12/20/09 Playlist

Hope you enjoyed The Jackhammer guest hosting Campus Buzz tonight - she'll be hosting for one of the upcoming shows in January.

NEXT WEEK: Campus Buzz's "Best of 2009" show, featuring some of CB's favorite new songs from the year and excerpts from several interviews from 2009 - Decemberists, Red Collar and more! Same great time (8 pm Sunday), same great station - 89.5 FM WSOU / www.wsou.net!

Here's tonight's playlist:

1. Cast Spells x2 - Glamorous Glowing/Pioneer Scalps
2. The Faint - Some Incriminating Photographs
3. Fleet Foxes x2 - White Winter Hymnal/Ragged Wood
4. Guster - Amsterdam
5. Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
6. Minus the Bear - Pachuka Sunrise
7. The Flaming Lips x2 - The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song/See The Leaves
8. Jenny Lewis - Black Sand
9. Rilo Kiley - Capturing Moods
10. Beirut - Postcards from Italy
11. The Shins - Australia
12. Feist - Mushaboom (Postal Service Remix)
13. Vampire Weekend - Cousins
14. Tilly and the Wall - Bessa
15. Of Montreal - An Eluardian Instance
16. Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
17. Animal Collective - Brother Sport
18. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Dragon Queen
19. Air - Once Upon a Time
20. Black Keys - Psychotic Girl
21. Beck - Gamma Ray
22. LCD Soundsystem - Time To Get Away
23. MGMT - Electric Feel
24. Neon Indian - Terminally Chill
25. Passion Pit x2 - Sleepyhead/Better Things

12/12/09 Playlist

Amsterdam - Guster
Same Old Thing - Black Keys
Prizefighter - Eels
These Are The Fables - The New Pornographers
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris - Morrissey
Don't Haunt This Place - Rural Alberta Advantage
Home - Gordon Gano & The Ryans
Sierra - Cursive
Black River Killer - Blitzen Trapper
Crying Lightning - Arctic Monkeys
Watching the Planets - Flaming Lips
Santa Left A Booger In My Stocking - Aqua Teen Hunger Force f/ Neko Case
Valley Winter Song - Fountains of Wayne
Angeline - Howlies
Angels We Have Heard On High - Sufjan Stevens
What Child Is This Anyway - Sufjan Stevens
Daniel - Bat For Lashes
Rust Belt Heart - Red Collar
Turn the Dirt Over - Sea Wolf
Mientras La Veo Sonar - Rx Bandits
The Drowned - The Decemberists
Acid Tongue - Jenny Lewis
The Captain - Ingram Hill
Say Please - Monsters of Folk
These Roads Don't Move - Jay Ferrar and Benjamin Gibbard
The End of the World - The Cure

12/6/09 Playlist

After Hours - We Are Scientists
Off The Record - My Morning Jacket
Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
Albatross, Albatross, Albatross - Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
Audience - Cold War Kids
Man in the Sand - Gordon Gano & The Ryans
Dashboard - Modest Mouse
Autumn Beds - Modest Mouse
I Saw Three Ships - Sufjan Stevens
Santa Left A Booger In My Stocking - Aqua Teen Hunger Force's Meatwad f/ Neko Case
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Bright Eyes
Christmas at the Zoo - The Flaming Lips
California Queen - Wolfmother
Resistance - Muse
The Girl Got Hot - Weezer
Come Downstairs & Say Hello - Guster
The Crane Wife 1 & 2 - The Decemberists
American Regular - McGowan
Bend & Break - Keane
Bedshaped - Keane
Breathing Fire - Red Wire Black Wire
I Wonder Who We Are - The Clientele
Oslo Novelist - Grand Archives
Line In the Sand - Zox
Yeah Sapphire - The Hold Steady
Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - The Polyphonic Spree
The Beat Goes On - Ima Robot

11/22/09 Playlist

Here's the 11/22/09 playlist:

Dashboard - Modest Mouse
Autumn Beds - Modest Mouse
M79 - Vampire Weekend
Wake Up - Arcade Fire
The Walls Are Coming Down (Live) - Fanfarlo
Against All Odds - Postal Service
Audience - Cold War Kids
I Start To Run - White Denim
Two - Ryan Adams
Born Again - Cory Chisel
Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
The Drowned - The Decemberists
Meet Me On The Equinox - Death Cab For Cutie
My Lonesome Only Friend - Rx Bandits
It's Only Another Parsec - Rx Bandits
The Sandman, The Brakeman & Me - Monsters of Folk
Angeline - Howlies
I Want You To Know - Dinosaur Jr.
DC Comics & A Chocolate Milkshake - Art Brut
Learn to Crawl - Julie the Band
Munich - Editors
Pilgrim - Red Collar

Flaming Lips/Pink Floyd, Steel Train/Holidays

First off, here's a link to that KCRW Flaming-Lips-covers-Pink-Floyd clip:

The Flaming Lips cover Pink Floyd's "Eclipse" (MP3)

Also, I'm going to send you over to StarBeat for some cool stuff:

Steel Train announce holiday shows at Maxwell's!



Lastly, I got some feedback about the cheeky Neko Case/Meatwad duet I played in the first hour of tonight's show. Some of you hated it, some of you loved it, but I think we can all agree a little levity does us some good. Here's a stream of it, plus one other from the Aqua Teen Christmas collection.

11/15/09 Playlist

Hey everyone,

Here's this week's playlist:

Supernatural Superserious - REM
California Queen - Wolfmother
New Moon Rising - Wolfmother
I Know What I Am - Band of Skulls
Whatever Happened to Cory Haim? - The Thrills
All Is Love - Karen O
Santa Left a Booger In My Stocking - Neko Case (f/ Meatwad)
Too Fake - Hockey
Pale Bride - Von Bondies
I Got Mine - Black Keys
MK Ultra - Muse
Radio Song - The Felice Brothers
Holland - Sufjan Stevens
Oslo Novelist - Grand Archives
Mientras La Veo Sonar - Rx Bandits
Eclipse (Pink Floyd cover) - The Flaming Lips
Don't Haunt This Place - The Rural Alberta Advantage
Daniel - Bat For Lashes
Meet Me On The Equinox - Death Cab For Cutie
A Lack Of Color - Death Cab for Cutie
Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine
I Want You To - Weezer
Broken Bones - Birds of Tokyo
The Darkest Side - Middle East
Human - The Killers
Valerie Plame - The Decemberists
Little Red Light - Fountains of Wayne
In Order - Halloween, Alaska
Animal - Miike Snow
Derelict - Beck

11/8/09 Playlist

New Moon Rising - Wolfmother
She's Electric - Oasis
Digsy's Diner - Oasis
Like It Too Much - Kaiser Chiefs
Razor Blade - The Strokes
You Never Know - Wilco
Wrong - Depeche Mode
Unconditional - The Bravery
The End of the World - The Cure
These Roads Don't Move - Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard
Born Again - Cory Chisel
United States of Eurasia - Muse
The Commuter - Red Collar
The Captain - Guster
The Girl Got Hot - Weezer
Always Where I Need To Be - The Kooks
Tame - The Pixies
Say Please - Monsters of Folk
Autumn Beds - Modest Mouse
Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All) - The Decemberists
On A Day Like Today - Keane
Keep the Car Running - Arcade Fire
Wake Up - Arcade Fire
Watching the Planets - The Flaming Lips
Swagger - Vox Jaguars
Staying Alive - Cursive
You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds f/ Regina Spektor
St. Isabelle - Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman
Go To Sleep - Radiohead
Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Mstrkrft Remix)

11/1/09 Playlist

Fields of Coal - ...Trail of Dead
Man on the Moon - REM
Light of the Morning - Band of Skulls
Convinced of the Hex - The Flaming Lips
I Wonder Who We Are - The Clientele
Virus of Silence - Rx Bandits
There There - Radiohead
Paranoid Android - Radiohead
The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me - Monsters of Folk
Phoenix - Wolfmother
Prizefighter - Eels
Meet Me At The Equinox - Death Cab For Cutie
Only to Haunt You - Von Bondies
The Walls Are Falling Down - Fanfarlo
Broken Bones - Birds of Tokyo
The Commuter - Red Collar
Sing Sang Sung - Air
United States of Eurasia - Muse
The Rake's Song - The Decemberists
The Shankhill Butchers - The Decemberists
Scarecrow - Beck
GfC - Albert Hammond, Jr.
Anchors Dropped - Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
Cross Bones Style - Cat Power
Doing Time - Super Satellite
I Got Mine - Black Keys
Rebellion - Arcade Fire

10/25/09 Playlist

Hey Everyone!

Over It - Dinosaur Jr.
Crying Lightning - Arctic Monkeys
Daylight - Matt & Kim
Irish Blood, English Heart - Morrissey
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris - Morrissey
Cities Burning Down - Howling Bells
Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
Barrel of a Gun - Guster
Running Away - The Polyphonic Spree
My Heart Would Be There - Cory Chisel
Say Please - Monsters of Folk
Black River Killer - Blitzen Trapper
Luna - Fanfarlo
Rust Belt Heart - Red Collar
If The Brakeman Turns My Way - Bright Eyes
I Wonder Who We Are - The Clientele
I Want You To - Weezer
Too Fake - Hockey
These Are My Twisted Words - Radiohead
Autumn Beds - Modest Mouse
Resistance - Muse
All We Have Is Now - The Flaming Lips
The 13th - The Cure
Nothing Better - Postal Service
Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2 - My Morning Jacket
Off The Record - My Morning Jacket
O Valencia! - The Decemberists
After Hours - We Are Scientists

10/11/09 Playlist

Here's the 10/11/09 playlist:

Morning Glory - Oasis
New Moon Rising - Wolfmother
Pilgrim - Red Collar
DC Comics and a Chocolate Milkshake - Art Brut
Too Fake - Hockey
Shimmer & Shine - Ben Harper and the Relentless Seven
Wake Up - Arcade Fire
St. Isabelle - Tom Morello, The Nightwatchman
Train Under Water - Bright Eyes
I Think I'm In Love - Beck
Map of the Problematique - Muse
Uprising - Muse
Paranoid Android - Radiohead
Black River Killer - Blitzentrapper
Ghosts - Fanfarlo
Crane Wife 1 & 2 - The Decemberists
Portions of Foxes - Rilo Kiley
Closer - Kings of Leon
Say Please - Monsters of Folk
Autumn Beds - Modest Mouse
Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs


Congrats to all giveaway winners! Enjoy Emilie Autumn and Minus the Bear - call in next week and let us know how the shows were!

10/4/09 Playlist

Pieces - Dinosaur Jr.
Uprising - Muse
Same Old Thing - Black Keys
I Want You To - Weezer
History Stickes To Your Feet - Modest Mouse
Born Again - Cory Chisel
New Moon Rising - Wolfmother
Supernatural Superserious - REM
The Sandman, The Brakeman & Me - Monsters of Folk
Your Heart Is An Empty Room - Death Cab For Cutie
Meet Me At The Equinox - Death Cab For Cutie
Oslo Novelist - Grand Archives
It's The Sun - Polyphonic Spree
Sixteen Military Wives - The Decemberists
Learn To Lose - Hockey
Forget the Bees - Red Wire Black Wire
I'm Not Your Toy - La Roux
Tonight Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
All Kinds of Time - Fountains of Wayne
The Breaking of Waves - Stars of Track & Field
Crying Lightning - Arctic Monkeys
GfC - Albert Hammond, Jr.
After Hours - We Are Scientists
The Relator - Scarlett Johannson/Pete Yorn
Prizefighter - Eels
Luciana - Rural Alberta Advantage
Backyard - Guster
Irish Blood English Heart - Morrissey
Scarecrow - Beck
District Sleeps Alone Tonight - Postal Service
Munich - Editors
Fight Test - The Flaming Lips
Yeah Yeah Yeah Song - The Flaming Lips
The Lights Are On In Spider Town - Tom Morello, The Nightwatchman

9/27/09 Playlist

Thanks to Chris from Super Satellite for coming up tonight! Remember, come to Seton Hall next Saturday from 11 am - 5 pm to see all of the bands that Street Patrol and Campus Buzz have been interviewing the past few weeks. To check them out:

www.supersatellite.org
www.myspace.com/supersatellitemusic

----

Here's tonight's playlist. New stuff (and older stuff that we added this week) in orange:

I Do I Don't - Super Satellite
Sleepwalking - Super Satellite
Cover Me - Super Satellite
Doing Time - Super Satellite
Turns Me On - Super Satellite
Meditate - Super Satellite
Black Mirror - Arcade Fire
Black River Killer - Blitzentrapper
Big Sur - The Thrills
I'm Amazed - My Morning Jacket
Valerie Plame - The Decemberists
The Drowned - The Decemberists
Born Again - Cory Chisel
New Moon Rising - Wolfmother
So Hi So Lo - Matisyahu
I Want You To - Weezer
Impossible - Band of Skulls
All Is Love - Karen O
Meet Me At The Equinox - Death Cab for Cutie
Too Fake - Hockey
We Dance Alone - Beck
Ready For The Floor - Hot Chip

Talk to you next week! 8-10 pm as always! Plus, come on out for University Day. Lots of WSOU people will be there, and it's all free! For more info: http://www.shu.edu/events/university-day.cfm

9/21 - Decemberists (with Laura Viers) @ The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ

Decemberists 9/21 – Wellmont Theater (Montclair, NJ)

I managed to catch The Decemberists Monday night, and like fine wines and some cheeses, it got better with age.

Having never seen the Decemberists in concert before, this was a fantastic way to get to know them live. The show was broken into two sets, plus a two-song encore that included an acoustic preview of a new song (mumbled as “January Moon” or something similar).

The First Set: complete play-through of “The Hazards of Love”, and it included guests Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond) and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) as the damsel Margaret and fierce diva Queen characters. The second set was a mixed bag of old-school Decemberists songs, from Crane Wife, Castaways & Cutouts, and plenty more.

The first half marched forward like a fairly well-oiled machine. There were some sound oddities (levels were potted up late - sometimes 15 seconds late!) here and there, but the roadies scampered out to hand off guitars, change mics and generally keep the seven performers going for the hour-long epic. And it impressed, mostly – what sonic highs and lows get lost on the compressed album came across like a freight train onstage. Becky Stark’s vocals were powerful (something untrue about the album’s mastering), the numerous repetitions of the “Wanting Comes In Waves” themes seemed to bust through the Wellmont’s dome, and five of the seven players busting out sticks and drumming their way through “The Rake’s Song” was a sonic and visual peak that felt like Polyphonic Spree, circa 1873.



On a sidenote, something else that was quite personal to me: the epilogue track (“Hazards of Love 4 – The Drowned”) was never a favorite of mine, but it gained new resonance for me after seeing it onstage – the crowd that applauded the finale quickly sobered when Colin and Becky reminded everyone that their characters were to be reunited in death. No matter how much the crowd wanted to respond, the story had to finish itself. Thus is the purpose of the epilogue.

The stage play between “characters” was minimal, and I honestly expected a little more. Granted, Colin was playing his guitar, but Becky/Margaret mostly spun around onstage like she was looking to fill the repetitive phrases of the opus. Shara’s performance as the queen was flapper-esque and full of diva quality – subtle nuances of her relationships with other characters shined through… all while she danced and strutted in giant heels.

In general though, what comes across as an oddity record to some gains new significance onstage. For those who loved the album, it still grows onstage, though someone like me who appreciates concerts for their visual spectacle may have felt a bit shortchanged by their lack-of-showiness. Crowd reaction was phenomenal for the first set overall, which means I'm probably just too stuck in my critic mindset!

The Second Set: Fun for all – sing-alongs, new tunes, “O Valencia”, “Engine Driver”, and possibly some Jersey love/hate… it started to drag after a while, mostly because a few songs were duds, judging by crowd reaction.

After over 2.5 hours the group finally finished up, so with their opener (the lovely Laura Viers and her Hall of Flames were a catchy bunch) the whole shindig ran 3.5 hours. And honestly, it was well worth it.



I left the Wellmont that night without much of an opinion - I think I was tired from a long show. As I started to realize exactly what transpired onstage that night, it started to grow on me. Sure, there were some glitches and cracks, but even if I disregarded their other plusses and just count the sonic benefits their live shows have over their recorded material, it was a worthwhile show. I’ll gladly see them again at first chance – just give me a little more legroom if I'm in the seats.


Lows:

-Not very visual at times - much like watching old-time radio actors do their performance. Because it was a sonic tale, the visual spectacle had some really big lulls
-As a result of the lulls in “Hazards”, awkward-feeling dances from the two guest performers felt painful
-“Alright, they’re finished playing… time to… no wait, there’s more? Okay… NOW they’re done… nope, wait! Oh, now they’re doing an encore? One song? No, two?” (Make up your mind, Decemberists! Don’t say “one more” when you mean at least a half dozen!)
-Wellmont balcony seats are not built for people who are six feet tall. Theories about the human race growing taller over time must be true.

Highs:

-For what it’s worth, their performance did have some great visual highs to match their sonic ones - The Queen, "The Rake's Song", and the vivid greens at the beginning and end.
-Chris Funk's pedal steel guitar - never had it jumped out at me on the album as much as it did onstage. It's beautiful.
-Colin Meloy’s playful relationship with the audience – from getting them singing, to telling them stories, to shouting down a guy who shouted up a silly request, he was not snooty as I had been previously led to believe. Nice suspenders too, dude.
-Seeing an age range from about 14 to 65 that included hippies, biker dudes, NPR nerds, college students and a guy that looked like he was from the new Where the Wild Things Are movie. ROCK!


Overall: 4/5 stars

(PS: I will do my best to air the Chris Funk interview this Sunday - I may have a live interview this week too, so it'll be a chock-full Campus Buzz! Tune in! 8-10 PM this Sunday!)

Sorry folks

So, SHU men's soccer ran long tonight due to overtimes. The Chris Funk interview will air next Sunday.

No playlist for tonight either, because nothing was played. We'll pick this up where we left off next week.

Decemberists!

Alright, here's the skinny:

1) I spoke for a short while with Chris Funk of the The Decemberists this afternoon. The interview will air on tonight's Campus Buzz!

2) ...Campus Buzz will be delayed tonight. WSOU Sports' broadcast of men's soccer will preempt the show until the 9 pm hour - sit tight and don't go away though, because you'll hear the Chris Funk interview AND...

3) You will have the chance to win Decemberists tickets! This Monday night's show at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. Did a giveaway on my Twitter feed earlier this week, but I've got more to give away tonight! (So don't touch your dials!)

There you have it. Tickets, interviews and soccer tonight on WSOU. If you miss the interview, I'll try to post it online ASAP!

-S

Decemberists Ticket Giveaway

WSOU has come into some tickets for the 9/21 (Next Monday's) Decemberists show at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ.

If you want them, keep your eyes peeled here (and follow me/the station on Twitter - @WSOU + @WSOUScarecrow) and I'll get you the details soon.

9/13/09 Playlist

Great new music this week! The fall album release cycle has peaked, because we've been getting so much music in the past few weeks (our Weezer single has gone missing though!?)

Anyways, let's do this. The 9/13/09 playlist. New songs in orange:

Unconditional - The Bravery
I Got Mine - Black Keys
Don't Haunt This Place - The Rural Alberta Advantage
The Commuter - Red Collar
The Walls Are Tumbling Down - Fanfarlo
Cornerstone - Arctic Monkeys
Over It - Dinosaur Jr.
Black River Killer - Blitzentrapper
Dakota - Steel Train
The W.A.N.D. - The Flaming Lips
Daylight - Matt & Kim
Hollow Man - REM
Oslo Novelist - Grand Archives
One Day - Matisyahu
Lucky - Radiohead
Go To Sleep - Radiohead
Nothing to Worry About - Peter Bjorn & John
The Sandman, The Brakeman & Me - Monsters of Folk
The Moneymaker - Rilo Kiley
Night Falls - Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman
Saint Isabelle - Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman
Younger Yesterday - The Polyphonic Spree
Burnt Like The Sun - Cross Canadian Ragweed
Too Fake - Hockey
War Bells - Royal Bangs
Fa Fa - Guster
Today - Smashing Pumpkins
O Valencia - The Decemberists
Off the Record - My Morning Jacket

9/4/

Trivia: Besides Raggedy Annie, what was out-of-the-ordinary about last night's Campus Buzz?

9/6/2009

Light of the Morning - Band of Skulls
Impossible - Band of Skulls
These Are My Twisted Words - Radiohead
Swagger - Vox Jaguars
Soul Singer in a Session Band - Bright Eyes
Firecracker - Steel Train
The Walls Are Coming Down - Fanfarlo
Comin' Home - Murder By Death
Bug Eyes - Dredg
Get Up And Go - The Polyphonic Spree
Anchors Dropped - Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
Born Again - Cory Chisel
Pilgrim - Red Collar
Prizefighter - Eels
Only to Haunt You - Von Bondies
Closer - Kings of Leon
In Order - Halloween, Alaska
Fields of Coal - ...Trail of Dead
Chimera - Howlies
Uprising - Muse
Lovers in Japan - Coldplay
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris - Morrissey
I Couldn't Love You - Cursive
Valerie Plame - Decemberists
Annan Water - Decemberists
Carpetbaggers - Jenny Lewis f/ Elvis Costello
Shock of the Lightning - Oasis
Brother Sport - Animal Collective

Raggedy Annie's last CB playlist!

Here's the 8/30/09 playlist (all picked by Raggedy Annie on her last Campus Buzz show!)

Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine
Not a Through Street - Anya Marina
Falling Slowly -The Frames
Turn Out The Light - New Amsterdams
You Hurt Me Still - William Fitzsimmons
Skinny Love - Bon Iver
Ballad on 3rd Avenue - Ed Hale
Give A Little Love - Noah & The Whale
Cast No Shadow - Oasis
Honest - Band of Skulls
The Book I Write - Spoon
Angeline - Howlies
One Man Wrecking Machine - Guster
She Moves In Her Own Way - The Kooks
Lilac Breeze - Eels
After Hours - We Are Scientists
Dry the Rain - The Beta Band
Pieces - Dinosaur Jr.
Munich - Editors
The Commuter - Red Collar
If You're Wondering If I Want You To (I Want You To) - Weezer
Crying Lightning - Arctic Monkeys
This Is The New Year - Death Cab for Cutie
Futures - Jimmy Eat World

We say a VERY sad but VERY warm & optimistic farewell to Raggedy Annie as she ends her time on Campus Buzz. Best of luck in all your endeavors! Tune in on Saturday 9/19 for her last show! It'll be a great time!

8/23/09

8/23/09

(REMINDER: Next week we're back to 8 pm because of the return of Pirate Primetime!)
(REMINDER 2: It's Raggedy Annie's last Campus Buzz next week! Call up with your well-wishes and requests! 8-10 pm next Sunday!)

Light of the Morning - Band of Skulls
Death by Diamonds & Pearls - Band of Skulls
Noah & the Whale The Features
Don't Wanna Cry - Pete Yorn
With All My Heart - Clem Snide
Lost Cause - Beck
The Walls Are Coming Down - Fanfarlo
Rain on Tin - Sonic Youth
In My Dreams - Eels
Confessor - Annuals
Don't Haunt This Place - The Rural Alberta Advantage
Say Please - Monsters of Folk
Newfound Mass - The Get Up Kids
Ballad on Third Avenue - Ed Hale
Taverns - Historics
Light and Day - The Polyphonic Spree
Over It - Dinosaur Jr.
I Like What You Say - Nada Surf
Jupiter Crash - The Cure
Black River Killer - Blitzentrapper
Headdress - Amazing Baby
She's Electric - Oasis
Two Birds - Regina Spektor
Chimaira - Howlies
Human - The Killers
Michael & Heather and the Baggage Claim - Fountains of Wayne
If You Would Come Back Home - William Fitzsimmons
Fields of Coal - Trail of Dead
Reruns - Holiday Shores
The Commuter - Red Collar
Love It All - The Kooks
Bend & Break - Keane
Lifeboats - Snow Patrol
Map of the Problematique - Muse
Sound of Settling - Death Cab for Cutie
Soul Meets Body - Death Cab for Cutie
Sleepwalking - The Jaguar Club
Death to the Storm - Joe Henry
No Cars Go - Arcade Fire

Something Catchy

There's something about this song that reminds me of what made music from the 50s and the 60s so great. It contains elements of pop but a kind of pop that doesn't get irritating. Its a little bit Beach Boys and its a little bit of The Ronettes. Best Coast - Something In The Way is exactly that.

Check Out Best Coast! Group to watch during 09/10

Antony & The Johnsons - Crazy in Love

A haunting, slow take on the Beyonce/Jay-Z song:

Neon Indian - I Should Have Taken Acid With You / Deadbeat Summer

To follow up on Mark's recommendation about Neon Indian, I'm gonna throw a few tracks on here that I'm digging. I've gotta thank Mark for the heads up on NI.





If you want an MP3 of "Deadbeat Summer" for your collection, you can find it HERE.

Neon Indian's Psychic Chasms comes out on October 13.

Radiohead's "Twisted Words"

Turns out that "These Are My Twisted Words" IS a Radiohead track.

Jonny Greenwood explains the track here, and you can download it (for free!) right here.

No word on a new EP/LP, however...

8/16/09 Playlist

Here's this week's playlist:

I Got Mine - Black Keys
Only To Haunt You - The Von Bondies
I Couldn't Love You - Cursive
Too Fake - Hockey
Unconditional - The Bravery
Nothing's Impossible - Depeche Mode
Triangle Walks - Fever Ray
Kiss With A Fist - Florence & the Machine
Hiroshima - Ben Folds
Ballad on Third Avenue - Ed Hale
The Commuter - Red Collar
Wordless Chorus - My Morning Jacket
Aluminum Park - My Morning Jacket
Over It - Dinosaur Jr.
Prizefighter - Eels
GfC - Albert Hammond Jr.
Acid Tongue - Jenny Lewis
Mistakes We Knew We Were Making - Straylight Run
Death To The Storm - Joe Henry
The W.A.N.D - The Flaming Lips
Don't Haunt This Place - The Rural Alberta Advantage
The Island - The Decemberists
Death By Diamonds & Pearls - Band of Skulls
Taverns - The Historics
Sleepwalking - The Jaguar Club
Daylight - Matt & Kim
Supernatural Superserious - REM
Orange Crush - REM
Black Wave/Bad Vibrations - Arcade Fire
Black River Killer - Blitzentrapper
How Does It Feel - Zeus
Train Under Water - Bright Eyes
Neon Tiger - The Killers
Pinwheels - Correatown
Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective
The Captain - Ingram Hill
Warning Sign - Coldplay
Starlight - Muse
The Kids Don't Stand A Chance - Vampire Weekend
No Better Place - Fountains of Wayne
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - Postal Service

500 Days of Summer + Hall & Oates

Much better than the Spiderman 3 montages.

New Radiohead Song?

Pitchfork and the rest of the internet are all trying their best to confirm the credibility of a supposed new Radiohead track, entitled "These Are My Twisted Words". It was posted on At Ease, a Radiohead fan site.

I've got a Youtube link posted below with the tune, but no guarantees how long it will be active before it's deleted. I'll do my best to update as new info develops:

New Flaming Lips surfaces

Surfing Pitchfork this morning and I found this:

NEW SONG from The Flaming Lips - See the Leaves

This is the second new song reportedly from their new double album, Ebryonic. The other was "Silver Trembling Hands", found here.

Look for the album to drop via Warner Brothers (who, by the way, just lost some more Superman rights to the Seigel family) on October 13 of this year. Check the newly-confirmed album art below:

What Ive Been Listening To?

Some tracks that Ive been checking out.

Ruby Suns : Kenya Dig It
White Denim : I Start To Run
Monsters of Folk : Say Please
Cage The Elephant : Back Against The Wall
The Antlers : Kettering
Neon Indian : Deadbeat Summer

Check Em Out

The Good...The Bad..And Violins

I know its a little late for a review of All Points West but I felt it was necessary.

My Top Performances:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs : Just hearing how Y Control was played live on Friday night compared to the album version blows me away.
Cage The Elephant : Their performance made me a fan.
MSTRKRFT : Ending the set with Bohemian Rhapsody was just unreal.
Arctic Monkeys : Played at least 2-4 songs from their new upcoming album "Humbug".

Disappointing Performances:
Electric Touch: Why were they there?
The National: I dont think they've reached a level of success where they should be on the main stage.

Interesting Quote I Over Heard:
"These are the most fashionable trains Ive ever seen" The light rail looked like it was stuffed to the brim with hipster kids from Brooklyn.

Whats the deal with all the bands with violins at All Points West this year. I think APW was going out of the way to find bands who featured a violin. WHY APW WHY? Whats going to be the theme next year? Brass sections?

Rilo Kiley gets a Carl's Jr. advertisement

Rilo Kiley + Teriyaki Burger + Audrina Partridge = I'm hungry NOW.

Playlist 8.9.09

Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
Weezer - Pork & Beans
Hot Chip - Ready for the FLoor
Monsters of Folk - Say Please
Depeche Mode - Wrong
Morrisssey - Black Cloud/ Irish Blood
The Thrills - Midnight Choir
Farfarlo - The walls came tumbling down
Mt St Helens Vietnam Band - Albatross, Albatross, Albatross
Holiday Shores - Reruns
Eels - Lilac Breeze
Dinosaur Jr - I want you to know
Steel Train - firecracker
Bright Eyes - arc of time
Miike Snow - Sans Soleil
Historics - The Tons
Art Brut - DC Comics and a Chocolate Milkshake
Killers - Human
Red Collar - The Commuter/ Pilgrim
Beck - E-Pro/ I think I'm in love
Howlies - angeline
we are scientists - after hours
coldplay - violet hills
tom morello, the nightwatchmen - St. Isabelle
Black Keys- I Got Mine
Jenny Lewis - See Fernando
Radiohead - There there/ Let Down
Matt & Kim - Daylight
Band of Skulls - Hollywood Bowl
My Morning Jacket - Rocketman
Guster - Keep it together
Oasis - Wonderwall
Yeah Yeah Yeah's - Zero (Mstrkrft remix)

All Points West Debrief - Scarecrow Edition

Hey readers/listeners/random trollers:

All Points West was mostly a bust for me this year. Well no, I take that back. I, MYSELF, was a bust for All Points West, meaning I failed the festival. It didn't fail me.





I only made it out to one day of the festival (I had been planning on making it to at least two days, if not three), which also happened to be the short day. The powers that were All Points West decided to hold the doors until a bit after 4 PM, and here lies my one criticism of the festival, which was otherwise bloody fantastic: I don't blame them for up until 2:30 because hellfire & brimstone (and a fair amount of water) was falling from the sky until then, but the subsequent hour-and-a-half wait as they figured out their course of action became pretty draining to the general public standing outside. Even if the bands hadn't started playing till 4, the comedy tent could have gotten some love that was robbed from it while the food and art vendors (the real victims of the shorter time frame on Sunday) could have gotten some business.

With some acts canceled (like Steel Train, who did manage to get in a great acoustic set at one of the Toyota tents) and the need for some time compression on the other stages, trying to see all the acts you wanted to on Sunday became a series of scenarios like this: You leave a band's set to catch the end of another act, you walk up as the second band is finishing. Then you double back to catch the rest of the first band, only to get there and find a bunch of roadies doing a sound check. The main stage ran on schedule but the Bullet stage was off-kilter, so I bet their scheduling was mauled by this discrepancy. Even though I was irked by their handling of the late entry, I wasn't too bothered by the scheduling - I did a lot of trudging through 4-6 inches of mud, but was able to catch 3 comedians and at least a song or two of nearly 10 bands.




Speaking of mud... the dash to figure out scheduling didn't bother me too much and nor did the epic mudbath that was the festival grounds. Day 3's mud was reportedly the worst from those people I spoke to, and there were many lost flip-flops, shoes and even boots. Here's my shoes, which got retired for good after last night's festivities (and a year-and-a-half of wear & tear before yesterday too):



The mud was endearing, and anyone who expected to not have to deal with it is 1) a wuss 2) oblivious to the world around them 3) a whiner. Enough said.

DETOUR: Free Twix, free bags to carry my stuff and gorgeous balloon chains - The vendors, promotional tents and art exhibitors gave the festival a more-than-music-and-comedy feeling. None of the vending/promotion was ever forced down your throat, which was refreshing. Again, I feel bad for the craft vendors, who were stuck in a corner tent and weren't given much chance on the third day to peddle their wares... hopefully their losses on the festival weren't too substantial.





Now, for the acts. My day went as such: Todd Barry -> Christian Finnegan -> Janeane Garofalo -> Steel Train (acoustic set @ Toyota tent) -> Akron/Family -> We Are Scientists -> Elbow -> Mogwai -> Echo & The Bunnymen -> Black Keys -> Coldplay -> MGMT (fleeting glance and half a song before ditching for a late-night train ride home)

Performance Highs:

-Happening to find Steel Train just playing in a vendor tent - I don't know if it was impromptu or if they were always planning on doing a set after their mainstage show, but it was good.

-Akron/Family - never heard of them, but when I heard a baritone sax, screaming vocals, rock guitars and a flute, I was there. I'm intrigued now.

-Elbow - a beautiful breather amidst the chaos and mess of rest of the day. The air was cooling nicely, the sun was setting, and their soft sound was a nice break between the energy of We Are Scientists and Mogwai.

-Christian Finnegan - Todd Barry did well and Garofalo was her typical self, but Christian Finnegan's dramatically shortened stand-up (10ish minutes instead of 30+) was tight, moved well and was legitimately funny. Mad props to this guy.

-And of course, Coldplay. The power of their live shows comes from their ability to use light, color, crowd interaction (conversing/walking among them/big yellow balloons/etc.) to make each song feel unique and interesting. Hate them or love them, the design of their stage shows is more than four guys with instruments. I would love to have seen the whole performance, but I had to ditch early. Definitely worth seeing them again in the future.



Performance Lows:

-Echo & the Bunnymen's stage presence - ranting to a roadie about some "f***ing hamster cage" or something like that for half of your SECOND song is diva-ish and annoying. Just play the music, okay?

-The Gaslight Anthem - ...they never got to play. I don't even know if they got a "second shot"-type set at a vendor tent like Steel Train did, but consider the cancellation of GA to be probably the biggest letdown of the three days of APW - they were denied in their own backyard!

-Witnessing a painful, live, on-air interview between a college radio host and two guys from We Are Scientists - The host was incredibly unprepared (I hope it was because this was last minute), WaS's two jokers decided to capitalize on it and repeatedly threw questions back on her like the nerd in gym class. They dodged questions left and right, they criticized her vague (if moronic) statements about "rumors" and "new albums", and otherwise made for an awkward situation for everyone involved. I'm not sure which party came off worse in the end, because while the host was bombing, WaS's dudes seemed like real jerks by the end.

In the end, my one day of All Points West '09 started off hellish, but once the gates opened and the scheduling was roughly figured out, everything turned out great. The acts I saw that day were pretty much solid all the way through, with only some minor letdowns in the mix (Echo & the Bunnymen, Mogwai). The miscellany that surrounded the music and comedy were welcome additions, and the venue was downright beautiful (well, from the knees up. Below your knees everything smelled like sewage!).





As I turned around to snap photos of crowd reactions to Coldplay's "Fix You" I saw a beautiful sight - the balloon chains that floated above the festival now had LED lights turned on, so giant blue arcs of light filled the sky. Add searchlights, two cities' worth of skylines and Lady Liberty, and I felt quite a rush. Everything was in its right place at that moment.

(and yes, that means I want to see Radiohead come back next summer!)

Red Collar // Piano's // Video

Here's a video from Red Collar's show at Piano's a few weeks ago:



It was a great show.

All Points West - Who I'll Be Watching (Scarecrow Edition)

Following Mark's lead, I'll throw out a few of the artists I'm looking forward to at All Points West:

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - I've always felt that the YYYs were hit-or-miss. I always saw them as a group that got me with the single but couldn't lock me in with the rest of their material. I'm hoping the buzz about their live shows pays off - my expectations are rising. Let's hope I can keep them in check, or that the YYYs can defy them.

2. Black Keys - One of my favorites on The Campus Buzz. I love their sound. While I haven't heard much about their live performances, I'm still enthusiastic.

3. Carolina Liar - I've only heard a few songs by them on a station back home, but seeing them on the lineup has piqued my interest.

4. The Pharcyde - my experiences with The Pharcyde started, oddly, with Yoshimi Battles the Hip Hop Robots (the incredible mashup by The Kleptones). Pharcyde has grown on me quite a bit over the past few years.

5. Vampire Weekend - I missed an opportunity a few weeks ago to see them at a taping for MTV Unplugged. This is my make-up chance.

6. Eugene Mirman/Tim & Eric/Janeane Garofalo - Music blog, yeah yeah, I know. But what might seem to some as an anemic lineup at this year's APW has a fair amount of comedy to see. If a music act doesn't take precedence for any of these three, I'll be there.

7. (Well, Coldplay of course).

Hope to see you there!

All Points West Preview: Who I'll be Watching

As you've probably heard The Campus Buzz staff will be at All Points West. We're all looking forward to different groups but this is who I'm excited to see. All being seeing alot of these bands live for the first time. So it'll be a good time for sure.

1. Arctic Monkeys : Ive been listening to the Arctic Monkeys religiously since the first album came out but I haven't had a chance to see them till now. It'll be interesting to hear some of the new stuff live.

2. Silversun Pickups: Another band Ive been really into that I haven't had a chance to see live. From videos Ive seen they look like they put on a good live show.

3. MSTRKRFT: Jesse Keeler from Death From Above 1979 nuff said.

4. Fleet Foxes: Itll be interesting to see them on a festival stage.

5. MGMT: Electric Feel live!

6. White Rabbits: Its a shame this band is playing so early on Saturday. They deserve to be way higher on the time slots.

Freaky?

FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS.

NEW ALBUM.

"I TOLD YOU I WAS FREAKY".

10/20/09.

(If you don't want to wait, you can download most of the tracks already, with a week-by-week download on iTunes.)

(Oh, and Season 2 hits DVD on August 4. I'm pumped for that)

7/26/09 Playlist

Here's the 7/26/09 playlist:

Pale Bride - The Von Bondies
Whatever Happened to Cory Haim? - The Thrills
Don't Haunt This Place - The Rural Alberta Advantage
Walk Idiot Walk - The Hives
Juicebox - The Strokes
Race to the City - The Cinematics
Summersong - The Decemberists
Valerie Plame - The Decemberists
The Signs - The Silver
Radio Song - The Felice Brothers
Could Well Be In - The Streets
Use It - The New Pornographers
Southern Belles in London Sing - The Faint
Shine (In Your Mind) - The Apples in Stereo
I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab For Cutie
In Order - Halloween, Alaska
Map of the Problematique - Muse
Houston - REM
Roll Up Your Sleeves - We Were Promised Jetpacks
Impossible - Band of Skulls
Pilgrim - Red Collar
Light to Follow - The Polyphonic Spree
Big Black Nothing - Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Shark Suit - UUVVWWZ
Saint Isabelle - Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman
Are You A Hypnotist?? - The Flaming Lips
Yeah Yeah Yeah Song - The Flaming Lips
Magazines - The Hold Steady
Munich - Editors
Prizefighter - Eels
Missing - Beck
The Passenger - Art Brut
Headdress - Amazing Baby
Incompatible - Ed Hale
Over It - Dinosaur Jr.
Rain - Operation Aloha
Don't Wanna Cry - Pete Yorn
Drop Dead Blues - Anya Marina
Come Downstairs and Say Hello - Guster


See you at APW next week! Let us know if you are going and want to meet up! Email us at CampusbuzzWSOU@gmail.com if you are going to be there Sunday!

Coldplay's new video - Strawberry Swing

The content of the song never made me think of Chris Martin as a goofy, sidewalk chalk superhero. Nevertheless, here's Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing":

CLICKY CLICKY

I really don't think it meshes well. It's as if they got a pitch for the visuals and liked it so much that they just found the next single and shoehorned it on.

7/19/09 Playlist

Here's the 7/19/09

Cabbage Town - Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
(Don't Wanna) Cry For You - Pete Yorn
I Got Mine - The Black Keys
Hey Dad - Franz Nicolay
The Book I Write - Spoon
Failure - Operation Aloha
Perfect Symmetry - Keane
In My Dreams - Eels
Careful - Guster
July Jones - The New Pornographers
In Searchof - Miike Snow
Shimmer and Shine - Ben Harper and the Relentless Seven
I Couldn't Love You - Cursive
Ballad on Third Avenue - Ed Hale
Summer... It's Gone - Grandaddy
See Fernando - Jenny Lewis
Swagger - Vox Jaguars
Fire - Kasabian
The Commuter - Red Collar
Tonight - Red Collar
The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid - The Decemberists
The Crane Wife 1 & 2 - The Decemberists
Eet - Regina Spektor
The Feeling - Peter Bjorn & John
Over It - Dinosaur Jr.
Mexico - Carbon Leaf
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - Postal Service
Oooo la - The Kooks
Secrets from the Well - Beep Beep
Bug Eyes - Dredg
Ode to the Sun - Dredg
Whatever it Takes - Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman
The Lights Are On In Spider Town - Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman
Coming Home - Murder By Death
Ash - Murder By Death
Go With The Flow - Queens of the Stone Age
Wannabe in L.A. - Eagles of Death Metal
Heart On - Eagles of Death Metal

PS: Who's going to All Points West this year? Annie and I are thinking of a WSOU rendezvous, if we can get one going. Probably Saturday or Sunday, so hit us back in the comments.

And by the way, per our discussions this evening about good macaroni & cheese: http://www.smacnyc.com/

Thanks for the link, Lisha!

Excerpt of CB interview with Jason of Red Collar

Here's a long excerpt of last week's interview with Jason Kutchma of Red Collar. It was a pleasure talking to him, and it was definitely great meeting all of the band in person Tuesday night at Piano's. (Jon, thanks again for the wrangling at the door!)

CLICK HERE FOR THE INTERVIEW, STREAMING AND DOWNLOADABLE

Red Collar @ Pianos 7/14/09

Quick brief for everyone: Raggedy Annie and I made it out to Red Collar's show at Pianos last night. The show had a house of about 40 people, and despite a late start for the act their set was sizable and frankly quite outstanding. Their energy is outstanding, and their personality oozes out of their performance.


And the stage demeanor of Mike and Jason confirms what Jason said in our interview with him Sunday night - they are INCREDIBLY hard on their instruments. There was a mid-show guitar switch... not sure if it was because of broken strings, but most likely.


If you missed this show, you should be legitimately bummed out. Next time they're through NJ/NYC, get yourself there. Check their tour dates at www.redcollarmusic.com


(PS: Brief Style Alert: Cowboy boots with spurs = excellent choice. Good call, Jay.)

REVIEW: Band of Skulls - Baby Darling Doll Face Honey

It becomes apparent from the opening riffs and vocals of Band of Skulls’ album “Baby Darling Doll Face Honey” (Shangri-La Records) that hyper-production and grand arrangement are not idols for the trio from Southampton, England. In fact, the grinding start of “The Light of the Morning” evokes an empty stage the day after a festival – the live-ins on the festival grounds are all still passed out in their tents, the light morning sun still unable to penetrate their eyelids after their final-night bender. A reveille of guitar and lo-fi voice fills their ears, reminding the masses that they actually have to drive their old Jeeps and Buick junkers back to another life they left behind mere days before. That’s the ambience that came through my speakers when I let BoS’s debut album play from beginning to end. This album sounds like the start of something – the start of a new day, the start of a road trip, the start of a band’s career – whatever that something is, it sounds pretty good.

After the rusty-Tin-Man start that is “Light of the Morning”, BoS marches into White Stripes territory with “Death by Diamonds and Pearls”, but quickly escapes the readymade comparisons with the soothing “Honest” and the groove-chic “Patterns”. In fact, these two songs, though buried in the middle of the album, are vital to hearing the sonic profile of Band of Skulls. The “hey” shouts in the cool-hot-cool-hot “Hollywood Ball” are some of the highest parts of the record. Plus, the soaring choruses of “Impossible” keep some of the other tracks on the back end of the album from sagging too low into Black Keys-esque fuzz-grunge noise.

The vocals of Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson are worth mentioning. Each of them alternates between soulful and ghostly, their harmonies are distinctive, and when they play off each other in rapid-fire fashion (like in the verses of “I Know What I Am”) the strength of Band of Skulls becomes apparent – as a drum-and-guitar trio, they do so much with so very little. Their music is fairly basic in structure, but “Baby Darling Doll Face Honey” seems to be the poster child for the idea of “Less is more”. It sounds roughly cut, and in the days of auto-tune, it’s almost a blessing to hear. I’m intrigued for their second album to see if their sound becomes more elaborate, or if it will maintain the simpler set-up that they established on their debut. Time will only tell, but for now, I’m going to put “Impossible” back on and enjoy heat of summer.

RATING: 3.5/5 stars

-Scarecrow

Playlist 12 July 2009

Flaming Lips - the WAND
Mt St Helens Vietnam Band - Anchors Dropped
Kings of Leon - Closer
Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss A Beat
Ed Hale - Scene in San Francisco
Conor Oberst - Ten Women
The Eels - Lilac Breeze
Beck - E-Pro
Fountains of Wayne - Little Red Light
Band of Skulls - I know what I am
REM - Man Sized Wreath
DInosaur Jr - I want you to know
THe Silver - The Signs
The THrills - restaurant
Howlies - Chimaira
Ben FOlds - You DOn't Know Me
Regina Spector - Two Birds
The Rural Alberta Advantage - Don't Haunt this place
Morrissey - everyday is like Sunday
the decemberists - when the war came
polyphonic spree - running away
carbon leaf- indecision
red collar - pilgrim, the commuter, used guitars (Thanks again to Jason for calling in this week!)
Pete Yorn - don't wanna cry
arcade fire- black mirror
robotonists - wait a minute here
radiohead - let down
my morning jacket - off the record, aluminum park
muse - starlight

Red Collar interview Sunday night @ 8:30

Hey listeners,

We'll be speaking with Jason of Red Collar this Sunday night @ 8:30ish on the Campus Buzz!

They're playing two nights in the area. They're live shows are known to be energetic and stomp-worthy, so check them out if you're looking for something to do:


Monday 7/13 @ The Charleston, Brooklyn
Tuesday 7/14 @ Piano's, NYC


Tell your friends! Listen in!

Ben Gibbard flaps his jaw

Ben Gibbard has been making overtures about the insincerity he perceives in Jared Leto and his band 30 Seconds to Mars. Citing his status as an actor who started a band, Gibbard claimed that Leto is only playing the part of a rock star, calling out his eyeliner and telling him to stick to acting.

A few things ran through my brain after this:

1) I wonder what Zooey Deschanel (Gibbard's actress-musician fiancee) thinks about this.

2) Gibbard might just be jealous because he can't act.

3) Gibbard in eyeliner would be scary.

QOTSA-FF-LZ Team-up?

Dave Grohl.
Josh Homme.
John Paul Jones.

Is there a connection between these three?

Yes. They are currently in-studio working on some mysterious project together!

Go figure.

5-Jul-2009 Playlistttt

Congrats to all our winners tonight!

Pete Yorn- Don't wanna cry
Iron & Wine - loud as hope
Sufjan Stevens - widows in paradise......
the Decemberists- The island
Bell x1 - the great defector
snow patrol - if there is a rocket, tie me to it
death cab for cutie - the sound of settling
operation aloha - failure
the kooks - stormy weather
howlies - angeline
Yves Klein Blue - blasphemy
Vampire Weekend - mansard roof
Art Brut - DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake
Spoon x2 - You got your cherry bomb/ don't you evah
Travis - writing to reach you
war tapes - dreaming of you
Eels - Prizefighter
Beck - Scarecrow
Dinosaur Jr. - Pieces
the Dandy Warhols - ...and then I dreamt of yes
william fitzsimmons - you still hurt me
-new music block begins-
the features - wooden heart
ben harper & relentless 7 - up to you now
band of skulls - honest
regina spektor - Eet
Modest Mouse - guilty cocker spaniels
Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band - Big Black Nothing
Peter Bjorn & John - Nothing to worry about
Miike Snow - song for no one
howling bells - into the chaos
Red Collar - pilgrim
Amazing Baby - headdress
-new music block ends-
Sonic Youth - Rain on Tin
The Black Keys - Same Old Thing
Anya Marina - Not a Through Street
Architecture in Helsinki - hold music

PLAYLIST! 28-June-2009

...trail of dead - Fields of Coal
Cold War Kids- Hang me out to dry
Oasis- the shock of lightning
Eels - Prizefighter
Beck - Orphans
Dinosaur Jr - I want you to know
Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining
Howling Bells - Cities Burning Down
Spoon - My Mathematical Mind
Yo la Tengo - The Autumn Sweater/ The summer
We are Scientists- Nobody Moves, Nobody gets Hurt
Band of Skulls- Light of the Morning/ Death by Diamonds and Pearls / Honest - special thanks to these guys for coming in for a great interview!!
Matt Pryor- Confidence Man
Miike Snow - Animal
Operation Aloha- Rain
Guster - Come downstairs and say hello
Dredg - Jamais Vu
Deathcab for Cutie - I Will possess your heart
Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes
Pete Yorn - Don't wanna cry
Bon Iver - Beach babys
Rogue Wave - Eyes
Iron & Wine - No Moon
Regina Spektor - Eet/ Two birds
Ben Lee - ache for you
cat Power - sea of love
Amazing Baby -headdress
the Arcade Fire - no cars go
Conor Oberst & the mystic valley band- cabbage town
Peter Bjorn & John - It Dont move me
Red Collar - Pilgrim
the Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (remixxxxx)
CSS- Move

Thanks again to Band of Skulls for stopping by!

June 21, 2009 PLAYLIST

The New Amsterdams - Turn out the light
Noah and the Whale - Shape of my heart
William Fitzsimmons - If you would come back home
Bon Iver - Skinny love
Iron and Wine - Swans and the Swimming
Miike Snow - Song for no one
Spoon - don't you evah
Modest Mouse - guilty cocker spaniels
the Killers - Spaceman
The Postal Service - The district sleeps alone tonight
Dinosaur Jr. - I want you to know
My Morning Jacket - I'm amazed
Art Brut - The Passenger
Anya Marina - Move you
MGMT - Kids
Peter Bjorn and John - Nothing to worry about
Amazing Baby - Headdress
Howlies - Angeline
Operation Aloha - Failure
Pixies x2- Where is my mind/Wave of Mutilation
Howling Bells - Cities Burning Down
Clem Snide - With all my heart
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley band - ten women
sonic youth - rain on tin
the Decemberists - the hazards of love (the prettiest whistles...)
Beck x2 - I think I'm in love/ Chemtrails
Margot and the Nuclear So & So's - skeleton key
Belle & Sebastian - Piazza New York Catcher
Fountains of Wayne - Michael and Heather at the baggage claim
Rogue Wave- Lake Michigan
The Shins -Sea Legs
Band of Skulls - Light of the morning
the Thrills - Teenager
The Kooks - Sway
Stereophonics - my friends
Vampire Weekend - A Punk
Radiohead - Paranoid Andriod
Polyphonic Spree - Light and Day
Architecture in Helsinki - That Beep
CSS - Move

Hope you enjoyed the show! Listen in next week for some more great music and a few surprises :)

West Gate's debut street date / Lead single online now!

West Gate update (ha, that rhymes):

West Gate just posted their lead single off their debut album Daylight on their website and Myspace. The song, entitled "Bleeding Out" is an old classic for die-hard fans, but is a great representation of their sound for new listeners.

Pre-orders of Daylight are possible on westgateband.com. The album drops on 7/14 (which, as the band's drummer George joked, does NOT interfere with the new Dream Theater album, as one of their original projected release dates did)

Enjoy!

Flaming Lips' Yoshimi notes

Here's the link of Wayne Coyne's notes on "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots", as promised on tonight's show:

CLICK

6/14/09 Playlist

Here's the 6/14/09 playlist:

Dashboard - Modest Mouse
Lilac Breeze - Eels
Vacationing People - Foreign Born
There There - Radiohead
Lucky - Radiohead
Daniel - Bat for Lashes
Unconditional - The Bravery
Inland Sea - ...Trail of Dead
Treasure Hunt - Howling Bells
Tick Tick Boom - The Hives
Death By Diamonds and Pearls - Band of Skulls
I Know What I Am - Band of Skulls
The Captain - Ingram Hill
Song for No One - Miike Snow
Ready for the Floor - Hot Chip
Green Eyes - Coldplay
Lovers in Japan - Coldplay
Ode to the Sun - Dredg
GfC - Albert Hammond, Jr.
Nicholas - Little Brazil
Irish Blood, English Heart - Morrissey
The Lights Are On in Spider Town - Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman
Night Falls - Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman
Baby's Hammer - The Features
If We Love - Mercury Morning
Waiting for a Superman - Iron & Wine
Cabbage Town - Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Running Away - Polyphonic Spree
Orange Crush - REM
Man-Sized Wreath - REM
Over It - Dinosaur Jr.
DC Comics and a Chocolate Milkshake - Art Brut
Valerie Plame - The Decemberists
It's Summertime - The Flaming Lips
Pilgrim - Red Collar
Hysteria - Muse
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - Postal Service
Librarian - My Morning Jacket
A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
Potato Juice & Liquid Bread - Minus The Bear
I Got Mine - Black Keys
Please Forgive Me (Song of the Crow) - William Fitzsimmons
Hiroshima - Ben Folds
We Dance Alone - Beck
Zero (N.A.S.A. Bloody Lobo Remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Stream the new Incubus album in its entirety!

Incubus has their new album streaming in its entirety here >>> Clicky Clicky.

"Monuments and Melodies" hits next week, July 16th.

Thoughts? Comment and let us know!

New Killers Video - "A Dustland Fairytale"

The Killers have released a new video for their song "A Dustland Fairytale".

This video made possible by "No Country for Old Men".



EDIT: The original embed was removed, this one isn't properly synced with audio near the end and it's not available anywhere else. Bummer. When I find a working link I'll get it on here!

Afterthoughts: Green Day - "21st Century Breakdown"

Now that the pre-release hype has died away, I've decided to take another look at Green Day's latest, 21st Century Breakdown.

Something about this album's sheer existence made it seem set up to fail. Billie Joe and crew had struck gold with American Idiot, somehow marrying multi-track thematics and ten-minute epics with their classic sound, making it one of the most successful albums of the 2000s. Beating that with their next album just seemed like a short-term form of Axl Rose syndrome - pre-release, review and post-release hype, the possibility of a stage production, movie, and more buzz surrounding American Idiot -- it all kept promo machine going through the massive gap of time between releases (nearly five years). Yet, fans and industry people still were left going "when is that next album ever going to come? And is it going to be remotely as good as Idiot?"

The release finally came about a month ago, and reviews have been mixed-to-positive. But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I want to focus on what the album is, and what it isn't.

First, what it is not:

A cement-strong concept album -- While their marketing message for the album plugged it as a three-act concept album, the threads of narrative and sound that stretch through this album are not very strong. Two main characters are spoken of (Gloria, Christian) but where they go and what they go through is vague. It's mostly presented as vignettes. No matter... it's enough to unify it, but it's not story heavy, like The Decemberists' recent The Hazards of Love

Classic Green Day - Strong affinity Dookie is nowhere to be found on this album. But on that note, affinity to Warning isn't here either. Of course, they haven't abandoned their core sound, but their song structures, production, epic key changes (see: chorus on "After the Lobotomy") seem to have sprung out of something new in the past five years. People looking for Green Day circa 1994 may be disappointed, but those who have decided that 15 years' worth of music and life experiences should yield some sonic change will notice a departure from the past. It's not like every song on this album is "Last Night on Earth" (whose closest similarity in the GD catalog is "Wake Me Up When September Ends"), but for every "East Jesus Nowhere" or that feels old school, there is a "Murder City" that toes the line between classic and new-sound, as well as a "Restless Heart Syndrome" straying way away from their core sound. It pretty much falls into perfect thirds - 6 tracks classic, 6 tracks new-sound, 6 tracks somewhere in between.

Heavy, deep, overwhelming social critique - Going off the concept-album idea, Green Day has consistently portrayed this as an even heavier look at what American society is like today. I see traces of it, and none of that is very poetic ("...the bastards of 1969!" doesn't roll off the tongue very well in the title track), but it DOES exist. But maybe that just does fit Green Day. They're not the kind of guys to hole up in the branches of trees to stop loggers, and they're definitely not a trio of Dylans, but they do get across the anxieties and idiosyncrasies they set out to portray.


What it IS:

Longer than I expected - This is satisfying to sit down and listen to all the way through because it actually has some length to it. For every 3-minute track there's a 5-minute beast (those are usually where the loose story plays through the most), and at 18 tracks that adds up. There's a few throwaway tracks like "Peacemaker" and "Know Your Enemy" (I have little doubt that long-term fan hindsight will put it into the lower tier of Green Day singles because it has this incredible ability to be catchy for the first minute and a half then mind-numbing for the rest)

Chock full of singles - when I heard "concept album" I got worried that there wouldn't be much radio-ready coming from 21st Century Breakdown. Hearing the repetitive "Know Your Enemy" made me even more worried - if this is the lead single, what will follow? After hearing the full album a few times, I remembered -- often the lead single isn't the best material off the album, even if it gets the most radio play. It happened with The Killers' Sam's Town ("Read My Mind" was the third single, but is probably one of the best songs the Killers have ever produced), It happened with U2's HtDaAB (The whole rest of the album was much better than "Vertigo")... and 21CB follows suit. I'm disappointed with the selection of "21 Guns" as the second single, but it's probably because it's being tied into the new Transformers movie soundtrack and needed to hit the airwaves sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, they have plenty of options for radio play all the way into the fall and even winter: "Viva La Gloria", "Last of the American Girls" and even the title track are excellent options.

Easy on the ears - Experimentation and sonic evolution don't always produce good results. (Case in point: U2's No Line on the Horizon, Metallica's St. Anger). While a few songs feel wonky ("Peacemaker") generally the stretching Green Day does is still accessible. You'll get what I mean when you hear the very beginning of "¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)"... Question marks filled my head until the chorus came in, then it all felt right. That's a great microcosm that portrays the album in general -- the first time you hear it you may go "huh", but deep down listeners will find Green Day is still there.

Overall, I feel Green Day's latest is a fantastic work. American Idiot was hard to follow, but I think Green Day did it right - they didn't repeat that sound. I now think of Idiot as a stepping stone, bridging the sonic gap between Green Day's 90s work and 21st Century Breakdown. The album really isn't all they sold it to be (concept album, etc.) but what it truly IS doesn't come up short -- it's just different than what they said. Deep down, I just found the album to be satisfying, even on the first listen - something I can't usually say.

Band of Skulls - I Know What I Am

I Know What I Am


After much scanning, I've only been able to find one instance of the official video for Band of Skulls' "I Know What I Am". Sorry it's the Myspace player, I personally don't like their embeds very much.

Enjoy! There might be a big BoS announcement for Campus Buzz listeners soon... stay tuned. Tell your friends. Listen in. (remember, extra hour all summer... 7-10 pm!)

6/7/09 Playlist

Hey team, here's the 6/7/09 playlist:

Arc of Time - Bright Eyes
Ten Women - Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Animal - Miike Snow
Nothing to Worry About - Peter Bjorn & John
Someone to Love - Fountains of Wayne
With All My Heart - Clem Snide
Hold Time - M. Ward
God Put A Smile On Your Face - Coldplay
Into the Chaos - Howling Bells
Wrong - Depeche Mode
Flux - Bloc Party
Sound of Settling - Death Cab For Cutie
The Great Defector - Bell X1
Juicebox - The Strokes
Fields of Coal - ...Trail of Dead
Man on the Moon - REM
Supernatural Superserious - REM
Am I Normal - Art Brut
Missing - Beck
Off the Record - My Morning Jacket
Used Guitars - Red Collar
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
The Fix - Minus the Bear
Up To You Now - Ben Harper & The Relentless Seven
Calling Lightning - Howlin' Pain
Whatever Happened to Cory Haim? - The Thrills
The Island - The Decemberists
Song For The Girl - Vox Jaguars
Prizefighter - Eels
Pale Bride - Von Bondies
The Good Life - Weezer
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived - Weezer
No Cars Go - Arcade Fire
Human - The Killers
Not Over You - Chester French
Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

5/31/09 Playlist

Here's this week's playlist!

O Valencia! - The Decemberists
The Great Defector - Bell X1
Keep the Car Running - Arcade Fire
Don't You Evah - Spoon
If Nobody Moves Then Nobody Gets Hurt - We Are Scientists
And Then I Dreamt Of Yes - The Dandy Warhols
Guns & Ammo - Minus the Bear
Pale Bride - The Von Bondies
If You Would Come Back Home - William Fitzsimmons
Lake Michigan - Rogue Wave

(This is where Alphabet Soup really seemed to start going)

Apple Candy - Ben Lee
Death By Diamonds & Pearls - Band of Skulls
Scarecrow - Beck
Cabbagetown - Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Violet Hill - Coldplay
Grapevine Fires - Death Cab for Cutie
Munich - Editors
The WAND - The Flaming Lips
Careful - Guster
Chimera - Howlies
Cities Burning Down - Howling Bells
Call Your Boys - Iron & Wine
Carpetbaggers - Jenny Lewis f/ Elvis Costello
Is It Any Wonder? - Keane
Bleed Together - Lovedrug
Anchors Dropped - Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
5 years Time - Noah & the Whale
Failure - Operation Aloha
The Shock of the Lightning - Oasis
Get Up & Go - The Polyphonic Spree
The Lost Art of Keeping A Secret - Queens of the Stone Age
House of Cards - Radiohead
Pilgrim - Red Collar
The End Has No End - The Strokes
The City Lights - Umbrellas
Mansard Roof - Vampire Weekend
One Headlight - The Wallflowers
Swagger - VoX Jaguars
The Summer - Yo La Tengo
Goodnight - Zox

See you next week!

West Gate Street Date

Got a tip from Chris the Mad Scientist that the NJ powerhouse (and WSOU alumni-filled) rock act West Gate has a street date in place for their debut album. The record will be titled "Daylight" and can be pre-ordered now at www.westgateband.com.


(Chris seems to think they'll outsell the new Dream Theater album that drops the same day. Thinking big is grand)

Phil Spector: Wall of Shame

CBS reported late yesterday that Phil Spector has been sentenced for 19 years to life for murder, after being found guilty by jury last month.

More here

Pork and Keane

I thought I knew Keane before Sunday, but we might as well have been strangers.

Jokes aside, the band I saw this past Sunday May 24th in Cleveland, Ohio is a complete transformation from the choir boy Brit-rockers I overheard in Borders, circa 2005. Wrapping up a late tour this week for their fall 2008 album Perfect Symmetry, the boys proved through a varied set list that they are still embracing past success while proceeding without hesitation towards a more mature sound.

Original Keane band mates, Tim Rice-Oxley, Richard Hughes, and Tom Chaplin were joined onstage by guitarist Jesse Quin. The tour site confirms Quin as an official member of Keane, now that they have expanded beyond a drum set, a microphone, and a Casio keyboard. Do not be mistaken, I am in no way mocking Casio rock.

The boys kicked off the set with “The Lovers Are Losing.” Not what I was expecting, I predicting “Spiralling,” but the show was defined by unexpected song ordering, always giving the audience another hit to look forward to. The boys’ energy was transferred to the audience through an unfurled Perfect Symmetry art backdrop, and strobe lights strong enough to fill Time Warner Amphitheater.

The band followed up their new hit with a solid block of music off of Hopes and Fears. Amped from songs they know better than their social security numbers, the crowd surged throughout the rest of the performance, treating each song as if it were the band’s biggest hit. More than once, Chaplin had to ask the crowd to stop clapping so he could continue singing.
Oh, and I forgot about the ribs.

Because this is Cleveland, Ohio, and nothing is really planned for any particular reason, Keane was headlining the annual rib cook off. Initially the atmosphere seemed a little off, Mat Kearney (who opened for Keane) remarked it was the only time he could ever read the words “Texas Thunder” from the stage while performing.

My friend and I entered the fest with the mentality that we were going to be the only “real” Keane fans. I mean if Cleveland schedules the band for a rib burn off, they couldn’t fill a regular venue right? Everyone was thinking the same thing. After “The Lovers are Losing” the audience examined itself, surprised at the reaction. Chaplin kept repeating that the reception was far exceeding the band’s expectations. Maybe the low expectations from the audience and the band made it an incredible show, maybe everyone was just extremely satisfied from BBQ ribs? Regardless, the strange venue made for an incredible show dynamic. Maybe you had to be there to believe me.

Set List
1.The Lovers Are Losing
2. Everybody’s Changing
3. Bend and Break
4. We Might As Well Be Strangers
5. Again and Again
6. This is the Last Time
7. Spiralling
8. Your Eyes Open
9. Try Again
10. Early Winter
11. You Haven’t Told Me Anything
12. Leaving So Soon?
13. You Don’t See Me
14. Perfect Symmetry
15. Somewhere Only We Know
16. Crystal Ball
17. Encore: My Shadow
18. Is It Any Wonder?
19. Bedshaped
Total Time about One hour and forty-five minutes.

Standouts include “Your Eyes Open” performed acoustic by Chaplin while the remainder of the band exited the stage. “Try Again” which was accompanied by retro video game graphics and scenarios designed by the band on the bookend big screens. The boys only performed a few songs from Under the Iron Sea, they know their strengths.

Before playing “Perfect Symmetry” Chaplin opened up about the inspiration for the song: not following the golden rule. He also stated that the song was his favorite that the band had ever written. The varied melodies in “Perfect Symmetry” (similar to Killers songs like “Sam’s Town” and “Read My Mind”) show diversity beyond Hopes and Fears. I can’t wait to hear them expand more on this new sound.

They ended with the underground hit “Bedshaped” leaving an Amphitheater of satisfied and slightly bemused fans. And the ribs weren’t too bad either. Cheers.

Note: I must say, I’m always impressed with Keane’s commitment to fans. Each member of the band stayed well past midnight to visit, sign autographs, and take pictures with every fan that waited by their tour bus. Nice chaps.