Arcade Fire

What's been dominating my car stereo:

Arcade Fire, The Funeral

Supposedly, this is all Spike Jonze listened to when writing the screenplay for "Where The Wild Things Are." I bought the album unaware of any of its connections with the film until I heard "Wake Up" and recognized it as the song on the commercial trailer. I had heard other singles from the band, including Intervention and Keep the Car Running, and waited way too long to buy The Funeral.

I was surprised to find out there are like 12 band members in Arcade Fire playing guitars, whistling, banging pots and pans and what have you; yet, it is surprisingly well-orchestrated its complexity only adds to the sound.

Go get this album if you don't already own it.

S2

One of my favorite rawk bands, Umphrey's McGee, has always been about improvisation. Their explorative jams are called "Jimmy Stewarts" and have given birth to many of what are now their most popular songs.

They were praised for their inventive marketing of their recent sutdio album, Mantis, which was released this year. Prior to its release date, fans could unlock Web-exclusive material by pre-ordering the album. In addition, the album itself acts as a key to unlock more Web-exclusive content still being released. It just makes being a fan fun.

Well, UM has taken it to another level again with its S2 series, or "Stew-art." S2s are like VIP pre-parties where a select group of fans get to meet the band and then literally partake in a sonic stew, whose recipe is decided by text messages that appear on a big screen like tweets that are visible to the band, who then alter the sound in reaction to the word or phrase presented.

For example, a fan texted "Under Attack," which appeared on the screen and yeilded an all-out metal assault; until another fan texted "cantina band," which lightened things up considerably, as you can imagine. The possiblities are endless ...

To have a chance to participate in an S2, it sounds like you have to play it by ear and grab a ticket quickly. I hope I have the opportunity -- at Northern Lights on Nov. 19th would be smashing.

Check out the video of the inaugural S2 on their blog, The Floor.

Thom Yorke Band – Live at Echoplex, LA – live report | Radiohead At Ease

Thom Yorke Band – Live at Echoplex, LA – live report | Radiohead At Ease

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Hidden Hand, Hidden Track

I hope to have my computer running at full capacity soon so I can begin posting again.

In the meantime, a "highlights from moe.down 10" list I compiled and photos I shot dropped on Hidden Track earlier this week.

My first festival review was a learning experience to say the least.

I have done some freelance work for Hidden Track before as well. Check out my review of an Umphrey's McGee show at the Calvin Theater in Northampton, Mass.

Stay posted ...

My Mac is showing its age needs to get serviced; so, until then, stay posted. I have plenty of fresh ideas for fall that I'm pretty excited about.

-J

Experience Zen

I've created a logo and custom T-shirt designs for local band Capital Zen. "Experience Zen"here. Their debut album is coming out soon!

WOODS

By Shanna Farrell, contributor

A beautiful fusion of indie rock, lo-fi, folk, and jam -- Woods has got it going on. Their newest album, Songs of Shame, was released in April and has quickly become one of my favorite records of the year. While I love me some indie-rock, lo-fi, and folk (has anyone seen the Newport Folk Festival line-up this year? Check it out here), it takes me a lot to tolerate, let alone like a band that does any “jamming” at all. But Woods is a different story. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’m in love with their sound. It’s something both familiar and new.

While I think the album as a whole is wonderful, there are three songs I want to highlight (two of which you can listen to here).

The first of the bunch is “The Number,” a stripped down song. It’s regretful and somber. It’s melodic chorus is “You’ll pass that number/ Waiting for the summer/ So that you cannot rest/ Curious perfections/ There’s haunting life lessons/ So that you cannot rest”. There is a definite beauty in its subtleties.

Next is “Military Madness,” originally by Graham Nash. This song is just as powerful now as it was then, and Woods brings a new flavor to the tune.

The third track I want to mention is called “September with Pete.” It’s completely instrumental and [for lack of a better term] jammy. The drums and guitar are most prominent, and together they create a kind of rhythmic euphoria. The song may go on slightly longer than I would like (it clocks in at 9:40) given my previously mentioned aversion for jam-rock, but I can get help moving to this song.

The band is currently on tour. If you’re in Boston on Aug. 6, I’ll see you at Great Scott for their show!

Woods

And if you’re interested in reading more, here’s a review that Pitchfork did of Songs of Shame.

Shanna Farrell is a friend that will be contributing to my blog regularly. She earned her undergraduate degree in music from Northeastern University in Boston and afterward moved to LA, where she worked in production. She currently lives in New York City where she attends grad school at NYU.