Fleet Foxes - "Helplessness Blues"

"If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm raw. If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm sore. And you would wait tables and soon run the store."

The wait is over. The Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues—the follow-up to the band's unbelievably acclaimed 2008 debut—will be released May 3rd in the US. The album's heart-achingly beautiful title-track is available for stream and download below.

The Fleet Foxes - "Helplessness Blues" (from Helplessness Blues)

Boners In The Garage

Along with the dirty guitars and guttural vocals of garage rock and punk music comes the staple raunchy song about sex. If you're the Winks, one song isn't enough (just read their track list). Here are a few classics and recent favorites. And despite the Winks' unbelievably crude lyrics, there's no denying a helluva catchy melody.

No Bunny - "Do The Fuck (Yourself)" (from First Blood)
Diarrhea Planet - "Ghost With A Boner" (from Aloha!)
Replacements - "Gary's Got A Boner" (from Let It Be)
Gun Club - "Sex Beat" (from Fire of Love)

Lia Ices Feat. Justin Vernon - "Daphne"

Brooklyn's Lia Ices' richly pastoral acoustic songs recall a harp-less, chirp-less and more tangible Joanna Newsom. "Daphne," off Ices' sophomore record Grown Unknown, is an ethereal and naturalistic cut that begins in the woods with images of bark and branches amidst fluttering strings and a plucked acoustic guiar. Where Ices separates herself from Newsom and makes her own musical personality felt is at the kick-in-the-door two-and-a-half-minute mark, where a pounding piano makes its entrance, commencing a coda with considerably more percussive snap and electricity. Bon Iver's Justin Vernon joins the fun with his signature falsetto cooing, but it's Ices that takes command and there's nothing the listener can do but sit back and enjoy the ride.

Lia Ices Feat. Justin Vernon - "Daphne" (from Grown Unknown)

When A Cover Gets Covered: "Ain't That Loving You"

Jamaican pioneers The Tennors came along just as the frenzied pace of ska music began to slow into the syncopated drum and bass centered groove of rocksteady. Rocksteady replaced the horn-heavy ska sound with a greater emphasis on vocals, which proved to be the perfect vehicle for the Tennors' talented core of singers. In the back of a taxicab in 1967, they won over Studio One arranger Jackie Mittoo with a version of "Pressure and Slide"—a song that sampled from the Stax Records' single "Ain't That Loving You" by Johnny Taylor. "Pressure and Slide" became the Tennors' debut recording and one of the biggest selling records in Jamaica in 1967. Fellow Kingston artist Prince Buster sampled the popular song later that year, refashioning it as "Shaking Up Orange Street." Perhaps the most famous reggae version though is Sugar Minott's late 1970s "Oh Mr DC"—a track that helped usher in the dancehall era, doing what the Tennors' "Pressure and Slide" had done for rocksteady. If nothing else, what this brief history lesson proves is the power of a simple song. Or in this case, a simple horn trill-propelled riff. Taylor's original would made its own mark back in the States with covers by dozens of soul musicians.

The Tennors - "Pressure and Slide" 
Sugar Minott - "Oh Mr DC" 
Johnny Taylor - "Ain't That Loving You"

Breakfast In Fur: NY Band Channels Inner Wild Things

"I Don't Care" and "Shine"—songs by New Paltz, New York band Breakfast in Fur—make me want to hide my electric guitar and bury my punk records for fear of disturbing this innocent and wildly engaging acoustic wonderland. The songs on the band's EP— in turns adventurous, mischievous, and purposely disengaged from the adult world—recall Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are as much as the EP's album cover, an illustration which features a very Max-like child fitted in an animal onesie. The line between children's entertainment and psychedelia has always been shifty and hard to pin down.  On their EP, Breakfast In Fur prove there's no need to make the distinction. Whether covering the traditional bus song "High Hopes" or singing about flying saucers, what's important is delivery—and Breakfast in Fur have the goods.

Download the full EP for free here.

Breakfast In Fur - "Shine" 
Breakfast In Fur - "I Don't Care"

Sonny Smith's Earth Girl Helen Brown Gets Vinyl Release

Sonny Smith is set to release more songs from his massive 100 Records project, this time from the spacey 60s-inspired R&B of fictionalized group Earth Girl Helen Brown. As on the Sonny & The Sandwitches release, Smith is again accompanied here by the Sandwitches' Heidi Alexander. Blogger label Forest Family will release the six-song 10" EP from the duo March 1st, but you can pre-order the vinyl goods now.

Here's the Earth Girl backstory courtesy of Smith: Helen Brown was born in Vancouver, Canada, but raised in an Athens, Georgia-based religious cult, and was blinded in one eye from a childhood baseball injury. As an adult, she dropped out of Evergreen and traveled the country for a while as a nomadic psychedelic folksinger, before forming her first band One Eyed Tramps. For years, she lived alone in a mountaintop in southern Alaska, where she befriended a Cherokee Shaman (later revealed as a fake) who encouraged her to pursue a frustrating academic career. Rampant drug use, frequent fainting on stage, and occasional self-inflicted knife wounds on stage led to more interest in her stage antics than her music. However, a few sides did emerge in the late ’90s (recording dates unknown), which feature a unique mix of country, girl group, R&B, and ghoulishness. Crude and amateurish at best, these recordings are appreciated for their sincerity and intensity of feeling.

Earth Girl Helen Brown - "Hit After Hit" (from Story of An Earth Girl)

Earth Girl Helen Brown - "I Wanna Do It" (from 100 Records Vol. 2)

Purity Ring - "Ungirthed"

No, this isn't a Jonas Brothers initiative or South Park parody. Purity Ring is the bubbly and blip-heavy, dance-fueled project of singer Megan James and Corin Roddick—one-part of weirdo electro-pop outfit Gobble Gobble. "Ungirthed," a song about "dead voices" and ghosts, is wildly catchy and replayable thanks to the succinct and ear-hooking melodies of James.

Purity Ring - "Ungirthed" 

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The Story Behind "Johnny's Gonna Die"

After watching a drunk and drugged Johnny Thunders stumble his way around on stage, insult the audience, and eventually pass out, then 18-year-old audience member Paul Westerberg went home and wrote the song "Johnny's Gonna Die." The song—one of two Westerberg would write about his idol Thunders—was a rare unhurried moment on The Replacements' otherwise racing 1981 debut Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash. The wildly influential Thunders—a member of punk pioneers the New York Dolls in the early 1970s and then leader of the Heartbreakers—died ten years later from drug-related circumstances. Thunders' cult status lives on not just in Replacements' tributes, but in songs by the Clash, Nick Cave, Alex Chilton and Guns N' Roses.

The Replacements - "Johnny's Gonna Die" (from Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash)
Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - "Born To Lose" (from L.A.M.F.)

Fuck The Golden Age: Every Year Is A Great Year In Music

The majority of rock fans and critics tend to lift music from the 1960's and 70's onto an untouchable pedestal. Yes, it was a Golden Age and defining period with the Rolling Stones, Beatles, and countless other legendary musicians airing their songs in the mainstream consciousness of acceptability. But if you know where to look and you look hard enough, the truth is every year is a great year in music. Songs like "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "Blowin' in The Wind" will certainly never be written again because of the political climate and widespread social inequality and injustice of the 60's. But tell me you wish people were still making albums like Joni Mitchell's Blue and I'll play you Joanna Newsom's Have One On Me. The Baby Boomers had Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, and Brian Wilson. The Net Generation has Britt Daniel, Victoria Legrand and Panda Bear. Play me Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" and I'll play you "When My Time Comes" by Dawes.

Dyed Blonde: Blondie Rarities and Covers

The confluence of ska, reggae, punk, new wave, rap, and disco. That's Blondie. The band formed out of the remnants of The Stilettos and the romantic relationship between guitarist Chris Stein and former Playboy bunny, waitress, and Wind In The Willows singer Deborah Harry. Originally dubbed Angel and The Snakes, Blondie rose to the top of the New York City music scene as regulars at hip ramshackle hot spots like CBGBs and Max's Kansas City. Later opening for Iggy Pop and David Bowie and headlining their own international tours, Blondie became bona fide pioneers of the new wave. And for good reason. From Harry's effortlessly cool and absorbing vocals to the band's aggressively tight, fiery and funky instrumentals, Blondie cut through labels and classifications with one of rock's sharpest set of pop music chops. Few bands have achieved such extreme levels of popularity and critical acclaim with their artistic integrity and jagged edge of outsider cool intact. Blondie was simply that good.

Blondie - "Scenery" (Blondie Sessions Outtake, 1976)
Blondie - "Platinum Blonde" (1975 Demo)
Blondie - "Sunday Girl (French version)" (from Blonde and Beyond)

Ted Leo - "Union City Blue" (Live)
Lily Allen - "Heart of Glass" (Live)
Sleeper - "Atomic" (from Trainspotting)

New Cotton Jones - "Egg On A Sea"

The dreamy retro-fitted folk-rock tidings of Cotton Jones return February 22 with the new EP, Sit Beside Your Vegetables. You can preview the goods with the Whitney McGraw-led, downbeat electric piano chime of “Egg On A Sea.” Make sure to catch the band on their upcoming tour, which kicks off next week. (via)

Cotton Jones - "Egg On A Sea" (from Sit Beside Your Vegatables)

Jonathan Franzen's Dylan Humiliated Donovan. But Does He Really?

In Jonathan Franzen's 2010 novel Freedom, he uses a scene between Donovan and Bob Dylan from the 1967 D.A. Pennebaker documentary Don't Look Back to parallel the competitiveness of two of the novel's characters, Walter and Richard. Here's the excerpt:

The Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back was such a touchstone for both Richard and Walter that Patty eventually rented it and watched it with Walter, one night when the kids were little, so that she could see the famous scene in which Dylan outshone and humiliated the singer Donovan at a party for cool people in London, purely for the pleasure of being an asshole. Though Walter felt sorry for Donovan — and, what's more, felt bad about himself for not wanting to be more like Dylan and less like Donovan — Patty found the scene thrilling. The breathtaking nakedness of Dylan's competitiveness! Her feeling was, let's face it, victory is very sweet.

Mixtape: Color Your Ears

J Roddy Walston & The Business - "I Don't Wanna Hear It"

"I think listeners get an energy from us that they've been missing elsewhere. Our music is like a gospel revival. If you let it, it can take you where you need to go." - J Roddy Walston, as told to Spin

Leave the lo-fi bedroom recordings and self-conscious introspective art rock at the door. J Roddy Walston and The Business—officially Everybody Taste's most overlooked band of 2010—play rollicking in-your-face white-boy-boogie-gospel that rushes along with the attitude and quirk of Jerry Lee Lewis and the no frills heavy-guitar thrash and vocal rasp of great punk music. The mean piano-playing, Tennessee-bred Walston and his Baltimore-based band have filled a long vacant niche in contemporary music: rock & roll. Specifically, the loud and fun kind.

J Roddy Walston and The Business - "I Don't Wanna Hear It" (from J Roddy Walston and The Business)

"Ca Plane Pour Moi"

Director Danny Boyle is an unparalleled curator of soundtracks with his collection of songs for Trainspotting being his pièce de résistance and perhaps one of the greatest soundtracks in film history. Don't believe me? Check out the track list. His latest film, 127 Hours, is no exception. The soundtrack features a wealth of material put together by master Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman, but the most potent musical moment originates from a different composer: Belgian songwriter and pop star Plastic Bertrand. James Franco, as the dehydrated and physically beaten climber Aron Ralston, tries to mentally escape his brutal predicament by recalling better times. In this case, a packed van of friends in the middle of nowhere, who proceed to all disrobe, crank the windows down and scream and raise their arms as snow rushes in from the outside storm. The exhilarating feeling is transferred to the audience via the thumping uptempo beat of Plastic Bertrand's 1977 international hit single "Ca Plane Pour Moi," which perhaps because of its complete randomness, works perfectly.

Vampire Weekend - "Cam Plane Pour Moi" (Live on France's Taratata)
Stream: Plastic Bertrand - "Ca Plane Pour Moi" (from Plastic Bertrand)

January's Must-Have HiFi Tracks For Your Mind, Body & Soul

Starfucker - "Bury Us Alive" (from Reptilians)
Foster The People - "Helena Beat" (from Pumped Up Kicks)
Craft Spells - "After The Moment" (from Captured Tracks)
Tennis - "Seafarer" (from Cape Dory)
Kurt Vile - "Jesus Fever" (from Smoke Ring For My Halo)
Telekinesis - "Car Crash" (from 12 Desperate Straight Lines)
La Sera - "Devils Hearts Grow Gold"(from La Sera)

(photo via)

Lord Echo - "Thinking of You"

Lord Echo is the project of New Zealand musician Mike Fabulous, who's best known for his work with the excellent reggae group The Black Seeds. With Lord Echo, Fabulous tackles similar territory, albeit with a touch more funk and disco. One of the clear standouts on his debut Melodies is "Thinking of You," a reggae reworking of the 1984 disco single by Sister Sledge. The track features guest vocals by Kiwi Lisa Tomlins, who also works with fellow New Zealand greats and Everybody Taste favorites Fat Freddy's Drop. I don't often associate reggae with funk music, but "Thinking of You" is the absolute perfect meeting point between these two genres.

Lord Echo - "Thinking of You" (from Melodies)

Distractions - "Money Is Ugly"

Originally released on a limited run of cassettes via Plus Tapes, the debut from Chicago's Distractions is now set for wider consumption thanks to some remastering and remixing by Twin Sister's Udbhav Gupta and the good vinyl-loving folks at Infinite Best Recordings. The dimly lit, eight-song, jazz-inspired pop of Dark Green Sea thrives on a mercurial and eclectic construction that mixes feverish garage rock with baroque ballads and meditative Tom Waits-like odes to the far corners of the universe. The heart of the record however lies in the topical soul ditty "Money Is Ugly," which finds baritone singer Tom Owens stretching his luck on a brilliantly catchy falsetto-laden refrain. It's beautifully weird pop music.

Dark Green Sea is out January 18th—pre-order it here.

Distractions - "Money Is Ugly" (from Dark Green Sea)

Steve Salett's Poison Tree

The songs on Steve Salett's debut as The Poison Tree are in no hurry to get anywhere. Slow burning and endlessly pondering—like a late night candlelit conversation over a bottle of whiskey—the former frontman of The King of France delivers a collection of stories with his gently emotive and seductive baritone that recalls fellow singer-songwriter greats Leonard Cohen and Bill Callahan. Salett (or, as he refers to himself, Salad) enlisted several excellent New York musicians for the recording process, including Dawn Landes and Thomas Bartlett, and their combined expert execution is evident through each carefully constructed track. Look out for the official release in March on Embarque.

The Poison Tree - "Never Know Me" 
The Poison Tree - "Come On, Come On"
The Poison Tree - "My Only Friend"

Cody ChesnuTT :: Black Skin No Value

After an eight-year hiatus, Cody "two T's in the nuTT" ChesnuTT—the man behind the Roots' hit "The Seed 2.0" and his own soul epic The Headphone Masterpiece—has finally returned with a new set of tunes. Black Skin No Value, a six-song EP released this past December, is a typically eclectic and gracefully soulful collection of songs. "Do Better To The Young," which sounds like a lost Marvin Gaye demo circa "What's Goin' On," is followed by the sparse acoustic gem "The Quiet Girl Who Eats Alone" and the trademark frank Chesnutt lyricsism of "Everybody's Brother," which begins with the line "I used to smoke crack back in the day." But perhaps the strongest song on the EP is the timely and topical "Where Is All The Money Going," which fuses elements of gospel music with the dirty fervor of garage rock. According to an interview with Fader, a full-length is also in the works and will be released sometime before next summer.

Cody Chesnutt - "The Quiet Girl Who Eats Alone" (from Black Skin No Value)
Cody Chesnutt - "Do Better To The Young" (from Black Skin No Value)
Cody Chesnutt - "Cadillac" (Live)

Middle Brother - "Me, Me, Me"

Recently, the concept of a supergroup has offered nothing more than an overabundance of anticipation followed by a giant whopping let down (see Monsters of Folk, Them Crooked Vultures). However, the first track from Middle Brother—the pairing of rowdy roots-rock rabble rousers John McCauley (Deer Tick) and Matt Vasquez (Delta Spirit) with the harmony-glazed Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith—proves to be something else entirely: feverishly sweaty, inspired and most importantly, fun, rock and roll. The trio's debut record is due out March 1st on Partisan Records.

Middle Brother - "Me, Me, Me" (from Middle Brother)

Starfucker :: Reptilians

Portland swirly electronic dance enthusiasts Starfucker have announced the details of their newest LP, Reptilians. The album, out March 8th on Polyvinyl, is available for preorder now with instant access to MP3s. I've been through the songs twice, and in terms of quality, it picks up right where Jupiter left off. Lyrically, the band spends a great deal of time tackling the difficult subject of death, yet the songs retain an incredibly peppy and upbeat character and tone. Whilst never as carefree as a track like "Boytoy," Reptilians nevertheless appears to be the most hopeful and upbeat collection of Starfucker music yet. Pair this with Cut Copy's forthcoming Zonoscope and you have an exciting year for dance music fans.

Starfucker - "Julius" (from Reptilians)

Walter Meego - "Starlight"

Back in 2008, Walter Meego's song "Forever" was all over the place: TV shows, beer commercials. It was the perfect vehicle for the dance-centric band to ride to greater popularity. But instead they seemed to disappear. I learned yesterday however, thanks to a Yvynyl post, that the band is still around making music. No longer on the Sony label, Walter Meego digitally self-released a follow-up to their debut in November of 2010 titled Wondervalley. Must-listen album standout "Starlight" opens with the same roaring chords as the J. Geils Band's "Love Stinks" and then takes off on a Marc Bolan-driven spacecraft, headed towards some far out cosmic world.

Walter Meego - "Starlight" (from Wondervalley)
Walter Meego - "Forever" (from Voyager)

Slim Smith - "Born To Love"

I'm on a huge reggae kick right now. Especially the sparse pop sound of Studio One, deservedly dubbed back in the day as the "Motown of Jamaica" for its string of hit records. Slim Smith, one of the all-time great Jamaican vocalists, was a force for the label in the late 1960s working alongside prolific producer Bunny Lee. Smith's vocal prowess is evident on "Born To Love," a cut that recalls soul greats like Same Cooke and Curtis Mayfield, the latter of whom helped produce two songs for Smith's early band The Techniques. Smith's career, however, was tragically short. In 1973 at just 25 years old he bled to death after wounding himself on a piece of broken glass.

Slim Smith - "Born To Love"

TV Girl - "On Land"

I've never been much of a fan of sampling and "If You Want It" by TV Girl is no exception. If I wanted to hear Todd Rundgren's soft rock ballad "Hello It's Me" (and I don't) I'd throw it on, not some closet mix sample with a new set of drums. Luckily, TV Girl has much more to offer. And it starts with the first track off their free selt-titled EP—the lacy falsetto "oooh"-laden pump of "On Land."

TV Girl - "On Land" (from TV Girl EP)

Bandcamp

Foster The People - "Pumped Up Kicks"

Sometimes it's the most uncomplicated of things that can be the most pleasing. I missed the wagon the first time around on Los Angeles band Foster The People's turn at psychedelic bubblegum with "Pumped Up Kicks," but this simplistic pairing of a looped four-note bass line and an extraordinarily catchy chorus are destined for the play and repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat treatment.

Foster The People - "Pumped Up Kicks"

(photo via)