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February 27, 2007
Snoosology: the study of sneese. [contest]
SInce the last contest I ran here was an overwhelming success (at least compared to previous contests which respectively had 2 and 1 entrants), I thought I'd try to duplicate those results by constructing this one along the same lines, that is to say, with a similar prize. So, first, here's the carrot: one (1) copy of A Sunny Day in Glasgow's new album, "Scribble Mural Comic Journal". Like I said before, this record is coruscatingly pretty, and it really even manages to surpass the relative summertime perfection of the EP.
Rules: given the fact that (in the U.S.) we just went through a cold month with one mindbendingly commercial holiday (Valentine's) and one semi-ignored, halfheartedly celebrated (outside of automobile dealerships' sales events) holiday (President's Day), I think it's fitting, since the weather's getting warmer, to make the entry rules something like this:
Send an email (to molarscontest (at) gmail (dot) com) detailing either your favorite holiday-related song (any holiday: Flag Day, Boxing Day, Labor Day, etc.), or your favorite springtime song(s), and for whichever you choose, include a little explanation. I'll have my interns (roommates) pick a winner from the entries. The contest will be open until, say, St. Patrick's Day. Hopefully this isn't too confusing...
Posted by Kevin at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2007
No one knows about your mouthful of cavities
The best album released in 2006 wasn't even really released, at least not in any physical form. And there's a good chance that this totally intangible album was also the group's last (that's the rumor). This music is, I think, some of the most truly inspirational (almost in the literal sense- it sort of breathes into you) I've ever heard, and I think I can say that with unique conviction (I listened to this recording hundreds of times this past fall, usually while I was writing stories, and found that it put me in just the right frame of mind). It's a shame that they won't ever release anything else, because I know they played at least 5 or 6 more original songs (and a nice cover of Django Reinhardt's 'Tears') when I saw them live in Philly, and it would be so wonderful to be able to hear those again too.
Adam and Alden - Live at the Blue Monday, 1/14/2006 (scroll down, it's a zip of the whole show)
If I had the money to start a label and put out an album, this is the first thing I'd release.
I will, of course, talk more about some of Adam and Alden's specific songs at some point in the near future ('Baroquen' and 'Blade Run Out' are two favorites). Also, I've got a contest in mind- I'll probably put it up in the next few days.
Posted by Kevin at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2007
How did you forget about something so important?
A Sunny Day in Glasgow, who I wrote about in the summer, just released their full-length debut today (2/13). "Scribble Mural Comic Journal" is available all over the place, but I'd recommend getting it from Notenuf, or downloading it from Emusic (which is what I did). It's even more rewarding and mindbendingly pretty than the "Sunniest Day Ever" EP, which, wow- that EP was one of the highlights of 2006 for me. You can listen to 'Best Summer Ever' and 'Watery (Drowing is Just Another Word for Being Buried Alive Under Water)' over at the band's website.
The band's also playing a few shows in the next couple weeks, and you can check out the dates here. There are a few songs from the album I'd like to write about in the near future, hopefully before the end of the month.
Posted by Kevin at 09:11 PM | Comments (0)
Brad Neely/Creased Comics; auto-hilarity
From the guy (Brad Neely) who did the insanely funny George Washington cartoon last year, here's Professor Brothers, with a Bible History Lesson about Sodom and Gomorrah:
"Important rocks" and "making love to fire" would both make for excellent song or band names, in my opinion.
Posted by Kevin at 09:23 AM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2007
double your referential pleasure
The Photo Atlas - Handshake Heart Attack
Something about the nature of the guitars in this song: at times, they're bright and thick, and they flow together in a way that makes me think of a lazy, long, color-separated river of molten crayon wax (bear with me), where mysteriously riled-up eddies and torrents result in interactions that create secondary incidents of unexpected, vibrant prettiness (this doesn't come across well when I try to write it, but I could draw you a pretty nice picture of what I mean), and other moments where everything crashes and foams, where this song is seeking something (anything) to colorfully erode. (Also, it's quite catchy.)
Photo Atlas's debut LP, the triple negative entitled "No, Not Me, Never", is full of songs that have tucked away sounds and little moments that surprise and delight- on the surface, it's an album of dynamic, tightly arranged, dance-varnished rock songs, but there are certain elements (the flaring, intermittent abrasiveness of the guitars, the occasional (and fitting) asperity of Alan Andrews' vocals, the unrestrained joy that the band obviously derives from their songs) that separate their music from the current glut of slightly interchangeable, anemic post-punk that's being released (and written about ad nauseam by, uh, every website). One of the reasons I like this album so much is that I (probably alone) hear this as kind of a successor, more than anything, to the weird, tense, staggeringly great music of Despistado (featured more than a few times here), and that's mostly due to the sort of punkish edge that most of the best songs on "No, Not Me, Never" have (e.g. 'Electric Shock', 'Merit', 'Little Tiny Explosions', and 'Handshake Heart Attack'), and the way the band imbues their songs with so much energy and urgency.
"No, Not Me, Never" comes out on March 6th, and it should be available here, soon. Also, the band's on an extensive tour right now, so go out and see them if you can.
Posted by Kevin at 09:41 AM | Comments (0)