Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had/has a ball!

Some things I'm looking forward to in the coming months:

A new Pains album! and a Sexy Kids Album! By February Slumberland will have already put out two of the best albums of next year. Not too shabby, eh?

"Aboa Sleeping" by Burning Hearts! It's Cats on Fire and Le Futur Pompiste! Go Finland! Another one of the best records coming out next year! I Guarantee it!
I've Lost My Color Vision .mp3

Happy New Year! .mp3
(it's only cliche if you let it be)

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Things that were really good this year.

Geez, it's been a really long time since I've updated...
I don't like being restricted to just a top ten list, so instead I have a list of things that were really good this year. It's a medley of songs, 7"s, albums, concerts, and whatever else I deem really good.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Everything With You 7"


The Pains (of Being Pure at Heart) just killed it this year. Everyone and their mother thinks that "Everything with You" was the single of the year and I wholeheartedly agree. That, and they put on an awesome live show, and that Kip is not, in fact, a dick. And they have an album coming out next year on Slumberland

Everything with you .mp3


NYC Popfest!


More pop than you can shake a stick at. The Cannanes flew in. Cats on Fire made it. Tullycraft finally came to the east coast. The Orchids?! And there's still another 20 bands that were all absolutely fantastic.

Sexy Kids- Sisters are Forever 7"


Sexy Kids sound kind of like a toned down Royal We (because they're members of The Royal We), and are every bit as catchy. This little gem got a lot of buzz when it was released and I would say it is indeed that sweet. And what's that? They have an album coming out next year on Slumberland as well? Hoo ha.

Sisters are Forever .mp3

Slumberland Records


Talk about a comeback! After an all too long hiatus Slumberland Records came back with a vengeance. Between the ace podcasts and slew of absolutely stellar 7"s and full lengths, I would say the label of the year award would have to go to Mike.

One Happy Island- Secret Party That the Other Party Doesn't Know About

Four super-catchy sing-along pop songs from the twee-est kids in all of Boston. The only problem with this release? All the songs are so catchy, you won't know which to have stuck in your head. Temporary Tattoo is the obvious choice, with all its killer little melody and talk of long lasting unicorn and frog temporary tattoos.

Temporary Tattoo .mp3


The Tartans- Cats of Camerford/ My Baby Doesn't Care for You


LA isn't exactly at the top of the list for indie-pop epicenters (or really on the list for that matter), but the Tartans didn't let that stop them, and showed the world LA is okay by putting out two superb singles. I couldn't pick which I liked more, so I decided to split the difference and put up both the a-sides.

My Baby Doesn't Care for You .mp3


Asobi Seksu- Me and Mary


Awesome song. Awesome 7". Awesome live. It's catchy and kind of feels dance-y and that chorus has been stuck in my head since it came out, so I'd say it's pretty darn awesome.

Me and Mary .mp3


The Lodger- Life is Sweet


Epic summer jam! It's still good to listen to in end of December, so I guess it's just an epic jam. That baseline just gets me. Another winner from Slumberland.



The Lucksmiths- First Frost


I don't think this even warrants an explanation. It's new material from The Lucksmiths, so of course it's amazing. Any new material from the boys is good news, really good new material is even better.

Up With The Sun .mp3


There's a bunch of other things that were super awesome, but these were the first to come to mind.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Skipping Stones Thanksgiving Sale! And things.

Skipping Stones Thanksgiving Sale! Go! Sadly they're out of the special Popfest comps, but hey, you can still get a wonderful deal on some other CDs or a $3 t-shirt!

And I'm not sure why I don't have Pylrolyse Bred in my link section, or why I haven't even mentioned the site before. Basically, whoever runs it, has converted their old mostly pop-ish records to mp3. There's some real gems in there, and a lot of vinyl only releases, so get crackin!

Oh! And Indie mp3 has a bunch of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart mpfrees up...