when I catch you upside down

if you missed the last minute No Age show at Pehrspace last night - don't despair. cause tonight is your second chance to see them for free @ the Troubadour.
this show is presented by Shockhound so visit them at here to RSVP to get in for free!!
and if you've never seen No Age live, trust us when we say don't miss them. we missed their free 2am bridge show at SXSW last year and we're still kicking ourselves for it.

In the end you'll still be you

Well...it's been an interesting week. We've seen America finally take a stand and put the most deserving man in the highest position in the world. We've also seen California give into misinformation and deceit and make an egregious mistake. We pissed away a major opportunity to stand up and show the world we would fight against discrimination and intolerance and show that all people regardless of sexual orientation are created equal. But some of us are still standing and there is no doubt the fight will continue.

And now for a show plug...
If you feel like celebrating Obama's victory, or cursing California's ignorance - join us tonight! We'll be djing in between sets at the Scene for Black Kites, The Health Club, Thailand and Avi Buffalo



It's going to be a great show and we hope you will join us!

Also, I've been streaming dublab for the better part of the day. Listen here and support the proton drive and squaregirl Marion!

~sqg//kristen

And Both Agreed We All Had a Smashing Time

In what will, I'm sure come as shocking news to all of you who check in here regularly, I have left myself not nearly enough time to create the sort of all encompassing update post that I need to create before running off to where it is that I need to be. In this case, it just so happens that where I need to be is dublab, by noon, so that I can play a few records, and encourage you to donate money so that we can stay on the air, er internet. Surely you know what I mean, dublab would really like to continue to exist, and we can't do that without you help. Please click here to listen, and then here to donate. Thank you.

Then tonight, Squaregirls are presenting/DJ-ing this show at the Scene Bar:



Squaregirl Kristen, and Squareboy Chris have done a lot to help this come together, they are pretty crazy about all of the bands, and would really love nothing more than to share that with you. Since I woke up this morning with something that bears a suspicious resemblance to the stomach flu, I think I will do us all a favor and sit this one out.

Ah, and last but not least, there are finally pictures from last month's Hungry Beat! online. Glance through them, sigh over all of the fun you missed (or relive the fun if you were there,) and mark your calendar for November 29th because we definitely want to see you at the next one!

Here was our playlist from October to offer, perhaps, even more incentive?


Hungry Beat! Playlist 10/25
Michael:

Always - Love and Death in Metroland
Action Painting! - These Things Happen
Jilted John - True Love
Vic Godard and Subway Sect - Vertical Integration
Teenage Filmstars - Apologize
Television Personalities - Smashing Time
Echo & the Bunnymen - Villiers Terrace (Peel Session)
Echo & the Bunnymen - Read it in Books (Peel Session)
Felt - Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow

Marion:

Black Tambourine - Throw Aggi Off the Bridge
Tullycraft - Josie
Soup Dragons - Whole Wide World
Orange Juice - Can't Help Myself
The Temptaions - Girl Why You Wanna Make Me Blue
White Sisters - Nothing Out There
Cashmeres - Showstopper
Martha & the Vandellas - I Promise to Wait My Love
The Pastels - Sit on it Mother
Horowitz - Tracyanne
Camera Obscura - If Looks Could Kill
Heavenly - Tool

YY:

St. Christopher - And I Wonder
Felt - Spanish House
Teenage Fanclub - Every Picture I Paint
Rocketship - I Love You Like the Way That I Used To
Shop Assistants - What a Way to Die
Mighty Mighty - Law
The June Brides - Cold
The Long Blondes - Never to be Repeated
Comet Gain - Baby's Alright
Dolly Mixture - How Come You're a Hit With the Boys Jane?
Love is All - Wishing Well

B-Rok

The Four Tops - Don't Bring Back Memories (RIP, Levi Stubbs)
Towanda Barnes - You Don't Mean It
Sunny & the Sunliners - If I Could See You Now
The Exciters - Blowin' Up My Mind
Lorenzo Manley - Swoop Down on You
The Superlatives - Lonely in a Crowd
Belle & Sebastian - Dirty Dream 2
Orange Juice - Lovesick
Derek Martin - Sly Girl
Marvin & Tammi - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
The Vontastics - I'll Never Say Goodbye
The Impressions - You've Been Cheatin'
The Pastels - Comin' Through
The Shangri-Las - Give Him a Great Big Kiss

Maximo Park:

The Wave Pictures - I Want You to Walk All Over Me
Smog - Cold Blooded Old Times
The Beach Boys - Do It Again
The Servants - The Sun a Small Star
The Fall - C.R.E.E.P (12" remix)
My Bloody Valentine - Off Your Face
The Go-Betweens - Newton Told Me
Beat Happening - Noise
The Rubinoos - Hard to Get
Bob & Fred - I'll be on my Way
Serge Gainsbourg - Requiem Pour un Con
Dusty Springfield - Stay Awhile
The Research - My Baby Knows When I'm Sad
The Flatmates - Could Be in Heaven
The Wedding Present - My Favorite Dress
The Zombies - Time of The Season
The Siddeleys -What Went Wrong This Time
Jeremy Jay - Airwalker

Michael:

New Order - Love Vigilantes
The Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums
The Happy Mondays - Olive Oil (Peel Session)
The Buzzcocks - Everybody's Happy Nowadays (Peel Session)
The Smiths - What Difference Does it Make (Peel Session)

Jukebox:

Orange Juice - Rip it Up (Long Version)
Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
T Rex - Solid Gold Easy Action
Sparks - Angst in My Pants
The Primitives - Crash
Blondie - X Offender
The Pastels - Anne Boleyn
Adam Ant - Goody Two Shoes
Belle & Sebastian - We Are The Sleepyheads
Plastic Bertrand - Ca Plane Pour Moi
Serge Gainsbourg - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Altered Images - Don't Talk to Me About Love

... As per usual there was more, but we ran out of space to write it all down. Maximo Park closed the night on a rather fun note for us. Huge thanks again to those guys for stopping by to hang out with us and play some good songs!

Resident Hungry Beat! DJ Michael deserves a huge amount of credit as well for being very conscious of the fact that our club night fell on the 4th anniversary of John Peel's untimely passing, and paying tribute during his sets. So many of the bands that we love and whose records we play regularly greatly benefited from Peel's influence. Thank you again Michael for making sure to acknowledge that!

We'll see you all again next month!

Love,
Hungry Beat!


Oh, and Hungry Beat is on Facebook now, so join our group group!

Alright, that really is all that I have for you today, I promise.

~sqg marion

Another Summer Slipped Away Without Me Noticing

Hello!

So, in the hopes of somehow discovering an escape route from the severe writer's block that I have been trapped inside for the past several weeks I thought that a well timed promo post was in order.

If you are in Southern California this weekend you should take full advantage of your opportunity to see the sure to be fabulous Crystal Stilts, and Cause Co-Motion up to three times this weekend. Both bands are clearly doing their part to showcase just how exciting of a town Brooklyn is for indiepop right NOW, and both bands are releasing records for Slumberland. OH, and on a related side note I just noticed that official release date for the debut full length from perhaps the most exciting (Brooklyn based, naturally) indiepop band in the country right now, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart has been set for February third. Just a few days before my birthday! But it would be far to easy to get sucked into making this a post about how great the Pains of Being Pure at Heart are, and how great Slumberland releases tend to be in general. Please allow me to shift my focus back to the two great Slumberland bands that will be in town this weekend.

First of all, spend your Halloween in indiepop's Southern California home base, Oxnard. Not only will you get to catch some of Brooklyn's finest, you also have the opportunity to catch such squaregirls favorites as Catwalk, The Tartans, and Sea Lions, and um, me DJ-ing. A-hah, there's that element of self promotion that you've come to know and expect from a squaregirls post. I'm truly excited about this show, and really honored to have been asked to play records around some of my favorite bands of the moment. And, I'll be DJ-ing alongside one of my fellow Hungry Beat! cohorts Brian Cunningham (B-rok.) Brian is one of my favorite people to DJ with as we seem to play the perfect opposite ratio of pop to soul, and since Brian has so many good records his presence on the decks mathematically increases the fun level in the room by somewhere around 300 percent. Here are the details:


Friday October 31 - Special Halloween Show
@ The Kenji Shack 4300 Santa Clara Ave.
Oxnard, CA 93030 For Directions: (805) 485-1415
7PM/ $3/ ALL AGES

For the hardcore fans (or those of you who reside in San Diego) you can catch the Crystal Stilts/ca-USE co-MOTION portion of things at the Che Cafe on Saturday November 1st...

... But all of you Los Angeles folks are probably going to want to take Saturday to rest up for the action on Sunday at Part Time Punks:



Indiepop nights at PTP always tend to be something special, and I have a feeling that this one will be no exception!

We'll hope to see you out and about this weekend!

Oh, and I'm finally catching up on my finances, which means I've been able to order quite a few new records, and if you are at all interested in my thoughts on some of those records please check here as I may have just beaten this writer's block thing. At least for now...

~ sqg marion

let this groove set in your shoes

this is going to be quick and involve a large amount of cutting and pasting. maybe it's something in the soon to be Halloween air - the forces of evil have once again cut off my internet (and phone line!) so i'm currently milking off someone's wireless network and the connection is rather spotty. you know what's a sure bet though?? all the fun you're going to have this weekend!

~ tomorrow night @ spaceland ~
Monolator's Don't Dance record release!!!
Squaregirls are co-presenting the Monolator’s record release show with our beloved RFSL (head over to RFSL for an in depth interview with Monolator's main man Eli Chartoff). They’ll be joined by Correatown, You Me & Iowa, and Summer Darling at Spaceland.
Squaregirls have had the immense pleasure to hear an advance of Don't Dance and it's goddamn good. Read WIF's review of it here.
But we guarantee you that nothing, and we mean nothing, compares to seeing the Monolator's live. It’s going to be an amazing night and we hope you can join us!




then head on over to pehrspace for the second installment of hungry beat!
sqg Marion’s & friend's monthly dance night which features a revolving cast of DJ's spinning new and classic indie pop and northern soul.



Ronettes or Mo-dettes?
"Million Tears" or "Tears of a Clown?"
"Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch," or Honeybunch?

No need to make such difficult choices.
Hear it all this Saturday as we mix and match some of our favorite indiepop, and northern soul related dance tracks!

With Special Guest DJs: the lads from MAXIMO PARK!
and DJ Jukebox from Substance!

Also, do be sure to bring your beverage of choice since Pehrspace does not contain a bar. A-hem. (This also means it doesn't have to end at 2am--it's really up the madness in your area.
)

For the most specific directions, head over here.


See you Saturday!

And if that ain't enough Indiepop for ye, then see you Sunday, too!


it's going to be a great weekend!
~sqg kristen

The Girl's Alright with Us

Hello! It's before 10 AM, I've had way to much coffee, and I've listened to the unbelievably fantastic new Love is All single, "Wishing Well," about eight times now. I think it's going to be a good day!

I'm considerably more certain that it will be a good evening since squaregirl Kristen and I are dj-ing here:





O.k. I'm resisting the urge to play "Wishing Well" one more time, and letting the rest of the Love is All portion of my itunes play itself out so that I can focus my attention on informing you to what is sure to be a pretty great show tonight. The ultra-feminine electro-pop of Hearts of Palm UK has inspired us squaregirls to dig through our records to find our best girl related songs, i.e. all girls, girl singer, girl in the title, etc. to play for the portions of their album release show tonight that we are responsible for. Add Fol Chen - who never play the same show twice, but always play something interesting - to this mix, and The Sweet Hurt - who I know absolutely nothing about, but the L.A. blog force seems to love - to the mix, and you've got what I think is the potential for quite a fun party...

... So, we'll see you tonight?

Rip It Up And...

Hello, squaregirl Marion here! It is quite late, and I am quite tired, and I have to be at work kind of early tomorrow. In other words I will keep this post brief.

I started a new blog. I've had a bit of trouble focusing lately. There have been so many things that I've wanted to write about, yet, I couldn't seem to get the words onto the page. I'm just barely keeping up with my Web in Front column, but I would prefer to be writing more than the every five weeks or so that that entails. I thought that a new blog might be a worthwhile experiment. This new blog, Paint the Words in Pastel Blue, will ideally become a nice mix of reviews, and other random musings about pop songs. It is also safe to say that there might be a slight indiepop slant to this new site...

Check it out here, if you are so inclined. The first post also happens to be my first attempt at a straightforward album review.

Squaregirls will remain, any other squaregirl can post anything she wishes to post here. I, however, am going to leave this blog strictly to promote any projects that we might be taking on, and/or to alert you to DJ gigs, shows we are presenting, radio sessions, etc.

So on that note, my latest Web In Front Column is posted here.

And there is a Creation Records tribute set that I was a part of in the dublab archive now here. My friends Laura and Maura (the Auras) joined me for this one. They were a lot of fun to do a radio show with. My opinions about the overall wonderfulness of Creation Records may not be quite as firm as the appear to be in this session, but it's still an overall worthwhile statement to make. Most early (even some mid) Creation is very, very good. Plus it's a great thing to always be learning, reassessing your opinions, and the things that you believe to be true. Right?

Oh, and speaking of dublab I will be on from 4pm to 6pm on October 14th as part of this upcoming week's Tuesday Transmissions. I'd be honored if you would let me provide a small part of the soundtrack to your work day. It's far enough away too, that I could probably be persuaded to take a request or two. In fact, two hours is quite a bit of space to fill so requests are more than welcome!

The next night, October 15th we will be DJ-ing the Hearts of Palm UK's album release show. I'll add a more proper post about how much fun that has the potential to be, along with the flier sometime early next week.

Alright, I think I've covered everything that i can think of, and my exhaustion is bordering on delirium, so goodnight.

~sqg marion

Sorting Through...

O.k., I'll admit to being a bit lazy for just reposting our myspace blog about our first Hungry Beat! night here. I think it says it all though. Also, below the playlist are some of my personal favorite pictures of the night!


HUNGRY BEAT PLAYLIST 9/27:

Each DJ's first set is posted below. The music went on quite a bit longer, and by the end we were doing things a bit more tag team style. We'll probably go further in that direction in the future, as it's really fun that way. It is worth noting that we did play the Pat Powdrill song "Do It" that was sent to us courtesy of our club night hero, How Does It Feel to be Loved later on in the evening. If anyone has any questions about anything else that was played, or if you want to see the rest of the play list posted here, please do not hesitate to ask! We had the best time on Saturday night, and that is entirely thanks to all of the wonderful people who came out to dance with us. Please join us at Pehrspace on October 25th when do it all over again!

Love,
Hungry Beat!

Marion:
The Pastels - Heaven's Above
Melody Dog - Futuristic Lover
Courtney Love (Lois Maffeo/Pat Maley) - The Second Most Beautiful Girl in the World
Honeybunch - Hey Blue Sky The Lucksmiths - Smokers in Love
14 Iced Bears - Balloon Song
My Bloody Valentine - Paint a Rainbow
Poptarts - Girly Pop
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday
The Flatmates - Could be in Heaven
Razorcuts - Storyteller
The Wake - Talk About the Past

YY:
Girls at Our Best! - Fashion
Felt - Ballad of the Band
Biff Bang Pow! - Someone Stole My Wheels
Revolving Paint Dream - Green Sea Blue
Jazzateers - Heartbeat
Too Much - Silex Pistols
The Siddeleys - Sunshine Thuggery
The Wake - Crush the Flowers
Shop Assitants - I Don't Want to be Friends With You
Modettes - White Mice
Love is All - Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up, Fall Out
Househunters - Dorsal Fin
Aislers Set - Mission Bells

Goodwill:
The Monkees - Hold On Girl
The Olympics - Same Old Thing
Stevie Wonder - Aint That Asking For Trouble
The Radiants - Choo Choo
The Supremes - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes
Jay & the Techniques - Keep the Ball Rolling
The Marvelettes - Your Love is Gonna Save Me
The Parliments - (I Wanna) Testify
The Ronettes - You Came, You Saw, You Conquered

Michael Stock:

The Creation - Making Time
The Stone Roses - Here It Comes
Primal Scream - It Happens
New Order - Ceremony
The Flatmates - Happy All the Time
My Bloody Valentine - Sunny Sundae Smile
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Never Understand
Jesse Garon - Presence
14 Iced Bears - Inside
The Pooh Sticks - Heroes & Villians
The Shop Assistants - Safety Net
The Wedding Present - Brassneck
Beat Happening - Look Around
The Beach Boys - Help Me Rhonda
Biff Bang Pow - There Must be a Better Life
The La's - There She Goes
Big Star - September Gurls

B-Rok:
The Jellybeans - You Don't Mean Me No Good
The Vontastics - Never Let Our Love Grow Cold
Orange Juice - Rip It Up
Jean Battle - I've Got to Come In
Saint Etienne - Your in a Bad Way
Darell Banks - Our Love is in the Pocket
The Uptights - Shy Guy
The Isley Brothers - Why When Love is Gone
Jay & the Techniques - Strawberry Shortcake
Brigitte Bardot - Ca Pourrait Changer
The Go Betweens - Spring Rain
The Falcons - (I'm a Fool) I Must Love You

















You can view more pictures from the night, here. We'll see you on the 25th!

Hungry Beat!

I have to make this probably the quickest post as i am due to leave for work in exactly eight minutes! Think I can make it?



I'd love to re-iterate how excited we are, how much we want to see your beautiful faces, and how we want even more to see you killer dance moves! I'm down to two minutes though.

I chat a little bit about the club night here. The more specific details on the night are listed in that very generous blog post from our friends at Classical Geek Theater as well!

If you would like an audio preview, you can find that here.

O.k. well, I am officially running late, but it will be worth every second if you stop by to dance with us tomorrow night!

~sqg marion

shoot the whole day down

I don't really like Mondays all that much. Particularly when I’ve just been off of work for a week. And even more particularly when I’ve spent that week up in the Pacific Northwest. I miss Seattle already.

The only thing saving my Monday (and that will make me brave the LA smog - cough cough) is a good show. And such is one tonight at the Echo. It's the second to the last of Death to Anders' Monday night residencies. It's an all-acoustic show with One Trick Pony, the Happy Hollows and Mad Gregs. Oh acoustic...a little calmer, a little more mellow and unplugged - kinda like Seattle.




Come join us tonight!

~sqg kristen

Vote With Your Heart (and Your Heart Should be Saying Monolators)

I've made no secret of the fact that the the Monolators are one of my favorite bands. So I regret that I've not yet jumped on the bandwagon with all of the other concerned citizens who are urging you to vote for them to play the Detour festival. Today is the last day to vote so PLEASE DO SO NOW:

vote here!


In other news, I'm DJ-ing this weekend!!! It promises to be quite a party with several DJs who are far more talented than I am, bands, and this very neat flier.



Stop by and dance with us on Saturday night!

~sqg Marion

Someday (I Think) I'll be Dignified and Old

I've been listening to Forever Breathes the Lonely Word a lot within the past few days. I still haven't the faintest idea how to become intelligent enough to write about Felt...

...

I think it might have been too long since I've written things here. I'm just beginning to really take notice of the fact that a considerable part of my daily routine is missing - and I miss it! Trouble is, I haven't had too much time to muse obsessively about any single pop song, or find new bands, or well anything that might keep a music blog interesting and/or current.

Today, as I am finally getting back into the routine of reading other people's blogs, I read this. I very rarely burst out in a loud fit of laughter while reading something, but this breif post made me do just that. I'm a big advocate of the fact that the set up, and wording of a piece of writing can make it's humor far more effective than it's actual content. I am fairly confident that even if I had no idea what sha - la - la was, who Matt Haynes was, or even what a flexi disc was, that post still would have made me laugh out loud. I hope it has a similar effect on any of you who might be reading this.

Heaven is Above Your Head is a blog that for all intents and purposes I should have starting reading ages ago. I've known of it's existence for all of this year, and that it was one of the best indiepop blogs out there. Despite my lack of an office job to keep me in front of a computer all day, I don't know why it has taken me this long to add it to my mental list of things to read regularly, I guess these things just happen sometimes? I also guess that it is best to not search for an explanation, but to just be happy that you have finally found whatever it is that it took you so long to find.

Ahem, part of the reason that I haven't had much time to write here, or catch up with the newest posts from other blogs is that I've been researching, and writing my most recent column for Web in Front. You can read it here if you are so inclined. It has a lot to do with the role that identity (gender identity in particular) has played in the world of pop music, primarilly within the context of indiepop. It's a subject that I would eventually like to explore much further (hopefully) on an academic level, but I think this is a decent first effort. Anyway, I just though that it might be worth sharing with you here...

Lot's of DJ gigs coming up this month (including the first night of Hungry Beat! Sept 27 at Pehrspace!!!) so expect plenty of posts of the shameless self promotion variety. Maybe even a few of the "I'm in love with a new band or song variety..."

Oh goodness I hope so...

~sqg Marion

Now They've Launched Another Sattelite... Tell Me, What Does This One Do?

I have a few new listening routines these days. My computer routine involves being glued to the Pains of Being Pure at Heart's Myspace page, my pre-bedtime routine is to listen to the Razorcuts album Storyteller LP (usually side one several times on repeat,) and my walking routine involves repeatedly listening to the recently released Phil Wilson Ep Industrial Strength.

Since I have just written about the excellent new Pains of Being Pure at Heart songs (see the previous post,) and since I cannot yet foresee myself writing anything about Razorcuts without venturing into uncomfortably geeky, fan-girl territory (even more so than usual) this leaves the terribly impressive new Phil Wilson Ep. It's four songs distributed amongst a double 7". They are all covers. The artists covered are Kraftwerk, Throbbing Gristle, S/T, and Faust. The songs that are covered are all re-imagined as pop songs. I find it difficult to stop listening to them. Phil Wilson really does have one of the most engaging singing voices that I have encountered so far in my musical journey. I always thought that this could be mostly attributed to just how well written his own lyrics are. Though with his recent cover of "Lee Remick" in mind, and now this collection of covers that are considerably further removed from songs that one might expect Phil Wilson to cover proves him to be one of those rare artists that can easily make any song his own. Honestly, his compelling voice, and excellent job of uncovering a hidden pop song have convinced me that I have surely not listened to Throbbing Gristle attentively enough in the past.

You can order this new Ep here. Notice also, the fantastic artwork contributed by Alistair Fitchett. If you are not familiar with Alistair Fitchett's art, writing, and/or record label you can catch up on it all over here.

~sqg marion

Sounds Like a Mountain Range in Love...

Hey! Have you visited the Pains of Being Pure at Heart's Myspace page lately? If not, please leave this page right now, go over there and listen to all of the fantastic new songs they have added, then come back here and leave comments so that we can discuss exactly how fantastic those songs are. "Young Adult Friction" is now in solidly in the running with the Lodger track "The Good Old Days," and the Bridal Shop's "Violation" single to become my favorite song of 2008. I can't find any evidence to prove this, but I desperately want to believe that "Young Adult Friction" will be the B-side to the "Everything With You" 7" that Slumberland Records is planning to release in October. I am just desperate to have this song on vinyl so that I can play it loudly with every intention of making everyone who happens to be in the room that I am playing it in dance as though they might never have the chance to dance again!

~sqg marion

Staying Up, Eating Candy Floss

My life as a record collector never fails to provide me with surprises. I find myself paying much more than I would even consider paying for something in a store just because I am caught up in the moment of an Ebay bidding war. Of course I also have lists of 7"s that I would love to own, but that I also assume I will never see in real life. Courtney Love is a perfect example of this. Courtney Love released only three 7" EPs in the late 80s, and contributed a few songs to various comps for various labels. After a few years, the project disolved. Naturally having only read about this project on the internet I assumed that these songs would be impossible to track down. So far I have found two out of the three singles while casually browsing at record stores. I have still so far spent less than ten dollars total on Courtney Love singles.

I guess this would be a good time to mention that the Courtney Love that I am referring to is a band that was comprised of Lois Maffeo (more often known simply as Lois) and Pat Maley who went on to run the Yo-Yo studio, and label in Olympia. There is no definitive story as to how Lois Maffeo, and Courtney Michelle Harrison both came to use the name Courtney Love. I suppose the most popular one is that they decided as roommates in Olympia that Courtney Love would be a perfect rock and roll name. The songs that the band Courtney Love recorded sound pretty much nothing like the songs that the person Courtney Love recorded. They actually sound quite a bit like Lois' solo material which is mostly comprised of slightly off-kilter acoustic guitar, strummed in sweet, simple, dance-able rhythms. There are plenty of lyrics about crushes (or lack there of) handled in a smart, honest way. Some of my favorite things to hear in pop songs.

I can promise that you will hear at least one Courtney Love (band) song if you come to this thing tonight:


this wednesday!



Girlie action is defined by sexy, sophisticated, lovely ladies mixing the latest and greatest- we're celebrating new faces square girls, and la sandy on the decks while missing our own, dj mexi-kim, who’s record digging (vacationing) abroad- la sandy lays down thick disco funk and hip hop tracks while the dynamic duo square girls play an eclectic assortment dance floor fillers, and indie obscurities- be there






the Broadway Bar
830 S Broadway Blvd
Downtown LA @ 8th St




repost!
please

I will be DJ-ing, and since it's an all girl night I'm going to do my best to keep it to at least 80 percent female artists (I'm totally counting male/female duets) and songs that have the word girl in them.

We really hope to see you tonight!

~sqg Marion

That's J- Double O - S -E

On a recent trip to San Francisco one of my friends discovered/became mildly obsessed with a malt liquor energy drink called Joose. It's like Sparks, but has a higher alcohol content and is flavored to taste kind of like, well, juice. When we returned we were directed by another friend to the Joose Website, and the wide variety of amazing theme songs that they have created. Naturally someone has turned all of those theme songs into a montage on YouTube:




The brilliant part is how they manage to work the alcohol content into the songs.


I apologize for my lack of blogging lately. I just haven't had much time to rummage through the internets for interesting new bands, or spend any significant length of time processing my feelings for old pop songs. Though I do have a new article posted on Web in Front. You can read it for yourself here, if you feel so inclined... It's actually more about the way people develop their relationships with pop songs. More musings about specific songs and bands will be forthcoming.

Oh, but Tullycraft did finally add their cover of "On Tape" to their Myspace page. Check it out here. Now if they would only plan a West Coast tour...

Both Tartans singles are officially for sale. Both are worth picking up due to the outstanding artwork, and the sound quality that can only be found when you listen to a song on vinyl. Order them here, and here please.

I should add, in the interest of full disclosure, that that is the last mention of how fantastic the Tartans are as a band around these parts. Through the course of booking so many shows for them (you know, cause they are so fantastic as a band) I've actually gotten to be pretty good friends with all of them. Therefore it seems kind of strange to go on about this amazing band that I'm hanging out with a lot. I think I was beginning to sound redundant at this point anyway. You can still count on me for updates though. Really, them and the entire YAY! roster are about 75 percent of what keeps me paying attention to new music, and somewhat relevant.

Though while I am on the subject of new music, I should note that you can STILL pick up a copy of the "Wild Eyes" 7" from Vivian Girls on Plays With Dolls Records. The easiest way to do so is via their Myspace page. The vinyl pressing of their debut full length were sold out before they even finished the tour that they were on at the time. It will be reissued by In the Red Records this fall. Have I mentioned how excited I get when it seems like a large percentage of the population is getting excited about a band that is so directly influenced by Black Tambourine?!? Well, I do.

AND last but not least, the reason for the majority of my lack of attention to blogging lately: We are finally starting a regular dance night!!!

Our very own indiepop and norther soul dance night called Hungry Beat! to be more specific. It will take place on the last Saturday of every month at Pehrspace starting on September 27. The good people of Club Substance are involved. All of them have pretty much the best record collections I've seen in real life. And Yvonne Sone (yes she of Tartans fame) did a fabulous job of making our page look pretty so please go there right now and make us your new friends! We're just slightly giddy about this...

Alright, that's all I have. Bye for now!

I Want to See Movies of My Dreams

None of us should have an excuse good enough to be anywhere other than the Silent Movie Theater on Tuesday night.

Of course, if you are say working, in the hospital, not currently residing in Los Angeles, or have any other valid excuse for not being able to attend the live premiere of Dublab's new project VisionVersion PLEASE be sure to check it out here!

The first three artists featured on the site will be Ariel Pink, WHY?, and Tom Brosseau. Stay tuned for updates on the next round of artists.

I know everyone involved with Team Dublab has been working non-stop to make sure that this project comes together smashingly, and all of the artists and filmmakers have really outdone themselves. Please do give it a look either virtually or in person.

For those who do want to see it in person, all of the details are listed below:


TUESDAY, August 5th

dublab presents the premiere of....VisionVersion


VisionVersion is a new film project from the far-out minds at dublab.com. We're focused on sharing elevated music moments through motion picture magic. Our collective of wide-eyed directors are filming amazing artists performing live in exciting locations around Los Angeles.

ARTISTS FEATURED:

BABY DEE (Drag City)
DAEDELUS(Ninja Tune)
EXCEPTER (Paw-Tracks)
ARIEL PINK (Paw Tracks)
DON CAVALLI (Everloving)
HEALTH (Lovepump United)
PETER WALKER (raga guitar legend)
ALESSI
LANGHORNE SLIM (Kemado Records)
LUCKY DRAGONS (Marriage Records)
OVER THE ATLANTIC (Carpark Records)
CLUSTER (German space rock legends)
RAIN MACHINE AKA KYP MALONE (TV on the Radio)
STEVIE JACKSON (Belle & Sebastian)
TOM BROSSEAU (Fat Cat Records)
WHY? (Anticon)

FILMS BY:

MATT AMATO
SAUL LEVITZ
PETER SHANEL
JULIA CROON
FERNANDO CARDENAS
THRILLHOUSE PRODUCTIONS
ROB SCHROEDER
TREVIN MATCEK
DAVE SHAFEI
BEN BARNES
JOSH FORBES
CLAY LIPSKY

We're excited to unveil these creative efforts for the first time at Cinefamily. To make this special screening even more memorable we'll be filming a live VisionVersion episode with the always amazing HECUBA immediately following the films. They will be accompanied by far-out film projections from Chandler McWilliams. This will be an incredible VisionVersion within a VisionVersion!



doors & cocktails: 8pm
vision version films: 8:30pm
free cocktail intermission courtesy of Bacardi & IZZE: 9:30pm
HECUBA live performance: 10pm
dublab djs: 10:30-Midnight

$13 general or $9 members / ALL AGES

Cinefamily
at the Silent Movie Theatre
611 N Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, 90036
323.655.2510

silentmovietheatre.com
dublab.com/visionversion
hecubahecuba.com

Sha-La-La-La... Yeah

Last night was FUN. This morning at Dublab was FUN. It's probably due to this extraordinarily high level of fun that I am just getting around to writing a re-cap post at 10pm tonight. Every band played to the height of their ability. Well, I'm guessing, it was my first time seeing three out of the four bands that played last night. Still, everyone sounded pretty great.

It was certainly one of those nights where I stood and watched the performances taking place, and thought something along the lines of, "I can't believe I get to be a part of something this exciting." AND Squaregirl Kristen deserves so much credit, I don't even know where to begin. She rallied with turntables and her mixer at around 8:15 last night. It should be noted that doors for this particular show were at eight. Therefore, we had an insanely fun dance party that was ONLY possible because of her.

Then BOAT did a session for Dublab this morning. Since I kind of helped to set it up, I went over to the station to watch and was drafted into backing vocals, tambourine handclaps, and SLEIGH BELLS. I've always adored sleigh bells, and have secretly dreamed of playing along with someone's band so... maybe the highlight of my year so far?

We'll see how the rest of it unfolds.

I will link to that session here as soon as it appears in the Dubstream.

Brian and Yvonne of Tartans fame have a set in there right now though so you should go listen to it. Because it's great.

Speaking of the Tartans, and things that I have promised to post here once I saw that they were online, here they are performing "Lee Remick" with Phil Wilson at the Summershine Popfest a couple of weekends ago.



AND

Phil Wilson, and Frank Sweeny performing "Every Conversation" because it is simply one of the most wonderful pop songs that I know.



Enjoy!

I'll leave you with this thought. Probably on my mind because it pertains to my next column for Web In Front. I was listening to the Orchids while on a walk this past weekend. I was listening more intently than usual to the song "Apologies." It's my favorite Orchids song, and I know the lyrics pretty well so I don't tend to pay all that much attention to them anymore. However, the line that has always been my favorite in that song for some reason struck me with a new sense of freshness on this most recent listen.

"You're just a lover, a timetable friend."

Wow. I've never been in love, but I've seen many a friendship slowly dissolve due to the involvement of romantic feelings. Clever Scots...

This Song is Pure Popcorn!

Hey! Us Squaregirls are presenting a show tonight, and we would really love to see all of you there.

BOAT are in town all the way from Seattle, and I hear that they are ready to rock. I've also heard from a very reliable source that they always deliver on this promise. Speaking of good reports from reliable sources, I can't imagine that so many smart local bloggers could be wrong about how good the live show of Pizza! is. The Tartans are also playing this one. I think that I am out of descriptive words for how much I adore the Tartans, and you're probably all sick of hearing me go on about them anyway so please just come out tonight and watch the show!

There will of course be a dance party involved, before, after, and in between sets from each band. Not just us, but from a few of the fine folks from Club Substance will be spinning as well. These guys are some of the best DJs that I know, and if you visit their Myspace page you get the added bonus of hearing the undeniably fabulous Bodines song "Therese."

We'll see you a bit later...

~sqg marion

I've Got That... On Tape!

The latest installment of the Happy Happy Birthday singles club appeared in my mailbox last week. It's funny how sometimes something will arrive, and you will manage to wait to listen to it until the exact moment that you need to hear it. I listened to Tullycraft's rendition of "On Tape" just before I left the West side about four hours later than I was planning to, and just after I had learned that poor Kristen was stuck at work and would not be able to help me DJ My Little Underground. Incidentally this was also the exact moment that I had given up on trying to complete a fanzine article in a way that made any kind of sense. As you might imagine I was a bit stressed at that point. From the second that I heard the snappily drummed intro, and the words "I've got Long Vermont Roads (Long Vermont Roads, Long Vermont Roads) the original Harriett version..." filled the room that I was in I was too busy grinning from ear to ear to be worried about that night's show. I've always thought of Tullycraft and the Pooh Sticks as bands that are similar in their ability to make ultra-obscure references sound charming and relate-able as opposed to pretentious. Check out the original "On Tape," and Tullycraft's "Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too Stupid Too Know About" for the ultimate examples of this. Though the original version of "On Tape" might be poking good natured fun at record geeks like... um me, it doesn't matter. In fact that is a huge part of what makes it so great. After all, it's having an actual appreciation of the thing that you are kind of skewering that tends to yield the most humorous results. And at any rate, both versions of the song are pop heaven. Tullycraft's cover may not quite compare to the original. In all fairness though, it would be nearly impossible to top those anxious, jangling guitars leading into "I've got Falling and Laughing (Falling and Laughing, Falling and Laughing) the original Postcard version..." Their update on both lyrics and arrangement was a very clever route to take. Of course the best part may very well be the googling that I was led into by Tullycraft's version. Googling obscure references in Tullycraft songs is somewhere on my top ten list of favorite pass-times, and this one provided a good twenty minutes or so of that.

I'm fairly certain that the only way to own this song is to have pre-ordered the Happy Happy Birthday to Me singles club last year. Maybe just maybe it will find it's way onto Tullycraft's myspace page in the future. With any luck at all a picture of the fantastic cover art will show up there as well. If I notice that either of these things have happened, believe me, you'll be among the first to know.

~sqg marion

And You Know Why

Gosh, I hope that everyone's 4th of July Weekend was as great as mine was and that you are all still just as exhausted as I am by 11 AM on Tuesday. I still can't get past the fact that I spent both weekend nights watching Phil Wilson perform "Sunday to Saturday," "Every Conversation," "This Town," "In the Rain..."

Everything really. The sound was incredible, and the level of enthusiasm from both Phil, and violinist Frank Sweeney was thoroughly endearing. The pre-recorded backing tracks that were used for most of the songs were quite impressive. Though the addition of full band support from the Tartans on Saturday, and the Tyde on Sunday for the last two songs of each night did provide a nice touch. Both bands helped out with "Lee Remick" and "In the Rain" in case you were wondering.

It should also be noted that Phil Wilson is maybe one of the nicest people that I've ever met. He insisted upon hugs from all the attending members of the Tartans and Summershine fest organizer/YAY! label founder Eric Bello as we all left the Echo on Sunday night. I'm fairly certain that he couldn't quite figure out exactly what my relationship was to that group, or what my role was in the proceedings of the previous day's show. He gave me a hug goodbye anyway.

His lovely wife was taking video the entire time so as soon as those videos make their way onto YouTube, I will most certainly post a few here.

Alright, time to leave the fantastic ultra-indiepop saturated weekend in the past and move onto the next event.

Both Squaregirls are DJ-ing this thing tonight:



I know that both Web in Front, and Classical Geek Theater have worked really hard to make sure that you will see a great show tonight. We're happy to be along for the ride, and since it's called "My Little Underground" it's pretty safe to say that one of us will have to play that song at some point tonight...

See you there!

Things Seem to Work This Way, Sunday to Saturday

I REALLY should have been running a countdown to this weekend, a real one that is, published here...

Of course, the countdown in my mind has been going on for longer than I can remember.

How the two have not yet been able to coincide is completely beyond me.

Here it is now though. If you have been wondering just exactly you will recover from all of your various 4th of July festivities then you really need to look no furtherthan the flier above for Ventura County's Summershine Pop Fest. Replace that ringing in your ears left by the pretty fire works with the far prettier ringing that can only be brought about by exuberant sounding popmusic.

First, foremost, and the thing that should provide all of the incentive that you need to make a drive of any lenghth: PHIL WILSON is playing this show along with two other original members of the June Brides. Violinist Frank Sweeny, and trumpet player Jon Hunter in case you were wondering. Yes, that's right, Phil Wilson with the original voilinist, and original trumpet player of the June Brides! I could go on and on about the importance of the June Brides in the history of jangle pop, and how key they were in establishing the sound that would come to be known as "C-86," but videos explain this concept far more clearly. Please pay close attention to exactly how good the trumpet work is on this song!



Of course there are many more bands as well as several DJs involved with this lovely event, and the YAY! label (which had a MAJOR part in putting this whole thing together) has listed and explained each band in a far more concise manner than I ever could:


"MARIA:
YAY! Records flagship band. The group is currently working on material for a debut full-length album.

APPLE ORCHARD:
Originally from the Philippines the groups has released tracks on comilations as well as eps on Humblebee Recordings and Cloudberry Records. A full-length album was released 2008 on Haymarket Recordings.

TALL TALES:
Fronted by Franklin For Short bassist Trevor Beld, they have an album on Beehouse Records as well as a new ep, The Earthling.

THE TARTANS:
This bicycle loving quartet from LA has a couple upcoming singles, one on YAY! Records and the other on Cloudberry Records.

SWAY: Ventura's My Bloody Valentine, Sway has been shoegaze fixture for years. The first single was out in 2001, followed by their fabulous ep, The Milla Pink and Green in 2003 and their most recent released- the Winter Heart ep (2005).

SILVERSCREEN:
Airy pop fronted by Chris Miller, an debut album came out in 2005 on Claire Records as well as a great ep Cloudberry Records (2007). They will be playing their first show ever at Summershine.

PAM & TERI:
Fillmore lovable sibling duo, they have a single out on YAY! Records and continue to charm listeners with increasing live appearances.

WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS:
YAY! Records newest sibling duo, the group has released cassette tapes on Pop Monster Records and Lost Sound Tapes. Future releases on YAY! Records are coming soon.

BANK HOLIDAY:
Another LA group, they have an album on Best Kept Secret Records as well as an upcoming album on Black Hand Records.

DEW WATS RT: A graduate of Brooks Institute in photography; originally from Michigan.

In addtition to BBQ and beverages there will be some fantastic DJs spinning for your pleasure:

JEFF GRIMES: Local music laurete, Grimes also fronts two bands: The Broken Strings and The Bad Trips.

MARION HODGES: Writer for blogsite/promotion group Squaregirls

GRADY RUNYAN: Owner of Ventura record store Grady's Record Refuge, also plays with Jeff Grime in The Bad Trips and The Broken Strings.

BRIAN CUNNINGHAM: Member of YAY! group, The Tartans, Cunningham is veteran of LA clubs and DJ team Substance.

JOSH REDMAN: KCSB general manager and host of radio show 5...4...3...2...Fun!, also plays in Watercolor Paintings

ERIC KAYSER: Owner of Ventura record shop, Buffalo Records; previously ran record label.

RICH YVARRA: First put together the Summer Pop Festival last year, also in the mix this year."


Oh yeah, if you happened to notice my name in the list of DJs, yes that is a real thing that is really happening. I'm kind of in shock over the fact that I'm included in such awesome company. Seriously, wow. I've been thinking it over all week and trying to pull out my very best indiepop/indiepop related records for the event. Hopefully I'll see some of you there! Please say hi if you make it!


Of course that's just Saturday. For those of you that simply can't make the drive, but will be in the L.A. area on Sunday you do have a second chance to catch Phil Wilson and company. He'll be playing the Echo on Sunday night for Part Time Punks along with the Tyde. Mike Shulman, founder of Slumberland Records (and member of one of my all time favorite bands Black Tambourine!!!) will be the special guest DJ! Can you imagine how good his record collection must be? I'm already preparing to spend most of the night marveling over how severe my lack of indiepop knowledge actually is. Yep, that's right, I'll be at both shows. I know I'm not the only one either. Please join us in the highly worthwhile exhaustion that will likely ensue!




By the way, I can't say for certain that Phil Wilson will perform the following cover song at both shows, but wouldn't it be amazing if he did?

Only one way to find out...

Just Wishing and Hoping And...

So here I sit having just read a new email update from Geographic Music, and as is ALWAYS the case after reading these updates I'm left feeling very sad over the fact that I do not currently live in Glasgow. I'll let the email explain this feeling for me:


"The Pastels are very pleased to announce that we are opening for My Bloody Valentine this Wednesday 2nd July at the Barrowland Ballroom. The last time we played with My Bloody Valentine was sometime in 1988 at Fulham Greyhound and they were completely amazing then. We're all fans of their music and we've stayed in touch with Kevin through the years - in fact he played with us on our last John
Peel session and did a couple of mixes for us which we loved. We were rehearsing today, taking bets on number of pedals which will be on display and just looking forward. It's the Barrowland so we'll be playing early, maybe around 7.30 pm or so."


I suppose that all I can do now is hope that this particular show will go so well that My Bloody Valentine will just have to bring the Pastels with them when they tour later this year...

Seriously, sometime soon surely one of these bands that everybody else loves and can fill big arenas who've been working with/ been friends with the Pastels for years will insist upon bringing them along for a tour. Right? Right? Please...

~sqg marion

Quik Update

Even if the thoughtful, whisper-y, folk music thing is not for you (it's not for me,) this story is insane. Help this guy get his benefit show!

You can check out all of the details here.

On a lighter note both Squaregirls contributor Eliza and I have our picks for some of the best releases of 2008 so far listed along with picks from other local artists and bloggers. You can read all about it right here. With my picks they are streaming The Bridal Shop song "Violation." Please go listen to it, as I really do think that it will turn out to be my favorite song of the year.

~sqg marion

Or Was it Just a Dream...

Hello! I'm sitting here listening away, trying to think of things to write for a "Best of 2008 so far..." that my dear friends over at Web In Front are putting together. It's not the easiest task for me as I prefer to spend the majority of my time obsessing over old pop songs. I feel drastically behind in the amount of new records that I've heard this year. however, I'd like to find intelligent things to say about the few that I have heard/liked.

So before I get completely caught up in that, I want to make sure that you all know about the show that we are presenting tomorrow:



We really think/hope that the four bands playing represent a nice, eclectic view of some of our favorite things going on in local music these days. Listen for yourself right here:

The Health Club

WEAVE!

Hearts of Palm UK

Fol Chen


PLUS they all happen to put on fantastic live shows...

We'll also be ransacking our record collections to find the perfect songs to play for you before, in between, and after sets from the bands...

And, last but not least we're kind of giddy over the fact that we are presenting our first show at Pehrspace. Pehrspace is basically our favorite venue these days. Though you should be aware that it's BYOB so plan accordingly...

We'll see you tomorrow!

Shingdig Number One: Pascal Troemel and Birdie Hilltop

I was at a film festival for work this past weekend, and got to catch a screening of one of the best films I have seen all year, the documentary More Shoes. (Not gonna lie, you guys, I cried. More than once.) As a budding music supervisor, what really struck me was the soundtrack. I recognized that many of the songs were by the same person and were the perfect compliment to the story of a young man making a journey across Europe on foot. Hollow and fuzzy, they were lo-fi perfected, reminiscent of Steven Look and his projects Moon Fire Funerals or I Know My Name is Steven, or perhaps Daniel Johnston. In an instant I was in love. The film is a stand alone great film, but I feel was truly served by the softly comforting songs, obviously recorded in one take, as evidenced by false starts, nervous laughter, and the clearing of throats in the middle of a song.

Naturally, I sat through the credits and saw nearly the entire soundtrack was compromised of songs written by Pascal Troemel and performed by Birdie Hilltop. The second I got out of the screening, I started texting friends to see if they had heard either of those names before. No one had.

Later that day, I managed to corner the filmmaker, Lee Kazimir, and interrogate him about the soundtrack. He explained that he had discovered Pascal/Birdie (actually the same person) by happenstance and contacted him personally. He said he had recorded a couple records in Brooklyn several years ago, when he was in his early 20s. If I remember correctly (sobriety isn't encouraged at the film festival) Lee also mentioned that he wasn't really making music anymore and that he had declined to have his records sold at the screenings or on the film's website. Upon hearing this, I got that panicky sensation in my chest, the kind that attacks when you realize you have just discovered something truly special and may never hear it again in your life ever. This lasted until I visited his website and realized his entire catalogue is available to download for free! What a wonderful world we live in. If I may, I suggest you start with my current favorite, "eating aeroplanes".

~sqg eliza

Untitled

I guess we are all supposed to know that if you have to be in Santa Monica (or anyplace that requires an hour drive) by 8 am the next day then it's probably not the best idea to stand around in front of the Echo plotting various jangle pop/metal side projects. Oops.

So for most of yesterday I was completely useless to write anything. No matter, Sunday night at the Echo was one of the best shows that I have been to so far this year. Maybe even the best. My favorite L.A. band The Tartans had the majority of the crowd dancing for the majority of their set. Kind of a small miracle when you think about typical Los Angeles rock show crowds. Their new songs kind of demand it though. They will also have two 7" singles available very soon so head over here right now, and on July 15 make your way here. OR you could just wait and pick up BOTH singles after the Tartans wow you with their jangly/soulful tunes on July 16 at their (ahem) Squaregirls presented show at Mr. T's Bowl...

Catwalk started things off on Sunday. Not only has their live performance become increasingly more impressive since I saw them for the first in November of last year, but they've been playing a new song called "Mia" recently that is such catchy guitar pop perfection it makes me wish that I could afford to start a label just so that there could be a recording of it in the world. Sigh. I suppose I will just have to desperately hope that it will be a part of their next single for the YAY! label. Until then, I will be gently lifting the needle on my turntable to play every song from their current YAY! single "Past Afar" over and over again. It's lovely, and you should strongly consider ordering it here, right now!

Um, this is probably also a good time to bring up the fact that I've recently written an article about the YAY! label for my new monthly column on Web In Front, Not Quite Punk. You can read that article right here, if you are so inclined...


And if you are looking for something fun to do tonight, might I please suggest this:




The Monolators are playing! Early! If it's been awhile since you've seen the Monolators (like it has for me,) or if you've somehow not yet seen the Monolators you should definitely be at Spaceland tonight by 9 PM!

They are opening for this London based band called Sunny Day Sets Fire. They put out an EP last year called Brainless that was a nice blend of lo-fi indie rock sounds, and lo-fi dance pop. The production on their new stuff sounds way glossier, but I bet they are still fun as hell to watch live.
Check this out for proof!



~sqg marion

Giveaway: Where the Action Was Bus Tour with Ruthann Friedman

Here's something that seems intriguing. Gene Sculatti author of Catalog of Cool, and Kim Cooper who wrote the 33 1/2 book on Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane over the Sea have started a somewhat obscure tour of Los Angeles music landmarks. The idea behind the tour being to bring along special guests and impart unique knowledge about places that you likely pass by everyday.

On Saturday, June 28 the guest will be Ruthann Friedman. She will likely be best remembered for writing the Association's 1967 hit single "Windy," but my interest in hearing her speak would lie mostly in the fact that she's said to have stories about the Byrds!

The tour departs at 11:30AM from Amoeba Music in Hollywood. It's three hours long, and includes snacks and a gift bag filled with treats from Amoeba. The trip will culminate in a live performance from Friedman upon it's return to the record store. More information about the tour can be found here. More information about how to order tickets can be found here. Apparently if you use the super secret words "Amoeba sent me," you will recieve a fifteen percent discount...

Or you could send an email to squaregirls@gmail.com with the words "bus tour" in the subject line to win a single admission. The first person to email, will recieve the spot. Best of luck!

I Don't Care, I Care, I Really Don't Care

Well, well, well. After a decent portion of my past week has been spent listening to a decent amount of Pavement, and obsessing over the hopefully arriving soon Re-issue/Expanded edition of Brighten the Corners just imagine how giddy I was to wake up this morning, and find that Web In Front's weekly podcast was this.

I never got to see Pavement live, and listening to this makes me all the more aware that I missed out on something pretty great. Awesomely deadpan, half-spoken delivery of the chorus of "Freebird" leading into "Unfair..." Wow. Of course, it's not *really* my fault that I missed out. The closest that I might have gotten to Pavement in 1994 (when the concert in question takes place) while growing up in an ultra-conservative suburb of Atlanta, Georgia would have been accidentally seeing the video for "Cut Your Hair," on MTV. You know, when I was absolutely forbidden to watch MTV.

Regardless of personal experience involving seeing, or missing a live Pavement show, this podcast should serve to bring up fond memories or bitter feelings of regret. Really though, it's just plain fun to listen to, and it's highly recommended that you visit the link posted above to download the concert. Now.

Oh, and just for fun:



Does anyone know if Malkmus is really alternating between sining "career," and "Korea," at the end of this song? And if the word "Korea," is actually in place, why?

Oh that Pavement humor...

~sqg marion

Thought Things Sounded Better Slow

On Sunday, I listened to Brighten the Corners, as I often tend to do. I began to wonder when the re-issue for this album would happen. We know that Pavement have gone down the line and re-issued their albums one by one with some AMAZING bonus tracks (adding the Watery Domestic EP to the bonus material of Slanted and Enchanted was just one in a long series of genius/hugely appreciated moves,) and since the Wowee Zowee re-issue happened near the end of 2006, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain happened near the end of 2004 etc. deductive reasoning should lead us to believe that the Brighten the Corners reissue will happen towards the end of this year, 2008. Oh, and that it will be awesome.

However, there is no significant news about this particular re-issue. Other than the fact that there will you know, be one. Sigh.

Of course, there are important bands in the story of indie rock aside from Pavement. Some of them are just as re-issue happy, and doing just as good of a job of putting together highly worth reinvesting in, or investing in for the first time sets. Some of them have (ahem) reunited in their classic line-up forms and are touring! Some of them are even working their way through classic albums for All Tomorrows Parties... Yep, I'm referring to Sebadoh now.

Sebadoh will re-issue Bubble and Scrape with an additional disc of bonus tracks on July 8 via Domino Records. They will perform the record in it's entirety for the Pitchfork/All Tomorrow's Parties presented Don't Look Back Series on Friday July 18 as part of the 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival. It's fairly safe to assume that it will be varying degrees of awesome.

I saw Sebadoh as part of their classic line-up (Barlow, Gaffney, Lowenstein) reunion tour last year, and it was a good show. Although I hate to admit it, as much I like think of myself as a Sebadoh fan (I listened to an mp3 that I stumbled across of "Gimme Indie Rock" more times than I could ever count, "Brand New Love" still makes me cringe with it's alarmingly accurate description of what it's like to meet someone new who is even potentially exciting/terrifying, Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock is just a flat out great album title, Harmacy lived in my car stereo for months when I was 21 and had just found it on sale..., etc.) I don't spend all that much time listening to Sebadoh. I wasn't overly familiar with either III, or the Freed Man until those reissues happened within the past few years, and having them in my possession now, I don't listen to them all that much. Sebadoh, to me represents a very specifically male; funny/silly/sarcastic/angry/edgy/ultra observant/ultra revealing so perfectly male music that I'm quite simply not in the mood for all of the time. When I am in that particular mood though, nothing else will do. While watching Sebadoh last March at Spaceland I discovered that (though I recognized none of them) Gaffney's songs were most appealing to me in the live setting cause the abrasiveness was just so immediately satisfying. Recorded, I tend to like Lou's songs best because they tend to be so spot on lyrically, an he has such a good way of creating appealing pop melodies that retain a sense of weirdness. Then again, some of my favorite songs on Bakesale belong to Lowenstein, unassuming, and great. I should also take this moment to point out that I have never once had the occasion to listen to Bubble and Scrape. Needless to say I'm very excited to discover this album through the re-issue that is now less than a month away! This was the album where classic line-up Sebadoh were falling apart as a collective, and apparently Gaffney's songs on this record are his most angry and defiant. I only wish I was making the trip to Chicago in July to see how this newly reunited team translates this apparent transition album into a live show.

Trackilist for Bubble and Scrape Deluxe Edition:

1. Soul and Fire
2. Two Years, Two Days
3. Telecosmic Alchemy
4. Fantastic Disaster
5. Happily Divided
6. Sister
7. Cliche
8. Sacred Attention
9. Elixir is Zog
10. Emme Get Wild
11. Sixteen
12. Homemade
13. Forced Love
14. No Way Out
15. Bouquet For a Siren
16. Think (Let Tomorrow Be)
17. Flood

Bonus Tracks:

18. Reject
19. Sister
20. Bouquet For a Siren
21. Emma Get Wild
22. Flood / Ken
23. Messin' Around
24. Visibly Wasted II
25. You Are Going Down
26. Old Daze
27. Part 1 - Lou
28. Part 2 - Eric
29. Part 3 - Eric
30. Part 4 - Jason
31. Happily Divided
32. Soul and Fire (Acoustic Demo)

Now, seriously, about that Brighten the Corners re-issue...

~sqg marion

I Just Want to be a Peacock, but I Don't Think that it's Allowed

Last week I had another another one of those exceedingly pleasant, but all too few and far between experiences. A band that I've never heard of found us on Myspace, and they aren't terrible! Cool!

What is even more cool is that the band in question Swimteam is local, and far from not terrible. They are actually quite good. Swimteam appears to be primarily the project Brian Young. The songs of Swimteam don't tend to stray too far from the elegant, lo-fi jangle pop of his solo recordings. The songs on the Myspace page are upbeat yet moderately paced, allowing enough time for the stories to unfold exactly as they should. A song that contains the details of the unrivaled excitement of a first kiss, and a song that contains slightly fewer details of a relationship that seems on the verge of failure are told with the same degree of wit. Especially worth noting is his observation about how the way one might hear a certain pop song will likely change given the context within which one hears that song. It's a theme that shows up more than once in these songs, and he makes an excellent point. An annoying song by an annoying band that one might have heard a group of annoying people singing at a bar on the day when a perfect first kiss occurs will now conjure up a fond memory, and one will have almost no choice other than to kind of like that song. Whereas a different song that one has loved forever will inevitably take on new meaning when one is forced to apply that song to new situations. Young's charming baritone suits these types of musings perfectly.

I can only hope that since Swimteam finds Young joined by an appropriately full band of Chris Chez on drums, and Bill Miller on the bass guitar more live shows will occur in a not too distant future. I actually have to hope for a lot more live shows since the jaw dropping-ly awesome line-up of Swimteam, The Tartans, and Magic Bullets at the Knitting Factory happens to fall on the same night as our next Squaregirls Presented show at Pehrspace on June 27! Of course the drive to the San Diego's Beauty Bar on June 29 for the Swimteam/ Magic Bullets portion of that line up does seem more than worthwhile...

Anyone feel like a road trip?

~squaregirl marion

The Flowers Are in the Sky for You

I'm about a month behind in alerting you to the fact that the new Languis album Fractured is available for you to purchase now from Plug Research, you can do that here.

It's one of the more compelling albums that I've listened to from start to finish this year. On Fractured the fluidity with which the band combines the primary influences of psych and dance pop becomes a bit more clear, and a bit more remarkable with each listen. I believe it mostly lies in the attention to detail. Having built a solid base around these particular sounds allows other sounds to infiltrate the songs. From the gentle Calypso of "What Do I Do," to a short sweet instrumental entitled "Para Marta," that places a finger-picked acoustic guitar front and center, to songs like "Resurrection Road," and "Low Standard," that take on an almost conventional (for an album as far from conventional as this one) rock structure. In fact you can actually kind of hear a rhythmic similarity to the 12 bar blues guitar pattern on the latter two songs, at least that is, something akin to a Jesus & Mary Chain type interpretation of the pattern. All cleverly disguised under some serious studio effects of course. Also on the album are enough slow build ups to satisfying pay offs, enough captivating extended refrains, and enough tambourines and woodwind instruments to keep you replaying the album for weeks and weeks, if not months and months, or perhaps even years and years...

It's also very much to Languis' credit that they are not a band who keep making the same album over and over again, yet each of their releases are consistently good and interesting. Fractured is (to completely understate the situation) certainly no exception to this quite remarkable rule.

~squaregirl marion

If I Didn't Know This, I'd Lose It

Sometimes it is just plain astonishing how much time it might take something (and by what avenue) to find it's way onto your radar.

On Monday morning I walked into the KCRW music library as I do every Monday morning to distribute their copy of the playlist from that day's Morning Becomes Eclectic. I was greeted with a gently dance-able sound of synthesizers, drum machines, and softly distant vocals. "What are we listening to?" was the immediate question I posed to my friend/library employee Nassir well before taking the time to say hi.

"The Radio Dept. Do you know about them?"

"No," I replied and was so shocked that there was something this good and this rooted in everything that I like about music that I struggled with my words, "It sounds like... It sounds like..."

"Yeah," he said "I've been trying to figure out who they remind me of too."

I pointed out that whether or not they sounded like anyone in particular their sound was dance music that was rooted in an indiepop tradition which is sound that I am in no way indifferent to. Fortunately there was an extra copy of the record that I promised to provide a loving home for. The album in question is called Pet Grief it was released by Labrador Records in 2006! This is around the same time that I discovered Suburban Kids With Biblical Names having just had their originally released by Labrador record #3 released by Minty Fresh here in the States. I've visited the Labrador site several times since then for information on that band, and I'm sure something about the Radio Dept. must have entered my subconscious somewhere. I simply cannot figure out why it has taken me so long to actually hear this band! Of course when you discover something is never the important part, the important part is that you discover it at all. I have the Radio Dept. now; we all have the opportunity to listen to their new single, "Freddie and the Trojan Horse" on their Myspace page (while you're there you *really* should listen to "Worst Taste in Music" from Pet Grief it's sad/clever pop perfection,) and by September (or thereabouts) we'll all be able to order copies of their brand new record right here. Should be pretty great, something to look forward too...

~squaregirl marion