miss me….?…..I do!!!

How prophetic (and pathetic) that my LAST post whined about how long it had been between posts, and now it’s been even longer. I’ve been very busy with work, and those that know me know I’m not usually a big fan of the full workday (I doubt my boss will ever take up my invitation to this site). Anyway, I find myself with little time to even listen to any music, never mind go out and find new music. Occasionally, when the all-day news of bank failings, dollar-crashing, war-casualties, and political rhetoric is too much to bear, I switch to WMBR or WERS (MIT and Emerson College stations, respectively). I did that for a few minutes the other day and heard a couple of things worth mentioning.

The Airborne Toxic Event

This band immediately made me think my friend Kent would like them. Check their MySpace page for the tunes; “This Is Nowhere” was the cut I liked. In the event you find yourself dismissive, go read the bio on Wikipedia, then cut this 2 year old band some slack.

Pas/Cal, who’s name would lead you to think they’re, maybe, from Pasadena (California), are from Detroit. No White Stripes/Von Bondies fury here, though. Bright, shiny pop. The new CD is titled “I Was Raised On  Matthew, Mark, Luke and Laura”, which is an inside joke that I’m guessing young fans won’t get (comment away). In fact, I think that CD title influences my opinion of them…..meaning that it helped nudge my thumb up. Visit their MySpace, as well as their Website, and there’s a free DOWNLOAD of “Little Red Radio”.

That’s all for now: work beckons again!

…meanwhile, back in Britain…….

I think this is the longest hiatus between posts I’ve had since launch! I’ve been so busy working on my fitness, my house, and my job (in that order!) that I haven’t had a moment to blog. My listening lately dominated by This American Life and All Things Considered, I’m even more clueless than usual as to what’s happenin’ out there (if there’s a CD I’m excited to buy it’s Al Green’s new). At times like this, I like to turn on some college or internet radio and comb the BBC charts.

Highest debut in the BBC1 Indie chart this week (#7) is Mr. Scruff’s “Donkey Ride”. I’m guessing this video has fueled its popularity there, ya think?:

I’m not 100% sure if that’s a novelty song or if they genuinely like the tune. Closer to my taste is the new #8, “Black Magic” by Nashville’s Magic Wands. It’s never a surprise to see an American act embraced first in the UK, and this duo (trio if you count Sylvester the magical lion), fresh off SXSW, continues the tradition. Their MySpace page inexplicably has their photos set to “private”, so these tiny ones are all I can show you:

Add Dexy and Cris Valentine to the list of cute duos making cool low-fi tunes. The single is downloadable a few places in cyberspace, and the other songs on the MySpace are pretty cool too (check Teenage Love). Here’s the video for Black Magic:

[edit: it appears that the video can no longer be embedded, so click HERE to see it]

#9 (with a bullet, I presume) is Pogo, by Digitalism. Of the three artists in this post, Digitalism is the only one that Google was ready to auto-complete, which must mean something (what, I’m not sure).

These German DJ/knob twisters bring circa-Trainspotting Underworld to mind, and who isn’t ready for a trip back to the techno/house 90’s? Check their MySpace page for a few tracks, download Pogo HERE, or enjoy another video:

whatever happened to “what I really want to do is direct”?

Add Scarlett Johansson to the list of actors/actresses that wanna be rock stars! Tomorrow (Tuesday May 20) her CD entitled “Anywhere I Lay My Head” drops. Mostly Tom Waits covers, it’s not terrible. Check out the MySpace page for clips and such, including “I imagined a sound that was very Deborah Harry; very Liz Fraser from the Cocteau Twins, very This Mortal Coil” and “the album should sound like ‘Tinkerbell on cough syrup’ “.