If you have never heard of The Shins, please leave my blog now and never come back, seriously. In the case you’re still with me, welcome to yet another ‘Band of the Month’ post. The Shins don’t need another blogpost from an unknown college student radio station deejay to be known, but their newest band member, Eric Johnson, does. Eric joined one of Indie Music’s most royal families, I mean, The Shins, in 2009; but what you may not know is the affiliation he has with the band he founded, and this Mays ‘Band of The Month,’ The Fruit Bats.
The Fruit Bats have found themselves filling the opening act role for other indie bands ever since they started touring in 2002. Unlike the bands they have toured with, like The Shins or Modest Mouse, their musical style has never evolved into allowing them to be the headlining band. It’s certainly not because any lack of talent, but for The Fruit Bats style, both the band and the animal, it wouldn’t fit them. At first listen, they won’t surprise you with any revolutionary style, but after a while, you’ll begin to appreciate the pure craftsmanship in the subtle changes placed in their work. Just like any opening band, they don’t require your full attention, but if you allow them, they can surprise you with a great song.
[The Fruit Bats - When U Love Somebody]
Published on March 22, 2010
in music.
Here are some free streams of some great new albums;
She & Him - “Volume Two” [March 23]
Laura Marling - “I Speak Because I Can” [March 23]
MGMT – “Congratulations” [April 13th]
Before I begin talking about this month’s “Band of the Month” I would first like to explain how I came upon this group. Recently I have started training at WUVT, (90.7 Blacksburg) the student run college radio station at Virignia Tech. Every Friday my co-host Roland and I have an hour and half show in the practice studio at WUVT (pronounced Whoo-Vit). By next semester we should have our own shown that will be broadcasting on the air and online. When we have our own live show, we will have full control over what we will be playing but at the moment we do not. Every training DJ is required to play 9 songs from the rotation of the newest albums the station has received. At first I was skeptical about playing music during our show that neither my co-host and I have ever heard of. That was until our first show while we were rushing to find a CD to play we threw in the newest Beach House album and went with track one.
Our first show was honestly a mess, we got to the studio five minutes before we were supposed to start, meaning we never had time to pick out music what we wanted to play. During our show we spent most of our time trying to find more music to play rather than listening to what we were playing. Before we randomly put in the Beach House album to fit our nine rotation albums requirement, Roland and I barely even got to sit down to even listen to our music because we were always rushing to find more. Once we put in Beach House’s new self titled album, everything stopped. The rush of Beach House’s dream-pop musical styles filled our studio and instantly brought peace to the bustle of our show. Somewhere along those lines I believe that’s exactly what Beach House intended their music to be, a mindless escape from the bustle of life. You won’t find any fast paced tracks on any of their albums but what you will find are a pool of slowly developing tracks that will force you to stop whatever you’re doing and simply enjoy the nostalgic of state of mind their music puts you in.
[Beach House - Zebra]
Normally I would write a little review about this months “Band of the Month” but I still can’t decide if I really like Daniel Zott. I’ve listened to his double disc album, one that you can stream for free on his website [ Disc 1 : Disc 2 ], multiple times and I still can’t decide on a verdict. There are points of originality but then songs like “Caught In What You’re Doing” and “Ya Lek Tyn” come on and sound almost exactly like Elliott Smith and Sigur Ros respectively. Who knows, maybe he might be one of those guys I would have to see live to get a full understanding of. I imagine his live shows would be a lot of fun, especially if he plays the acoustic Hip-Hop covers “Low” by Flo Rida and “Crank Dat” by Soulja boy” that are on his Myspace page.
[Daniel Zott - Living A Lie]
Published on January 7, 2010
in etc..
Here is my schedule for next semester, no classes on Friday!
[Spoon - Change My Life]
While reading the album review for Passion Pit’s debut album “Manners” from Rolling Stone, I found Will Hermes’s description of the progression of the indie music world spot on.
From Animal Collective’s psychedelic collages to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ punk disco, electronic music has been invading the indie-rock world lately, as bands mix dance-floor science with do-it-yourself hooks and histrionics. [Will Hermes - Rolling Stone]
One of my favorite things about indie music is the uniqueness of every band. Unlike music genres like Country or Hip-hop where the majority of artists sound very similar, it is impossible to find two indie bands that sound the same. I am always stumped when my friends ask me to describe bands that I like with the question “Who do they sound like?” Even with the expansion of the indie music world from more folk rock bands like: The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, and Andrew Bird to electronic bands like: Phoenix, Peter Bjorn and John, and Crystal Castle. The new wave of bands still carry the essence of indie music in the fact that although they use more electronic styles there is still a large amount uniqueness making each one different. Passion Pit, January’s band of the month, is no exception to the rule.
[Passion Pit - Sleepyhead]
About a year ago I promised that on this blog I would have try to have a “band of the month” deal. After one post the idea faded away until now. What I am basically going to do now is just post one song a month that catches my eye from either one of my favorite indie bands or a new one I discover. This month the band is “Great Lake Swimmers,” I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
[Great Lake Swimmers - Moving Pictures, Silent Films]
Published on December 17, 2009
in etc..
Done with my Chemistery final and I’m going home for a month.
[Switchfoot - Chem 6A]
Published on December 3, 2009
in etc..
So you see that long haired guy throwing a pink disc in that banner up there? Well that long hair doesn’t exist anymore. Actually it has been gone for a while but it’s still kind of neat seeing photos of how different I looked before.
2005 – When I first grew out my hair
Spring 2009 – Basically how I looked for the past 4 years
Fall 2009 – How I look now
[Pavement - Cut Your Hair]
Published on November 27, 2009
in etc..
Thanks to my college roommate who enjoys playing Taylor Swift songs while he is working I now know the majority of the lyrics to her most popular songs. Normally this embarrassing knowledge hasn’t been a problem until now. While I was shopping at Models today for basketball shorts, Taylor Swift’s hit song “Teardrops On My Guitar” started playing. Apparently while I was going through one of the clearance racks I was singing the song loud enough that the person restocking one of the table of shirts across from me could hear me. I didn’t realized I was singing the song until I noticed that she stopped working and was awkwardly staring at me. I suppose she liked the song so I simply continued humming the rest of the song.
[Taylor Swift - Tear Drops On My Guitar]