Middle Distance Runner

Finian Mckean

2006-01-08T14:49:00.000-05:00

Finian here, formerly of the Push Kings, e-mailed me with a sample of his full-length. It is quality stuff that I am getting into. It is pretty mellow, and a little eerie at times, but in a good way. See for yourself, and let me kow what you think. This one is called "Shades Are Drawn". Enjoy.

Shades Are Drawn

Tortoise News

2006-01-06T18:45:00.000-05:00

Good news for fans of Tortoise. Besides there upcoming release with Will Oldham, which is going to be AMAZING, they are releasing a box set of rare tracks. Pitchforkmedia.com says this of the box set: "The big news is that on April 11, Thrill Jockey will unleash the Tortoise rarities box set Rhythms, Resolutions, & Clusters. Centered around the 1995 tour-only, out of print album of the same name, Rhythms collects a plateful of singles, compilation tracks, remixes, and bonus cuts. The three-disc set will also contain a DVD, the contents of which have yet to be finalized." I don't know if that excites you, but that sure sounds like good old-fashoined fun to me. If you would like to read the full article on the release at Pitchfork, you can find it here

Tortoise Box Set

For those of you sticking out the drought, sorry about no music, my computer at my house is horrible, and will be back at school on Sunday. Then I promise a bunch of good stuff, thanks for reading!!!

Pedro gone, B&S here

2006-01-06T08:59:00.000-05:00

Well, this may not be news to a lot of you, but the trio lead by David Bazan known as "Pedro the Lion" has called it quits. Bazan plans on releasin ssolo work in early 2007, suprise suprise, and also collaberate with many other musicians on the road and in the studio. This is a sad day for me, as I like PtL, and am a rather large David Bazan fan. I guess I will get over it, I didn't like them that much, haha.

Elsewhere, the dates for the best tour of 2006 were anounced. Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers will be doing a tour through the states in the late winter/early spring of '06. The dates are as listed:

02-25 Toronto, Ontario - The Docks
02-26 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
02-27 Boston, MA - Avalon
02-28 Boston, MA - Avalon
03-02 New York, NY - Nokia Theatre
03-03 New York, NY - Nokia Theatre
03-04 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
03-05 Washington DC - 9:30 Club
03-06 Washington DC - 9:30 Club
03-08 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
03-09 Louisville, KY - Brown Theatre
03-10 Chicago, IL - Riviera
03-11 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre
03-12 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
03-14 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
03-15 Austin, TX - Stubb's (SXSW)*
03-18 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
03-19 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
03-21 San Francisco, CA - Concourse @ SF Design Center
03-23 Portland, OR - Roseland
03-24 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom #
03-25 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre

* with Cat Power, Mogwai
# without New Pornographers

Unfortunately the closest they will be coming to western North Carolina is Nashville, TN, but they are well worth the drive. I will have to scrape together my pennies though, tickets average around $30 + booking fees :O !!!!! It sure is a pretty penny, but how many chances do I get to see B&S, and also a quality opening band that I would pay to see headlining in The NP. Unfortuantely, no Mp3's today, sorry. I am back home, and am here till Sunday when I go back to school. I will then be able to post Mp3's again. My bad.

Hello & Matisyahu

2006-01-04T20:44:00.000-05:00

Why hello there. Thank you for kindly stumbling upon this new establishment that I like to call my "blog"! Just to make my intentions clear early, I intend this to be a mp3 and music news blog. Not one to divulge the secrets of my bland, boring life to you. If this is what you are looking for, then please enjoy!!! (If you can't tell, I'm addicted to exclamation points!!!!!)

My first featured artist is a Reggae artist named Matisyahu. If you haven't heard of him, you may live under a rock, or might have just overlooked it, I almost did. He came out with his first full length, Shake Off the Dust . . . Arise, late 2004, and recently released a live recording of many of the tracks from that cd, entitled Live at Stubb's. Now, the name Matisyahu might strike you as unusual, but that is because that is his Hasidic Jewish name. He was raised Jewish all his life, and fully embraced his religion when he was 14, changing his name from Matthew Miller to Matisyahu Miller. He has amazing musical talent, and is tons of fun. I prove this to you by the two tracks included below. Warrior is more of a musical showcase, and Beatbox is just pure fun. Enjoy!
Matisyahu_-_Warrior.mp3
Matisyahu - Beatbox.mp3