Joe Pug

We went see Joe Pug and Justin Townes Earl at the Artscenter after a referral from my music savvy friend Caroline. Joe Pug was the opener and we enjoyed his gig the best. Now, I'll let some music writers do the talking :)

“One of the most surprising facts about singer-songwriter Joe Pug is that he’s only 23 years old. Not only does Chicago-based singer have a beautifully mature voice, but the lyrics on Pug’s debut EP, Nation of Heat, possess wisdom seemingly beyond his age.”–NPR

“While most singer/songwriters are content to warble out a few semi-clever turns of phrase, Pug’s scorching poetry and soulful, ‘every phrase could be my last’ voice will stop you cold. If you want to read the actual endorsement, touch the braille stretching up my arms. Twenty years from now, lazy journalists will compare every halfway decent songwriter to Joe Pug. Mark my words.”–Jason Killingsworth, Paste Magazine

Our favorite song from the show: Joe Pug - Hymn #101

bands to check out further...

Timber Timbre

Ivan and Alyosha

Kings Go Forth

all appearing at SXSW this year.

Band of Horses new album

http://pitchfork.com/news/38073-band-of-horses-announce-new-album/

Maybe I will have to hit that Widespread Panic/BoH show after all.

Beach House *side story*

Ok so funny story. I first read about Beach House in 2008 when their album 'Devotion' came out and I really liked a couple of their songs. My favorite being 'Gila'. So I was at Open Eye "studying" one day when 'Gila' started playing. I got all excited because I had just "discovered" this song (thanks to hype machine) so leave my study carrel and approach the barista, who happens to be an artista (de musica) and asked "Is this Beach House?", to which he replied "Yeah, it's from their new album!" Now, if you noticed the exclamation point you might be thinking that this is all BS because an Open Eye barista would never show this much affect to one of their customers. But it's true!! I happened to have "made a connection" with this particular guy. I didn't know it at the time, but I found out from Dave later that day that his name was Brian Howe, Open Eye worker by day, Pitchfork writer by spare time. Here's his picture if you don't know him (yes you can see that the pic was taken at the Eye)......and here is his take on Beach House's 2008 album 'Devotion' which received an 8.5 rating.

Beach House- Gila

Now, After reading Nils and Kals posts I'm excited to check out Teen Dream, which Pitchfork describes as "the most diverse and listenable of their 3 full length LP's". Also, Mark Richardson gave it a '9'. ;)

yay for parlour blog!

BROKEN BELLS

I cannot express how excited I am about this self-titled album release. Danger Mouse and The Shins' James Mercer are the collaborators on this project set to be released a week from this Tuesday on March 9. I have pre-ordered my copy from the website http://www.brokenbells.com/ after sampling some of the tracks ;). I feel like these two can do no wrong. They are both such talented craftsmen and they were somehow able to capture the classic Shins sound with those sweet Danger Mouse beats you might recognize from Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad and The Queen, and Gnarls Barkley tracks.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

If a picture is worth a thousand words, an animated gif is worth an album. The eponymous debut of "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart" is described thusly:

http://www.morrisseydance.com/

(I actually love this album (and Morrisey) and the aforelinked picture is in no way insulting).

if you ain't dance to this shit you ain't alive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRo_I_WeYfI