DIVISION DAY

[I actually completed this entry nearly two weeks ago, but every time I go to post it, somebody scoops me. First, there was The Perm and the Skullet [here]. Then, there was Rock Insider [here]. But so be it. The time is nigh to hitch my wagon to this... um... bandwagon.]

Well, I'm far from the first blog to talk about the L.A.-based quartet Division Day, and I'm sure that I won't be the last. These guys were kind enough to send me a copy of their last EP, The Mean Way In, as well as an advance copy of their upcoming full-length CD Beartrap Island. They have a full eight songs currently available for download on their website, one of which you will also find below.

Describing Division Day's sound is no easy task. Listening to their songs, I found myself jotting down impressions such as: "early Flaming Lips," "Spoon," "Radiohead: Kid A," "Alan Parsons Project"[!!!], "playful-alternating-with-moody art-rock," "slightly unhinged lullaby" [re: "Hand to the Sound"], "understated majesty" [re: "Colorguard"], even "slight nods to '80s new wave." Then I remembered that the band had recorded at John Vanderslice's studio in San Francisco. That locked it in for me, because they definitely share that man's penchant for off-kilter instrumentation, arrangements, and mood.

Thus far, Division Day have primarily toured the West Coast (playing shows with the likes of Xiu Xiu, the Velvet Teen, and Cass McCombs). They're hoping to branch out further in U.S. this coming summer. In the meantime, Beartrap Island will be released in March. Here are my two favorite tracks from it...

[MP3] "Colorguard"

[MP3] "Dayenu" [REMOVED AT ARTISTS' REQUEST]

THE PASSION OF THE KILT

(MORE) ASSORTED BASTARDS & B-SIDES

[Speaking of bastards... today's picture is apropos of nothing other than the fact that Braveheart is my least favorite Best Picture winner of the past 12 years. (And that's saying something, as I didn't like Million Dollar Baby (2004), Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Chicago (2002), or A Beautiful Mind (2001), either). (Lest you get the idea that I hate EVERYTHING, let me point to the Academy's sterling run from 1991-1993: The Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, and Schindler's List. Ah, now THOSE were the days.). More to the point, though: I can't stand Mel Gibson. His radical Catholicism. His rampant homophobia (see previous). His 107 kids (actually, just 7; but still: see previous). Oh, and let's not forget his Holocaust-denying father. What a lovely klan... er... "clan." (I can still remember thinking back in 1995 that Braveheart was the artistic equivalent of Mel Gibson jerking off in public for three hours. And wouldn't you know it - The Passion of the Christ turned out to be the same exact thing - the only difference being that the bastard did his jacking from BEHIND the camera. But enough already. End of rant.]

[MP3] Franz Ferdinand/"Fabulously Lazy" [from the Do You Want To single]

[MP3] Madonna/"Fighting Spirit" [Confessions on a Dancefloor bonus track]

[MP3] Maximo Park/"Hammer Horror" [from the b-sides/rarities collection Missing Songs]

[MP3] Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/"Cigarettes" [BBC 6 Music Gideon Coe Session] [from the In This Home of Ice single]

ASSORTED BASTARDS & B-SIDES

[MP3] Belle and Sebastian/"Meat and Potatoes" [from the Funny Little Frog single]

[MP3] The New Pornographers/"High Art, Local News" [Twin Cinema bonus track]

[MP3] We Are Scientists/"This Means War" [from The Great Escape single]

[MP3] Hard-Fi/"Seven Nation Army" [White Stripes cover] [from the Cash Machine single]

SAVEFILE FRIDAY: INSERT 'GAY COWBOY JOKE' HERE

Well, Sunday night could be a steamrolling sort of situation for Brokeback Mountain. Or, there could be a backlash, and the movie could just go *poof*. So to speak.

I literally haven't seen ANY of the nominated films or performances yet (it's probably been three or four years since I stepped foot in a theater; this hermit prefers DVD in his thoroughly bubble-wrapped and bird flu-proof survival shelter). Still, I'll tune it to watch Jon Stewart and to see if Robert Altman tells the Academy to go screw itself.

[Today's tunes are of the SaveFile variety, so just left-click here, then again on the next screen, and then right-click/"save as" on the screen after that. Not too terribly tough.]

[MP3] Sparks/"Ride 'Em Cowboy"

[MP3] Lambchop/"Cowboy on the Moon"

[MP3] Husky Rescue/"Summertime Cowboy"

[MP3] Fred Eaglesmith/"Rodeo Boy"

[MP3] Paula Cole/"Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?"

THE DELGADOS (1994-2004)

[This is the second installment in our "R.I.P. [fill in band-name here]" series - an effort to celebrate those artists that, sadly, are no longer with us. Of course, they're not literally "dead," generally - just victims of that most nefarious of band-busting bugaboos ... "creative differences." Ah, the humanity.]

I didn't discover the Scottish band the Delgados until 2002, when they released the album Hate. Little did I know that they'd been together eight years by then, or that they'd only have a couple years left to linger. If I'd been compiling Top 10 album lists at the time, I'm sure Hate would have ended up occupying one of the more paramount positions that year. Listening to it today for the first time in a long time, I find it still holds up remarkably well. Some of that no doubt has to do with producer Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev; The Flaming Lips), who began collaborating with the band on 2000's The Great Eastern.

The Delgados are one of those groups - like Stars and Rilo Kiley - who trade off male/female lead vocals. Perhaps it says something about me that, in all three examples, I prefer the female singer to the male. In the Delgados' case, that means that Emma Pollock gets my vote over Alun Woodward. Thus, all four of the songs I'm offering today feature Ms. Pollock on vox. Sorry, Mr. Woodward.

From the LP Hate, 2002 >>>
[MP3] "Coming in from the Cold"
[MP3] "Woke from Dreaming"

From the LP Universal Audio, 2004 >>>
[MP3] "I Fought the Angels"

From the LP The Great Eastern, 2000 >>>
[MP3] "Make Your Move" [Twin Peaks Mix]

MIGHTY SIX NINETY

I can't remember where I first heard about Mighty Six Ninety, but both Come Pick Me Up and My Old Kentucky Blog have jotted about them this year.

And yes, it's undeniably true that this American five-piece sounds an awful lot like the Smiths (with maybe a bit of New Order stirred into the mix), but I think they're swell, and I think you should think they're swell, too. (Also, they were nice enough to send me an MP3 after I rather rudely requested one through unsolicited e-mail.)

These next few weeks, the band will be playing a handful of shows out West, including the SXSW in Austin on March 18th (5 PM at the Red Fez, reportedly). After that, they'll return to the UK, where their sound has thus far been better received and appreciated than here in the States.

Finally, they will be releasing a single ("Believable") in the UK on March 13th. You can stream it on their MySpace page [here]. You can download the b-side ("Northern Border") [here]. And you can purchase the whole kit 'n' kaboodle [here].

[MP3] "Have You Ever Asked Yourself"

[MP3] "Leave This World"

[MP3] "Keeping You in Mind"