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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
As far as my ears are concerned, yesterday was the first major multi-album new music release day of 2010, so it's past time for my annual list of what I'm looking forward to in the months ahead. I've included albums with solid dates, some with ballpark estimates, a few that are mere whispers on the wind. Oh, and a couple of pure fantasies. A boy can dream, can't he? Keep in mind, this is not even close to a comprehensive rundown of what's supposed to be coming out - just the stuff I have high hopes for. If it's not on here, I'm either apathetic at best or totally unaware. That said, go ahead and let me know what you're looking forward to this year, and any guesses you have at surprises that might show up down the road... (note: Labels and release dates are U.S.-centric. And when available, label name links will send you to pre-order info for each album. So, y'know, go ahead and do that. I've also made all the MP3s linked here available in one handy .zip file, linked at the bottom.) JANUARY 2010 [MP3] "The Space You Know" [Stream] the entire album at Drowned In Sound [MP3] "Hide It Away" [Stream] the entire album [MP3] "Blame Love" [MP3] "Norway" [MP3] "Romance Is Boring" FEBRUARY 2010 [MP3] "Rulers, Ruling All Things" [Stream] The album at NPR [Watch] album teaser trailer [MP3] "Falling From The Sun" [Feb. 9th on Moon Jaw Records] [Feb. 16th on Kelp Records] [MP3] "Two Twenty Twos" [Feb. 23rd on How is Annie Records/Norway] [MP3] "To Sit Down Or To Follow, So I Follow" [MP3] "Measure" [MP3] "Repulsion" [MP3] "The Motion Makes Me Laugh" [MP3] "Black Eyes" [Stream] the album at Merge MARCH 2010 [March 1st on Fat Cat Records] [Video] "Nothing Like You" [MP3] "Good Morning" [download code available at 3/6 Great Scott show / possibly vinyl later] [MP3] "You Ruined My Election [Video] For title track "Age Of Denial" [Stream] New songs on MySpace [MP3] "Even Heroes Have To Die" [March 9th on Columbia/Sony] [Video] "The High Road [MP3] "Promises" [March 16th on Bar/None] [MP3] "Fifteen [Download] a free Christmas song @ SPC [MP3] "Kungen" [Video] "Deny All" [Stream ] "Boy Lilikoi" on his site [MP3] "Horse Warriors" [MP3] "Ayisa Abyss" The V3 are Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, & Bill Reiflin, and album guests include Johnny Marr, Nick Lowe, Egyptian/Soft Boy Morris Windsor & John Paul Jones [MP3] "We Are the Men You'll Grow to Love Soon" [Video] "We Are the Men You'll Grow to Love Soon" [Available on March 25th at shows] [Stream] "Enjoy The Silence" (Depeche Mode/home demo) [March 30th on Cooking Vinyl] [In March? on their own PeMa label] [Watch] "When I Still Have Thee" (new song, live acoustic) [Watch] live videos of three other new ones APRIL 2010 (vinyl resissues/remastered) [April 6th on Kill Rock Stars] [April 6th on Sargent House] [Video] album teaser [MP3] "King of Spain" [April 16 on Bombora/MGM] [Stream] "Cylinders" on their site [Download] New song "Odessa" in exchange for your email addy [MP3] "Heaven's On Fire" MAY 2010 [May 4th on Arts & Crafts, I assume] [May 18th on Casa Nuevo] [Download] free MP3 with email addy and code 'paris' Elsewhen in twenty-ten... [June on Own Records] [MP3] Download a demo ["Early 2010" on Killer Pimp / 7" available now] [MP3] "But It's So ["Early 2010" on Killer Pimp / 7" available now] [MP3] "Someday [Stream] full album with a Strange Angels membership [MP3s] Download demos at CASH Music [Spring on Rock Action Records] [Watch] "Burning" teaser trailer [Download] "2 Wrongs Make 1 Right" live MP3 w/email address [Stream] rough mix of new song "Neither Nor" on Myspace [June 7th on Odd Box Records/UK] "Bass Ackwards" and "Great Speeches From A Dying World" [Download] new song "Greyhounds in the Slips" in exchange for your email addy Optimistically on the way... And in my dreams... (hey, we got Liz Fraser's return recently, so why not?) [DOWNLOAD]: A 135MB .zip file of all the MP3s linked above. Ok, so sound off in the comments with what I missed, what you care about, and what you're hoping for in 2010...  Sunday, January 24, 2010  Well, here it is, now pulling into the station... the caboose at the very end of the too-long train of "best of 2009" music blogger posts, three weeks into the new year. And, as ever, it most certainly is not a "best of", but simply a "my favorites" - the albums that soundtracked my own personal year. But you knew that.I've said it before, and I'll say it one last time for emphasis: My 2009, particularly the latter half, sucked. And blew. And whatever degrees of inhaling and exhaling of badness you can come up with. Yup, it was the very definition of "not good". In fact, it would be tough to fathom a more difficult 6-month stretch (and no, that is not a challenge, oh make-believe chess player in the sky. Ease off!). But without the albums listed below, these artists, it would have been a whole lot worse. It should be noted that, because there were so many, I've separated out my favorite albums by Boston-based bands and will post that list sometime soon, and hope to throw together a list of my favorite live shows of the year as well. At some point. Ideally before we hit 2011. Sigh. For now, though, listed alphabetically (no silly numerical ranking for me), here are the full-lengthers (and a few EPs) that defined my Oh-Nine music-listening. I tried, and failed, to limit myself to twenty records, which goes to show what a strong musical year it was. There are even plenty of albums I didn't get a chance to spend time with that I fully intended to. And still hope to. I commented on many of these artists and albums in my favorite songs of the year post, so head there for some commentary, and a bit more at the bottom here. Not that I'm expecting you to make it all the way through, but hey, a couple of you might. I've shared an MP3 for each entry if one was made freely available by the artist, and if not, I've included a link to where you can take a listen. And if you click on the label names below each release, you'll be taken to a page where you can buy the album directly. I've also, for the first time, made a big honkin' zip file of all the songs shared here at the end, including a few bonus tracks not linked below. Off we go then...  Lou Barlow - "Goodnight Unknown" (on Merge) [MP3]: "Gravitate"  David Bazan - "Curse Your Branches" (on Barsuk) [MP3]: "Bless This Mess"  Built To Spill - "There Is No Enemy" (on Warner Bros.) [MP3]: Major label, so no sample song for you. Hit up MySpace, if you must.  Neko Case - "Middle Cyclone" (on Anti) [MP3]: "People Got A Lotta Nerve"  Dinosaur Jr. - "Farm" (on Jagjaguwar) [MP3]: "I Want You To Know"  Fanfarlo - "Reservoir" (on Canvasback Music/Atlantic) [MP3]: "Luna"  Grand Archives - "Keep In Mind Frankenstein" (on Sub Pop) [MP3]: "Oslo Novelist"  Kings of Convenience - "Declaration of Dependence" (on EMI) [MP3]: "Boat Behind"  Loney Dear - "Dear John" (on Polyvinyl) [MP3]: "Airport Surroundings"  Rose Melberg - "Homemade Ship" (on K Records) [MP3]: "Old Days"  Now, Now Every Children - "Cars" (on Afternoon Records) [MP3]: "Have You Tried"  Ola Podrida - "Belly Of The Lion" (on Western Vinyl) [MP3]: "Your Father's Basement"  Tara Jane O'Neil - "A Ways Away" (on K Records) [MP3]: "Drowning"  The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart "The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart" (on Slumberland) [MP3]: "Young Adult Friction"  Phoenix - "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" (on Glass Note) [MP3]: "1901"  Pomegranates - "Everybody, Come Outside!" (on Lujo) [MP3]: "Coriander"  Sky Larkin - "The Golden Spike" (on Wichita Recordings) [MP3]: "Fossil, I"  Systems Officer - "Underslept" (on Temporary Residence) [MP3]: "Shape Shifter"  Telekinesis - "Telekinesis!" (on Merge) [MP3]: "Coast of Carolina"  Trashcan Sinatras - "In The Music" (self-released/101 Distribution) [MP3]: Sadly, nothing officially available from the band There's a streaming sample on their site  Wooden Birds - "Magnolia" (on Barsuk) [MP3]: "False Alarm"  Wye Oak - "The Knot" (on Merge) [MP3]: "Take It In"  The XX - "XX" (on XL Recordings / Beggars Group) [MP3]: "VCR"  Yo La Tengo - "Popular Songs" (on Matador) [MP3]: "Here To Fall" In the "Released in 2009 overseas but here in the U.S. in 2010" category (meaning it will also fall on my 'faves of 2010' list), we have... In the rare "Various Artists" category, which I'm not sure I've ever had show up a previous yearly faves list...  Various Artists - "Dark Was The Night" (on 4AD / Beggars Group) [MP3]: David Byrne + Dirty Projectors - "Knotty Pine" And finally, a few 2009 EPs I adored...  City Breathing - "My Apple IIe Is Singing Sad Songs To Me" EP (self-released, and for free) [MP3]: "A Place To Bury Old Mistakes"  The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - "Higher Than The Stars" EP (on Slumberland) [MP3]: "Higher Than The Stars"  Superchunk - "Leaves In The Gutter" EP (on Merge) [Stream]: The whole EP at Merge  50 Foot Wave - "Power + Light" EP (self-released on vinyl via CASH music) [Stream]: The entire 26-minute epic at CASHmusic Whenever I post one of these, I like to take a look at my "looking forward to in 2009" post to see which albums missed the mark, which ones surprised me, and which ones never showed. For a look back at my faves of years passed, here you go: 2008, 2007, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001. Yes, I missed a couple years in there thanks to overall internet-list-burnout. Won't happen again, sir. Next up: My favorite boston-area releases, live shows, and a look ahead at 2010... Friday, January 22, 2010  With the emotional sh*tstorm that enveloped me late last year, a few things had to fall aside, and sadly one of them was my regularly-scheduled DJ night at River Gods in Cambridge. I haven't been up in the booth since August, and while December's Bazaar Bizarre set went a long way towards satisfying my DJ jones, the five-month break from RGs was too damn long. Last night, that break ended as I once again joined my pal Chris Marstall (of peerless live concert scheduling site Tourfilter) to split a Thursday song-sharing slot at one of my favorite bars. I put together two hours worth of tracks by bands who are coming to town within the next couple months, and it went a little something like this... Bradley's Almanac Tourfilter DJ Night playlist Thursday, January 21st, 2010 @ River Gods, Cambridge, MA 01. Kings of Convenience - "Renegade" playing @ the Paradise on Friday, February 12th 02. Jonathan Richman - "Because Her Beauty Is Raw And Wild" playing @ the Middle East Upstairs on February 16th, 17th, & 18th 03. Taken By Trees - "Greyest Love Of All" playing @ the Cambridge YMCA theatre on Friday, February 19th 04. The Clientele - "Bonfires On The Heath" playing @ Great Scott on Sunday, March 21st 05. Midlake - "Rulers Ruling All Things" playing @ the Paradise on Friday, April 9th 06. The Novel Ideas - "Julian Carax" playing @ Church on Friday, January 29th 07. Ryan Lee Crosby - "Nicoline" playing @ TT the Bears on Monday, February 5th with Elio Deluca and then as a quartet on Feb. 22nd 08. Shearwater - "Black Eyes" playing @ TT the Bears on Tuesday, March 30th 09. Field Music - "Measure" playing @ Great Scott on Sunday, March 21st 10. Beach House - "Norway" playing @ the Paradise on Sunday, March 28th 11. The XX - "Islands" playing @ the Paradise on Friday, April 2nd 12. Asobi Seksu - "Familiar Light" playing @ Cafe 939 on Saturday, January 30th 13. The Antlers - "Two" playing @ House of Blues on Thursday, February 18th 14. Wye Oak - "Siamese" playing @ TT the Bears on Tuesday, March 30th 15. One Happy Island - "Temporary Tattoo" playing @ Great Scott on Monday, March 15th 16. Standard Fare - "A Night With A Friend" playing @ Great Scott on Monday, March 15th 17. Deerhunter - "Never Stops" playing @ the House of Blues on Saturday, March 27th with Spoon 18. Rogue Wave - "Good Morning" playing @ the Paradise on Monday, March 1st 19. Editors - "Munich" playing @ House of Blues on Thursday, February 18th 20. Love Is All - "Kungen" playing @ the Middle East Downstairs on Wednesday, March 31st 21. Obits - "Pine On" playing @ the Paradise on Saturday, April 10th 22. Quasi - "Repulsion" playing @ the Middle East Downstairs on Tuesday, April 20th 23. Mean Creek - "The Patient" playing @ TT the Bears on Wednesday, February 3rd 24. Dear Leader - "The Blue Print" playing @ the House of Blues on Saturday, January 30th 25. Girlfriends - "I Was Here But I Disappear" playing @ the Middle East Downstairs on Wednesday, March 31st 26. The Morning Benders - "Promises" playing @ TT the Bears on Saturday, April 17th 27. The Crushing Low - "Dead Man's Hands" playing @ Great Scott on Tuesday, February 2nd 28. Nada Surf - "Treading Water" playing @ the Paradise on Saturday, April 3rd 29. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "Even Heroes Have To Die" playing @ the Paradise on Saturday, April 10th 30. Adam Franklin & The Bolts of Melody - "Surge" playing @ Great Scott on Tuesday, February 2nd 31. The Wedding Present - "What Have I Said Now" play their entire 1989 sophomore LP 'Bizarro' @ the Middle East Downstairs on Monday, April 12th 32. Retribution Gospel Choir - "Poor Man's Daughter" playing @ Great Scott on Thursday, January 28th Sunday, January 10, 2010  In preamble, let's examine David Bazan's 2009: Play dozens of intimate, solo acoustic, and very sold-out house shows in living rooms across the country. After wrestling with it for a few years, finish up and release "Curse Your Branches", a genuinely revealing diary of his struggles with faith and alcohol - and the first full-length bearing his own name. While promoting said album through even-more-revealing interviews and acoustic performances, pull together and prepare a top-notch crew of talented friends for his first full-band tour since his days fronting Pedro the Lion. With funds provided from his loyal fanbase, buy a van so they can head out on the road. Embark on that tour and knock 'em dead. Head home to Seattle and his family for some much-deserved rest. Whew.We here in the Boston area were fortunate to have David visit last year in both forms: An August solo acoustic house show in Beverly, MA (shared here), and just two months later, a club gig with his bandmates: Casey Foubert, Eric Elbogen, Andy Fitts, and Blake Wescott. With the kind support of both his label and management, here is the sound of those five gentlemen knocking us dead on an October Tuesday night at Cambridge's TT the Bears. See below for even more DB tourdates, including more solo shows and another long U.S. tour that starts in March...  David Bazan + his band Live at TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 [download all the songs below in this .zip file] 01. Hard To Be 02. Please Baby Please 03. I Do 04. Bless This Mess 05. Magazine 06. Heavy Breath 07. Q&A #1 08. Cold Beer and Cigarettes 09. When We Fell 10. Lost My Shape 11. Curse Your Branches 12. Q&A #2 13. Fewer Broken Pieces 14. Bearing Witness 15. Keep Swinging 16. How I Remember 17. Q&A #3 18. I Never Wanted You 19. In Stitches encore... 20. Priests and Paramedics 21. Harmless Sparks  Some David Bazan links...
 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. And while I'm at it, Happy Birthday to my mom. Who, at the very least, was responsible for me. And so much more. Thanks, Mom. Labels: livemp3s Wednesday, January 06, 2010  And just as 2009 ends on the Almanac, so does 2010 begin... with a giveaway. Hey, I'm just trying to kill time while I work on my "faves of '09" post. And you're the beneficiary. Maybe.So 2009 was a pretty damn good year for the men of Mission of Burma: They started with an amazing January live set at the Somerville Theatre (a benefit for the Arts at the Armory), spent much of the Spring in the studio laying down their their third post-reunion album, then released "The Sound The Speed The Light" to raves in early October. Throw in a dozen or so live dates around the country throughout the year, and that sounds like a relatively normal cycle for most successful bands. But there are a couple things that set these gents apart: Other so-called successful bands don't take a 20-year break and return just as prolific (yes, the release of this album means they've officially put out more music since their rebirth than they did during their first phase), and most bands don't have their hometown naming a freakin' day after them. Top that, young upstarts. Just as MoB kick-started our musical 2009 with a Boston-area live show, so they will again this year, this time with a two-night stand at the Paradise on Friday and Saturday, January 15th and 16th. Courtesy of LiveNation, I've got a pair of guest list spots for the Saturday night show (with openers Bunnies) to hand out to a 'Nac reader. The all-too-familiar drill: Send an email to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com, title it "MOB", and get it to me before, oh, let's say Wednesday the 13th at 12 noon. I'll pick one random winner and let them know shortly thereafter that they'll be on the following Saturday night's list with a +1. Sho' nuff. Burma has a half dozen East Coast U.S. shows booked during the first couple months of the year, plus a few more in the mid-West later on, and will be playing at the first night of the Pavement-curated (and very sold-out) edition of All Tomorrow's Parties over in Minehead, UK this May. Check the full list of scheduled MoB dates right here, grab tickets to either of the Paradise shows (or a discounted 2-day pass) over here, and pick up your own copy of the excellent "The Sound The Speed The Light" from Matador. In case you haven't already heard it, here's something from the album... [MP3] Mission of Burma - "1,2,3,Partyy!" Labels: giveaways |
 fugazi live in burlington, vermont in early spring 1991 previously: david bazan - solo in allston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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