song of the moment

photo by Lisa Roze

Icelandic neo-classical artist Ólafur Arnalds has recently made his ultra soothing new single, "Þú ert sólin", available as a free download! The song, which translates to "You Are The Sun" is the first track off his forthcoming sophomore album entitled ...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness, due out on Erased Tapes in June.

Ólafur Arnalds: Þú ert sólin

if i get to thirty and i don't have a wife, i'll ask you nicely but i won't ask twice

Slow Club is giving away their EP, Let's Fall Back In Love for free on their website, get it here!

ben sollee and daniel martin moore: dear companion/happy earth day!

Dear Companion is a beautiful collaborative effect between three Kentucky-natives: Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, who wrote and preformed the songs; and Jim James of My Morning Jacket, who produced the album. The central idea behind Dear Companion is to express the members' love for nature—in particular the Appalachian Mountains—and to protest/raise awareness of the issue of mountaintop removal coal mining (please go to iLoveMountains.org for more info.) I thought pretty highly of the album from the beginning, but reading that the basis of it is about saving mountains, my love for the album skyrocketed! Like I said at the start, the collaboration between Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore is remarkably gorgeous and moving. The out of this world harmonies and memorizing acoustic guitar, cello, and banjo in songs like "Something, Somewhere, Sometime", "My Wealth Comes To Me", "Flyrock Blues", "Try", and "Sweet Marie" completely melt my heart. The mostly serious tone of Dear Companion is cleverly broken up by the lighthearted and one of my favourite tracks, "Only A Song". Lyrics like: "I want to believe that this mountain can’t be moved; But this is only a song, it can’t change the world" and later, "I pictured the Harlem Globetrotters dancing like mosquitoes with a basketball" make me smile.

Hey, it is Earth Day today! So why not celebrate this day by supporting an environmentally conscious album—go buy Dear Companion over at Sub Pop or iLoveMountains.org, all the proceeds from the album goes to iLoveMountains.org!

Something, Somewhere, Sometime [wicked-cool song]
stream Dear Companion here

visit Ben Sollee's MySpace here and Daniel Martin Moore's MySpace here
buy Dear Companion over at Sub Pop Records or iLoveMountains.org

sylvia, get your head out of the oven

The Antlers recently premiered their brand new video for "Sylvia" on IFC.com. Watch the video here or download the video and the New York Hospitals EP for free below.

song of the moment

Mystery Jets posted a brand new track, “Flash a Hungry Smile” off the band’s upcoming album to be released this summer. You can stream or download the song on their site here.

a couple of beautiful videos for your monday morning

Christopher Smith: Gently Gently


Foals: Spanish Sahara

song of the moment

The Record Store Day exclusive new song, "Fool's Day", by Blur has been made available as a free download! Get the song over at the band's website!

i sense a spy up in the chimney

The Tallest Man On Earth—April 17, 2010 @ Criminal Records, Record Store Day 2010





see more photos at my flickr page

last minute/surprise record store day in-store:

This just in—The Tallest Man On Earth will play live today at Criminal Records at 7 pm!!!!!!!

happy record store day!

What are you looking forward to purchase on Record Store Day? Below is a list of some things I might be getting, but most likely not all as I will be broke!

Against Me!: I Was A Teenage Anarchist 7"
The Album Leaf: There Is a Wind 12"

Beach House: Zebra 12"

Coconut Records: Bored To Death Theme Song/Nighttiming 7"

Fucked Up: Daytrotter 7"

Let's Wrestle/Love Language 7"

Menomena/Helio Sequence 7"

Plants & Animals: La La Land
Pavement: Quarantine The Past [RSD Edition]

Sick of It All: Sick of It All
The Soft Pack 7” Boxset
Soundgarden: Hunted Down 7"
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: Streetcore
Sonic Youth: Confusion Is Sex
Surfer Blood/Holiday Shores 7"

Tegan & Sara: AOL Sessions 7"
The Thermals/The Cribs 7"

Velvet Underground: Live 1969 Vol 1 and Vol 2

This is what's available in Canada (as far as I know)... there are like a hundred other releases I want from the US and especially the UK RSD list.