Showing posts with label josh ritter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label josh ritter. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

my top albums of 2007 #30-21

30

Two Gallants - Two Gallants
Excellent folk-country-punk type duo.

29

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Blows their debut away. In my opinion.
TLOBF review


28

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder
Ah yes, the album that most everyone either loves or intensely detests. It's not as fun as the debut, but that's not to say there aren't a lot of solid songs. Plus you gotta love that CYHSY DIY business model...

27

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
Yay for more Swedish pop music! I adore Jens and often have the feeling that this album should be higher than #27 on my list. But alas it's not.
TLOBF review


26

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
Conor's growing up. He sounds great on this album and his songwriting keeps getting better.

25

Ezra Furman & The Harpoons - Banging Down The Doors
Ezra's a very young Chicagoan who's getting lots and lots and lots of Dylan comparisons. He kinda sounds like Alec Ounsworth a bit too. You should check this album out. It's real real good.
not a review, just something I wrote


24

Revival - Horses Of War
Wow, another great new find for this year. Kind of folky, kind of psychedelic.

23

Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
I was so worried that this album was going to suck, but it completely blew me away. There are a couple of tracks I could do without, but for the most part, sobriety is treating Ryan and his songwriting very nicely indeed.
TLOBF review


22

Bishop Allen - The Broken String
This is indie pop at its finest. 'Nuff said.

21

Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter
Josh is another young artist who is just getting better and better. Great album.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow...

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

trying to catch up...

OK, it's not my fault, I was in southern California for 8 days, OK?!?

It was supposed to be a vacation, but... I was with my sister and brother-in-law and their 3 kids. So NOT a vacation!!! I love those kids, but damn... there's a reason why I don't have any of my own. Incidentally, if you want the most effective birth control ever... spend 8 days and 7 nights with other people's kids. Trust me.

Anyhoo, I'm back in town and feeling quite out of the loop. I haven't posted in a while, and am just catching up on all the news. So here are some blurbs that are of interest to me, if nobody else.

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Prince played the Superbowl halftime show on Sunday. Kick ass... except that I was watching the game with a bunch of NON Prince appreciators. Prince is a God. Sadly I had to resort to youtube the day after to get the full effect of his performance. He still kicks ass on that guitar. Especially in the pouring rain, oh yeah. Of course, NOW the FCC "broadcast decency" watchdogs are accusing Prince of using his guitar as an "inappropriate phallic symbol". [sarcasm] Prince? Nooooo.... [/sarcasm]. As for me, I'd much rather see Prince's penis guitar than Janet Jackson's nipple. Am I right?

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Will Sheff and Josh Ritter scheduled a handful of west coast dates for later this winter. Unfortunately, however, Will Sheff lost his voice and consequently had to cancel the tour. Too bad, except that they weren't coming to Colorado, so fuck 'em. BUT... Okkervil River is heading to the studio and will hopefully release an album this year. Happy, happy!

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Band Of Horses will be back in the studio/on a little tour of the southeast come March:

03-10 St. Augustine, FL - Cafe Eleven *
03-11 Sunrise, FL - Langerado Festival
03-12 Orlando, FL - The Social *
03-13 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds *
03-14 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *
03-15 Knoxville, TN - Blue Cats *
05-18-20 Minehead, England - ATP vs. the Fans Festival

* with Cary Ann Hearst and the Gun Street Girls
I so cannot wait for the new album...

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We've got a tracklist for the new Bright Eyes album, Cassadega, which will be released on April 10 (Saddle Creek):

01 Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)
02 Four Winds
03 If the Brakeman Turns My Way
04 Hot Knives
05 Make a Plan to Love Me
06 Soul Singer in a Session Band
07 Classic Cars
08 Middleman
09 Cleanse Song
10 No One Would Riot for Less
11 Coat Check Dream Song
12 I Must Belong Somewhere
13 Lime Tree




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Arctic Monkeys revealed some album details: Favourite Worst Nightmare will be released on April 23rd in the UK, very next day in the US (Domino). Tracklist:

01 Brianstorm
02 Teddy Picker
03 D Is for Dangerous
04 Balaclava
05 Fluorescent Adolescent
06 Only Ones Who Know
07 Do Me a Favour
08 This House Is a Circus
09 If You Were There, Beware
10 The Bad Thing
11 Old Yellow Bricks
12 505


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More album news, you say? I've got some! Maximo Park have announced April 2 as the release date for their sophomore effort, Our Earthly Pleasures. I'm not sure if there's a definite US release date as of yet.

Tracklist:

01 Girls Who Play Guitars
02 Our Velocity
03 Books From Boxes
04 Russian Literature
05 Karaoke Plays
06 Your Urge
07 The Unshockable
08 By the Monument
09 Nosebleed
10 A Fortnight's Time
11 Sandblasted and Set Free
12 Parisian Skies

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Chin Up, Chin Up and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin are touring together this month:

02-15 Grand Rapids, MI - Division Avenue Arts Cooperative
02-16 Toronto, Ontario - Sneaky Dee's
02-17 Montreal, Quebec - Casa del Popolo
02-18 Allston, MA - Great Scott
02-19 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
02-20 Medford, MD - Tufts University
02-21 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
02-22 Washington, DC - Black Cat
No Colorado... bummer. But SSLYBY will be stopping by in April:
02-08 Springfield, MO - Jefferson Starship *
02-11 Springfield, MO - Borders (instore performance)
03-09 London, Ontario - Salt #
03-10 Montreal, Quebec - Club Soda #
03-11 Boston, MA - Axis #
03-13 New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre #
03-14 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts #
03-15 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-16 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-17 Norfolk, VA - NorVA #
03-19 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club #
03-20 Winston Salem, NC - Ziggy's #
03-22 Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre #
03-23 Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre #
03-24 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse #
03-25 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel #
03-27 Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theater #
03-28 Chicago, IL - House of Blues #
03-29 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues #
03-30 Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall #
03-31 Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection #
04-01 Urbana, IL - Canopy Club #
04-03 Milwaukee, WI - Rave #
04-05 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line #
04-06 Omaha, NE - Rock #
04-10 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle Club #
04-12 Lawrence, KS - Granada #
04-13 Little Rock, AR - Revolution Room #
04-14 Norman, OK - Union Court at University of Oklahoma #
04-16 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre #
04-18 Boise, ID - Venue #
04-20 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards #
04-21 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater #
04-22 Seattle, WA - Neumos #
04-24 San Francisco, CA - Slim's #
04-25 Los Angeles, CA - House of Blues #
04-26 San Diego, CA - House of Blues #
04-29 Phoenix, AZ - Clubhouse #
05-01 Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater #
05-03 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa #
05-04 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom #
05-06 Houston, TX - Meridian #
05-07 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues #

* with Drew Danburry, BIGBIGcar, Andy Zipf, Them Damn Kids, Nathanial Carroll
# with Mute Math, the Cinematics

Of course they have to come to the Fox the same night that Sunset Rubdown is at the Hi-Dive. Probably won't make it to this one...

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Deerhunter will be touring come March in support of their fantastic new album Cryptograms:

03-02 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn *
03-03 Charleston, SC - Music Farm +
03-04 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse +
03-14 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon (Gas Food Lodging Music Festival)
03-15 Austin, TX - Soho Lounge (SXSW)
03-16 Austin, TX - Emo's Jr. (SXSW; Pitchfork party) #%
03-18 Houston, TX - Mink ^%
03-31 Jackson, MS - George Street Grocery
04-04 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle $
04-06 Kansas City, MO - Record Bar %
04-07 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge %
04-10 Seattle, WA - Neumos %
04-11 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards %
04-12 Portland, OR - Dante's %
04-13 San Francisco, CA - 12 Galaxies %
04-14 Los Angeles, CA - Echo %
04-23 Toronto, Ontario - Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
04-25 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Upstairs
04-26 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
04-28 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
04-29 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel

* with Grizzly Bear, the Papercuts
+ with Sparklehorse, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter
# with Girl Talk, Menomena, RJD2, the Pipettes, Do Make Say Think, Simian Mobile Disco, Fujiya & Miyagi, Beach House, Marnie Stern, Crystal Castles
^ with the Black Lips
% with the Ponys
$ with Nudge

Holy crap, SXSW is going to be amazing this year.

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Alright, that's it. I'm all newsed out. Here are some albums that I've been enjoying lately:



In case you're wondering, they are: Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha; The Broken West - I Can't Go On, I'll Go On; Roddy Woomble - My Secret Is My Silence; Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder; The Shins - Wincing The Night Away; The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible; Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?; Alkaline Trio - Remains; Deerhunter - Cryptograms; Jamie T - Panic Prevention; The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America; M. Ward - Post-War; Menomena - Friend & Foe; Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity; Bright Eyes - Four Winds EP; Oxford Collapse - Remember The Night Parties; Richmond Fontaine - Thirteen Cities; Okkervil River - Overboard & Down EP. Good, good stuff.

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Here are some upcoming shows that I would really like to attend, though I'll have to get a second job to pay for March's concerts alone...:

Feb 8 Camera Obscura @ The Bluebird
Feb 13 Glen Phillips @ Soiled Dove OR Grizzly Bear @ Larimer Lounge (which one???)
Feb 15 The Shins @ The Fillmore
Feb 17 Sparklehorse @ The Gothic OR The Roots/Lupe Fiasco @ The Fillmore (decisions, decisions...)
Feb 21 Alexi Murdoch @ Fox Theatre
Feb 24 The Autumn Defense @ Soiled Dove
Mar 2 Cold War Kids @ Hi-Dive
Mar 5 Clipse @ The Gothic
Mar 6 Snow Patrol/OK Go/Silversun Pickups @ The Fillmore
Mar 7 Dropkick Murphys @ The Fillmore
Mar 9 Malajube @ Larimer Lounge
Mar 10 Midlake @ Hi Dive
Mar 17 Sebadoh @ Fox Theatre
Mar 18 Badly Drawn Boy @ Fox Theatre
Mar 19 Viva Voce @ Hi-Dive
Mar 20 TV On The Radio @ The Ogden OR Dr. Dog @ Larimer Lounge (leaning toward Dr. Dog...)
Mar 22 The Hold Steady/The Thermals @ Hi Dive
Mar 30 Subtle @ Larimer Lounge
Apr 5 Neko Case @ The Gothic
Apr 7 Menomena @ Hi-Dive OR Deerhunter @ Larimer Lounge (damn it...)
Apr 10 The Long Winters @ The Bluebird
Apr 15 The Frames @ Boulder Theater
Apr 16 Sunset Rubdown @ Hi-Dive
Apr 22 Ted Leo + Pharmacists @ The Gothic
Apr 22 The Decemberists @ The Fillmore

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. I only now realized that I have tickets to both Ted Leo & The Decemberists... I gotta start writing this shit down. Why oh why do The Decemberists dates always clash with other shows I want to see?!? Anyone need a ticket for Ted Leo + Pharmacists?

Sunday, January 07, 2007

current news that makes me happy

I just heard another track off the upcoming Clap Your Hands Say Yeah release, Some Loud Thunder. It's called Yankee Go Home and is one of the many wonderful songs featured on Uncut Magazine's February 2007 CD:

The Hold Steady – Chips Ahoy!
Saint Thomas – Into Your Deep
The View – Wasted Little DJ’s
The Decemberists – The Crane Wife 3
Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Yankee Go Home
Ray LaMontagne – Be Here Now
David Vandervelde – Nothin’ No
Pentangle – The Snows
Gruff Rhys – Beacon In the Darkness
Jamie T – Livin’ With Betty
Alasdair Roberts – Where Twines The Path
Tinariwen – Cler Achel
The Shins – Black Wave
Andrew Douglas Rothbard – Emerald Tendrills
Damn fine selection, no? I just can't believe that Some Loud Thunder has not leaked yet... only 9 more days 'til the pre-order MP3 download is available... but I'm very impatient for this one. :)


After 21 months of touring, We Are Scientists have started working on their sophomore album. Singer Keith Murray states: "It is going to mix the actual music of Editors with the actual lyrics of Arctic Monkeys and the three-part harmonies of the Eagles". :) Now if they'd only release Crap Attack here in the U.S....


Arcade Fire has made available the first single from their upcoming album, Neon Bible. You can hear Black Mirror at arcadefire.com by clicking on Win's Scrapbook. Great tune. I don't think there's an official release date yet, outside of March/April 2007.

Edit: Neon Bible will be released in Europe on March 5, and in the US & Canada on March 6. Also, here is the tracklisting:
01 Black Mirror
02 Keep The Car Running
03 Neon Bible
04 Intervention
05 Black Wave Bad Vibrations
06 Ocean of Noise
07 The Well & The Lighthouse
08 Antichrist Television Blues
09 Windowsill
10 No Cars Go
11 My Body Is A Cage

Finally, Josh Ritter is playing Letterman this Friday, January 12. w00t!