Nashville and The National

Forgive the silence. Things have been a bit crazy here in Nashvegas. The heavens opened up two weeks ago and damn near drowned us. Mercifully we had an abundance of good folks to volunteer and start to get the city back into shape. We definitely did not have an abundance of media coverage, but to quote one of the many rallying cries in these parts as of late, we're handling it ourselves.

All this Nashvegaslove reminded me of "Nashville Cats," by the Loving Spoonful, a song that my dad put on a cassette for me back in the day. It has John Sebastian's characteristic, ultra mellow vocals, plus the springy, steady galloping guitar work that you don't really hear much anymore in country music.



Coming from a very different place in the musical spectrum, The National preformed with Sufjan Stevens on Letterman the other night. (Tip via Aaron Dethrage) Mostly, I'm just proud that three years after I first wrote about their network debut on Letterman, they're still going strong and sounding as classy and melancholy as ever. If you haven't picked up High Violet, definitely give it a try. It's no great evolution from Boxer, but why should it be?



And finally, back on the 25th, NME reported that Death Cab for Cutie will be hitting the studio in June and aiming for a Spring 2011 release. This corresponds with my 2011 release... from college.

Peace.

"Tik Tok" (The Week at Belmont Remix)

Wondering where TMI's been? Here's part of the explanation. Check out the parody of Ke$sha's "Tik Tok" that I did with my team from The Week at Belmont.

Lyrics: Erin Carson/Cassidy Hodges
Directed by: Cassidy Hodges
Camera/Editing: Erin Carson
Recording/Mixing/Auto-tuning/Awesomeness: Ben Azevedo/Aaron Dethrage

New Music. Now.

Patience? Please. Here's a rundown of all sorts of albums you can hear before they actually hit stores.

High Violet : The National - The album leaked and the band decided the best route to take would be to stream it on The New York Times website starting Friday the 23rd. Unlike the leak, High Violet will be streamed in its full quality. The album comes out officially May 10th.

Forgiveness Rock Record : Broken Social Scene - NPR's All Songs Considered has got the Exclusive First Listen right now, running through May 4th when the album itself hits stores/drops/other cool phrasing to say "is released."

Heaven is Whenever : The Hold Steady - Can't say I'm not, hmmm.... how to put this, completely over The Hold Steady, but still it's probably worth mentioning. NPR also has the album streaming until its May 4th release date.

EP Season

Here in Nashvegas the weather has finally gotten consistently warm and sunny. The days are longer and attention spans are shorter. That said, it's what I like to call "EP Season."

If you're anything like me, the good weather hits and I'm far less likely to commit to a 45-minute album, yet I'm still looking for the continuity and cohesion an LP can offer. The answer? EPs.

Here are three currently rattling around my iPod.


The Open Door : Death Cab for Cutie - The follow up EP to their '08 release, Narrow Stairs, came out last April, but it's got such a great indie pop/rock lightness that it's sure to be a Springtime perennial.

Bobby Thompson Reels, Vol. 1 : De Novo Dahl - Here's a little taste of Nashville's non country side. The EP is built off samples from said Bobby Thompson, a banjo and guitar player who logged some serious hours playing with some really famous folks. He also happened to be the uncle of one of the guys in De Novo Dahl. Anyway, the EP is sort of a departure from their usual energetic, fizzy indie rock. Think spoken samples against cool, oddly-bluesy-for-being-electronic grooves. You can even download it for free courtesy of the band's site.

Harmonia Macrocosmica, Vol. 1 : Sunfold - This one actually came in late last night thanks to my friend Aaron. It's a side project from the Annuals, apparently. I liked it immediately-- that's rare. The sound is rich and while it's pretty etc. you get a dash of something else sitting under the surface. Darker on the back end is usually intriguing. At least that's my impression so far! There are many more sun-drenched afternoon listens on the way.

Dance Floor : The Apples in Stereo

I've never really listened to The Apples in Stereo, so the primary reason I'm posting is because Elijah Wood is in their latest video, "Dance Floor." Lord of the Rings aside (or maybe not), Wood has a record of picking off beat projects to be a part of, so when NPR blogged that he was in this music video, I figured it was worth watching.

Wood plays a middle school science department chair who messes around with a time machine of sorts, only to get sucked into an Apples in Stereo performance. He looks so wonderfully confused and out of place, I'd totally buy he was a stiff, mid level academic were it not for the fact that he's, well, Elijah Wood.

The song's not bad either. Actually, it's quite addicting. "Dance Floor" is off their upcoming album Travelers in Space and Time (anybody else getting a theme here?). Give it a world.

The Last of the American Girls : Green Day

Green Day - New Music - More Music Videos

Here's Green Day's latest video venture, "The Last of the American Girls." It's okay. It centers around a day in the life of said American girl, and takes place in the middle of a desert. They definitely did a good casting job on the lead-- she just looks a like trouble, but the dancing blondes were a little off the mark. They probably would not have been missed. Anyway, check it out.

Question: How does one go about earning the title "natural disaster?"

Jackhammer : The Spinto Band

Found this song a while ago and meant to post it. The music video is pretty interesting, lots of fast-moving textures and quick cuts. It's reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's video for "Sledgehammer" back in the 80s. Coincidence? You decide.

Anyway, the Spinto Band hails from Delaware and has been around since '95. (Who knew?) The best part of this tune is definitely the dreamy, breezy guitar which makes for an funny juxtaposition in a song about a city, or getting out of one at least. Also, the song is delightfully short. Sometimes you don't need much.