We’re making all our writers do “music we love that maybe got overlooked” articles. And we kick off with Jen, who wrote the “all you can eat DC” article last week and now comes back with “all you can listen to DC” music. Enjoy.-Svetlana
When I was in high school, periodically my friends and I would get together with our own prepared mixtapes (preferably cassette, as CDs bore the stamp of inauthenticity) and orchestrate an elaborate swap. This was a surefire way to wind up with a lot of crappy ska and jam band songs, but usually with some great new favorites in tow.
Today, the looming sense that even 62 gigabytes of music in an iTunes library could not possible sate some desperate, bored ears can feel soul-crushing. The frustration level rivals that of that old adage about being stranded at sea without a drop to drink. Boo. That’s where my humble offerings come in.
The following is a snapshot of decent music that’s out there right now, floating around in cyberspace or probably playing at some esoteric venue in Virginia the night before you read this.
Wherever it is, it’s good and it’s evolving and it hopefully restores a little bit of faith in the notion that available music extends a bit further than blogger-approved It Bands and the same stuff you’ve been listening to since 10th grade.
And in the spirit of this idea of community music swapping, comment with your own favorite nuggets.
It’ll be like our own cute little mixtape party, only better because it’s the Internet.
Since it might be copyright violation to include mp3s, included are links to your best bet for getting an earful.
Get Him Eat Him
http://www.gethimeathim.com
Aw. The little band that could. These guys top my list right now for mostly ulterior motives, seeing as how they are longtime chums of mine. But that doesn’t stop their music from being objectively amazing. Their recent CMJ performance is a testament to that. Upon first listen, most people are apt to drop Ted Leo as an influence. Yeah, these guys definitely use premium grade ‘90s indie rock as a touchstone, but there’s a reason for that. It fucking rules. The opener to their latest album, “Arms Down,” is “2×2,” a positively glimmering example of how to introduce your shit. Please, please check these dorks out. I love them.
Alela Diane
http://www.aleladiane.com
I’ll probably never be able to get past that freak folk/Naturalismo movement that took everyone by storm in the earlier half of this decade. This whole New Weird America thing has taken me in its arms and swept me away on its white unicorn or whatever. I love it. The latest gem is Alela Diane, who is doing the Portland, OR thing by way of Nevada City, NV – incidentally Joanna Newsom’s home digs, where she actually handpicked Alela Diane for this relative level of success. The comparisons to Newsom seem obvious (childlike timbre, acoustic-y revelry, etc.), but Alela’s music bears something a little sparser and more Neo-Americana than Renaissance Faire. Alela Diane’s album, “Pirate’s Gospel,” is out on Holocene Music, a fledgling Portland label getting its feet wet with some other fantastic music like The Shaky Hands and Swan Island. Love it, live it.
The Cotton Jones Basket Ride
http://quitescientific.com/cottonjones1.htm
http://www.myspace.com/thecottonjonesbasketride
Really, this should be a dedication to Michael Nau, not just this new formation, The Cotton Jones Basket Ride. Nau is the frontman for Page France, who released “…And The Family Telephone” earlier this spring. Page France is incredible and Nau is clearly a genius. But as TCJBR, with a scant single mp3 floating around in cyberspace, I’m really captivated. “Had Not a Body” is artistry in its low-budg production, simple guitar/bass/drum lines and sluggish, bluesy melody. There’s something about it that is fresh but simultaneously antiquated and familiar. I highly suggest investing in the EP that Quite Scientific Records are offering. The conglomerated efforts of Nau are turning out some highly awesome music, as anyone at the Federal Reserve showcase at Iota on Monday could attest.
Headlights
http://www.daytrotter.com/article/477/free-songs-headlights
It was probably the single “Put Us Back Together Right” that did me in with Headlights. Anyone who frequented Tryst(my convenient soapbox for songs I like, thinly veiled as a serving job) during the month of March probably heard it ad nauseum. With just cause. Headlights get a lot of comparisons to Canadian band Stars, who were once described to me as “pop music for assholes,” mostly because of a shared affection for cutesy male-female harmonies, breathy vocals, dainty keyboards and precious, heartfelt lyrics. But Headlights retains a little more depth than Stars, despite all those odds against them. The band lives in a big, ramshackle farmhouse in the fields of Illinois and somehow that can be heard in their music. Snow is falling, someone is chopping wood, blah blah blah. Their songs are about life in their town, life in general. Sort of makes me want to ride bikes or go canoeing or some shit, which anyone who knows me can say is sort of a big deal.
Thao Nguyen
http://www.daytrotter.com/article/192/thao-nguyen-daytrotter-session
How did I get away with living in D.C. for almost five years now, and never heard the music of Thao Nguyen until, like, last week? It was a name that I’d dismissed several times in favor of brief obsessions with much, much crappier music. Good thing that’s over. Thao was raised in the Virginia/DC metro area and, according to this extremely legitimate and credible website called ‘MySpace.com’, she’s still here. Someone find her for me. I want to give her a high five and a beer for creating, with her stellar band The Get Down Stay Down, music that is ridiculously tailored to my taste. Finger-picking acoustic guitar that inevitably irritates my roommate? Check. Slightly acerbic but mostly brilliant lyrics matched with an acquired-taste singing voice? Check. Go to the Kill Rock Stars homepage for a free mp3 from the new album, “We Brave Bee Stings and All” (huh?). Is that a tuba I hear?
You ain’t maiking me do shit. L-dawg.
November 9, 2007 at 12:43 pm