The music is in fact eerie

Eerie (adj) - strange in a frightening and mysterious way

Swedish shoegazer eerie has release a new EP entitled may in winter, a four-track masterpiece of heartache that sends chills up your spine and gets you tapping your feet at the same time.

Much like the name, the music is hauntingly creepy, dark, mysterious and yes... eerie. Fans of Death Cab For Cutie, Bright Eyes, The Shins and Modest Mouse will feel right at home with eerie.

In his own words:

"This thing, I think, was born out of love. Love of the sheer happiness in defeating your enemies and walk away a little lighter at heart. Love of the people that are close to you, not always in miles but in thought and spirit. And of course the love of drum machines, reverbs and the electric guitar. Preferably combined.

When and if you listen to this EP, feel free to judge the book by its cover - it is quite beautiful after all. Or you can try listening to the melodies, to the lush vocals when they linger below accordions, violins and guitars going into overdrive. Someone said there's even a tango in there somewhere. I'm sure you will find something. Maybe love, even..?

There's no marketing strategy. No budgets. Just this. Lend an ear. Please."

the arrow
this has never been
downfall
starting point II
or download the entire EP for free here.

Studio 23's mixtape exhibit opens

34 people (myself included) participated in Studio 23's brilliant mixtape exhibit. Themes were all over the place. My favorites included "Nobody Loves Billie Jean," a collection of Billie Jean covers, and "I Am Not An Artist (But I Make A Damn Fine Mixtape)."

But my absolute favorite was "Songs Drunk White People Love" consisting of songs like "Sweet Caroline," Outkast's "Hey Ya," Bon Jovi's "Livin on a Prayer" and many other groaners that you know you've heard before.






My theme: "The Mixtape You Never Received," a collection of songs whose meanings have drastically changed. My album art consisted of an empty room and a hand holding a mixtape. I'll post the album soon.

Hats off to all the particpants who made some really amazing mixes. Beautiful artwork and well-thought out songlists. All the mixtapes could be listened on iPods hanging right below the art - a very smart idea.


Hopefully, they will make this a regular event. I already have many more ideas I'd love to submit.

Strangers in Wonderland release Shadows

I've just learned from Åsa & Lasse from the Swedish group Strangers In Wonderland that their newest album Shadows will be released on Oct. 6th, but it's already possible to listen to the whole thing at strangersinwonderland.com.

The tracks are what I expect after falling through Wonderland and a few surprises along the way. Dark, seductive sounds mixed in intricate melodies make me never want to find my way out of Wonderland.

So Much More
Whispers
buy the album here

Counting the hours & days with Jonathan Vassar

Richmond folk artist Jonathan Vassar's style comes from the deep roots of country music and the songs of the 60s. Vassar carefully constructs his complex arrangements with a lush acoustic melody supplemented by his rugged voice as well as an assortment of various artists helping him out.

Joining Vassar on the road is his band Speckled Bird, consisting of his wife Antonia on accordion and close friend Chris Edwards on mandolin. Speckled Bird easily fits into Vassar's style by filling the natural spaces in his craft he's left open for them.

What we get from the mixture of talents is The Hours and The Days, a wonderful surprise to the ears of folk and non-folk lovers alike.

About A Dog
Knuckle Shuffle
Catch Me If You Can
from The Hours and The Days (buy it here)

Too much music, not enough time.

I am on music overload right now. So many artsits to tell you about and not enough time in the day. This week's been killer and I have no internet at my new apartment.

Expect a plethora of updates coming (hopefully) soon. Lots of good stuff. I promise.

I'm sorry, this bitch is funny.

Kathy Griffin is performing at the Landmark Theater tonight and I am very excited. The foul-mouthed comedian will be taking potshots at various celebrities and pretty much no one is safe. I'm expecting my sides to be hurting tomorrow.

Everyone I know is making fun of me for liking her. Honestly, I don't know why I do. She embodies everything about people that I hate. Loud, obnoxious, rude. But I love her for it. I don't care what people think. I laugh at her jokes. That's what's important.

Oprah Is A Deity (And I Think She Is Full of Sh**) from For Your Consideration (buy here)

Packing up and moving on

I am in the midst of packing boxes and moving to my new apartment. Why I feel the need to pack everything I own and clean the house at this hour (12:00 am EST) I have no idea. But the air outside is breezing through my open window and all seems right with the world in this one moment. Maybe I'm just ready to move on and experience something different. Maybe I'm just ready to be on my own. Maybe I should just shut up and go to bed.

Listening to this as I pack:
The Piano Creeps - Hey Love
from Future Blues (for me and you) which comes out Oct. 14th

Dinner for one?

It's so hard for me to do anything food related.

I wish I could make amazing looking dishes like those guys on Top Chef but I have neither the patience nor the experience to do so. I fail miserably when it comes to cooking. I burn almost anything I put into the oven.

It's even harder however to do the food shopping. Since I live on my own, I only have to worry about feeding myself. But every ime I go to the market, I never have any idea on what to buy. If I buy too much, it'll go bad (which is what usually happens) and like I said, I'm no good at cooking, so any fancy meals are out. I've gone through those god awful microwave TV dinners (they are disgusting) and tried making simple meals, which sometimes work.

Now I just put off going shopping and end up eating out a lot, which is bad for both my body and wallet. I should seriously just hire someone to shop for me.

Anybody have any ideas on what I can do to eat good food and not feel overwhelmed while shopping?

Songs: Ohia - Peoria Lunch Box Blues
Ben Folds - Lost In The Supermarket
The Early November - Dinner at the Money Table

Listening to Colin Healy and the Jet Skis

Richmond pop punk band Colin Healy and the Jet Skis are quickly climbing my list of new bands I'm enjoying.

Full of energy and catchy melodic hooks, Colin and the Jet Skis offer nothing less than a good time. The heartbreaking lyrics mixed with power pop driven sounds grabs you by the collar, sends you on a tumultuous ride, spits you back out and leaves you want to take the ride again.

They're offering their latest EP, Or Just Don't Go, for fans to download free of charge. All you have to do is sign up for their mailing list (they promise not to spam you) and click the download link.

The One
download the EP for FREE here.

Against Grace at the National, 9/13/08

Against Grace along with The Secret Cool, the Jim Ivins Band, Juniper Lane and Colin Healy and the Jet Skis brought the house down at the National. The night was a celebration of the release of Against Grace's newest album Monroe with a stellar show at the National.

It was an all ages show. That meant small, squealing, 14-year-old girls with x's on their hands running around yelling "OMG." I went to the bar immediately.

The guys in Against Grace put on a great show. Plenty of crowd interaction, amazing guitar riffs and just an overall good time.

There was even an older man, possibly in his late 60s, graying receding hairline, pants pulled up to his torso who was -- wait for it-- playing the air guitar.

Fear of Falling
Monroe
buy Monroe here (It's actually not here, but hopefully the album will available soon)


The unexpected highlight of the night was seeing Washington, DC band Juniper Lane perform. I fell in love with the lead singer. She's very beautiful and holy crap, her voice is amazing.

Catch My Breath
buy Wake From Yourself here

Yeah, I'm one for the dramatic

Okay, I've calmed down. Really just needed to vent and blow off some steam. I'm better now. Thanks to everyone out there who offered support and a sympathetic ear. It's funny how a lot of it came from people I hardly know. That's blogger love right there.

Nine Days - I Feel Fine

F*** the world, I'm getting out.

Do I have a sign on me that says "treat me like crap"? How about one that says "ignore me" or "be condescending to me"? I must have them somewhere. There has to be a reason why everyone is treating me this way. Maybe it's me. I don't know and tired of trying to find out why.

I feel like the biggest outsider. Nothing matters anymore. No matter what I do, nobody cares. Sure, promise something and then bail. Ignore my calls. I don't have feelings. I can't get hurt. Do whatever the f*** you want to me. You don't what it's like to feel alone. It's pointless to keep pretending I'm ok. Honestly, it hurts too much to keep going.

I punched a window like Holden Caulfield. It's the best I've felt all week. I'm only slightly calm enough to write this because someone out there might actually care.

This will probably be my last post.

Bad Religion - Struck A Nerve
Fuel - Forever (Best opening lyric ever)
Now Sleepyhead - Who The F***

If only I could submit many mixtapes

After extensive research, collecting and sorting songs, coming up with ideas and redoing everything, I finally finished my submission to Studio 23's Mixtape exhibit. This was incredibly hard to do. The 10-song maximum irritated me a lot. Mine usually go over 20.

And in my careful, almost obsessive process, I managed to come up with a whole bunch of mixtapes that I couldn't use instead of the one I needed/wanted to submit.

End of the World Mix
I liked this one and it was pretty much done but I felt that the tone was too morbid/depressing. But here's the tracklist.

-Marionette - The Mighty
-Ryan Adams - Nuclear
-The Mission District - Drop The Bomb
-Smashing Pumpkins - Death From Above
-Yuming and Jane - Love Before Doomsday
-Cold - End of the World
-Weezer - Death and Destruction
-Dave Matthews Band - When The Worlds Ends (Paul Oakenfield Remix)
-The Graduate - I Survived
-Mae - Last Transmission

Tunes from the Slammer
The only two tracks I had on this were Justin Nozuka's "Criminal" and The Future Kings of Nowhere's "Ten Simple Murders." I wanted myself on a mugshot for the album cover, but didn't have time to get drunk and beat the crap out of myself and THEN take the picture.

Lights On
All tracks had to do with bright lights. The album art was going to be a white sheet of paper. Too contrived in the song titles and not creative enough. Pass.

Middle School Dance
This was suppsoed to be a collection of sappy love/slow dance songs from my younger days (late 80s-early 90s). I wanted the album art to be two young kids at a dance holding each other with their arms outstretched not looking at each other. But for the sake of time, this wasn't doable.

What was my submission? Find out by going to Studio 23's mixtape exhibit. It'll be on display starting Sept. 26th and running until Oct. 17.

Aimee Mann at the National, 9/8/08

Aimee Mann's show at the National in her hometown of Richmond was nothing less than amazing. It was also Aimee's birthday that night which caused many cheers from the crowd.

Opening act The Submarines were very enjoyable. The lead singer was quite bubbly and giggled a lot.

Aimee played songs from Magnolia ("Save Me" and "Wise Up") and plenty from her latest album Smilers like "Strangers into Starman," "31 Today" and "Freeway." There was plenty of interaction between the crowd and her

Other highlights:
- A solo, acoustic reworked version of "Red Vines." Absolutely amazing.
- "Borrowing Time," a song originally written for Shrek 3 worked into a fairy tale setting. Aimee even told the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- Someone yelled for her to play "Voices Carry," to which she said "No. That song shall not be played."
- Aimee trying to remember how to play "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist" after someone requested it. (She still rocked it)
- The Submarines joining Aimee's band for a cover of the Beatles' "Birthday" complete with everyone singing Happy Birthday to Aimee.

All in all, a great show.

31 Today
Save Me

Lights Camera Dead

It's been too long since I've seen a good horror movie. Lights Camera Dead is a locally made horror movie featuring scares, a bunch of laughs and a whole lot of blood.

The film stars two amateur filmmakers trying to finish their horror movie. When the cast and crew gets fed up and quits, the two decide to finish their film by any mean necessary. Even if it means actually killing a crew member or two... or six.

Wes Reid is amazing as director Ryan Black, an arrogant director who's pretty much a dick to everyone in this movie and makes the perfect killer.

I'm not one for hardcore or metal but I can't help but like this song that's featured in the trailer. Maybe it's because it reminds me of the excitement and hilarity of the movie. I think it's by hardcore band Darkest Hour, but I don't know the name of the song.

Watch the Lights Camera Dead trailer

You've never listened to most of the music you've downloaded

This is funny because it's true. I tried to ID the songs on my iPod on random and failed miserably.

Studio 23's Mixtape exhibit

The lovely ladies at Richmond's art center Studio 23 have found a way to get me into the art mix.

The Mixtape 2008 is their first annual exhibition of mixtapes and their corresponding album art. The premise is simple: Make a 10-song mixtape, make an album cover and submit it. And then your mixtape will be on display.

You don't realize how excited I am for this exhibit. A whole exhibit of mixtapes? And they're looking for submissions? Where do I sign up?

However, this is going to be quite difficult. The submission is open-ended. You can submit anything you want from the theme to the album art to the songs in the mix. I have so many freaking ideas in my head, I don't even know where to start. And the 10-song maximum is going to cause some frustration.

If you are interested in participating, contact them at studiotwothree@gmail.com.

Nate Nelson & Cortright - The One You Wish You Heard
Brand New - Mix Tape
Amos Lee - Listen
The Offspring - I Choose

I kinda like this Bryn Christopher fellow

Bryn Christopher is one of those new artists who I have a hard time not listening to. He's a new English singer (where all my new music seems to come from these days) who's been supporting Amy Winehouse’s tour at the end of last year. His music is upbeat and full of soul - I listen to Bryn's music and find myself transported to a trendy big city jazz club dressed in my best suit where I dance with the nearest beautiful woman I can find.

The EP The Quest will be released on September 16 followed by his full-length, My World, on January 13, 2009.

My World (Windows Media)
The Quest (Windows Media)