Friday, March 25, 2011

Free Friday: The Blue Indian Compilation Vol. 2 | The Blue Indian

The Blue Indian is an indie music site out of Georgia and they've gathered together a bunch of good sounds for ya. This is actually Volume 2 - I'll feature Volume 1 later but you could do it now too. It's a Bandcamp sampler without any of even the "pay what you want" - just give'em your email address and they'll send you a link to download it.

Here's a couple of my favorite cuts:

You Already Know - Ghost / Light
Oh Dear, Oh Deer - The Ethnographers

The Blue Indian Compilation Vol. 2 | The Blue Indian

Free Friday: Yuna Music

Check out Yuna Zarai’s bewitching lo-fi sound. I'm especially enamored with the hauntingly brief Decorate. And then go download the whole kit and kaboodle from Soundcloud.

Free Friday: New Granada Records SXSW 2011

A new feature here at Vehement Flame is Free Friday, where I'll post some of the more interesting discoveries I've come across, all for free. Some will require the Amazon MP3 downloader, but you all have that right? And some might require a trade - give them your email, they'll give you some music. A fair trade, generally!

First up is Yet Another SWSW 2011 Sampler, this one from New Granada Records. It's an Amazon one, so grab it quick, as they sometimes go to $7.99 after a bit.

Really enjoyed these groups:

Animals (Part One) - King Of Spain
Smoke In Your Disguise

New Granada Records SXSW 2011 - Sampler | New Granada Records

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Free Friday: 2011 Sampler | Lujo Records

Here's a very nice sampler from the small indie label Lujo Records. This luxurious free sampler has some real nice sounds. Two favorites:

Weapons For War - Lull
Mr. Vampire - The Torches

2011 Sampler | Lujo Records

Thursday, March 17, 2011

John Prine

I picked up a free sampler from Newbury Comics called Oh Boy Records / Red Pajamas Records Sampler 2011 but really it was mostly a solid collection of John Prine songs, with a couple of other songs by Steve Goodman and Todd Snider but oh, what a collection of songs by this master songwriter! He tells some funny stories, some sad stories and some powerful stories. Here's just a couple:

Long Monday
Sam Stone

In Spite Of Ourselves (w/ Iris Dement)

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Childs

Childs is a Mexican duo that play some remarkably alluring electronic / guitar  pop instrumentals. Despite the ethereal sound, there is a power behind it that is very stirring, a remarkable achievement. There are a number of very special songs on their 2006 debut, but this was my favorite:

Oliver

Mariana

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Revolver

Another band I'm missing out seeing because I'm in the cold drizzly Northeast United States instead of lovely, sunny, 70 degree Austin Texas at SXSW 2011 is the French band, Revolver. I love the "plinky" sound of this unique trio, with their cello and two guitars. Of course, they need a new name, as there has to be at least 3 other Revolver bands in the recent past, which makes for a confusing search. Anyway, their web site is http://www.revolvermusic.tv/. I especially like this first song, from the Spinner SXSW 2011 mix.

Get Around Town
Balulalow
Birds In Dm (Joakim Remix)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Eigenharp

The Eigenharp is claimed to be the "world's most expressive musical instrument." A new instrumet from Eigenlabs, it costs $8,000 and has both keys and a breath pipe. Take a listen!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Fitz and The Tantrums

One of the "hotter" bands at this year's SXSW is Fitz and the Tantrums, and one listen to their soul-influenced indie pop tells you why. I dare you to keep your feet still while listening to these rockin' soul rhythms.

L.O.V.
Breakin the Chains of Love

Dear Mr. President (Live)

Friday, March 4, 2011

Dazed Down Under

Here's a new 8Tracks.com mix I just whipped up - 15 great Australian New Wave rock classics and forgotten tracks, plus a little pop sweetner.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Telekinesis

I have been getting lots of great recommendations from my twitter feed these days, even from some "celebrity" singers. The last two artists both came from Rhett Miller's stream, while today's comes from Anya Marina's stream:
Face hurts from smiling through the @_TELEKINESIS show at Doug Fir. Lerner, Narducy & Votolato raise the bar for power trios everywhere. WOW
So I took a listen to Telekinesis' latest, 12 Desperate Straight Lines and wow, how have I missed this group before? Actually, the brainchild of one Michael Benjamin Lerner and full of great snappy songs, with a somewhat desperate set of lyics - a favorite combo of mine. Here's the cut from their latest, found on the Spin Magazine March downloads, which is unfortunately only on iTunes, but a buddy grabbed the songs for me:

Car Crash

And from their first album:

I Saw Lightning

You can stream it for a limited time on the Merge Records site. Good stuff.

Dirty Things

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Exene Cervenka

Exene Cervenka, lead singer of X and recently diagnosed with Multiple Schlerosis, released a really fine sounding solo record last year, Somewhere Gone. Plenty of styles show up, from real rockers to this almost folksie song, which can be found on the excellent and still free Bloodshot Records Label Sampler :

The Willow Tree

Somewhere Gone