J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 25th February 2009

[Welcome to another fantastic edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. I'm super proud of the music lineup from tonight's show. Lots of great stuff, some great requests and just some all-around great music. The delay in posting comes from me venturing out to see Brightblack Morning Light last night which, since I've been ill (as you'll hear on the podcast) and trying to rest, involved me not coming home to do the blog. Thus, the day's delay.

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

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 25th February 2009 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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the Heartless Bastards - "Out at Sea" [from the mountain. i haven't had a full run through this record yet, so johnnie helped hip me to this excellent track from the new album. boo on them for not coming through NC on the post-album release tour.]
the Afghan Whigs - "Gentlemen" [from their 1993 masterpiece gentlemen. seriously. never heard this album? remember those records, guys and girls, that made your geeky self actually feel cool in high school just by listening to them? well, here's one you missed.]
Evidence - "Rain or Shine" [from the layover EP. more goodness from the (ex-?)dilated peoples member. evidence has a unique delivery that holds up.]
Big Head Todd and the Monsters - "Resignation Superman" [by request. from live monsters. caller wanted to hear some early big head todd, but this song is originally from their 1997 album beautiful world. this live version isn't bad though - a band i kind of wrote off long ago. thoughts, listeners?]
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the Damnwells - "55 Pictures" [from one last century, their new album which is available to download for free! very good stuff. i do so love the damnwells. and you do too if you have any ounce of love for good pop roots rock.]
the Suicide Commandos - "Mosquito Crucifixion" [from ..make a record! their first LP. one of the earliest minneapolis punk bands, from 1978. don't tell anyone but i have this awesome framed poster advertising the release of their swan-song live album hanging in my writing/computer room. shhh!]
Her Space Holiday - "Sleepy Tigers" [the title track from their latest EP. catchy, catchy, catchy. and fun. i like it.]
Brightblack Morning Light - "Hologram Buffalo" [from their latest, motion to rejoin. hard to describe their music, but lovely to sink into.]
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1990s - "Vondelpark" [from their forthcoming album kicks. to be honest, i didn't give their debut, cookies, the time of day. and parts of this record are rubbing me a bit wrong, but i like this song, so i'll do some more digging before i cast them into outer dark.]
Jason and the Scorchers - "White Lies" [from lost and found. i played this because jason ringenberg (yes, as in jason of jason and the scorchers) will be playing this friday opening for charlie louvin at the berkeley cafe in raleigh. a caller told me that jason and fellow scorcher warner hodges were re-entering the studio to cut a new jason and the scorchers record. stay tuned on that.]
Charlie Louvin - "Darling Corey" [from ..sings murder ballads and disaster songs. if you didn't catch my interview with charlie louvin the other week, well, go do it. i'll be heading to raleigh tomorrow to catch a living legend at work.]
Fugazi - "Smallpox Champion" [from in on the kill taker. one of the designers responsible for the cover art of this record, jason farrell, talked with me via email for a piece about this album art over at aquarium drunkard. great insight about a great, great album.]
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Lake Inferior - "Spiders" [from their self-titled EP. seriously awesome north carolina music that i can't get enough of.]
the Owls - "Isaac Bashevis Singer" [from daughters and suns, their 2007 album. i like. i haven't heard them before and this was a complete accident, but i enjoyed it. we'll hear more.]
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - "Good" [from their new self-titled album. the 'petrified old wood' line jars my ears a bit, but it's a catchy song.]
the Reigning Sound - "You're Not as Pretty" [from time bomb high school. i came to this album about 5 years late, but when i put together my 'best of the 00s' album list early next year, it will be on it. rest assured.]
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Vetiver - "Rolling Sea" [from tight knit. i'm so late to the vetiver party it's not even funny. but hopefully i'll be forgiven. this is very good stuff.]
Oasis - "Don't Look Back in Anger" [from (what's the story) morning glory? every so often i spend my street cred on WQFS and play something so completely commercial that i should blush. but this song is so seriously good, that i just had to. originally i was going to play its album mate, "cast no shadow," but went with this to pick up the pace. this is the song that turned my opinion of oasis around when i was 16 or so years old. i've never looked back.]
Jim Avett and Family - "Little White Church" [from their self-titled record. jim is playing tonight along with bruce piephoff as part of the dotmatrix series down at the green burro. it will be crowded and the show starts at 8. get thee down there.]
the Decemberists - "The Chimbly Sweep" [from her majesty, the decemberists. they'll be playing at raleigh's memorial auditorium in june, probably on the heels of their new album which, i believe, is due out in the spring. i need to finally go see them, don't i?]
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Beirut - "The Akara" [from the new march of the zapatec EP. beirut is a band i can only listen to every so often, but man, when i saw them live, what a show.]
Toad the Wet Sprocket - "Nightingale Song" [by request. from fear. the production of fear has kept it out of my toad-constant-playlist over the years, but the songs are still uniformly strong.]
Wavves - "So Bored" [from wavvves. look closely. there is a difference - an extra 'v' in the album title. what this comes down to is this: do you like times new viking and the vivian girls? then you'll probably like this album. hate those bands? then you won't like wavves. easy.]
Television - "Ain't That Nothin'" [from adventure. television - how do i love thee? let me count the immaculate guitar solos.]
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the Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "The Tenure Itch" [from their self-titled debut. december bound for the 'best of '09.' you can take that to the bank.]
Gram Parsons - "Streets of Baltimore" [from GP. i've been reading david meyer's fantastic biography of parsons, twenty thousand roads, so i thought i'd dig out some gram since it'd been a minute since i'd played any of his solo work.]
the Mekons - "Flitcraft" [from fear and whiskey. i've been slow to get into the mekons over the years, though my introduction to them, the completely overwhelmingly good mekons rock 'n' roll, ought to have immediately made me dive head-first into their ouevre.]
Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle - "Take Me Home" [from the one from the heart soundtrack, one of the most overlooked gems in waits' catalogue. if you're a fan of waits' wounded heart-sick loserish persona, his heartbreaking ballads, this is the album for you. and what sounds like a catastrophe waiting to happen - i mean, really, waits dueting with anyone? let alone crystal gayle - is a remarkably insightful pairing. take me home, you silly boy.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back next week with more hot rock - so until then, Go Heels!, and take care.