J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 15th October 2008

[Welcome to a belated edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. Sorry about the delay this week, but it's been a hectic one.

Next week we'll be visited by one, if not both, of next week's Dotmatrix Project performers - Laurelyn Dossett and Rhiannon Giddens. Laurelyn fronts the band Polecat Creek and Rhiannon is the lead of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Both have done some amazing work with their projects and I look forward to hopefully having both of them up with some live performances to boot. Make sure you tune in.

Until then, let's get caught up. Onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 15th October 2008 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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TV on the Radio - "Golden Age" [from dear science. the more i'm listening to this, the more i'm finally getting it. my lukewarm feelings about this band may finally be receding. i'm ridiculous, i know.]
Afghan Whigs - "Honky's Ladder" [from black love. i've never understood allmusic's rating of this album. congregation, gentlemen and 1965 all get four and a half stars while black love gets two and a half? bollocks. black love is, i would argue, better than 1965 and congregation and gives gentlemen a good run for its money as well. and this song is one reason why. seriously. two and a half? c'mon, stephen thomas erlewine.]
Black Kids - "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" [from partie traumatic. i'll hand it to them, this is a catchy, catchy song. but do you think they named themselves just so people would feel awkward about saying they didn't like them? it does give you pause to think about saying "i just really don't like black kids." way to keep that word of mouth going your direction, guys.]
the Breeders - "Divine Hammer" [from last splash. i miss music like this a lot. even the breeders new albums aren't like this - which isn't a bad thing. kim deal has to evolve, too. but i really miss this kind of sing-songy, moderately lo-fi sonic fest that so much of indie-rock used to be about. cos when it's done as well as this song, there is nothing finer.]
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the Streets - "Heaven for the Weather" [from everything is borrowed. this is going to be the forthcoming single on this album and is certainly one of my favorite songs. catchy and immediate and good. this album, while certainly not close to a grand don't come for free, is easily better than the hardest way to make an easy living. thank goodness.]
Guided by Voices - "Glad Girls" [from isolation drills. one of the best songs that robert pollard has ever written, without a doubt, and from a really consistently good album at that. this album was my introduction to gbv and while i realize it has sort of tilted me towards the latter-day version of the band, i don't mind so much.]
the Gaslight Anthem - "The '59 Sound" [the title track from their latest. i'll go ahead and throw this up as a definitely for my 'best singles' show in december. it's an awesome song.]
Sleater-Kinney - "Modern Girl" [from the woods. i will never stop marveling at the amazing levels of lyrical and auditory symbolism in this song. if you ever want to be bored to tears, ask me to elaborate, but seriously, brilliant.]
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Dead Confederate - "The Rat" [from wrecking ball. this band delivered a fantastic show tuesday night at the cat's cradle opening for the heartless bastards. if you get a chance to see them live, get ready for a loud rock and roll show.]
Jim James and Calexico - "Goin' to Acapulco" [from the i'm not there soundtrack, their take on the dylan classic, originally from the basement tapes.]
Matthew Sweet - "Let's Love" [from the new sunshine lies. i enjoy this song quite a bit, but on the whole, as an album, it leaves me a bit cold. i don't know what else to expect/want out of matthew sweet at this point in his career, but i also don't know that i want the same thing.]
Jason and the Scorchers - "White Lies" [from loust and found. i picked this album up for about two bucks earlier this week (on vinyl) and wow. i've had older friends of mine tell me for some time that i was missing out by not listening to these guys and there's the proof.]
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the Replacements - "Birthday Gal" [from the new reissue of pleased to meet me. this week i played a set of bonus tracks from this album's reissue. this song has also been issued on the all for nothing / nothing for all collection, but i think it's a different version. this is one of the great, non-album tracks of the replacements' career and i used to play it in coffee shops myself. usually on someone's birthday.]
the Replacements - "Valentine" (studio demo) [an interesting early take on this classic song. with a different bridge than would end up on the final studio version as well.]
the Replacements - "Photo" [i had this song on a cassette bootleg for years titled as "p.o. box," but whatever the name, it's a winner and an excellent addition to the album.]
the Replacements - "Cool Water" [their cover of this classic song. another from my cassette bootlegs of old and a favorite, definitely. there are eleven bonus tracks on this album and every one is worth it.]
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Antony and the Johnsons - "Shake the Devil" [from the another world EP. are the rest of you salivating for the upcoming full length as well? good.]
Azita - "Wasn't in the Bargain" [from life on the fly. i want to apologize for this part of the show and this is going to sound kind of weird: i think of the show each week as an attempt at a well-honed mix-tape. and this was a serious stumble. don't get me wrong - i love this song and i love this band. but it really threw the rhythm of the show during this set - the slow-building antony number didn't help. and i kind of cringed through one of my favorite songs. so, a weird apology, i know, as i may be the only person who cared, but still. i care about quality.]
the Broken West - "Auctioneer" [from now or heaven. so i tried to recover by playing this song. one of the best albums of this year? absolutely.]
the Arcade Fire - "Keep the Car Running" [from neon bible. the song that began the process of changing my mind about this band. so, so good. i wish i could link to a video of their performance of this on saturday night live, but you know how nbc and internet clips are like oil and water. so instead, here they are doing the song at the obama rally here in greensboro earlier this year. it was an amazing show, truly.]
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Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power and the Amorphous Strums - "And How" [from the new dark developments which came out this week. i still haven't heard the rest of the album, but this is a pretty powerful set of musicians working together.]
Polaris - "Hey Sandy" [from music from the adventures of pete and pete. this was, of course, the theme song to the show. and i decided to play fun connect the dots with it. hang on to see.]
Blitzen Trapper - "Sleepytime in the Western World" [from furr. more from one of the best albums of this year. see how the list is growing?]
Miracle Legion - "All for the Best" [from surprise surprise surprise. miracle legion frontman mark mulcahy would later run his side project, polaris (see? connect the dots), in addition to a solo career. his vocal style is truly unique and something to behold.]
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Paul Weller - "22 Dreams" [the title track from his latest.]
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - "If I am a Stranger" [from cold roses. the new ryan adams album, cardinology, is due out october 28th, so get set for that.]

That'll do it for this week. Make sure you tune in for the next show and our live performances and, of course, go Panthers! Until then, take care.