the faint the geeks were right
ani difranco smiling underneath
the henry clay people the bandage on the bloodclot
the henry clay people the gentle charm of the soviette
franz ferdinand jeremy fraser
nicole atkins & the sea party's over
sugar changes
gentleman reg give me the chance to fall
sufjan stevens wolverine
alejandro escovedo all the young dudes
martha berner down and out in san francisco

After hearing that new Franz Ferdinand song, 'Lucid Dreams', I've been on a Glaswegian bender of spiky pop, punky disco, and the kinetic energy that only the over caffeinated metabolism of skinny Brits can conjure. For days now I've been happily digging into the (only) two releases from this quartet, so far, and now I may need some help getting over this 'cause I'm sitting (ok, slumping) in a well worn office chair, the fingernails on my left hand are chewed down to the quick (my right hand rarely leaves the mouse or keyboard), my eyes have grown as dry as the static rippling across a computer screen, and I'm hearing correlations between FF and bands I don't normally allow my mind to entertain, namely ABBA... God, I need help... but not yet, no, no, not yet. Just... one... more.... or two, or three.


from Franz Ferdinand (2004)
cheating on you
this fire

from You Could Have It So Much Better (2005)
do you want to

Yeah, those songs are pretty much one big hook after another which slashs at the guitars and pounds the drums, so even if it was the hyper guitar kick and melodies which hooked me, this ballad by FF is one of the best Beatlesque odes about longing for a far off love I've ever heard. I simply love the imagery which singer Alex Kapronos weaves from his aching heart, aching for his stateside girl, Eleanor Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces. And I know I don't have to say a thing about the lovely piano and harmonica interludes which for me evoke so much of the sixties in a few brief seconds.

from You Could Have It So Much Better
eleanor put your boots on

Oh yeah, grab that new song, 'Lucid Dreams', right here, if you dare.

And now to end this I've got a question: Is there an A.A. for F.F.? F.F.A., perhaps?

(yes, the cat is wearing a hair hat and it pissed him off)

arctic monkeys brianstorm
bjork bachelorette
neko case star witness
elliott smith going nowhere
white stripes vs led zeppelin icky thump wholelottafunk remix
radiohead cuttooth
tom waits eyeball kid (live akron 2006)
minotaur shock beekeeper

BONUS: Arctic Monkeys LIVE @ Manchester Academy 03-10-05
intro
i bet you look good on the dancefloor
fake tales of san francisco
still take you home
vampires
dancing shoes
mardy bum
when the sun goes down
a certain romance
outro

Just found the following news item on Antony's website:

Antony and the Johnsons will release a new 5 song EP, entitled 'Another World,' available in shops on October 7th. To celebrate, Antony and the Johnsons will present 2 special events accompanied by a 20 piece orchestra playing scores co-arranged with Nico Muhly. On October 14th the band will play at the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, and on October 16th they will be resident at the Apollo theater in Harlem.

Please see the events page for details and tickets sales.

In anticipation of what Antony will release here's some live, in-studio, and covers mp3s to tide us all over until then.

candy says (velvet underground cover)
you are my sister (white session)
be my husband (Live - nina simone cover)
hope there's someone (w/ brendan butler @ XFM)
strange fruit (Live - billie holiday cover)
as tears go by (rolling stones cover)
all is loneliness (Live - moondog cover)

BUY Antony and The Johnsons here and here.

Recently I had to reformat my mp3 player and quickly threw a slew of songs into the player. In the bunch were some older tracks by a band called Ox. And in amongst those was this cover of Cheap Trick's 'Surrender'. Give it a listen and/or download... come to think of it, try out the rest, as well.

Pssst... that's a new *Franz Ferdinand track sitting down there.

ox surrender
ox burn out (from their forthcoming album Burn Out)
ox miss idaho

franz ferdinand *lucid dreams
the beep seals all you need is love (beatles cover)
ian love the only night
peter adams i evolve
michael zapruder bang on a drum
holly golightly your love is mine
m ward so much water
dogme 95 calm and tame

BONUS: Franz Ferdinand KCRW Session March 15th 2004
cheating on you
jacqueline
tell her tonight
take me out
shopping for blood
the dark of the matinee
michael
darts of pleasure

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Tut Tut are led by Alexander Abnos and a large cast of friends and some of those friends happen to be ukuleles. Nooo, don't stop reading. This isn't a gimmick, people who use gimmicks have a way of getting their name and face plastered in all the right places for all the wrong reasons. And have you ever heard of Tut Tut? No, right? Well, tsk tsk. And it's that very anonymity which is the first signal that this isn't a gimmick. Abnos handles the vocals and plucks and saws at the ukuleles, his voice conjuring Stephin Merritt's little brother on several songs. There's a strong rhythm on 'Fargo's Theme' perhaps an Arcade Fire influence showing through, or a million other songs and artists who have employed aggressive rhythms. Opening track 'Marquee (KC's Theme)' is a perfect opener, it displays the strong rhythmic aspect, Abnos's detached Merritt-like vocal, and how well he has orchestrated the myriad sounds into a short and sweet pop song. What is without a doubt the most popular song on the record is 'Pins On Your Purse' with it's sing-a-long (or whistle-a-long if you're into that) ukulele riff, not to mention the actual chorus, and once more Abnos's extremely pleasing indie baritone. It's been awhile since I've come across music unknown to me that I think everyone should know about, so this is definitely recommended. Lighthearted music grounded by a heavy hearted voice.

pins on your purse
marquee (kc's theme)

BUY The Heart Goes Nine at Iron Paw Records.

Thomas (Doveman) Bartlett's voice comes from a tired sounding place, a bedroom without a sandman, a bedroom as black as the widening black hole pupils of his eyes. This is the sound of a young man who knows what it means to be tired. Bartlett has insomnia, a fact I learned of quite a while ago, and this complaint seems to fit his music quite well. The only salvation, or liberation, from insomnia, is sleep itself and when you can't sleep I'd imagine you'd sit up and create music that seemingly trickles from that place between waking and sleeping, between light and dark, music of shadowed hallucinations.

Here's a sampling of his work as Doveman, who also include Sam Amidon, Dougie Bowne, Jacob Danziger, Peter Ecklund, and Shahzad Ismaily.


castles from With My Left Hand I Raise The Dead

honey (live - daytrotter session)

i don't

airbag (Radiohead cover)

From his infamous Footloose interpretations:
footloose
let's hear it for the boy
i'm free heaven helps the man

TOUR DATES
08-14 Seattle, WA - Triple Door
08-15 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
08-16 Vancouver, British Columbia - Media Club
08-18 San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall
08-19 Los Angeles, CA - The Hotel Cafe
08-21 Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere
08-22 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
08-23 New York, NY - (Le) Poisson Rouge
08-24 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts
08-26 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
08-27 Toronto, Ontario - Danforth Music Hall
08-28 Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theater

BUY Doveman's music here and here.

rhett miller ain't that strange
bitter bitter weeks peace is burning like a river
the shins sea legs
sufjan stevens ring them bells
sloan i understand
tom waits jayne's blue wish
wilco panthers
joan as policewoman we don't own it
heatmiser pop in g
judee sill jesus was a crossmaker

King of Leon have September 22 [UK] and 23 [US] set as the release dates for Only by the Night their fourth album. The album's third track, 'Sex on Fire', will be the lead off single and it easily outshines an earlier free MP3 offering found on the band's website of the new record's second track, 'Crawl'.

Today I bring you a couple of songs off of the band's Day Old Belgian Blues EP. Released in June of 2006 it gives the listener a stellar live recording from a 2004 show at Belgium's AB Box (Ancienne Belgique).

molly's chambers [mp3]
taper jean girl [mp3]

Only by the Night track list:
01 Closer
02 Crawl
03 Sex on Fire
04 Use Somebody
05 Manhattan
06 Revelry
07 17
08 Notion
09 I Want You
10 Be Somebody
11 Cold Desert

KOL TOUR DATES
08-14 London, England - Brixton Academy
08-16 Staffordshire, England - V Festival
08-17 Chelmsford, England - V Festival
09-23 New York, NY - Webster Hall *
10-11 Las Vegas, NV - The Joint #^
10-12 San Diego, CA - House of Blues #^
10-15 Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre #^
10-17 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre #^
10-18 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre #^
10-20 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre #^
10-21 Portland, OR - Schnitzer Hall #^
10-23 Denver, CO - The Fillmore Auditorium #^
10-25 Austin, TX - Austin Music Hall #^
10-26 Oklahoma City, OK - Bricktown Events Center #^
10-28 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater #^
10-29 Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom #^
10-31 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom #^
11-01 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre *^
11-03 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant *^
11-05 Milwaukee, WI - The Eagles Ballroom *^
11-07 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus *^
11-08 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore *^
11-10 Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall *^
11-12 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre *^
11-15 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory Ballroom *^
11-18 Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle *^
11-19 Nashville, TN - Municipal Auditorium *^
12-01 Brighton, England - Brighton Centre
12-02 Nottingham, England - Trent FM Arena
12-04 Newcastle, England - Metro Radio Arena
12-05 Sheffield, England - Sheffield Arena
12-07 Glasgow, Scotland - S.E.C.C.
12-08 Liverpool, England - Echo Arena
12-10 Birmingham, England - National Indoor Arena
12-11 London, England - O2 Arena
12-14 Bournemouth, England - International Centre
12-16 Manchester, England - Evening News Arena
12-17 Cardiff, Wales - International Arena
12-22 London, England - Wembley Arena

^ with We Are Scientists
* with the Whigs
# with the Stills

This summer has been a bust, weather wise, where I live. There have been nice sunshine-y days, but then they've been broken up by clouds, wind, rain, and temperature drops... just plain unstable weather. But finally a way to recreate those few days of blue skies and warm sun no matter where you are, no matter the time of day, or what you're doing... just select this latest treat from The Little Ones and hit play.

morning tide (django django remix)

This remix is of a song found on their full length debut Morning Tide (July 28, 2008 UK - US October 7th 2008) and if you know the original, this remix really plays up the bright sunny aspect of a band skilled in that style of music. If you're a Shins fan you'd be making a mistake if you didn't seek out The Little Ones.

Pre-order the new album and buy the earlier EP by visiting insound.com. Come to think of it, just about any song by the band will bring back the sunshine, so get moving.

Read the Sixeyes review of The Little Ones EP Sing Song (2006).
From the EP:
high on a hill

I'm not sure exactly how I came to learn of musician Steve Forbert, he released his debut Alive On Arrival 30 years ago this year, I was in my late teens and likely read a review in Rolling Stone (which, unfortunately, is a pale sickly shadow of what it was back then). There are several memorable songs on the album, songs which I hadn't heard for at least a decade, but even with the strong songwriting from the perspective of a young man from Mississippi making his way in the lonely New York jungle, it's Forbert's voice which always wins me over. It's a soft rasp, one which immediately sounds friendly, or familiar, but, oddly enough, unique. That one of a kind quality is borne in the phrasing he employs, not in an in-your-face style, he's much more subtle than that... it's the little things here and there that quietly snag like burrs in your socks.

Here's a sample from the 30 year old Alive On Arrival:
goin' down to laurel
tonight i feel so far away from home

Here, as I promised, is part two of Tom Waits performance at Atlanta's Fox Theater on July 5th. He sounds pretty damn good for an old man.... I guess he's finally caught up to his voice.

Tom Waits: Fox Theater Atlanta, Georgia July 5, 2008

Lucky Day
On The Nickel
Lost In The Harbour
Innocent When You Dream
Hoist That Rag
Make It Rain
Dirt In The Ground
Get Behind The Mule
Hang Down Your Head
Jesus Gonna Be Here
Singapore
Encore:
Eyeball Kid
Anywhere I Lay My Head

Get part one of the show here.

The Walkmen will release their new album, You & Me, a definite improvement over previous record, A Hundred Miles Off, on August 19th. The mp3s offered here are the in studio performance the band did in 2004 at KEXP radio after the release of Bows and Arrows the band's strongest album to date.

The Walkmen at KEXP Radio Seattle 2004
bows and arrows
fly into the mystery
little house of savages
the rat

Visit the band's website for upcoming tour dates.

BONUS MP3s:
From Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone
everyone who pretended to like me is gone
wake up

From Bows + Arrows
what's in it for me

This show was broadcast on NPR and it sounds great. Enjoy.

PART ONE:
Tom Waits: Fox Theater Atlanta, Georgia July 5, 2008
Intro
Lucinda / Ain’t Going Down To The Well
Down In The Hole
Falling Down
Chocolate Jesus
All The World Is Green
Cemetery Polka
Cause of it All / Til The Money Runs Out
Such A Scream
November
Hold On
Black Market Baby
9th And Hennepin
Lie To Me

PART TWO will be posted tomorrow night!

FULL ALBUM Streams available through Sunday August 10th.

Conor Oberst Conor Oberst

The Walkmen You & Me

Marching Band Spark Large

Elvis Presley The Complete '68 Comeback Special

Sarah McLachlan Fumbling Towards Ecstacy (Legacy Edition)

Telepathique Last Time On Earth

Amy Ray Didn't It Feel Kinder

Randy Newman Harps and Angels

Oxford Collapse Bits

Plastilina Mosh All U Need Is Mosh

Bumblebeez Prince Umberto & The Sister of Ill

Mike Gordon The Green Sparrow

spoon rocks off (stones cover)
spoon jonathan fisk (demo)
spoon don't you evah (from Sound Opinions radio show)
spoon don't make me a target (from Sound Opinions radio show)
spoon black like me (the tonight show)
bob dylan hurricane (live 1975)
doveman let's hear it for the boy (footloose sdtrk cover)
the golden dogs yeah!
pas/cal we made our way, we amtrakked
the sunparlour players talk it to death
the veils the wild son
the walkmen don't forget me
yacht see a penny (pick it up)
talking heads thank you for sending me an angel

Download Spoon albums, tracks and songs for free with eMusic's trial subscription.

If you like what you see and hear at Sixeyes subscribe to my feed please. Thanks for visiting.

Calexico will release their latest record, Carried To Dust, on Sept. 9th, so that means touring... Here's where you can find the dates. And in honour of that new record, here's the band and Iron & Wine performing together at Seattle's Triple Door.

Calexico/Iron & Wine - Triple Door, Seattle Oct 2005
intro
he lays in the reins
red dust
prison on route 41
all tomorrow's parties (velvet underground cover)
history of lovers
dead man's will
wild horses (stones cover)

From the I'm Not There soundtrack:
iron & wine w/calexico - dark eyes
calexico and jim james - goin to acapulco

Ok, now I get it. After a few emails about those two Saturday Night Live mp3s I'd posted back on February 25th then on April 1st, I didn't understand the sudden interest, but that episode of SNL was rebroadcast last night.

So, for all of you who came looking, enjoy:

Saturday Night Live: Originally broadcast February 24th 2007
intervention [mp3]
keep the car running [mp3]

BUY Arcade Fire Music.

Find Neon Bible Lyrics here.
Download Arcade Fire songs and albums with eMusic's Free Trial.

The National: White Session
Start a War
Brainy
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
Apartment Story
Racing Like a Pro
Ada
You've Done It Again Virginia
Mistaken for Strangers
Fake Empire
About Today

BUY The National's music here.

You can download The National's Boxer and Alligator (plus earlier albums) at eMusic with their free trial offer.



Devendra Banhart: White Session
Wake Up, Little Sparrow
At The Hop
Little Petit Spider
(this appears on Nino Rojo as 'Little Yellow Spider', perhaps he changed the name for the French listeners)
We All Know
Will Is My Friend
A Ribbon
An Island
A Sight To Behold
The Body Breaks
In Empress Hands
Poughkeepsie

BUY Devendra Banhart music

Download Devendra Banhart albums, tracks and songs for free with eMusic's trial subscription.



Beirut: KEXP October 3/2007
Intro
Nantes
(talking)
A Sunday Smile
Cocek
Knives And Forks (La Fete)
(talking)
Cherbourg
(talking)
The Penalty
Outro

BUY Beirut's music at insound.

DOWNLOAD Beirut albums, tracks and songs for free with emusic's trial subscription.