The Sad Bear

June 13, 2010

#022

A weekly sampler of what we're listening to (new and old), and what we think you might like, too.

{LISTEN TO THEM ALL}


BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE -- "Chase Scene""
Luckily for me, their new album came out at the perfect for me to re-aquatint myself with their music (I enjoyed their self-titled record but for whatever reason fell out of listening to it).

So now we've got a song with a perfect title to match the music. That driving drumbeat and synth noise starts out like it could be the soundtrack of a movie scene. Then the vocals kick in with an extreme urgency, capturing the mood of the song. Then those horns begin about 2/3 of the way and you're already chugging right along until the screeching stop. So thrilling, you want to start it over and experience it all again.


YO LA TENGO -- "Autumn Sweater"
(no comment)


THE BROKEN BELLS -- "Trap Doors"
I have a headache, and just got back from dropping Econ off at the Richmond International Airport after a great weekend visit. But, while driving him to his plane we passed a cookie-making factory, and drove through the amazing aroma of vanilla wafers.


BLITZEN TRAPPER -- "Wild Mountain Home"
I enjoyed Blitzen Trapper at Pitchfork last summer, but for me at least, their set was overshadowed by the Thermals, who appeared shortly after. I regret not listening to them again until today.


THE FLAMING LIPS -- "Convinced of a Hex"
I just got Embryonic, and I like it. It's dark, winding, strange, spacey, and alluring. It just plain makes me feel good.


NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL -- "Oh Comely"
For about the first quarter of this video, I can't figure out if Jeff Mangum is staring intensely at something, or if he's blanking. Does one's eyes keep in-line against the motion of your head like that if you're staring at nothing? Would zoned-out eyes appear to look in one direction if their head was just kind of swaying back and forth? Maybe music teachers in Athens, GA tell their students to look at an object toward the back of the room and imagine melting it with your intensity if you need to deal with performance anxiety.

I picked this one because I didn't know of high-quality live video of Neutral Milk Hotel until relatively recently. There was a time when the quality of NMH videos only afforded appreciation of the perfect super-chaotic drumming during Holland, 1945, because we could barely hear the rest (these are not better than those). This video is one of a high-quality group of videos.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Matthew Carleton Lovelady

BEAR IN HEAVEN -- "You Do You"
I tried to pick something I thought that everyone would like but possibly hadn't heard. These guys hail from Brooklyn and I couldn't help but think of Grizzly Bear(also Brooklyn) and Animal Collective. They aren't as experimental as either, but they can rock and offer what I would consider a more accessible and straight forward version of the experimental/psychedelic indie rock we've been seeing so much of lately. It's from their 2009 release, Beast Rest Forth Mouth(which got an 8.4 on Pitchfork, so you know it's good, right?). If this song doesn't have you sold, try Lovesick Teenagers. If not, then fuck 'em. Hope you guys enjoy.

Labels: mid-week mixes

by Chase at 8:48 PM |