Kaleb pointed me to a few tracks from the new CD by The Deathray Davies‘ singer/songwriter John Dufilho. Good, poppy stuff.

::: What Are You Waiting For? :::

Kaleb’s got another track posted here, and if you want to pick up the disc, it’s $10.50 ppd from the Glurp Store.

And Solomon sent over this link, ostensibly for a band called Blue Green Whale, who do that sorta atmospheric instrumental stuff. I really like this track.

This is really great: Merge has announced that people who buy the vinyl of that new Clientele album, Strange Geometry, will find a coupon inside allowing them a full mp3 download of the album.

Brilliant.

Merge, you rule. But we already knew that, didn’t we?

Anyway, also, Merge, since you seem open to these new ways of thinking w/r/t this digital music stuff, here’s another idea: You know how labels send out promo copies of an album months before the official release? And then those copies inevitably end up getting ripped and shared digitally (months before the official release)? How about this: At the same time promo copies go out in the mail, you immediately also make the album available for purchase from iTunes. You don’t need to stop any of that other normal prep work that may be going on, like finalizing artwork, putting together PR stuff, etc. — just make the album available on iTunes *in addition* to all that.

My theory here is that people aren’t necessarily trading these pre-release discs because they’re just trying to get stuff for free, or want to rip off Merge et al., it’s because they want to hear the music, and, like, NOW. So take advantage of that fact!

Just an idea.

I just saw over at Songs:IL that a new Charlemagne record came out last week. I had no idea. Looks like Carl lost the ’stache, but the music seems to still sound good regardless. Go figure. Anyway, Detour Allure is out on Sidecho Records, and they’ve got 4 mp3s (!) for download. If you’re only gonna check out one, I recommend this one:

::: Your Scars :::

Remember back in the September mix, track 9? It was “Zodiac Song” by Diamond Caverns w/ Red Hunter. Well, Red is the man behind the Whiskey & Apples label, and I recently got a copy of the new disc from his Peter & The Wolf project, and man, it’s a great, great disc, in that soft and folky vein. Highly recommended.

:::Couches By The Sea :::
:::Silent Movies :::

Pitchfork gives Rehearsing My Choir a 4.0. I’ll be interested to compare all the ratings of this on Metacritic. Should be interesting.

I want to point out that that Spoon “Monsieur Valentine” video from the other day was not an “official” video, btw. If I didn’t exactly make it totally clear at the time, it’s because I wasn’t exactly totally clear at the time.

Yes.

“Pink Mountaintops, the brainchild of Black Mountain’s Stephen Mcbean, have not only decided to drop “The” from its name, but they are releasing in 7-inch on Jagjaguwar in December. The songs “The Ones I Love” and “Erected” are on sides A and B, respectively. This is in anticipation of their second full-length release entitled “Axis of Evol”, to come out this upcoming February.“

Touch and Go has confirmed that in 2006, we can expect new records from The Black Heart Procession, Calexico, and Quasi.

Also, Merge confirms Destroyer’s Rubies for February of ‘06. That should give Dan just enough time to dry out after this New Pornographers tour.

Brooklyn Todd sent over this link to the 80’s-informed songs of Arms. Be sure to check out “Shitty Little Disco” and “Whirring.”

Mirah has recorded a digital-only single called “Nola”, and sales of the $5 track go toward hurricane relief. Check it out here.

Finally, an mp3 from Okkervil River’s Black Sheep Boy Appendix. I’m gonna say, yep, it does indeed sound right in line w/ the original Black Sheep Boy disc.

::: No Key, No Plan :::

Becki Yarrr sent over this mp3 page of Yarrr! PR artists. And note you can click on the chest for bonus booty. Make up your own joke there.

Did we not just get the Sister Jack video? B/c Tim pointed out a brand-new video for Spoon’s “Two Sides of Monsieur Valentin” here.

The new Silver Jews is out today. And I think the US vinyl of The Go! Team’s Thunder Lightning Strike came out too.

The other day, I forgot to mention that Mr. Kelley Stoltz, who is making what someone has called “John Lennon-Krautrock”, has a new EP, When The Sun Comes Through, out on Subpop. I’ve had the mp3 on repeat all morning:

::: The Sun Comes Through :::

I also forgot to mention that Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin just recently posted their cover of the Mommyheads‘ “Cora”, from CBR001. If you’ve been on the fence about picking up a copy, maybe this’ll put you over the top.

::: Cora :::

Check out that new Cat Power mp3 yet? Full details on the upcoming album here. I like how every single time I listen to it, for a few seconds there, I always think it’s going to turn into “Moon River.”

::: The Greatest :::

It’s one of those weeks where you should probably
head down to the record store with few bucks in
your pocket. It’s also one of those weeks where
that fact kinda crept up on me, and then I went
to look at New Music Tipsheet and I was like, “Holy Shit!”

Castanets - First Light’s Freeze
More good Americanannaana or whatever from R. Raposa & co.

::: All That I Know To Have Changed In You :::

The Clientele - Strange Geometery
How long have the Clientele been together? 7 or 8 years or something? ‘Cause I just listened to them for the first time today. Definitely not what I was expecting, but now I understand why they’re on Merge. Very classy sweet, soft pop.

::: E.M.P.T.Y. :::
::: Since K Got Over Me :::

The Constantines - Tournament Of Hearts
More subdued than the last one, but still…

::: Love In Fear :::

Deerhoof - The Runners Four
I’ve never really been down with them, but this one seems to have swayed me a bit.

::: Wrong Time Capsule :::

dios (malos) - dios malos
Still deciding if I like this “new” sound. Play this game: listen to the record and count how many times they mention “marijuana” or “pot.” I think Kaleb might have nailed the review.

::: Feels Good Being Somebody :::

Dirty Three - Cinder
This one’s been sitting on my desk for a week or two, and I’ve really been meaning to listen to it. The mp3’s pretty damn good. For you OC kids that don’t know, it’s instrumental, ok?

::: Doris :::

Early Man - Closing In
Like Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All? Of course you do.

::: Early Man - Evil Is :::

Oh, you don’t like Metallica so much? How ’bout Sabbath? You know you love Sabbath.

::: Early Man - Death Is The Answer :::

Explosions In The Sky - How Strange Innocence
Jon tipped me off to this re-release of their first album on Temporary Residence. You ever listened to them? I think their songs make me want to cry, is what it is.

::: Look Into The Air :::

Gang of Four - Return The Gift
OC Kid: “Hey, this sounds like Franz FutureBloc!”

::: Damaged Goods :::

Great Lake Swimmers - Bodies and Minds
Shhhh!

::: Bodies and Minds :::

Hudson Bell - When The Sun Is The Moon
Christ, I am *loving* the mp3s I’ve heard from this. I can’t wait to hear the whole thing.

::: Atlantis Nights :::

(Don’t forget to listen to the amazing “Slow Burn” if you missed my post the other day)

Lambchop and Hands Off Cuba - CoLab
A split between Lambchop and Nashville electronic duo Hands Off Cuba. Sounds pretty damn good if you ask me.

::: Blur :::
::: Prepared :::

The Long Winters - Ultimatum EP
Jeez, Roderick, about damn time…

::: Ultimatum :::

Magnolia Electic Co. - Hard To Love A Man
My interest has waned in recent years, but that mp3 is sounding pretty good to me, so…

::: Doing Something Wrong :::

Matt Pond PA - Several Arrows Later
They should just change their name to “Matt Pond OC.” Kidding. I know, brother’s gotta eat.

Mp3s at Songs:IL and Pimps Of Gore

Minus Story - No Rest For Ghosts
I quite like this one, I do.

::: Knocking On Your Head :::
::: Little Wet Head :::
(Or just stream that shit)

Man, I got the Scandinavian Pop comin’ at me from all angles these days. I checked the mailbox just recently and found both the new Peter Bjorn and John record, Falling Out, and also Failures and Sparks by The Chrysler (both available from Parasol). And then today, I swung by Said The Gramophone, and was pleasantly surprised by two great tracks from Agent Simple. And though the Netherlands doesn’t count as Scandinavia, they’re like practically best-friends, so I really should also mention that I was just now checking out this new disc, Beachyhead, by NL’s The Heights. That one even has a sweet drawing of liner-note writer John Darnielle in the booklet.

In a way, I guess I’m also kind of trying to hint about CBR002, which is on the horizon. And also, Swedish.

Though not *in* Swedish.

That’ll be CBR003.

Not only do I feel like I need to tell everyone else about this stuff, I feel like I need to note it all down here just so *I* won’t forget. There’s a huge backlog of stuff I’ve been meaning to mention, so I’m gonna try to get it all out, though I’m ’bout certain I’ll forget something. C’est la vie.

So.

Kaleb sent this one over today: Sub-Division, a band from Mexico City(!) who play “captivatingly difficult-to-categorize songs that vaguely bring to mind the Sugarcubes, Cibo Matto, Blonde Redhead, Romeo Void & early Velvet Underground.” That’s pretty accurate, and I’m glad someone had to come up with that, b/c I would’ve had a hard time nailing it exactly. Anyway. Stream tracks from their current EP, The Primos, here at Hardsoul Records. Wow.

Jeremy Warmsley was one of those cases where I got an email, went to check out his mp3, and was like, “Whoa. Wow. This is like, really very, very good.” He’s self-described as a “singer-songwriter/electronica type”. I’m just gonna have to urge you to listen:

::: If I Had Only :::

And I first heard of the curiously named Piskie Sits a few weeks ago (when they didn’t even have a website), and I was intrigued by the description of them as “fuelled by a love of US slacker noisenik pioneers of the 80’s/90’s (Pavement, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur JR, Sebadoh, Breeders), their Scottish equivalents (JAMC, Teenage Fanclub, Vaselines) and classic English pop artists such as D. Bowie and Blur.” The other thing I’ve heard is that when they’re bad, they’re *awful*, but when they’re “on”, they are simply amazing. They currently have a 7″ out on Wrath Records.

::: Props :::
::: Lotta Bad Things :::
::: 3 Chords Are Better Than 4:::

And jeez, I’ve been meaning to mention Pete and the Pirates for a while too, sheesh. I’ve been rockin’ their song “Electric” for like a month.

::: Electric :::

More Pete and the Pirates tracks here.

A totally different Pete sent over a link pointing out these preview tracks from upcoming Monitor Records releases. I was under the impression that Monitor was all metal (b/c of Early Man), but I was wrong. I mean, shit, they’ve even got Cass McCombs! Anyway, you know what? That Hudson Bell track is a nice, atmospheric number, and Part Chimp, as Kerrang (ha) said, sound “like Trail of Dead doing Black Sabbath.” Now, doesn’t that sound good to you?

::: Hudson Bell - Slow Burn :::
::: Part Chimp - War Machine :::

For whatever reason, I thought I probably wouldn’t like these tracks from this band Condo, but once again, I was wrong. They’ve got some charm, they do, and I can’t deny it. This site said of them: “on their debut EP they channel Mark E. Smith, Robert Quine, and the rhythmic interplay of Fugazi.” Again, seems a pretty damn good description.

:::Thoughts At Conclusions :::
:::Hey Baby’s :::
:::The Auslander :::
:::Terminal :::
:::The Kingdom Of Prussia :::

Hey, good ol’ Nick Mirov dropped me a note to let me know that his band, Love Is Chemicals, just released a new s/t record, which you can stream here.

It’s also worth your while to check out Nick’s friends, The Invisible Cities (softy indie rock), whose album, Watertown, you can stream here.

California-poppers The Mother Hips are releasing a new 7″/EP on November 1st. Check out the title track:

::: Red Tandy :::

Nashville’s Ocelots recently released a record called If Lightning Strikes Us Both. I’ma describe them as “quasi-twee indie rock”.

::: Kids Can Be So Cruel :::
::: The Truth About Gardens :::
::: Everybody Wants MOR :::

London, CT’s Low Beam pointed me to this page of mp3s from their upcoming record. It’s solid indiepop, what’s not to like?

And thanks to Jim of chamber-pop outfit The Sharp Things for sending over a copy of Foxes and Hounds. You can check out some of their tracks over at their Myspace page.

Thanks, too, to Philly’s Twin Atlas for a copy of their lurvely new album, Sun Township. Mp3s:

::: Roll On :::
::: Current Below :::

And I can’t possibly forget to mention that not only can stream the new Spectacular Fantastic album over at their site, you can also download some of that “folky pop”:

::: Darkest Hour :::

I’m in Springfield, MO all weekend; it’s the SSLYMH Springfield release. I expect all Springfieldians to come down to the Well-Fed Head, as Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin will put on, I’m sure, an amazing show.