J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 12th May 2010

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. A pretty great set of songs tonight, both new and old.

I'll be elsewhere next week because Blair will be playing at the Cave in Chapel Hill next Wednesday, May 19th at 7:30 PM. Come up and check out what will undoubtedly be a fantastic show.

Also, come out this Friday and Saturday to see me MC'ing shows at the Blind Tiger. Friday features the Goodbye House, Stephaniesid and the Alcazar Hotel. Saturday is Joe G's Cover Band Explosion to raise money for the Guilford County Humane Society. It'll feature cover bands of REM, Shocking Blue, Bauhaus, Rick Springfield, the Cars, ZZ Top and more. Both will be a great time.

Now, while we can, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 12th May 2010

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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the Hold Steady - "The Smidge" [from heaven is whenever. this track has been getting a lot of props from people talking up this album, so i thought it was about time we took a listen. i'm more partial to other tracks on the album, but it's still good.]
the Stooges - "Loose" [from fun house. i got "loose fit" by the happy mondays in my head this afternoon, but i'd played black grape last week, so i went with this song instead. nothing alike aside from the title.]
Jews and Catholics - "Who Are? We Think We Are!" [the title track from their excellent new album. they're playing this sunday, may 16th at local 506 in chapel hill opening for art brut's eddie argos' side project, everyone was in the french resistance..now! ought to be an awesome show.]
Vic Chesnutt - "Philip Guston" [from at the cut. my favorite record of last year and it really, really still is as amazing as it was the first time i listened to it. time goes on and it doesn't get an easier to realize there won't be any more new music from vic.]
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the New Pornographers - "Up in the Dark" [from together, easily one of my favorite records of this year so far. that's so nice to feel considering how long it took me to warm up to challengers, ultimately only to have it be my least favorite of their albums.]
Jay Farrar - "Hanging on to You" [from terroir blues, my favorite farrar solo album. it didn't seem to trigger a ton of devotion among people, but i'd imagine if i found some fellow lovers of it, they'd be as all about it as me. just sayin'.]
Pavement - "Cut Your Hair" [originally from wowee zowee but also on the new quarantine the past best of collection. can't wait to see them this summer.]
Daisy Chainsaw - "Love Your Money" [from 1992's eleventeen which got the sevens treatment over at aquarium drunkard today. this 90s one-hit wonders series is pretty fun so far. looking forward to writing the others.]
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Josh Ritter - "Lantern" [from so runs the world away. i'll give this to josh ritter. he hasn't made two records in a row alike yet. that's great, but it also makes digging into new records a bit of a longer process as it's guaranteed to be something different. this new one's no different and i'm trying to figure it out. good stuff, though.]
Telekinesis - "Tokyo" [from their self-titled debut. michael lerner is one of the most genuinely nice folks i've met over the years in music and he's such a great power-pop writer to boot.]
Futurebirds - "Red Top Girl" [from their self-titled EP. they killed at local 506 last night and this song was a good part of the reason. if you get a chance to see these guys live, do yourself a favor and do it. a seriously great time.]
Jim White - "A Perfect Day to Chase Tornadoes" [from ..wrong-eyed jesus. jim used to sell bumper stickers with the title phrase of this song on them. wish i'd gotten one back in the day.]
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Kurt Vile - "Ocean City" [from square shells EP. new music from his forthcoming EP. vile is one of those people i've heard tons about, but am way late getting a proper listen to.]
M.I.A. - "Born Free" [from the forthcoming album with a title i'm not sure how to say. i didn't really dig the other song leaked from the album, "xxxo," but this song is still killer.]
Bob Dylan - "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" [from highway 61 revisited. all the news lately about juarez, mexico and the violence there has had me thinking of this song and its majestic opening line. so there you go.]
Drive-by Truckers - "Santa Fe" [from the big to-do. it's the best song on the record. i think anyway. a fellow trucker's fan who loves this album also very much disagrees with me, but, you know, that's how it goes.]
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Blair - "Die Young" [the title track from her excellent album. she's going to be playing at the cave in chapel hill next wednesday night at 7:30. an early show, but obviously very worth it.]
the Mekons - "Memphis, Egypt" [from mekons rock 'n' roll. a record i got into from the deep stacks here at WQFS some years ago. i really need to expand further into the mekons' catalogue, but this album still kills me.]
Sage Francis - "Slow Man" [from li(f)e. the new album features califone as his backing band and this particular track also has members of calexico. not as awesome as i'd hope, but still pretty solid.]
Kathleen Edwards - "Hockey Skates" [from failer. i tweeted tonight about how mesmerizing this song is - it's always been a favorite of mine.]
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the National - "Afraid of Everyone" [from high violet. from the newly released album by the national. it's been getting an interesting set of mostly positive reviews. m. garner at aquarium drunkard had a positive, but reserved, view of things.]
Liz Phair - "Cinco De Mayo" [by request from whipsmart. sure, the request was from last week and i'm late, but hey, it was appropriate for last week. a lovely deep track from a great album.]
Roky Erickson and Okkervil River - "True Love Cast Out All Evil" [the title track from their excellent new album. the lyrics get a bit repetitive, but it really works in the context of this song.]
the Goodbye House - "Life Remains" [from their little EP. they're playing along with asheville's stephanie's ID this friday at the blind tiger. i'll be mc'ing, so come on down and say howdy.]
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Caribou - "Found Out" [from swim. more from this unique and excellent record.]
Television - "The Dream's Dream" [from adventure. this song lept into my head yesterday and i made sure to bring my copy. 'the elevator called me up / she said "you better start making sense."' such a gorgeous and under-discussed album.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back in two weeks with more new music. Until then, take care.