learned in space: an mp3 blog

This post will be the most appropriate to this blog's name yet, as the next bit of information seems already to be universally known: Johnny Marr of The Smiths has collabrated with Modest Mouse. In fact, Issac Brock, the band's frontman, as gone as far to say that Marr is a "full-fledged member of the band." After Modest Mouse's last stunt of an album, an overly-produced, super commercialized number entitled Good News For People Who Love Bad News, it seems the boys have emerged, hacking out the mini-van fumes, to seek a brighter day. Not that I'm against making an easy 30,000 for a song you've already written, but I'm hoping that the new addition to the band will be less inclinded to the dollar-sign-eyes that have seemed to creep upon the band in the past few years.
A delightful British accent, catchy guitar riffs, & a ledgendary cult following are just a few of Marr's quirks, & I'm hoping that revitilizing a band I thought would perminately be in "I like their old stuff" mode for a good percent of the listeners who slobbered over Lonesome Crowded West will be added to the list of Marrisms. Be on the look out for We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank later this year. My fingers are crossed in hope for this album. No matter the outcome, The Queen is Dead will always be one of my favorite albums. I love you, Johnny.

Posted by Rachel at Tuesday, October 17, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

Seeing as Rachel professed her love for Hella, I thought I would follow suit with the theme of fucking awesome drummers. Gospel is a prog rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The drumming style is complex and fast, very much in the vein of Don Caballero and other acrobatic math rock. Gospel is the Mars Volta if they weren't so fucking boring. There is a minimal emphasis on vocals, which in my oppinion is great. Prog Rock with vocals is characterized by unbearable voices *coughGeddyLee. They also distract from the point of being progressive, being that everyone in the band is ridiculously good at playing their instrument. Gospel is prog rock for party animals (see picture), not D&D players.

The track "A Golden Dawn" is the band longest track on their debut The Moon is a Dead World. It features some impressive keyboard chops, as well as the obvious kick in the face by the unstoppable force that is Gospel's rhythm section.

A Golden Dawn

Posted by Life of Brian at Monday, October 16, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

I am a huge fan of The Wu-Tang Clan. Many people actually don't know that this is actually an acronym (Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game) and really doesn't have a whole lot to do with culture it might imply. The fact of the matter is that all 9 members of Wu-Tang are straight out of Brooklyn. The only difference between them and every other MC from this same area was that, they were the ones that made it cool to come straight from Brooklyn. Rapping (on a label) all the way back to 1993 [Enter The Wu-Tang(36 Chambers)], the clan brought a new sound to the game with GZA's (the genius) unique samples and Ol' Dirty Bastards shouted rhymes that impressed everyone who was smart enough to listen. Nearly every member of this collaboration of artists and MCs has encountered his own solo success at some point since the Clan's inception.
To the point, there are two CDs compiled by Dreddy Kruger (an affliate of the Wu Tang Clan and a part time rapper), only one of which is out (I think). The theme is Wu-Tang meets Indie Culture. This is also the title of the 2005 released CD also dubbed 'Think Differently' (a very obvious play on the popular Apple slogan, which inspired the mix of the Apple logo and the Wu-Tang logo that you see in the CD artwork). The other CD, which appears self-titled with the addition of Dreddy Kruger's name, seems to be tough to find even online. Regardless of it's availability, it is by far the most exciting thing I've heard in the rap genre since Wu's freshman CD '36 Chambers'. The CDs feature several independent rappers and artists [Aesop Rock, Ras Kass, MF Doom, + tons more] that add exactly what the Clan has been missing these days, their indie feel. It wasn't their fault that their sound became mainstream. That is great, and I don't blame Wu-Tang, but they never impressed me as much in recent releases, because they never offered anything quite as original as their first. The level of rappers they brought onto these two albums are of the same caliber of any of the 9, and the mix is perfect. The sound is original and there are definite and obvious throw backs to classics. One example of this would be the samples behind "Chamber of Fear (feat. Rev William Burk)," which sounds suprisingly like one of my favorites "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nothin To F*ck With."
There is really too much to talk about in these two discs to write one article on, but I know the rap genre isn't what our very limited readership is interested in, so I will end shortly. I just hope you give the incredibly real and intense lyrics and creative samples of the clan a listen. These compilations don't dissapoint. For any of you Ol' Dirty Bastard fans, there is one tribute track, featuring exclusively sampled work from ODB himself, that satisfies your inner-'dirty'.

Check out these ill tracks from The Wu-Tang Clan:

Wu Tang Clan - Think Different Sampler
(Really cool sampler directly from Wu-Tang that has clips from several of the songs on the CD)

Wu Tang Clan - Lyrical Swords (GZA and Ras Kass) (from the first Disc "Think Differently")

Wu Tang Clan - Chamber of Fear (feat. Rev William Burk) (New 2006 release)

Posted by Alex Sexton at Monday, October 09, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

A few days ago my roommate and I decided to have a party, only the second we've had here at 1412 regardless of the spaciousness of our apartment & our love of good whiskey & better beer. I had saved a mix for such an occasion, and played it, but I think people were more interested in getting ass-drunk than dancing all night long. If you're rolling out of bed [or off of the floor] with a hangover, as I'm sure some of the people in our living room are, here are some beats that will lift your spirits, without hurting that poor headache of yours.

Posted by Rachel at Sunday, October 08, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

I wrote a post about this earlier but deleted it because it didn't turn out right. I woke up thinking I was illegally parked somewhere after a long day, but I wasn't. So in the process of moving my car closer to my apartment I drove forty miles west towards Lake Austin and into the hillside all before sunrise. I jammed Sparrows Swarm and Sing's album "O' Shenandoah, Mighty Death Will Find Me" in its entirety at mind shearing volume. It paints a glorious picture for the listener, starting as a Godspeed song and blossoming into a surreal chain gang sing along. Due to its dynamics you gotta jam this shit at FULL VOLUME (or some parts will be inaudible), probably best in the car, and it does indeed make good pre-sunrise driving music. At moments the sounds can be jarring, almost scary. At other times the songs swell and can strike a chord played by Danny Elfman himself.

I bought the album from the band after seeing them live (good guys), but never gave it a fair listen until this morning. Don't be fooled by the picture, there were 6 or 7 players in this post rock symphony. Their live show is entertaining. The newer songs shine in a live setting, as the older songs are too Sigur Ros(ish) and were thus accompanied by a projector playing an anonymous family's home movies (laaaaaame).

I suggest you listen to this thing as a whole even though I'm only posting the second track. Father Death/Mother Nature was playing loudly from my car with all the windows down while I stood at the side of a winding road on a hill that overlooked the whole city at 7 am. So call me sentimental but its my choice.

In summary, the album lulls and roars, it soars and dives, it proves that in these long seconds before sun rise in the Austin hillside Sparrows Swarm and Sing.

Listen to: Father Death/Mother Nature

Posted by Life of Brian at Saturday, October 07, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

I have been a fan of the magically and frantically speedy band Hella for quite a long time. First entranced by the the accidental downloading of a tune called Cafeteria Bananas, it was love for forever after. The boys [Zach Hill & Spencer Siem] have never ceased to impress me, not only with their Hella concoctions, but the multiple amazing bands they are a part of seperately. Zach Hill takes most of the weight on this seperation, lending his amazing drummin' skillz to several different projects such as Team Sleep, a band forged by Deftones lead man Chino Moreno, and Nervous Cop a noisey drum-driven noise duo where he shares the spotlight with Deerhoof's Greg Saunier. His other projects include Goon Moon, collaborations with Mick Barr, The Ladies [with Pinback's Rob Crow], and many, many more. Spencer Seim's baby is a fun, video game inspired band called The Advantage. Their multiple bands lay in the shadows of the first & foremost Hella for me at least. With a recent acoustic album executed with all of the Hella fire behind it, & three new additions this year [Josh Hill, Carson McWhirter (of The Advantage) and Aaron Ross.], I don't see the boys throwing in the Hella towel any time soon. Here are some tunes to blow your mind. If you dig these, I strongly suggest investing in seeing these guys live. I've seen them twice, & both were unbelievable experiences.

Hella -Cafeteria Bananas [Live]
Hella- We Was Just Boys
Hella -Biblical Violence [Acoustic]

edit: Here is a video of the band doing their thing via youtube, all tight with they 2006 line up AND WHAT NOT. Seriously though, seeing Zach Hill drum gives me chills & also makes me want to cry a little. Viewing this inhumanly fast drummer live is even more creepy/amazing. Prepared to be wowed:

Posted by Rachel at Thursday, October 05, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

If you thought that Hot Water Music's last album sucked you are not alone. Luckily HWM went on an indefinate hiatus and 3 out of the 4 HWM dudes formed a new band called The Draft. The Draft's album "In A Million Pieces" is a more daring effort than hardcore heroes Hot Water Music post-no idea albums, incorporating synth and occasional horn lines (perhaps a nod to Rocket from the Crypt) to the instrumentation. On top of the suped up sound, the songwriting is as solid as HWM in their prime (think fuel for the hate game). The first track New Eyes Open says it best: "thats what I like about it, it's not so complicated." In a Million Pieces isn't inventive. The Draft isn't pretentious. It's just solid enough to stand on.

Listen to: Wired

Posted by Life of Brian at Tuesday, October 03, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

Chances are, you are not like me. I was a fan of At the Drive-In. I was further excited when the band split into two seperate entities following the death of ATDI affiliate Jeremy Ward. Most people followed Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez Lopez to take hallucinogens and listen to wandering epic jams. I on the other hand preferred the soaring post-punk stylings of Sparta. Sounding more like their predecessor, Sparta harnesses the rythm section (Jim Ward and Tony Hajjar) that made ATDI a fucking nailbomb of Drive Like Jehu proportions. As a long time fan of the band, I was alarmed to hear that guitarist Paul Hijinos quit and joined The Mars Volta. On top of Hijinos departure, Sparta left Geffen Records who put out the bands first two albums. Just knowing the band has a new album coming on Hollywood Records is good news. I assure you the new album lives up to the previous releases, sans Geffen and Hijinos. The song structures on "Threes" are more abstract, but still pack the emotionally charged chorus delivery that we used to hear from ATDI. "Untreatable Disease", "Taking Back Control", and "Erase It Again" all are worthy of singing along to with a fist in the air. I am also continually impressed by the amount of texture Sparta gives to the guitar playing, often using multiple effects and driving bass lines. What I am basically trying to say is that Sparta is a great major label band. "Threes" is a testament to the bands consistancy and overall excellence.

Listen to: Untreatable Disease

They also happen to be touring the US. Right now.

Posted by Life of Brian at Monday, October 02, 2006 | Permalink | Comments

If I were to start compiling a best-of 2006 albums list [hey, not a bad idea] right at this moment, one of the albums that would immediately come to mind is Yellow House, a beautifully crafted full-length by a band called Grizzly Bear, released this September on Warp Records.


I had a few tracks from the band before the release of Yellow House, both poorly-crafted & awkward sounding remixes that had me hitting pause & searching for another song upon every chance listen. When I heard that they were releasing their sophomore album, I decided to give them another chance, & boy am I glad of it. Their beautiful songs seem to tell of spring mornings, dew on vibrant green grass, all sprawled before a paint-chipped victorian mansion. In all actuality, the band did craft the songs during what is desribed as an "ideal summer", in a big, beautiful, you guessed it: yellow house. Though sometimes very poignant, this band won't provoke you into tears for seemingly no reason, & rather gives you the impression of sitting with good friends in an intimate setting. At times the music is haunting, other times enchanting, and very often is of a folkish quality that nestles in softly with the rest of the soundscape. Think Mogwai meets The Mountain Goats, often with a lo-fi styling evocitive of bands like The Microphones. Roughly. I could sit here & compare them to a thousand different bands, but the only way to experience the enchanting Grizzly Bear in all of their orginality, is to listen.

Both of the following tracks are from Yellow House. You can sample the entire album at the Grizzly Bear web-site.

Grizzly Bear -On a Neck, On a Spit
Grizzly Bear -Lullaby

Posted by Rachel at Sunday, October 01, 2006 | Permalink | Comments