New Blog

Hey everyone...

First off I wanted to apologize to those of you out there who still see this old blog. I'd nearly forgotten about it in all the hustle and bustle of getting married and starting back to school a few years ago, but I figured I should post something today. I know the updates suddenly stopped, but I do have some good news now:

I've started up a new blog with 2 friends of mine. The reason I decided to stop "going it alone" was because I figured this would help me to not have the same result the second time around (the blog dying due to lack of updates). We're just getting started, the name of the blog is Sell the Lie. It's going to be quite similar to this one as far as the music that's posted but you should be seeing more frequent updates since there's now 3 authors now instead of one.

I'm quite excited for this new adventure and I'm hoping that those of you still out there will jump on over. Here's the site again:

http://sellthelie.blogspot.com

Thanks - hope to see you there!

Kraig

Winner and a small update

Sorry everyone, I got my Tuesday's mixed up. I thought today was the day I was supposed to announce the winner, but I was informed otherwise earlier today...sorry for the lateness.

Anyways, the winner is....

Justin Whaley!

I've also tacked on another CD (Essential Miles Davis).

I have another contest coming at the end of the week with some kick-ass features from Saturna and The Cat Empire. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to do any write ups yet or upload/rip any songs...sorry folks. I'm 1 of 2 managers at work, and the other manager's wife just went into labor 10 weeks early, needless to say I'm covering every shift until she's out of the hospital (though all seems to be going well so far). It looks like I'll see some daylight outside of work on Saturday, but until then - farewell!

The dangers of studio time...

Not much can get me more excited than new music from Ryan Adams. Yes, yes - he probably records and releases more than is good for him, but it still always gets me excited to know I'll get to hear some thing new.

Ryan posted 36 new "songs" on his website last week, which probably got me more excited than it should have. From my experience recording in a studio, I understand where these tracks came from. Sometimes you just get frustrated with the songs you're actually trying to record, and songs like these result.

The first 20 some odd songs are all old school, punk Ryan Adams (The Finger, anyone?). The last chunk seem to be just random country doodlings with rooster noises, claps and lyrics about drinking too much. All pretty silly, but hey - my band ended up recording an album about my roomate and his potential encounters with homosexual robots when recording once, so I can relate.

Here's a few tracks:

[mp3] Unicorns for Sale
[mp3] Lord, I Drink Too Much

You can download the whole package here (courtesy of some fine people over at RAO). It also includes the other songs that have streamed off his website (Dot com muthafucka), so enjoy and laugh. We'll all have some real Ryan Adams soon...

Visit Ryan's (kick ass) website here.

Now, for something *highly* recommended...

You know when you find a new band that you simply want to scream about to anyone with ears???? Libbie fits that bill, take a listen.

First off, you should shake off any of the normal stereotypes that come to mind when seeing a picture of a girl with a guitar. This isn't Avril and this certainly isn't Michelle Branch. The person in the photo above is named Libbie Linton and quite simply put - she's amazing.

I've known Libbie for a few years now and I'm very excited for you all to hear her. She's been writing and playing songs for a while now, though until recently it was more or less just for herself. The tracks below are from Libbie's Shackleton EP, her debut effort. The songs have a distinct "indie-folk" feel, the comparisons that come to my mind would be The Decemberists or Iron & Wine.

I just recommend a listen for yourself. Trust me - you won't regret it.

[mp3] What's Left
[mp3] Shakleton, I'm Solid

Visit Libbie's official website.

Make sure you enter the CD Giveaway contest! Click here to enter.

Big Tuesday

It was quite a fine Tuesday today for us music lovers.

Today saw the major label debut of The Decemberists for the indie-loving world and highly-anticipated sophomore outings from Jet and The Killers. Oh, and that Beck guy put out a new album too.

I've had the chance to sit down and listen to The Crane Wife (Decemberists) and Shine On (Jet) so far. I don't really have an interest in The Killer's new album...sorry kids, I just don't think their guarantees of it being the "greatest album ever" will meet my expectations, especially since I never got into them in the first place. I guess it's my inner "indie snob" coming through...

Beck is coming soon, I've heard good things but we'll have to wait until I digest the first two. Anyways, here's a few of my favorites from the previously mentioned albums:

Jet - Shine On

[mp3] Hey Kids
[mp3] Stand Up

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

[mp3] The Crane Wife 3
[mp3] Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)

In case you haven't yet...

Bryce commented on this a few days ago, but if you haven't checked out the comments, you probably missed it.

Anyways, Heather and Bryce ended up with all of the known B-Sides to Pete Yorn's latest album, Nightcrawler. I don't really want to re-upload the same songs, so just follow the links below for the downloads.

Post #1 - Heather from I am Fuel We are Friends
Post #2 - Bryce from Vedderfreak12

Visit Pete's Official website.
Buy Nightcrawler!

NEW Ryan Adams: Lovely and Blue

Well, this isn't particularly new, but it's at least new enough for me to consider it new.

This one was streaming off of Ryan's new site about a month ago, but was taken down rather abruptly.

There seems to be a bit of debate about this track - some say it's a preview of the Rock 'n Roll Vol. 2 album Ryan has hinted at, others say it's just a joke, maybe not even Ryan. My opinion - it rocks. And it's definitely Ryan. Decide yourself.

[mp3] Ryan Adams: Lovely and Blue

Visit Ryan's official website.
Buy some Ryan Adams online.

and so, I return...

Today, I decided it was finally time to get back into the game. Sorry for the time off - it's been busy. Since my last post I've (of course) gotten married, started back at school and remodeled our kitchen. Now, it's time for me to get caught back up and spread some love.

I've been way outside of the blogosphere for the past two months, so I'm sure I've missed a lot of new up-and-comers. If any of you have time, I'd appreciate it if you could post a comment or send an email if you can think of anything significant I may have missed!

Here's two songs that have me very excited, hope you enjoy them as much as me:

[mp3] Jet - Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

I've had an unhealthy obsession with Jet since Get Born came out a few years back. It's been a long wait, but it seems like it's worth it. You've probably heard this song in the background of that new Chocolate Mp3 phone from Verizon. New album is out Oct. 3rd.

Visit the official website.
Buy some Jet.

[mp3] Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) - Where Do The Children Play?

I recently went on a huge Cat Stevens kick, and as a result there was a lot of Cat Stevens played at my wedding reception...which only seemed to go over well by me. Needless to say, when I heard the news from IGIF that a new Cat Stevens album was comoing out (the first since before I was born!) I nearly wet myself. Wait, scratch the nearly. The new album is due out in November.

Visit his official website.
Buy some Cat Stevens.

Look for more updates on a regular basis...sorry again for the long wait! Spread the word!

Quick Note...

I thought I'd post a quick note for all you loyal readers.

Sorry that it's been so long between updates, but you all may have to wait a bit longer.

I'm about 8 days away from getting married right now, so I've been a little busy with that (thus the lack of updates). I'll try to get an update in either today or tomorrow, but between this next update and August 11th, don't expect a whole lot. I'm looking at having a few friends handle the blog over the next few weeks, let me know if you're interested.

Again, sorry about the lack of updates - I'm just a bit busy with this marriage business ;).

-Kraig

Tom Petty - Highway Companion

Tom Petty has a new solo CD out in about 2 weeks (July 25th), Highway Companion. Check out the streams below, sounds like good ol' classic Petty.

[audio stream] Big Weekend
[video stream] Saving Grace

Visit Tom Petty's website.
Pre-order the new album.