Alice Russell @ A2 Summer Festival

The Summer Festival in Ann Arbor is almost over (so sad). I've been fortunate to see some pretty awesome acts so far: Los Lobos, Savion Glover, Zap Mama, and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings to name a few. Sharon Jones has DEFINITELY been the best one yet. There have been some great acts on the outdoor stage too that unfortunately I couln't go to. My My My and hometown favorites My Dear Disco and The Macpodz are the ones that come to mind...But one that I'm for sure not missing is Alice Russell tomorrow night. If you don't know who she is check her out right now. I know there seems to be a lot of singers crowding the "vintage" soul genre as of late, but Alice Russell is seriously really good. She was slated to open for Jose Gonzalez on the main stage, but after Jose canceled due to a family emergency, the festival organizers moved some things around so Alice can still perform. She takes the stage tomorrow on the outdoor stage (aka the free stage) at 8:30pm. I am SO happy that the organizers didn't scrap her performance. Her most recent album, Pot of Gold, is out now and it's really good, but you shouldn't overlook her earlier albums Under the Munka Moon and My Favourite Letters. They are worth a listen too.
Seven Nation Army (zshare)
Turn and Run (zshare)
A Blind Salamander - My My My (zshare)
White Lies - My Dear Disco (zshare)
Panama Jackalope - The Macpodz (zshare)

everyone needs some good drinking songs

That's what Deer Tick makes. Fabulous songs that make you think you're in some dive bar with an old jukebox playing songs by guys with croaky cigarette laced drawls that sound as booze soaked as the guy next to you crying into his beer.

Last week, Deer Tick released their sophomore album, Born On Flag Day. It's got a bit of a different feel to it than their first album War Elephant. I was turned on to Deer Tick after hearing their songs "Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)" and "Ashamed." I had an instant connection with the song "Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)"...you know when you hear a song and think that it's totally the story of your life? Cliché, I know, but still. And if that's what it takes me to discover a really fantastic band, then so be it.

Anyways, Deer Tick released their new album and I really really like it. Maybe not quite as much as War Elephant, but it's still really good. The first track, "Easy", is really the most radio friendly track on the album. It really kicks starts the album. But after it's done the album kind of takes on a softer side for the next few songs. Not a bad thing, just a little different. "Song About a Man" is a powerful slow burner of a song that is the perfect end to the slower portion of the album. Things start to pick back up with "Houston, TX" which leads right in to the high energy honky-tonk meets "Johnny B. Goode" track "Straight into a Storm." The hidden track, a beer fueled cover of the standard "Goodnight Irene" is fantastic. So don't stop listening after "Stung" finishes up. This album is definitely worth your while. I also hear they put on rockin live shows so try and catch them live sometime this summer too.
Easy .
Song About A Man .
Straight Into A Storm .

the king of pop and sharon jones

First and foremost a HUGE HUGE HUGE RIP to the one and only Michael Jackson. I think I'm still in shock that he's actually dead. True, he was completely bat shit crazy, but he pioneered pop music, and no matter what he will always be the king of pop. The "Thriller" video always terrified me but I watched it anyways b/c it was (and is) awesome. His music always takes me back to elementary school when our 4th and 5th grade classes sang "Man in the Mirror" at school assemblies. What a sad day. RIP MJ. What a shitty week in the entertainment world losing 3 icons in one week. Oofda.


But the main point of this post is Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. If you haven't seen them live you are SERIOUSLY missing out. They played the Summer Festival here in Ann Arbor tonight and it was awesome. Some of the old fuddy duddies were upset that the main floor got turned into a dance floor but seriously. If you don't start moving when Sharon Jones is on stage something is wrong with you. Sharon Jones is a spark plug, whose petite 4'11" frame flies around the stage dancing up a storm, as she belts out funky soul tune after funky soul tune. You would NEVER NEVER guess that she was 53 years old. It is about time that she is getting the attention she very much deserves. She and the Dap-Kings have a new album coming out soon and from the tracks she played tonight from it, it's going to be a damn good album. Go see her live...she's playing a bunch of festivals this summer...and buy her albums. NOW!!
This Land Is Your Land
Humble Me
Nobody's Baby

Check it out...

So I've been meaning to feature some of the stuff that's been sent to me for a looooooooooong time now. Sorry to the bands for the delay...I really do enjoy getting notes from people telling me to check out their stuff. I've received a pretty wide range of acts so far, and these are my favorite ones, so you should definitely check them out!

First up is Apteka. If you're a shoegazer you'll probably most definitely like this band. They're even offering up their tour EP for free download via their myspace page. Check them out!
If You Were Here

Next, Suds and Soda has been generating some buzz. Most of the time I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy the type of electro/dance pop that they do, and I'm either in one of those moods or they're just good. I'm going to lean towards the latter because on multiple listens I don't turn it off. They're busy doing lots of remixes and such so be on the lookout!
Style Over Substance

Joseph Scott makes some nice abient electronica music that is perfect to just chill out to. From his press release: "the hushed-pulsating-vibrating-still-dreaming-luminousintimate
sounds of this EP are abundant with artistic singularities and personal meanings." Kind of a mouthful of a description, but he's worth a listen!
Celeste

And last but not least, Trevor Giulliani. He has a Andrew Bird/Sufjan Stevens/Jens Lekman feel to his sound and it is really nice to just relax to. His debut album, Subcontrario (In Stereo), drops on July 21st, and you can pre-order it from his myspace or his label, Dovecote Records. I suggest you do so.
Wasting Your Town

That's it for now. If you want to submit something to me, I definitely encourage it! I can't promise everything will make it on here, but I'll do my best. So drop me an email and I'll see what I can do.

Mixtape mania

My life has taken a turn towards crazytown lately, so I apologize for the lack of posts/not updating links since boxstr still sucks donkey nards. I went through and put in some better links in the most recent posts and I managed to find some time to share some new stuff I've gotten with y'all.

i know I'm late with this but Santigold's mixtape is hot. There was a contoversy b/c someone sent a cease and desist order to the maker (not Santigold...), Terry Urban, but there are still ways to get it if you search for it. My fave track is Andre 3000 and Bun B's contribution.
You'll Find A Way Player

And keeping with the mixtape theme, my favorite DC area rapper Wale released his mixtape "Back to the Feature". I absolutely love it. For those who don't know me personally, I am a HUGE fan of UofM football, so the shout out he gives to Tim Biakabutuka, the Michigan running back form the 90s, in the track "Wonder Why" makes me happy. Wale's wordplay is fantastic, and he has some hot producers and guest appearances on it. Def check it out.
5 Minutes feat. Skyzoo
Life's a Bitch feat. Talib Kweli & Joel Ortiz
Wonder Why feat. Big Sean, Ken Starr, & Mike Posner
New Soul feat. Yael Naim

Because I don't want to be at work...

So because I REALLY don't want to be at work today, I am procrastinating and writing up a little note for y'all. Moving sucks. Just going to throw that out there. But there is some pretty sweet music that's about to drop, has dropped, and has been getting buzz lately that has been keeping my spirits up as I try to unpack and reorganize my life. But before I start on that, I just want to let you know that I've caught the Twitter bug. Follow me on there and you'll get random musings and notices about new posts. Check out the Twitter update box on the left side of the page...

There have been lots of leaked tracks from Discovery's upcoming LP lately. I like them. I didn't expect to because they discovered (ha!) their love of Autotune, and we all know how much I dislike Autotune. They're streaming 4 songs on their website. Check them out, and if you like them buy the LP when it drops July 7th.
I Want You Back


I also feel like Jenny Owen Youngs has been getting a fair amount of buzz lately. I might be lying but I feel like there was a week long period where every music site had something about her....Anyways, I saw her open for someone last year and I really liked her. Her stage presence is great....tells lots of great stories. And she does fun covers (see Hot in Herre video) and my favorite song of hers, "Fuck Was I," is off her 2005 album Batten The Hatches. Her new album is good too...check it out her myspace page and try to catch her live.
Fuck Was I
Led To The Sea

And finally there is an indie folk lover's wet dream in the making. Conor Oberst, Jim James, and M. Ward finally made an album together after touring together way back in 2004 on the Monsters of Folk tour. The new album drops conveniently the day after my birthday, September 22. Happy birthday to me.
Girl From The North Country

Boxstr Blows

I apologize for most of my links not working...Boxstr decided to be all sucky and disappear. Argh. I'll work on reuploading the songs to a different site (anyone have any suggestions?), but it might take a while because I just moved and need to unpack. So, be patient...we'll be back up and running soon. Until then f you boxstr. You suck.