J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 4th November 2009

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. Really great stuff this week, so just a few notes.

This week marks the first podcast recording done with our new digital outlet for recording and the sound quality is so much better. Those of you who listen to the podcast, I hope you enjoy the better sound and I appreciate you sticking with it these few years despite the so-so sound.

I'll be playing gee-tar again this Friday, November 4th, at the First Friday Indie Market here in Greensboro, downtown, on the corner of Elm and MLK. I'll be playing between 6pm and 7pm, so come down and say hi and, you know, tip me if you want.

Now, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 4th November 2009 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Arctic Monkeys - "Crying Lightning" [from humbug. the majority of reviews of this record have seemed mildly disappointed. maybe it's a junior album curse since they avoided the sophomore slump? they're still a great band and i like this song quite a bit.]
Sixteen Horsepower - "Brimstone Rock" [from low estate. i do really miss sixteen horsepower. woven hand is interesting, but just not the same. sigh.]
Telekinesis - "Tokyo" [from their self-titled debut. such a fantastic album that it will undoubtedly be on my top albums and singles of '09 shows. michael lerner is a treat.]
Mission of Burma - "1, 2, 3 Partyy!" [from the sound the speed the light. is there anything really to say about mission of burma anymore that hasn't already been said? they're just a great, great band.]
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the Raveonettes - "Heart of Stone" [from in and out of control. speaking of songs bound for the best singles list. holy crap, this is a great song. is this entire record as good as these singles i've been playing? anyone had a listen to it?]
Semisonic - "Brand New Baby" [from the pleasure EP. my friend, sara, sent me a mix tape many a moon ago with a hodge podge of semisonic on it, including this song. at the time (thanks to "closing time") i didn't much care for them, but sara convinced me i was wrong with that tape. i feel like credit should be given where necessary - she also introduced me to josh rouse on that tape and got me to reconsider fountains of wayne. man, i owe her.]
Vic Chesnutt - "Concordia Country Jubilee" [from at the cut. i don't think i can say enough good things about the chesnutt show i witnessed last saturday down in wilmington. that band he has out on tour is just incredible to witness. i'll be doing a write-up of the show later this week at aquarium drunkard, so check it out when you can.]
Lake Inferior - "How the Wars Are Won" [from their self-titled EP. the guys in lake inferior will be joining me in studio next week for an interview. can't wait to have them up and enjoy one of my favorite north carolina bands goin'. stay tuned for that next week.]
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Superdrag - "Everything'll Be Made Right" [from their latest, industry giants. i've been kind of hot and cold with superdrag. they seem like the kind of band i'd love, for many reasons. but this song was really good. so maybe i'll give them another chance. any fans?]
Tommygun - "Flames in Winter" [by request. from their flames in winter album. now defunct winston-salem, NC band that made some pretty righteous rock in their day.]
Blur - "Death of a Party" [from their self-titled record. this album threw me for a huge loop back in the day. i was a huge fan of the britpop-heavy sound of blur and when they shifted with this record, i was honestly a bit upset. 'cos, you know, those are the types of things that upset you when you're a teenager.]
Polvo - "Lucia" [from in prism. a little over eight minutes and one of my absolute favorite songs from this album. it's got such a great hook in the middle. oh, man, it's still stuck in my head even now. so good.]
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Finn Riggins - "Shaky" [from the excellent vs. wilderness. any band who can effortlessly and, without kitsch, incorporate steel drums into their sound gets a tip of the hat from me. so, hat tip, guys.]
My Morning Jacket - "Bermuda Highway" [from at dawn, another of aquarium drunkard's decade picks as one of the best albums of the decade. read the piece here. they've been one of the most impressive bands of the 2000s, artistically, no doubt.]
Volcano Choir - "Island, Is" [from unmap. this is the collaboration between bon iver's justin vernon and fellow wisconsin musicians, collections of colonies of bees. this is one of the most approachable tracks on the album as far as singles go, but it's a pretty interesting listen.]
Kurt Vile - "Hunchback" [from the excellently named childish prodigy. he's playing tonight (probably right now) at local 506 in chapel hill along with his band the violators. quick! get there!]
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Califone - "Polish Girls" [from all my friends are funeral singers, their latest record. i love this band. i really ought to get on the members' previous output as red red meat, so i've heard.]
Heartless Bastards - "Out at Sea" [from the mountain. heard their show with wolfmother here in NC last night was stellar and quite awesome. been awhile since i've seen them live - last winter, i think, so it's time i see them again.]
Reverend Glasseye and his Wooden Legs - "One More Smoke" [by request. from black river falls. the first time i ever heard the good reverend was when my friend jared was playing them on QFS back in the day. so this is another dedication to him to go along with the spacehog the other week.]
the Velvet Underground - "Who Loves the Sun" [from loaded. i bought the VU albums in the order they were released, and it took me awhile to get around to buying loaded, but with songs like this, it was worth the wait. so poppily delicious.]
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Cymbals Eat Guitars - "Living North" [from why there are mountains. wow. where have i been? these guys are great. i've heard the name a ton, but never the music. man. they were nice enough to sit down and talk about their favorite albums of the decade over at aquarium drunkard.]
Unrest - "Cath Carroll" [from perfect teeth. more revisiting of one of my new favorite bands of the late 80s/early 90s. teen beat records was so fantastic.]
NoahJohn - "First Communion" [from water hymns. my pick this week for the decade list. read about it here. this is a seriously gorgeous record and i've had a hard time putting it down the last two weeks.]
Bombadil - "Oto the Bear" [from tarpits and canyonlands. a truly fantastic song from north carolina's bombadil. though it did make me think of simon smith and his dancing bear for various reasons. great stuff.]
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the Henry Clay People - "End of an Empire" (live) [a live in-studio recording of an unreleased song. can't wait for them to come back through NC and to put out a new record.]
the Libertines - "What Katie Did" [by request. from their self-titled second album. caller wanted to hear babyshambles, but i could only find the libertines and not the better libertines album either. kind of disappointing. oh, well.]
Big Ditch Road - "The Jackson Whites" [the title track from their last EP. a really great band whose work i enjoy far too much. i can't remember what blog it was that turned me onto them via the gorgeous "st. lonesome," but i forever owe you a huge debt, nameless blog.]
Bruce Springsteen - "O Mary Don't You Weep" [from the seeger sessions. the other AD decade album from this week. i'll admit that i didn't spend a lot of time with this album when it came out, but this song is a doozy and it's quite possible i need to fix that time-spent problem. read about it here.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back next week with the guys from Lake Inferior here in studio, until then, Go Panthers! Get them Saints! And take care.