Users
Youtube Is Weird
I found these homemade videos for DOP songs on Youtube. It's moving, and weirdly voyeuristic, to peer into the world of total strangers who used our songs to soundtrack a slice of their lives.
The first one is nothing but shots of a woman in training for a marathon. We see her running on overpasses, sidewalks, leafy paths, beaches. I'm guessing she's in Florida, based on the vegetation, and that she's being filmed by her loving husband, cheering her along every step of the way. But who knows? Maybe she's being stalked. The song is "Girls and Sunshine," from our first EP. There's a very small cult that thinks this is our best song and call for it at shows. We pretend not to hear them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
And in this one a young Canadian takes a snowy bike ride around his subdivision, to the tune of "Your Summer Dress." If only we had called the song "Your Winter Dress," this would be the perfect video. I love it. Thanks, nastyrats!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
xo
doug
Valentine's Day with Band of Horses + Dirty on Purpose
We are playing a show with Band of Horses on Valentine's Day (yeah yeah we know, a commercial holiday, but having a reason to make out is always good). The good folks over at JellyNYC put together the lovefest at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Kinda spooky, kinda romantic? We dig it. We hope you do too. You can purchase tickets at ticketweb.com.
Mixing with Mark Ephraim + Paul Mahajan, Damn Fine Handsome Producers
Just some photos from the mixing process of our Dead Volcanoes EP for RCRDLBL.com. We would listen to those songs over and over and over again... They are finally finished! We can't wait for you to hear them... The last three songs come out in February, March and April.
Looks like George is getting hungry...
Doug is the laid-back type.
Paul stares into the abyss of the machine...
Mark, George and DJ are obviously concentrating very hard.
"Leaving" Lyrics
i see you doing dishes
i know you're making wishes
for down the line
we're waiting on the weekend
as if we'll find some peace then
on down the line
you're making your advances
i think i like my chances
i'll hold the line
don't get so defensive
cause everything that ends is
still on the line
you're leaving here tonight
for no good reason
and no words to describe
it makes no difference
if i'm putting up a fight
or if i'm dead or alive
you're leaving here tonight
there's nothing I can say now
i'm like a dead volcano
just passing time
it's not enough to kiss you
i wish i could go with you
on down the line
you're leaving here tonight
for no good reason
and no words to describe
it makes no difference
if i'm putting up a fight
or if i'm dead or alive
you're leaving here tonight
you're leaving here tonight
she's leaving here tonight
it's not a rite of passage
just someone else's baggage
STREAM: Case Studies - Everything
On "Everything," Case Studies continues their exploration of post-Basement Tapes Americana. Swaying, drunk, ramshackle, a little countrified, a little bluesy, a little rocking, this one has more concern for the right emotional take than the right instrumental one. Keep it in your pocket for your next road trip.
STREAM: Smith Westerns - 3am Spiritual
Hit that third record and it's time to go mature. It's one of the oldest tricks in the rock LP handbook, but Smith Westerns pull it off with poise, impeccable production and some of the most timeless-sounding summer songs I've heard in awhile on Soft Will. "3am Spiritual" is your example – flighty, dreamy, anthemic and rippling with just enough '70s-aping guitar leads to encourage a Sunday where kissing is the only thing on the agenda.
STREAM: Tweens - Don't Wait Up
My recent punk obsession Tweens mixes their usual snot with some tears on the rough and charming "Don't Wait Up." The guitars, still dirty as hell, echo and sputter, while the vocals exude just the right amount of loneliness to draw you in for a sucker punch.
STREAM: Alex Bleeker & The Freaks - Step Right Up (Pour Yourself Some Wine)
On "Step Right Up (Pour Yourself Some Wine)," Alex Bleeker – aka the anchor of Real Estate – joins his Freaks to pay tribute to Neil Young and strum-laden relaxation. It's a simple, resonant song tinged with melancholy yet also directly reflective of its relaxing, bleary-eyed title.
ON THE RCRD: Pure X
Whether emotionally or physically, Pure X's Crawling Up The Stairs is a record about being crippled. Their debut Pleasure, all fog, mystery and summery escapism, was like a nice spritzer compared to this new one's multi-bottle emotional severity.
Using the studio as more of an instrument, the Austin group shows great range throughout Crawling. "I Come From Nowhere" is a frozen-heart torch song. "Things In My Head" is about that fantasy relationship that eventually crushes you under its inherent intellectual stupidity. "Never Alone" is a bleary-eyed ode to having a friend in loneliness that brings to mind masters-of-sadcraft like Red House Painters.
It's a big step forward – the kind that I wish more bands would make on a second or third album. With such a readymade, enjoyable formula already set, Pure X could have just knocked another one out and collected some new summer babes. They took a risk, though, opening their wounds and letting the blood seep into a unique psychedelic puddle.
I got the band (Nate Grace, Jesse Jenkins and Austin Youngblood) to go On the RCRD and tell us more.
Life changing record for you was…
JJ- rain and tears by aphrodites child (mp3)
NG- TVZ live at the old quarter (cd)
Matty Tommy- Lefty Frizzell self titled (Lp)
AY- Willie nelson- yesterdays wine (LP)
What people, outside of music, have influenced you over the last year?
NG- Carl Jung
What did you learn about yourself and/or the world at large the last time you made a record?
AY- how badass I am
What gift would you most like to possess?
NG- being able to change water to wine
What quality do you admire most in a song?
AY- quality
JJ- pain
NG- feel
What's your take on the music business in 2013?
JJ- posers vs composers
Best instrument ever invented was....
Ay- pedal steel
JJ- oberheim 4voice
NG- sitar
VIDEO: La Femme - It's Time To Wake Up (2023)
Do people surf in France? I really don't care, but these La Femme kids seem to have the sound down, pinching a little Broadcast and the propulsive nu-kraut of early Stereolab into an organ-laced stunner. Also, the video has a lady with an eye-patch and leather jacket doing some crazy shit. It's cool.
