M.Ward : To Go Home EP

M.Ward's To Go Home EP Single will be out February 20th. It, of course, features the single from the fifth full length from singer/songwriter Matt Ward - To Go Home. The version is a little different than the original album version, a little longer. It also features three non-album tracks...Cosmopolitan Pap, Human Punching Bag and Headed For A Fall. It features guest appearances by Neko Case, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and Howe Gelb of Giant Sand. It's not up for pre-order quite yet, I guess, but when it is you can buy it here or buy the import through 4AD.

In other M.Ward news, he scored the movie The Go-Getter which was directed by Martin Hynes and is starring Lou Taylor Pucci, Zooey Deschanel, and Jena Malone. It premiered at Sundance this year.

M.Ward - Headed For A Fall

Tracklisting:

1. To Go Home
2. Cosmopolitan Pap
3. Human Punching Bag
4. Headed For A Fall

Remaining M. Ward tour dates:

02-02 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre #
02-04 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's #

# with Victoria Williams

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The Western States Motel

Carl Jordan is The Western States Motel. It's sunny west coast folk/pop crossed with a little country and I am digging on it big time this week. Carl's songs are emotional, but nowhere near overbearing. Great travellin' tunes if you ask me, and it's cold here in Indiana, so I'm ready to get the hell out for a while. The Western States Motel's MySpace.

The Western States Motel - Powerlines
The Western States Motel - Southwest Planes

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Iggy & The Stooges : My Idea Of Fun

The new Iggy and The Stooges album is called the The Weirdness and it's their first release in 33 years since 1973's Raw Power. This album features three of the four original band members – Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton and drummer Scott Asheton, and the ex-Minutemen and fIREHOSE bassist Mike Watt fills in the final spot. The album will be out March 6th of this year.

The Stooges wrote over 30 songs for the record, then rehearsed in Ann Arbor, Michigan before they entered the Chicago studio of esteemed producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies) in early October. The album was mastered in the UK at Abbey Road Studios.

The Stooges – Idea of Fun

Tracklisting:

1. Trollin'
2. You Can't Have Friends
3. ATM
4. My Idea Of Fun
5. The Weirdness
6. Free & Freaky
7. Greedy Awful People
8. She Took My Money
9. End Of Christianity
10. Mexican Guy
11. Passing Cloud
12. I'm Fried

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Microsoft Zune = $289 Million Loss

"Sadly, we have to report that the brown brick cost Microsoft $289 million last quarter, hardly the numbers the company was hoping to post at this time. While we’re assured from our internal sources that the next rendition of the Zune (it’s not the Zune II) will address many of the shortcomings of the current model, and that the group has a roadmap to profitability in the works.

That’s good news, as over the weekend we stopped by our local overstock and discount store in Seattle and were shocked—shocked!—to find a stack of nearly a dozen brand-new, unopened Zunes selling at $168." - CrunchGear.com

Get the full story at CrunchGear.com

Zune Insider points out a few things the Zune team did get right though.

Other Music Related Struggles:

Articles about the Capitol/EMI layoffs.

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The Singles Live At WEEM 91.7

The Singles played an entertaining show this weekend in Indianapolis, but before they did, they dropped by the 91.7 WEEM studios (where I record MOKB's Blog Radio on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Left Of Center, Channel 26) to play a few songs.

The Singles - When Will She Be Mine (Live at WEEM 91.7)
The Singles - Hypnotized (Live at WEEM 91.7)
The Singles - Love Is Just A Game (Live at WEEM 91.7)

The Singles are a young band from suburban Detroit. They make catchy garage-pop. I know, everything from Detroit is labeled garage-something, but it's probably that movement that gives this band strength. They take that sound Detroit is so well known for and mix it with pop stylings from bands of old while giving it the energy of today's best power-pop bands.

The Singles - He Can Go, You Can Stay
The Singles - Since You Been Gone (Not the Kelly Clarkson Cover)

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Annuals on AOL's The Interface

Three of the guys from Annuals dropped by AOL's The Interface for an interview and some live tracks off their album Be He Me and their upcoming EP Big Zeus. They performed Dry Clothes, Bleary Eyed, Ida, My and Ease My Mind. Annuals' MySpace.

Download The Interface with Annuals

Bonus:

Annuals - Brother
Annuals - Bleary-Eyed
Annuals - Dry Clothes

Also if you missed it: Make sure you check out the Annuals when they stopped by to play some tracks for Daytrotter.

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Datarock

Datarock is going to play one of the 2007 SXSW showcases that MOKB will be associated with this year. MOKB is helping put on two, but I can't talk about them quite yet. Anyway, there are all sorts of new genres popping up in indie rock over the last few years. One of the hottest is "new rave". Datarock is a norwegian new rave band consisting of Fredrik Saroea and Ketil Mosnes. They love Devo, Happy Mondays and Talking Heads and it is more than evident in their music. Datarock's MySpace.

Datarock - Fa-Fa-Fa
Datarock - Sex Me Up

Notable: Fredrik Saroea also has solo aspirations and has recorded several individual tracks, including a duet with fellow Norwegian pop-star Annie. - Wiki

In The Blogs:

You don't have to tell me twice to get me stoked for a J.Timbo cover! Go to I Was There and get the radio rip of the Klaxons covering Justin Timberlake's My Love. (via The Liver Spot)

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Grizzly Bear : Easier (Alternate Edit)

I keep going back to Yellow House trying to see what all the fuss is about. I'm still not quite sure, but one song I do really like is Easier. I was scavenging around the internerd today and stumbled on this alternate edit of the song.

"The original version of "Easier" featured on the band's album YELLOW HOUSE, released in September 2006. This alternate edit features all the harmonious and warming Grizzly Bear trademarks, with the album track being reworked to create something completely new and almost unrecognisable from the original. A must listen for fans of the band." - www.grizzly-bear.net

Grizzly Bear - Easier (Original)
Grizzly Bear - Easier (Alternate Edit)

The opening flutter of "Easier" that begins the album is entirely bewildering yet strangely comforting at the same time. While you're sitting there wondering what has come over you, you'll realize that the answer is simple: it's pure bliss. - IGIF

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Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday

MOKB talked about Elvis Perkins early last year, and now he's ready to put his full-length, Ash Wednesday, out on XL Records this February 20th. The band will be touring extensively over the next few months in support of the album. Elvis Perkins' MySpace.

Elvis Perkins - While You Were Sleeping
Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday

Tour Dates:

Feb 1 2007 Tripod Dublin
Feb 2 2007 Manchester Academy Manchester
Feb 3 2007 Glasgow Barrowlands Glasgow
Feb 4 2007 Birmingham Academy Birmingham
Feb 6 2007 Gebaude 9 Cologne
Feb 7 2007 AB Club Brussels
Feb 8 2007 Paradiso Amsterdam
Feb 9 2007 Postbanhof Berlin
Feb 11 2007 Knust Hamburg
Feb 12 2007 La Cigalle Paris
Feb 13 2007 Shepherds Bush Empire London
Feb 14 2007 The Enterprise London
Feb 15 2007 The Enterprise London
Feb 27 2007 Great Scott Boston, Massachusetts
Mar 1 2007 Joe's Pub New York, New York
Mar 2 2007 Tin Angel Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 6 2007 Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Mar 7 2007 The Earl Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 8 2007 Pilot Light Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 9 2007 Grimey's (The Basement) Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 10 2007 Bottletree Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 11 2007 The Parish @ House of Blues New Orleans, Louisiana
Mar 14 2007 Gypsy Tea Room Dallas, Texas
Mar 19 2007 O'Shaughnessy Santa Fe, New Mexico
Mar 20 2007 Solar Culture Tucson, Arizona
Mar 21 2007 The Casbah San Diego, California
Mar 23 2007 TBD Los Angeles, California
Mar 24 2007 Largo Los Angeles, California
Mar 25 2007 Cafe Du Nord San Francisco, California
Mar 26 2007 The Attic Santa Cruz, California
Mar 29 2007 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, Oregon
Mar 30 2007 The Tractor Tavern Seattle
Mar 31 2007 Media Club Vancouver, British Columbia
Apr 3 2007 Soiled Dove Denver, Colorado
Apr 4 2007 Sokol Underground Omaha, Nebraska
Apr 5 2007 400 Bar Minneapolis, Minnesota
Apr 6 2007 Schuba's Chicago, Illinois
Apr 9 2007 Mod Club Toronto, Ontario
Apr 11 2007 Main Hall Montreal, Quebec
Apr 12 2007 Higher Ground Burlington, Vermont
Apr 13 2007 Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, Massachusetts
Apr 15 2007 Mountain Stage Morgantown, West Virginia
Apr 19 2007 Union Hall Brooklyn, New York

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A Few For The Road...

Have a great weekend all...



After my show on SIRIUS last night, the Minister, the DJ after me, played a song I hadn't heard by a guy named Greg Laswell. I liked it, so I started searching around for some more of his work. I was happy to find that he had covered Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. I figured then I post the song I liked and that cover and also feature another singer/songwriter who has a cover out there of a song I love...Damien Rice covering Prince's When Doves Cry. This then gave me the opportunity to post Rice's song 9 Crimes which I think is really beautiful. So, you can see the chain of events there...Greg Laswell's MySpace & Damien Rice's MySpace.

You can stream Damien Rice's latest 9 : here.

Also, speaking of my show last night and what I played, this Guster Astronaut's Remix of Satellite is so good. Guster's MySpace.

Greg Laswell - Sing Theresa Says
Greg Laswell - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper Cover)

Damien Rice - 9 Crimes
Damien Rice - When Doves Cry (Prince Cover)

Guster - Satellite(The Astronaut's Remix)

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David Vandervelde : The Moonstation House Band

It's a little early to be calling out album of the year. Many are already picking Panda Bear. If I had picked at this time last year, well, it's all just silly to talk about this early. Anyway, the one I am loving is David Vandervele's The Moonstation House Band and really, now that I look, a load of blogs are too. That's exciting because I think this album is awesome. On his label's website, they say this Michigander/Chicagoan has come out like a "dynamo" and I couldn't agree more. I was looking forward to this album, but it really took me by storm. It's great from start to finish and really harkens back to a time of classic and skilled rock n rock. Believe the hype on this one, it's got staying power.

Notable: Vandervelde worked with award-winning string arranger David Campbell (who is also Beck's father, has done string arrangements for Elton John, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson, Beck, and also did the Brokeback Mountain score) and engineer Steve Churchyard (Wings, the Band, Bryan Ferry, Lucinda Williams) during the making of this album. The album was recorded at Wilco's Jay Bennett’s house and Bennett plays bass on a couple tracks in addition to writing the album's lead track, Nothing No.

David Vandervelde is an artist on Indiana's Secretly Canadian label. David Vandervelde's MySpace.

David Vandervelde - Nothin' No
David Vandervelde - Jacket

EDIT: Damn, I forgot to reinforce that you make sure to check out Vandervelde's seesion on Daytrotter. Awesome.

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Subtle

TV On The Radio is coming to Indianapolis in March. They're bringing a pretty great act with them - Subtle will be opening. I checked out their latest album For Hero:For Fool the other day. The group mixes rap, hip hop and experimental rock to create some seriously creative and head-bobbing shit. One description I liked was that if you took Radiohead and the Gorillaz and then let the Caterpillar from Alice In Wonderland remix it up. Subtle's MySpace. Show will be at The Vogue on March 8th. Tickets are $15.

Subtle - The Mercury Craze (highly rec'd!) or here
Subtle - Midas Gutz (highly rec'd!) or here

Subtle Remix for Beck

"Using scratches, wicked beats, feedback, guitars, cellos, horns, bombastic drumming, epic synth washes and the odd sentimental piano solo, Subtle create a rich wall of sound, one moment tapestry, the next cacophony, spiraling into endless variations and carefully timed glitches. Phantasmagorial, obtuse, yet catchy, each track is distinct, but covers so much ground that it is impossible to tell where one track ends and another begins." - Daily Nexus

Touring:

01-25 - Victoria, BC - Lucky Bar*
01-26 - Seattle, WA - Neumos Crystal Ball Reading*
01-27 - Portand, OR - Doug Fir*
02-21 - Austin, TX - Emo‘s
02-23 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
02-24 - Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
02-25 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
02-26 - Washington, DC - Rock n Roll Hotel
02-27 - New York, NY - Knitting Factory
03-01 - Providence, RI - Lupos**
03-02 - Boston, MA - tba**
03-03 - Montreal, PQ - Olympia**
03-04 - Toronto, ONT - Kool Haus**
03-06 - Cleveland, OH - Agora**
03-07 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall**
03-08 - Indianapolis, IN - Vogue**
03-09 - Louisville, KY - Brown Theater**
03-10 - Columbia, MO - Blue Note**
03-12 - Chicago, IL - Metro**
03-13 - Chicago, IL - Metro**
03-14 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue**
03-15 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue**
03-16 - Milwaukee, WI - tba**
03-17 - Kansas City, MO - Vodoo Lounge**
03-18 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudevilles
03-20 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater**
03-21 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge**
03-23 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater**
03-24 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom**
03-25 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theater**

* w/ Pigeon John
** w/ TV On The Radio

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Mudkids - Go Blue (Colts)

The Bears' Super Bowl Shuffle has always been a classic, and probably totally impossible to beat, but Indianapolis' own, The Mudkids give it a good shot. Skittles from The Mudkids actually plays on my softball team - the guy hits bombs. Previous MOKB post about The Mudkids.

Mudkids - Go Blue (Colts) or here

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The Frames - The Cost

I'm still as Irish as they come when I drink, so I'd be remiss not to mention the latest from this band from the land of my fathers (actually mothers). Anyway, The Frames are an Irish band who released their latest album, The Cost in their homeland on Plateau Records in September of last year.

Many in Ireland, with the release of each Frames album, hope it will be the one to bring them more worldly acclaim. This probably isn't the album to do it. It's not bad, actually it's quite good. But it's not varied - very slow and subtle - and thus after the ten songs are through, there never seemed to be anything that made you sit up and take notice. Alone, many of the songs are strong and anthemic (not nearly as much as their last album, Burn The Maps), but put it all together and with little change of pace, it just gets dull.

Not really a rave review, I know. Why am I talking about it then? Well, like I said, there is some good melancoly, and good songwriting, on this record that shouldn't be ignored. It's emotionally-charged as they say. The Frames' MySpace.

The Frames - The Cost

The Frames' line-up for The Cost features Glen Hansard on guitar and vocals, Colm Mac Con Iomaire on violin and keyboards, Joseph Doyle on bass guitar and backing vocals, Rob Bochnik on lead guitar and Graham Hopkins who played drums in place of the Frames' regular drummer Johnny Boyle.

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Phonograph

"Phonograph explores new ways to play old music."-HARP MAGAZINE



Here's a great band I've been digging on that you must check out. Found-object sculpture was always very intriguing to men my art studying days. Found object music making is now equally intriguing. New York band Phonograph like to work like that. They search high and low to find new objects and instruments to give them an original sound. In today's indie music world, were so many indie-pop bands either sound like the Beatles or the Beach Boys or a blend of both, that's rare and refreshing.

They've been compared to the likes of Spoon, Wilco and Tom Petty, but they scoff at comparisions claiming "to not be another band trying to be another band". Jon Langford, of Wilco, is credited with the band's "discovery".

They make experimental alt-country/folk-rock that blends electronic, jazz and shoegaze with the odd sounds and samples they create from their musical noise treasure hunts. The vocals are very early-era Bob Dylan. Find out more at Arclight Records. Phonograph's MySpace

Phonograph - In Your Mind
Phonograph - Watch And Ward

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Mew - Frengers (U.S. Release)

Mew's last album And The Glass Handed Kites was hit and miss for me, but they are finally releasing Frengers in the U.S. and that's really the Mew album that got me interested in them. The album has been out overseas for years, so it's old news to serious Mew fans, but if you just sort of got into them with And The Glass Handed Kites, this is the album you need to pick up. Buy it now. Mew's MySpace.

Mew - 156 (highly rec'd)
Mew - Am I Wry? No

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AOL's The Interface with Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse dropped by AOL's The Interface last week and performed You Know I’m No Good, Rehab, Love Is A Losing Game, Valerie,* (Zutons cover)

Download The Interface with Amy Winehouse

Bonus:

Amy Winehouse - Rehab
Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good

In other news, Amy Winehouse is number one on the UK pop charts (two weeks in a row) and has also been nominated for Best Album and Best Female Vocalist in the Brit Awards. Whatever those are.

*Note: Due to copyright reasons, you'll have to visit the Interface page to listen to the cover track. Apparently she also talks some shit about Bono.

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The Boggs - Forts

The Boggs made some waves before talk of their upcoming release when Hot Chip remixed their track Arm In Arm back in November. The Boggs is really just Jason Friedman, a talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. Friedman then employs a rotating cast of musical guests and mainstays - current Boggs include Au Revoir Simone's Heather D' Angelo and Enon's Matt Scultz.

The sophamore effort is called Forts and follows the 2002 release We Are The Boggs. Forts is due out this Spring '07 on NYC's Gigantic Music and is definitely worth checking out.

The Boggs - Forts (highly rec'd!)
The Boggs - Arm in Arm (Hot Chip Remix)

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Starless & Bible Black

Like many music obsessives, I read CMJ. This past issue was their Best Of 2006 lists. All their contributing writers shared their thoughts, so it was a shmorgasborg of music I had yet to hear ripe for the picking. Amanda Farah put Starless And Bible Black as her top of 2006 and it was one of the few I wasn't familiar with. A little googling revealed a solid 7.1 Pitchfork rating, so I decided I better check into them.

They're a three-piece that mixes acoustic guitar picking and electronic/laptop noise under frenchwoman Hélène Gautier's beautiful voice. It's folktronic with jazz roots that is sometimes perfect for gray days and other times perfect for spirited sing-a-longs.

Starless & Bible Black resides in Manchester, England and their name originates from British jazz pianist Stan Tracey's song of the same name. You can buy their self-titled debut effort from Locust Music Records

"On its debut album, the group moves crisply through songs informed by Appalachian folk, downtempo jazz, Middle English pastoralism, and smoky continental balladry." - Pitchfork Media

Starless & Bible Black - Everyday And Every Night
Starless & Bible Black - 016-013

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Colts Win!

I have been silent since about NFL Week 13, I know. You have to understand, those were big posts and they were a lot of work. They were starting to take the fun out of the NFL for me towards the end there. The Colts losing towards the end was not helping either. I could not allow the fun to be taken out of the NFL. Tonight was the most ulcer-causing night of my sportsfan life. I turned it off at 21-3. I turned it back on at 21-6 after I stopped fuming and cursing Peyton Manning's name and Marvin Harrison's heart.

What a game! What a comeback! 32 second half points! I mean, wow. Marlin Jackson, I love you. Bob Sanders, I love you. Jeff Saturday, I love you. Joe Addai, I love you. Marvin Harrison, Dallas Clark, Reggie Wayne, I love you...etc, etc, and so on. Peyton Manning, big guts, way to really get the monkey off your back. Peyon says he doesn't believe in monkeys and vindication and all that, but I know when he goes home tonight he's gonna roll up a fatty and breathe a big sigh of relief. OK, maybe without the fatty.

One more game, it's the big one, and Sexy Rex is due for an implosion. I hope!

Mohair - End Of The Line



Mohair is solid fun and that's how I'm feeling right now. These British kids play classic pop that's been called "cheeky" and they've been compared to The Corals, The Beatles, Queen, the Kaiser Chiefs and The Zutons. It's sugary good times that's fit for celebrating. Make sure you check the album's opening track Talk Of The Town as well. Mohair's MySpace.

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Around The Horn...

I'm heading to Louisville this weekend...I hope you have a good one as well! I've neglected the friends of MOKB in recent weeks, so here is a small run-down of some of the greatness going on around the internerd...

In The Blogs:

I read everything through RSS, so I miss things sometimes. It had been a while since I actually went and visited So Much Silence. I'm a shitty friend. Anyway, Kevin has an awesome new look and has migrated to a better host. It's looking and running fantastic. Nice work homeboy! SOS is easily one of the most underrated and underappreciated blogs out there. Be sure to check out his recent post on the M.Ward/Jim James vinyl collab.

He also mentions Tim Fite's newest, which if you remember, was talked about here at MOKB as well.

Along those lines, Analog Giant posts a new track from Kanye West that may or may not be on his next release, Graduation.

Passion Of The Weiss reviews the new Shins album, Wincing The Night Away.

You know we love the covers here at MOKB, and I Guess I'm Floating has them!