Ferris

This is a guest post from my brother, Kurt, who currently goes to school at Wisconsin (second best school in the Big Ten). If anyone else wants to guest post, please send Alec or I an e-mail! We love to hear new stuff too.

With the Brewers creeping ever closer to the Playoffs for the first time since 1982, I can’t help from going to game after game at Miller Park. They probably want me to go to every game because as of now I’m 8-1 at Brewer games. Those car rides to the park lend for lots of music listening and this small startup band has caught my eye.

Based out of a suburb of the Twin Cities known as Apple Valley, Ferris has been playing since 2004 and has only grown since then. From recording their songs at one of their houses, they now are featured monthly at the Fine Line in Minnesota. The piano/ukulele/lead singer, Dustin Hatzenbuhler, has been writing and mixing their songs straight onto the Top Played lists of my iPod. The other members of the band: Ben Huhner (guitar/vocals), Kevin Burke (keyboard/vocals), Colin Burke (drums), and Jake Romero (bass), play smooth and easy rhythms and ease you into a nice relaxed mood. If you’re ever looking to play music to study to and then get stuck in your head, Ferris is the way to go.

The three songs that I’m putting up hit every spectrum that Ferris brings to the table. First up is ‘Fly’, which brings some thoughts of a funkier O.A.R. or Dispatch. I’ve grown to know and love the wa-ish guitar effects that keep you bobbing your head and feeling silky smooth at the same time. The second song is one I personally love because of the piano trickling throughout the song, especially during the end. ‘We Are Life’ has great lyrics and a beautiful sound to it. Lastly is ‘Where I’m Going’, which exposes more of Ferris’ talent. With a similar vibe to 'Fly' (less wah, more jangly piano), this will definitely get your foot tapping and wanting more.

And if you just can’t get enough and need more right now, their next concert is August 14^th at 9:00PM at the Fine Line in Minneapolis ($5.00 cover).

Ferris - Fly

Ferris - We Are Life

Ferris - Where I'm Going

-Kurt

Caspian

Kyle's last post about Owen and describing it as a good cd to put on while "cleaning your room" got me thinking about ambient/background music. While not a genre I listen to routinely, there are times where it fits the mood, and one of the cds I like to use on such occasions is "The Four Trees" by Massachusetts based Caspian. Their sound is a an ambient rock style which has heavier parts but tends to stay on the space rock side that is slower and drawn out. Oh and they're an instrumental group as well.

I'm not usually a huge fan of rock "instrumental" groups just as the genre itself doesn't seem to be musically interesting enough by itself to remove the lyrical aspect. Caspian is a nice exception, and I think part of this is that they don't try to overcompensate by becoming too experimental musically that the sound loses focus like other "post rock" groups. To be honest I think they aren't as experimental as they would like you think they are, but perhaps that's why I like their sound in a genre I don't normally listen to.

The music itself is good, and they do a nice job of incorporating different aspects and dynamics to their songs to add depth that isn't there from the lyrics. Because their style is very ambient and flows together nicely, I don't even really know what my favorite songs would be. I just tend to put it on and let it play. So instead of trying to pick any certain ones out and describe them, I'll just post a few random ones and let you decide.

Caspian - Crawlspace

Caspian - ASA

Caspian - Book Nine


- Alec

Owen

I hope that everyone had an amazing 4th of July. I got a chance to catch a few Brewer wins over the Pirates which was a beautiful thing. Then CC Sabathia got signed, the Cubs realized they had no chance, so they retaliated by signing a guy who goes on the DL 4 times per year. Nice.

Today I wanted to profile the artist Mike Kinsella's latest project, Owen. Kinsella has been in a ton of projects during his life from the rough-ish, emo 'Cap'n Jazz' to the chiller, more technical 'American Football' (my personal fav) to a few others, and now Owen.

First things first. If you are a person who watches American Idol religiously for people who can actually sing, Owen is probably not for you. Kinsella almost always sounds just a hair off key, which I think adds to his emo-ish feel of just a normal guy who sat down and wrote this song for a girl. In fact, 'Who Found Who's Hair...', the first song I posted from his CD, I Do Perceive, is probably exactly that. The lyrics are prototypical emo with the trashing of some girl based on the rumors he's heard, but if you can get past that, listen to how he puts his pieces together. At about 2:40 into the song he combines some electric noodling, distinct acoustic stumming, and a fade-in electronic beat with incredible results.

The second tune I put up has a little more get-up, but that's really about as far as Owen ever goes. If you are waiting for it to explode, you are waiting in vain. He brings back the semi off-key singing, but I really like the moods that this song takes you through. It goes from a bouncy instrumental to a very subdued verse and then it feels like a weight is lifted off his chest when the song goes back into an airy guitar line.

Let me know if you dig it. Play Owen's I Do Perceive it in the background when you are reading or doing some work around your room. It's outstanding.

Owen - Who Found Who's Hair in Who's Bed

Owen - That Tattoo isn't Funny Anymore

The Remix

I need to confess another guilty pleasure of mine lately. I know the remix fad has been around for a long time but I've been drawn back to it recently with the concept of remixing hip hop and R&B songs (read: club songs) into techno and electronic songs (read: Euro club songs). I don't really know why, but for some reason I've been drawn to this mini genre of remixes lately and therefore have spent my time recently looking for remixes (and there are plenty of bad ones out there let me tell you) rather than good new bands.

Maybe it was the techno/club music from South America a couple months ago or something, but I find it really interesting how DJs are able to take songs that are popular in North America and able to rework them to sound like hit songs from other places (i.e. Europe). So my post today features some of the better reworks of songs I've found recently. The first one "American Boy" is the one that started it all off. I've been obsessed with this remix; the upbeat techno beat combined with the sped up Kanye West verses just becomes addicting. Furthermore, if you're not familiar with the song be sure to check out Estelle who is lighting it up across the pond with her release Shine featuring tracks by a who's who of top American hip hop producers (there that's a legit rec for you).

Estelle (feat. Kanye West) - American Boy (DJ Benzi remix)

The other ones are a couple of my other favorites, and I'm sure you'll recognize the originals. I think its pretty interesting how the various DJs have taken the songs and broken them down and put them back together along with their own elements to make them fit another genre of music. The One Republic remix might be a little over the top, but I think its unique in a way to hear all the stereotypical techno/electronica tricks and effects applied to such an American sounding song.

Rihanna - Umbrella (Seamus Haji and Paul Emmanuel remix)

One Republic (feat. Timbaland) - Apologize (Peter Rauhofer Remix)

Usher - Love in this Club (MSTRKRFT remix)

And finally, I can't do a post on remixes without mentioning the fact that the king of remixes, Girl Talk, has released his new album which is available here for whatever price you feel like paying (I chose zero dollars. Actually to be honest I still downloaded illegally from a 3rd party...beam me down Satan. Hey with his success he was able to quit his engineering job, I shed no tears for him).

Ok enough of this euro trash, time to celebrate the 4th of July. America! Fuck Yeah!

- Alec

Living in the South

I've been in Atlanta for about a week and a half now, and you know what....it's already starting to really grow on me. There are so many fantastic places to eat (especially southern soul food and bbq), there are people constantly outside, and pretty much everybody says hello to you on the street. Granted, the pace is definitely a little bit different down here, but sometimes it can be quite refreshing. You all should come visit at one point...

Speaking of Georgia, I put together three songs about the South/Georgia for you to listen to. The first is a Neil Young classic called Southern Man. Young busts out his electric guitar, harmonizes with his bandmates in the choruses, and just belt out the verses with his nasal voice. The interplay between the piano and his guitar throughout the song is quite cool. When I think Neil Young, this is one of the first tunes I really think of.

The second tune is the Ray Charles classic 'Georgia on my Mind'. If you haven't ever heard this, you need to. Opening with some nice strings, the song gracefully falls down into Ray's soothing voice crooning about his mind always wandering back to Georgia. Take this one out when the moon is shining over a Georgia plain and slow dance until the sun rises.

The last tune is the 'bastardization' of the Ray Charles tune with Ludacris's version called 'Georgia'. My roommates said that this had to be my new theme song, so I guess it is for a while. They sample the old Ray Charles tune and add a lot of verses about how badass Georgia is. It's actually not a very good tune, haha....but it's kind of fun to bump on the way to a Braves game.

Enjoy!

Neil Young - Southern Man

Ray Charles - Georgia on My Mind

Ludacris - Georgia

Pinback

I did something a few weeks ago that I haven't done for years. I heard one song from a band, liked it, and then went out and bought the cd. It's not the buying part that was different, haha....it was the fact that I had only really ever heard one tune from this band. I get the feeling that back in the 90's that was pretty much how everyone bought CD's. "Oh, I like this song....I'll get the CD." It's amazing that even in my short life the music industry and how people buy music has changed so drastically.

Pinback, hailing from San Diego, got me hooked with their song 'Good to Sea'. I then picked up their Autumn of the Seraphs disc at some local record shop in Atlanta. When I popped it into the car, I was half-expecting all crappy songs except for the one I heard (just like the old days), but I was pleasantly surprised. Pinback has a bit of a 'mathy' feel to them (see Minus the Bear or Gatsby's American Dream), meaning that they sound very technical and keep things in very distinct time signatures.

'Good to Sea' is a very simple song. Listen to it and try not to get it stuck in your head...especially the little backup-vocal 'echos'. 'Barnes' brings out the technical, mathy side to Pinback with intertwining bass and guitar lines to kick the song off. It then collapses into a breezy pop riff before returning to the previously heard strict bass line. The last tune 'Subbing for Eden' is the most indie-oriented of the three. You can hear hints of Elliot Smith in the muted vocals, but the marching cadence of the bass keeps you really thinking Pinback. Let me know if you dig it!

Pinback - Good to Sea

Pinback - Barnes

Pinback - Subbing for Eden

Dillo Day 2008

It's that time of year again, when Northwestern students throw down the books and go crazy for one day. And by go crazy I mean party in ways similar to most regular college students on any given weekend. And by Northwestern students, I mean the Northwestern 500 plus a few others; everyone else will still harbor away in libraries somewhere.

Though I'm no longer really connected to Northwestern in any way, I'm making a pilgrimage back for the weekend festivities, as is Kyle. This year's line up looks to be pretty strong again, and overall I think there's been an increasing trend in the quality of groups they've been bringing in each year. Last year's line up was really strong as well, but unfortunately the day was somewhat marred with crappy weather that pushed the concerts indoors and meant only students with Wildcards could attend. I had been planning on catching some of my favorite acts such as Cake, Lupe Fiasco, and the Roots, but when my non-NU buddy got rejected trying to use someone else's Wildcard we returned home and instead I just drank my face off (and all subsequent scenes are missing).

However this is a new year. Headlining this year's Dillo Day is none other that one of Chicago's best rappers in Common. This is without question my favorite headliner they've had since I started going to Dillo Day. Common is one of my favorite hip hop artists and I can't wait to see him live. I still rank his album Be as one of my favorite, if not the favorite, hip hop albums.

The other acts for the day include Third Eye Blind, Broken Social Scene, and The Cool Kids. I think they've done a good job of getting a diverse group of performers to appeal to different people. Third Eye Blind is a great act for drunk kids who want to belt out their favorite songs from middle school (as long as they don't play any new crap) and Broken Social Scene are well established in the artsy indie genre that college kids seem to enjoy these days. The Cool Kids are the one group I question how well they will be received mostly cause I don't think people know much about them (myself included).

There are also a couple DJ groups to fill in the gaps as well. One is Chicago duo Flosstradamus, who will be spinning their up tempo beats with lots of catchy samples and hooks. Another is Northwestern's battle of the DJs winner Clash Gordon, who gets the opportunity to open for Common. As I was perusing the music acts for this year I gotta say that Clash Gordon proved to be a pleasant surprise. Clash Gordon is a Northwestern student majoring in music technology or something like that and has modeled himself in the mold of Track Nine favorite Girl Talk. Despite being a young DJ, I was impressed with his abilities and most importantly his ear for hearing how songs should come together.

Just like Girl Talk, his hook is putting together clips from songs in completely different genres and turning them into something new. Now this is nothing unique, and there are thousands of DJs all over the internet doing the same thing. But most of the stuff released is just not good, and it really takes an ear to be able to put the clips together into something unique and interesting. When I originally heard they had a battle of the DJs, my first reaction was that the winner would be terrible, but now I am actually excited to go hear Clash Gordon and see how he does live.

If I actually manage to stumble out there in time...

If you're still in Evanston I hope you are planning on partying and enjoying music all day this Saturday, and hopefully I will be joining you. If not at least check out the groups here, its pretty good quality all around.


- Alec