The mediaf!re Thread 2010: This Time It's Personal

[wespeakinmidi]

guess i should give up on that state download huh? 

[ptownblazer]

Tortoise - Beacons of Ancestorship

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?azyjjqfxzmz

(320kbs)

you're welcome

[Linds]

Ozma - Rock and Roll Part Three

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?2n4nxmmmnlu

For Shane because he said he hasn't heard them, but hey, if you haven't heard them, you should download it too! If you like bands like Weezer, then you will probably like Ozma.

[Down623]

guess i should give up on that state download huh? 

I guess. I was hoping it'd eventually work too

[barista.babe]

i love the ozma cover of the tetris theme song. it was on a compliation a few years back. system of a down was on that comp. too, i think they did a cover of the legend of zelda theme which was so bad it was almost good.

[Scarychips]

It wasn't System of A Down. I don't remember the name of the band playing that, but it wasn't SOAD.

EDIT: The band is actually called The Rabbit Joint.

[onewheelwizzard]

I know the track you guys are talking about, it was always credited to SOAD whenever I found a copy, but I never quite believed it was them.  It was awesome though.

[wespeakinmidi]

sorry guys... didn't know i broke the new page...

Rules:

No hot-linking images or albums. You can re-host images at http://imageshack.us.

Ensure your tags are correct and that you have specified both Artist/Album in your post.

Upload your files in either a .zip or a .rar archive to mediaf!re.com, in multiple parts if the album is over 100mbs. The reason for this is that we know mediaf!re is safe and efficient and allows multiple downloads. The ads on other sites, such as Sendspace, are known to contain viruses on the page. Get yourself checked out.

Post your link using code tags. It's the # icon above the policeman emoticon. This prevents the links from being traced back to the forums, lowering the chance that the wrong people notice the thread, potentially threatening Jeph with legal action.

Also, please do NOT request albums. This includes requests for re-uploads; if you miss it, try looking for it somewhere else.

Repost the rules at the top of each new page.

[StaedlerMars]

That Ancestors album is ace! You think 20 minute song, there's a little bit of the whole 'might get boring'. But nope. naha. This is good stuff.

[valley_parade]

I've never heard anything in my life that's really more "down my alley" than this. Picture some really good garage-rock with a slight psychedelic twist, and you get..

King Khan & The Shrines - What Is?!

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?3fk1smdzy1x

[Drill King]

So I have never really contributed to this thread because most of the time it's either already here or it's not the sort of music you guys listen to.

but since Shane hadn't heard of them and they are one of my favorite bands and they are 'totally east coastin' representin'', have some Hey Rosetta!

I saw them last year and they are so great live, they have a great combination of classical sound and new technique, it's really nice music to just lay back to. I am awful at describing music but I really hope you like them.

Plan your Escape



Part one

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?qhmzgzmh0zc

Part two

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?omylvgxmznz

This is their newest album, it's less upbeat than their older one


Into your lungs(and around your heart and through your blood)

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?32ihlzkegzm

[Zombiedude]

Remember this music video that got posted in the pointless thread?

Well, I found the rest of the album

Oren Lavie- The Opposite Side of The Sea



He also features reviews on his website(both good and bad)

www.orenlavie.com

I love this album.

Edit: I am a beast of forgetfulness

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?bn02mytmmum

[the_pied_piper]

Tut tut, there were no rules on the last page.

Rules:

No hot-linking images or albums. You can re-host images at http://imageshack.us.

Ensure your tags are correct and that you have specified both Artist/Album in your post.

Upload your files in either a .zip or a .rar archive to mediaf!re.com, in multiple parts if the album is over 100mbs. The reason for this is that we know mediaf!re is safe and efficient and allows multiple downloads. The ads on other sites, such as Sendspace, are known to contain viruses on the page. Get yourself checked out.

Post your link using code tags. It's the # icon above the policeman emoticon. This prevents the links from being traced back to the forums, lowering the chance that the wrong people notice the thread, potentially threatening Jeph with legal action.

Also, please do NOT request albums. This includes requests for re-uploads; if you miss it, try looking for it somewhere else.

Repost the rules at the top of each new page.

I downloaded that album as soon as i finished watching that video. It is really, really good.

EDIT:
Here is a link if you want the album.

Oren Lavie - The Opposite Side of The Sea

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?2dnmwyhmm4t

Edited to include the rules.

[ALoveSupreme]

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?hndtyozzwmi

Cool Runnings soundtrack.  Pretty good summer album.  Disney Reggae.  Feel good.

[valley_parade]

Oh god, YES. YES.

I still have that on cassette.

[Zombiedude]

I am a fool. I uploaded it on mediaf!re, but i forgot to post it.

Goddamn it.

[gospel]

The Capstan Shafts

The Capstan Shafts is the guise prolific songwriter Dean Wells has been recording under since 1999. Hailing from Lyndonville, VT, Wells has most often been compared to Guided by Voices' Robert Pollard, and with 18 releases in eight years on various labels, the association could stem from his productivity as much as from his sound. Though Environ Maiden, released in October 2007 on Rainbow Quartz, did much to heighten his profile in terms of consumer awareness, Wells continued to eschew the traditional approach of playing live to promote his catalog, instead choosing to hole up at home to make more albums.

GBV-esque but not quite? I debated linking the latest album, but it's pretty uninspired. So, here's a collection instead. Unfortunately, I can't find the complete Euridice Proudhon which, I'm told, is his best album.

The Capstan Shafts - Collection

Dean Wells writes all the songs, records on a 4-track and plays all the instruments. His asthetic is VERY GbV (short songs and Bob-like song titles) but that's where it ends cos ironically enough he's more like Tobin Sprout. Other influences include Jeff Mangum & Ray Davies. His melodies stick to you like glue which is why The Shafts are all I've listened to for 3 weeks now. He's released (if you can call it that) 7-8 EP's, 5-6 full lengths. This collection of 30 songs is culled from Euridice Proudhon, Her Versus the Sad Cold Eventually & The Sleeved and Grandaughters of the Blacklist.

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?fhtx1wmsxz2/

--
Ballboy - A Guide for the Daylight Hours

After the splendid, catchall release Club Anthems, and a round of Peel Sessions, Edinburgh's Ballboy has at last issued a real live album. A Guide for the Daylight Hours is more mopey cynicism and boppy, trippy indie pop from b-boy mastermind Gordon McIntyre and friends; its enjoyable trundle is powered by the familiar twee clatter (here defined best by Katie Griffiths' warm organ tones) and a bottomless pint glass of shallow jibes and self-hating/loving witticisms. "Where Do the Nights of Sleep Go to When They Do Not Come to Me" and "You Can't Spend Your Whole Life Hanging Around With Arseholes" (the titles alone speak volumes about McIntyre's muse) kick up a racket of rattling guitars, peppy drums, and Giffiths' fabulous organ; coupled with the glowering vocal delivery, it's a sound that suggests anything from the Wedding Present and the Housemartins to contemporaries like the Lucksmiths. Of course, McIntyre has no need for the latter fellows' niceness. While its melody has an almost romantic sway, "I Wonder If You're Drunk Enough to Sleep With Me Tonight" cuts to the pragmatic, and horny quick-romantic trappings are only usable as props when the lights come up and it's time to leave. "A fear of failure won't hold me back from hoping someday you'll kiss me like you mean it", he deadpans, before shortening the line to its final, commanding phrase as an added selfish zinger. Ditties like these are undoubtedly very easy for Ballboy, but their cynical humor just makes the palpable heartbreak of "I Lost You, but I Found Country Music" ("Everyday I miss you/And wonder and guess what you are listening to") even more affecting. While much of Daylight's enjoyment is derived from the lyrics and their delivery, there are also plenty of tingly rock moments. "Nobody Really Knows Anything" has an undeniably shambling groove, while "Something's Going to Happen Soon"'s explosive guitar chorus is built around the fabulous line "And the cellos kick in". (Also, for whatever reason - both Scottish? - it's just one of album's numerous moments that recall Simple Minds). A Guide for the Daylight Hours isn't genius, but its uncouth, cute-swallowing crassness is brilliant. [The LP's U.S. version includes two bonus tracks: "All the Records on the Radio Are Shite" and "A Man's a Man for a' That".

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?cbwjyjenji2

Ballboy - I Worked On The Ships (2008)

There must be something in the water in Scotland. Maybe it is the heritage of poets and heroes or the incredible panorama. Maybe it comes from centuries of having to defend your borders against invaders that makes you introspective and reflective. Whatever it is only a band from Scotland could produce this album, I Worked On The Ships, with any sense of genuine integrity. I had heard Aidan Moffat and Arab Strap, Malcolm Middleton and Mogwai before and I hung on every word. Ballboy do exactly that and from the moment I pressed play on this album I disappeared off into some deeply rewarding place in my mind that normally only exists at night.

I Worked on the Ships is a collection of songs that are akin to walking along a street peering down through dimly lit windows of basement flats, beyond the curtains and into other people’s lives. This is thought provoking poetry to music. It has a vivid film like quality of powerful imagery. Never depressing, it takes you on a journey beyond otherwise closed doors.  more...

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?cn2dii2anrr

A Weather - Cove

For those who wish Iron & Wine had never left the cozy confines of Sam Beam's bedroom, A Weather flaunt a similar brand of understated, pillow-soft indie folk. Vocals are whispered and acoustic guitars are strummed, conjuring up images of early mornings and rural landscapes without directly referencing either in the lyrics. But while Iron & Wine's earliest recordings relied on the simple combination of Beam's vocals and acoustic guitar, Cove is the work of five multi-instrumentalists, including a pair of guitarists and two able-voiced singers. The resulting sound is still quiet, but it's also lush, with songs like "Hanging Towers of Baltimore" wrapping the band's co-ed harmonies around puddles of guitar, keyboard swells, and light percussion. Aaron Gerber and Sarah Winchester are the obvious leaders here, and the boy-girl interplay of their voices helps illustrate the lovers' quarrels that give Cove most if its lyrical content. The effect is both somber and soothing, especially during the slow-motion jaunt of "Screw Up Your Courage," where jazz-influenced basslines underscore quietly biting lines like "You could bring me juice and saltines when I'm under the weather and over you." It's easy to gloss over such lyrics when the accompanying music is so calming, and Cove accordingly reveals itself in layers, waiting until the third or fourth listen to disclose all its parts. From the light use of slide guitar in "Oh My Stars" to the quiet chimes and violin in "Shirley Road Shirley," A Weather slyly demand attention, making Cove a much more ambitious album than its minimalist textures would have you believe.

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?nmzdwjmfdwk

[Christophe]

Chisel- Set You Free

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?3nemrojm5un

Back when I used to be a Ted Leo nut, this album was the absolute shit. Ted's guitar playing was on fire, the tunes were as delicious as they were varied (aside from the standard mod-punk fare there's also some neat acoustic guitar and keyboard numbers, as well as a few with horns), and there's seventeen fuckin' tracks here, so it's a good, long listen, just clocking in at four minutes short of an hour of amazing songs. Will fit in neatly as not just a prequel to, but perhaps a younger, punkier, more muscular take on those early TL/RX albums (basically everything up to Hearts of Oak).

This album fucking rules.

[JacquesLeRock]

This is my first contribution, and it's a good one. 

The Protomen

This monster of a prog-rock album follows the back story of Capcom’s Megaman series and delivers its narrative in the most epic, dystopian way possible. Crafting a concept album around a video game may seem insane, but The Protomen have clearly produced one of the most electric and exciting albums of its kind in quite some time. The album immediately sets the stage for post-apocalyptic action, describing the dark Orwellian world ruled by Dr. Wiley and his army of evil robots and the sole inventor, Dr. Light, who secretly creates mankind’s only salvation. The story is surprisingly easy to follow across these jams, drawing on themes of vengeance and duty, capturing the throes of a science fiction battle quite beautifully.

The music itself is consistently interesting, with plenty of electronic effects, slamming piano keys and stunning vocal performances (my friend mistook the lead singer for Matthew Good as he passed by). The Protomen take several pages from prog-rock and glam-rock theatrics, with shades of Rush, Queen and perhaps The Mars Volta thrown in for good measure. Everything from the guitar solos to the urgency of its lyrics make this album an incredibly fun and satisfying listen. The Protomen take their source material quite seriously, with an explosive performance that focuses on the thematics of the game, rather than camp factor or straight parody.

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?hjz2zq2mwdt

Enjoy!

[Weepie McGee]

I haven't posted anything since those Peter Broderick albums...but my special ladyfriend and I have been reclusive homebodies, staying in and drinking and watching HBO on dvd.  Which reminded me how incredible the CARNIVALE soundtrack is.  Thus, I give it to you here...

Jeff Beal - Carnivale OST

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?sharekey=32897d504622e35e00d27174b47c66577cafc13757b95389b8eada0a1ae8665a

Simultaneously calming and unsettling, eerie and beautiful, the soundtrack to this series is amazing.  It captures the feeling of the show, set in 1930's Dustbowl America, also incorporating world music elements.  Whether you've seen the show or not, check this out.

[Vendetagainst]

First of all, I want to share with you a cool math-rocky band called Netherfriends. I saw them in concert a while ago playing with Pattern Is Movement and Maps & Atlases. I'm awful at describing music but if you enjoy math-rock or just music then you should download them because they are pretty great.

Netherfriends - Home Is Where My House Is
 

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?2lngqoq2lzt

Second, and the reason I'm posting here and for which I am very excited, I'd like to share with you an EP by my very talented friend Gus. Gus worked for many months to record the entire album himself--he plays every instrument himself as well as the vocals and all the recording effects. It's a really great album and I ask that everyone please download it because it's a unique and completely kickass experience. The only issue is that the intro did not upload well and was cut off thirty seconds in, but the rest of the songs are intact. Enjoy!

Augustine Esterhammer-Fic - Nostromo EP

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?qtxntoj2z41

[iliveinsalemor]

whats up with

Phideaux Xavier



anybody got any of his shiz??? its so hard to find anywhere.

[Random1]

whats up with

Phideaux Xavier



anybody got any of his shiz??? its so hard to find anywhere.

THIS, is what happens when people forget to post the rules on a new page 

[Zombiedude]

Googling it worked

Phideaux Xavier -Doomsday Afternoon

Code:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7YRZ4F3L

[medicatesleep]

The Protomen are awesome. Kinda like if Mars Volta didn't get all self indulgent after Deloused and played way too much Nintendo.

[ADRIAN WOODHOUSE]

LES TRUCS
electro-nintendo-circus-(punk?)

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?ma4me33wm5t

a girl. a boy. a lot of keyboards and beats. crewshouts. this sounds like the pink elephants from disneys dumbo manifested and formed a hedonistic electronintendo(punk) band.

[imapiratearg]

The Capstan Shafts

The Capstan Shafts is the guise prolific songwriter Dean Wells has been recording under since 1999. Hailing from Lyndonville, VT, Wells has most often been compared to Guided by Voices' Robert Pollard, and with 18 releases in eight years on various labels, the association could stem from his productivity as much as from his sound. Though Environ Maiden, released in October 2007 on Rainbow Quartz, did much to heighten his profile in terms of consumer awareness, Wells continued to eschew the traditional approach of playing live to promote his catalog, instead choosing to hole up at home to make more albums.

I feel compelled to download this.

[Skibas_clavicle]

I've never heard anything in my life that's really more "down my alley" than this. Picture some really good garage-rock with a slight psychedelic twist, and you get..

King Khan & The Shrines - What Is?!

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?3fk1smdzy1x

Shane, these guys are so much fun live! If you get the chance, go see them. You also have to do the twist when they play for at least one song. This is my personal rule, but it's a fun one.

[Sam]

yessss
i saw them during sxsw, it was a party.

[Orcusmars]

whats up with

Phideaux Xavier



anybody got any of his shiz??? its so hard to find anywhere.

here

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Phideaux+Xavier+blogspot

let me google that for you.

[Avec]

Shiz.

[Orcusmars]

Shiz.

His Shiz.

[valley_parade]

I've never heard anything in my life that's really more "down my alley" than this. Picture some really good garage-rock with a slight psychedelic twist, and you get..

King Khan & The Shrines - What Is?!

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?3fk1smdzy1x

Shane, these guys are so much fun live! If you get the chance, go see them. You also have to do the twist when they play for at least one song. This is my personal rule, but it's a fun one.

They were in Boston a few weeks ago. 

[kwintpod]

First post here, so please inform me when I'm doing it wrong

Worrytrain-Fog dance, my moth kingdom

Joshua Neil Geissler aka Worrytrain within some parts of his album fourth “fog dance, my moth kingdom” has offered the most gripping, the most moving examples of modern composition ever since, well almost since Godspeed you black emperor’s first album – and that not only of the lyrical alikeness of the canadian collective’s name and the title of this album. Or when was the last time I re-listened to my albums of Ennio Morricone. Wow, Morricone, that is a big word to say for any modern compositor, but it is true, for instance within the two conflicting sound colours of doom-impending percussions and romantic string arrangements of “Soviet passage” there is the same oppositional structure of melodic elements that the grand master from Italy liked to use, e.g. in his soundtrack to 1900 or even the spaghetti westerns.

Musically he works with traditional instruments, such as cello, piano and percussions, and mixes them with electro-acoustic sounds. More important than that are the dynamics he manages to reap from slow and deep noise-interludes in connection and in opposition with the wonderful, almost romantic melodies he provides at other places in time, which make his step towards scoring movies,  mostly independent movies, just a consequential choice. He shows to be able to perform in various classical forms, such as the concerto or the nocturne, but also finds his way through noisy drones and more experimental forms with ease. The dynamics are excellent, if sometimes – as mentioned - also a little disturbing, but Geissler takes you on a very interesting ride, sometimes relaxing and sometimes exhausting, but an overall fine experience.

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?zmxym2eglnn

[epoch]

i have more chiptune!

new RANDOM!

Random- A Happy Ending After All

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?jjrtn03yzzh

Twilight Electric- Rawk Hard

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?1nmmozmllym

Nullsleep- Hello World

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?yoo1g21muyz

[kwintpod]

13ghosts-The stangest coloured light

The Strangest Colored Lights was recorded and mixed between summer 2006 and spring 2007 in Otterworks Studio in Birmingham, which was designed and built by 13ghosts for 13ghosts.  Andrew Vernon records the sounds and Brad Armstrong mixes, with participation from the entire group.  Vernon and Armstrong have been doing it this way since they started the studio with a 4 track cassette machine and a shotgun mic in the early nineties.  The Strangest Colored Lights was mastered by Doug Van Sloun at Studio B, LTD in Omaha, NE.  Van Sloun was a perfect fit for 13ghosts; his aesthetic is about purity and unobtrusiveness.  Van Sloun’s mastering credits include Bright Eyes, Cursive, and Magnolia Electric Co.

The Strangest Colored Lights represents the first time since 2002 that 13ghosts’ recordings have involved a full and consistent line-up of musicians; the same five guys arranged and performed the material on every song, with the exception of the horn section in Riverside (Chad Fisher and Chip Crotts) and a female vocal passage in Photographs (Amber Quick).  Like Cicada, this album spans a large and diverse cross-section of genres (electronica, grand Pink-Floydesque passages, country-sludge, psychedelic, spaghetti-western, hard- edged pop and dark acoustic), and like Cicada it is long and sprawling, clocking in at just over 55 minutes. The differences between Cicada and The Strangest Colored Lights lie in the band’s focus, their relentless attention to detail (though fans of 13ghosts’ lo-fi production aesthetic will not be disappointed; it was, after all, recorded in a basement), and a newfound harmony between Russell’s and Armstrong’s sometime disparate songwriting styles.  With this new record, 13ghosts has finally united their many voices under one soaring and cinematic vision.

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?zztjomimwvd

[kwintpod]

raccoo-oo-oon-The cave of spirits forever

Raccoo-oo-oon blend wooded spiritual progressions with guitar experimentation, sometimes reminiscent of Animal Collective or Acid Mothers Temple. Often psychedelic, it also feels like something scraped up along the American landscapes on a recreational drug-use category of drugged-out roadtrip. The songs lurk strangely in post-Godspeed You! Black Emperor territory with simple guitar lines being built upon with varying degrees of epicness and strangeness as well as tribal throw-back sing-songing. This recording was originally pressed as a CDR in early 2005, now repressed here on a regular CD. I'm anxious to hear the newer offerings by this group of cave spirits. They are on their way to possibilities

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?jozynjjmrmx

Can also upload their s/t and black branches if people are interested

[ALoveSupreme]

Netherfriends - Home Is Where My House Is
 

Hey this is a great band indeed (I will maybe message you cuz I set up a show for them in DeKalb tonight and maybe you would be interested in going... I assume all this because I remember that bill and am pretty sure it was in chicago, a mere hour from DeKalb).

People should probably check that band out, however I'm not really sure if math-rock is a good descriptor, but maybe their new stuff is mathy?  I guess I haven't kept up with them that tightly.

[kwintpod]

TwinSisterMoon-The Hollow Mountain

Detouring Natural Snow Building’s blues drone into mournful, emotionally collapsed folk, sound sculpter Mehdi Ameziane parlays a fragile hand with back-from-the-dead determination on both of these releases. Joined in places by Solange Gularte, also of Natural Snow Buildings, on cello and flute, keep things light and almost martial in spaces like “Bride of the Spirits” (appearing on both of these releases) and the celestial expanse of “Maps of Dreams.” This is mystical music, flowering and sublime on the 7”, but several shades darker throughout most of the full-length. Chilling, and only a tiny bit overdone; the abilities at hand here outweigh a couple of maudlin missteps. C93, Ennio Morricone, the sound of teenage seafoam ghosts come back from the dead to tell you the horror of the other side. You get it. Whoops, no you don’t: 7” was pressed in a numbered run of 300 in a 24-page, full-color booklet on a color of vinyl that adequately captures the music within; the LP is in a micropressing of 105, in a beautifully silkscreened chipboard jacket and an eight-page oversize booklet. A bounty of music and art, the kind of thing Pocahaunted or CocoRosie should be able to make, but can’t.

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?gitm2ijiond

[gospel]

Ah, brings me back to high school. More of the same, but that's not really a bad thing. I'll admit, I was really wary about using material from a (presumed) dead bandmate, but it worked out. I think they paid good homage.

Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers

Richey James Edwards disappeared in February 1995, just months after the release of the Manic Street Preachers' lacerating third album, The Holy Bible. He was officially presumed dead in November 2008 and just months later the Manics released Journal for Plague Lovers, an album that's an explicit sequel to The Holy Bible right down to its Jenny Saville cover art. The Manics pay tribute to their lost comrade by setting his last writings to music, getting Steve Albini — beloved by Richey for his production on Nirvana's In Utero, a clear antecedent and close relation to The Holy Bible — to produce a record unlike any they've made since his vanishing. Tripping on barbed-wire guitars and twitchy as a raw nerve even when it's draped in strings, Journal for Plague Lovers consciously harks back to the emotional bloodletting of Bible, only this manages to skirt the darkest corners of the soul, never quite feeling as desperately hopeless or unsettling as that bleakest of albums. Curiously, there's a feeling of comfort, even relief, to Journal for Plague Lovers, a palpable sense that the bandmembers are grateful to be confronting Richey's ghost head-on. Of course, the Manics never ignored Edwards, but he was notable as an absence — not presence — in their music: when he left, they chose to leave behind their arty punk for dignified arena rock. Here, they ditch that inflated sound — although, truth be told, they were making inroads in this direction on 2007's Send Away the Tigers — for tight, clanking, cantankerous guitars, so they're not only singing Edwards' words but playing his music, bringing him back into the band in a way that makes them full. Now that they've completed the songs he left behind, it's not that the Manics can finally put Richey to rest now, but rather that they've found peace, that they're finally ready to acknowledge and embrace the blackest portion of their past, and that the grieving has finally stopped and they're moving forward. Indeed, Journal for Plague Lovers winds up being The Holy Bible in reverse: every moment of despair is a reason to keep on living instead of an excuse to pack it all in.

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?fqyyltb2ywg

[scarred]

Hey Rosetta!, Oren Lavie, and 13Ghosts are all superb. Danke muchly.

[Tehz]

"Here, It Never Snowed. Afterwards It Did."

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?nddyjomcwwh

ATTN everyone: Download this NOW; this is seriously one of the most solid pieces of music I've heard in a long while.

[iamiam]

Code:

hxxp://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?omrznuzydth

from last.fm:

"Oh No! Oh My! is a four-piece indie rock band from Austin, Texas. Their music is rooted in an intricate melodic style reminiscent of The Magnetic Fields and Belle and Sebastian, fused with quirky lyrics and augmented by a diverse range of instruments."

this is just really sweet indie pop, and i think it's perfect happy summer listening (particularly 'walk in the park' and 'i have no sister').

[scarred]

^ --- is lovely.

Also, for those of you who care about this sort of thing, Pfork just scored Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix an 8.5.

[medicatesleep]

NEW MODEST MOUSE

Surprisingly rockin.


Johnny Marr.

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?ejyzzzmlxwy

[kwintpod]

Snowglobe-oxytocin

Snowglobe was at one point a normal, cohesive rock band. But it seems that on Oxytocin, the band's third album, it's become more of a collective helmed by Brad Postlethwaite-- there's a message in the artwork claiming that this is the first in a series on "solo-directed projects by the members of Snowglobe." The sound is still huge, layered like a Bryce Canyon cliff face. It's the kind of music that strokes the nerve that makes critics and P.R. people compare anything with a musical saw to Neutral Milk Hotel, and the comparison holds to a point. The instruments are densely piled on-- and yes, there is a saw-- but Postlethwaite's songwriting aims for something less impressionistic. There's more of a sense of communal music-making, rather than a feeling of being trapped in someone's free-associating head.

Big vocal harmonies figure prominently across the album, and I mean big. Postlethwaite and a couple of backup singers layer their voices into freakily homogenous choirs. It plays well into the overall aesthetic, and the melody is never lost in the complex arrangements and exceedingly dry production. The best vocal arrangement comes on "December Ghost", a pensive song built on a series of patterns that jump from one instrument to another, beginning on acoustic guitar and ending on the violin. The harmonies waft in and out, and at times the backing voices separate from one another to sing brief melodic phrases.

"At Times a Nightmare" is a slow, country-inflected song that suddenly lurches skyward after three minutes into a second movement-- it's far too substantial to think of as a coda-- and after the vocal portion there's a minute of flat-out wailing on analog synthesizers. It's the most cathartic song on an otherwise even-keeled album, and the lyric "Never wanted this to end/ Sunday morning it was back to the mourning/ It was back into the pain again" is among Postlethwaite's best.
Little instrumental interludes are sprinkled across the album, and rather surprisingly, they offer some of the most appealing moments. "Intro to Dry", um, introduces "Dry" with a bit of broken-backed trumpet, "Cellos" is a dramatic, charging instrumental that builds from a quiet cello ostinato to a roaring pile of instrumentals and then breaks back down to just a bass line in less than two minutes, and "Piano" is a brief stab of melancholy before the floating "Caroline", which is like the Radar Brothers with less stationary inertia.

Oxytocin is full of little surprises and details that reward repeat listens, but very few of the decorations seem merely tacked on. As full as it is, there are certain moments on the album where it oddly lacks atmosphere, perhaps a side effect of the saturated production. That's a small complaint, though, and Oxytocin is a resounding success that makes me wonder what else is on tap in this solo-directed Snowglobe series.

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http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?klunm4gwnym

[kwintpod]

King Geedorah

The King Geedorah project, unlike Doom's recent outing as Viktor Vaughn, finds MF almost exclusively behind the boards, comfortable with rocking the SP1200 and letting others turn out the mic. Only two tracks feature Doom rhyming, but at least one of them is an album highlight: Along with Mr. Fantastik's GZA-by-way-of Humpty Hump delivery and a sleazy, greasy blues guitar, Doom pushes "Anti-Matter" straight to the top of the heap. Even without Doom's verbal skills, the roster here lives up to Metal Fingers standards, with nary a wack emcee in sight (compare that to a record like Peanut Butter Wolf's My Vinyl Weighs a Ton, which featured a few lightweights in the pack). Kurious (billed here as Biolante) sets the bar high on "Fastlane" with an unflappable and confident delivery that fits in amazingly well with the squealing guitar riff that forms the track's hook. In a rare moment of introspection, Hassan Chop does some ruminating on past mistakes and lost friends in "I Wonder", and it's to his credit that the song is affecting without tripping headlong into melodramatic cliché.Take Me to Your Leader will excite you in a way most hip-hop projects just aren't able: It's not straining for credibility nor putting effort into being revelatory; it just is. Everyone involved got their kicks making this record, and the enthusiasm drips off the jewel case. Like Bobbitto Garcia says: "Create and share with the world." In the album's press release over at Big Dada, MF says: "You should listen to the album for what it is and not expect it to be like the average 'rap' stuff you're probably used to... a blend of ill lyrics and instrumentals. To me, it's way iller than any of the wack shit out now." And not like you'd expect a chef to say his dishes taste like shit, but this time the horse's mouth speaks the absolute truth.

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http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?12yihozyh5i

[kwintpod]

Chocolate usa-All jets are gonna fall today

All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today introduces Chocolate U.S.A. as an eclectic, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink power-pop ensemble with a strong pan-ethnic aesthetic. Singer Julian Koster's song-stories recall the work of Jonathan Richman, while the prominence of Liza Wakeman's violin in the mix can't help but bring to mind Camper Van Beethoven.

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http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?n5wokytwnzz

[MennoniteDan]

First of, potentially, many....


Herbie Hancock - Fat Albert Rotunda

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http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?hni2gmd2xym

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain

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http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?mftybszjt92

Captain Beefheart - Clear Spot

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http://www.mediaf!re.com/download.php?nmjnoggnzna

[JayJayD]

Here's the essential first Tuxedomoon album Half-Mute. Unfortunately I don't have a cover for it.

Code:

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?xl5qmnzmnmm