So, there USED to be freenapster.com, and it USED to provide access to almost any artist's music. It was pretty awesome, and I linked ~90% of this blog's recommendations to that site. Now, apparently, Free Napster is no more. Booooooo.
It will be a long, on-going task of mine to redirect the links to somewhere you can hear the music, but in the meantime, if you click on a link that brings you to Napster where it asks you to sign in: 1) Be angry at them, for disrupting your chance to enjoy a good song 2) Google the song and still check it out, because it's awesome
If you have another source I should be using, please don't hesitate to send it my way. Email me for that, and any music recommendations, at tracy@groundwm.com. Thanks!
For all you music lovers outside of Chicago, you've likely heard of Reckless Records but maybe haven't had the chance to visit (yet). Well, this post is most especially for you! :)
There are many great record stores in Chicago, and three of my favorites are definitely the Reckless Record stores. I live really close to the one on Broadway, so I'm in there most often, but I visit the Wicker Park location pretty regularly too.
The Reckless stores are great because the staff is incredibly nice, the selection of new and used CDs seems endless (especially because if they have the item you're looking for at another location, they'll bring it over for you!), and there's WAY more than fabulous music. Especially at the Broadway location, there's ample selection of great movies (VHS and DVD), records, CDs, cassettes, t-shirts, magazines and more. Plus, posters for the latest and greatest local shows always line the entrance.
Within the last year they moved into this location from a much smaller store across the street, and this allowed for an increased supply of goods and space for live shows. So, Chicagoans and non-Chicagoans alike, head to Reckless next time you're nearby, and then maybe to Wilde's for an AMAZING buffalo chicken sandwich and Intelligentsia for an AMAZING cup of coffee... which is pretty much my perfect day. :)
Friday night I went to see my beloved Semi Precious Weapons at Subterranean. This was my fourth time seeing them in Chicago, and fifth overall. LOVE them. I don't think blogger allows a large and bold enough font to accurately express my positive feelings towards them. Their live show sucker punches everyone else's live show in the face and makes all the other live shows cry. It's full of the most beautiful rock and roll you'll ever see. They're currently on tour with Lady Gaga, which is great for them and ironic since Gaga used to open for them back in the day, so they're leaving the country again for a few months. BUT, next time they're in Chicago and playing a smaller venue (so NOT Chicago Theater w/Gaga), do yourself a favor and check out their show. You'll want to be up front and center for this one, so get there early and wear something fabulous. Below are some clips from their show.
Opening for SPW was LA's Nico Vega. Every once in a while I see a band I'm not familiar with and they blow me away. Ha Ha Tonka did it. Passion Pit did it. Nico Vega did it. They have a live show worthy of opening for SPW, which is a feat in itself that most can't conquer, and I can certainly call myself a fan. After rocking my socks off a few songs in a row, I decided to snap a clip for your viewing pleasure. Check it out below.
Saturday night was Chicago's Verona Red's turn to rock my socks off. They did, and they did it well. I am constantly impressed with their ability to play really great rock and roll with such vigor that people dance, instruments break, and good times are inevitable. Of all the Chicago bands I've seen, they have the best live rock show hands down. They're playing again in Chicago at Subterranean on May 14 with Hurricane Bells from NY and King Sparrow from Chicago, so if you have the desire to be rocked, check them out then. Below is a video of them starting the show with "In the Coat Check."
Model Stranger and The Flavor Savors also played Saturday. Mad props to Model Stranger for such an amazing album release show. "Dreams and Bones" sounded great live, and I'm looking forward to the next show. Also, The Flavor Savors were a blast. I captured a bit of their show below.
I attended My Gold Mask's FREE show last night at the Empty Bottle, and am completely happy I decided to forgo those few extra hours of sleep. Not only was MGM's performance my absolute favorite kind of performance - high energy and full of dancing - I also discovered Champaign's Common Loon. Common Loon was direct support for My Gold Mask and, despite the crowded room, failed to capture the attention [I believe] they deserved. Their music is calm and strategically built, and yet somehow they still brought the rock-and-roll vibes.
They start a 15-day tour on April 8 in Indianapolis in support of their first full-length album, The Long Dream of Birds. They stop back in Chicago on April 11 at Ronny's. I absolutely loved My Gold Mask, as did the many other people who came out to send them off to SXSW. And you could tell MGM loved us back.
Before the show, I read that MGM's live performance wasn't disappointing. It isn't. Their energy is just as raw and exciting as you might expect after hearing their tracks, and the crowd reacted warmly to it. I very much look forward to their next Chicago show, which as far as I know isn't on the calendars just yet.
At this point, I think I'm a bigger fan of their first album than their second, but either way I'm excited about this show.
On Monday, June 7, they'll play a FREE show at Chicago's own Millenium Park. She & Him made their first appearance on this blog on November 26, 2008, with "You Really Got a Hold on Me" as my Recommended Song of the Day.
Of course, there's a facebook event for this occasion. You can choose to attend the show HERE if you're like me and need a reminder closer to the show.
I am a fan of My Gold Mask's music. I first heard them on January 6, and have listened to their latest EP A Thousand Voicescountless times since. I was incredibly excited to learn that before this Chicago duo heads to SXSW, they're playing a FREE show at Empty Bottle on Monday, March 15. Assuming your hangover from the weekend's St. Patrick's Day festivities has subsided, I strongly encourage you to attend the show. It'll be a great way to burn all those alcoholic calories.
Over the past few months, My Gold Mask music has spread like wildfire. They have an electronically tribal sound, with a driving energy that encourages dancing. The lyrics are deep and fleeting, accompanied by a single guitar and a minimalist use of percussion. Many bloggers, including myself, are calling My Gold Mask a top Chicago act to watch in 2010.
My incessant googling lead to several questions, and MGM welcomed my invitation to share some conversation online. As a music lover and promoter, my questions ebb and flow between random points of interest. Read on to hear what Jack and Gretta from My Gold Mask have to say about SXSW, their dream line-up, and releasing new music.
Music Per Diem: I admire your approach to making music. In past interviews you expressed a desire to continuously challenge yourself, and to have your music be a product of your abilities and not your influences. In January to the Chicagoist, Gretta mentioned that adding a cymbal to more songs is one way she plans to challenge herself in 2010, but I’m curious to know what’s next. How do you plan to keep the process new? Do you see any other instruments on the horizon? Any collaborations? Do you think My Gold Mask will ever make the conscious decision to head in a completely new direction?
J: As you said, we're all for challenging ourselves and keeping things interesting to us. We basically have no set rules. We may add more, we may not. Our philosophy is to let the music, the songs, decide where we go next.
G: Well, since the Chicagoist interview, I've already added a cymbal. As for what's next? I don't know, I'd like to learn Braille. It doesn't necessarily have to be added instrumentation. It can be a language, or how to sew. When I was 13, I learned Morse Code for no reason other than it seemed interesting.
MPD: Music is certainly my favorite form of art.While I respect your choice to write in seclusion, purposefully avoiding any form of outside influence, I usually like the concept of artistic influences.The idea that one person’s art is responsible for the outcome of another person’s art is exciting to me, and seems slightly inevitable.Recently, your music was used by two other artists, Chicago musician The Hood Internet "Bitches," and fashion designer Phillip Lim used “Violet Eyes” and “Your Coo Ka Choo” in his Fall/Winter 2010/2011 fashion show.As an artist trying to avoid all influences, how do you feel when other artists integrate your work into theirs? Do you think you’ll ever hear someone else’s music and choose to integrate it into your work? Do other forms of art influence your sound?
J: Well, it's not so much that I'm trying to "avoid all influence", we of course have influences. It's more like an effort to leave those influences in the subconscious while we write songs. As far as other artists integrating our work that's always a thrill as well because it causes you to look at your own art in a different way.
G: And we have integrated someone else's music, in a way. We covered "Betty Davis Eyes" last year. We integrate all forms of art when it comes to music. It would be hard not to. We are sponges to the vibrations of all kinds of art and I hope that comes across in our music.
J: Though, when it comes to doing a cover song, it's only interesting to us if we feel like we do something different with it.
MPD: Up next for MGM is SXSW. If I were in a band offered to play SXSW, I’d be beyond fantastically excited. On a scale of 1 to 10, how fantastically excited are you?What part of the SXSW experience are you most looking forward to? Who tops your list of must-see shows? Was there a specific event that put MGM on SXSW’s radar, or would you accredit a broader situation?
G: We are very excited! Neither of us have ever been to SXSW, and we feel extremely lucky to get to play 3 amazing showcases with tons of amazing new bands. I just want to slip into it and ride the wave until someone tells me it's time to leave.
J: As to what led us to this....I don't really know if there was a specific event that led to us playing, I think it's just been about a few nice people who appreciate our music and are giving us a chance to share with even more people. That's what it's all about.
MPD: When describing your writing process, the words organic, collaborative and emotion often come up.For MGM, you’ve explained that a song generally starts with Jack exploring guitar riffs and Gretta throwing lyrics around, followed by adding drums and the occasional cymbal.It doesn’t seem like there’s a point where you decide to “create an album,” but rather once a few songs are penned, performed and polished you release them to the world.Is that accurate? Was there any conversation regarding how MGM is going to release music?
I find this discussion particularly interesting as the hands-down best strategy to release music hasn’t been determined yet.The jury’s still out on whether or not music today should be released for free or at a price? As a physical CD or digital format? Should the release be full-length or an EP?On a label or independently distributed? Personally, I believe in general that releasing free content regularly is one of the best things an artist can do – whether it be blog posts, video diaries, pictures, tweets or new music. As an artist, where do you see the industry heading?
G: I guess our only plan on how we release music is that when we have something finished, we just get it out there. It can be an EP or full length or just a single, it doesn't matter. It's whatever we feel like.
J: But, we will always have free mp3's out there because really, we just want people to hear our music. And that's the easiest way to get people to listen. And we will still make physical copies for people who like to hold something in their hands too. We would love to do a vinyl next.
MPD: In previous interviews you stated that MGM just “puts the music out there” and hopes people like it. From a business perspective, I’m curious where you “put it.” MySpace? Bandcamp? Where else? What medium provided your first traffic surge? What outlet has helped you best maintain the momentum this far? What types of things, if any, have you done proactively to get on someone’s radar? Based on your experiences thus far, what is your top recommendation to other artists?
J: Well, as an unsigned musician, sites like Bandcamp have been very helpful. It's easy to use and people can download straight from the site. It's also nice because you can embed the MP3's with your art, info, etc.I'm sort of a freak about having artwork attached to my mp3's. I actually have artwork on everything in my iPod. So, it drives me crazy when I download something and it's like "track 1" and has no art attached.
G: Our advice to another band would be, just give some songs away, don't be too possessive.
MPD: Name three things you’re loyal to (ie a brand of vodka, a Chicago coffee shop, a sports team, recycling, etc)
J: Comic Books, My Pug, Making music
G: Same for me, except switch comics for chocolate
MPD: Let’s play word association.
Conan O’Brien - rad
Lo-fi - warm
The Midwest - cold
MySpace -necessary evil
History - repeats
MPD: Last November, MGM was featured on a Pretty Much Amazing podcast with some pretty amazing artists, including Yeasayer, Girls, Hot Chip, Junior Boys, Department of Eagles, Sia and Four Tet.How does it feel to see your song Violet Eyes featured with that crowd? Of all the artists on the playlist, included below, who is your favorite? Beyond that list, who are some of your favorite artists today?
Artists on pmaCAST #21 include Four Tet, Karen O and the Kids, Ellie Goulding, Bloodgroup, Sia, The xx, Fyfe Dangerfield, Girls, Yeasayer, Maps, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Department of Eagles, Junior Boys, Peter Bjorn and John, and Hot Chip.
J: It's kinda weird to see our song next to all those names. But good weird! Some new stuff I'm digging lately: Shapers, Hussle Club, Cloud Nothings.
If Emiliana Torrini wrote lyrics to a Battles song, it might sound like Circle Mass, by My Gold Mask. With its very driven and large sound, this song will quickly rack up play counts on my iPod, especially because it's FREE HERE.
Give it a listen, and then (if you're not heading to Subterranean to see Verona Red) maybe head over to The Hideout to hear it live on Saturday, January 9.
8/26/09: Stuck at the Bottom, by Pet Lions Listen to it HERE
I checked them out tonight at Schubas, with Big Science and Empires. Out of all the bands, I enjoyed Pet Lions the most. I downloaded their EP Soft Right for FREE HERE and really liked it, but I REALLY liked their live show. Definitely a band with more rock and energy on stage than on CD, but a good listen all around.
As for Big Science and Empires, I enjoyed Big Science more with my eyes shut. The sound they created was great, but I was seriously distracted from enjoying it because of the nearly-awkward presence these guys had on stage. I definitely liked their music though, which you can hear HERE, but I'd only try them again live with some other guaranteed hits on the line-up.
I was excited for Empires, but wasn't impressed by their show. My favorite shows are the ones that radiate so much energy that without even knowing the band you're blown away. Passion Pit and Ha Ha Tonka, both at Schubas, did that to me. Empires did nothing to me. No pros, no cons.
Still happy I went. I wanted to catch each of these bands in the past, so there it was a 3-birds-1-stone situation. Plus, I got some super delicious pizza across the street, so a good Wednesday night overall.
I like a lot of this CHICAGO ARTIST's music, but this song always catches me right away. Hear more of him HERE and see him live Saturday at Lollapalooza, right after Langhorne Slim!
Day 2 was FABulous! Yeasayer exceeded all of my high expectations. I have some pictures and videos I'll post soon. Until then, it's off to Day 3! Today I'm most excited for Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen, M83, The Very Best, and Flaming Lips.
DAY 3 The Flaming LipsGrizzy BearM83The WalkmenThe Thermals Pharoahe MonchBlitzen Trapper Frightened Rabbit The Mae ShiThe Very BestMewVivian Girls JapandriodsDJ/RuptureWomenKiller Whales Dianogah Michael Columbia
The song's quite slow for the first few minutes; it does a really good job of bringing down your pulse. If I did yoga, I imagine the first 3:40 of this song would be great. I love the varying dynamics, and when the downbeats and vocals are thrashing around at ~5min, I fell in love. If you like this song, here's another fun one: Everyone is Guilty.
Oh, and they're playing Bottom Lounge in Chicago on Friday, July 24.
LOVE Verona Red's live shows! They're playing back-to-back in Chicago this week - no excuse not to make one! Free music and cookies - two of my favorites :)
Friday, 5/22 Verona Red and five other bands @ Cubby Bear 21+ $7 ($4 if you check out their Thursday show @ Subterranean too!)
I just discovered Chicago Innerview at Empty Bottle this past Friday. LOVE it! It's a great resource for good music that's coming through the area. I highly suggest picking up a hard copy when you see one or visiting them online HERE.
The Greater Good and It's Always Easy (IAE is very She & Him-ish) are their newest tracks, which are being celebrated tonight at Empty Bottle. Oh, and the songs are FREE, click to download.
Liam Finn with Eliza Jane - Champagne in Seashells
RCRD LBL Radio
I'm a big fan of RCRD LBL.
RCRD LBL is a network of online record labels and blogs offering completely FREE (and almost ALWAYS amazing) music. I love them SO much, I added their radio widget to my site.
Enjoy! and check 'em out! :)
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