Year-end lists used to be an annual tradition here on the 'Nac, up until 2005, when the overabundance (and gun-jumping) of online list-makers prompted me to keep quiet. For the first time, I just didn't feel like adding my signal to the overwhelming amount of noise, and the same held true at the end of '06, as the listers grew exponentially, and the earlier-than-thou mentality got out of hand.

But a two-year break is just long enough (and a bunch of this year's releases were just great enough) to get me to chime in again. One thing, though: I've decided I hate ranking my faves. Assigning a numerical order to the things I love is such an arbitrary exercise - things mean more to me depending on the day, week, or season - so what follows are my favorite albums and live shows of 2007, but with no numbers attached. Yeah, there are some of the usual suspects that you've seen on every other indie-slanted music blog, but hopefully a few surprises as well (though not too surprising if you visit here regularly). I've left off a few local Boston-area faves that filled my ears this year, as I'll be spotlighting them in another post soon.


I could've easily added another 10 or more on there, but that would've been a bit too self-indulgent. I should also mention that I shared some thoughts on a couple of the albums above on the year-end edition of Blog Fresh Radio, so if you feel like hearing me ramble, along with aural contributions from a bunch of ace fellow music bloggers, go here.




posted by brad at 12:01 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Before I get to writing about my own favorite music of 2007, I've invited Chris Marstall, proprietor of the excellent Tourfilter, to sit in for the first-ever Almanac guest post. It's only fitting, as my own year was made better by DJing at Cambridge's River Gods as part of his TF-sponsored DJ nights. Chris uses this opportunity to reflect on his 2007 show-going experience, and offers up some pretty cool Tourfilter statistics as well. For those not in-the-know, Tourfilter provides live music listings for almost two dozen metropolitan areas, and allows you the ability to not only preview music by many of the cataloged bands, but to track your faves and be alerted when they come to town. It's ace.

Handing over the microphone...


As Chris said, the next Tourfilter DJ Night is at River Gods on Thursday, January 18th. I'll be hitting the booth at 9pm sharp, and playing only songs by bands coming to the Boston area within the following month or so. And once again, thanks go out to Chris for the words above, and for the chance to play more songs at my favorite bar.

posted by brad at 8:11 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

Christmas Day well wishes to any and all 'Nac readers out there, whether you're celebrating family-style, about to grab some Chinese before catching a movie, or entirely apathetic and spending the day web-surfin'.

To further any festive moods, the team behind one of my favorite toons, The Venture Bros., recorded another one of their holiday tunes, a new version of the classic Shane McGowan / Kirsty McColl duet "Fairytale of New York" for the generous souls at Quick Stop Entertainment. The stand-in singers? The lovely Dr. Girlfriend and her evil boy-toy The Monarch, 'natch. If you're a fan, you can already hear it in your head. If you're not yet a fan, yes, Dr. Girlfriend is the deeper of the two less-than-dulcet voices. Here's the track...


Be sure to visit Quick Stop Entertainment for the rest of their annual Holiday Havoc audio offerings, including contributions from Paul Dini and Billy West, among others.

Season 3 of The Venture Bros. is well into production, and co-creator Jackson Publick has shared a bunch of new out-of-context screenshots at his LJ blog. And check out this full season 3 cast picture. That so wants to be my desktop wallpaper. New episodes can't start up soon enough... latest word is that we'll have to wait until June.

posted by brad at 10:58 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

San Francisco-based quintet Film School released hands-down one of my favorite discs of the year in the form of "Hideout", which showed up back in September. It's their third album, and first after a tumultuous 2006 that saw them not only get all their gear stolen, but brought a major lineup change, with three out of five players being replaced. And after all that, they went and crushed the already-high expectations that their 2006 self-titled sophomore album had fostered for me. What does not kill us, etc. Why this album hasn't ended up on many more year-end lists is an absolute mystery to me.

The supporting tour for "Hideout" brought the band to many a city over the past few months, including our own Cambridge, Mass. in late October for a show at TT the Bears. Here's a recording of the gig, along with some extra mp3s and links down below...


Some Film School links...

Their official site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, Tour Blog, and Beggars Banquet label page.

Additional Audio: On October 10th, Film School played a small show at the Triple Door in Seattle for KEXP, a station that has been longtime supporters of the band. The concert was streamed live, and here are a couple songs from the set...

Mp3: Film School - "Two Kinds" (live on KEXP)

Mp3: Film School - "Sick Of The Shame" (live on KEXP)

Supposedly it's archived on KEXP somewhere, but I'm having trouble finding it. See some pictures from that show here. The band just performed a few songs for Spinner, so check out either the video or audio from that right here. You can stream a few songs from their self-titled second album here, and download one of those songs here...

Mp3: Film School - "Pitfalls"

Video: A six-minute Film School documentary from a couple years back (pre-lineup changes). The video for "11:11", and one for "Like You Know". A fan-shot live clip of "Breet", performed at the Mercury Lounge last year.

Photos: My Flickr-hosted shots are here. A full Film School Flickr tag search is tough, but try this.

Aversion has an excellent new feature story on Film School, focusing on the tough times the band went through last year, and how front man Greg Bertens came through it with such songwriting success.

Listen to any and all 'Nac-served Mp3s at the Hype Machine.

the fine print... If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the 'nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.

Labels: livemp3s

posted by brad at 12:48 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

A snowy Sunday afternoon here in Boston finds me taking a brief detour from my usual music-related ramblings...


On Friday afternoon, television scribes and proud Writer's Guild of America members Jaime Paglia (co-creator of SciFi Channel's excellent Eureka), Rob Kutner (from The Daily Show), and Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly) came to Boston to lead a strike rally of fans and their fellow WGA faithful. While the attendance was surely lessened by the previous day's snowstorm, more than 250 supporters filed into the First Parish Church in Cambridge's Harvard Square, winter boots on many feet and slogan-filled signs in many hands.


A variety of TV shows were name checked on posterboard in thick sharpie, including Pushing Daisies and The Office, but it's no surprise that most of the crowd was there to bow down at the altar of Joss (even his fellow writers humorously acknowledged the obvious imbalance). There may be no more devoted fiction fans than Whedon fans, and they showed up in force. Cambridge City Councilor Marjorie Decker's introduction, while eloquent, garnered its most raucous applause when she admitted her love of Buffy.


Once inside the church, each of the three writers delivered impassioned, wit-filled speeches; Jaime spoke of being inspired by a young intern who, rather than go elsewhere when told they had no work for him due to the strike, has been on the LA picket lines every day. Rob gave us a small taste of what we're missing with the Daily Show in reruns (Alberto Gonzalez, incomprehensibly named the ABA's "Lawyer of the Year" last week, took one on the chin). And Joss spoke to us of dragons.

Here's the audio from each speech, as well as the strike-centric question & answer session that took place before we all hit the streets for an old-school picket march...

01. Introduction (Cambridge Forum Director Pat Suhrcke & Cambridge City Councilor Marjorie Decker)
02. Jaime Paglia (Eureka) speaks
03. Joss Whedon (BtVS, Angel, Firefly) speaks
04. Rob Kutner (The Daily Show) speaks
05. Q&A session

Another attendee shared up video here, and the Cambridge Forum, who hosted the event, will hopefully have their own recording up at their site soon.


I encourage anyone reading this to not just listen closely to what each writer had to say, but to do what you can to show your support when you're done, even if it's just by spreading the word. The AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) and their associated mogul-run media outlets are conducting a cliched campaign of disinformation. To find out what the strike is truly about, check out this YouTube video, a concise explanation of what's at stake. And if you're so inspired, hop on over to the Jobs With Justice site, where voting is taking place for their 2007 Grinch of the Year, an annual 'award' for "the national figure who does the most harm to working families". Vote as you see fit, but note that among the cads up for nomination is AMPTP President J. Nicholas Counter III (man, does his name scream cash-infused pretension or what?).


And lastly, a few related links...

All of my photos from the WGA Boston Rally are here. More photos from other attending supporters are here, here, here.

Bostonist wrote up the rally, as did Wicked Local Cambridge. The Cambridge Chronicle filed a video report.

The strike march through Harvard Square brought us to the front of the Harvard Lampoon Castle, where local comic/actor/writer/WGA member (and former CBS employee, so he knows how the big guys treat writers, too) Jimmy Tingle rallied the troops with a little harmonica and some impromptu drumming. The Lampoon guys even brought out free donuts for the crowd, a kindness that made me resist asking what the deal is with all the tree killing.

Battlestar Galactica writer/creator Ron Moore is blogging about the strike here. And as you'll discover there, Joss wasn't wearing a Red Sox cap just to suck up to us locals.

For more information on what you can do to support, or at least stay informed about, the WGA Strike, check out the Fans4Writers and United Hollywood sites.

Labels: wga

posted by brad at 11:47 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

I've had a few requests for my playlist from yesterday afternoon's Bazaar Bizarre in the ICA Boston's Cyclorama, where I did the DJ thing from noon to 1pm, so here it is. I was damn happy to be invited, and totally enjoyed being part of the huge event (and successfully resisted the urge to bow down upon meeting fellow DJ Clint Conley). I scored some cool, unique merch (including some rockin' onesies for little B), and even got to pick up the two new Air Miami reissues thanks to the presence of the Teenbeat Records table.


Here's my hour-long setlist, which was comprised of some of my favorite songs released this year...

01. Sigur Ros - "Hljomalind"
02. Blonde Redhead - "Dr. Strangelove"
03. Radiohead - "All I Need"
04. Bottomless Pit - "The Cardinal Movements"
05. Film School - "Two Kinds"
06. Buffalo Tom - "You’ll Never Catch Him"
07. Kristin Hersh - "Slippershell"
08. Kevin Drew - "Safety Bricks"
09. The National - "Mistaken For Strangers"
10. Pinback - "Good To Sea"
11. Neil Cleary - "Genevieve"
12. Sea Wolf - "Ses Monuments"
13. Travels - "Isabelle"
14. Interpol - "Who Do You Think"
15. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "La Costa Brava"

posted by brad at 4:52 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) |

A quiet week here at the 'Nac nears its end. Dad time and work-related chaos combined to keep me too busy to share up a new live show (Film School's on deck), but I do want to mention a few things now that I've got a little spare weekend time...


I'll be spinning a set of songs to kick off the 2007 Bazaar Bizarre tomorrow (Sunday the 9th) at the Cyclorama in the Boston Center for the Arts on Tremont Street. Fellow DJs include Mission of Burma/Consonant guy Clint Conley, mixmaster Mark E. Moon, organizer/Critiquess Stacie Slotnick, musician and TT's soundguy Elio Deluca, and WMBR DJ/documentary filmmaker Generoso Fierro, along with theremin-specialist Jonnie Spaceman, who will be doing his thing throughout. Needless to say, I'm honored to be in such company, and I've decided to play some of my favorite songs of 2007, so show up at Noon tomorrow to listen while you browse and buy.


Tickets for a couple of potential sell-out Boston-area shows went on sale this morning, so heads up: Editors are playing the Orpheum with Hot Hot Heat & Louis XIV on Saturday, January 19th, and Band of Horses will be at the Paradise on Wednesday, January 23rd. Head here for Editors tix, and here BoH.


Even though I've already bought my own copy of the beautiful new Sigur Ros documentary/concert film Heima, I'm glad to learn that we're finally getting our own big-screen showing here in the Boston area. Kendall Square Cinema will be screening the film on Wednesday night, December 19th, at 8pm. It's truly a film that deserves projection and surround sound, and tickets can be purchased here (thanks for the heads up, Mike).


Putting my audience recording of their TT's debut to shame, The Soft Drugs' TW Walsh has made some soundboard Mp3s available from the band's recent set at the Middle East Upstairs (with the One AM Radio and Maritime). Download all 8 songs here. There's a link to a full .zip file at the bottom of that list.


Another excellent full live set: nycTaper has downloadable Ted Leo and his Pharmacists at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn just a few days ago. (updated: nyctaper now has the third night of Yo La Tengo's Hannukah shows up for grabs. Guests include Jim James of MMJ and members of the dBs, who opened up. Nice.)


Alright, as long as I'm on the subject of live music, a Santa Cruz-area music fan named Nicholas Taplin is making his concert recordings available for streaming online, and they include a Shins show from way back in March of 2001. There are a ton more sets available, although admittedly I've only heard of a couple of the bands listed. But if you were in Santa Cruz between 1999 and 2004, it's probably a goldmine. (via oldmancrews)


The DVD for the highly-praised, music-infused film Once (trailer) arrives on December 18th, and while I've yet to see it, it's up in my Netflix queue. I've heard enough good things from people I trust that I'm sufficiently curious. Co-stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova performed many shows this year as the Swell Season, playing songs from the film as well as a Pixies cover. Here's an Mp3 of their version of "Cactus", which was broadcast from Washington, DC's 9:30 club back in July courtesy of NPR Music...


Head here for the rest of the NPR set, and check out a video for the song "Falling Slowly" here.


Snowden's Jordan Jeffares lets us know that he's working on new stuff (while hibernating in Chicago), and directs us to some excellent Snowden Christmas songs that the band recorded a few years back.


More holiday action: Boston's Aberdeen City has shared up the Christmas single (which includes a cover of "Just Like Christmas" and a mellow version of their "God Is Gonna Get Sick Of Me") that they released last year for free over here. And their label, Dovecote Records, has posted a special free downloable EP featuring J. Gale Kilgore covering songs by five other Dovecote artists, including the aforementioned Aberdeen City, Tim Williams, Mason Proper, Bad Veins, and Don the Reader.

That reminds me, I should have mentioned that A.C. posted a new songs on their MySpace page while back. Go stream or download Aberdeen City's "Whose Blood Is It?" here.


The Village Voice's Sound of the City blog featured Tara Jane O'Neil last week as part of their Possibly 4th Street series. Head over there for two Mp3s and a video of TJO performing live behind Manhattan bar Max Fish: "Sunday Song" and Michael Hurley's "New River Blues".


More new stuff: Travels has another new demo called "Bones" shared on their MySpace page.


TT the Bears' bartender extraordinaire Jeanne was recently diagnosed with cancer, and the club is hosting some benefit shows this month to help out with her accumulating expenses. Y'know all those times that the singer on stage said "tip your bartenders generously", and you didn't? Now's your chance to make up for it in the best way, so bring a little extra cash to these shows in addition to the ticket price. The first show happened a couple days ago, and here are the lineups for the rest....

Friday, December 21st: The Shods, The Pills, Ad Frank, the Downbeat 5, Joyce & Chick of Scarce, the Auto Interiors, and Jonny Pape

Friday, December 28th: The Gravel Pit, Francine, Baker, the Douglas Fir, and Jules Verdone

Saturday, December 29th: Buffalo Tom, Thalia Zedek, Meghan Toohey, and Keys to the Streets of Fear

It's been a long while since a couple of those bands have played shows, and a little while since Buffalo Tom was on a stage that small. Good times for a good cause. Tix for each of these benefits, and for all upcoming TTs shows, are available here.


Last week I mentioned that someone had taped and shared a recording of the House of Love playing the entirety of their debut album in London a few months back, and the kind taper gave his ok for me to post one of the tracks as an Mp3 here. After the band ran through the tracks on the full-length, they tacked on a few old faves and closed out the show with a song written during the same time period, but never recorded. Here's the relative rarity...



I have no idea how the public radio show Fair Game had fallen under my radar for so long, but no longer. The wonderful Faith Sallie hosts the program, and their music archive plays host to many mp3s from in-studio guests including Andrew Bird, Kevin Drew & Brendan Canning, and Maritime. Drew & Canning's recent appearance even included a New Order cover...


Head here for much, much more.


Going to wrap this one up with a few visual-medium related tidbits...


I've just been informed that a movie called "The Lonely Maiden" has been filming just around the corner from my house. Who's in it? Only Filliam H. Muffman William H. Macy, Morgan Freeman, and Christopher freakin' Walken. Around the corner.


Picked up the just-released box set of The Wire Season 4 on the cheap this week, even though every detail from that most recent storyline is still burned deeply into my brain. But I must own it, as I do the other brilliant three seasons. And I was mightily impressed, but not terribly surprised, to see that Barack Obama named it as one of his favorite television programs of all time. If he didn't already have my vote, he might have it for that alone. No surprise: Hillary's choices look like they were picked by a focus group, straight from the top of the Nielsen ratings.


Joss Whedon and Jaime Paglia are coming to town on Friday, December 14th. Town being Cambridge, Mass. Now, you likely know who Joss Whedon is, and Paglia is the executive producer/co-creator of the Sci-Fi Channel's underrated but utterly charming series Eureka. The two writers will be here as part of a Harvard Square rally for their striking Writer's Guild of America, where they'll be joined by fellow members (including the Daily Show's Rob Kutner and some of his crew), and they're encouraging fans and supporters to show up and add to the cause. That's noon on Friday the 14th at the First Parish Church at the intersection of Mass. Ave and Church Street in Cambridge. Harvard Square's Pandemonium Books & Games in has offered space for people to make their own picket signs for the event. More details on the gathering here.


Since it's the gift-giving season, and as my brain is firmly focused on baby-centric presents (thanks to the little B and nephew J), I thought I'd throw in a little plug for some perfect young-kid-appropriate items. Two children's books have warmed up our boy's world: Kristin Hersh's story of lil' Toby Snax, and James Kochalka's Squirrelly Gray. And for the soundtrack? Any of Liz Mitchell's (of Ida) sweet and charming "You Are My..." collections of children's songs. You can also get kid-sized t-shirts and onesies for both Toby Snax and Liz's stuff. And to any friends with youngsters reading this, try to act surprised when you open them on your little one's behalf.


In closing: Sunday. Noon. Bazaar Bizarre. You. Me. Music. Gifts. Go.

posted by brad at 11:29 AM | direct link | rss (1:2) |