Disclaimer: You May Find a Broken Link

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!
Showing posts sorted by date for query The Faint. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query The Faint. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Friday, August 14, 2009

Recommended Song and Lollapalooza Day 2 Recap

Sweden

8/8/09: Let it Fall, by Lykke Li

Listen to it HERE

I really like her whole album, Youth Novels. I very much encourage you to check it out. I'm serious. Youth NovelsYouth NovelsYouth Novels



Lollapalooza, Day 2

SO happy it didn't rain again! It was warm and beautiful and I LOVED it :) I decided to try the LP33.tv thing one more time, so I started my morning at the press tent. This time, I even roped Chris Balzer into it.

My first stop was Ezra Furman (Chicago, IL). And while the music was certainly good, I spent most of their show in the shade lathering on sunscreen and ordering a cheeseburger for breakfast. Delta Spirit (CA) was the first act on my list of must-sees. They were awesome! I'm officially a fan, and big thanks to @Labatt205 for the inspiration :) Here's a clip of their performance:


From Delta Spirit I went right over to Langhorne Slim. I was SUPER excited to see him, as I love his song "Rebel Side of Heaven." I captured a bit of that song on video, which you can see HERE.

From here Chris and I did our LP33.tv stints, both failing miserably at trying to say "LP33.tv." I headed over to the XRT Relax and Recharge area and Chris visited the ADIDAS shoe van-thing. Again, you'll see it when I run for office...

I headed to Gomez (Southport, UK) next, against my own advice, but on the insistence of others. Again, I don't remember what it was that turned me off to Gomez, but for some reason I regretfully tagged along. (I was OK not going to Chairlift because I have tickets to see them with Micachu & the Shapes soon at Schubas) Thankfully, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed them! I need to add them to my current "Need to Listen to" playlist so I can hear more, and maybe soon you'll see them featured on MPD!

Following Gomez we hiked to Arctic Monkeys (England, UK). I met up with some friends for this, so I didn't really concentrate on their show. I was hoping to pay a bit more attention to them, as I like several of their songs, but oh well.

I caught Santigold (Brooklyn, NY) from the TV on the Radio stage. She was fun! I was impressed, and had no idea she'd been touring for the last two years. Lolla's show was her first show back in the states after her tour overseas, and the last show of her U.S. and overseas tour - so a big night for her!

TV on the radio (Brooklyn, NY) was a HUGE surprise. Sure, I liked them. Sure, I featured them. But goodness people, these guys are FABulous! A whole new level of respect and admiration for TVOTR. I left their show a few songs into it though, to try and get a good spot at Animal Collective (Baltimore, MD) (one of my top 3 shows to see). I failed horribly at this mission. It's sad and embarrassing.

I stood for an hour at the wrong stage. Yep, completely wrong stage. In retrosect, all our questioning of "what's taking so long?" and "why are those people next to us dressed like Jesus and the Devil?" makes more sense once you realize we were up front at Tool's stage! UGH! Uuuuuuugh. I suck at life. :(

Anyway, I caught 1.4 songs of Animal Collective's set, and all 1.4 songs were AWESOME. I'm SO sad I missed it, and SO happy we realized we were at the wrong state when we did, or I would have been in for a ruuuuude awakening when the band came out.


After Animal Collective, I did watch 15 minutes of Tool (LA, CA) (from a distance far, far away from the stage) and then closed out the night with Yeah Yeah Yeahs (NYC) at the other end. Truth be told, I don't remember much of their set. I was ready for bed.

The quick replacement of the Beastie Boys with YYY got me to thinking, who would be on my dream Lolla line-up? Some of my line-up actually was there, including Of Montreal, Passion Pit, Animal Collective and Friendly Fires. Others I'd add would include The Faint, Semi Precious Weapons, Bowie, Paul McCartney, Calvin Harris, Arcade Fire, The Blow, Hard-fi, No Doubt, Muse, Hot Chip, Yeasayer, Ha Ha Tonka, Verona Red, Modest Mouse, Paul Simon, Radiohead, Moving Units, and The Black Keys. OOOOOOOrgasmic. :)


Here are some more random pictures from Lollapalooza Day 2:

Next up, Day 3! :)

Tracy :)

To hear artists from Lollapalooza Day 2 that I've featured on MY blog, click the links:

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Awesome AVness

LOVE The Faint. If you've been to one of their live shows, you'll know that they project videos for each song while they're playing. Due to popular demand, they started posting these projections on YouTube. The one for Southern Bells in London Sing is below, but visit their YouTube to see more.



Friday, April 3, 2009

Recommended Song of the Day + Concert Tonight!

4/3/09: Farewell to the Fairground, by White Lies

White Lies and Friendly Fires (I'm a bigger fan of FF) will be at Double Door tonight. I'm SUPER excited for it!


Tomorrow I'll be at Metro to see THE FAINT! I can't express in writing how excited I am for that show. I could possibly express it in squealing...


Did you know, that 29 days from now at Double Door Office, Loyal Divide, Kyle Andrews, The Seedy Seeds and Coltrane Motion will be there?! Joined by DJ Brad Owen, it will be A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.


See you tonight, tomorrow and/or May 2!


Tracy :)

West London, England

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

My Current Pandora QuickMix

Here's who's included:

Coltrane Motion
Office
CSS
Kyle Andrews
Stereo MC's
Radiohead
Fujiya & Miyagi
Architecture in Helsinki
Passion Pit
Animal Collective
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
Of Montreal
Moving Units
The Blow
Calvin Harris
Justice
MGMT
The Faint
Junior Senior


Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Last 25 Albums I listened to








My Album Ratings

When I started this blog in November I made a goal to listen to albums. I think I've been too into my iPod lately and needed to get back to hearing albums and bands the way they are intended to be heard - in a full-length, non-shuffle format. I made up a rating system to keep track of them, with ##### being the best. I've decided to share my list to-date for a few reasons:
  1. Hopefully you'll find good music
  2. Hopefully you'll give me new good music
  3. Hopefully since I'm sharing such intimacies with you, our bond will grow stronger
First sorted by rating, then chronologically because if you're an analytical freak like me you might enjoy seeing my sequence of discovery.

Enjoy!


Tracy
:)



By Rating

#.5
Sigur Rós - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust

##
Fleet Foxes -
Fleet Foxes
The Hold Steady -
Stay Positive

##.5
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Girl Talk -
Feed the Animals
Lucinda Williams -
Little Honey

###.5
She & Him -
Volume One
Vampire Weekend -
Vampire Weekend

####
Dr. Dog -
Fate
I'm From Barcelona - Who Killed Harry Houdini?

####.5
Battles -
Race In
Foals - Antidots
Greg Wood - Vibrating Glass
Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Tapes 'N Tapes - Walk it Off

#####
The Blow - Paper Television
Calvin Harris - I Created Disco
Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini
The Faint -
Fasciinatiion
The Faint -
Wet From Birth
Langhorne Slim - Langhorne Slim
MGMT -
Oracular Spectacular
Moving Units -
Dangerous Dreams
Mugison - Mugiboogie

Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping


Total List Chronologically
  1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago ##.5
  2. Dr. Dog - Fate ####
  3. The Faint - Fasciinatiion #####
  4. The Faint - Wet From Birth #####
  5. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes ##
  6. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals ##.5
  7. Greg Wood - Vibrating Glass ####.5
  8. I'm From Barcelona - Who Killed Harry Houdini? ####
  9. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular #####
  10. Moving Units - Dangerous Dreams #####
  11. Sigur Rós - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust #.5
  12. She & Him - Volume One ###.5
  13. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend ###.5
  14. Calvin Harris - I Created Disco #####
  15. Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins ####.5
  16. The Blow - Paper Television #####
  17. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga ####.5
  18. Langhorne Slim - Langhorne Slim #####
  19. Battles - Race In ####.5
  20. Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini #####
  21. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping #####
  22. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive ##
  23. Foals - Antidots ####.5
  24. Tapes 'N Tapes - Walk it Off ####.5
  25. Mugison - Mugiboogie ######

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Recommended Song of the Day

12/2/08: Paranoiattack, by The Faint

This song is off their Wet From Birth album (which received ##### from yours truly). I'll admit, I've only known The Faint for a few months, but I love everything I've heard from them so far. Big fan of their album Fasciinatiion too (another ##### rating).

Tracy :)

Omaha, NE

Chicago Live Music Venues

Schubas
3159 N. Southport Avenue
165-200 capacity

website: http://schubas.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/schubas
twitter: http://twitter.com/schubas

Of all the venues in Chicago, I feel most confident that Schubas has good music any night of the week. When I don't know what to do with my night out, I'll head to Schubas without even checking the bill, it's just that awesome. It's purely convenient that it's also closest to my house.

This venue also has an upstairs with a small bar that can be rented out, which on weekends usually houses a DJ set after the show.

Shows I've seen here: Ha Ha Tonka*, Passion Pit*, White Rabbits, Chairlift, Pet Lions, Big Science, Bishop Allen, Micachu... If you can get booked here, do it!



Lincoln Hall
2424 N. Lincoln Avenue
Just over 500 capacity

website: http://www.lincolnhallchicago.com/
myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/lincolnhallchicago
twitter:
http://twitter.com/lincolnhall

I was SO excited when I heard that Schubas' owners were opening a new, larger venue in Chicago. As mentioned above, I LOVE Schubas! This space offers a larger room with two floors, making it the perfect venue for all the fabulous indie acts that quickly sell out Schubas (which is much smaller).

Despite the absolutely fabulous schedule of shows announced for the first few months of the venue's existence, it took me until NYE 2009 to check out the venue. I saw Fiery Furnaces and consumed lots of cider, and it was a wonderful evening. I absolutely cannot wait to go back, and I encourage you to make your way to Lincoln Hall asap.



Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Avenue
Around 400 capacity

website: http://www.emptybottle.com/home.php
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/emptybottlechicago
twitter: http://twitter.com/theEmptyBottle

Definitely another of Chicago's best indie venues. Good, live music 7 days a week, and always a fun crowd. A slight downside is its location, but it's something I've definitely made the trip for. If you can get booked here, do it!



Subterranean
2011 North Avenue
375 capacity upstairs; 175 downstairs

website: http://subt.net/
myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/subtchicago
twitter: http://twitter.com/SubtChicago

In the 1920s, the first floor of Subterranean served as a wire room for gambling, while a brothel occupied the second and third floors. Supposedly there are secret tunnels in the basement, used by the likes of Al Capone when a quick escape was needed. Without even knowing the history, this venue is full of character and custom niches, but knowing this makes it oh-so-much cooler.

In the actual music hall, there are two floors with two bars. There used to be some couches upstairs too, but they're not there any longer so I'm assuming the venue caught some under-agers being naughty on 'em during a 17+ show or something.

Without a doubt, a great Chicago venue! I've seen a few shows here, most notably Digitalism, Maps & Atlases and Verona Red. I'll for sure be back soon.



The Hideout
1354 W. Wabansia
150 capacity

website: http://www.hideoutchicago.com/
myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/thehideoutchicago
twitter: http://twitter.com/hideoutchicago

Oh The Hideout, how I love thee. I believe this to be the most sincere, down-to-earth, venue in Chicago. It's literally hidden amongst some random, large industrial-type buildings (hence the name?). There's a bar up front, cash only I believe, and the hall in the back. Quality acts only here, and how I long to book a show at The Hideout. One day, my good friends. When you have some time, both to check out a show and to commute to this off-the-beaten-path venue, I highly recommend it.



Beat Kitchen
2100 W. Belmont Avenue
275 capacity

website: http://www.beatkitchen.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/beatkitchenchicago
twitter:
http://twitter.com/beatkitchenbar

The Beat Kitchen has two bars, a full one up front and a small one in the music hall. Also, there's an upstairs private room for rent that I'm sure to take advantage of soon. And, did I mention that besides great music, they have the best Cobb salad I've ever had?! A great place to head for good music with a reasonable door cost, and they're pretty supportive of out of town bands too, so there's always something new.



Double Door
1572 N. Milwaukee Avenue
550 capacity

website: http://www.doubledoor.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/doubledoor
twitter:
http://twitter.com/doubledoor

The Double Door is awesome. Definitely a larger venue, it's located in the heart of ultra-trendy Wicker Park (across the street from Subterranean). There's the main floor, which is relatively large and open with black walls covered in stickers, posters, and naked Satyrs. There's a small upstairs that often serves as a VIP area, with some tables, seating and another bar. Another great thing about this venue is the downstairs area - full of dark lighting, pool tables, booth tables and another bar - making the downstairs a great place to hang out between acts. And despite its size, this venue is really supportive of local acts, so it's a great place to see Chicago acts with an already-built sizable following or touring larger acts.



Bottom Lounge
1375 W. Lake Street
~500 music room capacity; 260 front bar; upstairs Volcano Room around 900

website: http://www.bottomlounge.com/
myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/bottomloungechicago
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bottomlounge

Definitely a venue without much foot traffic, and therefore a venue that regularly hosts amazing shows that make the trip worth it! Some GREAT acts play the Bottom Lounge - another venue with a large open concert room, a few bars, areas of seating, and an upstairs space. Thia upstairs space, dubbed The Volcano Room, is nearly a venue in itself! Often rented out for industry events or private shows, it hosts a LOT of people and has a large outdoor deck. Definitely a place I'm excited is in Chicago.

At Bottom Lounge, I've heard the wonderful music of Lykke Li and Semi Precious Weapons - two artists that I LOVE.



Metro
3730 N. Clark Street
1,100 capacity

website: http://www.metrochicago.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/metrochicagoofficial
twitter:
http://twitter.com/metrochicago

The Metro is a polished, larger-scale indie-venue in Chicago. This venue feels the most corporate to me, in the sense that they're more supportive of the larger, touring acts than the locals. I've seen a few local shows here, so certainly there's a local presence, but overall this two-story venue located just down the road from Wrigley Park and right above Smart Bar is focused on larger acts. I saw The Faint here (AWESOME) as well as The Bravery and Semi Precious Weapons. I love it when I can catch a show here, but the door is usually $15-20 compared to most other venues at $5-10, so I usually head elsewhere.



House of Blues Chicago
Martyrs'
Elbo Room
Aragon Ballroom
Congress Theater
The Rockbox
Underground Lounge
Darkroom
Betty Blue Star Lounge
Cobra Lounge
The Horseshoe
Kinetic Playground
The Abbey Pub
Cubby Bear
LaSalle Power Co.
Park West
Ronny's
Vic Theater
Cal's Bar
Reggie's Live
Red Line Tap
The Mutiny
The Riviera

There are a LOT of establishments in Chicago that feature live music, but those listed above are most of the concert venues. I'll continue to add to this.

Snapshots - Summer Festivals 2009

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