[Overdue Playlist] New Music Night III at River Gods w/MP3s
Posted on October 31, 2011 at 7:48 am | No Comments
Wait, was this really over two weeks ago? Well, that was a blur. While I won’t deny I got my usual kick out of playing new songs for sociable patrons at my favorite Cambridge bar, the preparation and follow-through were just plain rough. Jetlag + influenza do not a fun equation make.
I was freshly back from drumming on the (flat-out amazing) 10-day Let’s Whisper UK tour, which ended with a 7-hour drive, a 7-hour flight, a few hours sleep, a crazy workday, a 4-hour drive, and a homecoming show. Followed closely by a full-body collapse. And yes, just as I started getting over some fairly debilitating jetlag, and began plotting my NMNIII playlist, the first flu symptoms arose. I came so very close to bailing out on my co-DJ (Mr. Jay Clicky Clicky), but I hung in there – hoping that the songs, and a hot tottie, would heal me. While that combo (mostly) got me through the night, it merely delayed the inevitable… a string of long days in bed. Took me over a week afterwards to feel even remotely like myself.
But enough of the whining. I’m healthy and over it. Let’s get to what was played a couple Thursdays back at River Gods. First, go read Jay’s list of new songs he played that night. You’ll note that he posted his playlist precisely at 1:00am on October 14th. Exactly when his set ended. Holy hell, he’s on the ball. Puts me to shame, he does. Even if I wasn’t sick, or jetlagged, or generally out of my mind, I still wouldn’t have been able to beat that. I mean, daaaaaaayum.
My NMNIII selections were as follows. Listen/buy info included if available, and click on the MP3 links to download the artist-approved tracks directly.
NEW MUSIC NIGHT vol. III
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
at River Gods in Cambridge, MA
co-hosted by DJs Brad Almanac & Jay Clicky Clicky
[ download the 7 guilt-free MP3s shared below in a 43 MB .zip file ]
[ * = Boston-area artist ]
Set One / 9pm-10pm
Brad Almanac
01. Dan Mangan – “About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All“
[ Lead-off track from his new LP, “Oh Fortune” / Buy it / Stream song @ KCRW ]
02. Tommy Stinson – “One Man Mutiny“
[ Title cut from his new solo record / Buy it / Download MP3 @ Topspin ]
03. Loney Dear – “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” (Shirelles cover)
[ Live on Sverig Radio 8/31/11 / Buy new “Hall Music” LP / Stream LP / Live MP3 ]
04. Standard Fare – “Darth Vader“
[ From their forthcoming (brilliant!) second LP, “Out Of Sight, Out Of Town” ]
05. Crooked Fingers – “The Counterfeiter“
[ My fave track from the new “Breaks In The Armor” LP / Buy LP / Stream LP ]
06. We Are Augustines – “New Drink For The Old Drunk” (Crooked Fingers cover)
[ From their debut LP, “Rise Ye Sunken Ships” / Buy on iTunes / Soundcloud / Stream LP ]
07. Fanfarlo – “Deconstruction“
[ First single from forthcoming “Rooms Filled With Light” LP / Stream two songs ]
08. M83 – “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire“
[ From the new “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” LP / Buy it / Soundcloud stream ]
09. The Drums – “Days“
[ From their new “Portamento” LP / Buy it / KCRW live video ]
10. Kathryn Calder – “Who Are You?“
[ From her just-released “Bright and Vivid” LP / Buy on iTunes / MP3 ]
11. Rob Crow – “Scalped“
[ From the new LP, “He Thinks He’s People” / Buy it / MP3 of “Sophistructure“ ]
12. Hospitality – “Friends of Friends“
[ First song from new Merge Records band / Pre-order album / MP3 ]
13. Model Village – “Bouncers“
[ From their self-titled EP / Buy or stream at Bandcamp ]
14. Sulk – “Wishes“
[ Debut single / Video / Download the B-side ]
15. For Abel – “Yorkshire“
[ Latest single from new full-length / Stream at Soundcloud ]
16. * Reports – “Sub Toucher“
[ Off the new “Dinamo Cambridge” LP / Name your price at Bandcamp / Stream song ]
17. * Slowdim – “Wishing Well” (Reverb Mix)
[ Alternate version from “Spirals” EP / Buy at Bandcamp / Download MP3 at OTD ]
[ Visit Clicky Clicky for Jay’s 10-11pm playlist ]
Set Three / 11pm-12pm
Brad Almanac, until I succumbed to the plague, then Jay
18. Tennis – “Tell Her No” (Zombies cover)
[ Free non-album cover version / Stream or download at their website ]
19. Speed The Plough – “Inbetween Dreams“
[ From their new LP, “Shine” / Buy it from Dromedary / MP3 ]
20. The Mommyheads – “Another Crowded House“
[ From “Delicate Friction”, their first new LP in a looong time / Buy it on Dromedary / MP3 ]
21. * TW Walsh – “Make It Rhyme“
[ From the new “Songs of Pain and Leisure” LP / Buy via Bandcamp or Graveface / Stream song ]
22. * Wheat – “House Of Kiss“
[ From a new 2-song single (1st of 3 in a series) / Buy at their webstore / ]
23. The Long Afternoon – “The Chamelionaires“
[ From their 3rd album, “An Index of Maladjustments” / Buy from the band / Video ]
24. Tokyo Police Club – “All My Friends” (LCD Soundsystem cover)
[ From their “10 Covers 10 Days 10 Years” project / Buy at iTunes / Stream at Soundcloud ]
25. * Age Rings – “Bounty Hunter“
[ From the upcoming Midriff release, “Black Honey” / Stream some songs on Soundcloud ]
26. Wild Flag – “Electric Band“
[ From the self-titled Merge debut / Buy LP / Stream LP / Video ]
27. Standard Fare – “051107“
[ From their forthcoming second LP, “Out Of Sight, Out Of Town” ]
28. * Travels – “Lucky“
[ From their upcoming limited 7-inch & digital EP / Stream & pre-order at Soundcloud ]
29. * The Hush Now – “Rooftops“
[ From their new LP, “Memos” / Buy on Bandcamp / Stream song ]
30. Ume – “Rubicons“
[ From their debut full-length, “Phantoms” / Buy from Modern Outsider / Stream on Soundcloud ]
31. Camp Radio – “Turn Up The Radio“
[ From their new “Campista Socialista” LP / Buy via Bandcamp / MP3 ]
32. * Dan Wholey – “Tiny Coals“
[ From his new eponymous EP / Buy at Bandcamp / Stream song ]
33. Seaweed – “The Weight“
[ From their new 7-inch on No Idea / Buy from No Idea ]
34. * Soccer Mom – “Celebrity Unrest“
[ Off their new 10-inch, “You Are Not Going To Heaven” / Buy via 100m / Stream song ]
35. Signal Hill – “Van Gogh Sky“
[ From a new split 7-inch with All India Radio / Buy it / Stream track ]
[ Visit Clicky Clicky for Jay’s 12-1am playlist ]
We’ll be returning to the booth in November, I think. I’ll share the date here, and given my severe slackness, I’d should probably start working on that next playlist immediately…
[Almanac Overseas!] Let’s Whisper 2011 UK Tour / Boston on Monday
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:47 am | 1 Comment
United Kingdom, here I come. Oh, I’ve seen your shores before, but never like this.
On Tuesday I’ll be crossing the Atlantic for an 7-date tour of the UK with my friends Colin & Dana, who combine their awesome powers to form the wonderful Burlington, Vermont-based indie-pop twosome Let’s Whisper (when they’re not busy being Smittens). They’ve foolishly graciously invited me along for the trip to hit some drums behind them, temporarily making their duo a trio. While I’ve been to London a few times, it was mostly for work (1993’s amazing “13 Year Itch” 4AD Records fest excepted), and certainly never to play music in front of people. I’m honored, nervous, and overly-excited. Took about two decades for this particular pipe-dream of mine to get real, well after I figured the window for such a thing was closed. Life is pretty weird. In case you didn’t know.
Dana & Colin are Let’s Whisper
Before we jet off to jolly olde England (and yes, a house show finale in Scotland!), we’ll play a stateside send-off gig here in Boston at Great Scott this Monday night, Sept. 26th. My favorite Allston venue has generously allowed us to jump on an already-great bill with Viva Voce and their tourmates The Parson Red Heads, so please do come and wish us well, or at least make fun of us as we work out any pre-tour kinks on stage. We’re going on first and playing a short set, so arrive early if you can. We won’t promise perfection, but we will guarantee enthusiasm.
We’ll bookend the tour with a little homecoming show up in Winooski, Vermont at the Monkey House on Friday night, October 7th. See below for details.
Part of the reason I’m overly-excited, aside from the simple fact that this is actually happening? Well, we’re playing most of the UK shows with one of my favorite bands, Standard Fare. Love them. If that wasn’t cool enough, our October 3rd show in Cambridge is opening for… wait for it… Tender Trap. Which includes Amelia and Rob from personal pop faves Heavenly & Tallulah Gosh. Pinch me, ‘cuz I’ve gotta be dreaming.
Here’s the full itinerary, along with a couple of LW mp3s for your listening pleasure, and the duo’s brand spankin’ new video for “All Happy Endings“, track two from “The Shortest Days” (their charming debut full-length on London-based WeePop! Records). I’m game for meeting up with any UK readers out there while I’m traveling, so get in touch if you’re near these venues and up for such a thing…
Let’s Whisper 2011 International Tour
26th September: Allston, MA, USA at Great Scott with Viva Voce and the Parson Red Heads [Tickets / Facebook event] 27th September: Over the ocean 28th September: Chelmsford at the Bassment Club with Standard Fare [Tickets] 29th September: York at City Screen Basement with Standard Fare & The Louche F.C. [Tickets / Last.fm event] 30th September: Sheffield at The Rutland Arms with Standard Fare and David Leach (special acoustic show!) [Facebook event] 1st October: The Nottingham All-Dayer at The Chameleon with Milky Wimpshake, Standard Fare, Help Stamp Out Loneliness, The Blanche Hudson Weekend, Ace Bushy Striptease, Ste McCabe, Pale Man Made, A Fine Day for Sailing, and The Whatevers [Facebook event / Last.fm event] 2nd October: London at The Underbelly with Standard Fare and Owl + Mouse [Tickets / Facebook event] 3rd October: Cambridge at The Corner House with Tender Trap and Plantman [Tickets / Info] 4th October: Glasgow, Scotland – a special secret livingroom show [email band @ letswhisper . com if you want to go] 7th October: Winooski, Vermont, USA – a welcome home show at the Monkey House with Osage Orange and Walker Lukens [Info]
Some Let’s Whisper sights and sounds for you…
Like I said, do get in touch if we’re coming anywhere near you. Check out the Let’s Whisper shows page, this WeePop! Records news post, or this Anorak Forum thread for possible updates. And follow along here on the Almanac or on my Twitter, where I’ll hopefully be updating from the (wrong side of the) road. Cheers!