Hailing from the lovely town of Manchester England (I’ve never been…so I have no proof. But isn’t England lovely?), they’re a band that I wish I would’ve known about years ago. It’s the type of thing where you come along late, and they’ve already got multiple well established albums, so you’re not sure where to start. Anyhow, I decided to buy their most recent album, “Some Cities,” and wait for their newest disc that is slated to arrive at the end of this summer.

I’m really enjoying it. I’m not far enough into the disc to say what my favorite is…

Check out a chill track “Almost Forgot Myself”
[See post to listen to audio]
…and an upbeat track “Black and White Town”
[See post to listen to audio]

Anyhow, this song has such a good groove, I thought I’d share it even if you can’t understand the lyrics. I love it when an acoustic guitar can drive a song with a solid beat — not many people can do that.

I remember sitting at a bar in Costa Rica after a day of getting my ass kicked while attempting to surf, watching the sunset over the ocean, drinking a cold beer, and listening to a guy and his buddy cover Carlos Vives. Perfect. Even though this isn’t a Carlos Vives song, the two always remind me of each other.

This song has always been a solid chill song for me…Hopefully this song will inspire you to daydream, relax, and do nothing for awhile.

[See post to listen to audio]

In case you were wondering, here’s what the chorus says:

Mientras siga viendo tu cara en la cara de la luna
Mientras siga escuchando tu voz
Entre las olas, entre la espuma
Mientras tenga que cambiar la radio de estacion
Porque cada cancion me hable de ti
De ti
De ti
(me hable de ti)

As long as I see your face in the face of the moon
As long as I hear your voice
Between the waves, and the surf
As long as I have to change the radio station
Because every song reminds me of you
Of you
Of you
(It tells me of you)

It’s kind of cooler when you don’t understand it…

There now, I’ve just cultured your ass.

Well, Imogen has a new album coming out sometime this fall/winter. And, she’s been documenting the albums progress on her vlog. Each entry is about 10 minutes long and the content ranges from hearing snippets of her new tunes, to incredibly boring dialogue…all of which I love.

Anyhow, this last weeks entry is worth listening to if you’re an Imogen lover because she previews four songs of her new disc! And her accent is amazing, and she says “shitloads.”

Last year they put out “Up In Our Bedroom After The War” which represented a slightly different sound for them. A sound, that I love. Well, one of my favorite songs off that disc, “Bitches in Tokyo” has just been turned into a music video. I already wrote about this track, so if you haven’t heard it check it out here.

This video gives further evidence to my wife’s observation spoken after we saw them at the 9:30 Club: “they’re still in high-school” (in a good way–if that’s possible). I found this video a bit funny, but maybe I’m biased by they’re amazing music. Go buy this album!

Bitches In Tokyo

I can prove it…

Just click the play buttons, this is the full album in it’s proper order.

Life in Technicolor
[See post to listen to audio]
Cemeteries of London
[See post to listen to audio]
Lost!
[See post to listen to audio]
42
[See post to listen to audio]
Lovers in Japan
[See post to listen to audio]
Yes
[See post to listen to audio]
Viva La Vida
[See post to listen to audio]
Violet Hill
[See post to listen to audio]
Strawberry Swing
[See post to listen to audio]
Death And All His Friends
[See post to listen to audio]

Now go buy it from Amazon!

Also, check out my mixtape for other great bands and streaming tunes.

Whaddya think of the new disc people? Especially you, oh Coldplay hater.

Listen to the full length album here.

I’ve had some crappy luck with web hosts. I just recently ditched Dreamhost because of how often my site would go down. I switched to Webfaction. Anyhow, those poor dudes at Webfaction had something explode recently, and my site was down for the entire weekend. It literally set fire and blew up. As a result, I lost some subscribers and received loads of hate-mail (the last part, isn’t exactly true).

If something blew up where I worked, and I had to work my ass off to get stuff back up and running, I think I would want this song playing in the background:

[See post to listen to audio]

I just picture everyone dancing around with fire extinguishers having a grand old time.

Viva La Vida:

[See post to listen to audio]

So, the aforementioned iTunes commercial inspired me to buy the new Coldplay single Viva La Vida.

It’s a bit new for Coldplay…I mean when have we heard a string’s based song from them? And church bells? But, it’s not pretentious, it’s not annoying, it’s just really pretty. And daddy like…

The lyrics suggest some humility as well. It sounds a bit like they’re wrestling with their new found fame. I remember an interview with Coldplay right when X&Y came out. They said that for the first time in their life, they were experiencing Coldplay-Hate. Before then, they were just a small band that had a loyal following. Then, they exploded and all the haters showed up. This song seems to be a continuation of that struggle.

Additionally, I just heard another track off Coldplay’s disc. It’s call “Lost!”

It’s kind of the their major key, piano driven ballad that they’re so good at. The big difference, however, is that the song never really picks up. It just stays the piano, and Martin. Martin and Piano. Mano y Mano.

You can listen to Lost! on this tiny little Hype Machine player:

[See post to listen to audio]

Big, hard thanks to Nick for exposing me to this band. Man, they are just really, really good! It’s just so sad when you come across a band that makes your life better, and then you find out they broke up and played their last show in 2005. Balls!

They started in 1991, and I loved 90’s rock. Sorry; but I do. Collective Soul was at their peak, Better than Ezra, Tonic, Gin Blossom’s, Weezer…what wasn’t to love? They certainly have that 90’s feel in some of their sound. Just check out their album art. That is pure late 90’s early 2000’s.

But honestly, this music is worth purchasing. His voice is really, really smooth. And I dig how much of it is acoustically driven; but it has such a driving rhythm, you wouldn’t quite notice it. You know, there’s something about it that reminds me of Burlap to Cashmere. Remember them?

Does anyone have anyone similar that still exists? I’m interested in picking up their earlier stuff as well.

Leading Off: Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static
Next: Angels and Airwaves - We Don’t Have to Whisper
Closing: Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

I care deeply for each and every one of these CD’s. If you haven’t heard them yet; go check them out. Jack’s new CD is different; but it still has the same ability to make you believe you don’t have a care in the world, and just “be.” I have a feeling that of the above three albums, Jack’s will get a lot of playing time on the beach…he’s just the perfect beach music.

If you’re interested…you should let me know what you’re spinning this weekend…after all, the weather is changing, so should our music.