NFT's April Mix

Had to take a week off for finals but I'm back. Here's April's mix featuring pizza, 420, parting with Bill Murray, skateboarding, piss, and lots of 90's goodies. That stuff is still cool, right?

Enjoy and happy May!

Monday LXXXIII

Music or lose it.

Langosta - Super Nature EP (2013)

Langosta is a hell of a lot of fun math rock 'n' roll band from Connecticut. Super Nature is the name of this EP and also the name the band formerly called themselves. Super Nature is the name originally used by Salt-N-Pepa as well.


Last.fm

Fearless Leader - Half Dead EP (2013)

Fearless Leader is a Seattle based math rock meets post hardcore band that mixes twinkly technical-sounding instrumentation with intricate shouting/spoken word. The result is a mess.


A fearless mess.

Last.fm

The Sarcastic Dharma Society - Live At Laughing Horse (2013)

The Sarcastic Dharma Society AKA Mat Vuksinich is back with new music and he's not alone!

I'm really glad to see and hear that this band is back and wish them the very best of luck. Mat has a very interesting voice and it's really cool to hear what he can do with a band behind him. I'm not gonna gush but damn this is some of my favorite indie music.


You can also watch the video of Mat and his now four piece band play their five song set from the Laughing Horse in Portland, Oregon, here.

Last.fm

Monday XXXXIX

Gettin' there.

Tiger Voltage - Mobius' Strip of Gum (2012)

Tiger Voltage is an experimental act from Bangor, Maine. From the little research I have done around them, it seems this may be a solo effort by local musician, Nick Huskins. The music on 'Mobius' Strip of Gum' is mostly guitar driven and built up by using rhythmic repetition and eventually drums that come in around the 3rd or 4th track. Things soon start to pick up by the 7th track, entitled "DeltizNum" and ends with an improvised jam featuring an electric keyboard/synth type noise maker just because. All the tracks and 'jams' are instrumental and under 3 minutes with the exception of the last song, "Jamz with  XEXEXEE" which is the just under 6 minute messing around closer.

I'm actually going to be living near Bangor for a bit soon and while I won't be around the artsy music scene I am around now, I still hope to be introduced to and find some sweet local acts during my time away from home.

Facebook

Mouse On The Keys - Machinic Phylum (2012)

Speaking of messing around music-wise, experimental post-jazz-rock outfit, Mouse On The Keys of Tokyo, Japan released a new EP this summer called, 'Machinic Phylum'. As an already big listener of this band, I've been trying not to forget it came out while also waiting patiently for it to make its way onto Spotify - were I finally found it today and previewed it before perusing a DL for it. I also found out today that this EP actually has four tracks on it but sites like Spotify and other streaming devices (or iTunes which I do not wish to advertise), only have the first three tracks with the fourth track, "Memory", no where to be found. I'm not sure if the link above has the fourth track as I haven't DL'd it yet and the link is not mine. If it's not there though, it is on Youtube...

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that this totally kills! The third track, "Clinamen" is probably the best song MOTK have released so far! If you are a fan of jazz, post rock, math rock, technical music, or music theory at all; you will surely enjoy this EP and Mouse On The Keys!

 Last.fm

David Liebe Hart Band - Violitionist Session (2012)

In other news, David Liebe Hart of Tim & Eric fame is semi on tour with his (punk rock) band that got started through the help of his fans via his Kickstarter! This is a live set from a Denton, Texas music session called, Violitionist Session where they ask the visiting band or act three questions and play three songs. This is also the first recorded material that I know of by the band and is very well suited with an extended explanation of each song beforehand by David Liebe Hart himself. Grab up all three of the tracks for free on Violitionist Session and be sure to check out other bands' sessions from this site as well as this new punk band that may be storming their way through a town near you!

More by David Liebe Hart and more
David Liebe Hart's official tour "blog"
Last.fm (David Liebe Hart)

On a sadder note though, this may be the last Monday post for a while as I have to go on a short hiatus due to school and dumb stuff like that. But hey, That's life.

NFT's Got You Covered! With Titus Andronicus!

Here it is.

Boy oh boy am I pumped for this one. This baby is fresh! What I've got for this week's covered material is a "mixtape" that is actually straight out of this week! It's Titus Andronicus's LLC Mixtape Vol. 1! Titus Andronicus dropped this archive tape of goodies from the very beginning of their career together as a group up until now just a few days back (monday 3/19 to be exact) and it fits the NFT's Got You Covered! criteria perfectly. Not only a there demos, rarities, and split material; there are also a great deal of covers (hence the criteria part and that it is the cover album of the week)! The covers are mostly from live performances but are definitely the highlights of this 20 plus freebie! Not that there is anything wrong with live performances. Not when it is Titus Andronicus, of course.

Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus LLC Mixtape Vol. 1 (2012)

The best finds are the finds you aren't even looking for. This sweet find is proof of that very statement as I wasn't even looking for cover material... I was just minding my own business on the dark and scary parts of the internet (internet forums, dun dun dun!) and happened to not only find a righteous release but fucking Titus Andronicus covering Thin Lizzy! Nearly forgetting it was full of awesomeness like that and by that, I mean amazing covers, I almost dropped this off at the monday post just to gloat over my new indulgence. I even spent all yesterday trying to write it all down but had to keep changing my pants in the process. You know, from all the excitement. 

Well to begin, I guess I could go over my reactions to the things I found (in chronological order). After opening up the link and seeing the Thin Lizzy "The Boys Are Back In Town" cover, which is also very new/recorded only about two or so weeks the Stone Pony in New Jersey, I instantly downloaded the damn thing. I know have a new impulse where, if I see a Thin Lizzy cover, I will either DL it immediately not matter what or immediately post it on this blog (see: The Tallest Man on Earth part 2)! For any of you in a band who may be reading this, if you make/have a Thin Lizzy cover(s), take note: I WILL INSTANTLY DL IT! Moving on... After seeing and doing that, I quickly scrolled down to find another cover. this time it was "Anxiety Block" by Television Personalities. I don't know a lot about Television Personalities but I figured there would be more cool stuff ahead. There was, but this time in the form of The Monitor outtake, "First Inaugural Address, take two", a Abe Lincoln Speech speeched by Okey Canfield Chenworth III, that "somebody" who played Abe Lincoln in Titus Andronicus's Civil War themed second album. Along with the outtake was a demo version of A Perfect Union without Abe, another version of Titus Andronicus Forever, a demo from The Monitor, a violin demo and even a remix of a demo and then once again, we get to another cover. This cover (track 14) comes in the form of "El Scorcho" by Weezer, a song I ironically started to listen to and study a lot lately!  Just one track later, after another funny live "interlude", we get treated with a second Weezer cover! I think we even get to hear in the interlude before the second cover of Weezer that Patrick Stickles calls Weezer the greatest band of all time or maybe I just made that up, who knows? "Undone [The Sweater Song]" is the second Weezer cover and sets up a string of covers right after, including "I Fought The Law" by Booby Fueller (live rehearsal), "Riot Squad" by Cock Sparrer (live), the Hot Pockets TV theme (I guess you could call it a cover... ), and a 11-lineup/10 minute rendition of Velvet Underground's "Herion" (with a very surprising and horrifying ending) before getting to another interlude and then "Waking Up Drunk" by Spider Bags (featuring the lead-singer of Spider Bags himself, Dan McGee on vox to his own song) and last but not least, "Treatment Bound" by The Replacements (home recording); thus ending the tape and leaving me absolutely not speechless. Get it, because I won't shut up about it? 

I'm sorry

Here's an easier to read list of what is being covered, you know, since I made a mess of myself up above:

Track 2. "The Boys Are Back (Thin Lizzy)" (live at the Stone Pony in New Jersey)

Track 7. "Anxiety Block (Television Personalities)" 

Track 14. "El Scorcho (Weezer)" 

Track 16. "Undone [The Sweater Song] (Weezer)" (live at the Vice Halloween Party 2009)

Track 17. "I Fought The Law (Bobby Fueller)" (live rehearsal for OWS Benefit at Shea Stadium 2011)

Track 18. "Riot Squad (Cock Sparrer)" (live)

Track 19. "Hot Pockets Theme (TV)"

Track 20. "Herion (The Velvet Underground)" (11-piece live 2005)

Track 22. "Waking Up Drunk (Spider Bags)" (live w/ Dan McGee of Spider Bags)

Track 23. "Treatment Bound (Replacements)" (home recording)

With all those goodies I've listed above, you can tell this is a definite must have for any Titus Andronicus fan. I'm not even that big of a TA fan and I love it! Maybe it's all the fun and personal interludes that cut the tape up and make you feel as if you are at your favorite band's show and they end playing their favorite songs rather than their own. I can imagine that is what a Radiohead show must be like... Except not fun.

The only thing that I don't like about this Titus Andronicus LLC Mixtape Vol.1, is that it features zero Bruce Springsteen covers! I thought there would be at least one Thunder Road cover but nay. Oh well. There's always Vol. 2, right? 

There is always next week... stayed tuned. ;)

Official site

Last.fm

[Editor's note: official link is dead! :( ] [FIXED!]