Music Snobbery

MusicSnobbery Playlist, Vol. 11: This, That and Lot of Ukuleles

* The School, Let It Slip -- No, it's not a new track from Camera Obscura, but they sure sound like it. The School is another in a long line of band's that hard to find if you google them. In any event, this Cardiff seven-piece have the same look, feel, smell as Camera, but still have some fine, memorable tracks.

* Pants Yell!, Tried to be Good -- And shirts scream. Hailing for Cambridge, Mass., this Oxford-pop band are in the new breed of preppy indie bands.

* Spanish Prisoners, Some Among Them Are Killers -- A local band creeping up on the scene, they opened up for Jack Penate over at Union Hall the other week. Make sure to check out, "God Does His Laundry." 

* Sweet Divines, HoneyThistle -- The Dansettes are no more. So like Uncle Tupelo, the former members created separate bands. Jamie & Leah formed the Nouvellas, while Jennie formed this band, The Sweet Divines. Both are in the old school soul vein.

* Fanfarlo, Sand and Ice -- Bill from SoundBites turned me onto this U.K. band. David Bowie gave them a ringing endorsement recently. Imagine if Jonathan Richman fronted Belle & Sebastian and you got the sound.

* My Sad Captains, Bad Decisions -- I love the name of this band. More happy sounding songs about feeling bad.

* Viva Stereo, Diatribe -- A little electronic rock mixed in here from this Glasgow outfit.

* Hey Willpower, Hundredaire -- More lo-fi dance pop, this time from San Francisco.

* The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Teenage Kicks -- Come on, with a name like that, isn't it worth two minutes of your time? I tried to get an .mp3 of their version of "Shaft" but couldn't find it.

* Laura Groves, I Am Living -- Great sound on this new face from the U.K. Think Laura Veirs with an accent.

MusicSnobbery Playlist, Vol. 10: Random Crap on My Desktop

I have no idea how these ended up on the hidden parts of my hard drive, but we can all enjoy them...

The Decemberists, Mr. Blue Sky (Live) -- Cover of the ELO classic, not sure what show.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Satan Said Dance (Live) -- not sure what show

Editors, French Disko -- Cover of the Stereolab classic

Monkey Swallows the Universe, Jimmy Down the Well -- a B-side

Dead Dead Dead, George Lassos the Moon -- Who are these guys and what am I doing with these songs?

Plastic Bertrand, Ca Plane Pour Moi -- Woo oo ooo ooooo

Nicole Atkins, I Wait For You  (live) -- from her ACL appearance

Doves, Here It Comes (live) -- not sure what show

Feist, Mushaboom (live) -- not sure what show

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra, Theme From Andrez -- this song was used in the trailer for Ocean's Thirteen

Blur, Girls & Boys (demo)

Frankie Smith, Double Dutch Bus -- Missy Elliott sampled this song for "Gossip Folks"

The MusicSnobbery Playlist: Vol. 9 -- All Sampled

It's one of those old DJ tricks that make them feel superior and snobby -- first they play an old track, then they play the better known song that it sampled. I can thank Kanye West, who sold a million album on a song where a samples a song that sampled another song. He's a genius!

The MusicSnobbery Playlist, Vol. 8 -- featuring Pepe Deluxe, Still Flyin', Napoleon and more randomness

Last post of the summer, also my 900th post. Wyld!

That's it for the summer, see you sometime next week.

After the Jump Video Playlist

This is pretty darn cool, one video will play after another, or you can pick and choose.

These are the bands playing our day stages

And please stick around for our night stage

The After the Jump Fest Playlists

Here are some selections from our bands playing our shindig.

MS Playlist Vol. 7 featuring Feist, Richard Hawley, Goodbooks and more

A few quick notes before we get to the new tunes... The Simpsons Movie was hysterical, wish there was a musical number thrown in there. I then snuck into see Transformers, what a load of crap. Funny in some spots, but the robots were too elaborate, you can never get a sense of what they looked like. Then again, how could you? Yo, Michael Bay, keep the fucking camera still for once.

And now some new music, it's a mostly easy listening selection this week:

-- Feist, "Somewhere Down the Road": A new track performed by L.F., which will be featured on the soundtrack from the Ethan Hawke film, The Hottest State. I seem to remember that the Hawke-ster was at a Feist show at Webster Hall last year. Funny that, aye?

-- Richard Hawley, "Tonight, The Streets Are Ours": I loves me some new music from Richard Hawley. If this song is any indication, he's posed to make some ears tingle with his new album, Lady's Bridge. This is the kind of music Morrissey should be making now.

-- Goodbooks, "The Illness": Not to be confused with Good Shoes or The Books, here's your U.K. buzz band of the week. Their debut album is out today in the U.K., cowbells everywhere are rejoicing.

-- The A-Sides, "Park Avenue": Here's some love for the Philly-based rockers. Their second album, Silver Storms, comes out September 18. Currently, they are on tour with Calla.

-- Laura Veirs, "To the Country": I've been remiss in talking about how delightful the latest Laura Veirs album is. Saltbreakers quirky while being accessible.

-- The Postmarks, "Goodbye": The Miami crew are headlining their own tour in August, and returning to Mercury Lounge on August 8.

-- Patrick Cleandenim, "Days Without Rain": Well, Sunday was not one of those days without rain. In any case, Patrick shares the same label as Beirut, but have different, more New York jazz mixed with string influence. It's very cool sounding, like something out of the 60s composed by Burt Bacharach.

-- The Amateurs, "Things You Only Know If You": You're leaving me hanging, mates. Things you only Know If You ... eat a banana? kill a man? listen to prog rock? Anyway, here's a random band I stumbled upon out of Scotland, not to be truly confused by the L.A. band with the same name. Easy to like, simple roots rock/country sound.

-- Trinity FM, "Sounds of Silence": A little off-beat cover for you of the Simon & The Other Guy with the Fro tune.

-- Blur, "Me White Noise" (live Dec. 6, 2003): From my bootleg collection, this was recorded at the Coronet in London and features live vocals from Phil Daniels.

The MS Playlist Vol. 6: New Music from Rilo Kiley, Editors, Okkervil River and more

Now, I have time to walk you through this volume of the playlist. I never made it to the Spoon show, yesterday. I called around and I found out that the show was still on, but it was still disgusting outside and the rain was on and off. I didn't want to be outside in sketchy conditions with my equipment. They're coming around again. No big whoop.

Anyway, I have seven new tracks in the playlist.

"The Moneymaker," Rilo Kiley: This is the first single from Rilo Kiley's all-important fourth album, Under the Blacklight, which comes out August 21. It's a sexy song, ain't it?

"Bones," Editors: The guys road tested this song last year on their multiple tours. Their second album, The End Has A Start, comes out next Tuesday in the U.S. First impressions on it -- it has a few choices cuts, but in whole -- kind of a disappointment towards the end. This track kicks ass though.

"Salmon Dance," Chemical Brothers feat. Fatlip: We Are The Night also comes out next Tuesday. I thought this track was different from what the guys have done before. It's goofy and little comical featuring Fatlip of The Pharcyde.

"Don't Tell Me to Do The Math(s)," Los Campesinos!: Their EP also comes out on Tuesday. See a pattern forming here? Make sure you secure a ticket for their NYC and Philly shows in August.

"A Hand To Take Hold of the Scene," Okkervil River: This does not come out next Tuesday. I got the advance of The Stage Names, the band's fifth studio album (out August 7th), and it's a lively affair. This song is a good example of what to expect.

"Nothing Chances Around Here," The Thrills: I'm treating their new album, Teenager, as the real follow-up to So Much for the City, because Let's Bottle Bohemia was a disaster that I want to forget. This song should give you hope that the Irish band is living up to their potential. The album comes out in the U.K. on July 25.

"The Outsider," Athlete: Another sophomore album that I found lackluster was Tourist from Athlete. It was such a downer. This song sounds like they're taking a page from the Radiohead notebook. Their third album, Beyond the Neighborhood, comes out in the U.S. on September 3.

"Frontline," Captain: If you haven't heard this song, then it's new to you. Too bad that they didn't generate any notice in the U.S. for their fine debut album, This Is Hazelville. Back to the drawing board for them as they work on album No. 2, so enjoy this wonderful track.

"Mr. Blue Sky," The Delgados: It's cover time. This is their version of the ELO classic.

"Cut Your Hair (live)," Pavement: From my bootleg archive, this is Pavement from a BBC broadcast from 1999.

The MS Playlist for July 2 featuring The Ting Tings, Flight of the Conchords, Hot Puppies and more

Here's what you can enjoy this week:

1. "That's Not My Name," The Ting Tings: Remember this band name, The Ting Tings. You will thank me later. More on them later. Take The Kills and add some funk to it and you got this duo.

2. "Green Eyeliner," Hot Puppies: The pups would love to come to New York to entertain our ears, but it's that pesky no U.S. record deal that gets in the way. In the meantime, put on some Green Eyeliner

3. "Hot As Possible," The Schla La Las: I've name dropped this band a couple of time as an alternative to The Pipettes. They are more than a vocal group, since all of them are a rock band.

4. "Maximum Sunshine," Lynnfield Pioneers: Something from the back catalog, the Pioneers are the garage rockers from the 90s on the Matador label.

5. "Drain the Lake," The Seabellies: From Australia comes this melody makers with a sensitive side.

6. "Hiphopopotomus Vs. Thymenoceros," Flight of the Conchords: I haven't been warming up to this indie rock/comedy trend, but I really dig the new HBO series, Flight of the Conchords. Tonight, I watched all 3 available episodes and must say it was pretty damn funny for what it is. The latest episode features this rap parody number.

7. "Water of the Gods," The Changes: Still one of the summer songs to add to your mix this year.

8. "Is It Any Wonder?," The Shortwave Set: Still one of the summer songs you should have added to your mix last year.

9. "Bossa Per Tu," Nicola Conte: This is a nice chill out song to watch the sunset on the beach. Makes you feel like one of the international playboys or playgirls.

10. "Metronomic Underground" (Live, Atlanta 1999), Stereolab: I have a few live bootlegs, so here's one from 1999.

MusicSnobbery Playlist, Vol. 4 featuring The Go! Team, The Answering Machine, Benni Hemm Hemm and More

Here's what you can listen to this week:

-- Grip Like A Vice, The Go! Team: This is the first slamming single off of The Go! Team's sophomore, Proof of Youth, which comes out September 11.

-- Silent Hotels, The Answering Machine: This trio has been flooding my bulletins inbox on myspace for over a year, it's about time they start getting some props.

-- Hannah, We Know, Tiny Dancers: Good, light and breezy tunes from this U.K. band to keep an eye on.

-- Florence, Monkey Swallows The Universe: They deserve their own post which you can see right above.

-- Brekkan, Benni Hemm Hemm: I've only heard a handful of tracks from this Icelandic collective, but I might just check them out at Maxwell's. Very much in the Broken Social Scene vein.

-- Atlas, Battles: I use to have a mental Top 5 list of bands you name drop in order to impress other music snobs. Battles would be on that list. "You mean, you never heard of Battles? Where have you been?" You must admit, "Atlas" is crazy good. Battles is also the guests this week on New York Noise on WNYC.

-- Commercial Breakdown, The Sunshine Underground: They are the last band on my list of Top 5 U.K. bands to watch for that haven't come to New York (Larrkin Love broke up, while the other 3 eventually made it). Their SXSW set amazed a lot of people, but still no fire around these parts.

-- My City Is Gone (Live), The Pretenders: Rhino re-released and re-mastered Learning to Crawl and Get Close, so here are one of the extras you can find. Like B-52s, they usually don't get mentioned as being ahead of their time.

-- Les Enfants Terribles, Les Sans Culottes: One of many fine tracks you can find of the band's latest CD, Le Weekender.

-- Condition, Supergrass: A little rarity from the BritPop masters. It's a cover of the Kenny Rogers tune that played prominently in The Big Lebowski.