music

KHUBS Radio And Azure Ray

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I saw Azure Ray for the first time by mistake. A few years Ago I was going went to see Bright Eyes play at the Paramount and Azure Ray opened up for them. I was so pleasantly surprised by them that I ended up enjoying their performance more than the one I bought the ticket for. I bought the self-titled CD that night from Maria Taylor as she was working the merch table. I was pleasantly surprised to find out they sounded better live than on the CD (despite Conor Oberst’s crazy vibrato mucking things up in the background on a couple of songs). The women of Azure Ray have those sweet whispery female vocals that I’m a complete sucker for. And although their voices are breathy and sexy, their songs are so goddamn sad it feels like a punch in the gut. On KHUBS Radio I put Azure Ray’s entire first self-titled full length album (songs #01-11), the entire November EP (songs #12-17), one song (#18) off of the Burn And Shiver Album, and two songs (#19-20) off the most recent Hold On Love album. Enjoy.
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KHUBS Radio And Grey Tuesday

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So I’ve been working on putting together KHUBS Radio for a little while now and I thought what better time to announce it than on Grey Tuesday.

See, DJ Danger Mouse created a remixed album consisting of Jay-Z’s Black Album and the Beatles White Album, and called it the Grey Album. Jay-Z’s record label, Roc-A-Fella, released an a capella version of his Black Album specifically to encourage remixes like this one. However, EMI claims copyright control of the Beatles November 25, 1968 released, White Album. As a result, EMI has sent cease and desist letters demanding that stores destroy their copies of the album and that websites remove them from their sites. I personally feel that if sampled music is recorded in a respectful and artistically positive way, and that the end result is fundamentally different than the original, that artists should be able release their works without worry about copyright infringement. DJ Danger Mouse’s Grey Album does just that. I’m not sure what EMI is afraid of, the Grey Album is a completely new piece of art wonderfully different from what the Beatles created. I can’t imagine the Grey Album could have any effect on the sales of the incredibly popular (and rightfully so) White Album (except maybe introduce a few hip-hop fans that have somehow escaped the unavoidable genius that is the White Ablum).

The point is we cannot allow these corporations to continue censoring art; we need common-sense reforms to the copyright law that can make sampling legal and practical for artists. So for my part, in participation of GreyTuesday, which is sponsored by Downhill Battle, you can listen to DJ Danger Mouse’s Grey Album by clicking here or the KHUBS Radio link over there on the right for a pop-up to listen to while you’re doing other stuff. Enjoy!

A Rotten End To A Lovely Day

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Did you ever think when a hearse goes by,
That you may be the next to die?
They take you out to the family plot,
And there you wither, decay, and rot.
They wrap you up in a bloody sheet,
And then they bury you six-feet deep.
And all goes well for a week or two,
And then things start to happen to you.
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The ants play pinochle on your snout!
One of the worms that’s not so shy,
Crawls in one ear and out one eye.
They call their friends and their friends’ friends, too,
They’ll make a horrid mess of you!
And then your blood turns yellow-green,
And oozes out like whipping cream.
[Spoken] Darn, me without a spoon!
Your eyes fall out, your teeth decay
A rotten end to a lovely day
So never laugh when a hearse goes by,
For you may be the next to die.

The Good Stuff

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Because I refuse to leave the last negative entry sitting here for three days – a few positive things going on.

  • Hubsville has a few fun construction projects in the works if the municipal bonds go through.
  • Long weekend – need I say more!
  • Fireworks, friends, BBQ’s, and Bike Rides in addition to general good times are planned over the next 72 hours.
  • I’ve had the pleasure of eating sushi and drinking Kirin Ichibans for dinner the last two nights in a row. Now if I can only fend off the mercury poisoning.
  • And a couple of great tunes to get everyone in the spirit of things.
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    • Of Montreal

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    I went to see Of Montreal (one of their better songs can be found here) last night. I had to coax myself out though. It was raining like crazy and I knew I wouldn’t be home till sometime after midnight (my head ended up hitting the pillow at 1:20. ugg) and I was just feeling generally lazy. But I went and it was worth it.

    The show was held at the Larimer Lounge. This is the first time I’ve been there and it was hardly a lounge, more of an ordinary dingy bar – in somebody’s basement. Something akin to the 15th Street Tavern. The stage was a smallish platform backed by black sheets nailed to the wall. It’s small and smoky and intimate and I can’t decide if I liked it or not. However the lounge does have a great schedule including Essex Green, Dressy Bessy (they were in the crowd last night) and Mates Of State in the next couple of months.
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    Music 5

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    1. What was the first band you saw in concert?
    I’m almost ashamed to admit it because it takes my cool factor go down to about two, but it was Michael Jackson during the Victory Tour. I had seen some small bands before that, but it was my first real concert.

    2. Who is your favorite artist/band now?
    It’s always changing, but right now its Mates Of State.

    3. What’s your favorite song?
    Again, it’s always changing but right now its Flicker by Calamine

    4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
    The sitar.

    5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?
    Perry Ferral would be fun to party with. It would also be cool to spend a weekend with Jerry Garcia.

    Rocks The Mic

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    I have noticed that recently, a lot of the indie bands that I have discovered for myself – I say for myself because nobody I know listens to these bands, I hope you do because they’re rockin’ – are starting to show up on television. I first noticed this when I Am The World Trade Center had a portion of a song played on The Surreal Life. A couple of weeks ago I saw a song by one of my favorite indie bands, Papas Fritas, on a Dyntyne Ice commercial. I mention this only because a great band called Brassy is playing at the Bluebird tonight. Brassy currently has a song that is being played on a Motorola commercial. For all you in Denver with nothing to do tonight, go check it out. Muffin Spencer, younger sister of Jon Spencer (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) rocks the mic and it’s bound to be a great show. I’ll make it if I can.

    Goodbye Otha

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    This morning I got an email from a music-loving friend of mine that informed me of some sad news. Apparently, legendary bluesman and cane fife player, Otha Turner passed away last Thursday the 27th of March. His death overshadowed by that of a particular children’s television show host. Otha Turner and the Rising Star Drum and Fife Band played a style of “blues” called American drum and fife music. Its influences trace most directly to both the drum corps of the Revolutionary War and traditional African music brought to America by slaves.

    I discovered Otha’s music a couple of years ago from some random zine I can no longer remember the name of. What I like most about Otha music, in addition to it’s simple but driving beats and southern man-of-the-earth feel, it was great to party to. In fact Otha threw picnic parties every summer for whomever wanted to attend. Otha and friends would roast goat, drink margaritas, and play music. The summer I first heard Otha I brought his CD to all the parties I went to. My friends with an interest in music (and most of those who didn’t) always got their interest piqued when they heard it. If you haven’t heard Othar Turner yet I recommend you do so. Try downloading (left click) some of his tunes from here, here, or here.
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    Mates Of State

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    Saturday night, after nursing my hangover all afternoon, I went to my old roommate’s engagement party. It was pretty fun, but nothing too exciting. The usual crowd was there. I got to see the Rod family’s new house, it was really cute and I’m sure I’ll be spending plenty of time in their backyard this summer. Congratulations to the newly engaged couple, you’re very good together. I wish the both of you a lifetime of happiness together, you both deserve it. After a couple of hours of catching up with friends and giving my congrats, I went to go see Rainer Maria and Mates Of State at the Bluebird Theatre. I really like Rainer Maria and I own all their albums, but I went to the show to see Mates Of State. The show was great. I just love Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel’s songs, lyrics and harmonies (I own all their albums too, and a couple of 7″). It is best to see them live. It is just the two of them on stage. Knowing they are married and loving every minute of it. They constantly look at each other, sing to each other, and croon each other throughout the entire show. It is no secret that many of their songs are written about their relationship and it really comes across on stage. At one point I saw Kori mouth the words “I Love You” across the stage to Jason. Seeing them play was truly an inspiration and it absolutely made my day. Plus I have a true celebrity crush on Kori now.

    You can watch a video filmed at Emos in Austin Texas here.

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