Back from the USSR and the WC

Wow...what a trip. The only bummer was the way the US played. Stories yes there are stories. From Starting a chant in the middle of hundreds of Drunk English fans to a battle of cell phone pictures where the winning photo included the no-no place of a female and piercings. To having to stay in Moscow International Airport for almost 24 hours. 23 hours and 55 minutes actually. To half metre brats. Good times.

NEXT Week 10. Double digits. And they said NEXT wouldn't last.

The Playlist.
John Ralston – I believe in Ghosts (Needle Bed)
Ralston sent a rough copy to Jay Bennett—yes the ex Wilco guy. Bennett was impressed enough to invite Ralston to his Chicago studio in January, to overdub a few songs from Needlebed. Some sort of madness or magic took hold. Twelve songs later, another album -- There's Always an Ambulance Around the Bend -- was born.

Barenaked Ladies – Wind It up (Easy EP)
Good ep for 99 cents. 3 for 1. Yeah Canada. They sound like BNL so if you like BNL you will dig this.

Small Sins – Is She the one? (Small Sins)
Another bunch of Canadians. Orignially called The Ladies and Gentleman but had to change their name because of copy right issues. Think of Small Sins as The Postal Services younger brother. Prediction…whispering rock will be in vogue soon.

Cary Brothers – Wasted One (Waiting for your letter EP)
He can be found on quite a few OSTs. Garden State, Sky High—which is a very cd of covers, and Scrubs the TV show. Getting everything he has put out will be pretty easy as this is only his second ep. I am sure a full length will be coming soon.

Keane – Put it Behind You (Under the Iron Sea)
In the two years since releasing their debut album Hopes and Fears, Keane has quickly established itself an integral part of the mainstream. Still no guitar but they are using a guitar effects pedal. So you might think they have picked up the guitar but not yet.

The Futureheads – Thursday (New and Tributes)
You’ll hear some Beach Boys some Jam and Big Country in the ablum too. The U.S. version of News and Tributes includes tracks from the U.K. Area EP and Shy Child's loopy remix of "Decent Days and Nights."
Tortoise and Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Thunder Road (Cover of Bruce Springsteen) (The Brave and the Bold)
Well, this one is a surprise. The Brave and the Bold is an all-covers collaboration between Bonnie "Prince" Billy (Will Oldham) and Tortoise, They cover songs From Devo to Richard Thompson to Lungfish.

Bellrays – Tell the Lie (Have a little Faith)
Part R & B, Part Rock, Part Punk, blended with fun, funk, and soul. An LA Band that has been around since the late 90s. This is their 5th cd.

Smoosh – Free to Stay (Free to Stay)
To say that these girls are talented beyond their years would be the understatement of the year. They can’t even get a drink yet in fact they can’t even drive yet. 13 and 14. This is their 2nd cd and a big jump…leap forward. I am not sure if you want the whole cd…they are getting there but download the highlights.

G. Love – Hot Cookin’ (Lemonade)
Garret Dutton’s 7th cd and the first for Jack Johnson’s “Brushfire Records” Good summer time groove thing going on. Among the musicians who guest on G. Love's "Lemonade" are Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Marc Broussard, Los Lobos' David Hidalgo, Donavon Frankenreiter and Tristan Prettyman. CD due out in August.

Landon Pigg – Sailed on (This is a pigg EP)
Based in Nashville. Sounding like Coldplay never hurt and neither doesn’t have a free song on iTunes or having the song play on Greys Anatomy. And from reading his bio on his website the man likes coffee and that is just fine with me.

WKRP -- foot powder. YouTube.

more later
Bro