the adventures of pete & pete//empire of the sun

I’m feeling generous. So, you tell me, what am I going to do with that generosity? Give you guys music! Duh…

…for those who miss the good old days…
Polaris- Music From the Adventures of Pete and Pete [Mezzotint Records 1999]
download here
So, I’ve been watching a lot of Daria lately (streaming, well kind of, from here) and it’s been bringing back a lot of fond memories. I randomly got this idea to look up The Adventures of Pete & Pete and of course it was there and I was so very tickled by the mere memory of my childhood that I went on a mad hunt for the album by Polaris-the semi-fictional band that sang a bunch of songs for the show. I can’t explain how wonderful this kind of rock is. It’s comforting, simple and absolutely everything we remember the 90′s to be. So if you’re in the mood for a mom with metal plates in her head, an unexplainable tattoo named Petunia, the strongest man in the world, riding lawnmowers and your two favorite gingers, this album is for you.

…and for those who like to “shake what your mama gave ya”…
Empire of the Sun- Walking on a Dream [EMI 2008]
download here
Facebook is a handy tool these days. About a week ago, my friend Justin posted the video for “Walking on a Dream” by these guys on my wall. From the moment I opened the youtube link I was absolutely in love. There really is nothing better than a perfectly put together electronic inspired pop song. And with the holiday season coming up and parties to both plan and attend, I can definitely see this debut album becoming quite useful when making a playlist.

(probably my favorite video of the year)

More goodies coming soon.
Love,
Jo

i just really like "everybody" & the 80s & newish music: matt & kim

(why so bashful gentlemen?)

Okay, so I’m officially losing it as I totally did not intend to leave this post blank. Just so you know, I do like most people, but I was actually talking about The Sea and Cake’s 2007 release Everybody. I conjured up a long explanation last night, after I listened to the finishing track “Transparent”, about how awesome this subdued, heavily jazz influenced album is but my memory escapes me and I’m left with some implacable feeling of regret. May as well give two tracks anyway.

mp3: The Sea and Cake- Crossing Line
mp3: The Sea and Cake- Transparent
——————————————–

Onwards! The other day my friend Max (Hi Max!) asked me what the hell had been up with Matt & Kim. Sadly, I told him that I didn’t know and I was unsure if they’d released any new material since their 2006 self titled released which still warms my power pop heart. So then the search began kids and how gloriously successful it was. Here are two singles from their upcoming release Grand. I hope that you guys appreciate this newer and definitely more layered sound as much as I do. They’ve invested in more instruments it seems and professional hand clappers.

mp3: Matt & Kim- Daylight
mp3: Matt & Kim- Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare
——————————————–

Also, my procrastination manifests itself in watching movies. I know, it’s a bit excessive but don’t judge me. Either way I just watched Pretty In Pink (so I have a soft spot for 80′s teen flicks) and I was reminded of how much I love 80′s synth pop. Below is OMD’s (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) “If You Leave”. Sweeeeet.

And, just because I love you all so much: Panda Bear awesomeness (courtesy of GvsB). It’s called “Daily Routine” and happens to be absolutely beautiful.

Later dearies!

our new correspondent is on his "way to normal"

(whatchu laughin’ at ben? huh huh? you wanna start somethin’, b?)

Hey there everybody it’s Jo and I’ve got something new for you. The other day I had this idea to have a guest contributor come around every once in awhile and give Cranberry Juice a little more flare. And so it begins.

Ben Folds- Way to Normal [Epic 2008]
6 Juiceboxes

Way To Normal was preceded by several recent Ben Folds related incidents. The first was a leaked copy of the album, which turned out to be a practical joke by Folds himself. Apparently, he could think of nothing better to do in Ireland than kill six hours at a recording studio recording several cuts of music more ridiculous and lyrically cliché than would be expected. Secondly, this past week, Ben Folds Five decided out of the blue to say, “Hey, what the hell let’s have a reunion show.” This, for me, brought on a spate of listening to classic Ben Folds Five material and re-recognizing its impressiveness. And thus the stage was set for the inevitable real leak of the new album. Way to Normal was leaked last night, but its significance was sadly undercut by the fact that you can listen to the whole album on Ben Folds’ (incredibly annoying) myspace.

The album gets off to a rough start: Hiroshima is a bit of a rip-off of Benny and the Jets, and the spattering of crowd cheering sounds comes off as cheesy. It’s like when I was 12 and found the sound fx channel on my shitty keyboard. It’s ending is also a cop-out. The album starts to pick up by the time it gets to “You Don’t Know Me.” This gem features the vocal talent of Regina Spektor, who – in typical fashion – is innocently sultry in her performance. She is such a damn tease. “Cologne” is also a high note on the album, where Ben is able to flex his soft piano pop muscles. However, I am personally a fan of the version that was featured on the fake album and for which he subsequently made a music video. The “fake” version makes me feel as though I am in a Cult of Folds, and I like that. The third quarter of the album has one serious problem; it lacks the piano prowess that endears many to Folds. Instead, there is plenty of hard-hitting quarter note smashing – a quality of many crap pop bands that insist that they qualify as piano rock – and synth buzzing. The last couple of tracks aren’t too bad, perhaps due to the piano’s grand return. “Effington” is rather humorous (hint: effington = fuckington), and “Kylie from Connecticut” predictably delivers the slow, sad final piano track that you’d expect with any Folds album.

Overall the album isn’t a disappointment. It’s full of nice, listenable ditties. However, therein lies its biggest problem. This release is coming so very near to the Ben Folds Five reunion that all of the pent-up classic, raw emotion and power from that material overshadows this pop friendly album. This is The Phantom Menace to The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner’s The Empire Strikes Back. It is not a bad album, but it is, as a whole, not memorable. I give it 3 out of 5 bricks, and I’m drowning slowly.

mp3: Ben Folds- You Don’t Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor)
mp3: Ben Folds- Cologne
mp3: Ben Folds- Kylie From Connecticut

Make It So,
EPS

And there you’ve got it peeps, so keep on keeping on.
-Joselia

jens lekman and rocky dennis? and a little steely dan too

(oh jens i thought you said maple leaves)

Last night, for the first time in quite awhile, I started channel surfing. It was around 11:30, all of the HBO and other premium channel Saturday premiers had long ended, the food network had that terrible show with that Mark Summers guy (you know the one who used to host Double Dare on Nickelodeon) , the history and military channels had on nothing of interest and one way or another I ended up somewhere in those obscure HBO channels when all of a sudden I stopped on a movie called Mask. I know someone has got to remember this movie; it’s the one about the relationship between Rocky Dennis and his mother tenacious,biker mother Rusty (played by Cher). I have no qualms about admitting that the movie is definitely, if nothing else, a tear jerker. It also has a pretty sweet score. So it got me thinking about Jens Lekman and his songs about Rocky Dennis and how awesome those songs are. So kiddies here are the songs from Jens Lekman’s EP Rocky Dennis which can also be found on his complilation album Oh, You’re So Silent Jens. Oh yeah and Steely Dan.

mp3: Jens Lekman- Rocky Dennis’ Farewell Song [Oh You're So Silent Jens Secretly Canadian 2005]
mp3: Jens Lekman- Rocky Dennis in Heaven [Oh You're So Silent Jens Secretly Canadian 2005]
mp3: Jens Lekman- Jens Lekman’s Farewell Song to Rocky Dennis [Oh You're So Silent Jens Secretly Canadian 2005]

mp3: Steely Dan- Do It Again [Can't Buy A Thrill ABC Records 1972]
mp3: Steely Dan- Only A Fool Would Say That [Can't Buy A Thrill ABC Records 1972]

I was going to do a big post about Richard Wright, keyboardist of Pink Floyd, who died on Monday. There aren’t words to really express the loss and I just hope, as many fans have already said, he’s with Sid enjoying that great gig in the sky.

Later gator,
Joselia

friday morning jamboree

Fucking weather, fucking everything this week. I’ve been feeling tense, so I’ll throw out a soothing track, but not before I blow your brain out through the back of your head.

mp3: Lightning Bolt – On Fire
Lightning Bolt are my favorite noise band du jour.

mp3: Los Campesinos – How I Taught Myself to Scream
This one is from the upcoming album, a sign of decent things to come.

Suffer through Leona Lewis, it’s worth it:

mp3: The Walkmen – In the New Year
Overall I’m very satisfied with the new Walkmen album “You & Me” as it doesn’t suck like it predecessor and is quaint and tenably depressed. But seeing as I have the hometown soft spot for things that wax sentimental over words spoken over one too many drinks maybe, I give it a ringing endorsement.

Pax.

el guincho makes everything sunny

(let’s go to space and dance with the dolphins!)

So, it should be no surprise that we love El Guincho, native of Barcelona with a knack for Panda Bear-like neo-psychedelic musical techniques. All you need to know if he’s doing big things people, huge, amazing, wonderful things. Below is his newest video for “Palimitos Park” (courtesy of Pitchfork.tv) from his 2008 release Alegranza. And here it goes baby!

And some more goodies..

mp3: El Gunicho- Jugadores de Juegos [Folías 2007]
mp3: El Guincho- 100 Veces Fuego [Folías 2007]

With love,
Jo

P.S.- check out the Ruby Suns covering “Palmitos Park” (courtesy of GvsB)

css wants us to move

I haven’t said a whole lot about the new CSS album Donkey, actually I haven’t said a whole lot lately. But that’s about to change. Not only is Cranberry Juice going to get on it’s A blogging game, it’s also going to give you a little video gem in the form of “Move” which happens to be my favorite track on the album. To say the least the video is really cute. Even the most callous of the trendy; that’s right those too scene to be seen can be spotted dancing in their African inspired leggings. Many kudos CSS.

Also check out this new Hood Internet jam…

mp3: The Hood Internet- Dick Move (Micky Avalon vs. CSS) [The Hood Internet vs. Monolith Music Festival 2008]

road to ruin

The nice people over at Rack and Ruin Records responded quite pleasantly to the Jason the Swamp post with a link to their website – where much free and hopefully excellent music can be found. I’ll get it at that in the coming week, but with so much music to choose from, you’d be better off exploring for yourself.

Another band from this label, coincidentally is These Are Words a band I stumbled upon somehow and whose album “Prism,” I have come to greatly enjoy. Kind of a mixture of acoustic and electronic music, very interesting though it seems to be bordering on a demo, still, I look forward to more and Rack and Ruin Records, I salute you.

mp3: These Are Words – Getty
mp3: These Are Words – Mountain

I don’t know how I missed the Bon Iver train, but now I’m glad to ride it all the way, not that sexually. Here’s a good video of “Flume” to sample, I’m sure you can go purchase the album or find it your own way.

Also, here’s one for the road, oh English television. Also, I can’t stop laughing.

extinction and lying about being from montreal

Taking a break from my Santogold fever and though I’m a day late, I’ll still make this a semi-happy-birthday-post, based on a certain amount of guilt laid upon me so righteously and the fact that I am otherwise bored. More of the former though.

Daytrotter is always a good place to find good bands because they take all kinds and they post these tracks that are somewhere between a live performance and a straight studio take, so it kind of has that studio magic and that energy, plus you get to hear them sing flat, I fucking knew it. To segway, I found the band The Daredevil Christopher Wright on there, and I think they’ve got a good thing going. The tubes of the internets provides me with few answers as to these fellows, but you can read the article and feast upon the hilariously titled songs.

Summer music is all about contrast to me, so I like to mix the sunny and the harrowingly depressing, so that it fits whatever mood strikes me. Thus, let’s begin happy, with the new Of Montreal single:

(kind of a creepy drawing)

mp3: Of Montral – Id Engager
I’m really excited about the new Of Montreal album, Skeletal Lamping, as I love all things that are shamelessly selfish and remind me of Prince. The album’s murky title refers to a hunting technique and alludes to Kevin Barnes’ continued attempts to understand his psyche in the way he knows best: writing songs. This one is pretty much picking up the slack where Hissing Fauna left it lying, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers, and I’ll take anything with the word Montreal in its name at this point.

(say hello to my wallpaper, no joke)

mp3: Liars – Mimic the Hurricano
Onto the depressing, or enlightening, depending on your point of view, Liars still hold the world’s record for greatest thing ever to appear on Pitchfork TV ever. Find their Juan’s Onto the depressing, or enlightening, depending on your point of view, Basement performance – or just go here and here, if you want to use Youtube and stick it to the man, I mean Pitchfork – and you may be sickened by how good it is. The above track is off the “Plaster Casts of Everything Single” and is really weird and stuff, so whatever. Here’s the last song from their performance, The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack, and below will be the mp3, so you can download that when you’re done. Also, the other one. Yeah, it’s one of my favorites.

mp3: Liars – The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack

Might as well through some Dodos in there. Go find their album – the not Visiter one – called “Beware of Maniacs” from the dark ages of 2006 and enjoy more things. Here is a sampling:

mp3: Dodos – Trades and Tariffs
mp3: Dodos – Horny Hippies

Yes, I’m intrigued as you are about any song about horny hippies, intrigued and terrified.

Auf Wiedersehen!

jonquil gave me even more lions!

And good morning to you! I hope everyone is having a beautiful Sunday so. Alrighty, for now, I’d like to shed a little light upon a “an Oxford bedroom recording project turned band, centered around 20 year old Hugo Manuel” (thanks last.fm) called Jonquil.

About two weeks ago Clark introduced them to me and I was/ am completely floored by how absolutely brilliant this band is. Love overfloweth from my cup; and god damn it, if I could redo my top albums (or tracks quite frankly) for 2007 Jonquil would have sat atop a golden seat. It’s really that good.

Jonquil explores folk music almost naively. There is no lingering air of “independent” pretension or exclusivity. Their music is not only a well decorated midnight whisper, but a steady proclamation of this adventure or that loss, a faithful and heartfelt plunge into something (or someone) known all too well. They remind me of Grizzly Bear or Akron/Family (talking about the self titled days-before they entered the realm of intense psychedelia) in that there is something unabashedly honest about their presentation. The songs on their debut 2007 LP Lions range from tender banjos and hushed lyrics (as seen in Magdalen Bridge below) to the campy chants (reminiscent of the Ruby Suns). And then there’s everything in between.

You’ve got to listen to it. Really, there are no words! Get the album guys. Seriously. Do it today.

mp3: Jonquil- Sudden Sun [Lions Try Harder 2007]
mp3: Jonquil- Lions [Lions Try Harder 2007]
mp3: Jonquil- Magdalen Bridge [Lions Try Harder 2007]

They happen to be on tour around Europe and after looking at some videos of their live performances, I’d say that it would be worth investigating. More details here.

So long! Farewell! Auf Wiedersehen! Goodbye!
-Jo