Here's something I posted a year and a half ago. I got
real nice feedback on it, but now most of the old links are dead and I've
had a few requests for fresh ones, so figured I'd repost it. This here is an
improved version over the original uploads (better bit-rate and a couple
source upgrades).
Definitive Pixies is a 4-disc collection of Pixies stuff meant to
complement their regular studio albums.
DEFINITIVE PIXIES DISC ONE - non-album tracks
1. Boom Chickaboom [1987 - WERS 1/18/87]
2. Gigantic (single version) [1988 - Gigantic single]
3. River Euphrates (single version) [1988 - Gigantic single]
4. In Heaven (The Lady in the Radiator Song) (live) [1988 - Gigantic single]
5. Manta Ray [1989 - Monkey Gone To Heaven single]
6. Weird at My School [1989 - Monkey Gone To Heaven single]
7. Dancing the Manta Ray [1989 - Monkey Gone To Heaven single]
8. Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf) [1989 - Here Comes Your Man single] 9. Into the White [1989 - Here Comes Your Man single]
10. Make Believe [1990 - Velouria single]
11. I've Been Waiting For You [1990 - Velouria single]
12. The Thing [1990 - Velouria single]
13. Dig For Fire (single mix) [1990 - Dig For Fire single]
14. Allison (video version) [1990 - Dig For Fire video]
15. Velvety Instrumental Version [1990 - Dig For Fire single]
16. Winterlong [1990 - Dig For Fire single]
17. Born in Chicago [1990 - Rubaiyiat: Elektra's 40th Anniversary]
18. Head On (video version) [1991 - Head On video]
19. Planet of Sound (single mix) [1991 - Planet of Sound single]
20. Theme From Narc [1991 - Planet of Sound single]
21. Build High [1991 - Planet of Sound single]
22. Evil Hearted You [1991 - Planet of Sound single]
23. I Can't Forget [1991 - I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen]
24. Head On (remix) [1991 - Head On promo single]
25. Letter to Memphis (instrumental) [1992 - Alec Eiffel single]
26. Debaser (remix) [1997 - Debaser single]
27. In Heaven (The Lady in the Radiator Song) (live) [2004 - Eugene, OR
4/28/04]
28. Bam Thwok [2004 - download-only single]
29. Ain't That Pretty At All [2004 - Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of
Warren Zevon]
30. Been All Around The World (live 8/05) [2006 - Acoustic: Live in Newport] insert with additional info download link:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ORK6DW09
DEFINITIVE PIXIES DISC TWO - radio sessions
1. Here Comes Your Man [1st BBC session - 1987]
2. Subbacultcha [1st BBC session - 1987]
3. Down To The Well [1st BBC session - 1987]
4. Break My Body [1st BBC session - 1987]
5. Hey [2nd BBC session - May 1988]
6. Levitate Me [2nd BBC session - May 1988]
7. In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song) [2nd BBC session - May 1988]
8. Wild Honey Pie [2nd BBC session - May 1988]
9. Caribou [2nd BBC session - May 1988]
10. Dead [3rd BBC session - October 1988]
11. Tame [3rd BBC session - October 1988]
12. There Goes My Gun [3rd BBC session - October 1988]
13. Manta Ray [3rd BBC session - October 1988]
14. Down To The Well [4th BBC session - 1989]
15. Into The White [4th BBC session - 1989]
16. Wave of Mutilation [4th BBC session - 1989]
17. Allison [5th BBC session - June 1990]
18. Hang On To Your Ego [5th BBC session - June 1990]
19. Velouria [5th BBC session - June 1990]
20. Is She Weird [5th BBC session - June 1990]
21. Monkey Gone to Heaven [6th BBC session - August 1990]
22. Ana [6th BBC session - August 1990]
23. Allison [6th BBC session - August 1990]
24. Wave of Mutilation [6th BBC session - August 1990]
25. Palace of the Brine [7th BBC session - 1991]
26. Letter to Memphis [7th BBC session - 1991]
27. Motorway to Roswell [7th BBC session - 1991]
28. Subbacultcha [7th BBC session - 1991]
29. Break My Body [acoustic]
30. Brick Is Red
31. I Bleed [acoustic]
32. I'm Amazed [acoustic]
33. Wave of Mutilation [acoustic] insert with additional info download link:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N60WVMG0
DEFINITIVE PIXIES DISC THREE - demos
1. Keeping In Time [1984]
2. Draw Attention [1984]
3. Gemini (Fight With Honor) [1984]
4. Silhouetta (Silhouette) [1984]
5. Build High [1986]
6. Down to the Well [1986]
7. Here Comes Your Man [1986]
8. Ed Is Dead [1986]
9. Brick Is Red [1986]
10. Weird at My School [1986]
11. Rock A My Soul [1986]
12. I'm Amazed [1986]
13. Broken Face [1987]
14. In Heaven (The Lady in the Radiator Song) [1987]
15. Build High [1987]
16. Rock A My Soul [1987]
17. I'm Amazed [1987]
18. Silver (Breeders version) [1988]
19. Tame [1988]
20. Debaser [1988]
21. I Bleed [1988]
22. Wave of Mutilation [1988]
23. Crackity Jones [1988]
24. Bailey's Walk [1988]
25. Mr. Grieves [1988]
26. Dead [1988]
27. Gouge Away [1988]
28. Manta Ray [1988]
29. Santo [1988]
30. No. 13 Baby [1988]
31. La La Love You [1988]
32. There Goes My Gun [1988]
33. Silver [1988]
34. Monkey Gone To Heaven [1988]
35. Palace of the Brine (clip) [1991]
36. Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons (clip) [1991]
37. Brackish Boy (clip) [1991] insert with additional info download link:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AWAFPMD6
DEFINITIVE PIXIES DISC FOUR - more
1. I'm Amazed [1987 solo demo]
2. Broken Face [1987 solo demo]
3. The Holiday Song [1987 solo demo]
4. Rock A My Soul [1987 solo demo]
5. Isla De Encanta [1987 solo demo]
6. Caribou [1987 solo demo]
7. Build High [1987 solo demo]
8. Nimrod's Son [1987 solo demo]
9. Ed Is Dead [1987 solo demo]
10. Subbacultcha [1987 solo demo]
11. Boom Chickaboom [1987 solo demo]
12. I've Been Tired [1987 solo demo]
13. Break My Body [1987 solo demo]
14. Oh My Golly [1987 solo demo]
15. Vamos [1987 solo demo]
16. Bone Machine [1988 VPRO radio session]
17. Gigantic [1988 VPRO radio session]
18. Isla De Encanta [1988 VPRO radio session]
19. Vamos [1988 live b-side]
20. Gigantic [1988 with J Mascis]
21. Cactus [1989 live]
22. Interview [1990 VPRO radio session]
23. The Happening [1990 VPRO radio session]
24. Into The White [1990 VPRO radio session]
25. Planet of Sound [1991 live b-side]
26. Tame [1991 live b-side]
27. Trompe Le Monde [1992 on Letterman]
28. Monkey Gone To Heaven [2004 on Letterman]
29. Paranoid [1991 - 120 Minutes jam]
30. Velvety [2002 - Frank Black version] insert with additional info download link:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z8CNYVWP
For tour dates and such, check out their official
site, pixiesmusic.com
The
Elected - Final Show (so far) + Rarities
posted January 23, 2009 (updated with
fresh links September 15, 2009)
This was the final show of The Elected's Sun, Sun, Sun tour.. Blake hints a couple
times during the show that this could be the last EVER show for the band..
and while no announcement has been made regarding the future of the band, as of this posting (Sept
'09), it's still the last show they've done.
Jason Boesel and Michael Runion guest on "Greetings In Braille" (both were
members of the band during the Me First tour, '04-05). Nate the bassist
sings "7 September 2003". Morgan Nagler did backing vocals on a couple
songs and blew the whistle at the end of "Biggest Star".
Soundboard recording, but sounds a bit "fuzzy" from the levels being too
loud, but not too bad. BTW, I posted the
openers' sets from this show a while
back, Whispertown 2000 and Grand Ole Party.. and the links are still good.
The Elected - 11/29/06 Porter's Pub, UCSD, San Diego, CA
1. (brief guitar soundchecking)
2. intro jam + I'll Be Your Man
3. Did Me Good
4. Would You Come With Me
5. Not Going Home
6. (talking about Nate)
7. Fireflies in a Steel Mill
8. (introducing Jason and Runion)
9. Greetings In Braille
10. The Bank and Trust
11. It Was Love
12. Don't Blow It
13. 7 September 2003
14. (introducing the last song)
15. Biggest Star
See also: my Rilo Kiley (+ Elected, + Jenny Lewis, +
Postal Service) fansite, Rilo
Kiley Place.
The Breeders - Last Splash
Demos
posted August 4, 2008
In sort of an addendum to the 2 previous posts here,
more Breeders and Pixies treats to share. First, an incredible find I'm
excited to post: The Last Splash demos. Huge thanks to
andycherry (aka SonOfGo at the
noaloha fan forum)
for making it possible. These unreleased demos for the seminal 90s alt rock
album have never before been posted online or circulated at all amongst
fans. (exclusive! brag!)
The demos are sourced from 2 sessions, both recorded at Cro-Magnon Studios
in Dayton, Ohio. The first 8 tracks are from September 1992. This was
apparently a very preliminary recording session, just to sketch out the
songs, with most of the tracks being instrumental.
The second batch (tracks 9-17) is from October 1992. The songs are a bit
more together and include vocals for the most part. Still, there are some
very noticeable differences to the finished album versions in songs such as
"Divine Hammer" and "Saints". Perhaps the highlight of the tape is a
completely unreleased song called "Go Man Go", previously known only to fans
by one low-quality live recording.
Now for the second part of this month's update, a guy named Zak Andree wrote
me saying he enjoyed the Definitive Pixies
collection posted here a while back, but he was compelled to work his EQ
skills on the Doolittle demos (as they are quite hissy, even though I
tried to clean them up a bit), so he tracked down the source bootleg cd and
painstakingly remastered the tracks. He did quite a good job and if you
compare his "Santo" track to the official b-side recording, you can barely
tell a difference. Nice work, Zak!
Here they are (in flac format) spread across 3 zip files on Mediafire:
"hey, gavin. while removing duplicates of all the
pixies stuff i've
downloaded, i came across a couple things i had in higher quality than
versions that were included in your definitive
pixies collection, so i
thought i'd share them with you..."
As promised last time, here's the "Definitive
Breeders" stuff. It's admitedly not as much of a labored-over "cream of the
crop" project as the Pixies collection, but rather just a bunch of links
strewn about in a desperate attempt to collect every rare track and live
performance available. Hope that's cool. Big thanks to Zane, Raül, and
Aurelien, among others, for making many of these links possible.
Breeders - b-sides and rare tracks [mp3]
"Definitive Breeders", or somewhat. A bunch of odds 'n' ends
to complement the band's albums. Includes songs from EPs, singles,
compilations, and live rarities.
Here's a few highlights as direct links, and a zip with the rest.
900 - written and sung by Josephine
Wiggs. B-side on the Canonnball single.
Cannonball (1993 acoustic version)- Not
sure exactly where this is from. Cool version, though.
Cannonball (live on the Jon Stewart
Show, November 15, 1993)- Good live version.. and there's some of "Mad
Lucas" at the end (a song the band rarely did live), played as the show's
credits rolled.
Climbing The Sun- Recorded prior to
Title TK.. released on a fanclub 7" and later as a cd single b-side.
Collage- From the Mod Squad soundtrack, 1999. It's
a cover of a cover (The Three Degrees covering the James Gang).
Cro-Aloha- demo version of "No Aloha"
released as a b-side.
Divine Hammer- re-recorded single
version
Do You Love Me Now? (EP version)- From
the Safari EP. Later re-recorded for Last Splash.
Do You Love Me Now Jr- remix by J Masic
(of Dinosaur Jr fame), adding his backing vocals to the song.
Don't Call Home- John Murphy, Kim
Deal's ex-husband, co-wrote this song. It was released on the Safari EP.
Driver- 1993 live cover of a Honey
Tongue song, which was a band Josephine Wiggs was in. She sings the
Breeders' cover of it.
Fire The Maid (live)- Low quality live
recording of an unreleased song from 2001. It was written and sung by
Kelley. Apparently Kim doesn't like the song much and that's why it never
really became an full-fleged Breeders song. Maybe if/when Kelley does
another solo album it'll be on it.
Forced To Drive (Loho version)- Early version with
acoustic guitar, later re-recorded for Title TK.
German Demonstration (demo version)-
We're Gonna Rise b-side
Go Man Go (live)- Unreleased song from
Last Splash era. There's a demo version of it in existance, but all we have
is this crappy live recording. {come on, Andy! let's hear that studio
version!}
Grunggae- This is an embryonic demo
version of the song that would later become "Cannonball". It was released as
a b-side.
Hag (Peel Session)- Not sure where this
comes from.. some compilation probably. Sounds good.
Head To Toe- From the EP of the same
name which came out in '94. Josephine wrote it, but Kim sings it.
Hoverin' (b-side version)- Another song
Kim Deal co-wrote with John Murphy. This recording was a b-side to the
Divine Hammer single, and was later re-recorded for the Amps album.
I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)-
This is a Hank Williams cover, also a Divine Hammer b-side.
I Don't Care About You (live)- The band
sometimes closed their 2002 shows with this cover by the punk band Fear.
Guitarist Richard Presley on lead vocals.
I Just Wanna Get Along (Pod outtake version)-
I think this was put out on a compilation or something. It's
an early version sung by Kim. (Kelley sings the Last Spash version).
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry- Another Hank Williams
cover. It's a soundbite grabbed off the German Breeders documentary from a
few years ago called "The Real Deal."
Invisible Man (demo)- Early version
with some different backing vocals stuff going on.
Iris (live 6-26-92 Glastonbury)- From
the No Alternative compilation.
Lord of the Thighs- This is an
Aerosmith cover sung by Josephine Wiggs.
New Year (demo)- Not much to say about
this one. Released as a b-side.
Safari- From the EP of the same name,
released in 1992 between Pod and Last Splash.
Safari (live b-side, 2002, Melkweg, Amsterdam)-
released as a b-side on the Son Of Three single.
Safari (remix)- from World's End
Limited Volume 3 compilation. It doesn't really sound much different from
the regular version. Maybe just remastered.
Shocker In Gloomtown- Guided By Voices
cover from the Head To Toe EP.
So Sad About Us- cover by The Who, on
the Safari EP.
Son Of Three (single version)-
re-recorded version for the single.
S.O.S. (so outrageously shitty fanmix)-
a silly fan-made remix of the song.
The Freed Pig- a Sebadoh cover,
released on the Head To Toe EP, recorded as sort of a joke on J Mascis
because it was written about him or something.
Theme from Buffy The Vampire Slayer-
cover of the TV show's instrumental theme song, released as a b-side.
Wicked Little Town (Hedwig Version)-
from the 2003 compilation Wig In A Box, a tribute to the musical & film
Hedwig And The Angry Inch.
Except for the 3 songs linked above, here is a link to a zip with the rest
of the mp3s:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2WS0MYYB
Breeders related rare tracks [mp3]
Side project b-sides plus various guest appearances by Kim
and/or Kelley with other bands.
Bullet LaVolta (with Kim Deal) - Swan Dive
[UPDATE!]
Freedom Cruise (with Kim and Kelley Deal) - Sensational
Gravity Boy
Guided By Voices (with Kim Deal) - June Salutes You!
Guided By Voices (with Kim Deal) - Navvy (Pere Ubu cover)
Kelley Deal 6000 (Solid State 6000 single) - Carnivale
Kelley Deal 6000 (Solid State 6000 single) - I'm Right and You're Wrong
Kelley Deal - Fucking Hostile
Kelley Deal with Kris Kristofferson - Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground
Kim Deal - I Believe in Miracles (You Sexy Thing) (live 1988)
Kim Deal and Robert Pollard - Love Hurts
Magnétophone - Kel's Vintage Thought (with Kim and Kelley Deal)
Magnétophone - Kel's Vintage Thought [Outhud remix]
Sonic Youth (with Kim Deal) - Little Trouble Girl
Supersuckers (with Kelley Deal) - Hungover Together
The Amps - Empty Glasses (Kim's Basement 4-track Version)
The Amps - Just Like a Briar
The Amps - Pacer (single version)
The For Carnation (with Kim Deal) - Tales (Live from the Crypt)
The Zen Circus & Brian Ritchie (with Kim and Kelley Deal) - Punk Lullaby
This Mortal Coil (with Kim Deal and Tanya Donnelly) - You And Your Sister
Tijuana No! (with Kim Deal) - Nadie Dijo Nada
Ultra Vivid Scene (with Kim Deal) - Special One
Above mp3s beside the first one in a zip here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?udubxtsxrwx
Breeders - 1989 Pod demos [mp3]
There are a few different versions of these demos out there,
quality-wise, with these posted below being the best I've found (sorry,
don't have them lossless).
I'm not exactly sure of the date (some sources say '88, some say '89), recorded by Gary Smith at Fort Apache. Says Smith of the
demos: "I worked some demos which I thought were quite good, but I assume
Kim and Tanya through little of them. they not only scrapped the whole thing
and moved on to work with Steve Albini, but also changed the entire
direction of the music. The versions which I worked on were very pop and
very upbeat by comparison to the versions which 4ad/Rough Trade released.
I’m still not sure which one I like more. Albini’s record is much moodier
than the demos, and for that reason these times are much more better suited
to the finished versions than the demos."
Notable "rare track" inclusions are the unreleased song "Overcome"
(which was later re-worked into The Amps' "Bragging Party"), a nice unreleased instrumental known as
"Rave On", and an early version of "Divine Hammer" known as "You Always Hang
Around" (or "Stop Whispering").
01 - Doe
02 - Drivin' on 9
03 - Fortunately Gone
04 - Glorious
05 - Limehouse
06 - Only In 3's
07 - Overcome
08 - Rave On
09 - Silver
10 - When I Was A Painter
11 - You Always Hang Around (Divine Hammer)
Breeders - 1992-07-02 Amsterdam and 1993 live (Double Trouble) [mp3]
Excellent quality collection of soundboard (radio broadcast) tracks put out on
a bootleg CD called Double Trouble. Apparently tracks 1-8 are from July 2,
1992 Melkweg, Amsterdam (I've also seen the date listed as June 29, 1992),
with the remaining tracks being unknown dates/locations ("Live on Tour
1993") If anybody can clarify the source of these tracks, please let me
know.
There's one song on here that's not available anywhere else that I know of:
"Driver", which is a Honey Tongue song (a band bassist Josephine Wiggs was
in).. Josephine sings the Breeders' cover of it.
http://partofthequeue.blogspot.com/2008/01/breeders-double-trouble-bootleg-1994.html
Breeders - 1994-04-09 Baton Rouge, LA (Hello Baton Rouge!) [flac]
Good audience recording somewhat ruined by noisy audience
talking throughout most songs.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VPH3WTVZ
Breeders - 1994-05-17 Gino, Stockholm, Sweden (Live In Stockholm) [mp3]
An EP of live songs put out by the band's official fan club.
Excellent quality, though the fact that it's not the complete show leaves it
lacking somewhat.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3TJDJ5R2
Breeders - 1997-05-09 Los Angeles, CA, El Rey Theatre
[flac]
Nice sounding audience recording of a show during that hazzy
period after The Amps and before Kelley returned to the Breeders. Includes
an early version of "Too Alive" (under the title "Swinger") and a rare live
performance of "Climbing The Sun".
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PTO2I8Z7
Breeders - 2001-07-14 Chicago, IL, Congress Theater [mp3]
The quality on this recording isn't very good, but it does
include an unreleased song Kelley sings called "Fire The Maid". Also
included is "Sinister Foxx", which doesn't get played live much.
The correct date of this show may be July 20, 2001.. not sure.
http://rapidshare.com/files/37098153/The_Breeders_-_Live_In_Chicago__2001_.rar
Breeders - 2005-11-20 Blackheath Halls, London, UK [mp3]
This was the 2nd of two shows celebrating 4AD's 25th
Anniversary. The quality is ok, not great, but it's a fun show featuring
guest appearances by Josephine Wiggs (she left the band around '95) and
violinist Carrie Bradley (who hasn't played with the band much since '97).
The set includes a couple songs off Pod that weren't done live much:
"Metal Man" and "Oh!"
http://rapidshare.com/files/52549388/The_Breeders_-_2005.nov.20_-_Blackheath_Halls__London__UK.rar.html
Breeders - 2008-05-01 Amoeba Records, SF [flac]
Solid audience recording of an intimate in-store performance.
Nine songs, plus some soundchecking and between-song banter.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/hmor4g
ok, that's the end of the strictly Breeders stuff, but here's some
related downloads:
Belly - Star demos ("the 'lost' follow-up to
Pod") [mp3]
The original plan when the Breeders started was to alternate
main songwriter on the albums between Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly. But then
Kim was busy with the waning days of the Pixies, so Tanya went off and did
her own thing, starting the band Belly and releasing their first album,
Star, in 1993. But before that, these demos were recorded. Says Donelly,
"They were originally meant to be the second Breeders album, so Kim plays on
a couple. She plays the high solo on White Belly and the counter-lead stuff
on Feed the Tree. That's what I recall."
http://www.tanyadonelly.com/mp3s.html
Kelley Deal 6000 live in Oklahoma City, OK 9-7-97
[flac]
Kelley had a solo band in the late 90s, releasing a couple
albums and playing a bunch of shows. Here's one.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QYN5HVW6
Kelley Deal 6000 - Go to the Sugar Altar [mp3]
Here's one of the albums. Originally released June 1996, it's
out of print now.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0YVAPPQY
Perfect Disaster - Up
[mp3]
1989 out-of-print album from a band featuring Josephine Wiggs.
She doesn't sing lead on it, sadly.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N7HAYTOV
Perfect Disaster - Heaven Scent [mp3]
[UPDATE!]
Another out-of-print album from a band featuring
Josephine Wiggs. She sings a little vocals on this one, but still not much.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/z2clkb
Ed's Redeeming Qualities - Big Grapefruit Cleanup Job
[mp3] [UPDATE!]
This is a band featuring Breeders violinist Carrie Bradley.
They might be best known for doing the original version of "Drivin' on 9".
It's included on this live album.
http://www.badongo.com/file/9487447
You guys like Oh No! Oh My!? They're really fun and
good. I first saw them in early 2007, but it was a first date and the girl
was kinda uptight so I left my tape recorder at home, sadly. But I saw them
again several months later, and was able to document that time. Here it is:
Casper and the Cookies -
3/20/07 San Diego
posted July 30, 2007
Here's a show I recorded by Casper and the Cookies a
while back. But be warned: it's not very good
quality, so you probably shouldn't bother with it unless you're a big fan.
It's one big mp3. It's also incomplete.
The brainchild of
Neutral Milk Hotel member Julian Koster,
The Music Tapes released an album in 1999 called
The First Imaginary Symphony For Nomad, a conceptual pop
project involving TV's from outer space, offing your parents, and other
youthful concerns...part tape collage/musique concrete pop-art experiment,
part Beach Boys song-cycle. Contributing to the record was The Elephant Six
Orchestra, including members of Neutral Milk Hotel, the Olivia Tremor
Control, Marshmallow Coast, Of Montreal, Circulatory System, and the
Gerbils.
The Music Tapes have also put out a couple 7" singles and a few compilation
tracks.
A followup LP, The 2nd Imaginary Symphony for Cloudmaking, was
recorded, but has yet to see proper release.
It's a strange and lovely tale for all ages narrated by Brian Dewan,
accompanied by bowed banjos, singing saws, sound effects and the like by Julian and
friends. He's rumored to currently be working on a new touring project while
living on a magical island in Maine. Should be interesting.. let's hope it
materializes someday.
While not very active in recent years, The Music Tapes performed live
many times, often opening
for Neutral Milk Hotel in their late 90s heyday, with Julian pulling double duty
in both bands. Here are mp3s of a live set:
The video clip at the top of this post is from a Music
Tapes show, apparently on 2/14/99 in Athens, GA. I have that full 46 minute
show on dvd (with a low quality NMH show [4/11/98] on the same disc) and can
make you a copy.
For more info on the Music Tapes, visit
here and
here.
Mellowdrone - 6/8/06 San Diego
posted May 25, 2007
This month's update features Mellowdrone.
They've got an album out called
Box, plus a few various EPs/etc., and a new full-length in the
works. For the unfamiliar, I suggest my favorite tracks
"Worst Song Ever" and
"Fuck It Man".
Anyways, here's a show of theirs I taped on June 8, 2006 at Brick By Brick
in San Diego, CA. While only 6 tracks, this recording is complete.. it was a
short set for some reason. They were the headliners.
Monsters
Are Waiting and
A.M. Vibe opened.
Polarbear - 4/10/99 Los Angeles
posted April 21, 2007
Eric Avery was one of my earliest musical influences. My
admiration of him has only grown over the years as he's moved on from Jane's Addiction, to
Deconstruction, to Polarbear, to his current solo work. I've even been lucky
enough to get to know him a little over that time, and he's always been a great guy
to me. I'm very much looking forward to his debut solo album, Help Wanted,
due this fall on Dangerbird
Records. To gear up for that, I thought I'd post a show from his most
recent band, Polarbear. (Actually, I recently added these mp3s to the
Polarbear fansite and figured I'd
link them here, too.) It's a decent recording I made of the band's
second-to-last show. There's some mic trouble at the beginning of the set,
and they need to re-start a song ("monkey"), but aside from that, a very
nice performance.
If you're not familiar with the band, check them out on myspace
to get a feel:
myspace.com/polarbearaudio
And here's their song "Flyer" on YouTube:
They only put out a couple cds: an
EP and a
full-length, each out-of-print now, with both fans and the band agreeing
the latter represents PB's best work.
If you're a fan of Mr. Avery, you should definitely bookmark his
official blog
(heck, even if you're not a fan of his music, you should at least check it
out.. he covers a wide range of interesting topics.)
UPDATE (5/5/07): Preview the track "All Remote and No
Control" from Eric's forthcoming solo CD, Help Wanted by visiting
dangerbirdrecords.com. Click
"Launch Dangerbird Player" at the top right. It should be in there. Great
stuff!
Paw - Death to Traitors demos
posted March 17, 2007
Paw was one of my favorite bands in high
school. Specifically 1993's Dragline, their debut LP, which
blends Nirvana-ish grunge with lush acoustic sections and Southern tinged
storytelling lyrics. They followed it up with 1995's Death To Traitors,
which disappointed me a bit, but still had some solid songs. They went on to
put out a strong rarities disc and a final EP before calling it quits in
2000. Some people might remember them for the song "Jessie" ("you're a good
dog, such a good dog"), which was a modest hit for them in '93, but apart
from a small faction of
diehard fans, they've pretty much been forgotten. One current band that
brings to mind their sound is Lucero.
The heart of Paw was the partnership of singer Mark Hennessy and guitarist
Grant Fitch. Mark's been messing around in a new band called
The
Diamond Heart Club, while Grant recently started up a project called
New
Franklin Panthers.
Anyways, the "holy grail" to me and most other Paw
fans (short of a reunion) has always been the fabled "Death To Traitors
demos," a 90-minute tape of sessions for their second album said to contain
several songs unavailable anywhere else. After many years, I got a tip on
someone who probably had them. Long story short, a good deal of googling and
emailing later, I finally got a copy. (thanks again, MW, for
coming through! and thanks to Joseph Larkin for the initial tip.)
I'm happy to offer the recording here. It's 192k mp3s.
(I believe it can also be found in flac on DimeaDozen, for those who prefer
lossless.) If you're not into Paw but want to give a curious listen, I'd
recommend tracks 2, 8, and 14. And if you like those, come back for the
rest. (and don't forget to track down a copy of
Dragline, which most fans agree represents their best work.)
UPDATE (July 2007): Just got this informative email:
hi,
my name is john. my boss made me a copy of the demos for death to traitors,
because i didn't have one. i played bass on all tracks. wanna clear up a
couple things...
the session took place in fall '94, not early '95. i joined the band right
after the final dragline tour in summer '94. these demos were recorded
almost completely live (save for the random vocal or guitar overdub) by e.j.
rose at red house studios in lawrence. i recorded part of the "death..."
record with the band, 5 songs, they used my tracks on 4, before i quit the
session and left (credited as additional bass john licardello). lotsa
tension regarding songwriting splits.. i was brought in by grant to play
bass and help with writing and arranging. i wrote all the music for sweet
sally brown and year of the locust, both of which were already written for
my old band hoarse, who released both of these tracks on our debut on rca in
'97, as 'happens twice' (ssb) and '72' (yotl).
hope this helps to shed some light on this rare recording.
best,
john 'speck' liccardello
Paw - Death to Traitors demos
fall 1994, Lawrence, KS, 86 minutes
This isn't really an mp3 post, but just a plug for a
band. Calamine is a lovely project lead by Julie Stepanek probably best
known for the theme song to the Adult Swim cartoon "Sealab 2021". That was
from an incarnation of the band that released a terrific self-titled EP in
'99. It took a while, but in 2006, they released a second CD, What We
Forgot To Remember. Their current sound is much more intimate and
delicate than the TV show theme for which most people know them. Recommended for anyone into soft vocals and thoughtful lyrics.
There's a nice selection of songs on their
myspace.
And more clips and many rare tracks are on their site:
calamine.com
For a lot more info on the band's history, check out
their Wiki.
I've recently been helping the band get a forum set up on their site*:
http://www.calamine.com/forum/
Please feel free to sign up. Julie herself is an active member
there and even started a Q&A topic for answering questions from fans.
*By the way, if you've got a forum of the phpBB variety that you're not
thrilled with, my services are available. I can fix
spam problems, improve smilies, and adjust the colors and stuff like that to
get it how you'd like it. I'm thinking I'd charge around $25, but could be
more or less depending on the scope of what you want done. Email me if
you're interested. gavin7@gmail.com
Neutral Milk Hotel 4/28/98
Minneapolis
posted January 13, 2007
Here's a pretty good Neutral Milk Hotel show that
hasn't circulated online much yet. Technical difficulties and "brain
melting" by band members plague some of the first few tracks. "Naomi", in
particular, is a train wreck. But nice show overall. Jeff throws in a quick
rendition of "All The Colors of the Rainbow" in the middle of "Rubby Bulbs"
before eventually transitioning into an epic version of "Snow Song Part 1".
You can right-click below, or if you prefer, here's a
zip file of all tracks at Rapidshare (87MB).
Neutral Milk Hotel - 1998-04-24 400 Bar, Minneapolis, MN
bonus! Here are never-before-seen (or rarely
seen, anyways) photos from what was likely the final performance of Neutral
Milk Hotel as a full band, 10/13/98 Underworld, London. Thanks to the
photographer, Alex Briggs, for sharing them with me.