Joe Strummer Friday

Joe Strummer was one of the greatest voices and attitudes in rock and roll's history. Punk, blues, ska, reggae, rock and soul, Joe loved and played it all—and better than just about everyone. Here's one pre- and one post-Clash track along with two Clash covers, courtesy of Josh Rouse and Babyshambles. (Fun fact: Mick Jones of the Clash produced two records for Babyshambles' lead singer Pete Doherty's previous band, the Libertines).

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - "Tony Adams" (from Rock Art and The X-Ray Style)

Babyshambles - "Janie Jones" (Clash cover)

101ers - "Keys To Your Heart" (from Elgin Avenue Breakdown)

Josh Rouse - "Straight To Hell" (Clash cover)

Blake Mills - "Hey Lover"

The single "Hey Lover" from Blake Mills has easily been this week's most impressive release. With a resume that includes time as a touring guitarist for Jenny Lewis, Band of Horses and Julian Casablancas as well as part of the band Simon Dawes (which split off into Dawes), Mills has fistfuls of experience that he transfers over to the rootsy "Hey Lover"— the second single from his forthcoming July 6th debut, Break Mirrors. "Hey Lover" proves to be more rock than folk as it punches along with fiery electric guitars and spitfire lyricism from Mills, whose casual cadence throws around lines like "I may be white but I don't like my people much" with confidence and ease. At one point, Mills sings, "sometimes I hate myself trying to be so bold, but nothing else seems to get the story told." When the cover art for your single is the Marlboro Man staring down a man's naked cock, a statement couldn't be more well put. Buy it below now via iTunes.

Blake Mills - "Hey Lover" (Daytrotter version)

Wild Nothing - "Chinatown"

Jack Tatum is Wild Nothing: catchy and bittersweet 1980s-inspired synth-pop disguised in low-fidelity swells of cloudy effects and reverb. A retro synthesizer might as well be the new acoustic guitar with every hip and inventive singer/songwriter leaning on the former for self-expression these days. Luckily, in the case of Tatum's Wild Nothing, retro registers as an inspired and wholly original take on a beloved sound. Gemini is out now on Captured Tracks.

Wild Nothing - "Chinatown" (from Gemini)

Kurt Vile - "Ocean City"

Do you enjoy hazy and psychedelic acoustic ballads sprinkled with a tinge of summer breeze? Then go download Kurt Vile's brand-spankin-new Square Shells EP for FREE over at Matador Records. The offer's limited to the next 24 hours, so get over there.

Kurt Vile - "Ocean City" (from Square Shells EP)

Mixtape #4: Sasquatch

SIDE A

Broken Social Scene - "Meet Me In The Basement"

Mumford & Sons - "Little Lion Man"

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - "Home (RAC mix)"

The Very Best - "Warm Heart of Africa" Ft. Ezra Koenig

My Morning Jacket - "Highly Suspicious"

The New Pornographers - "Crash Years"

The Fruit Bats - "The Ruminant Band"

Dawes - "When My Time Comes"

Dr. Dog - "Mirror, Mirror"

YACHT - "Psychic City (Voodoo City)"

SIDE B

Portugal. The Man - "When The War Ends"

Fool's Gold - "Surprise Hotel"

Neon Indian - "Terminally Chill"

Vetiver - "More of This (Neighbors RMX)"

The Tallest Man On Earth - "King of Spain"

The National - "Anyone's Ghost"

Passion Pit - "I've Got Your Number"

Dirty Projectors - "No Intention"

Drive-By Truckers - "Marry Me"

Ween - "Booze Me Up and Get Me High"

Sasquatch mixtape.zip

To retain track order, drag the folder (after it's unzipped) into an iTunes playlist.

The Official Sasquatch! Festival Schedule

Suckers - "A Mind I Knew"

It was a year ago that Brooklyn band the Suckers first made waves with their tribal pop-infused chaos via their excellent self-titled EP. Now the band is set to return on June 8th with their first full-length, Wild Smile. Appetites can now officially be whetted with the first excellent single from the album (sorry, "Black Sheep"). "A Mind I Knew" is what the band does best: take a simple melody and slowly build it up into a tornado of frenzied rhythm and polyphony. With cow brain-filled cover art and lines such as "your heart is like cripple demon," it's obvious this type of pop music comes from a strange place—and it's all the better for it. Pre-order Wild Smile here.

Suckers - "A Mind I Knew" (from Wild Smile)

Floating Action - "Dead Reckoning"

Earlier this year, we got a special treat from nonprofit Weathervane Music's Shaking Through series with the lush recording of Sharon Van Etten's "Love More." Now Everybody Taste favorites Floating Action have hit the studio with Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog acting as producer to record bandleader Seth Kauffman's song "Dead Reckoning."

Floating Action - "Dead Reckoning"

Hear more Floating Action:

Floating Action cover Rilo Kiley

Floating Action: It's Summertime Somewhere

Mixtape #2: Oh Sweet Sun

Dr. Dog drummer Juston Stens goes solo

Toro Y Moi - "Leave Everywhere"

When I first wrote about Toro Y Moi back in May of 2009 there was scarcely a blip written about Chaz Bundick. The only reason I even knew he existed was because of an email he sent with the song "109" attached. It was brilliant lo-fi pop with hooks aplenty. Now, a year and a "chillwave" album later the internet bigwigs are following Chaz's every move. This time, it's a return to that lo-fi rock sound that first won me over.

Toro Y Moi - "Leave Everywhere"

Toro Y Moi - "109"

Elite Gymnastics - "Real Friends"

Minneapolis duo Elite Gymnastics have their sights set on summertime. On "Real Friends" it's all cold beers, warm sunshine, good times and friendship. It certainly doesn't sound like Minneapolis, but they paint one hell of an escape. Seriously, these guys are the real deal. The drumming here, whether from a drum machine or keyboard, is mind numbingly fun. The group's EP is completely free, so do yourself a favor and grab it.

Elite Gymnastics - "Real Friends" (from Real Friends EP)

New Delta Spirit - "Bushwick Blues"

Delta Spirit have released the first single from their forthcoming June 8th release, A History From Below. The song, "Bushwick Blues," first emerged a year ago at SXSW as an acoustic ballad but has since been transformed into a wild and visceral punch in the heart/gut. It's one of the best songs of the year and one of many great ones on the record. Keep an eye out for an official video for the song the band recently shot in Rae's diner in Santa Monica (which apparently is where Slater and Arquette shared pie in one of my favorite movies, True Romance). [via]

Delta Spirit - "Bushwick Blues" (from A History From Below)

Radio Dept. - "Never Follow Suit"

Sweden's The Radio Dept. have released another single from their continually rewarding four-years-in-the-making album Clinging To A Scheme. Grab "Never Follow Suit" below and follow the link for another free track. Then go buy the album? Yes.

Radio Dept - "Never Follow Suit" (from Clinging To A Scheme)

Previously:

The Radio Dept.: Where Pleasure Wins Out

Video: Free Energy - "Bang Pop"

Free Energy's music screams carefree good times in the tradition of anthemic 70s greats like KISS and Thin Lizzy. The band takes that fun sentiment a step further in their new video for "Bang Pop" which pairs David Lee Roth-style shenanigans with good ole Porky's fun.

More Free Energy:

Free Energy - "Come On Let's Dance"

Free Energy - "Hope Child"

Live: Free Energy @ Mississippi Studios

"Love with electric sound"

Dawes - "When My Time Comes"

"When My Time Comes"—one of the more brilliant songs on the 2009 Jonathan Wilson-produced debut of Dawes—now has a music video. It certainly does the song justice, but also will hopefully bring added attention to North Hills—one of the most impressive and overlooked albums from 2009. Make sure to catch the folk quartet this summer live with Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and remember to watch out for that whole MG&V supergroup thing.

Dawes - "When My Time Comes" (from North Hills)

Club 8 - "Shape Up"

Here's another tropicalia explosion from Club 8's new The People's Record, due out May 18th on Labrador. Could this be as good as the great "Western Hospitality" track released a few weeks back? You bet your sweet ass it is. In fact, it might even be better. [via]

Club 8 - "Shape Up" (from The People's Record)

WOOM - "The Hunt"

This song has a way of slowly digging under your skin and then refusing to budge. WOOM, who play this simple and understated pop gem, will be putting out an album sometime soon on Ba Da Bing Records. [via]

WOOM - "The Hunt"

Digging For Covers: Floating Action haze Rilo Kiley

Seth Kauffman's band Floating Action absolutely nail this cover of Rilo Kiley's 2007 song "Silver Lining." The track follows the original right down to the triangle solo, but at the same time makes it unequivocally their own, fitting like the familiar hazy buzz of summer.

Floating Action - "Silver Lining" (Rilo Kiley cover)

Video: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - "Home"

One of the best songs of 2009 finally gets a video and it's fittingly sunburnt, blissful and nostalgic.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - "Home" (RAC mix)
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - "Home" (Daytrotter)

Arms - "Heat & Hot Water"

The song "Heat & Hot Water" by former Harlem Shakes' guitarist Todd Goldstein found its way to my inbox this afternoon. Here's the plot according to a Village Voice interview with Goldstein: the protagonist and his girlfriend are expelled from a post-apocalyptic world; they think everything's okay back in the suburbs until they realize a beast has followed them home; they stick it in the basement and feed it; then the couple starts fighting and the beast starts getting bigger and growing more dangerous. Sounds like Goldstein has a fine grasp of the horror genre, eh? He's also got an impressive ear for melody. You can grab Goldstein's entire Arms EP free here. (photo by Briony Ridley)

Arms - "Heat & Hot Water" (from Arms EP)

Phosphorescent - "Cocaine Lights" (Daytrotter)

I'm on a big Phosphorescent kick right now. The record Matthew Houck and his band released yesterday on Dead Oceans is without a doubt the best country record I've heard in years. Who knew Houck could handcraft a set of songs so massively appealing? Here's To Taking It Easy isn't simply satisfying a niche in an indie scene; this is the type of album that feels good whoever you are, wherever you are: hipsters, country folks, rockers, and soul fans are all welcome to throw back a few on this storyteller's front porch. If To Willie was meant to draw in a more mainstream audience, then Here's To Taking It Easy is their reward for sticking around.

Phosphorescent - "Cocaine Lights" (Daytrotter)

The National: More Subtle Than Ever

It's hard not to like the National. Sure, maybe their music doesn't quite suit your taste, but it would be impossible to argue that this band's repertoire is anything but thoughtful and intensely belabored over. Effort is one area where these guys never fall short. And on their new record High Violet, the songs feel more strenuously produced and fussed over than ever before. What that creative process has led to are very tight and densely packed nuggets that lack the visceral punch of Alligator and the intimacy of Boxer. The landscape of these songs is epic, and for better or worse, they are also the band's most subtle to date. On High Violet, the songs won't engage you; instead, you have to go engage them. A quick listen here will leave little bounty, but for the dedicated fan that fully engages in every aspect of the music—from the lyrics to the carefully constructed tone and tempo changes (the drumming on "Conversation 16" is sensational)—it's a rich and emotional whirlwind of modern theater that goes right for the jugular.

The only fault of the album is also the band's greatest attribute: careful construction. These songs are built to last, brick by brick with cement from the ground up, but over the course of that process the potential for mistakes and surprises is diminished and so goes with it a small spark of electricity. Will High Violet get your blood boiling and pull your heart strings? Certainly, but you have to give it time. Just do as Matt Berninger talk-sings on "Anyone's Ghost": "Go out at night with your headphones on, again."

The National - "Bloodbuzz Ohio" (from High Violet)

Phosphorescent delivers an absolute classic

Country music is alive and well in the hands of Matthew Houck. As Phosphorescent, Houck has been writing inspired folk and country songs for 7 years. But after stretching his legs on last year's Willie Nelson covers album To Willie, Houck's music has now suddenly evolved into something even greater. Despite the easygoing nature of Phosphorescent's new record and it's accompanying title, Here's To Taking It Easy is a true reckoning force spilling over with talent and a casually charming electricity. Only 9 songs long, the album is deceptively short and straightforward, but therein lies its greatest strength as every song here is a timelessly constructed classic devoid of anything resembling filler. Remember that thing called an album? This is it.

Phosphorescent - "The Mermaid Parade" (from Here's To Taking It Easy)

Phosphorescent - "It's Hard To Be Humble (When You're From Alabama)" (from Here's To Taking It Easy)

Lonnie Walker - "Compass Comforts"

Since first hearing North Carolina's Lonnie Walker on the recent Friends Records compilation, I've become quite infatuated with the quintet's manically bluesy, punk-country sound. Their 2009 debut These Times Old Times is a lean and sharp combination of ear-catching melodies and fiercely quick rhythms that will keep your feet busily tapping away. And no song succeeds more than the fidgety pluck of "Compass Comforts."

Lonnie Walker - "Compass Comforts" (from These Times Old Times)

Levek - "NW 4th St"

You might remember Levek, aka David Levesque, from his brilliant a capella cover of Grizzly Bear's "Shift" (the video for the song featured scenes from Disney's Melody Time). Levek is now returning with a couple of his own original tunes, the most striking of which is his Paul Simon-inspired "NW 4th St." (via IGIF)

Levek - "NW 4th St."

Andrew Oldham Orchestra: The Rolling Stones Songbook

Rolling Stones or the Beatles? It's the age-old rock and roll question. For me, aside from a brief affair with The White Album, it's always been The Stones. Everything prior to and including 1981's Tattoo You is a classic and essential part of rock and roll's history. And just last week I learned I was missing a piece of that puzzle when a friend passed on the Andrew Oldham Orchestra's Rolling Stones Songbook. Oldham, the manager for the Stones in the 60s, helped put together this instrumental compilation of early hits in 1966. The production style could easily fit onto a Tarantino set—it's dated in a specific era, but nevertheless achieves a timeless quality due to its complete air of cool.

Andrew Oldham Orchestra - "Heart of Stone" (from The Rolling Stones Songbook)

Best New Band in PDX: Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside

Portland's alternative newspaper the Willamette Weekly named Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside the city's best new band for 2010 today. The band—who have spent time polishing their chops opening for the Avett Brothers—are the perfect pairing of roots rock instrumentals (upright bass, clean rhythmic guitar riffs) and jazzy vocals, provided by the undeniably distinct voice of Ford.

Support the band and buy their EP for just $5 here.

Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside - "Danger" (from Not An Animal EP)

Broken Social Scene: Tightening Up The Experiment

On their new Forgiveness Rock Record, the experimental Canadian guitar rock collective Broken Social Scene are tighter than they've ever sounded. Teaming with former Tortoise drummer and sound engineer John McEntire—a man with a masterfully vivid sonic palette—the band has somehow recorded their most lyric- and song-oriented album to date. The post-rock flourishes and textures the band and McEntire are known for are all present, they're just encapsulated within a polished and tightly woven structure—one called pop music. And Broken Social Scene do it extraordinarily well.

Broken Social Scene - "Forced To Love" (from Forgiveness Rock Record)

Don't Believe The Hype: April

Does negativity mesh with music blogs, seeing as they are predominantly a promotional platform for fans to spread the word about their favorite bands? I'm not sure. But with the ridiculous onslaught of new music finding its way to the web everyday, sometimes a little negative criticism is necessary to make way for deserving bands waiting in the background. That being said, here are two heavily hyped and lauded bands that have recently ripped through the interweb. And I can't get through a track.*

Sleigh Bells

These Best New Music recipietents are being tagged as revolutionary mainly for their excrutiatingly loud volume. With big looped beats, repetitive gain-heavy guitar licks, and repeated vocal melodies, repitition and noise are obviously the duo's biggest selling points. It's an absurdly simple formula, yet it's working and spreading like wildfire. Their best song to date, "Ring, Ring," (*the lone exception which I admittedly love) can't really even be considered a cover as it's 95% of the 1971 Funkadelic song "Can You Get To That" with the other 5% belonging to singer Alexis Krauss's new vocal melody—it's more like creative karaoke. The real question is, should a song so unoriginal be so wildly celebrated? It's worked in pop music and hip-hop for decades and so my problem here isn't really with the Sleigh Bells, but with the ridiculous praise they've been showered with from critics and fans alike. "Revolutionary" and "new" are terms that should be saved for bands uniquely original—ones that transcend the current static landscape of music. Not for songs generated by sampling or original work so short it must be looped every 35 seconds.

Sleigh Bells - "Tell 'Em"

Two Door Cinema Club
Who doesn't like electro pop? It's blissful and shamelessly fun. But Two Door Cinema Club are the Jason Mraz equivalent of the genre. Sure, like Mraz, they're obviously talented and will inevitably find success, but also like Mraz, there's little originality, weight or substance behind the songs. Music doesn't have to be existential or deep. Chromeo's nostalgic and self-aware irony works fantastically well as does the ridiculous science-fiction laser-show that is Ghostland Observatory. Cut Copy's lyrics certainly aren't mind-bending either running with the oft-used and cliched topic of love, but within their incredibly rich and original sonic framework, it works as a pleasant contrast. Two Door Cinema Club's music is shiny, well-produced and incredibly catchy, but there is nothing challenging or new here instrumentally or thematically to make it interesting. It's amazingly well done fluff in the vein of the Emo wave that took over the "alternative" and "punk" genres in the late 90's and early 00's. With a little humor or tension injected, perhaps songs like the deliriously peppy "Something Good Can Work" would achieve a more dynamic quality and work. But right now, it plays like over-chewed bubblegum.

Two Door Cinema Club - "Something Good Can Work"

Note: These are my highly subjective opinions. If this music makes you happy, please continue enjoying it and supporting the artists.

The Deadly Snakes: Morbidly Catchy Gospel Punks

Garage punk gospel is what Toronto's Deadly Snakes delivered on their 2003 record Ode To Joy. The band— broken up since 2006—achieved a sort of delirious rapture on that record: a wild-eyed organ-humming sound that could have been recorded on the wooden pew of an old abandoned church. With songs like "I Want To Die" and "There Goes Your Corpse Again," they were like an equally morbid and charming cousin of Jonathan Fire*Eater: one that read too many comic books, smoked too many cigarettes and was always fidgeting with something on his mind.

Deadly Snakes - "Oh My Bride" (from Ode To Joy)

Radio Dept.: Where Pleasure Wins Out

I've avoided liking the Radio Dept.'s Clinging To A Scheme for a while now. Initially, the album seemed all too easy to please with its M83 80s-revival sound of pure pop hedonism. But that's just the aspect of the music that eventually won me over: how can you hate something when it's just trying to get you to have a good time?

Radio Dept. - "Heaven's On Fire" (from Clinging To A Scheme)

Wolf Parade: Two new tracks from Expo 86

Following up his great 2009 record Dragonslayer with band Sunset Rubdown, Spencer Krug is now set to return with more trippy Mad Hatter-inspiring rock tunes, this time with Wold Parade. The band's new Expo 86—named after the World's Fair held in Vancouver in 1986—is due out June 29th via Sub Pop. You can grab two new tracks from the album here:

Wolf Parade - "Ghost Pressure" (from Expo 86)

Wolf Parade - "What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had To Go This Way)" (from Expo 86)