RIP captain beefheart

dean ween was such a babe

chemistry class

for some reason it's really hard for me to explain why i love elvis costello so much. he writes the perfect rock songs with pop sensibilities, yet they're a bit more complex than that. this record is full of catchy singles, but they're each filled with little nuaces that only costello would come up with. from unique lyrics, to his strange and beautiful voice, this album is unique. he recorded it with the attractions in 1979, the same year he founded and produced the awesome british ska band, the specials. i'm not going to attempt to describe this album anymore, just listen.

click HERE to download 'armed forces'

baby i l u

i've only been listening to this album for a couple days, but i can confidently say it's GREAT. it was produced by phil spector, which definitely changed the band's sound. the record, 'end of the century', isn't as hard their self-titled album, but it still has songs like "chinese rock" (written by dee dee ramone and richard hell) which is a classic punk song. i love that they cover spector's song "baby i love you," which was originally recorded by the ronettes. apparently the ramones weren't the biggest fans of this record, because it's too commercial or something, but i don't think there's anything wrong with that. oh, and apparently, spector held the band at gunpoint and repeatedly made them listen to him sing "baby i love you." yuuup.

click HERE to download end of the century

such hawks, such hounds

when i was in los angeles last spring, my friend grace and i went to see psychedelic/stoner metal band, dead meadow, play at the hollywood forever cemetery. the band made a beautiful video to go with the show in which the drummer wandered through the desert, and my friend tatjana walked out of the ocean as a goth mermaid. I'd been listening to this band for a while, but the show made me appreciate them even more. here's a preview of what it was like: click here. feathers is their fifth album, and each song is so dreamy and beautiful, you'll feel like you're in a weird haze. (in the best way possible).

click HERE to download feathers

he dances really well

venus de milo

this album's great. it captures the 70s punk sound so well, even though the band isn't as hard as dead boys or the ramones (who are also incredible). television was started by tom verlaine on vocals and guitar and richard hell (who later formed richard hell & the voidoids) in 1973. not to brag, buuut i have a soft spot for hell because my mom was in a movie with him back when new york was rad. click here. yup that's her! apparently the rest of television didn't want to play hell's songs like 'blank generation,' so he went off to start his own bands. so without hell, the band played gigs at max's and cbgb, and released their first record, 'marquee moon.' my friend thinks that verlaine's voice sounds really similar to patti smith's. maybe that's why i like it so much. and the guitar riffs in these songs are just sooo good, you won't be able to get enough of them.

click HERE to download marquee moon

making pasta

broken heart

what do you do when your girlfriend/keyboardist secretly marries the singer of the virve? you record your sorrows into an incredibly beautiful record. if you're the genius behind spiritualized and spaceman 3, jason pierce aka j. spaceman, you'll also turn to heroin, but don't do that. 'ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space' will bring you back to that feeling of hopelessness after a bad breakup, but will also give you empowerment. after all, amazing art can be the result of a deep depression. j. spaceman was evidently so heartbroken when he wrote these songs, that he didn't need to sugarcoat his lyrics with metaphors. the way he felt was profound enough. so you'll hear lines like, 'i don't even miss you, but that's cause i'm fucked up' that pretty much speak for themselves. spaceman has a wonderful ability to arrange a song with saxophones and crazy psychedelic guitar rifts full of feedback, and then sing a ballad with hardly any instrumentation behind it. for lack of a better analogy, this album is like a roller coaster, which probably isn't far from the way spaceman was feeling when he wrote it.

click HERE to download ladies and gentleman we are floating in space

their cell

i stumbled upon this band last year, and am so glad i did. girl in a coma consists of three badass sisters who write beautiful melodies that are the perfect balance between 'hard' and dreamy. 'both before i'm gone' is their first album, but i never feel like i'm finished listening to it. therefore, i haven't felt the need to download their newer ones. if i like what i hear, i'll definitely post 'em later. i can't tell whether this band is a total guilty pleasure or not, but maybe it'll be yours too. they're signed to joan jett's label, and i can definitely hear some similarities between this album and jett's stuff with the black hearts. click here. and a reference to the smiths never hurts.

clear HERE to download both before i'm gone

honey hi

this record never gets old! it was recorded in lindsey buckingham's house and is supposedly fleetwood mac's more "experimental" album. not sure what that means, but what i personally love is that each song is completely different from the next. this might be because fleetwood mac alternates between three singers. stevie nicks and christine mcvie's songs are the more mellow ballads, while buckingham's are more upbeat and aggressive. this whole album is just BEAUTIFUL.

click HERE to download tusk

easter basket

when i was twelve-years-old, my mom gave me three essential albums: the velvet underground & nico, my aim is true, and easter. i repeatedly listened to the first two, but refused to hear the latter because of patti smith's hairy armpits. thank god i grew out of my aversion to female body hair because this record is one of my favorites. if you don't have it yet, then download it NOW. it might change your life! lately i've been rereading 'just kids,' smith's autobiographical account of her relationship with photographer robert mapplethorpe and it's so inspiring. she is truly an artist, and 'easter' is one of her many masterpieces. the third track, 'because the night,' was smith's biggest commercial success and was co-written with the boss himself, bruce springsteen. and don't worry, you can still shave even if you listen to this album every day.

download easter HERE

ps, 'horses' (smith's first record) is also essential!

flagpole sitta

so lately i've been obsessed with a decade i was too young to actually remember. last week when i was bedridden with a cold, i watched the whole season of 'my so-called life' for about 12 hours straight, and had a realization: the 90s RULED.

okay, i'm not a fan of pearl jam and clothes that look horrible on every body type, but there was some pretty great music back then that shouldn't be overlooked. for instance: when jordan catalano finally holds angela chase's hand in public, an epic song called 'late at night' by 90s band, buffalo tom comes on, and really makes the scene. click here. it's hard to find the whole 'so-called life' soundtrack, but it includes some great tracks by the cranberries and sonic youth. slowdive isn't featured on the show, but it definitely fits the angsty teen mood. not to mention 'souvlaki' is a beautiful album, regardless of its decade. maybe because genius brian eno co-produced it, and co-wrote songs 'sing' and 'here she comes' (not to be confused with the velvet underground song). so put on your doc martens and flannel, and listen to this rad shoegaze.

click HERE to download souvlaki

for the september gurls (and boys)

i think it's only appropriate that my first post has my favorite album ever in it.

for those of you that don't know: alex chilton began his career as the fifteen-year-old singer of the boxtops who's single "the letter" suddenly made chilton a one hit wonder. chilton quickly bounced back by forming big star in 1971. however, the band's first two albums didn't achieve much critical success. with one other band member, chilton decided to record a more "personal" album entitled third. apparently sister lovers was inspired by chilton and his band mate's girlfriends at the time (they also sing on the album). and yeah, they were sisters. this album wasn't too successful upon it's release either, and is said to be unfinished, but years later it's often referred to in music magazines as one of the "best albums of all time." it's filled with dreamy, hauntingly lonely songs that just might speak to you. 

RIP alex chilton (December 28, 1950- March 17, 2010)

LOVE,
beale street green

click HERE to download third/sister lovers