What The Hell Am I Listening To?!?

Last week two artists who had an album in my top 5 from last year dropped their follow ups. These two acts exemplify the heights modern music can achieve. They are the rare sort of acts that combine virtuosity with an original, uncompromising vision. They also happen to be on the same label, Kill Rock Stars, a fact I hadn’t realized until I had pre-ordered both of their LPs. Get down with the Hottness:

Marnie Stern

I’m very glad that the bigger indie blogs are finally jumping on the Marnie Stern bandwagon, but I wish they would quit dissing her debut album as an excuse for being so late to the party. There are things I like better about Ms. Stern’s sophomore release, and things I don’t like quite as much. But those are more about preference than a discussion of quality, because so far this is two grand slams in a row from her. Maybe the most talented female musician alive:

Marnie Stern : Ruler

Marnie Stern : Roads? Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Roads

Buy This Is It…

Marnie Stern myspace


Deerhoof

I didn’t get exposed to Deerhoof until about the time I started this blog, but since discovering this amazing band, I’ve fallen totally in love with them. I’ve been digging deep into their catalogue lately and finding gem after gem. I’m still not sure exactly where I would rate their newest, Offend Maggie, among their arsenal of previous albums. But, pretty much everything Deerhoof touches turns to gold, so you would be doing yourself a disservice to miss out on their latest.

Deerhoof : Snoopy Waves

Deerhoof : My Purple Blast

Buy Offend Maggie here

Deerhoof myspace

New Marnie Stern: “Ruler”

Here’s the third track Ms. Stern has released from her eagerly-anticipated-by-me upcoming album, This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That. The album drops October 7th on Kill Rock Stars, and this is Marnie’s favourite from it:

Marnie Stern on iLike – Get Sidebar

A Random MP3 Trilogy


Marnie Stern in the studio earlier this year.

So the first track today is the Marnie Stern single from her upcoming sophomore LP, This Is It And I Am It And You Are It And So Is That And He Is It And She Is It And It Is It And That Is That out October 7th. I absolutely loved her debut from last year, so I’m pretty excited.

Marnie Stern : Transformer

Another female who had a great album last year was Natasha Khan’s Bat For Lashes. There is a The Cure cover by her rolling around the Internet from a forthcoming The Cure tribute album featuring acts like Jesu, Kaki King, and Indian Jewelry. More info on it here.

Bat For Lashes : A Forest

Finally we’ll end with some local love, as Treasure Fingers just released a single of “Cross The Dancefloor” complete with four remixes of the essential booty shaking song. While I’ve been hearing this song for forever in the A, it is currently blazing through the blogosphere since coming out officially. You can snag it up here, and jam one of the remixes here:

Treasure Fingers : Cross The Dancefloor (Lifelike remix)

B-Sides: Marnie Stern Videos (7/26/07) The Drunken Unicorn

I had promised six months ago that these vids would get posted, so here they are. Thanks to David for filming and letting me rock out:

“Logical Volume”:

“Absorb Those Numbers”:

Click here to read the entire post…

Ohmpark’s Top 50 Best Albums Of 2007

2007 was an incredible year of music and there were so many albums I really liked that didn’t make this list. I noticed that most of the lists I pay attention to were very similar to one another this year as opposed to last year. Also, I’ve found myself in more of a disagreeance with those lists than last year. If there is any theme to be taken out of this list, I think it’s that I feel like too many great albums were underrated by the blogosphere elites, and that they were way in love with some albums I think are overrated. This list represents my personal assertions more so than the rest of the Ohmpark crew, but I worked hard to get every one’s opinions and influences in this thing. Feel free to comment on how much you hate or love it. I feel like every album on this is an essential one from last year, so go listen to some new music:

Click here to read the entire post…

Ohmpark Mixtape #3: My Favourite Songs Of 2007

The best ofs continue. Here are the songs I really dug this year, arranged in what i think is a great flowing hour and a half experience. I did cheat a little bit and included a few tracks from my best 2006 Albums of 2007 list, but these songs will always make me think of this year, so it’ll work. Enjoy:

The Shins : Wincing The Night Away : Sleeping Lessons

Midlake : The Trials Of Van Occupanther : Roscoe

The Cinematic Orchestra : Ma Fleur : To Build A Home

Blonde Redhead : 23 : Spring And by Summer Fall

Earlimart : Mentor Tormentor : Happy Alone

Wilco : Sky Blue Sky : Impossible Germany

Beach House : Beach House : Master of None

Low : Drums And Guns : Breaker

Parade : Answer Me : Booths

Of Montreal : Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? : The Past Is A Grotesque Animal

Deerhunter : Fluorescent Grey : Wash Off

Akron/Family : Love Is Simple : Don’t Be Afraid, You’re Already Dead

Snowden : Anti Anti : Anti Anti


Moorish idols : Moorish Idols : Why Are We Whispering

Phosphorescent : Pride : Wolves

Smashing Pumpkins : Zeigeist : Neverlost

Radiohead : In Rainbows : Reckoner

Marnie Stern : In Advance Of The Broken Arm : Patterns Of A Diamond Ceiling

Friday Free-Style

I’ve mentioned it already, but since I love this band so much, I’ll bring it up again. Beach House will be at The Earl with Papercuts on March 1st. Here is a song from the forthcoming Devotion available in February (or now bootlegged):

Beach House : Devotion : Gila
This Wednesday (12/19) you can watch the new Sigur Ros movie Heima at the Midtown Art Cinema with me.

I’ve been listening to Marnie Stern again a bunch lately, so here’s a funny mash-up I had missed:

The Hood Internet – Absorb the Lip Gloss
The Smashing Pumpkins have new material to release at the beginning of next year.

Hot Chip have a new album, Made In The Dark, coming out February 4th.

Remixes of Thom Yorke‘s Eraser are coming soon.

Creative Loafing did a piece on Fag Static this week. When I caught them opening for Deerhunter, they were really awesome.

Pimp C RIP

Tori Amos lays the smack down:

Flight of The Conchords will be releasing a full-length album in April.

Ok, a little personal note: After 8 and a half years as an undergrad at Georgia Tech, I graduate tomorrow morning. The ensuing bender may limit my posting for the next few days, but we have all sorts of goodies for you next week including our Top 50 Albums of 2007, plus tons of other best of nonsense.

Humpnight Randomnimity

Three interesting shows this week i didn’t mention earlier are:

I can’t decide which Saturday night show to hit up after Joanna Newsom, so I’ll probably coin flip or something. With the Thursday night show, I guess I’m going to offer the dissenting opinion relative to all the other blogs in town that I would recommend going to Smashing Pumpkins and Explosions in The Sky over the free Star Bar thing. I know Black Kids are somewhat local and blowing up thanks to the ‘fork, but I’ve listened to that EP a few times and it just doesn’t stand out to me that much. It’s not bad or anything, but it sounds like a dancier ripoff of the whole Swan Lake spectrum of indie-rock and its just not exciting me that much relative to all the other stuff I’ve been listening to lately. Also, I caught Judi Chicago last month, and as much as I hate ripping on locals, I have to call it like it is, and I think they just pretty much suck. Just because you perform crappy music in your underwear doesn’t make up for the crappy music you are performing. I mean, the show is free so it’s probably worth going if you don’t have the cash for the other show, but I just wanted to get my opinion out there.

Now I’ll cool off the haterade and give you a nice PJ Harvey vid:

Back to the haterade, Band of Horses are doing 3 New Years shows at the Earl and tickets go on sale Friday. BOH, or “Fisher Price, My First My Morning Jacket” as I like to call them, are another band that I think receive a little too much praise relative to what every other band on Earth is doing right now. Cease To Begin isn’t a bad album or anything, but it’s not a great one either.

Someone who is worthy of the hype is coming to Eyedrum in January:

The onslaught of My Bloody Valentine reunion rumors continue.

Want to see what Dethklok look and sound like live? Here you go:

Here’s a The Octopus Project vid:

In case you had forgotten how awesome Marnie Stern is or you are a new ohmpark reader, here’s a vid:

Between The Buried And Me are an awesome metal band that i’ve recently been jamming alot:

In case you don’t know, Radiohead did some crazy webcast stuff last week. I’ve got a huge-ass article planned as i haven’t really talked about the new album much and i’m still listening to it like crazy. Until i get a chance to go on an In Rainbows lovefest, here’s my favourite song from it done live on the webcast:

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