i saw them live last night

one of the best ive ever been to

got my shirt signed by the band

and some good conversation

Ugly Casanova – Sharpen Your Teeth
In 1998, Edgar Graham, a.k.a. “Ugly Casanova”, met Modest Mouse while backstage at a concert in Denver, Colorado. He shared his work with the band, and began performing it early before shows while some people were milling around. Whenever he completed these performances, he retreated quickly with a look of anger and shame. After a time, a few small recordings were created, after which Edgar vanished completely. Promoters claimed Edgar Graham was the master behind Ugly Casanova’s genius. Edgar had brought him lyrics that he had written. So when it came time to hype Ugly Casanova, Brock offered up Graham, who according to legend, composed the songs found on Sharpen Your Teeth. Edgar doesn’t exist. He was created so Isaac could avios interviews.

the weird thing is, the darkness’ drummer’s name is Ed Graham. they came into view around 2004. Ugly Casanova was probably around 2001-2002

This album is signed to sub pop, obviosly home to The Postal Service, The Shins, and Wolf Parade. not bad, not bad at all. But since Isaac is on contract with epic, another release with sub pop, let alone ugly casanoca, seems unlikely. a shame really.

i like modest mouse. a lot. and Ugly Casanova sounds like modest mouse about 50%. the other half could consist of Radiohead/the american analog set/ black heart procession. the vocals sound like isaac brock. The sound can be contributed to the melting pot of sub pop related artists. The Members are as followed—Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), Tim Rutili (Califone, Red Red Meat), Paul Jenkins (The Black Heart Procession), John Orth (Holopaw), and Brian Deck.

i really did like it, i mostly listened to it going to and from school, but still, i like what i heard. Perfect rainy day music, which it was today. i enjoyed “cat faces” because im a sucker for harmony. the pitchbend in their sound accompanied with strings in “smoke like ribbons” makes me want to pee my pants.You know how you can read book with audio tapes? well sometimes i do that with albums, following along with a lyrics site and for this album i liked it, because the lyrics are just different, not weird, jsut different. and besides, and band with a name as cool as ugly casanova, has to be good.

i found out about them in a related artist section in an interview with Modest Mouse.

last time they were on tour was 2002 and with iron and wine, if you want to see them live, you’ve missed your chance.

“They said they’d give me everything,
here’s the part that made me laugh.
They didn’t give me anything
and then they took half of that”
-Pacifico

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
Karen O’s fashions follies and the single “Maps” could coin the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, by a more general eye. Beneath the surface is a certified gold debut album under their belt and the New York Times chose Fever to Tell as the best album of the year (2003). From listening to their debut they could described as stylized rock, maybe with a bit of a punk-ish feel if one would dare to go that far.

Interscope records homes the YYY. I’m sure everyone knows of the major label, or at least rings a bell. Other artists who share this record probably also share a hit on MTV like the YYYs with “Maps”. T.a.t.u., All-American Rejects, Beck, The Hives, and Nine Inch Nails, just to name a few of the numerous listed.

IN previous events Karen’s voice was heavy, bold, and unpredictable, quite the contrary to her semi-melodic tone with a ghostly appeal to it. No pumping bass is found, no excitement, no hard pressing 5-note phrases. This really was a total let down, in all truth. I didn’t want the same thing over and over again, but this isn’t to my liking. Before I could compare them to a Death From Above 1979 sound, now I can say they resemble a smudged and water marked version of Tegan and Sara. The single “Gold Lion” is the first track, and I believe it’s probably the catchiest of them all, hard to judge, but I’ll make due. “Dudley” has a tune that faintly resembles that of the nursery rhyme “hush little baby”. “Cheated Hearts” probably could be confused with a Tegan and Sara song, until the break with a small few seconds of guitar. This is a version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs that is suited for my grandma: soft, not to aggressive, and not really that out going.

I heard of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs just like the rest of the world, through MTV or Fuse, but I didn’t really care for them until my friend Jeramy started singing their praises and so I gave them a shot.

They are coming to the Pageant Wednesday April 19th for around 25 dollarbux. I was thinking about maybe seeing them, but now I’ve decided I’m not going to waste my money.

“Shit is runnin’
And it runs deep”
-Way Out

upon first sitting down and listening to this, it sounded oddly familiar in more than one way. it heavily reminded me of the feel of the sixety and the type of culture it had, electric, bold and modern, yet melodic. not to mention the thought of andy warhol comming to mind. then my instinctic were confirmerd, well at least the ansy warhol part. i mean, take a peak at some of the album art work. it looks like it could have come staight from his museum in pittsburg, or other pop artists of the time. if i could relate them to any other bands, or see how people might enjoy them if they like stereolab they would be something among the likes of tortoise, elf power, and luna.

Released in 96’ on Elektra, a sect of the infamous Atlantic records. One band I’m sure everyones heard of shared this same recording company. The Doors. On the side notes two other honorable mentions are those of Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne.

best descirbed as '60s pop with an art rock infringement. Stereolab were one of the most influential alternative bands of the '90s. Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier brought about this wave of goodness. To me at least, they coined the phrase "lounge pop rock". The sound can be descirbed as continuous bright rhythm joined with light singsong vocals sometimes in french. obiovulsly by hearing them you would see that synth played a roll in their distinctive sound.

highlights for this album appear in “cybele’s Reverie” and “Precolator”. Cybele’s Reverie is incredibly familiar, but i jsut can not place it, i know it will probably drive me insane, but oh well. Precolaror has the tear-drop sound of synth opening and happens in the song a few times, and the pristine xylaphone break is chilling, and the strings repreat the same thing, and they all overlap and its jsut a beautiful thing.

i dont rememeber exactly how i discovered Stereolab. they were one of the bands i always confuse with a different band. like id always confuse the get up kids and saves the day. so many dynamos and the new pornographers. sonic youth and the polyphonic spree. bands that have nothing in comon, i confuse. well i always confused LCD sound system with stereolab, so somewhere along the line i started listening to them.

they are on tour in the US but not in the mid-weat, sorry kiddies. and in may they head off to Europe.

“won’t go back to the days couldn’t even start a fire
won’t go back to the days america’d not been discovered
the transition has been operated for ever
what had gone on before from what there’d been after”
-slow fast hazel

i saw him live, it was amazing, i was literally a foot away from him

i smiled and waved at him, we practically had a moment

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – Twinkle Echo
Owen Ashworth is the core of CPTPA. He’s as cute and cuddely as the music he creates, using only keyboards. Some may think its just a plot to get a fan base, but he’d probably be playing guitar, but he honestly doesnt know how. An Additinol reasoning for the whole key boards only bit is it’s easy to write songs on while working in a movie ticket booth, as he once did.

Twinkle Echo is on the lable Trifekta accompanied by one of my personal favorites, The Decemberists, in the inactive portion of the label, and Gerling, a pull of band of The Vines. Seriously, they sound the same. Also in the inactive, is Architecture In Helsinki, which is kind of nifty, cause who doesn’t like them? i mean really?

His voice reminds me of a more personable version of the magnetic fields. The song “why i cry” comes to mind. The keyboards give me the feel of a sadder, less suger-enduced peachcake. what can i say, i just get a sadder feel from this fella.

I can’t help it. I love “hey eleanor” and “it wasn’t the same somehow” and “students for scarver & charm”. The album itself flys by with its spellbinding flow of kayboards. I’ll listen to it and be like.. whaaat its already over? i jsut started four seconds ago. It just seems like every single song is sad, or has a sad theme, or sounds sad. kind of like bright eyes or elliot smith. Even if they write lyrics that are happy, it will still sound sad. It’s a gift and a curse, i guess.

Tony Provinzano went on a rampage of listening to this band a month or so ago, so thats how i was forced to like them. :]

CFTPA is currently touring the U.S. of A. and is stopping at our very own Lemp Arts Center on the 30th of March. They will be accompanied by ARI ARI, The Donkeys, Jumbling Towers, and Puppet Show. 5$

“talk on the phone all night
tell the whole story to an answering machine
put everything on a song
just put everything on some song on the radio

at least this song wont cheat
at least this song wont leave”
-half ghost

Adult. – Anxiety Always
Okay, so in Spring 2003, from Australia, with 12 hard-hitting songs is Adult. Well, technically its 10 tracks, with an additional 2, but hey, who’s actually counting? They remind me of Ladytron, and a harder version of The Faint, and somewhere around Mindless Self Indulgence.

Signed to Spunk! Records, i checked out the site and apparently it has a nice list of artists such as The Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian, The Books, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, The Shins, Sufjan Stevens, The Unicorns etc. Well, obviously, The Shins are on Sub Pop, Sufjan on Asthmatic Kitty, so i have no idea whats going on there, but still, an impressive collection of artists.

Anyway, back to Adult. The woman’s voice is edgey and metallic, but still obviously human, like a nagging tone. Some may not enjoy it, it reminds me of a female Little Jimmy Urine, with less sexual references and less vocal range. I guess that wasnt that great of a comparison, but oh well.

i actually prefer the first track “cold call”. It’s jsut such a good opener, like a preporation to what you’re about to hear. I related it to “marching bands of manhatten” – death cab for cutie’s plans. They both just gradulay grow into the album. “Blank Eyed Nose Bleed” and “Nervous (wreck)” make me happy. But I think that “Kick in the Shin” is my favorite track. at first it reminded me or the begining of a song by The Faint. As soon as the vocals came in, i loved it.

I “discovered” Adult. within genre searching at the site i get my music from nowadays. Thank you electronic sector of the music pool!

Last seen on tour in Europe, last January and Febuary.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to go to a party
And be the only one there?
Blank eyed, nose bleed.
Blank eyed, nose bleed.
I’ve been working on increasing my anxiety.
It’s something I can do for free.”
-“Blank Eyed, Nose Bleed”