Alt + Shift + Ctrl + K You have no idea how happy and excited I am that The Submarines’ song You Me and the Bourgeoisie is in the new iPhone commercial.
Amazon finally released a mp3 widget to embed songs from their digital catalog. Not sure I’m wild about the design but hopefully they will work on it. Also it seem to not work at all in firefox 3 and I had to use ie7 which is a pain. Now they just need to catch up with myspace and allow full songs to play too and we’ll be golden. Check out the embed below:
How to Make a Proper Muxtape. Mine is here: http://sthayden.muxtape.com/
I am currently in love with this song: Loudon Wainwright III - Grey in L.A. (myspace)
So let me get this straight… I can bye the Feist album from iTunes for 9.99 with DRM… or I can buy it from Amazon for 8.99 with NO DRM? This is crazy. I love amazon. My dreams have come true.
The Stars’ new album, In Our Bedroom After the War, is up in advance on eMusic. I hope this is not just a marketing ploy and they just put the MP3s when they were done and the rest of the world has to wait simply because the CDs need to be pressed.
I really liked their last album, Set Yourself On Fire, as there was three or four songs that I really feel in love with. You Ex-Lover Is Dead is just amazing and also worked almost as well in the Degrassi episode (go canada!) as Breath Me did in Six Feet Under. Calendar Girl is also amazing.
In Our Bedroom After the War is a solid album but doesn’t have any songs that really jump out at me. Over time I’m going to learn to love all the songs but I really love albums that grab me with really amazing singles.
I can’t say they got worse cause they sound great and the album is a good purchase for any Stars fan. But they were not as lucky as last album with songs that really grab you.
If you want to get in to the Stars I would not start with this album and instead check out Set Your Self on Fire.
Feist is a band I’ve been trying to get into for a while. Sadly it’s just never really cliqued for me. This song from their most recent album “The Reminder” is really great though. Feist - 1234 (mp3)
This is a really great collection of a cappella versions of Beastie Boys songs. So many of their songs stand up with out any background music at all.
Song 2: Time You Have Been Wasting (MP3)
This will be my first entry in the female lead singer category. And it will not be my last. The Salteens also have a male vocalist that helps add alot of texture. I feel that bands that use both a male and female vocalist can do more then other bands can. Not only is this a solid power pop band but they are also straight out of Canada where so mush great music hides with out making it’s way in to the USA.
In an effort to keep my self looking for new music I want to share an MP3 with you each week for the next year.
Song 1: We’re From Barcelona (MP3)
We’re From Barcelona from the band I’m From Barcelona is just such a fun song I can’t help from listening to it several times. They really do encompass a weird Indy Kitsch that come across really strongly in the music video below. I think only an Indy band can truly own these kind of postmodern jokes that would fall on deaf ears in the main stream.
PopMatters Picks: The Best Music of 2006. A short but solid list.
This podcast on the history of the Byzantine Empire is amazing and that it is available free on the internet speaks well for the future. It focuses on 12 rules and effect on the empire.
The quality is amazing and the depth of information is incredible. For me it is a little dense and could have used a slightly slower pace so I could better absorb the information but other wise this is a college coarse in MP3 format. I feel I deserve credit just for listening to it.
If you have any interest in history or Byzantine, which I have both, you must give this project a listen.
Give it a try: 1 - Introduction (12.8 Meg MP3 13:55)
Bishop Allen’s October EP is one of their strongest this year. MP3: Clementines