Cornbreadd // Lookin Ass Nigga (Houston Version)

Straight outta Screwston where they love to partake in pickles which have had Red Hots brand candy strategically placed into them, and all we can say is; This is kinda awesome...

MP3: CORNBREADD - Lookin Ass Nigga (Houston Version)

=w=

Dave Wrangler // How Low Coconuts (Ludacris vs Junior Senior)

Just got an email from screwston mash-master Dave Wrangler who has returned home from his summer vaccay and put the finishing touches on his Screwed Up Summer mixed tape. We really love what he did pairing the funky beats of Junior Senior's Eurotrash luau anthem "Shake Your Coconuts" with the dirty southern lyrical assault of Ludacris' "How Low". Wrangler calls it a 'certified dancefloor banger' and we tend to agree.

MP3: Dave Wrangler - How Low Coconuts (Ludacris vs Junior Senior)

=w=

The Good Ones // Sara

Adrien Kazigira, Stany Hitimana and Jeanvier Havugimana, aka The Good Ones, are a Rwandan trio who manage to bang out more than adequate back porch music--on piecemeal guitars with mismatched strings no less--in the Kinyarwanda street dialect of their nation's capital, Kigali.

Is it pretentious to kinda dig their sound just because they're speaking another language, like how that waitress at the coffee shop is so much hotter because she takes your order in a thick French accent? Or can you hear a kind of realness in their delivery that only subsisting on a 50-cents-per-day salary brings about?

Their full length, Kigali Y' Izahabu, will be released November 9th (via).

MP3: The Good Ones - Sara

=w=

Have A Sexy Weekend You Guys

Don't get us wrong, there is still a Giggle Party-shaped hole in our lives, but the pain has been somewhat dulled by the Leg Sweeper-shaped clump of Spackle we've haphazardly globbed over it with. It's almost as if a changing of the guard has occured; with Giggle Party heading to San Fran earlier this summer and the carefree duo of Leg Sweeper relocating to town a mere months before.

In our minds at least our two favorite good-timing party punk outfits will be forever connected.

So it only seems fitting that both debuted songs this week from their upcoming albums. Giggle Party, who have been previewing tracks all spring/summer, have made the first completely finalized and mastered cut off their upcoming album available today, and yeah it's about as cutely-titillating/innuendo filled as you might expect. Listen to/purchase "Get Your Finger Wet" right here.

On the flip side, Leg Sweeper's "Sexy Weekend" comes off as more settled/contained than the band's previous efforts. While the group has that fun-loving energy that has given every one of their live performances we've been to feel like the most raucous of house parties, this newly-released jam feels more like minimalist Weezer --but more like blue album-era Weezer as opposed to the Hurley-era junk. Which is to say that we love it, but either way nothing beats seeing these boys live.

MP3: Leg Sweeper - Sexy Weekend

=w=

Giveaway: Tickets To See Dead Confederate at The Loft

Athens band Dead Confederate lays claim to a sound that is often described as Nirvana-meets-My Morning Jacket. While that might be true for the majority of their catalog, the debut single from their sophomore album Sugar (released earlier this week via TAO/Old Flame) sounds more like Fishboy-meets-Oasis. Check it out below.

Or better yet, check them out in person (and for free we might add) when they come to town this weekend. The swell folks over at The Loft have given us a couple pairs of tickets to pass along to our readers.

Send us an email with the phrase "There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead" as the subject. Winners will be selected this evening.

MP3: Dead Confederate - Run From The Gun

=w=

Remember The Album-o!

Technology is so far advanced these days that one can walk around with the entire music section of the Library of Congress in their pocket at any time. Yes, it is a wonderful advancement for music lovers, and I enjoy how much music I have at my disposal all in one little machine, but there is something missing in me.

There is an intimacy I lack these days with downloaded/burned albums versus having the physical album itself. I remember the first album I ever got was when I was about ten years old. My brother and I rode our bikes up to Sound Warehouse and I bought “Dirt” by Alice In Chains on cassette tape. I took that cassette home and listened to that album the whole rest of the day and night while memorizing all the liner notes and lyrics and admiring all the artwork and photos. I remember I always really liked looking at the people and places the band would thank.

That was all part of the beauty and the connection that I had with a physical album and with a band.

It is now inevitably dying away due to the ease and non-cost to get music online; not to mention the suffering of most of the record stores around the country as well. Somehow, Hit Records & Tapes, the little record store from my old neighborhood in East Dallas, has held on, but every time I ever drive by there, I only see the owners old Monte Carlo out front. Even touring bands make very little on physical cd sales at shows these days. Most just buy online from the band’s MySpace page or on iTunes or CD Baby.

Right now, I could barely tell you half the members’ names of the bands I like. Most of the time I have no idea what the artist looks like, and when I finally get to go see them when they roll through town, I am usually shockingly surprised at how different they look compared to the mental image I have formulated in my head over time of listening to their downloaded or burned albums. Sometimes I can’t figure out the lyrics to a particular line in a song, but don’t have liner notes to go to. And yes, I know I can look up most of it on the Internet, but a lot of it you can’t find. I haven’t been able to find any Beachwood Sparks lyrics anywhere online.

I remember the term “music collection” and what that meant to have one; when you’d go to a friend’s house and look through all of their cd’s or vinyls or cassettes. That was a thing to do. I even had an old acquaintance that would use that excuse to get a date to come inside at the end of the night and check out his “immaculate record collection”. And, by God, if it didn’t work most of the time!

Having a good music collection was like having a well-groomed garden. There was time for growth and sectioning, and there were also times of pruning and refinement. And you would always know exactly what you had. Looking at an iTunes library now, especially mine, it feels almost like hoarding than collecting music. Some of it I don’t even know how it got into my library.

I’m not saying all of this to try and change anyone’s mind or that downloading or burning music is a bad thing. I’m just saying remember. Next time you’re at a good show or at a record store, pick up a cd and just hold it and feel it and look at it and listen to it and really just experience and remember what the full beauty and intimacy of an album is.

-Cory P. Coleman [c]

Meatloaf And His Dong, A Fan Fiction

Meatloaf: I'm planning to pay tribute to recently deceased soul legend Teddy Pendergrass with a concept album about a soldier lying near death on a battlefield, but instead of his life flashing before his eyes, his possible future flashes before them and each song on the album will represents a different scenario in the soldier's future.

Justin Hawkins: How bout a song about a giant penis?

Meatloaf: Great! My only concern with it, though, is I don't get to use the word 'dong'.

Justin Hawkins: I think we can work something out...

=w=

Some Covers Just Because

Everyone, it seems, is in some capacity a label these days. Every soda company and big box store seems to be releasing indie singles and digital LP's to drive traffic to their websites. What else could manufacturing Mountain Dew possibly make one a knowledgeable source of the music industry? In what ways do the Neon Indians of the world speak to the caffeinated beverage consumers of the world? Profit motives for artists releasing one-off singles and promo deals with junk food companies makes relative sense for the musicians involved, but for the chain store it can be a bit puzzling at times. Does releasing the latest Weepies record make anyone more inclined to shop at Whole Foods?

And while I still haven't figured out what selling denim jeans has to do with producing hit singles, my interest in Levi's 'Pioneer Sessions' series remains piqued. Yeah it's mostly safe, artists who've for all intensive purposes outgrown any shred of indie cred covering songs by their even safer influences, but for the most part they do end up being rather pleasing, if somewhat innocuous way. Check out two of the latest covers with a bonus random Velvet Underground cover thrown in for good measure.

MP3: Dirty Projectors - I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine
MP3: She & Him - Fools Rush In
MP3: Dashing Suns - Who Loves The Sun

=w=

Video: Antony And The Johnsons - Thank You For Your Love

Just watched the gorgeous new vid for Antony and the Johnsons "Thank You For Your Love" about a dozen times. The video is comprised of Super 8 footage that Antony shot when he first arrived to New York City as a teenager in the early 1990's. The song is the title-track of Antony’s forthcoming EP that is being released by Secretly Canadian on August 24th.

=w=

Separatysts Release Free Trysts EP

Giggle Party guitarist Aaron Eash calls his new batch of jams 'ambient noise soul'. In actuality his new 5-song Trysts EP released under the Separatysts name is some of the most well-thought out pop tunes we've heard from Master Aaron. Which is really saying something considering we've heard from at least half a dozen of his previous side projects. The new EP retains the lo-fi quality and carefree feel of Eash's other efforts, but tones down the punk vibes in favor of noise-filled r&b and tinges of grimy gospel.

On a bittersweet note, Separatysts will be performing their first and last show this Saturday at The City Tavern with The Happy Bullets w/ Young and Brave. The show will also mark Eash's last performance in Dallas before he heads off to San Fran to join up with his Giggle Party comrades.

We advise you download the free EP here and spend the next day-and-a-half committing the lyrics to memory so we can all shout them out together at City Tavern and send Eash off in style.

MP3: Separatysts - Doin' To Me

=w=

Women To Release Limited Edition 7" With Online Pre-Orders

Today online pre-orders begin for the much anticipated sophomore effort by Canada's Women, Public Strain. Those as antsy to get the album as we were will be excited to hear that both LP and CD pre-orders will be delivered with a bonus 7” featuring two exclusive non-album tracks--“Grey Skies” and “Service Animal”--which are not available elsewhere.

Pre-order the album here.

MP3: Women - Eyesore

=w=

Video: of Montreal - Coquet Coquette

"Coquet Coquette" is one of those tracks that takes a minute to really appreciate. At first glance it seems more straightforward/simplistic than what we've come to expect from of Montreal, especially when the chatter the past several months has been about how sonically pleasing False Priest is said to be. Regardless, the Jason Miller-directed video debuted yesterday does a lot to further the song's overall milieu. The video's cinematography is surprisingly gorgeous, especially considering the highest quality of Montreal videos to date have been cartoons.

MP3: of Montreal - Coquet Coquette

=w=

Over The Weekend: SubEx Birthday Bash @ Andy’s Bar

What a celebration we had this past Friday the 13th! It was our second birthday, as many of you know, and a few of our good friends came out to play a celebratory show for us.

The great Roy Robertson started things off with a few solo acoustic songs before bringing out the rest of the band to plug in and crank the amps. If you have not had the opportunity to see Roy Robertson live, you are doing yourself an injustice. Seeing as well as just hearing this band really gives the songs a higher power.

Birds & Batteries, whom we can graciously thank for being the initial booster for actually helping put this birthday show together, hail from San Francisco, and after seeing/meeting them back in March during NX35 and doing a write-up and interview with them, we welcomed them back to our fair burg to be a part of the festivities. Psychedelic. Electronic. Folk. Rock. That is B&B’s. And it is completely awesome music. There was much dancing during their set.

Last but definitely not least was Spooky Folk, whom if you haven’t heard of yet, then you have never been to this blog and you are not reading this right now… Shhhh… Just turn your monitor off, and close your eyes and count down from seven… Everything will be alright. It’s just a bad dream... Anyway, we like them a whole bunch and stuff and junk. Very nice people, those spookies! Spooky Folk rocked the socks off and made all of us sparkle like Edward and wrapped up the wonderful night for the crowd of well into the hundreds. They even made it rain SubEx t-shirts! Well, it may have just been me with a belly full of whiskey and some extra shirts, but THEY made me do it!

It has now been two years since this blog first took to the web, and many of you came out to celebrate that with us this past Friday the 13th. It was a great night for us all! Thanks to all who came out! We would all like to thank the SubEx community for your support over these two years and even getting us nominated for a 2010 Dallas Observer Music Award! We would also like to thank all of the musicians who have contributed to the Experiment by their personal writings and wonderful records they have made for all of us to enjoy. Here’s to the next two years, y’all! Thanks for reading!

Check out the rest of our slideshow here.

-Cory P. Coleman [c]

Why MP3 Blogs Are Not The Worst Thing In The World

MP3 blogs get somewhat of a bad wrap. It is not the modus operandi of most bloggers to scour the web for MP3's that meet a certain list of criteria that have the greatest likelihood of "breaking". Most are not specifically looking to push a hidden agenda or to become internet celebrities by scouting those MP3's that are just quirky enough to maintain credibility and yet just popular/derivative enough they have a more than decent chance at gaining traction.

More likely MP3 bloggers are just people that have a passion for music and aren't satisfied with the lame corporate rock of the Clear Channel dominated mainstream music landscape. And aren't for a second naive enough to think we've "discovered" a band that's already on Merge or Barsuk or Matador, etc. or that when/if they do break than we were in any way responsible.

Even more jejune bloggers who would bother to post about a band like Arcade Fire, perhaps the biggest indie band at the moment, as if they needed any extra pub from lowly music bloggers, are not completely out of touch either. Whenever I do for a moment step out of my comfort zone/friend circle of music lovers (or at least people interested enough to keep up with current trends) I am always surprised how little the rest of the world is aware of what goes on around them music-wise --or even cares to for that matter. My mom, for instance, has no idea who Wilco is.

So I guess what our biggest hope is is that we in some way are able to spread good taste/passion/awareness that we try to have for music even if only in the most minuscule of amounts.

In that vain, here's a band we kinda dig but in no way had any hand in "discovering". They are in fact on Carpark Records (Beach House, Dan Deacon).

MP3: Light Pollution - Magic Kingdoms Kick My Teeth In

=w=

Sun Araw // Off Duty 12"

Long Beach by way of Austin noise-maker Cameron Stallones of Magic Lantern is releasing a new solo 12" under his Sun Araw moniker. The Off Duty 12" will be released via Woodsist Oct. 12. Check out "Last Chants," the first single from the heavily improvised psych-noise disc in the meantime.

MP3: Sun Araw - Last Chants

=w=

Tonight Birds and Batteries, Spooky Folk, Roy Robertson Play Our B-Day Show

Our 2nd birthday/blogiversary party thing is tonight at Andy's Bar with Birds and Batteries, Spooky Folk, and Roy Robertson. Hey, any excuse to bake cupcakes is cool with us. Anyway, here's the FB invite if you're into that sort of thing. Hope to see you tonight.

MP3: Birds and Batteries - Out In The Woods
MP3: Spooky Folk - Polaroid
MP3: Kaleo Kaualoku - Bible Belt (live solo acoustic)
MP3: Roy Robertson - Drifter
MP3: Roy Robertson - She Was Born to Be My Unicorn (Tyrannosaurus Rex cover)

=w=

Anamanaguchi Give Away Free Singles, Prove To Be The 'Marijuana' Of Chiptune Genre

Just got the latest single from chiptune-meets-rock-band Anamanaguchi and it's actually pretty rad in a greater than the sum of their parts kind of way. For instance their original tune, "My Skateboard Will Go On," which is featured on side A of their latest release, is a pretty straight up Y2K-era pop punk jam in the vain of, say, a SR71 (or basically anything Butch Walker touched in that decade). If the material was 100% needless rehashing of the late 2000's over-polished pop punk or 100% performed on a hacked NES cartridge it would be pretty old hat, or at the very least only appealing to a very small niche.

As it stands, however, Anamanaguchi are actually able to create some pleasant little tunes. Look for future free singles here on a bi-weekly basis. I like to think of them as the gateway drug to the genre that have just enough mainstream appeal to win over some of the more casual listeners into the fold.

MP3: Anamanaguchi - R4INBOW IN THE D4RK (Das Racist Remix)
MP3: Anamanaguchi - My Skateboard Will Go On

=w=

Thursday's Shows of Note

What makes a good musician? Is musical talent earned through hours of rigorous practice or is it something innate one must be born with? Or more realistically is it some combination of the two? Personally speaking, I took piano lessons for 10 years growing up, and while I became a pretty decent player, I am not by a long shot what one might call a Van Cliburn.

And then there are artists like Jessie Frye who epitomizes that third category, someone within whom that blend of instincts and tenacity make her such a unique performer. The same characteristics responsible for Frye begging to be homeschooled as a youth so she could study the piano more hours each day. Qualities that also manifests themselves in her songs which smartly fuse together her classical training with folk/pop smarts.

Somewhat appropriately Frye gets the chance tonight to open for Pat Benetar at the House of Blues.

--

At the complete other end of the spectrum, the self-proclaimed 'World'z Most Danger Group in the World' return to the planet Earth tonight as the faux Rhineland hip-hop humorists LAZËR are hitting Lola's Ft Worth to play their first show in over two years. And I'm guessing it probably won't be another 24 months before their next show as the group is releasing its new album Twatobahn next month.

MP3: LAZËR - (Shut Up &) Dance, Girl
MP3: Jessie Frye - Birthmark (Chicago)

=w=

The Books // A Cold Freezin' Night

The Books are one of those musical projects that people either really love or don't quite understand. I suppose it is not too difficult to see how their sound collages which largely center on obscure found spoken-word samples can be off-putting to the casual listener, but there is a lot of musicality to their constructions as well. The duo have always managed to exude a bit of childlike wonderment in their pieces, which I think makes their latest album The Way Out so instantly endearing, a sentiment that best comes through on "A Cold Freezin' Night" which is based around samples of children insulting each other that the duo found on old Talkboy tapes acquired from thrift shops.

"Kids are just going nuts; when a kid gets their first tape recorder, all of their inhibitions are cut off and they just go wild," The Books' Nick Zammuto recently told Pitchfork. (Read the rest of the interview here).

MP3: The Books - A Cold Freezin' Night

=w=

SubEx's 2nd Birthday Bash

This coming weekend marks the 2nd year of our existence, and we intend to celebrate at Andy's Bar with some of our favorite bands, Birds and Batteries, who we fell in love with at NX35, Spooky Folk, who put out our favorite album of the year, and Roy Robertson, who we feel is one of the most promising talents in the region. Love us or hate us it's still going to be one hell of a show, and we'd of course appreciate it if you came out.

MP3: Birds and Batteries - Out In The Woods
MP3: Spooky Folk - Polaroid
MP3: Kaleo Kaualoku - Bible Belt (live solo acoustic)
MP3: Roy Robertson - Drifter
MP3: Roy Robertson - She Was Born to Be My Unicorn (Tyrannosaurus Rex cover)

=w=

Das Racist, Diplo Prep New Mixtape

Das Racist are readying a followup to their Mishka-presented mixtape, Shut Up, Dude, which will be their second of the year. This time around the Brooklyn trio will spout their brand of social commentary fueled hip-hop over beats by Diplo and Boi-1nda, who was responsible for Eminem's "Not Afraid." Look for their new release, Sit Down, Man to drop some time in September. Until then grab their debut here while it's still free.

For what it's worth I can't drive passed a joint Taco Bell/Pizza Hut establishment without thinking of these guys, and every time I giggle inwardly.

MP3: Das Racist - You Oughta Know

=w=

Last Night: Suicide Song Swap @ Dan’s Silver Leaf

There are many places that I would rather be at any given moment of any day, but last night at Dan’s, I had one of those wonderful self-realizations that at that moment, there was no place I would rather be. Beer, whiskey shots, good friends and a good crowd… Oh yeah… Not to mention one of the greatest trifectas of local singer/songwriters to grace North Texas all together on the Silver Leaf stage in what was entitled a “Suicide Song Swap”.

I speak, of course, of the greatness of Doug Burr, Danny Balis and Glen Farris. Going down the line, each of the guys would play a song, either one of their own or a cover, while the others would chime in with vocal or guitar harmonies. At some points a story would be shared about a particular song, the boys might joke with each other on stage or at times they would even joke around with some of the audience members. Glen Farris has really come into his own as a solo artist. Some of the other AMR guys and I could hear a little bit of a young Willie in his throaty vocals. If you get a chance to see him, you will not be disappointed. Danny Balis. The Dark Cloud. With his deep, perfectly classic, country-style voice, Balis sang mellow ballads of love and leaving and whiskey.

It’s good. It’s dark. It’s classic country. That’s the only way I know how to tell you about the music of Danny Balis. There was a reason why Doug Burr was in the middle of the stage. Doug Burr is a very humble man, but he carries an aura. It’s an aura that cannot be seen until he opens his mouth to sing and strums the first chord on his guitar. Then you see it. Then you feel it. His music really goes right through you. I don’t know anyone that would disagree with that. The mood within the warm, glowing, warming red glow of Dan’s Silver Leaf last night can best be described as joyous. A smile everywhere you turned. During a break in the music, I even got to share a “POW!” With Danny and Doug as we watched the Rangers go on to an 11-6 victory from a Michael Young grand slam in the 9th! Go Rangers!
On a regular Wednesday night in Denton, this lonely bar housed a very intimate experience that was extremely special because the night was made just for those that came. And though it could happen again with the same artists and the same people and the same bar, it would not and could not be the same as the Suicide Song Swap. But at SubEx, we are here to share things like this with the community for those who may not have seen or heard what we heard, so that you might at least get a glimpse of the experience for yourself and can share in the beauty. Enjoy your moments today.

Check out the rest of our slide show here.

-Cory P. Coleman [c]

Video: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. // Nothing But Our Love

Aside from having one of the best band names I've heard all year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.'s latest EP also got plenty of iPod time this past weekend on my flights to and from Dollywood (the later of which I had the privelege? of sitting next to Kirk Cameron). The group, who have a surprisingly beautiful sounding production--layering swirling guitars, electronic flourishes, folky-roots, and Beach Boys harmonies--for an album that still has that recorded-in-a-basement feel.

The Detroit natives also debuted a video this morning on Pitchfork for their single "Nothing But Our Love" that sees the self-professed NASCAR nerds sleepwalking through their race-fueled dreams while their brand of dreamy pysch-folk provides the perfect soundtrack.

MP3: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - Vocal Chords

=w=

Happy Birthday/Fungi Girls/Residual Echoes Are The Best Show In Town

Although Ariel Pink has gotten loads of pub/hype this week--deservedly so I suppose--it is the dark horse Happy Birthday/Fungi Girls/Residual Echoes bill over at The Nightmare this Thursday that is the one must-see show of the week. One also must tip the proverbial hat to Parade of Flesh for once again assembling the best overall bill in town, a trend that is becoming pretty habitual .

I already gushed pretty hard over the glammy garage pop of Happy Birthday over at MDM, but their tour mates Residual Echoes deserve a little puffery as well. John over at POF posted a link to download their 2007 Firsts EP on his site.

What at first seems like lifeless takes on Incesticide-era Nirvana ("Wipe It Up" = "Been a Son"??) gives way to hints of 70's southern rock inspired twangy riffs and guitar solos so delightfully sloppy that one begins to actually prefer them to the soulless, highly technical wankery of most 70's-era heavy rockers. It doesn't take much more than the closing minute of "Dosed Clothes" for the LA outfit to break the 3-chord post punk mold and prove with a vengeance that they deserve to belong in a place all their own, one that is not perpetually linked with the dried up 90's grunge scene. What is left is a band that knows where it's influences lie, but one that doesn't get stuck in the past; They can retain the elements that made Skynryd and Nirvana popular without simply rehashing their no-longer-relevant material.

MP3: Residual Echoes - Fresh Eyes

=w=

Video: Man Factory - Balrog 24/7

A months back when our pals Man Factory released the much anticipated Street Fight! Round Two--the second installment in their planned three-part power pop opera based around characters from the popular video game franchise--we got to chat with the boys for another site. Much like The Beatles' first trip to America their answers to our questions were often filled with half-truths and humerus witticisms, so when they mentioned back in March that a creative arts school was interested in turning Street Fight! into a full blown live theater act to be performed by elementary-aged children it was easy to brush it off as a witty aside.

Or so we thought.

Over the weekend Man Factory held a premier for their newest video for Round One closer "Balrog 24/7," and surprisingly enough it stars elementary aged kids playing the parts of Balrog, Sagat, and others as part of a school play of sorts. We've also been told the video, which was shot by the Luu Brothers, will be screened at the 23rd Annual Dallas Videofest in September 2010 at the Angelika.

The rest of Round One is also available for a "name-your-price" download model here.

MP3: Man Factory - Balrog 24/7

=w=