Grant Manship

Danielson Releases Danielson Alive! EP for Free

'Tis the Season of Danielson and that means some free goodies for all of you on the good list.  The EP consists of six classic Danielson tracks which were originally recorded during various live shows and radio broadcast performances including CBC's famous "Real Art Ways" program and venerable VPRO Dutch Radio.  You can preview a couple of the tracks off the EP below or just go ahead and download the whole thing here.

• Danielson - "Flesh Thang" from Danielson Alive! EP
• Danielson - "Southern Paws" from Danielson Alive! EP

MidPoint Music Festival - Day 2 Preview

I had prior commitments that kept me from getting too into Day 1 of MidPoint but now I'm free enjoy the remainder of the festivities!  With that being said, I thought I'd briefly highlight a few of the artists I'm most excited to see tonight.  They are as follows:

Say Hi - 10:00 PM - Aronoff 5/3 Theater

Eric Elbogen, who is Say Hi, currently resides in Seattle, WA.  After relocating to Seattle, Elbogen wrote he most recent record The Wishes And The Glitch at his home studio during most of last year.  While it was mostly Eric doing his thing alone, John Roderick of The Long Winters and David Bazan from Pedro The Lion/Headphones also lent their voices on a couple of tracks for The Wishes.  Say Hi's music is full of keyboards blips, skittering drums and bass along with plenty of catchy vocal melodies.  Needless to say, it's great stuff.

• Say Hi - "Northwestern Girls" from The Wishes And The Glitch

A.A. Bondy - 11:00 PM - Know Theatre Main Stage

AA Bondy (a.k.a. Scott Bondy) used to play with Verbena prior to stepping out on his own.  Following the dissolution of the band, Bondy moved to the Catskills and was about to leave music behind.  That was until the creative juices began to flow once again and he started recording the songs that would make up American Hearts.

The record bring about thoughts of Harry Nilsson or Harvest-era Neil Young.  Sounds like the perfect set to balance the electronic vibe of Say Hi.

• A.A. Bondy - "There's A Reason" from American Hearts

Buffalo Killers - 12:00 AM - Lodge Bar

I plan on rounding out my night by catching Cincinnati's very own Buffalo Killers.  I've been a big fan of the band's psychedelic southern rock after seeing them open for their buddies The Black Crowes a year or so ago.  Their latest album Let It Ride is a perfect representation of the aforementioned genre.  The following song sounds like the music I imagine would come from the genetically engineered love child of David Bowie and Joe Walsh.  The vocals really remind me of Joe Walsh which is great since he's the only Eagle whose solo material can make me forget how much I hate the Eagles.

• Buffalo Killers - "If I Get Myself Anywhere" from Let It Ride

Solo Debut From BMSR Member Tobacco

As many of you know I'm a big fan of Black Moth Super Rainbow.  If you're also a fan of the band, then you know Tobacco well.  As a member of BMSR he contributed to one of last year's, or any year for that matter, most shockingly interesting records, Dandelion Gum.  Under the Tobacco moniker his solo material is much darker than his work with BMSR.  Make no mistake about it though, it doesn't sound like someone who isn't a member of BMSR made this record.  The unique sounds found on the band's records are present here in spades.  You can hear what I'm talking about on the standout tracks "Dirt" (featuring Aesop Rock) and "Truck Sweat" below.  His debut, Fucked Up Friends, is due October 14th from Anticon Records.

• Tobacco - "Dirt" from Fucked Up Friends
• Tobacco - "Truck Sweat" from Fucked Up Friends

Richard Wright - R.I.P.

As I'm sure many of you are aware of by now, founding member of Pink Floyd Richard Wright passed away yesterday.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Here's a cool video of one of the songs Richard wrote for Dark Side of the Moon.

Free EP from Bon Iver on MySpace Transmissions

The latest installment in the MySpace Transmission series comes from Bon Iver.  Not only are their videos of interviews and the various performance but you can also download a free 4 song EP of the performance.  Justin and Co. performed "Flume", "Lump Sum", "Blindsided" and "For Emma".  Check out the videos and download the EP here.

Get Your Free Digital EP From Grampall Jookabox

A few weeks ago, I suggested calling Grampall Jookabox's brand of music, "folk-hop."  Word from Asthmatic Kitty suggests he is a, "ghetto-folkster."  Pretty close right?  Today, we get a better glimpse into just exactly what a ghetto-folkster sounds like with the release of Grampall's free digital EP called Rill Bruh.

The EP contains the previously posted "The Girl Ain't Preggers" in addition to seven other tracks.  You can download the EP here or, if you want to listen before you leap, check out "Air Penance" below.  It sounds like this track's narrative does a nice job of  picking up the theme of family turmoil where "The Girl Ain't Preggers" left off.

• Grampall Jookabox - "Air Penance" from Rill Bruh EP

I Met The Walrus

Some of you may have already seen this but I hadn't until today and I'm really blown away by it.  Here is the deal, in 1969 a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace.  Could you imagine pulling something like that off as a 14 year old?  If John Lennon had been alive when I was 14 and I had actually met him, I'm pretty positive I would have sounded like an absolute moron.  I imagine it would have been quite an accomplishment for me to have been able to speak at all.  That wasn't the case for Jerry Levitan though.  One of the things that strikes me most about this interview is how composed and articulate Jerry comes across.  Maybe it was what I assume would have been a peaceful presence from John Lennon that made Jerry come across as so comfortable during the interview.  Maybe I just get too starstruck but come on, this is John Lennon we're talking about. 

Anyway, here we are 38 years later.  Mr. Levitan decided to produce a short film about his encounter using the original interview recording as the soundtrack.  The film is directed by Josh Raskin who has combined the work of James Braithwaite and the digital illustrations of Alex Kurina.  The result is really touching when you think of some 14 year old kid sneaking his way into John Lennon's Toronto hotel room and John taking the time to talk to him.  The interview is an amazing document of the ideals of one of the world's most incredible musicians and what is a timeless message.  It sounds cliché but it sure does feel like we could use John Lennon right now.  Obviously his thoughts and spirit will have to do and luckily we have this to remind us of those things.

(via Transbuddha)

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today Is Available Now

As you've probably heard, David Byrne and Brian Eno recently completed work on their new collaboration Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.  In preparing for the release David has stated he's curious to see if people will hear about the record without the traditional marketing methods that usually go into a record release.  Specifically, David had the following to say about these plans in a recent post on his blog:

I’m also wondering whether the web-curious will allow news of the album to spread more or less by itself. In the past, I might have undertaken all kinds of expensive marketing plans to prepare for a record release: there would be a teaser, live shows, posters, magazine ads, interviews, and advance CDs sent to writers and reviewers. We’ve done a few interviews, but that’s about it. It will be interesting to see if audiences find out about this song — and the record — without all those marketing techniques, and solely through Internet word-of-mouth.

I think it's safe to say that word of anything David Byrne or Brian Eno do, and certainly projects they undertake together, will spread like wildfire in today's state of the Internet.  News of the first single, "Strange Overtones," seemed to be all over the blogosphere on the day of its release.  Now comes the next phase in Byrne's experiment.  They've released the record today via the web à la the well-known-by-now Radiohead method, minus the pay what you want aspect.  You have the option to buy a DRM-free download of the album, a download plus a physical CD or a limited edition custom package designed by Stefan Sagmeister.  There is also an option to get FLAC files with any of the above purchases. 

You can preview the entire album below and use the "Get the Album" link in the player window to go to the site and make your purchase.  During my initial listen to the album it sounds absolutely wonderful.  I'm certainly looking forward to seeing Mr. Byrne on his upcoming tour.

Richard Swift Releases Free Digital EP

Richard Swift just released his new EP Ground Trouble Jaw and being the swell guy that he is, he's giving it away for free through eMusic.

The EP is classic Swift through and through.  As the press release for the EP states, "the five tracks run the gamut from 60s girl group pop to Motown soul to Onasis-flavored 50s street gang doo-wop to synth-fueled pop classics (think Prince sitting in on the "Plastic Ono" sessions) - all with Swift's emerging trademark vocals which bring his songs to life like few other singers do today."  If you've been living under a rock and are somehow unfamiliar with Mr. Swift, download this.  Seriously.  The guy is brilliant and there isn't any reason why he shouldn't take over the world soon.  It's better that you're up to speed on things when that finally happens so like I said, pick this up.

I'd have to say my favorite tracks are "Would You" and "Lady Luck".  I've listened to both tracks at least 10 times since downloading the EP this morning.  Make sure you check them out below before you inevitably proceed to download the whole EP.  Speaking of downloading it, if you have trouble with the eMusic link you can download a zip file with all the tracks ready to go here, courtesy of yours truly.  Enjoy!

• Richard Swift - "Would You" from Ground Trouble Jaw
• Richard Swift - "Lady Luck" from Ground Trouble Jaw

Grampall Jookabox

Indianapolis-based artist Grampall Jookabox (aka David Adamson) has signed to Asthmatic Kitty who, along with Joyful Noise, will release his new album Ropechain on Nov. 4th.  After listening to some of the tracks off the record I wasn't sure how to categorize it.  I'm not sure there really is a category for it.  There are obvious influences of hip-hop but plenty of lo-fi folk and blues as well.  Maybe folk-hop would work.  Anyway, I'll let the music speak for itself.  I caution you though, it gets to be pretty infectious so prepare to have this track on repeat for a while.

• Grampall Jookabox - "The Girl Ain't Preggers" from Ropechain