New Song / MySpace It : De bonnes nouvelles from Pony Pony Run Run.

I once tried to see Pony Pony Run Run, hailing from France, live at the Fleche d'Or. This, however, was not to be as my ear decided, "Nope, too loud, headache, time to go home." And so I did. So I've been waiting for them to get around to releasing a record ever since.

Good news, then - according to the band, they've just finished recording and mixing their new record, recorded at Ferber Studio in Paris, and it should be out sometime in June.

While you wait, they've posted the first single of the album, "Out Of Control," a reworking of an older PPRR song, on their 'Space. And made a teaser video.

Pony Pony Run Run - Out of Control (teaser)
by 3emebureau

This whole "song teaser" thing seems to be big with French bands. I'm not sure I get it.

New Release / New Tour Dates / MySpace It : Stuck In The Sound's second record drops 26th January.

Since when are bands making "coming attractions"-style teasers for their new albums...?

TEASER SHOEGAZING KIDS
by DavidFontao

Um, regardless, I am SO EXCITED about Stuck In The Sound's sophomore album, Shoegazing Kids, which drops 26th January, along with a France-wide tour to go with it.

23 Jan 2009 - L’EMB - Sannois
29 Jan 2009 - La Maroquinerie - Paris *
30 Jan 2009 - Le Chabada - Angers
31 Jan 2009 - L’Ephémère - Vannes
6 Feb 2009 - Le Normandy - Saint-Lo
7 Feb 2009 - L’Abordage - Evreux
13 Feb 2009 - Le Grand Mix - Tourcoing
14 Feb 2009 - Le Plan - Ris-orangis ^
20 Feb 2009 - La Lune des pirates - Amiens *
21 Feb 2009 - La Manekine - Pont Sainte Maxence
27 Feb 2009 - le Fuzz’Yon - La roche sur Yon
28 Feb 2009 - Arcade / Tremore - Notre Dame de Gravenchon *
4 Mar 2009 - L’Ubu - Rennes ^
5 Mar 2009 - Barbey - Bordeaux ^
6 Mar 2009 - Victoire 2 + Adam Kesher ^
7 Mar 2009 - Le Phare - Toulouse ^
11 Mar 2009 - La Luciole - Alençon
12 Mar 2009 - L’Olympic - Nantes ^
13 Mar 2009 - Chato’do - Blois ^
14 Mar 2009 - Espace Culturel Leclerc - Niort ^
17 Mar 2009 - Les Grands Marais - Riorges
18 Mar 2009 - La Vapeur - Dijon
19 Mar 2009 - Ninkasi Kao - Lyon ^
20 Mar 2009 - Salle Le Bournot - Aubenas ^
21 Mar 2009 - El Mediator - Perpignan #
26 Mar 2009 - Festival Chorus - Chatenay-malabry
27 Mar 2009 - Les Trinitaires - Metz
28 Mar 2009 - La Cartonnerie - Reims ^
3 Apr 2009 - Cooperative de Mai - Clermont-Ferrand
4 Apr 2009 - Festival Garorock - Marmande
10 Apr 2009 - L’Empreinte - Savigny le temple
11 Apr 2009 - Run Ar Puns - Chateaulin
* with I am un chien
^ with Adam Kesher
# with Music Is Not Fun

Right now, les gars have two new singles, "Shoot Shoot" and "Ouais" ("Yeah," for the uninitiated), up on their 'Space. Oh, they did a teaser for "Ouais," too (yeah, seriously):

Teaser "OUAIS"


Ouaaaaaaaaais.

New Release / MySpace It : Up The Empire's putting out a new EP and having a party with the Bon Savants.

The hard copies of our new EP, Loose Ends, just arrived in the mail! The record is officially out on DEC 16th (with digital versions somewhat secretly available right now). You’ll be able to get your hands on a copy in person at a big blow out party we’re having at MERCURY LOUNGE on Wednesday, DEC. 17th with The Bon Savants and label mates Ford & Fitzroy (who, btw, just released their own record yesterday). You know you can’t wait!

I stumbled upon Up the Empire sometime in early '06 and I thought they'd split up since then and I was sad, but no! They are back with a new EP and a record release party to go along with it. It drops officially on the 16th (as detailed above), but you can buy it off of iTunes right now or just stream it off their 'Space.

Up The Empire - Volcano (off Light Rides The Super Major LP)

And they're playing that release show with the Bon fucking Savants, which, omg I'm fucking psyched no srsly. Have you heard "Between the Moon and the Ocean"? Because if you haven't, you need to rectify that right now.

Bon Savants - "Between the Moon and the Ocean"

MySpace It : New NoY stuff.

Blender Theatre, NYC


We have been hesitant to post demos and had to discuss the risks of plaguing you with demoitis. When these songs get recorded for real in an actual recording studio with the proper gear and instruments and production tricks we want to hear it is inevitable that we will see the "I liked the demo version better" all over the place because you kids are too cool for school and heard it before everyone else. Well good for you. We don't care anymore. The song "I Think I'm Getting Older" was recorded in my small brooklyn bedroom (along with 6 others so far) with the exception of the drums which we tracked down the street. I have very minimal gear and even less recording/mixing skills so it is what it is. Like I said, if we are still feeling good about these songs when the time comes we plan to record them properly. For now you are going to have to settle for the demo just don't get too comfy. Let us know what you think. If this seems like a good idea perhaps we'll put a new one up each week. No promises. We have about 6-7 more demos just about finished and about another half dozen songs almost ready to record. For those of you in NYC who are 21+ or have a solid fake ID we'll see you Thursday.

Emphasis mine. They have a point. And I like that they're frank about it.

You can hear "I Think I'm Getting Older" on their 'Space.

Nightmare of You will be playing Rehab (formerly Club Midway) on Thursday, 24th July, with Saints and Lovers.

New songs/MySpace It: The Red Romance and Looker

Both Looker and The Red Romance have posted brand-spanking new songs on their respective 'Spaces today.

Looker's "Gates of the Old City" and "Help Me Roada" come from their upcoming "Gates of the Old City" single, out on Serious Business on 4 March. "Roada" feels like the sort of summery pop song that belongs floating through your car speakers as you drive nowhere on the interstate, while I really adore the harmonies on the second and third refrains in "Gates". They don't incite the same emotional attachment for me as the "After My Divorce" single did, but then again, that's a very particular case, and these are two very lovely tracks. (Also, a live version of "Spit For Your Shine" live from BBC Radio 1 is up as well.)

Meanwhile, the Red Romance is offering up three cuts from their upcoming self-titled debut LP, due out this year sometime. You know me, I'm a sucker for that '80s throwback feel, and while I don't particularly care for the "oh-whoa-whoa" bit in "Kinda Feels Right," I'm really taken by "Hesitate."

Both bands are playing the Mercury Lounge (with The Orion Experience) tomorrow, 31 January, and again at TCNJ on 1 February and Luna Lounge on 7 March. I would be heading out to see them this weekend, but I've got some other business to which I must attend*, so I'll have to hold out for this bill at a more convenient point.


(*Speaking of which, Nate has been writing some really nice things about his soon-to-be former fellow bandmates, so any of you who are actually reading** this are totally encouraged to go read said posts. Also, I know I said I'd do some updates last week, but, ya' know, life, so don't hold out for anything until I get back from Boston this weekend, 'kay? 'Kay.)

(**I like how I pretend I have readership. :P)

Myspace it: Nada Surf's Lucky, and other stuff.

As previously mentioned, Nada Surf's new record Lucky drops 5 February, but as of tomorrow, 25 January, you can stream the whole thing on the 'Space. Good times.

.....

Also, We Are Scientists have announced some tour dates- in the UK. Rawr.

.....

Don't forget to vote for Rocketshp Park! Because more money for Josh means more SDR for us.

New Song/MySpace it/New Tour Dates: Nightmare of You in the northeast again FINALLY.

I just moved into my new room at school this morning, and classes don't start 'til Monday, so you can probably expect some updates over the next few days as I wile away the last of my eight-month vacation from school.

But while we're still on that only-posting-about-the-same-three-bands-I-always-post-about kick, Nightmare of You announced that they're going to announce "a handful of shows for late February and early March in the Northeast." The only confirmed date so far is 13/3 at The Crazy Donkey on Long Island, which doesn't help me out much, but insider-y sources (ie, Rachel messaging Brandon Reilly) have unconfirmed reports of a Philly show the day before that and another possible show in Framingham, MA. (Though they could always play in NoHo and save me the three-hour bus ride. Please? Guys?)

More details when...well, when I have more details, I suppose.

Also, they have a new cover of Cheap Trick's "On Top of the World" up on their 'Space with which I'm not 100% taken, but yay for new stuff and yay for Cheap Trick.


(I also want to share with you that, midway through this post, I decided to go make a cup of tea 'cause man, is my throat sore, and then I found a dead ant in my tea kettle. Yech. Yeah, it's been a while since I was living as a full-on college student...)

MySpace it: WAS' new song is up.

We Are Scientists have posted their new song "After Hours" on their 'Space, so if that radio rip isn't enough for you, you can, I dunno', add it to your own profile, I guess.

MySpace it (maybe.): The Teenagers' Reality Check. Plus, some Stuck.

The Teenagers' (not of the Frankie Lyman sort, sorry) new record, Reality Check is up for listen on their MySpace until it drops digitally in America on 15 January.

The Teenagers are an electropop rock band from Paris. While I'm generally a fan of the French electropop rock thing, and although they have some peppy, dancey tunes (the cheekily-titled "Starlett Johansson" is worth a listen, I like the opening of "Ill", and on the refrain of "Love No" they sound like some British band, though I can't put my finger on which one) and have remixed the likes of Air and others, I really can't see (or, rather, hear) what the fuss is about. Apparently a shit tonne of bloggers are all about the Teenagers, but I'm not impressed and, frankly, a little bored. The heavily accented speak-singing and juvenile lyrics ("I fucked my American cunt/I loved my English romance," "I'm not in love with you/But it's okay to stay with you") make me think of Serge Gainsbourg reinterpreted as a 17-year-old guy, and not in a good way at all. Also, the constant repetition of "we're (the) teenagers, buy our t-shirts, talk about us everywhere" ironic hipsterish self-promotion bit is annoying after a while. Immaturity can be a fun breath of fresh air, but I'm not buying it here.

At least they're appropriately named, in any case.



And now for a French band that I actually like: I stumbled upon this little interview by Fluo Kids with Stuck In The Sound frontman José from August 2007, after they'd gotten back from a summer festival circuit (which included Fête de la Musique and Festival Fnac Indétendances à Paris Plages). It's rather short and basic, and also very much in French, but I adore that he lists Paris as one of their top five countries in which to play. (I just adore him no matter what.)

Here's the great remix of "Toy Boy" that they posted with said interview:

Stuck In The Sound - "Toy Boy" (All That She Wants TEPR Remix) [zshare]

MySpace it/Stuck in my head: Everyone covers La Spears.

Less Lee over at Popshifter.com turned me on to Chicago band Local H's cover of B. Spears' "Toxic." She says, "This cover is the JAM." I say, it is pretty sweet, though I (sadly) have soft spot for the original. Love the guitar work on the intro, though.

Hear it over at their 'Space.


Funnily enough, just a few days ago, I picked up Machinae Supremacy's cover of "Gimme' More" from Pretty Much Amazing!, and that about sums it up. I don't like "Gimme' More," but I love this cover. The hard rock take on this song makes it feel so much dirtier- I just want to grab the first dirty skinny rocker boy I find and make out with him in a dark corner. Or maybe just table dance as I rock out to this song. Either of those sound like a good time.

Machinae Supremacy - "Gimme' More"

New song/New release/MySpace It (for now): OK Go - "Gigantic" (Pixies cover) (&others)

Once upon a time, I was up-to-date on all the latest OK Go-related knowledge. Those days are no more because, dude, I've grown up a bit, and besides, a year spent in another country usually changes one's priorities. Also, they're sort of boring me now. (Make a new record already!)

*ahem* So I've known for a little while that they were going to do a song for Dig For Fire: A Tribute to the Pixies, but I didn't know what song, when it was coming out, etc. etc. because, as explained, I'm not so much for the paying attention anymore. Apparently they've covered "Gigantic" (as opposed to "Wave of Mutilation," which they were covering live over summer 2006), which I came across today on Facebook, of all places.

Not being a Pixies fan (I've just never actually pursued their music, to be honest), I can't compare it to the original. As an OK Go song, I quite like it, because it's new material and yet it reminds me of old school OK Go, circa Appendices. It sounds a lot more like, say, "Minuet in C# Minor" or "Letterbox" (another cover, this one of the They Might Be Giants' song) or even "Unrequited Orchestra of Locomotion". (In fact, I believe that some of those tracks off of Appendices, which is really OK Go-before-they-were-OK Go, were created by frontman Damian Kulash's Pixies-inspired college band, A La Playa. Which, in this case, makes total sense. This is a sound he's played with before.) It's got the elements you've come to expect from OK Go (say, Damian's falsetto) but with a harder edge.

And after nearly two and a half years of pounding down Oh No, it's ridiculously refreshing. It's interesting to see their sound sort of come full circle, from the distortion-filled noise of Appendices to the over-produced candy of OK Go to the more accessible, less polished Oh No (somewhat a product of its 2005 times) and back to this- the old mixed with the new.

If this is what we can expect from OK Go in the future, then, well, I'm all for that.




Dig For Fire: A Tribute to the Pixies is currently available on iTunes. It's released in physical format on 27 November. You can pre-order it here.

Full track listing:
Bedroom Walls - 'Stormy Weather'
British Sea Power - 'Caribou'
Bunnies - 'Alec Eiffel'
Charles Douglas - 'Bone Machine'
David Miller - 'Manta Ray'
Dylan In The Movies - 'Down To The Well'
Elk City - 'Monkey Gone To Heaven' & 'Number 13 Baby'
Fashion Victims - 'Hey'
Joe Harvard Band - 'In Heaven (Everything Is Fine)'
John Strohm - 'Where Is My Mind?'
Joy Zipper - 'Wave of Mutilation'
Julie Peel - 'The Happening'
kNIFE & fORK (featuring Eric Drew Feldman) - 'Motorway To Roswell'
Mogwai - 'Gouge Away'
Morning Theft - 'Ana'
OK Go - 'Gigantic'
PC Munoz - 'I Bleed'
The Commons w/Elizabeth Harper - 'Here Comes Your Man'
The Rosebuds - 'Break My Body'
They Might Be Giants - 'Havalina'

Listen to OK Go's cover of "Gigantic" on their 'Space.

MySpace it: The Ones That Got Away

I've already posted about Looker's fabulous new 7" single, available for purchase here, that's been seeing heavy rotation (metaphorically speaking, at least until I go dig out the turntable again) since August. I was giving their debut record, Born Too Late, a veritable listen for the first time the other day, while on line at the post office, and I actually wasn't too taken by it. The vocal style got to me after a while (rather, a bit), and I found myself skipping songs a lot because of it. Odd, because I generally enjoy "Radio" and "Tickle My Spine," the two older songs they've got posted on their 'Space.

And it's not like the girls can't sing, as evidenced on the "After My Divorce" 7" and by side project The Ones That Got Away. Featuring half of Looker, The Ones That Got Away was born of "Friday nights in a tiny East Village apartment with 2 mics, an upright bass and whoever felt like coming over and playing." Are these modern sea shanties? Pared-down, wanton rock jams? I'm not sure, but "I Wanna Take You Home" has been stuck in my head for a few days now, and I don't think I want it to go away.

It doesn't look like there's too much going on with this group, though, which is a shame. We'll wait and see. In the meantime, I'll give BTL another go.


Listen up here.
You can always download "After My Divorce" for free here.

In the studio: The Like

I tried to get into the Like when their record, Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking?, was released, but they didn't sound like what I expected, so I didn't really...well, get into them. Then in January, I picked up a used copy of Are You Thinking... for about 3 euros, and really just loved it. In fact, I've been wanting to listen to it again for a little while, so I'll go do that now...

In any case, the girls of the Like have crossed the pond to work on their as-yet untitled second record:

FINALLY!!!

we're going back in the studio to record our second album!! we start at the beginning of november, so we'll keep you updated with more blogs and hopefully photos and things.....

we're so excited!!!!


love,
THE LIKE

They'll be keeping us all updated via their 'Space blog.

Also, while you're at it, go to their 'Space and listen to "(Before I Break Your Heart) Release Me," live from when they were on Jonsey's Jukebox. Really sweet, really honest, and really sad.

I wish you knew I'm knew I'm not the one for you
I'm just a sad excuse for what you long for
And after all I do,
I'm still just stuck on you
Why don't you run from me?
Because I can't leave you