Cut The Wires
-The TItle Ceremony
-Say Hi To Your Mom
-Parts & Labors
-Chris Burns
-Country Club

Special UK Section:
-FeverKing
-Christopher Rees
-The Boy Least Likely To

Tourists:
-Aberdeen City
-Innaway
-Matthew Good
-The Changes
-Feist
-Colored Shadows

PLUS! CMJ/Warped Tour/Oxegen Wrap-Ups, A Feature on an in-the-works documentary on The Wrens, A History of BritPop, and Ireland's Hard Working Class Heroes.

Not bad, eh?

Look for it NEXT MONTH with a special issue release party in November.

I heart The Diggs

Let me just say, I've never had that much fun conducting an interview before. I think I told them that maybe 4 times throughout the evening. You know The Diggs by now from this blog. You've read about them in other blogs. You've heard them through their website, and maybe you've even had the chance to check them out live (which is the icing on the cake). But get a couple rounds with this band and let the fun begin.

The reason I started Underrated was to find out the stories behind bands. To get to know band other than through their music. Because music can be completely arbitrary, and who am I to justify what music you should listen to. So I had the longest week ever, and one of the longest days ever. From a French exam this morning to a very busy/uneventful day at work, all I wanted to do was go home and lay on my couch. I wanted to start my weekend of productivity/laziness. But oh yeah, I had to interview The Diggs. It started to rain as I walked through the Lower East Side. I told myself, one hour, and I'll be on the subway home. Let's get this over and done with.

One hour turned into three. One drink into six (?). Interview turned into a lot of laughs. This night redeemed my love for what I do. So people, lets all join together and proclaim The Diggs as exactly what New York needs. Unpretentious, ridiculously talented, and super fun guys.

Oh yeah, and all you bloggers out there, they only had nice things to say about you. So continue the love. They deserve it.

Just don't tell Charlie he looks like Lyle Lovett. Whatever you do.

Listen up!

From 6-8 every Friday you can listen to DC's coolest cat, my good pal Katie, host her radio show. Listen here. PLUS! I call in at some random time to play my favorite New York bands of the week. What's cooler than that? I thought so.

For the benefit...

Man oh man. I am so happy it's Friday. It's been a hell of a week. But what better way to wind down than interviewing The Diggs. Speaking of, there's a very cool benefit show on Tuesday with some of Underrated's favorites. Go, watch, love, and contribute.

Katrina Benefit Show

When: Tuesday, September 27th @ 8pm

Where: Rothko (Suffolk & Rivington)

Why: To benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina by donating all proceeds to Oxfam America’s hurricane relief efforts

Who: “Special Guest” • Other Passengers • The Diggs • The Go Station • The Upwelling • and DJ Nora K

How much: $10 @ the door (cheap!)

I'll see you there. Don't forget!

I am laying low for the weekend. Have a lot of work to do. But Maximo Park at Bowery on Sunday. Ooooh baby.

Breath in, breath out

Jerry posted about the new Bloc Party video for "Pioneers" today. I've watched this like 10 times now. Not only is it one of my favorite songs off the album, but this video is amazing. Georgia, you are going to looove this.

Watch here.