J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 6th August 2008

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. Lots of fun tonight with more brand new music and an interview with Haley Bonar that I recorded a bit ago. Plus tons of other stuff.

The weekly gift certificate give-away is on hold for a bit while things get sorted out. I've talked about how BB's New and Used CDs and DVDs is going through a struggle right now to move and if they come short of their money needs, will be shutting their doors, the last independent music store in Greensboro to go under. They currently have everything in their store at 40% off and there is still plenty of good stuff to be had. (Just ask them about the absurd amount of stuff I grabbed today.) If you're local and a good music fan (which obviously you are) and you can, go buy some good music from them and help them out. We need indie record stores, if only as community places for people whose tastes diverge from the norm can meet. Do you think anyone working in the music section at Best Buy cares to give you their opinion about music? Do you think they might even know anything? Chances are much, much slimmer than when you go into somewhere like BB's. So get thee to BB's and help them out.

Now, while the going's good, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 6th August 2008

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Georgie James - "Look Me Up" [from places. sadly, georgie james called it quits earlier this week, though john davis and laura burhenn are working on other projects (john as title tracks, laura as herself), so their particular brand of pop won't be too far off. a shame after only a record.]
Matthew Sweet - "Dinosaur Act" [from altered beast. matthew is bringing his 'dinosaur' act back on august 26th with sunshine lies. click here and check out a streaming player with three songs off of the forthcoming album. good stuff.]
King Khan and the Shrines - "Land of the Freak" [from the supreme genius of.. i'm thoroughly enjoying this album and if you're looking for that fun rock record for your next dance party and/or whatever party, you got it.]
the Streets - "Let's Push Things Forward" [from original pirate material. i debuted "the escapist" last week, a track off of mike skinner's forthcoming fourth album as the streets, everything is borrowed. since it's not coming out for awhile, i thought i'd chill the new music and go with a cult classic, not best seller. hah. lyrical reference.]
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the Hold Steady - "Stay Positive" [the title track from their latest. they'll be at the cat's cradle in carrboro next tuesday, august 12th, so get on it if you wanna catch one of the best rock bands in the world.]
Public Enemy - "By the Time I Get to Arizona" [from apocalypse '91: the empire strikes black. i was just thinking of this the other day because of the video which kicked up a bit of controversy in its day. the fact that state governments tried to block the king holiday kind of strikes me as really bizarre, but i don't know. great, great song.]
Supergrass - "When I Needed You" [from diamond hoo ha. there are a handful of really sharp songs on this album, even if it falls flat on the whole. if you're a fan of supergrass, you'll probably enjoy it, but i think at this point in their careers they're not really trying to win any new audiences anyway.]
Silver Jews - "My Pillow is the Threshold" [from lookout mountain, lookout sea. i like this song a lot, especially the line at the end of the first chorus: "because the pillow that i dream on..is the threshold of a world / where i'm with you...and what looks like sleep / is really hot pursuit." amazing stuff.]

[Here was my interview with Haley Bonar. Recorded after her show opening for Hayden in Chapel Hill back in early June, this was a spur of the moment interview with a really talented songwriter from Minnesota. I've played music from her three most recent records on and off over the years and we discussed her musical upbringing, changes in songwriting and how apparently she is a curse on award shows. Enjoy.]

Interview - Haley Bonar : Click to listen.

Haley Bonar - "Big Star" and "Arms of Harm" [both are from her latest release big star.]
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Paul Westerberg - "Kentucky Risin'" [from 49:00 which i reviewed last week at aquarium drunkard. the titles on all the songs from this album are approximations, of course, due to the album's structure (one, 44 minute mp3) and the lack of titles provided. but man, it's good.]
Atmosphere - "Painting" [from if life gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold. this was four minneapolis artists in a row, going back to the hold steady. i'm really enjoying this record a lot and we'll hear more.]
Josh Ritter - "Good Man" [from the animal years. if you haven't had a chance to see the josh ritter road show, you are missing one of the best live acts on tour. get thee to a concert hall.]
Dawn Chorus - "Oh Please" [from florida st. serenade. if you want to hear their fantastic live performance from the dot matrix project show back in june, you can listen to it over at last.fm. great greensboro rock.]
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Robert Pollard - "Western Centipede" [from robert pollard is off to business. a jolly song about a centipede, maybe? i don't know. good rock from the former guided by voices front man.]
Catherine Wheel - "Judy Staring at the Sun" [from happy days. this is not one of the wheel's better albums, but this song was an excellent single and features guest vocals by tonya donnely. check out the video. though in the video, there is a vocal remix which gives donnely the entire second verse to herself, unlike the album version.]
Warren Zevon - "Lawyers, Guns and Money" [from excitable boy. i was having a rock fest in the studio while this played. i do very much love this song and, frankly, it's awesome. just saying.]
Alejandro Escovedo - "Swallows of San Juan" [from real animal. one of the album's most beautiful songs and a great part of a great album.]
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Dr. Dog - "The Ark" [from fate. i like this song quite a bit, the more i listen to it. our station reviewer said, basically, if you like the beatles' white album, you'd love fate. not a bad comparison, but there's more going on here. worth exploring.]
the Tragically Hip - "Ahead by a Century" [from trouble at the henhouse. this is one of my favorite songs of all time, and obviously, favorite songs by the hip as well.]
Fleet Foxes - "He Doesn't Know Why" [from that self-titled LP that has been getting so much hubub. really now.]
Oakley Hall - "Confidence Man" [from gypsum strings. oakley hall has a penchant for opening-tracks on albums and this is probably the apex of them. jeez, louise. i love that opening guitar snakeout.]
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Colour Revolt - "Naked and Red" [from plunder, beg and curse. i'm looking forward to seeing these guys in september at the monolith festival. i'll talk more about that later.]
Wilco - "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" [from the first disc of being there. this is probably still my favorite wilco album, though i love the later ones as well, but this one so perfectly balances the post-tupelo alt-country sound of the band with its genre/sound experimental tendencies that it's hard to like another album better. i'm sure there's those that would disagree. leave it in the comments.]
Pop Will Eat Itself - "Wise Up Sucker" [from this is the day..this is the hour..this is this! long time WQFS dj chuck carrol called me up because i apparently surprised him by playing this. i have to keep him on his toes. if i'm doing that, i know i'm on the right track.]
Superchunk - "Water Wings" [from foolish. my favorite superchunk album. and how.]
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Spoon - "Lines in the Suit" [from girls can tell. spoon has been really good for a really long time now. i mean, this makes four really impressive albums in a row. how long can they keep that up? and i only say four because i don't know the pre-girls can tell stuff at all. i am probably missing out on more.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back on Friday with Notes From Underground and next week with new reviews. Until then, take care.