Color me surprised when a new Verve song came on my ways to work! It’s called “Love is Noise” off of their new album coming out in August. So, it should leak sometime soon, right? I’m terrible. Coupled with “Lights & Music” from Cut Copy, this makes for a very happy two song mix. And since I’ve had a big lack of dance tracks (they are coming, don’t worry), throw that Lights & Music song kind of in there and ignore that I’ve already posted a remix of it.
This is a really, at the chance of sounding lame, groovy track. Really good for a summer mix, which speaking of, who can help me find my summer album for this year?? LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver covered that for me last year, but I still haven’t found that one for me yet this year, damnit.
Beach House has this really spacey sound to them…obviously at this point of the blog you’ve caught on that I let the music talk for itself more than I talk for the music, so just take my word for it and click below.
Now here is the real gem of this post. This guy has this unimaginable about of emotion that he conveys in his methodical singing. Bottle of whiskey + Bon Iver + Liam Finn + Sufjan Stevens would make for a great night.
My updating has been a little slow as of late up here, but its because I’ve recently been appointed the role of taking care of all of the live music acts on Thursdays at On The Rocks in Little Rock, so that has taken up a LOT of my free time as of late. There’s still some bad ass bands we haven’t signed down quite yet, but are in talks with, but I won’t reveal the names yet, but anybody in Arkansas will be quite happy to hear some of those. Here are the shows we have down for sure right now after a little over a week’s work:
On Thursday, July 24, On The Rocks is proud to give you GRAND SERENADE & BIG BOOTS!! You may remember a few key members of Big Boots from the former Sugar & The Raw. This is going to be a show to NOT MISS.
Want more of a reason besides two of the BEST bands in Arkansas?? How about $5 to get in and 25 CENT BEER?!!
$5 Cover Charge
!!!!!!!!$25 CENT BUD LIGHT!!!!!!
- $3 Pitchers of Bud Light
- $10 Towers of Bud Light
- $3 Sex on the Beach
Grand Serenade & Big Boots
Thursday, July 24
On The Rocks
21+
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On The Rocks, the NEW epicenter of live music in Little Rock
- Every Thursday Night
- Two Bands
- $5 Cover
- 25 Cent Bud Light
**************
Well, I just got back from the most amazing weekend. My show count is unfortunately a little on the low side this year, but Lolla is in the close distance. My top shows from the weekend:
1. Pearl Jam
2. Sigur Ros
3. Broken Social Scene
4. The Raconteurs
5. Battles
6. B.B. King
7. Vampire Weekend
8. Back Door Slam
9. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
10. Jack Johnson
Yeah, I missed My Morning Jacket, I know. Kill me to make it easier :(. Apparently M.I.A. also played her “last” show at Bonnaroo, but we’ll see about that. I heard Paper Planes in the background at camp as I did the gun shots, reload, cash register at camp. This time around, I’m just going to let the pictures do the talking, because I could write paragraphs on the Pearl Jam show and Sigur Ros. Oh, and because I’m such a great guy, I’m going to throw you some recordings from Bonnaroo as well! Of course the sound quality isn’t the greatest becausetheyarefreakingbootlegs, but don’t say I never gave you anything. The three songs that have been stuck in my head since the festival….as I heard them.
This is the first time in 13 years that this song has been played live, and it was amazingamazingamazing just like the whole show. Being 2nd row in front of 80,000 people for one of the most amazing 3 hour Pearl Jam shows ever was well worth the cost of the whole festival. A show that saw the first live appearance of All Night and the Who cover of Love Reign O’er Me along with the first live appearances of Who You Are and W.M.A. in over a decade. *goosebumps*
Setlist:
Hard to Imagine
Corduroy
All Night
Why Go
Small Town
Down
Who You Are
Severed Hand
Half Full
Evenflow
Daughter/Blitzkrieg Pop
Gone
Reign O’er Me
Do the Evolution
RVM
WMA
Betterman/Save It For Later
Black
Life Wasted
Crazy Mary
Porch
Sigur Ros was also uncomprehendingly amazing. The crowd was so, so electric for this show. I think some kind of bomb was set off at Bonnaroo when Gobbledigook was played, because the crowd just ERUPTED when this song played, my throat flips a little every time I remember the start of that song with the crowd going crazy. The setlist was mostly new stuff and EP stuff instead of Takk, ( ), and Agaetis Byrtun material, which I was a little disappointed of, but this show wasn’t a show. It was an experience.
Broken Social Scene ended up being my third favorite show and the crowd was red hot for these guys, too. I’m only really familar with their first couple of CDs, but I’ll definitely be checking out their later albums after that show. Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl really stood out to me, but that may be mostly because I’ve fallen so much in love with “Pitter Patter Goes My Heart” and then heard this song later on as Pitter Patter is kind of a reprise of Anthems. Good stuff.
Well, tonight is the night that I cast sail to my first of two music festivals this year, Bonnaroo. This will be my 4th consecutive Bonnaroo. Got a pretty good sized group going up there, 15 people including myself. Going to be a long trip. If something is going to be different, it’s the weather. Weather points to rain every single day of the festival, if not storms. Usually it’s just hot as fuck. But since this will be my last post here until next week where I overload you with bad ass pictures from the festival, I’m going to throw out a Beck song and some songs from some really lesser known artists playing at Bonnaroo on the smallest of the stages.
This song really took me back when I heard it for the first time about a week ago. It’s the first time that Beck has done anything that has really impressed me since “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometimes”…granted, that’s mostly because Eternal Sunshine is one of my favorite movies, but I think this song could go on to be one of Beck’s defining songs. It’s off of Beck’s 10th album coming out that hasn’t hit yet. Chemtrails.
These are the guys from the movie, Once, that came out last year. If you haven’t already seen that movie, you need to. For one that is so involved with music, it must seem backwards that I hate musicals. Big exception with Once. It’s like a musical…but it isn’t on the same note. It’s heavily musically driven. Anyways, these guys are playing at Bonnaroo, so here’s an awesome song that’s not off of the movie’s soundtrack.
Royal Bangs. These guys are from Knoxville, TN, not toooo far from Bonnaroo and you can find them playing at 1:30 AM on Thursday night/Friday morning at the Troo Music Lounge. Think of their sound as if The Strokes played with computers and electronic music on occasion, then you would have Royal Bangs. New Scissors is a good song, but check out their myspace and listen to Handcuff Killa. That’s the song I wanted to post, but I can’t find a copy of it at all.
The Postelles’ last album was produced by Albert Hammond Jr, again, the guitarist for the Strokes. There seems to be a common idea in these last two bands, yeah? Well, I don’t want to say these guys also sound like the Strokes, I mean what kind of writing is that? Soooo…you be the judge. You can also find these guys on the Troo Music Lounge at Bonnaroo on Saturday at 12:00 PM. These guys are also playing at Lollapalooza this year, my next conquest.
You can see these guys play at The Other Tent on Saturday at 4:30 PM. They have a folk-rock sound and I’m not sure which is the singer, but whomever has a really good, raw sounding voice that adds a lot of feeling to their material. Check out Colorshow.
Jake Shimabukuro is apparently a lot bigger than I thought he was, judging from his myspace views and whatnot. He brings an oriental acoustic sounding style of music that is nice to either see the sun come up, down, or watch the waves hit the shore (Not sounding typical here at all, right?). I immediately took a liking to this stuff the second I heard it. He’s playing at the Blue Room Cafe on Sunday at 7:45 PM and the Solar Stage on Friday at 8:00 PM.
The title pretty much covers it, but I’m about to hit a milestone in my life. I’m going to see the band, THE band with the music that will forever most define me as a person. For the first time on the biggest stage, in my little opinion, Bonnaroo while I’m within the first few rows, I’ll be there. I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire mature life. Finally. I get to experience it. Here’s the top eleven songs, because I can’t pick just ten for them, I absolutely can’t fucking wait to hear, if they play them, at Bonnaroo from Pearl Jam.
With an overwhelming sense of fight and pride, I can not wait to throw my fist in the air contiuously and yell “I’m still alive.” A principle of my life can be summed up at the end of this song when played live. On the original studio recording, the end with “I’m still alive” can be perceived as no more than a burden. But live in unison with the crowd, it’s flipped around in another meaning. A meaning of celebration. I’m still alive. No matter what happens to you, at the end of the day you’re still alive and that’s enough to make every day worth living, experiencing, and celebrating.
That pretty much sums me up. I love the intro to this song. I might have had too many white russians at this point, but I do believe this is actually a Mooke Blaylock cover. Yeah, the name before the one they have these days…so technically does that really even make it a cover?
Yes, it has been played since the decade long drought of not playing this song live, but I would still flip out if they play this just out of principle. Drop the leash, drop the leash, get out of my fucking face.
Want a story? This is the love story of Stephan Pearce’s life. It’s all a dream.
My lips are shakin,
My nails are bit off.
Its been a month since I’ve heard myself talk.
Only advantage this life’s got on me,
Picture a cup in the middle of the sea.
- And I fought back in my mind
Never lets me be right..
I got memories, I got shit
So much it dont show..Oh, I walked the line…
When you held me in that night
Oh, I walked the line…
When you held my hand..
- An empty shell seem so easy to crack.
Got all these questions,
Don’t know who I could even ask.
So I’ll just lie alone and wait for the dream,
Where I’m not ugly and you’re lookin at me.
- And I’ll stare you back.
Oh, blue eyes I’ve seen them..
If just once, I could be loved..
Oh, stare back at me..Oh, I walked the line..
When you held me in at night
Oh, I walked the line..
When you held my hand that night..
Oh, I walked the line..
When you held me close at night
Oh, I paid the price…
Never held you in real life.
“I gather speed, from you fucking with me. Once and for all, I’m far away. It’s hard to believe, finally the shades are raised.”
One of the best examples of Pearl Jam studio vs. Pearl Jam live. Rearviewmirror studio is 4:44, where as Rearviewmirror live is anywhere between an 8-11 minute long epic. Saw things so much clearer, when you were in my rearviewmirror.
Look. I’m not over exaggerating here, this is THE definite live song I will ever be able to tell you about in person, post on here, or have ever heard to this point in my life. This particular live recording is absolutely fucking incredible, I can’t put any words into how incredible this live recording of this song is. The most uplifting, positive, climatic, intense, incredible, incredible, song I could ever post on this blog I’m giving you now early in its’ life. The sound quality isn’t the best, but the raw energy is more than I can ever experience. The normal version of Porch is 3:30, this version is 10:31 long.
As much as I put over that version of Porch, this version of Immortality deserves just as much credit. If somebody told me, hey Stephan, what’s the song that you can whip out to show everything that you love about Pearl Jam that’s crammed into one song, I would whip out this particular version of Immortality. The only reason why I wouldn’t whip out that version of Porch is that for no matter how incredible it is, the sound quality really isn’t the best it could be, where as this version of Immortality is. This song is so fucking incredible, just…fuck..FUCK, if you ever read this blog or glance or anything and think that it seems so weird that I have such a love for Pearl Jam considering what other music I love and pimp out, listen to THIS song and Porch and that’s all I have for you. Period. This version of Immortality and that version of Porch define Pearl Jam for me. That’s it.
I’m pretty sure that when the first chord of this song hits, tears will roll down my eyes from just how beautiful this song is. Just, wow. It’s not even the lyrics alone that hit me, just everything
I see the world, feel the chill..
Which way to go..windowsill..
I see the world’s on a rocking horse of time..
I see the birds in the rain..
Ohh..ohh..ohh..ohh..Oh, dear dad, can you see me now?
I am myself, like you somehow..
I’ll ride the wave where it takes me..
I’ll hold the pain…Release me…
Ohh..ohh..ohh..ohh..
Oh, dear dad, can you see me now?
I am myself, like you somehow..
I’ll wait up in the dark for you to speak to me..
I’ll open up..Release me..
Release me.
I think of this song as a continuation of the song I have as number one. This is off of Pearl Jam’s most recent album, their 2006 self entitled album, it’s the last track on it. A track that Pearl Jam can still fucking bring it after over a decade, but much more importantly than that, this song has easily become one of my favorite songs ever. I actually have the lyrics written and posted on the wall of my bedroom to the right of my laptop. There’s not a likely chance they will play this song at Bonnaroo, but it sure would fucking make my trip. This song just builds and builds and builds and just fucking goes crazy at the end. At that end, I always can’t help but imagine just some huge epic battle going on where you just accept everything that is going on and put everything you have in your might, in your being, in your love, in your soul and give everything that you have, EVERYTHING that you have to fight. To fight. To fight.
“Knowledge is a tree.
It’s growing up just like me.”
You’re killing me. Killing me going to the top of this list. This is the part of the list where I really can not put into words my love for these songs. The transcendent feeling I get off of these songs. It’s love, it’s hope, it’s keeping it together, it’s living, it’s everything that you feel good about in this world, it’s pure, it’s representative of my heart pouring out for you. That’s In My Tree. That’s this live version. Up here so I high, the sky I scrape.
This number one on this list also happens to be defining song my entire life. That’s quite a statement to put on any song, but I can with all of my heart of hearts say that this is my song, the song that defines me as who I am. Present Tense. You hear stories of one song changing somebody’s life and shrug it off, but this song really did change my life. At a young age when I was a junior in high school, this song shaped who I am today. After being more depressed in my life than I ever had been due to various reasons, this song uplifted me and made me realize so, so much and the Stephan Pearce that you see today was molded by “Present Tense” by Pearl Jam I shit you not. It was this one song. This is a song of rebirth.
Why do I love Pearl Jam? For their songs of hope. Songs of hope. Songs to keep me going.
I can’t put this song into words at all, what so ever. This is my song.
This is the song of my life.
The songs I’ve posted for you guys…this post has taken me at least 3 hours to complete. This is me. A lot of these songs I had wet eyes while listening and typing my commentary for those songs. Maybe that’s lame, but you want the raw me? Well, I just fucking gave it to you.
This is me. This is my soul.
You have no idea how excited I am for next Saturday. No idea.
Do you see the way that tree bends?Does it inspire?
Leaning out to catch the sun’s rays..A lesson to be applied.
Are you getting something out of this.. all encompassing trip?
-
You can spend your time alone redigesting past regrets, ohh..Or you can come to terms and realize you’re the only one who can forgive yourself, ohh..
Makes much more sense to live in the present tense..
-
Have you ideas on how this life ends?
Checked your hands and studied the lines..
Have you the belief that the road ahead ascends off into the light?
Seems that needlessly it’s getting harder to find an approach and a way to live..
Are we getting something out of this..all encompassing trip?
-
You can spend your time alone redigesting past regrets, ohh..Or you can come to terms and realize you’re the only one who cannot forgive yourself, ohh..
Makes more sense to live in the present tense..
Heard this the other day and thought it sounded pretty nice, another band that sounds a lot like the Strokes but then I found out that it’s from no other than Albert Hammond Jr, the guitarist OF The Strokes. Apparently his solo album debut, Como Te Llama, turned out really well so I’m going to have to check it out. Think of it as Strokes lite.
To throw a little electro into the bunch, I downloaded this track on a recommendation yesterday and I’m digging it. Justice + twang of disco = Revolte. At least…that’s what I got off of this song.
To keep the dancing going, I can not what so ever get this remix out of my head. It’s nothing new and you would think that from last year’s iPod commercials that this song would have ran thin by now, but the singer in Feist just has that particular female voice that makes me want to marry her on the spot. Most of the time, I don’t like female singers as I just think that most of them are indistinguishable from another. Not that they are bad, just I can hardly tell a difference from one to another. But from Regina Spektor’s quirkiness in her live sets to Feist’s voice that will put me in a trance, a few stand out. I’ve posted it on here before, so I won’t again, but if you haven’t heard the piano version of Broken Social Scene’s “Lover’s Spit” with the girl from Feist singing…you need to immediately. I get goosebumps every time I listen to it.
Posting an Alice in Chains b-side may be straying quite a bit from the norm here, but I think you’ll be surprised. If I have my history right, this was an unreleased song from Alice in Chains minus Layne Stayle when he was towards the height of his heroin addiction. No angry, screaming guitars to be found here, just a simple, mostly acoustic guitar driven song. Always been a personal favorite of mine. Apparently Alice in Chains v.2.0 are supposed to be releasing their first album this year and I fear for the result of it baring a new singer that looks like some guy out of American Idol.
My Bonnaroo schedule has changed up a bit after the discovery of some new bands and reworking of some conflicts as a lot of these bands are going to be playing in two months at Lollapalooza, so I’ll just catch them there. Saturday, I’ve decided on the grand idea of camping at the railing for Pearl Jam at the main stage all day from noon until they play at 10 PM, baby! Could be once in a lifetime to be THAT close, who knows, but I have my chance. I’m missing Against Me, Cat Power, and Gogol Bordello at the expense of that, but I’ll probably catch those bands sometime this year anyhow. So, expect pictures of me standing 7 feet from Jim James and 5 feet from Eddie Vedder two weeks from now on here. I don’t really feel too bad about Sunday being a little weak, as that night before after having 3 hours of one of the greatest experiences in my life from Pearl Jam directly followed by 2 hours of one of the greatest transcendent experiences of my life from Sigur Ros directly followed by partying whatever ass I have left after being blown away twice in a row until the sun comes up from Ghostland Observatory. Damn.
Holy shit, Sigur Ros’s new album is soooo fucking close to dropping on us. June 24th is the official date. Unfortunately, their Icelandic song titles have reached out to their album names as the new album is titled “‘ Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust”. So…I have no idea how I’m going to go about trying to pronounce that in a conversation other than “the new sigur ros cd”. But it’s supposed to be epic. Apparently one of the songs on there, Ára bátur, has a total of 90 people playing in that one song. That among all of the rest of the album, oh my god I’m so happy I’m going to be seeing them in TWO WEEKS AND ONE DAY, BONNAROO! Here’s a song they have released off of the new album:
Here is a big plug to my buddies, Trevor and Shawn, over at thediscoitch. They are trying to fire up the Little Rock scene with a big dose of great electronic music, not your typical shit. I’m sure you’ll see us blog about a lot of the same artists, but these guys are 100% dedicated to their dance shit so I know where I’ll be and that’s where you should be, www.thediscoitch.com!
I had a big scare with my hard drive that holds in its hands, my music collection, but apparently it wasn’t getting enough power from my bed room at my parent’s house, which I can’t even remember the last time I plugged it up over there, so it seems to be fine up here at the mansion. I was about to flip in the possibility that I had lost my collection of music I’ve had for nearly 6 years and that I would have to buy a new hard drive. But since things are fine now, if it wasn’t for my best buy card declining (it’s deactivated), I would have a ridiculous 1.5 TBs of hard drive space. Wowzers. Yeah, wowzers.
Expect updates now at least three times a week due to various reasons! Back to why you are here:
I had now idea just how talented Liam Finn was until I saw a video today, so you need to check that out and be amazed at his ability at fuckingeverythingbyhimself just as I was!
And now for something hot. I’ve been hearing this particular song for the past week or two and it’s catching on with me a lot. Here’s also a dance remix to go along with it that I’ve had on repeat for the past 10 minutes while writing this post:
In the past couple of days, I’ve been able to reintroduce myself into some good old fashion fishing thanks to Mr. Guzzle Monster along with a pretty decent little sun burn so it can peel away and reveal a man’s man’s tan for the club. If you work at one, you have to have a tan, right? Btw, here’s a shout out for the go to, be all place for anything you need to know about the music scene going on in Little Rock plus more from a guy named Dustin:
The theme for today is I’mputtingmyfuckingpooluprealdamnsoon so, here’s some tunes to supplement the summer theme! Which I realize how ridiculous it may be to post a summer post within two weeks of a spring post, so let’s just consider both of those a ’bout-to-get-fucking-hot post?
If there is one really unique sounding act that just knocked me off my rocker just by randomly passing by, it has to be Toubab Krewe. With a west african taste (so says their myspace, don’t give me too much credit), it’s really too bad that more people don’t know about these guys. Allmusic doesn’t even have an entry for them. I heard them for the first time while walking by one of the music stages at Bonnaroo 2006 as I was all OoooOOooh, what’s this sexy stuff. Perfect summer/beach/pool music. I think I may just put these two songs on repeat when I eventually have a pool party.
Also, I was NOT aware that there is a Radiohead animation contest going on for any song off of In Rainbows. There is a lot of really good stuff from the competition, but I noticed one video from the semi-finalists (winner hasn’t been chosen yet) and it was the only one that made me stop and watch it from front to beginning. Disappointingly, it’s only in storyboard form, so I hope that this video ends up actually being made as I really, really dig the idea of the story for the song.
If you’re still feeling last night, here’s me making up for last night with this remix. Cryptonites with a remix of Coldplay’s song from their new album, Violet Hill. The regular song itself actually isn’t too bad. Hopefully Coldplay can bounce back after dumbing their selves down to a huge degree on their last album. “If you try too hard and don’t succeed, and you get what you want and not what you need” come on. I used Coldplay’s last album as a good example of artists flipping art for money instead of vice versa in a college paper once and was told that the paper was too elitist by my instructor. Oh well, here’s to more Cryptonites remixes and hopefully a solid Coldplay album once I get around to listening to it.
I was always really disappointed that I couldn’t ever seem to get this song to work at a party. Granted, it’s not really a typical dance song, but damnit it’s a song to break something to. Besides, how can you not get excited about a band that mixes cheerleader chants and action theme songs?
