why drum circles can be beneficial to society

i came home this evening to a beautiful breeze rolling in to my apartment. i had a big glass of water, my cat by my side and everything was right with the world. that was until the drums started. as if it was pouring in from every window, the sound of bongos came from every direction. it wouldn't stop. my god awful hippie neighbors were at it again. i fully support drum circles - as long as they are as far away from the rest of the public as possible. there is only one things more obnoxious than a professional bongo player and that is, an unprofessional practicing hippie bongo player who lives next door to me. i proceeded to yell out the window and then realizing it would do me no good, i shut it and amped up the sound on my television.

i was in toronto this past weekend, hence the lack of posts. i've been saving this one for a bit. Foster the People is a group from Los Angeles, CA...of course. they are indie electronic synthpop. so go and enjoy that.



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is it really only tuesday?

i was never a team sport type of girl. i may have tried joining the track team because running sounded easy and without skill. i was wrong and quit shortly thereafter. as an adult i have actually found some use for team sports and therefore joined our company softball beer league. won our first game yesterday. ya...i made it to home base twice. once i fell on my face. but i still ran it out and got the point.

almost nothing of what i said has to do with today's band. the only thing that really links the two would be their name, the Stars of Track and Field. it's been about 2-3 years since they have released anything but as i was sitting at my desk today listening to Centuries Before Love and War, i realized how great this album is. it was released in 2006. the band is a mix of dream pop electronic shoegaze. ya...i know. pretty exciting stuff.



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just because i can't hold my excitement...

looks like Bon Iver took a trip around the USofA and found so pretttttyyyyy exciting places to write about. Let's take Lisbon, OH for example, I've been there multiple times. I could count the number of people there on my hand (that's an exaggeration but you get it). There is most likely more cow than people there. Residents proudly state how they haven't heard a single car pass by their house in 24 hours. I don't believe you can find it on Google Maps. Last I recall, Lisbon doesn't even have it's own zip code. You get it now right? I don't have to go any further...



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he's no Bon Jovi

At times, tragedies can provide the opportunity for new beginnings. With the recent and unfortunate events within my own family, I am attempting to find some comfort in that statement. The lead vocals, guitar, keys, synths & bass player of Geographer left New Jersey and headed to San Fran, CA in the Summer of 2005 after the death of his father and sister. In 2008, they released Innocent Ghosts. The success of that album lead them on to release Kites in 2009 and Animal Shapes in 2010. Here's the deal, I have to admit that I haven't really heard these guys until a few weeks ago. I'm ashamed of myself, especially when SPIN magazine publishes their discovery of the band three years prior. Okay so we all make mistakes. I've decided to post up their debut album since this is what hooked me in. I can't find much information on who the female vocals are and it appears she is no longer with the group, which I find to be a shame.



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1+1=2

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, the Manchester Orchestra started in 2005. Their fourth album, Simple Math, was released on May 10th, 2011. Being as ever retrospective, the album's concept is contemplating marriage, love, sex through the mind of a 23 yr old. I can't totally relate being that I'm three years past and apparently you just stop giving a shit between those years. A metamorphosis if you will. I'm quite attached to the opening track, Deer. "Probably too busy with your work, or am I just excusing you for leaving me alone. There's nothing in these wooden drawers to bring you back, to keep me bored. I don't know what to do with me no more."



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it's a bit of a mash up

when a band labels itself as "gothic / pop / shoegazer" you definitely wonder where all their influences came from and how that all added up to an LP release. I'm talking about Girls Names. ya, try googling that. It will tell you that apparently Isabella, Sophia, Olivia, Emma and Ava were the top five for 2010. what is slightly jarring about that mistaken discovery is...when I decided this year that if I have a daughter I'll name her Emma, I thought that was an original idea. Apparently, it's very 2010 and everyone else just thought of it much sooner than I. I'm blowing it. Anyway......... let's get back to Girls Names. They released Dead To Me on April 26th, 2011. They hail from Belfast and after taking a listen to the album, they caught me with a sound that I'd call Bauhaus meets Beach Boys. I KNOW...I KNOW...what a fucking mash up right? Trust me. Take a listen. I'm not insane. You'll see.



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supersonic aircraft

The Bell X-1 was the first supersonic aircraft in histoy. It exceeded the speed of sound and was part of America's top-secret technology. On the flipside, Bell X1 is a band from County Kildare, Ireland and I do not believe they can travel at the speed of sound. They do however create sound. A very nice sound. They have been around for a while and were originally fronted by Damien Rice. Apparently their most recent (well...not so recent really) claim to fame is being played during an O.C. episode during a lesbian kiss. Wow. Impressive. But don't let that sway you, their new album Bloodless Coup is fantastic! So just enjoy and maybe even grab a girl and swap some spit.



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just to off-set your comfort.

Xiu Xiu is a favorite artist of mine. He is eccentric and it shows in his music. I was told of a story that he basically makes his own instruments and a few years ago, someone stole everything out of his van while he was on tour. Ah some people are assholes huh? Anyway, there isn't really any good way to describe Xiu Xiu's lastest album, "Fabulous Muscles" except that there is a lot of emotion boiling within. This isn't for the faint at heart. Enjoy but don't say I didn't warn you!!



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I think we need more post-coital and less post-rock.

But then if those were my actual words, I'd be lying because I truly adore post-rock. Explosions in the Sky have a new album out called Take Care, Take Care, Take Care which was released on April 26th. Not sure how I managed to overlook this one but clearly, I did! It's been a while since their last album was in 2007...really...that long ago. I know, I too find it a bit hard to believe that but it's true. We are all getting that much older. For the album packaging, they worked with artist Esteban Rey to put together some pretty fancy packaging. I'm tempted to throw cash out for the LP as my collection is pathetic as it stands. Enjoy the weekend!





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nope, it's not smooth jazz

I'm exhausted and have little to say today. Posting up The Weeknd album "House of Balloons". This isn't a genre that I have a lot of albums in however, this one really caught my attention. It's a mix of R&B and electronic, but R&B is typically so terrible that I hesitate to even list it in that genre. However, Wikipedia does so I guess it's acceptable. Enjoy and I hope you're prepared for Monday because it is coming at ya!



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