This Week's Mix

Another week, another mix. Enjoy yourself and the gorgeous weather.

Johanna And The Dusty Floor - Wicked
The Little Ones - Morning Tide
Starfucker - Isabella of Castile
Minus the Bear - Guns & Ammo
Menomena - Rotten Hell
Kyle Andrews - Sushi
Ghostland Observatory - Silver City
Fat and Ugly - Smalltalkin
The Hood Internet - Gallery Piece of Everything (Bun B vs Of Montreal)
Dyme Def - Let It Be

IA Area Weekend

Your team out of the tournament? Got a little cabin fever? Luckily, there are plenty of good shows rolling through the region this weekend, most doing double duty in Baltimore/DC and Philly.


After spending the better part of this decade living in Austin, the must-see show for me this weekend is Ghostland Observatory. Unfortunately, they are only hitting DC, but you can see them Saurday night at the 9:30 Club. Hopefully, they will hit Philly soon.

Ghostland Observatory - Robotique Majestique

The Raveonettes are working extra hard. After doing a show in Philly Thursday night, they pull two shows on Friday in different cities and cap it off in the District on Saturday. They are on tour with Black Acid and local friends Thrushes join the bill in Baltimore.

3/28: Philly @ World Cafe Live *XPN Free at Noon* (Raveonettes only)
3/28: Baltimore @ Ottobar w/ Thrushes
3/29: DC @ Black Cat

The Raveonettes - Dead Sound
Thrushes - Heartbeats

Two tours of reinvented 90s indie cross in the night along I-95, swapping cities. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks with John Vanderslice in tow switch it up with the return of The Eels.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks/John Vanderslice

3/28: DC @ 9:30 Club
3/29: Philly @ TLA

Eels

3/28: Philly @ First Unitarian Church
3/29: DC @ Sixth and I Synagogue

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Baltimore
John Vanderslice - The Parade
Eels - Novacaine for the Soul

Other shows in the area:

Langhorne Slim/Wes Mattheu/Sisters 3

3/28: Philly @ Johnny Brendas

Langhorne Slim - Mary
Sisters 3 - Giggling Gremlins

Caribou/Fuck Buttons

3/29: Philly @ TLA
3/30: DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel

Caribou - Melody Day
Fuck Buttons - Sweet Love For Planet Earth

The Dodos

3/30: DC @ DC9

The Dodos - Fools

This Week's Mix

As I am in the middle of midterms for basically every class, I have been listening to a lot of electronic music. This week's mix reflects that. Enjoy!

65daysofstatic - Radio Protector
Ghostland Observatory - Robotique Majestique
Overseer - Slayed
Working For a Nuclear Free City - Troubled Son
Daft Punk - Human After All/Together/One More Time(Reprise)/Music Sounds Better With You (Stardust)
Digitalism - Idealistic
Muscles - Ice Cream
Ratatat - Seventeen Years
Oh Astro - Hello Fuji Boy
Pantha Du Prince - Moonstruck

This Week's Releases

Even though there are some great releases this week, my pick for this week exceeds them in every way possible. Ghostland Observatory's third studio album Robotique Majestique, is by far my favorite release so far this year. I have been a fan of their's for a little while now, but this album just makes me want to quit school and follow them around on tour. Every song is masterfully crafted and seduces your ear to beg for more. Once you get through the end of the album, your adrenaline is pumping so hard that you need to start it over again from the beginning.

Ghostland Observatory

Robotique Majestique (Buy) - "Heavy Heart" & "Full Album Stream"

Other Notable Releases:

Beach House (Bmore)

Devotion (Buy) - "Gila"

La Scala

The Harlequin EP - "Parallel Lives"

The Dirtbombs

We Have You Surrounded (Buy) -"Sherlock Holmes"

Goldfrapp

Seventh Tree (Buy) - "Caravan Girl"

Tift Merritt

Another Country (Buy) - "Morning Is My Destination"

Lemuria

Get Better (Buy) - "Pants"

Mezzanine Owls

EP (Buy) - "Snow Globe"

Ghostland Observatory Video

A couple of weeks ago, Ghostland Observatory debuted "Heavy Heart" from their new disc and announced that they were playing 9:30 Club on 3/29. Now, they have a live video for the title track off of Robotique Majestique. This video was recorded on Austin City Limits. Enjoy!

New Ghostland Observatory and Tour!

Austin's Ghostland Observatory is set to release their next album, Robotique Majestique, February 26th. Along with album comes a tour. So far, only a limited amount of shows are announced, but lucky for us in the IA area, D.C. happens to have a date. I highly recommend getting tickets early to this show and grabbing the new disc when it arrives.

I have seen these guys before, when they were a fill-in for a cancelled band at the ACL Fest. Never having heard them before, I had no idea what to expect. I was converted during the first song. Only a duo, these guys put on one hell of a show. Front-man guitarist Aaron Behrens prowls the stage with the presence not unlike Freddie Mercury, while producer-drummer Thomas Turner, usually decked out in a high collar cape, lays down sweet synth lines over wicked beats. Check out the new track from the upcoming album, and you will know what I am saying.

3/29/08: 9:30 Club, D.C.

Heavy Heart

This Week's Mix

Back to the mixes after a week off for the holiday break. Thought I'd make this week all about upbeat music to get everyone still in college ready for finals. Enjoy!

Girl Talk - Can't Stop
Battles - Race In
Scissors for Lefty - Ghetto Ways (Baron Von Luxxury Remix)
Middle Distance Runner - The Sun and Earth
Ghostland Observatory - All You Rock & Rollers
Bjork - Earth Intruders
Firefox AK - Zodiac
Faithless - Spiders, Crocodiles and Kryptonite
Animal Collective - For Reverend Green
Holy Fuck - Royal Gregory

This Week's Mix

As I study for yet another Physics test (which is also causing me to miss the Pela show in DC on Saturday), I forgot that I needed to give you all some great music. Here you are. Enjoy... and wish me luck!

The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
Apostle of Hustle - National Anthem of Nowhere
Citizen Cope - Pablo Picasso
Beirut - Forks and Knives (La Fete)
Ghostland Observatory - Silver City
Yeasayer - Sunrise
Interpol - The Heinrich Maneuver
The Apples in Stereo - 7 Stars
The Cribs - Womens Needs
Kings of Leon - Fans

This Week's Mix

In honor of the Girl Talk show last night (that I am still recovering from), I decided to make this mix dedicated to all of the songs that I enjoy dancing to. Listen to them before heading out to a show or the club and get yourself ready to shake it. Enjoy!

Massive Attack - Risingson
Maps - To The Sky
Junior Boys - Double Shadow
The Helio Sequence - Harmonica Song
!!! - Bend Over Beethoven
Ghostland Observatory - Vibrate
Battles - Atlas
The Chemical Brothers - Das Spiegel
The Knife - Marble House
Klaxons - Golden Skans

This Week's Mix

This week I wanted to do more of a theme, so I picked some of my favorite guitar heavy songs. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Kings Of Leon - Knocked Up
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - American X
Built To Spill - Mess With Time
Explosions in the Sky - Welcome, Ghosts
Panda Bear - Good Girl / Carrots
The Mars Volta - L'Via L'Viaquez
John Butler Trio - Old Man (Live From 9:30 Club 2007)
Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel
The Dandy Warhols - Be In
Ghostland Observatory - Midnight Voyage (Live at Austin City Limits 2006)

Ghostland Observatory glams up the Mid-Atlantic

This is a band not to be missed. I saw them as a fill-in for someone at the Austin City Limits festival in September and instantly became a fan. I even picked them as my favorite performance of the weekend. Now it's time for the Northeast to experience the glory of Ghostland Observatory. They mix electronic beats a la Nine Inch Nails and New Order and the glam/hair metal heyday of the 70's and 80's. Lead singer and guitarist Aaron Behrens is a prowling tiger on stage, doing his best Freddie Mercury impersination, while electronics and kit master Thomas Turner lays down the groove, usually decked out in a full length pale blue cape. Nothing can really prepare you for the show you will experience, but I am sure that you will have a time that you will never forget.

4/16: DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
4/17: Philly @ Northstar Bar <-- I'll be there.

Best Won't Do
Piano Man
Sad Sad City (live @ SXSW)