Song Addiction of the Moment

While listening to Spectrum last week (I was taking a break from SiriusXMU, okay?) I was caught off guard by an exceptionally solid song.  Unfamiliar with the artist's name, I wasn't quite sure whether the music was current or from another era, as it possessed a nostalgic quality and sounded undeniably similar to Van Morrison.  After the song ended, I committed the name "Brett Dennen" to memory and later looked him up - he is in fact a modern musician and may or may not be a big deal, but it just so happens that he is coming out with a new album, Loverboy, mid-April. 

Hope you enjoy this song as much as I do :)

{Mp3} Brett Dennen - Sydney (I'll Come Running)

Bonus:

Not only is the above photo compliments of Daytrotter, but the below track also is:

{Mp3} Brett Dennen - Make You Crazy (Daytrotter Session)
 

Tonight : DJ Kishka Saves Christmas!

In just a few mere hours we are getting out of work and heading to The Happy Dog to experience the cultural phenomenon that is a DJ Kishka Happy Hour. This evening with a nice holiday twist he will be performing live "How The Kishka Saved Christmas". We've been looking forward to this for weeks. You can get some great info on him here.

For the last week or so we were trying to compile some of the best Holiday mp3's in that have come across ours this season and as luck would have our work was done for us with this mix complied by Verbicide Magazine that was in our inbox today.

Here you go   for sure to be check out the tracks from Slow Club, Deer Tick and Summer Camp

Let's Not Talk About That Four Letter Word On Everyone's Mind...

A friend of ours said this on facebook today "Please don't complain that you hate the snow if you choose to live in Cleveland. It's like a sailor complaining he hates the water".

Could not have said it any better ourselves, on to a song that has been brightening our day since we first heard if a few days ago it's called "If I was" by Young Rebel Set who hail from the U.K., just like Mumford Sons, they a grittier more raw version of those chaps.  Enjoy!



(mp3) Young Rebel Set - If I Was

December means it's time for Christmas Indie Rock!

Rabbit, Rabbit everyone :) 

We love this time of year for music, as you hear all of the golden oldies like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives etc. and then you hear Christmas-inspired tunes from all your current and past indie artists. One such track that has already caught our attention this season, is Crystal Antlers "10,000 Watts" which you have most likely enjoyed in one of the latest commercials from Target. You can get it for free from HERE, along with other holiday inspired tracks from Bishop Allen, Best Coast w/ Wavves, Coconut Records, Blackalicious and Dark My Love.

If you just want that song here you go - enjoy*

(mp3) Crystal Antlers - "10,000 Watts"

Don't you want to get Lost on Purpose?

A few years ago, Kelly and I were contacted by Will VanderWyden about posting some music for his band Lost on Purpose on our blog.  How fortuitous because not only does his music appeal to us because it sounds reminiscent of the best of Bright Eyes and Elliot Smith but also because Will is a native to North East Ohio, Amherst to be exact (although he lives out in L.A. now) and because he is a former Redhawk or ahem Miami REDSKIN.

We always like to promote his band because the music is undeniably infectious and because he long suffering Cleveland sports fan like us. This morning while killing some time on facebook before heading off to work, we noticed that Will had posted a video for  a new track "Outside L.A. Tokyo". He is currently over Japan it looks like having a blast with his lady.

The scenes in Tokyo definitely make one think of Lost In Translation. Speaking of Lost in Translation we can't wait for the new Sofia Coppola movie "Somewhere" to come out soon! :)

Back to this song it is perfect for a day like today, where you might be dreading what this week has in-store and you are looking for that little bit of sunshine to keep you going. I've only listened to it once and it is already resting comfortable inside my head.

Seven Years Ago Today We Saw Kill Bill Vol 1

Today marks that 7 years ago we had our 1st date. It is a date that is very meaningful for us considering it changed it our lives going fwd and led to us getting married almost 2 years ago.  You may wonder what we did on our 1st date, well I didn't have a car so Kelly came and picked me up and we went to Chagrin Cinemas to go see Kill Bill Vol. 1 ( I picked the movie, good idea right?). After the movie we went to La Cave Du Vin, Kelly had her friend Jackie come and meet us there you in-case I was a weirdo and because this was the 1st time we were meeting in person since we had met on Friendster. Won't go into our 1st kiss here, but let's just say it almost involved a car cash. Last week we learned that we had been selected as of one of Metromix's final selections for Cleveland's most interesting couples found on twitter and facebook (the link is up now so please go and vote :).  It seems only fitting and at the same time very coincidental that on the 7th anniversary of our 1st date that you can vote for us as interesting couple ;)

Another thing you can help us we want to renact that date tonight by going to the movies and then going to La Cave.  I recently saw The Social Network so Kelly would prefer to see something tonight that we have not seen, we were considering The Town, Easy A, Catfsh or It's Kind of a Funny Story. Please let us know in the comments or tweet at us if any of these are worth seeing.

On the unrelated tip here is a tasty piece from Twin Shadows to help you on this Monday morning, happy Columbus Day by the way.

(mp3) Twin Shadows - Castles In The Snow 

God Bless the Indian Summer

Hooray the sun came back!!! We thought it might be gone for a few more weeks but thankfully it has not go south for the winter like the birds do yet... With everyone and their mother sick right now (Jose was down but is now on the mend) it is going to do us all in Cleveland some good to get some good old fashioned vitamin D (since we are all deficient). With the mood being uplifted it only made sense to share with you a track that on the surface promotes the optimism we both have that we can still have an "Indian summer" since we don't want to see the sight of snow anytime soon. Pedro The Lion is extremely talented and if you ever had the joy of seeing him live you know what we are talking about, the band is alas no longer together but David Bazan the lead singer is still making some great music. Two covers of his worth checking out are him remaking Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" and Leonard Cohen "Hallejuah". Now back to this song listen to the tone pay and attention to the lyrics they really capture our current frustration. Let's focus and keep our eyes on the prize because the weekend is almost here :)

So this is how Uffie has reinvented herself to get away from Ke$ha

You may be wondering what we are talking about with the title of this post, to some this is nothing new but to those who don't know let's drop some knowledge for you. Back in 2006 Uffie was on fire in the indie dance scene she was part of Ed Banger records, a crew that was just an unstoppable force of Parisian DJ's and producers the likes of include Justice, SebastiAn, Mr. Ozio etc. This ex-pat living abroad, only 19 years old had dropped out of college to pursue her music career. She just oozed cool, with an anti flow she layered perfectly on top of dance, synth, house and club beats.  When she was at the top of her game she got married, got divorced and had a baby in less than two years. During that time she dropped off the radar and then Ke$ha appeared out of nowhere bringing the almost identical swagger and musical styling as Uffie. Check it here for more info on these two electro-pop princesses. The whole point is Uffie did it first and we are glad she is back with a new improved sound listen for yourself.



Uffie - Difficult
Uploaded by Uffie. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Catchy song that speaks that truth

It's a Tuesday night that feels like it could be any night of this past glorious summer. This song we are going to share with you is not specific to any season but the fashion trends depicted definitely are more in the line with the cold weather that we hopefully do not experience for a few more weeks. Long live Indian Summer.

A Pumpkin Ale that is a Beer and not a Dessert

 Lately we have been enjoying some great beers from Portsmouth, New Hampshire's Smuttynose Breweing Co., as they are now distributing in Cleveland. We have been hooked after sampling the goods at this year's Blues & Brews (see our recap from a couple years ago) at Stan Hywet Gardens and continue to see what Smuttynose has to offer by purchasing a variety of their creations at Heinen's.

(picture courtesy of Smuttynose Brewery)

This evening, after finally seeing Inception, we stopped by Heinen's and amoungst the many offerings of pumpkin ales and/or Octoberfest styles, ultimately deciding to purchase the Pumpkin Ale from Smuttynose ($8.99 for a 6-pack) - because we have not had a less than superb beer from them yet.  Thus far, we have quickly and gleefully gulped down Smuttynose's Big A IPA, Finestkind IPA (highly suggested!), and Farmhouse Ale.

We love the fact that Smuttynose's Pumpkin Ale resisted the urge to be over-powering, tasting of sweet things like molasses or coriander.  Instead, the beer encompasses a savory element - a nice balance between cinnamon and the smoothness of pumpkin pureee.  Atypical of what one might expect from a  Pumpkin Ale, this is not a dessert where the essence of the pumpkin it not taken literally, where the beer does not slug your tastebuds like some of the others.

Basically, this pumpkin ale is what we hope our autumn months will feel like - calm, serene, welcoming, and far from overwhelming* 

Bonus: What is better than having music to enjoy while drinking some fall-inspired brews?!  So, here you go  ;)


[Mp3] Land of Talk - Quarry Hymns
[Mp3] Villagers - Becoming a Jackal
[Mp3] Menomena - Queen Black Acid

Have a wonderful Holiday Weekend everyone!