GIMME TINNITUS

I am here to apologize for slightly detracting from your concert experience all year long. Why? I take photos at shows. I know it can be annoying. That said, I try my best to keep it to a minimum and usually don’t use a flash (and then ramp up the contrast and exposure later). Here are my favorite 12 photos from 2011.

Look + Listen:
 

1. Ghost Animal @ Glasslands

   

   Downloadable: Tired (A Ceremony) (mp3)

 
 

2. HAPPY NEW YEAR @ Glasslands

   

   Downloadable: And… Begin! (mp3)

 
 

3. Mr. Dream @ Cake Shop

   

   Downloadable: Knick Knack (mp3)

 
 

4. Foot Village @ Death by Audio

   

   Downloadable: Crybaby (mp3)

 
 

5. JEFF The Brotherhood @ Rockaway Beach

   

   Downloadable: Shredder (mp3)

 
 

6. EULA @ Multiverse Playground

   

   Downloadable: Housewolf (mp3)

 
 

7. MIRACLES @ Death by Audio

   

   Downloadable: From Clouds (mp3)

 
 

8. PC Worship @ Bruar Falls (RIP)

   

   Downloadable: Tides (mp3)

 
 

9. Parts & Labor @ Knitting Factory

   

   Downloadable: A Great Divide (mp3)

 
 

10. THE FIELD RECORDINGS @ Spike Hill

    

    Downloadable: Tell Me Tell Me Tell Me (mp3)

 
 

11. YVETTE @ Death by Audio

    

    Downloadable: With Fangs (mp3)

 
 

12. Kohwi @ 13Thames

    

    Downloadable: Leaving is a Feeling (mp3)

 
It is not surprising that my top two photos were taken at Glasslands, which has a stunning background and great lighting. My overall favorite venue for photos has to be Death by Audio with their awesome murals — the only problem there is the lighting. In the coming year, I look forward to getting some great shots at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge and 285 Kent. And you reading this, go out and see a show at your local DIY venue.

Also, you can stream (and scrobble) all the songs in this mix using the ex.fm player at the bottom of the page OR you can just download any or all of the tracks at your leisure and play them using a digital media player of your choice.

If you want to download all the individual tracks in this post, you should probably think about installing the DownThemAll! or FlashGot Firefox extensions as we are way too lazy to zip and upload every single mp3 in this post.

And, 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):

Insound | Amazon MP3 | eMusic | Other Music

Oh, and be sure to check out our of best of posts.

It is time for the next volume of the Best Downloadables of 2011.

You can stream (and scrobble) all the songs in this mix using the ex.fm player at the bottom of the page OR you can download any or all of the tracks at your leisure (with the usual right-click or control-click) and play them using a digital media player of your choice.

Listen.

Downloadables:

1. Know No Violence (mp3) by Spanish Prisoners

[pay what you want for Gold Fools spanishprisoners.bandcamp.com]

2. Germs (mp3) by Yalls

[pay what you want for Yalls @ yalls.bandcamp.com]

3. Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name) (mp3) by Cymbals Eat Guitars
4. Yubacore (mp3) by Hella
5. Hours (mp3) by Tycho
6. Psychic Mesa (mp3) by Total Slacker
7. Tame the Sun (mp3) by Male Bonding
8. School Glue (mp3) by Pterodactyl
9. You Take Time (mp3) by Bleached
10. Here To Stay (mp3) by Milagres
11. Sisters & Friends (mp3) by Little Gold
12. Moneybags (mp3) by Mr. Dream
13. Tell Me Tell Me Tell Me (mp3) by THE FIELD RECORDINGS
14. In Circles (mp3) by Woodsman
15. Dead End (mp3) by Reading Rainbow
16. Harsh Realm (mp3) by Widowspeak
17. Terra Incognita (mp3) by Atlas Sound
18. Hard Pose (mp3) by Balaclavas
19. Chippewa Kids (feat. Sarah Barthel) (mp3) by Junk Culture

[pay what you want for Hang Roxy @ illegal-art.net]

Oh, and be sure to check out the rest of our of best of posts.

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):

Insound | Amazon MP3 | eMusic | Other Music

Additionally, 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.

We are very excited, as Connecticut’s own THE FIELD RECORDINGS have finished recording their first long player, THE ELASTIC NOSTALGIA. The band has distilled their all their noisepop goodness into this collection of 10 songs. While we have only had the recording a short time, it looks like this could be one of our favorite releases of 2011. This here is the lead single.

Listen.

Downloadable: Tell Me Tell Me Tell Me (mp3)

You can stream the whole of THE ELASTIC NOSTALGIA using the widget below.

Streamable: THE ELASTIC NOSTALGIA (bandcamp)

You can purchase THE ELASTIC NOSTALGIA in a variety of digital formats @ bandcamp.com. If you want a physical copy of the album, it will be available shortly on a hand-numbered CD & cassette with a handmade booklet of photos and lyrics.

Hopefully, THE FIELD RECORDINGS will travel down to NYC to play some shows in the not-too-distant future. Upcoming tour dates can be found @ tfrjournal.wordpress.com.

THE FIELD RECORDINGS have a q and also a.

THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on the internet
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on Bandcamp
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on Facebook
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on Twitter
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on elbo.ws
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on CD Baby

The members of THE FIELD RECORDINGS sent us these answers to our questions in this the 1st installment of the 2nd series of our q and also a feature. Enjoy.

q: What is the last song you (really) heard?

DANIEL: My girlfriend and I have been stuck on listening to Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (youtube) by Paul McCartney for about a month now. And, having heard both the original vinyl record (thru Kel’s Grandmother’s 1970s tuner) and the iTunes clean-up—the muck isn’t there, the rainstorm that used to clip and then make sense on the record, where’d that go? I hope it goes beyond that boring Vinyl Puritanism, but maybe it doesn’t—maybe we’re just sterilizing everything too much?

JARED: Endless Eyes (youtube) by Alain Johannes

NOEL: Wild Eyes (mp3) by Vivian Girls

q: What is your favorite beverage?

IN UNISON: “coffee” for all three of us–practice never starts without a full pot.

q: What is your favorite band to see live?

DANIEL: The last show I saw was Sufjan Stevens at the Beacon Theater–everything about it—like 11 musicians, dancing, costume changes, lights, projections, balloons falling from the ceiling, the way these huge swells of music felt like a hold on my stomach… Listen: I Walked (mp3)

JARED: The Mars Volta. They just kill it every time (Irony mine).

NOEL: Richard Thompson at the Tarrytown Music Hall.

q: What is your favorite venue in NYC (if applicable)?

DANIEL: There are so many places in NYC that I love–I was sad to see Max Fish go, even though I only went once. But all of us love playing and standing around in the Trash Bar. Pianos is another great room. Also the Cameo Gallery–we’ve only been there once, but I really enjoyed the lights flitting thru that huge twine mobile they have over the stage…

JARED: The Roseland Ballroom… it’s the perfect sized venue for the city, or for bands of any size.

NOEL: The Chance Theatre in Poughkeepsie… It’s 3 venues in one, and they’ll host almost anybody. (Editor’s Note: Poughkeepie is 80 some odd miles from NYC).

q: What piece of culture are you really really excited about right now?

DANIEL: Music. Sure Punk is dead (or at least Joe Strummer‘s Punk Politik of Caring For Other People is), a bunch of online-failed poets are dictating the taste curve… but I still get overtaken by the huge outlaying of music out there, like listening to someone dictating what you were about to feel even though you can’t articulate it—it’s one of the brightest I know.

Listen: Straight To Hell (youtube)

JARED: I wrote down, “Politics/End Of Man.” (Editor’s Note: Hope I got those right.)

NOEL: Experimental Music Culture, the kind you only find through the mail, by way of unlabeled cassettes.

q: Anything we should know about your latest project (whatever that might be)?

IN UNISON: Well, after recording & re-recording & re-recording our debut LP, it seems like we’re finally getting to a place where we can get it released, that we’re surrounded by a community of people who have some investment in seeing us get a record released. Right now we’re trying to simultaneously write 3 new songs, re-write a handful of our older ones, get a record deal, find a keyboardist who can sing, and we’re trying to host an evening of bands and visuals at The Space, which is a venue near our hometown in Connecticut.

Downloadables:

The Awkward Circuit Boards (Or: Look Out! I Think I’m Going To Feel!) (mp3)
Statescapes (mp3)

Streamables:

We Will Become Strangers Faster Now (soundcloud)

CASSETTES ARE SYMBOLS FOR FOREVER (bandcamp)

Buy something @ THE FIELD RECORDINGS’ Bandcamp page.

Upcoming NYC Shows:

• THIS FRIDAY! February 18th @ THE TRASH BAR (get there early for the open bar @ 8pm)
• March 3rd @ Parkside Lounge

Be sure to check out the rest of the q and also a series… here.

THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on the internet
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on Bandcamp
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on Facebook
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on Twitter
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on Myspace
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on elbo.ws
THE FIELD RECORDINGS are on CD Baby

It’s time again to look back, reflect, and contemplate… what were we listening to one year ago?

Listen to the February 2010 Mix and find out.

Downloadables:

1. Years (Five – Eight) (mp3) by Starscream
2. Danger Mountain (Training Montage Remix by Makeup and Vanity Set) (mp3) by Anamanaguchi
3. Napping Captain (Dark Party Remix) (mp3) by Jogger
4. The History of Time Travel (mp3) by Back to the Future the Ride
   (d/l the Back to Back to the Future the Ride EP @ deathbombarc.com)
5. (live @ WFMU 1/5/2010 part 3) (mp3) by GDFX
   (d/l more GDFX @ FMA)
6. Kim ILL (mp3) by Foot Village
7. Scissor (mp3) by Liars
8. Shark’s Tooth (mp3) by Archie Bronson Outfit
9. Bummer Summer (mp3) by Young Adults
   (d/l the Demo 2010 @ Mediafire)
10. Clean Vs. Dirty (mp3) by SUSU
11. The Awkward Circuit Boards (Or: Look Out! I Think I’m Going To FEEL!) (mp3) by THE FIELD RECORDINGS
    (d/l The Sad Cataloguers @ tfrjournal.wordpress.com)
12. Art Czars (mp3) by Japandroids
13. Crying Underwater (mp3) by Cloud Nothings
14. The Monk (mp3) by True Womanhood
15. Rustic Arcadia (mp3) by Campfires
16. A Dream (mp3) by Magnetic Island
17. Teenage Whore (mp3) by Dinosaur Feathers

You can stream all the songs in this mix using the Yahoo media player at the bottom of the page OR if you are browsing with Chrome you can play (and scrobble) the whole page using the ex.fm extension OR you can just download any or all of the tracks at your leisure and play them using a digital media player of your choice. You have many choices ahead of you. Listen.

If you haven’t done it already, make sure you check out the other monthly mixes.

And if you like what you hear you should probably purchase music from the above artists at any of these fine online retailers:

Insound | Amazon MP3 | eMusic | Other Music

Also, If you want to download all the individual tracks in this post, you should probably think about installing the DownThemAll! or FlashGot Firefox extensions.