The Confusions - I Won't Be Sober When This Is Over

I've been paying attention to The Confusions since they uploaded some tracks to my erstwhile meal ticket, pulverradio.com (may it rest in peace), circa 2004. Since then, they've been steadily but quietly (to the observer in New York, far from their native Sweden) putting out some really good songs, The best of which I've tried to post here when I've become aware of them.  I've never seen them live, or spoken with them, although I have done some emailing with lead singer Mikael Andersson-Knut. Anyway, this latest video, for "I Won't Be Sober When This Is Over," from the A Permanent Marker record, is pretty cool, in my expert opinion.

Shout Out Louds - Fall Harder (video)

Shout Out Louds - Fall Hard from Merge Records on Vimeo.


Shout Out Louds will be touring North America in May (dates below). They're also playing a one-off show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 1, but that shit is sold out, son.

As for the record, it's called Work, and it comes out in February. They're giving away another song, "Walls," on their website. And they're not even asking you to make up an email address to get it. Nice.

02 May - Washington, 9:30 Club
03 May - Philadelphia, First Unitarian Church
05 May - New York, Webster Hall
06 May - Boston, Paradise
07 May - Montreal, Cabaret Music Hall
08 May - Toronto, Mod Club
10 May - Chicago, Lincoln Hall
11 May - Minneapolis, Varsity Theater
14 May - Vancouver, Commodore Ballroom
15 May - Seattle, Neumos
16 May - Portland, Doug Fir
18 May - San Francisco, Great American Music Hall
20 May - San Diego, House of Blues
21 May - Los Angeles, El Rey

The Bravery - The Spectator (mp3)

Back when The Bravery were first getting attention, a friend of mine went to go see them at a label showcase sorta deal in Los Angeles and had a vehemently negative reaction. So I was wary of them for a not very good reason from the beginning. And then they put out "Believe" and it sounded a lot like a Meat Puppets song that might not have been ubiquitous had Nirvana not covered it in a show that everyone in the entire world has listened to hundreds of times, and I sorta stopped paying attention.

But you know, whatever. Haters gonna hate; The Bravery're doing just fine. "The Spectator" will be on their forthcoming record, Stir The Blood, but it's also going to be released tomorrow on the Vampire Diaries soundtrack. Insert your own punchline about copycat vampires...all this negativity is really killing my buzz.

The Bravery - The Spectator (mp3)

Weezer Snuggies

I'm not sure I've ever been inclined to do this before, but I'm doing it now. I'm just going to copy and paste the entirety of a press release I just received via email. I don't know that any editorializing I do is going to make this content any more salient. If this doesn't matter to you as written, I'm not sure anything I have to say about it is going to make any difference.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2009


WEEZER INTRODUCES THEIR VERY OWN SNUGGIE, AVAILABLE TODAY

FANS GET A COPY OF NEW ALBUM RADITUDE AS BONUS GIFT
WITH PURCHASE OF A WEEZER SNUGGIE

"THE BLANKET WITH SLEEVES" IS A NATIONAL SENSATION,
WITH MILLIONS SOLD AND STILL GOING STRONG


Alternative rock band Weezer and Allstar Products Group, marketer and distributor of the Snuggie, America's favorite "blanket with sleeves," have joined forces to create the official Weezer Snuggie. It will be launched today and will bear the band's trademark "Weezer" logo. This latest addition to the Snuggie collection will allow fans of the band to stay warm while keeping their hands free to rock out. And rock out they will; fans who purchase a Weezer Snuggie blanket will also receive a copy of the band's brand-new album, Raditude, as a bonus gift.

The Weezer Snuggie will be available for $29.99 for purchase online. It arrives around the same day as the band's latest album, Raditude. This new offering sees the band trying a brand-new approach, choosing to collaborate with a wide variety of musicians, songwriters and producers. The result of this collaborative effort is a collection of songs that amplifies Weezer's musical trademarks- deep-digging pop hooks and raucous rock riffs- while at the same time breaking new ground for the band. Raditude features appearances by Lil' Wayne, Jermaine Dupri and even a host of traditional Indian musicians.

From the subtly ironic but club-worthy "Can't Stop Partying," to the gleefully lascivious classic arena-rocker "The Girl Got Hot," to the sleek electro groove of "I'm Your Daddy," to the slow-building, anthemic "Love is the Answer" and the clanking, Motown-flavored "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To," Raditude, like Weezer, is full of thrilling surprises. As lead singer Rivers Cuomo says, "It sounds like a roomful of people having a great time."

The Snuggie blanket was featured at New York Fall Fashion Week in September, where models graced the catwalk in some of the latest Snuggie designs, such Snuggie Wild Side in zebra and leopard print, Snuggie Soft Rose for breast cancer awareness and limited edition Snuggadelic Snuggie in funky tie-dye print.

The Snuggie blanket is more than a fun idea, impulse buy or kitschy TV ad; it is a truly innovative and ultimately functional product. It's made of lightweight, soft fleece that keeps people of all ages warm indoors and out, with large, roomy sleeves allowing for free movement. It answers a basic need shared by many - staying warm and comfortable while having hands free to do what you please - channel surf, snack, read a book... or crank up the volume on your favorite Weezer song.

About Allstar Products Group
Allstar Products Group, LLC is a leading direct response and consumer products company making quality products available to U.S. and international consumers through direct response television as well as internet, direct mail and retail channels. Snuggieâ„¢ is a trademark of ASM.

[images from weezersnuggie.com. really.]

Drew & The Medicinal Pen - Heavy Head

For more than a week now I've repeatedly approached my computer to write a review of Drew & The Medicinal Pen's new record Heavy Head, only to retreat a few minutes later after a few false starts. I don't write as much as I used to on here, but even when I was writing about music every day I always had a hard time being coherent about the things that really resonated with me. So let me say this right now before I fall apart: I love this record and I will play it for anyone who rides in my car anytime remotely soon. I've been excited about it since this summer when I heard it was going to be done soon, and it hasn't disappointed. It was worth every minute of the wait.

Things have changed a bit for Drew since the release of Dream, Dream, Fail, Repeat. Most notably, there's a band involved now. So while Drew's hazy, dreamlike songwriting hasn't skipped a beat and the overall sound remains catchy, bedroom-jangly, and wonderfully loose, there are plenty of moments on Heavy Head to serve as a reminder of this progression. Female backing vocals, for example. Those are new, and nice.

Truthfully though, the thing I love most about this record is the same thing that I've always loved most about Drew's music: the vulnerability that's sometimes on full display, but usually bubbling just below the surface, masked by some of the cheeriest, sounds-like-it-was-fun-to-record* production I've ever heard. Or, maybe to put it another way, it's the way the music makes vulnerability feel OK to the listener. And sure, there are plenty of songwriters who specialize in that kind of thing, and some of them also have female backing vocals. I just like the way Drew does it, ok? I like it a lot.

An example. "Paper Pockets" (video here) is the perhaps best song on the record, and it ends triumphantly with a promise: "I will never turn my back on you." It's hard for me to explain why I like the sing-song repetition of that line so much. It's not profound, but it reveals an awareness that the fear that a loved one might turn away is universal, and that it feels good to be promised otherwise. All the better if it's shouted earnestly over and over again with a driving drumbeat driving a four piece band underneath. Maybe I'm just projecting now, but it's a great song regardless. Seriously. Click that link up there and listen to it. Now.

Like that? Then go listen to "Sleepy Don't Cry" at myspace.com/drewandthemedicinalpen. Like that too? I thought so. Listen to a bunch more stuff. You'll probably like that too.

And even once you've listened to everything, even once you've bought the record, there's still more to consume. As good as the music is on its own, full appreciation of Drew & The Medicinal Pen should include a perusal of Drew's non-musical pursuits. He's got tons of videos and photos floating around. A good place to start, you ask? Try his Dream Logs.

Gosh, I wish I could just get you into my car. To play you the record, you see. I really think you'll like it.
___________________________
* I'm assured that the production of this record involved copious amounts of blood, sweat, and tears. But it still sounds like it was fun to make.

Drew & The Medicinal Pen - Paper Pockets

This video is a collection of clips from Drew & The Medicinal Pen's recent tour around the midwest, set to "Paper Pockets," which will be the band's coming-soon-and-you-must-buy-it record, Heavy Head.

A bunch more songs are currently playing on MySpace. From the sounds of it, Drew and co. managed to follow up one great record with another set of catchy, quirky, dreamy and fun songs to make you frustrated that more people haven't heard them. More on that once it's out, though. For now, enjoy the video.

I can't decide if this is progress or not.

Amie Street announced today the addition of the Sony Music catalog to their site -- and the special status songs in that catalog will have. While all other songs currently on Amie Street start free, and can get as expensive as $.98 as more and more people purchase them, Sony songs will be fixed at either $.69, $.99, or $1.29 (more expensive than anything else on the site can ever possibly get). Here's an excerpt from the letter posted on their site:

The songs in the Sony catalog will be priced at $.69, $.99 and $1.29, not dynamically like the rest of the music on Amie Street. All the music you download on Amie Street, including Sony’s, is still iPod compatible DRM-free MP3s, meaning you can play it on any device and transfer it among multiple computers.

We know this is a big change, and we’re confident that it will make Amie Street a better place for you to discover, download, and share new music. We spent hundreds of hours asking members of the Amie Street community whether this kind of catalog belonged on the site, and for most of you the answer was a definite Yes.

eMusic added a bunch of Sony Music stuff too (songs over 2 years old, only), and was forced to drastically alter its pricing plans to do so. The reaction from eMusic's longtime customers to the changing of their plans was so strong(ly negative) that eMusic wisely sent out this email giving away 50 free songs for the trouble.

So, you add a lot of compelling, exciting music to your site. Springsteen, Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, etc. But in the process, you cannibalize that which made you different from (and many of your customers would say better than) iTunes, or the Amazon store. You haven't become the same as them, only more similar.

In the case of Amie Street, you haven't actually even changed anything about the pricing of music that was already available on your site, but you've still added a degree of complexity that will perplex and frustrate customers going forward. You've surrendered...something. Principle, maybe? I don't know. Amie Street recently stopped allowing multiple downloads of purchased songs...was that a precursor to this deal? Because that's kind of a pain in the ass.

Honestly, I'm curious to see how this works out, both for the retailers and for Sony Music. It's change at least, and it shows some developing openness (and admission that the old ways aren't quite working) on Sony's part. But to me, it feels like one step up and two steps back, and then maybe another step up.