Grant Manship

iTunes Song Suggestion of the Day - July 31st, 2006

French Kicks - "Cloche" from Two Thousand

MAN MAN & Danielson - Live at the Southgate House

It's been quite a while since I was as excited about a concert as I was for the MAN MAN appearance at this year's Lite Brite Festival.  Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed.  I can safely say this was the  first time that I found the band setting up to be an entertaining thing to watch.  It was amazing to see the seemingly never-ending parade of the tubes, lights, bells, pots, pans, and other assorted instruments MAN MAN pulled out as they prepared for their set.  Literally, the only thing missing from the stage was the kitchen sink.  The energy the band puts out while they perform is incredible.  It's hard to imagine a person NOT having a good time at one of their shows.  It's also hard to explain to someone exactly what one of their shows is like.  If you have a chance to see the band live, don't miss it.

You can check out some of the pictures I snapped of MAN MAN's set here.

Danielson ended the evening and while they put on a completely different kind of performance, it wasn't any less entertaining.  Daniel's stage banter with the crowd, specifically those in the balcony he light-heartedly promised to ignore for not coming down and joining everyone else on the floor, was quite entertaining.

You can check out the pictures from Danielson's set here.

iTunes Song Suggestion of the Day - July 28th, 2006

The Sleepy Jackson - "I Understand What You Want But I Just Don't Agree" from Personality (One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird)

The U.S. vs. John Lennon Soundtrack

Here is some interesting news regarding the soundtrack to the upcoming documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon".

iTunes Song Suggestion of the Day - July 27th, 2006

The Beach Boys - "God Only Knows" from Pet Sounds

iTunes Song Suggestion of the Day - July 26th, 2006

Bears - "Walk Away" from Bears

New LADYHAWK MP3 and Video

LADYHAWK has released a new mp3 from what their label (Jagjaguwar) is calling the Mushroom Session.  You can check out the track below:

• LADYHAWK - "War"

I really like the new song but I'm not sure it can compare to the other bit of LADYHAWK goodness that we've been blessed with today.  Check out the video for the band's song "My Old Jacknife" below.

iTunes Song Suggestion of the Day - July 25th, 2006

Adam Green - "Pay the Toll" from Jacket Full of Danger

Favorite New Release of the Week - July 25th, 2006

The Sleepy Jackson -  Personality (One Was a Spider, One Was a Bird)

Since the Sleepy Jackson formed in 1999, their founder - Australian oddball Luke Steele - has ditched no less than three sets of bandmates. This second album features just Steele and drummer Malcolm Clark.

But any fears that the ethereal grandeur of 2003's Lovers might be swapped for White Stripes-esque minimalism are swept away in a torrent of strings, horns and backing choirs. Driven by a passion for the Beatles and Brian Wilson, Steele appears to have hired every session musician in Sydney to help realise his orchestral-pop vision. The result is a stirring, richly detailed record that sounds something like Mercury Rev produced by Phil Spector and fronted by a wide-eyed Roy Orbison.

Steele's softly expressed demons underscore Personality, but the album's most striking feature is its ability to avoid the musically obvious while still delivering golden pop melodies. A special record from a special talent.

- Chris Salmon, July 21, 2006 via The Guardian

Adam Green - Jacket Full of Danger

Can this really be Adam Green's fourth solo album? The man who famously spent whole days, and sometimes weeks, meticulously crafting a single line is creatively flourishing. Following his Anglo-German book of gobbledygook last year and the perplexingly underrated 'Gemstones' album, Green seems to be spewing forth words with some considerable aplomb. If 'Gemstones' was occasionally erratic, then 'Jacket Full of Danger' is a more mature and finely honed piece, a fully realised record that embodies what Adam Green is, and thankfully there's still madness in his method.

Green's appeal lies in his oxymoronic qualities; a cherubic face and a brain scourged with deviant thoughts. He may have the eyes of a puppy but you wonder if deep down he's a very evil man who wants to bite you. Nowhere is this deviance more evident than on 'Drugs' a ballad about the fact Green loves drugs and how gutted he is when his lady throws his drugs away.

"I like to do drugs, I like to have drugs, I like to hold a cigarette full of grass in my hand."

It's typical Green in that it's hilariously funny, occasionally nonsensical, and will corrupt and offend in equal measure. Songs about drugs are so often shrouded in innuendo and rely on heavy symbolism, yet Green is emphatically and refreshingly bold. He's at his best when he's forthright, and pouring out what pollutes his weird head, and if it's cruel than that's even better.

"There's no place inside this romance, for a girl who's clearly balding, so embarrassed by injustice that shuts doors on balding women' ('Hairy Women).

Speaking of the Doors, Green's rasping baritone is even richer and more hoary than usual, and while the Lee Hazelwood and Scott Walker comparisons still stand, 'Jacket Full of Danger' sees him emulating the primal grunt of the late leather-trousered sex-drunk Jim Morrison, especially on 'White Woman', which is effectively an updated rendering of 'LA Woman'. Yes, on 'Jacket Full of Danger' Green's Mojo is rising, and he just got that little bit more dangerous. Come and pay homage to the new Lounge Lizard King.

- Jeremy Allen, April 12, 2006 via Playlouder

Musical Family Tree

I went to Indiana University for undergrad and one thing I quickly learned, and loved, was the excellent music scene in Bloomington.  There's an amazing group of musicians making music in Bloomington which is also the home of Secretly Canadian.  In early 2004 Jeb Banner decided to start a collection of all the great music and compile it in an online musical archive.  His efforts have resulted in the Musical Family Tree. 

Starting with bands like Sardina, Antenna, and United States Three the site has quickly grown to encompass over 200 bands with Indiana roots, past and present, from all over the country.

The people at the Musical Family Tree have now released a compilation CD titled "Delicious Berries" in partnership with Indianapolis based Luna Records and will be distributed through Revolver.  You can check out all the songs on the compilation along with the rest of the music in the archive via the streaming player at the site.  The compilation will also be available on iTunes and directly from the site here.

Some of the artists featured on the CD are well established artists like John Strohm, The Mysteries of Life and Vess Ruhtenberg as well as Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos, Gentleman Caller and Everything, Now!.  All the artists contributed new or unreleased songs with several recorded specifically for the compilation.  The proceeds from the sale of the CD will go to cover the costs of running the site and any profit will be directed towards new initiatives for the Musical Family Tree community.