Best of July 2014 (hint, it ain't peace in the Middle East)

Tove Lo, Yet Another Swedish songstress

Strand of Oaks "Goshen '97"

Having gone to school in Wilkes-Barre, PA it should come as no surprise I have a fondness for the place.  I met my wife there.  I met great friends there.  It is a beautiful place with stunning mountains and a surplus of big hearted people.  When I heard Tom Showalter, nee: Strand of Oaks, ended up living in Wilkes-Barre after a nasty breakup, I was intrigued.  Born in Indiana, he became Philly based during his formative years.  This gritty coming-of-age rocker is nostalgic for all the right reason.  For me, it brings back my college years, as Showalter details picking up a guitar for the first time and listening to "The Pumpkins" and playing on his Casio.   1991-1998 approx.  The birth of Grunge and for lots of us, the rudimentary entry into adulthood.  Goshen, Indiana is Wilkes-Barre, PA without the mountains.  It's Allentown, PA.  Buffalo, NY.  Country folk getting their shit together, if ever so slowly.  Let's call this a summer song for all of us hitting middle age.  And not wanting to forget some simpler times.  Hey, its better than hearing Iggy Azalea 10 times in a day.  If you were so "fancy" you wouldn't be telling us how "fancy" you are.  That's kinda "douchey."

Jenny Lewis "Just One Of The Guys"

Lewis has been in show business for a long time.  She started on television and was on her way to a nice career.  Good for us she can sing too.  She was the primary vocalist for indie band Rilo Kiley.  You might remember their song "Portions for Foxes".  They also had songs appear WB drama's Dawson's Creek or Buffy, The Vampire Slayer.  Her solo record, The Voyager, will be released July 29th.  It has been taken Lewis 5 years to bring this record to fruition.  The first single is a soothing mediation on feminism, gender roles and social convention.  The video shows Kristen Stewart and Anne Hathaway in drag which is interesting for about a minute.  Those two ladies individually are a lot to take.  Together, it plays like the opposite of a Viagra ad.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart "Until the Sun Explodes" live from KEXP


This New York based noise/indie pop act might have my least favorite band name- it's taken from an Augustus Steed novel.  It's just awkward, and frankly difficult to say.  The song on the other hand, is an airy ode to 80s The Cure.   Kip Berman is the captain of the ship as he writes, plays guitar, synths and sings.  When I searched for a live clip (to see how all this happy go lucky Danny Elfman meets Thomas Dolby diddy played without the assistance of studio magic.)  It does.
 
Tove Lo "Habits (Stay High)"

What is it with these Swedish songstresses?  Lykke Li, First Aid Kit, Robyn, Icona Pop are just a few that entered our record charts in recent years.  Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson, or Tove Lo, is the latest to find commercial and critical success.  She boasts a big voice and funny, if not dangerous, message in her coming out party.  "I have to stay high/all the time/to keep you off my mind."  Bad habits indeed. Is this how the milennials plan on digging us out of this shit show we call 2014?  No time for weeping about an ex kid!  And you can get high, but only at night or weekends.  All the time?  How are you going to make a living?  And how will you be able to pay for Doritos?  Tove Lo has written songs for Icona Pop, but here she steps up to the mic and has provided a legitimate commercial and alt hit.  A song with no format limitations right out of the gate a la Lorde.  Sisters are doing it for themselves.

Cold War Kids

Cold War Kids "All This Could Be Yours"

I have been compiling a list of "Bands I need to see" for a while now.  Arena acts like U2, Radiohead, Arcade Fire and maybe, just maybe Coldplay, are on the list.  There are several others that I will probably never see, although I should.  Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and a few like them, have always escaped me.  I mean, I get it.  But will I be a lesser person if I do not see them live?  I kinda think I know what to expect.  Its the younger bands that intrigue me.  They are hungrier.  They are more motivated.  And they need me, and people like me, to come see their shows to validate what they are doing- so hopefully they carry on.  Of those club bands perhaps Long Beach, California rockers Cold War Kids top my list of bands I NEED to see.  Spoon is up there too if you are scoring at home.  Let me know if I am missing anyone?  In October they will release their 5th studio album.  That will likely include a fall tour that I MUST attend.  Piano, guitar and a whole lot of fun on this teaser track.

Panama "Always"

Aussie soft rockers also suffer from a poor band name.  Let's put it this way, if I have to type "band" after your name on Google, you are doing something wrong.  They band has released two EP's, including Always, where this track is found.   Very, very easy listening.  If you like their countrymen Cut/Copy or Foster the People, please give this a try.

Kishi Bashi "Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!

This is a great, great story.  Kaoro Ishibashi is a Seattle born, Virginia raised multi-instrumentalist who has toured and performed with the likes of Regina Spektor and Of Montreal.  This song has made the rounds through commercials and other media outlets.  Picture a male, violin playing Enya who is both optimistic and ironic.

Little Daylight "Overdose"

New York trio Little Daylight- ok, when I say New York you assume Brooklyn right?, fall under the Chvrches category.  Add 2 parts synth and 1 frail, angry and angelic white girl vocalist.  The result can be very rewarding if the ingredients play well together- and carry a big hook.  "Overdose" is that kind of song.

Bob Mould "I Don't Know You Anymore"

Bob Mould has been making music since 1979.  In this video for his latest single he pokes fun at himself, with the help of The Decemberists Colin Meloy, for not knowing how the business works.  He is busy peddling vinyl to anyone who will listen.  Meloy tells him it is all done with social media these days.  "You got to tweet it, Instagram that shit, tumble it."
Ironic then that this humble blog will do all it can to promote Mr Mould for not only this song, but his entire career.  He never made millions like REM or The Pixies (from the heyday of college rock- 1982-1995.  Yet here he stands, doing the same thing he has been doing forever.  And better still, he is doing it just as good if not better.  No nonsense, guitar driven ROCK and ROLL.

Ryan Adams "Gimmie Something Good"

Ryan Adams has not been around nearly as long.  But he has been pretty darn prolific for a 30 something.  Later this year he will release his 15th (!!!!) solo record.  This after performing and recording with Whiskeytown (where he also released 3 records.)  He has been married to the actress Mandy Moore for several years now.  He had a memorable cameo in the Judd Apatow film This is 40 a few years back.  It has been years since he showed up in the blogs and gossip pages due to erratic behavior and general unpleasantness.  Could he have matured?  Will that alter (negatively) his overall work?  After all, perhaps it was his anger and disposition that allowed him such creativity?  This release would argue otherwise.  The howling guitars and signature voice are very much present.  Dawes and The Head and The Heart try to mirror this sound, I just know it.  It comes as no surprise I love those two bands.  But sometimes the original is essential.  Ryan Adams is indeed an American original.  This will be a tour I look forward to as well.

What is on your summer playlist?  What was the best show/song/album of 2014 (so far?)  Give a yell and let's get the conversation going.

Or is reading the news a better alternative?

Wars?  Yeah

Planes falling from the skies?  Yeah

Flags bleached on the Brooklyn Bridge?  Yeah

People giving a rats ass about a King turning 1?  Yeah

LeBron?

Fires.

Shia Lebouf.

Super Storms.

What am I missing?

Oh right, nothing.  That is all a huge downer.  Stay positive out there folks!  I dare you to only post funny and light things for a week.  No abused pets...  no complaining...  no religion or politics!!

I can do it.  Can you???

Best Of March 2013

The posts have been few and far between I readily admit.  Funny how life has a way of overwhelming us at times.  Don't read too much into that either.  As John Lennon wrote, "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans."  Real "life" need not be boring and unrewarding however.  Some of us might think a Sunday trip to Michael's for some crafts is the definition of Hell on Earth.  I don't remember ever entering one of those stores and boy was it enlightening.  First, the place is jam packed with both product and people.  It's a crack haven for Christmas sweater wearing single aunts wanting to wrap their hands around the latest in scrap booking accessories and balls of yarn.  The other demographic is clueless parents out to help their children nail the school science project.   Some are mothers buying product for the project THEY envision.  If their child has any input it is remarkable.  "Here is how we are going to do it...  if you want my help, follow my direction" parenting.

The other half of the shoppers are dads, like me, who let their child channel their inner Fellini.  Before you know it your shopping cart is filled with rolls of felt, styrofoam spheres, faux grass, glue, paint, midgets, clowns and the corpse of Marcello Mastroianni.  Funny, you never end up bringing home Anika Ekberg do you?

Throw the store at them in an effort to prevent them how to make the darn thing.  If for only a few hours.  It is beautiful really.  Teach them to be creative and concise after spending needless money on crap.  Everyone wins!  Left brain meets commerce.

Where was I?  Oh, yeah.  That shits take time.  And energy.  And time.  Before you know it the endless hours you thought you had on a Sunday are gone.  It's 60 Minutes time already?  Throw March Madness into the mix and how does anyone get anything done this weekend?

The weeks are no better,  or worse, or whatever.  It's life.  It's a beautiful mess.  What are we gonna eat for dinner?  When is her Science quiz?  If held up at work how is she getting home from school?  Anyone let the dog out today?  What color we painting the living room?  Is it gonna snow again?  On March freaking 25th?  Why do we live in the Northeast again?

Oh, right the schools.  And the corruption.  No, stop.  It's all good stuff.  The mundane activities are setting the plan in motion.  Educate the children and teach them the process.  Play a game of horse in the backyard.  Have her do some spring cleaning and rearrange her dresser drawers.  That's good stuff indeed.  Then maybe next week we go after what keeps us hanging around NYC.  The art.  The culture.  The food.  The greatest city on Earth.  Or, at least the greatest one we know.  Lots of great music too.  The spring concert season will be heating up in the coming weeks.  Keep checking GTS on FB for concerts, videos, and live show updates.  We always love to meet old friends, and new, on concert excursion evenings.  Chappo in Brooklyn 3.30.13 looks to be the next stop.  Join us?  In the meantime March was/is another stellar month for new tracks.  Take a listen, won't you?

Parquet Courts "Stoned and Starving"  This goes back to the earlier discussion.   What is for dinner tonight?  It was a good one!  Grilled some filets and the Mrs rocked some seasoned potato crisps.  That was several hours ago.  Now I am feeling like the protagonist in this track by Brooklyn punk act Parquet Courts.  Good humor and a great beat.  I have never been much of a punk aficionado, but I know what I likes.  And I likes this one a lot.  * this column does not advocate walking through NYC stoned and starving.  there are PLENTY of places to get a bite.*

Ty Segall "Thank God For the Sinners"  California twenty something Ty Segall released like 60 LP's last year.  Ok, it was only 3.  Only 3??!!!  I'm lucky if I come up with 3 good ideas in a year.  And by ideas I mean 3 worthy things to steal.  This track is downright awesome.  Gritty, guitar rock in the best kind of way.  Why do I get the feeling Segall just wrote a song while I wrote this paragraph?

Palma Violets "Best of Friends"  We head over the pond for some more punk/garage/psych-grunge rock.  Dueling frontmen Sam Fryer and Alexander "Chilli" Jesson serve up a delicious mix of hard driving guitar and blistering drum lines.  They blend that with aggressive and attention grabbing vocals.  This is an ear opening single.  This is an act worth learning more about.  Note, we understand this is a 2012 track, but don't care.  It is new to this column.

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down "We The Common (For Valerie Bolden)  I know, I know.  Sounds super pretentious right?  Both the band name and title!!  We do know Thao Nguyen is the voice behind the song and front women behind this group of California folk rockers.  Valerie Bolden?  That is another story.  There is some blues picking that steer this tune.  But it is the harmonies and airy flow that keep the song in your head for hours.

Alt-J "Tessellate"  As I write this Leeds University quartet is playing a jam packed Terminal 5.  They won the Mercury Prize in 2012 for their debut LP.  We may be late to the party again but...  better late than never.   Their other singles might be more popular and successful in the states (see "Breezeblocks"  and "Matilda".)  I say start here.

Cold War Kids "Miracle Mile"  I have never seen Grey's Anatomy, so I could not tell you the difference between McDreamy or McSteamy.  I do happen to know the music director of the hit ABC show is pretty darn good.  Many alt artists have gotten commercial success due in large part to their inclusion on a montage scene here or opening title sequence there.  So I am told.  It comes as no surprise as I searched for the latest single by California's Cold War Kids, a clip from the tv show was one of the first Google results.  That is a long, pointless tangent.  Long story short, the band and said single, are super cool.

Leagues "Spotlight"   Nashville based leagues released their debut record, You Belong Here, in January.  This is the single.  Get to know it all.


Phosphorescent "Song for Zula"  Would you believe Phosphorescent is an alias for Alabama born and Brooklyn based singer/songwriter/mood setter Matthew Houck?  Of course you would.  You really gonna look up any info on him to challenge me?  If I said he  was a Buddhist pilgrim who writes songs in Gaza and raised sheep in Portugal would you buy in?  You should sit back and chill to this lovely little piece that reminds you of 90s emo (see The Verve for instance) and has a lyric that follows Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."

Foals "My Number"  Was that some 80s synth you were asking for?  The kind Manchester, England made famous?  These cats from Oxford have been making music for several years.  High energy dance stuff that would make the Human League smile.  Don't, don't you want me?  To give you more great tracks??

Last one...

Shout Out Louds "Walking in Your Footsteps"  No secret that this blog has championed Swedish pop. Hell we endorse Swedish fish too.  Lykke Li, Miike Snow, and The Sounds are but a few of the Swedish acts we boogie down to.  Add veteran pop act Shout Out Louds to the mix.  Their latest record (and 5th total!) Optika, came out in late February.  Let me do my best Stephon from Saturday Night Live...  this song has everything, flute, Robert Fripp-esque guitar fills, that thing when an effeminate man sings quietly with a Swedish girl, synths, beats, smiles and a human wrist watch.  That's that thing where a midget wraps himself around your hand and yells the time at you.  Ok, it's late and I am clearly losing focus.

Keep on living the dream all.