Some things about Bob Pollard never change: His songs are still short… most under two and a half minutes, his lyrics joyfully random and his crazy voice is still slightly off key.
That being said, the greatness of some of his Guided By Voices albums like Alien Lanes and Bee Thousand and some of his solo works like From a Compound Eye, isn’t as apparent, or maybe not even there, in his new offering Normal Happiness.
Prayer is the first single off Block Party’s new album, Weekend in the City. Full album release date is February 6th, 2007. Stay tuned for more info!
Welcome to the second (and probably last) installment of: USOUNDS Presents X-mas Music That Does Not Blow. Fortunately for all of us, Sufjan is also repelled by traditional Christmas music. Here’s the stream to Songs for Christmas; the album also hits stores today.
Check this shit out:
• Five individually packaged CD EPs
• Five Christmas stickers
• Extensive liner notes and short stories by Sufjan Stevens
• An original Christmas essay by Rick Moody
• An animated music video and comic strip by Tom Eaton
• A Christmas Songbook with lyric sheets and chord charts–so you can sing along too
• An original Christmas Family Portrait painting of Santa Sufjan by Jacques Bredy
photo courtesy of Midlake
Midlake have been nominated for about one million PLUG independent music awards including: indie rock album of the year, song of the year (Roscoe), and music vid of the year for Young Bride, which might be more appropriately titled, Weird Young Bride.
Earlier this year, Lady Sovereign found herself on the threshold of extensive stateside notoriety. Her Def Jam signing gave her the opportunity to coast atop tossed-off Timbaland beats and pander to the Courvoisier-and-rims crowd. With Jay-Z’s glowing endorsement, the subsequent wave of hype would all but guarantee commercial success. Instead of taking the easy way out, however, she delivered a record as diverse and idiosyncratic as it is convincingly brash.
Check out some good times with our sea-faring friends, White Whale, in the What’s an Ocean For? video. (Be sure to keep an eye on the beer-swilling/dancing keyboardist.) Also, stay tuned for an amazing USOUNDS full album reveiw soon!
