Padd Solutions

Better than twitter? Or should I set up one of those too? At what point does one's internet presence become overextended?

Enter to win tickets to see City and Colour on their headlining tour.
http://www.vagrant.com/cityandcolour/cctixgiveaway.html

Check back in a few weeks for my Best of '08 list. This album will definitely be on there.

Folie a Deux sounds pretty good on my first listen through. Although they've gained a lot of popularity in the last few years, I think it's all deserved. They work pretty hard and the music is catchy. Many people are still stuck on Take This to Your Grave, which was - and is - an amazing album. But good bands mature and change. This can definitely be seen in Fall Out Boy's subsequent albums and I think it has been a good thing. My music tastes have changed since 2003 and it seems, FOB have changed enough to still make them relevant to me. And relevant to a few more million people as well. Oh well, I guess sharing is a good thing, right?

Download the new album for $3.99 (as of right now) on AmazonMP3, $9.99 on iTunes.
Purchase a hard copy from Amazon.
Get on it before every song is a single.

For at least the next week, City and Colour's Bring Me Your Love will be selling for $1.99 on AmazonMP3. That is $1.99 for the entire album. This album ranks in my top 10 for the year and it has tremendous staying power so far. Don't miss out on this deal - plus its less than 2 bucks!

For my "review" of the album, go to this post.

Just got back from the Middle East, which was hot as always. That's not even an intentional joke.
However, Brooklyn's We Are Scientists were great! I've been into these guys since their first cd and it was great to see a lot of the old stuff mixed in with the new album. They are huge in the UK and hopefully they'll become more successful over here so they come around more often. It certainly seemed like the Downstairs was almost at capacity - probably a good sign, especially for the second night of the tour.


Here's the set list.
Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt (With Love And Squalor)
Chick Lit (Brain Thrust Mastery)
This Scene Is Dead (With Love And Squalor)
Inaction (With Love And Squalor)
Impatience (Brain Thrust Mastery)
Let's See It (Brain Thrust Mastery)
Cash Cow (With Love And Squalor)
Can't Lose (With Love And Squalor)
Callbacks (With Love And Squalor)
That's What Counts (Brain Thrust Mastery)
After Hours (Brain Thrust Mastery)
Textbook (With Love And Squalor)
Tonight (Brain Thrust Mastery)
Dinosaurs (Brain Thrust Mastery)
It's A Hit (With Love And Squalor)
Lethal Enforcer (Brain Thrust Mastery)
The Great Escape (With Love And Squalor)

I can't possibly only recommend one song, so go here and listen and then buy the albums!
Amazon, iTunes

It's been way too long. Can you say neglect? The semester took over my life and then I just never looked back. Well, let's try this again. Give me another chance?

Expect a massive update in the next few weeks. As in, small blurbs + free mp3s from my weekly artists from April to today.
Update to include: Phantom Planet, Dear and the Headlights, Yeasayer, Edison Glass/Paper Rival/Nightmare of You (show review), Empires (free album!!!), Ratatat, Coldplay, Girl Talk, Sebastian Grainger, Visitors, Bayside, Alkaline Trio, Fleet Foxes, The Virgins, Working Title/Edison Glass (show review), As Tall As Lions (show review), The Black Ghosts, We Are Scientists (show review) and more!

I have my work cut out for me...stay tuned.

I have been a fan of Anthony Green for a long time now. For some people, his voice probably isn't appealing, but for me, it's the reason for my heterosexual crush. Last week, I listened to some of his solo stuff, but also ran through all of the Circa Survive tracks on my computer. Below is a track from their latest album, 2007's On Letting Go.
Also, go to Invisible Children's website, learn about their mission, and donate 99 cents to receive an exclusive Circa Survive song. Even if you aren't a fan, at least support the cause. $1 can make a difference.

Artist: Circa Survive Track: In the Morning and Amazing... MP3

Artist: Anthony Green Track: Stone Hearted Man MP3

Happy Earth Day! It's the only one we have, so we should do what we can to make it better for not only ourselves, but future generations as well. Go to myfootprint.org to find out if your lifestyle needs some improvement. Nobody is perfect, but if we all do the little things to lessen our impact on the earth, then the future will be pretty green.

P.S. Take 5 minutes and take the quiz. You'll be surprised at the results. I tend to think of myself as fairly conscience of my decisions and how they affect the environment, but we would still need 4+ earths if everyone lived like me!

One of the highlights of last week was getting to see InnerPartySystem at the Middle East in Cambridge. I downloaded their EP off of iTunes a while ago and they've been in rotation ever since. Their live show didn't disappoint, with spot-on performances and a great light show. I took some pics on my phone, but they don't do the band justice, so check out some pictures here from their show in NYC.
Their full length drops sometime this summer - don't worry, I'll remind you.

Artist: InnerPartySystem Track: Don't Stop MP3



Live video of "Don't Stop" (from NYC show, courtesy of Almack's Dance Hall)



Eco updates coming soon!

Panic at the Disco - Pretty. Odd.

Forget what you know or knew about Panic at the Disco. They dropped the exclamation point from their name and now they sound completely different from their first album. I don't know what kind of staying power this album will have, but I can appreciate it for the good pop album that it is. Reviews have made comparisons between this album and The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. They don't sound like the Beatles exactly, but the influence is apparent. Check it out and decide for yourself, but try to forget that this is the same band whose shows looked like circuses and whose previous album had inane song titles.

EDIT: No staying power whatsoever. No longer on the iPod and the songs get skipped on shuffle. Oh well, I tried.

While not the band I listened to the most this week, I have to recommend Josh Moore.


Formerly in the bands Beloved and Classic Case, he's now concentrating on his solo stuff. Here's my personal favorite, Ghostly Reminders.

Artist: Josh Moore Track: Ghostly Reminders MP3



Don't forget to check out other artists I've been listening to by looking at my Last.fm profile.

In other news, just finished my taxes today. While I was logging in to my account at H&R Block, I came across this. Who thought this was great advertising? (click on pic for a larger image)

I find it amazing that this music is coming out today, not 20 years ago.



Artist: Ghosthustler Track: Someone Else's Ride MP3



Don't forget to check out other artists I've been listening to by looking at my Last.fm profile.

So, in the interest of making this a place you want to come back to every month (week? few days?), I have added my Last.fm Top Weekly Artists over on the right side. Each week, I'll take a look at that list and present some music from one of the top artists and discuss why they got so much iTunes loving that week. I figure this will get me to post more often than I've been posting. Any thoughts on this? Feel free to comment.

If you've ever shopped at American Apparel, you know that the prices are a little ridiculous, considering that the stuff is as basic as clothing gets. However, the concept behind the company is something that I definitely support. If you don't know, they support immigrant rights, maintain a "sweatshop free" production facility, make their clothing in downtown LA, and are environmentally conscious. More info...

So what if I told you that you could get AA stuff for half price? Check out Trendy Blanks. I recently ordered from the company and it is definitely worth it. Everything is brand new, the pricing gets cheaper if you order more than 12 items, and it arrives fairly quickly. It probably isn't worth it if you only plan on getting one thing, since shipping is about $12. But the savings on multiple items more than makes up for that. And make sure you know your sizes.

Visit TOMS shoes - all you have to do is buy a pair of shoes and someone in a developing country will get a pair as well. Once again, a little thing you can do that will go a long way. The shoes are pretty affordable at $38 - and remember, thats a pair for you and a pair for someone who really needs them.

While this may be a repeat for some people, I figured I would post it again just in case anyone missed it last time.

Ever thought about world poverty? When you really think about it, the numbers are staggering: almost 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day, every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger (that is 4 million a year), and malaria kills 1 million people every year.
So what can you do? Well, start off by visiting the FreeRice.com website and increasing your vocab. The advertisements pay for donations of rice to the UN World Food Program. Every little bit helps...and you'll be smarter too.

Anyone want to give me $135? By Vic Prjonsdottir, available at Scandinavian Grace

Sometimes I put iTunes on shuffle and I'm pleasantly surprised by what comes on. I'm not sure where I got this album from, but it is definitely something I could see myself getting into. Based out of Brooklyn (the hotbed of all things hip), Calla have been making music since the mid-90s. Their latest album, "Strength in Numbers", is a mix of guitars, ambient noise, and hushed vocals. I'm horrible at classifying music, but I'd say rock/indie pop. Here's what some other people had to say: "Snow Patrol after being mauled by Minus the Bear"; "sounds like The Velvet Underground, Pearl Jam and The Shins."
But don't listen to me, or anyone else - check out the track below and then hit up their MySpace for more.

Artist: Calla Track: Bronson MP3

In keeping with the goal of having the blog be socially conscious, I'd like to encourage you to check out Kiva.org
The idea behind the site is that by using the power of the internet to network people, entrepreneurs in developing countries can apply for and receive loans to get their business on its feet. Where does the money come from? That's where you come in. By making a contribution of at least $25, your money will be sent to a microfinance institution that manages the loan. You'll receive updates about the progress of the business. Once the loan is repaid, you get your money back or you can loan it to someone else.
Interested to see what $25 can do? Visit Kiva.org

It has been a very long time since I have looked forward to a new album release as much as the album I was waiting for this week. For some reason, I avoided the illegal downloads and the full album myspace streaming. I wanted to wait for the release day, go to the store, hold the actual physical cd, and put it in my stereo, and just listen to it. When was the last time I actually did that? And what did I realize? I miss cds. Sure, iTunes is convenient, but it's not the same. And when your iPod dies, then you'll realize how stupid iTunes proprietary file protection is.

The album I bought today is City and Colour's "Bring Me Your Love". It was worth the wait, worth the trip to the store, worth the extra dollar or two. Tonight, I put the CD in my stereo and just sat for 45 minutes and took it all in. Of course, I might be biased, as I was a fan of the band already, but this CD is amazing. I encourage you to buy it from any of these places: Vagrant, Best Buy, Newbury Comics, AmazonMP3, iTunes.

From the "Live" album, here is "Sensible Heart". This track was rerecorded in the studio and can be heard on the new album.

Artist: City and Colour Track: Sensible Heart (live) MP3



Background Info:
Dallas Green is a member of Alexisonfire, based out of Canada. He releases solo albums under the name City and Colour. Previous releases include 2005's "Sometimes" and a live album in 2007. While Alexisonfire is considered screamo/post-hardcore, City and Colour is acoustically grounded, with the new album containing many elements found on a traditional folk record. The song topics are varied, ranging from the feeling of being separated from people you care about to death to trying to continue on in the face of adversity. For anyone looking to dedicate a song on Valentine's day, check out "The Girl". Go to City and Colour's myspace to listen to more tracks.

Winners of Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize, the Klaxons released their debut LP, Myths Of The Near Future, last year. I just got this cd and the track that instantly stands out is one of the singles, "Golden Skans."
Check it out here and let me know what you think.
Artist: Klaxons Track: Golden Skans MP3

I had been thinking about setting up a blog but I didn't know what direction I wanted it to take until tonight. Some of the things that I hope to cover on here include international development, the environment/green living, and music. Of course, I'm sure that my posts will stray into other areas too. Thanks for checking in and leave comments to let me know what you want to see or what you want to know more about.