Zooey Dechannel is a hard working woman. Not only is she in a new movie this summer, 500 Days of Summer, but, she and M. Ward got their She & Him on and recorded their take of The Smiths "Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want." I'm not sure how good the movie is going to be, but, the song is fantastic.
Spoon have an unexpected single coming out tomorrow called "Got Nuffin." I'm hoping it will be another fantastic release from the Austin boys. But, that's kinda like hoping the sun will make me warm.
Last year, in one of the earliest BFD posts I mentioned the California band Mezzanine Owls, they of the shoe gaze jams. Their eponymous album was released this past spring. While they are not Jesus & Mary Chain or any other notable shoe gaze bands, they have a great sound. "Snow Globe" in particular is a great song. Feed back from guitars, sing-song vocals and all rock.
I wouldn't be surprised if this song was a hit on adult contemporary or adult alternative stations by the time the summer has come to a hot, sweaty end. It's become on of my favorite jams to come out this summer; sweet, simple and a little bit nostalgic.
Their video for "Taller Children" is pretty low budget and could quite possibly have broken some child labor laws. But hey, it fits the song perfectly.
Long Beach rockers Valley Arena caught my ear recently. hey remind me of both Radio 4 (with less reggae influence) and our own departed Fieros. Kinda garage, indie inspired punk rawkus. They come of with a well mannered snotty attitude...
Yep, the murals are coming back into the entry to Deep Ellum! Over at Unfair Park today Robert Wilonsky had a piece regarding the new murals. They are apparently going up in phases with the first phase going up on the west side of Good Latimer at the Deep Ellum Dart station. I can't wait to see the finished product.
Last night's Jenny Lewis show at the Granada was one of the best shows I've witnessed in quite a while. I like Lewis quite a bit, however, I wasn't sure how good her show would be. It seems the girl who got her start as an actress has learned how to incorporate her skills as an actress into her stage show. Throughout the evening, as she stood behind a microphone or sat at her keyboard, she acted out each song and worked the crowd like a seasoned pro.
I know I complain about the crowds at shows a lot for talking to each other through the show instead of actually watching the show. However, last night the crowd minded their manners and actually watched the show. After each song the crowd literally roared their approval... it was the loudest I've ever heard a crowd there.
Even though the show was great beginning-to-end the highlight for me was the Opry style way she and her band performed "Acid Tongue." Lewis was solo on her guitar and her band formed a semi-circle behind her and sang the back-up vocals.
You can check out the pics of the show on our Facebook page or Myspace page. If you haven't friended us on either one, you should take this opportunity to do so.
Oh, and since she didn't play "Big Guns" last night, have a taste of it here.
It's not often, or ever, that we write about what's going on in Ft. Worth. The only time we really do is when we talk-up the greatness that is 100 Damned Guns.
They are up for another Ft. Worth Weekly music award for best C&W band. I implore you to click that little linky-dink and go on over and vote for them. It would make my heart feel good and I'm sure they would like to win. Besides, it's not like you're voting for some crappy band, this is 100 Damned Guns we're talking about!
It seems lately that I've seen Neko Case live on tape every other week. She's been hitting up the late night talkies and everything in between performing songs from her fantastic new album Middle Cyclone. Well, you can go over to Stereogum to get a few songs she performed on Oregon Public Radio.
Now if she would just hit up Dallas again I would be a happy boy. (via Stereogum)
I should've shared this earlier, but, better late than never, right?
Good friend to BFD Travis Hopper, from local band Elkhart recorded his own take of local musician J.D. Whittenburg's "Secrets That You Keep." That song is one of my favorites off of J.D.'s album. Travis gives the song an more intimate feel, I dig it.
Last night was the Camera Obscura show at The Loft. I was really looking forward to the show and I wasn't let down by seeing them live.
Probably the best part of the show was that there wasn't all the talking going on during the show. I couldn't believe it, you could actually hear the band without the din of voices all around you!
If you want to read my review on the show you can go over to DC9 at Night. You can also check out pics from the show at our Facebook or Myspace page.
LehtmoJoe is back at it again, continuing his quest to release a weekly remix until his album drops next month. By the time Spaghetti Western comes out he'll have released an album worth of free remixes. Not a bad deal.
This week Leht tackled the Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock," replacing the crunchy distorted guitars crunchy bass and synths, bringing the alt-rock classic out of bedrooms of disaffected teens and onto the dancefloor.
The Clean should in no way be compared to Mr. Clean or the A&E show The Cleaner. Or Clean from Apocalypse Now for that matter. They are just a sensible pop-rock band who kick out the good jams.
If I had to describe their sound it would go like this: Tim Booth from James is fronting a band led by Gordon Lightfoot. The lyrics can be a tad bit on the repetitive side, but, it's a good song in the vein of many a drivin' song.
Yep, it's that time of year again--time to vote for your favorites on all things local music. You can only vote once, so, don't try and cheat the system. If we were up for an award then we would tell you to figure out a way to vote early and often. I guess you could always vote on your work and home computers.
Baltimore duo Wye Oak are back with a new album and single. Not quite the breakneck pace as their debut single for their last album, If Children, but it's a little bit infectious. Some big rock guitar licks mixed in with some longing lyrics.
Ben Gibbard probably has one of the best ears for picking cover songs more than any other musician. His interpretation of "Thriller" turned the zombie dance number into something heart breaking and just as good or better than the original version.
Now he's taken his Zooey Dechannel loving hands and used them to rework, well really just slow down, Matthew Sweet's "Sick of Myself." Keep up the good work Benjamin.
Oh, and you can go here to listen to several covers by him and Death Cab For Cutie. His version of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" is a must listen.
When I read those words yesterday over at DC9 at Night I was happier than happy. Trees was definitely one of the places I loved to go and see shows.
Hopefully they will get enough business to survive and stay open. It will be nice to have something smaller than the Granada, but bigger than The Cavern to see a show. I'm also hoping they book better national acts than Dada does. If they can get a mix of local, regional and national acts coming through there it would be great.
Granted, Trees won't be like it use to be... nothing in Deep Ellum will. But, with the nice mixed use of that district I think it will be able to thrive again... as long as people want to go to there.
Guess who's back? Yep, Mr. Reed KD with his infectious folky americana songs! He's giving away a song from his album In Case The Comet Comes. It's a nice upbeat little number called "If The Tide Swings."
Kelly over at The Gobbler's Knob has a good write up about his album. Check it. As he so correctly put it: "In Case The Comet Comes is quite the find for those of us who like our our folk to bounce to a peppier tempo than your standard “storytelling folk...”
If you asked my better half she would probably tell you that Elizabeth & The Catapult's song "Taller Children" is my theme song. I like to have fun and at times what I find funny can be pretty juvenile at times (but funny!).
I've been diggin' this song since it first hit by ears--great low-key, happy, poppy sound. Good for days after having been scared by tornados in your area. Just sayin'.
The Aussies have given the world a handful of bands that made an impact on American audiences: Midnight Oil, AC/DC and INXS. I'm not sure you can put Bird Automatic in the canon of great Australian band yet. But, if they keep putting out music as delicious as their Not Morning People EP then it won't be long before they make a name for themselves.
At first listen I could easily compare them to fellow Aussie band Youth Group. But, after a few listens you can get a sense the band was inspired by Death Cab For Cutie, UK bands like New Order and others in the Brit pop lexicon. Not Morning People is an amazing album from beginning to end. The album has a distinct sense of melody and an etheral quality to it that warrants repeat listening. Lead singer Chris Bradstreet has an amazing voice that fits the music Bird Automatic is putting out... amazing, amazing record.
Yep, I think the Texas hotter-than-hell summer is now upon us. So, it might be time to take a "chill pill," dudes. And the new track by London's Zero 7 is just the thing to help you chill out on these hot, humid nights ahead.
Their new track "Everything Up (Zizou)" would fit in quite nicely to any of the Ministry of Sound "chill out" or Back To Mine compilations. The song is filled with blissed out synths and the sweet, soothing vocals of Eska Mtungwaz sound like they could have been lifted from a Peter Gabrial outtake.
When I read the "Good Friday" post on DC9 last week and they said Here Holy Spain was pretty much in line with the Toadies I thought seeing them would be cool. But, I didn't realize how much they really do kind of bite their style... even down to using the microphone that sounds like you're singing through a megafone. But, I really enjoyed their opening set for Girl In A Coma. They definitely rock hard and put on a great show, now I'll have to catch them again.
The crowd wasn't huge, not even halfway full for the smallness that is Pontiac Garage. So, I had mixed feelings about the crowd. However, I realized that it was a pretty good turn out for a band that has primarily received regional buzz through word of mouth... and the LOGO network. The crowd was estrogen heavy and gay and lesbian friendly. This has gotten me to wondering if they will turn into a punk version of Indigo Girls. There is nothing wrong with have a gay and lesbian following, but, I'm wondering if that is the majority of their crowd and if they are fine with that or they want to reach a wider audience. Girl In A Coma is such a great band I would hate to see them get pigeon-holed and have people shy away from them because of some kind of stigma associated with them.
But, those girls can play their asses off. Their songs range from punk numbers, to ballady type songs, to just hard rockers. I'm only familiar with a few of their songs so when they played "Say" and "Clumsy Sky" I was beyond thrilled. "Clumsy Sky" in particular go a huge crowd response. During the slow intro lead singer Nina Diaz twice let the crowd take over the singing, to hear them scream the last line of the intro before it goes into rockin' was a highlight.
But, amidst all the hard rocking was bassist Jenn Alva. She caught me off guard when she spoke because she has the sweetest voice I've heard come out of a tattooed bass player. She has a very cute, sweet looking face... but, when she spoke her voice is not what I was expecting. Nina Diaz on the other hand has a great singing voice and a well honed stage presence that comes from relentless touring. She didn't work the crowd much, but, she really didn't have too. She basically let her skills with her geetar and her singing do it all. And now that I've seen Girl In A Coma live I believe my crush on Nina has gone full blown.
Check out the vidies for Here Holy Spain and Girl In A Coma below. You can check out pics from the show at our Facebook or Myspace page.
I had the chance to check out Austin band Built By Snow Friday night at The Doublewide. I missed the opening band Your Kisses Cause Crashes, but, I caught The Pons... meh. They weren't horrible, but, they had a few good songs throughout their set.
Once I entered the room I was worried there wasn't going to be a crowd. I didn't expect a full-house, but, I was one of a crowd of about five that caught The Pons set. So, I didn't really know what to expect. However, once Built By Snow took the stage the crowd grew to about 20-25 people. It was nice to see a crowd that big show up for a band that probably isn't well known outside of their hometown. The crowd also seemed to really be diggin' the band, I can't say I could blame them. BBS put on a great show, frontman J.P. knows how to work the stage and the crowd, not what you would expect from a relatively new band.
You can check out pics from the show here or here.
There hasn't been an album that has excited me this much, this quickly in quite a while. Derek Smith, aka Pretty Lights, of Ft. Collins, CO, has quietly released one of the best of the year, Filling Up The City Skies. Not since DJ Shadow's Entroducing... has a producer/DJ created something so compelling that is compiled solely of loops, drum machines and samples. While Pretty Lights production style and feel is very similar to Shadow's he's not simply aping his style. He's taken the blueprint and added his own touch and flare to create something that is uniquely his own and filled with soul.
The album is a double album and both discs are filled with great songs, they are like fraternal twins: similar but different. The first disc serves as the foreplay and the second disc as the bedroom action--slightly faster, but, just as great.
While the first disc is great for sure, for my money the second disc is the best (or at least my favorite) of the set. It starts off with heavy, glitchy funk and doesn't let up until the last song. "How We Do," "Hot Like Sauce," "Who Loves Me" and "More Important Than Michael Jordan" may be the best four songs to begin any album, anywhere, any genre. What I find interesting are the choices of samples. They come from every musical variety, he isn't stuck into using samples from one particular genre, they come from soul, rock, rap and blues--old and new are mixed together. "Hot Like Sauce" alone contains vocal samples Big Boi from Outkast and Led Zeppelin mixed up together. It's only one of the bangers lined up one after another.
The best part of this album... it's free. If you love the style of Entroducing... or The Private Press then you will love Filling Up The City Skies just as much or more. But, don't just take my word for it, get it here. It's free, so what do you have to lose?
A few weeks ago I hipped you to Left Coast folkie and Laurel Canyon-like troubador Reed KD. He's just put out his video for "Cactus Garden" his new album If The Comet Comes. (That title keeps making me think of Night of The Comet.) It's a nice bluegrass ditty accompanied by a fun, Muppet-like video.
When I first heard "White Hot Magic" by The Polyamorous Affair two things immediately came to mind: 1) I like this song, 2) it sounds like New Order making love to Daft Punk.
The duo from Echo Park, CA (greatest city name ever) are getting ready to release their an album Bolshevik Disco. It's a great summer time jam for all you backyard grillers, roller skaters and picnic'ers. The electronic snares are very New Order and the vocoder is very Daft Punk. Other than that, their California electro is all their own. But, it gives you a nice musical reference point when you're listening to it. The only problem I have with the song is it's way to short. But, I can't always get what I want, but, it's a great song.
Looks like the ol' King o' Leon are getting a little better at the whole video thing. They aren't artistic or meaningful by any mean, they just look more and more like they are shooting for the MTV audience.
I've been listening to Robert Gomez's "On This Day" quite a bit recently. I like how the finger-picked guitar meshes nicely with the mechanical sounding drum machine. His music is so, so, good.
No, really, when did this start happening? I just happened to catch Eminem's performance on the MTV Movie Awards last night and it was quite obvious he was lip-syncing. Since when does a rapper need to do that? I had seen him "perform" on SNL before and suspected he wasn't rapping when his voice sounded exactly like the song on his record. But, if you watch the clip you can tell he isn't even rapping live. Why?
Thanks for checking out Bona Fide Darling. Our goal is to offer up the best local Dallas music you can find. All the music posted is for sampling purposes only. If you like what you hear, do like I do and go out and buy the record.
