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Posts Tagged “the vault”

the vault

Tiger Trap Warm Up A Chilly Day


I never got to see the Sacramento indiepop act Tiger Trap live, thanks to the confluence of my stunted age during the height of their popularity, the oppressive 21-and-over door policies of Chicago's finer rock clubs, and the fact that their collaboration sputtered to a halt after only one full-length, an EP, and a handful of one-off tracks for seven-inches and compilations. This clip of them performing the lovely, lilting "Words And Smiles" from their LP was uploaded to YouTube a month ago, and it's making me even more sad that I never chalked my license back in the day. So many regrets! [YouTube / MySpace]

2:35 PM on Thu Jan 17 2008
By Maura Johnston
143 views, 8 comments

Latest by MattS: Always wanted to see a drum-off between Heather Dunn and the drummer from Jale. They were both totally spazzy, smiley, awesome Animal-style drummers. more »

the vault

Mouse On Mars Get A Little Froggy

German electronic duo Mouse On Mars got a much-needed aesthetic reboot last year thanks to their rougher backing tracks for their Von Sudenfed project, twisting disco, glitch, and rock into hiccuping grooves that allowed their new collaborator, Fall vocalist Mark E. Smith, to free his spleen. But my favorite MoM tune might still be one of the first they ever recorded, the croaking, vocal-free techno track "Frosch" from 1994's Vulvaland. Despite the album title, the tune's very much safe for work. Cuddly, even. More »

10:30 AM on Thu Jan 17 2008
By Jess Harvell
213 views, 5 comments

Latest by dentist: I recently found Instrumentals used on vinyl. I'd forgotten how much I love it (it's probably my favorite of theirs). more »

the vault

Before They Were Famous, The Arcade Fire Were Just These Guys Who Opened For Chromeo

While cleaning out his archives, Gawker's Jim Lehnhoff unearthed some video that he shot of the Arcade Fire all the way back on April 11, 2004, at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. (They were third on the bill, playing behind the Unicorns and freakin' Chromeo, and in front of The Ponys.) Anyway, he donated it to us for "research" purposes; while Win Butler does engage in some flopping around the (teeny!) stage during this performance of "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," this clip is notable for the fact that the band doesn't really need Christmas lights, mariachi bands, or Web 2.0 trickery in order to put on a pretty damn compelling show. Ah, 2004—were we all that much more innocent then?

5:35 PM on Tue Oct 30 2007
By mjohnston
7,321 views, 22 comments

Latest by n/a: Are there anymore videos of this show? This concert was absolutely amazing, and I'm glad someone got at least one song on tape. After this, I remember the Unicorns doing an easter egg hunt on stage during their set and more »

the vault

Squeeze Get A Big, Two-Dimensional Thumbs-Up


Because I am, somehow, still completely shell-shocked by the Video Music Awards—I blame the 12-frame split screens during the fleeting moments that were devoted to enumerating nominees, which made up for their brevity by being completely fucking overstimulating—I am going to indulge myself (and, I suspect, delight a reader or two) by posting this clip of pop titans Squeeze lipsyncing their fantastic song "Up The Junction" in the midst of a Top Of The Pops set that's made up of what looks at first glance to be a forest of thumbs in the "I approve" position. Come on, this set is so much cooler than the Sky Villa! More »

4:30 PM on Thu Sep 13 2007
By mjohnston
397 views, 11 comments

Latest by angshu: Bless. more »

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The Vault: The Dynamics (Yes, Another Lost Soul Classic)

Managed by Aretha Franklin's husband, the Detroit band the Dynamics featured four singers, each able to take the lead with a different vocal style. Following in Franklin's footsteps, the band headed to Memphis to mix their sound with Stax-flavored soul. Produced by Tommy Cogbill and Chips Moman, responsible for hits like Elvis' "Suspicious Minds" and the Box Tops' "Cry Like A Baby," 1969's First Landing never fully caught on with R&B fans, with only a minor hit in "Ice Cream Song." But the album's last track, "Murder in the First Degree," is a funky number comparing a woman packing her bags to premeditated homicide, and the narrator's misery is to your listening benefit:

The Dynamics - Murder in the First Degree [MP3]
The Dynamics - First Landing [Amazon]

9:45 AM on Mon Jul 9 2007
By dangibs
229 views, 1 comment

Latest by the earl grey: Felix played a genius Marvellettes lost classic 45 on saturday: "Destination Anywhere" more »

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The Vault: Finally, We Get To Avail

This is the week for one of your Idolators to burn through every remaining standout MP3 in his collection, which brings us to Richmond, Va.'s Avail. From 1992 to 1998, the group put out a must-own album practically every year, with a hardcore-punk style that was aggressive enough for pissed-off teens, yet just melodic enough to land the band on Lookout! Records (1994's Dixie was no doubt the source of many road-trip sing-alongs). Three tracks are below, all taken from Jade Tree's 2006 reissue series; take a listen, as the songs are much more compelling than any of the rushed rock-crit hackery in the paragraph you just endured: More »

1:16 PM on Wed Jun 27 2007
By Brian Raftery
440 views, 10 comments

Latest by countshockula: I still have to put "southbound 95" on every time i near Richmond. And I'm from Massachusetts! more »

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The Vault, Part II: Picking Up The Pieces

There's very little to say about "Croque Pop," this 2003 track from Indianapolis trio the Pieces: The group and its label seemingly disintegrated years ago, and information is scant (though if this Amazon listing is correct, they at least got far enough to open for Evan Dando). But "Pop" is a quick-and-easy pop-rock number that's survived numerous iPod-lineup reconfigurations, and it deserves a few more fans More »

2:44 PM on Mon Jun 25 2007
By Brian Raftery
225 views, 2 comments

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The Vault: Diving In With The Chills

Could it be true that the Chills' 1990 classic Submarine Bells is out of print in the United States? These used-copy prices on Amazon seem to imply as much, which is a shame: Bells is probably the Kiwi group's most captivating album, one that glosses up the Chills' jangle-pop sound without overwhelming it. You could even call it "sumptuous," if only that word didn't make you sound like part of a cat-food commercial: More »

2:53 PM on Fri Jun 22 2007
By Brian Raftery
724 views, 6 comments

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The Vault, Part II: Getting Silly with Some Hot Chips

As you may have surmised from reading this site, we're big fans of nonsense. So we thought we'd share a classic '50s R&B song that's almost nothing but nonsense, from the title on down. According to Ace's wonderful collection of gibberish-laden doo-wop and R&B, Great Googa Mooga, the Chips were students at Brooklyn's Warwick School of Delinquent Teenagers who made one record, 1956's "Rubber Biscuit," before vanishing into obscurity. But what a record: In between exhortations like "Gow gow oh-ho!" and "Here ride in a himma-limma humma-lumma," we're informed, "The other day I ate a ricochet biscuit. Well, it's the kind of biscuit that's supposed to bounce off the wall, back in your mouth. If it don't bounce back—whuh-whuh-whuh—you go hungry." Well, duh. More »

5:00 PM on Mon Jun 18 2007
By mmatos
338 views, 3 comments

Latest by The Riffage: Didn't the Supersuckers do a cover on their "Devil's Food" odds n' sods collection? more »

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The Vault: Don't Stop 'Til You Get the Other "Enough"

As we all know, every American R&B song ever recorded has at some point been covered by a Jamaican artist. But few have claim-jumped their source material as energetically as Derrick Laro and Trinity did in 1980, when they cut a smoking version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," with Laro's clear falsetto comparing favorably with Jackson's (the track surfaced a few years ago on Soul Jazz's Hustle! Reggae Disco compilation). And hey, did MJ have a deejay like Trinity to toast over the groove? We think not. More »

2:22 PM on Mon Jun 18 2007
By mmatos
654 views, Comment

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The Vault: The Atomic Numbers' Lack Of Success Doesn't Add Up

There are some big changes coming to the site, and we promise that after they take place, you will not have to read anywhere near as many MP3 posts that contain the following elements: More »

2:10 PM on Fri Jun 15 2007
By Brian Raftery
402 views, 8 comments

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The Vault: Bright Spots From The Fall Line-Up

Statistically speaking, it's impossible to believe that we haven't posted more songs from the Fall: After all, Mark E. Smith drops a new album around lunchtime seemingly every day around lunchtime (just this morning, he dusted off a collection of sea shanties and British bird warbles, which the NME has already declared "his bestest, boldest yet"). Released shortly thereafter the death of John Peel—the band's biggest champion—The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004 encapsulates what the band does best: Cranky rants, ninnyhammer guitars, and lyrics that would make for some truly bewildering yearbook quotes: More »

1:08 PM on Wed Jun 13 2007
By Brian Raftery
517 views, 5 comments

Latest by Dick Laurent is dead.: The Fall are my go-to litmus test band, play "The Classical"...or I suppose anything off "Levitate" and if the listener is still around they're worth keeping as a friend. more »

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The Vault: A Check-Up From The Dentists

You would think that, by now, we'd long run out of '80s British indie-pop bands to write about. But you'd be wrong! In fact, if it were to all go down tomorrow, and we had to live in the mountains to stave off toxic fallout, the sounds of jangling guitars would be bouncing off the walls for months (our emergency preparedness kit consists solely of portable Bose speakers, two iPods, and some Capri Sun packets). Today's entry is from the Dentists, a quartet from the Medway towns that wrote many songs about dreams, and knocked out at least one great Tori Amos cover: More »

12:00 PM on Tue Jun 12 2007
By Brian Raftery
457 views, 7 comments

Latest by soundbitesnyc: Well done, Idolator, though Giant is clearly the Woodentops' best work. As for the Dentists, I always loved that song "Just Like Oliver Reed." Thanks for making me think of them again. more »

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The Vault: The Living Things Get Thrown To The Lions

Living Things lead singer Lillian Berlin has a reputation for irking would-be fans, whether it's because of his on-stage political diatribes, or just for excessive fashion-magazine preening. Such factors may be part of the reason why Ahead Of The Lions, the band's politically minded 2005 album, didn't exactly start a revolution, but it's a better-than-you'd expect metal-punk-garage collection: The Iggy-aping "I Owe" is better than anything off that last Stooges album, and "New Year" is plenty menacing: More »

11:10 AM on Mon Jun 11 2007
By Brian Raftery
291 views, 2 comments

Latest by Bob Loblaw: T-Retch. more »

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The Vault: Revisiting The Slightly Lesser-Known French Revolution

Thanks to Saltkya's Music Take Away for turning us on to So Young But So Cold: Underground French Music 1977-1983, one of the most accurately titled retro compilations we've heard in some time. The songs are either synth-poppy, post-punky or very synth-poppy, and while they don't always mesh together perfectly, there are some great moments scattered throughout. In fact, we'd wager even the famously French-hating Bill O'Reilly would like something here! That is, if he were actually human: More »

3:25 PM on Thu Jun 7 2007
By Brian Raftery
439 views, 3 comments

Latest by catdirt: my wife (french speaker) by loads of this stuff on vinyl for pennies on french ebay. the shipping is a beast, but it's out there- and i would describe it all exactly how you did: synth-poppy, post-punky or very synth-poppy, more »

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The Vault: The Producers Still Got It

Where do aging new-wave power-poppers go when they can't get enough of the road? Apparently, they head to Guantanamo Bay. That's what we learned when—as part of our ongoing efforts to promote every skinny-tie band of the late-''70s and early-'80s—we looked up the official site of the Producers. We didn't know the band was still playing, but apparently they flew last month to the infamous detention center in Cuba, where where they were "presented with a flag flown over the base in their honor" for entertaining the troops, and where they presumably played the beat-you-over-the-head hook of 1981's "What's He Got" a half-zillion times or so: More »

12:42 PM on Tue Jun 5 2007
By Brian Raftery
430 views, 4 comments

Latest by god1: I can't believe this! I havent' been able to find this Producers stuff anywhere! In the early (mid?) 80s, I was in grad school at OSU and there were 3 cute undergrads who lived next door. Nancy, more »

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The Vault: Shudder To Think Is Still On The Brain

Last week's Dismemberment Plan live-show MP3s once again got us all mushy on the '90s D.C.-rock scene, but really: It doesn't take much to get us to prattling on and on about how great it was back then, and we're about two more Dischord posts away from being told never to post a Clinton-era indie-rock song again. But while we can still get away with it, we'll gladly make the case that that art-pop-rockers Shudder To Think was one of the most underrated artists from that time, despite the fact that that band scored a big-label deal and opening for the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins; one of the greatest joys of seeing them live was watching non-fans gawk at singer Craig Wedren's improbably high-pitched voice, which was put to especially good use on the tracks below: More »

11:35 AM on Mon Jun 4 2007
By Brian Raftery
594 views, 10 comments

Latest by Moonshine Mike: @k-rock: agreed k-rock. Dischord was a strong buy at that point, but people started to balk then. But Shudder did some fine shows. more »

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The Vault: Lessons From Mull Historical Society

As noted earlier today, one of your Idolators suffered a rather nasty bout of Anglo-fever a few years back, and most of 1999-2002 was spent trying to track down every new, maddeningly over-hyped band to come out of the U.K. There are entire CD-storage shelves lined with regret from this period, but one album that almost justifies the madness is Loss, the 2001 debut album from Scottish act Mull Historical Society. Essentially the work of a one-man band (Colin MacIntyre, who wrote and produced the whole thing), Loss is full of ornately arranged (but never overly precious) pop songs, including the low-key anthem "Animal Cannabus." It's well worth a listen, especially since you can get it for a penny at Amazon: More »

11:05 AM on Wed May 30 2007
By Brian Raftery
325 views, 6 comments

Latest by Breliant: No one going mention that Watching Xanadu sounds uncannily like Darlin' by The Beach Boys? more »