Bobkast #22: Listen, The Snow Is Falling

"I Need Another World...This Ones Nearly Gone"
(Photo by automaticbobby)
It's funny how a little bit of snow can bring a city to a stop. Aimless and carefree, it floats amongst smoke stacks and skyscrapers, lulling the avenues to a quiet hush. Quickly, it builds, hypnotizing wide-eyed onlookers as it dusts dirty streets with crystalline sparkles that shine under street lights like diamonds in a summer sky. Quiet. It swirls, whirls and falls. You stick your tongue out and taste its frozen delight. "Ahh, nurishment." And all of the sudden, the world is anew.

Bobkast #22: Listen...The Snow Is Falling
Galaxie 500- Listen, the Snow is Falling
Yo La Tengo- Nowhere Near
Alela Diane- White As Diamonds (Daytrotter)
Bjork- All is Full of Love
Grouper- Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping
Koushik- Morning Comes
Apollo Sunshine- Happiness
Japancakes- Blown A Wish
Julianna Barwick- You Were Waiting
Mum- I Can't Feel My Hand Anymore, It's Alright, Sleep Tight
Mogwai- Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home
Antony & the Johnsons- Another World

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we saw: Apollo Sunshine

"Harder Than It Used To Be"

Last night's Apollo Sunshine show at Monkey Town served as a reminder that Apollo is one of the most criminally underrated bands in the "Indie" realm. Their early records, Katonah and Apollo Sunshine, were both focused pieces of sunshine pop strung together with jaunts of noise, whack'd out late period Coltrane time signatures and lots of instruments that would have been found during the recording of The Millenium's equally underrated Begin (or a Sun Ra tribute record).

To be honest, I haven't listened to Apollo Sunshine's recently released Shall Noise Upon, although that is changing right now. After last night's extremely intimate, extremely psychedelic show at the multimedia performance space Monkey Town, there is no denying that everyone should get their hands on Shall Noise Upon ASAP. I went in having only heard "666: The Coming of the New World Government", which we posted a while back, and the acoustic ballad "Singing To The Earth (To Thank Her For You)", which was anything but acoustic last night. To say that Apollo Sunshine absolutely melted my soul and mind last night would be an understatement. Maybe it was the food (eggplant and cucumber croquettes) or the beer (Leffe Blonde) or the 80's Hip-Hop/Chinese Kung Fu Death/ Ancient Monkey Prints/ Scorcese/Weed Smoking Skull images Egan was projecting on all 4 walls, whatever it was, I left with my heart fluttering, mind loose and eyes wide, as if I'd just come back from an ancient mystical realm, only to be pushed back out into the industrial streets of North Brooklyn in absolute awe of the world. Did I mention it was a full moon??

If you missed last night, do your best to get to Monkey Town tonight, when the band (and Egan) will do it all again. HIGHLY REC'D.

Apollo Sunshine- 666: The Coming of the New World Government
Apollo Sunshine- Singing To The Earth (To Thank Her For You) [courtest of IGIF]

new: Apollo Sunshine

"I Was On The Moon When You Were Born"

I've been meaning to do a post on Apollo Sunshine's Katonah since we started the Bobka, but for whatever reason, I just never got around to it (expect it soon). However, thanks to YANP, I got tipped off that the psychedelic pop trio have a new record, Shall Noise Upon, coming out August 5th on Vinyl and MP3 and September 2nd on Compact Disc (remember those?). Besides massive amounts of touring, the Sunshine boys have been rather quiet as of late, presumably due to working on Shall Noise Upon. As big fans of Katonah and Apollo Sunshine (which you can pick up as a colored vinyl package for $25 here), "666: The Coming of the New World Government", the first peek of the record, is a progressive testament to the band's potent blend of cosmic psychedelia and pure pop (for now people), an inebriating and undeniable mixture that has made this band one of the most underrated in post-millenial times. While we're waiting for Shall Noise Upon, be sure to re-listen to the wonder of Katonah and peep their MySpace for some psychedelic experiments.

Apollo Sunshine- 666: The Coming of the New World Government