For those of you who haven’t already decided which So Cow show you are going to on their 2010 North American tour I thought I would remind you of those dates one last time before it starts.  Tomorrow is the first day of their almost three month long American tour! Starting at Asbury Lanes in Asbury park (I’m guessing the Asbury Park and Philly shows are tentative due to the blizzard, but those are just my thoughts) .  So Cow is playing pretty much the entire country so there is no excuse to miss them this time around:

• Feb 11 Asbury Lanes Asbury Park, New Jersey
• Feb 12 Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Feb 13 Monster Island Basement Brooklyn, New York %
• Feb 14 Cake Shop New York, New York +
• Feb 17 O’Brien’s Boston, Massachusetts
• Feb 19 AS220 Providence, Rhode Island
• Feb 20 Casa Del Popolo Montreal, Quebec
• Feb 21 Rancho Relaxo Toronto, Ontario
• Feb 22 The Casbah Lounge W Hamilton, Ontario
• Feb 23 The Bug Jar Rochester, New York
• Feb 24 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, Ohio
• Feb 25 Cafe Bourbon Street Columbus, Ohio
• Feb 26 Lager House Detroit, Michigan
• Feb 28 Eagle’s Nest Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Mar 01 7th St. Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Mar 03 Badlander Missoula, Montana
• Mar 04 Empyrean Spokane, Washington
• Mar 05 East End Portland, Oregon
• Mar 06 Comet Tavern Seattle, Washington
• Mar 08 Mama Buzz Cafe Oakland, California
• Mar 09 The Crepe Place Santa Cruz, California
• Mar 10 The Hemlock Tavern San Francisco, California
• Mar 11 The Smell Los Angeles, California
• Mar 12 Bar Pink Elephant San Diego, California
• Mar 13 Trunk Space Phoenix, Arizona *
• Mar 14 El Paso Block Party El Paso, Texas
• Mar 16 The Mohawk Austin, Texas
• Mar 17 – Mar 20 SXSW Austin, Texas
• Mar 22 The Conservatory Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Mar 23 Record Bar Kansas City, Missouri
• Mar 25 Hi-Tone Cafe Memphis, Tennessee
• Mar 26 The Belafonte Hattiesburg, Mississippi
• Mar 27 529 Atlanta, Georgia
• Mar 30 Snug Harbor Charlotte, North Carolina
• Mar 31 2702 Lawndale Durham, North Carolina
• Apr 01 Black Cat Washington DC #
• Apr 02 Ruintown Baltimore, Maryland
• Apr 03 Terrace Club Princeton, New Jersey
  • % = w/ Blank Dogs, Frankie Rose and the Outs, Sisters
  • + = w/ Preacher and the Knife, White Blue Yellow and Clouds, Babies
  • * = w/ Nobunny
  • # = w/ Smith Westerns

I’m looking forward to catching these guys at Cake Shop, one of Manhattan’s finest venues.  If you are in the city is a great way to spend Valentines Day.

So Cow has also announced that their second LP Meaningless Friendly this year on Tic Tac Totally and it is due out sometime in the next couple weeks! I can’t wait to hear it…and if you haven’t heard So Cow’s So Cow yet I highly recommend picking it up…it was my favorite album of 2009.  Here is another one of my favorite tracks from last year’s amazing LP…just one of the many reasons you should be catching this tour:

[mp3] So Cow- “Shackleton”

• buy the self titled album  here.

not to mention So Cow always comes packing a wonderful array of cover songs…this is one they rocked while they were in the states last year:

[mp3] So Cow- “Mess Me Up (Nobunny cover)” via the FMA

• get the whole set here.

So which show will you be at?

Links:

• much more on So Cow can be found here.
• more on Nobunny here.

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FMA credits:

Last year I did a list of twenty five albums, and I began to think that the rank ordering no longer meant anything once I hit a certain number. This year I thought I was going to do a top ten with a not so short list of other albums, but then I decided that would be the same thing as a top twenty five.

I feel like I settled in the middle. I was able to narrow 2009 down to fifteen albums, and no short list. These are my favorites.  If you haven’t heard them check out the mp3, and if you like it buy the album…you won’t be disappointed. Cheers.

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The Great Pumpkin’s favorite albums of 2009.

15.) Screaming Females- Power Move

Hearing this record for the first time was like the first time I heard Dinosaur Jr.  Power Move was released by Don Geovanni Records.

[mp3] Screaming Females- “Bell”

• buy it here.
• more on Screaming Females can be found here.

14.) Desolation Wilderness- New Universe

When I saw the cover and title of this album I hoped it would sound like it looked.   And it did.  A shoegaze master piece released by K Records.

[mp3] Desolation Wilderness- “Boardwalk Theme”

• buy it here.
• more on Desolation Wilderness can be found here.

13.) Alex Bleeker and the Freaks- Alex Bleeker and the Freaks

Classic Rock for my generation. This record gets more powerful with each listen. Released via the wonderful Underwater Peoples Records. Their cover of “Animal Tracks” is just as good as the original.

[mp3] Alex Bleeker & The Freaks- “Animal Tracks (Mountain Man cover)”

• buy it here.
• more on Alex Bleeker can be found here.

12.) Sonny and The Sunsets- Tomorrow is Alright

Sonny and the Sunsets made the perfect warm weather pop album that it transcends seasons. I find that even on a morning as cold as today Tomorrow is Alright can make me feel warm inside. Sonny is part of the Endless Nest Collective, and if you know what is good for you should have your eye on the nest…so many great records came out of this group in 2009. Tomorrow is Alright was released by Soft Abuse Records.

[mp3] Sonny and the Sunsets- “Too Young To Burn”

• buy it here (the LP is sold out…maybe get it here?).
• Sonny’s website
• Endless Nest’s website.

11.) Nite Jewel- Good Evening

This is an album of psychedelic dance jams  and not necessarily the dance music you would hear in a club, but more what you want to chill out with at the end of the night.  This record was released by Human Ear Music / Gloriette Records. 

[mp3] Nite Jewel- “Weak for Me”

• buy it here.
• Nite Jewel’s website// myspace

10.) BOAT- Setting the Paces

If there has been one album this year that can bring me out of dark times it is Setting the Paces.   Released by Magic Marker Records.

[mp3] BOAT- “Prince Of Tacoma”

• buy it here.
• more on BOAT can be found here.

9.) Julie Doiron- I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day

While she is known for her sad songs this album shows her lighter side, and that is something that I really enjoy…and she can totally wail on that guitar too.  Released by  Jagjaguwar Records.

[mp3] Julie Doiron- “Spill Yer Lungs”

• buy it here.
• more on Julie Doiron can be found  here.

8.) Ducktails- Ducktails// Landscapes

As far as I’m concerned these two should have been a double album.  I have a hard time thinking about them separately. Ducktails in a sense gave birth to Real Estate, and possibly this whole thing chillwave thing.  Ducktails came out via Not Not Fun and Lanscapes via Olde English Spelling Bee.

[mp3] Ducktails- “Landrunners” (off of Landscapes)

• buy Ducktails here // buy Landscapes here.
• more on Ducktails can be found here.

7.) Karl Blau- Zebra

This man is a constant inspiration to me.  This record is just one of three albums that he made this year that I fell in love with. Released by K Records.

[mp3] Karl Blau- “Dark Sedan”

• buy it here.
• more on Karl Blau can be found here.

6.) Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Like a time machine to the late eighties //early nineties.  Another great album from Slumberland.

[mp3] Pains of Being Pure at Heart- “Come Saturday”

• buy it here.
• more on Pains Of Being Pure at Heart can be found here.

5.) Ganglians- Monster Head Room

The first full length form this Sacramento band, and it was pretty much perfect.  The LP was released by Weird Forest and CD by Woodsist (who will be repressing the LP).

[mp3] Ganglians- “Crying Smoke”

• buy it here.
• more on Ganglians can be found here.

4.) TOM: WFMU’s the Best Show’s Tribute to Paul McCartney’s RAM (various artists)

The Best Show put together the best tribute album ever.  If you are unfamiliar with RAM it is the only album I have ever heard of by Paul McCartney refered to as dirty (and that is a very good thing). Released as a DJ Premium for donating to WFMU… Sad that it was so exclusive.  The moral of this story is…DONATE TO WFMU!

I haven’t really listened to Danielson over the past couple albums, but this cover makes me want to rethink that…one of my favorite tracks from this album, and one of the best covers I have heard in a long time.

Danielson- “Monkberry Moon Delight”

• The Best Show// WFMU
• Oh and if you don’t already have it…buy Paul McCartney’s Ram here (or used on LP here).

3.) Mount Eerie- Wind’s Poem

I am a long time fan of Phil Elverum, and on this album he took me to a place I never imagined I’d go.  Dark and beautiful…seeing it performed live gave me the best halloween I’ve had in years.

[mp3] Mount Eerie- “Between Two Mysteries”

• buy it here from P.W. Elverum and Suns.
• more about Mount Eerie  can be found here.

2.) Julian Lynch- Orange You Glad

After this record I will be on the look out for anything Julian Lynch ever releases.  Orange You Glad has moved me. Released on Olde English Spelling Bee.

[mp3] Julian Lynch- “Rancher”

• buy it here.
• more on Julian Lynch (mp3s, video, pictures, reviews, more) can be found here.

1.) So Cow- So Cow

By far the record I listened to most this past year.  The pop catches you, but the guitar and lyrics keep you. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Tic Tac Totally Records.  If you didn’t catch So Cow when they were in the states last year their 2010 American Tour starts in less than two week!  Tour dates can be found here.

[mp3] So Cow- “Casablanca”

• Buy it here.
• more on So Cow (reviews, posters, mp3s, pictures)can be found here.

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Thanks for reading my best of lists.  I’m pretty sure this is the end of it…my goal was to get it up by February 1st, but I ended up one day late…I’m ok with that.

You can find more of mine, and some of my special guests, best of lists here.

It starts today.  One of the most wonderful events in the world for the record dork (yep I’m included in that).

The WFMU Record Fair will be going all weekend starting this afternoon.  It is an exciting time…performances, live broadcasts, and more records than you can wrap your head around.

The fair runs Friday 10/23 from 7-10pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 10/24 & 10/25 from 10am to 7pm. Admission is $7 (per day).  Earlybirds can get in on Friday at 4pm for $25, which includes readmission all weekend.

I hate to say it, but last year was my first time going to this wonderful event…and I plan to go every year until I leave this city.

While there are tons of records you have to be selective or you will go broke very fast (I recommend setting a spending limit for yourself).  Last year I only purchased three records…Brian Eno’s Before and After Science, a Mommyheads’ 7″, and the grand prize… Talulah Gosh’s They’ve Scoffed the Lot put out by Sara Records!  And I can definitely say that my couple hours of browsing were worth it!

I tried to have a game plan last year, but I realized it’s pretty useless…I think it’s good to have a couple tables in mind that you want to shop (for me it is Michael Goodstein’s table and Gern Blandsten Records) and just kinda browse the rest of it… you know pretty fast if you have found a table that you like.

• Check out the Vendor List here!
• The Live events here!
• and the floor plan of the event here.

I’ve been mentally preparing for this event for a couple weeks now, and I can’t believe it’s finally here.  Record shopping is pretty meditative for me so I’m looking forward to a relaxing Sunday afternoon at the the fair.

The WFMU Record Fair happens at Metropolitan Pavilion located at 125 West 18th Street in New York City.

In honor of my wonderful find last year…here are two tracks from Talulah Gosh’s They’ve Scoffed The Lot:

[mp3] Talulah Gosh- “Talulah Gosh”

[mp3] Talulah Gosh- “Be Your Baby”

It’s so nice to have some of my favorite twee on wax.  I love it.  Now only if I can find some Field Mice this year (most likely not).

They’ve Scoffed the Lot is out of print, but you can get these tracks and a whole lot more on Talulah Gosh’s collection titled Backwash!  Buy Backwash here!!!

I’ll be sure to report back on my finds.

Links:

• more on WFMU here.

Since I initially heard Liechtenstein I have been craving more, and back in June, as a surprise,  klk brought back a copy of their new 10″ Survival Strategies in the Modern World that she picked up at Aquarius (I’m still so jealous that I’ve never been to that store).  I absolutely love this record, it gives me the same satisfaction that I get while listening to Tiger Trap and Talulah Gosh, but with a slightly updated sound.  Liechtenstein also refuses to get lost in the fuzziness that is so popular these days, and I now have very little motivation to put on albums by Pens and Vivian Girls when I know that I will be much more satisfied by Liechtenstein (or Talulah Gosh for that matter).

Liechtenstein’s 10″ while wonderful is pretty short, a mini LP of nine songs, and in my searching of the internet I came across another amazing offering from the Free Music Archive.  When Liechtenstein was in the states back in June they stopped by WFMU and recorded a set for one of my favorite radio shows, Michael Goodstein’s Choking on Cufflinks.  The set is up in it’s entirety for free download from the FMA…and I’ve been particularly into these two:

[mp3] Liechtenstein- “All At Once” (via the FMA)

[mp3] Liechtenstein- “Everythings for Sale” (via the FMA)

[full album download/stream] Liechtenstein- Live on Choking on Cufflinks 6/6/09

This live set includes songs from their out of print cd-r and 7″s so it is totally worth checking out (“Everythings for Sale” is one of them).

Liechtenstein have also recently participated in Slumberland Records‘ Searching for the Now Series.

Here is why Slumberland does Searching for the Now:

We here at Slumberland have always believed in the 7″ single as the greatest medium for pop music. 7″s are cheap and portable, a great way to hear new bands without spending too much cash, and similarly a great way for bands to get their music out there without going broke. Add in a cool sleeve, maybe some color vinyl and the odd sticker or badge and you have an unbeatable little package.

The last few years have seen a real resurgence of great pop, and we find ourselves with a favorite new band almost every week. Or at least a few favorite new songs. We’ve puzzled over how to make more of this terrific music available, and our solution is our new split single series Searching For The Now. Our plan is to release two limited-edition split 7″ singles every ten weeks or so, then compile every eight singles onto CDs to keep them available. Note that this is not a subscription series — while we are limiting each single to one pressing, they’ll be available from your favorite indie record retailers and mail orders, and of course directly from Slumberland. All singles will be pressed on color vinyl and packaged in special sleeves — full-color, letterpress, silkscreen or something else cool. (more info here).

I fully agree with Slumberland’s vision with this series, and I feel like it speaks to me as a record buyer.  They are 100% correct in thinking that the 7″ is a great medium (both affordable, and digestible) for checking out new bands, and Slumberland is able to keep these records inexpensive ($5), and I am more likely to invest time in something that I buy for a couple of dollars than something I get off the internet for free.  Slumberland also has been kind enough to give us Liechtenstein’s new studio track “This Must Be Heaven” as a free downloadable sample.

[mp3] Liechtenstein- “This Must Be Heaven” (via Slumberland.  How can you resist that vinyl…Buy it here)

“This Must be Heaven” is pretty much a perfect pop song in my mind, and again like the 10″ it leaves me wanting more.

Liechtenstein recently lost  Naemi, but they have found  Ulrika to take over playing bass in the band.  And back in August they spent a couple days in a Gotland studio recording some new songs…I can’t wait for these to see the light of day.  Any news is good news if it’s coming from these ladies.

In the mean time…here is their video for “Security By Design”

Links:

• more on Liechtenstein here.
• more on Slumberland here.
• buy music by Liechtenstein here.
• Creative Commons credits on tracks from the FMA
  • Liechtenstein / CC BY-ND 3.0

“Highspeed Drift” is the first track off of Gary War’s Horribles Parade.

This video was made by Jacqueline Castel (of WNYU’s wonderful (Make) the Product radio show).  I was completely unaware that she did music videos until this popped up on No Conclusion.  I’m pretty into the video, and I think it complements  the song (and Horribles Parade in general) wonderfully.  It really gives me the underwater vibe that I get when listening to the album.   Gary War hasn’t steered me wrong yet.  I still need to pick up Galactic Citizen….maybe this weekend.

On another note if you haven’t heard Gary War’s first album New Raytheonport…you should really check it out…and you can do that for free!  New Raytheonport was one of my favorite albums of 2008 that I didn’t actually hear in 2008, and shows a little bit of a lighter side of Gary War and psychedelica.  This free download is possible because of Gary War and the Free Music Archive at WFMU!

Now that it is available for free there is no reason for you not to have this album…and it’s perfect for this last weekend of summer.

Check it out:

[mp3] Gary War- “Healthy Living”

[mp3] Gary War- “Please Don’t Die”

[free album download/stream] Gary War- New Raytheonport (via FMA!)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Links:

• more on Gary War here.
• more on Jacqueline Castel here.
• Buy Horribles Parade from Sacred Bones here or at insound here. .
• Buy New Raytheonport on LP here.

Yesterday was a day of music discovery for me in many ways.  I’ve been in a funk, but I heard a whole bunch of new stuff, and surprisingly not too much of it had fuzzy vocals!  Maybe that fad is dying (don’t get me wrong some of it is really good, but I’m ready for music to move on).  While I’m going to be posting about several things that I have been listening to over the past 24 hours I think the band that has impressed me the most has been Thomas Function.

I guess there are two people I have to thank for this discovery, and the first is PopJew and the second is PopTarts (the first for the initial recommendation and the latter for posting some tracks!)

Thomas Function are from Alabama, and make really fun infectious pop music, almost punk at times, with hints of all your favorite garage/pysch/blues, and nasally twangy vocals tie it all together.  On top of totally fun catchy songs their lyrics are the icing on the cake…how can you argue with a song that starts “are you gonna buy a record? or what?” (check out “Picking Scabs below).

Thomas Function formed in 2007 have released six singles, a full length called Celebration on Alive Records, and have just been signed to Fat Possum who will release their second full length In the Valley of Sickness on October 13th.  That is three busy years.

Out of the 30 tracks that live on my ipod right now(yep you read that right…only 30… don’t ask) the two by Thomas Function have gotten by far the most play time.  I wanted to hear more so I headed over to the Free Music Archive.  Sure enough Thomas Function recorded a live set on January 27, 2009 for The Evan Funk Davies show on WFMU.  The set clocks in at 23.5 minutes and is a totally free legal download!

I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Celebration, and very soon In the Valley of Sickness as well.

Listen to Thomas Function:

[mp3] Thomas Function- “Belly of the Beast”

[mp3] Thomas Function- “Picking Scabs”

[album download/stream] Thomas Function- Live on WFMU (via  FMA!)

Both mp3s above are from Neither of the songs above are from Celebration, but you can still buy it from Alive Records here or  buy it at insound! (I thought they were, but I just got the record in the mail, and they are not…maybe they are on In the Valley of Sickness…and if so that will be available next month).

Thomas Function also have a huge tour lined up:

• 9/21 Huntsville, AL @ Voodoo Lounge
• 9/22  Florence, AL @ Black Owl Trading Co.
• 9/23  Huntsville, AL @ Whiskey’s
• 9/24  Memphis, TN @ Goner Fest
• 9/25  Memphis, TN @ Goner Fest
• 9/26  Atlanta, GA @ 529
• 9/27  Durham, NC @ 2702 Lawndale
• 9/28  Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head Club
• 9/29  Philadelphia, PA @ Jr’s
• 9/30  Ridgewood, Queens, NY @ Silent Barn
• 10/1  New York, NY @ Webster Studio
• 10/2  Brooklyn, NY @ Bruar Falls
• 10/3  Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Artworks
• 10/4  Columbus, OH @ Summit
• 10/5  Detroit, MI @ Lager House
• 10/6  Fort Wayne, IN @ Brass Rail
• 10/8 Milwaukee, WI @ Club Garibaldi
• 10/10  Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
• 10/11  Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
• 10/12  Provo, UT @ House Show TBA
• 10/14  Seattle, WA @ Funhouse
• 10/17  Portland, OR @ Vice Scion Garage Festival
• 10/19  Oakland, CA @ Stork Club
• 10/20  San Francisco @ Hemlock Tavern
• 10/21  Sacramento, CA @ Blue Lamp
• 10/23  Los Angeles, CA @ 5 Star Bar
• 10/25  San Diego, CA @ Pink Elephant
• 10/26  Phoenix, AZ @ Modified
• 10/29  Lubbock, TX @ Bash Riprocks
• 10/30  Dallas, TX @ Lounge on Elm Street
• 11/2 Houston, TX @ Mangos
• 11/3  New Orleans, LA @ Saturn Bar
• 11/4  Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box

I’ve been itching since the weather started to get nice for a punk rock show, and while Dark Meat partially fulfilled this I wasn’t totally satisfied (my punk rock fix I mean, Dark Meat was great)…but that will be nothing compared to Nobunny this Friday!

I had a dual introduction to this band both by The Pop Filter sending me a link, and then So Cow covering one of their songs.  This happened some time over the past couple months.

When  you first click on Nobunny’s myspace you think to yourself…what the fuck is this.  Half-Man, Half-Bunny, Half-Nude, all pop punk?  How can this be good? But if you take the time to listen to Love Visions you find that not only is Nobunny good, but it is some of the best Ramones’ influenced fuzzy sloppy bubble gum punk you have heard in a long time (if not ever).   It took me a while to get over the name and the gimmick, but now I have embraced it.

Nobunny makes  you want to bob your head and sing-a-long, and have really brightened my spring.  Even though I no longer bike while wearing headphones this record makes me want to.

Love Visions is currently in it’s 3rd pressing since it came out in 2008.  The first press was on Bubble Dumb Records…this one had home made covers, came with a button, and a signed picture of Nobunny (200 on Pink wax, 800  on Black).  1-2-3-4 Go! Records did the re-press and did 300 on orange/gold and 1,200 on black.  And now 1-2-3-4 Go! has done a 3rd pressing…this time on red vinyl (500 or 1,000 copies…can’t figure this out for sure?  anyone know?).

Either way check him out:

[mp3] Nobunny- “I Am A Girlfriend”
(via Raven Sings the Blues)

“Boneyard” Video:

Both songs are off of Love Visions, Buy it here (No Idea! happens to be $6 cheaper than Insound on this one)!  It doesn’t matter what pressing it is…you really should just own it.  For the punk rocks sake.

Originally from Tucson this Nobunny now resides in Oakland, but will be in New York this weekend!  Here are the tour dates though mid July (lots more TBA):

• 6/19/09- Brooklyn, NY @ Bruer Falls w/ Hunx and His Punx, The Beets, and German M easels
• 6/21/09- Brooklyn, NY @ Death By Audio w/ Uzi Rash
• 7/4/09- San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout w/ Burger Boogaloo
• 7/15/09- Los Angeles, CA @ 5 Star Bar (21+)
• 7/17/09- San Diego, CA @ JOHNNY RAD FEST 2!!!!!
• 7/18/09- Los Angeles, CA @ 5 Star Bar (all ages)

Oh and if you couldn’t tell by the line up…the show at Bruar Falls will be amazing.

As a bonus WFMU’s Free Music Archive has So Cow’s cover of Nobunny’s “Mess Me Up” for free download.  This was recorded for Jason Sigal’s great Tuesday morning show Talk’s Cheap:

[mp3] So Cow- “Mess Me Up” (Nobunny Cover) (also on Love Visions)

Nobunny just put out another album called Raw Romance on cassette only (Burger Records), and this one is already sold out.  More info when this comes back available.

Thee Oh Sees played the Bell House for the WFMU Free Music Archive Launch Party this past Saturday (April 4th).

This show was a blast.  Thee Oh Sees were rad, and opened the set with “Block of Ice.” Check it out:

[mp3] Thee Oh Sees- “Block of Ice” (off of The Master’s Bedroom is Worth Spending a Night In.  Buy it Here!) (mp3 via The Finest Kiss)

I can’t stress how much I love the Bell House!  Great vantage points, a beautiful space, and the best beer selection at a venue in all of NYC!  I was drinking the Kelso St. Gowanus all night…and it was so good.

My friend, Myles Little, took the first three pictures from my dying camera (hence only four photos).  You should check out his other photography.  Myles has a website where you can look at a his wonderful photos.  Thanks Myles!