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 relevance for query office. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query office. Sort by date Show all posts

Friday, March 20, 2009

May 2 Press!

It's a Groundwork Music Idea!

AND it's on May 2 @ Double Door

AND it just got a shout-out on Gapers Block in a post about Office.



Office will be headlining the event and tickets are on sale now! Click their pic to check out their myspace and click HERE to download some of their new tunes for free.

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:

Chicago Bands

Chicago has a rich local music scene, including the acts below. This page is still in production, as I hope to add links, descriptions, and more bands soon.

1,000 Vertical Feet
The 2 Plus 2
72 Hours
A&R
A Birdsong Valentine
A Quiet Capture
Abstract Giants
Action Finger
The Adornments
Airiel
Aktar Aktar
Algren
Andrew Belle
Animal City
American Taxi
Archie Powell and the Exports
The Assembly
Athens
The Attraction
The Barcait Couture
BBU
Bear Claw
Bicycle, Tricycle
Big Science
Bird Ate My Donut
The Bitter Tears
Black Dog
Blah Blah Blah
Blane Fonda
Blasted Diplomats
The Bears of Blue River
The Blissters
Blueblood
Bluemoonrevue
Boho Paisley
Bottle Rocket Blue
Bound Stems
Breakers Broken
Brandan Losch
Bright Like Japan
Brighton, MA
The Brother Whys
Bullet Called Life
Bullets in Madison
Bully in the Hallway
Butterfly Assassins
Button Pushers
Califone
Calvin Marty and the Sunken Ship
Camera
Catfish Haven
The Cathy Santonies
Cavashawn
Cave
Ceiling Stars
Cobalt and the Hired Guns
Color Radio
Coltrane Motion
Company of Thieves
Conductive Alliance
Constantine and the Emperors
The Cortlandt Homes
Crooks and Children
Cyclesomething
Daily Void
Danger is my Middle Name
Daniel Knox
David Costa
Debello
Detholz!
Dick Prall
Digital Mindy
The Dirty Rooks
Dot Dot Dot
Easy Prey
Echo Son
Elipse
Empire State Express
Empires
Escape From Earth
EVA
Ezra Furman
Face Time Police
Facing Forward
Farewell Captain
The Felix Culpa
Fishing with Spoons
Flatbed Orange
Flowers for Dorian
The Fold
Gemini Club
Gia Margaret
Glasko
The Glide
Glorious Noise
Goodbye Satellite
Goodbyehome
Grammar
The Great Society Mind Destroyers
GreenSugar
Greyce
Gunner's Daughter
The Hallow
Hay Perro
Haywood Yards
Helicopters
Hey Champ
High Gloss Black
Hollus
Honest Engines
Horse and the Sea
Hospital Garden
Hotel Ahead
House of Normandie
Hudson Branch
The Hue
I Fight Dragons
Icepaw
Icy Demons
IJ Quinn
Ike Reilly Assassination
In Tall Buildings
Inept
Inkbat
The Innocent
The Ivorys
Janus
Jerome Holloway
Jessica Sonner
Joe Pug
Johnny Rumble
Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers
Kaspar Hauser
The Kickback
Kid You'll Move Mountains
Killer Whales
King Sparrow
Last Fast Action
The Lavellas
Left Brain Heart
Lemmy Caution
The Lifeline
Lights Over Bridgeport
Local H
The Locals
Lophophora
Love and Squalor
Love in October
Love Raid
Lovers in Arms
Loyal Divide
Lucid Ground
Lying Delilah
The M's
Made In Hollywood
Magas
Makeshift Prodigy
Mannequin Men
Maps & Atlases
Mason's Case
Mazes
Meqqa
Mic Terror
Mike Mangione
Mike Reeb
Mikkey Halsted
Milk & Honey
Mira Mira
Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra
Miss Jackie and The Sass
Mittens on Strings
Model Stranger
Mother Electric
The Moves
Moxie Motive
Moxxy
Mr. Bear
Mr. Russia
Mucca Pazza
My Gold Mask
Nathan Xander & Witchouse
Netherfriends
Office
Ohtis
Old Fake
On the Run
Otter Petter
Panda Riot
Paperplant
Par Avion
Pelican
Percolator
Pet Lions
Pistols at Dawn
The Poison Arrows
Pool of Frogs
Press Gang
Prizzy Prizzy Please
Qualms
Quasar Wut-Wut
Rabble Rabble
The Race
Raise High the Roof Beam
Raised on Zenith
Real Lunch
The Redfords
The Right Now
The Rikters
Rob Nicholas
Robbie Zar
Robot Lounge
Russian Circles
Saltillo
Sars Flannery
Scott Wesley
Seth Bradley
Shelley Miller
Shock Stars
The Silents
The Singleman Affair
Skybox
Sleeper Car
Sleeping at Last
The Smith Westerns
Snowsera
State and Madison
The Streets on Fire
Sunday Morning Chameleon
Surrender Dorothy
Surround Sound
The Sweeps
Sybris
Take the Panda
Team Band
Tell Your Friends
Them vs. Them
This Is Me Smiling
Tiger Bones
Tijuana Hercules
Tiny Tron
Todd Kessler and the New Folk
Tom Schraeder & His Alter Ego
Tomorrow Never Knows
Treaty of Paris
Triumph and Parade
Tyler Jon Tyler
Twilight Revival
Unicycle Loves You
Universe
V Sparks
Vacations
Van Ghost
Verona Red
Victorian Halls
The Villains of Verona
Wally Dogger
Walter Meego
White Hot Knife
White Tie Affair
White Mystery
The Wiitala Brothers
Wild Peaks
The Window Theatre
Wyatt
YeaBig+KidStatic
Yawn
The Yearbooks
The Yolks
The Young Sea
Yourself and the Air
Youth Dekay

If you're a Chicago band and would like to be listed here, please contact me at tracy@groundwm.com

Friday, March 13, 2009

Recommended Song of the Day

3/13/09: Q&A, by Office

LOVE this song! If you like it too, be sure to check them out live in Chicago on Saturday, May 2, at Double Door. It will be a great show and, of course, I'LL BE THERE! :)


Enjoy!


Tracy :)


Chicago

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


Friday, May 1, 2009

FOUR New Music Venues in Chicago

Yeah, FOUR.

It's hard to believe, especially in this economy, but I LOVE it. I think I might check out LaSalle Power Co tonight, but I'll FO SHO be at Double Door tomorrow to see Office, Loyal Divide, Kyle Andrews, Coltrane Motion, The Seedy Seeds and DJ Brad Owen. CAN'T WAIT for that! :)

Read more details about food, drinks, and cover here.


LaSalle Power Co.

LaSalle Power Co.
Grand opening:
May 1
Music:
The Eat Well, Drink Better folks (English, Grand Central) are behind this 22,000-square foot, tri-level River North bar-restaurant-concert venue, located in the former Lalo’s space. The top-floor performance area, only open during shows, will house live music Thursday through Saturday, with two of those nights occupied by a house band comprising a DJ, drummer and bassist.
Local focus:
At least one night per month will be devoted to hosting local bands.


3116 Club
Grand opening:
Already open!
Music:
Open since Monday, this 4,500-square foot Garfield Park hang plans to run the gamut from rock to salsa to jazz to techno. Shows will be held Tuesdays (all ages), Fridays and Saturdays (21+).
Local focus:
100 percent! 3116 is exclusively dedicated to local artists. Sorry, U2.


VLive
Expected opening:
May 20
Music:
Located above Logan Square’s Fuego Mexican Grill, the tri-level, 30,000-square foot VLive will book regional Mexican, salsa and rock bands, plus booking by LiveNation and the folks at Aragon. Rock bands normally will hit the stage Thursday, with more cultural acts on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, and national and international DJs on Friday and Saturday.
Local focus:
Theoretical. Manager Rafael Mendoza intends to represent artists from all over the world. While no specific local angle is in place, Mendoza is considering booking a “Hometown Heroes” night.


The Shrine
Opening:
Soft opening May 22; grand opening June 4.
Music:
Housed in the former Chicago Legends space and overseen by Joe Russo, who helped open Funky Buddha in 1996, this 8,000-square foot South Loop club expects to hold DJ events three nights a week and host live bands every Thursday and occasionally on Sundays. Represented genres: Neo-soul, hip-hop, R&B, funk, Latin and Afrobeat. The space’s separate but connected lounge, Coup d’etat, will host DJ events six nights a week.
Local focus:
About three local band events per month.

Props to MM

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Concert Tonight!

Loyal Divide is playing at Empty Bottle tonight!

Then it's off to SXSW for them... BUT, on May 2 they'll be at Double Door with Office, Kyle Andrews, Coltrane Motion, The Seedy Seeds, and DJ Brad Owen. If you can't make tonight's show, be sure to be there on 5/2. Even better, check out both!


Saturday, May 2, 2009

Recommended Song of the Day

5/2/09: Ex-girlfriend In A Coma, by Coltrane Motion

Listen to it HERE

They're playing TONIGHT at Double Door at 6:00 - BE THERE! I'll be there :)


Also joining them tonight, Office, Kyle Andrews, The Seedy Seeds, Loyal Divide and DJ Brad Owen.


ALL DAY full of GOOD MUSIC.


See you later!


Tracy
:)

Chicago

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

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Recommended Song AND Lollapalooza Day 1 Recap

Brooklyn,NY

8/7/09: Colors, by April Smith

Listen to it HERE

So, I was chosen to be an "official fan correspondent" this year at Lollapalooza for LP33.tv (I did it, it was fun, I wasn't great) and I got lost trying to find the media tend Friday morning. I ended up tagging alongside another person searching for the media tent, and they recommended I check out April Smith. I decided I'd look her up online later instead, as I was determined to see Hockey, but when I heard her music walking by I had to stop in. She was fabulous! She has a great voice, and randomly her song lyrics caught my attention ("When it comes to my man, I will fight like a boy.") BIG fan. Click her pic to hear more music.

She also introduced me to the website Kickstarter, which claims to be "a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers..." I LOVE this. Check it out. Some of the many cool projects featured on there include:
They have a really cool philosophy around payment, click HERE to check it out.

Enjoy!


Lollapalooza, Day 1 :)

Despite the fact that at one point in the day both of my thumbs were numb from being so cold, it was phenomenal. LOVED it, of course. Here's a recap of my day, and feel free to check out my twitter feed, as I also "tweeted my Lolla experience."

I stopped by April Smith (Brooklyn, NY) first, and they busted out an old Samsonite suitcase as an instrument. I really liked her show, hence today's recommendation.

Then I headded to Hockey (Portland, OR). I don't remember what put such a positive impression in my head about them, but I was really excited to see them. When I got there they were riled up with energy, but then suddenly all the music stopped. I'm assuming the rain messed something up, but it took awhile for sound to come back. The band passed the time by throwing cans of beer into the crowd. :) When the sound finally did come back, the band quickly line-checked and jumped right back into another song, only for the sound to go out again before the song was over. It really sucks for them, and for us. But mostly for them.

From Hockey I checked out Manchester Orchestra (Atlanta, GA). I just recommended them, so I was excited to see them live. They sounded really good, but I felt inspired to make the hike from the Budweiser stage on the north side to the 2016 stage on the south side to see Rockford's Hey Champ. Apparently Lupe thinks they're a big deal, and I thought they were pretty cool. Nothing FABulous in my book though. Check out some of Hey Champ on my YouTube channel HERE.

I stopped at Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (Austin, TX) next. They were awesome. Check out this clip I took during their show:


I did pause as I passed The Knux (Hollywood/New Orleans), because they sounded pretty good, but I didn't get to really check them out. I had to run to my "fan correspondent" gig w/LP33.tv. I taped a segment in Q101's Hammock Haven. Let's just say, if I ever become famous or run for office, I'm sure - somehow - that tape will appear. That will be awesome...

I stopped by Amazing Baby (Brooklyn, NY) next, and while I liked what I heard, I didn't fall in love. We left after a few songs and got some food and prepared to make our way over to Bon Iver (Northwestern, WI). I would have certainly enjoyed Bon Iver more had I not been freezing. Really, the cold distracted me during Bon Iver, Ben Folds, (Nashville, TN) and Fleet Foxes (Seattle, WA). I was determined to enjoy Of Montreal (Sunlandia/Athens, GA), which is where I headed after Fleet Foxes, so I grabbed a bottle of wine to warm up with. It helped. :)

OF MONTREAL was, is and forever-shall-be, FABULOUS. I'm in love with Kevin Barnes, and their music. I was SOOOO excited for this moment since the day I saw the line-up. It. Was. Awesome. :)





After Of Montreal I could barely walk... stumbled over to watch a bit of Depeche Mode, but can't say I was able to soak any of it in. We headed out early to catch Lykke Li (Stockholm, Sweden) at Bottom Lounge. Here's a clip from that show:



Here are some random pictures I took throughout the day. It's not creepy, just capturing the environment...


It was a FABulous Day 1 :) I hope you all had an equally rewarding day, if not more! Day 2's recap is up next...

Tracy :)

To visit MY blog postings for the artists that played on Day 1, check out these links:

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Some good upcoming Chicago shows (you're welcome)

Empty Bottle . 1035 N. Western Avenue

Mucca Pazza 1/09 (21+) $12 10:00


I can honestly say I've hardly ever been so excited for a local show as I am for Mucca Pazza! Band Geeks Unite! :)

Chicago, IL

Props to KM.



Schubas . 3159 N Southport Avenue

Passion Pit 1/27 (18+)
$10a/$12d 9:00
Cambridge, MA

Props to OT.



Don't know what you're doing on NYE yet? Chicago has plenty of great live music choices!

New Year's Eve

Schubas . 3159 N Southport Avenue

The Sea and Cake (21+) $20 10:00Chicago, IL


Bottom Lounge . 1375 W. Lake Street

Office (21+) $8Chicago, IL


Subterranean . 2011 W. North Avenue

Holy Fuck (21+) $30 10:00
Toronto, CA


Congress Theater . 2135 N. Milwaukee Avenue

Justice (18+) $50 7:00
Paris, France

Snapshots - Summer Festivals 2009

PITCHFORK