Thursday, July 9
Tuesday, June 23
Print. Cut. Fold. Tape.
The Handsome Family are now available for an appearance in your own home! Unfortunately, they will be in the form of paper.
Just visit Paper Foldables and Print, Cut, Fold, Tape. Tada!
Friday, June 19
WOODSIST / CAPTURED TRACKS FEST
ADVANCE TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
for Woodsist / Captured Tracks fest!
$25 FOR BOTH DAYS + $2 PAYPAL FEE - buy tickets here
Friday July 3rd
9:45pm : CRYSTAL STILTS
9:00pm :: Blank Dogs
8:15pm ::: Psychedelic Horseshit
7:30pm :::: caUSE co-MOTION!
6:45pm ::::: the Mayfair Set
6:15pm :::::: Gary War
5:45pm ::::::: Little Girls
5:15pm :::::::: Kid Romance
4:45pm ::::::::: Beachniks
4:15pm :::::::::: the Gutsies
| 979 BROADWAY BACKYARD |
979 Broadway btwn Myrtle Ave & Ditmars St | Bushwick, Brooklyn
JMZ-Myrtle, L-Jefferson, G- Myrtle- Willoughby | DOORS –4PM– | $15 | all ages
RAIN OR SHINE
Saturday July 4th
9:45pm : THEE OH SEES
9:00pm :: VIVIAN GIRLS
8:15pm ::: Kurt Vile
7:30pm :::: Woods
6:45pm ::::: Tyvek
6:00pm :::::: Dum Dum Girls
5:15pm ::::::: the Fresh & Onlys
4:30pm :::::::: Brilliant Colors
3:45pm ::::::::: Ganglians
3:15pm :::::::::: the Great Excape —— reunion, pre-Home Blitz
2:45pm ::::::::::: the Beets
2:15pm :::::::::::: Real Estate
1:45pm ::::::::::::: German Measles
1:15pm :::::::::::::: Beach Fossils
| 979 BROADWAY BACKYARD |
979 Broadway btwn Myrtle Ave & Ditmars St | Bushwick, Brooklyn
JMZ-Myrtle, L-Jefferson, G- Myrtle- Willoughby | DOORS –1PM– | $15 | all ages
RAIN OR SHINE
Thursday, June 11
How fans spend their money
We love the fans that actually pay for their music. But how do they decide what to buy? According to this Billboard article by Glenn Peoples, the Association of Independent Music Stores (AIMS) conducted an online survey of 1,067 AIMS store consumers to find out. Here are some of the interesting results:
4/5 buy from a friends referral
80% buy after a live show
39% heard it on the radio
16% saw it in a newspaper
15% trusted the TV
Where do they buy digital music?
85% on iTunes
23% on Amazon MP3
14% on eMusic
Where do they find referrals online?
78% Pitchfork
44% Rollingstone.com
39% Stereogum
28% Brooklyn Vegan
23% My Old Kentucky Blog
14% Largehearted Boy
Monday, June 1
Gregg Kowalsky - June 8th - Enemy
Tape Chants - available at your favorite record store next week (6/9)
Wednesday, May 27
Hecuba Video w/ DEVENDRA BANHART
The first video from "Paradise" just came out!!
Suffering features a guest apperance from Devendra Banhart. CLICK HERE
Tuesday, May 26
Is Your iPhone App Seeing Someone Else?
While researching a way to control the supremely annoying fan noise on my new, used MacMini Enoserver, I ran across this blog post from indie software developer Hendrick Holtmann at eidac. It kinda freaked me out, and I don't even have an iPhone! Now I'm even more leery.
What Hendrick found is that a company called Pinch Media is offering spyware code that iPhone developers can bury in their software and which will, without the knowledge or permission of the software owner, phone home to Pinch with: the unique user ID of your phone using the software, a time stamp of when app use started and ended, AND the latitude and longitude of your position. Holy smokes!!
Hendrick poked into his phone and found about 1/3 of his apps were using this buried code. There is quite an uproar over Pinch offering this service, but what I haven't seen anywhere is the anger at Apple, who are notorious for their control over the user environment and have allowed this sort of behavior from applications that they have tested and approved for sale in the app store. C'mon!
Those of you without jailbroken phones will just have to wonder which of your apps are doing this and how much of your limited bandwidth this little thing is using without your permission.
I understand the desire from developers for cookies and analytics, but give the consumer a choice.
How horrid.
Read More......
Friday, May 22
What are all the dentists offices going to do?!
A Mainstay in Chicago radio for 22 years, Smooth Jazz - WNUA, 95.5 FM is moving aside for "Spanish Hot Contemporary" station called "Mega"
Taken from the Phil Rosenthal in Chicago Tribune:
WNUA, a pioneer 22 years ago with the adult-contemporary format that blended pop instrumentals and jazz influences, is poised to become a Spanish-language station, complementing the music of artists such as Shakira, Enrique Iglesias and Aventura with local on-air personalities, news and traffic in an effort to seize a share of a rapidly growing audience segment.
The flip, set for Friday morning, has been the subject of a guessing game within the industry as other smooth jazz stations around the country dropped the format in recent weeks. But much of the speculation wrongly had WNUA embracing country, oldies or classic rock rather than what is being billed as Spanish hot adult contemporary.
Jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, a long-time WNUA personality, is supposed to bid fans farewell in Friday's 9 a.m. hour. That will be followed by a brief audio montage recalling the history of the 95.5 frequency in Chicago, from the Moody Bible Institute to WDHF to WMET to WNUA. Then at 9:55 a.m., the plan is to begin playing 5,000 successive songs from the new format over the next two weeks as an introduction before regular Mega 95.5 programming begins. Clear Channel has yet to name the station's personalities.
It may be small solace for loyal WNUA listeners, but its smooth jazz format will remain available online at yoursmoothjazz.com, as well as on smart phones via iheartradio.com and to those with HD Radios at 95.5 HD2.
The problem that ultimately doomed WNUA was not the devotion of its audience, which didn't flag. The problem was Clear Channel's ability to cash in on it.
According to independent industry revenue figures, WNUA's take was off by almost $2 million in 2008 compared with '07, while Spanish-language leaders -- WLEY-FM 107.9 and Univision's WOJO-FM 105.1 -- showed gains.
"The revenue support for WNUA declined significantly in recent years due to the changes in how advertisers evaluate radio stations, and we were faced with a very difficult decision," said Earl Jones, president and market manager of Clear Channel Radio Chicago.
"This is something we really struggled with," said Tony Coles, vice president of programming and operations of its six-station cluster. "We're fans of WNUA. So it was really tough to even have conversations about the end of that radio station. But we looked at all the indicators. We really put a lot of time and energy and research and marketing and everything for that radio station, and the needle wasn't moving -- and then the economy started going south as well."
It will not be an inexpensive switch for Clear Channel, which is hiring about 25 new bilingual employees, including on-air talent, a programmer and a sales staff. But other numbers favor the move.
Hispanics are a fast-growing population group in the United States, passing African-Americans as the nation's largest minority segment in recent years. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that, as of mid-2008, the nation's population included almost 47 million Hispanics, or about 15.4 percent of the total, while African-Americans accounted for about 12.8 percent.
Since 2004, when Clear Channel Radio announced an initiative led by Alfredo Alonso, its senior vice president of Hispanic Radio, the company has expanded the programming and availability of Spanish-language programming and formats on stations in 20 markets.
But Coles and Jones stressed this decision originated locally and is about positioning Clear Channel's full portfolio -- which also includes WLIT-FM 93.9, WVAZ-FM 102.7, WGCI-FM 107.5, WKSC-FM 103.5 and WGRB-AM 1390 -- for what the market will look like in five years.
Univision, which owns WOJO-FM, WPPN-FM 106.7, WRTO-AM 1200 and the duo of WVIV-FM 103.1 and WVIX-FM 93.5 here, says on its Web site that Chicago is the nation's No. 5 Hispanic market, with 1.8 million people and $24.2 billion in buying power.
Clear Channel, which says Hispanics make up 28 percent of the city of Chicago's population, thinks it can do more than take a slice out of that segment. It might even be able to increase the size of the pie by appealing to bilingual listeners and courting general-market advertisers as well as those specifically targeting Hispanics. It also benefits from WNUA's signal strength.
"It's our commitment to live and local programming, our commitment to community service," Coles said. "Just the ability that we have to be in the community, be active and use the leverage of our other radios stations. We have Kiss and Lite [WKSC and WLIT] as the No. 1 and No. 2 stations for English-speaking Hispanics, and then you combine that with Mega, it's a really powerful force."
Sunday, May 17
Grouper @ The Hideout 06.06.09
Grouper Myspace
Zelienople Myspace
Vieux Farka Toure Myspace
Tickets on sale here
Vids below:
Grouper - Rising Height
Grouper - Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping
Zelienople - Forced March
Vieux Farka Toure - Ai Du
Thursday, May 14
Windy & Carl :: The Mopery :: 5.19.09
Windy & Carl
Tuesday May 19th
The Mopery
2734 N. Milwaukee Ave.
FREE! 10pm
French File-Sharing Law Would Cut Internet Access
Taken from NPR news:
The French Senate passed a controversial new law Wednesday that would punish people who illegally share copyrighted music or movies by taking away their right to use the Internet for as long as a year, on a three-strikes-you're-out basis.
Digital civil rights advocates say they are horrified because the law completely does away with due process.
"There's no judge keeping an eye on this," says Danny O'Brien, who coordinates international outreach efforts for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "There's no right of appeal, and it's entirely separate from the usual judicial system."
Proof is not necessary under the new law. A record company simply has to say j'accuse!, and an organization still to be created by the French government will sever the suspect's Internet connection.
It's now up to the country's version of the Supreme Court to approve the law, and it ultimately may be trumped by the European Union.
The French government was reportedly under pressure from the lobbying arm of the international music industry. Despite its best efforts, file-sharing worldwide has only increased.
But O'Brien says innocent people have been prosecuted, and the system can be gamed. It's especially easy to make mistakes in places where the Internet is public, like cybercafes.
"The French government has come up with some interesting suggestions for this," O'Brien says. "One was that anybody who has an open WiFi network should just shut it down — or only allow a certain white list of Web sites for people to visit."
O'Brien says he is surprised that the home of liberty, France, is the first country to implement laws he describes as draconian. He's not alone: 60 percent of French citizens oppose the rule. Predictably, they have begun manning the cyber barricades.
My opinion:
Just another witch-hunt approach to the Music Industry's battle with file sharing. As I recall back in 02/03 when there were "blacklists" of people were faced with fines for downloading music, it all backfired in the Industry's face. This approach faces too many problems - mainly with accusing innocent people. I don't think it will last.
Tuesday, May 12
Corridor Video
New video of Corridor "Barricks" directed by Ravi Dhar (2009) from the debut album "Corridor" (Manimal Vinyl/Kayak Records) May 26th, 2009. Exclusively distributed by CTD, Ltd!
Read More......Monday, May 11
Speck Mountain - KEXP Song Of The Day
The title track to Speck Mountain's newest release, "Some Sweet Relief" will be featured on the KEXP Song of the Day Podcast this Wednesday May 13th!
About KEXP's Podcast:
The KEXP podcasts are available always for free. The majority of our podcasts are distributed through iTunes, though they are additionally available directly from KEXP.ORG and through other podcasting aggregators and RSS feeds like Zune, Firefox Live Bookmarks, and many others. Three of KEXP's podcasts subscriptions are are within iTunes' top 100 podcasts in regard to popularity: Song of the Day (#13), Music That Matters (#37), and Live Performances (#68). The Song of the Day podcasts are featured also the KEXP Blog (http://blog.kexp.org).
This week's songs include:
May 11 The Arch Cupcake - Rubix Dude
May 12 Baby Dayliner - You Push, I'll Go
**May 13 Speck Mountain - Some Sweet Relief**
May 14 Phosphorescent - Wolves (Live)
May 15 Erik Blood - To Leave America
"Some Sweet Relief" is now available digitally, on CD and LP at www.carrottoprecords.com.
Subscribe to the Podcast here!
Friday, May 8
Carrot Top Records Has 3 New Releases!
Press Update for CTR's New Releases!
The Handsome Family - Honey Moon
“Honey Moon is sensual and celebratory.” —Oprah Magazine
“Brett and Rennie Sparks continue to put a brilliantly surreal twist on everyday subjects, using nature imagery to evoke the weird intensity of all-consuming passions.” —Spin Magazine
“There's a burnt beauty to Honey Moon – something akin to Mark Twain re-written by Edgar Allan Poe – that exerts a deliciously morbid pull on the imagination and the emotions. Satisfaction is guaranteed.”—Michael Quinn, BBC
Speck Mountain - Some Sweet Relief
"4.5/5 Stars—Pulsating electric guitar riffs, creepy organ chords, and campfire-style backing harmonies round out each track, practically compelling the listener to lay back, turn out the lights, and stay awake until the last note fades. "—Venus Zine
"At times haunting, at times warm and breezy, there is a dream-like ambiance that permeates the collection."—Glide Magazine
"...dreamy, impressionistic, and ambient. Like sunlight shining through a gauzy curtain, Balabanian's rich vocals are simultaneously hazy, distant and piercing."—NPR
The Bitter Tears - Jam Tarts In The Jakehouse
"...making Jam Tarts in the Jakehouse frighteningly difficult to pull from the stereo.” —PopMatters
"Paired with severely cryptic lyrics, brass and woodwind sounds emitted from old, partially worn-out instruments and a fishy concoction of melodious music, Jam Tarts in the Jakehouse, is a creatively convicting album." —Bryan Sanchez, Adequacy
“Despite a dizzying array of instrumentation, what The Bitter Tears do so well, is keep it simple. The arrangements are pretty basic, which has to be applauded. They take these bare bones, and dress them with string sections, and parps of brass. More often than not they come up with something that at times borders on the magical.”—MusicOMH
Press Continues, With Pictures...
The Handsome Family - Honey Moon
“Melodies unfold with matter-of-fact grace.” —Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune
“Yet another terrific chapter in a book that I hope these guys never finish...The songs on Honey Moon are just as gorgeously haunting as anything they have done previously.” —Tim Hinely, Blurt
"Honey Moon blends the baroque with spectral, old-time country atmospherics and shades of bluegrass and ragtime.”—Idio Magazine
“Brett’s baritone is so low it sounds like the earth rumbling, and it gives every tune an oracular presence that’s amply backed up by Rennie’s mystifying lyrics, which meld poetic impulses and everyday language with an effortless grace.”—J. Poet, Crawdaddy
Get a glimpse of Brett and Rennie’s view of Romanticism on 77 Square.
Speck Mountain - Some Sweet Relief
“Behind her versatile and devastating voice, Balabanian and bandmate Karl Briedrick craft beautiful soundscapes that spread wide and deep." —Prefix Magazine
“Speck Mountain appeals to the surreal - one could imagine listening to this album in a wildly painted room filled with soft pillows and swirling, colorful lights. In a way, it’s an adequate replacement for drugs.”—FensePost
"Some Sweet Relief sounds somewhat timeless, a 40-minute offering of neo-psych gospel that's more polished, more promising, and altogether stronger than most of the band's contemporaries.” —Andrew Leahey, Allmusic
“Some Sweet Relief, is atmospheric, sexy, headphone hypnotica”—The OCMD
Listen to Speck Mountain on Breakthruradio.
The Bitter Tears - Jam Tarts In The Jakehouse
"Striking a nice balance between stronger and softer sounds, Jam Tarts in the Jakehouse never really crosses the line into either, staying in the middle with a strong enough backbone to keep things steady and interesting."—Lowdown
"Chicago's The Bitter Tears are a truly extraordinary group of musicians that one must experience in the live concert setting to truly appreciate the in-your-face absurdity and pure drama that their rambling catchy dada cabaret has to offer."—A Thousand Ears
"A band like none other, the Bitter Tears are theatrical and totally over the top—and consider that a good thing...the band is a twisted backwoods freak show whose music ranges from country to big band to the avant garde.” —Artvoice
“This is art rock, pure and simple; Harmonious enough to catch you, dissonant to almost lose you, and endearing enough that you’ll come back to hear it again. The Bitter Tears will disturb your senses, and you’ll like it.”—Wildy's World
Thursday, May 7
Expo 70
Expo 70
Sadhu Sadhu
Bitchin' Bajas
Saturday May 9th 9pm
@ The Electric Company In French
1318 West Cermak Avenue
Expo 70 in-store @ Permanent Records 6pm
Friday, May 1
Foxy Digitalis interviews + Monday @ Enemy
Foxy Digitalis posted a few features yesterday. First, an interview with Michael Tapscott of Odawas, whose album "The Blue Depths" already has my vote for album of the year. Second, is an interview with Night People's Shawn Reed. They did a vinyl pressing of Peaking Light's "Imaginary Falcons," another great release from this year. Brad Rose, the man behind Foxy Digitalis/Digitalis Industries is playing at Enemy on Monday with his Ajilvsga project. Scott Tuma & Mike Weis are also performing. Starts at 8pm, $5
Read More......Top 5 of the Week
1. Lombardi's Pizza in NYC - finally a place that knows how to make authentic pizza Italiana!
2. It's May Day! Wikipedia says, "In some parts of the United States, May Baskets are made. These baskets are small and usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone's doorstep. The basket giver would ring the bell and run away. The person receiving the basket would try to catch the fleeing giver. If they caught the person, a kiss was to be exchanged." Where's my flippin' basket?
3. I left the Cubs game right before they started losing and just in time to hear the Bulls go into triple overtime on the radio...beating the Celtics by 1 point...woohooo!
4. TEDTalks - Patrick mentioned them last week, but I second their greatness. So many topics covered! It's like free school!
5. Pete's baby is on the way! I hope she gets the Geico accent :)
Thursday, April 30
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