The Welcome Wagon

Well I saw that there was a new Sufjan Stevens EP out or something like that and I hate Sufjan. I'm not sure if i actually hate Sufjan that much, or if its his fans that bug me really. Either way, I think he's subpar and I lost interest in him after freshman year. Sufjan's name is being mentioned only because The Welcome Wagon does the exact same thing, only better. They are a couple who plays indie-folk-pop with slight christian undertones and they actually sound alot like Sufjan. I personally think they fill this niche alot better than Mr.Stevens, but I'll let you decide.


Welcome To The Welcome Wagon-http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5MPCCE82

The Morgan Freeman EP

This is legit stupid. I've only listened to this album once so far, and it was enjoyable, but this is pretty dumb. Yellow Ostrich is a one man project by some guy, but I'm too lazy to look up his name. So this guy supposedly had some writters block and couldn't come up with any creative inspiration so he visited Morgan Freeman's wikipedia page. All of the lyrics on this album are just the atricles on his wikipedia page except the song about his alleged relationship with his grandaughter. I'm not even going to brief you on the type of music this guy plays, but the title should be enough to warrant a download.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3CGLVUY0

The National - "The National"

While I probably don't need to alert anyone to listen to The National considering their mainstream and indie success, it seems like recommending their first album is like recommending a completely different band. The National's latest albums, namely High Violet and Boxer, are great albums in their own regards, but they sound incredibly polished and subdued compared to this album. What makes this album so appealing is that it is just really bitter raw alt-country music. They used to wear their emotions a little better by not being quite as good at translating the message of the song directly in to a neatly packaged rock hook. This was before they quit their day jobs, here they toured while working 9 to 5 jobs. Their songs about the beat down of everyday white collar work are a lot more relatable because of still being there. On "The Theory of the Crows" he yells about how he's "sucked off investors and sucked off VC's" and how he is "losing his posture from time on his knees." Whether or not objectively better or worse, they just simply couldn't get away with these lyrics in their current state of popularity. So regardless of buying in to the current The National hype, I'd highly recommend this album because it has a truly unique sound of men going to day jobs they hate and coming home bitter and ready to make Americana country.

http://www.mediafire.com/?plyn9l87z8hi36b

FOLK-PUNK MEGA-POST

Well its summer, kind of, and the best music for summer is FOLK-PUNK. Basically folk-punk is summed up by its name, folk music with political /ideological /purposeful lyrics. I'll just give a brief run down of all the bands I'm posting. These are my favorite folk-punk artists/albums:

Andrew Jackson Jihad

AJJ is pretty well know over the internet, and the picture posted is their most popular album. There are 2 members of AJJ, a vocalist/guitarist and a stand up bass player. The generally spread a postive message of being kind to your fellow human.

Ghost Mice

The band Ghost Mice consists of a man and female, and I believe they sound best when harmonizing. They feature violins and sing about religion, growing up, and UP THE PUNKS

Rye n' Clover

Rye n' Clover is a solo project of a guy playing banjo. Its probably the least folk-punky out of all of these bands, but his music is relaxing and heart felt.

Defiance, Ohio

I've been listening to Defiance, Ohio for like 3 years now, the longest out of all these bands. The funny thing is, I've been listening to the same album for 3 years now. They have several stringed intruments, like a violin and a cello, but they have fairly tame vocals for this genre. They have several members who do vocals on the album, 2 guys and 1 girl.

Andrew Jackson Jihad-Can't Maintain

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z9ODEB7S

Andrew Jackson Jihad-People That Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4NJNCB59

Ghost Mice-Debt Of The Dead

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0OO2AAEW

Rye n' Clover-Pencils, Paper, and Scissors

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CHNL2JKA

Defiance, Ohio-The Great Depression

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7IZTHQTF

2049

2049 is a screamo band from Columbus. They're part of what I've been calling the new wave of emo, along with more popular groups like Algernon Cadwallader and the Saddest Landscape, which mix classic skramo/emoviolence sound with contemporary indie influences. The coolest thing about 2049 is that virtually all of their songs are about, and contain references to, the Asimov short story "Nightfall," which is great in it's own right. Pick up 2049's album, and don't forget to hit up their bandcamp profile - http://2049.bandcamp.com/

2049 - Torches - http://www.mediafire.com/?ym7o4l8wdu18uvm

The Supervillains

The Supervillains encompass my favorite things in life; Ska, People talking about weed, dreadlocks on white dudes, little biker hats (like drew's) worn by a lead singer who is also the drummer, and a natural grudge against K-mart. In my opinion I have said enough. Get this album.

The Supervillains - Massive - http://www.mediafire.com/?cmte753h7i3zq3c

Department of Beagles

Like many music lovers of a certain age, I have a lot of warm memories tied up with release days. I miss the simple ritual of making time to buy a record. I also miss listening to something special for the first time and imagining, against reason, the rest of the world holed up in their respective bedrooms, having the same experience. Before last Wednesday, I can't remember the last time I had that feeling. I also can't remember the last time I woke up voluntarily at 6 a.m. either, but like hundreds of thousands of other people around the world, there I was, sat at my computer, headphones on, groggy, but awake, and hitting play, to the new Department of Beagles free online release.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4m4lnjxkY