Michael and Marisa of Ghost Animal sent us these answers to our questions in this next installment of the q and also a series.
q: What is the last song you (really) heard?
michael: Hmm, that’s tough given the parenthetical. The last song I listened to was “GB City” by the kickass Bass Drum of Death off their kickass album GB City. But the last song I really heard? Let me check my last.fm. I feel like the question means something more than the last song I listened to, suggesting something along the lines of the last song that sunk its claws in or destroyed me in some emotional capacity. I don’t know. Let’s leave it at that.
michael: I have a few, depending on when. Diet Coke (any time after noon and before nine), Gin and Tonic (either Bombay Sapphire and tonic with lime or Hendricks and tonic with cucumber, depends on how saucy I’m feeling), or just a nice big bottle of red wine from 7-Eleven. It’s a rotating cast, really, but never at the same time.
michael: Lately I’ve had a blast at every Hausu show I’ve gone to (it’s this band of four friends of mine at Reed College). I want to say The White Stripes but sadly they are no longer, and I’ve only seen them twice (once I was in the midst of a mosh pit in Rome, that was insane). I guess really my favorite band to see live is any band that makes me lose my mind. Especially if my friends are in the band. That’s really special.
q: What is your favorite venue in NYC (if applicable)?
michael: Well I’ve never been to a show in New York that I didn’t play. Glasslands was the prettiest venue, I’d love to go to a real bumping show there sometime. But Silent Barn was really fantastic. So I’d say Silent Barn.
marisa: Well my favorite venue in SF is Bottom of the Hill. When we played NY, the funnest space we played was Silent Barn.
q: What piece(s) of culture are you really really excited about right now?
michael: The 90s coming back. It’s already happening with bands hugely influenced by Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., etc. I’m really waiting for a grunge comeback. That’s my goal. So, I guess the real answer: Nirvana.
marisa: Fuck, I don’t know. I’ve been cut off from the world too long, stuck in college. I don’t know…sweater vests?
q: Anything we should know about your latest project (whatever that might be)?
michael: My latest and consuming project is my senior thesis on the novels of Virginia Woolf. Oh and I’ve started to download the entire R.E.M. discography because I realized the other day I’ve never listened to them, and that feels like a shame. Oh: musically Marisa and I have been writing and practicing new songs when we’ve had time. We’re really excited about what we’ve come up with so far and can’t wait for school to be over so we can get into the studio and record some of these tracks. So I guess just keep a lookout, new things should start happening by summertime. Also we have some old/new releases coming out – a 7″ with remastered songs from the first tape and another 5-song 7″ EP coming out, um…soon? Yes. And our Kill/Hurt tape sold out! The tape has two extra bonus tracks on it! Ok whatever. Oh and I think we’re doing a split 7″ with one of my favorite bands, Tan Dollar. But so far that’s all talk. Hopefully it’ll happen.
marisa: Well, we’ve been sitting down writing some new stuff. And guess what…I sing! I’m pretty excited for our new songs. You’ll be able to tell we’ve been sun deprived too long here in Portland. #whiteasfuck#seasonalaffectivedisorder
a: I’ve never really thought about this before but Sonic Youth were amazing the few times I’ve been able to see them live. Animal Collective has never disappointed. It’s always cool to see our friends’ bands play too.
Bandcamp, Mediafire, and sometimes a little good old fashioned web hosting have made it easier than ever for bands to make the decision to share their music with new audiences around the world without charging for it. That said, it is important to support the artists who are giving away their music. Do they tour? Go see them perform live. Do they have merch for sale? Buy something. Do they have a paypal link on their website? Throw some $$ their way. Check out the samples below and then make with the downloading. These are the free recordings or collections there of that have stood out for us this year. If we missed something really good drop us a note in the comments. Listen.
Oh, and be sure to check out the rest of our of best of posts.
Additionally, if you like what you hear you should probably purchase music from the above artists at any of these fine online retailers (or your local independent record store):
Also, If you want to download all (or most of) the tracks in this post, you should probably think about installing the DownThemAll! or FlashGot Firefox extensions.
So, psychedelic lofi rockers Tan Dollar have put together a free five song EP of self-recorded demo-type stuff, and popped it up on their blog. Here is our fav track from said EP. Listen.
CONTACT INFO: gimmetinnitus [at] gmail [dot] com, If you want to send me music for possible inclusion on this here blog… please please email me.
DISCLAIMER: Some of the mp3 links found here are promotional in nature and will disappear without notice. All music, images, and links on this site are used in accordance with the doctrine of Fair Use. However, I am sensitive to copyright holders wishes, if you want anything removed from this blog, please contact me at the email address in the sidebar above.
