Out the Other

Playlist - January 26

Argh I'm sorry this took five days to post - I'm having a rough week.  Which means pretty much no time for blogging.  Hopefully though, you've noticed that the archive for last Saturday's show was updated, but if not - go ahead and:

Stream the January 26 edition of Out the Other

We're back to the format of the show that I used last fall - which means taking a look at brand new releases and bands coming to town in the week ahead.  And we're back to having a featured album of the week - this week, it was Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut, which came out Tuesday on XL.  Everyone and their brother has blogged about this band by now, to the point where you're probably pretty exhausted by the hype.  But just give them a listen - I promise, if you dig Paul Simon's Graceland at all, you'll find a place in your heart for Vampire Weekend.   Here's the playlist from Saturday's show:

1.  Vampire Weekend - M79 (Vampire Weekend)
2.  The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (Keep Your Eyes Ahead)
3.  SSM - Deja Vu (Break Your Arm For Evolution)
4.  The Selmanaires - A Small Room (The Air Salesmen)
5.  Band of Horses - Islands On the Coast (Cease To Begin)
6.  Cass McCombs - That's That (Dropping the Writ)
7.  Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend)
8.  How I Became the Bomb - Bar Song (Let's Go)
9.  Chris Walla - Sing Again (Field Manual)
10.  The Clutters - 9999 (Ways to Hate Us) (Don't Believe a Word)
11.  Hotpipes - Much Too (Hotpipes)
12.  Vampire Weekend - I Stand Corrected (Vampire Weekend)

Here's the last tune, which didn't make it onto the archive (and which has an appropriate title after my initial snap judgment of this band):

"I Stand Corrected"

And another Vampire Weekend track I didn't get a chance to play:

"One (Blake's Got a New Face)"

Favorite Shows of '07

Okay, now that I've FINALLY wrapped up my list of favorite songs of 2007, it's time to talk about my favorite shows.  I thought for a little bit about not doing this, but then I looked over the list of things I saw in 2007, and I realized that going to shows was pretty much my life last year.  So I might as well write about it.

In 2006, I saw a lot of shows too - without doing a good job keeping track, I think I ended up seeing 120 different bands and artists at 60-70 shows and one festival (Austin City Limits).  But for 2007, I decided to keep an actual list of what I saw, and I definitely exceeded my 2006 numbers.  Attending both SXSW and Next Big Nashville accounted for a bunch of the bands, but what really made the difference was the fact that I made a big effort to get out in 2007 and see more local Nashville acts.

So what did I see, and which shows were my favorites?

New timeslot for the spring!

I don't know if you noticed, but I changed the little icon at the top of the right column - yup, Out the Other has a new timeslot on WRVU for the spring!  I've only shifted a little bit - instead of Saturdays noon-1 p.m. you can now find me on the air every Saturday from 2-3 p.m.  And I'm going to keep doing the show in the format I used last semester, which means every Saturday you'll get a nice little hour-long dose of what's coming up in the week ahead.  That means hearing songs from brand new releases and bands coming to town, plus a full concert calendar of what's worth checking out in Nashville over the next week.  (And of course there will be guests, because it's never fun to spend every single Saturday DJing alone). 

I'd do a preview of tomorrow's show right now, but I think I just changed my mind about the featured album of the week.  I still have to decide.  But I PROMISE I have tons of goodies, because the concert calendar is getting exciting and there are a billion new releases coming out.

Tune in tomorrow at 2!

WRVU Benefit @ The End TONIGHT!

Happy Friday!  Still looking for something to do tonight?  There's no better way to celebrate the kickoff of the weekend than with your favorite radio station - WRVU.  Tonight at the End WRVU presents Happy Birthday Amy, Velcro Stars, Makeup + Vanity Set and Another Side of Bob Jasmin - an excellent lineup of localness set up to support local radio.  The 18+ show starts at 9 p.m. and the cover is a $5 donation to support WRVU. 

And if you need a little bit of extra incentive to attend, you'll be able to register to win prizes - like tickets to the sold-out Wilco show, tickets to Fiery Furnaces, or other kick-ass stuff like gift certificates. 

Velcro Stars - "Lush With a Crush"

Go see some local music tonight!

We're still easing into the 2008 concert calendar - spring tours really haven't started yet and everyone still seems to be in a bit of a winter hibernation.  But just because touring bands aren't hitting Nashville yet doesn't mean that our own Nashville bands are taking a nap.  While we wait for things to gear up for the spring (and I promise they will before you know it), now is an excellent time to be checking out some local shows - maybe by bands you haven't had a chance to see yet.

Duraluxe is one local band that I'm keeping an eye on - and while I haven't had a chance to catch one of their live shows yet, I'm still expecting big things from them in 2008.  Their new album just landed in my inbox the other day, and after only a listen or two I've been finding myself walking around with some of the tunes stuck in my head.  The band has a show lined up tonight at The 5 Spot - with Deacon and 80th Action - which kicks off at 9 p.m.  The cover is only $5, and like all shows at The 5 Spot, this one is 21+.  Here's my favorite tune from the new album:

"Turn the Dial"

There's another great lineup across town tonight too - Thad Cockrell, Tyler James and Matthew Perryman Jones are playing Mercy Lounge at 9 p.m.  I caught Thad Cockrell's CD release at the same venue last year and it was fantastic, plus Tyler James always puts on a great show, so if you haven't had a chance to see either yet I recommend you give this show a shot.  The cover for this one is $10 and the show is 18+. 

Favorite Songs of '07 - #1

Miracle Fortress - "Have You Seen In Your Dreams"

Driving home to New York for Christmas last month, I played this countdown for my sister so she could hear what I thought was the best of what 2007 had to offer.  She knew I was torn between making "Welcome Home" or this song #1, and when we had listened to both she turned to me and said something along the lines of "wow, you really like these big, building-up kind of songs."  It's true, and it doesn't take someone who has known me for my full 26 years to figure that out.  I've always been a sucker for the epic-sounding stuff - I think it stems from my band-nerdiness and love of classical music, the world of massive orchestras and huge crescendos, the kind of music that's always managed to give me goosebumps.  I think songs like "Have You Seen In Your Dreams" (and "Welcome Home") will always be my favorites; there's something about these songs that dwarf everything else - and I think they manage to capture the way I've always felt about music.  Miracle Fortress certainly captures something perfectly with this song, even if I can't perfectly describe what that is. 

But I what I can say is that this was my favorite song of 2007.

Favorite Songs of '07 - #2

Radical Face - "Welcome Home"

Up until just a few minutes ago I still hadn't decided where I would put the last two songs in this countdown.  Both are entirely worthy of the #1 spot, and for many of the same reasons - they're both nearly epic in scale, layered, gorgeous, massive-sounding, so much bigger than the waves they're comprised of.  And I love both almost equally, for those reasons and also because they are incredibly emotional in two different ways.  But in the end, Radical Face's "Welcome Home" is sitting here at #2  - and it's pretty much because it kind of makes me want to cry. 

This isn't a depressing song per se, in fact it has this kind of beautiful, sweeping hopefulness to it that I absolutely love.  But there's an underlying melancholy too - the kind of vague hint of something that after several repeats puts your heart in your throat.  Most of Radical Face's Ghost actually has that hint of something running through it - which is why the album is amazing, and so unlike anything else I heard in 2007.  And this song, "Welcome Home," is one of the most amazing songs I heard in 2007, even if that lump in my throat is keeping it from #1. 

Favorite Songs of '07 - #3

Department of Eagles - "No One Does It Like You"

I wrote about this song back in November, and while quoting myself is kinda lame, I'm going to do it anyway:

At some point in the last few months, the Department of Eagles tune "No One Does It Like You" crept into the race for "favorite song of '07."  Its appearance in the contest was entirely unexpected, but now that I think about it I guess I'm not really surprised.  In July I included the track in my Whistle While You Work Mix, which I listened to a fair number of times (I still think it's the best mix I've ever made) providing me ample time to fall in love with the song, and then a little bit later in the year I chose a line from the it to be part of my password at work, which meant for a period of time I always had the melody stuck in my head for 5-10 minutes a day.

And here it is, at #3.  At first this was just a song with a nice little whistle, so I put it in a mix.  Who knew I'd fall so completely and madly in love?

Favorite Songs of '07 - #4

Spoon - "The Underdog"

This song seems like such an obvious, obvious choice.  While I don't necessarily pride myself on the obscurity of my music taste (it's just kind of the nature of my life that I listen to a lot of stuff many of my friends have never heard of, and maybe never will), I will admit that I'm susceptible to the exhaustion that comes when a band or song reaches a certain amount of popularity.  And while "The Underdog" isn't nearly as ubiquitous as something like "1, 2, 3, 4," the song is still the - once again - obvious single on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and it's been everywhere lately - including a cameo in Cloverfield, for pete's sake.  But while I'm head over heels for Spoon's latest record, and every last slightly-more-obscure track on it, this one is still the stand-out for me.  And specifically because it's so obvious.  It's the song that made me grin for a three minutes and forty two seconds the first time I heard it, it's the song I fell for just a little bit harder than the other nine, it's the song that made me think "wow, this record is really going to take Spoon somewhere."  And when it comes to one of my favorite bands, I'll trade obscurity for #10 on the Billboard 200 any day.

Favorite Songs of '07 - #5

Fujiya & Miyagi - "Collarbone"

I know I just said that I couldn't count how many times I listened to "If... Don't..." in 2007 - but I'm pretty sure I listened to "Collarbone" at LEAST twice as many times.  Back in February, before I even got a chance to see Fujiya & Miyagi twice at SXSW (and compliment their kick-ass sneakers), I capped off my first official workout mix with this tune, and it became my standby warm up/cool down track at the gym for the rest of the year.  Every time it pops up on shuffle, I listen to it three times instead of once, and I seriously can't imagine ever getting sick of this song.  Really, you would think that "In One Ear & Out the Other" would be my favorite song on Transparent Things, but this one wins hands down.