Time for my third 2010 Band Mom add!!

I first met Melaena Cadiz (pronunciation key: muh-LAY-nuh ca-DEEZ) a few years ago, when I started managing her brother’s band (The Terrordactyls). She is just one of the sweetest, most good-hearted and genuinely and beautifully creative spirits I know, and obviously her album reflects those things…it’s so good!!

MELAENA CADIZ

RATTLE THE WINDOWS

Self-Released

Melaena Cadiz grew up between Kalamazoo, MI, Baltimore, and Singapore, where she began writing songs at an early age when her traveling architect father brought home a classical guitar and a book of 60s folk songs for her and her brother (Michael Cadiz of The Terrordactyls). Later on, after years of living between Seattle and Paris, she settled in Brooklyn.

In 2010, she wrote and recorded her first full length album, “Rattle The Windows”, with the Brooklyn community of country and folk musicians she has become an integral part of, including members of Brown Bird, Matt Bauer, and The Felice Brothers.  Her songs draw inspiration from classic country, folk & blues roots, and are deeply influenced by the writings of Richard Brautigan, Karen Blixen, and Mary Oliver.

RIYL: Amy Millan, Bill Callahan, Madeline, Magnolia Electric Co, Julie Doiron, Terrordactyls, Felice Brothers, Loretta Lynn

Start With: 2, 5, 4 FCC CLEAN

Contact me for a download link!

So, time to add this folky/alt-country goodness on CMJ at Top 200! I can’t wait for everyone else to hear how great it is. FYI, The drummer from The Felice Brothers (David Turbeville) plays specifically on tracks 2 and 5 (my two favorites!!), if that kind of thing excites you. Melaena’s also finishing up a music video right now that sounds like it’s going to be the jam, so keep an eye out!

Incidentally, the above photo and the album’s cover photo were taken by Mikael Kennedy, who is also fantastic, so if you’re into photography (or good things in general) you should definitely check his stuff out.

http://www.myspace.com/melaenacadiz

http://melaenacadiz.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melaena-Cadiz/155220206289

yes!!!!!!

My second Band Mom add in 2010 is here!

I heard of Night Driving in Small Towns from my lovely friend and former co-worker Marcela, who now lives in Atlanta and works for the exciting Southeast label, Lower 40 Records. I’m so glad we’ve kept in touch, because I love this band!!

This was another album with a very limited physical release, so if you’re a college radio station rep and you didn’t get a hard copy, please don’t be offended, but if it is at all possible please DO download it!!! Contact me (or check your email) for the link!

NIGHT DRIVING IN SMALL TOWNS

SERIAL KILLER

Lower 40 Records

Night Driving in Small Towns are land dwellers. Having moved from small south Georgia towns to the city of Atlanta in 2008, the band has seen its share of topography. So has their music. Navigating the spaces between artsy folk pop and brazen indie rock, their sound is sometimes gutsy, sometimes reserved, but always premeditated.

The group’s musical content originates from the songwriting duo of Andrea Rogers and Colby Wright. The two have written together for almost a decade, getting their craft down to a weird science in the process. Wright provides a lush musical backdrop for Rogers’s intimate lyrics, an amalgamation that has been described as a “a lighter version of Rilo Kiley“, or a “potent cocktail” of sound (Michael Shaunessy, Flagpole). This intoxicating vibe led to Night Driving’s inclusion in a 2008 list of the “Top 25 Bands on Myspace” as determined by Rolling Stone, as well as their subsequent inclusion on the roster of Atlanta’s Lower 40 Records.

The band’s debut album on the Lower 40 label, featuring their characteristically mature lyrics juxtaposed with a youthful sensibility, sung in boy-girl melodies sweet enough to melt even the coldest doubter’s heart, will be released April 20, 2010. Night Driving in Small Towns have shared the stage with bands such as Fruit Bats, Death Vessel, and Land of Talk and are currently playing regionally in support of the record.

RIYL: Jenny Lewis, Essex Green, Belly, Sundays

Start With: : 1, 9, 7, 5 FCC CLEAN

Contact me for a download link!

So it’s time to add this thing at Top 200! It’s already been getting some great press, like this review from Aquarian Weekly. Their album comes out on April 20^th, but their album release show is one month later, on May 21^st: it’s at the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge in Atlanta, GA at 8:00pm w/ Oryx & Crake & Today the Moon, and Tomorrow the Sun. Oh, and did I mention it’s a ZOMBIE DANCE PARTY?!?

They’ve also got a few other shows coming up in the next little bit in Georgia and North Carolina. Check ’em out if you’re in the Southeast!

Apr 29, 2010, 7:00 PM: Smith’s Olde Bar – 500 Songs for Kids: Song 478, “Just Like Heaven”: Atlanta, Georgia

May 1, 2010 3:00 PM: Decatur Green Fest on the Square : Decatur, Georgia

May 13, 2010 9:00 PM: Boiler Room: Asheville, North Carolina

Jun 25, 2010 8:00 PM: Mint Gallery w/ TBA: Atlanta, Georgia

Jun 26 2010 8:00P: Snug Harbor w/ TBA: Charlotte, North Carolina

http://www.myspace.com/nightdrivinginsmalltowns

http://twitter.com/nightdriving

http://www.nightdrivinginsmalltowns.com/

yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!

My add this week is AMAZING!!! There is a ridiculous amount of information here to process, so the very short version is: Songs for “The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To”, curated by author/comedian/actor/filmmaker/sometime rapper/aspiring boyfriend DC Pierson, is going for adds this week (1/26/10), and it features some fantastic tracks by Jason Anderson (K Records), MCDJ (Donald Glover, NBC’s “Community”), and more. The Current Projects page has a slightly more informative version of the essentials. For a longer version of me gushing and giving a lot more information, read on!!

SO. This is kind of a new thing for me to try through radio promotion: I’m not only promoting the music, but a whole UNIVERSE of stuff involved with the music, and it is all going to freaking BLOW YOUR MIND. Do you think you might like cute/sweet folk songs, cool sound-collage songs, coming-of-age books about high school kids and cyborgs, excellent stand-up/improv comedy/youtube comedy shorts, AND/OR an incredibly funny movie about grown-up kid detectives?? Then THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU!! Also let’s date.

Believe it or not, there is one guy who has his hand in ALL of those things. At 25 years old, DC Pierson is conquering the media (all of them!) and making all the rest of us look pretty pathetic.

I first became aware of him through some friend or maybe Internet-stranger linking me to a few youtube/funnyordie videos made by his comedy group, DERRICK Comedy. They are all real funny and mostly NSFW/NSF your parents. Here’s a couple you could watch in front of both, uh probably, if you like: “Celebrity” (starring DC as the “Adam Sandler”):

Or here is even one that is music related: “Emo Song” (starring DC):

but I’d highly recommend looking into the rest of them if you’re not particularly squeamish/easily offended. If you’re not into dick jokes of the UCB/alternative-comedy sort, their videos might not be 100% for you, but I bet their MOVIE still is!!!

Last year at Sundance, DERRICK Comedy premiered their first feature film: MYSTERY TEAM. You may have noticed me freaking out constantly about how good it was if we are friends on Facebook or if you read my massive lists from 2009 that placed it as my #5 movie of the year. It is NOT like a longform youtube video, don’t worry, no “Run Ronnie Run” here. It was shot beautifully on one’a’them fancy RED digital cameras and it is just incredibly well-written, well-produced, well-acted. Well-everything really. I love it because it is knock-you-over, line-after-line hilarious, but I also love it because it is a coming-of-age story with real heart that at its core really does feel true. Plot synopsis: a group of 3 kids (DC Pierson, Donald Glover [who you know from NBC’s funnier-every-episode “Community”], and Dominic Dierkes) started an Encyclopedia Brown-style kid detective agency when they were little, and now they are 18 years old and are STILL DOING IT. Same goofy kid haircuts, same dorky clothes, same kid nonsense mysteries like “who stuck their finger in Mrs. Brewster’s pie?” And then a little girl retains their services for a dime, and asks, “can you help me find out who murdered my parents?”…naturally, they accept, and HIJINX ENSUE. They produced it themselves and all the actors are their friends, but luckily they are friends with people like SNL’s Bobby Moynihan, Aubrey Plaza (“Parks & Recreation”, Funny People), Ellie Kemper (the new secretary Erin from “The Office”, who also stars in DERRICK’s most famous literally-15-million-hits video), Kevin Brown and John Lutz (Dot Com and Lutz!), and UCB’s Matt Walsh. COOL FRIENDS YOU GUYS.

TRAILER:

Mystery Team has been on this crazy rolling release thing that has basically amounted to them being on tour with the movie for the last year. I guess it’s a thing their distributor does on a regular basis, and although it means their movie is only in one city at a time, it is really cool, because that means some or all of the members of DERRICK actually get to SHOW UP at basically every single city it’s playing in on opening weekend. They do Q&As, they hang around outside of the theater and talk to you for as long as you want them to, and they basically just make a point of being the coolest dudes (and girl) ever. That’s how I initially met DC and this whole thing got started.

And then!!

I found out that DC, on top of everything else, also WROTE A NOVEL, and it is coming out on Vintage/Anchor (a division of Random House) this Tuesday (1/26/10)! I’ve had the fantastic luck to have gotten to read it already, and you guys, THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!! It is basically the novel I have always wished I was writing. Here’s a plot synopsis on this thing: A couple of geeky loner kids befriend each other in high school, and they start making up this totally awesome comic book/movie universe with stuff like cyborgs and zombies and wormholes and time travel. Then one kid (Eric) reveals to the other (Darren) that he doesn’t sleep, like at all, ever. This comes as a huge revelation to Darren, who is at just that age when you start to realize that maybe the world is not all magical fairydust after all and maybe you CAN’T just be anything you want and sometimes things don’t turn out like you think they should. It gives him hope: wait, maybe the world IS magic after all!! And then a love triangle gets in the way, and some of the stuff Darren and Eric made up starts maybe coming to life, and everything is falling apart and also beautiful and tragic and hilarious. Also DC loves puns and because of this there are a ton of great fake band names sprinkled in there. My favorite is “Andre the Client”. YOU HAVE TO READ THIS. Preferably buy it (less than $10 preorder on Amazon right now!!), so that people keep paying him to do this again.

AND ALSO, as if that weren’t ENOUGH ALREADY, DC has also gotten a bunch of his musician friends to write songs inspired by his novel, and he is just giving those things away! You’ll know some of the musicians and some of them will be new, like Donald Glover did a bunch of sound-collage style tracks as his producer alter-ego, MCDJ (who also by the way scored Mystery Team), and also Jason Anderson, a beautiful human being who released his most recent album on K Records, did a great little ditty. And I convinced DC to let me send those tracks out to you, the worthy citizens of College Radioland!! So ENJOY, college radioland!! You could even ADD IT ON 1/26 on CMJ if you felt so inclined!! It’s a download only, and you can find that download here in a post with some more info on DC’s site, or here zipped up with other info from me like a press onesheet, a photo, and a .wav file of one track for higher-quality radioing. Also here is a radio edit of the one song that has some Bad Words, because that is important if you’re playing stuff over airwaves monitored by grandparents.

You’d think that would be about enough for one add (/career/freaking LIFETIME), but there are even a few MORE littler things that DC Pierson has had his hand in if for some reason you haven’t had your fill. You might have noticed him on “Community” a couple episodes ago (1/14, the one with Jack Black in it: DC’s line: “welcome aboard jeff, this is my article on the school’s new water heater” / then Joel McHale: “you got chops, kid, but we need your talent on a bigger story: Pizza Wars”.)

PLUS, sometimes, DC raps too. Sometimes by himself, and sometimes as a guest on Donald Glover’s (his buddy from DERRICK Comedy/Mystery Team/”Community”) tracks where he raps over indie rock songs (DC’s featured on Discovery and Pictureplane tracks in that FREE MIXTAPE DOWNLOAD) or over Donald’s own MCDJ beats. “They make anti-me PSAs cause I’m dope” INDEED, DC. I will await your proposal of marriage which I’m sure by now is on its way in the mail.

Clearly, this is just ridiculous. Here’s a video about “booklegging,” the dangerous crime in which you individually hand-copy his book and distribute it illegally:

And here’s one about his elaborately-planned book tour:

And here are some dates where you can catch him on his for-real tour with Mystery Team and invite him into your radio station while you’re at it:

NOW: Seattle, WA @ Central Cinema (you missed DC last weekend, but the movie is playing through like 2/4)

THIS WEEKEND 1/29: Boston, MA @ The Brattle

ALSO THIS WEEKEND 1/29: Port Orchard, WA @ The Orchard Theater (DC won’t be there, but the movie is still awesome)

NEXT WEEKEND 2/4: Chicago, IL @ The Music Box

3/5: Minneapolis, MN @ Landmark Uptown

3/12: Los Angeles, CA @ the Nuart

Feel free to contact me to set up an interview (on the phone or in person – he wants to meet you!), or just to hear me gush for a couple more hours about this. Don’t think I won’t.

Ok!! Now that I’m finally caught up on the older stuff, I can start updating you on the new!

LIFT’s first RPM add for 2010 is what you might call a Big Deal. Deadmau5 is a superstar DJ. He’s Canadian (which makes him instantly loveable, as we all know). And he wears a big mouse head in public.

DEADMAU5

AT PLAY VOL. 2

Play Records

This is a follow-up to the volume of the same name I sent out to radio last year: it’s 10 DJ-friendly, full-length “unmixed” tracks of some of his bangers designed specifically for you DJs to work your magic with. Released through Canada’s Play Records, it can serve as a companion piece to his “proper” Ultra releases or an introduction to the guy who I just learned placed #6 on DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJ Poll in 2009. NOT BAD DUDE.

The record went for adds last week (1/18/10), and not only did it hit #4 Most Added, it ALSO ALREADY jumped onto the Top 40 at #33!!! It’s only the rarest of RPM superstars that are able to accomplish this (not even my Armin Van Buuren, Infected Mushroom, Paul Van Dyk or Dizzee Rascal did it!), so obviously this is going to be amazing. At Play Vol. 1 hit #15, so that’s the spot to beat this go-round!

STREAM THE ALBUM:

http://www.deadmau5.com/

Now that it is so late that no one could possibly care, I thought maybe I’d get around to posting this.

Every year I make ludicrously long lists that nobody has the time or patience to get through; this year is no different. With more lists! Keep in mind that I’m never claiming that these are the “best” of any year. They were just my favorites…stuff I loved. There is no objective scale for grading art; my reactions are all I have to go on. So there!

2009 was the first year of my life that was actually a cohesive Year – I had the same jobs the whole year, lived in the same apartment the whole year – switched roommates a zillion times but not on the midyear schedule that would have been normal up to this point thanks to the school system making a Year typically end in May or June rather than December. I’m an adult! So maybe these lists have more cohesion than my last few have. Then again, maybe not.

top 10 albums of 2009:

1. why?-eskimo snow

2. the mountain goats-the life of the world to come

3. casiotone for the painfully alone-vs. children

4. childish gambino-poindexter

5. harlem shakes-technicolor health

6. pomegranates-everybody, come outside!

7. john vanderslice-romanian names

8. david bazan-curse your branches

9. discovery-lp

10. phoenix-wolfgang amadaeus phoenix

15 more (not in order):

dead man’s bones-s/t

phosphorescent-to willie

mono-hymn to the immortal wind

matt and kim-grand

edward sharpe & the magnetic zeroes-up from below

kid cudi-man on the moon: the end of the day

antony and the johnsons-crying light

julie doiron-i can wonder what you did with your day

dirty projectors-bitte orca

grizzly bear-veckatimest

patients-patients

city center-s/t

fishboy-nom

girls-girls

woods-songs of shame

This list is missing a lot. Some of my FAVORITE FAVORITE artists released albums this year that I’m sure I’ll eventually LOVE, but for some reason just haven’t gotten to give them the time they deserve yet. I’m looking at you, Mew, Health, Megafaun, Bill Callahan, Firs, Flaming Lips, Liars, The Thermals, Beach House, Themselves, (Wooden) Wand, St. Vincent, Barzin, YACHT, Throw Me The Statue, Jeremy Enigk, Jeffrey Lewis, Deer Tick, Atlas Sound, Mount Eerie, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Sigur Ros, Royksopp, The Boy Least Likely To, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Asobi Seksu, Malajube, Junior Boys, The Whitest Boy Alive, MSTRKRFT, The Juan Maclean, Yo La Tengo, and Mum. WHOA GEEZ what was my problem in 2009!!!!



top eps/singles:

starfucker-jupiter

brunettes-red rollerskates ep

mountain goats+john vanderslice-moon colony bloodbath

social studies-the hourglass

burial & four tet-moth/wolf cub

we became actors-this is where we started



top compliations:

dark was the night

score! 20 years of merge recs: the covers!

casiotone for the painfully alone-advance base battery life

odd nosdam-t.i.m.e. sdtrk



top comedy albums:

john mulaney-the top part

paul f thompkins-freak wharf

eugene mirman-god is a 12 year old boy with asperger’s

the lonely island-incredibad



top 11 songs:

the national & st vincent – sleep all summer (crooked fingers cover)

childish gambino ft. dc pierson – starlight

matt & kim – daylight

kid cudi – pursuit of happiness (nightmare) ft. mgmt & ratatat

casiotone for the painfully alone – white jetta

why? – this blackest purse

edward sharpe & the magnetic zeroes – home

the mountain goats – genesis 3:23

phosphorescent – reasons to quit (willie nelson cover)

dead man’s bones – in the room where you sleep

harlem shakes – strictly game



top shows (concerts):

1. david byrne @prospect park 6.8

2. why? @le poisson rouge 9.26

3. mono @bell house 9.29

4. calvin johnson, ian svenonius (&city center but i missed their set) @92ytribeca 4.17

5. pomegranates, french kicks @bell house 2.21

6. wild moccasins, the loom, cotton jones @union hall 6.20

7. extraordinaires, tavo carbone @union pool 8.17

8. john vanderslice, john darnielle @wordless show, society for ethical culture 2.27

9. suburban kids with biblical names, afternoon naps, icicles @nyc popfest, cake shop 5.17

10. they might be giants @prospect park 7.11



14 more (not in order):

casiotone for the painfully alone, cryptacize @market hotel 7.3

starfucker, mancino @union hall 4.22

pelle carlberg, the drums @union hall 5.30

polka dot dot dot @sidewalk cafe 1.7

the wrens @bell house 4.10

brunettes, throw me the statue @mercury lounge 9.2

black moth super rainbow @seaport 7.24

we became actors @cross-pollination, pianos 7.28

midtown dickens @sidewalk cafe 9.6

brazos, white denim @music hall of williamsburg 11.12

seth kallen, wheat, tally hall @union hall 2.12

ladybug transistor @union hall 8.27

owen @union hall 10.10

woodpecker!, menage a twang @union hall 8.23



top 10 movies:

1. adventureland

2. where the wild things are

3. fantastic mr fox

4. brothers bloom

5. mystery team

6. away we go

7. a serious man

8. big fan

9. a single man

10. inglourious basterds



27 more I loved (roughly in order now, but I change the order every day in my head, so they’re not numbered):

beautiful losers

paper heart

adam

uncertainty

zombieland

antichrist

the road

coraline

still walking

moon

humpday

medicine for melancholy

extract

broken embraces

taking woodstock

the limits of control

pirate radio

up

anvil! the story of anvil

rudo y cursi

white material

tokyo

i love you man

don’t let me drown

an education

thirst

district 9



saw these filmmakers/actors in person promoting their stuff:

mystery team (derrick comedy minus donald glover: dc pierson, dominic dierkes, meggie mcfadden, dan eckman)

white material (director claire denis and a few of the actors did a q&a , then the next day saw her ‘in conversation’ with noah baumbach…also jim jarmusch was there)

dazzle (director cyrus frisch did a q&a)

cold souls (director sophie barthes did a q&a)

rudo y cursi (gael garcia bernal, diego luna, carlos cuaron ‘in conversation’ at the apple store)

teeth (director mitchell lichtenstein did a q&a at a sunshine midnight screening)

deadgirl (co-director gadi harel did a q&a)

don’t let me drown (director cruz angeles and the teen actors introduced the movie. also my good friend timothy thomas cleary contributed music and was there…as was robert redford)



Coolest soundtracks/scores (not in order):

Where The Wild Things Are – Karen O and the Kids

Mystery Team – MCDJ/Childish Gambino/Donald Glover

Don’t Let Me Drown – Timothy Thomas Cleary

The Limits of Control – Boris

Pirate Radio – 60s britpop

Adventureland – 80s indie rock/synthpop

Medicine for Melancholy – melancholic indie pop



There are still a few 2009 movies that I need to catch up on, but I’m making this the cutoff: if I didn’t see them by now, it’ll be too late to make the list retroactively. So sorry, The White Ribbon, Police, Adjective, Crazy Heart, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnarssus, Little Ashes, Disgrace, The Hurt Locker, In the Loop, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Women In Trouble, New York I Love You, Dare, Precious, The Vicious Kind, and My Son My Son What Have Ye Done. (and Mother, Trash Humpers, and Life During Wartime which I missed at the NYFF but I don’t think they’ve even had a limited release yet). BUT they’ll have a chance of showing up on this one next year:



Movies/TV shows I saw for the first time in 2009 that came out earlier, but have since become some of my Favorites:

the wrestler

milk

forgetting sarah marshall

the tv set

they shoot horses, don’t they?

fitzcarraldo

slackers

synechdoche, ny

breakin’ 2: electric boogaloo

young frankenstein, blazing saddles

brazil

boogie nights

the price of milk

soldier’s girl

waltz with bashir

the counterfeiters

barton fink

saw my first mumblecore movies (puffy chair, baghead, humpday) and liked ’em

hitchhikers guide to the galaxy (the tv show)

veronica mars

the state (finally released on dvd)

twin peaks

friday night lights

the life & times of tim



Also my favorite comedy shows I saw (not in order):

live taping of conan o’brien with judah friedlander 2.9

eugene mirman ‘the will to whatevs’ book release show @bell house -with eugene, david cross, john hodgman, kristen schaal, paul f. thompkins, and mr. brownstone 2.10

yacht rock viewing party with the cast @bell house 2.27

michael showalter radio happy hour @le poisson rouge 7.11

michael & michael have issues premiere party @bell house 7.15

the state show @bell house 10.1 – it was really just michaels showalter and ian black and david wain, and they showed clips from the CBS special, played clips from the (soon to be released??) CD and did a little bit of goofing around.

tearing the veil of maya 3rd anniversary show @bell house with john mulaney, eugene, larry murphy, jon glaser as ‘the man in the green mask’ and a kid michael jackson cover band 7.19

the rejection show – book release show for jon friedman’s book ‘rejected’ which became a regular show after this one (pretty sure this was the first). david wain, dave hill, sara schaefer and a bunch of other people read stories @bell house 1.27

whiplash – always lovely but I think my favorite was with baron vaughn and wyatt cenac, @UCB 12.15

big terrific – my first one with gabe liedman ‘n’ jenny slate, max silvestri, matt mccarthy, eugene mirman, pete holmes, kumail nanjiani @cameo gallery 10.21

RISK! hosted by kevin allison @arlene’s grocery – all 4 i went to were fantastic but i particularly loved the one 9.24 with samm levine. joe mande, adam wade, rachel dratch, dave hill, tim ellis and the guy with the kangaroo hunting story all also gave particularly memorable performances on their dates.

eugene mirman comedy festival @bell house 9.17-20 – all the shows i saw but particularly ‘the comedians of law and order’ feat. ad miles, michael showalter, baron vaughn, tom shillue, zak orth, eddie peppitone, jim gaffigan AND also ’10 drink minimum’ that was just a nakedly honest storytelling hour, most memorably by michael showalter and sillily by tony v, hosted by marc maron. Also highlights: daniel kitson, john oliver, reggie watts, kumail nanjiani, hannibal buress, leo allen, todd barry, a cardboard vip booth, and a free ride in a hummer limo to atlantic center and back with complimentary cream soda.

OH ALSO jon benjamin and larry murphy did a pretty amazing anti-comedy aftershow thing (at EMCF) called ‘the perfect storm’ at midnight one night in front of like 15 people in pitch blackness…they made morgan murphy do a set while she lay on her back onstage. matt braunger and hannibal also made some weird attempts at midnight drunk standup. the most weirdly memorable comedy show i’ve ever seen. oh yeah and they invited me onstage (i genuinely forgot that until i typed it) then backstage where i was handed a beer and shown the lobster available on the table. they also provided ‘commentary’ for about the first 10 minutes of the movie ‘the perfect storm’ in boston accents, and danced to a techno song with glow sticks. that one actually wins. best show of the year.



And favorite new tv shows:

1. party down

2. bored to death

3. community

4. delocated

5. parks & recreation (especially season 2 – but season 1 started in ’09 too)

6. eastbound & down

7. the league



Man, congratulations to donald glover for the freakin’ Hat Trick of hitting my Top 5 albums (Childish Gambino), Top 5 movies (Mystery Team), AND Top 5 new TV shows (Community). Way to make the rest of us look bad, dude.

a few other odds and ends:

tv show that almost totally blew my goodwill toward it and ruined my deep love for its earlier episodes by recycling almost EVERY good joke it’s ever made: scrubs : (

best old album i got super into: lou reed-transformer



Okay. Sorry for my haphazard capitalization (and everything else). I guess I listened to less music and watched more movies this year than I have in years past. I’ve kept up with the personal rule that artists I’ve worked with can’t make it onto the top albums/shows list, because how could I possibly rank them against each other, but Hidden People, Tereu Tereu, Sean Walsh, Big Bang TV, and Girls In Trouble: you all have 100% of my heart. What a good first year for The Band Mom!

The end of 2009 was an exciting time for LIFT at RPM, thanks in large part to our friends at Armada Music. 2 of the projects I was promoting for a while are already finished but are actually still also killing it on the Top 40. But 2 of them are still current, so read on!

The biggest name, of course, was Armada flagship (GET IT?? YOU GET IT) artist and co-founder, superstar DJ Armin Van Buuren.

ARMIN VAN BUUREN

UNIVERSAL RELIGION CHAPTER 4

Armada

RPM Add Date: 10/26/09

After grabbing the #4 RPM Most Added slot, dude spent 7 full weeks on the RPM Top 40, peaking at #18. Even though the push for this one is officially through, it did still make a strong showing on the chart last week, so maybe IT’S not done with US?!

The next one came from the insane hard dance/techno theatrics of German band Scooter.

SCOOTER

UNDER THE RADAR OVER THE TOP

Napith Music

RPM Add Date: 11/2/09

That one just finished up last week, peaking at #20 after achieving #4 Most Added and spending a total of 5 weeks on the RPM Top 40 chart.

And then of course, our two currents: the elder (campaign-wise) being Laurent Wolf.

LAURENT WOLF

RITMO DYNAMIC

Napith Music

RPM Add Date: 11/16/09

Our French house/electro/tribal house DJ just made his debut on the RPM Top 40 last week, after a #3 Most Added slot in November: but an auspicious debut it was, at #18!

Last but not least, German trance DJ Markus Schulz.

MARKUS SCHULZ

WORLD TOUR BEST OF 2009

Napith Music/Armada

RPM Add Date: 11/30/09

This one is closest to its early stages of its run (thanks to that 5-week holiday break we just had), so it makes sense that after grabbing a #4 Most Added slot, it just made its debut this last week as well, at #33.

Armada Music is a Dutch label known for its excellence in trance and house releases, and it’s been a real pleasure getting to work with these four artists for them.

Armada + LIFT = good times! Jump on board if you’re one of the few who haven’t already, RPM!! You can contact me for more info/links to full album/remix downloads.

I haven’t posted about this band yet, but it’s not like this LIFT + The Band Mom co-venture has needed the help.

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are some Danish popsters who are getting ready to take over the world. When I saw them in November at a swanky hotel party, the house was PACKED with beautiful people (I almost didn’t even get in thanks to my flip flops – true story). Aside from their fun live shows or hearing them blowing up the college radio airwaves, you’ll probably recognize their song “Around the Bend” from an ipod commercial that aired last year.

THE ASTEROIDS GALAXY TOUR

FRUIT

Small Giants

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour are Lars Iversen and Mette Lindberg. Live, the band grow to a six-piece featuring Mads Brinch Nielsen (guitar, keys), Rasmus Valldorf (drums) and horn section, Miloud Carl Sabri (trumpet) and Svend Meinild (sax).

The debut album ‘Fruit’ is out now on Small Giants Records.

“superb jangly pop… the best Danish export since bacon.” 8/10 – NME

RIYL: Santigold, Caesars, Beck, iPod commercials

Start With: 7, 1, 10 FCC CLEAN

The album’s been on the CMJ Top 200 chart for 7 weeks now, plus scoring #17 Most Added (on the Top 20 Adds chart) in its add week. It peaked (twice!) at #67, and even hit #80 this last week after a 5-week no-charting holiday break AFTER its successful campaign was assumed to have come to a close. Like I said you guys. KILLING IT!

LIFT had a contest going on for a while where you could win free copies of their special-edition CD. I bet if you ask them nicely they could still find one for you to grab!

http://www.myspace.com/theasteroidsgalaxytour

My ninth official Band Mom album (or fifth solo, non-LIFT co-venture) is INCREDIBLE, you guys. I cannot believe my luck that someone else didn’t snatch this up before I got to them. I knew the bass player, Aaron Hartman, from when I worked with his other band, Old Time Relijun, through my old employer. BUT this band is nothing like OTR. It’s helmed by the beautiful Alicia Jo Rabins, who spent years in Israel studying Jewish texts and came away with these ten stories about women from those texts; she tells them from a feminist perspective couched in truly breathtaking tunes.

For more info, JDub has a beautiful press page up, but for starters, here is an easy bullet point list of all the unbelievably awesome things about this Girls In Trouble record:

– it’s a set of songs about Biblical women told from a feminist perspective in a K Records-type style of music/songwriting.

-music sounds like St. Vincent, Alicia’s voice sounds like Regina Spektor, lyrics reminiscent of The Mountain Goats’ writing style.

-Features Aaron Hartman of Old Time Relijun on the bass.

-Cover art by Arrington de Dionyso, also of OTR

-released on JDub Records.

-recorded by Scott Solter (Spoon, The Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice, St. Vincent)

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

HOWEVER: this album had a very limited physical release, and I could only get a tiny number to send out to you sweethearts at college radio. So if you didn’t get a hard copy, please don’t be offended, but if it is at all possible please DO download it!!! I promise it will be worth it. Contact me for the link!

GIRLS IN TROUBLE

GIRLS IN TROUBLE

JDub

At first listen, Girls in Trouble projects an upbeat, care free indie-folk feel which carries each track from beginning to end. What’s less apparent is the underlying concept: telling the stories of obscure Biblical women through a song cycle. Lushly produced, and artfully arranged with strings, upright bass, and electric guitar, the self-titled debut LP will be released October 27, 2009 on JDub Records.

Girls in Trouble is the songwriting debut of multi-instrumentalist Alicia Jo Rabins, who performs all vocals, guitar parts and string sections for the album. Alicia marries her classical training and folk-punk sensitivity to her penchant for Jewish literature, mysticism and history. The result: pop hooks grounded in experimentation, subtle musicianship and a taste for ruminative lyrics.

Alicia began playing music at age 3, and advanced to play violin in conservatory programs and chamber groups before moving on to poetry, in which she holds an MFA. Disenchanted with poetry by a series of downtown internships and cocktail parties, Alicia escaped to Jerusalem in search of spiritual grounding. After two years studying ancient Jewish texts, Alicia returned to New York and created Girls in Trouble, a synthesis of her explorations in music, poetry and mystical literature.

In the tradition of Leonard Cohen and Joanna Newsom, Alicia’s music draws the listener into a world of poetry, intimacy and violence. Her songs draw from ancient material, yet remain deeply personal; her performance is raw, naked, and unbound. In “Snow,” spiders and scorpions crawl up to comfort Miriam, Moses’ sister, who has been exiled and struck with leprosy. In “Mountain,” a nameless child rushes out to greet her father as he returns from battle—only to learn about his vow to sacrifice the first creature he sees.

For the LP, Alicia lured three of her closest friends to the studio with the promise of bourbon. The full band includes Aaron Hartman (Old Time Relijun, K Records) on upright bass, Tim Monaghan on drums and Jascha Hoffman on keys and glockenspiel. Together, they traveled to rural North Carolina and spilled their guts and Alicia’s dynamic arrangements onto two-inch tape with the help of Scott Solter (Spoon, The Mountain Goats, Okkervil River).

RIYL: St. Vincent, Regina Spektor, The Mountain Goats, Joanna Newsom

Start With:  3, 6, 4, 5, 1 FCC CLEAN

Contact me for a download link!

This record went for adds on 11/2 and has been getting some great feedback so far, but hasn’t quite hit a chart yet. So this is the week!! Also, it’s been getting some incredible press!! Check out some awesome high-profile reviews at Heeb Magazine, AOL Spinner, and AbsolutePunk. Also this video of Alicia performing “Hunter” with her trademark beautiful violin looping was featured on YouTube’s music spotlight for two days.

Also, they are going on tour! Facebook events here (Southeast, this week) and here (San Francisco, next week). Myspace with info here. Dates here!

Wednesday Dec 2: Baltimore @ Cyclops

Thursday Dec 3: Takoma Park/DC/Northern VA, LOOKING FOR A VENUE (w/Jupiter Rex)

Friday Dec 4: Carrboro NC @ Leo Gaev Metalworks, 102B Lloyd St. (shopwarming concert, with poetry smorgasbord and GIT set)

Saturday Dec 5: Atlanta, GA @ Highland Ballroom (w/Meeks Family)

Sunday Dec 6: Asheville, NC @ Posana (w/Pilgrim and A Copper Crow)

Friday Dec 12: underground San Francisco show @ Socha (w/Jascha vs Jascha)

Saturday Dec 13: big San Francisco show @ Contemporary Jewish Museum of SF (Chanukah party, w/Charming Hostess and others)

FUN!!!! You should definitely go. It was a show a few months ago that convinced me I NEEDED to work with this band, and their record release show last month (with Franz Nicolay opening) was equally incredible. Here and here and here are some videos I took.

http://www.myspace.com/girlsintroublemusic

http://blog.jdubrecords.org/category/girls-in-trouble/

http://jdubrecords.org/press/girlsintrouble/index.php

yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!!!!

My sixth official Band Mom album (second from The Band Mom + LIFT) is almost done with its Top 200 campaign, and I haven’t even gotten a chance to tell you about it yet! It could use some extra loving in this final week, so read on!

The Invisible Kid hails from NYC – but he actually came to us through the RPM director of Tucson, Arizona’s illustrious KXCI. Corbin Dooley, aside from holding down the electronic music department at that station (as well as having graduated from my alma mater Wake Forest, as it turns out!), also runs his own record label: Bikiniwax Records. This release reminds me quite a bit of the Secret Machines at times: distorted, ethereal, electronic post-punk music. Plus he does tons of awesome remixes, by artists like The Faint, The Helio Sequence and Friendly Fires!

THE INVISIBLE KID

THE ENTRANCE

Bikiniwax

The Invisible Kid is the brainchild of New York City-based producer/ songwriter/ performer Daniel Lee. The music is a mixture of 80’s new wave, 90’s indie and shoegazer textures, and modern electronic/mashup situations. “The Invisible Kid” debut self-titled EP was released on November 29, 2005 and was followed by an assortment of remix work in 2006.

In 2002, Daniel Lee completed a remix for seminal UK trip-hop/electronic artists, the Sneaker Pimps, on their international single release for “Sick”, which received national radio airplay. Under The Invisible Kid moniker, he has most recently completed remixes of Pittsburgh-based band Shade; the DC-based outfit Soft Complex; Portland, Maine’s Paranoid Social Club; Detroit, Michigan soul/funk master Nadir; fellow New York City shoegaze outfits Autumn Thieves, Elika, Soundpool, Dead Leaf Echo, and Project Skyward; and British artists SOKI2U and Laurence Colbert (formerly of the seminal group Ride).

This year has a lot in store for Daniel Lee and The Invisible Kid project, as The Invisible Kid’s second record – “The Entrance” – was released to the masses.

“…his Oxford influences and Manchester sensibilities have forged a bond on the floor of his basement studio, somewhere between the production sized talents of his electronic mind and his subterranean love for white-noise theatrics.”

–Gordon Sharp, JEZEBELMUSIC.COM 

RIYL: Secret Machines, New Order, Air, MGMT

Start With: 13, 3, 10, 7 FCC CLEAN

Contact me for a download link!

This thing went for adds on 9/28, and it’s gained a steady and growing following since then. But it has yet to make it onto the Top 200 chart! Each week it squeaks by JUST under the level it needs, like just one or two more stations would make all the difference. Let’s not let this one slip through the cracks, it’s a very cool album and doesn’t deserve to be the only thing I’ve worked all year that doesn’t hit a chart!

Also: for a limited time, you can download remixes of the hit single “Sometimes” here! Enjoy! 

http://www.myspace.com/theinvisiblekid

http://www.theinvisiblekid.com/

Okay you guys, so one more week. LET’S DO THIS!!!!

It’s my fourth solo-Band-Mom project! and it RULES!!

This was the first Band Mom band I didn’t initially meet through friends (although we did turn out to have plenty of mutual friends once we talked, including my beloved Tereu Tereu): I just saw Big Bang TV play a show (at one of my favorite venues, Union Hall); and I loved it so much I approached them afterward. And somehow convinced them to hire me! I am so glad. They are so good!

BIG BANG TV

BIG BANG TV

Self-Released

Big Bang TV is what happens when four people who can’t agree on anything try to make music. Matt is a singer/songwriter, Scott is a hip/hop DJ and producer, Joe was metal drummer turned electronic musician, Andrea’s last gig was playing accordion for a female folk trio. They’re influenced by everything from Tortoise to The Pixies to Stravinski to DJ Shadow.

Frantic, post-punk guitars stumble in and out of pools of atari synth and turntable chirps on the band’s self-titled debut. Male/female vocals lazily dance around each other before being swept up by a driving break beat and booming bass.

It’s music that is both catchy and complex, intimate and epic, comforting yet a little creepy.

“powerful and beautiful…cohesive yet multifaceted post-punk-pop. Big Bang TV is for those who enjoy Pavement’s reckless melodies and Enon’s edgy sound. Their song “Hollywood”, with its contagious melody and its ever changing musical background, has the potential to be a college radio hit.” – The Deli Magazine “NYC Artist to Watch”

RIYL: Phoenix, Cold War Kids, Broken Social Scene

Start With:  1, 3, 8, 9     FCC: 2, 6

Contact me for a download link!

The record went for adds a couple weeks ago (on 9/21), and it’s off to a great start. Everyone is lovin’ it, and with good reason – it’s really great! We just barely missed sneaking onto the charts last week, so let’s make this the week!

Also, last week (9/25) I was lucky enough to make it out to their record release show at Southpaw. They were awesome, and they played a Britney Spears cover.

And now you have the chance to see it for yourself! They just hit the road a few days ago, and are quite possibly coming to a city near you. Radio kids, please let me know if you’re interested in having them come in for an instudio, do a phone interview, send some extra CDs as giveaways to promote your show – whatever it is, they are DOWN!!

10.6 – TBA – Buffalo, NY

10.7 – Oberlin College – Oberlin, OH

10.8 – The Crofoot – Pontiac, MI

10.9 – The Hideout (w/ Serengeti & Kid Static!) – Chicago, IL

10.10 – The Bishop – Bloomington, IN

10.11- TBD – anybody wanna help w/this date??

10.12 – Go Bar (w/ Fire Zuave) – Athens, GA

10.14 – Clemson University – Clemson, SC

10.15 – The Evening Muse (w/ Jupiter One!) – Charlotte, NC

10.16 – The Camel (w/ Bellflur and Cubscout and the Rhinocerus) – Richmond, VA

10.17 – Iota (w/ Jupiter One and Bellflur) – Arlington, VA

http://www.myspace.com/bigbangtv

http://www.bigbangtv.tv/