There’s not that’s gotten me out of my music blogging hibernation, but on a tip from Slowcoustic, I checked out the Belgian band Isbells (myspace).

Their self-titled album from 2009 struck me immediately. Fairly simple acoustic songs with lush vocals, often in falsetto ala Bon Iver, dominate the album. (But I think it would be a mistake to dismiss this band as a Bon Iver knock-off.) The songs are melancholy and beautiful, filled with yearning.

While the album isn’t perfect–there are a couple weaker songs–and it sits as much as a collection of songs as an album, it’s still very much worth getting and listening to, perhaps on your ipod as you walk through streets as it rains, clearing your head and sorting out your own yearnings.

Isbells – As Long as It Takes (mp3)

Isbells – Reunite (mp3)

You can get the album from amazon mp3 or get the CD from Belgium.

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Of possibly everything related to music that people rate, probably one of the most subjective is live performances. There’s so much besides the music that factors into the experience–what else happened that day, were you with friends or alone, what your expectations were, what the people standing near you were like–that one’s review sometimes not even up to the performers.

With that in mind, I present to you, in chronological order, very personal list of most memorable music moments from 2009.

• David Bazan @ house show, Berkeley (2/18)
  I saw two of Bazan’s house shows this year but this was easily the better. Attentively sitting on someone’s living room floor, about thirty big-time Bazan fans watched him perform without amplification a few feet away. The music was great, the between-song conversation was good, the crowd was awesome–there wouldn’t be a lot of ways to make this show better.



• Yoni Wolf @ Apple Store (2/28)
  I hadn’t much considered Why? before this. This show with the frontman and an electric piano changed that somewhat. But what is most memorable about this performance was the once-off cover of “This is the Day.” I remember the hymn from church growing up but Wolf’s version that day was dark and haunting and still sticks with me.



• Les Savy Fav @ the Mezzanine, San Francisco (3/1)
  I’d heard many stories about the antics of Les Savy Fav live show and, in particular, frontman Tim Harrington’s antics. This show did not disappoint whatsoever. Harrington came out covered in toilet paper but quickly stripped down to his shorts. Before the night was up he spit beer into the crowd, licked the lens of the photographer standing next to me and duct-taped a girl to him. In between all of this, he managed to sing some songs.



• The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Central Presbyterian, Austin (3/19); @ Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco (7/9)
  Two very different shows but both very memorable. At the Central Presbyterian show during SxSW, I saw the band completely win over an audience of people largely unfamiliar with their music. They were on top form and I had chills for about half the show. When the finished the show acoustically in the main aisle of the church, I was in awe like everyone around me. The Bottom of the Hill show was the last Ipickmynose Presents show and it was a rousing success. Two days after their debut album came out to much acclaim, the band seemed to still be surprised by their success and performed a fantastic show.



• The Tallest Man on Earth @ the Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco (3/25)
  I’d been obsessing about Shallow Grave for months leading up to this show, which was just a week after I’d seen the Swede, Kristian Matsson, at SxSW. This show was more noteworthy than the SxSW in that this performance was just perfect. Matsson has a way of performing that is just as much about movement as it is about music. He sits during the slow beginning of a song and then stands moves fluidly to the front of the stage and looks out into the audience. After this show nearly everyone I talked to said they thought he was looking right at them, bringing the performance to each audience member in a way few artists do.



• Damien Jurado @ Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco (5/5)
  I’ve seen Jurado perform about six or seven times now, but this show seemed to have what would have been my hand-picked setlist of favorites performed with intensity. In his first four songs were “Ghost of David”, “Medication” and “Ohio” and I knew it would be a good night.



• Iron & Wine @ Swedish America Hall, San Francisco (5/7)
  I’d seen Iron & Wine a few times, including one magical time in 2004 at the Great American Music Hall, but even that time wasn’t at a venue as small as the Swedish American. Maybe this show stuck with me because his setlist, chosen by fans on his website, was filled with nostalgic favorites. Maybe it was because the Swedish American has great acoustics for solo shows. Maybe it was just a great performance.



• Or, the Whale @ the Independent, San Francisco (6/6)
  I love Or, the Whale and this show was good, but the experience here wasn’t about the music (which was great as always). Two months before I was to leave for South Africa, the experience was noteworthy because every time I turned around there was a friend of mine or someone I wanted to talk to. It was a blast and I went home thinking I might be making a mistake moving away.



• John Vanderslice @ Secret House Show, San Francisco (7/25)
  I’m still not sure how this all came together but my going away party in San Francisco was a secret show by John Vanderslice in my apartment to me and thirty of my friends. Completely without amplification, JV was accompanied by Jamie Riotta on upright bass and vocals. My cheeks hurt from grinning so much. It was utterly spellbinding and will probably go down as one of my most memorable music experiences in my entire life.

White Plains from ipickmynose on Vimeo.

• “Oh How I’d Miss You” @ my apartment, San Francisco (7/25)
  Following JV’s performance, I played a killer soul playlist with this Marvin Gaye/ Tammi Terrell number on it. After people trickled out, my lady friend and I spontaneously danced in an empty living room to this song. But, given that I was leaving the country a week later, the lyrics were a bit too topical and near the end of the song I looked up to see her crying.
• Sangoma Ceremony @ private home, Khayelitsha, South Africa (8/15)
  Saying yes to a series of opportunities led me to be in a tiny tin-sided house off a dirt path in a township outside Cape Town. A new sangoma (sometimes translated as ‘witch doctor’) was being initiated and there was much dancing, singing and clapping among the couple dozen people packed into the house. It was an experience that few outsiders get to have.



• Zulu hymns @ small church, Ingwavuma (9/6)
  This church is at the end of the road, literally. The tar road ends about 2km before it and the dirt road ends right at it. A few hundred meters father, the hill drops off steeply into Swaziland. The hymns during the actual service were sung in both Zulu and English but were largely not noteworthy. While I was sitting waiting for the service to begin, though, women scattered around the room spontaneously and seemingly without coordination started the most beautiful hymns I’d ever heard. Four part harmony filled the room. It was baking hot in that room and I still had chills.

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What have been your most memorable music moments this year?

So the month is up. I sit here with my bags packed, an empty apartment now across town and a boarding pass ready to be printed. This is it, the end of ipickmynose as we know it. What that actually means is yet to be seen, but I know I’m taking a break and if I come back, I’m not going to be blogging all the time.

I’m proud of what I’ve done here. 1137 posts over 860 days. But more than the numbers, I think I’ve written good stuff–though I still wouldn’t claim to be a “writer”–and championed plenty of bands that ought to be championed. I’m proud that I never put advertising on this site. It’s always been a labor of love and both a time and money sink, but I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t like doing it. It’s certainly been a fun pursuit.

I really have a lot of people I’d like to thank for help and support. Dave for kickass design work on posters for ipickmynose presents shows and other stuff for the site. Andy for introducing me to rad bands, making KZSU live mp3s sound better, and telling me when I was getting too full of myself as a blogger. Liz for being my unofficial editor and for being possibly my first reader. Smurph, for engineering all those KZSU sessions. All the song obsession panelists, especially Keith, my college radio hero. All the bands that I’ve met and have been great and appreciative. Fellow bloggers, for the encouragement and for introducing me to great bands, especially Will of New & Used Records, Ben, Christian and Emily of the Bay Bridged, Nick of Monosyllabic/ albondigas!, Scott of Anyone’s Guess, Oz of Hearya, Natalie of It’s Too Sunny Out Here, and Smansmith of Slowcoustic. Largehearted boy, Chromewaves and Gorilla v Bear for something aspire to.

I’d like to thank you, the readers. When I decided to branch off my music writing from my personal blog to a separate music blog, there was the implicit acknowledgment that I was writing for more than just myself. Initially I thought it would just be some friends and things and I’m still tickled that people who don’t know me read this. So thanks for that.

I’m not disappearing entirely of course. There will be things of mine on the internet that will still be around if you want to keep track of me:

• personal blog
• photo blog
• twitter
• last.fm

Anyway, keep ipickmynose in your RSS readers or check back in occasionally. Who knows what the future will bring?

The Miracles – What’s So Good About Good Bye (mp3) (buy)

Originally, this was going to be a rant called What’s Wrong with the Music Blogosphere, but I thought I’d turn it into something a little more positive. If you’re interested in the technical aspects of how to run a music blog, I’m sure they’re covered elsewhere.

1. Create original content
   This is the most important thing here. What sets your blog apart if all you do is post mp3s that other people are posting with the same promo photo that everyone else is posting? Write interesting things about the music you like or shows you see. Take and post your own photos. Make original videos or post mp3s of exclusive sessions with bands. Do interesting interviews with bands. There are so many different ways you can create original content. Be, well, original.
2. Don’t do it for money or page views
   You’re not going to become rich or famous starting a music blog in all likelihood. You might make some pocket change from advertising or you might choose to do without ads, but the point is you should have a blog because you love music and want to share it. If you find yourself changing your blog just for the hits or posting something just because you think it’ll bring page views, reconsider.

   I think it’s okay to want more readers, but the way you get new readers and the way you get page views are different.

3. Respect artists
   We all do this because we love music and want to promote great artists, right? Posting full albums doesn’t help an artist. Posting without linking to where someone can buy the record or failing to inform readers of an upcoming live date when you post mp3s doesn’t hep the artist. And if an artist asks you to take down an mp3, do it politely.
4. Write the blog you want to read
   Don’t write the blog you think people want to read. Besides a few comments here and there, you probably won’t get a good idea of what most of your readers want to read, so just write what you think is good. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t ever listen to constructive criticism, just that you shouldn’t tailor your blog to something you think people want.
5. Have a singular vision
   I really think the biggest benefit of music blogs, besides being able to point readers directly to music (as mp3 or video), is that they can have a singular vision: a consistent opinion or taste. After reading a blog for a while, I’ll get to know what the writer’s taste is and how much trust I put in their opinion. For example, I know I should at least consider any band Frank at Chromewaves highlights. Does this mean I think you shouldn’t have co-writers? Not necessarily as it is possible for people to have similar enough tastes that the site still has a consistent taste, but few multi-writer sites achieve a singular vision. HearYa is one of the better ones at having multiple writers while having a consistent taste.
6. Know what you’re talking about
   No one is immune from mistakes and no one can known every band, but nothing makes me want to read a blog less than obvious factual mistakes or a gross lack of knowledge of bands.
7. Share news in limited quantities
   This is a tricky one and I know some people disagree with me on this, but I really think you can assume every music fan reads Pitchfork news, Brooklyn Vegan or Stereogum, so they know when Band Goes on Tour! or Band Reveals Album Art! Of course there are times when news is appropriate. That artist you love is doing a house concert in your area, tickets will sell out quickly and you haven’t anything about it elsewhere? Go for it. An alternative to posting a list of tour dates is to use the tour stop in your town to do a feature about the artist where you write about why they’re good.
8. Make your blog’s presence multi-faceted
   Promote live shows with bands you support, have bands into the studio, or have a radio show or podcast. I just think it’s more interesting than a straight-up mp3 blog.
9. Find your niche
   Whether it be a region or a genre or whatever, I think blogs with a more specific focus tend to be more interesting and have a more loyal readership. What could be a more narrow focus than digitized cassettes from one continent? But Awesome Tapes from Africa is incredible.
10. Ask for what you want
    There’s no point in wondering why another blogger got a press pass to an event or an interview with an artist if you didn’t even bother to ask for it. Do you want to do an exclusive session with a band? Ask for it. You might get rejected, but it’s worth a try.
11. Be mindful of hyperbole, but be enthusiastic
    Blogger hyperbole is almost a cliche at this point, so be weary of saying everything is the best ever. At the same time, no one wants to read emotionless chatter. Every time I hear someone talk about I am Fuel, You Are Friends, they say they love how enthusiastic Heather is in her writing.
12. There’s nothing wrong with criticism, but don’t spend all your time doing it
    I really think there’s value to honest criticism. If all you’re saying is that everything is incredible then the value of your praise becomes diminished. On the other hand, if all you’re doing is criticizing, you may come across as ornery or overly snarky.
13. What’s with all the redesigns?
    Especially in an era where a lot of people read their blogs in RSS readers, if your site is readable and fairly easy to navigate, there’s no reason to redesign it every six months. Spend your time creating content instead.
14. Figure out what to do when you get burnt out.
    If you post all the time, you’re probably going to get burnt out. Figuring out what works for you when you get burnt out is important. I tend to shift focus a bit, talking about types of music I like but don’t blog about a lot. For you it might be going through some old favorites or reviewing some out-there concert or who knows.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know why in the comments.

Today, a bunch of bay area music bloggers are going to a baseball game for the 3rd year in a row (see the first two).

I’ll be live blogging the game so check back on this page throughout the afternoon for updates.

11:50am At 24th St. BART. 3 minutes till the Fremont train. That’ll get me there.

1:01pm in the seats. They’re doing the starting line up. Chatting it up with the people who are here so far. Good times.

1:12pm Angels get a home run on the fourth pitch, first at bat.

1:47pm just had a ridiculous bbq pork sandwich. We’ve got a good crowd here now. There’s a baseball game happening somewhere but we’re nerding out pretty well.

2:07pm the A’s are really phoning it in here. 7-0 already.

2:26pm we’ve gone hard core into the music nerdery here. Who’s into what bands, what’s wrong with the blogosphere.

2:46pm Wow a couple runs and.it’s a game. This would be a good comeback.

2:54pm and now we’re talking about twitter.

3:03pm Guilty pleasures here: Passion Pit is high among them…. And what you delete from your last.fm library so people people can’t tell you listen to.

3:33pm things have settled down. Not much going on in the game. A’s warming up a pitcher in the bullpen. The prize in the Cracker Jacks is a bit weird and not impressive.

4:10pm Paid attendence of 16500. Pretty sparse attendence here. We finally got some cloud cover. We’ve been baking here up till now. Some talk about blog projects and record labels.

4:25pm bottom of the 9th, 2 outs and 6 runs to make up. Not looking good. Oh Cust just hit a home run so only 5 runs to go. All of us transplants are talking about adopting local teams and how you pick your team in a two team market.

4:30 and the game’s over. A’s lose.

Update: In the end, we had representatives from ipickmynose, Hello Vegetables, Kata Rokkar, Stranger Dance, the Deli SF, New and Used Records, the OCMD, Tough Customer, SFist, Monosyllabic, Ears of the Beholder and Loud Farm. (I think that’s everyone.) Good times indeed.

There were a couple good albums streaming for free in their entirety. I recommend checking them out.

the Dodos Time to Die
Their third album is being released in physical form in September but the digital release is at the end of July. I’ve listened to it a few times through and it’s good. While there are definitely duds (mostly I’m thinking of “This is a Business”), but there are also songs that show the band continuing to write great songs (e.g. “Troll Nacht” and “Fables”). The Dodos are a great live band that’s also figured out how to put their songs on record in a convincing manner.

the Dodos – Fables (mp3)

You can pre-order it from insound.

Riceboy Sleeps Riceboy Sleeps
This is a fairly new project Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi and his boyfriend Alex. I was already obsessed with “Boy 1904″ and I loved “Happiness” on the Dark was the Night compilation. I’ve listened to this ambient-but-melodic album five or six times over the last couple days and I’m definitely going to buy it when it comes out.

Jonsi & Alex – Boy 1904 (mp3)

You can pre-order it from insound.

You may have suspected something was up when I announced my final radio show. I’ve been sitting on this news for a while and trying to decide when and where to break it. I thought this announcement would be better than it coming with no warning[1].

In a shade over a month I’ll be moving. I’m going to Cape Town, South Africa for an undetermined amount of time. I won’t be continuing this blog in the same capacity during that time. I’ve really enjoyed writing it for the last two-plus years. I’ve gotten to share a lot of music I love through it; I’ve made friends and met cool bands and had the opportunity to try some fulfilling projects.

What form ipickmynose will take after I move, I really can’t say, but I know that I won’t be posting at the current rate (9.4 posts a week, by my count) or anywhere close to it. I’ve done this blog while overseas before, but I think this time I need to spend more time in and be more engaged in the local culture. After an initial break, I may come back to posting a couple times a week or maybe I won’t; I can’t really say. But if you leave me in your RSS reader or check in occasionally, I’m sure I’ll pop in occasionally at the very least.

I look forward to writing a bunch of good posts for you before I go. Thanks for reading and have a good day.

[1] I’d also like to note the influence of one of my all time favorite blogs, Tenderbutton in announcing my demise in advance. And in using citation-style notes in blog posts.

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Yup, Michael Jackson died. I’ve been pondering whether to post about it. If you want a proper tribute and a truly excellent MJ mix, head to Soul Sides.

I think something that people do realize and what I think is most amazing is that Jackson holds the record for best selling album of all time by a factor of >2X. That is, if the second best selling album ever (Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon and AC/DC Back in Black) sold twice as many records as they ever had, Thriller would still beat them by 20 million units. And with the way that record industry is going, I doubt that record will ever be broken. It had seven top 10 singles on it. You can say what you want about radio payola and major labels force-feeding people music, but I doubt a single record will ever capture so many people’s attention again.

Here’s a nice post with reminiscences by engineers and producers that worked with MJ. It gives a bit more insight into the musician Jackson was.

–

Ali Akbar Khan also died last week. He was one of the foremost proponents and teachers of classical music of North India. A master of the sarod, Khansahib was recognized, along with Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee, as having been instrumental in bringing Indian music to the west. The Ali Akbar Khan College of Music was local here in San Rafael and Khansahib lived locally so this is also a great blow to the local music community.

Listen to this beautiful piece that really shows his mastery of the sarod.

Ali Akbar Khan – Tarana in Bhupali (mp3) (buy)

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On a lighter note, The Octopus Project (myspace) have released the first track off of their forthcoming EP, Golden Beds. I have a bit of a think for their rare tracks with vocals and this one works well. (via MBV)
Octopus Project – Wet Gold (mp3)

–

Over the weekend I watched Adele’s (myspace) performance of “Hometown Glory” (a song I wrote about recently) about half a dozen times. It’s gorgeous and her voice is spot on. I can’t find a video of just the performance, but you can find it within this full episode:

–

Who doesn’t love seeing some pure joy in music? See it when the Gaslight Anthem performs “‘59 Sound” with the Boss, one of their most obvious influences. I’m still enamoured with the song (and I know the words better than Springsteen). Brian Fallon, Gaslight’s lead singer, understandably milks this for everything its worth.

–

Finally, I don’t really get ripping on P4k. I don’t really pay attention to much that they do anymore (except for their news section), but Popsense took a different take: they reviewed every thing Pitchfork did for a day. Their final rating? 6.7. Pretty well done.

You may remember my crush of a little band called Fanfarlo (myspace) out of England. I may have have mentioned them a few other times as well. Last week, their debut album, Reservoir, got released, though it’s still in limited quantities, it looks like.

What can I say about this band? Sitting somewhere between the sweet emotional pop songs of Belle & Sebastian and the crescendo-filled orchestrated rock songs of the Arcade Fire, the band makes fun but nuanced songs that are filled with hooks while managing to not be too saccharine. They also put on a great live show as evidenced by the last two SxSWs. This year they filled the Central Presbyterian Church with gorgeous songs.

Reservoir has a number of tracks from previous EPs and singles (including some that I raved about previously) as well as a few new songs. The older songs were rerecorded for this album so it has a consistent aesthetic to it. But enough from me, just check out these songs.

Fanfarlo – I’m a Pilot (mp3)

Fanfarlo – Harold T. Wilkins or How To Wait a Very Long Time (mp3)

In addition to their studio work, the band has done some great one-off acoustic sessions for various web sites. Check out both of these below. I love how well their sound translates into that setting.

Here’s “Harold T. Wilkins”:

And a number of songs in a garden:

Secret Garden Video Series: Fanfarlo (SXSW Edition) from hoovesontheturf on Vimeo.

Reservoir is available directly from the band, from Rough Trade and from iTunes. They have some live shows scheduled in the UK but unfortunately none in the US right now. Perhaps you’ll just have to go see them next SxSW.

How are you? Are you doing well?

By the time you read this, I’ll probably be on a plane. I’ll be traveling over the next 10 days. I have posts for you–don’t you worry!–but I may be slow on responding to emails/ comments.

Today marks the release of Magnolia by the Wooden Birds (myspace). As you may have learned from my post about the band, they’re the new band of Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set. It also has member of Ola Podrida and Lymbyc Systym in it. As I mentioned in that previous post, Magnolia is a really great record and I’d recommend it, especially if you like American Analog Set-like acoustic drone pop.

I’m proud to announce that ipickmynose will be presenting their show at the Rickshaw Stop on May 31. If the two shows of theirs that I saw at SxSW are indication, this will be a really good one.

The Wooden Birds – False Alarm (mp3)

the Wooden Birds – Bad (mp3)

the Wooden Birds – Anna Paula (Live on Woxy) (listen to the whole Woxy session)

You can buy Magnolia from insound (or they have it on vinyl + mp3). Rumor has it that the first handful of CDs are autographed by Andrew Kenny himself.

Wooden Birds at SxSW

Two local bands are opening the show. The first of those is The Old Fashioned Way, a local, baritone-voiced indie pop band that’s been getting some good press in the area.

Rounding out the bill is Goh Nakamura (myspace), a local songwriter that I’m excited to see. His music reminds me at times of late-era Elliott Smith, though there are many influences that go into his music.

Goh Nakamura – Sarah Rose (mp3)

If you want to hear more of Goh’s stuff, you can get Ulysses, his most recent album for free at his website. You can also check out the Bay Bridged feature podcast about him.

Here’s the info you need to know for the show:

5/31 the Wooden Birds, the Old-Fashioned Way, Goh Nakamura @ Rickshaw Stop, 8pm, $10 (advance)/$12 (door), a/a

Buy tickets for the show. I’d like to point out that the Rickshaw Stop has been pretty rad and set up their own online ticketing service with $1.25 service fees, so it’s actually 75 cents cheaper to buy tickets ahead of time, even with the fee.

Andrew Kenny of Wooden Birds, by Adrian Bischoff

Horse Feathers performed a few songs for NPR. It’s a good set.

Brian Williams interviewed Deer Tick in the first of ‘BriTunes’–yes, the real name. Once you get past the shock of it–is it a good interview? No, not really. I’m sure they’ll get better as Williams realizes bands shouldn’t be interviewed like they’re a cabinet member.

Daytrotter has a set with J Tillman. It was recorded at SxSW and contains a number of song he was playing a lot around then, including the lovely solo version of “Master’s House”. I also found an interesting profile of him in the LA Times.

J. Tillman – Master’s House (Daytrotter-SxSW session)

The Dodos Miller Chill commercial I tweeted (self-consciously dumb verb acknowledged) about last week has appeared online. It’s great for them, but it still strikes me as strange.

Senator Russ Feingold likes Bon Iver. Have I mentioned it’s a topsy turvy world we live in?

Finally, Scrubs essentially ended with Peter Gabriel covering the Magnetic Fields. It’s a nice cover, but the original is hard to beat.

After Natalie’s suggestion and further song obsession, I participated in Joel P. West’s (myspace) Dust Jacket Project, where you send him a piece of art–a photo, drawing, song, poem, etc–and he’ll send you a download code for the album.

That’s pretty sweet, right*, but it gets better: this San Diegan’s album is good. From the opener, “28th and NE Davis”, you can tell it’s going to be a quirky, orchestrated folk album. It took me a couple listens to get into the song, but now when the stomps/ low drums starts, I’m looking forward to the rest of the song, and the album. The melody, especially along with the words “open up, my hands are freezing” has slowly burrowed its way into my head.

Another highlight is “Bark and Feathers”. It’s an upbeat folk number with a rollicking drum beat and nice strings throughout.

Joel P. West – 28th and NE Davis

Joel P. West – Bark and Feathers (mp3)

It’s got its inconsistencies, but while I don’t love all of it, Dust Jacket’s a solid effort and worth the price.

Make some art and get the album. You can also check out his Daytrotter session.

*Granted: you can get just about any album you want complete free, but that’s not exactly legal, nor does it have the pleasant side effect that it forces you to be creative.

(for the iTunes file, simply import all the songs to your library and then go to File->import and then select the song list (the txt file). you should now have the 2009april in your iTunes with all the songs in the correct order).

Go ahead and check out the playlist (below) or the liner notes.

Adrian’s April 2009 mixtape (mediafire link)

If you like the artists or songs, I suggest supporting them by buying their music, going to a show, buying merchandise from them or at least telling other people about them.

The playlist:

1. Seldom Can’t/ Must
2. Elliott Smith Say Yes
3. Cymbals Eat Guitars Wind Phoenix
4. Dr. Dog The Old Days
5. The Ad Libs He Ain’t No Angel
6. David Ruffin Anything That You Ask For
7. Ben E. King So Much Love
8. Jimmy Ruffin What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted
9. Damien Jurado and Gathered in Song Air Show Disaster
10. St. Vincent and the National Sleep All Summer
11. Joel P. West Bark and Feathers
12. Telekinesis Coast of Carolina
13. John Vanderslice Too Much Time
14. Garrett Pierce And The Ghosts Boarded Trains
15. Rural Alberta Advantage Edmonton (Hearya session version)
16. Songs: Ohia Blue Chicago Moon
17. American Analog Set New Equation

Seeing Rural Alberta Advantage (myspace) at SxSW (twice) has reignited my love of the band.

Paste has a really cool video interview/ acoustic session by the band, including a great piano-based version of “In the Summertime.”

Hearya recently posted their session with the RAA. It sounds really clean and crisp–better than Hometowns in parts. They also have a video, which is below.

Finally, Woxy has their session up. It has a pretty similar set list as the Hearya session–just one song different–but it’s a nice listen too.

Lastly, the band has hinted they have big news coming up. Have they gotten signed by a label? We’ll have to wait and see.

The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Edmonton” – HearYa Live Session 4/1/09 from HearYa.com on Vimeo.

For completeness, here are my four should-be-buzzed-about tracks:

• Tallest Man on Earth – Pistol Dreams[1] (mp3) (buy)
• Shirley Ann Lee – There’s a Light (mp3) (buy)
• Fanfarlo – I’m a Pilot (mp3) (buy)
• Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man (mp3) (buy)

The Deli SF ran a feature recently about local musicians, bloggers, etc’s SxSW experiences and they asked me to participate. You can read that here.

[1] This could easily be “The Gardener” instead.

I know I’m late posting about this and I’m just another voice talking about it at this point. Well, let’s say it’s good enough that it’s worth another voice.

Sometimes a compilation album comes across that’s more than a collection of good songs; it’s inspiration, in auditory form.

By sometimes, I mean about once every ten years. The last one I remember was the Lounge Ax Relocation and Defense CD.. It inspired me in a number of directions: the indie rock of Seam and the post rock of Rachel’s. (Those are still two of my favorite bands of that era.) It was the first place I heard Shellac, June of 44 and the Mekons.

Much like that Dark was the Night, put together by the Dessner brothers of the National, is the sort of compilation that inspires one to listen to new music. Granted, it has good National tracks and Bon Iver tracks. We knew it would, after all. Where it succeeds is its lesser-known tracks.

The gorgeous Riceboy Sleeps track, for instance, is a great track from a band I’d never heard of[1]. Ambient, instrumental and sprawling, it’s just beautiful. The Yeasayer track, a medium slow groove with layers of percussion and clapping and tightly wound but melodious vocals, makes me want to give them another try.

The many collaborations are also something to note. The Books with Jose Gonzalez (covering Nick Drake) put together a good track, as do Feist and Ben Gibbard. David Bryne sings on a Dirty Projectors track. Antony with Bryce Dessner put together a simple and gentle cover of Dylan’s “I Was Young When I Left Home.”

Now I’m not saying every track is a winner, but I think what’s important here is that, as a whole, the compilation is good enough to get you from beginning to end, to hear those tracks and bands you wouldn’t hear if you were skipping around to a few choice track. I’d recommend getting it.

the National – So Far Around the Bend (mp3)

Bon Iver – Brackett, W9 (streaming)

Riceboy Sleeps – Happiness (streaming)

You can pick up Dark was the Night on amazon

[1] Of course, I now know that it’s a side project from a band I do know (Jonsi of Sigur Ros’ side project).

Update: rewrote parts of it.

Damien Jurado @ Schubas
Crosshair Design

I picked this up at Flatstock.

If you’ve been reading MBV, you can see I’m aping their style. It’s clean and everything about the site screams passion about music. A fine thing to copy.

I wouldn’t take “Money (That’s What I Want)”, but I would take some Motown. Photo by Adrian Bischoff

For my 1000th post, I’ve decided to compile some of my desert island picks: 10 albums and 100 songs that I’d take take with me if I had to pick some music for the rest of my life[1]. These aren’t necessarily my 10 favorite albums and 100 favorite songs but they fulfill some need. And they’re good.

Here they are, in chronological order.

The 10 [albums]:

• Sam Cooke Portrait of a Legend [recorded 1951-1964; release 2003]
  The man who invented soul, they call him. This is a great retrospective of his incredible music.
• New York Philharmonic Bernstein Century – Copland: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Billy the Kid [1960]
  Aaron Copland’s music is so grand and so American. Blending beautiful traditional songs with gorgeous orchestrations, this would fulfill my needs for classical music.
• Beatles Revolver [1966]
  I’d have to bring one Beatles album at least, and this is my favorite. I love the harmonies and orchestrations they bring to the table here. “For No One” is probably my favorite Beatles song and its on here.
• Paul Simon Graceland [1986]
  I loved this album when I was 12 and I love it now. Besides its warm nostalgia-value for my childhood and my parent’s country, it’s just a great album of pop music, blending Africa, Zydeco and American music effortlessly.
• U2 Joshua Tree [1987]
  For all the musical revisionists and contrarians, I still think this is U2’s best album and I think it’s one of the best rock albums of the last 20 years. It’s not without false steps, but they’re so minor in the scope of this album that I can listening it front to back repeatedly.
• Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane over the Sea [1998]
  I’ve already gone on at length about how incredibly meaningful this album is to me. An epic fuzz-folk masterpiece about Anne Frank.
• Pedro the Lion It’s Hard to Find a Friend [1998]
  I don’t listen to Pedro the Lion constantly but I have seen Bazan a ridiculous amount of times live–are there such things as Bazanheads? not that I’d want to be labeled one of those–and I love his music, so obviously I connect with it. Sometimes Control best fulfills my Pedro-need but this is a more balanced effort in the end.
• Notwist Neon Golden [2002]
  Part of this is nostalgia–it reminds me of my summer in Germany, where I bought this and listening to this constantly–and that is reminds me of the people and places I saw there. The other part is that it’s a great blend of electronic and organic elements into a fantastic album.
• Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans [2004]
  Suf’s one of my favorite artists and this is my favorite album of his, so it’s got to come along. Beautiful, stripped-down (by Sufjan standards) folk with no less incredible songwriting behind it.
• Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago [2007]
  It wasn’t all that long ago that I went all gah-gah over this album (again). Gorgeous and heart-wrenching, it’s a perfect example of what an album should be: greater than the sum of its parts.

The 100 [songs]:
1940s:

• Horton Barker Two Sisters [recorded around 1943, traditional song]

1950s:

• Clifford Brown & Max Roach Quintet Cherokee [1955]
• Almeda Riddle Bury Me Beneath the Willow [recorded around 1959, traditional song]
• Alabama Sacred Harp Singers Sherburne [recorded around 1959, traditional song]

1960s:

• the Crystals (/ the Blossoms) He’s a Rebel [1962]
• the Crystals Then He Kissed Me [1963]
• Bob Dylan Girl from the North Country [1963]
• the Ronettes Be My Baby [1963]
• the Supremes When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes [1963]
• the Wright Specials Nintety-Nine and a Half Won’t Do [1963]
• Bob Dylan The Times, They Are a-Changin [1964]
• Bob Dylan When the Ship Comes In [Bootleg Series version] [1964]
• the Beatles You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away [1965]
• the Impressions People Get Ready [1965]
• the Miracles Tracks of My Tears [1965]
• the Beach Boys God Only Knows [1966]
• the Beach Boys Wouldn’t It Be Nice [1966]
• the Four Tops Bernadette [1967]
• Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Ain’t No Mountain High Enough [1967]
• Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Oh How I’d Miss You [1967]
• Smokey Robinson & the Miracles the Tears of a Clown [1967]
• the Tremeloes Here Comes My Baby [1967]
• Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds [1969]

Check out the rest of the list after the jump.

1970s:

• Darondo Didn’t I [recorded, 1973, widely released 2006]
• Tommy Jarrell the Drunken Hiccups [recorded 1976, traditional song]

1980s:

• Talking Heads Once in a Lifetime [1980]
• Bruce Springsteen Atlantic City [1982]
• the Dagar Brothers Rag Kambhoji – Alap [1988]
• the Pixies Where is My Mind? [1988]

1990s:

• Paul Simon the Obvious Child [1990]
• My Bloody Valentine Sometimes [1991]
• Seamus Connolly & Brendan Mulvihil The Salamanca/ Trim the Velvet [recorded 1991, traditional songs]
• Sebadoh Brand New Love [1992]
• Archers of Loaf Web in Front [1993]
• the Magnetic Fields Fear of Trains [1994]
• Weezer My Name is Jonas [1994]
• the Mountain Goats Cubs in Five [1995]
• Palace New Partner [1995]
• Rachel’s Those Pearls… [1996]
• Apples in stereo Silvery Light of a Dream, pt 2 [1997]
• Ben Folds Five Brick [1997]
• Elliott Smith Say Yes [1997]
• Yo La Tengo Autumn Sweater [1997]
• Belle & Sebastian Sleep the Clock Around [1998]
• Modest Mouse Never Ending Math Equation [1998]
• Seam Get Higher [1998]
• Beulah If We Can Land A Man On The Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart [1999]
• Built to Spill The Plan [1999]
• Jimmy Eat World Goodbye Sky Harbor [1999]
• Damien Jurado Ohio [1999]
• Pedro the Lion Be Thou My Vision[3] [1999, traditional song]
• Pinback Loro [1999]

2000s:

• Cat Power I Found a Reason [2000]
• Mark Kozelek Bad Boy Boogie [2000]
• American Analog Set Punk as Fuck [2001]
• Low Sunflower [2001]
• Mogwai 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong [2001]
• Seldom Can’t/ Must [2001]
• Johnny Cash Hurt [2002]
• Death Cab for Cutie Wait [2002]
• Iron & Wine Lion’s Mane [2002]
• the Mountain Goats the Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton [2002]
• the One AM Radio All I Can Recall is the Haunting [2002]
• P:ano All of November, Most of October [2002]
• Sigur Ros Untitled #4 (a.k.a. “Njósnavélin”, aka “The Nothing Song”) [2002]
• Songs: Ohia Blue Chicago Moon [2002]
• Sufjan Stevens Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing[3] [2002, traditional song]
• Explosions in the Sky Your Hand in Mine [2003]
• Four Tet My Angel Rocks Back and Forth [2003]
• Jose Gonzalez Crosses [2003]
• Jens Lekman Black Cab [2003]
• Sufjan Stevens Romulus [2003]
• Heiruspecs 5ves [2004]
• the Mountain Goats Against Pollution [2004]
• John Vanderslice Pale Horse [2004]
• Madvillain Money Folder (Four Tet remix) [2005]
• Kanye West (ft. Lupe Fiasco) Touch the Sky [2005]
• the Acorn Dents [2006]
• Beirut Postcards from Italy [2006]
• Beirut Scenic World [2006]
• Dert the Light (Common & Erykah Badu vs. Jose Gonzalez) [2006]
• Fionn Regan Put a Penny in the Slot [2006]
• Sarah Siskind Lovin’s for Fools [2006]
• Sufjan Stevens Sister Winter [2006]
• Swan Lake All Fires [2006]
• Two Sheds It’s Hard [2006]
• Beatbeat Whisper Lulu [2007]
• Coconut Records West Coast [2007]
• the Lightning Bug Situation Message To Myself After Franny Was Born [2007]
• Magnolia Electric Co. Shiloh Temple Bell [2007]
• Mobius Band Friends Like These [2007]
• the National Fake Empire [2007]
• Or, the Whale Call and Response [2007]
• Candie Payne By Tomorrow [2007]
• Sigur Ros Heysatan [Hvarf-Heim version] [2007]
• J Tillman Crooked Roof [2007]
• Kanye West Everything I Am [2007]
• Horse Feathers Curs in the Weeds [2008]
• the Rural Alberta Advantage Don’t Haunt this Place [2008]
• Tallest Man on Earth the Gardener[2008]

[1] Let’s be honest. Though I’ve tried to take a longer-term view of this list, it is pretty highly influenced by what I like right now.

[2] The Apples in Stereo’s Tone Soul Evolution was a close runner-up here. It’s a magnificent album, close to the perfect pop album.

[3] These two old hymns are some of my favorite songs. The versions are nice but the versions here are secondary to the songs.

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It’s your 9th most favorite blog’s 2 year anniversary since a post about some record stores. Not a lot of reason for celebration, but if you’ll indulge me on a brief look back, I’d appreciate it.

I didn’t know what I was getting into two years ago. I set out to write the blog I wanted to read. Sometimes I succeed at that; sometimes I don’t and I try to improve.

While 50 states in 50 songs may have received the most hits and attention and the post about MF Doom being a fake at a local show got a lot of comments, I think Train Tracks: a Personal Essay on a Train Trip Across America, a post mixing a train trip journal and train songs, may be my favorite.

My favorite post title was Holy shitballs that’s a beautiful song: Jenda Wight’s Luxury of Time. It was also one of the first times I felt like I was introducing a song that no one else was talking about.

John Vanderslice @ Tiny Telephone

Here are some of my other favorite posts:

• the covers loop mix
• top 10 3/4 songs (and songs in related compound meters)
• My essay about In the Aeroplane over the Sea turning 10 year old
• Hanging out at Tiny Telephone and taking photos with John Vanderslice and Or, the Whale
• Giving a boost to local bands with my Local and I’m Listening series. I’ve gotten feedback from a lot of people that I’ve introduced to Or, the Whale. I also particularly like the Lightning Bug Situation and Two Sheds posts.
• Interviews with John Vanderslice, the Morning Benders and the Apples in Stereo.
• I like some of my silly posts.

There are a few things I’m proud of that aren’t posts per-se:

• I’ve been pretty happy to have some great bands on the radio for Live at KZSU/ ipickmynose sessions, such as:
  • John Vanderslice
  • Two Sheds
  • the Dodos
  • Joe Pug
• I presented two of the best local band line-ups that I can remember. They were both great concerts and good times.
• My Blackdrop Portrait series. You can see all of them on my flickr page

Elvis Perkins by ipickmynose

I’ve had all sorts of comments, here. My first comment from someone I didn’t know was an offer to crash at her house for the Pitchfork Fest. But I’ve gotten all sorts. I try not to let the complimentary ones go to my head and I try to learn from the negative and caustic ones. I like the ones that provoke thoughtful discussion and some are just interesting while not really being about the post. Some are probably spam but I leave them because I can’t understand Chinese. Okay, maybe that’s just one comment.

Finally, of course I love when the bands weigh in or when readers find something they like because of my blog.

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Anyway, thanks for reading this and my blog in general.