friday mp3

Tropes a-plenty.

See that article title? Right up there? I could let you dig around for the obscure reference I’m making but why bother? You should know that Pitchfork doesn’t approve of the song I’m recommending right now. TURN BACK OR YOU WON’T BE COOL ANYMORE.

If you’re like Anne Hutchinson and don’t care about pitchforks (Get it? Do you? Sorta?), then please sample a fun song from Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band’s Daytrotter session, “Albatross, Albatross, Albatross”. It may be too cliché for you (there’s still time to turn back, Pitchfork mob), but if you like goofy-ish music made by a twelve-year-old drummer, some blond scraggly guy, a typical indie grrrl and that one chubby dude who’s just good at what he does—then, please, take a listen.

Otherwise, please turn back. This album got a 3.9 on Pitchfork. A three-point-nine. You might as well be Roger Williams for all the banishment you’ll face.

Mp3: "Albatross, Albatross, Albatross" (Daytrotter Session)
Visit their MySpace
Buy the CD from Amazon

Hey, tomorrow is Independence Day. IN AMERICA. In my town it’s mostly an excuse to get drunk and have some wild partays (which I abhor; as I listen to Stars of the Lid). As it so happens, my town’s parade is also a major tourist attraction—I’m talking every spot on the parade route dotted with a blanket, cooler, and souvenir-tee-wearing kid. Since I’ll be busy photographing, snarking, partying (jk, jk, I listen to straight edge musics; I’m not allowed to have fun), and going to the carnival, Squid Can won’t be updated until Monday. I have some nice Jacko-themed material and a pictorial review of one of the worst comic books I’ve ever read upon return, however. Until then, enjoy these Mp3s for the weekend.

First we have an ambient (New Age if you so wish), piano-powered selection by the San Fran-based Valerie Mih. Citing influences such as Satie, Glass, Sigur Ros, and even k.d. lang, Mih creates unassuming-yet-forceful pieces of tranquil, neoclassical-like ambient. Next, listen to something completely converse to the assuring rhythms of Ms. Mih—the resilient, ballistic ‘true’ screamo of the Swing Kids. Follow that up with some New Weird America—the backwoods-bigfoot sound of Ariel Pink’s “Beefbud”—and some actual Native American music. And, just in case you wondering, I bought the Mp3 tagged that way—with the artist as ‘Native American Indians’. Enjoy, and happy Fourth of July (or not-Fourth-of-July if you live abroad).

Download Saturn’s Rings by Valerie Mih
Download Blue Note by Swing Kids
Download Beefbud by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
Download Navajo Hoop Dance Song by Native American Indians

“We run the gauntlet/Let's get to France/So we can French kiss some French girls." So says “Wet Hair”, part of Japandroids’ bombastic new LP, Post-Nothing. With little turns of phrase like that, you can be sure that the new noise rock deities (Wavves was dethroned; where have you been?) will be getting all the indie girls at the hipster parties (hipsters still have parties, right?). Hell, there's even a bit of light fun at Bikini Kill's expense on the same track (Raragh, feminist warriors, get your boots on). However, the Vancouver-based band was recently struck by illness, causing the whole indie blogosphere to go loopy, especially since Pitchfork had just given them the coveted ‘Best New Muzak’ award. Since I’m a little late in covering the Japandroids---you'll observe that I usually reserve the Friday Mp3 spot for lesser-known musicians---here’s another band you might not have heard of: FM Belfast. This Icalandic electropop outfit calls to mind CSS, except they’re not obnoxious, they don’t butcher Grizzly Bear songs, and they sound a hell of a lot more awkward-Scandinavian-sexy than confident-Portuguese-sexy (see the whitest cover ever of “Pump Up the Jam”, called “Pump”). Their latest effort, How To Make Friends, includes songs just bubbling with technopagan sexiness, such as the Caribbean-obsessed “Par Avion”, a “Killing in the Name Of” cover titled “Lotus”, and the lusty road-trip-ready “Frequency”. Below, two songs to be your ‘hot hot sex’—“Rockers East Vancouver” by Japandroids and “VHS” by FM Belfast. Pick up both albums at Amie Street for under $8 each.

Download "Rockers East Vancouver" and "VHS" (via Fileden)
Buy Post-Nothing and How To Make Friends at Amie Street
Visit Japandroids' MySpace and FM Belfast's MySpace

Hmm. Sounds like Regina Spektor. Looks like Regina Spektor. Cites Regina Spektor as an influence. Is this a run-of-the-mill Regina Spektor clone? Well, maybe, but just a little? While the ebullient jangle of "Laugh" may convince you that the Kansas-born Lisa Donnelly is no more than a Spektorian quirk-pop disciple, her debut We Had A Thing is an impressive mix of highly polished pop pieces. Spanning a decent gamut of styles---the Arabesque "Blue", the world-ending folk of "Julian", and the Jenny-Lewisian "Stuck in a Rut"---We Had A Thing is a well-coordinated debut and a fine showcase of Donnelly's talents. Unfortunately, Donnelly doesn't seem to be garnering much attention beyond local venues (see the dearth of listeners on her Last.fm page) and it's a shame that more people are not burning up over her blissful summertime pop. Be a good Squid, and go get her album for the 'blissful' price of $2.80. Aww. Word recycling.

Download "Laugh" (via Fileden)
Buy the album at Amie Street
Visit Lisa Donnelly's MySpace

Why do I even call this 'Friday Mp3?' I never post it on Friday. It's like calling calling PJ Harvey a 'dykecore' artist---'sorta maybe' true, but not quite. Anyhow, I've been meaning to post this Mp3 for a while. I found this song in October while scouring Amazon and it's quite the catchy number.

Bengt Svan is some eighty-year old Swedish dude or something and this song is about Swedish football. I dunno. There's a summary on Bengt Svan's MySpace but it's in Swedish. According to Google Translate: " We are Stock Bäcks oldest troop We pack sweater and traveling in a group."

Huh. Well, enjoy the Swedepop.

Download "Gubbpepp" (via Mediafire)

Who doesn't enjoy Clarkian, nostalgically-bittersweet IDM with gentle piano flourishes? Clearly, only the soulless can resist a careful dose of electro-sweetness. Park Avenue Music, a married duo from California, constructs what they've dubbed "electronic noise pop." This cut from By Hearts and Horses is a tender, simple, piano-and-beats piece. Enjoy, and be sure to grab the album (currently a steal at $1.80) on Amie Street.

Download "Norway Kitty" from Sendspace
Play more songs from Park Avenue Music at Last.fm
Visit Park Avenue Music's website
Buy By Hearts and Horses from Amie Street

It's Friday night and I'm watching a special on eight-year-old breastfeeding children, women who treat dolls as their own kin, and women who manufacture kids for other parents. Time for the first Friday Mp3 of 2009. This week's selection (the first one in a while, actually) is by Amy Thibodeau, a Barrie, CA, based musician who creates some semi-femi, feisty-flanked electropop. Slightly comical in its synth, "Day Break" sounds like an out-of-control bicycle in an old Tex Avery cartoon. [God, what does that even mean?] Enjoy the bubbly grrrl-power pop.

Download "Day Break" from Thibodeau's iSound
Buy Thibodeau's albums from Amie Street

Hypnotizing and gorgeously constructed, "Rapt In Cold Sheets" is a spectral memento from the a cappella realm of promising newcomer Kate Westfall. Westfall's debut album, VoKate, is a collage of grunts, hums, and harumphs à la Bobby McFerrin. Combined with said menagerie of vocal confetti is Westfall's gentle-yet-taunting singing. "Rapt," however, is sung with such reassuring measure that the listener can't help feeling calm and, perhaps, a little bit frightened. The angelic chirps and motherly drone of the background brings "Rapt" up to the pinnacle of emotion sans the maudlin expression.

Download "Rapt In Cold Sheets" from MediaFire
Check out Kate Westfall's MySpace
Buy VoKate at Amie Street

While "moving" is a word I prefer to use sparingly, I think it can certainly be applied to this tiny masterpiece from Days To Come. Sounding like the sum of human sadness, "Recurring" is melancholic but not meandering, blissful yet bitter, and "moving" without being overwrought. A superb ending to just about any season.

Download "Recurring" from Download.com
Buy Days To Come at Amazon
Listen to more Bonobo at Last.fm

As you can probably surmise from the timestamp on the previous post, I wasn't online for my daily Squid duties. Thus I unfortunately missed posting "Friday Mp3" and "Track of the Day." To make up for it here's Friday's Mp3, "Case of Daniel," by Laura A and The Bad Grades. A Nashville-based folk-rock outfit, Laura A and The Bad Grades craft simple yet profusely catchy numbers. "Case of Daniel" is a foot-tapping, soulful piece replete with determination and longing.

Download "Case of Daniel" from Megaupload
Check out Laura A's MySpace
Buy the album from Amie St.

Here's something a little "different" to say the least. Jandek, an outsider musician from Texas, has released over fifty maddeningly experimental albums since 1978. While some may simply dismiss Jandek and relegate him to the crap stack, it takes a real appreciation of music to listen to this man's disparate blues. In "Janitor's Dead," Jandek's (whose identity is still unknown despite a handful of live performances) atonal singing (speaking?), meshes oddly with the frenetic twangs of the guitar. From 1989's The Living End. Get it at Amazon.

Read the ultimate guide to Jandek if your interest has been piqued.

Download "Janitor's Dead" from FileFactory

Saying you're a fan of "Einstürzende Neubauten" is certainly within the upper confines of pretentiousness. Regardless, enjoy the sonic palette of these unmistakably-German experimentalists in "Weil Weil Weil." There's no reason you can't be part of the avant-garde fun. Get the album at Amazon if you're interested.

Download "Weil Weil Weil" from Last.Fm

Welcome to the first installment of Friday MP3---which is pretty self-explanatory. Here's a cut from PJ Harvey's To Bring You My Love. Downloads are available for a week. Get the album at Amazon if you're interested.

Download from Sendspace