Recommendation: Quantic and his Combo Barbaro

By far one of the best artists I've been introduced to this year is Quantic. From his solo DJing stuff to the Quantic Soul Orchestra and Flowering Inferno they all hit on various sub-genres including funk, soul, reggae and salsa while keeping the common thread of being groovy.

His newest project Quantic and his Combo Barbaro ]explores the textures of South America. He put together this group after living in Columbia for the last couple years and its nothing short of amazing.

When I made my best f list a few weeks back I totally forgot about this record, but I've been listening to it constently and its working its way up into my top 5.

Quantic & his Combo Bárbaro @ the Echoplex, LA from Quantic on Vimeo.

Tera Melos in Japan

Dear Tera Melos,

Please put out another album soon?

Top 5 Albums of 2009

My Top 5 albums of the year are;


1.Rx Bandits - Mandala

Favorite Track : "My Lonesome Only Friend"


2.Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Favorite Track : "Temecula Sunrise"


3.Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist

Favorite Track : "Mornings"


4.The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Favorite Track: "Worm Mountain"


5.Big D & the Kids Table - Fluent In Stroll

Favorite Tracks: "Describing the Sky", "I I I", "Down Around Here"

Honorable Mentions;
Grizzly Bear - The Veckatamist
Soulive - Up Here
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP
The Mars Volta - Octahedron
Everytime I Die - New Junk Aesthetic

Rx Bandits was my far and away favorite but the rest were kinda tricky. I wrestled between Dirty Projectors and Portugal. The Man, and although The Satanic Satanist has more staying power for me, I ultimately think Bitte Orca is the superior album. What initially caught my attention and ended up setting them apart for me was the excellent use of the human voice and harmony. The beautiful and intricate arrangements that David Longsreth and the crew put together in the name of pop music is just outstanding.

Embryonic was everything I didn't know I wanted from the Flaming Lips. They brought back their noisey past by way of kraut-rock inspired grooves. The fearless and dramatic turn that the Lips took really defines why they are one of my favorite bands.



The Veckatamist was close to making the cut but I had to give it to Fluent In Stroll. Big D really went for it with this record and it fucking payed off. Its a shame, but Big D is really the only band doing something new and creative with ska. But be warned, although ska influenced, it is by no means a ska record. What it is, is a record full of sunny and up-beat inventiveness.



Octahedron, which I thought was just ok at first, has grown on me quite a bit. Although not my favorite Volta, its a new side of them and makes for a great record in their long discography. The new Animal Collective EP is also great with "What Would I Want Sky" being down-right infectious.

What ended up winning me over this year were the bands that did something new and progressive with their sound. All the records in my top 5 are departures from the respective artists usual sound. This sense of freshness and exploration is what I love in music, and these bands really embodied it this year.

Westbound Train

Above is a video of Westbound Train covering Sam Cooke's "Cupid". This summer I saw them perform at Warped Tour, and while I felt sorta depressed most of the day, their set, and this song in particular, resurrected my soul. You see just about every band I saw, I heard no sincerity. Every band was out there to be a band, not musicians. There was no soul or love in the music of A Skylit Drive, Saosin, All Time Low, or any of these other bands. It made me question, am I getting older? Am I loosing my love for music? Why don't I get this when years before Warped Tour was the highlight of my year?

However once WBT started it all came back. It showed me why I love music. Its a great memory for me and its sad to see that they are taking a hiatus now and others won't to feel the warmth that their music brought. At least they made 4 fantastic records which i'll be listening to for years whenever I need my reggae fix.

Forever - Westbound Train

S A R G E N T H O U S E: RX Bandits Videos from Fuel TV's Daily Habit

S A R G E N T H O U S E: RX Bandits Videos from Fuel TV's Daily Habit

12/3/09 Playlist

This is my last show of 2009, so I did my favorites from the past year. This was my first semester on air and it was really great! Thanks for everyone who listened, friends and family alike, and I'll be back on in January! Have a good holiday season!

Animal Collective - What Would I Want, Sky (Fall Be Kind)
Big D & The Kids Table - Describing the Sky (Fluent In Stroll)
The Flaming Lips - The Sparrow Looks At The Machine (Embryonic)
Soulive - Backwards Jack (Up Here)
Miles Davis - Freddie Freeloader (Kind of Blue)
Coconut Records - West Coast (Nighttimmin')
Portugal. The Man - Home (The Satanic Satanist)
Dirty Projectors - Temecula Sunrise (Bitte Orca)
Rx Bandits - Breakfast Cat (Mandala)

$3 Free from Amazon

$3 Free dollars for downloads from amazon.com here.

Sweet.

11/19/09 Playlist

On this show I had friend/composer Eric Daino on and we talked about his new piece "Echoes From Field Four" which features piano and screamer. We then played music from our favorite hardcore vocalists/bands.

At The Drive-In - Arc Aresenal (Relationship of Command)
Eric Daino - Echoes From Field Four (Scenes From Jones Beach)
The Sound Of Animals Fighting - Act I:Chasing Suns (Tiger & The Duke)
Dancehall Throwdown - Nick's Song (the Adventures of Willy Monty Pt. II) (Dancehall Throwdown EP)
Dillinger Escape Plan - Fix Your Face (Ire Works)
Every Time I Die - Wanderlust (New Just Aesthetic)
Big D & the Kids Table - What The Hell Are You Going To Do? (Gypsy Hill)
The Fall of Troy - Wacko Jacko Steals The Elephants Mans Bones (Doppelganger)
Horse The Band - Desperate Living (Desperate Living)
Russian Circles - Death Rides A Horse (Enter)

Krautrock Documentary

The BBC just did a great documentary on Krautrock, the German genre that spawned influential bands like Can, Amon Dull II, Faust and Kraftwerk. Totally awesome and kinda engrossing. Check out all the parts on Youtube.

11/12/09 Playlist

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood - Little Walter Rides Again (Out Louder)
Sonic Youth - Disconnection Notice (Murray St)
Jaga Jazzist - Going Down (A Livingroom Hush)
The Clientele - Bonfires on the Health (Bonfires on the Health)
The Beatles - I Want You (She's So Heavy) (Abbey Road)
John Coltrane - I. Acknowledgement (A Love Supreme)
Rx Bandits - Mientras La Veo Sonar (Mandala)
Radiohead - 15 Step (In Rainbows)
Person L - Wooden Soilders (Initial)
Monsters Of Folk - Dear God (Monsters of Folk)

Why Every Time I Die rules

In how many hardcore bands, or any bands really, do you find a singer this articulate? This is how its supposed to be.

11/5/09 Playlist

RX Bandits - To Our Unborn Daughters (And the Battle Begun)
Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood - Miles Ahead (Out Louder)
Dirty Projectors - Cannibal Resource (Bitte Orca)
The Flaming Lips - Your Bats (Embryonic)
Wes Montgomery - Eleanor Rigsby (Greatest Hits)
Pattern Is Movement - Sea Captin (All Together)
Pattern Is Movement - Sound of Your Voice (All Together)
The Bamboos - Don't Wanna Stop (Rawville)
Chris Potter - Pop Tune #1 (Follow The Red Line)
Jaga Jazzist- Midget (A Living Room Hush)
King Tubby - Black & White Dub (From The Palace of Dub)
Big D & The Kids Table - She Knows Her Way (Strictly Rude)

Great blog post from my friend Matt

Here


Its important to question ourselves

10/29/09 Playlist

Tried to make this one a Halloween, late fall, spooky themed show. I also got an extra 20 min to play music, which is the first block here.

Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Melting Chariots (The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange)
Bon Iver - Flumes (For Emma, Forever Ago)
The Fall of Troy - Nature Vs. Nurture (In the Unlikely Event)
Radiohead - Bodysnatchers (In Rainbows)

Soulive - Up Right (Up Here)
Rx Bandits - Its Only Another Parsec (Mandala)
The Flaming Lips - Convinced Of The Hex (Embryonic)
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath)
Westbound Train - The Test (Transitions)
Russian Circles - Philos (Geneva)
John Coltrane - Resolution (A Love supreme)
Big D & The Kids Table - Deadpan (Strictly Rude)
The Mars Volta - Day of Baphomets (Amputechture)

10/22/09 Playlist

Had my friends Chelsea and Lauren on to talk about seeing the Dirty Projectors and play some new songs.

Lettuce- Blast Off! (Rage!)
Westbound Train - Please Forgive Me (Transitions)
Dirty Projectors - Stillness in the Move (Bitte Orca)
Givers - Ceiling of Plankton (Givers)
Blind Melon - No Rain
Coconut Records - Any Fun (Davy)
Phoenix - Armistice (Wolfgang Amadeus)
The Flaming Lips- Worm Mountain (Embryonic)
King Tubby - Black and White Dub (From the Palace of Dub)
Soulive - Tonight (Up Here)
Portugal. The Man - Mornings (The Satanic Satanist)

Recommendation: Where The Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are, albeit a different movie then I was expecting it to be, was quite good. Rather than a film for children, its instead a movie about them. Its a fairly honest portrayal of what being a child is like. The confusion, curiosity, alienation, joy and other abundant emotions that children have are accurately depicted. Through Max's journey with the Wild Things, the viewer gets to see these childhood emotions manifested in these creatures, that have adult-like responsibility and independence but still have the insecurities and pitfalls of child. Based off the trailer, I thought the movie would have an ultimately happy center, which it didn't. Not to say this is a sad movie, but rather it just is. It exists with no explanation, and leaves it up for the viewer to extract what they want from it, which in the end, is the mark of good art.

Recommendation: Embryonic

The Flaming Lips released their first new album in 3 years this past Tuesday. It's called "Embryonic" and rather than giving my opinion or trying to describing it, I just recommend that everyone give it a listen. Enjoy.

Embryonic - The Flaming Lips

10/8/09 Playlist

Played a bunch of funk type jams with some jazz and indie pop. Typical show lol

Artist - Song (Album)

Westbound Train - Forever (Five to Two)
Lettuce - Sam Huff's Flying Ragin' Machine (Rage!)
Quantic Soul Orchestra - Introducing The Quantic Soul Orchestra (Pushin On')
Pattern Is Movement - Sound of Your Voice (All Together)
Drug Rug - Never Tell (Drug Rug)
Portugal. The Man- People Say (The Satanic Satanist)
Rx Bandits - Bury It Down Low (Mandala)
Sam Cooke - Cupid (Anthology)
The Bamboos - The Bamboos Theme (Rawville)
Wes Montgomery - Full House (Full House)
The Meters - Cissy Strut (Funkify Your Life)
The Clientele - I Wonder Who We Are (Bonfires on the Health)
Weezer - Why Bother (Pinkerton)
Weezer - Falling For You (Pinkerton)

10/1/09 Playlist

First day of October so I tried to play some fall time jams lol.

Artist - Song (Album)

Akron/Family - Everyone Is Guilty (Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free)
Good Old War - Window (Only Way To Be Alone)
The Avett Brothers- Swept Away (Mignonette)
Grateful Dead - Friend of the Devil (American Beauty)
The Flaming Lips - The Spark That Bled (The Soft Bulliten)
Maps & Atlases - Artichokes (You and Me and the Mountain)
Algernon Cadwallader - Casual Discussion in a Dome Between Two Temples (Some Kind of Cadwallader)
Quantic Soul Orchestra - Feelin' Good (Pushin' On)
The Bamboos - Head In The Clouds feat. Tyra Hammond (Rawville)
The Dirty Projectors - Two Doves (Bitte Orca)
Grizzly Bear- All We Ask (The Veckatimest)
Portugal. The Man - And I (Censored Colors)

2 New Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Records

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is a power house. Besides leading, composing and playing guitar for The Mars Volta, hes recently scored the movie The Burning Plan with Hans Zimmer, produced Juliette Lewis' new record, and continues to churn out new solo records almost constantly.

On Tuesday he's releasing his 12th solo album entitled Xenophanes. Even for a huge Omar-head like myself it is daunting to keep up with all of his records, but this one is of particular interest because it is the first time in his entire career that we are going to get to hear Omar sing! It will be sung completely in Spanish and this fact alone should make it worth a listen.

And just this morning another new album entitled Los Sue Os De Un Hidago was released digitally. This album was recorded with his group, including members of The Mars Volta and critically acclaimed/grammy winning singer Ximena Sariñana, live at BBC studios during a tour through Europe earlier this year.




This is probably one of my favorite solo albums Omar has released yet. Hell some of my overall favorite material in general. Where on many of his solo albums he can to indulge in his various styles, particularly the more experimental, this album is a great balance of all them all. He finds a center point which we haven't seen much of. It's not overly crazy, (a la Cryptomnesia) but also not ambient (Omar Rodriguez Lopez and Jeremy Michael Ward). Omar instead showcases all of his many talents in this 5 song set, something usually reserved for a Mars Volta disc. It proves to make a most enjoyable records.

Los Sue Os De Un Hidago also finds Omar working more with melody, be it through he guitar solos or through Ximena Sariñana's vocal work. Don't get me wrong though, Omar still retains his unique sense of style. The opening "Boiling Death Request A Body To Rest It's Head On" finds the group on the more fusion side of things and features some awesome keyboard work along with Omar's patent dissonant guitar lines. The last track, "Victimas Del Cielo", is a stand out and features more great vocal work from Sariña before showcasing Rodriguez's best guitar work on the ablum.

The great thing about this, and the rest of his solo work is that it can all be streamed for free at http://omarrodriguezlopez.bandcamp.com/. This has helped me sift through his large and rapidly expanding discography and find the gems (I also highly recommend The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange). These new projects find Omar continuously expanding and show that even with the large breath of music he's releasing, he is becoming anything but stale.

9/24/09 Playlist

My inaugural show at 91.3 WVUD. Not without its set backs, including an accidental play of Steely Dan, but it was real fun. Thanks to my friends and family for listening. I'll be doin this every Thursday from 5-6pm so hit me up with requests. You can listen here or of course on 91.3fm if you're in Delaware.

Rx Bandits- My Only Lonesome Friend
The Mars Volta- Goliath
The Meters- Look-Ka-Py-Py
The Bamboos- Rawville
The Dead Weather- 60 Feet tall
Steely Dan- Bad Sneakers
Portugal. The Man- Sugar Cinnamon
The Dirty Projectors- Temecula Sunrise
The Flaming Lips- Buggin'
Big D & The Kids Table - Describing The Sky
Big D & The Kids Table- The Sounds of Allston Village
Santana- Soul Sacrifice (live at Woodstock)

Facing New York - Me N My Friendz

Everyones got those bands that they should check out. Facing New York had been up there for a real long while, and it wasn't till I heard this song that I finally did. I actually love this song alot. I really do. The thing is it should suck. The guitar riff is ok and the delivery of the vocals vaugley remind me of something between Weird Al and some lame white rapper. But the total package and presentation is great. I really believe it. While after giving them a quick once over, I should go in more deeper, this is the song that I think is really outstanding. Hope you feel the same.

The State

The State is a comedy group from the early 90s that have produced most of my favorite comedic material of all time. If the name doesn't look familiar then you might know their other projects; Stella, Role Models, Reno 911!, The Ten, Wet Hot American Summer, and Michael & Michael Have Issues to name a few.

This past summer the influential tv show of the same name finally got a release and if you get a chance to watch it in any capacity i highly recommend it.



After the show ended, its members went on to form different projects, one of which being Stella. Starting as a stand-up troupe that made hilarious short films, they are probably best remembered for the short lived show on Comedy Central (you can watch the entire series of Hulu). This Tuesday they have a brand-new live stand up DVD coming out and it looks great. Check out a clip;



For me Stella is special, not just for the humor but also for the time in which I saw it. I checked it out probably because the dude from "I Love the 80s" was in it but after seeing the first episode I was hooked. My friends and I gathered each week to see this explosive brand of humor that I had never seen or even thought of before. It was brilliant.

They also introduced me and much of the world to "alternative" comedy (for lack of a better term) and a great new group of actors including Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks.

Here's some additional projects/media to check out from the crew;

You can see all of the Stella Shorts at college humor.
http://www.collegehumor.com/user:398

New Interview with David Wain. It goes into just how the State formed and made it to MTV, how he came to work with Paul Rudd, and his role in the DVDs production.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/david-wain,31483/

Michael Showalter's internet "talk show" The Michael Showalter Showalter.
http://www.collegehumor.com/tag:michaelshowalter

David wain's Internet show Wainy Days which features guest stars from Jonah Hill to Rashida Jones.
http://www.mydamnchannel.com/Wainy_Days/Season_1/1Shelly_388.aspx

You can stream both Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter's comedy albums on Lala.com
http://www.lala.com/#album/360569445187453484

David Wain's first film that he made before The State even formed. It made it all the way to Sundance and did the festival circuit when he was still in High School.
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/08/david_wains_aisle_six_investig.html

Circa Survive on Atlantic & record with David Bottrill

Heres the official statement;

"Greetings everyone! We have wonderful news to share with you. After almost a year of writing, we have begun working on our third record in Toronto, ON. David Bottrill, who has made amazing albums with bands like Tool, King Crimson, Silverchair and Moneen, is producing. We couldn’t be more excited to be working with him and the songs are turning out beautifully. This is the most time we’ve ever spent on writing an album and possibly the hardest we’ve ever worked on anything as a band. We can’t wait to share this music with you. It feels like it will be so soon now.

After completing our contract with Equal Vision we embarked on a long search to find our next home. We met with lots of labels and decided that Atlantic Records is the best place for us to continue our growth as a band and to help us release our music around the world. Because this is a big step we feel the need to reassure you that we are and always will be the same band no matter what label we are on. We are so grateful for everything Equal Vision has done for us and having their blessing in this next step couldn’t mean more. Our friendship/relationship with them is strong and will continue to be so.

Over the next couple of months we will be updating our websites with videos and pictures from the studio to let you in on some of the recording process. As we do so we invite you all to take this journey with us. We can’t wait to be back out on the road playing these songs for all of you."

See you soon,
Circa

I think this is a great move for Circa. They seemed to go just about as far as they could in the punk/warped tour world in terms of size and sound. I think their music is unique yet wide appealing enough to be successful.

David Bottrill also seems like a great choice. I love the production (Brian McTenernan) on both of their previous cds, but to me they do sound quite a bit alike. I think a new producer with a much different background and a studio in a Toronto, a city which really seems to fit the sound of their band, is just perfect. I'm excited and can't wait to see where they take their sound.

Lettuce @ Gathering Of The Vibes

I went to Gathering of The Vibes in Bridgeport, Connecticut last weekend and as the same as last year it was a great experience. But the musical highlight was definitely Lettuce. One of the most fun live performances I've seen. Here's a video;

Downloading

Everyone downloads. Its no secret and I fully support it. Shit, thats how i've gotten into just about all the music that I listen to. But still, I buy cds and lps. Partly because I love my collection and the experience of acquiring a piece of music after the anticipation builded up (its like Christmas), but also because I like to support bands.

If you think that downloading an artists album doesn't hurt them, your simply wrong. The capital inflow of a label/band is very important and album sales is a major contributor to getting bands on tours, promotions, marketing, merchandise and generally keeping the band growing and sustaining.

Two blogs that EVERYONE should read about downloading and its effects on the independent artist are by two people that I highly respect and are doing some of the best and progressive things in all of music, John Gourley of Portugal. The Man and Cathy Pellow of Sargent House(Rx Bandits, Russian Cirles, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez) and they put into perspective just how much each purchase of an album means. Here are their links;

Sargent House Blog

Portugal. The Man Blog

Now these two people know full well that downloading has helped their acts grow and achieve the success that they have. Gourley and Portugal. the Man were one of the first to fully support it, even leaking their 2007 album Church Mouth two weeks early themselves. Sargent House also allow all of their albums for streaming on sites like
band camp and last.fm.

Sargent House is urging people to buy their artist Rx Bandits new record not for money, but to push their music into the limelight. If all fans of Rx Bandits abought their record when they come out next week, they say they would debut in the top ten on the Billboard charts, providing another reason to support artists you enjoy, to get shitty music off the airwaves and tv!! Still whether these calls to action will be taken seriously remains to be see, but they do provide insight to the other side of downloading.

I urge everyone to buy these two records and to support two great bands, Rx and Portugal. The Man, with both their new albums coming out this Tuesday. And for the next two days the new Rx album is only $3, so definitely hop on that.



Click Here

Panic at the Disco Split

So two members of Panic at the Disco, guitarist/songwriter Ryan Ross and Bassist John Walker, quit the band last week. First announced without a reason, it has become quite evident from the new tunes that have emerged exactly why it happened.

By the sound of things it seems like these two want to go more the way of The Beatles inspired Pretty. Odd., which i enjoyed, while the others want to regain their pop-punk stardom.




A new song by the touring keyboardist and bassist's side project, Hillside Session ( which can be heard/downloaded here) is better than just about anything Panic has ever done, and certainly what it sounds like the remaining members are going to create (which you can get a taste of here.) As for the upcoming Blink 182 tour, members of The Wombats will be joining the remaining members for the dates.

Pretty. Odd. - Panic! At The D...

Pretty. Odd. was an enjoyable record for fans of good pop songs, and if its even possible, was a more accessible version, for this generation anyway, of The Beatles. The new project should be intriguing seeing as Ryan Ross has already mentioned The Beach Boys as a key influence on the new record.

It will also be interesting to see if they stay with pop punk main stay Decaydance or go off on their own way. Hopefully they won't even try to please the pop punk crowd and instead will create some more interesting music, hopefully in the vein of Hillside Session or Pretty. Odd. I'll be listening and waiting to find out.

New Portugal. The Man

One of my favorite bands in the world, Portugal. The Man, is putting out a new record, The Satanic Satanist , in July and I couldn't be more excited. Not only from them putting on one of the best shows I've seen or my being completely enthralled with each of their albums, but also from their new track "People Say" which you can download here.

This song just gets me all excited for the continuing evolution that is their sound. With each album they've completely reinvented their sound and each time for the best, with time being no exception I'm sure.

They also have some more previews up on their website (http://www.portugaltheman.com), but I'm holding out to hear the album in its entirety. This album also has some insane packaging which I won't even try to explain. Just take a look;

Fuck it, we'll do it live

Welcome to Moose in a Box. This is my first post, and I thank you for reading. On this blog I'm going to post news, new songs/videos, album reviews, things I find interesting, and talk about my feelings on music/issues and hopefully try to see how it fits into life in general. But my first post is about perhaps my favorite aspect of music, live music.

Isn't it the best? I'm going to see what I expect to be some awesome shows this summer but am definitely looking for more in the Tri-State area. Any ideas, please let me know. Also, show me what your schedules are. So far here's mine;

6/30: Explosions in The Sky @ Central Park, NY
7/4: Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band @ NY (Free/pending work)
7/5: Algernon Cadwallader@ Piscataway, NJ (Free)
7/11: Reel Big Fish @ Starland, NJ
7/15: Dark Star Orchestra & Keller Williams @ Vasa Park, NJ
7/19: Warped Tour @ Oceanport, NJ
7/23-26: Gathering of the Vibes @Oceanport, CT (still pending money)
7/29: Rx Bandits @ TLA Philadelphia, PA
7/31: Soulive & John Scofield @ Brooklyn, NY (FREE!!)
8/5: Portugal. The Man @ Mercury Lounge Brooklyn, NY
8/12: Blink 182, Fallout Boy & Panic At The Disco @ Hershey, PA (I know, epic right?)

Luckily there's only one conflict this summer, between Rx Bandits and Yes which Rx will probably win out. Some other possibilities include The Flaming Lips in Philly with Explosions in the sky, Moe in Vasa Park, and Animal Collective in NY. Expect some sort of review for these shows.

For the bands that aren't touring this summer, we luckily have streaming video. Here are some quality full length streaming concerts. Check out the site the Circa show is from for a bunch of other cool shows too. Also, all these sets take place outside of the US. Weird.

Circa Survive in Australia


Radiohead in Japan


Tortoise in Werchter

Tortoise - Live at Werchter [full set] from Neil Moroney on Vimeo.