nu music: Port O'Brien

"Sleep is where I want to be"

(photo by CharlieHomo)
A couple of days before we were drooling over the Fleet Foxes NYC debut, we were fawning over Port O'Brien's foot stomping ramshackle affair at Piano's. While the latest studio version of "I Woke Up Today" is undoubtedly one of the best songs of the year, the band's got alot more up their sleeve than the pots and pans percussion and bourbon sing-a-long of the song that birthed the title of their upcoming record All We Could Do Was Sing. And while I love the studio recording, the savage army sing-a-long they recorded for Daytrotter during Noise Pop is so boisterous that it practically screams 'wake the fuck up,' both literally and figuratively. Appropriately, the revamped Daytrotter version has been my iTunes alarm clock jam since it was loaded it a few weeks back.

Coincidentally, our good friend, psuedo-west coast correspondent and blow dart enthusiast John Dura (aka SpaceCakes420, muxtape) sent me a few tracks the band recently recorded for a Hear Ya Live Session (brought to you by Beer Nuts!). The band performed three songs, including standout "From Port," but the real treat is "Is This Really What It's Come To." Personally, this song really hits home. Not only does Van mention listening to the Grateful Dead (my first favorite band) and the Smashing Pumpkins (my first concert, Infinite Sadness tour) but he has the uncanny ability to sum up the subtle nuances of young life by way of sleepless nights. I can't do any justice to this one, so just peep the lyrics.

"Is this really what its come to/ Some drugs inside my bedroom/ With the lights turned down/ I know I cant see much of anything/ The glow from my computer screens/ Telling me to go/ And sleep is where I want to be/ but I cant get there for the life of me/ So I guess I'll just, watch TV/ And I'll listen to the Grateful Dead on my headphones/ I'll watch as my old dear friends hit the road/ but I think I will stay/ Stay right here.

I've taken all these college course/ I've seen all kind of courses/ That my life should take/ And not to hesitate/ But that's all I want to do/ So I'll sit right here and think it through/ Until the timings right/ Or right for, the time is running with me/ We're holding hands for eternity/ Then we'll have some kids/ Then we'll die/ And I'll listen to the Smashing Pumpkins on my headphones/ I'll watch as my old dear friends hit the road/ But I think I will stay/ Stay right here."

Port O'Brien- I Woke UP Today (Daytrotter/Noise Pop version)
Port O'Brien- Is This Really What It's Come To

Port O'Brien raging "I Woke Up Today" in New York City

one take new york with PORT O'BRIEN, 'i woke up today' from one take new york on Vimeo.

whoa: Circulatory System

"You were never so high"

We've been hearing rumors for a while that Will Cullen Hart's post-Olivia Tremor Control band Circulatory System would be releasing an album in '08. Now there's proof and we're fucking psyched about it. If you know Bobka, you know we like psychedelic anything; art, music, shoes, drugs, animals(?). Whatever it is, we like it a little fuzzy, a bit skewed and trippy as balls (see The Sea & Cake video below). So when P4K posted about 3 new jams on Circulatory System's MySpace, we immediately hopped on the bus and hit the information super highway seeking enlightenment, or something like it, via loopy bedroom psych. So far we're really digging "Same Place", a track full of opiated vocals, Beatles in India guitars, homemade percussion and a quirky maelstrom of bizarro instruments you've grown to expect from the E6'ers. All that makes for a what feels like a very lucid sleepwalk through a rainy Amazonian jungle. Listen here.

If you've peeped my muxtape you might have expected this post. Why? Because it's spring and nothings better on the train than some weird Elephant 6 fuzz to combat the itchy crackhead lady sitting next to you trying to free the bugs from under her skin. Creepy, but hey, that's what drugs do. It's not pretty, unless you grew up in Ruston and were/are part of a highly touted, experimental psych pop collective that's sorta kinda based out of Athens, but not really. If you don't believe us about the psych, etc, just peep the video for "Should A Cloud Replace A Compass?"

Oh yeah, the image at the top is from Circulatory System's My Space wallpaper, which might be the best, most appropriate wallpaper I've ever seen on the crap ass social network.

Circulatory System- Yesterdays World
Circulatory System- Now

"Should A Cloud Replace A Compass?": A Short film by Joey Foreman

Sunday Brunch: Muxtape

Missing XL-II's like whoa

Dura sent me a link to Muxtape the other morning. It's pretty sweet, so I figured we'd make an inaugural mux. Think of it as a belated St. Patrick's day present, from us to you. No theme here, just a few randoms I've been enjoying and threw together. Expect this to change over the coming weeks. Without further adieu, our first muxtape.

Hello Blue Roses- My Shadow Falls
Dr. Dog- Heart it Races (Architecture in Helsinki cover)
Ra Ra Riot- St. Peter's Day Festival (Daytrotter session)
Peter and the Wolf- Better Days
The War on Drugs- Buenos Aires Beach
Sera Cahoone- Only as Long as the Day
Radiohead- Unravel
Mindbenders- Groovy Kind of Love
Silver Jews- Black and Brown Blues
Arthur Russell- A Little Lost
Fleet Foxes- He Doesn't Know Why
Port O'Brien- I Woke Up Today

Make your own Muxtape here